Daming: Stealing Chen Yuanyuan at the beginning

Chapter 21 I have something to save the people, and collect commercial taxes

Governing the country is a myriad of things, and it has never been an easy task, and it is not something that will be seen immediately after issuing some government orders.

After Li Cunming traveled to the Ming Dynasty, he has been planning how to clean up the mess and how to turn the world around.

His original plan was to use his knowledge advantages to rectify the Ming Dynasty's long-standing abuses after moving the capital to Nanjing, take care of half of the country, strengthen the army and strengthen the country, so as to drive out the Tartars and recover the rivers and mountains.

Reluctantly, the situation forced him to move to Ningling County, and made a grand military plan that the prince supervised the country and the emperor was on the front line.Of the countless cities in the 13 provinces of the Ming Dynasty, only the small Ningling County was in the hands of the emperor, which is sad and ridiculous!

"That's fine, let's take Ningling as a pilot area, start farming and develop, and start to show your talents!" Li Cunming adjusted his mentality and calmed down.

Although there are many things, there are three things that are crucial to the king of a country.

One is money, the other is soldiers, and the third is power.

To grasp these three things is to grasp the most fundamental and substantive problems.Otherwise, everything is empty talk, no matter how hard you try, you are just Chang Kaishen, a master of micromanagement!
Among them, money is the most important thing. With money, you can support the army, and with the army, you can bring authority.

After Li Cunming cleared his mind, he decided to start with the word "money", starting with solving tax problems and famines, and step by step to clean up and rectify bad governance, and to clean up people's hearts bit by bit.

In the early morning of this day, Li Banghua and other ministers went to the county government hall for "early court" as usual, but there was no sign of the emperor.A Jin Yiwei came to announce the decree, saying that it will be held in the pavilion in the back garden this morning.

The spring is cold, and hoarfrost hangs in the garden in the morning.Li Banghua and the others breathed hot air, rubbed their hands together and came to the gazebo, only to see the emperor squatting beside a pot of charcoal fire, holding tongs in his hand and fiddling with some round things.

"Dear dears, it's so cold in the early morning, I'm sorry to let you go to the gazebo to experience the cold. Come, come in and enjoy the fire, I treat you to something good!" Li Cunming greeted.

Gong Yonggu fluttered his nostrils and asked, "It smells so good! Your Majesty, what are you baking?"

"Potato."

"Potatoes?" The ministers looked blank.

Li Cunming smiled and said: "Why, you haven't heard of this thing? This thing came from the West. In my Shanglin Garden, there is a vegetable farmer who specializes in vegetable cultivation. He once planted and cultivated some potatoes. During the palace banquets during the New Year and holidays, There are also dishes made of potatoes. Have you forgotten?"

Jiang Dejing suddenly realized, and dropped his book bag: "I remember, I also ate it. I remember that Xu Guangqi's "Nongzheng Quanshu" recorded this thing, soil taro, a potato, and a yellow solitary. The vine leaves are like Beans, the roots are round like chicken eggs, the flesh is white and the skin is yellow, it can be boiled in ashes juice or steamed. It can also be boiled in taro juice and washed greasy clothes, it is as white as jade."

"I also remembered that this thing was first introduced to the land of Minyue in our country. The flowers are very beautiful. But the common people don't grow it much, and it is rumored that this thing is poisonous." Li Banghua added.

"It's poisonous or not, you'll know if you eat it." Li Cunming picked up a baked potato, patted off the charcoal and ashes, and when it was broken open, the aroma overflowed.

When the potatoes cooled down a bit, Li Cunming started to eat them with big mouthfuls.The courtiers watched him eat it eagerly, knowing that the rumors that the potatoes were poisonous were not true, they all secretly swallowed their saliva.

"Why are you staring blankly, hurry up and eat, the roasted potatoes have a unique taste, and they are even more delicious after being smeared with sauce!" Li Cunming greeted.

The courtiers each picked up a baked potato, and at first they ate it cautiously out of etiquette.Afterwards, eat with gusto and relish.

"It's good...it's delicious, huh, it's burning me to death..." Gong Yonggu yelled at being burned while wolfing down his food.

"Sweet and delicious!" Li Banghua exclaimed.

Li Cunming said solemnly: "Potatoes are the most filling, but you should not eat too much, let alone drink too much water after eating."

"Why?" Gong Yonggu asked.

"Because there are too many farts!" Li Cunming blinked.

The ministers were taken aback for a moment, and then laughed.

They found that the emperor had really changed. When he was serious, he was decisive, wise and wise, but in private, he was approachable and amiable. Tang Zong and Song Zu were no different, right?
"In addition to potatoes, there is another thing here. It's called corn. The people in the Minyue area call it fanmai. It was also imported from the West." Li Cunming pointed to the hundreds of sacks in front of the rockery, which were filled with potatoes. and corn seeds.

These potatoes and corn were obtained by Li Cunming when he checked in with positive emotions last night.

The system is really a good father. Although the rewards are determined randomly, Li Cunming can also see that every reward is what he needs urgently at the moment.

"Dear dear friends, don't underestimate these two ordinary things, and don't be prejudiced because they come from the West. Tell you clearly that they are resistant to barrenness and drought. They can be planted on mountainous and flat lands, and their yields are very high. Outrageous."

"I solemnly tell you that potatoes and corn can save the people, and if they are widely planted, there is hope for the revival of my Ming Dynasty!"

The courtiers listened to the emperor's words very solemnly, stopped chewing, and seriously understood what the emperor said.

And Li Cunming is not exaggerating, the reason why he dares to make such an assertion is based on history.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, peasant uprisings were raging. First, land annexation led to tense conflicts between people and land. Second, population expansion encountered disasters brought about by the Little Ice Age, which led to a serious food crisis.

Some people in later generations always use the "Kang-Qian prosperity" to wash the ground for the Manchus, saying that the peak of the Little Ice Age was during the Kangxi period, how could Kangxi withstand it and create a prosperous situation, and Chongzhen can't stand it? ?
These people intentionally or unintentionally ignored two points. First, after more than 20 years of wars and famines in the late Ming Dynasty, the population dropped sharply, which alleviated the conflict between man and land to a certain extent;
The most important point is the promotion of high-yielding crops such as potatoes and corn.With the increasing of their planting area and the substantial increase of their output, the domestic population has increased rapidly, reaching 200 million after [-] years.

After the population expanded, the Qing Dynasty still had sharp contradictions between people and land, which still triggered large-scale peasant uprisings.

Even worse than the Ming Dynasty, it was reduced to a weakling that the western powers scrambled to rob and trample. How many treaties were signed to humiliate the country, and it has never been so humiliating in the 5000-year history!

Thinking of these, Li Cunming couldn't be calm for a long time.The courtiers looked at his expression sometimes serious, sometimes angry, sometimes full of hope, and they all stood up straight at the same time.

"Your Majesty, I'm starting to promote the cultivation of potatoes and corn." Jiang Dejing said.

Li Cunming said: "It's spring, this matter is indeed very important. However, the population of Ningling is withered. First, a large number of people must be recruited to supplement the labor force, so that a large area of ​​wasteland can be reclaimed. As for how to grow potatoes and corn, I will personally teach the farmers .”

After a pause, he announced his will:

"From now on, the three rates will be abolished. When the refugees go to Ningling to open up wasteland and farm land, all unowned land can be reclaimed at will. After paying taxes for three years, they can become the owners of the reclaimed land. In addition, the payment of taxes does not need to be converted into silver. , and can also directly turn over the grain.”

The three rates refer to the tax increases that were repeatedly levied during the Chongzhen period in order to suppress the rebellion and fight against the establishment of slaves.

The heavy burden of these three kinds of tax increases fell on the peasants. This is how the saying "Chongzhen Chongzhen, re-levy every year" came about. In the end, farmers were forced to leave their hometowns rather than farm the land and pay taxes.

"Your Majesty, now that the rebellion is not over, and the three salaries are abolished, I'm afraid the treasury will be empty in the future..." Jiang Dejing frowned.

Li Cunming said: "I just abolished exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes to reduce the burden on farmers, but I didn't say no to collecting taxes. Natural disasters and man-made disasters continue, and the burden on farmers is too heavy. It's time to recuperate. Besides, I can also collect taxes from merchants..."

Before he finished speaking, Li Banghua said loudly: "No, increasing commercial taxes is to compete with the people for profit, and the people in the world will be full of resentment!"

(End of this chapter)