Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 138 Just Change to Calendar
Yang Chen suggested merging the newspaper office into the Daming Public Service Center, and working with the tax guards to inform the people of the news about Daming.

However, they did not take into account that the working people do not seem to have that much spare time and money to buy newspapers and books to read.

Books, which are easily available in modern times, are now a luxury.

Even though Ming Dynasty's printing technology was already very advanced and could print a lot of things at any time at the cheapest cost, opening this floodgate all at once would not produce any results that were beneficial to the court.

"What the prince said makes sense, so we must cultivate the habit of buying 'books' among the people. For the working people, functionality is more important than entertainment.

According to this method, the Ming Dynasty can spend money to print calendars and print some interesting things on the calendars to guide the people of the Ming Dynasty to buy them.

In other words, there is no need for the Ming Dynasty to purchase it. For people who meet certain conditions, the local government can distribute it.

A calendar is not expensive, only a few cents. "

"Calendar? This is a good idea, much better than asking the people to buy books directly. Father, I think everything Brother Yang mentioned is possible to accomplish, as long as it can stand the test of time. If it succeeds, it will only bring infinite benefits to the Ming Dynasty."

All the problems have been solved. Now all we need is for Old Zhu to give the OK and the matter will be settled.

Yang Siyi, who was standing next to Lao Zhu, wanted to say something, but Lao Zhu raised his hand to signal him not to speak.

Then he said earnestly:
"The method is a good one, and the purpose is a good one, but Biao'er, have you ever thought that once these people are dispersed to various parts of Ming Dynasty, the court will have to pay more expenses.

This problem has not been solved until now if the cost is too high.

Even if the advantages of establishing this independent department outweigh the disadvantages, we cannot support it!"

Wouldn’t Old Zhu be unaware of the great benefits that this department mentioned by Yang Chen would bring to the Ming Dynasty?

Of course he knew it, but the price was not something that ordinary people could afford.

Yang Chen disagreed and said with a folded hand:

"Your Majesty, I have already talked about talent and management, and if you are still worried about the cost, that is really inappropriate.

First of all, according to our original plan, the tax guards were to be selected from retired veterans.

The Ming Dynasty had a million strong army, so couldn't it afford to support tens of thousands of people? These people were originally stationed in the garrisons of various troops. Although they grew their own crops and ate their own food, didn't they still rely on the Ming Dynasty to distribute military pay?

My suggestion is just to let them return to the Ming Dynasty from the border garrisons.

What does it mean to bring the imperial power to the countryside? This is a measure that can break the monopoly of the literati on central orders.

Do you know how much benefit this incident will bring to the court?

Without the existence of tax guards, local tyrants were in charge in many places in the Ming Dynasty.

For example, the prince had acted recklessly in his own fiefdom before, and Your Majesty stipulated that businesses below ten stones would not be taxed. However, the King of Qin relied on his own power and stipulated that businesses above two stones would be taxed.

I guarantee that similar things are everywhere in the Ming Dynasty. Some of them are royal relatives, and some are local county magistrates.

There is no supervisory force, their power is the emperor, and it is unclear without careful investigation.

But it is different with tax guards stationed in various places in rotation.

They are literate and good at counting, so people can ask them questions if they don't understand something, and they can also apply for certain newspapers to sell.

Different people would be arranged to read out what happened in the Ming Dynasty on the stage at the village gate every day, so that the people would not always live in their own little world.

If the people do not understand the outside world, they will be like the people in Peach Blossom Spring, not even knowing who is in charge of the world.

The imperial power could not be fully implemented in the countryside, and the people could only live in a world constructed by royal families and wealthy gentry.

Later generations called it the "information cocoon", and the tax guard is the punch that breaks the information cocoon! It is the only weapon that can make your voice and your will reach the ears of the people!"

In an instant.

Zhu Biao, Yang Siyi and Lao Zhu understood that the main purpose of the Ming Mass Service Center was to bring imperial power to the countryside.

As a latecomer, Yang Siyi didn't know that Yang Chen had mentioned this matter before.

As a powerful official, he knew very well what it meant to extend imperial power to the countryside.

Local royal families and local hegemonism have no power to resist the absolute force of the imperial court.

There are many martial arts schools among the people. The imperial court allows these schools to exist, but it cannot allow these schools to make armor and weapons on their own.

The reason is that ordinary people can strengthen their bodies and enhance their combat effectiveness by practicing martial arts. In critical moments, emergency recruitment can ensure that Ming soldiers will not be completely without combat capabilities.

As long as we prevent the enemy from getting their armor and weapons, no matter how these people play around, the Ming Dynasty has the absolute military strength to destroy them.

Without military control, local governments will resort to ideological control.

The reason why Yang Siyi did not completely oppose Yang Chen's proposal was because he saw that this thing could resist the forces that privately opposed the imperial power.

It's just that he couldn't find the words to describe it.

Now Yang Chen's words "information cocoon" made him feel like he had been enlightened. He kept slapping his thighs and wondering why he hadn't thought of this word?
Nowadays, the distance is long and it is extremely inconvenient to travel. If you want to go far away, you may not be able to travel ten miles if you don’t have some money at home.

Forget horse-drawn carriages, those who owned ox-drawn carts were all rich farmers, and most people lived their lives carrying a shoulder pole and walking on foot.

Why has the imperial power never reached the ears of the common people from ancient times to the present? Travel is one reason, but the bigger reason is that they are controlled by an information network that is devalued by the local clan forces.

There was an imperial edict posted at the city gate. Unless there was a scholar standing next to them, the people had no idea what was on the edict.

In addition to the two words "wanted criminal", there is also a reward amount on the wanted poster. People cannot understand the words, but they can understand the person and the amount of money.

"Father, I feel more and more that the tax guards of the Daming Mass Service Center must be established. This measure can effectively collect taxes from below.

Even if it means a few tens of thousands more people, I think it is worth it."

Zhu Biao touched his chin and said as he constructed a blueprint in his mind.

Tax Guard is indeed a fun thing.

Even if he did not have so many advantages, he would allow him to display his power for the sake of the imperial power going to the countryside.

As long as taxes can be paid and his orders can be heard by the people, Zhu Yuanzhang will not care about other things.

With the establishment of the Tax Guard, the Ming Dynasty’s treasury revenue will certainly increase dramatically.

Without these "middlemen" under the wing, more taxes will go into the national treasury than before when they were collected from them.

what?
You said there are some bold enough people who want to kill all the tax guards?
This kind of thing might be possible for other emperors, but it was impossible for Zhu.

In addition to the tax guards, Zhu Yuanzhang also had the Embroidered Uniform Guards, who were spread throughout the Ming Dynasty like a spider web.

The tax guards somewhere disappeared for no apparent reason, without a trace.

Then Lao Zhu can definitely make the same thing happen to the entire family of the murderer behind the scenes.

Once the tax guards entered a county, it meant that they were not only responsible for collecting taxes, but also for conveying Zhu's words.

Those who serve as tax guards are all military personnel. Even if they work in other places, they can communicate on an equal footing with those who are uneducated and only know how to farm. They are completely different from those officials who only know how to do evil by abusing their power.

In the past, local gentry colluded with officials and used various means to make the people pay more taxes.

For example, there will be losses in the tax payment process. Originally, people only need to pay one stone of grain, but they need to pay an extra one-tenth of the grain to replace the extra losses.

In fact, the loss was not that great, but the various taxation methods made the people miserable. They could only swallow their anger and later blamed the emperor for these things.

Zhu Yuanzhang cared very much about these things.

The reason is simple.
Because all of this is money paid by the people, and to a certain extent it is his money!
Isn’t embezzling people’s taxes the same as embezzling the money that belongs to him?
"Great! The tax guards at the Daming Mass Service Center are great!"

"Biao'er, we'll leave this matter to you. When you're done, let us know. We'll explain it to the officials in the court. Then we'll see who dares to stand up and oppose it!"

"Minister Yang, what do you think?"

Yang Siyi remained silent.

At this point, there's nothing he can say.

All the problems he and the prince had raised just now were solved by Yang Chen alone.

"Your Majesty, I also think what he said makes a lot of sense. I believe that the Crown Prince will be able to handle this matter without any problems.

When this is mentioned in front of all the ministers, I will definitely be the first one to stand beside the Crown Prince."

Old Zhu felt very pleased to receive such a reply, and immediately waved his hand, intending to let Yang Chen and his group leave.

Zhu Di, who was standing in the corner, stood up at this time.

"Father! I have something to say!"

"Old Four? Yes, yes, yes, I almost forgot that you were here. Didn't I ask you to prepare to return to Beiping for war? The Jurchen tribes should be preparing for winter now. It would be better if they prepared horse grass before us.

If something unexpected happens and they unite with the Northern Yuan Dynasty to cause harm to the border of our Ming Dynasty, you must hurry back to Peking and let the three Princes of Yan take action immediately.

Strive to win with one strike! Bring glory to our Ming Dynasty!"

Old Zhu seemed to have seen his son coming back with the heads of the leaders of the various Jurchen tribes, and said this with ease.

Zhu Di's face was full of embarrassment.

"Father, I came here today to ask you, Father. Who should I ask for the cavalry you promised me?"

"cavalry?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned at first, but then he quickly reacted. He had said in front of all the ministers that he would give his son the greatest support.

Afterwards, he even forgot that he hadn't given his son the paperwork yet.

"I'm quite busy, so I'll write you a decree. You can take it to Tiande later, and your father-in-law will know what to do."

After saying that, Lao Zhu wrote a few lines on a piece of silk book, and the seal he carried with him left a touch of red on it.

Zhu Di took the silk book, and Yang Chen and Zhu Biao left together.

At this moment, only Lao Zhu and Yang Siyi were left in the study.

"Minister Yang, you just saw that Yang Chen, this bastard, has a lot of things in his head. He always comes up with ideas that we can't think of. Once the Daming Mass Service Center is really established, there will definitely be many people who secretly hinder it.

As the Minister of Revenue, you understand what you should do, right? "

Without Zhu Biao and others, the shocking sharpness in Old Zhu's words appeared again.

'This is your majesty!'

Yang Siyi's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a lot of emotions. He didn't understand where the emperor's temper had gone.

Why is it only beginning to appear now?

Although he was dazed, he did not forget to answer Lao Zhu.

"Your Majesty, as your Majesty's intermediary in governing the world, I naturally have to consider your Majesty. Now Yang Chen has already told you all the benefits of the Daming Mass Service Center.

The prince is also willing to try, and as a subject, I will do my best to assist the prince in completing this experiment."

On the stage, Lao Zhu had a smile on his face. This old guy still understood what he meant.

Just now he handed over full authority to Zhu Biao to handle the matter. The meaning was very clear, that is, to delegate power. Zhu just said these words just to see what was going on.

See if these ministers can understand his thoughts.

At present, it seems that Yang Siyi, as the Minister of Revenue, is very smart.

“However, Your Majesty, I believe that if we want to establish an organization this time, we must conduct a pilot project in one location.

If there is no response with sufficient benefits, there will definitely be people in the court who will unanimously oppose it. They may not dare to speak out openly, but that does not mean they will not talk nonsense in private.

I think that what Yang Chen is doing needs to be tried out in a good place. After a month or so, once it is confirmed that this method is correct, it will not be too late to promote it nationwide. "

Yang Siyi's suggestion made Lao Zhu think about it for a while.

indeed so.

Whatever you do has to be convincing enough to prevent these unwilling guys from raising any objections.

There is no need for Old Zhu to go to so much trouble. He can just kill anyone who opposes. However, it is absolutely impossible to convince everyone by killing alone.

The only way is to provide them with evidence that they cannot refute.

A pilot is a good suggestion.

"What Minister Yang said makes sense. Since it is a pilot project, let Yang Chen go to Ningming County to carry out the pilot project.

He had originally wanted to work here, and now this thing happened, which allowed him to kill two birds with one stone. All the answers would be revealed in three months at the latest.

When the time comes, we'll see who can hinder our plan."

Since the matter concerned Ningming County, Yang Siyi frowned slightly, but soon figured it out.

This place is for Yang Chen to gain experience. After a certain period of time, he will definitely be transferred back to the political center of the Ming Dynasty.

"Okay, this matter has been decided. You can leave first."

"I resign!"

After Yang Siyi left, Lao Zhu also stood up and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he told his servants to pack up all these things and keep them safe.

"We're tired after a whole day, let's go find a girl and tell her about the two important things we learned today!"

When Lao Zhu thought of the dragon-slaying technique that Yang Chen gave him, he became very excited.

How many people have wanted to comprehend this thing for thousands of years, but who would have thought that Old Zhu would find out about it today!
On the way, Lao Zhu even wanted to attribute these ideas to himself. After all, people in later generations had not been born yet, and now that he knew about it, the credit would naturally be his.

However, this thought was fleeting. He knew that if he really did this, Queen Ma would definitely be the first to laugh at him for stealing the credit from a child.

Then his sons would definitely gossip about him behind his back.

What Mr. Zhu can't stand the most is people gossiping about him behind his back.

(End of this chapter)