Chapter 1780: We Are a Benevolent Sovereign, but You Must Know When You Are Well Off!

Tens of millions of mu of land yielding 3 million shi of grain to support 80,000 troops — this demand is truly not excessive at all!

Back when Zhang Juzheng held power, this amount of imperial grain had to be paid too, and the actual troop strength of the four garrisons of Xuan, Da, Chang, and the capital certainly exceeded 80,000.

Zhu Youjian's ability to fight wars and deal with people is surely greater than Zhang Juzheng's! Zhang Juzheng could never have gone to duel the foremost warrior of the Mongols single-handedly!

And besides, the Great Ming is beset with troubles within and without. The young emperor collecting a bit of grain and drilling a few troops is also for the sake of defending the Great Ming realm!

Only if the Great Ming realm is preserved can everyone's wealth and rank be preserved, no?

Zhu Youjian's gaze slowly swept across the faces of the ministers in the hall, taking in one treacherous countenance after another, each hiding all emotion.

Apart from the father-and-son pair Luo Sigong and Luo Yangxing, the treacherous ministers who had come to the Nanhaizi traveling palace today were all civil officials, and the ones Zhu Youjian was now mainly dealing with were the ennobled nobles and hereditary military officers in and around Beijing. The two garrisons of Xuan and Da were both frontier garrisons with actual territory, so of course they were the domain of military families. And the land in Northern Zhili and the capital was also mostly held by ennobled ministers, hereditary military officers, and great eunuchs. Civil officials and scholar-gentry naturally had a certain share as well — for instance, Huang Liji and Sun Chengzong were both landlord scholar-gentry of Northern Zhili. But on the whole, their share was not large, and officials in every dynasty had certain tax-exemption privileges; as long as their landholdings were not too extensive, they could continue to enjoy tax exemption.

Civil officials registered outside Northern Zhili and the two garrisons of Xuan and Da would basically suffer no harm, and might even benefit from the court's increased strength — the popular uprisings in the northwest were growing worse by the day, the She-An rebellion in the southwest was endless, and in the northeast the Later Jin had risen. The Great Ming realm was tottering in wind and rain, and the risks for them as civil officials had grown considerably too. If the place where they held office was overrun, would they not have to die for the country?

So if the court could have 80,000 truly combat-capable regular troops in hand, their official posts would be secure as well!

"Your Majesty," Sun Chengzong, who stood behind the Donglin Faction, was the first to speak, "this subject believes that collecting 3 million shi of imperial grain annually from Northern Zhili, Xuanfu, and Datong is not excessive in the least. The actual farmland in these three places is always above 60 million mu; collecting 3 million shi a year averages out to no more than 5 sheng per mu, at most a one-in-twenty tax.

As for maintaining 80,000 troops, that is a necessity! Originally the Capital Camps alone had a troop quota of 140,000! Add the three garrisons of Xuan, Da, and Chang, and there were even 400,000 in quota! Now cutting it down to 80,000 picked, solid troops is a great benevolent policy for both state and people!"

Sun Chengzong's old rival, Minister of War Wang Zaijin, for once agreed with Sun Chengzong, and immediately declared: "Your Majesty, this subject also believes that collecting 3 million shi annually from Northern Zhili, Xuanfu, and Datong to maintain 80,000 picked, solid troops is a policy that consolidates the foundation of the realm. As long as it can be carried out, the Great Ming realm will be as stable as a boulder."

In truth, these 80,000 picked, solid troops were not many. Datong already had 40,000, and the six militia chiefs Gao Hongtu, Shi Kefa, Yang Sichang, Lu Zhenfei, Lü Daqi, and He Tengjiao still had more than 20,000 men in hand. The remaining 20,000 in troop quota would be assigned to the Xuanfu garrison. Zhu Youjian was preparing to train 20,000 new troops in Xuanfu once Sun Yuanhua arrived with his foreign soldiers and officers.

Chief Grand Secretary Huang Liji, however, knit his brows. "Your Majesty, the current grain-tax quota for Northern Zhili is less than 600,000 shi, and counting the surcharges, the actual collection is only four to five hundred thousand shi."

"Ministry of Revenue," Zhu Youjian looked at Feng Quan, Minister of Revenue, "what do you think? Fifty million mu yielding four to five hundred thousand shi — how much grain does each mu pay? One sheng? Is that one jin or a jin and a half? Is that not far too little?"

It was indeed too little — if those four to five hundred thousand shi of imperial grain could truly be spread evenly across 50 million mu of land! Even if it were raised to an average of 5 sheng per mu, that would only be five or six jin, which for the peasants would not be much of a burden.

But the problem was that Northern Zhili had too many powerful nobles, and the land seized by the powerful paid no tax, so the burden of those five hundred thousand shi in tax fell only on a small number of smallholding farmers with very little land.

"Your Majesty," said Feng Quan, Minister of Revenue, "the ancestral system of this dynasty grants officials, xiucai, and juren exemption from grain levies."

Zhu Youjian chuckled, looked at Feng Quan, and said: "Feng Quan, are you afraid? Afraid of offending the officials and scholar-gentry of Northern Zhili? When you knelt by the roadside and wept and begged Wei Zhongxian, why did you not know fear? When you advised Wei Zhongxian to carry out court floggings and launch great judicial persecutions, why did you not know fear? We ask you: did you ever advise Wei Zhongxian to plot usurpation of the throne?"

"This subject—" Feng Quan, jolted by Zhu Youjian's words, immediately came to his senses, threw himself to the ground, and kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic. "Your Majesty, this subject's attachment to the traitor Wei was forced and unavoidable. This subject is utterly loyal to the Great Ming. This subject — this subject would go through fire and water for His Majesty, and would die ten thousand deaths without refusing!"

Zhu Youjian smiled. "Then We ask you: how much tax should the 50 million mu of land in Northern Zhili pay?"

Feng Quan no longer dared to bargain with Zhu Youjian. "Three million, three million shi — not one shi less!"

"How should the three million shi be collected?" Zhu Youjian asked. "Collect from the common folk who have not an inch of land to stand on, or collect from the great households who hold thousands upon thousands of mu?"

"Collect from all. Collect according to land — five sheng per mu."

"Good!" Zhu Youjian nodded. "You will go down as Prefect of Shuntian, in charge of land surveys, cadastral inspection, and tax equalization in the five subprefectures and twenty-two counties of Shuntian Prefecture. Apart from the duty-fields of the Headquarters Army and Our imperial estate lands, the grain tax of five sheng per mu shall not be exempted for anyone!" His tone suddenly turned stern. "Whichever household resists and refuses to pay, We will seize them and send them to Ji-Liao-Yan-Yun as death soldiers! And if you, Feng Quan, dare not go collect it, We will seize you and send you to the Liaoxi front as a death soldier!"

Feng Quan was remnant scum of the eunuch faction; taken to the extreme, he could even be classed among the traitor faction. Zhu Youjian could kill him with full justification!

Feng Quan kowtowed repeatedly. "This subject will certainly collect according to His Majesty's will. This subject will certainly go collect!"

"Huang Liji, Xu Yingyuan!" Zhu Youjian said in a deep voice. "Now, draft the edict and apply the vermilion rescript. Northern Zhili shall implement the new tax law: officials and gentry shall pay grain as one, five sheng per mu, and except for the duty-fields of the Headquarters Army and the imperial estate lands, none shall be exempt!

Furthermore, Feng Quan is appointed to Shuntian Prefecture, and the tax reform shall begin with Shuntian Prefecture!"

Issuing an edict just like that? This was not in accordance with proper procedure!

Huang Liji and Xu Yingyuan were both stunned. This was not even a court session, and the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices were not present! A matter as great as tax reform in Zhili, and moreover one that would implement officials and gentry paying grain as one — without the participation of the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices, there would surely be remonstrance and rejection when the time came!

But Xu Yingyuan, the brush-holding eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, did not dare say a word more, and immediately ordered the junior eunuchs beside him to fetch brush, ink, and memorial paper.

"Your Majesty," Huang Liji, as Chief Grand Secretary, had to uphold the system, so he could only brace himself and say, "the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices are not here. Would it not be better to summon them to Nanhaizi tomorrow before issuing the great edict?"

He did not dare oppose it — otherwise, if he did not go as a death soldier, he would at least be thrown into the Imperial Prison. He was a fellow townsman of Wei Zhongxian, and moreover had been promoted to Chief Grand Secretary by Wei Zhongxian!

Zhu Youjian gave a cold laugh. "We are a benevolent sovereign, and you ministers should know when you are well off! We intend to reform the land tax in Northern Zhili not for Our own pleasure, but to train troops, resist the barbarians, and pacify the rebels. The reason We choose to reform it in Northern Zhili is, first, because Northern Zhili lies at the feet of the Son of Heaven — if We cannot even manage the affairs beneath Our own feet, then We can manage them nowhere else; and second, once the slave-bandits break through the wall and enter, Northern Zhili will be strewn with corpses, and Northern Zhili will become a second Liaodong garrison!

Therefore the land-tax reform in Northern Zhili is self-rescue. If the people of Northern Zhili cannot rescue themselves, can they still expect the people of the realm to come rescue them?

The current Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices are not men of Northern Zhili. How can they obstruct the tax reform by which the soldiers and people of Northern Zhili seek to save themselves? If they do so, where is their conscience? Sun Chengzong, you are a man of Northern Zhili — do you approve of Northern Zhili's tax reform for self-rescue?"

Sun Chengzong was a Donglin elder, and more than half of the current Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices were of the Donglin Faction, so Zhu Youjian now wanted Sun Chengzong to declare his position.

"Your Majesty," Sun Chengzong said, "the tax reform in Northern Zhili is a good thing, and this subject fully approves. This subject believes the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices will also support Your Majesty."

"Good!" Zhu Youjian said. "Tomorrow We shall hold a small court session at Nanhaizi and settle all matters of the Zhili tax reform! If the Supervising Secretaries of the Six Offices wish to exercise their power of remonstrance, then We shall send them to the Liaoxi front to hold the land!"

(End of Chapter)