Forbidden City, Wenhua Palace.
Zhu Yijun looked at the four cabinet scholars in front of him. His expression was a bit interesting. Didn't he just ask them to get some information about Hetao? Was there a need to make such a big fuss?
What was going on?
"You, please stand up and talk!"
Zhu Yijun looked at the four people and said. When the four people stood up, Zhu Yijun then continued: "Hetao ah!
The Yellow River is full of dangers, but Hetao is the only place that is rich. Since the Han and Tang Dynasties, Hetao has been a famous place. "
"Not only is the land there fertile, it is also rich in Hetao horses. What a good place."
Listening to Zhu Yijun's words, Shen Shixing's mouth twitched. Obviously, the Emperor had the intention to restore Hetao.
"Your Majesty, this is the information this subject has compiled about Hetao!"
As he spoke, Shen Shi handed a memorial to Zhang Jing and then continued, "Since the beginning of the Jiajing era, winter has come exceptionally early in the northwest."
"The drought has been here for seven out of ten years. The Hetao area is no longer suitable for farming."
"If we send troops to restore Hetao and build a garrison in Hetao, then all the provisions and military supplies of the garrison will need to be supplied from the northwest.
But the situation in the northwest is not good, and it is getting worse every year. "
"The provisions in the northwest are not enough to supply the garrison in Hetao, so we will need to transfer food from further away."
"The food in the capital has to be transferred from Jiangnan. If the food in the northwest also has to be transferred from Jiangnan, then the imperial court will not be able to bear the cost.
In addition, the northwest is bitter cold. If we set up a garrison here, too many soldiers will run away. It will be very difficult to maintain. "
Listening to Shen Shixing's words, Zhu Yijun sighed helplessly.
In reality, this was related to the military system of the Great Ming Dynasty. The military system of the Great Ming Dynasty was based on stationing troops to open up land. In other words, the army had to use the food they planted to feed themselves. It was not the central government that supported the army.
In a place that could not be farmed, the army could not be stationed for a long time.
In addition, the destruction of the commercial settlement further led to the collapse of this military system.
Right now, the Daming Northwest Army is very strong, but once the drought starts, the Northwest Army will completely collapse.
The imperial court had no money or food for them, so deserters became a common occurrence. After all, they couldn't possibly work for the imperial court on an empty stomach!
Transporting the grain to the northwest, with the current method of transportation, would cause a toothache.
Money!
Zhu Yijun sighed helplessly. To put it bluntly, he was poor. If he had money, he would completely abandon the military system of stationing troops and use the recruitment system instead.
They were willing to go to Hetao to recruit soldiers on a large scale and provide them with money and rations.
If he had money, he could transport the food over himself. It was just that the cost would be slightly higher.
"Your Majesty, now that Wala has been defeated, the core area of Mongolia is no longer in Hetao, but in Tumite River, which is Gui City.
Now, between Datong and Guihua City, there is no one who can stop me. Daming, there is no longer a need for a repeat. "
"If Your Majesty wants a He Tao horse, then buy it from the Wala people."
"I have calculated that the cost of buying 50,000 war horses every year is less than half of the cost of establishing the four armies."
In fact, after hearing Shen Shixing's words, Zhu Yijun already knew that his repeat plan was dead in the water.
In fact, compared to Shen Shixing, Zhu Yijun knew another thing, and that was that the Little Ice Age was coming.
Many people in later generations knew about the Great Drought of Chongzhen. It lasted for a long time and covered a large area, something that had not been seen in the past 500 years.
Twenty-three provinces (regions) in the south and north of Daming successively suffered from severe drought.
The main areas with little rain were in North China, Hebei, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Shandong. These areas had been in drought for more than five years. The center of the drought, Henan Province, had been in drought for seven years. In the early stages of the drought, there was a pattern of drought in the north and a flood in the south, and the area of drought expanded year by year to the east and south.
Later, it changed to an increase in rainfall in the north, and then to a flood in the north and a drought in the south.
During this period, plagues and locusts were rampant. For the whole of Daming, it was absolutely fatal.
Everyone called this drought the Great Drought of Chongzhen, but in fact, God had already changed his face and sneezed long ago. This disaster began with Wanli and ended with Chongzhen.
After the twentieth year of the Wanli calendar, the Great Ming Dynasty entered a calamitous situation.
One day there was a drought, the next there was a flood, or there was a plague, a plague of locusts, and even earthquakes.
After this period, it would be the so-called Golden Age of Kangqian. At that time, the weather would be good, and with the promotion of new species, the entire land of Huaxia's food production would usher in a great peak. It was also this peak that led to the so-called Golden Age of Kangqian.
What he had to do was how to survive this wave. Compared to the repeat, this was much more important.
When he had money, the repeat could be done at any time. Thinking of this, although he was still a little unwilling, Zhu Yijun had already suppressed this thought.
Anyway, the Wala could no longer cause trouble now, let them do as they please!
With the wool trade, it would be easy to tie the Wala to Daming's war chariot.
"Alright, I understand!" Zhu Yijun waved his hand. "I won't think about this anymore. Let's put aside the matter of the repeat first!"
Hearing Zhu Yijun's words, Shen Shixing and the others immediately revealed a look of joy, and their hearts were bursting with a sense of accomplishment.
Ever since Zhu Yijun came into power, they rarely had this kind of feeling. This time, they felt quite elated.
"Alright, all of you can leave!" Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said helplessly.
Now that Zhu Yijun was depressed, he couldn't be bothered to look at their expressions. Chasing them away was the right thing to do.
The four of them also knew that it was better not to provoke the Emperor at this time. Their goal had been achieved, and provoking the Emperor was not the way of an official.
After the four of them bowed, they left Wenhua Palace.
Looking at the backs of the four of them, Zhu Yijun rubbed his forehead and sighed helplessly.
"Imperial Majesty, Wang Yongji is here!"
After waiting for a while, seeing that Zhu Yijun seemed to have recovered a little, Zhang Jing then came over and said to Zhu Yijun.
Wang Yongji is here?
Zhu Yijun sat up straight. He had just been hit hard by the money. Now that he heard that Wang Yongji was here, Zhu Yijun instantly became interested.
This person was helping him get money. Once he got the money, he would definitely take revenge today.
As for the disaster, there was no food. If there was a disaster, he could do nothing about it. If the Earth caught a cold, he could not cure it.
However, there was no food to rob. He had promoted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn. If it still did not work, then he would go to the South.
The Royal Navy had to be put on the agenda as soon as possible. When the time came, if the Daming did not collect food, he would go to Southeast Asia to rob.
Of course, Wang Yongji did not know that Zhu Yijun had the idea of robbing money. After entering the palace, Wang Yongji bowed respectfully.
Waving his hand to indicate that Wang Yongji did not need to bow, Zhu Yijun said directly, "I heard that you are going to Daxing personally?"
"Your Majesty, I am preparing to go to Daxing. This is the first time the Tax Department is collecting business taxes. There cannot be any mistakes." Wang Yongji's attitude was very serious. The expression on his face was also very serious.
In reality, Wang Yongji also knew that if the Tax Department failed this time, then he would not be able to do anything in the future.
Zhu Yijun also valued the Tax Department very much. After all, it was his future foundation!
"Tell me about it!" Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Yongji and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Wang Yongji nodded. "According to Your Majesty's instructions, there are a few types of taxes that the Tax Department will collect this time. The first type is business tax, which is targeted at the shops.
Depending on the type of business, the tax system is also different. "
"Your Majesty has mentioned the registered trademark this time. Illegal businesses will be banned."
"Among them, places like casinos and brothels have a higher tax rate. Furthermore, we will use the tiered tax system that Your Majesty has mentioned. The more you earn, the more tax you have to pay. I have also drawn up detailed rules for the fines for tax evasion."
"Apart from business tax, there is also a transaction tax, which is targeted at large goods transactions."
"Apart from transaction tax, there is also a production tax, which is targeted at workshops."
Wang Yongji explained in detail to Zhu Yijun the tax collection method and the punishment for violating it.
"Your Majesty has also prepared people for the notary office. All sales and transactions must be notarized at the notary office. The court will not recognize contracts that are not notarized.
Taxes will be collected according to the value of the transaction contract. This time, I want to promote it in Daxing. "
After hearing Wang Yongji's words, Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction. He smiled and said, "Very good. Do a good job and don't let me down."
"Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will do my best!" Wang Yongji bowed with a serious expression.
Wang Yongji left for Daxing after leaving the palace. A matter that the court officials did not pay much attention to, but was destined to shock countless people quietly unfolded.
Many of the court officials heaved a sigh of relief when the Emperor gave up on the idea of replicating. The court's focus then shifted to the news that Qi Jiguang was about to return to the capital.
This time, not only did Qi Jiguang return in triumph, but Wala's loyal and obedient wife and Sungai Of Gojoseon also came to the capital for an audience with him.
This was definitely a big thing for the Daming. Wala, who had been a scourge to the Daming for many years, was finally beaten into submission.
Zhu Yijun's attention also shifted to this matter. After all, this was a big thing for the Daming.
The Ministry of Rites was also busy formulating etiquette. Zhu Yijun did not care much. When the time came, he only needed to do as the Ministry of Rites said.
The Imperial Astronomer.
Originally, the Imperial Astronomer was not a busy yamen. However, these two days, it was very lively. This was because a person called Xu Guangqi brought a big thing called a clock.
It was a brand new thing to measure time. It was more useful than a sundial and did not need sunlight.
The supervisor of the Imperial Astronomer, Shao Deren, had been busy with this matter for the past two days. Looking at Xu Guangqi, who was sitting there drinking tea, Shao Deren felt a little bitter. This annoying thing was caused by this guy.
Why did he make such a thing for no reason? However, he did not dare to say it.
For this matter, the Emperor had specially issued an imperial edict. If it was not done well, it would probably end badly.