The Rise of Ming Dynasty 1646

Chapter 540 Want to have a free meal?No talking!
The other kings immediately came to their senses when they heard the words, and the king who dared to support the government called us here to raise money.There were even a few stingy ones like King Hui, King Changyang, etc., who regretted it unceasingly. They rushed to Xiaoling by themselves earlier. Isn’t this sending them to the knife’s edge?

But at the end of the story, the more than 40 titled vassal kings present had no choice but to follow suit, "My brother is willing to donate 4000 taels of labor."

"My nephew also donated 4000 taels to help the court destroy the captives."

"I'm short on money recently, so I voted for 3000 taels..."

Zhu Linmei glanced at the group of stingy vassal kings, and couldn't help smiling, "Everyone misunderstood, the court is a bit tight, but it's not easy to take your money. It's just..."

He smiled brighter, and unhurriedly said what he had "planned for a long time", "The imperial court is currently in short supply, and everyone's salaries, as you know, are too large, and the imperial court can't get them out at all." ah……"

You know, after Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang came to the throne, he has been worried about his descendants, thinking about how to make them live more comfortably.He came from a mud-legged old man, and he only felt that staying at home was the most comfortable, eating, drinking, and sleeping. So he stipulated that all the descendants of the old Zhu family were not allowed to do business, engage in politics, work, or farm. Taxation, mixed food and death.

These vassal kings had nothing to do, so they stayed at home and gave birth to children, grandchildren and grandchildren. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the population of the clan had reached hundreds of thousands!
These 10 people cannot work, and the imperial court has to distribute money to them.Not to mention far away, during the Jiajing period, the national tax revenue was no longer enough to pay the clan's salary!

So the imperial court began to cut the salary, at the beginning it was [-]%, and then [-]%, [-]%, all the way down... However, the growth rate of the Zhu family's children was faster, and the imperial court still needed to allocate more and more money.

The clan relatives are like leeches attached to Da Ming's body, constantly sucking blood, how can Da Ming be strong if they are kept? !Some people in later generations even said that the disciples of the Eight Banners brought down the Manchu Qing Dynasty, while hundreds of thousands of clan relatives brought down the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Linmi had long wanted to do something about the salaries of the clan vassals, but she had never had the chance before. It just so happened that this time they gathered together to worship Xiaoling, and when she took back the old capital and the people were in full swing, it was the right time to take this opportunity. It's settled.

The king of Han immediately bowed very generously and said: "The court has difficulties, how can we vassal relatives not understand." He said to himself that since the last years of Chongzhen, he hadn't paid his salary well anyway, and continued, "Destroy all captives and thieves. Before, the salary was not appropriated."

Other feudal lords also echoed, "Yes, it's okay if you don't post it for a few years."

"Don't dare to complain..."

"It's not easy for the imperial court..."

Zhu Linmei nodded slightly, but continued: "The barbarians who are waiting to be built are gone, my Ming Dynasty must be devastated, and a thousand things are waiting to be rebuilt. The imperial court must allocate money to comfort soldiers, relieve victims, and build damaged roads and houses. will be tight..."

The kings were stunned when they heard the words, looked at each other, and then asked by King Han: "What does the assistant king mean?"

Zhu Linmei smiled kindly, "The imperial court hasn't distributed much salary in recent years, so everyone is living well. I discussed with the important ministers in the court, otherwise, the salary will stop in the future."

In fact, he never discussed with the courtiers at all. Those stubborn and conservative guys would throw the "ancestral system must not be violated" or something to hinder them. There is no need to ask for their opinions on such a thing that has all advantages and no disadvantages for Ming Dynasty.However, it is still necessary to pull them up to pretend.

Zhu Linmi didn't wait for the vassals to object, and said loudly: "I have submitted the form to ask myself to stop receiving salary, so as to share the country's worries."

King Changyang was anxious at the time, "Prince Assistant, you, you are going too far!"

"What's too much? It's too much!" King Hui immediately continued, "This salary was set by the Taizu, how can you change it without authorization?!"

Zhu Linmei glanced at him, "Did Jianlu ravage during the Taizu's time? How many clansmen did they have during the Taizu's time? I can tell you that Daming's current tax for a year is not enough for half of the clan's salary! If things go on like this, even if Jianlu is defeated, sooner or later there will be other captives and bandits, so what will Daming do to defend against the enemy?!"

"Hmph! Anyway, I don't agree with this matter!" King Hui poked his neck and said, "This world is still our old Zhu's family, and it is only natural for the people of the world to support our vassal king!"

"Do you still know that the world belongs to the Zhu family?" Zhu Linmei said coldly, "What were you doing when the invaders were raging? What did you do for the world when the prisoners were committing crimes?!"

"I... am restricted by the ancestral system, what can I do?"

"You are ashamed to ask me what to do? During the Chongzhen Dynasty, the emperor raised military salaries. Can you give me a penny? The first emperor was held back by Zheng Zhilong, and he wanted to go to the Northern Expedition but suffered from no money. I didn't see you come forward to contribute. At this time, he shouted that the court should support it." you!"

"Here, I'm poor! I want to contribute to the imperial court, but I have no money!"

"It's nonsense." Zhu Linmi took out a booklet, flipped through a few pages, and read, "In June of the first year of Longwu, you bought a Sanjin Mansion, worth 13 taels. In August of the first year, you gave For my son's birthday, the banquet cost 4000 taels. In September of the first year, you bought 58 hectares of paddy fields..."

Zhu Linmi never fought unprepared battles, and he had already let Jinyiwei Nanzhen figure out the possible "stabs".

King Hui's face turned pale immediately, although the assistant king was reading about his expenses, it showed that the imperial court was very clear about what he had done!He immediately remembered some of the bad things he had done, and couldn't help swallowing, shrinking his head and not daring to speak.

Zhu Linmei looked at the crowd again, and said earnestly: "Actually, the imperial government's distribution is just a small amount of money for us. You all have family fortunes accumulated by your ancestors for hundreds of years. Without this little salary, you will not be able to use it up even in a hundred years.

"However, the accumulation of such a small amount of money is an extremely heavy burden on the imperial court, which is enough to drag down Ming Dynasty!

"Who is the most unlucky person in the collapse of Ming Dynasty? It's us vassal kings. Let's think about the old Fuwang. If he used some wealth from his family to support the army and help the victims, he might not be able to attack Luoyang. Not to..."

When he said this, all the vassals lowered their eyes.They naturally knew about Fu Wang Zhu Changxun being stewed by Li Zicheng. Later, the raiders also confiscated a lot of property from Fu Wang's mansion, and there were millions of taels of cash alone!

The money later supported Li Zicheng's military spending for several years.At the same time, Chongzhen was begging his grandpa to sue his grandma with the courtiers for 60 taels of Liaodong military pay.

The kings were silent for a while, and the king of Changyang finally plucked up the courage and said in a low voice: "As you said, the auxiliary king, everyone is not worried about expenses at the moment, but under the ancestral system, sooner or later, you will sit and eat the mountain..."

"Yes, yes." Immediately there was a voice of approval from all around.

(End of this chapter)