HLnovel Chapter 662: The Great Ming Treasure Notes Go Online
Chapter 662: The Great Ming Treasure Notes Go Online
Compared to Zhu Yuanzhang's frustration, the Song Dynasty emperors at this time seemed to have found a moment to stand tall.
Because of two words—money! If they weren't afraid of getting beaten up, they might even want to post a comment: How lonely it is to be too rich!
However, some busybodies, eager for a good show, started commenting:
Liu Zhuzhu (Big Han): When it comes to making money, ask the Zhao family. Anyway, the Han dynasty under the Song dynasty is you, Zhu Baba (Big Ming Zhu Baba).
Emperor Zhao Zhen, the greatest benevolent ruler in history: Ahem, keep it low-key, we're just a little bit richer than the Zhu family...
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: So what if you're rich! Your Song Dynasty couldn't even take back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and was beaten by foreign tribes without any power to fight back!
Zhao Guangyi, the "God of the Gaoliang River": Money isn't everything, but you can't do anything without it. Let's encourage each other!
Judy, the Great General Who Conquers the North: Go to hell, you damn little brat from the Candle Shadow and Axe Sound incident!!
Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin: "..."
A minor official of the Qin Dynasty: So, how exactly did the Ming Dynasty manage its finances that led to marginalized members of the imperial family having to beg on the streets?
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: Sigh! This is what they call not abandoning the legacy of our ancestors, hahaha!
All emperors of the Ming Dynasty: (｀へ′)…
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
"In general, the imperial court's finances mainly relied on various taxes and other income, such as poll tax, land tax, commercial tax, salt and iron tax, etc."
"The measure of whether a country's treasury is full is the balance of income and expenditure. Every monarch hopes that his country will be prosperous and the people will be strong."
"I know the principles of taking from the people in moderation and using their resources in moderation, but I just can't control myself!"
"The Ming Dynasty was different from previous dynasties. There were no prime ministers. Perhaps the experience of other dynasties was too rich, which made Zhu Yuanzhang wary of prime ministers."
A prime minister from another dynasty: This... he'd be out of a job if this happened in the Ming Dynasty!
"Because not everyone is as lucky as Liu Shan to draw Zhuge Liang's card. What if you happen to encounter a prime minister who wants to advance his career?"
"Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang simply abolished the prime minister system, which strengthened imperial power but also increased the workload for the emperor. For example, in the seventeenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang received 1666 official documents from September 14th to 21st."
"Old Zhu is very hardworking and can endure hardship. His health is much better than his sons'. He would rather work overtime to handle political affairs than relinquish power!"
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: Only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above others!
"On the other hand, the revenue of the Ming Dynasty was stored in multiple warehouses without unified management and accounting. For example, the Ministry of Revenue's Imperial Warehouse, the Emperor's Inner Treasury, and the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites also had their own warehouses."
"As for the Ming Dynasty's income, it mainly comes from agricultural taxes, which account for more than half of the total income. Other small amounts include miscellaneous income and industrial and commercial taxes, etc."
"In the early Ming Dynasty, income mainly came from grain, gold, silver, silk, and other sources. During this period, due to years of war, the country had just recovered from the war. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that his Ming Dynasty not only had a small population, but also a large amount of wasteland that no one cared for!"
"Therefore, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, many agricultural policies were introduced to encourage us to farm, such as immigration and land reclamation, and the construction of water conservancy projects."
"But in the early years of Hongwu, everything was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. Various policies needed to be implemented and the war had not yet stopped. However, the national treasury was not in a state of having plenty of money and there was a shortage of currency materials."
"When bad luck strikes, even drinking cold water can cause problems. The Veritable Records of the Ming Taizu states that in the seven years before the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, there were forty natural disasters. Although the court had certain policies to appease the people, the finances to maintain these measures were simply insufficient."
"In summary, there were expenses for dealing with disasters and military affairs. There was not enough copper to make copper coins. The Ming Dynasty had just started and could not collect more taxes. So Zhu invented the Ming Treasure Note to pay for these expenses."
"For example, Zhu Di once received a piece of paper money from his father. It was fine to collect, but its actual value was not high."
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: (?o?o)…