Chapter 8 Chapter Eight: Xia Yuanji "Financing" for Zhu Di

Speaking of Yongle Emperor Ming Chengzu Zhu Di who usurped and rose through the "Battle of Jingnan", in addition to being criticized by later generations for his "usurping" behavior, he perverted after he ascended the throne and massacred Jianwen's former ministers, which attracted criticism. The evaluation of his 22-year reign is still quite high. Throughout Zhu Di’s 22 years in power, it can be said that he has made great achievements: reopening the Grand Canal, editing the "Yongle Canon", managing the frontiers, building the Hami Guard in the west, setting up the Nurgandu Division in the northeast, conferring three Mongolian departments, and reforming the land in the southwest , Canonize the Living Buddha of Tibet, and send "Monk Gangsi" to Turpan, Yili, and Hami to act as an agent for religious affairs, and consolidate and develop the "unified multi-ethnic country" of Ming Dynasty.Chen Cheng was sent abroad to communicate with the Western Regions, and Zheng He was sent to the Western Regions seven times to communicate with foreign countries. There were as many as 80 subjects who professed their vassals to the Ming Dynasty, and the farthest reached the Central African region.Sending troops to the south in peace, conquering Japan without fighting, conquering Mongolia five times in the north, pacifying Tatars and Kwara, and displaying the military power of the Celestial Dynasty... Wenzhiwugong has made great achievements.Therefore, "History of the Ming Dynasty" while acknowledging that he "acts against the trend, and his virtue can be concealed", it also praises him for "the vast territory, as far away as the Han and Tang Dynasties, and his success is strong and outstanding."

And in this era of "excellence and prosperity", there are naturally heroes in large numbers. Xie Jin, one of the three great talents of the Ming Dynasty who edited "Yongle Dadian", handled state affairs, and pioneered the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty. "Three Yang Cabinet", Wuyou Pingannan's famous general Zhang Fu, and Zhu Di himself who personally conquered Mobei five times, and the outstanding diplomats Zheng He and Chen Cheng who "conquered the four barbarians".However, many brilliant figures can't hide the brilliance of one person——Xia Yuanji, the Minister of the Household Department of the Yongle Dynasty, praised by many Ming historians at home and abroad as "the big accountant of the Yongle Prosperity".This is all because of the simplest reason: In this era of all the "great careers" of the Lie Dynasty, the great achievements of the Liechao are inseparable from one word in the final analysis-money.

For the simplest reason, let us see his life which is unknown but worthy of respect. Xia Yuanji, courtesy name Weizhe, was born in Dexing, Jiangxi Province in the twenty-sixth year of Yuan Zhizheng (AD 1366), and moved to Xiangyin, Hunan Province with his father who was an instructor.It is said that when his mother gave birth to him, she dreamed that Qu Yuan came to the room, so she called him the reincarnation of Doctor Sanlu (Qu Yuan).He seems to be born "noble", but his family was poor since he was a child. His father passed away at the age of 13, and his life became even worse. Little Xia Yuanji "children of the poor are already in charge of the family", not only studying hard, but also teaching elementary school nearby to supplement the family income.Following Su Dongpo's method, he divides his monthly wages into 30 shares and hangs them on the wall, and takes one share every day. He manages his meager income in an orderly manner.When his teacher found out, he exclaimed: "At a young age, you are especially good at managing money. In the future, you will be able to manage your wealth tomorrow."A few years later, Xia Yuanji, who was in charge of the household department of the Ming Dynasty, really fulfilled the teacher's prophecy.

During the Hongwu period, Xia Yuanji was admitted to Juren. In order to save tuition fees, he entered Guozijian, the highest school in Ming Dynasty, to study.His hard-working attitude was appreciated by Song Lian, who was in charge of the Hanlin Academy. He was recommended by Song Lian and was selected to be in charge of copying manuscripts. , Transcribe with peace of mind, and complete tasks quickly and well every time.His conscientious attitude attracted Zhu Yuanzhang's attention, and he was immediately promoted to the head of the Sichuan Department of the Liupin Household Department.From then on, Xia Yuanji began to work hard all his life in this department that controlled the financial power of the Ming Dynasty.

Xia Yuanji is low-key and silent, but when he speaks, he must hit the point, which is completely different from Yang Siyi who likes to quote from many sources and has excellent eloquence.But both of them are "generalists", not sticking to the Four Books and Five Classics, they have a lot of research on mathematics and engineering manufacturing, and more importantly, both of them have the experience of "second ministers".After Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen came to the throne, he was promoted to the right servant of the household department. During the three years of the "Battle of Jingnan", he managed the country's finances and supplied the front-line military rations. 1403) On June 13th, Xia Yuanji, who didn't know the changes in the city, was on duty "on the night shift". He calculated the cost of the city defense overnight, and was the first to sell himself to Zhu Di. Handing it over to Zhu Di, he claimed that Xia Yuanji had "aided the emperor and abused him a lot" during the battle of Jingnan, which aroused Zhu Di's anger, and asked Xia Yuanji what excuse he had.Xia Yuanji replied unhurriedly: "Your Majesty was martyred, and the subject should be on death day. I just invite Your Highness to accommodate the subject for three days." Zhu Di was stunned: "Why?" Xia Yuanji replied: "There are still accounts in the household department that have not been counted , this matter is related to the livelihood of the people, please finish it within three days, and then follow the late emperor to die." This capable minister who was not afraid of danger and "concerned about work" finally moved Zhu Di, and immediately ordered Xia Yuanji to be released. He returned to his post and stayed on, and was promoted to the left servant of the household department two months later. Facts have proved that he was right.

A few months after being promoted to Zuo Shilang, in April of the first year of Yongle (1403 A.D.), Xia Yuanji got his first important errand: to go to the south of the Yangtze River to control the water.At that time, Jiangnan was the place with the richest products in the Ming Dynasty and the main source of tax revenue.However, since the 31st year of Hongwu, successive years of torrential rains have caused disasters, resulting in a reduction in grain production and a great loss in national taxes. Zhu Di attached great importance to this matter. As early as the early days of taking control of Nanjing, he successively dispatched Wu Zhong, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Fang Bin, the minister of the Ministry of War. In August and December of the fourth year of Jianwen, he went to Jiangnan twice to govern.However, these two "old team members" who followed Zhu Di from the north did not understand the water conditions in the south, so that they were wasting people's energy and working hard to no avail.Therefore, Zhu Di attached great importance to Xia Yuanji's trip. Before the trip, he specially sent Yu Shiji, the governor, to send water conservancy books to Xia Yuanji. Two months later, he sent Li Wenyu, the right servant of the household department, to assist.After Xia Yuanji arrived, he repeatedly inspected the water regime, and then tried his best to change the traditional water control method. He proposed to build a canal from Wusong River to Taihu Lake, and set up sluices along the way to control the flow, so as to "divert floods when floods occur, and divert floods when droughts occur." Then irrigation" effect.This move involved 100,000 migrant workers. Xia Yuanji set an example by eating and living in the construction site in cloth and linen clothes. He personally supervised the work. Others advised him to pay attention to rest, but he replied: The migrant workers are all working hard, how can I enjoy the comfort alone.Everyone was moved by the news, and the project made great progress. In the next year, he supervised the construction of the project connecting the Baiqiu River to Taihu Lake, connecting the two major rivers in the south of the Yangtze River. The whole line was completed in September of the second year of Yongle.It is worth mentioning that the West will adopt the same water control method until the Tennessee water conservancy project in the United States 200 years later.For his achievements in water control in the south of the Yangtze River, even Yao Guangxiao, Zhu Di's first counselor, praised Xia Yuanji for this: "It is also a legacy of ancient love."

Xia Yuanji, who had made outstanding achievements in the early days, was honored and favored by Zhu Di since then, and he was even more valued after returning to Nanjing. Soon after, he was promoted to Minister of the Ministry of Households and officially took on the role of "big accountant".He used this to persuade Zhu Di to abolish the "literary prison" and to "rehabilitate and rehabilitate" the literati who caused trouble for writing in Zhu Yuanzhang's era.After some enlightenment, Zhu Di finally issued the admonition that "the Ming Dynasty should not kill people because of literature". start.

Xia Yuanji's most important role in the Yongle era was closely connected with a series of "great achievements" in the Yongle era: building a treasure ship to go to the west, compiling the "Yongle Canon", sending 300,000 troops to Annan in the south, and conquering Mongolia in the north five times. An average of 500,000 soldiers are mobilized each time, and the economic cost is astronomical. Compared with the previous dynasty and the later generations, the Sui Dynasty Yangdi era, which was known as "rich", and the Northern Song Huizong era, which was praised as "rich Song" by later generations, accumulated "Ten Martial Arts" During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, only one or two of the above-mentioned "big moves" were carried out, which led to the emptiness of the treasury, excessive levies and miscellaneous taxes, a sharp increase in the burden of the people, and even chaos.But in the Yongle era, although it was inevitable for the common people to work hard, they were able to complete these "big moves" one by one. The secret of this lies in Xia Yuanji's "financial management ability".Zhao Yi, a historian of the Qing Dynasty, once praised: Sang Hongyang and Xia Yuanji were the only ones who talked about financial management ability in all dynasties.Comparing it with the Western Han Dynasty economist Sang Hongyang, the evaluation can be described as very high.

The reason why Xia Yuanji was able to solve these problems smoothly was his superior economic vision.In Zhu Di's previous "big moves", there were constant proposals to increase taxes to solve the fundraising problem. Xia Yuanji resolutely opposed each time. His trick can be summed up in one sentence: "cut redundant food, reduce taxes and labor, and strictly enforce salt." Law, ban on banknotes, clearance of warehouses, wide farming, for the common people on the border, and convenient for merchants." Among these methods, "reducing redundant food" is the most difficult, and its content involves "simplifying the organization", reducing the royal family's expenses, and even limiting Zhu Di's own expenses.Knowing the difficulty, Xia Yuanji stepped forward. In the fourth year of Yongle, he asked for an order to reduce 200 idle yamen from the central government to local governments and divert nearly 1,000 people under the pretext of raising funds for voyages to the West.Zhu Di's rewards to the princes every year are also saved by nearly one-third every year after his persuasion.The Royal Imperial Army, through its calculations, eliminated a large number of old, weak and remnant soldiers, and built the "Three Great Battalions" with fewer soldiers and better combat capabilities. All of these things were "offended". All the bribes of the emperor were hung under the eaves of the house to show the meaning of incorruptibility.Then rumors spread, and people continued to slander Zhu Di. Fortunately, Zhu Di trusted him and warned his officials many times: "Whoever framed Xia Yuanji will be punished with a serious crime."

Several other policies were implemented at the same time, "flat taxation and labor", increasing taxes on the rich, reducing taxes on the poor, and allowing villagers to pay for labor. The "clearance field" is to clean up warehouses in various places and strictly investigate corruption. Whenever there is an important case of corruption, he personally checks it and exposes the tricks of corrupt officials. "Guangtun farming" recruited landless villagers from the inland to farm and settle in the frontier fortress.This is not the "forced migration" of Zhu Yuanzhang's era, but the "preferential" policy introduced by the state, which used tax exemptions and economic subsidies to attract farmers to settle down. , also appeared during this period.Among the various policies, the most critical and difficult ones are two - "Strict Salt Law" and "Money Ban".

The "Strict Salt Law" is a readjustment of the "Open China Law" advocated by Yang Siyi during the Hongwu Dynasty. Since the implementation of the "Opening China Law" in the Hongwu period, it has played an important role in consolidating national defense and strengthening border defense, but the situation changed drastically in the Yongle period.Since the eighth year of Yongle (AD 1410), Zhu Di began to take the initiative to attack, and has used large-scale troops against Mongolia five times. The big moves such as "connecting the Western Regions" were carried out at the same time, and the financial resources were naturally stretched. In desperation, Xia Yuanji "jumped thinking" and changed the "opening the Chinese law" into the "strict salt law", that is, merchants transport grain to the nine borders every year in exchange for money. Yanyin became merchants who only sent food to the "starting place" of the northern expedition to Mongolia in exchange for Yanyin. This small adjustment, although reducing the income of other border towns on the nine borders, ensured that the country can concentrate a large amount of money and grain in a short time. Fight the battle of the Northern Expedition.Later, when the capital was moved to Beijing, he repeated his old tricks and solved the economic problems of the Ming Dynasty's capital relocation. Although it was an "expedient measure", it solved the problem after all. "The ban on banknotes" is a "historical problem" in Zhu Yuanzhang's era.In the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang issued banknotes, namely "Hongwu Baochao", but at that time the Ming Dynasty issued banknotes without a "reserve", which led to the depreciation of banknotes and skyrocketing prices.In the Yongle period, although a ban was issued to strictly prohibit private gold and silver transactions, the common people still took a boycott attitude towards precious banknotes. Regular price, although often severely punished, has been repeatedly banned, so that "paper is not as good as copper" at one time.Xia Yuanji opposes the use of force and prescribes the right medicine. On the one hand, he tightens the monetary policy to protect the credibility of the banknotes, and on the other hand, he links the price of the banknotes to the salt that is closely related to the lives of the people, so as to maintain the economic value of the banknotes. The "economic means" did work, and soon prices stabilized and the country's finances became increasingly stable. As a "big accountant", facing the situation of the country's "spending like running water" every year, Xia Yuanji naturally developed the characteristic of "cautious spending".Every year, he "remonstrates hundreds of extravagant things", even including court expenditures and vassal expenses.All kinds of "big activities" in the Yongle era, such as receiving foreign envoys, building rivers, and even training troops and setting up defenses, were all spent on money, but he was responsible for everything, and he was very careful, calculated carefully, and saved if he could. Officials from the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households and other departments had disputes, which resulted in a nickname: Xia Tiaotou.The so-called "stab head" means "stingy ghost" in the folk dialect at that time. This "stabbing head" finally made Zhu Di Longyan furious.In the nineteenth year of Yongle (AD 1421), Zhu Di wanted to launch the third Northern Expedition to wipe out the Tatar Taishi Arutai in one fell swoop.Feeling deeply that the country's finances are becoming increasingly tight, Xia Yuanji tried his best to stop it, which offended Zhu Di. In addition, Zhang Fu, the Duke of the State who had always hated Xia Yuanji deeply, and the King of Han Zhu Gaoxu scrambled to instigate Xia Yuanji. .Fortunately, the prince Zhu Gaochi, who knew his talent well, interceded and saved his life just now.When he ransacked his home, there were only commoner clothes and pottery in the house. Zhu Di sighed after hearing it: "Sure enough, it is a thorn in the head." Unfortunately, the results of the Northern Expedition were also confirmed by Xia Yuanji: Zhu Di launched successive expeditions, and the "strict salt law" gradually It was abused and destroyed, the state's finances and taxes were stretched, and the treasury was empty. From the 19th year of Yongle (1421 AD) when Xia Yuanji was imprisoned to the 22nd year of Yongle (1424 AD) when Zhu Di died of illness on the way back from the fifth Northern Expedition, only rice The price has risen from 1 stone and 1 guan banknote to 50 guan banknotes.After Zhu Di died of illness, Emperor Renzong Zhu Gaochi ascended the throne, and Xia Yuanji was pardoned and released as a prison officer to return to his post. The first priority was to solve the "inflation" problem.Xia Yuanji thought hard, and then changed the "Strict Salt Law", allowing merchants to exchange precious banknotes for salt coins directly, and stipulating that 300 strings can be exchanged for 1 coin. In addition, he continued to "stab the head" of the emperor and forbade extravagant consumption by the court.After Ming Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji ascended the throne, Xia Yuanji presided over the reform of commercial taxation, reduced domestic checkpoints, encouraged commodity circulation, and reduced tax collection ratios to achieve "less taxes but increased wealth". After the increasingly empty treasury in the Yongle era, it finally became full .In the fifth year of Xuande (1430 A.D.), Xia Yuanji retired, died of illness at home a few months later, and presented it to the grand master.This "big accountant" who lived through the four dynasties of Hongwu, Yongle, Hongxi, and Xuande can be regarded as a key figure in the two golden ages of "the prosperity of Yongle" and "the rule of benevolence and Xuande". One more thing to add, Xia Yuanji, who has always been regarded as a "stabbing head", is also generous sometimes, for example, the funds allocated to nursing homes for the orphans and widowed elderly in various places have always increased year by year.Whenever there is a disaster in various places, the allocation of relief food and rice greatly exceeds the budget.In terms of private life, his younger brother came to visit him from his hometown, and he only gave him two stones of rice, but he often received selfless support from him for the lonely students around the capital and even in his hometown.In the eyes of this "big accountant", when the money is spent on the common people, it is also spent on the "blade".