Busy with important court affairs, Zhu Yunying was unaware that his empress and sisters were thinking of 'improving his meals' so he could have some fruit as a treat. For Zhu Yunying, however, the matters at hand were of utmost importance.
Zhu Yunying was proceeding with the Ming Dynasty's border stabilization plans and development plans for many regions in a methodical manner. Many things did not need to be rushed and required some time.
Zhu Yunying placed particular emphasis on financial matters.
Zhu Yunying carefully reviewed the documents, and felt more and more that what she should do was more important.
The Song, Liao, Jin, Yuan dynasties, and even the present-day Ming dynasty, have all ceased enacting laws limiting or equalizing land distribution. This signifies a significant relaxation of feudal legal intervention in private land ownership.
In short, although the Song Dynasty's legal code, the "Song Xing Tong," retained the content related to the equal-field system from the Tang Dynasty's laws, it was essentially a mere formality. The Northern Song court also stipulated the maximum amount of land that officials could own, with a first-rank official allowed 30 qing (a unit of land measurement) of land, which Emperor Huizong later relaxed to 100 qing.
However, during the Song Dynasty, the situation had reached a point where "wealth and poverty were not fixed, and land and houses had no fixed owners; those with money bought, and those without sold." During the Jin Dynasty, "people's land and property were sold according to their own convenience, and there were no prohibitions on selling land to others." Therefore, land annexation was called "powerful and wealthy" before the Tang Dynasty, but after the Song Dynasty, it was openly referred to as "landlordship," and was not only not subject to legal restrictions or punishment, but was also protected by various laws.
Zhu Yunying now attaches great importance to this matter, as the Ming Dynasty needs to continuously expand its territory.
At that time, the total cultivated land alone amounted to more than 890,000 hectares, accounting for one-tenth of the total cultivated land in the country. The estates of the royal family and nobles, as well as the official lands, each accounted for one-tenth of the total cultivated land.
According to Zhu Yuanzhang's system, the initial purpose of the military farms was entirely for supporting the army. Every military household was granted a plot of land, approximately fifty mu per household. Considering the scarcity or fertility of land in some areas, there were some exceptions, with the lowest being twenty mu, but the highest not exceeding one hundred and twenty mu.
The current military farms are required to pay a fixed amount of six shi (a unit of dry measure) of surplus grain each year as supplies for the army, while the remaining "regular grain" is disposed of by the military households themselves.
"We'll have to do another land survey soon, and we need to reform our Ming Dynasty's tax system," Zhu Yunying muttered to himself. "I'll go all out and try to open up 500 million mu of land out of the current 400 million mu. Except for a very small number of privately owned lands, all of this farmland will be nationalized in the future."
Land consolidation is a major threat; without land, farmers cannot survive, which can easily lead to unrest.
“But imperial power doesn’t extend to the countryside. My current land acquisition by the state is a good thing. But the corrupt officials or powerful clan leaders might cause some trouble.” Zhu Yunying stroked his chin with some worry. “The policy is good, but I’m afraid the people below will misinterpret it.”
If that were the case, Zhu Yunying would inevitably have to kill people, and his family would be wiped out.
"As for the population, we should definitely have 50 million." Zhu Yunying was a little worried, it still wasn't enough. "We have enough land now, but the population of the Ming Dynasty is growing faster and faster. It's not just my grandfather who is prolific, ordinary families are also thriving."
This naturally means that Zhu Yunying needs more land, and this cannot be taken lightly.
Ruthless, Zhu Yunying was never a soft-hearted person. He only appeared 'magnanimous' in small matters, unlike the old Zhu who made those around him tremble with fear. When he really wanted to be ruthless, Zhu Yunying didn't care about using some people's lives to secure the stability of the empire.
"The tax system also needs to be changed. Currently, the taxed grain is about 30 million shi, which averages out to about 7 sheng per mu. The people are under some pressure, but they can still make a living. Agricultural tax definitely cannot be abolished, don't even think about it. The military households' grain reserves are about 20 million dan, which is about 50 million."
There is no need to worry about food security for the time being; the food supply for both ordinary people and soldiers can be guaranteed.
“1.3 million bolts of brocade and 300,000 catties of silk floss.” Zhu Yunying muttered to himself, feeling a lot of pressure. “There are too many miscellaneous taxes, such as mining tax, salt tax, commercial tax, maritime tax, agricultural and silk tax, fish tax, temple rent, and military pay. Each of these can be eliminated.”
While none of these taxes can be eliminated, commercial taxes need to be increased. For ordinary people, the tax will no longer be solely based on land tax; instead, it will no longer be levied in summer with wheat, money, paper money, and silk, and in autumn with grain, money, paper money, and silk.
“With the Emperor still alive, we can start reforming the Single Whip Tax System.” Zhu Yunying thought for a moment and then suddenly laughed. “If I were to implement it, there would definitely be resistance. If the Emperor were to implement it, there would still be resistance, but there would be less pressure. Without those messy miscellaneous taxes, the people would be less exploited, and it would be easier to collect taxes.”
The Two-Tax System was still unacceptable. Zhu Yunying preferred the Land Tax System and the Single Whip Tax System. As long as they were implemented well, they would save the court and the people a lot of trouble.
As for the possibility of corrupt officials or lawless bureaucrats, Zhu Yunying was well aware that this was not something that could be easily eradicated.
Even with Zhu Yuanzhang's forceful suppression and crackdown, some officials still dared to embezzle and break the law. Even in later generations, many people, once they have power, think about seeking personal gain; such matters are indeed a long-standing struggle.
As emperor, Zhu Yunying certainly couldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater; he couldn't just focus on a few shortcomings. He needed to see the whole empire, to see if the overall direction was correct, and if the policies were beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.
These matters certainly require careful consideration. Zhu Yunying knew that the Ming Dynasty was currently well-established, and he probably didn't need to worry about policy changes causing widespread chaos. However, matters like taxation absolutely could not be taken lightly, and Zhu Yunying did not want policies intended to alleviate the people's burdens to become wasteful and burdensome.
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