How can one be Emperor Chongzhen without money?

Chapter 179 Clearing the fields is like confiscating property, paying taxes is like bleeding people dry, which master is coming?
In the eighth month of the lunar calendar, it got cool in the mornings and evenings in Beijing.

In the Changzhou Guild Hall in the south of the city, in the room where Prefect Lu Xiang-sheng, who had come from Daming Prefecture, was received, Lu Xiang-sheng sat carefully at the lower seat. Today's visitor was Qian Qianyi, the leader of the Donglin Party. Master Qian was nearly fifty years old, dressed in ordinary home clothes, and his eyes always revealed a keen understanding of the ways of the world when he looked at people.

"Jiandou, I've read your proposal on organizing local militias." Qian Qianyi put down his teacup, speaking slowly but with considerable weight. "Your intentions are good, it's all about serving the country. But this method... it's too hasty and drastic, I'm afraid it's not the right approach."

Lu Xiang-sheng stood ramrod straight: "Your teachings are wise. But I think the Jurchens have already pressed against the Great Wall. If we don't train a strong army in Shuntian and Yongping, what will become of the capital's defenses? Training troops requires money and provisions. After much thought, I can only think of a solution by surveying the land in these two regions and equalizing taxes. Besides, if our Great Ming wants long-term stability, we must also do the land survey and equalize taxes."

"Clean up the land? Equalize taxes?" Qian Qianyi shook his head, a half-smile on his face. "You've served as an official in the provinces, don't you know the power of the words 'clean up the land'? Can the land in Beizhili be cleaned up so easily? Behind every piece of barren land, there are several respectable families involved. In the early years of the Wanli reign, even with the power of Minister Zhang Taiyue, he implemented a land survey, and what was the result? Your foundation is still shallow, yet you want to do such a big thing. Aren't you just jumping into a pit of thorns?"

He leaned forward and lowered his voice: "You have the Emperor's favor and want to do things, which is good. But this local militia should be handled with caution. Asking the national treasury for funds or persuading local governments to donate are the right paths. Why insist on using the 'land clearing' scheme and offending all the officials and gentry in the court? Listen to me, this matter needs to be put on hold and discussed in a more thorough manner."

Lu Xiang-sheng's eyes were sharp, and he did not back down: "I understand what you are saying, sir. But if everyone only seeks to protect themselves, watching the land be increasingly consolidated, the national treasury become emptier, and the border defenses fall into disrepair, where will we, the scholars and officials, put our faces when the Tartars invade again?"

He looked out at the dark night, his voice filled with a desperate resolve: "I know the road ahead is difficult, and I may end up disgraced. But the nation has nurtured scholars for 250 years, and today is the day to uphold integrity and die for our country! As long as there is even a glimmer of hope to strengthen our army and defend our nation, I... will not hesitate to die a thousand deaths!"

Looking at his young and stubborn face, Qian Qianyi knew that he couldn't persuade him, and could only let out a long sigh: "Foolish child... really a foolish child! Well then, you should take care of yourself, and be more careful in everything you do."

After seeing Qian Qianyi off, Lu Xiang-sheng returned to his desk, read the memorial again, and added a line at the end: "I know this proposal will surely incur public wrath, but if it benefits the nation, I will risk my life for it."

The lamplight flickered, casting his lonely shadow on the wall, yet it conveyed a sense of stubbornness.

……

In the West Warm Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, a window was half-open, letting in a faint fragrance of osmanthus mixed with a cool breeze.

Emperor Chongzhen changed into a thicker robe and held in his hand Lu Xiang-sheng's memorial on organizing local militias in Shuntian and Yongping prefectures.

Lu Xiang-sheng stood below, full of energy—"If it benefits the nation, I will risk my life!" What a great feudalist warrior of the Ming Dynasty!

"Minister Lu," Emperor Chongzhen spoke, his voice clear in the quiet room, "I have read your memorial. Your intention to use the method of equalizing land taxes to train troops is commendable."

"Your Majesty, I am foolish and dull, and all I know is to share your burdens," Lu Xiang-sheng replied calmly.

Emperor Chongzhen closed the memorial and looked at him, saying, "But I have to be frank with you. It's difficult to squeeze much food out of the bowls of these nobles and officials in Beizhili."

Lu Xiang-sheng's eyes narrowed, waiting for what was to come.

"How much of their land can be cleared? How much of the hidden taxes can be recovered?" Chongzhen's tone was calm, but his words were heavy. "Clearing the land is something that can be done and must be done! But at most, we can only scrape off a layer of oil, that's the best we can do."

Lu Xiang-sheng's throat moved, as if he wanted to speak.

Chongzhen raised his hand to stop him, leaning forward slightly: "The quick way to make money isn't here." He dipped his finger in some cool tea and slowly wrote two characters on the gleaming rosewood desk: "Lijin" (厘金).

Lu Xiang-sheng craned his neck to take a look, and his brows furrowed. He had been in charge of finances before, but had never heard of this before. He hesitated and asked, "Your Majesty, what is this 'lijin'...?"

"The so-called likin," Chongzhen explained, "was a checkpoint set up at the river and land ports and important intersections in Shuntian and Yongping prefectures. Goods passing through were taxed at one cent of their value. One cent of silver was also one cent of profit, hence the name likin. As for the name, it was called 'military training donation,' which was to encourage merchants to donate to military expenses."

Lu Xiang-sheng was stunned at first, then his face changed, as if he had heard something frightening, and his voice rose: "Your Majesty! This...isn't this just creating a pretext to levy additional commercial taxes?"

He took a half-step forward in haste: "Our dynasty already has customs offices to collect commercial taxes, but how much can we collect in a year? Everyone knows how difficult it is to collect taxes! Clerks exploit us, gentry evade us, and merchants conceal our income. If even 10% of the taxes end up in the national treasury, that's already good! Now we want to add new checkpoints and collect new taxes in addition to the regular ones. Isn't this cutting off our own trade routes and incurring the wrath of the people? This resistance is probably a hundred times greater than that of the Qing Dynasty's land reform!"

This was exactly the reaction Chongzhen wanted. Looking at his anxious and solemn expression, a barely perceptible bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. His voice was even lower, yet firm: "Precisely because this matter faces immense resistance, amounting to going against the merchants of the world and the gentry behind them, it is all the more necessary for you to sharpen the 'Qingtian' knife, this legitimate one, and pave the way for it!"

“Jiandou,” he called Lu Xiangsheng by his courtesy name, his eyes piercing, “put yourself in his shoes. If you were one of those gentry who owned a lot of land, would you rather I send people to clear out the land your family has hidden for centuries and collect taxes owed by generations, or would you rather your caravan pay that ‘one-hundred-fold’ ‘military tax’ when passing through checkpoints?”

Lu Xiang-sheng replied without hesitation: "Of course it's the latter! Clearing out the fields is like confiscating property, while paying likin is like bleeding someone dry. It's very clear which is lighter and which is heavier..."

"That makes perfect sense!" Chongzhen tapped his finger lightly on the table, his eyes sharp. "So, openly, you should carry it out on a grand scale, under the banner of clearing land and equalizing taxes, and reducing the burden on the common people! It will be legitimate and make it difficult for them to oppose you openly."

"When the time comes, if anyone jumps out and says that this 'likin' is an oppressive policy that is taking advantage of the people, you will be the first to raid their fields and investigate their taxes! I want to see whether their necks are tougher or the laws of the Ming Dynasty are tougher!"

Emperor Chongzhen leaned back in his chair, his tone calm yet uncompromising: "Occupying official land, embezzling military land, evading taxes—it's fine if we don't investigate these things normally. But if we really take them seriously, how much to recover and how much to confiscate is entirely up to me!" He paused, his voice icy.

"These are all problems that have accumulated over decades or even centuries. If we were to dig them out one by one, which family could withstand the investigation? At that time, let's see if they are willing to obediently pay that insignificant 'likin' (a tax), or if they want to experience the taste of having their property confiscated and going to jail! I will help them decide what to choose!"

As Lu Xiang-sheng listened, a chill ran down his spine. He finally understood that this young emperor was not using benevolent governance, but tyrannical tactics; he was using the Qingtian (a tax collection system) as a weapon to force people to accept the meager blood loss from the likin (a tax).

"Your Majesty... is wise! Your subject... understands!" His voice was a little hoarse, with a hint of hesitation.

Collecting commercial taxes became a major taboo in the Ming Dynasty for some reason. Even Emperor Chongzhen himself found it extremely difficult.

But Emperor Chongzhen now understands that collecting commercial and industrial taxes is not difficult, and it is essential! Without commercial taxes, no country in the world can sustain its finances on just a small amount of land tax.

Of course, he couldn't just dump all the pressure of collecting commercial taxes on Lu Xiang-sheng.

His expression softened a bit: "This likin is essentially a commercial tax, which is easy to be criticized in this dynasty. But you don't have to bear this bad reputation. I will have Wei Zhongxian send someone to handle it. You, Lu Xiang-sheng, just focus on training troops, pacifying the people, and clearing the fields in an upright manner... so that no one can find fault with you."

This clearly distinguishes between what's in front of the camera and what's behind the scenes.

“Go ahead and do it,” Chongzhen said decisively. “If the sky falls, I will hold it up for you. But remember, it must be done in secret. Before the decree appointing you as the Governor of Shuntian and the Commissioner of Militia is officially issued, what I say today, once it comes out of my mouth and into your ears, will not be known to a third person.”

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Lu Xiang-sheng bowed deeply, understanding the situation and knowing that the road ahead would certainly be difficult.

Emperor Chongzhen thought for a moment and then said, “I will give you 30,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury first. After you return to Daming, you can recruit strong men and soldiers, or you can recruit some reliable scholars from your hometown of Changzhou to help you. You should recommend worthy people without regard to kinship, and you can appoint even your brothers or sons. Once your militia headquarters is established, you can recruit officials of the seventh rank and below, whether civil or military, and just report to the Ministry of Personnel or the Ministry of War for record.”

This means they gave them money, the right to hire people, the right to recruit soldiers, and of course, a protective umbrella.

Finally, Chongzhen stood up, walked to the huge map of Jiliao, and traced the Great Wall with his finger.

"Jiandou, look at this thousand-mile-long border wall." His voice was heavy. "The imperial court has deployed 80,000 troops in Jizhou, giving it their all. Can they hold so many passes?"

He turned around, staring intently at Lu Xiang-sheng: "If the militia fails to train properly, when the Jurchens break through the border walls again, our heads, along with this Ming Dynasty, will all be someone else's achievement!"

"Shuntian and Yongping are the last line of defense for the capital. I entrust my life and fortune to you!"

Lu Xiang-sheng knelt down with a thud, his eyes burning, his voice choked with emotion: "Your Majesty trusts me so much, I... even if I die ten thousand times, I will do my utmost!"

Lu Xiang-sheng is gone.

Emperor Chongzhen remained seated behind his desk, his fingers unconsciously tracing the closed document. Lu Xiangshan still possessed that same reckless spirit—a pillar of the nation!
Such a pillar of society must be cherished. We cannot allow him to become a martyr, nor can we allow him to become a target for those who engage in empty talk in the court.

"Governor of Shuntian and Ambassador of Militia..." he read the official title to be given to him in a low voice.

This position carries great power and will offend many people. It's not impossible to issue a special decree directly, but it will ultimately give people grounds to say that it was a private appointment by the emperor, and it will also make Lu Xiang-sheng less assertive when he offends people in the future.

This appointment needs to go through a court process, even if it's just a formality.

When the court recommended Lu Xiang-sheng, the officials in charge of the censorate and the ministers of the ministries, especially those from Beizhili, were bound to be furious. The reasons for their opposition were obvious—they would say that Lu Xiang-sheng was inexperienced, impatient, and careless in his work, and most importantly, that the "clear land" project was clearly "competing with the people (gentry) for profit," which was not a good approach.

However, to ensure that Lu Xiang-sheng's appointment as "Governor of Shuntian and Military Commissioner" was legitimate and aboveboard, rather than a court recommendation, it would probably require Wei Zhongxian's intervention.
He raised his head and instructed Gao Qiqian, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who had been standing silently in the shadows: "Gao, go and summon Wei Zhongxian to see me. Tell him... I have something important to discuss with him."

"This servant obeys your command." Gao Qiqian bowed and replied, then quickly retreated.

Emperor Chongzhen stood up and walked to the huge map of Jiliao. His gaze passed over the winding Great Wall, as if he could see the Later Jin sharpening their swords on the grasslands beyond the Great Wall.

Time is running out.

(End of this chapter)