Chapter 240: The B-character volume sows a seed

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details." Fan Jingwen admired Feng Ziying's understanding and judgment of current affairs.

Even the two former mountain chiefs and dean of the college were full of praise for Feng Ziying's talent in this area, and the entire academy benefited a lot from it.

"This is the current situation of the imperial court. Taxation is seriously insufficient and it is difficult to support the increasingly heavy military expenditures in the north. However, the military pressure from foreign invaders from the north is increasing. The imperial court does not have a long-term and sustained response strategy, which directly leads to the collapse of the east and west. All sides are bearing this huge military expenditure. This pressure on military pay can only be borne by output areas such as Jiangnan. In the past two decades, floods and droughts have continued in various parts of the north, and all places are on a tight edge. Unable to support more taxes,…”

Fan Jingwen is also generally aware of this situation. He is from Wuqiao, Hejian Prefecture. He is very familiar with the difficult situation in the North. The common people basically have no food at home and have no ability to cope with famines. Once they encounter floods and droughts, they will There are refugees all over the place, and if the local government is not careful in dealing with it, there may be a civil uprising.

 The problem is that this situation has become more and more prominent in recent years, which makes Fan Jingwen particularly puzzled.

　　Why do the common people, who work so hard from the beginning to the end of the year, always have enough to eat and not enough clothes to cover their bodies? If anything goes wrong, they will lose their fortune and become beggars and thieves?

Even in the South, where conditions were better in all aspects, he could learn from some southern students in the academy that the situation was not much better. The heavy land rent and taxes made every household breathless. Once they borrowed debt, , which is basically a precursor to becoming a tenant.

"Ziying, the mountain chief and the commander have always praised your vision, so do you think this situation can continue forever? The Jurchens outside the pass are becoming more and more powerful, and the Tatar harassment has not been reduced much. Nine The border army's pay arrears are increasing day by day, and the number of soldiers fleeing from the border areas is increasing day by day. In the southwest, it is also said that the leader of the feudal state is ready to make a move, and Jiangnan is also facing the harassment of Japanese pirates. What is happening to our great Zhou Dynasty? How many years ago? Is it going to look like this?”

There are some words and ideas that you are not qualified to say before you pass the exam, and no one will pay attention to you. You may even think that you, a scholar, talk nonsense about world affairs and do not know the heights of the world. But now, as a candidate, as a Shuntian Qiuwei Jieyuan He is qualified to question and ask questions.

Fan Jingwen’s question is so big that even Feng Ziying, a character who traveled hundreds of years and studied political economics and worked as an official for many years, found it difficult to answer.

This is a specious Zhou dynasty that inherited many shortcomings and problems from the previous Ming Dynasty, but it has not yet accumulated to this period the legacy that should have been left over from Zhang Juzheng’s political reform in the Ming Dynasty, nor has the financial pressure been relieved by the Longqing switch. It can be said that Quite dangerous.

 In addition to the three major conquests that caused a huge financial hole in the Ming Dynasty at this time point, only one of them was the Renchen Japanese Rebellion, and the other two had not yet occurred.

Feng Ziying was not sure whether it would break out, but judging from what Fu Zonglong and Wang Yingxiong, two classmates from the southwest, knew, she was afraid that this disaster could not be avoided.

As for the disaster in Ningxia, Feng Ziying couldn't even remember what it was about. He only knew that there would be a rebellion there. He didn't know whether such a disaster would happen in this life.

What is even more troublesome is not just these troubles and holes. It seems that the financial situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty is worse than that of the Ming Dynasty in the same timeline in the previous life. Emperor Yuanxi's six expeditions to Jiangnan should have left a huge impact on the entire Great Zhou Dynasty. of hidden damage.

This hole is not only financial, but also administrative and institutional. I don’t know how many officials and businessmen in Jiangnan benefited from these six expeditions to Jiangnan. So how will Emperor Yonglong view all this once he comes to power? Once the lid is lifted, Feng Ziying believes that no matter how restrained Emperor Yonglong is, this violent storm will not be small.

And the most critical thing is that there is an unsolvable catastrophe within the Great Zhou. How can the chain between the Supreme Emperor, the Emperor and the former Crown Prince Yizhong be solved? How will the game of power be finally resolved? , no one can judge, but there is no doubt that after this storm, what will be left to Dazhou will definitely be devastated.

Under this situation, facing the Jurchens in the northeast who are deliberately accumulating strength and working hard for their rise, the Tatars in the north still regard the Central Plains as their best place to drink horses and feed themselves, and they still have ambitions in the eastern sea area. The Japanese pirates are still in full swing, as well as the feudal states in the southwest. This does not include the dissatisfied rebel forces such as the White Lotus Sect within the Great Zhou Dynasty. The great chess game of the Great Zhou Dynasty seems to have entered a dead end before it is even played. bureau.

 So when Fan Jingwen asked this question, Feng Ziying didn't know how to answer it for a while.

Seeing that Feng Ziying didn't say a word, Fan Jingwen didn't urge her, but just walked side by side with their hands behind their hands.

After a while, Feng Ziying said slowly: "Brother Mengzhang, there is something wrong with what you said, that is, although the founding of the Zhou Dynasty was not too long, if we regard history as a long river flowing slowly, From a certain point of view, the Zhou Dynasty is actually more like a continuation of the previous Ming Dynasty. Well, maybe my description is not accurate, but it is true. Well, the civil and military regulations and basic structure of the imperial court are almost inherited from the previous Ming Dynasty. , the only thing is that the lineage of the Tian family has changed..."

This statement is a bit bold, but it is an indisputable fact.

 In fact, many scholars and even court officials have talked about this view privately. As long as it is not mentioned publicly, it is not a taboo.

“Then, the shortcomings of the previous Ming Dynasty have basically been left to our Zhou Dynasty without much change,…”

“Oh? What disadvantages does Ziying think our Zhou Dynasty has inherited from the previous Ming Dynasty?” Fan Jingwen was very interested in this.

"Well, the most troubling thing for the court at the moment is the financial problem. However, the main taxation of our court comes from land tax. However, for several generations of emperors in the Great Zhou Dynasty, we did not expand the territory, but more often maintained the status quo. Well, of course, for the original The wasteland will definitely be reclaimed, but it is not that much. So how much has our population increased? Not to mention anything else, the capital city alone has increased from 300,000 people three years after Emperor Guangyuan moved the capital to the current More than one million, but our land in Dazhou has not grown much, and the food output in the land has not increased much, so how can we feed the people who have doubled their number?"

This issue has not been mentioned by anyone, but more people don't care, or ignore it intentionally or unintentionally. In addition, the statistics of household registration population in many places are just a formality, and the hidden population has become a common phenomenon.

Once this question is raised, it becomes a harsh and unavoidable reality.

"Yes, the rice and wheat harvests have not increased much, but the population is increasing, and once disasters occur, as we found in the survey last year, the frequency of floods and droughts in the north is much higher than fifty years ago. These I’m afraid they are all directly responsible for the increasingly difficult life of ordinary people, right?”

 Fan Jingwen was greatly moved.

"But even if I, the Great Zhou Dynasty, intend to expand the territory, let alone whether it can be done, the surrounding land is either a bitter cold land or a smog-stricken land. There is nothing like the Jiangnan in the Central Plains that is suitable for us, the Great Zhou Dynasty." A place where people live.”

"Brother Mengzhang, in fact, our first week is not a land of bitter cold and mist as many people imagine. Brother Mengzhang should know that before the Tang Dynasty, wasn't Jiangnan also regarded as a barbaric land? If not After the Sima Rebellion, a large number of northerners crossed the Yangtze River and went south. How could there be such a beautiful place in the south of the Yangtze River today?"

Feng Ziying's words made Fan Jingwen a little confused, "Ziying, Brother Yu, I don't understand what you are saying. How can the land around Dazhou now be compared with Jiangnan? Jiangnan only lacked population at that time, but now where is the surrounding area around Dazhou?" Is there any land available for cultivation?”

"Brother Mengzhang, it's just that we didn't look for it or excavate it. If nothing else, can't Annan and Dongwu's hometown accommodate tens of millions of people?" Feng Ziying smiled and asked: "Annan and Dongwu's native land has no place for me. The Great Zhou Dynasty has always been disrespectful, and it should have been conquered long ago to regain the old land and give it to my people, but I, the Great Zhou Dynasty..."

 Feng Ziying shook her head.

But Fan Jingwen also shook his head: "Ziying, your statement is unconvincing. Annan and Dongwu are hot and humid places, and Dongwu is separated from the Central Plains by thousands of mountains and rivers. I'm afraid even if the imperial court has the ability, If we take it down, the people may not be willing to go.”

"Brother Mengzhang, you also overestimated the difficulties of Annan and Dongwu. In fact, there is not much difference between Annan's hometown and Guangdong and Guangxi. Its river valleys and alluvial plains are very fertile, while Dongwu is slightly worse, but I only want to ask, If the people are relocated and given land, and no taxes are levied for ten years, does Brother Mengzhang think there are people in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou who are willing to go?"

This question gets to the crux of the matter. People have been suffering from taxes for a long time. It would be very attractive to directly grant land and exempt them from taxes.

Fan Jingwen also had to admit that Feng Ziying’s statement was extremely tempting.

“If ten years is not enough, then what if we are exempted from tax for twenty years, or even thirty years?” Feng Ziying further said.

This makes Fan Jingwen irresistible. If he can really be exempted from tax for thirty years, then it is estimated that no one can resist such a temptation.

"Ziying, although your idea is good, it is unrealistic. How can Da Zhou have the energy to do this now? Fan Jingwen quickly calmed down and shook his head with a wry smile: "The dilemma of the nine sides has not been solved, let alone other things? "

“The nine-sided dilemma stems from the lack of financial resources, and the financial difficulties stem from the previous Ming Dynasty’s commercial taxation and maritime ban policies. If the pros and cons can be comprehensively balanced, the court can dare to open a new path, and it may not be able to break the current deadlock."

Feng Ziying can only go so far. After all, without investigation, there is no right to speak. Commercial taxes and maritime bans involve too many people's interests. It can't be decided by anyone, not even the emperor and the cabinet.

 Asking for 300 monthly tickets!

　　

 (End of this chapter)