How much money does it cost to raise a child of Eight Banners? I didn't know until I did the math
Eight flags, as the name suggests, are eight flags. Where did these Eight Banners come from? The origin of the Manchurian tribes.
The ancestors of Manchuria lived in the cold and inhospitable northern regions, which were not suitable for agricultural production, and they lived by hunting. To facilitate hunting, different tribes often joined forces. Each tribe needed a sign to identify itself, so they opted for flags of different colors.
i.The Origin of the Eight Banners: The Flag Symbol of the Manchurian Tribes.
Initially, there were only four main tribes: the yellow, white, red, and blue flags. The tribes live in friendship and support each other. Xiaoyun is a Blue Flag hunter and remembers playing with the children of the White Flag as a child. Although there are differences between flags, they still understand each other like a family.
In the 17th century, the Four Banners family grew and extended their influence beyond the borders of the Ming Dynasty. Gradually, a dispute arose between the four flags. The leader of the blue banner believed that his large battalion was large and should have more influence in the battalions. However, the other three battalions were not to be outdone and each strengthened its own forces. The competition between the four battalions intensified.
When Nurhachi merged the Jurchen tribes, he divided the four battalions into eight battalions. The old Four Flags said"Yellow flag"、"Positive white flag"、"Inlaid with red flags"、"Positive blue flag", the new four flags said"Yellow flag"、"Positive white flag"、"Inlaid with red flags"、"Positive blue flag"。After the merger of the Eight Banners, its military strength increased greatly and it became a new force in the north. Xiao Yun fought side by side with the Blue Banner Lord, and finally defeated the armies of the other banners. He has long been proud of the unification of the Eight Banners.
In 1644, the Eight Banners entered Beijing and replaced the Ming as the new ruler of the Central Plains. As a result, the children of the Eight Banners became the nobles of the Central Plains. Xiao Yun settled in Beijing and lived a carefree life. However, he vaguely felt that such a life would not last long.
II"Empty wages": Sanzak's eight children live without food and clothing.
Since then, the children of Eight Banners have ended their hard life in the past and lived a noble life without worrying about food and clothing.
Unlike the Han people, even if the children of the Eight Banners do not work, they can still receive silver taels from ** every month. This was a measure taken by the Qing Dynasty to appease the children of the Eight Banners and maintain their rule. The children of the Eight Banners received a generous living allowance, which made them more loyal to the royal family.
So, how much allowance do the children of Eight Flags receive every month? The first is the most basic"Salary", 3-5 taels of silver per month for living expenses. Just one Lord Wang can get 5 taels a month"Silver", plus the house money, he has 15 taels of silver per month, which is much more than the income of ordinary people.
In addition, he can also receive about 10 taels a month"Housing allowance"。What's even more absurd is that the imperial court also allocated special funds to subsidize his hobbies, such as gambling and watching theaters. Wang Shizhen's monthly living expenses can be used at will, and he often goes to casinos and green buildings with friends to have fun.
According to statistics, each of the eight princes can receive 50 taels of silver per month for living expenses. This is equivalent to the monthly salary of a low-ranking civil servant. And each flag is about 18,000 flags. It is estimated that the palace spends more than 4 million taels of silver every month to feed these empty payers.
Li Laohan is an ordinary person in the capital and lives a frugal life. Once, when he went to a friend's house, he saw a stack of white silver tickets on the table, worth at least a few dozen taels. Friends told him that it was his son's month"Salary"。Li Laohan was taken aback, and at the same time, his heart was full of envy, because he also wanted to be born in such a family, how good it would be.
iii.Exploitation of the wealth of the people:"Empty pay"Woe to you.
The children of the eight three princes live a carefree life, and their money comes from the people's fat and people's anointing. The huge monthly expenditures of the court directly led to the increasing emptiness of the treasury.
The increase in the number of children of the Eight Banners also increased the expenses of the royal family. Although some of the children of Eight Banners have grown up**, they can still receive various subsidies every month. In order to raise military salaries, the imperial court continued to increase taxes, making life more and more difficult for ordinary people.
Lao Li has a small cloth shop, and his business used to be good. But in recent years, tax revenues have been increasing, and the government's exploitation has become more and more severe. The price of goods ** rises two or three times a year, so that his profit is minimal.
The unsustainable fiscal revenue led to a sharp drop in military spending, leaving the Qing Dynasty's national defense force very weak. Soldiers' salaries are often in arrears, and their equipment is outdated and broken. Although the number of soldiers was large, the actual combat effectiveness was much lower than before.
In addition, a large number of ** fell into the hands of the children of the Eight Banners, and they became the group with the strongest purchasing power. When opium was imported into China, the children of the Eight Banners became the largest consumers, using it to buy opium and poison the people.
The opium brought by British merchants became a new hobby for the children of the Eight Banners. The gentlemen of the Zhang family got together every day to gamble, and opium was indispensable. By smoking opium, they forget about winning or losing and continue to play.
Li Hongzhang pointed out that the number of opium smokers in society has increased sharply recently. Many addicts are disfigured and emaciated, spending their days ** and their families torn apart. The money for opium went into the pockets of the colonists. Li Hongzhang also heard that the British had recently imported more opium, and people's lives had become even worse.
Fourth, the yellow suit is wrapped in bamboo canes and mango shoes, turning decay into magic: destroying the Eight Banners.
After the outbreak of the Opium War, the Qing Dynasty suffered successive defeats due to its weak military strength. Its collapse was doomed. The combat effectiveness of the Eighth Banner Army was less than one-tenth of what it used to be, and the gap between it and the British Army was huge.
The young king fought with the British, but was quickly defeated. The British had never seen **, and although they were outnumbered, they could not win. This defeat undermined the king's confidence in the Eight Banners.
The crux of the problem is that the existence of the children of the Eight Banners is tantamount to moths eating wooden stools. For a long time, instead of profiting, they relied on exploitative funds. This led to the weakening of the country's military power, the depletion of financial resources, and the defeat of wars.
I feel like I've worked hard all day and can't even eat. And the eight children, who are pacesetters, eat, drink and have fun all day long, and do not contribute at all. Now that the Qing Dynasty is dead, it is really self-inflicted.
Li Shimin watched the fall of the capital, sighed, and decided to leave the capital with his family and take refuge in other countries. He turned around and took one last look at his country's capital, feeling a little disappointed. He will never return to his hometown.
On the contrary, today we have created a society in which one person is the master. Gone are the days when everyone could get things for free. Only through our own efforts can we create a better life.
The children of the Eight Banners"Rations money"In the end, the treasury was empty, the military was weakened, and the society was poisoned, which became an important reason for the demise of the Qing Dynasty. The wheels of history roll forward, never looking back. Labor creates a better life, which is the result of historical development.