nownovels Chapter 173: Ming Dynasty Finance Without Budget Planning, Fiscal Disunity, And Unclear Public And P
Chapter 173: Ming Dynasty Finance Without Budget Planning, Fiscal Disunity, And Unclear Public And P
At the edge of the podium, Yan Changqing stood sideways to let go of the writing on the wooden rice paper, while looking at Zhu Yuanzhang, Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Xi, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and other princes, and said calmly:
"As written in the above letter, a country's fiscal system is mainly divided into two major aspects: fiscal revenue and fiscal expenditure.'
"The most important part of a complete, reasonable and effective financial system is budget planning!!!"
“What is budget planning?!”
"It is to make a reasonable pre-calculation of the country's overall income for the coming year!"
"Only when there is a general budget for the country's overall income for the next year, can we make a reasonable expenditure budget for various affairs in the coming year based on these ten budgets!!"
"Similarly, only by knowing the overall budget revenue and budget expenditure of a country can we know how many Ming Dynasty currency notes the court should issue in that year, so as not to cause excessive issuance or over-issuance of Ming Dynasty currency notes, and ultimately lead to bad currency Expansion!!!”
When Zhu Yuanzhang and the princes Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and other princes heard the last words spoken by Yan Changqing, their eyes lit up, and they secretly admired the budget plan Yan Changqing said.
[It turns out that as long as you know the country’s overall budget revenue and budget expenditure, you can know how many Ming Dynasty currency notes should be issued that year!]
[In this way, there is no need to passively judge whether there is inflation or deflation in society by observing how many valuable goods people can exchange for and buy with a hundred cash of Ming Dynasty currency notes. 】
[In this way, inflation can truly be controlled and avoided from the source. 】
Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang, who had a look of sudden realization on his face, as well as the princes Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and other princes, Yan Changqing said with a half-smiling smile at the corner of his mouth:
"As for such a budget plan, does the Ming Dynasty, or the Ministry of Household Affairs, have such a budget plan?!!"
Regarding Yan Changqing's question, both Zhu Yuanzhang and the princes Zhu Biao, Zhu Di, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and other princes were speechless.
Does the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty have such a budget plan?!!
There is a hammer!!!
There is a big difference between the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Finance and the modern Ministry of Finance in Yan Changqing's previous life. That is, strictly speaking, the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Revenue is actually just an accounting department and an execution department, not a financial decision-making and budget planning department!!!
The Ming Dynasty never had a corresponding budget for fiscal expenditures, but tried its best to maintain the old routine.
For example, there is an imprecise figure in the Ming Dynasty's finances that can be used as the basis for the budget, and that is the total land tax of "twenty-seven million shi" set by Zhu Yuanzhang, or the total annual income.
The first execution responsibility of the imperial court is to receive the total annual income of 27 million stones every year, and then distribute it according to this quota.
During this process, no matter how the conditions for expropriation in various places change, the number of 27 million stones remains unchanged and cannot be changed.
What’s even more ridiculous is that no matter how much money the country needs to spend overall or how much money it actually spends, these two seventy-seven million stones will not change.
For example, at any time, water transport transports four million shi of grain from the south to Yingtianfu every year.
Regardless of whether the grain in the capital's treasury was piling up like a mountain or even rotting; or whether the canals were blocked and the court had to pay more than the value of the grain transported to maintain it.
Anyway, out of the total annual income of 27 million dan, the 4 million dan of grain must be transported by water!!!
However, such a total annual income of 27 million stone is actually not a "budget income", but a "fixed income"!!!
Similarly, in terms of expenditure, Ming Dynasty did not have such a budget expenditure plan.
Which department needs to spend money for what things? That department will not report such things to the Ministry of Revenue and the Emperor in advance.
Generally, you wait until you encounter the need to spend money, then you raise it directly to the emperor, or when you present it to the court.
Then the Ministry of Revenue will discuss with this department, or refute it.
If you can win the argument and convince the emperor, then this expenditure can be saved.
If other courtiers and even the emperor believe that this expenditure should be paid, and the Ministry of Revenue loses the argument and cannot convince other courtiers and the emperor, then the Ministry of Revenue will have to pay for it.
And at the end of the year, how many things like this will happen?!!
There will be many, many!!!
This has resulted in the Ministry of Household Affairs being unable to determine how long the remaining annual income from the national treasury can continue to be spent.
Because they simply can't determine which department will next suddenly burst out with an expense that requires the Ministry of Accounts to pay for it.
Therefore, sometimes if there are more things that require money in the first half of the year, and the annual income in the second half of the year has not yet been paid into the national treasury, then the Ministry of Household Treasury will really be empty.
Faced with this situation, the Ministry of Accounts will either delay until the second half of the year's annual income is paid into the national treasury, and then make up for the money that needed to be spent before.
Either by exchanging salary or silver through Hu Shumu, Yan Tie, etc.
Or we can see if we can use the Emperor's coffers to come up with emergency supplies and try our best to get through the medical treatment.
After you get through it, nothing happens anymore.
It’s like this this year, it’s like next year, it’s like this year after year, it’s like this every year.
This is how the Ministry of Household Affairs and Finance of the Ming Dynasty operate.
This is also the reason why Yan Changqing tried his best to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to give up using the Ming Dynasty's Tongxing Baobao system.
Because a household department that does not even have the most basic and important fiscal budget planning, "it is impossible to successfully implement the Ming Dynasty's Tongxingbaochao system!"
Looking at the speechless Zhu Yuanzhang, Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Xi, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and other princes, Yan Changqing said again:
"If you want to truly implement fiscal revenue and expenditure budget planning, the two most important points are fiscal unification and separation of public and private matters!!!"
"And is the Ming Dynasty's finances unified now?! Is the public and private sector separated?!!"
After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said:
“Isn’t the Ming Dynasty now unified in finance and distinguishing between public and private affairs?!!”
Yan Changqing sneered, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said:
"Haha, Financial Controller—?!!"
“Is it true that all national finances are under the control of the Ministry of Household Affairs?!”
"For example, the Ministry of War, the Ming Dynasty's 'guards', and 'suo' officers and soldiers were sometimes allocated to a county or a state to be responsible for the supply."
"The fiscal revenue and expenditure of the assigned states and counties are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs and are instead under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War."
"In other words, the fiscal revenue of these states and counties is no longer handed over to the Ministry of Household Affairs, but to the Ministry of War!"
"Similarly, the Ministry of War still needs horses. In the past, horses were raised by the private sector through apportionment, and the land tax and labor service of each horse-raising household were also transferred to the management of the Ministry of War."
"Later, the imperial court discovered that this was not effective, so it changed its approach and levied land tax and labor service again, and used the income from this to find someone to raise horses.
"However, the income from land tax and labor service of these households continues to be collected by the Ministry of War, and has not been returned to the Ministry of Household Affairs, which coordinates revenue and expenditure."
"There are also post stations that also belong to the Ministry of War. Generally, the nearby Lijia is responsible for providing resources, and this part of the financial resources is transferred from the Ministry of Household Affairs to the Ministry of War.
"In addition to the Ministry of War, there is also the Ministry of Industry."
"For example, the Ministry of Industry is responsible for construction and must determine the quantity and source of materials item by item: how much wood is needed and where it will be sourced; how much stone is needed and where it will be sourced; how many craftsmen are needed and where it will be provided, etc."
"."And this also involves apportionment. When the apportionment reaches the local area, the rice and beans are originally paid to the Ministry of Household Affairs according to regulations, but now they have to pay wood to the Ministry of Works, so the fiscal revenue originally planned by the Ministry of Household Affairs is less. ”
“In today’s six ministries of the Ming Dynasty, although the Ministry of Husbandry is nominally in charge of the world’s money and food, in fact the other five ministries besides the Ministry of Husbandry also have their own fiscal revenue.”
"And these fiscal revenues often overlap and overlap with the fiscal revenues of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
"This will in turn trigger a power dispute between the Ministry of Revenue and the other five ministries in terms of fiscal revenue."
"Generally speaking, the fiscal divisions between the Ministry of Revenue and the other five ministries are often overlapping and mixed."
"However, the Ministry of Revenue and the other five ministries have equal status and are not subordinate to each other. In theory, only Your Majesty can adjudicate the disputes over financial authority between the Ministry of Revenue and the other five ministries. But it is really possible that Your Majesty has the energy and ability to understand them one by one. , ruling?!!"
"In the end, it turned into a quarrel between the Ministry of Revenue and the other five ministries, and the world's fiscal revenue was divided into six ministries.
“Can this really be called fiscal unification?!!”
Facing Yan Changqing's rhetorical question, Zhu Yuanzhang once again felt speechless.
However, Yan Changqing did not let Zhu Yuanzhang go, and went further:
"Similarly, one of the most important reasons why there is no distinction between public and private is that the expenses of the imperial court and the imperial court are mixed with each other!!!"
"In the past, among the nine ministers of the Han Dynasty, Taichang, Guang Luxun, etc. served the palace. The income and expenditure of the palace were managed by the Shaofu, and (the king's) were separated from the court finances."
"But since His Majesty's reign, the Royal Palace and the Imperial Court have been completely integrated, and the official affairs of the state cannot be separated from His Majesty's private affairs [so the state's financial expenditures cannot be separated from His Majesty's private expenditures"
“All expenditures in the palace are all paid by the imperial court, completely breaking the previous two-set income and expenditure arrangement method of the palace and the imperial court.
"And this method has one of the biggest drawbacks, that is, the palace expenditure involves His Majesty's absolute power, so even the Ministry of Revenue cannot have a quota, let alone a budget plan."
"Because no one knows whether His Majesty will want to build a palace today or repair a garden tomorrow, let alone refuse His Majesty's requests."
"How can it be called a clear distinction between public and private expenditures when private expenditures and state expenditures are mixed together in this way?!!"
"The same kind of mixed public and private spending is a huge risk of instability to the kingdom's finances."
"Even if the relevant financial budget planning is really done in the end, it is often possible that the original financial budget plan will be broken because of a sudden palace expenditure that has no quota and cannot be budgeted!"
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