Zhu Yihai sent people to collect this imperial grain. They did not need to pay for the grain transportation themselves, and no additional losses were charged.
Some people had previously proposed to re-levy three wages, but Zhu Yihai refused.
At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the three rates were increased one by one, and the Liao rate was one cent and two cents per mu. Later, the Liao rate was increased by one cent per mu, and there was also the suppression rate. The three rates were uncertain and imposed a heavy burden on the people.
According to the grain prices in the late Ming Dynasty, the few cents of silver per mu actually amounted to about ten kilograms of grain.
The most important thing is that the three rates were designed to be paid per mu, but in fact, in the end, the gentry, bureaucrats and landlords, who occupied the most land, transferred their share to the people, so what the people actually paid was not that amount.
More than ten kilograms, and even officials took the opportunity to exploit and squeeze them at every level, causing countless people to go bankrupt and flee, and the peasant uprising began.
Zhu Yihai now set up an imperial grain tax specifically to collect taxes on the clan, which was levied on a per-acre basis. It was essentially the same as the three-rate tax increase, but with a different name. However, because the tax was collected from a specific target, it was very special.
As long as the land is still under the name of the vassal in the Ming Dynasty, half of it must be collected first, and then one dou or two liters per acre will be collected, regardless of whether you are a prince or a lieutenant.
"Starting from the farms under my name, we will begin to register and collect them. Half of the fields under our name will go to the inner government. The remaining half will be taxed at one dou and two liters per mu. Even for these fields that enter the inner government, one dou and two liters per mu will be levied.
"
Zhu Yihai's words shocked Xu Shiqi again and again.
Even though the land was confiscated and the grain was confiscated, King Lu was so cruel?
"If the Ming Dynasty were all dead, how could the royal family of the Zhu family of the Ming Dynasty still exist? How can there be a complete egg under the overthrow of the nest? So if you can't even think about these at this time, then you don't deserve to be named Zhu anymore. Who wants to
If they object, Nagu doesn't mind expelling them from the royal family tree. They can have whatever surname they want, but they must take back all the titles, fields, property, etc. given to them by the court."
Xu Shiqi didn't know how to answer the call.
I think the steps are a bit big, but the Ming Dynasty has already reached this point, and what Jian Guo said makes sense.
If the Ming Dynasty is gone, can you continue to be a prince in the Qing Dynasty?
Furthermore, this imperial grain is only for the vassals, and does not involve other gentry and common people. The implications are not that wide, and there should not be many objections.
"My Ming Dynasty has been inherited for nearly three hundred years. The clans and countries have passed it down from generation to generation. Now there are hundreds of thousands of people. The title is hereditary, which makes the burden too great. I think it should be changed. The title is no longer hereditary, but is reserved for the emperor.
Except for the princes ennobled by the ancestors who can be hereditary and replace each other, the other princes and lower titles will be reduced to the next level in the world."
"The prince will not surrender if he is reduced to the general who controls the country; the prince will not surrender if he is reduced to the general of the auxiliary country."
"After the rest are reduced to the rank of Lieutenant of Fengguo, they will be awarded the twelfth level of casual honors if they are further reduced. After the twelfth level of casual honors and then they are demoted again, they will be awarded the fifth level of hereditary military service."
There are twelve ranks of honorary officers, left and right Zhuguo, Zhuguo, the upper guard army, the guard army and then Yunqiwei and Wuqiwei.
After all the way down to the lowest rank of Cavalry Lieutenant, one will be awarded the fifth rank of hereditary military rank, from the commander to the commander, and then to the commander, and then to the thousand households, and then to the hundred households.
Along the way, there are eight levels of world knights, twelfth levels of world officials, and five levels of world ministers, a total of twenty-five levels, passed down for twenty-five generations. This will take five to six hundred years, and the Ming Dynasty must have been long gone.
But the biggest difference from the original eight-level knighthood, which was hereditary and was no longer reduced to Lieutenant Fengguo, is that the entire knighthood for the huge clan population was to be lowered, or in other words, the burden was reduced.
For example, a prince's annual salary is 10,000 shi, but a Fengguo lieutenant only has 200 shi. The difference is eight levels, but the difference in salary is fifty times. If the salary is reduced, it will be a geometric decline.
Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang entrusted twenty-four vassals to his sons, and one grandnephew, for a total of twenty-five vassals. At this time, there were still fourteen vassals inherited. In addition to King Jingjiang, there were also Qin, Jin, Zhou, Chu, and Lu. , Shu, Dai, Su, Qing, Min, Han, Shen and Tang thirteen vassals.
If Zhu Yihai only regards these thirteen vassals as his ****, then the Ming Dynasty will only have thirteen hereditary princes, and there will be no more.
The other emperors' descendants became princes, and those who passed on later became county princes.
When there are fewer princes, the number of county princes will naturally decrease. In this way, even if the number of clans continues to multiply and increase, the overall title will decrease, and the expenditure will decrease.
If the rank of twelfth and fifth rank is added below the eighth rank, the salary will be greatly reduced, and the burden will be lighter.
For example, if there are hundreds of thousands of clan members now, the lowest one is Fengguo Lieutenant, the minimum is 200 dan. Even if the color is changed, the burden is still huge. But if it becomes the twenty-fifth grade, the minimum is a hundred-year-old family. If Fengguo Lieutenant is the lowest Two hundred stones, among the twelve-level honors, the highest is only a hundred stones, and the lowest is a knight-in-arms, which may only be a few dozen stones.
For the next five levels of worldly positions, the highest is tens of dan, while the lowest may be only a few dan.
From two hundred to two stones, it's a huge difference.
This is actually Zhu Yihai's reference to the Eight Banners' Ding Liang system. After the Manchus entered the customs, hundreds of thousands of banner people were supported by Ding Liang, and they could still get a share of the hard-core crops without doing anything.
Zhu Yihai actually wanted to go straight to the stomach in one step, and be demoted to the eighth rank to inherit the title, and finally be demoted directly to a commoner. However, he had to consider that if he took too big a step, he would easily get injured, so he took his time.
The eighth grade becomes the third grade and the twenty-fifth grade, from ten thousand to two hundred, to ten thousand to two stones. At that time, there are hundreds of thousands or even millions of clans, and most of them only receive a few stones. Then the burden will be reduced hundreds of times or dozens of times, and even after the situation eases, drastic reforms and adjustments can be made.
"Below the county king, there is no restriction on becoming an official, and below the eighth rank, there is no restriction on the four professions."
Zhu Yihai now plans to simply separate the hereditary military position from the guard station, and even abolish the guard station and military households, step by step. First, turn the hereditary military position into a pure hereditary favor and reward, with only a salary and no actual duties.
With this qualification, you can become an official after being selected by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and War.
In the past, the clan was raising pigs. Even if they enfeoffed areas, they could neither manage civil affairs nor command the army. They could not even take the imperial examination or serve as soldiers. Even if they lived a hard life, they could not engage in the four fields of scholarship, agriculture, industry, and commerce, so they could only be raised. .
Zhu Yihai thinks it needs to be changed.
The princes and princes should be raised first and do not come out to join in the fun. After all, these people are either princes or grandsons. It is easy to get into trouble if they just join in the fun.
But those clans with estranged relations can definitely become officials, and even those members of the royal family who have been reduced to a very low status can completely make their own way out. They must be encouraged to study, do business, and do crafts to support themselves.
You can't just keep them like the bannermen, otherwise they will become useless.
Providing small grains of food is a guarantee and preferential treatment, not a waste.
Xu Shiqi was completely shocked by the spirit of the prison country. He really didn't regard the hundreds of thousands of members of the old Zhu family as his own.
Zhu Yihai also said very rudely, "If the money and food used to support hundreds of thousands of clan members can be used to support hundreds of thousands of soldiers, why worry about the great cause of ZTE restoration?"
"So it is urgent to reform the sectarian system."
"Gu encourages and welcomes the clan's children to go out and work, each according to his or her ability. Those who are literate can become scribes or even officials, and those who are brave and strong can join the army and lead soldiers to fight. If they are willing to go out to do business and start a business, they are also encouraged. Of course, if
If there are orphans, widows, and poor people in the clan, the orphans will not care about them and will let the inner government be responsible for providing relief and assistance."
"But if you want to sit back and enjoy it, those days are gone forever."
"If the Ming Dynasty dies, there will be no royal Zhu family anymore!"
Xu Shiqi nodded in agreement, "Your Highness is so generous. I am willing to be the vanguard. Please let me propose this matter."
Zhu Yihai knew that he was thinking about himself. After all, it was easier for the ministers to charge than for the supervisor to go off personally, and there was room for maneuver.
"My lord, you can discuss this matter with Prince Deng. It would be better if Prince Deng is willing to submit a letter together to propose the proposal."
Deng Wang Zhu Yujian was more prestigious in the clan and had a higher seniority. Now he was appointed by Zhu Yihai as the clan magistrate, and he was originally responsible for royal family affairs.
"I will summon King Juye and King Zouping to discuss this matter later."
King Juye and King Zouping are both branches of the Lu vassal, and the two current county kings were both conferred titles by Zhu Yihai after he became the supervisor of the country. Therefore, they have a close relationship with Zhu Yihai. They are from the same branch. King Lu is from the same branch.
Most of the family members. Secondly, they fled to Jiangnan, and Zhu Yihai ordered them to inherit the titles.
If Zhu Yihai reformed the vassal system, whether it was to collect Wangzhuang's land or to conquer Wangzhuang's royal grain, it would actually have little to do with them. Their fiefdoms and village fields were all in Shandong, and they would have long ago fallen into the hands of the Qing army. Even if they were reduced in salary and surrender,
Jue, they are now living in exile in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is only thanks to Zhu Yihai that they have settled down, so who do they have to object?
If they could cooperate well with Zhu Yihai in reforming the vassal system, they might be able to regain a fiefdom and allocate some farmland to them.
Xu Shiqi also understood what Zhu Yihai meant. If the Lu vassal began to cut salaries and collect grain first, then the opposition from other vassals would be smaller.
"The affairs of the country are actually a matter of money and food. Only when the money and food are taken care of can the army and officials be provided, and the world can be peaceful. Especially nowadays, everything is inseparable from money and food. Without money and food, the army cannot be reorganized and trained, and it cannot be reorganized.
The army cannot fight against the Tartars!"
The fall of Chongzhen meant that the country perished due to financial collapse.
Whether it was the series of famines caused by Xiaoglacier, or the constant use of troops by the Jurchens outside the Pass and the bandits within the Pass, which led to a huge increase in military expenditures, in short, the problem of money caused the already decadent Ming Dynasty to completely collapse.
The problem of money and food could not be solved, and no matter how hard Chongzhen tried, he could not save the Ming Dynasty.
Similarly, even if Zhu Yihai knows the future, if he can't improve his finances, he won't be able to go far. Soldiers can't always be hungry to fight for you. Even the emperor has no shortage of hungry soldiers. Without money, he not only has no pay, but also can't change his armor.
Swords, guns, cannons, battleships, without sophisticated weapons and equipment, it is impossible to fight against the bones of the Tatars with Tianling Gai.
Everyone knew that the Qing army vigorously developed artillery and created a specialized artillery unit. The Ming army could not expect to defeat them by cutting a few pieces of wood.
"Money and food, money and food, are nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. Let's take a multi-pronged approach."