Fast Travel: A Record of Unusual Creatures

In the next half month, Zhu Yuanzhang was apparently recuperating his body. Empress Ma stayed close to him and took care of him personally. Even Prince Zhu Biao often visited him.

But in fact they have been busy sorting out the history of the Ming Dynasty.

Use the information revealed by Ming history.

Peel away the cocoons and explore the more fundamental problems.

"Father, I feel that what the white parrot said is right. The root of many problems lies with you. I can't blame you entirely, but it is definitely related to you."

After all, my mother is right next to me.

Zhu Biao became emboldened and spoke frankly about his thoughts:

"There were many problems in the late Ming Dynasty, but the core problem was just one thing. There was no money. There was no money for disaster relief, so refugees were everywhere. There was no money to pay military salaries, so the soldiers mutinied. If the court could have 6000 to 80 million taels of silver every year Accounting, not to mention ZTE, but it will definitely be fine if it lives for another [-] or [-] years.

And why does the imperial court have no money?

Because the tax cannot be collected, because of the clan.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, just to support the clan, half of the revenue from the treasury had to be consumed, and this was still a situation where there were many deductions, and even direct debts were not paid. If the full amount was paid, the treasury would probably owe them money.

This is your decision, Father, no problem.

The vassal king committed many evil deeds and had a very bad reputation. At the same time, he annexed land wantonly. Officials and nobles also did the same. It can be said that as long as they had the ability to annex land, they were annexing it.

Even the emperors of later generations themselves were developing imperial estates.

These people don't pay taxes. How much land is left in the world to pay taxes, and how many people are left capable of paying taxes? How can the people survive? "

"My father banned the sea, but I read the records in the history books. During the ban, the Japanese pirates were never stopped. On the contrary, the economy of the coastal areas was damaged and the tax revenue was greatly reduced. Although Emperor Longqing reigned for a short time, he presided over The Longqing switch not only brought a lot of money.

Even the Japanese pirates along the coast disappeared one after another.

Because there are not many Japanese pirates along the coast, there are many merchant ships disguised as Japanese pirates for smuggling, as well as pirates.

If the sea cannot be banned, open the sea and collect taxes.

We should be able to get tens of millions more taels of tax money every year.

This money will not disappear out of thin air, but due to the ban on the sea, it has all gone into the hands of pirates and coastal families. "

"There are also problems caused by the fixed household registration. The descendants of craftsmen can only be craftsmen, and the descendants of doctors can only be doctors. The result is that all industries are in decline. The emperor cannot guarantee that every prince will become a talented person and every emperor will be a wise king. , craftsmen and doctors, how can they ensure that their descendants will have the talent of craftsmen and the talent of studying medicine?

Without talent, children and grandchildren can only inherit their father's legacy.

The result is that the skills of craftsmen are getting worse and worse.

Medical skills are getting worse and worse.

The problem of military households is even more serious. It is clearly recorded in the history of the Ming Dynasty that almost all military households became domestic slaves of thousands of households, repairing gardens, city walls, tombs, etc. for the emperor and even the emperor's relatives, just like slaves Generally, they were squeezed endlessly, and by the middle and late Ming Dynasty, they had already begun to flee in large numbers. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, not only did two-thirds of them escape, but most of them encountered peasant uprisings and the like.

They will also follow them one after another and raise volunteers together. "

When he said this, Zhu Yuanzhang had already picked up the bench. Although Zhu Biao was excited, he was not blind.

So shut up immediately and hide away.

"You little bastard, you are so rebellious. According to what you said, all the mistakes you made are my fault. Why don't you say that you descendants are useless and incompetent!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was roaring angrily, he actually knew very well in his heart that the root of many problems did lie with him. Some of the rules set by his ancestors were written into the ancestral precepts of Emperor Ming. How could future generations dare to do so? If you want to change it easily, even if you want to change it, the ministers with vested interests will hold up the immutable plaque of the ancestral law and try their best to stop it, so as not to damage their own interests.

There are actually cases of hundreds of thousands of households squeezing military households, but as soon as he finds out about them, he will punish them severely.

Just like when he discovered corrupt officials, he punished them severely.

He thought the situation would get better if it continued like this.

But now, the Ming history that Qu Jie instilled in them clearly states that the situation will not get better, but will only get worse, worse, and more excessive.

There are more and more corrupt officials.

Hundreds of thousands of households are exploiting military households more and more.

"Father, don't be so angry. Confucius said that you can correct your mistakes if you know them, and there is no greater good. I had a long chat with White Parrot yesterday, and White Parrot said that you should formulate an unshakable rule system in your imagination to ensure that our Zhu family It is simply impossible to maintain a country forever.

After all, as the saying goes, running water does not rot and door hinges do not get beetroots. The rules that you think are good now may become cancerous in a few years and the root of the country's ruin.

She also said that many officials can see the problems with the policies you have set. Anyone with a little foresight can see that your policies will cause endless harm in the future, but you are a murderer and refuse to listen to dissuasion. , who is willing to risk his life to advise you!

It is unpopular with civil servants, and I am talking about you.

Father, don't worry, those words just now were not mine. I was just repeating what the white parrot said. "

Zhu Biao is really brave.

He was avoiding Zhu Yuanzhang's attack while saying that it was probably because Qu Jie had always been rebellious and arrogant, and living well gave him the courage.

In the end, Queen Ma was the mediator.

Only then did the father and son sit down again and continue talking.

After that, of course, I will record all the problems and think deeply about how to solve them one by one.

But no matter how they discuss it.

They all find things difficult to handle.

The vassal king Zhu Yuanzhang could not bear to be treated harshly, and there were many Japanese pirates on the seaside who could not clear up the pirates for the time being, because the main focus of the Ming Dynasty was still to deal with Bei Yuan, and the military household Tuntian was still in a tax-free status, and the overall operation was good.

Most military households live better than ordinary people.

and the military household who later became almost a slave.

Not the same.

Generally speaking, many policies that will cause endless harm one or two hundred years later are quite timely now.

There is no better way to change it.

"Looking at it this way, wouldn't it be that all our efforts have been in vain? As long as future generations do not have the courage and ability to reform, won't the Ming Dynasty eventually die?

How could this be?

Isn’t there a way to have the best of both worlds! "

At the end of the discussion, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little depressed. He couldn't leave a special edict to guide future generations on how to reform. This is really unrealistic.

Without a capable future king, I always feel that no matter what solutions he leaves behind, they are useless.

"Father, why don't you ask the white parrot.

Although she has a bad temper and doesn't respect you very much, she does have something to say and every sentence makes sense!

Don't always think about solving problems by yourself. "

After getting along with each other for this period of time, although Zhu Biao did not necessarily have much trust in Qu Jie, he still fully recognized and respected Qu Jie's abilities and knowledge.