Steel-like willpower was the essence of Zhang Juzheng's character.
He used such an iron-fisted method to act, enforce the law, suppress unrest, and attack opposing forces!
He admired the military strategist Sun Wu and used the art of war to govern the imperial court. He promoted the idea of "killing to stop killing, no punishment"!
" Thieves must be caught, and those who are caught must be punished!
They would mercilessly suppress the enemy forces!
They would also assess the strength of the officials and kill those who failed to suppress them!
As the saying goes,"If the rules are not clear, and the orders are not well executed, it is the fault of the general. If the rules are clear, and the orders are well executed, and the soldiers do not obey the orders, then it is the fault of the soldiers, and they will be killed without mercy!”
This murderous order drove the officials in the form of a decree to unscrupulously suppress all disobedience to the opinions of the imperial court!
He even let go of the cruel officials to govern the remote areas!
Yin Zhengmao was a ruthless and ruthless person. He was greedy and had a bad reputation.
Many people opposed his appointment, but Zhang Juzheng believed that only he could solve the problem, so he ignored the public opinion and appointed him as the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi.
In the end, Yin Zhengmao suppressed Lan Yiqing and Lai Yuanjue's rebellion with great fanfare the moment he took office, killing tens of thousands of people!
He successfully quelled this storm.
Zhang Juzheng wrote to him, not without pride, saying,"Great achievements have been achieved, the mountains have been pacified, and the scholar-officials of the court have begun to admire your heroic strategy. I believe that I know people very well.”
......
In November of the first year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng implemented the "Kao Cheng Law" to clarify his duties.
He controlled the six departments with the six departments, and then controlled the six departments with the cabinet.
As for the things that needed to be done, from the cabinet to the six departments, from the six departments to the yamen, he had to be clear about them.
It changed the previous procrastination phenomenon of "the supervisor is earnest, but the listener is always contemptuous".
The implementation of the examination method undoubtedly greatly increased the efficiency of the Darming Dynasty.
Furthermore, he had a clear responsibility and clear rewards and punishments, so that even if he was thousands of miles away, he would follow it day and night!
Zhang Juzheng's main purpose of straightening out the administration of officials was to " enrich the country and strengthen the army." This red line ran through his reform from beginning to end, and the greatest harvest of the implementation of the examination law was precisely this.
When Zhang Juzheng implemented the examination method, he took the recovery of owed taxes as the standard for the examination.
In the fourth year of Wanli, it was stipulated that local officials who collected less than 90% of their taxes on trial would be punished!
In December of the same year, according to the report of the household division to the matter, there were seventeen local officials in Lu and two in Zhongzhou who were demoted because of this.
Two from Lu and nine from Central Continent were dismissed.
This made the various levels afraid of punishment not dare to slack off.
He urged the householders to pay the tax grain for the year.
Because of the change in the situation of tax arrears, the national treasury was increasingly full!
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Revenue in the fifth year of Wanli, the annual income had reached 4.35 million taels!
It was more than half of the 2.5 million taels of silver that Long Qing earned every year!
The national treasury had a balance of 850,000 taels, completely reversing the long-term national treasury deficit!
In April of the ninth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng himself said,"In recent years, there has been no loss in taxes and the treasury has been filled.”
Although the implementation of the examination method was a kind of system reform, it also played a big role in straightening out the land tax and increasing the tax revenue of the national treasury!
......
"You have a goal, you have a method, you're bold but careful, and you'll execute your orders!”
"As expected of a great master of change!"
"Moreover, the fact that he was able to prescribe the right medicine for the Ming Dynasty right from the start shows that he had already made complete preparations!”
"It's just that he didn't have the qualifications to implement this before, but he knows exactly what to do!”
" When I was young, I entered the center of the Imperium directly with my talent. I was also hot-blooded enough to report directly, but in the end, it was like a clay ox entering the sea.”
"Then, you will go deep into the people's hearts and stand out in the cruel struggle. In the end, you will become the chief assistant!”
"That's why he made such a bold and decisive reform!”
"This is simply the art of life!”
"Art, talent, skill, the ability to sell your talent.”
"Such a skilled person can also be called a model minister, right?”
"Zhang Juzheng is awesome!"
......
Zhang Juzheng had naturally reached the peak of being a capable minister.
As for the path of a virtuous official?
The income that could only be increased by the examination method was still limited in front of the infinite squandering of the nobles.
Zhang Juzheng believed that people "in ancient times, financial management, eliminate floating overflow and not rush into, save leakage cost and not open up the source of profit."
It was useless to just make money. He had to save money.
He still had to be frugal in managing his finances.
The series of changes he made were almost all carried out around this center.
For example, he strengthened the assessment of officials and reduced redundant personnel to save on the court's salary expenses.
According to the "two capitals big and small nine ministers and each subordinate, there are heavy and excessive punishment", competition "eliminate redundant staff two or three".
They fired countless people who only took their salaries and did nothing.
Similarly, Zhang Juzheng was using various methods to reduce the court's military expenditure.
On the one hand, they could make peace with the Tartars, trade with them, maintain the stability of the border, and reduce the cost of war.
On the other hand, it also greatly reduced the expenditure on rewards.
In the second year of Wanli, the northern border "spent less than 10,000 yuan in three towns in two years, but saved more than one million yuan".
They also reduced their expenditure by reducing the number of guest soldiers and clearing out their food.
By creating a peaceful situation, they could reduce military expenses.
At the same time, Zhang Ju Zheng also requested the Emperor of the Darming Dynasty to tighten his belt and live a tight life with everyone.
Not only did he repeatedly propose to the Shenzong to "save money and love the people" to "protect the country".
Moreover, they were also very stingy with the royal family's extravagant expenses.
In the seventh year of Wanli, Shenzong asked the Ministry of Revenue for 100,000 taels of gold to prepare for the imperial food of Guanglu Temple.
Zhang Juzheng argued that the Ministry of Revenue's income and expenditure had been insufficient.
"At present, support is already exhausting. If there are floods and droughts in all directions and unexpected changes in the battlefield, how can we provide it?”
Saving money on the battlefield was so that when an accident happened, there would be money to use on the battlefield. When there was a disaster, there would be money to help the people!
It was the same principle to be stingy with the emperor.
He asked the divine sect to save "all useless expenses".
The final result was that not only did he get rid of the 100,000 taels of silver, but he also got rid of the 100,000 taels of silver.
Even the lanterns and lanterns in the palace were abolished.
Under Zhang Juzheng's insistence, they also stopped rebuilding the Ciqing Palace, Cining Palace, and Wuying Hall.
Stop losing money to reward the palace treasury, save the cost of clothing, reduce Su Song Yingtian weaving and so on.
It caused the Ming emperor's extravagant consumption to be greatly restrained!
They were even afraid of wasting candles, so they changed the evening classes to daytime classes.
He forced the Wanli Emperor to live the life of his ancestor, Zhu Yuanzhang.
......
"This will offend a lot of people, right?"
"Not only did he offend a lot of people, but he also cut off people's income. It's like killing his parents!”
"You can say that you have offended all the officials under you.”
"I didn't even let the emperor off!”
"Zhang Juzheng, this butler, really knows how to live!”
"But it seems that we can already foresee his tragedy.”
"He has offended too many people. In the future, there will probably be no one who will speak up for him.”
"Either we don't do it, or we follow through!”
"How could he not know?”
"If you don't do it, you will regret it for the rest of your life!”
"This is what he doesn't want."
"Extreme courage and decisiveness! It was also the quality he possessed!”
......
But Zhang Juzheng wasn't just harsh on others.
Zhang Juzheng was also trying his best to avoid extravagance when it came to his expenses.
The compilation of the first emperor's record, according to the rules to give a banquet.
Zhang Juzheng participated in the revision of Mu Zong's record in seal script and offered to resign from the banquet.
He said,"A banquet costs hundreds of gold. It might not be a bad way to save money!”
Zhang Juzheng was in the process of reorganizing the government and practicing economy. Not only was he honest, but he also had strict requirements for his family members.
His son had to return to Jiangling to take the exam, so he told his son to hire his own car.
It was his father's birthday, and he had ordered the servants to bring gifts and ride a donkey back to congratulate him.
In the eighth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng's second brother Zhang Jujing was seriously ill and needed to return home to recuperate.
At this time, someone wanted to make it easier for Zhang Juzheng so that his younger brother could use the imperial court's courier station and return home easily.
However, Zhang Juzheng directly refused! He also added a letter saying that he had to enforce the law for the imperial court, so he couldn't do this!
To the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Juzheng was indeed a rare talent for governing the country.
As early as when he was fighting in the cabinet and his career was in danger, he wrote a verse: "I'm willing to serve Chen Sha with my heart and not seek benefits for myself!”
And he had indeed done it!
......
As an outstanding financial expert, Zhang Juzheng also knew that cutting costs was not enough to solve the problem.
If he wanted to completely improve the state of Great Ming's treasury, he still needed to further open up sources of income and increase his income.
However, Zhang Juzheng also opposed the use of "Kai Li Yuan" to manage money.
Because in his view,'there is only so much wealth in the world. If you try to get it, you can't increase it.
For example, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sold his official posts and titles.
If it was not in the pot, it was in the bowl. In the end, it was all in his own family.
There was no point in robbing Peter to pay Paul. Instead, he had to think of a way to increase production. That was the way to go!
He benefited from his early contact with the common people and deeply understood the principle of stabilizing the people and feeding the hungry before the country became rich.
He pointed out,"I have heard privately that the most important thing to do is to pacify the people.”
Then, how can we increase the income of the Ming Dynasty's national treasury?
At that time, the huge machine of the Ming Dynasty was supported by land taxes.
As for land tax income, it was difficult to increase due to land annexation and uneven burdens.
For this reason, Zhang Juzheng proposed three measures: punishment, clearing up the arrears of taxes, and checking the land.
Among them, the investigation of the fields was the most powerful!
In the sixth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng took Fujian Province as a pilot and cleared Zhang's fields.
In the end, the effect was very good!
Thus, in the eighth year of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng submitted a letter and was allowed to clear the land throughout the Ming Dynasty. He also redrew the fish scale map on this basis!
In most areas, according to the Regulations of the Ministry of Revenue, the fields were carefully cleared.
However, there were also some local officials who shortened their bow stance, exceeded their quota, and lied about their achievements.
However, because most of the prefectures and counties had been completely cleared, it was reasonable to find out the hidden land occupied by the wealthy families, which greatly increased the number of registered land.
In the eighth year of Wanli, the total land area in the country was 7013976 hectares, an increase of 2336026 hectares compared to the fifth year of Longqing!
With the increase in land quotas, coupled with the suppression of aristocrats, gentry, and landowners 'tax evasion, the Ming Dynasty's land tax income increased greatly!
Even though Zhang Juzheng's actions of clearing the land and leveling the taxes were seen by Hai Rui and the others as a bad idea.
It could not really solve the problem of uneven taxation among the people.
However, from the perspective of financial management, clearing the land would allow the court to have a comprehensive and accurate grasp of the land in the country.
As well as increasing the income of the national treasury, it undoubtedly played a positive role.
"The mountains and paddy fields are exhausted, leaving only the sea and the blue sky!”
Moreover, these were not the key points.
Most importantly, this created the conditions for Zhang Juzheng to implement the 'One Whip Technique'!
......
"I finally understand. This revival is not as simple as conquering the world in a chaotic world.”
"In troubled times, the people are in dire straits, but there are fewer people. As long as we can fight and seize the land, we will naturally continue to advance.”
"However, in the face of the destitute people in the declining world, if you want to revive, you have to play with the original foundation.”
"The resistance we encountered wasn't any less than that of Chaotic World Peace. Some of them were even difficult to detect.”
"For example, the annexation of land by the people and the hidden fields of the local tyrants. It's impossible to know if you don't go to the people.”
"Often, the fallen emperors also grew up in the palace. They have never even been on the battlefield, let alone the people.”
"And it's not that easy to deal with them.”
"It can be said that Zhang Juzheng's poverty when he was young, his talent, and ability.”
"All of this added up to create his minister of rejuvenation!”
"How rare! Such an official, who knew how many years it would take for one to appear!”
......
Zhang Juzheng was also very clear that just by clearing the land, it was far from being able to completely change the problem of uneven taxes and corvee and the exploitation of petty officials.
Without further changes to the tax system, it would be impossible to guarantee the stable growth of the Ming national treasury's income.
There would be even more poor people going bankrupt, and the ones who would grow would only be the aristocrats.
However, changing taxes and corvee was a very troublesome matter.
If he did not do it well, it would cause a strong opposition and cause all his efforts to go to waste.
At that time, many regions were already trying out tax and labor reform schemes that were suitable for their own regions, such as the "Lijia Silver" of Yingtian Prefecture and the "Junping Silver" of Yue and Guangdong provinces.
There was the "Gang Yin" in Min Province, the "Ten Duan Brocade" in Jiangnan, and the "One Whip Technique" in some areas.
A whip method was first implemented in Jiangxi Province in February of the tenth year of Jiajing and achieved results.
At that time, Imperial Censor Fu Hanchen had once said,"Recently, we have implemented a whip law. We will distribute one province's grain and one province's corvee. Then the corvee will be fair and there will be no sigh of unfairness.”
Since then, Wang Zongmu in Jiangxi Province, Pan Jixun in Guangdong Province, Pang Shangpeng in Yue Province, Hai Rui in Yingtian, and Wang Qi in Lu Province had also implemented a whip law.
Hai Rui had implemented the whip method in the Jiangning and Shangyuan counties of Yingtian Prefecture, allowing the local people to learn about the benefits of farming!
Only the rich in the city were willing to buy land, and the poor in the countryside were unwilling to give up their land easily. They achieved the goal of not letting the land go to waste, not letting people run away, and not delaying money and grain.
Zhang Juzheng, on the other hand, believed that the One Whip Technique should be widely promoted throughout the Ming Dynasty.
In the ninth year of Wanli, he finally ordered the implementation of a whip law in all regions.
The one-whip law was another major change in the history of the land tax system of the Dragon Country after the two-tax law of the Tang Dynasty.
It simplified the items of taxes and corvee and the collection procedures, so that taxes and corvee were unified, and there was a trend of "sharing the land into the mu".
Later on, in the Qing Dynasty, the system of combining the purple and purple herbs was the application and development of the whip technique.
The implementation of the whip law changed the extremely chaotic and uneven tax and corvee system at that time.
It reduced the unreasonable burden of taxes and corvee on farmers, limited the fraud of petty officials, and especially abolished the heavy difference in labor, so that farmers had more time to engage in agricultural production!
Zhang Juzheng's financial management wasn't limited to blindly making profits for the imperial court. He also placed great importance on the practical lives of the people!
......
He tried to reduce the burden of taxes and corvee through various channels, and sometimes he even directly proposed to reduce the taxes that people needed to pay.
In the 10th year of Wanli, with the completion of the work of clearing the fields and the implementation of the one-whip law, the Ming Dynasty's national treasury revenue had a further improvement.
At this moment, Taipu Temple had four million taels of silver!
Including the silver deposited in Taicang, the total was about seven to eight million taels!
And the grain stored in Taicang could last for ten years!
Therefore, in February of that year, Zhang Juzheng petitioned for exemption from the money and grain owed by the provinces from the first year of Longqing to the seventh year of Wanli.
Zhang Juzheng had a way of obtaining money, but he was not a miser. Everything was for the country and the people!
In addition, Zhang Juzheng also opposed the traditional concept of "valuing agriculture and despising commerce" and believed that both agriculture and commerce should be equally valued. He also proposed the idea of "provincial levy, to invest in agriculture and commerce, to despise customs and markets, to invest in commerce and benefit agriculture".
Therefore, they were against increasing the business tax at will and violating the interests of merchants.
These practices complied with the trend of development in history. To a certain extent, they reduced the burden on the people and eased many conflicts that were on the verge of exploding.
Whether it was the development of history or the development of the Ming Dynasty, it had played a very positive role.
The current situation was different from the chaos during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, and it was indeed impossible to follow the rules.
Zhang Juzheng was busy with state affairs day after day. Even when his father Wenming, whom he had not seen for 19 years, passed away, he could not mourn.
In the ninth year of Wanli, the fifty-seven-year-old Zhang Juzheng finally fell ill from exhaustion.
On June 20, 2010, Zhang Juzheng died of illness.
He gave up the power that he had not given up for ten years. The emperor who had been loyal to him for ten years passed away.
After his death, Shenzong stopped the court and gave him the posthumous title of "Wenzhong".
He was buried in the tomb of Jiangling with his ambition.
However, how could he know that his lifetime of merit for the country was actually a disaster for his family's descendants!
......
Zhang Juzheng had offended too many people by changing his personality.
He had also made some mistakes in employing people and taking some actions.
"When you are in a great state, you will inevitably have the illness of being too harsh. However, it is not enough to stabilize the country!”
This was his determination and courage!
However, it was also a death sentence for his family and his achievements!
After his death, some people began to wantonly take revenge and attack.
As for the divine sect? When Ju Zheng was in power, didn't he always respect him as his teacher?
It was out of necessity and helplessness.
He had long been devoted to Ju Zheng's prestige.
One Day of Wanli Reading, I read it wrong.
In the end, Zhang Juzheng, who was urging him to study, roared!
He was scared out of his wits
However, due to Ju Zheng's authority, he did not flare up.
However, from then on, Ju Zheng no longer respected him, but instead, he respected him.
He had been in the country for ten years and the power he had was the power of the divine sect!
This was Zhang Juzheng's need to serve the country, but his power was the loss of the divine sect's position!
In terms of power, Zhang Juzheng and the divine sect had become opposites.
Zhang Juzheng's loyalty to the country and his sole power was a sign of contempt for his master in the divine sect's heart.
This was the logic of an emperor!
......
Since Zhang Juzheng was dead, the divine grandmaster was already an adult.
Some of the anger that had been accumulated for a long time could naturally explode!
On the fourth day after Zhang Juzheng's death, the civil officials that Zhang Juzheng had promoted before his death were fired.
Not long after, another official pointed the finger at Zhang Juzheng.
Shenzong then ordered to confiscate Zhang Juzheng's house and cut off his official rank.
He was forced to take away the imperial seal and imperial edict given to him during his lifetime and expose his crimes to the world!
He even almost opened the coffin and killed the corpse!
Zhang Juzheng's family members starved to death.
Exile, exile, escape.
A family that could read faces was like a nest of rebels!
And the people died and the government ceased.
The policies that Ju Zheng implemented during his reign were restored to the old views that were full of shortcomings.
This caused the Ming Dynasty, which had just revived, to go downhill again.
In the entire divine sect, no one cried out for Zhang Juzheng.
However, the decline of the country is due to the lack of good ministers.
It was not until the second year of Tianqi that Emperor Ming encouraged his subjects.
Only then did he remember the great hero of the past, Zhang Juzheng.
Reinstated. Reinstated.
However, it was too late. There was no longer Zhang Juzheng in the world!
Great Ming could revive once, but not a second time!
Later, when Sizong faced internal and external troubles.
when the treasury is short of money.
Even if she wanted Zhang Juzheng, she didn't have him.
Even if he wanted to become Zhang Juzheng, he would not be able to do so.
He couldn't change it either.
He was not a genius.
He had never been to the common people.
His actions were as fierce as a tiger.
At first glance, he was just a fool.
finally, the country was broken, the mountains and rivers shattered.
The world changed hands.
After Zhang Juzheng's death, his work was abandoned.
In fact, Da Ming was already dead.
It was just that he was still hanging on to that breath and had not swallowed it.
Thanks to Ju Zheng, he could barely struggle.
......
"Sigh, as expected, even a wise minister can't escape a tragic end…"
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