Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 018: Shitty Finances (Part 3)
So, the Ming Dynasty was poor, strictly speaking, it was the Ministry of Revenue in Yanjing that was poor: too much of the income was taken away by various departments, while the expenditures took the lion's share, so how could it not be poor?
Well, my Ministry of Revenue in Yanjing is out of money, and you warehouses have money but refuse to take it out. I can't control you, so I'll report it to the emperor and ask him to issue an order, okay? Hehe, after the emperor's edict came down, the department designated to allocate funds must have denied it in every possible way: Your Majesty, this matter is not our responsibility, we should not pay for it! Your Majesty, those fools in the Ministry of Revenue don't know the situation of our warehouse at all, how can we have so much money?
Then after a long lawsuit, the opportunity was lost.
Such behavior is not a big deal when it comes to building palaces, mausoleums, and distributing salaries to various royal families: a few days earlier or later will not cause much trouble. But what if the Yellow River bursts its banks? What if there is a drought in the north and a flood in the south? Such wrangling can easily lead to a civil uprising!
What's worse is that once dynasties entered a stable period, land annexation was inevitable. The Ministry of Revenue, which was responsible for the main expenditures, had its main income from land tax. So now the Ministry of Revenue's income is constantly decreasing, because of the war and the Little Ice Age, its expenditure is constantly increasing. The apparent national finances have actually been unsustainable for a long time.
During the Wanli Dynasty, the emperor was shameless and sent eunuchs to collect taxes from all over the country. So when the crisis came, the emperor could take out his private money first. When it came to the Chongzhen Dynasty in the historical plane, oh, you know.
During the Ming Dynasty, even with the decades of the Southern Ming regime, the Ming Dynasty never had a real central treasury, and the Ministry of Revenue never had real power like the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation in later generations. The Minister of Revenue was neither the governor of the central bank nor the Minister of Finance. In the words of Mr. Huang Renyu, the Minister of Revenue was more like the emperor's personal chief accountant...
When China developed to the Ming Dynasty, its population, productivity, GDP and even GDP per capita still ranked first in the world. However, this shitty financial system made the Ming government extremely poor. If it weren't for Emperor Wanli's private money, the country would have run out of money to support the army and the people, and would have completely collapsed.
"Your Highness, the surprise you gave me has made me a little numb." After listening to Zhu Youdong's explanation, Xiong Tingbi could no longer be amazed: "But Your Highness, there are not many people in this world who can see the problem clearly, but there are definitely many. And those who can come up with solutions and solve problems are rare and precious."
"Haha, sir, this sentence really makes the students feel embarrassed."
What can I do? I am still the crown prince: the crown prince's crown prince. Besides, even if I were the emperor, could I easily change this situation?
All problems in the world are ultimately economic problems and problems of interest. To change the current mess of the Ming Dynasty's financial system, we must first have an emperor who is determined, healthy, has a long life expectancy and holds absolute power. Then we must have a group of ministers who disregard their personal honor and even the safety of their families. Without these things, it is nonsense to talk about any changes!
"I am young and ignorant, please teach me, sir."
Seeing Zhu Youdong's sly smile and shamelessly saying this, Xiong Tingbi was speechless: The prince's mind is definitely much more mature than the prince's, but the prince is only four years old. As long as he needs it, he can immediately use his age as the biggest cover for himself!
But Xiong Tingbi is a typical student bully: If you are not as capable as me, I will definitely show my contempt for you without hiding it. But if you are more capable than me, I will definitely admit it.
So at this moment, Xiong Tingbi also bowed to Zhu Youdong with great respect: "I now firmly believe that the Crown Prince is indeed the hope of the Ming Dynasty given by God. I have not been in office for a long time and have not met many outstanding people, but I firmly believe that at least in the field of household law, the Crown Prince does not need to learn anything."
"Sir, thank you for your praise. Although I have some ideas, whether these ideas can be implemented depends on the future and whether I have the right people."
Here, Zhu Youdong did not call himself a student but called himself "I", which was a blatant recruitment: Xiong Tingbi, being my teacher was arranged by the cabinet. Being my confidant? You can choose for yourself!
"As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, I must of course serve the emperor of the Ming Dynasty loyally. Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is only the crown prince, he is still the emperor."
"Hahahaha~~~I firmly believe that Mr. Xiong is a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, and he will definitely be an important and famous minister of the Ming Dynasty in the future!"
There is no point in continuing this class. Xiong Tingbi also knows that there may not be many real lectures in his future courses. He comes to chat with the grandson more: planning and layout for the future during the chat. Didn’t you see that Gao Gong chatted with Emperor Muzong for decades and finally became the prime minister?
Just as the emperor and his minister exchanged glances, both of them were full of passion. Zhu Youdong saw his chief bodyguard Li Shizhong wandering outside the study door, his eyes full of anxiety.
"Shizhong, what's wrong? Come in and talk."
Upon hearing this, Li Shizhong rushed in, but after looking around, he didn't say anything.
"This is my Mr. Xiong, whom I trust absolutely. As for these three, they are my study companions and will be my lifelong support. So, if you have anything to say, tell me now."
"Yes, Your Highness, something happened at Honghe Manor."
"Huh?! What did Wei Zhongxian do wrong?"
"Well, it's not that Eunuch Wei committed a crime, but the manor next door is the manor of Marquis Wuqing, and then... So after Eunuch Wei knew about this situation, he took a few brothers to visit the head of the manor of Marquis Wuqing's family. I don't know what happened, but our people were beaten out by hundreds of servants on the other side. I heard that one of our brothers even had his leg broken. And Eunuch Wei was detained by the other side, saying that they would report to the palace, and then send someone to lock Eunuch Wei up and take him back!"
“…”
"Your Highness?"
"Hey, have our injured brothers been brought back?"
"Your Highness asked about the safety of my subordinates first. I am very grateful. Your Highness, don't worry, the injured brothers are on their way back. I have sent someone to ask the doctor to be waiting."
"Well, let me know when they come back and I'll go see it myself."
"yes!"
"Haha, the servants of our Ming emperor's uncle are really arrogant. If that's the case, then there's no point in talking to them. Zhang Shize!"
"May I ask what your Highness wants me to do?"
"I'm going to fight, do you dare to come with me?"
