Troubles keep coming
"The Grand Secretaries submitted a memorial requesting the construction of a mausoleum." Hongtong was peeling an orange while chattering about the news to his mother.
Shujia calculated, "It's about time." The emperor and his wife were already in their forties. In this era of low life expectancy, death was drawing ever closer, though Shujia had no desire to die. Furthermore, the construction of an imperial mausoleum was always labor-intensive and time-consuming. If it was to be well-built, it wouldn't be surprising if it took decades or more.
It is too late to start building the mausoleum now.
Shujia said, "I'm afraid it's too wasteful."
Hong Tong chuckled. "This is a big deal, so what if it costs a little? Father and mother have worked hard all their lives, there's nothing to complain about. Now that the country is strong and prosperous, the salt tax can bring in millions more silver than before. After deducting the silver for maintaining integrity from the development, there should be hundreds of thousands left. Besides, we still have new policies that haven't been fully implemented. We have plenty of money now."
Shujia frowned and said, "Elaborate burials are not a good custom." The better you are buried, the more people will want to dig you up.
Hongtong stopped dwelling on the topic and looked down at his hands. His technique was quite good. He had peeled the orange skin to the tip of a flower, but the flesh inside was still intact. He then cut it into several more pieces and placed them on a small plate. Borjigit brought it over.
Shujia saw that his hands were stained yellow-green from the orange peels. She pointed to the basin, and Huamei brought it over. Hongtong washed his hands and watched his mother pick up an orange slice and swallow it. She asked with a smile, "Is it sweet?"
Borjigit couldn't help but smile a little, then pursed her lips.
Shujia said with a hint of deliberateness: "Sweet, very sweet!"
"My son's filial piety! Of course it's sweet!"
"You're so unruly. Have you finished your mission?"
"Well, the errand is always there, so why not let it wait? Mother is much more important than the errand."
"Did you eat honey today? Your mouth is so sweet?"
Hongtong grinned: "My son is well-behaved and sensible."
Shujia couldn't hold back her laughter and fell backwards with laughter. The plate in Borjigit's hand began to tremble.
"Have you seen my sisters and brothers-in-law?"
"I've seen them this morning. I even went for a horse race with my brothers-in-law. They're all quite skilled at archery and horsemanship." He frowned, swallowing what he wanted to say. The loyalty of the imperial consorts to the court was limited, and loyal dogs like the late emperor's six imperial consorts were rare. While not all as troublesome and disloyal as the late emperor's three imperial consorts, they weren't exactly obedient either.
These married sisters were already quite old when they entered the palace. In the meantime, they were his cousins and not close to each other. He seldom thought about their happiness or not. He didn't want to use these things to upset his mother.
The value of these people and these things was nothing more than a topic of conversation for family members to keep in touch. If he really cared about them, it was only for his sister Wu Yunzhu. He would have to make a lot of plans when she got married.
He also picked up an orange slice and put it in his mouth, clapping his hands: "Oh, by the way, Hongyu has submitted a memorial, asking for his brother and sister to be brought to the mansion for training."
"What did your Ama say?"
"I don't know yet. Hongyu picked a good time, and Khan Ama is in a good mood, so he will probably agree."
Shujia hesitated and asked, "Is it his Fifth Princess and Hongfang?" Since Yunti had been imprisoned, with little entertainment, he had had so many children that Shujia couldn't quite tell who was who. The Fifth Princess and Hongfang had birthdays close together, so if she tried hard enough she could remember them.
Hongtong regretted his gaffe. His uncle's family was even more unfamiliar than his sisters, and they left a very bad impression on everyone. It was enough for Hongyu to have a political reputation; Yunti's sons and daughters could no longer expect such treatment.
"My son heard this briefly in front of the Emperor, but didn't ask any further questions. Mother knows about this," he said, quickly changing the subject. "I'm about to return to the capital, and I don't know how Third Brother is doing. He wrote to me the other day saying that Su Risong and Sister-in-law are very close."
Shujia didn't want to mention Yunti's family either. Almost everyone wanted to forget about them. Speaking of Su Risong, Shujia couldn't help but laugh: "Children these days change every day. When you go back, you might not even recognize him." She had also left Xiaoba with her daughter-in-law, and now she missed him quite a bit.
"Look at what you said, how could I not recognize my own son?"
Hongtong's rambling was also a way of connecting with his mother. He was determined to accomplish something big, and the current new policy presented a golden opportunity, so he had to exert all his might to rally support. Undoubtedly, at crucial moments, a mother's influence on her father was indispensable. Though mother and son were inseparable, blood was thicker than water, but a mother's perception of whether you were well behaved or not was completely different.
Thanks to Hongtong's big mouth, when Yinreng came to tell Shujia that he had sent people to select an auspicious site, Shujia was not surprised at all. She also mentioned casually: "You just finished the war, and you have other things to do. Don't spend too much."
Yinreng had never had a hard time. Even when he was worried about money, his food standards never declined. He just thought Shujia was being polite: "I know my limits. This is a lucky place for eternity. I can't be careless. It's a royal honor." Not only Yinreng himself was buried in this cemetery, but Shujia would most likely be buried here after her death, so Yinreng made an extra promise to his wife.
Shujia saw that she could no longer persuade him, so she just said, "No matter how big the mausoleum is, it's just a small space. As long as we're still together, that's all that matters."
Yinreng chuckled and said, "That's for sure. You can't run away even if you want to."
He had been in a good mood for the past few days and had no qualms about digging his own grave. He even planned to dig a grave closer to Kangxi's mausoleum so that he could see his parents more often after his death.
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Amidst the prosperous atmosphere throughout the court, the emperor returned to the capital and continued to happily prepare for the New Year.
Yinreng summoned the remaining personnel to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and it goes without saying that the Crown Prince, the Grand Secretary, and others reported the situation. Shujia also met with the Crown Princess and other palace ladies in the Palace of Earthly Tranquility.
Hesheli prepared the two babies and, after she had finished her formalities, she said, "Eighth Uncle (Xiaoba, Hesheli's uncle) and Su Risong have grown quite a bit. Should I bring them over to you now?"
Shujia nodded. The people who were waiting to greet them at the palace today were all the wives and concubines—women from outside the palace had handed in their names and wouldn't be summoned until tomorrow—all of them were family members, and meeting the two children only made their relationship seem even closer.
Soon, the two children were brought in, and they were indeed fair and tender. Hesheli said, "I didn't know much, so I invited the nurses back." The nurses she was referring to were Hongdan's wet nurses and nannies. They had all returned home to enjoy their retirement, but this time, when something happened, they received orders from the Eastern Palace and came back to deal with the emergency.
The wet nurses and nannies at home now had some of the airs of old nobles—a royal decree was a matter of time, and their in-laws dared not neglect them—and when they saw the empress, they still kowtowed respectfully. Shujia hugged her son and said with a smile, "I'm so tired of giving birth to you. Are you all right at home?"
Ilari kowtowed and said, "Thanks to His Majesty, the Mistress, and the Crown Prince, my family and I have lived a wonderful life. Even when things are going well, we can't help but miss the Mistress and the Crown Prince. I am truly delighted to be summoned to the palace."
Since they had met, they had to reward her. She had come back from the Great Wall with so many things, big and small. At Shujia's signal, Huamei quietly went out and called a few young eunuchs to pick out a few items suitable for the maid's status from the already sorted bundles and brought them back.
The maids thanked for the reward and kept talking about peace in the world, praising the emperor for his wisdom and love for his people.
Gegentana stayed in the palace. She hadn't seen her mother-in-law for several months, but she still wanted to flatter her. She followed the conversation and said, "Nowadays, the world is at peace. It is a peaceful and prosperous era."
Whether it was Hongtong chatting with his mother, or the empresses and concubines who were talking to the empress, their words were certainly flattering, and in their hearts they were all thinking: the current situation is very good, the rebellion has been suppressed, the country has increased its income without raising taxes, and the emperor has exempted many taxes, so life does not seem to be tight. Moreover, officials are not allowed to exploit the people excessively, but their salaries have been increased...
There is no reason to be unhappy, no reason not to feel that we are living in a prosperous era, no reason not to believe that this country will get better and better, and everyone will enjoy peace with the master for thousands of years.
Even Yinreng anticipated resistance to many of his reforms, foreseeing various obstacles during his planning and devising numerous contingency plans. However, he still considered the current situation excellent, so excellent that he refused to skimp on digging his own grave. He happily boasted to his wife about the prime location and size of his future burial site, including the road he planned to build directly to it. And so on and so forth.
Everyone feels that this "Changtai Reform" has had a good start and is halfway to success.
However, don’t forget there is another saying in this world: A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step.
Besides, it's not even 90 yet. 10% is pretty good. You haven't finished the first 10% yet! Don't think you're good enough just because you've done the first 5%.
There is a saying in this world that goes, "Everything is difficult at the beginning."
Problems soon arose, starting with “never increase taxes”.
After the bustling New Year celebrations, the true consequences of "increasing the population during a prosperous era, and never increasing taxes" finally became apparent. When the decree was first issued, everyone saw the eye-catching headline and automatically said: The emperor truly loves his people like his own children!
Only after thorough implementation did we discover this policy was completely flawed! This flaw was that it ignored the unique characteristics of population growth. While the overall population was growing, the size of individual households might be declining. But your family's size was already fixed. While some benefited, others suffered greatly.
As a good official who was keen to serve the people, Yang Mingshi used a very simple example in his memorial to illustrate his point: "... the current population of male adults is based on the Yellow Book of the first year of Changtai. Eight years have passed, and with births and deaths, the population of each household has changed... Suppose there is a household with four male adults. In eight years, their youngest son becomes an adult, bringing the total adult population to 60%. No additional taxes are imposed for adding two additional male adults, and this is a benefit. Suppose there is a household with eight male adults. In eight years, some of them die of illness or are over 60 years old (over the age of adulthood and, according to regulations, are exempt from military service and payment), and no new male adults are added. Only four remain, and the household still has to pay the tax of eight male adults! This is a burden, and some may even flee because they cannot bear the heavy burden..."
Shit! I encountered a problem right from the start.
Of course, a solution was already in place when this problem arose, and it was a long-planned solution: "spreading the ding tax over the land area." Previously, the ding tax was reduced, but the land tax and ding tax were still collected separately. Now, the solution is to simply spread the ding tax over the land area. On average, each acre of land will have a few more ding taxes. If you have more land, you pay more, and if you have less, you pay less.
This is essentially a tax based on the amount of means of production. As long as your family has the same amount of land, you pay that much. If your land decreases, you pay less; if your land increases, you pay more. It's perfectly fair.
Furthermore, because the policy had been prepared long ago, the government's response this time was remarkably swift. Essentially, as soon as the tax collection period encountered difficulties, Yang Mingshi submitted a memorial, and ready-made countermeasures were immediately issued.
"What a shame this year's taxes have already been collected!" Yang Mingshi sighed. He had earned enough fame in this matter, so he had to act high-profile.
"Never increase taxes" is supplemented by "spreading the tax rate based on land", which is fine and can only be regarded as a minor setback.
Soon, at the end of the eighth year of the Changtai era, the Grand Minister in Tibet issued an urgent warning: the Dzungars were invading again. This time, both the elder and younger Tserings were deployed together, and their force, more than double the previous 6,000, now numbering over 20,000, was charging headlong. According to unreliable sources, they had also contacted some Mongol taijis in Qinghai. This time, the force was formidable.
Emperor, please pay the money and recruit soldiers to fight!
Yinreng hated nothing more than being told what to do, what to do differently from his plan. In his plan, both the war with the Zunghars and economic reform were major undertakings that required all-out effort, preferably one at a time. He had always tried to avoid fighting on two fronts.
Everything had gone according to his script, and he had believed he was as good as a god, or that the Holy Emperor had divine protection, ensuring everything went smoothly. But now, he no longer dared to think that, and hurriedly convened a meeting of the imperial court to discuss countermeasures.
Because the Zhun army had increased its troops, the Qing government had to increase the number of troops it sent on the Western Expedition, and military expenditures snowballed. The extra silver from the salt tax and the savings from the fire consumption tax were all used to fill the gap!
Zhao Shenqiao was a straightforward person. He stiffened his neck and said, "The Ministry of Revenue has allocated 500,000 taels of silver for the construction of the mausoleum. Now...it's an emergency and we have to make decisions based on our discretion..." Only he dared to say this.
With another project requiring funding, many other projects had to be put on hold, such as the construction of the emperor's tomb. The emperor wasn't dead yet, and war was imminent, with no hope of a peaceful resolution. Five hundred thousand dollars for a tomb wasn't a huge expense; it was just the initial investment, not even including the interior decoration.
What Zhao Shenqiao meant was that subsequent appropriations should also be restrained, as the war was the most important thing right now.
It was so quiet in the Qianqing Palace that you could hear a pin drop.
The ministers were not unwilling to rebuke him. As soon as they opened their mouths, Zhao Shenqiao knelt before Yinreng and said, "Your Majesty, is there anywhere else that could squeeze out such a sum of money?" Actually, they could. The result would be a drag on the national economy. You could increase the fire consumption, increase the burden on the people, and help recruit more followers to the White Lotus Sect.
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That evening, Yinreng walked heavily to Kunning Palace, his voice rather melancholy: "I've really let myself down. The war has broken out again, and the construction of the mausoleum must be put on hold. Even if it is not put on hold, I'm afraid it won't be on the scale I promised before."
"I've already said it before. Having you is enough for me. State affairs are more important. You've done your part, so why worry about this? Didn't the Yellow Emperor and the Yan Emperor personally build their own tombs? Which descendant has forgotten them? Only meritorious deeds can lead to immortality. I've heard of the Yellow Emperor ascending to heaven and becoming an immortal, but I've never heard of Jie and Zhou becoming saints. It shows that one's fate is related to one's deeds. I will always be with you. You are a wise ruler, and I am his wife. That's all."
Yinreng smiled bitterly and said, "I'll tire you out."
"Being your wife is enough. You have to support the family, and this family business is quite large. Since I have promised you, I will accompany you all the way." When she was in the Eastern Palace, she could pretend to spend all the family wealth, contributing to Yinreng's career and winning people's hearts. The current situation is self-evident. Especially since she has no interest in provoking tomb robbers.
Yinreng's face lit up. Although he said this, he didn't actually think he was wrong and was still full of confidence. It was just that he had too many problems at the moment and was complaining for a while.
As life gets busier, communication between an elderly couple isn't as frequent as it was when they were newlyweds. While knowing each other's feelings with a single glance or gesture is certainly enviable, they've also lost the ability to engage in thoughtful discussions. It's been a while since they've had such in-depth discussions, and their daily conversations revolve around the mundane, making life feel dull. Today's incident brought back Yinreng's old feelings: his wife has always been the same wife.
His wife's words, in particular, buoyed him: "Only through meritorious deeds can one achieve immortality!" He had already reached the pinnacle of worldly wealth and privilege, so if there was anything else he could aspire to, it would be this! He practically slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "I've got it!" His policies were right to begin with!
He held back again and looked Shujia in the eye steadily: "I will never treat you harshly! We still have a long way to go. After we deal with the Junggar and recover from this period of rest, the country will prosper again. We must build our auspicious land for eternity into a magnificent place!"
This was a difficult year. Although the harem was not involved in politics, the men from Yinreng on down all had stern faces, and the atmosphere in the palace was not pleasant. If there was any good news this year, it was probably that the Crown Princess was finally pregnant.
There was finally some joy in this palace.
The author has something to say: It’s the weekend, hahahahaha.
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