Seeing the emperor waving his hand and letting him go back, Wei Zhongxian breathed a sigh of relief and left as if he had been pardoned.
After Wei Zhongxian left, Zhu Youxiao slowly drank his tea. This weather was perfect for warming your hands with some roasted sweet potatoes.
After these days, Zhu Youxiao discovered that being the emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually had an easy life.
Memorials from all over the country must first be submitted to the cabinet, where the cabinet ministers will write down their opinions on how to deal with them. Then they will be presented to the emperor, who will decide the final solution.
If the emperor felt that the cabinet's proposal was not good, he could send the memorial directly back to the cabinet without approving it, and the cabinet ministers would draft a new solution. Sometimes the emperor was too lazy to approve the proposal and would hand it over to the eunuchs in the Silijian who were close to him.
Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian, who were both extremely powerful at the time, were eunuchs who were trusted by the emperor. Due to the emperor's laziness, these people had the opportunity to usurp power.
Zhu Youxiao calmed himself down, looked at the pile of memorials in front of him, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
It's likely that Wei Zhongxian's trip would have caused quite a few officials harm. If he could have purged some officials who were detrimental to him, he could have promoted some capable officials. There really was no shortage of talented people in this era, but they simply weren't being utilized to their full potential.
Zhu Youxiao nodded slightly and began to think about which minor officials to promote. Although Zhu Youxiao did not know the talents and loyalty of most civil and military officials, he did know most of the historical figures.
As he thought about it, he realized one thing: what should he do after promoting talents? Moreover, getting things done also requires money. Whether in the past life or this life, money is omnipotent, and time travel is not omnipotent!
But there was probably not much money in the treasury right now. As for how much money he had, he really didn't know, so he could only ask his butler, Wang An.
Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao was stunned for a moment, put down the teacup and shouted to the door: "Go and ask Wang An to come see me."
Wang An hadn't been busy lately, but he had plenty of trivial matters to attend to. Before he could even warm his butt, he was summoned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity by the Emperor.
"Wang An, how much silver do I have in the treasury?" Zhu Youxiao asked, muttering to himself: Don't tell me that the treasury is in deficit.
Wang An was slightly stunned. He happened to know the answer to this question. When Emperor Tianqi ascended the throne, he was ordered as the chief steward to check the silver in the inner treasury.
He sighed and replied slowly: "Your Majesty, there are still 17 million taels of silver and 30,000 taels of gold in the inner treasury." Needless to say, there is definitely no money in the national treasury.
Upon hearing this number, Zhu Youxiao was delighted at first. If he kept so much gold in the future, he could have a life of luxury, drive a sports car, and live in a villa.
After being happy, he suddenly realized that he was now the ruler of a country. He was afraid that if he gave the money to ministers who had made great contributions a few times, he would be left with nothing.
It's obvious that the Tianqi Emperor was a pauper! Zhu Youxiao wailed in his heart. You know, in the 36th year of Qianlong's reign, the annual treasury revenue was 37 million taels of silver, and that was just the annual income!
"How much is the annual income of the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Youxiao asked with a glimmer of hope.
"Your Majesty, the annual income is approximately 5.21 million taels of silver."
Zhu Youxiao was stunned when he heard Wang An's words. So little? You have to know that the Ming Dynasty's trade and capital were much stronger than the Qing Dynasty at that time, but the annual revenue was so different...
The only reason was that many people did not pay taxes. Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao's heart was bleeding, as if he saw a lot of real money flying away, so he silently made a big note for these people in his heart.
Who among those who try every possible way to evade taxes doesn't own thousands of acres of fertile land and countless businesses? Most of these people say one thing and do another, talking about morality but exploiting the people.
They annexed land, engaged in smuggling, and carried out maritime trade. It can be said that every family was rich, but they always wanted to avoid paying taxes. Therefore, the Donglin Party advocated "focusing" on agriculture and suppressing commerce, so as to keep wealth among the people.
My cheap father, Emperor Taichang, had a wrong understanding of the principle of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce. Prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce did not mean levying heavy agricultural taxes, but rather collecting less or even no taxes. However, the Donglin Party distorted this theory, arguing that agriculture was the primary source of state taxation and should be heavily taxed, while merchants, owing to their low status, should be taxed less.
It is this group of people who, over the years, have tampered with the tax books to evade a large amount of taxes and have always advocated for taxing farmers. These people not only evade taxes but also because of their huge power, they are more unscrupulous and do almost anything.
In the court, there were few people who truly wanted to do practical things for the people. Most officials attacked others in court, marginalized weaker officials at the local level, and acted in collusion with the corrupt and against their conscience.
As the imperial court continued to pressure local governments to meet quotas, an increasing burden was shifted onto the peasants, who had no wealth or influence and were unable to protect themselves from extortion. They were ultimately faced with two unavoidable choices:
They sold their land at pitifully low prices to powerful gentry, renting it as tenants themselves, paying high rents in exchange for protection; or they abandoned their land and fled, hoping for better conditions elsewhere. Regardless of their choice, the land either became barren or fell into the hands of the gentry. The government's quotas continued to weigh heavily on the remaining farmers, perpetuating a vicious cycle.
The burden of taxes became unbearable, not because they were high, but because many of them had to be paid in silver, which was very difficult for farmers to obtain.
Many people had no land or could not tolerate the exploitation of the landlords and became refugees. This is why so many people followed Xu Hongru's White Lotus Rebellion.
Furthermore, during this era, the Earth was in the midst of a minor ice age, with frequent natural disasters. The severe drought in Shaanxi left countless people without their land, and the government pressured the people to revolt, leading to the rise of Gao Yingxiang, Zhang Xianzhong, and Li Zicheng.
The peasant uprising in Shaanxi became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the Ming Dynasty.
It can be said that the Ming Dynasty fell due to external pressures, but it was largely due to the fault of these tax-evading gentry. If these people were not eliminated, the Ming Dynasty would have no hope.
Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help rubbing his temples.
Who says being an emperor is easy? It's really hard to be a wise ruler!
If one wants to clarify the administration of officials, the first step is to use force to eliminate the bureaucratic clique, and the second step is to reform the administration of officials and cut redundant staff.
However, there is a prerequisite, that is, to hold military power in one's own hands. If there are no soldiers who can fight, it is impossible to use iron-fisted policies to clarify the administration and reform the official system.
At present, the Ming Dynasty is under the control of the military by civilian officials. How easy would it be for Zhu Youxiao to take back the military power and build his own troops?!
In this case, there is no need to rush for military power. First, use Wei Zhongxian to disgust some officials in the court who like to stir up trouble, and then confiscate their property to fill the national treasury.
After all, it’s easier to get things done if you have money, right?
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