This is the question that all those in power have been most worried about since ancient times.
Thoughts like this are not only found in the Analects of Confucianism, but also in allusions in books and books.
Why did Zhu Ying risk the power of the world by not doing anything to open up the people's wisdom?
In fact, in Zhu Ying's view, the so-called ideological confinement was not of much use. The only people who benefited were not the imperial power, but the officials, literati, and even the landlords and gentry.
They have a monopoly on knowledge, just like Yawen. They have the right to interpret official notices, and ordinary people can't understand them anyway.
This is a blockade of imperial power.
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang knew all the details involved, so his edicts were conveyed in plain language so that others could not take advantage of them...
But even so, Zhu Yuanzhang never considered the matter of enlightening the people. He is now the emperor and has vested interests. Of course, he must protect his own interests first.
However, if people's wisdom is enlightened, will there really be constant rebellions and social unrest?
Zhu Ying doesn't think so.
The experience of later generations told him that those who like to rebel the most are not scholars, but fools and reckless men.
As the saying goes, every time more dogs are slaughtered in a righteous manner, sensible scholars will find it easier to maintain social order.
At a certain time in later generations, when violence became prevalent, it was often those children who dropped out of school who were the most impulsive and became first-rate thugs.
Those who attend school honestly, some go out and fool around every day, and almost most of them are studying obediently.
As the saying goes, a gentleman talks but never takes action, and a scholar cannot explain his reasoning clearly when encountering soldiers.
People who have read books and have knowledge will be more protective of the imperial power. Even if more people read books, the number of corrupt officials will be reduced a lot.
Everyone now understands the law, and officials who misbehave can report directly to the police instead of being deceived.
When Zhu Ying thought of this, she wanted to think about how to persuade the old man. After thinking for a while, she said:
"Using history as a mirror, we can know the ups and downs. Grandpa has lived from the late Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties to the present, and has personally experienced those chaotic years. My grandson asked grandpa to think back. Those who took the lead in the rebellion were all scholars.
"
"It is the scholars who make the most fuss. It is better to have no books than to believe in books. Confucian learning originated from the Spring and Autumn Period, but our country, China, has been making continuous progress since the unification of the First Emperor."
"The Ming Dynasty now has the best time. Without people like the aristocratic scholar-bureaucrats telling us what to do, we can just sit back and paint on a piece of white paper. We can do whatever we want."
"Don't talk about it from afar, grandpa saw that during the Sui, Tang, and Song dynasties, even the emperor himself, who was not restrained, suffered from many constraints, and it became a potential convention that the imperial power did not go to the countryside."
"The so-called royal family is just the largest aristocratic family."
Zhu Ying said sincerely that the purpose was to make the old man approve of his thoughts.
Why reform is so difficult? The most important thing is the change of traditional thinking and the adoption of different principles. But in this world, whether it is the thought of literati or the thought of emperors.
They are all restricted by the predecessors. The reason why there have been such big changes in later generations is not because of the change itself, but because of the impact of the world and the need to change.
Don’t you see, just the change in the mainstream thinking of later generations was achieved by the blood and lives of many college students and advanced individuals.
Zhu Ying was actually a little anxious at this point in talking to the old man about these things.
But this time in the early Ming Dynasty, especially the Hongwu period, was really the best time for China in ancient and modern times.
There has never been such a good time as the early Ming Dynasty.
There has never been one, and there will never be one again.
Zhu Ying also thought about reforming these things when he ascended the throne.
Zhu Ying was not sure whether he could really be compared with the old man. After all, he had never been an emperor, and he didn't know what the future would hold.
But he knew very well that if the old man could support his idea in this regard, then the whole thing would become simpler.
With the old man's current power, there is no reason in the world to oppose him.
After Zhu Yuanzhang listened, he started to think seriously.
These things that Da Sun said were things that Zhu Yuanzhang had never thought about in his life. Although Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little resistant at first reaction, this was completely different from his thoughts.
In the mind of Zhu Yuanzhang, or in the minds of all emperors before Zhu Yuanzhang and after Qin Shihuang, the so-called imperial idea of family, country and world was already deeply ingrained.
This Ming Dynasty belongs to the old Zhu family, it is now, and it must be in the future.
Whether it was the system established by Zhu Yuanzhang, the massacre of heroes, or all the arrangements made, they were all designed to keep the family together.
But what Da Sun said was a completely different idea. It was a path that no one had ever walked before, and it required overcoming obstacles and was even full of dangers.
He could not see success on this path because there was no precedent for it.
All Zhu Yuanzhang could see were countless dangers, dangers that would shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty under the old Zhu family.
Doing this, according to Da Sun's idea, will naturally make the entire Ming Dynasty take off.
When Dasun was saying these words, Zhu Yuanzhang could also feel the confidence in his words, as if he could see the future of Ming Dynasty.
But doing this and taking such a big risk is really worth it.
The Ming Dynasty was already so big that no one could complete the territory of the Ming Dynasty in his lifetime. In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was already satisfied with such a vast territory.
All the territory belonging to the Han people has been under the direct rule of the Ming Dynasty.
With the millions of lions now in the Ming Dynasty, if they fight a few times, they will undoubtedly gain more territory.
Zhu Yuanzhang was confident that he only needed to issue an edict. With the current military situation of the Ming Dynasty, he did not see a comparable opponent.
It's just that the territory is too vast, and it is more difficult to rule, which will even make the burden on the Ming treasury heavier.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated.
Even for his doting eldest grandson, he just kept silent instead of supporting his eldest grandson.
Zhu Ying's eyes flashed with a trace of disappointment. Although this had been expected, the old man's silence made Zhu Ying understand what the old man was thinking.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who had not planned to express his stance at first, suddenly felt distressed when he saw the lonely look in Da Sun's eyes.
At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized a problem.
As he got older, he no longer had the same drive as when he was young, and stability seemed to be more important to him.
But not the eldest grandson. The eldest grandson is only eighteen years old, and his ideas and wisdom are far superior to those of ordinary people.
Many previous suggestions, study status, and brilliant achievements since the age of ten are enough to prove that in many aspects, Dasun is not just talking about things, but thinking and pondering very seriously.
If Dasun is so outstanding, why should he stop him? Even if the reform fails, can't he afford to lose?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Ying in a deep voice: "We have never heard of your grandson's thoughts, and we don't know what will happen in the future, but I am your grandfather, and my body is still strong."
"No matter what your grandson has in mind, go ahead and do it boldly. We will support you from behind. Even if you fail, I, as a grandpa, will be here to wipe your ass."
Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly laughed.
Before the eldest grandson was about three or four years old, I, as a grandfather, often wiped the eldest grandson's butt by myself.
Now that I have grown up, I naturally have to be the grandfather to wipe my grandson’s butt, and no one else has the qualifications.
Zhu Ying looked at the old man in surprise. He had already given up. Unexpectedly, in a sudden turn of events, the old man suddenly agreed to his idea.
"Grandpa, please rest assured that no matter what aspect it is, my grandson will never make drastic changes that will affect the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. He will do it step by step and steadily."
Zhu Ying said solemnly that he himself was not a reckless person, so naturally he would not easily affect too major reforms, but would take his time like boiling a frog in warm water.
The reason why we developed matchlocks in the first place instead of manufacturing agricultural products was based on the current national conditions of the Ming Dynasty.
In Zhu Ying's mind, too large-scale wars cannot be fought, but small-scale battles are no problem at all.
In this way, the internal conflicts of the Ming Dynasty can be gradually transferred outward. The biggest key is to maintain the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the army.
Soldiers who have not experienced the baptism of combat will always be just new recruits. Once they encounter an emergency, they will not be on the same level as veterans.
Moreover, with the matchlock gun, some small disturbances within the Ming Dynasty can be quickly quelled.
Hearing Dasun's answer, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly. He was very relieved about Dasun's calm temperament. Today's Dasun did not give him any young impulsiveness or bloodiness at all.
On the contrary, he looks like an old guy in his sixties or seventies, too old-fashioned.
Sighing slightly in his heart, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his current temperament was all acquired during his life and death. After experiencing too many things, he would naturally become calmer.
Now that he has the old man's approval, Zhu Ying doesn't want to talk too much about this aspect, as the atmosphere is too heavy.
He turned to ask: "Grandpa, is the revenue burden on the treasury today relatively large? There are also many fertile fields in the Ming Dynasty, so why does it feel like it is stretched thin?"
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said: "If you don't know how to make money, if the weather is good, and the current situation of the Ming Dynasty is certainly not a problem, it's just that God is too unkind."
"You don't know, now every year, famines occur all over the country, and the money and food for disaster relief account for almost half of the national treasury's annual revenue. Let's talk about the Chief Secretary of Henan, just since the Yellow River burst its banks in February this year."
"Around this time, at least a million dan of food for disaster relief have been transported. Now the autumn food has not arrived, but it is all stored food. It just happens to be stuck at this point."
After hearing the old man's explanation, Zhu Ying said that he could understand it. Henan was a major disaster-stricken area this year, with continuous famines.
And this kind of maintenance is not just now. Henan's autumn grain must have dropped significantly. In winter, we can only count on the imperial court to mobilize food support from various places to survive.
It will have to be maintained until next year's summer grain harvest before it can stabilize.
The key is that the disaster must be over, otherwise another wave will add insult to injury and the situation will become even more difficult.
"The family is big and the business is big, that's all. Tomorrow we will ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to bring the state of the treasury to the eldest grandson. Then he will naturally understand our difficulties."
"Those expenses give us a headache just looking at them."
In front of his grandson, Zhu Yuanzhang was much more relaxed when speaking and had nothing to worry about.
The Ming Dynasty's annual income last year was approximately more than 30 million shi in tax and grain, which seemed huge, but its expenses were also very large.
The biggest expense is naturally on armaments.
A soldier needs two stones and three liters per month, which is twenty-seven stones and six liters per year. Today, the standing army of the Ming Dynasty is about 1.2 million.
When not at war, the soldiers worked in the fields and were mostly self-sufficient.
Just for such a large army, hundreds of thousands of people are mobilized for local operations, and the military pay is at least tens of millions of dan every year.
This is only calculated based on the lowest rations for large soldiers. In fact, according to military ranks, there will of course be more middle-level officers.
About half of the annual tax revenue is used for military pay.
Then there are the salaries of officials and huge other expenses.
In fact, based on this calculation, it seems that there is still some left, but in fact this is already the highest annual income. In the years when the Ming Dynasty was founded, taxes and grains were pitifully low.
The current annual income still has to repay the previous deficit.
For example, in Henan, where there is such a big famine, this year we can only exempt taxes on a large scale until the famine passes.
Henan only gets more than 2 million shi of tax revenue a year, but now in just over four months from February to now, more than 2 million shi has been spent on disaster relief.
Among them is the loss of the disaster relief army, which means that the victims are currently unable to generate income and can only rely on the court to support them.
"Actually, my grandson has some different ideas about taxation. Grandpa will listen to it and see if it can be implemented." Zhu Ying considered it for a moment and said.
"Dasun, please tell me quickly." Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up and he asked immediately.
Regarding the collection of taxes and grains, Zhu Yuanzhang was very troubled and made repeated modifications in implementation.
Today, the Ming Dynasty implements a unique ‘grain chief system’.
In the fourth year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs to calculate the land tax in prefectures and counties. Each district was divided into ten thousand shi of grain, and the landowner with "more land" was selected as the grain chief, responsible for the supervision and payment of land tax in the district.
The grain chief collects land tax, which is divided into "reserved grain" and "transported grain". The reserved grain is paid by the local prefecture and county, and the reserved grain is shipped to other places.
Among them, those transported to the capital are called Jingyun, and those transported to other places are called "counterpatch". The "Beijing" part is personally escorted by the grain chief.
The grain chiefs were treated extremely well. Zhu Yuanzhang often personally summoned those grain chiefs who delivered grain to the capital on time, commended them for their efforts, and those who were talented could be retained as officials.
For example, if Yan Zhen, the grain chief of Wucheng, "was the first to deliver grain every year", was he rewarded by Zhu Yuanzhang? He is currently granted the title of Chief Secretary to participate in politics.
In the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang also gave the grain chief the privilege of reducing his crime according to law.
The grain chief is not only responsible for transporting grain, but is also responsible for other local functions related to farming.
Zhu Ying also has a certain understanding of the current tax situation in the Ming Dynasty, and what he wants to mention today is the issue of the Ding Yin system.
Without hesitation, Zhu Ying solemnly said to the old man: "Putting a small family into a farm will breed people and never increase the wealth."