Unlike other dynasties, the Ming Dynasty ushered in three prosperous dynasties in one fell swoop: the Prosperous Age of Hongwu under Zhu Yuanzhang, the Prosperity of Yongle under Zhu Di, and the reign of Renxuan under Zhu Gaozi and Zhu Zhanji. Among the emperors of these three dynasties, Zhu Di was undoubtedly the one who could spend the most money and dared to spend money: five Northern Expeditions, six voyages to the West, and the relocation of the capital to Beijing... Such "big hands and big feet" not only did not drag down the Yongle Dynasty, but also smoothly handed over to the children and grandchildren, and continued the prosperity of the dynasty, which must be thanked by one person: the five dynasties, the financial steward who held financial power for nearly thirty years--- Xia Yuanji.
The self-cultivation of the "housekeeper"
In the entire history of ancient China, Xia Yuanji was one of the top financial talents. When people explained that because of him, "the country has no worries, and the people enjoy the blessings of peace."
Xia Yuanji was an official for 37 years, during which time he served as Hubu Shangshu for 27 years, making him the longest-serving minister of finance in the Ming Dynasty. You must know that the household department is in charge of the world's money and grain, and the economic lifeblood of a country is all tied to this. Why would the discerning and strict Emperor Zhu family trust him so confidently to entrust the national economy and people's livelihood to him?
This also starts from the character and ability of Natsuhara Yoshihito himself.
Xia Yuanji was born in Hunan, he lost his father at an early age, and the life of an orphan and widowed mother was very difficult. But he was born bright and studied hard to support his mother. Such an experience allowed him to develop simple living habits, even after becoming an official, he did not do anything extravagant, and never changed his incorruptible style.
During the Reign of Hongwu, Natsuhara Yoshi entered Taixue through a township recommendation, and was initially responsible for writing and making edicts in the palace. Once, Zhu Yuanzhang went to inspect Taixue and found that the Taixue students were in a frenzy, and only one student sat still and was not disturbed, he was Xia Yuanji. Zhu Yuanzhang had a good impression of him, and then promoted him to the head of the household department.
Natsuhara Yoshi is capable, and no matter how complicated the affairs he faces, he can handle them unhurriedly and orderly. He was also highly valued by the emperor for this reason. However, Xia Yuanji was never pampered and proud. In dealing with his colleagues, he was very magnanimous, did not care about personal gains and losses, neither deliberately fought with people, nor participated in partisan disputes, and was known as a dignified gentleman in the imperial court.
At the beginning of Yongle, the floods in Suzhou and Songjiang were serious, and Xia Yuanji was ordered to preside over the water treatment. He spent three years building a series of dredging projects. During this period, he was very diligent, and in order to find a way to cure the water, he often "painted day and night, and his eyes were red"; he refused preferential treatment, wore cloth clothes every day, traveled back and forth on foot, and did not open an umbrella cover in the middle of summer. He said: "The people are very hard, how can I bear to covet comfort alone?" "In the end, the flood was cured, and this rich land came back to life. Yao Guangxiao returned from western Zhejiang and praised Xia Yuanji to Zhu Di: "He really has the heart of ancient benevolence. ”
Managing the world's wealth is a huge, complex and cumbersome work, involving the income and expenditure of financial resources, the allocation of resources, etc., and constantly testing whether a person can distinguish between public and private. Natsuhara Yoshi was the one who could reassure the emperor.
The money that should be spent is to be spent
Ming Chengzu Zhu Di was an aspiring emperor. As soon as he ascended the throne, he was anxious to prove himself as a promising prince with "great deeds". And these "great deeds" cost money, and it is a lot of money.
If the treasury is full, it is easy to say how much work to do. However, at this time, the four-year Battle of Jingnan had just ended, the Ming Dynasty was not rich under the war and turmoil, and how could the ideal of the emperor be realized while maintaining normal state expenditure (national defense investment, economic construction, officials, etc.)?
Fortunately, Ming Chengzu found a powerful assistant for himself- Natsuhara Yoshi. At that time, Xia Yuanji was highly valued under Emperor Jianwen and his identity was more sensitive. Many ministers urged Chengzu not to use this person. But in the end, Cheng zu still tried to defy the public opinion and appointed Natsuhara Yoshi to be the head of the Household Department and manage the world's finances.
It turns out that Zhu Di found the right person! First, let's take a look at what major events Ming Chengzu accomplished during the Yongle period:
In the first year of Yongle, the Yongle Canon was first cultivated, which lasted for 6 years.
In the three years of Yongle, Zheng He went to the West for the first time, and yongle went to the West a total of 6 times during the Yongle years.
In the fourth to fifth years of Yongle, he sent troops to attack Annam, sending 800,000 troops.
In the fifth year of Yongle, the construction of the Forbidden City in Beijing began, which took more than 10 years to complete.
Yongle seven years, slender mausoleum, lasted 4 years.
In the eighth year of Yongle, he began to conquer mobei, and there were 5 times in Yongle years.
……
Any one of these "big projects" costs astronomical sums of money, and tens of thousands of dollars are supplied and transferred. What's more, many major events were carried out almost at the same time, so that the financial pressure of the Ming Dynasty could be imagined.
And Natsuhara Yoshitsune withstood the pressure that followed, ensuring that each project could have money and food in place. To this end, he needs to plan carefully and schedule reasonably. How much effort does it take? Perhaps this can be seen in a few details. First, Natsuhara Ji always carried a small notebook with him, which densely recorded information such as household registrations, government treasuries, and the increase or decrease of land taxes throughout the country for anytime, anywhere. Second, he was already familiar with the situation of money and grain in the world, and when Ming Chengzu suddenly asked, he answered it fluently and in great detail.
Ming Chengzu ruled for 22 years, achieving great deeds and creating a prosperous world. Although the cost was huge, the economy of the Ming Dynasty was able to run smoothly. Huang Fu, an official during the Xuande period, commented on the financial situation during the Yongle period, saying: "Although Yonglejian built Beijing, the south was begging for crossroads, and the northern expedition to the desert, there was no shortage of resources. It can be said that it was Xia Yuanji who supported Ming Chengzu's political ideals with "careful calculation".
The one who should refuse is to refuse
Of course, Xia Yuanji did not blindly obey the emperor and gave money when he asked for it.
In the nineteenth year of Yongle (1421), two major events occurred in the Ming Dynasty. One is that Ming Chengzu officially moved the capital to Beijing. In the other case, he began to prepare for a new round of northern expeditions.
The ministers all knew that this was not the best time to send troops, because the successive major moves of moving the capital and the Northern Expedition had already stretched the finances. Therefore, when Cheng Zu asked Shangshu Fangbin about the Northern Expedition, Fangbin replied that the cost of Xingbing was insufficient. Cheng Zu was not happy, and asked Natsuhara Yoshi, who had always supported him, about the border reserves. Natsuhara Yoshi also gave the advice of "not sending troops". He said: "After years of sending troops, they have not returned to any avail, the reserves of military horses and horses have been lost in 89 out of 10, and with the continuous occurrence of disasters and famines, we are now in internal and external difficulties." Moreover, your Eucharist is not safe, you still need to be nursed, and you can send out the general, and you do not need to be a royal conscription. ”
Xia Yuanji told the truth, but he did not expect that Chengzu's northern expedition had already been decided, and not only did not listen to the advice, but instead in anger, xia Yuanji was imprisoned and imprisoned, and he also sent someone to raid his home.
Cheng Zu insisted on the Northern Expedition, but soon returned because of the lack of food. On the way back from the last Northern Expedition, Cheng Zu was critically ill, perhaps regretting that he did not heed Xia Yuanji's advice, or perhaps thinking that Xia Yuan ji was always a person who could be trusted, he shouted a sentence at the last moment of his life: "Natsuhara Ji loves me!" ”
After Emperor Renzong ascended the throne, he reactivated Natsuhara Yoshi. At this time, the Ming Dynasty could no longer spend money like flowing water. Xia Yuanji then suggested to Emperor Renzong that he should spend money to "collect", on the one hand, to help the hungry people, reduce the province's military service, in order to recuperate the people's strength; on the other hand, to suspend the money-burning projects in the Yongle period, such as going to the West...
Xia Yuanji once again supported the overall financial situation of the Ming Dynasty, the economy that was dragged down began to gradually recover, the situation of "warehousing without accumulation" was improved, and the prelude to the rule of Renxuan was slowly opened.
Break even is a good year
As a financial steward, Xia Yuanji has seen the scene of spending money like flowing water, and has also faced the dilemma of "warehousing without accumulation", but he still used his wisdom to support two "golden ages": Yongle Shengshi and Renxuan's rule.
First, tighten your money bag. Take, for example, the distribution of the Lulu. The Ming court's Feng Lu was a very large expense. In order to "cut redundant food", Natsuhara Yoshinori cut off idle departments, eliminated the corpse vegetarian meal personnel, and tried to reduce unnecessary expenditure. In the nineteenth year of Yongle (1421), when rewarding the officers and soldiers who were equal to the toe, he insisted on replacing the promotion with a one-time heavy reward. Because although the reward is more, it is only used once; and the promotion means long-term, more expenditure. In addition, he also urged the emperor to reduce the amount of money given to the imperial family, and even reduce the expenses of the court.
Second, eliminate maladministration. The warehouses set up by the imperial court in various places were closely related to the taxes and grain collected. Previously, due to poor supervision, there were many acts of self-theft. Xia Yuanji ordered the clearance of warehouses in various places, strict investigation of corruption, strengthening supervision, and reducing losses. In addition, the problem of the depreciation of paper money that began during the Hongwu period was also alleviated in the hands of Natsuhara Yoshi.
Third, increase revenue. In the eyes of many officials, increasing taxes is the most direct solution to financial difficulties. But Natsuhara Yoshi will not disregard the people's livelihood in order to increase income. He advocated increasing taxes on the rich, reducing taxes on the poor, and allowing villagers to pay money in lieu of servitude; introducing "preferential" policies to attract landless peasants to settle in the border areas; and for disaster-stricken areas, he would ask the emperor to reduce taxes so that the people could rest and recuperate.
As the steward of the Ming Dynasty, Xia Yuanji always found a balance between the country's revenue and expenditure, between the emperor's ideals and reality, and between the national plan and the people's livelihood. And it is precisely because of his constant weighing and proper scheduling that it ensures that the Ming Dynasty continued to rule the world under the not-so-generous economy.
Natsuhara Yoshi's economic talent is beyond doubt, but his own account is "a mess". In that year, he was raided by Ming Chengzu, and when the property that the emperor had rewarded him was confiscated, only cloth and altar jars were left in his home; when his brother came to visit, he only had two stones of rice to give; the imperial court wanted to pay him three salaries because of his high merits, and he insisted on not accepting it... Who would have thought that a minister who held the lifeblood of the country's economy would be so simple! He really did a lifetime of dealing with money and food, but he was incorruptible all his life.
Such a contrast can also be understood in Natsuhara Ji, after all, he has never been a steward for himself, but a steward for the emperor; he has never calculated for himself, but for the people of the world.