Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

“We need to let the people know that the drought may continue and digging canals is to enable them to no longer rely on the weather for food in the future.

We need to make them understand that the imperial court has given them such a huge amount of money and grain in order to truly feed them, so that they can devote all their energy to completing this self-rescue as efficiently as possible. "Zhang Shikang emphasized.

“What I just said, whether it is changing corvée labor to hiring labor or canceling merchant permits, is actually removing the various restrictions imposed on the people by the court.

However, the current household registration management policy of our Ming Dynasty still imposes huge restrictions on the people.

For example, the imperial court divided the people into merchants, military households, farmers, artisan households, etc., so that the descendants of artisan households could only be artisan households, and the descendants of military households could only be military households.

I do not deny that Emperor Taizu's policy played a positive role due to the court situation at that time.

But neither Your Majesty nor the ministers can deny that this policy will restrict the subjective initiative of the people to a certain extent.

Oh, subjective initiative means that, for example, Zhang San is a craftsman, Li Si is a military household, and Zhang San’s son wants to take the imperial examination and has the talent for it, but the court only allows him to continue in his father’s business as a craftsman.

Li Si's son did not want to be a soldier, but he had the talent of a craftsman and wanted to become a craftsman.

However, the rigid regulations of the imperial court made them only unqualified craftsmen and unqualified military households.

However, they could have become a Jinshi, a skilled blacksmith or carpenter, which was their favorite profession, which could not only realize their self-worth but also make contributions to the court.

These shackles imposed on the people are meaningless and a huge waste of talent.

I believe that the court should take this opportunity to take the initiative to remove the shackles from the people and allow them to freely choose their future careers.

As we all know, in ancient times, there was a policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend. If the imperial court can take the initiative to remove these shackles, who can deny that there will not be a policy of letting a hundred flowers bloom again in the future of our Ming Dynasty?" Zhang Shikang said earnestly.

The vitality of the future generations, like the scene of all things competing with each other, is still before our eyes. We have been struggling for nearly two years, and now we are making drastic changes. How happy we are!

Emperor Chongzhen looked calm and did not answer immediately, but he felt that what Zhang Shikang said made sense.

Minister of Revenue Hai Zhongqi thought for a moment and said:

“My Lord, the original intention of establishing the household registration policy was for Emperor Taizu to ensure that there were people working in all walks of life.

Artisans are lowly, and if this policy is cancelled, the court may have no artisans to use, and the same is true for other industries. "

What are artisans? They are nothing more than servants of officials, chained slaves of the imperial court.

The same is true for military households, all of whom are serfs of military generals.

Even now, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are still looked down upon by people all over the world. This is an industry that only people who have no food to eat and no way to make a living would consider.

"Then improve the status of craftsmen!" Zhang Shikang retorted without hesitation.

“Whether it’s artisan households, military households, or other unpopular industries, the real problem is not what you are considering.

You should change your way of thinking. I think that in all walks of life, it doesn't matter who is humble and who is noble.

What happened to the craftsmen? Without the craftsmen, who would build your house? Who would make your weapons?

If craftsmen could develop more powerful firearms and stronger armor, the imperial court would be able to use these sophisticated equipment to win more battles.

The more battles you win, the more territory you can recover and the more wealth you can seize from the enemy.

With the return of these wealth, the court can do more things.

The clothes we wear, the tea bowls and porcelain cups we use, and the rice we eat are all the work of craftsmen.

I don't care what the people of the world think. If you dare to look down on this and that, I, Zhang Shikang, will be the first to disagree." Zhang Shikang said angrily.

People in certain industries are considered lowly by the people of the world. It seems that the common people look down on them, but the root cause is still the court's problem.

The imperial court failed to provide adequate guidance and macro-regulation.

Seeing Zhang Shikang's eager look, all the ministers remained silent. Finally, Hai Zhongqi continued to express his concerns:

“If this restriction is lifted, can the sons of merchants also participate in the imperial examinations?

Can you guarantee that there won't be any collusion between officials and businessmen in the future?"

This is indeed a thorny issue, and even future generations can only try their best to avoid it, but after all, there are always policies from the top and countermeasures from the bottom.

“No one can guarantee it, so monitoring is needed.

This case is special, so the court can impose additional restrictions, such as prohibiting officials’ immediate family members from doing business.

The same is true for other industries, but the court cannot just take a one-size-fits-all approach just because of some concerns it may encounter.”

Hai Zhongqi finally stopped refuting. This was the truth and Zhang Shikang was not afraid of these people's rebuttal.

“Your Majesty, Elder Hai’s concerns are understandable and reasonable.

But I still believe that as long as the court provides good guidance in all aspects, there will be tens of millions of people in our Ming Dynasty and there will be no shortage of talents in all walks of life.

Therefore, I beg Your Majesty to grant this reform." Zhang Shikang closed the small notebook and begged earnestly.

He believes that the market also has a self-regulating mechanism. For example, in some industries with meager profits, some people may temporarily withdraw from the industry due to the meager profits.

But as long as fewer people do this, there will be a shortage of supply and demand in this industry, which in turn will lead to an increase in prices of related products in the industry.

After the price rises, profits will go up again and more people will participate.

This is true in all walks of life, just as it was in later generations, and what the court can do is to provide guidance at key points.

For example, since the status of craftsmen was low, the imperial court introduced policies to improve their status, including in terms of treatment.

There is a poem that says, friendship is precious, but love is more precious. If it is for the sake of freedom, both can be thrown away.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were truly miserable. They had to pay this and that tax while wearing shackles, and also serve as servants for the officials for free.

Fortunately, Zhang Shikang took the path of reform from top to bottom. Otherwise, if he were a commoner, he would have to raise his arms and say:

'You have nothing to lose but your chains, but you have the world to gain!

"The universe is not yet a horse, you and I are both black ass!" or something like that.

Then a group of refugees who had lost their land threw away their shackles and followed Zhang Shikang to accomplish great things.

Come to think of it, Zhang Shikang was a little excited!

It can only be said that the butt determines the head, but Zhang Shikang is better at thinking from other people's perspectives.

"Let's do it." Emperor Chongzhen did not disappoint Zhang Shikang again.

"According to the words of Marquis Guanjun, next year the Ming Dynasty will implement a comprehensive reform.

If there are any unreasonable things in the process, please discuss it with me and the Champion Marquis. "

Having said this, Emperor Chongzhen stood up, and Zhang Shikang, Li Banghua and others also stood up quickly.

"My fellow ministers, this is an important moment in the revival of our Ming Dynasty.

If our Great Ming can make the country prosperous and the people strong, you will all be engraved in history.

I sincerely hope that you will do your best to work with me to create a prosperous world!"

After saying this, Emperor Chongzhen bowed to Zhang Shikang and other cabinet ministers as never before.

……