Zhu Youzhen was not angry, but he laughed: "It seems that all the articles on this draft are opposed by the two Aiqing, so let's take a look at the articles one by one, what needs to be amended." ”

"Your Majesty, this first article, eliminating the identity boundaries of all classes, will inevitably shake the fundamental interests of Shilin, and Shilin will not agree with it until his death, with the power of Shilin in the Ming political arena, His Majesty will definitely not be able to implement it."

"What Huang Aiqing said, right and wrong, Shilin unites to protect their own interests, but they are less than half of the population of the Ming Dynasty, and their strength will not be great."

"Your Majesty, with the saint on the side, the power of Shilin is definitely beyond everyone's imagination." Although Li Chunye admires Zhu Youzhen a little, Zhu Youzhen is so nonsense, he can't help but remind him.

"Li Aiqing, the strength of Shilin is strong because the other strata have not awakened, have not united, and have been suppressed by Shilin," Zhu Youzhen sipped tea, "When the people of Shaanxi were in turmoil, why didn't Shilin say anything?" Jiannu is making trouble outside the gate, why don't you see Shilin coming out? ”

"陛xià......"

Zhu Youzhen saw that the two of them were speechless, "Yes, Shilin is the mainstay of the Ming court and local power, but in the eyes of Shilin, there is only their group interests, and there is no court and country at all, if every stratum thinks of them like this, completely thinks about their own interests, if the peasants only think about paying less grain, the industrial and commercial owners only think about evading taxes, and the soldiers only think about not getting hurt, it is simply a misfortune for the Ming Dynasty." ”

"陛xià means ......"

"For example, if I only want to eat, drink and have fun, expand the imperial village without restrictions, collect the world's money and wealth in the internal treasury, and collect all the beauties of the world to hide in the harem, and I hide in the harem all day long, you should scold me for being a faint king, right?"

"Don't dare!"

"Don't dare!"

"Don't say these useless," Zhu Youzhen waved his hand, "I preach national equality, that is, to eliminate the antagonism of all classes, for example, an ordinary person, he can participate in the imperial examination through his own efforts, join the Shilin, he can also do business through guò, become an industrial and commercial owner, if his body allows, he can also join the army, become a soldier of the Ming Dynasty to defend the territory and open up the territory." ”

"陛xià......"

Li Chunye still refused: "However, His Majesty's promotion of national equality is actually to eliminate the privileges of Shilin, if Shilin is an obstacle, how will His Majesty deal with it?" ”

"For those who overthink the interests of their own class, I naturally focus on suppression, and do not hide from the two Aiqing, after this reform, I will look at the attitude of officials and carry out political reforms again."

"Political reform?" Both were skeptical.

"That is, the personnel adjustment, the impact on the entire Ming Dynasty is not big." Zhu Youzhen originally wanted to say that the political reform would have a far-reaching impact on the future political situation of the Ming Dynasty, and could even change the national system, but his current goal is still this reform draft, and he does not want to make extraneous branches.

"However, this prostration has lasted for thousands of years......

"Okay, the abolition of kneeling, don't discuss it for the time being, and we'll talk about it later."

Li Chunye arched his hand, "Your Majesty, while there is still a Jianyi, just in front of 'national equality', add 'except for the emperor'." ”

"Huh?" Zhu Youzhen didn't want the emperor to be special, but considering that most of the Han people don't believe in religion, whether they believe in the emperor or not, anyway, the emperor will only serve as a symbol of the country sooner or later, just like the national flag, "I will follow the Qing's family, this first article, the two Aiqing will not object again, right?" ”

"Your Majesty, then let's discuss the second article, encouraging industry and commerce, will inevitably affect the interest of farmers, besides, the collection of industrial and commercial taxes, industrial and commercial owners will stop doing it, and behind them, there is ......" Huang Liji arched his hand.

"Huang Aiqing is talking about the Donglin Party, right?" Speaking of the Donglin Party, Zhu Youzhen was angry in his heart, "They are a special group in Shilin, even Shilin and I want to destroy their class interests, let alone the Donglin Party?" No matter how much they obstruct them, I don't mind disbanding Donglin Academy and making them rootless water and fish! ”

"Your Majesty, the industrial and commercial owner, will also oppose it."

"They can't make a strong voice themselves, it's about the same as the peasants, besides, I have given them equal rights, as long as they pay taxes normally, I will protect their legitimate interests, if they don't want to engage in industry and commerce, I will also give them the opportunity to be peasants and soldiers, are they willing?"

……

"Your Majesty, abolish the Zongren Mansion and lift the ban on the children of the clan, no matter what, this article cannot be implemented!"

"What is Huang Aiqing's concern? If you have something to say, just say it. ”

"At that time, this rule under the ancestor calendar was to prevent the clan from rebelling, the clan status is orthodox, and the prestige among the people is extremely high.

"The clan rebelled, I have my own long-term law, this matter is a long story, I won't discuss it today, I asked the two Aiqing, how many people are in the Ming clan now?"

"According to the population statistics of the Zongren Mansion, it should be more than 100,000."

"More than 100,000, this is only the direct population of the clan, if you add their relatives, the relatives of the housekeeper and slave, this number is afraid to be amazing," Zhu Youzhen smiled bitterly and shook his head: "They occupy a lot of fertile land, but they never pay taxes, if the Ming Dynasty has a long period of stability, their number will reach one million or ten million sooner or later, then the fertile land of the Ming Dynasty will not be occupied by them?" At that time, where did the imperial court get food? ”

"陛xià......"

"Two Aiqing, each dynasty, will be replaced in the end, what is the reason for this?"

"The people have no food to eat, and they have revolted!"

"Yes, just like the Shaanxi civil uprising a few years ago, if it wasn't for the timely pacification and suppression, it was likely to be the last fire that burned the Ming Dynasty. Where did their land go? ”

"Your Majesty means that the cultivated land has been annexed by large households?"

"The cultivated land has been annexed by the big households, and the clan is the largest big family!"

"Your Majesty, even if the clan is dissolved, the people still have no food to eat, and they may pass on the taxes of the imperial court to the people who farm the land."

"For the people who have lost their land, in this reform draft, I have given them two ways out, one is to migrate outside the border, and the other is to develop industry and commerce to absorb farmers who have no land to plant."

"Your Majesty, it turns out that the Northern Expedition War, there are still such benefits?" Li Chunye suspected that Zhu Youzhen might have thought of this before the Northern Expedition.

"This is also the reason why I personally went on a northern expedition at any cost," Zhu Youzhen softened his tone, "Having said that, the Ming Dynasty has a large population, and food is fundamental, if the imperial court can't levy enough food, then the officials and sergeants in various places, what do they eat?" In addition, if the imperial court had surplus grain at that time, and the imperial court would have been able to provide relief at the critical juncture of the continuous drought in Shaanxi, perhaps this popular uprising would not have happened at all. ”

"Your Majesty, the minister still has a little doubt."

"Huang Aiqing has something to say, there is no need to ramble, today is just a private inquiry."

"Your Majesty, this food problem has been solved, and the landless people have a way out, but where is the way out for the children of the clan?"

"Most of the children of these clans are well-educated, and it is really a waste not to let them make contributions to the Ming Dynasty," Zhu Youjian set the tone, "They can do the work they like, or farming, or business, or joining the army, or joining the Shilin, as long as they like, they can do a job they like." ”

"Your Majesty, once the children of the clan are released, the society may not be very peaceful."

Huang Aiqing's worries mainly have two points: first, the clan tramples on the laws of the Ming Dynasty and wantonly destroys social order; The second is that the clan is forming a faction, which is dangerous to the imperial court, right? ”

Huang Liji nodded, Zhu Youzhen's words had already reached his heart, "Your Majesty, the minister has these worries. ”

"Regarding the matter of the clan's danger to the imperial court, I have already made a decision, and I will talk about it later, the two of you don't have to worry," Zhu Youzhen had a hunch that today's battle with the two courtiers was about to end, "As for the clan's trampling on the laws of the Ming Dynasty, is it still less today?" Don't talk about encroaching on the people's fertile land and the interests of merchants, if they fancy someone's woman, who can refuse? ”

“……”

"On the contrary, after the abolition of the Zongren Mansion, the clan, as a special class, no longer exists, and their privileges will definitely gradually decline," Zhu Youzhen became unusually relaxed, "After this reform, all land owners must pay agricultural taxes, and all industrial and commercial owners must pay industrial and commercial taxes, and these laws are also a kind of restriction on the children of the clans - they must engage in activities within the laws of the Ming Dynasty." ”

Huang Liji and Li Chunye both nodded, these dilemmas of the Ming Dynasty can be easily solved in the hands of Zhu Youzhen, perhaps, he is really the master of the Ming Dynasty.

As the secretary of the Ministry of War, Li Chunye was still a little worried, but he suspected that Zhu Youzhen already had a countermeasure, "Your Majesty, abolish the government soldier system, how to deal with the original government soldiers?" ”

"Li Aiqing, in your opinion, how will these government soldiers be handled? This problem can no longer be pushed, when the people in Shaanxi were in turmoil, many government soldiers also joined the riot # chaos because they had no food to eat, and now the government soldiers everywhere may break out at any time A turmoil that buries the Ming Dynasty, as the secretary of the military department, how will Li Aiqing respond? ”

"Your Majesty, these government soldiers, they have no training in peacetime, they have no combat effectiveness in war, they have almost completely lost the land in their hands, survival is a problem, and the imperial court still owes them a lot of military salaries......"

"Li Aiqing, I know these current situations, I am asking Aiqing, how to solve these problems, do you have to wait until the next popular military mutiny, so that these soldiers of the Ming Dynasty can become the vanguard of opposition to the imperial court?"

"Your Majesty, the minister is incompetent......"

"It's not that Aiqing is incompetent, it's that Aiqing can't jump out of the circle of history." In Zhu Youzhen's eyes, Li Chunye is a responsible secretary of the military department, but he lacks the ability to toss and turn.

"The circle of history?"

"It's that Aiqing always looks for answers to problems from history, in fact, these problems cannot be viewed in isolation, and their root cause is the government military system."

"His Majesty wants to abolish the government military system and implement the recruitment system, which the minister understands, but the minister cannot solve the way out of these government soldiers, and the military salary owed by the imperial court, the minister cannot explain to the soldiers."