Chapter 148 Special Rectification

Everyone in this room should be aware of the burden that pastoral methods have placed on the people.

But no one dares to change the importance of war horses too much. If the people are not suffering, the country will have no horses. If the country has no horses, who dares to bear this crime?

So in the end, we just have to suffer a little more for the people.

"In the fifth year of Hongzhi, Ma Wensheng, Minister of the Ministry of War, also intended to improve the horse administration. He ordered that from now on, the officers and soldiers who led the riding and handling of the horses would be given a seal, and the book would be inspected three times a month. Those who were fat and strong would be classified as first-class;

Those who appear to be thin will be classified as the second class. If they are all thin after three inspections, and the horse collapses in the future, they will be ordered to buy supplements to avoid the disadvantages of the soldiers who are not willing to feed carefully. If they are fat and healthy three times and the horse collapses due to acute illness, they will be exempted from the disease.

Pursue compensation.”

This method is to mark the military horse, and then check whether it is fat or not after a period of time.

If he had been fat and died suddenly, he would be exempted from compensation.

In fact, it is to refine the horse compensation situation and make it more humane.

It is of some use, but only a little. Because it records whether it is fat or not, which easily breeds corruption, and those who give money will naturally be fat.

Zhu Houzhao listened to Liu Jian's speech for a long time, which confirmed two thoughts in his mind:

First, it is true that after some people took the horses back, they were unlucky enough to raise them to death, and not just one or two of them.

Secondly, it shows that the harm of Ma Zheng is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

Otherwise, Ma Wensheng would not have to make this improvement.

"You are all loyal ministers of the imperial court. According to what you said, if the current way of animal husbandry continues, will the imperial court still receive enough horses?"

Wang Yue heard bad signs. His Highness wanted to reduce the number of horses, right?

What will the Ministry of War do if there is no horse?

"Your Highness... the national situation is difficult. Although the imperial court wants to alleviate the difficulties of the people, the horse administration is also an ancestral system. If it is changed easily, it may not be a good thing."

"Ancestor system?" Zhu Houzhao murmured: "I remember Emperor Taizu Gao once said that the country is based on the people. If the people are tired because of horses, it is not good governance."

These were Zhu Yuanzhang's original words, and several bachelors present must have remembered them.

Zhu Houzhao also remembered the great uprising of Liu Liu and Liu Qi.

And it’s not that long from now.

Once the peasants rebel, they will actually be unable to survive. Otherwise, the Chinese people would not rebel easily, let alone three meals a day, even one meal a day.

Rebellion is by no means a romantic word.

This is to punish the nine tribes.

Zhu Yuanzhang even became a monk and never thought of rebelling.

"...I don't understand one thing very well," Zhu Houzhao planned to ask clearly. "In the eleventh year of Hongzhi in Datong, there was a case of merchants and Tatars trading contraband. One of the excuses was that Datong lacked

Therefore, we have to buy horses from Tatars. So, since we can buy horses from Tatars, why can’t we buy horses from the people of the Ming Dynasty in the imperial pass? Is it because it is not suitable to raise horses in the pass, and Tatar horses are better? Or is it?

Because even if we purchase all the horses in the country, it still won’t be enough?”

"Your Highness," Han Wen said, "I can answer this question, Your Highness. The horses on the grassland are tall, and the horses in the south are short. This is true. But think about it, Your Highness, even the northern horses have high-grade horses and low-grade horses."

Difference, will the Tartars sell us their best horses?”

Zhu Houzhao nodded. Among these ministers, Korean is still relatively capable.

Wang Yue basically didn't have a good life for a long time, so he was used as the face of the Minister of War.

"It makes sense, keep talking."

"I heard that there is such a joke on the grassland. It is said that the Tatars leave the pony at the foot of the mountain after it is born, and tie the mare to the top of the mountain. If the foal can jump up from the foot of the mountain,

Next to the mare, this is a good horse, keep it for your own use,"

"If a horse jumps halfway up the mountain and then walks up to find the mare, it is classified as a meat horse, which means it is killed for meat."

"And those who are too cowardly to jump up will be sold to Ming Dynasty."

This was the first time Zhu Houzhao had heard of such a thing.

So I let out a "hum" in displeasure.

But it actually makes sense when you think about it. Horses are an important strategic material. Want to buy good ones with money? Human beings in the 21st century have not reached that level of civilization.

"As for whether there are enough war horses from all over the country, it depends on the development of the war. If hundreds of thousands of troops go on an expedition, millions of horses will be needed from war horses to transportation horses. Our Ming Dynasty currently has no more than 500,000 horses in the country.

One horse is naturally not enough."

Zhu Houzhao probably understood, "Then the horses used in daily life should not need such a large number. Can we buy them from the common people?"'

Han Wen answered: "In the sixth year of Hongzhi, Ma Wensheng, then Minister of War, went to the imperial court and decided to turn the people's horse-raising tasks into taxes and hand them over to the imperial court, with the border towns mainly purchasing horses by themselves. After the sixth year of Hongzhi, many people in the south

The provinces all have similar requests, hoping to raise horses to raise money instead."

In fact, Mahu just paid a sum of money to settle the matter.

This is a bottom-up policy change, which shows that the people at this time were extremely disgusted with raising horses and would rather pay money than raise horses.

"If Your Highness wants to expand the scale of purchases, I think it is feasible. But in the end, the horse households will still have to pay taxes, so I cannot guarantee that it can really alleviate people's difficulties."

"What if Ma Hu is not required to pay this 'horse redemption tax'?"

"If you don't pay taxes, the money used by the court to buy horses will have no source."

Zhu Houzhao said: "No, the poor people can no longer take care of farming because of raising horses. If the court does not allow them to raise horses and farm instead, then the court's taxes will increase. I can ask my father for help.

Purpose, all the increased taxes in Hebei can be used as the cost of purchasing horses."

"this……"

No one said anything. This is the reason.

But... from Hongwu to Hongzhi, more and more land has been reclaimed across the country, and the population is increasing. How come the annual income is still decreasing?

Therefore, the prince's method is effective. It will indeed increase taxes, maybe even a lot, because the people in Hebei have suffered greatly from the suffering of farmers and herders. If they really go back to farming, they will be motivated to produce.

Therefore, tax increases can be achieved in three years, five years, ten years, or even longer, twenty years.

But what about thirty or fifty years later?

Everything is back to square one.

Fifty years from now, people will look back and see that your reform was completely in vain. You could still have a few horses, but now the horses are gone and the taxes are gone.

"What's wrong?"

No one spoke.

Han Wen explained this truth. He had to explain the future problems clearly to the prince.

"...Perhaps by then, the imperial court will have neither taxes nor good horses."

Zhu Houzhao thought to himself that it would be decades later. In a few decades, the country might become like that. Maybe the great voyages would come.

And within a few decades, he will take back all the seized horse ranches. By then, the number of official and herdsmen will increase, and the situation will be different.

"Have you ever thought about it, Han Shangshu, that if you insist on not changing such bad policies, the people will be poor, miserable, and trapped, and maybe my Zhu family will not have a successor for future generations!"

All the ministers knelt down and said, "I hope your highness will punish you for your inability to assist the government."

It seemed like they didn't have any objections.

But such an important matter cannot be implemented hastily.

"It is a definite fact that horse administration is not good governance, but the imperial court needs horses, and I also know that if it is canceled easily, the impact may be unknown. Moreover, if all the horses entrusted to the people by the imperial court are suddenly withdrawn, where will so many horses be put?

To raise them? Or to kill them on the spot? These all need to be considered. So it is better to act with both hands."

Zhu Houzhao's original thinking was not very clear. He gradually found a feasible method through discussions with his ministers. "One is to select one or two counties in Beizhili as a pilot project and eliminate the need for horse owners to raise horses.

According to the policy of people and animal husbandry, the imperial court took back all the horses that were given to the people, and then gave them to Liang Chu and asked him to send them to Yang Yiqing. He, the Taipusi Minister, cannot stay in the capital every day."

"Mr. Liu Ge, you need to select capable people to serve as magistrates of these two counties."

"yes."

"Your Highness." Xie Qian raised a question at this time, "What if this case is started and when it comes time to use troops, the imperial court cannot buy horses even if it has money?"

Zhu Houzhao replied: "The elimination of horse households from raising horses does not mean that there is no need to raise horses. If the court instead uses money to buy horses from the private sector, it will be profitable for the people, and naturally some people will be willing to raise horses. The key to this is whether there is enough money.

.”

"Han Shangshu, the Ministry of Revenue should focus on the tax growth data of the pilot counties. I will see this detailed data one year later. If the increased taxes can cover the silver coins used to buy horses, or even if there is a shortage, the shortage will not be large.

If the imperial court can afford it, then we can consider expanding the pilot project. If we find that there is not much increase in taxes, or the silver needed to buy horses is too far away, then I and you gentlemen will have to find another way out. In short

, focus on stability and make progress while maintaining stability.”

Mr. Xie Ge found this statement interesting, "His Highness's summary is very concise."

"If the pilot counties are cancelled, there will be no going back. Mr. Xie Ge, this is not a fun thing."

Xie Qian: "..."

"yes."
To be continued...