Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

"If we conquer it, who does the emperor plan to send to Korea?"

Xia Yuanji did not doubt Zhu Di's ability to take over Korea, but he attached great importance to who went to Korea.

After all, this is a place bordering the Northeast. If we let it go in a less reliable way, it would be like laying a mine for ourselves.

By now, the princes had used up most of them, and there was very little left.

The late emperor had a total of twenty-six sons.

The ninth and twenty-sixth sons died young.

The eldest, the second, the third, the eighth, the tenth, and the twelfth oldest all died during the Hongwu Dynasty for various reasons.

The seventh brother had more thoughts a few years ago and was demoted to a commoner. The nineteenth brother was just demoted.

The Fourteenth Prince's fief was originally in Ganzhou, but now he has gone to Ryukyu.

The fifteenth brother went to Ceylon.

The Seventeenth went to Jiaozhi.

At present, those who remain in Beijing are very down-to-earth and work hard.

Lao Wu is in charge of the Royal Botanical Gardens in the capital, where he cultivates various high-quality varieties of vegetables, fruits and grains for the country, and researches agricultural tools, tools and green manures that are compatible with farming.

Lao Shiba was unwilling to return to his fiefdom, and was busy with flood control in the Ministry of Works, working diligently and conscientiously.

The Twentyth Brother did not go to be a feudal lord, but instead made the "Beijing News" very popular in the capital.

The twenty-second, twenty-third and twenty-fourth brothers also did not become fiefs. Instead, they worked in the Royal Commerce Bureau and were engaged in maritime trade. It is said that they are doing well now.

The remaining ones that have not been moved are: the sixth prince of Chu, Zhu Zhen, is in his fiefdom in Wuchang. The eleventh prince of Shu, Zhu Chun, is in Shu. The thirteenth prince, Zhu Gui, is in Datong. The sixteenth prince of Qing, Zhu Chan, is in Ningxia.

Ah, yes, there is also an Old Twenty-One who has almost no presence in Beijing and has no full-time job.

So, now, at most, there are five.

The Eleventh and Thirteenth Princes are brothers. Prince Gu, who was just demoted to a commoner, is born of the same mother as these two. It is estimated that Zhu Di would not use them.

So, there are only three left that can be used.

"If all else fails, my sixth uncle, the King of Chu, will do it."

Zhu Gaochi actually hoped that his father would be able to bring back some children from his uncles' families during this trip, but the fact was that Zhu Di didn't like any of them.

It can only be used by people of his father's generation.

"Can the King of Chu use it?"

Xia Yuanji is not very optimistic.

In his early years, the King of Chu was quite capable of fighting, and he was sent by the previous emperor to suppress rebellions and had a good record. But at the end of the Hongwu period, he took the military pay but did not personally command the army, and even the previous emperor could do nothing about him.

"He is good at changing his attitude according to the situation. In the first year of Yongle, he was the first to send the guards to cultivate the land. He was very sensible. When my father fought against Jiaozhi, he also sent the guards of the palace to follow him."

Zhu Gaochi could imagine the feelings of his sixth uncle.

Their father let these capable fighters fight to the death, but in the end their fiefs were not as big and rich as those of the smaller ones. It was time for someone else to be the emperor, so putting some money in the pocket was the serious matter, and appearing less capable was the right thing to do.

The King of Chu was not the only one who stood idly by and watched his father's rebellion.

But in these years, the King of Chu has been very obedient, and his father gave away the position of the Chief of the Clan Affairs Bureau.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xia Yuanji thought about it for a moment and said nothing more.

The two men turned to discuss other important matters in the court.

The most important thing is that Zhang Xin once discussed with Zhu Gaochi whether to exempt the land tax.

This certainly cannot be done now. Thirty million dan of grain is also a very important source of income for the national treasury.

Throughout the dynasties, land tax has always been a part of the country's fiscal revenue, and in many dynasties it was the bulk of fiscal revenue.

In Zhu Gaochi's opinion, agricultural tax was not just a matter of money, but also involved how to manage the people, so it could not be easily exempted.

But as Zhang Xin said, the extremely powerful Han Dynasty did exempt the land tax, and two highly regarded emperors, Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Jing of Han, did it.

Not bad!

Zhu Gaochi checked the classics and found that Emperor Wen of Han was the first emperor in history to completely exempt agricultural taxes.

When Zhu Gaochi was studying, he actually read the history of Han Dynasty.

However, teachers tend to gloss over the Han Dynasty emperors in a cursory manner, only summarizing that during the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing of Han, "taxes and levies were light" and "the people were given a rest."

This time he checked it carefully and was really shocked.

So, in order not to shock only him, he shared a tall stack of related books with Xia Yuanji.

After court every day, the two of them would always discuss this matter.

"Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty abolished the land tax for the first time. What's even more amazing is that after the abolition of the land tax, the treasury revenue of the Han Dynasty did not decrease but increased. During the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, the Taicang and Ganquan warehouses were full, and the price of grain was repeatedly reduced, to more than ten coins per stone of millet."

Xia Yuanji was very busy, but he took time out every day to read a little bit, and was as shocked as Zhu Gaochi.

"Lord Xia's further work is even more amazing. He changed the male labor service from once a year to once every three years."

Zhu Gaochi could not have imagined that taxation could be reduced and the people could rest, so much so that taxation could be completely eliminated and the people could rest once every three years.

"I haven't seen it yet..."

Xia Yuanji felt a little ashamed.

"No rush. During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, there was a lot of work to be done after the harsh rule of the Qin Dynasty. It was very different from us. If we want to do this, we have to think it through first."

Zhu Gaochi comforted.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Xia Yuanji bowed and responded.

"Let's go back. When Lord Xia has seen more than half of it, we can discuss it again."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Only after Xia Yuanji left did Zhu Gaochi walk towards the Wenhua Hall.

Xia Yuanji couldn't discuss it for now, but he could still discuss it with Zhang Xin.

At any time, any policy must be based on the current situation and learn from the lessons of predecessors before it can be promulgated.

The reason why I want to share it with Xia Yuanji is because it is related to money.

A single move can have a profound impact.

When he read the history of Han Dynasty, he also read the history of Qin Dynasty.

After the Qin Dynasty unified the six kingdoms, the land tax was one tenth, or 10%.

It doesn't look like much.

But if you look closely, during the Qin Dynasty, in addition to paying land taxes, the common people had to pay a head tax of 180 coins per person per year, perform corvée labor once a year, and pay numerous other taxes.

The Qin Dynasty, like the Ming Dynasty, emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce.

But in fact, ordinary people had to sell their family surplus for a year for money, and they had to pay more than half of the money they earned as commercial taxes.

This commercial tax is ridiculously high.

In the first year of Emperor Wen's reign, he learned from the Qin Dynasty's experience and changed the tax rate from 10% to 15%. The head tax became 120 coins per person. Other taxes were also slightly reduced.

Even so, ordinary people were barely surviving.

"Han Shu·Shihuo Zhi" records that in the early Han Dynasty——

In spring, they plough, in summer, they weed, in autumn, they harvest, in winter, they store, they cut firewood, they manage government offices, they do corvée labor. In spring, they cannot avoid the wind and dust, in summer, they cannot avoid the heat, in autumn, they cannot avoid the rain, in winter, they cannot avoid the cold. In the four seasons, there is no day to rest.

Just a few dozen words fully describe the hardships of ordinary people's lives.

They are busy from the beginning to the end of the year, without a single day off. They have to work even in strong winds, scorching heat, rainy days, or cold winters. Only in this way can they ensure that the annual foreign affairs they need are enough to pay the taxes to the government.