Ming Dynasty: Abandoned baby at the beginning, Zhu let me be the emperor

"Alright, alright, Wen'er, your mother should be worried."

After holding Zhu Yunwen for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang patted his back and spoke softly, then was about to put Zhu Yunwen down.

Speaking of which, he was still worried about that Lu. Zhu Yunwen was a very obedient child, and he didn't want him to be led astray by him.

"My grandson knows."

Zhu Yunwen was already very satisfied after being hugged by Zhu Yuanzhang today. Now it was almost noon, and it was time to report to his mother.

He responded, reluctantly came out of Zhu Yuanzhang's arms, and waved to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Goodbye, Grandpa Emperor."

Having said that, he turned around and walked out of the Daming Palace.

"Then I'll withdraw tomorrow."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang let Zhu Yunwen go, Zhu Ming also bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and was about to turn around and leave.

"Lin'er, wait a moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly spoke, called Zhu Ming who was about to leave, reached out and held Zhu Ming's little hand, looking at him with an extremely serious expression.

"Grandpa Emperor, is there something wrong?"

Zhu Ming looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with some confusion. Now that Zhu Yunwen was gone, what else was there for him to do?

"Lin'er, I've also thought about what you just said in the court. The minister's salary is a little less."

Zhu Yuanzhang was also somewhat helpless. Just as Zhu Ming had said before, a monthly salary of ten dan did not seem to be enough for the food, clothing and other expenses of a sixth-rank official.

"So Grandpa Huang wants to discuss with Lin'er how to increase the salaries of these people."

Speaking of which, he felt a little ashamed. He usually only cared about getting the ministers to work and didn't care much about this.

"This, Ming'er doesn't understand, but Mr. Fang and Master Qitai should understand."

Zhu Ming shook his head. He really didn't understand how to pay salaries to court officials.

However, Fang Xiaoru and Qi Tai were well-read and officials, so they should have studied this.

"That's it."

After hearing Zhu Ming recommend Fang Xiaoru and Qi Tai, Zhu Yuanzhang also began to ponder.

These two people are indeed the few truly capable people in the court. It seems that we should find some time to discuss things with them.

"But although I don't know how much I should raise the salaries of the adults, I still have a suggestion..."

Zhu Ming raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang. If this national policy is practical and effective, it should be promoted on a large scale.

Then it’s time to put the next step on the agenda.

"Lin'er, do you have any other suggestions?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Ming with some confusion, wondering what his good grandson was thinking.

"The court pays ministers in the form of grain and rice, and they have to exchange it for silver when they return, which is quite inconvenient."

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to speak, Zhu Ming also began to speak in a deep voice.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the salaries of officials were basically paid directly in the form of rice, which was quite inconvenient.

It was not until the emergence of Zhang Juzheng that the status of silver currency was truly established.

"Inconvenience is the first. As an official appointed by the imperial court, he still needs to sell rice for money. This is a disgrace to the Ming Dynasty. This is the second."

Zhu Ming said this and stretched out two more fingers.

"Hmm, what else?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was listening at the side, and as if trying to coax a child, he nodded with a smile and asked in a deep voice.

"Also, if the rice price fluctuates, the amount of money that this rice can be exchanged for will also be different."

The price of rice is often not fixed. If rice is used as salary, it may be worth ten taels of silver this month, but only nine taels next month, which means one tael is less for no reason.

"So, what do you mean tomorrow?"

Zhu Yuanzhang somewhat agreed with what Zhu Ming said. He thought that directly distributing rice was not thoughtful enough.

But now he has a solution in mind. Since Zhu Ming has made a suggestion, he should have his own solution.

What he wanted to see more now was whether the grandfather and grandson wanted to go together.

"My grandson thinks that we can directly give money to the ministers in the future, so that all the inconveniences that the adults have encountered in the past can be resolved."

Zhu Ming looked at Zhu Yuanzhang affirmatively and said in a deep voice.

"That's okay."

Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded. Although it was different from what he thought, Zhu Ming’s idea was also a solution.

And it may be simpler and more effective than you think.

"Speaking of silver, there are also taxes from various places."

The minister's salary is only a starting point for Zhu Ming's next step. The most important issue is the taxation issue of the Ming Dynasty.

"Taxes, what's the problem?"

Speaking of taxes, Zhu Yuanzhang became confused.

There are indeed some problems with giving silver to ministers, but what does this have to do with taxes in various places?

For thousands of years, no one has ever said that there is anything wrong with this.

"I'll read the memorial from Grandpa Emperor Mingming. The taxes in various places are all kinds of things, including grain, rice, cotton, etc."

Speaking of this, Zhu Ming was even more serious.

The things collected from all over the place are of varying quality, but the fact is that there are too many areas where they can be manipulated.

Often the tax collectors would be picky, saying this was too small, that was broken, and they would deduct money and pocket the money, and the people would complain.

Moreover, some of these things are difficult to preserve, and may be damaged if collected.

Add to this the fluctuations in the prices of these things, and the taxes collected are often less than they should be.

In this way, the imperial court is unhappy, and the people are unhappy too. The only ones who benefit are those people in the middle.

"So, Ming'er, think about it. Can we collect taxes in the future just like paying salaries to the adults? We don't need anything else but silver."

Zhu Ming raised his head naively and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Only by collecting money directly can you ensure that you get exactly what you pay.

"This……"

After listening to Zhu Ming's words, Zhu Yuanzhang also hesitated.

It’s not that he thought what Zhu Ming said was unreasonable, but after all, this was something that no one had ever tried in all these years.

He also didn't know what the consequences would be of doing this.

"Once the national policy of land surveying is implemented and the people have money in their hands, it should be possible."

Zhu Ming did not urge Zhu Yuanzhang to make a decision. He just raised his head with an innocent look and blinked his eyes at him.

"Let Grandpa Huang think about it."

Seeing Zhu Ming's adorable look, Zhu Yuanzhang almost agreed on impulse.

But this is a matter of great importance after all. If the taxation issue is not handled properly, the people will complain and even rise up in rebellion.

For such a big matter, we must be cautious and discuss it with other ministers.

"Ming'er, where did you see all this?"

Apart from this, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Ming with great surprise. How come this kid always has so many new ideas?

"This one……"

When Zhu Ming was asked by Zhu Yuanzhang, he also started to stutter.

Yeah, where did you see that?

You can't say that you read it from a book in the future.