Regarding the land reform and tax reform, Zhu Yunying has only briefly mentioned it to Old Zhu. This matter is of great importance and certainly cannot be implemented immediately.
All of this requires further discussion and consideration, and we need to take as many things as possible into account. After all, Zhu Yunying hopes that the country will become stronger overall. Some policies do need to be discussed slowly, because even the best policies can be harmful if they are not implemented properly.
The idea of ensuring that farmers own their land is not only the people's wish, but also a dream for those in power, and it can even be said to be a foundation for the stability of the country.
Whether it was the equal-field system, the suppression of land annexation, or the integration of land tax and poll tax, Zhu Yunying didn't care. What he wanted was the ultimate solution: to ensure that the people had land to cultivate. As long as they had land and could survive, the likelihood of them rebelling would be low.
Ultimately, most peasant rebellions throughout history were simply because people couldn't survive, and rebellion was the only possible way for them to survive.
Zhu Yunying would never even consider abolishing agricultural taxes.
In modern feudal societies, especially in agrarian societies, a large portion of the country's tax revenue comes from agricultural taxes. To say that farming would be tax-free, or even subsidized by the government, would be centuries from now, only after the national economy has developed enough to consider abolishing agricultural taxes.
Of course, agricultural taxes still had to be paid before that. Zhu Yunying didn't intend to take such a big step all at once, and the Ming Dynasty at that time didn't have the conditions to say that agricultural taxes were abolished; such a thing was simply not possible.
In fact, Zhu Yunying was well aware that it was difficult to say that any policy was perfect, nor could any policy solve all problems once and for all. Each generation has its own mission, and Zhu Yunying had previously mentioned to his father that some things could not be inherited.
This was also one of the reasons why Zhu Yunying was somewhat dissatisfied with the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty," because it would be a constraint rather than a help to future generations. Often, change is necessary when it's time to change.
Old Zhu was in a good mood because his beloved grandson was definitely a good emperor. Being good to the people of the Ming Dynasty was one thing, but he also had ample experience in governing the country. Handing the empire over to his grandson naturally put Old Zhu at ease.
Zhu Yunying was in a good mood and continued to work in the Wuying Hall, handling state affairs. There were still quite a few things to do.
Meanwhile, to the north, Fu Youde, Xu Huizu, and others led their armies on a slow return journey to the capital. Having previously routed Yesu's main force, the Ming army had suffered heavy casualties.
Fortunately, after defeating the main force, Lan Yu and others led their army to sweep through some surrounding tribes. This time, they also plundered a lot of cattle, sheep, and horses, and captured many Mongol tribesmen, all of which were spoils of war for the Ming Dynasty.
Fighting a war cannot be just about fighting. Fu Youde and others clearly remembered some of the Emperor's instructions. In addition to killing the enemy on the battlefield, if they had the ability, they would also need to weaken the enemy's war potential.
For example, after defeating the main force of the Tartars in this expedition, the army did not immediately return. Although Lan Yu was somewhat disappointed that insufficient supplies and heavy casualties prevented them from making a long-distance raid on the Tartar royal court, they were able to wipe out the surrounding tribes and so on.
Cattle, sheep, horses, and other livestock were driven back to the Ming Dynasty. Those able-bodied men of the tribes who resisted were either slaughtered or captured and taken back to the Ming. Women and children were naturally also brought back bound. The elderly were left to fend for themselves on the grasslands.
Forget about being merciful; an army can't be merciful. Besides, if we're lenient with these people now, they won't be so merciful to the people of Ming when they raise their scimitars.
Everyone is well aware of these things, so when doing certain things, they are able to do them with ease and without any psychological burden.
The saying "a merciful general cannot command an army" is a principle everyone understands. Let alone figures like Fu Youde and Lan Yu, even someone like Xu Huizu, when the time comes to be ruthless, is more ruthless than anything else; there is absolutely no room for politeness or soft-heartedness.
The imperial army was slowly returning, while several fast horses galloped by, carrying urgent messages—some extremely important information.
The post stations along the way were somewhat bewildered. One moment they had just sent off a messenger bringing news of the imperial court's great victory in the north, and the next moment they received a messenger bringing news of the death of the Princess of Kaiping.
Both of these matters are extremely important. The imperial court's great victory goes without saying, and that is of paramount importance. However, the identity of the Princess of Kaiping is no secret, especially after the current emperor ascended the throne, which has made her status even more distinguished.
At this moment, Zhu Yunying was actually unaware of these matters, or rather, he simply didn't have a definite answer. He was probably aware of many things, but he just needed an answer.
Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although those nomadic peoples have been driven out of the Central Plains and are now busy fighting among themselves, they still possess considerable strength. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to achieve complete victory despite Zhu Di's numerous personal campaigns in history.
Moreover, there was the Tumu Crisis, even with the foolish antics of the "Gatekeeper Emperor." The fact that the Ming Dynasty's elite garrison of nearly 200,000 men was able to be almost completely annihilated demonstrates that the Tartars' fighting strength remained intact.
Zhu Yunying was well aware that there were too many uncertainties on the battlefield. Even though the Ming Dynasty had a large number of elite troops and superior weapons, it did not mean that everything was worry-free; there were still many uncertainties.
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