Wanli Xinming

Chapter 124
Since the Qin and Han dynasties, all the dynasties have always given priority to enshrining the capital.The so-called "things in the Quartet, must be in the center, the saints insist, the Quartet will be effective".

From the Qin to the Northern Song Dynasty, the change trajectory of the capital of each dynasty was Chang'an-Luoyang-Kaifeng from west to east; from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the change trajectory became Hangzhou-Nanjing-Beijing, from south to north route.The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms in the middle can be regarded as the transition period of the Great Turning.

With the continuous northward movement of the dynasty's political center, the continuous southward movement of its economic center.The status of water transportation was getting higher and higher. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the administrative organization network centered on water transportation made the Grand Canal the core blood vessel of the empire.The economic activities such as material transportation and the radiation of administrative power extended from this aorta eventually formed the political and economic belt of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal—the core circle of the two empires of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Later scholars believe that the canals before the Tang and Song Dynasties were dominated by the Central Plains and developed in a multi-leaf shape, linking many regions and playing an important role in balancing and adjusting the economy.However, in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, the canals were elongated, and the economic belt was linearly distributed. The central and western parts of the empire were left out of the core circle, which was not conducive to the unification of the empire – it was also considered a family view.

The fundamental political and economic model of the feudal empire, Baojingshi, thoroughly politicized the waterway of the canal. In order to maintain the smooth water transport, the central governments of all dynasties have spared no expense. contend.

The smooth flow of water transportation is at the cost of a huge waste of manpower, material resources, and financial resources.It takes two shimi to transport one shimi from Suzhou to the capital.In the Ming and Qing dynasties, an average of 400 million shi rice was delivered to the capital every year, and the freight cost reached 800 million shi per year.Coupled with the annual dredging of the river, the establishment of management officials and servants, the repair of water boats, the establishment of farmland, etc., the expenditure is huge.

From this huge waste and expenditure, a huge political and economic interest group has been formed around the canal.In the Yuan Dynasty, it was much better to have a sea canal. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the central government was almost always in a state of being kidnapped by the canal.

A strong interest group was formed around the bureaucratic groups of water transportation and the people who were employed and begging for food because of water transportation.The biggest beneficiary group is, of course, the canal bureaucrats.They benefit in various ways. The most important thing is to continue to create floods and conduct river control projects, so as to enrich their own pockets.

The so-called "River officials are accustomed to being extravagant, they are full of money, and they sleep until the end of the year. They are also restrained by water transport, and all those who do it are corrupt." In the Ming Dynasty, since the founding of the ancestors, the records of the emperors of the past dynasties have almost every year that the canal bursts. Records - regardless of floods or droughts.

The upper and lower levels are effective, and the officials of all sizes in the province connecting the water and water are all benefited from the various "exploitation fees, gate fees, Huai crossing fees, official fees, payment fees, and storage fees".Even the unremarkable corps commander of the Cao Bing "was in fresh clothes, angry horses, restaurants and song halls, and turned them into ashes with millions of dollars."

In addition to this corruption, because Caoyun connects the north and the south, officials at all levels often carry private goods for profit.In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, these officials colluded with the underworld forces, and developed to the point of hiding the illegal population, relying on the situation to kill people - obstructing the river under the name, extorting businessmen and even killing people.

However, although most of the water transport officials are extremely corrupt, occasionally a clear stream can emerge.President Wang Zongmu is a wonderful person in this interest group.

In the Ming Dynasty, the chief officer of water transportation was first the envoy of water transportation, then the general soldier of water transportation, and finally he was transferred to the civilian post as governor of water transportation and admiral of military affairs governor Fengyang and other places to supervise the river.Later, everyone thought that the official name was too long, and it was generally called the Governor of Cao Yun or the Chief Cao.

In front of this official position, the title is generally added as the left and right censors, and third-rank senior officials.According to statistics from later generations, the average serving time of the chief cao in the Ming Dynasty was 45 years, which is less than two years.During the [-] years of Emperor Jiajing's tenure, he changed [-] general caos.

Why?There are too many interests involved in water transportation.The scope of power of the Chief Cao is involved with the Cao Transport Corps, Cao Transport Officers, local state capitals, river governors, the Metropolitan Police, and the Six Ministries. As a special governor, he cooperates with these departments and officials and competes for management rights. Therefore, there are very few masters that can do long-term work.

Wang Zongmu, courtesy name Xinfu, was born in Linhai, Zhejiang.In the 23rd year of Jiajing, he was a Jinshi, and in the [-]th year of Longqing, he was promoted from the position of Shandong Zuobuzhengshi to the general cao.

This dude belongs to the typical Ming Dynasty elite, who dared to sway with half a bottle of vinegar, and when he took office, he made a memorial to Emperor Longqing to restore Haicao.His memorial, Zhu Yijun, couldn't understand at all, and the contents that he didn't understand in particular were as follows:
"The sea in the southeast is the center of all the waters in the world. There are no mountains in the mountains, and there are no places to hide. Near the south, the water is warm. The Jiaolong cave house is high and rocky. The sea market is made of stone gas colliding with water gas, reflecting stone, stone gas can reach the water surface, and stone can be used to get close to water, so it can also help the poor of the canal, but there is no way to do it.

Zhu Yijun had a question mark in his head, not knowing what the "Jiaolong Cave House" and "Stone Qi Water Qi Bo" were.I can see it clearly in other places, but there is no analysis of benefits and workload, and there is no mention of the difference between sea-going ships and inland river ships. The water is also shallow and can be used to transport grain.

Reported together with the memorial, there are also two books written by this old man, "Detailed Examination of Maritime Transport" and "Map of Maritime Transport" as attachments.Zhu Yijun flipped through the pages, but the drawings were not enough. The level of contemporary cartography is not high, and Zhu Yijun is not demanding.

The "Detailed Examination" is full of successful cases of shipping from the Yuan Dynasty to the Yongle period. As for how it was done, what the ship was like, and how the management organization worked, I searched and found no one, and Zhu Yijun rolled his eyes in anger.

What Zhu Yijun did not know was that Wang Zongmu was evaluated in the "Summary of the Four Treasures" of the Qing Dynasty: "Zongmu Gai Xiaoshi" and the statement in "University Yanyi Supplement" was a fluke.I don't know the economics of Confucianism on paper.The view of Zongmu can be regarded as a precept for arrogantly talking about shipping. "

Wang Zongmu advocated that although shipping is so unreliable, it is dedicated to the country, and Zhu Yijun still has to encourage and commend it.And Wang Zongmu's contribution to water transportation is not only in trying to ship shipping, he has real insights on the reform of water transportation -- this time it is not half a bottle of vinegar.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was another major drawback of water transportation, that is, the increase in consumption when collecting water.During the Xuande period, the Ming court promulgated an example of the increase in the consumption of grain for transportation: the consumption of grain per stone: eight buckets in Huguang, seven buckets in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, six buckets in Nanzhili, and three buckets in Shandong and Henan.

Although there are rules, can the government at all levels let go of the common people who pay grain?Therefore, there are other levies, such as "two-pointed rice, rat-consumed rice, moisturizing and moisturizing rice, sieved rice", etc., as well as the tax increase for the customs clearance of water ships and the apportionment of materials and silver for the construction of water ships - miscellaneous In addition, the additional consumption of one stone of rice is basically one stone of rice, which means that the collection of grain has been doubled.

Such an increase in consumption, of course, will lead to people's hardship.Later, the court was helpless, and the provinces supplying water grains suffered from disasters one after another. Later, the Ming court reformed the collection of water grains - Zhese.That is, no rice is accepted, but silver and copper coins are directly accepted.After it is transported to the capital, the money is used to buy rice—the merchants transport the grain, and there will be no extra consumption, only the tax and silver for customs clearance.

This color folding method started from the 100 stones in the Chenghua period, and it has soared all the way.By the Jiajing period, the highest was [-] million shi, accounting for more than half of the country's grain.By the time of Emperor Longqing, it became a rule that [-] million shi was paid every year until Zhu Yijun came to power.

The expropriation of the levy of grain in the folded color was originally an expedient measure to solve the disaster situation, and it became a rule by the time of Emperor Longqing, which was actually an inevitable result of the development of the commodity economy to a certain extent.

That is to say, there have been large-scale grain transactions in the southern grain-producing areas, and farmers have money to pay for them. At this time, the development of water transport is difficult, the lack of water ships, and the escape of the water army. The original 400 million shi The task of grain collection and transportation is out of reach.The solution to the ration problem of the common people in the capital largely depends on the import of commercial grain.

Wang Zongmu's insight on water transport was the sensitive discovery of this.Because the Cao Yun Zhexing touched the fundamental interests of the Cao Yun interest groups, the imperial court has always objected, and some people often say that Zhe Se violates the ancestral system, citing the Jiajing Emperor's criticism of the then governor of Cao Yun, "From now on, we should follow the ancestral system, and do not change lightly. "This sentence to oppose the color fold policy.

Wang Zongmu settled the accounts for the imperial court: "The cloud cannot be changed today, but the accumulation of Jingcang is getting less and less, and about three hundred stones are transported every year, and one million yuan is always paid out to collect the surplus. Each stone is discounted at eight coins. And put five qian, count three qian, then 100 million stones will be worth 100 gold. In addition, there are more than 30 warships in storage, each of which is based on detaining two grains for the month and rewarding 250 taels of banknotes and silver. Another 40 taels." After a few years of doing this, the country can benefit greatly.

What do you mean?Wang Zongmu believes that the annual grain production is a fixed number.Not at A, but at B.If there is less grain in Gyeonggi, the price of food will inevitably be high, then the merchants will bring the grain over to sell it, and the price of the grain will be lowered.

And the color is folded every year according to the number of grain stones, which is equivalent to having been in the account of the imperial court.Then the 100 million shi of grain will generate a book income of three silver coins per shi because there is no increase in grain consumption.Of course, this amount of money can be included in fiscal revenue, so "the country can benefit greatly."

Otherwise, Wang Zongmu, the general manager, is regarded as a wonderful person?What he thought, what he did, has been digging the corner of the water transport interest group - so in the first year of Wanli, it is not surprising that he was attacked by a swarm.

　After reading this chapter, who else said reform is easy?I researched these materials, and I was sweating for the protagonist - I am too hard, I am exhausted.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)