This kind of eunuch ennoblement had happened before in history, but it was the first of its kind in the Ming Dynasty.
But this doesn't really surprise everyone. After all, it's just a title. Even if it's a eunuch, it's a bit special, but it's still acceptable.
Xiao Jing was actually a very good person. He was one of the few eunuchs with a good reputation in the history of the Ming Dynasty. He was loyal to Emperor Hongzhi, and he was not arrogant or domineering or abusing his power when he was in charge of the factory guard. Generally speaking,
Generally speaking, like Emperor Hongzhi, he is also a good person and everyone likes him better.
This time, Emperor Hongzhi's illness was indeed diagnosed at the Affiliated Medicine of Daming Medical College at his suggestion, which can be regarded as a great contribution.
Emperor Hongzhi showed his gratitude and rewarded him with a title. This was nothing and everyone could accept it. It did not increase Xiao Jing's power or anything like that. It was just an extra marquis.
What surprised everyone was Emperor Hongzhi's reward to Liu Jin.
Liu Jin was already a duke, so he definitely had no way to claim the title of king, so he could only be promoted and rewarded.
Everyone had already been mentally prepared for Liu Jin to be the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After Wang Hao, the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, was dismissed by Emperor Hongzhi, the cabinet had recommended candidates for several rounds many times, but they were all dismissed by Emperor Hongzhi.
Dismissed.
Everyone has already guessed that this position is reserved for Liu Jin. He has made great contributions to the Western Regions and Central Asia, so he should be rewarded. Now he has cured Emperor Hongzhi, and it is normal for him to be promoted to Minister of Civil Affairs.
Something happened.
What surprised everyone was that Liu Jin was given the title of Prince Shaobao, which was extraordinary.
You must know that generally speaking, adding Prince Shaobao, Prince Shaofu, Prince Taifu, etc. all means to join the cabinet. The chief assistant of the cabinet, Liu Jian, is the Shaofu and Crown Prince Tutor, the Grand Bachelor of Jinshen Palace, Li Dongyang
He and Xie Qian were Prince Shaobao and Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion.
Now Liu Jin has also been given the title of Prince Shaobao. This obviously means that Liu Jin will join the cabinet in the future. The only thing left is to give Liu Jin the title of Bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion.
Liu Jin is now in his twenties and has already reached the rank of Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and has been granted the title of Prince Shaobao. In just a few years, the speed of promotion is simply terrifying. It is unprecedented, at least in China.
It has been very, very rare in all dynasties.
This shows that Liu Jin really has a deep heart for the emperor, and Emperor Hongzhi likes him very much. Of course, Liu Jin's contribution is enough to shoulder the responsibility, but he is still too young.
But what really surprised everyone was that Emperor Hongzhi ordered the permanent exemption of capitation tax and corvee, and at the same time announced that he would never increase taxes.
Human tax and corvee have existed almost since ancient times and have existed in all dynasties.
The capitation tax was often considered an important source of tax revenue for the court. As for corvee, it was often used by the court when doing some major events.
Like the construction of the Great Wall, city walls, rivers, canals, etc. in the past, people were recruited in the form of corvee labor to build these things for the court free of charge.
Sometimes the emperor wanted to build palaces, pavilions, etc., and he also used corvee labor to complete it. Tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people were often recruited to do these projects.
In addition, the construction of the emperor's mausoleum was also completed in the form of corvee work. It was also a project stipulated by all dynasties. Every emperor had to build a mausoleum for himself from the time he ascended the throne. Sometimes the emperor felt that he was too happy
If this fails, tens of thousands of laborers will be recruited to build the tomb.
Now Emperor Hongzhi suddenly exempted the population tax and corvee, and the exemption was permanent. At the same time, he also announced that he would never increase taxes, which greatly surprised the officials.
This is obviously not to simply celebrate Emperor Hongzhi's recovery. If it were to celebrate, it would still be possible to exempt it for one or two years, but it is impossible to say that it is a permanent exemption.
Behind this, it was obvious that Emperor Hongzhi was planning the next policy.
Officials who knew how to think began to think hard. Why did Emperor Hongzhi exempt people from taxes and corvees, and never increase taxes? This "never increase taxes" refers to talent. As for business taxes, they were still formulated in accordance with Liu Jin's regulations.
Implement that one.
"Although the imperial court has passed tax reforms in the past two years and the treasury is full, capitation tax and corvee are no longer necessary for the court, but there must be some deep meaning behind the exemption of capitation tax and corvee."
"Is it because of the population issue?"
Some ministers quickly guessed it.
"It seems that His Majesty will definitely come to count the population of the entire Ming Dynasty next."
Liu Jin also pondered carefully and soon guessed Emperor Hongzhi's plan.
If you want to count the population of the Ming Dynasty, you must exempt the population tax and corvee, because as long as the capitation tax and corvee still exist, someone will inevitably conceal the population, which will lead to inaccurate population statistics.
As the Ming Dynasty developed into the colonial and capitalist eras, the imperial court also needed to accurately grasp the Ming Dynasty's population, distribution, male-to-female ratio, and other relevant data, so that it could better manage and immigrate.
"It's different now that I have money. I'm much more generous in doing things."
Liu Jin smiled and sighed in his heart.
If Emperor Hongzhi had been exempted from capitation tax and corvee in the past, it would definitely be impossible. Without the tax reform, the Ming Dynasty was so poor that even the treasury could starve to death. The capitation tax and corvee were extremely important.
May be exempted.
But things are different now. In the 14th year of Hongzhi, the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty exceeded 90 million taels of silver alone, including the grain, cloth, tea, sugar, silk, and satin.
If we wait for the real thing, after calculating this, the treasury income of the Ming Dynasty last year was very considerable.
Not only did Ming Dynasty officials receive an unprecedented salary increase, but it also became more ambitious in terms of building the country. This year alone, more than a dozen cement roads were started to be built, running through the north, south, east and west, and initially formed a highway.
As for the Internet, as for reservoirs, dams, bridges, river lifts, etc., countless projects have been started at once.
Now that Emperor Hongzhi has exempted people from taxes and corvees, and will never increase taxes, he is confident. If he had no money, he might not be able to be so generous.
Emperor Hongzhi's decree was soon sent to various places at home and abroad in the Ming Dynasty.
"Selling newspapers ~ selling newspapers ~"
"The emperor has fully recovered, granted amnesty to the world, permanently exempted from capitation tax and corvee, will never increase taxes, and the whole world celebrates!"
Accompanied by the shouts of the newsboys, newspapers were quickly sold out, and soon after, the sound of firecrackers began to be heard in the streets and alleys of the capital, and the fireworks continued to rise into the sky and bloom to celebrate the recovery of the Great Tomorrow.
Of course, it is something to be happy about when the emperor recovers and the Ming Dynasty is stabilized.
But what really makes the people happy is that the capitation tax and corvee will be permanently exempted, and taxes will never be increased. This is the real benefit.
In the past, everyone would more or less hide some people.
There are seven or eight children in this family, and only two or three children are reported. It is impossible to report all the children, because the more people are reported, the more people tax they need to pay and the burden they have to bear.
There are even more corvees.
Now that the capitation tax and corvee are exempted, this is very good for the common people.
The children at home no longer have to hide anything, they can all report it, and they can go for physical examinations during the military draft. Being a soldier is now a good job.
When you join the army, you can earn a good income. Secondly, you can enjoy free taxes and corvee at home. More importantly, you can learn knowledge and be able to read and write in the army.
After serving as soldiers for several years, they retired and had arrangements with the court. Some returned to their hometowns and became agents and servants, and were considered respectable people in their hometowns. Others joined large commercial banks, earning a lot of money and being able to work abroad.
It would be even more extraordinary if the Quartet achieved meritorious service in battle.
After meritorious deeds, not only the parents and officials in the hometown will send plaques to the home, but also the money, land, cattle, sheep, horses, and slaves rewarded by the court are also real benefits.
There are many people in the capital who have joined the army. They were just ordinary children in the past, but now they are all extraordinary, and their families have also enjoyed the glory.
Now it's better. The capitation tax and corvee are exempted, so everyone can work hard to make babies. When they are born, they will be reported to the court and registered. When they grow up, they can join the army in the future.
In the Beijing and Tianjin areas, firecrackers went off in celebration.
At the same time, as the news spread throughout the Ming Dynasty, people all over the Ming Dynasty also celebrated, beating gongs and drums, and it was very lively.
Even the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty also celebrated.
King Yeonsangun of North Korea even sent a large team of envoys to the capital to congratulate him, carrying beautiful women, jewelry, ginseng and other gifts.
The Japanese country, unwilling to lag behind others, did the same. They directly shipped a large shipload of congratulatory gifts to the Ming Dynasty to wish the emperor of the Ming Dynasty good health.
As for the Kazakh Khan Mulendek Khan, who had recently surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, after learning the news, he also sent people to the capital of the Ming Dynasty to send BMWs and beautiful women to express his congratulations.
In addition, Siam, Burma, Chenla, Sulu, etc. in Nanyang are naturally like this. They brought gifts to the Ming Dynasty to express their congratulations. Well, they also came to repair the relationship with the Ming Dynasty. Last year, the Ming Dynasty came to Nanyang.
The thunderous operation left the Southeast Asian countries bruised and disfigured.
In addition, within the Ming Dynasty, the northern grassland people presented an eagle to Emperor Hongzhi, wishing that Emperor Hongzhi could soar in the blue sky forever like an eagle.
In the Uszang area, which was conquered by the Ming Dynasty just this year, the monks of Uszang held a grand ceremony, and countless monks prayed for the Ming Dynasty...