Chapter IX Reduction of troop quotas

Three days later, in the inner courtyard of the palace, all the people who should have come came. There are dozens of generals densely packed.

Zhang Xuan's descendants, Cao Zongyu, Xu Du, Wang Jincai, Deng He, He Hutou, Zhou Fuchen and others. And the people of the foreign department, such as Yuan Shizhong, Li Dingguo, Zheng Hongkui, Wang Guangen, Jin Shenghuan and others, each of them released here, is a general who can command tens of thousands of troops.

is also the real core of Zhang Xuan's collective.

There are also civil officials, headed by Zhang Zhen, Wen Anzhi, and Gao Shiheng. As for Yao Qisheng, he is still on the road, and after a while, he will be able to come to Nanjing.

Zhang Xuan swept his eyes and said, "Everyone has arrived, and in a few days, it will be the New Year." Just before the first year of Zhaowu, this matter was given. Zhang Xiang, tell you about the foundation of the imperial court. ”

"Yes." After Zhang Zhen saluted Zhang Xuan, he stood up and faced everyone.

Zhang Xuan intended to say this meeting in an informal setting, so this was a pavilion in the palace, but at this time it had been transformed, and there was a fire underneath, and the hot breath was steaming from the floor. Although there were only a few curtains around the place, it was not cold at all.

There are piles of charcoal fires outside, and the scenery of the garden in the distance comes into view.

Most of the gardens of the Nanjing Imperial Palace are deserted, and when I see them on weekdays, there may be such and such shortcomings, but now under the shroud of thin snow, there is a different taste. Even if a piece of snow drifts into the gazebo and falls on anyone's skin, it only feels cool and refreshing, but there is no chill.

Zhang Zhen said: "Your Majesty, since Longxing and Guangzhou, there have been three major wars, countless small wars, and countless money and food have been consumed. It is only said that the amount in the account is only 7,000 taels out of 350,000, and there is a little more grain, about 1,530,000 stones. In particular, this more than one million stone of grain is still the grain stored in Nanjing City. It was taken from the hands of the Dongyu. ”

"Now, it can be said that the country has no savings, and the treasury is empty."

"Didn't Qian Qianyi get a lot of money there?" Xu Du's words are still so straightforward. It's a little embarrassing to be straightforward.

Zhang Xuanxing's imprisonment to collect money, after all, is not a glorious thing.

"Yes." Zhang Zhen said without evasion: "With this windfall, there is no problem to support until next year's summer grain, and this difficulty is over." But now there are too many troops. The border with the Qing army stretched for thousands of miles, and the total number of armies of various departments was nearly one million. ”

"The grain, grass, baggage, salary, and armament required by the various ministries add up to at least 20 million taels, but even if the spring and autumn taxes are as usual, the amount of 20 million taels is unaffordable."

Zhang Zhen took out a word from his arms and said, "This is my summary of Wanli."

The number of grain taxes in the southern provinces. Nanzhili Jiangnan Prefecture has the most, with a total of 4.02 million stones, 2.5 million stones in Zhejiang, 2.6 million stones in Jiangxi, 2.16 million stones in Huguang, 850,000 stones in Fujian, 1 million stones in Guangdong, 360,000 stones in Guangxi, and 150,000 stones in Yunnan. Guizhou 50,000 stones, a total of 13,690,000 stones. ”

"But remember, this is the number in the Wanli years."

"And today, after so many years of chaos, Jiangnan has been ravaged back and forth, and it is long gone."

"I estimate that the two taxes that can be collected can be 12 million stones, and I will thank God."

"Even if there is a war and the price of food is soaring, 12 million stones, there will be no 20 million taels of military spending."

"Therefore, the amount of soldiers must be reduced."

There is actually something evasive in Zhang Qian's words.

Although the grain tax is a national tax, Zhang Xuan does not just rely on the national tax to live. After all, in the Song Dynasty, the commercial tax surpassed the field tax and became the pillar of the imperial court's expenditure. Although the Great Xia was first built, it also inherited the system of the Ming Dynasty, including miscellaneous commercial taxes, iron taxes, salt taxes, customs duties, and some imports of overseas trade, which are estimated to be about several million taels of silver.

The only pity is that the two Huai were lost, otherwise the two Huai salt tax, after a year of rectification, there will be a small 10 million taels of silver.

Another point that is not said, that is, three salaries.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were three salaries, including Liao, expropriation, and training, totaling more than 10 million taels of silver a year, but this kind of means of exhausting and fishing, not to mention Zhang Xuan, even Luo's father and son did not think about it. It's always waived. However, during Zhang Xuan's Eastern Crusade, Zhang Zhen had a resumption of the expedition in Huguang. After all, without this money, Zhang Xuan's army would have drunk the northwest wind a long time ago.

As soon as Zhang Xuan went to Nanjing, he was exempted from this tax burden.

However, even if Zhang Zhen is a little hidden, there is nothing wrong with one thing. Even if he exhausted the finances of Great Xia and could support an army of millions, for Zhang Xuan, the gains outweighed the losses.

The first is that there are not many soldiers, but fine. Zhang Xuan didn't want a large number of old-style troops. Moreover, reducing military spending and rectifying the army was also Zhang Xuan's method of establishing authority in the army. Although Zhang Xuan's prestige in the army is very high, after all, he is a general who can win battles, and he is originally popular with soldiers, not to mention that this general is still an emperor.

But Zhang Xuan is also very clear that his position in the army is not unshakable in some armies.

In political affairs, Zhang Xuan can let it go, but in the army, he does not dare to relax in the slightest. After all, the army is like a tiger, and if it doesn't get it right, it will eat people.

Zhang Qian's voice fell for a long time, and still no one spoke.

They didn't seem to understand what Zhang Zhen said, or they were speculating

The sound of the hammer. Or waiting for others to speak, in short, there is only the sound of the wind blowing and the sound of snow falling outside.

"What Zhang Xiang said is very true." Yuan Shizhong said: "We are from poverty, but we have today, why? Isn't it because the court doesn't want to be sympathetic to the people, and expropriates violently, so that the people are not able to make a living, and now how can we repeat the mistakes of the past. It's just that the East Captives have not been destroyed, the great enemy is still there, and it is the time to use the army, how is Your Majesty going to rectify the army? ”

Zhang Xuan said: "Wang Jincai, you come." ”

"Yes." Wang Jincai said: "First of all, after the Eastern Captives entered the south of the Yangtze River, various places advocated chaos, and the number of conscripts was uncountable, but in the Privy Council military register, I don't know the number of various departments, there were omissions, false reports, some people died, and there were empty salaries. ”

"Therefore, the Privy Council prepared to send military judges to the ministries to ascertain the number of troops."

Speaking of which, there are people below who are uncomfortable.

All kinds of bad habits in the army were inherited from the Ming army. Zhang Xuan's headquarters, under Zhang Xuan's nose, Zhang Xuan confidently guarded more strictly, there was no such thing, but the other departments, it was difficult to say, even Yuan Shizhong felt a little stiff and panicked.

Zhang Xuan looked at the movements of these people and said, "You are all my brothers in life and death, and I will say some things directly." ”

"Before, it was all bad habits in the army, and I don't blame you."

"Now everyone's identity is different, before in the army is precarious, I don't know what the future will be, if you don't get some silver, how to feel at ease, and now everyone is a country, as long as there is no mistake, the future generations will be rich and noble, and the children and grandchildren will rest with the country, why should you dirty your hands and feet because of these small profits."

"As long as Daxia is in one day, your wealth will have one day, once Daxia is not there, just like this year's Nanjing massacre, the blood of the Yangtze River has not dried up."

"And I don't know your hard work, I have already discussed with Zhang Xiang, discussing the annual salary of each prince and uncle, although it has not been decided, but it is probably the rule of the Anqian Dynasty, the prince eats ten thousand stones, the duke eight thousand stones, the marquis five thousand stones, the earl three thousand stones, the viscount thousand stones, and the baron five hundred stones."

"It's a little less than a windfall, but it's a long-term wealth for future generations."

"Today's newspaper came up, and I didn't chase after it. But if it is found out in the future, don't blame me for being unsympathetic, there is nothing else to do in governing the country, but to get rid of the black sheep. Zhang Xuan's eyes were like swords, sweeping over everyone, and for a while, the generals' hearts were cold, they didn't dare to think that Zhang Xuan had said good things to them, and Zhang Xuan was already weak and could be bullied. Cao Zongyu took the lead, got up and said: "We will strictly abide by Your Majesty's teachings, and we will never dare to act recklessly and harm the law of the country. ”

Other generals expressed their positions one after another and expressed their intentions to Zhang Xuan. Zhang Xuan won't push them too hard and give them enough time to sweep the tail.

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