Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 384 Proclaiming Emperor
In the Zhonghe Hall of the Imperial Palace, Zhu Lang sat at the top, while Qu Shisi, Jiao Lian and other military officials sat in the middle.

Su Guansheng had just finished reporting on the spring ploughing situation in various provinces when a group of cabinet ministers including Qu Shisi and Lu Daqi suddenly stepped out and spoke.

"Your Highness has been the regent for four years. You have wiped out the Eastern Tartars, stabilized the eight provinces, and brought the whole country under his rule. We ask Your Highness to ascend the throne as soon as possible and establish the legal system of the Ming Dynasty."

Jiao Lian, Ma Bao and other military officials beside him were all stunned when they heard this. They looked at each other and stood up to salute and persuade him to go in.
Seeing the ministers persuading him to go forward, Zhu Lang chuckled and said:

"Is this the reason why the Ministry of Rites submitted those three policy papers that day?"

The examination papers submitted by the Ministry of Rites that day, including those of Gu Yanwu and two others, had only one theme: to persuade Zhu Lang to take the throne as soon as possible.

Lu Daqi below had a serious look on his face and said

"The Eastern Tartars are no more than barbarians outside the Great Wall. Their leader, Fulin, even falsely claimed the title of emperor. Your Highness is a descendant of the Emperor Shenzong of the Ming Dynasty. You should ascend the throne to show the legal system of the Central Plains."

"This matter concerns the will of the people of the world. Please ascend the throne as soon as possible to calm the people of the world."

After the Qing Dynasty delegation arrived, everyone in the court realized that it was inappropriate for Zhu Lang to claim to be the regent.
Zhu Lang is now only the regent, while the Qing Lu has already proclaimed himself emperor, making him inferior to the Qing Lu.

Therefore, after the Qing envoys left, the voices of the court urging him to ascend the throne became increasingly strong.
Zhu Lang was not anxious to become emperor, but he was not opposed to it either. However, he summoned all the ministers today not for this matter.
Lu Daqi and others chose to persuade him to ascend the throne at this time, and Zhu Lang could more or less understand their intentions, but he would not let Lu Daqi and others get away with it.

Zhu Lang asked everyone to stand up, and then he said

"This matter is not urgent. I summoned you all here today because I have another matter to discuss."

"This is the statistics of Yunnan Province and Chaozhou and Huizhou from the Ministry of Revenue. Please take a look first."

Zhu Lang gestured to Li Guoyong, who also distributed several memorials to the ministers.

These documents record the harvest conditions of the two places last autumn.

Yunnan Province was the first place to try out the seven-bu grain system. Today, the military settlements in Yunnan Province cover nearly one million mu of farmland. Last year, the military settlements alone collected more than 600,000 shi of grain.

After distributing the money and grain needed by the military officials at all levels, Yunnan Province transported a full 300,000 shi of rice out of Yunnan to supply the military supplies of Sichuan Province.
The military settlements in Yunnan Province have begun to show results, and the new system in Chaozhou and Huizhou has been even more effective. Last autumn, the official warehouses in Chaozhou and Huizhou collected nearly 3 million shi of rice.

After seeing this figure, all the ministers fell silent. During the Chongzhen period, Nanzhili was a major tax-collecting area in the country, but the annual tax revenue of Nanzhili was only 6 million shi.

In other words, after the implementation of the new system, the tax revenue of Chaozhou and Huizhou, two relatively unknown prefectures, almost caught up with half of the tax revenue of Nanzhili.

When Zhu Lang saw that all the ministers had finished reading the memorial, he spoke directly.

"The new system has begun to show results in Yunnan Province, Chaozhou Province and Huizhou Province. I want to formally implement the new system in Guangdong Province. What do you think?"

There was silence for a while, then He Wuzuo stepped out and said in a deep voice
"The achievements of Chaozhou and Huizhou are certainly gratifying, but the circumstances of Chaozhou and Huizhou are special and cannot be compared with other places."

"Let's not talk about the rest for now. If the imperial court wants to make all the officials and gentry in Guangdong pay taxes as the two governments did, it may cause unrest among the people in Guangdong. Please think twice, Your Highness."

Chaozhou and Huizhou were naturally different from other places. One of the important reasons why Chaozhou and Huizhou were able to achieve such good results after implementing the new system was that most of the fields in the two prefectures were now in the hands of the imperial guards.

With Zhu Lang's full support, the status of several imperial guards in the court rose rapidly, and the clerks in Chaozhou and Huizhou did not dare to provoke or extort these imperial guards on duty.
The imperial guards had just received the land, and the missionaries in the army had repeatedly warned them not to rely on their status to default on taxes. All the soldiers were ordered to pay the grain tax on time.
It was under this kind of checks and balances and initiative that the grain taxes of the two governments last autumn reached such a terrifying scale.
If the Ming court were to select the most honest places in the country at this time, Chaozhou and Huizhou would definitely be on the list, and they would be at the top of the list.
Another important reason for the surge in grain taxes in the two prefectures was the unified taxation of the gentry.

Because of their previous treasonous activities, the gentry in Chaozhou and Huizhou were stripped of their privileges and exemptions. The remaining gentry in the two prefectures were now required to pay the same grain tax of seven dou as ordinary people.

The gentry of Chaozhou and Huizhou lost their privileges because they joined the rebellion, but the gentry of other prefectures in Guangdong Province did not join the rebellion.

If the imperial court abolished the privileges of the Guangdong gentry in order to implement the new system, these Guangdong gentry would surely make a fuss.

Since Zhu Lang is ready to fully implement the new system, he is naturally prepared for this.
The gentry dared to call for the court to rule the world together with the literati, of course they had something to rely on.

The reality at that time was that the gentry monopolized the knowledge channels, and the court really had to rely on the officials and gentry class to maintain the operation of the court.
Moreover, the Central Plains in the north was still in the hands of the Qing court. If the Ming court really abolished the privileges of the gentry group, it would not be conducive to the future fight back to the north.
In Zhu Lang's view, it is reasonable to give preferential treatment to the gentry. If a group of scholars who have studied hard for ten years to pass the imperial examinations cannot get corresponding privileges, who will serve the court in the future?

During the Jiajing reign, the court's preferential treatment of scholars was reasonable, but by the Wanli reign, the court's preferential treatment of gentry began to become extremely exaggerated.

Since the Wanli Dynasty, the Ming court officials and gentry have exempted thousands of acres of land at will. Now that the Ming court has only this little bit of land left, how can it maintain such a huge exemption quota?

Zhu Lang thought of this and said directly

"Preferential treatment of gentry is the ancestral system of our Ming Dynasty. Even if the court implements a new system, gentry should have the right to preferential treatment and exemption. This also demonstrates the court's intention to favor scholars."

"But the power of officials and gentry in the court to exempt officials from punishment is too great. I am going to establish a new system to change the exemption from land exemption to grain exemption."

Zhu Lang looked at the ministers below, and then informed them of the new rules for preferential treatment and exemption.
According to the proposed new regulations, officials of the first rank in the court can be exempted from 300 dan of grain tax, officials of the second rank can be exempted from 250 dan of grain tax, officials of the third rank can be exempted from 200 dan of grain tax, and officials of the fourth rank can be exempted from 150 dan of grain tax.
The amount of grain exemption for the fifth rank begins to decrease. The fifth rank is exempted from 100 shi of grain, the sixth rank is exempted from 80 shi of grain, and the seventh rank is exempted from 60 shi of grain.
Starting from the eighth rank, the exemption amount is smaller. The eighth rank is exempted from 30 shi of grain, while the ninth rank is only exempted from 10 shi of grain.

The Jinshi degree was regarded as the eighth rank, while scholars with the Juren degree but no official position were regarded as the ninth rank and exempted from 10 shi of grain.

Although the new system of preferential tax exemption changed the exemption of land to exemption of grain tax, the court would not pay the exempted grain tax.

For example, a first-rank official can be exempted from paying 300 dan of grain. Based on the tax rate of 7 dou per mu, a first-rank official can own 430 mu of land without paying taxes.

However, if the land owned by this first-rank official is less than 430 mu, the court will not provide additional money and grain.

According to the standards of the Wanli Dynasty, officials of the first rank were exempted from paying land of 10,000 mu, but under the new system, they were only exempted from paying land of 430 mu. Naturally, the exemption amount was greatly reduced.
However, compared with the situation during the Jiajing period, this exemption quota was higher. During the Jiajing period, the exemption quota for first-rank officials in Beijing was only 30 shi of preferential tax exemption, plus 30 exemption quotas.
The exemption amount has shrunk by more than ten times compared to before, which certainly cannot satisfy the gentry in the court.

But so what? Most of the land in the private sector is now in the hands of the gentry. The purpose of the imperial court's reform is to collect money and grain from the gentry.
If after the reform, the gentry's preferential treatment remains the same as before, where will the court get the money and food?
This was the least influential plan Zhu Lang could think of. If he followed Yunnan Province's original approach and forcibly restricted the amount of land the gentry could hold and confiscated the excess land from the gentry's homes, the unrest that would be caused would probably be even greater.

He Wuzuo and other cabinet ministers looked at the new exemption rules in their hands and knew that His Royal Highness the Regent had probably been preparing for a long time.

This new regulation that drastically reduced the exemption amount obviously did not satisfy them, but the ministers in the room did not dare to argue.
They wanted exemptions, and Your Highness has already granted them. Your Highness the Regent has just made it very clear that the purpose of reducing the exemptions for the gentry is to accumulate money and grain to send troops to restore the Central Plains.
With this great cause pressing on them, all the ministers were reluctant to speak up for it.

But He Wuzuo and others were not ready to give up. They had not forgotten their purpose at this time. What they wanted to stop was not the new preferential exemption regulations, but to stop the implementation of the seven-bull grain system.

He Wuzuo and the others looked at each other, and then looked up at Qu Shisi.

After Chao Hui implemented the seven-bull grain system, the cabinet ministers also discussed this system many times. They opposed the seven-bull grain system, not only because it would harm the interests of the gentry group. Seeing the ministers' opinions, Qu Shisi was silent for a moment, and finally stood up.

Qu Shisi was the Prime Minister. Even though he had agreed to support the new system, he had to raise reasonable doubts about it on behalf of all the ministers in the cabinet.
"Your Highness has unified the collection of regular labor and miscellaneous taxes in order to prevent the local county government from arbitrarily levying taxes that harm the people."

"Your Highness is a benevolent person, but sometimes local governments have to impose additional taxes and levies. If all taxes and levies are strictly prohibited, local county governments may find it difficult to maintain operations."

What Qu Shisi said was indeed true. The reason why the local county offices of the Ming court imposed large amounts of taxes was sometimes not just because the county officials wanted to make money, but because it was necessary.
The financial system of the Ming court at this time was extremely chaotic, and there were no clear regulations on the transportation and retention of taxes collected from various places.
Sometimes all the taxes in a county would be taken away with an order from the higher authorities.

This practice is extremely unreasonable. If a place does not retain taxes, how can it maintain the operation of the county government?
There were no more than ten regular officials and clerks in a county government office. These people were naturally paid by the court, but what about the rest of the unofficial clerks, the third shift yamen runners, etc.?

Although the function of the Ming court's county government was basically to collect taxes and handle a small number of civil lawsuits, no matter how simple the affairs were, it was impossible for a county to be run by just a dozen people.
Not to mention the salaries of various yamen runners, the daily expenses of the county government also cost money.

Officials need money for food, pens, ink, firewood, and receiving superiors. The higher-level government offices take all the taxes collected. Where does the county government get the money to cover these daily expenses?
In the end, the local county government could only come up with various excuses and impose miscellaneous duties on the people to obtain funds to maintain the operation of the county government.

It is precisely because of this reasonable excuse that the clerks dare to act so recklessly.
They did not take all the money they made, but handed a considerable portion of it over to the county government to maintain its daily operations.
Zhu Lang was naturally aware of this situation. After hearing what Qu Shisi said, he took out another memorial from the table and asked Li Guoyong to send it to the ministers below.
"Since the imperial court collects taxes and levies, the expenses of local government offices should also be borne by the imperial court."

"This is the situation of the implementation of the new system in the county offices of the two prefectures. According to the results reported by Yunnan Province and Chaozhou and Huizhou, the court will clarify the proportion of shipments to be retained in various places."

"From now on, the grain tax received by various regions will be divided between the imperial court and the local governments in a 4:6 ratio."

According to the new rules for transportation and retention, after the county government collected local grain taxes, 40% was retained locally to pay for the salaries of the county government's servants and daily expenses, 10% went to the prefectural government, 10% went to the three departments in the province, and the remaining 40% went to the court

He Wuzuo and the others were also heartbroken when they heard this. They did not expect that His Royal Highness the Regent was so well prepared.

He Wuzuo looked at the expenditure of each county in Chaozhou and Huizhou, and said in a deep voice:
"The situation in each place is different, and the amount of grain taxes that each county can collect is also different. If the remaining money and grain cannot cover the expenses of the county government, what should we do?"

Zhu Lang had a calm expression on his face and said softly

"The ten counties in Chaozhou and Huizhou can all maintain the operation of the county government with 40% of the grain tax, so why can't other places do the same?"

"Eat as much as your appetite allows. The imperial court has already left money and grain for them. If they can't do it well, then we'll replace them with someone who can."

Zhu Lang looked at Qu Shisi and others who were silent below, and he did not hesitate any more and spoke directly.

"The new preferential exemption rules and the detailed rules for shipment and retention will be implemented along with the seven-dozen grain system"

"This system has been tried out in Chaozhou and Yunnan Province for two years, and no drawbacks have been found. The new system will be implemented in Guangdong Province first, and it will be improved while being tested."

"I have already recalled the imperial guards from Chaozhou and Huizhou. This time, the imperial guards from the court will also be sent to various prefectures to ensure the smooth implementation of the new system."

Below, Lu Daqi, He Wuzuo and others all had slightly changed expressions, but before they could react, Zhu Lang spoke again.

"The new dynasty should have a new look. After the new system is implemented in Guangdong Province, I will ascend the throne. What do you think?"

"Your subjects shall obey the imperial edict"

As soon as Zhu Lang finished speaking, Jiao Lian, who had been silent, immediately stood up and responded. Ma Bao, Zheng Hongkui and other military officials who were present also stood up and saluted.
He Wuzuo and other civil officials also had a trace of helplessness on their faces. His Majesty the Regent had made very thorough preparations. After two years of trial implementation in two places, the obvious loopholes in the new system had basically been filled.

At this time, there were a group of military officials who supported them, and they could no longer oppose it.

Qu Shisi was silent for a moment, then he was the first to stand up and answer the order, and the other ministers followed suit.
Under the strong promotion of His Majesty the Regent, the implementation of the new system has become an inevitable trend. If you forcefully oppose it at this time, you will be going against the determination of the court.

Now that the imperial court is growing stronger, there are countless people eyeing the cabinet positions, but they have not yet thought about retiring.

In order to implement the new system in Guangdong Province, the first step was to clear the land. Only by re-measuring the land in each prefecture of Guangdong Province and clarifying the ownership of the land to each household, the government could collect taxes on a household basis.

Chen Bangyan was transferred back to the capital from Chaozhou and Huizhou, and was promoted from Governor of East Guangdong to Governor of Guangdong Province.

Now Guangdong Province has an extraordinary status. After the new system of Guangdong Province is implemented, Chen Bangyan can go to Beijing to serve as a minister with this qualification.

After Chen Bangyan was promoted to the governor of Guangdong Province, he quickly transferred officials from Chaozhou and Huizhou to each prefecture to supervise the clearing of land.

In addition to re-measuring the land, another important task for these officials was to publicize the new system of the imperial court of collecting seven dou per mu and permanently exempting the people from apportionment.
If the common people do not understand the details of the new system, local officials and clerks will almost certainly continue to collect additional levies according to the old rules after collecting the seven dou of grain from the court.

In this way, the new system implemented by the court will not only fail to eliminate the apportionment, but will also become another form of tax increase.
The officials assigned by Chen Bangyan to the counties would also serve as the supervisors of the Supervisory Office and be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the new system.
After the new system was implemented, if officials and clerks still used excuses to impose miscellaneous duties and taxes, the supervisory officials stationed in the counties could directly arrest and punish them.
After the imperial court announced the implementation of the new system in Guangdong Province, the various prefectures in Guangdong Province were naturally in an uproar.

But after a group of armored and sword-wielding imperial guards followed a group of supervisory envoys into the counties, the counties began to calm down.

The massacre in Chaozhou and Huizhou two years ago had just happened. The fate of the gentry in Chaozhou and Huizhou also made the gentry in Guangdong Province understand that the court really dared to take action in order to implement the new system.
Numerous memorials sent by Guangdong gentry to the imperial court were ignored, but the imperial court remained calm.

Even ministers from Guangdong Province, such as He Wuzhuo and Chen Zizhuang, remained silent about the new system.
Under the threat of the imperial guards in each county, the work of clearing farmland in each prefecture began to advance, and the seven-bull grain system was officially implemented in Guangdong Province.
From April to August, the work of clearing the fields in Guangdong Province was finally completed. In October, when the autumn harvest came, the court would officially start to switch to the seven-bull grain system.

Fujian, Guangxi, Huguang and other provinces were all quietly observing the effects of the implementation of the new system by the imperial court. However, another incident suddenly diverted the world's attention.

At the beginning of August, a great court was held. Led by Qu Shisi and Jiao Lian, all the civil and military officials in the court suddenly urged the emperor to ascend the throne.
His Highness the Regent was furious, and refused the offer sternly, saying that the Central Plains had not been recovered and the great hatred had not been avenged, and left in anger.
Five days later, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, Prince of Tang, Zhu Youlang, along with Princes Deng, Hui, and Zheng, all 24 other princes of the Imperial Clan, knelt down in front of the palace to persuade him to ascend the throne, but His Highness the Regent refused again.
On the fifth day, the Governor-General of Fujian Province Zhang Kentang and the Admiral of Fujian Province Li Mingzhong, the Governor-General of Hubei Province Du Yinxi and the Admiral of Hubei Province Gao Yigong, the Governor-General of Sichuan Province Fan Yiheng and the Admiral of Sichuan Province Zheng Wenxiong and other governors-general and admirals of eight provinces all submitted petitions to urge the emperor to ascend the throne.

At the same time, Qu Shisi, Jiao Lian and other civil and military officials in the court, as well as Zhu Youlang, the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan, and other princes from the royal family, once again presented a petition outside the Baohe Hall to persuade him to ascend the throne. The Regent refused for half a day, but finally agreed to ascend the throne with reluctance.
After His Royal Highness the Regent agreed to ascend the throne, preparations for the ascension were rapidly advanced.

The alternative reign titles for the new dynasty were also submitted to the palace. The Ministry of Rites submitted three alternative reign titles: Xingwu, Xingming, and the last one was Yongli.

After being postponed for three years, the original reign title was finally presented to the palace.

The Yongli reign title was not chosen randomly. Before Zhu Lang succeeded the King of Gui, he was titled the Yongming King. The Gui clan was descended from Emperor Wanli.
The Yongli reign title was actually formed by taking one character from Zhu Lang's title and Wanli's reign title.

The reign title of Yongli was actually to show the world where Zhu Lang's rule was.

On the first day of September, Zhu Lang wore the imperial crown and robes, offered sacrifices to the altar of heaven and earth, and then changed the reign title and ascended the throne under the worship of all officials.

After the reigns of Hongguang and Longwu, the Ming Dynasty finally welcomed its third emperor.
(End of this chapter)