Chapter 604: Wanting to Solve the Labor Shortage

"Does anyone else have objections?" Zhu Youxiao's gaze swept over everyone as he asked.

The faces of those present were somewhat grave.

At a time like this, even a fool would have caught on, let alone the people in this room?

These were all the elites of the Great Ming, every one of them as shrewd as could be. Everyone understood that this was not Cui Chengxiu's plan, but the Emperor's plan.

To oppose it at this point would be to lack brains. In any case, Cui Chengxiu had proposed it, the staff office approved it, and the Ministry of Revenue approved it too, so there was no problem.

They all knew this was a good thing—good for the Great Ming, good for the court—only the backlash pressure from below would be greater, and it would damage their reputations somewhat.

But at their level, having them be the first to speak up might be impossible, but going along with the crowd and voicing agreement was absolutely no problem.

"Your Majesty is sagacious!"

Someone started it, and everyone joined in with unanimous praise.

As for whether anyone harbored other thoughts, that was anyone's guess. Perhaps some had ideas about going back to think of ways to get rich, but at least everyone present approved for now.

"Since no one objects, this matter is settled as such." Zhu Youxiao said.

In fact, given Zhu Youxiao's current level of control over the court, doing this sort of thing was no longer difficult—at least at the upper levels, voices of opposition basically would not arise.

The remonstrance officials who used to jump around so vigorously had gone quiet over the past two years. On one hand, Zhu Youxiao had continuously split them up and suppressed them—many had gone to the Office of Transmission, since that place had more real power and was much better than the Censorate.

On the other hand, it was what Cui Chengxiu had done over these two years. That fellow could be said to practice cronyism, and Zhu Youxiao also turned a blind eye to it.

This had led to the Censorate being basically full of Cui Chengxiu's people, or people just like him. These people were good at flattery and sycophancy, but when it came to things requiring true moral backbone, they would not do them.

In fact, Zhu Youxiao was already preparing to abolish the Censorate, which was why he let them carry on like this. After all, the Ming's supervisory institutions were no longer theirs, and there was no need for reporting on hearsay anymore.

The Office of Transmission was running well, and the secret memorial system was also very sound—far superior to the Censorate.

"Alright, everyone may disperse." Zhu Youxiao stood up and walked straight out.

At this moment, Zuo Guangdou did not leave; he directly followed along.

Seeing Wei Chao blocking his way, Zuo Guangdou said with some helplessness: "Please announce me, eunuch. I request an audience with Your Majesty."

Wei Chao smiled as he glanced at Zuo Guangdou and said: "His Majesty has already instructed that if Lord Zuo seeks an audience, there is no need to report—I am to bring you in directly."

Hearing this, Zuo Guangdou was startled.

He had not expected the Emperor to have already guessed. Indeed, the look His Majesty had given him earlier was meaningful, not just a casual threat.

Zuo Guangdou smiled and said: "Then I'll trouble Eunuch Wei to lead the way."

"No trouble at all. Lord Zuo, this way please." Wei Chao said with a smile.

Wei Chao would not underestimate this Zuo Guangdou before him. The old ministers of the court had already aged—men like Han Kuang did not have many years left in them; a new generation of ministers had risen, and the most representative of them was this man before him.

Besides that, there were also Xiong Tingbi and Wang Zaijin in Liaodong. Once they all returned to the capital, Wei Chao felt his own strength would increase somewhat.

Among the four great eunuchs of the court, his foundation was the weakest, so he very much wanted to build good relations with Zuo Guangdou.

Others might not know, but Wei Chao certainly knew that His Majesty held this man in high regard, and believed that entering the Grand Secretariat in the future would not be a big matter for him.

Zuo Guangdou was led by Wei Chao into Zhu Youxiao's palace.

After walking in, Zuo Guangdou discovered that Zhu Youxiao was changing clothes.

The dragon robe on Zhu Youxiao had already been removed, with eunuchs and palace maids attending at his side, and his casual attire had been brought over.

Glancing at Zuo Guangdou, Zhu Youxiao said in a casual tone: "Find yourself a place to sit."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Hearing this, Zuo Guangdou quickly acknowledged and found a place to sit down.

Wei Chao also brought over tea and placed it before Zuo Guangdou.

This was not treatment that an ordinary minister received.

The more casual the Emperor was before you, the more he treated you as a trusted confidant. On this matter, it was the same in ancient and modern times.

Zuo Guangdou also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly—His Majesty had not distanced himself from him; that was a good thing.

After changing clothes, Zhu Youxiao also sat down, picked up his tea and took a sip, then said with some emotion: "Clothes like this are still more comfortable to wear. With all these tedious formalities, a person gets more weary."

Zuo Guangdou could not answer this remark, so he could only listen.

For an emperor, ritual was something that manifested authority—it had always been so. Only those emperors who did not need to manifest their authority could be so unrestrained.

The emperor before him was exactly such a one—he no longer needed these things to manifest his authority.

For Zhu Youxiao, every word he spoke was authority. Holding real power in hand, with a powerful army behind him, such an emperor was essentially one whose words carried the force of law. Add to that his prestige being at its zenith, and no one dared oppose him.

"There's something about today's matter you don't understand?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Zuo Guangdou and said with a smile: "Want me to explain it to you?"

Hearing this, Zuo Guangdou felt somewhat helpless.

His Majesty was still His Majesty. Although the smile on his face was brilliant, as if he did not take this matter seriously, the way he said it left one with no room to respond. This was still a warning to him!

Zhu Youxiao was also quite helpless.

Considering that Zuo Guangdou was his trusted minister, and that he was the Minister of Revenue, that was why he had called him here to talk. If it had been an ordinary minister, Zhu Youxiao would not have bothered.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, your subject is dull-witted and failed to grasp Your Majesty's profound intent." Zuo Guangdou quickly said: "But this reform has the Ministry of Revenue as its top priority, and I feared I might delay Your Majesty's affairs, which is why I came to seek an audience."

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Zuo Guangdou, then burst into loud laughter.

"The atmosphere at court hasn't been very good these past two years—everyone has learned to flatter me. What, are you learning that too?"

Zhu Youxiao said in a joking tone: "Don't learn all that nonsense. It's getting harder and harder for me to hear the truth now. If you all don't speak the truth anymore, then no one will speak the truth to me."

Zuo Guangdou looked at Zhu Youxiao and quickly said: "We ministers naturally tell Your Majesty everything we know, holding nothing back."

"Alright, enough of that." Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, his tone somewhat forlorn.

Ever since his authority had grown heavier, the fear those below him felt toward him had also grown—such things were unavoidable. At this point, these people spoke to him more and more carefully.

"Let's talk about this matter." Zhu Youxiao looked at Zuo Guangdou and said: "You're worried that if all land is taxed, the landlords will raise their rents, and the common people's lives will become difficult?"

"Even if the court exempts taxes, these people will still do so."

"Yes." Zuo Guangdou nodded, saying with some worry: "Right now the court's revenue is somewhat less, but this has been going on for over two hundred years, and the realm has been fairly peaceful. The court doesn't lack this money now—why touch this?"

Zhu Youxiao's expression also turned serious as he looked at Zuo Guangdou and said: "Do you think this is only about money?"

"Look at who in the Great Ming still holds such privileges now? Besides the literati, who can avoid paying taxes?"

"I want to use these matters to tell all the scholars: the benefits I should give, I will give, but what I do not give, they cannot take."

After hearing these words, Zuo Guangdou felt helpless — what an overbearing Emperor.

But Your Majesty, when you are overbearing, the common people of this realm will have a hard time of it.

Zuo Guangdou stood up, wanting to rebut.

Zhu Youxiao waved his hand to interrupt him and said: "You are the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Let me ask you one thing — in these past few years, has the grain output of the Great Ming increased or decreased?"

"To answer Your Majesty, it has increased." Zuo Guangdou said hurriedly: "Although natural disasters have been continuous in various regions these years, with the promotion of new crops, the grain output of the Great Ming has indeed increased."

"In these two years, the grain transported by canal has been less and less, and the capital is nearly able to be self-sufficient. Although there are frequent famines in various regions, the court's disaster relief has also been timely — mainly because grain output has increased."

Zhu Youxiao nodded.

With the promotion of corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, the grain output of the Great Ming was indeed increasing. Although various regions suffered repeated droughts, and also floods and earthquakes, overall the grain supply was sufficient.

After all, the population of the Great Ming was just over one hundred million now, but there was no shortage of arable land. Although chemical fertilizer had not been widely promoted, small-scale trials had begun, and experiments on hybrid grain had also started.

From this point on, the grain of the Great Ming would only increase more and more, and the direct result would be a drop in grain prices.

Of course, there was another result — a new surge in population.

These things had all happened in history, just not in the Great Ming — rather, in the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty also lasted over two hundred years, and so many people died at the end of the Ming Dynasty, yet by the middle of the Qing Dynasty the population had already broken past three hundred million.

By the time of the Republic of China era, one could proclaim a population of four hundred million.

And in the Great Ming now, with such a population base, as grain output increased, the population would also explode.

Some things required preparation before they happened.

It was time to begin expanding outward.

Grain production would inevitably lead to the flourishing of industry and commerce. If not guided properly, problems would arise.

"Grain prices are relatively low now," Zhu Youxiao said with emotion to Zuo Guangdou: "You should also understand the principle that cheap grain harms farmers. This time, I want to let some tenant farmers stop farming the land."

"Hasn't the Ministry of Revenue collected plenty of commercial taxes these years? Workshops have been opened in various regions — how much labor they require, your ministry should also know."

After hearing these words, Zuo Guangdou raised his head and looked at Zhu Youxiao, rising abruptly, and said with some disbelief: "Your Majesty wishes to solve the problem of labor shortage?"

Zuo Guangdou knew of this problem. The workshops surrounding the Hundred Crafts Institute were not far from the capital, and the labor force employed there had already reached over seven hundred thousand — and that was only those registered on the rolls.

Those doing odd jobs and seeking casual work were not counted. If they were included, the number would surely reach a million.