Given that this was a year conducive to rebellion, Zhu Yunying didn't say much. As long as the Ming Dynasty was stable, there was naturally no need to worry about too many things.
The chaos outside is fine, it might even have some advantages for the Ming Dynasty. Whether it's taking advantage of the situation or using it as a pretext, proper management is more in line with the Ming Dynasty's strategic intentions.
If you really think about it that way, it might not be such a bad thing after all, and Zhu Yunying wouldn't find it unacceptable. He could just happily watch the show and launch a military campaign when the time was right.
Right now, we should focus more on the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty, as this is a more important matter. Only when our own strength is outstanding enough can we carry out the next series of plans.
Zhu Yunying wouldn't do something that neglects the essentials and focuses on the trivial. Although the Ming Dynasty had indeed become increasingly powerful after more than thirty years of development, Zhu Yunying still needed to be careful and not act rashly.
After the morning court session, Zhu Yunying summoned his key officials to the Wuying Hall to discuss matters concerning the autumn taxes of the Ming Dynasty. He was particularly concerned about the issue of merging the poll tax into the land tax.
As the Minister of Revenue, Yu Xin also had the right to speak on this matter: "Your Majesty, after two years of land surveying, the Ming Dynasty has a total of 5,107,000 hectares of land. Compared with the statistics in the 26th year of Hongwu, the land area has decreased by nearly 3 million hectares."
Zhu Yunying was generally satisfied with this data.
In the 26th year of the Hongwu reign, the Ming Dynasty compiled a figure of 8.5 million hectares, which was somewhat unrealistic.
In short, in the fourteenth year of the Hongwu reign (1380), the Ming Dynasty had less than four million hectares of land and less than three million shi of tax grain. By the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1380), the total land area was only three million eight hundred thousand hectares, and the tax grain was three million two hundred thousand shi.
The statistics for the 26th year of the Hongwu reign are quite exaggerated. They represent more than double the amount of farmland, exceeding four times the amount of farmland during the Yuan Dynasty. This is simply too much of an exaggeration.
Seeing this number, someone who didn't know better might think that Zhu Yunying squandered nearly half of the Ming Dynasty's wealth in just three years after ascending the throne.
However, this excludes some garrison lands. The farmland of the garrison was military settlements and therefore could not be considered ordinary farmland. These military settlements were also not included in the tax payment.
Ultimately, it was a military settlement. First of all, it was a military settlement. Although the military households took a portion of the grain to support their families, most of it was taken by the imperial court.
It is certain that the territory of the Ming Dynasty was continuously increasing. The Ming Dynasty still had much untapped potential, and Zhu Yunying did not believe that the apparent loss of half the territory meant he was squandering resources or that there was serious land annexation; rather, he saw it as a form of growth.
Through continuous land reclamation, including the ongoing development of Huguang (Hubei and Hunan provinces) and the incorporation of some land in Liaodong, and most importantly, the clearing out of many hidden territories by powerful clans, the amount of farmland in the Ming Dynasty increased significantly.
Zhu Yunying nodded slightly and said with a smile, "I remember in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the tax was seven sheng of grain per mu. Now we don't need to reduce taxes, and the Ming Dynasty should have no less than three and a half million shi in revenue this year."
At this moment, Yu Xin said with a smile, "Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous. The grain tax is set at seven liters per mu. This year has also been blessed with favorable weather, so I imagine there will be even more grain stored up."
The grain tax in the Ming Dynasty wasn't particularly high to begin with, and in some areas, the "equalization of land tax and poll tax" has reduced some of the exorbitant levies. While this still poses a burden for many farmers, overall the pressure has certainly been reduced considerably.
Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "The Emperor Emeritus came from a poor background and knows best the hardships of farmers. Now that the Ming Dynasty is prosperous and the people are at peace, we can live up to the Emperor Emeritus's good intentions. Wang Chengen, send the memorial to the Qianqing Palace and ask the Emperor Emeritus to review it."
At this moment, Bao Zhao from the Ministry of Justice also said, "Your Majesty, although the Two-Tax System has been abolished in the two capitals, there are still officials who collect exorbitant taxes and levies to harass the people. I request that Your Majesty order a thorough investigation into this matter."
For the people of the Ming Dynasty, although the grain tax was not much, they often had to pay more than just the grain tax. The various miscellaneous taxes were an even heavier burden for them.
Zhu Yunying's gaze sharpened slightly, and he said with a cold smile, "It seems that some people don't take our emperor seriously. I've repeatedly issued orders that after the land tax reform, the people should not be disturbed, and all sorts of miscellaneous taxes should be abolished. It seems that many people don't take my benevolence seriously."
That's the reality. A policy may be good, but when it reaches the local level, it might become a nuisance to the people.
For example, Zhu Yunying's implementation of the "equalization of land tax and poll tax" effectively limited land annexation, and there were also some regulations governing the people's tax payments. In his original intention, Zhu Yunying also hoped to reduce some of the burdens on farmers.
However, this was not good news for some landlords and gentry, as it made it more difficult for them to conceal their land holdings and prevented them from continuing to annex land. Some officials would also devise many ways to increase their own revenue every time they collected taxes.
Some of the miscellaneous taxes were not necessarily collected by the Ming Dynasty government; they could very well have been levied by officials who used the government's name to make a fortune.
No one was surprised by the emperor's anger; he seemed more benevolent than the Hongwu Emperor. However, many also knew that if he were to become ruthless, he could be just as formidable as the Hongwu Emperor.
Since someone dared to interfere at this time, they naturally faced the emperor's wrath, which is not surprising at all. Many people who harbored such intentions from the beginning shouldn't expect to live a peaceful life.
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