Chongzhen was too stubborn about the ancestral system and was deceived by literati and doctors, and did not dare to go beyond the line. He confiscated many taxes and reduced a lot of exemptions, which led to the transfer of the country's financial burden on ordinary people and farmers, making the rich richer and the poorer poorer. Social conflicts continued to increase, and finally embarked on the road to the destruction of the country.?

Chen Bangyan was happy, knowing that the emperor had recognized his words just now, and said, "Your Majesty laughed when he said something just now."

"Where is where you are, what you say is in line with my heart."

Zhu Youlang was full of affection for Chen Bangyan and Zhu Youlang at this moment. His incisive remarks on the Ming Dynasty just now were almost the same as Zhu Youlang's previous life's understanding, and he suddenly felt like he had found a confidant.

At this moment, he suddenly had the urge to cry, not only for this buried talent, but also for the world, for the people, and for the country and the country of Ming Dynasty!

After a long time, he took a deep breath and said, "The ancients said, 'Don't forget the past, the teacher of the future'. According to your opinion, how can my Ming Dynasty revive?"

"Yue Shaobao once said, 'Civil officials are not greedy for money, and military officials are not afraid of death, and the world will be settled!" This is a very reasonable saying. As long as the civil and military officials in the court are loyal to each other, share the same hatred of the enemy, and take it as their responsibility to resolve the people's upside down, then the prosperity will be hoped."

Zhu Youlang nodded and smiled bitterly: "This is a good word, but it is too empty. My dear, I hope you will give me advice, relax my mind and plan to restore the major events for me."

Chen Bangyan hurriedly left his seat and knelt down, saying, "I am really frightened by the fact that I have obtained the favor of Your Majesty with his unrestrained gift."

"I'm begging for you." Zhu Youlang left his seat and helped Chen Bangyan up with his own hands, saying, "I'm very happy that I'm loyal and courageous in my opinion. Now I'm summoning you to come, and I hope you can speak out about the revival and save the Ming Dynasty from danger."

"Your Majesty—" Chen Bangyan sat back on his chair: "Although the enemy now is rampant, ravaging the Central Plains and usurping the throne of Kyoto, the people and righteous men in the world all miss our Ming Dynasty. When I was fighting against the Tartars in Qingyuan City, the people either assisted the army to defend the city, or scouted the enemy's situation and informed me. When the army was short of food, they all risked being beheaded by the Tartars and secretly entered the city and presented their own food. This shows the people's desire to betray. I am foolish in my opinion, as long as your Majesty exerts good policies, is determined to eliminate the accumulated corruption and win the hearts of the people, the hope of revival is by no means a fantasy."

"What I love said is very true! The people's hearts are the cornerstone of the country, and they will be destroyed if they are lost. The previous governments are in chaos, which will lead to chaos in the world. The Tartars take advantage of the brink of our territory. They will not forget the past and the army of the future. Since ascending the throne, I will not accept concubines, not be greedy for wine and sex, and I will slap in a long time. I asked myself that my personal morality is complete, and I tried my best to reduce the cost of the palace. I issued several edicts to strictly prohibit my ministers from accepting bribes and committing personal gains and savoring the people. This is all for the sake of piracy." After saying that, Zhu Youlang paused and said, "What suggestions do you have? You might as well report them all."

"I think: 'The rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty must be used to regulate chaotic times'. Now that the rules and regulations of the Ming Dynasty are abolished, the ministers and generals in various places are domineering and do not obey orders and fight on their own. This is really hateful. Your Majesty should clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments, and re-establish rules and regulations: those who are honest and loving the people and bravely kill the enemy will not be rewarded; those who are greedy and cruel and depressed in the face of the enemy should be severely punished and not lend money, so that the officials in the world know the laws of the country, and they should be clear about rewards and punishments, and they dare not neglect their duties. Such government orders are smooth and major events can be done."

"Okay, well said, the Ming Dynasty's Ji Gang is indeed going to be re-established." Zhu Youlang nodded in agreement: "You will say everything you know and say everything you say, so you will continue."

Chen Bangyan also replied: "Now the Tartars are cruel, the world is chaotic, people are volatile, and the Central Plains righteous flags are everywhere. All the people are looking forward to the king's army's northern expedition. Your Majesty should take all the funds to train troops. At the same time, the imperial edict summoned the troops to serve the king, take this opportunity to follow the people's hearts, and personally lead the army to regain the mountains and rivers."

"I want to restore Guangdong first and manage Yunnan and Guizhou; then take Jinling and recover the south; finally lead the Northern Expedition and return to Beidu."

"Guangdong is surrounded by the sea, the north is Wuling, the east is Fenshui Pass, and the west is bounded by Guangxi. The terrain is dangerous, the attack and defense are both good, and the benefits of fish and salt are also the foundation of the revival. If this is the case, the most urgent task is to raise funds and train troops. As far as I know, the current money and grain stored in the Ministry of Revenue treasury is only enough to maintain the cost of the guards and the salaries of the royal family of all officials. The soldiers of the patrol battalions in various places have repeatedly owed wages for monthly periods, and the army has complained about this!"

"What I said is that food and money are the foundation of everything. But I have been sloppy in the difficult days of national stance and have no idea. Although I am worried about raising money, I have no choice but to help but have nothing to do to relieve my worries. Can you have a good idea to teach me?"

The difficulty in raising food and money has always been a big concern for Zhu Youlang. Previously, more than one million taels of stolen money from Ding Kuichu and Chen Bangfu, and the income from more than one million taels of family income of some evil traitors during the journey was plundered. The problem of money and food was not very big, but after two months of war, he was a little stretched after recovering some prefectures in Guangdong.

Guangdong is called wealthy, but after several wars, it has been severely hit. The victims are everywhere and the ground is full of starvation. Faced with this situation, the Qing army was the conquerors and could continue to impose heavy taxes. However, they were the royal army. They took the prefecture, re-appointed officials, dispatched troops, resettlement, and pensions. The large number of people in distress are hungry and cannot be saved. The land tax on land rent and land tax is not expected to be collected within one or two years. Zhu Youlang also took the opportunity to exempt the land tax from the land, so he relieved the people, rested and restored the local vitality. Therefore, the more lost land you recover, the heavier the burden you carry. The most pitfall is that even though you know that this will seriously drag the central finance back, you have to do it.
Chapter completed!