Father can be an enemy to the country

Lao Liu and Lao Liu have been thinking about how to save Daming?

Some people may think that things that will happen more than two hundred years later are beyond their reach, and they can't control that far if they want to.

But in fact, it can be managed, because of four words - ancestors established the law.

The scholar-bureaucrats of the Ming Dynasty used these four words to drive the emperors of later generations to piss. The heirs could only dance in chains under the rules set by Emperor Hongwu, and could not cross the thunder pool even half a step.

The simplest example is still four words - an iron ticket to avoid death.

This thing is not easy to use at Boss Zhu's place, and it has no life-saving effect at all.

But when it comes to later generations of emperors, it will be awesome. It can really avoid death. With this thing, in more than two hundred years, the unscrupulous descendants of the nobles have never been beheaded for their misdeeds.

Because this thing was issued by the emperor's ancestors. Later emperors cannot openly violate the will of their ancestors, which is the source of their power and the legitimacy of their rule. Who dares to make such a joke?

It turns out that Boss Zhu is also a setting maniac, and has set countless rules and regulations for his descendants, subjects, court, and army. It is no exaggeration to say that for more than two hundred years after the Ming Dynasty, it basically operated within the framework set by him.

This set of ancestral laws cannot be said to be unsuccessful, because it allowed the Ming Dynasty to operate smoothly for more than two hundred years. But bad is also really bad. All kinds of shortcomings in the future of the Ming Dynasty, and even the reasons for the country’s subjugation, basically come from this.

If you prosper by this, you will perish by this. It is really appropriate to apply it to the Ming Dynasty and this set of ancestral laws.

But now, Boss Zhu has not written his "Huangming Ancestral Instructions", and the ancestral law has not yet been formed. At this time, trying to push Boss Zhu to formulate a more reasonable legal system, abolish those bad policies that have caused endless harm, and make the ancestors' laws more reasonable are the most important things for the master and apprentice to do at the moment.

~~

"Of course, let the Ministry of Household Affairs truly be in charge of the country's money and grain revenue and expenditure." So Lao Liu said without hesitation: "The tax revenue of various states and counties must be handed over to the court in full and uniformly distributed by the central government. The two lines of revenue and expenditure must be strictly enforced. No sitting is allowed. It’s time to make ends meet.”

"This requires a lot of action..." The prince pondered for a while and said with a wry smile: "This is beyond my ability, and my father has always been very proud of the system he formulated to provide supplies nearby without disturbing the people. Even nine cows can't pull back what the old man believes in."

"Actually, there is a way. I have raised cattle and I know that if you follow it, it will obey you." Zhu Zhen gave Zhu Biao an idea.

"You brat, what do you say about your father? Is he just like a cow?" The prince hit him on the head and laughed himself after speaking. "It seems pretty much the same. Okay, keep talking."

"My father abolished the provinces and divided the power into three divisions. To be honest, it was to strengthen the centralization of power, right?" Lao Liu asked.

"Yes." The prince nodded.

"Then my father won't be disgusted with any method of centralizing financial power, right?" Lao Liu asked again.

"Yes." The prince continued to nod. "Will not."

"Then why not take advantage of this local power reorganization to send Household Department officials to the local areas and directly take over the local government warehouses and treasury?" Lao Liu continued:

"Of course, it is too unrealistic to directly take over the warehousing at the county level. We can make a compromise first and transfer the tax and grain from the county to the province. In this way, the Ministry of Household Affairs only needs to send twelve working groups to achieve direct management by the central government. Warehousing in all provinces.”

"Yes." The prince's eyes lit up and he asked: "You just said that there are two lines of income and expenditure. Now that I know how to charge, how should I spend it?"

"The memorial system." Lao Liu said solemnly: "Didn't my father set up the Chief Envoy Department to manage the finances of each province? They will be responsible for reporting to the Ministry of Household Affairs."

"Memorandum?" The prince felt like a primary school student who had been opened to a new world.

"It means reporting expenses to the imperial court. After the imperial court reviews them, the corresponding amounts will be written off from the accounts of each province." Zhu Zhen explained:

"Daily expenditures can be reported on an annual basis, with a budget at the beginning of the year and final accounts at the end of the year. If there is a war or major construction, expenditures can also be reported at any time. This is not troublesome, and you can grasp the actual financial situation of each province, and then make decisions between provinces. When there is surplus and there is shortage, we should slow down and then rush, so as to maintain the balance of the country's overall finance."

"If it works, then the financial power of each province will also be controlled by the imperial court," the prince said excitedly: "The financial resources that the imperial court can mobilize will be ten times what they are now!"

"That's right." Zhu Zhen asked with a smile: "Brother, do you think this will be a big temptation for your father?"

"Big, too big." The prince nodded heavily and said: "And you can just improve the existing system, there is no need to tear it down and start over! It will be much easier for my father to accept it."

"Of course." Zhu Zhen nodded with a smile.

The fiscal revenue of the Ming Dynasty was originally quite large, especially after the Longqing Switch, two-thirds of the world's silver poured into the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, it could not be used by the central government. After the three major levies emptied the national treasury, there was no money to build slaves. .

It is because there is no unified financial system that the imperial court cannot adjust the surplus to the deficiencies among the provinces. They could only blindly squeeze the northern farmers, but were overthrown by the peasant uprising.

In fact, Zhu Zhen's memorial and sales method was forced out in the last years of Chongzhen. If this system is implemented, a unified financial system can be established. The court can spend as much money as it wants, and it can kill a wild boar skin.

It's a pity that the state machinery was already rotten at that time, and the Ming Dynasty was over before this system had time to work. As a result, the Manchus were advantaged, allowing them to rule the huge China with a very small population...

In any case, establishing a unified financial system is the only way for a country to become strong. The memorial sale method is at least two hundred years more advanced than his father's nearly non-existent financial system, and it will not adapt to the local environment.

So Zhu Zhen, under the banner of Liu Bowen, strongly recommended it to his eldest brother.

~~

The two brothers chatted about this for a long time, until the harem was about to close, and the prince reluctantly sent him back.

"Come and chat more when you have time in the future. When the conversation is thorough, we two brothers will report to our father together." Zhu Biao held his hand affectionately and said.

"Well, it's better for the eldest brother to tell the father himself." Zhu Zhen said very self-awarely: "I violated the relationship with the father, and I had to be beaten for talking about it. It's better for the eldest brother to tell it himself."

"Oh, my father doesn't say it, but I actually admire you very much." Zhu Biao sighed and wanted to touch his head, but found that his younger brother had already reached his shoulders, and it was no longer appropriate to touch his head. Then he patted him on the shoulder and said:

"Lao Liu, you have really grown up and made so much progress. Big brother can't wait for you to become a disciple."

As he spoke, he lowered his voice and said: "My father is going to let me handle the affairs of the country. Brother, I feel really unsure. If you help me, I will feel much more at ease."

"Brother, don't have too high hopes. I'm just talking. If I really work, I'm afraid it will only cause trouble for you." Zhu Zhen is very self-aware.

"It's okay. I want to learn, and you should learn too. With your intelligence, you can definitely learn it." The prince said confidently.

ps. Write another chapter.