After broadcasting the ancient times live, I handed the system over to the state.

When Li Shimin saw the barrage of comments on the screen, his pupils contracted.

Because Gao Ming carried Li Shimin's great expectations, Li Shimin paid great attention to Li Chengqian's education, selecting the best teachers and great scholars of the time for Li Chengqian, hoping to cultivate him into a wise ruler of the era.

So when Tianmu (the platform) previously said that Li Chengqian would rebel, they stopped mentioning it much later. Li Shimin thought these comments were just later generations telling unofficial history.

But now this problem has resurfaced before him in this way.

"Gao Ming, how do your teachers usually treat you?" Li Shimin suddenly remembered that while he cared enough about Li Chengqian's studies, he wouldn't have paid attention to such details.

At this time, Li Chengqian was not yet lame, and his temperament was still acceptable. "Yes, yes, the teachers are strict with Gaoming because they have expectations for him. It's just that Gaoming is dull-witted and cannot understand for the time being. Moreover, what is being said on the sky should be another Li Chengqian. Everything will be alright in the future."

Li Shimin was somewhat relieved to hear this, but still had some concerns. "I don't know why you... You'll need to have the imperial physician check your pulse regularly from now on."

"Hasn't the old immortal already come here, saying he wants to train disciples? What illness can't the old immortal cure?" Li Chengqian reassured Li Shimin.

The "old immortal" naturally refers to Sun Simiao.

Sun Simiao was indifferent to fame and fortune and refused to serve as an official in the court. Li Shimin sent people to invite him many times, but Sun Simiao declined each time. It was only after seeing the celestial curtain and learning that Li Shimin was going to hold a conference for all the physicians in the world and promised to help them write books that Sun Simiao was finally attracted to the conference.

This only made his father, Li Shimin, even more worried, so it seems he should take some time to conduct a surprise inspection.

Li Tai was a little confused as to why he could make his elder brother lose his composure, but he still said, "As long as my elder brother is here, I will be his prime minister!"

This brought a smile to the faces of both Li Shimin and Li Chengqian, who were previously filled with worry.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened. "It's the fourth prince's fault again! Look at the mausoleum he built, and that Wanli Emperor, eight million taels! Eight million taels! He spends money like water. No, we need to add more rules to the ancestral precepts. Future generations are not allowed to spend extravagantly. He needs hundreds of cooks for every meal. What does he eat? Even the finest delicacies wouldn't cost that much!"

Zhu Biao knew that he couldn't plead for Zhu Di this time; he would be lucky to escape with his life.

"This Zhang Juzheng... Emperor Shezong of Ming, we don't like him." Zhu Yuanzhang naturally liked capable ministers who could reverse the decline of the Ming Dynasty, but he didn't like ministers who could control his family.

Yu Qian's previous actions of deposing and installing emperors were also out of necessity. As for Zhang Juzheng... that's all the information we have for now. When will we be able to know more?

“There’s also Hai Rui, a man of integrity and eloquence,” Zhu Biao added.

"I can talk about it, but I don't know if I dare to do it." Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes held a deeper meaning.

……

The issues concerning the imperial family and the emperor's expenses have given many emperors pause for thought.

Zhu Yuanzhang's initial actions were quite good; his proposals for salt permits and the tea-horse trade were thought-provoking.

Although it's a bit stingy, it's still a clever solution.

Household registration certificates are good, but any policy will eventually change, especially for officials who are well aware of this.

Wang Anshi had recorded many of the Ming Dynasty's policies and the reasons that led to its financial decline, but he knew that the emperor's spending was not the most important reason.

The issue of land grabbing by members of the royal family accounts for half of the problem, but what about the other half?

……

"Do people often think that Zhu Youjian was so frugal that even his dragon robe had patches? That's true, but that's only one aspect. There were also times when Chongzhen wasn't so frugal. In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen's reign, he summoned many eunuchs, and the number of eunuchs in Yingtian, Beijing, and other places reached 100,000. It cost 50,000 taels of silver to make shoes for these new eunuchs."

"Why does he need so many eunuchs?" Zhu Di in the Yongle era was also very tired. The sky screen once again criticized the extravagance of the mausoleum he built, and also mentioned that Wanli, that damned wretch, spent more than eight million taels of silver to build his mausoleum!

That eight million taels of silver is enough for him to launch a campaign against the northern desert!

And these members of the royal family...

Zhu Di now felt that the Ming Dynasty was riddled with holes and needed to be patched up everywhere!

Zhu Qiyu had just appointed Zhu Jianshen as crown prince and found several great Confucian scholars to teach him. However, Tianmu told him that the crown prince would become extravagant in the future.

Moreover, after hearing about the deeds of Zhang Juzheng, Li Chengqian, and others, he felt it was necessary to carefully examine the character of these great Confucian scholars before he could feel at ease.

Zhu Qiyu is becoming increasingly exhausted.

……

"Third, and most importantly, is military spending."

"By the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, 97 percent of the national treasury was spent on military expenditures."

People under the sky gasped.

It's obvious that all that money has been siphoned off into military spending, leaving no money for anything else.

Once there's no money left, taxes are collected again, but the collection isn't enough, since half the land in the land has to be used for taxes.

Then it will evolve into exorbitant taxes and levies, and the consequence of exorbitant taxes and levies is uprising!

It's like one thing leading to another!

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.

Zhu Qinggu quickly began to explain, "Initially, Zhu Yuanzhang also learned from his mistakes and established the garrison system, which allowed the army to be stationed in strategic locations. In peacetime, the army would cultivate the farmland allocated to them, and in wartime, they could quickly assemble. This system of military farming ensured the army's food supply and reduced the country's financial burden."

"Initially, it was a good idea, but after fifty or sixty years, the system began to decay."

"First, military farmland was seized by military officers and powerful families, and even sold to ordinary people, which reduced the supply. Soldiers in the garrisons either deserted or were taken as private slaves by the powerful and wealthy. The garrisons were basically empty and their fighting capacity was very weak. Therefore, later Ming emperors had no choice but to switch to a conscription system."

"The conscription system basically exhausted the Ming Dynasty's resources."

"Actually, there is also the problem of military households and artisan households being too fixed here."

“Think about it, I am a military household, my son is a military household, and my son’s son is also a military household. We are starving and constantly bullied in the garrison. There is no way to change our household registration. We have no other way out but to run away.”

“There are also artisans. My craftsmanship is good, and my son’s craftsmanship is also decent, but that doesn’t mean my grandson or grandson’s grandson will necessarily have such a talent for craftsmanship.”

"Even good bamboo can produce bad shoots. Even if a wise ruler invites civil and military officials to teach his princes, the princes may not necessarily become wise emperors."

"If even the royal family is like this, what about ordinary families?"