It's not that Zhu Yunying didn't care about literary talent; the Ming Dynasty needed a certain literary style. However, compared to literary talent, Zhu Yunying valued an official's ability more, not just their skill with a pen.

There was no need for Zhu Yunying to chat with Ru Chang; she preferred to get things done. Calling Ru Chang over was simply to remind her of a few things. Even though Ru Chang was her confidante, Zhu Yunying still needed to offer reminders from time to time.

Ultimately, an emperor is an emperor, with his own thoughts and ideas. Moreover, the imperial examination system was indeed the most important channel for recruiting talented individuals in the Ming Dynasty at that time, and it was something that could not be ignored.

After Ru Chang left, Yu Xin was also summoned to the Wuying Hall, and even the officials from the Ministry of Revenue who were sitting in the hall were not surprised.

Yu Xin was, after all, the Minister of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty, in charge of the nation's finances. It was normal for the emperor to summon him frequently; there was no need to make a fuss. If the emperor had consistently refused to summon Yu Xin, many people would have felt uneasy, or perhaps harbored ulterior motives.

"Give Yu Qing a seat," Zhu Yunying said to Wang Chengen.

Yu Xin thanked the emperor, but a sense of unease lingered in his heart. Although the land tax reform was underway and the promotion of banks was being considered, these matters were proceeding smoothly, as the emperor had inquired about a few days prior.

Even the most important matters shouldn't warrant asking three times a day; the previous Emperor Ying Shi wasn't like that.

Zhu Yunying spoke directly, asking, "Now that I think about it, things have been done well. How was the court's revenue last year?"

Yu Xin immediately replied, “Your Majesty, the court continues to vigorously promote land reclamation, reward land cultivation, and reduce the burden on the people. Last year, the land tax increased again, reaching 271 million shi.”

Zhu Yunying was not surprised by this answer. This number was slightly higher than that at the end of the Hongwu reign. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the amount of land, the number of households, and so on had been steadily increasing.

Yu Xin continued, “There are 11 million registered households and a population of over 55 million. There are 8.3 million hectares of arable land and 2 million hectares of military farmland.”

These figures did not surprise Zhu Yunying. Although they seemed numerous, they included fields, land, mountains, and marshes.

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "That's a good thing. There's no need to mention the amount of money; we probably already know the figure."

Yu Xin was speechless. Although the imperial court's finances were currently healthy, with annual revenue exceeding 25 million taels of silver including grain, the Ministry of Revenue still wanted to squeeze some money out of the imperial treasury.

Zhu Yunying asked with a smile, "How much silver is needed annually for the army's expenses?"

Yu Xin immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the dynasty did not wage war last year, and the total military expenditure was 5.7 million taels."

Zhu Yunying was not surprised by this figure. The military expenditure of the Ming Dynasty was indeed not low. Five million taels of silver for military pay, arms replacement, and so on was quite normal. Of course, the military households' land reclamation also amounted to nearly 20 million shi of grain each year, which was also a considerable sum.

As for why the output of military farms was so high, it was naturally due to the previous 20 million shi (a unit of dry measure), which was the land tax, a tax collected by the imperial court. Military farms, however, didn't have such strict regulations. Although some was also allocated to military households, the output of these military farms was counted, and differed from that of ordinary people's own farms.

Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "We must continue to cultivate farmland and improve the population registration system. Remember to prioritize people's livelihoods; the work of building water conservancy projects can never be delayed."

Yu Xin naturally knew these things. Whether it was the Hongwu Emperor or the Ying Shi Emperor, they had always attached great importance to the people's livelihood.

Despite the Ming Dynasty's current appearance of prosperity and the seemingly emerging golden age, it is still far from being a true golden age, and Zhu Yunying is far from satisfied.

In fact, Yu Xin understood that once the land tax system was implemented, the imperial court's revenue would definitely continue to increase. Moreover, with the court's continued development in Jingxiang, the area might also become a land of plenty, the next prosperous region south of the Yangtze River.

The position of Minister of Revenue is quite comfortable, much better than that of his predecessors, because the Ming Dynasty's financial strength is growing stronger.

But Yu Xin's happiness wouldn't last long. Summoning Yu Xin was obviously to ask for money!

7017k