Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

"I understand your concerns."

Looking at this unpredictable Mr. Qiu.

Jiang Xinghuo dug a hole with the silver coin in his hand, inserted it into the hand-painted chessboard on the ground, and then hastily buried some soil on the surface.

"This silver coin is a tax, and the grids on the chessboard represent countless towns and villages in the world. Taxation is rooted here. The imperial power has nothing to do. The policy of 'gentry receiving food from one body' cannot be implemented, right?"

"That's true." Xia Yuanji nodded.

Jiang Xinghuo rubbed his knees, which were numb after squatting for a long time, and continued.

"Then since you feel that it cannot be implemented, we might as well talk about what policy implementation is?"

This question made Zhu Gaoxu and Xia Yuanji stunned for a moment.

What is policy implementation?

Policy implementation is called policy implementation!

"Let me first talk about the definition and content of 'policy implementation' as I understand it, as well as the factors that affect policy implementation. Do you think it is correct or not? If it makes sense, we will continue to discuss how to make the 'gentry and gentry pay as one body'. 'How about carrying out this matter?"

Jiang Xinghuo said it very politely, but naturally the two of them could only listen first before making any conclusions.

It's refreshing to say that Xia Yuanji, a capable minister who has been working in the Ministry of Household Affairs for so many years, now thinks carefully about what policy implementation means. come out.

Is Xia Yuan Ji nauseous?

of course not.

Things that cannot be explained or summed up into a system are just like the skills of Chinese craftsmen. They can do it but not explain it, and there is no systematic summary.

Jiang Xinghuo said slowly.

"The so-called policy implementation refers to the imperial court and the lower-level chief ministers, county governments, etc. The executors of such policies use various resources including temples, economics, and culture to form corresponding organizations and adopt It includes explanation, implementation, service, publicity and other methods to transform the content of the 'policy concept' itself into 'realistic effects', so that the established policy goals can be achieved."

When this complete definition was thrown out, Xia Yuanji nodded clearly.

This is what Xia Yuanji also wanted to say.

Everyone knows something and everyone can do it, but it is difficult for Jiang Xinghuo to set standards and define it.

Don’t underestimate [definition], which is as small as a small thing.

Think: Hey, what’s all the fuss about next definition? Who can't tell a few words?

In fact, an important floor tile in the modern scientific system is [definition].

Only by rigorously explaining everything in the classified disciplines within each scientific system in a "definition" manner can we systematically cultivate corresponding talents in each discipline.

Otherwise, we will return to the era of empirical master-disciple inheritance.

One is one, and two is two. It cannot be said that learning can only rely on personal understanding. Relying on the kind of "seeing the mind and clarifying one's nature" type of learning can never cultivate the talents needed for the modern scientific system and promote the rise of modern nation-states. vast number of industrial workers.

Jiang Xinghuo continued: "As for the content of policy implementation, compared with the definition, it will be more helpful for practice."

"The content of policy implementation includes organizational preparation - personnel preparation - policy decomposition - policy experimentation - policy publicity - policy promotion, as well as the command, communication, coordination and other series of activities required for this process."

After that, Jiang Xinghuo wrote these words on the ground one by one.

①Organizational preparation

"What is organizational preparation?" Jiang Xinghuo turned to ask the bearded man.

Zhu Gaoxu tried to answer: "Everything needs to be done by a corresponding organization?"

"What you said is very good."

Jiang Xinghuo affirmed: "Then do you think we need to prepare a special organization to collect taxes? Or should we just let the current ones do it?"

Xia Yuanji replied: "Now the central government has a Ministry of Household Coordination to coordinate tax collection, and the Thirteen Chief Envoys are in charge of taxation. For those who directly manage taxation, there is a tax department under the Chief Envoys Department, and there are also tax departments at the government level. The tax department, tax treasury department, and river bank office only reach the township level, and Li Jia is needed to supervise the collection of grain and taxes."

Jiang Xinghuo was persuasive: "In other words, the Ming Dynasty actually has a complete and existing taxation system, but this taxation system does not reach the countryside and below. That's why you think that the 'gentry and gentry should pay grain as one body' is implemented You can’t go down, right?”

Xia Yuanji had a vague feeling that Master Jiang seemed to have a very complete set of ideas.

And this feeling is like the prey following the bait all the way and eventually falling into a pit.

However, Xia Yuanji was confused by the authorities at this time. Even if he was a little alert, he could only nod in agreement.

"That's it. At the township level and below, the court can only rely on the Lijia organization held by the gentry to collect taxes."

Jiang Xinghuo asked again: "Then should we establish a tax collection agency below the countryside?"

"impossible!"

Xia Yuanji almost blurted out.

Anyone who has a little knowledge of grassroots governance in Ming Dynasty knows that this is almost impossible.

At the grassroots level of the Ming Dynasty, gentry and clans were mixed together, and they were so intertwined that it was impossible to sort them out.

Their power is so small that the Ming army can easily destroy any place.

It's like plucking hair.

But their number is too huge.

So, can Daming pluck out all his hair?

After unplugging, how to resist the cold and regulate body temperature?

It's so difficult to pull out hair, let alone squeeze out the pores one by one to implant another new hair.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were 1,427 counties!

Each county is divided clockwise into dozens to hundreds of "du" according to the region on the map. "Du" is not an administrative unit, but a geographical division for easy identification, which is equivalent to a county-level map of Ming Dynasty. A small grid.

The so-called "township" in the Ming Dynasty is not an administrative division, but a regional concept formed by the spontaneous recognition of the people.

A county has about a few to a dozen townships, with an average of six to eight, and there are very few exceptions with more than twenty townships.

Then it is calculated based on the fact that each county has seven natural townships.

There were 9,989 natural townships in the Ming Dynasty. Taking the whole number, it is equal to approximately 10,000 natural townships.

What is the concept of Ten Thousand Natural Townships?

Once a specific tax collection agency is established corresponding to a certain township.

Then this township-level tax collection agency only has four or five clerks.

This new organization.

The total number has exceeded the number of officials in the Ming Empire!

Yes, you read that right.

The official official force of the Ming Empire was "only" more than 40,000 by the end of Jianwen and the beginning of Yongle!

In other words, if Ming Dynasty made up its mind to send imperial power to the countryside.

Ming Dynasty had to support a new team with almost the same number of people as the current bureaucracy.

Even if the salary of this new team is low, when multiplied by 40,000 to 50,000, it is still an extremely terrifying number.

Then the high-level decision-makers of the Ming Empire must weigh it.

In order to better collect taxes, new redundant officials and excessive expenditures have been created. Can the extra taxes collected make up for this part of the expenditures? What if it is a loss-making transaction?

Do the math, is it worth it?

When Xia Yuanji expressed his calculations and worries, to his surprise, Jiang Xinghuo nodded in agreement.

"From an accounting point of view, it is indeed impossible to establish a separate township-level tax collection agency."

"What should we do?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Jiang Xinghuo reassured: "Don't worry, the issue of whether to establish a separate township-level tax agency can be put aside for the time being. We will continue to follow the policy implementation process."

Jiang Xinghuo drew out a few words on the soil with his fingers.

②Personnel preparation

Looking at these words and the serial number in Arabic numerals, Xia Yuanji thought thoughtfully and thought in his heart.

"If I stipulate all the matters in the household department according to the process like this. Which department is responsible for what, which person is responsible for it, and what needs to be done in the follow-up. Will it significantly improve efficiency?"

While Xia Yuanji was thinking about it.

Jiang Xinghuo asked again: "Then let's put aside whether to establish an independent township-level tax agency and just talk about personnel issues."

"May I ask what characteristics and abilities you think the person responsible for collecting taxes should have?"

——————

In the secret room, Zhu Di asked.

"What do you two ministers think?"

Zhu Di was asking about two ministers, so naturally he didn't want to favor one over the other.

But in fact, both of them knew that this kind of personnel question was actually about Jian Yi, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

In other words, this is an investigation of Jian Yi.

The inspection question was not difficult, Jian Yi answered without hesitation.

"Those who collect taxes must first be literate and understand arithmetic."

"Otherwise, if you can't even write your name and can't figure out the calculations, how can you collect taxes well? You're just being deceived like a ghost."

Ru Yu nodded, that's the truth.

"Secondly, in theory, it is best for people who collect taxes to be outsiders or people who are not familiar with the local area. Otherwise, they will be easily constrained by various relationships."

"Finally, the person who collects taxes should have a noble character. If this is not possible, then it is possible to have some method that can limit him from being bribed."

After saying these three points, Jian Yi himself shook his head.

It is not difficult to find a few, dozens, or hundreds of such people.

But the problem is, Ming Dynasty needs tens of thousands!

too difficult.

After hearing this, Zhu Di also knew that it seemed that it was not feasible to establish an independent township-level tax collection agency in terms of cost and personnel?

This couldn't help but make Zhu Di feel a little depressed.

It seems that there is indeed a reason why the imperial power does not go to the countryside.

It's not that Zhu Di was reluctant to spend money. The question is, after spending money and building a township-level taxation agency at a loss, is it done?

impossible.

If they are all those who do not meet the requirements and whose abilities and conduct do not meet the requirements, they will not be able to collect taxes and will soon become corrupted.

In fact, it is too difficult to ask people to do things based on their character.

People's moral bottom line should never be tested.

Rujun added: "Furthermore, Your Majesty, if the tax collectors are to be permanently stationed in the village, no matter who they are, if they live for a long time, they will be influenced and assimilated by the local people over the years, and then become the same as the current Lijia system. of."

Zhu Di couldn't help but nodded.

But he continued to be tough.

"It's okay, Mr. Jiang will always find a way."

Seeing the emperor who refused to bow his head, Jian Yi and Ru Ru could only roll their eyes in fantasy.

The emperor is as stubborn as a donkey. What can they do as ministers?

As for what Jiang Xinghuo can do?

Jian Yi and Ru Ru didn't think Jiang Xinghuo could do anything.

Faced with this choice of establishing a new township-level tax agency, it is destined to lose money, and if you choose people at a loss, it will also become an ineffective agency after a few years.

Can anyone think of a solution?

This is an unsolvable problem!

The fact that imperial power did not go to the countryside was not a problem of the Ming Dynasty.

If there is a solution to this difficult problem, why can't all the dynasties over the past thousands of years find the answer?

——————

Under the new crooked neck tree.

Xia Yuanji almost gave the same answer as Jian Yi.

"Literate, knowledgeable, incorruptible, and a stranger."

Jiang Xinghuo pointed to the ground and said: "Okay, let's not talk about the following ③ policy decomposition ④ policy experiment ⑤ policy propaganda ⑥ policy promotion for now. Let's discuss the previous ① institutional preparation and ② personnel preparation. "

"After all, if the problems of the organization and corresponding personnel cannot be solved, then there will be no way to discuss subsequent policy implementation."

Zhu Gaoxu and Xia Yuanji strongly agree with this.

"Since ancient times, people have been the ones doing the work. No matter how good the policy is, it needs to be implemented by people with corresponding qualities and abilities to ensure that the policy does not go out of shape."

"Otherwise, even if the original intention of proposing a policy is good, it will end up being distorted in the hands of the people below."

"In fact, the dilemma of grassroots governance is a very difficult and difficult thing to solve not only in our current era, but also predictably in the future hundreds of years from now."

The expressions of several people in the secret room became increasingly curious. It seemed that Jiang Xinghuo knew all these practical issues.

The two ministers could not help but feel their hearts skip a beat. Jiang Xinghuo knew that there were tigers in the mountains, so why did he choose to go to the tiger mountains?

Could it be that Jiang Xinghuo really has a way to solve the "people" problem?

Once this thought arose, they felt a little incredible.

"So, having said all that, is there any way to crack it?"

Jiang Xinghuo's knees finally became sore. He rubbed them and stood up.

Jiang Xinghuo's cold words floated over the heads of the two of them.

"My answer is, yes!"

When the word "yes" was spoken, everyone was stunned.

It wasn't the "Shocked! Extremely shocked!" emotion described in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life's vulgar historical and brainless novel, but he was stunned.

Yes, this answer is a fantasy for people of the Ming Dynasty.

People are not shocked by the fantasy.

I just feel a little dazed.

What is this? real or fake?

Without giving them time to react, Jiang Xinghuo continued.

"As Mr. Qiu said, the person responsible for collecting taxes needs to have four abilities or conditions."

"We might as well work backwards and start with the first point, the stranger."

"Excuse me, which group in the Ming Dynasty is full of foreigners from all over the world?"

When this question is asked.

Zhu Gaoxu was so excited that his beard seemed to stand up.

"army!"

"You are very smart." Jiang Xinghuo smiled.

Before Jiang Xinghuo could continue, Xia Yuanji interrupted hastily.

"If the army is allowed to collect taxes, wouldn't it be a repeat of the tragedy of the late Tang and Five Dynasties?"

"With a knife handle and a money bag, the world will be in chaos!"

Jiang Xinghuo said, "No, has Mr. Qiu ever thought about another possibility?"

"What's possible?" Xia Yuanji asked intently.

"In addition to the quota of military households established by the guards, I heard him say it." Jiang Xinghuo pointed at the bearded man, "In fact, many new soldiers were recruited into the field army during the Jingnan Campaign? Now that the war is over, there is no need for so many It has a standing force, and veterans in the field force can actually retire."

Xia Yuanji was somewhat enlightened, but he still felt that there was something wrong with it: "Even if they are not guardsmen and there is no legacy garden to stay in, those old soldiers who were temporarily recruited during the Jingnan period should not be demobilized and returned to their fields when they are old and retired?"

The "Heritage Garden" in the guard system is a nursing home, but in the Ming Dynasty's military system, all soldiers were originally guard soldiers, and there was no such thing as retirement.

However, during the Battle of Jingnan, both the Northern and Southern armies made every effort to recruit as many troops as possible in order to eliminate each other.

This has also led to the fact that the Northern Army (Yan Army) now has hundreds of thousands of field and local garrison troops waiting for placement.

As for Zhu Di, he hadn't figured out what to do for a while.

After all, in his father Zhu Yuanzhang's system, the guards made money and the guards spent it, but they couldn't even take a penny home.

The guardhouse is the home of a military household. After my father dies and his son comes, there is no such thing as retirement.

The Battle of Jingnan changed everything.

"It's not time to dismantle and return to the field. The country needs it. How can we still refuse and continue to do things?" Jiang Xinghuo said: "Besides, being an old soldier does not mean that he is really seventy or eighty years old. Going to the battlefield when he was a teenager and wallowing for seven or eight years does not count. Are you an old soldier? You no longer want to fight, or you have been injured. Should you be discharged from the army? What arrangements will be made for you after you retire? Are you young and energetic, and have learned a lot of killing skills in the army? Do you want to be returned to your place of origin to cause trouble? "

Xia Yuanji was speechless for a moment.

Zhu Gaoxu added: "Mr. Jiang is being conservative. Not to mention those who have been on the battlefield for seven or eight years and survived. Even those who survived several battles in one year are considered to be the most shrewd and powerful veterans."

"So, in addition to being a stranger, this also meets an additional condition - being smart and strong."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said: "Besides, old soldiers also have a common characteristic, that is, they are more disciplined and obedient than ordinary people."

In the military of this era, it is very common for officers to punish soldiers. If they disobey discipline and command on the battlefield, the solution is most likely to "borrow your head."

Kill the chicken to scare the monkey, and serve as a warning to others.

Perhaps the old soldiers have arrogant habits, but in any case, they are definitely more disciplined and obedient than ordinary people.

Xia Yuanji frowned deeply. He always felt that there were still too many conditions between veterans of the army and qualified tax collectors.

"What about integrity? How to protect it? These old soldiers must be used to being arrogant. When they go to the local villages, they drink a few drinks, eat well and drink, and then give them those filthy enjoyments. They will be dealt with for no reason."

When Zhu Gaoxu thought of the virtues of his arrogant soldiers, he couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

What Xia Yuanji said is so right!

"Integrity cannot depend on character, but on corresponding systems."

"The system guarantees integrity in three aspects."

"The first aspect is salary."

Jiang Xinghuo held his knees and talked eloquently: "The salary that can guarantee integrity does not actually need to be high, but the victory lies in persistence."

"Continuing means that once you commit a crime, your salary will be gone for most of your life. This salary can be the reward for retirement, distributed in batches every year, plus the salary of the new position, and tied together."

"And your salary for most of your life must be much higher than your 'cost of crime'."

"The reason is also very simple. It is impossible for veterans to embezzle all the tax revenue of a township if they want to manipulate it, right? That is simply unrealistic. If you want to embezzle or accept bribes without being discovered, , then this amount is destined to be incomparable with his salary for the rest of his life after he retires from the army."

What I want to say here is whether there is a retirement salary or a one-time retirement reward. In fact, it still needs to be studied.

But in any case, Jiang Xinghuo proposed that the retirement rewards be released in batches and the salaries of township officials be increased. The two should be tied together. If they want to be cut off, they should be cut off together. This is undoubtedly a good idea.

This will, as Jiang Xinghuo said, greatly increase the cost of crime committed by veterans when serving as township tax collectors.

"Of course, this also involves the back." Jiang Xinghuo continued.

"That is the second aspect of the system to ensure integrity, the inspection system."

Jiang Xinghuo wrote the words "clear investigation" and "undercover investigation" on the ground.

“Township-level taxation agencies must establish an independent inspection system to combine overt inspections with undercover inspections.”

"This will create a deterrent effect."

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said, "I'm telling you I'm here to check. You have to prepare carefully."

"I didn't tell you that I was here to check. Didn't you prepare carefully?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Of course not, because they don't know whether it is an overt investigation or a covert investigation!"

"That's it." Jiang Xinghuo continued, "As for the issue of who will supervise the tax inspection agency, let's put this aside for now. If we want to do this, it will never end. Let's talk about the following first."

“The third aspect of institutional integrity is the Medal of Honor system.”

Zhu Gaoxu interrupted: "Mr. Jiang, what is a medal?"

Jiang Xinghuo pulled out the silver coin from the ground, pointed at it and explained.

“For example, gadgets that can be made of iron, copper, silver or even gold are tied with a ribbon (generally used to hang official seals in ancient times) as a symbol of honor. Depending on the material, it is easy to distinguish the level of meritorious service. And for specific contributions, different styles of medals can also be produced according to the troops he belongs to and the battles he participated in."

"Soldiers must value honor above life, and they must have matching medals to commend them for the honors they have gained through bloody battles. At the same time, with these medals, they can also enjoy some things that may not be of great use in Ming Dynasty society, but are There must be priority power with a considerable sense of superiority. Only in this way can a virtuous cycle of honor and actual profit be formed.”

When Zhu Gaoxu heard these words, his eyes suddenly showed a look of fanaticism.

exactly! That’s so right!

In this way, a large number of old soldiers who were drafted for the Jingnan Campaign and needed to be discharged and returned to their fields would have a place to resettle, and they would have new protection in terms of property and honor.

It is much better than directly issuing a reward and sending him back to his hometown to cause new local security problems.

"So, the stranger and the incorruptible are all solved?"

Jiang Xinghuo pointed to the writing on the ground and continued.

"The next step is how to solve the problems of literacy and numeracy. These two problems, combined with the Medal of Honor system and the concept of nation-state mentioned before, will actually bring about a series of beneficial chain reactions."