Bachelor

Chapter 201 Yuxi's Imperial Edict (asking for a monthly ticket)
"Oh, you two..." The emperor pondered for a moment, and said: "If it is really effective, I will try it no matter what, Sun Qing, please explain carefully. I have only been in power for a few days, what is going on next? A smear. Some things, but I also know a little bit, the situation of my Ming Dynasty has reached an intolerable level."

Zhu Houcong was busy with the enthronement ceremony and Emperor Wuzong Zhengde's funeral for the past two months, but he didn't care much about government affairs.In fact, in the past two months, he felt that he was just a child in the eyes of several ministers in the cabinet. When encountering major issues, they would not come to discuss with him at all.Instead, several people worked together below, drafted a report and sent it to the Supervisor of Rituals, and asked him to approve the matter.

The emperor had just succeeded to the throne, because he grew up in the vassal's mansion, he was educated to follow the rules and abide by the duties of the vassal king, and he knew nothing about government affairs.After becoming a prince and an emperor, he hurriedly got on his horse to eliminate illiteracy. In the past two months, he was instructed by the courtiers like a marionette, while studying carefully.

Emperor Jiajing was extremely talented, and he was quite qualified among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.But because the time is too short, it is only the beginning of the doorway.

In the past two months, he has no intuitive understanding of other government affairs.However, the enthronement ceremony and Emperor Wuzong's magnificent funeral cost a huge amount of money, but it was a painful experience for him.

To be honest, Emperor Zhengde really left Jiajing a mess with leaks everywhere.Wu Zong has been in power for more than ten years, and he has used troops everywhere, and has almost defeated the solid family fortune accumulated during the Renxuan period of the Ming Dynasty.When Jiajing took over, there were three million taels of silver left in the treasury, and only one million taels left in Neizangfu.This amount of money can only maintain the normal operation of the government and the palace. If it is normal, they only need to wait until the autumn harvest, rely on their children to eat enough food, tear down the east wall to make up for the west wall, and then they can get out.

It's a pity that Wu Zong's funeral and Jiajing's enthronement ceremony are now connected together, which one does not require a few million taels of expenditure.

Therefore, when these two major events came to an end, the national treasury suddenly became empty.Not only the salaries of the officials have nowhere to go, even the summer clothes of the eunuchs and maids in the palace have not been bought.

Not only the officials of the household department complained all day long, but even the servants in the palace looked worried, and looked at the emperor in a strange way.

"They must be blaming me, they must be laughing at my incompetence, right?" Jiajing was a suspicious person, and couldn't help but think about it. The more he thought about it, the angrier he felt.

For the time being, the best thing to do is to grit your teeth and persevere until the Xia tax is paid to calm down the uneasiness in the hearts of everyone in the government and the opposition.But what can we do after the summer harvest? After the summer harvest, we have to start calculating the expenses for the next year.

If the corruption of the imperial court's finances cannot be fundamentally reversed, once the finances have completely deteriorated, it will be useless to try to find a way at that time, and the Tian family's dignity will also disappear.

Therefore, when Yang Tinghe proposed to abolish [-] officials and reduce the expenditure of the court.The emperor, who was short of money and was in a hurry, also thought it was a good idea.

But after listening to Sun Danyi just now, he felt the seriousness of the matter.I had just ascended to the Great Treasure, and it was time to buy people's hearts and stabilize the political situation.At this time, if you want to move the jobs of the officials, I'm afraid that they will fight with you desperately.Not only is it not conducive to improving the deteriorating finances, but it will also make the political situation corrupt to the point of getting out of hand.

The road of reducing staff and increasing efficiency will not work, so we can only start from other places.

Hearing Sun Dan say that there is a way to turn the situation around in one fell swoop, he suddenly regained his energy, held his breath, and listened carefully.

Sun Dan said: "The first thing to clear the land is a matter of course. In the whole world, is it the land of the king, and the land on the shore of the land is the king's minister. All the land in the world is His Majesty's own. Farmers If you plant your majesty's land, you should naturally pay taxes. But does your majesty know exactly how much arable land you have?"

Jiajing was stopped by Sun Dan's question, he was silent for a moment, and waved to Huang Jin who was outside.

Huang Jin ran in quickly: "What orders does Your Majesty have?"

"Huang Ban, let me ask you, how much arable land is there in the whole world?"

Huang Jin was just an idiot. How did he know this? He held it in for a long time until his face flushed, and then he replied eagerly: "I think it's several million acres, right?"

"Millions of acres?" Jiajing raised his eyebrows: "Your brains are all grown on dogs, and there is more than this in Guanghuguang. Get out, so I can check."

"Yes, yes, this old slave is going to investigate right now." Huang Jin scrambled and ran out.

Jiajing looked at Huang Jin's back, shook his head helplessly, and then sighed: "I really don't know how much money I have. Sun Qing, do you know?"

"When I served Emperor Wu Zong, I once read the relevant data in the Li Supervisor, and I really remember it."

"Oh, tell me."

Sun Dan stretched out five fingers: "In the 16th year of Hongzhi, Emperor Xiaozong also felt that the tax receivable by the country was decreasing every year, and felt that it was a bit abnormal. He ordered all localities to supervise the Qingzhang's land and came up with a rough figure. According to that Qingzhang, A total of 1000 million mu of arable land in the country has been calculated."

"Ah, so much, it seems that my net worth is quite rich!" Jiajing was happy, and when she was excited, she reached out to touch the elixir in her bosom, but she didn't want to but it was empty, and then she remembered that she had been there for several days. I have never taken any magic medicine.Then he took his hand back in disappointment.

Jiajing was originally a very shrewd person, so he didn't speak, and quickly calculated the income and expenditure for the coming year in his mind.However, he soon became frustrated.Through his mental calculation, the tax of 1000 million mu is not enough for expenditure.

However, he suddenly remembered what Sun Dan said just now, his heart lit up, and he lost his voice and said, "Sun Qing, is there actually more than this amount of land in the region?"

Sun Dan nodded heavily, and said slowly: "The reason why the folks hide the number of acres of land is because many shabby households attach their land to the gentry with tax-free privileges. As a result, many bureaucrats and tyrants annexed a large amount of land, However, they tried their best to conceal the real area of ​​the land and defaulted on the land tax. In this way, the land tax that should be handed over to the treasury fell into the pockets of private individuals. This trend began when the benevolence was announced, and it has intensified by the end of Zhengde. The land of the local gentry has also expanded to an astonishing point."

Jiajing realized the seriousness of the problem. In all dynasties, once the land began to be annexed by the two majors, it was a harbinger of highly intensified conflicts within a dynasty.He took a deep breath and asked with a serious face: "Then, does Sun Qing have a definite figure on hand, how much land is concealed in the locality?"

Seeing that the emperor humbly asked for advice, Sun Dan couldn't help but feel a little proud.But he still maintained his composure, and stretched out another finger.

Jiajing: "1000 million mu?"

Sun Dan shook his head: "Between 8000 million and [-] million, this is still cultivated land, but it does not include forests, mines, rivers and lakes."

Jiajing slammed the table and said sharply, "It's tolerable, but... it's unbearable. Every year, more than [-]% of my taxes fall into private hands like this."

"I'm afraid it's more than [-]%. In Yichen's opinion, at least [-]%." Sun Dan thought it was funny. He didn't see this number from the documents of the Supervisor of Rites, but searched it from the database at hand. Come.

In his database, a large part is about Zhang Juzheng's economic reform, and the three suggestions he just put forward are also put forward by Lao Zhang in the future.All he needs to do is to bring this reform forward by decades.The fall of the Ming Dynasty was due to the economy. If the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty that was about to collapse could be reversed, it would not be in vain for the Ming Dynasty to suffer.

Sun Dan smiled lightly: "Your Majesty shares the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, so it shouldn't be too much for everyone to share it [-]-[-]?"

"Fifty percent!" Jiajing's hair stood on end.

Immediately, the emperor suddenly said angrily: "Sun Qing, stop joking in front of me, talk about... talk about what to do. If this situation is allowed to go on, maybe a hundred years later, the people in the world will only know that there are gentry. I don’t know there is a court.”

As he spoke, he pointed to Jindun beside him, "Sit down and talk." After speaking, he crossed his legs and sat down first.

Only then did Sun Dan realize that Jiajing was not Zhengde, and it would be inappropriate to joke around in front of him, so he imitated Jiajing's appearance and sat cross-legged beside him.Said: "Didn't I just say that the land needs to be cleared, and the local officials should do it right away. This matter can't be done in a day or two. I estimate that it will take two to thirty years to fully understand it."

"Yes, yes, this matter is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and it really cannot be delayed." The emperor nodded again and again, but he was still a little troubled: "I'm afraid that the local officials will collude with the noble gentry, and I will delay, grind, and perfunctory for me. I will stay here." In the palace, it is impossible to guard them all day long."

Sun Danxin said: I naturally have a way, but we can't do this kind of offending people.Qingzhang's land involves the vital interests of scholar-bureaucrats. I, Sun Dan, don't want to become the second Zhang Juzheng. Emperor, you should find someone else to do this kind of dirty work.

Seeing that Sun Dan was silent, Jiajing frowned slightly and thought for a moment.Suddenly applauded: "Yes, there is a way. There will definitely be resistance to clearing the land, because it involves many specific interests. Otherwise, I will decide whether they will stay or not according to the performance of the local officials in various places. Ups and downs. It means that you must increase after clearing the title, if it is the same as before, or less than before, then you are incompetent as an official and you will be dismissed for investigation.”

Sun Dan gave a "thump!" in his heart, and praised: What a clever little emperor, isn't this the method of Zhang Juzheng's examination?Facts have proved that this method is very effective. If you want to be an official, you have to increase the cultivated land.And at any time, there is no shortage of officials who are extremely eager for fame.If you don't do it, someone will naturally do it.In any case, it is the country that benefits in the end.

Sure enough, there are similarities between smart people, what Zhang Juzheng can think of, Jiajing can also think of.

Sun Dan was suddenly a little excited. It seemed that Jiajing was also an ideal monarch, and it was the right choice for him to be the chairman of the Ming Dynasty Company.Working under him can give full play to the ambitions in his chest.

(End of this chapter)