Huangming

Chapter 15 Financial Crisis, The Way Out
Li Ruhua was a neutral and pragmatic technical official who, despite being caught in the vortex of factional strife at the end of the Ming Dynasty, did not join the Donglin Party or other political groups.

He served as Minister of Revenue for a long time, focusing on financial management.

He was heartbroken by the current state of the Ming Dynasty's finances and was eager to change it.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, he really went all out.

Even if my words are harsh, even if my career is over, I still have to say what needs to be said!

He bowed to Zhu Youxiao and slowly said:

"Your Highness, this year's expenditures have been excessive."

Firstly, there was the military expenditure in Liaodong.

After the disastrous defeat at Sarhu in the 47th year of the Wanli reign, the Liaodong defense line collapsed, necessitating urgent reinforcement of troops and construction of fortresses.

The annual expenditure was approximately 600 million taels of silver, used for recruiting soldiers, purchasing firearms, and transporting provisions.

Furthermore, due to a depleted treasury, the nine key border towns owed a total of 400 million taels of silver in taxes.

"Secondly, the annual expenditure on the salaries of officials nationwide is about 2 million taels, but due to the fiscal deficit, less than 50% is actually paid out."

The annual cost of maintaining the national postal stations and transporting grain was approximately 120 million taels of silver, but due to severe silting and corruption of the canals, efficiency was extremely low.

As for the shortfall, officials in many places rely on gray income such as "fire loss" to make ends meet.

Zhu Yuanzhang's policy of paying low salaries to encourage honesty and integrity actually fostered many corrupt officials.

"Thirdly, the stipends for members of the imperial clan were worth approximately 150 million taels of silver."

"Fourth, the Yellow River has breached its banks, and 500,000 taels of silver are needed to purchase grain for disaster relief."

"Fifth, the funeral rites for the late emperor and the construction of the Qingling Mausoleum are budgeted at 200 million taels."

Li Ruhua went all out, speaking eloquently for half an hour before finally stopping.

Zhu Youxiao did some mental calculations before realizing that the Ming Dynasty's expenditures this year had exceeded ten million taels of silver.

Zhu Youxiao immediately asked, "How much revenue does our Great Ming Dynasty have this year?"

Li Ruhua immediately said, "Your Highness, the imperial treasury received four million taels of silver, and local governments retained two million taels."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youxiao gasped.

That means the deficit was as high as four million taels?

The year isn't even over yet!
"How do we resolve the imbalance between income and expenditure?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

Li Ruhua immediately said, "Most of the silver spent on the Liaodong war came from the additional Liaodong tax. The Qingling Mausoleum of the late Emperor also requires an additional tax."

Seeing that Zhu Youxiao remained silent, Li Ruhua immediately said, "The additional 9 li of silver per mu for the Liaodong tax is not enough to cover the expenses. I request Your Majesty to increase the Liaodong tax to 1.2 fen per mu. In this way, the annual tax will increase to 7 million taels, which will be able to solve the current financial predicament."

Upon seeing Li Ruhua advocating for increased taxes before the successor, Liu Yijing immediately stood up and said, "Your Highness, the matter of increasing taxes on Liaodong is of great importance. If the exploitation is excessive, it may cause a popular uprising. I urge Your Highness to reconsider!"

One of the core tenets of the Donglin Party was to oppose exorbitant taxes that disturbed the people, so Liu Yi-jun naturally stepped forward to refute it.

"However, without increasing the Liaodong tax, how can these deficits be offset? If this continues, I'm afraid the Ministry of Revenue won't even be able to pay the officials' salaries by the end of the year."

No wonder nobody wants to touch on this topic.

The Ming Dynasty's financial problems are like a latrine; trying to talk about them is like a child trying to open a firecracker in the latrine.

If you're not careful, you'll be covered in golden splatter.

"OK OK."

Seeing that the heir remained silent, Fang Congzhe immediately stepped forward to smooth things over. "The heir summoned you here to inquire about something. As for how to resolve it, we can discuss that later. It's not the most urgent matter right now."

Upon hearing this, Li Ruhua became somewhat anxious.

If speaking out doesn't solve the problem, how can it be solved?
Are we going to follow the example of those who bury their heads in the sand?

"Your Highness!"

Li Ruhua shouted and immediately knelt down.

Zhu Youxiao sighed and said, "I am young and do not know much about the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue. It is difficult to decide on a strategy at present. What Liu Gong said makes sense, and what the Minister said also makes sense. How can we tell who is right and who is wrong? I will summon you to make a decision after I have learned everything."

Upon hearing the successor's words, Li Ruhua realized that he had been too hasty.

How can Your Highness make such a decision before you have even ascended the throne?
He hurriedly apologized, saying, "Your subject is guilty, and I beg Your Highness to punish me!"

"Minister, your heart is with the Ming Dynasty; what crime have you committed? Rise!"

After Li Ruhua, the Minister of Revenue, stood up, Zhu Youxiao was filled with emotion and said, "Our Great Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 250 years. The country that Emperor Taizu conquered is now in such a state. As the successor of the Great Ming Dynasty, I, Zhu Youxiao, am determined to eradicate the ills and restore a bright and clear world to the Great Ming."

Fang Congzhe immediately said:
"Your Highness is exceptionally intelligent and insightful, having seen through the corruption and neglect of border defenses. You are determined to revitalize the corrupt system and bring about a better governance. This is the grand vision of Shang Yang's reforms to strengthen Qin and Fan Zhongyan's reforms during the Qingli era! Although I am dull and foolish, I am willing to serve Your Majesty and assist you in achieving unparalleled success."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yiju sneered inwardly, thinking that Zhang Juzheng was using the words of his "Memorial on Six Matters" to encourage and flatter His Majesty.
You, Fang Congzhe, think you can be Zhang Juzheng?
"Your Highness is wise and mighty. How dare we not emulate the loyalty of Gao Yao and Yi Yin and assist in achieving a sage reign!" Liu Yiju also stepped forward to express his stance.

"These are turbulent times, so I will not trouble you any longer."

Fang Congzhe, Liu Yiju, and Li Ruhua immediately stood up and said to Zhu Youxiao, "Your subjects take their leave."

After the three left, Wei Chao saw that Zhu Youxiao had become somewhat uninterested in the matter of finance, so he immediately said, "Your Highness, if you want to acquire wealth, you can send people to inspect the salt and iron mines, or you can send eunuchs to supervise the mines to acquire wealth for Your Highness."

Inspecting salt and iron.

Is it really possible to find it?
By the end of a dynasty, the regions had long been a monolithic entity, and without ruthless measures, it was impossible to reverse the situation.

But iron-fisted methods?

He hasn't even settled in yet, and he dares to implement any reforms?
Do you think your life is too long?

The Ming Dynasty is now like a patient terminally ill. If you don't take any major actions, you can hold on for a while, but once you start to take drastic measures, you might die even faster.

Reversing the current situation will not be an easy task.

This needs to be considered in the long term.

Zhu Youxiao already had some ideas in mind regarding how to break the financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty.

It boils down to four words: increase revenue and reduce expenditure.

For example, tax reform and currency reform.

For example, military adjustments.

Reduce the scale of recruitment and eliminate vacant soldiers: verify the personnel of the nine border regions and eliminate fictitious registrations.

For example, levying foreign trade taxes while introducing high-yield crops from Southeast Asia (such as sweet potatoes) to alleviate famine.

However, Zhu Youxiao already sensed the obstacles and risks involved even before he began.

After touching the interests of these interest groups, will he, as emperor, still be able to live and sit on the throne, or will he be dissolved in the water ahead of time?

Will the world descend into chaos?
All of these are unknowns.

But someone always has to do this.

To reverse a disastrous start, how can one succeed without extraordinary courage and strategy?
(End of this chapter)