Zhu Yunying went to court early and sat on the dragon throne, patiently listening to the civil and military officials report on state affairs.
He was still very patient. Although he had informed Zhu Yuanzhang of some things, and the two of them had indeed discussed some matters in detail during this period, there was no need to bring it up in court immediately. They needed a suitable opportunity.
In fact, Zhu Yunying was well aware that although the Ming Dynasty had been established for thirty years, its national strength was indeed growing stronger. For Zhu Yunying, this was indeed a source of considerable satisfaction and pride.
"The court has won a great victory this time, and the north is temporarily at peace." Zhu Yunying slowly spoke, addressing the civil and military officials, "All departments should remember to assist in handling this matter, and the calculation of merits and rewards should not be delayed. The Governor-General's Office and the Ministry of War should submit their reports immediately."
No one was surprised by Zhu Yunying's words, and everyone felt that this was the right thing to do. In fact, these were things that Zhu Yunying, as emperor, should do; they were the duties of all the officials in the court.
Especially in the early days of the founding of the nation, if the rewards for meritorious soldiers are not properly distributed, then there will be big problems.
Zhu Yunying was well aware of certain things and was naturally quite at ease about them. He could now focus on resolving current issues and take this time to implement some significant reforms.
After the court session, Zhu Yunying returned to the Wuying Hall, where he had many matters to attend to. He also had a large amount of information brought to him, allowing him to focus on his tasks.
In the Ming Dynasty, population statistics and land system were very serious topics. This was because Emperor Zhu (the Hongwu Emperor) cared immensely about household registration issues; there were household registration certificates and yellow registers in the past.
At the beginning of the Hongwu reign, the population appeared small, less than one-tenth of that of the Song Dynasty. However, this included many hidden individuals, tenants or servants of wealthy families, and a considerable number of those who had fled.
The population of the Ming Dynasty is increasing rapidly, and Zhu Yunying is carefully studying the population growth patterns of the Ming Dynasty.
From about the first to the tenth year of the Hongwu reign, a population census was conducted. Around the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign, the Ming Dynasty began a 'population census', which also reflected the prosperity and peace of the Ming Dynasty, during which the population began to increase rapidly.
Especially after the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, local separatist forces were almost completely eliminated, and there were not many major enemies near the Ming Dynasty. It is no exaggeration to say that the population exploded; the number of registered households in the Ming Dynasty had long exceeded ten million, not even counting some people who might have been hidden.
Because the Ming Dynasty had already conducted land surveys, its land area was now approximately 400 million mu (about 26.7 million hectares), and the annual tax grain revenue reached 33 million shi (about 15 million bushels). This was pure tax grain, with no other taxes levied.
Concealing land and offering tribute were indeed instances. Just like hiding the population, even though the Ming Dynasty had been conducting population checks and strictly controlling household registration, such things did exist and were unavoidable.
Although there are no complete statistics yet, Zhu Yunying felt that the population had reached 100 million, and that the Ming Dynasty's strength was evident from this.
Of course, all of this is not enough. The Song Dynasty had a large population. Even without the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, the Song Dynasty's population was never small. The Ming Dynasty still needed to further improve its human resources, which is also a reflection of a nation's strength.
Zhu Yunying understood this principle very well, which was one of the reasons why he was so eager to promote land reform, as the Ming Dynasty was accumulating more and more land and population.
The land should support more people, support the ever-growing population of the Ming Dynasty, rather than become a tool for a tiny minority to amass wealth, or a means for some to control the peasants.
Zhu Yunying was very sensitive to these matters, and he knew very well that the current Da Mingyi really needed to do better.
A person without foresight will have immediate worries. Zhu Yunying did not want the Ming Dynasty to fall into a situation like the one in history where taxes could not be collected and people could not be supported. He did not want to see a small number of people taking the Ming Dynasty's salary and complaining about being poor, while preparing to surrender to the enemy when bandits or foreign tribes came.
This is no exaggeration. Whether it's criticizing the Ming Dynasty's imperial family or lamenting the arrival of the Little Ice Age, these are indeed reasons for the Ming Dynasty's decline. Even empty talk that led to the downfall of the country or internal strife were contributing factors.
Ultimately, however, it was because the people could no longer survive and had no choice but to rebel. The rebellions of figures like Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, coupled with the covetous gaze of the Jurchens, led to the fall of the Central Plains.
As long as the people have land to cultivate and can survive, it's difficult for widespread rebellions to occur. It's not that they can't survive, but few people want to risk their lives.
Zhu Yunying was quite confident about this. He knew he had to handle some policies properly and implement others. He didn't necessarily want to leave things for his descendants to deal with.
Despite being in a good mood, Zhu Yunying frowned as he looked at the memorial. He estimated that the court would be in turmoil again for some time to come, and there would definitely be no time to relax.
Thinking back, since Zhu Yunying became emperor, it seems that there has really been no peace and quiet. Quite a few things have happened, and all of them required his attention as emperor.
The beginning of his reign was chaotic, but fortunately, Zhu Yunying, as the crown prince, held a stable position. Coupled with Zhu Yuanzhang's deliberate support, Zhu Yunying maintained relatively stable control over the court. Unlike many new emperors who were busy consolidating power and building their own factions after ascending the throne, Zhu Yunying did not have these problems.
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