Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 516 Propaganda High Point

However, a group of old members expressed their confusion about Meng Jun's idea of reform. Wu Tai believed that the world had been unified and it was time for the people to recuperate. Reform would inevitably cause distress to the people, and at that time, good intentions would result in bad results, which would be bad.

However, Meng Jun was determined and no one dared to say anything more. Afterwards, the discussion between the emperor and his ministers quickly reached the capital and then spread outward.

Immediately, some people in the society began to spread the word that the reforms the court was going to carry out were intended to compete with the people for profits.

in the palace.

After receiving the secret report from Qingluan Guard, Meng Jun couldn't help but sneer. This group of people really will never change. A dog will always eat shit.

The Cao family, it's this Cao family again. At first, Meng Jun was very enthusiastic about opening up the sea, but he was hit hard by Cao Yin, the head of the Cao family. He said that as soon as he opened up the sea, Japanese pirates would appear, posing a blatant threat to him.

Although these sea merchants later raised more than one million taels for him and solved his initial food and salary shortage problem, Meng Jun had almost forgotten about Cao Yin. He never expected that this person would jump out again and spread rumors in private that the court policy was to compete with the people for profit.

According to the secret report from Qingluan Guard, Cao Yin was deeply dissatisfied with the fact that he was rejected when he offered a beautiful woman to him, and the salt monopoly policy harmed the interests of Cao family, so he couldn't wait to jump out.

Meng Jun muttered to himself, "Emperor Hongwu is launching a massive case against the government. Could it be that these people think I am weak and can be bullied?"

Afterwards, Meng Jun secretly ordered the Qingluan Guard to investigate the details of the Cao family and these wealthy merchants who jumped out. These wealthy merchants might be very powerful in their daily lives, but if they angered the emperor, no matter how rich they were, they could not save themselves.

The next day, there was a court meeting.

Meng Jun said in a deep voice in the court: "The new dynasty has just been established. Military expenses are huge. The court and local expenditures are huge. The land tax of the people is already one-tenth of the tax. The burden is heavy. Therefore, the land tax must not be increased. Can the ministers have a good idea to increase the money and grain for the court to cover the expenses?"

The land tax cannot be increased. Chongzhen repeatedly levied and increased it, which led to civil unrest and eventually the total collapse of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the path of increasing land tax must never be taken again.

Li Weitai, who had already secretly communicated with Meng Jun, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I think that the policy of salt and iron monopoly can be implemented. This policy will definitely increase a large amount of taxes for the court without harming the people."

While the officials were silent, Wu Jinkun proposed to implement a salt and iron monopoly policy. At this time, an official from Jiangnan immediately said: "Your Majesty is wise, and I dare to speak frankly. Lord Li's plan is not perfect. Salt and iron are necessities for people's livelihood. Once the government monopolizes them, the prices will inevitably be high and difficult to obtain, which will only increase the people's hardship. If the government intervenes, it will easily compete with the people for profits, which may hurt the people's wealth and lose their hearts in the long run."

At this time, another official stepped out, shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is an ancient saying that those who share the interests of the people will prosper, and those who take away the people's interests will perish. Our dynasty is new, and we can only consolidate our foundation with the strength of the people. Therefore, I think you should think carefully about the matter of salt and iron. Lord Li's plan must not be implemented!"

Li Weitai said coldly, "Your Majesty, I think what these people said about the plan of salt and iron monopoly is to compete with the people for profits. This is really nonsense. Those salt merchants are very rich and they bribed the officials in Beijing. These rats should have been eliminated long ago."

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of the two officials who had just spoken turned red, and they all accused Li Weita of talking nonsense and making groundless accusations.

However, Li Weita didn't care about the accusations from these two people.

At this time, Gu Yanwu also expressed his agreement. He said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the salt merchants in Lianghuai are extremely extravagant and wealthy. The wealthy merchants have gained all the benefits in the world, but the court is short of money and grain. If it does not change, it will not be enough. I agree with the policy of salt and iron monopoly."

Meng Jun hummed, then looked at Yang En and asked, "What do you think of Mu De?"

Upon hearing this, Yang En slowly stepped forward, glanced at Meng Jun, then bowed his head and said, "I agree with what Minister Wu said. Salt and iron are related to people's livelihood and are of great importance. They should be controlled by the court, not merchants."

Gu Yanwu and Yang En both agreed, as did ministers such as Wu Tai and Wu Jinkun. Other ministers had their own thoughts, but no one spoke out against it in the court. It was not as clear as before. Those who occupied high positions were those who followed His Majesty in the uprising. Although many officials from Jiangnan had secret contacts with wealthy merchants, they had not been deeply bound to them.

Meng Jun wanted to reform. He did not just want to establish a traditional dynasty. Deep down in his heart, he wanted to build an empire that was more vast than the Qing Dynasty in history.

We also need to ensure that the people live in peace, that agriculture and sericulture are fertile, that the market is prosperous, that there are many schools and that the culture is brilliant. We also need to ensure that society is stable and that people’s hearts are good. We also need to ensure that the treasury is full and the military is strong.

All of these are inseparable from money and food. The army costs money to fight, and it costs money to maintain the army even if it does not fight. Since ancient times, the Central Plains' foreign wars often resulted in killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of its own, and most of the time the expenditure was greater than the income. Therefore, civil officials are naturally not fond of war. On the one hand, it consumes money and food, and on the other hand, war brings uncertainty, but most civil officials pursue stability.

Especially in the wars against the northern and fishing and hunting tribes, the Central Plains dynasty, whether winning or losing, was a losing business in terms of economic benefits.

When the grassland herdsmen encountered natural disasters, they were so poor that they only had their lives left. They picked up their knives and rode their horses south. If they lost, they would lose their lives, but if they won, they would make a fortune. If the Central Plains dynasty won, it would spend countless money and food but would not get any benefits. But if it lost, the result would be even more tragic.

For example, Emperor Wu of Han's several expeditions against the Huns boosted the Han Dynasty's momentum for a thousand years. But from the perspective of people at that time, Emperor Wu of Han exhausted the accumulation of three generations during the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.

However, if you don't hit others, they will come and hit you, and you can't help but fight back. Therefore, the grassland will also be a very important matter in the future. However, now the grassland tribes have gradually weakened. Among the tribes in the south, west and north of the desert, the south of the desert is relatively stronger, followed by the west, and the north of the desert is the weakest. The tribes in the south of the desert have nominally submitted to the Qian Dynasty. Therefore, the grassland issue is not an urgent matter for Meng Jun for the time being.

As for the policy of salt and iron monopoly, Meng Jun instructed that it be published in newspapers for ten consecutive days, with big headlines every day, from top to bottom, from inside to outside, from ancient times to the present, citing classics, and explaining for ten consecutive days that the policy of salt and iron monopoly would benefit the country and the people, and would never compete with the people for profits.

Newspapers are indeed a powerful tool for propaganda. With the spread of newspapers in various provinces across the country, many of the discussions about competing with the people for profits died down.

Only in the Jiangnan area, under the instigation of many people with ulterior motives, many people criticized the court's national policies in teahouses, restaurants, theaters or in public. For a time, people in many counties in Jiangnan were talking about it.

At this time, Lu Ping, the deputy commander of the Qingluan Guard, who was secretly sent from the capital, crossed the river and arrived in the south of the Yangtze River.