Zhu Cihong was really thundered, he really didn't expect that such a huge business name as Dongshengtang would be made by the master's family.

He was stunned for a long time, and then he was curious: "Then what is the matter with the taxes of Dongshengtang?" ”

He didn't mean to blame Dongshengtang for not paying taxes before, he was just curious about why Dongshengtang suddenly paid so many taxes, according to the tax rate of twenty taxes and one, wouldn't Dongshengtang earn nearly 300 million taels of silver a year, is it possible? Impossible!

The reason why Zhang Bin took the account book to find Zhu Cihong was to prepare for a showdown with the disciples he had cultivated himself, he was ready to tell Zhu Cihong some of the "secrets" he had hidden for a long time, because he could not hide these things from Zhu Cihong for the rest of his life, as the emperor grew up day by day, he would one day find some clues, if many things were found out, instead of saying it himself, what kind of reaction would this emperor have, would he be like his grandfather Emperor Wanli of Shenzong to clean up his master's family, It's hard to say.

He didn't want to take this risk and leave hidden dangers for his children and grandchildren, many things he had to confess to Zhu Cihong sooner or later, and this time was the best time to confess, because this time was the time when Zhu Cihong trusted himself the most, and it was also the time when the emperor relied on himself the most, he believed that even if he ordered the palace at this time, as long as he didn't burn any important people, Zhu Cihong would not turn his face with him, so he chose this time to confess to Zhu Cihong.

He solemnly explained: "Dongshengtang used to pay more than this, but in the past few years, the entire Ming Dynasty Hall was messed up, and Wechen didn't want to expose Dongshengtang's big fat meat, so that those corrupt officials and corrupt officials were red-eyed and worried about going to get oil and water, so Weichen never made the accounts of Dongshengtang public, but used various methods to cover it." ”

This Zhu Cihong can understand that the remnants of the eunuch party were indeed terrifyingly greedy when they controlled the court, and if they knew that there was such a big piece of fat in Dongshengtang, they wouldn't want to try to swallow it.

He nodded, and asked curiously, "Then how much did Dongshengtang pay before?" ”

This question is the main issue that Zhang Bin discussed with Zhu Cihong today, and he said solemnly: "Your Majesty, let's not say how many micro ministers, you can think about how many troops the Ming Dynasty has now, and how much food and salary are needed." ”

How many troops does the Ming have now?

Zhu Cihong didn't think about this question carefully, it's not because he has no brains, Zhang Bin has always been in charge of the main army's food and salary, and his father Emperor Chongzhen didn't care much about the issue of food and salary when he was in power, and if he took care of it, he would seem to distrust Zhang Bin, so he never asked about this part.

However, he still knows very well how many troops Daming has now.

Not counting the guards, the number of the current army of the Ming Dynasty is quite amazing, as follows:

80,000 Liaodong Army;

80,000 Fuguang troops;

80,000 Fujian sailors;

50,000 Qin troops;

50,000 Sichuan troops;

50,000 Guanning troops;

30,000 Dongjiang troops;

60,000 Shanxi troops;

30,000 Shaanxi troops;

30,000 Huguang troops;

10,000 Tianxiong Army;

10,000 Qi family troops;

more than 10,000 Henan troops;

All the regular armies in the formation add up to more than 400,000 yuan, even if the minimum salary is calculated, each person has one stone of food per month, and one stone, that is nearly 900,000 taels a month, and more than 910 million taels a year.

He calculated it slightly, his face suddenly became a little ugly, and he asked carefully: "Master, how much is the salary of the more than 400,000 troops?" ”

Zhang Bin said like a few treasures: "Not to mention the temporary gathering of the Shanxi Army, the Shaanxi Army, the Huguang Army, and the Henan Army, the monthly food and salary of more than 100,000 people and horses is less than 300,000. The Liaodong Army, the Qin Army, the Sichuan Army, the Guanning Army, and the Dongjiang Army, which can be regarded as elites, have relatively high salaries, especially the Guanning Army, pure cavalry, and the cost of war horses is almost as high as that of the sergeants, and the more than 200,000 horses have more than one million taels of food and salary in a month. There are also the well-equipped elites of the Fuguang Army, the Fujian Naval Division, the Tianxiong Army, and the Qijia Army, and the cost is particularly amazing, less than 200,000 horses, and the cost of food, firearms, vehicles, and ships is at least 2 million taels a month! If you really have to calculate this, the cost of an army of more than 400,000 people is roughly 3.5 million taels a month, and it is more than 40 million taels a year! ”

"Shhh , Zhu Cihong couldn't help but gasp, more than 40 million taels, that is to say, filling in all the taxes of the Ming Dynasty throughout the year is not enough to feed the army of more than 400,000!

He was a little frightened and said, "Were these expenses all paid by Dongshengtang before?" Now, does Dongshengtang pay taxes according to the law mean that it will no longer bear military expenses? ”

This guy, he was secretly surprised at the beginning that Dongshengtang paid more than 10 million taels of taxes a year, but now it seems that it is better not to have more than 10 million taels, if you want this more than 10 million taels, you have to pay more than 40 million taels, who can bear it!

Zhang Bin shook his head slowly and said, "Of course Weichen didn't mean that, Weichen came to the emperor today to discuss this matter." ”

It turned out that this was not the meaning, Zhu Cihong said with hope: "Will Dongshengtang continue to bear the military expenses of the more than 400,000 troops?" ”

Zhang Bin still shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, it's not that Weichen is unwilling, it's really too much military spending, Dongshengtang can't afford it now, the reason why it was borne a few years ago is mainly to exterminate the thieves, clean up the Jiannu, including taking Dongying, there are many captures, put these captures together, Dongshengtang can barely afford the military expenses of the more than 400,000 troops, but not now, because there has been no battle for a year now, there have been no captures, and the previous captures are almost exhausted, and by next year, Dongshengtang can't bear it, so, will Weichen dare to discuss this matter with the emperor? ”

When Zhu Cihong heard this, he couldn't help frowning and thinking about it, and after thinking for a while, he said tentatively: "Then what should I do, master?" Disarmament, disbanding most of the army and going to Tuntian? ”

Zhang Bin nodded with satisfaction and said: "The emperor is wise, this disarmament is indeed imperative, but it can't be cut too much, like the Shanxi Army, the Shaanxi Army, the Huguang Army, and the Henan Army, which were originally put together by the Tunwei Army, will be cut down, and the impact on the overall strength of the Ming Dynasty will not be great, but the elite teams like the Liaodong Army, the Qin Army, the Sichuan Army, the Guanning Army, and the Dongjiang Army cannot be cut too much, otherwise, the impact on the overall strength of the Ming Dynasty will be too great, like the Fuguang Army, the Fujian Naval Division, the Tianxiong Army, These neatly equipped elites of the Qi family army can't be cut, they can't be cut, they are cut off, that is self-cutting, once the Ming Dynasty encounters a strong enemy, it is difficult to form such an elite in a short period of time. ”

Zhu Cihong heard this, roughly calculated, this cut the Shanxi Army, Shaanxi Army, Huguang Army, Henan Army, it seems that there is not much reduction in military spending, the Ming Dynasty's annual taxes are all put into it or can't afford to support the remaining more than 300,000 troops, this money is still not enough, what does this mean, master?