Xu Yunzhen still thought Zhu Youjian was simple. Although he lured a group of Nanjing noble family heads and princes, as well as the top leaders of the various guard stations in South Zhili, to Puzikou, it was indeed a bit like holding hostages. But

His goal is not just a little bit of money, he has a bigger goal!

He asked Xu Yunzhen to be called to Laoshan Palace just for this big goal. At the same time, Zhu Xieyuan, Pang Tianshou, Nanjing Hubu Shangshu Yan Mingtai and others were also called to Laoshan Palace.

"Long live my lord, Southern Zhili is now in a wartime period when people's hearts are in a state of flux. We need the gentry clans from all over the country to work together to suppress the local government. If the government and gentry are to pay grain taxes and allocate land to farmers together, I'm afraid it will lead to more chaos.

Is it chaotic?"

The one who was trying to dissuade Zhu Youjian in Laoshan Palace was Zhu Xieyuan, the Minister of War in Nanjing. Like Xu Yunzhen, he originally thought that Zhu Youjian just wanted to take advantage of Nanjing nobles and extort some extravagant money to fill the national treasury and internal transportation treasury.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Youjian was so ambitious that he wanted to become a fat man in one bite. He even wanted to swallow up the privileges and exemptions of the scholar-bureaucrats in Nanzhili.

But this way of doing things will make you a lot of enemies!

"Long live my Lord, although Southern Zhili is also called Zhili, it is far away from the center after all, so we cannot treat it like Northern Zhili..."

Pang Tianshou, who has been a garrison eunuch in Nanjing for many years, of course also knows that things in Southern Zhili are not easy to handle, and are even more difficult to control than Huguang and Sichuan.

"Yes!" Xu Yunzhen also nodded repeatedly, "Now that Long Live Lord wants to push this matter, of course there is no problem. But Long Live Lord, you can't stay in Nanjing and watch the place forever! If you leave, I'm afraid of the following

People will mess around!"

Yan Mingtai was also shaking his head: "Long live my Lord, Southern Zhili and Huguang are still different. Huguang has fewer people and more land, while Southern Zhili has more people and less land. So the imperial court collects more rice from Huguang, which is nothing more than forcing Huguang to have more farmers.

Planting a few acres of land is just a bit tiring. And in Shaanxi, which has moved to Huguang in recent years, there are many disaster victims in Henan, so the price for farmers to hire workers is also low, and it is easy to hire people. Therefore, the annual tax of 20 million shi is very important to Huguang.

It's nothing.

The situation in South Zhili is different. The soil fertility in South Zhili is close to the limit, and the sown area cannot be increased. Moreover, South Zhili has a dense population, and there are many gentry and wealthy families. In many places, there have long been no ordinary people.

The soil is gone. If the land tax is increased, the life of the common people will be even more miserable. If the imperial court collects more than one dou, the people of Nanzhili will have to eat one dou less."

The ultimate goal that Zhu Youjian now wants to push for the government and gentry to pay grain taxes and allocate land to acres is to increase income!

So what Yan Mingtai said is correct. For every dou the imperial court paid, the people of South Zhili would have to eat less!

And grabbing more wealth from southern Zhili is the real purpose of Zhu Youjian's trip!

Otherwise, why would he bother with so many things? To reduce the burden on farmers in South Zhili? How is it possible! Zhu Youjian had no such idea at all when he first established the emperor, and he did not dare to think that ten years after Chongzhen, the poor and lower-middle peasants in South Zhili would suffer no more.

At least they still have some porridge to drink. But the poor farmers in Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, North Zhili and Shanxi really have to eat dirt.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian could only press hard on Southern Zhili to get some porridge for the victims in Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Northern Zhili and Shanxi. Without porridge, the hungry people there would definitely rebel. Although Zhu Youjian

We now have enough force to suppress the rebellious hungry people, but suppressing them is very difficult and expensive. At that time, we will still have to ask for money from relatively stable and prosperous places such as Nanzhili, Huguang, and Sichuan. It is better to ask these questions first.

We need to focus on local areas so that the victims can have some food to eat.

If you have some porridge to drink, maybe you won’t start a rebellion!

As long as the Ming Dynasty can survive these years of calamity, the world will be safe and peaceful, and the feudal dynasty of the Ming Dynasty will be able to live longer. As long as the Ming Dynasty can survive the calamity, what if everything slowly returns to the way it was before?

The duration of the Ming Dynasty was six or seven years. Even if we add the eight years of Chongzhen and the ninth year of Chongzhen, it would be eight and nine years. Zhu Youjian thought to himself: I have worked harder these years, in Beijing.

, run to both ends of Nanjing!

There is no need to collect rice directly in Nanzhili, just collect a little more silk, cloth, tea, and money. With these things, it shouldn't be difficult to exchange them for rice in Huguang, Nanyang and other places, right?

"My decision has been made!" Zhu Youjian's tone was stern and there was no room for doubt. "It is imperative that the officials and gentry pay grain and taxes together and allocate land to the land! And it must be implemented as soon as possible, because now is the best time!"

Now all the famous Confucian scholars in the southeast have gone back to study the "Posthumous Chapters of Confucius". Compared with becoming a great Confucian, paying food and taxes is a trivial matter. When you become a great Confucian, you can gain official position, fame, and profit, and pay a few more stones, meters, and taels of silver.

It's nothing at all. If you miss the opportunity to become a great scholar, you will regret it for the rest of your life.

And the pitiful force of Nanjing Xungui will soon be held hostage in Zhu Youjian's hands!

As for the Southeast maritime merchants, they were won over by Zhu Youjian early in the morning.

Therefore, in the southeast, there is currently no power to resist the method of government and gentry paying grain and taxes together and dividing the land into acres.

Zhu Youjian paused for a moment and then said: "Not only do we want to implement the law in Nanzhili that the officials and gentry can pay grain and tax together and share the grain into acres, Zhejiang and Jiangxi will also follow up and implement it later. In order to cooperate with the government and gentry paying grain as a whole

In addition to the methods of paying taxes and apportioning people into acres, I also want to reform the administration of Southern Zhili. I want to establish a province in Southern Zhili and implement a big government system!"

The implementation of the law of paying grain taxes and apportioning grain to acres by the government and gentry must be delegated to local governments. Only when local officials have sufficient power can they promote such policies and laws that offend a large number of people. Otherwise, even if there are a small number of officials,

They are not afraid of offending people, and they do not have enough power to implement it.

"Long live my Lord, how many provinces do you plan to establish in Southern Zhili?" Zhu Xieyuan asked.

The division of Southern Zhili into provinces is a general trend, because Northern Zhili has actually become one province, and the eight governors of Northern Zhili are actually the governors of one province!

Moreover, he has been the Minister of War in Nanjing for so many years, so of course he knows that this "freak" in Nanzhili has great disadvantages!

Because Southern Zhili is not a province, all the seventeen prefectures (Zhili prefectures) in Southern Zhili, like the eight prefectures in Northern Zhili, are directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court.

And such an administrative system is very inefficient. It is troublesome enough for one court to manage more than a dozen provinces and some military towns in Jiubian. Add to this the trivial matters of more than 20 state capitals under direct control in the north and south.

Isn't this adding to the chaos?

But the imperial court couldn't control it and refused to delegate power to the local governments. The government offices in the twenty-odd state capitals didn't have much power, and of course they couldn't control the powerful gentry below.

Therefore, it is imperative to implement the law of paying grain and taxes to the government and gentry together and apportioning grain into acres, establishing new provinces and strengthening the power of state governments.

Zhu Youjian's face suddenly turned a little gloomy, and he said: "I plan to establish three provinces: Huaidong, Huaixi, and Southern Zhili. Among them, Southern Zhili Province will only include the Jiangnan part of the original Southern Zhili region, and its status will still be equivalent to that of Northern Zhili.

!”

In fact, the Northern and Southern Zhili are no longer "places directly under the imperial court", but have become provinces. However, retaining the name of the Northern and Southern Zhili can highlight the coexistence of the two capitals.

Although Zhu Youjian's roots are in Beijing, his heart is in Nanjing. He knows that his throne will not be taken away by his traitor again, and of course he will not have more than 50 years of leisurely enjoyment, and will lose many things he once had.

Many of our relatives will never be born!

Therefore, in order to preserve their memory, Zhu Youjian will continue to maintain the layout of two capitals in the north and the south, and the settings will run between the north and the south.

"Your Majesty," Yan Mingtai asked, "when do you plan to announce the sub-provinces of Southern Zhili and the administrative system of administrative offices?"

"Wait a minute," Zhu Youjian said, "When I lead the troops to Fengyang, I will announce it in Fengyang Mansion. At that time, I will abolish the Six Ministries of Nanjing and the Yanhu Bureau, and you will be the governor of Huaidong!
Chapter completed!