Chapter 72 Taxation
[Of course history has proven that his choice was correct for this reason.

The history of the Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years, from the founding of the country by Zhu Yuanzhang to its end; after Zhu Di moved the capital, Beijing served as the capital for 224 years.

During these 224 years, Beijing has never been conquered, and to some extent it can be said to be impregnable. There was no such thing as the six times the capital of the Tang Dynasty was captured and the emperor fled nine times, nor was there such a situation as the several capitals of the Song Dynasty, all of which were established for the escape to the south.

It was not until the end that Beijing was conquered with the demise of the Ming Dynasty, but the people who conquered Beijing were also the peasant rebels in the south, not the nomadic people in the north.

Ming Dynasty, the 16th year of Yongle.

Zhu Di, who had just heard Tianmu's affirmation of his relocation of the capital, was not happy yet when he heard the bad news: "..." He was a little dazed, and his hands were shaking. "The Ming Dynasty, is dead?" He stood up suddenly and wandered on the ground anxiously, "224 years, no, there are still 226 years. It took years to officially move the capital... It's not the northern nomads, it's the peasants' army... the peasants' uprising!"

He was panting heavily, his eyes were red, as if a hammer had hit his head hard, once, twice, three times...

As a second-generation emperor in a sense, he was a child when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country and fought wars. He knew the peasants' situation and the power of those seemingly docile and cowardly groups once they rose up. He also knew under what circumstances there would be a peasant uprising and when the power of the uprising would be strong enough to overthrow a dynasty.

What he couldn't believe was that the Ming Dynasty had actually weakened to that extent? Had the Ming Dynasty's political and military systems actually become so rotten?
"Land, land..." His sinister eyes swept across several ministers in the hall, and finally looked at his children and grandchildren.

The thirteenth year of Hongwu.

The palace fell silent for a moment, extremely silent. It was so silent that one could hear everyone's violent heartbeats and the frantic roars in everyone's heads.

"The Ming Dynasty fell due to peasant uprisings... Is this what you mean?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice sounded in the silent space. Although it was a question, it sounded like a statement, "Are my policies not good for the peasants?" He murmured, suddenly raised his head and turned around, staring at the ministers in the hall.

The moment he opened his mouth, all the civil and military ministers and nobles had already kneeled down on the ground in panic, and no one dared to look up.

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed not to notice their actions, still glancing at them coldly, "Or, after we were gone, you became more and more rampant in corruption and bribery? Finally, you found that no one could control you, and finally the officials forced the people to revolt, and ruined our Zhu family's foundation?"

The ministers knelt in the hall with numerous braziers lit, their hearts colder than the coldest days of winter, but no one dared to utter a single word or utter a single syllable.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered a few times. He had already determined that it was these corrupt officials who ruined his Ming Dynasty!
Just look at the present, even though he has killed countless people, there are still so many people who continue to rush forward and cannot control their hands. You can guess what the court will become in the future when he is gone!
Oh, and there are still fields... As long as farmers have a piece of land, there is hope. He thought of his childhood. Could it be that someone has started to forcibly seize land again? Who? It's these officials, those masters!
A strong murderous intent began to surge in his heart.

【Since Zhu Di, the tradition of the Ming Dynasty emperor guarding the national border was officially formed. 】

The emperor guards the country!
When this was said, many people cheered.

Although it is indeed more dangerous, it is precisely because of this that it highlights the momentum of this dynasty, unites people and boosts their spirits.

The sixteenth year of Yongle.

Zhu Di listened to Tianmu's summary of the next few hundred years, and while he was shocked and pleased, he also did not forget to teach his children and grandchildren. He was unusually solemn and serious: "The emperor guards the country's gates and must not have the intention of moving south. This should be included in the ancestral precepts and family rules, and it must not be changed in the future! Those who violate it are not descendants of the Zhu family!"

Song.

Zhao Kuangyin is in a bad situation now, very bad.

Anyone who has just established a country for a few years and still has great ambitions and wants to make great achievements will be told: Hey, you can't do it, your whole family can't do it, not only can't do it, but it is also a rare shame in the world! He will become what he is now.

When talking about Zhu Di's decision to move the capital, he was not very good. What does it mean to weaken the combat effectiveness of the border troops? Is it to become the Song Dynasty?
The fighting power of his Song Dynasty army was also very strong! His army was a battle-hardened army. They fought with him in all directions and conquered Jinghu, Hou Shu, Southern Han, and Southern Tang in one fell swoop, laying the foundation for the territory of the early Song Dynasty and stabilizing his rule. What could be wrong with such an army?

As for the military system, he was right to strengthen the trunk and weaken the branches, right? Strengthening the central government and weakening the local governments to avoid the Tang Dynasty's feudal system, but the combat effectiveness of the central imperial army was guaranteed, and the imperial army was also the main force in foreign wars.

Is it a matter of rotating generals? But he has no other way to prevent generals from becoming too powerful, and he doesn't think that simply rotating generals will reduce the army's combat effectiveness to the point where it can be considered a negative example.

Therefore, there must be something wrong with the later emperor.

Very good, Zhao Kuangyin calmed down, and looked at his two sons again with a smile on his face. Before, there was the Jingkang Shame and the problem of not unifying the country, and now there is another problem of the army. He is really a good son!

He reached out and grasped a stick at his side.

Tang Dynasty, the third year of Zhenguan.

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, is also in a bad situation now.

Previously, based on the information revealed, they speculated that the emperor was forced to rely on eunuchs to fight for power, and speculated that the reason for this was the loss of control of local generals that led to the formation of feudal lords, and then they began to discuss how to avoid this problem.

As a result, I heard praise for Beijing, and also mentioned the Tang Dynasty - the capital was captured six times, the emperor fled nine times...

Li Shimin felt his eyes go dark, his chest felt stuffy, and he could hardly breathe.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Sun Wuji was so frightened that he quickly supported him and helped him sit on a chair beside him. He also hurriedly helped him breathe: "Your Majesty, relax, breathe, breathe..."

Someone had already seen the situation was not good, and sent someone to call the imperial physician. After a while, the imperial physician rushed over and fed Li Shimin a pill. Seeing that he was gradually recovering, the imperial physician advised: "Your Majesty, try not to get too emotional, too happy or too sad, you..."

Li Shimin sighed and interrupted him: "I understand." He then asked the imperial physician to wait aside.

He looked at his ministers, feeling grief-stricken: "The capital has been captured six times, and the emperor has fled nine times. This has never happened before!" He paused, and took another breath, "I wonder what kind of devastation and chaos the people of the Tang Dynasty will have to face!"

The ministers also sighed. Although they had tried their best to speculate the consequences of the rise of powerful military governors, no one had expected it to be so serious.

The capital fell many times, and the emperor had to flee many times. This was a fatal blow to the royal family, the central government, and the court! It can be said that they lost power and prestige, and there was no face left. How could such a royal family and such a central government govern the world and graze the local areas? I am afraid that they can only manage their own capital area in a humiliating way, which is almost the same as the Zhou emperor during the Warring States Period!
Beyond this, what is even more terrifying is the lives of the people.

Such frequent fall and escape actually reflects the situation of war. If even the central government cannot be saved, how terrible will the war be? If the emperor escapes, where will the people escape to? How can they survive? A large number of people are displaced and become refugees, and a large amount of land is abandoned and there is no food to grow. In this way, famine is just around the corner! After that, the court completely lost its ruling power. Who will rule the people? How about taxes?
Has the Tang Dynasty reached this point... Thinking of this, Li Shimin's tears had already welled up.

Who was it, which emperor, who brought the Tang Dynasty to such a state!

[Of course, Zhu Di's decision to move the capital also had economic reasons, and it ultimately achieved certain results.

Since the Song Dynasty, the economic center of the Central Plains has become the Jianghuai area. This area produces grain and is a commercial hub. It can be said that the financial resources come from the southeast, and Jinling is its center.

But while Jiangnan is prosperous, there is a huge rift between the north and the south, and a serious imbalance between Jiangnan and areas outside of Jiangnan.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty was very large. A large area in the north was also part of the Ming Dynasty, but it was extremely poor. The only prosperous area was probably the "horse market" where Mongolians and Han people traded.

Zhu Di moved the capital to Beiping in order to move the economic center of the Ming Dynasty from Nanjing in the south to the more centrally located north and to reintegrate the country's economic layout. In this way, the economic power of the capital could radiate to the vast north, benefiting all regions of the Ming Dynasty.

Most of the materials needed by Beijing had to be transported from the south of the Yangtze River to the north by water transport, so water transport became increasingly prosperous. The prosperity of water transport promoted the development of towns along the canal, such as Yangzhou, Linqing and Cangzhou, and further promoted the recovery of the northern economy.

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

As the content of the story changed, the atmosphere in the hall warmed up slightly.

But still no one dared to be the first to break the silence in the hall.

After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke up himself, praising: "Fourth Brother, this is indeed a good point." He nodded to Zhu Di, as if to express his affirmation, "Not only the economy, but also the military options are also acceptable. Just like Tianmu said, Beijing held out to the end, and," he curled his lips, "it was not conquered by the barbarians in the north first."

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang looked at the prosperous scene of the Jianghuai area in the Ming Dynasty on the sky and was quite envious.

"Naigong is so poor." He complained, "We can't even get four white horses together. The whole Han Dynasty is so poor. It's not like the Ming Dynasty, which started to consider the issue of regional balance."

No matter how much he complained, he knew very well that the Han Dynasty could only take it slow, reduce taxes and levies, and recuperate.

Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshuo.

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, looked at the canal towns in the sky, which were gradually prospering with the prosperity of water transport, with shining eyes.

"Can my Han Dynasty also use this method?" Liu Che looked at the ministers below with an expectant tone. There was no other way. He had to fight the Huns, and he was short of money! Too short of money!
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment, and one of them stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Han Dynasty now has many vassal states, and it is difficult to operate grain transport." In other words, the vassal states were economically independent and did not have to interact with the central government, so who would be willing to spend money and manpower to develop grain transport?
Liu Che looked at Sang Hongyang, who was serving as the imperial attendant beside him. Sang Hongyang lived up to his expectations and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, you can first make use of the water system outside the fiefdom, open up canal transportation to aid the army, and turn flood disasters into water benefits. Moreover, the court already has experience in opening a canal on the south bank of the Wei River."

Liu Che nodded in satisfaction. He also knew that the grain transport would take time, but he was not so short of money that he could not wait. However, the issue of enfeoffment was brought up again, and he asked his ministers again: "Everyone, do you have any solution to the issue of enfeoffment?"

No one spoke.

In silence, Zhong Dafu Zhufu Yan spoke up: "Your Majesty, I have an immature idea." (Historically, Zhufu Yan proposed the Enfeoffment Order in the second year of Yuanshuo)
Liu Che nodded: "Discuss with me after the meeting."

"Yes." Lord Father Yan lowered his head in response.

[Of course, moving the capital to Beijing also has some negative effects.

The natural environment is worse than that of Nanjing, the border defense pressure is increased, and so on, needless to say.

The key point is that the central court's control over the south was weakened.

Zhu Di's original idea was to collect the taxes from the south to use for the defense of the north, and to control the south with the north. This idea was very good and there was no problem in its initial implementation.

But as time went on, the central government's effective control over the south became weaker and weaker. In addition, the southern party gradually rose up and gained more and more power in the south. The final result was that the court could no longer collect taxes from the south.

For example, during the Wanli period, after 200 years of development, the registered cultivated land and population of the Ming Dynasty were actually less than those during the Hongwu period. Another example is that the salt tax in the Ming Dynasty was much lower than that in the Song and Qing Dynasties, but the salt price was higher than that in the Song and Qing Dynasties. Who got this money?

The demise of the Ming Dynasty was largely due to the inability to collect taxes. However, Jiangnan was not short of money, and neither were the officials and gentry.

If the government cannot collect taxes, it will have no money. The key consequence of having no money is that it cannot pay the army. 】

Ming Dynasty, the 13th year of Hongwu.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked cold. He had always thought that it was the corruption of these officials that destroyed his Ming Dynasty. Now, although it was different from what he had imagined, wasn't it still the fault of these officials? The court had no money, but they had money. Even if they didn't embezzle taxes, weren't they actually stealing the court's money? Otherwise, where did they get their money from?
Especially, especially the officials and gentry in Jiangnan!
The previous rumor about the Fourth Brother "killing ten clans" was related to them. Now, it is them who are harming the public interest for their own benefit and digging up the roots of the Ming Dynasty!

It seems that his ancestral precept of not allowing people from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Susong to serve as officials in the Ministry of Revenue is absolutely correct! If they were not allowed to extend their hands to the Ministry of Revenue, they could do this. If they were allowed, wouldn't his Ming Dynasty not even last for more than 200 years?
"What do you think?" Zhu Yuanzhang turned his gaze to his sons, completely ignoring the ministers who were still kneeling on the ground.

"My son thinks that the reason why Jiangnan cannot collect taxes is because there are not enough farmers." Zhu Biao spoke in a steady voice, "The miracle says that two hundred years later, the registered cultivated land and population of the Ming Dynasty will decrease. This should be the reason why the court cannot collect taxes. The reason why the cultivated land and population have decreased is that the farmers have become tenants of the landlords. The landlords can be exempted from taxes, so the court's taxes will naturally decrease."

"That's right, Prince!" Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, a chill ran down his spine. "Have we not been good to these scholars? We exempted them from taxes, gave them official positions, and gave them generous treatment. But how did they repay us? They formed cliques! They embezzled money! They turned around and dug up the roots of our Zhu family!" He walked to the chair and sat down. "Does this world belong to them? No, it belongs to our Zhu family! In the end, all the money went into their pockets! And they made the people suffer!"

He turned around and said to his sons who were still standing, "You guys sit down too. It's not worth it if you get yourself mad before you deal with these parasites."

The brothers sat down tremblingly. Although they knew that this matter would not happen to them, their father was so calm and could sit down, which obviously meant that he was mad!

Although the generals were also kneeling, they raised their heads with convinced faces. Everyone's eyes expressed one meaning: Long live, you are right, we all listen to you! If you need us, we will not hesitate!

　There are many reasons why the Ming Dynasty ended, and here we only emphasize the problem of civil servants' factions.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)