1
漕運倉庫
Grain Transport and Warehouses
2
歷代以來，漕粟所都，給官府廩食，各視道里遠近以為準。 太祖都金陵，四方貢賦，由江以達京師，道近而易。 自成祖遷燕，道里遼遠，法凡三變。 初支運，次兌運、支運相參，至支運悉變為長運而制定。
From dynasty to dynasty, grain transported by the canal was stored at relay depots to supply government granaries, with provisions scaled to the distance of each leg of the route. When the Hongwu Emperor established his capital at Nanjing, tribute and taxes from every region reached the capital by the Yangtze, a route that was short and straightforward. After the Yongle Emperor moved the capital to Beijing, the haul became vastly longer, and the transport system was reorganized three times. The system began with relay transport, then combined exchange and relay transport, until relay transport was entirely replaced by long-distance transport and the regulations were set in their final form.
3
自浚會通河，帝命都督賈義、尚書宋禮以舟師運。 禮以海船大者千石，工窳輒敗，乃造淺船五百艘，運淮、揚、徐、兗糧百萬，以當海運之數。 平江伯陳瑄繼之，頗增至三千餘艘。 時淮、徐、臨清、德州各有倉。 江西、湖廣、浙江民運糧至淮安倉，分遣官軍就近輓運。 自淮至徐以浙、直軍，自徐至德以京衛軍，自德至通以山東、河南軍。 以次遞運，歲凡四次，可三百萬餘石，名曰支運。 支運之法，支者，不必出當年之民納； 納者，不必供當年之軍支。 通數年以為裒益，期不失常額而止。 由是海陸二運皆罷，惟存遮洋船，每歲於河南、山東、小灘等水次，兌糧三十萬石，十二輸天津，十八由直沽入海輸薊州而已。 不數年，官軍多所調遣，遂復民運，道遠數愆期。
Once the Huitong Canal had been dredged, the emperor ordered Regional Commander Jia Yi and Minister Song Li to move grain by fleet. Song Li found that thousand-picul seagoing ships were shoddily built and kept breaking apart, so he built five hundred shallow-draft boats and moved a million piculs of grain from the Huai, Yang, Xu, and Yan regions to replace the volume formerly carried by sea. Pingjiang Earl Chen Xuan took over from him and expanded the fleet to more than three thousand vessels. At that time there were warehouses at Huai'an, Xuzhou, Linqing, and Dezhou. Peasants from Jiangxi, Huguang, and Zhejiang delivered grain to the Huai'an depot, and government troops were assigned in relays to haul it onward from each stage. Troops from Zhejiang and the metropolitan region hauled grain from Huai'an to Xuzhou; capital garrison troops from Xuzhou to Dezhou; and Shandong and Henan troops from Dezhou to Tongzhou. Grain moved in relays along the route, with four runs each year totaling more than three million piculs; this was called relay transport. Under relay transport, the troops who hauled grain did not have to draw on the tribute grain the peasants delivered in that same year; and those who delivered grain did not have to supply the haul required of the troops in that same year. Accounts were balanced over several years so that the regular quota was met without requiring exact annual matching. Sea and overland transport were both discontinued; only escort vessels for coastal runs remained. Each year at landings in Henan, Shandong, Xiaotan, and elsewhere, three hundred thousand piculs were exchanged—one hundred twenty thousand piculs to Tianjin and one hundred eighty thousand piculs shipped from Zhigu by sea to Jizhou. Within a few years many transport troops were reassigned to other duties, civilian haulage was restored, and because the routes were so long deliveries often missed their deadlines.
4
宣德四年，瑄及尚書黃福建議復支運法，乃令江西、湖廣、浙江民運百五十萬石於淮安倉，蘇、鬆、甯、池、廬、安、廣德民運糧二百七十四萬石於徐州倉，應天、常、鎮、淮、揚、鳳、太、滁、和、徐民運糧二百二十萬石於臨清倉，令官軍接運入京、通二倉。 民糧既就近入倉，力大減省，乃量地近遠，糧多寡，抽民船十一或十三、五之一以給官軍。 惟山東、河南、北直隸則徑赴京倉，不用支運。 尋令南陽、懷慶、汝寧糧運臨清倉，開封、彰德、衛輝糧運德州倉，其後山東、河南皆運德州倉。
In Xuande 4, Chen Xuan and Minister Huang Fu jointly proposed restoring relay transport. Peasants from Jiangxi, Huguang, and Zhejiang were to deliver 1.5 million piculs to Huai'an; those from Suzhou, Songjiang, Ningguo, Chizhou, Luzhou, Anqing, and Guangde 2.74 million piculs to Xuzhou; and those from Yingtian, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Fengyang, Taiping, Chuzhou, Hezhou, and Xuzhou 2.2 million piculs to Linqing, with transport troops relaying the grain into the Beijing and Tongzhou depots. Because peasants now delivered grain to nearby depots, their labor was greatly reduced. The state then assessed distance and volume and requisitioned one boat in eleven, thirteen, or fifteen from civilian fleets to supply the transport troops. Only Shandong, Henan, and North Zhili delivered grain straight to the capital depots without relay transport. Soon afterward grain from Nanyang, Huaqing, and Runing was routed to Linqing; grain from Kaifeng, Zhangde, and Weihui to Dezhou; and eventually all Shandong and Henan grain went to Dezhou.
5
六年，瑄言：「江南民運糧諸倉，往返幾一年，誤農業。 令民運至淮安、瓜洲，兌與衛所。 官軍運載至北，給與路費耗米，則軍民兩便。」 是為兌運。 命羣臣會議。 吏部蹇義等上官軍兌運民糧加耗則例，以地遠近為差。 每石，湖廣八斗，江西、浙江七斗，南直隸六斗，北直隸五斗。 民有運至淮安兌與軍運者，止加四斗，如有兌運不盡，仍令民自運赴諸倉，不願兌者，亦聽其自運。 軍既加耗，又給輕齎銀為洪閘盤撥之費，且得附載他物，皆樂從事，而民亦多以遠運為艱。 於是兌運者多，而支運者少矣。 軍與民兌米，往往恃強勒索。 帝知其弊，敕戶部委正官監臨，不許私兌。 已而頗減加耗米，遠者不過六斗，近者至二斗五升。 以三分為率，二分與米，一分以他物準。 正糧斛面銳，耗糧俱平概。 運糧四百萬石，京倉貯十四，通倉貯十六。 臨、徐、淮三倉各遣御史監收。
In the sixth year Chen Xuan said: "When Jiangnan peasants haul grain to the various depots, the round trip takes nearly a year and ruins the farming season. Let peasants deliver only as far as Huai'an and Guazhou and hand the grain over to the guard units there. Government troops will carry it north in return for travel expenses and surplus allowances, benefiting both soldiers and civilians." This became known as exchange transport. The emperor ordered a council of ministers. Jian Yi of the Ministry of Personnel and others submitted graded surplus-allowance rates for grain that troops exchanged from civilians, scaled by distance. Per picul the allowance was eight dou for Huguang, seven for Jiangxi and Zhejiang, six for South Zhili, and five for North Zhili. Peasants who delivered to Huai'an and exchanged with transport troops received only a four-dou surplus. Any grain not covered by exchange was still hauled by civilians to the depots, and those who declined to exchange could continue hauling on their own. Troops welcomed the work because they received surplus grain, light-cargo silver for locks and transshipment, and permission to carry other goods on the side, while civilians increasingly found long-distance hauling burdensome. Exchange transport therefore grew common while relay transport declined. When troops exchanged grain with civilians, they often used their power to extort extra payments. Aware of the abuse, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Revenue to send supervising officials and forbid private exchanges. Surplus allowances were later cut substantially—to six dou at most for distant routes and as little as two dou five sheng for nearby ones. Of each allowance, two-thirds was paid in grain and one-third commuted in other goods. Principal grain was measured heaped in the bushel, while surplus grain was measured level. Of the four million piculs transported, fourteen parts went to the capital depot and sixteen to Tongzhou. Censors were assigned to supervise receipts at the Linqing, Xuzhou, and Huai'an depots.
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正統初，運糧之數四百五十萬石，而兌運者二百八十萬餘石，淮、徐、臨、德四倉支運者十之三四耳。 土木之變，復盡留山東、直隸軍操備。 蘇、鬆諸府運糧仍屬民。 景泰六年，瓦剌入貢，乃復軍運。 天順末，兌運法行久，倉入覬耗餘，入庾率兌斛面，且求多索，軍困甚。 憲宗即位，漕運參將袁佑上言便宜。 帝曰：「律令明言，收糧令納戶平準，石加耗不過五升。 今運軍願明加，則倉吏侵害過多可知。 今後令軍自概，每石加耗五升，毋溢，勒索者治罪。」 後從督倉中官言，加耗至八升。 久之，復溢收如故，屢禁不能止也。
Early in the Zhengtong reign the transport quota was 4.5 million piculs, of which more than 2.8 million moved by exchange transport; relay hauls through Huai'an, Xuzhou, Linqing, and Dezhou made up only three or four tenths. After the Tumu debacle, Shandong and Zhili transport troops were again kept entirely for training and defense. Grain hauling in Suzhou, Songjiang, and neighboring prefectures again fell to civilians. In Jingtai 6, after the Oirats sent tribute missions, military transport was restored. Late in the Tianshun reign, after exchange transport had been in place for years, warehouse clerks coveted surplus allowances, routinely measured incoming grain by the heaped exchange bushel, and demanded extra levies, leaving transport troops in severe distress. When Emperor Xianzong acceded, Assistant Commander Yuan You of the grain transport service submitted practical reforms. The emperor said: "The statutes clearly require delivering households to level the measure themselves, and surplus allowances must not exceed five sheng per picul. That transport troops now plead for open surplus allowances shows how badly warehouse clerks have been overcharging them. Henceforth troops shall level the measure themselves, with five sheng surplus per picul and no more; extortionists will be punished." Later, at the urging of the eunuchs who supervised the depots, the surplus allowance was raised to eight sheng. Before long over-collection resumed as before, and repeated prohibitions failed to stop it.
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初，運糧京師，未有定額。 成化八年始定四百萬石，自後以為常。 北糧七十五萬五千六百石，南糧三百二十四萬四千四百石，其內兌運者三百三十萬石，由支運改兌者七十萬石。 兌運之中，湖廣、山東、河南折色十七萬七千七百石。 通計兌運、改兌加以耗米入京、通兩倉者，凡五百十八萬九千七百石。 而南直隸正糧獨百八十萬，薊州一府七十萬，加耗在外。 浙賦視蘇減數萬。 江西、湖廣又殺焉。 天津、蘇州、密雲、昌平，共給米六十四萬餘石，悉支兌運米。 而臨、德二倉，貯預備米十九萬餘石，取山東、河南改兌米充之。 遇災傷，則撥二倉米以補運，務足四百萬之額，不令缺也。
Initially grain shipments to the capital had no fixed quota. In Chenghua 8 the quota was fixed at four million piculs and thereafter treated as the standard. Northern grain totaled 755,600 piculs and southern grain 3,244,400 piculs; of this, 3.3 million piculs moved by exchange transport and 700,000 piculs were converted from relay to exchange. Of the exchange transport total, Huguang, Shandong, and Henan commuted 177,700 piculs to silver payments. Counting exchange transport, converted exchange, and surplus grain together, 5,189,700 piculs entered the Beijing and Tongzhou depots. South Zhili alone supplied 1.8 million piculs of principal grain and Jizhou prefecture seventy thousand, not counting surplus allowances. Zhejiang's tax quota was tens of thousands of piculs below Suzhou's. Jiangxi and Huguang were lower still. Tianjin, Suzhou, Miyun, and Changping together received more than 640,000 piculs, all drawn from exchange-transport stocks. The Linqing and Dezhou depots held more than 190,000 piculs of reserve grain, supplied from converted-exchange grain in Shandong and Henan. After disasters or crop failures, grain from the two depots was drawn to keep transport at the four-million-picul quota without shortfall.
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至成化七年，乃有改兌之議。 時應天巡撫滕昭令運軍赴江南水次交兌，加耗外，復石增米一斗為渡江費。 後數年，帝乃命淮、徐、臨、德四倉支運七十萬石之米，悉改水次交兌。 由是悉變為改兌，而官軍長運遂為定制。 然是時，司倉者多苛取，甚至有額外罰，運軍輾轉稱貸不支。 弘治元年，都御史馬文升疏論運軍之苦，言：「各直省運船，皆工部給價，令有司監造。 近者，漕運總兵以價不時給，請領價自造。 而部臣慮軍士不加愛護，議令本部出料四分，軍衛任三分，舊船抵三分。 軍衛無從措辦，皆軍士賣資產、鬻男女以供之，以造船之苦也。 正軍逃亡數多，而額數不減，俱以餘丁充之，一戶有三、四人應役者。 春兌秋歸，艱辛萬狀。 船至張家灣，又僱車盤撥，多稱貸以濟用，此往來之苦也。 其所稱貸，運官因以侵漁，責償倍息。 而軍士或自載土產以易薪米，又格於禁例，多被掠奪。 今宜加造船費每艘銀二十兩，而禁約運官及有司科害搜檢之弊，庶軍困少蘇。」 詔從其議。 五年，戶部尚書葉淇言：「蘇、鬆諸府，連歲荒歉，民買漕米，每石銀二兩。 而北直隸、山東、河南歲供宣、大二邊糧料，每石亦銀一兩。 去歲，蘇州兌運已折五十萬石，每石銀一兩。 今請推行於諸府，而稍差其直。 災重者，石七錢，稍輕者，石仍一兩。 俱解部轉發各邊，抵北直隸三處歲供之數，而收三處本色以輸京倉，則費省而事易集。」 從之。 自後歲災，輒權宜折銀，以水次倉支運之糧充其數，而折價以六七錢為率，無復至一兩者。
By Chenghua 7 the proposal for converted exchange had emerged. At that time Yingtian Grand Coordinator Teng Zhao ordered transport troops to collect grain at Jiangnan landings; beyond surplus allowances, they added one dou per picul as a Yangtze crossing fee. Several years later the emperor ordered the seven hundred thousand piculs hauled by relay through Huai'an, Xuzhou, Linqing, and Dezhou all converted to landing-side exchange. Everything was thereby converted to landing-side exchange, and long-distance haulage by government troops became the permanent system. Yet warehouse officials mostly exacted harsh fees, sometimes imposing extra fines, and transport troops borrowed repeatedly and still could not pay. In Hongzhi 1, Censor-in-Chief Ma Wensheng memorialized on the transport troops' hardships, saying: "Transport vessels in every province are priced by the Ministry of Works and built under local supervision. Recently the grain-transport commander, because funds were not paid on schedule, asked to receive the money and build the boats himself. Ministry officials, fearing troops would not maintain new boats, proposed that the ministry supply materials for four-tenths of the cost, guard units three-tenths, and old boats count for three-tenths. Guard units could not raise their share; soldiers sold property and even sold children to pay for it—such was the burden of building transport boats. Many principal soldiers deserted while quotas stayed unchanged, so surplus males filled the rolls and one household might have three or four men on transport duty. They exchanged grain in spring and returned in autumn, enduring every kind of hardship. At Zhangjiawan they hired carts for transshipment and often borrowed money to cover costs—another hardship of the round trip. Transport officials then preyed on those loans, demanding repayment at double interest. Soldiers who carried local goods to trade for fuel and grain were blocked by prohibitions and often robbed. Boat-building subsidies should be raised by twenty taels of silver per vessel, and transport officials and local offices forbidden from levies, harassment, and abusive searches, so troops might gain some relief." The emperor approved his proposal. In the fifth year Minister Ye Qi said: "Suzhou, Songjiang, and neighboring prefectures have suffered successive crop failures; peasants who buy transport grain pay two taels of silver per picul. North Zhili, Shandong, and Henan annually supply grain and fodder to the Xuan and Da frontier zones at one tael of silver per picul as well. Last year Suzhou already commuted five hundred thousand piculs of exchange transport at one tael per picul. I propose extending this to all prefectures with slightly varied rates. Where disaster was severe, seven qian per picul; where lighter, one tael per picul. Silver would go to the ministry for forwarding to the frontiers, offsetting the annual grain supply from the three North Zhili regions, while those regions paid grain in kind to the capital depot—saving expense and simplifying collection." The proposal was approved. Afterward, in famine years the state routinely commuted grain to silver, filling quotas with relay grain from landing depots at rates of six or seven qian per picul, never again reaching one tael.
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先是，成化間行長運之法。 江南州縣運糧至南京，令官軍就水次兌支，計省加耗輸輓之費，得餘米十萬石有奇，貯預備倉以資緩急之用。 至是，巡撫都御史以兌支有弊，請令如舊上倉而後放支。 戶部言：「兌支法善，不可易。」 詔從部議，以所餘就貯各衛倉，作正支銷。 又從戶部言，山東改兌糧九萬石，仍聽民自運臨、德二倉，令官軍支運。 正德二年，漕運官請疏通水次倉儲，言：「往時民運至淮、徐、臨、德四倉，以待衛軍支運，後改附近州縣水次交兌。 已而並支運七十萬石亦令改兌。 但七十萬石之外，猶有交兌不盡者，民仍運赴四倉，久無支銷，以致陳腐。 請將浙江、江西、湖廣正兌糧米三十五萬石，折銀解京，而令三省衛軍赴臨、德等倉，支運如所折之數。 則諸倉米不腐，三省漕卒便於支運。 歲漕額外，又得三十五萬折銀，一舉而數善具矣。」 帝命部臣議，如其請。 六年，戶部侍郎邵寶以漕運遲滯，請復支運法。 戶部議，支運法廢久，不可卒復，事遂寢。
Earlier, during the Chenghua reign, long-distance transport had been introduced. Jiangnan counties delivered grain to Nanjing and had troops collect it at landings; savings on surplus allowances and relay costs yielded more than a hundred thousand piculs of surplus grain, stored in reserve depots for emergencies. The grand coordinator then argued that landing-side exchange was prone to abuse and asked to restore the old rule of storing grain in the warehouse before release. The Ministry of Revenue replied: "Landing-side exchange works well and must not be changed." The emperor sided with the ministry and stored the surplus in guard depots for regular disbursement. Following the ministry again, ninety thousand piculs of Shandong converted-exchange grain could still be hauled by civilians to Linqing and Dezhou for relay by transport troops. In Zhengde 2 grain-transport officials proposed clearing landing depots, noting: "Peasants once delivered to Huai'an, Xuzhou, Linqing, and Dezhou to await guard relay hauls, but nearby counties were later switched to landing-side exchange. Then the seven hundred thousand piculs of relay transport were also ordered converted to exchange. Beyond those seven hundred thousand piculs, grain still not exchanged at landings was hauled to the four depots, where it sat undisbursed until it spoiled. They proposed commuting three hundred fifty thousand piculs of principal exchange grain from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang to silver for Beijing, while guard troops from those provinces relayed an equal volume from Linqing and Dezhou. Depot grain would not spoil, and transport troops from the three provinces could relay hauls more easily. Beyond the annual quota, another three hundred fifty thousand piculs would be commuted to silver—several benefits in one stroke." The emperor ordered the ministries to deliberate and approved the request. In the sixth year Vice Minister Shao Bao, citing transport delays, asked to restore relay transport. The ministry ruled that relay transport had been abandoned too long to restore abruptly, and the proposal lapsed.
10
臨、德二倉之貯米也，凡十九萬，計十年得百九十萬。 自世宗初，災傷撥補日多，而山東、河南以歲歉，數請輕減，且二倉囤積多朽腐。 於是改折之議屢興，而倉儲漸耗矣。 嘉靖元年，漕運總兵楊宏，請以輕齎銀聽運官道支，為顧僦舟車之費，不必裝鞘印封，計算羨餘，以苦漕卒。 給事、御史交駁之。 戶部言：「科道官之論，主於防奸，是也。 但輕齎本資轉般費，今慮官軍侵耗，盡取其贏餘以歸太倉，則以腳價為正糧，非立法初意也。」 乃議運船至通州，巡倉御史核驗，酌量支用實數，著為定規。 有羨餘，不輸太倉，即用以修船，官旗漁蠹者重罪。 輕齎銀者，憲宗以諸倉改兌，給路費，始各有耗米； 兌運米，俱一平一銳，故有銳米； 自隨船給運四斗外，餘折銀，謂之輕齎。 凡四十四萬五千餘兩。 後頗入太倉矣。 隆慶中，運道艱阻，議者欲開膠萊河，復海運。 由淮安清江浦口，曆新壩、馬家壕至海倉口，徑抵直沽，止循海套，不泛大洋。 疏上，遣官勘報，以水多沙磧而止。
The Linqing and Dezhou depots held one hundred ninety thousand piculs; over ten years that would reach one million nine hundred thousand. From the start of the Jiajing reign, disaster-relief allocations mounted, and Shandong and Henan—repeatedly hit by bad harvests—kept requesting lighter quotas; meanwhile much of the grain stored in the two warehouses was rotting away. Proposals to commute grain payments to silver came up again and again, and depot stocks steadily shrank. In Jiajing 1, grain transport commander Yang Hong proposed letting transport officers disburse light-cargo silver along the route for hiring boats and carts, without sealed packets or formal accounting of surplus allowances—a move meant to squeeze grain transport troops. Supervising secretaries and censorial officials joined in opposing the proposal. The Ministry of Revenue replied: "The censorate's focus on preventing fraud is right. But light-cargo silver was meant to cover relay transport costs; if officials, fearing waste by grain transport troops, seized every surplus allowance for the Taicang Depot, hauling fees would effectively become principal grain—far from what the law intended." They then proposed that at Tongzhou, depot inspectors would verify disbursements, pay out only what was actually needed, and fix the rule permanently. Surplus allowances would stay out of Taicang and go toward boat repairs instead, with heavy penalties for officials and bannermen caught profiteering. Light-cargo silver dated from the Chenghua reign, when converted exchange at the warehouses introduced travel allowances and loss grain for each shipment; Exchange-transport grain was measured both level and heaped, creating the so-called heaped surplus; Beyond four dou allotted per shi aboard each vessel, the rest was commuted to silver—this was light-cargo silver. The total came to more than 445,000 taels. In time, much of it was diverted into Taicang anyway. During the Longqing reign, transport conditions worsened, and some officials proposed reopening the Jiao-Lai Canal to revive sea transport. The route would run from Huai'an's Qingjiangpu, through Xingba and Majiahao to Haicang, then straight to Zhigu along sheltered coastal waters rather than the open ocean. After the memorial reached court, surveyors reported too much water and sandy shoals, and the plan was dropped.
11
神宗時，漕運總督舒應龍言：「國家兩都並建，淮、徐、臨、德，實南北咽喉。 自兌運久行，臨、德尚有歲積，而淮、徐二倉無粒米。 請自今山東、河南全熟時，盡徵本色上倉。 計臨、德已足五十餘萬，則令納於二倉，亦積五十萬石而止。」 從之。 當是時，折銀漸多。 萬曆三十年，漕運抵京，僅百三十八萬餘石。 而撫臣議載留漕米以濟河工，倉場侍郎趙世卿爭之，言：「太倉入不當出，計二年後，六軍萬姓將待新漕舉炊，倘輸納愆期，不復有京師矣。」 蓋災傷折銀，本折漕糧以抵京軍月俸。 其時混支以給邊餉，遂致銀米兩空，故世卿爭之。 自後倉儲漸匱，漕政亦益馳。 迨於啟、禎，天下蕭然煩費，歲供愈不足支矣。
During the Wanli reign, grain transport grand coordinator Shu Yinglong wrote: "With two capitals, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Linqing, and Dezhou are the vital junction between north and south. Exchange transport had long been standard: Linqing and Dezhou still accumulated grain each year, but the Huai'an and Xuzhou depots stood empty. He proposed that whenever Shandong and Henan enjoyed full harvests, grain in kind should be collected in full and delivered to the warehouses. Once Linqing and De held more than five hundred thousand shi, deliveries to the Huai and Xu depots should likewise be capped at five hundred thousand shi." The proposal was approved. By then, more and more grain was being commuted to silver. In Wanli 30, only about 1.38 million shi of transport grain reached the capital. A grand coordinator then proposed diverting loaded transport grain to river works, but Depot Vice Minister Zhao Shiqing protested: "Grain must not leave Taicang once it arrives; in two years the armies and the people will be waiting on the next transport to eat, and if delivery slips, Beijing itself will be gone." Silver commutation for disaster years was originally meant to replace transport grain that paid the capital garrisons' monthly rations. Instead the funds were being mixed into frontier pay, draining both silver and grain—hence Shiqing's protest. Depot stocks kept shrinking after that, and transport administration grew ever laxer. By the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns, the empire was drained by rising costs and annual supplies could barely be met.
12
運船之數，永樂至景泰，大小無定，為數至多。 天順以後，定船萬一千七百七十，官軍十二萬人。 許令附載土宜，免徵稅鈔。 孝宗時限十石，神宗時至六十石。
From Yongle through Jingtai, transport fleets had no fixed size and reached their peak. After Tianshun the fleet was fixed at 11,770 vessels crewed by 120,000 government troops. Troops were allowed to carry local goods as side cargo, tax-free. Hongzhi capped side cargo at ten shi; by Wanli the limit had risen to sixty.
13
憲宗立運船至京期限，北直隸、河南、山東五月初一日，南直隸七月初一日，其過江支兌者，展一月，浙江、江西、湖廣九月初一日。 通計三年考成，違限者，運官降罰。 武宗列水程圖格，按日次填行止站地，違限之米，頓德州諸倉，曰寄囤。 世宗定過淮程限，江北十二月者，江南正月，湖廣、浙江、江西三月，神宗時改為二月。 又改至京限五月者，縮一月，七八九月者，遞縮兩月。 後又通縮一月。 神宗初，定十月開倉，十一月兌竣，大縣限船到十日，小縣五日。 十二月開幫，二月過淮，三月過洪入閘。 皆先期以樣米呈戶部，運糧到日，比驗相同乃收。
Chenghua set arrival deadlines: North Zhili, Henan, and Shandong by the first day of the fifth month; South Zhili by the seventh month; Yangtze-crossing branch exchange one month later; Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang by the ninth month. Performance was judged on three-year cycles, and officers who missed deadlines faced demotion or fines. Zhengde introduced route ledgers recording daily stops; late grain was held at Dezhou and other depots as temporary holding storage. Jiajing set Huai crossing deadlines: north-of-the-river fleets by the twelfth month, Jiangnan by the first, Huguang-Zhejiang-Jiangxi by the third (later moved to the second under Wanli). Capital arrival dates in May were pulled forward one month; July-through-September deadlines were pulled forward two. Later every deadline was tightened by another month. Early in Wanli the schedule was fixed: warehouses opened in the tenth month and exchange finished in the eleventh; large counties had ten days after boats arrived, small counties five. Convoys launched in the twelfth month, crossed the Huai by the second month, and cleared Hongze into the locks by the third. Counties sent sample grain to the ministry in advance; incoming shipments were accepted only after matching the sample.
14
凡災傷奏請改折者，毋過七月。 題議後期及臨時改題者，立案免覆。 漂流者，抵換食米。 大江漂流為大患，河道為小患； 二百石外為大患，二百石內為小患。 小患把總勘報，大患具奏，其後不計多寡，概行奏勘矣。
Disaster-relief requests to commute grain to silver could not be filed after the seventh month. Late or hastily revised memorials were logged once and exempt from further review. Drift losses were covered with replacement rice from depots. Losses on the Yangtze counted as major; canal losses as minor; Losses above two hundred shi were major; two hundred shi or below, minor. Squad leaders reported minor losses; major ones went to the throne—until eventually every loss, large or small, required a memorial.
15
初，船用楠杉，下者乃用鬆。 三年小修，六年大修，十年更造。 每船受正耗米四百七十二石。 其後船數缺少，一船受米七八百石。 附載夾帶日多，所在稽留違限。 一遇河決，即有漂流，官軍因之為奸。 水次折乾，沿途侵盜，妄稱水火，至有鑿船自沉者。
Early boats were built of nanmu and fir; cheaper ones of pine. They received minor repairs every three years, overhauls every six, and full rebuilds every ten. Each vessel was rated for 472 shi of principal and allowance grain. As the fleet shrank, individual boats were loaded with seven or eight hundred shi. Side cargo and smuggled goods piled up, causing delays and missed deadlines everywhere. Every river breach brought drift losses—and opportunities for grain transport troops to cheat. Troops shaved grain at landing depots, stole along the route, invented flood and fire losses, and some even scuttled their own boats.
16
明初，命武臣督海運，嘗建漕運使，尋罷。 成祖以後用御史，又用侍郎、都御史催督，郎中、員外分理，主事督兌，其制不一。 景泰二年始設漕運總督於淮安，與總兵、參將同理漕事。 漕司領十二總，十二萬軍，與京操十二營軍相準。 初，宣宗令運糧總兵官、巡撫、侍郎歲八月赴京，會議明年漕運事宜，及設漕運總督，則並令總督赴京。 至萬曆十八年後始免。 凡歲正月，總漕巡揚州，經理瓜、淮過閘。 總兵駐徐、邳，督過洪入閘，同理漕參政管押赴京。 攢運則有御史、郎中，押運則有參政，監兌、理刑、管洪、管廠、管閘、管泉、監倉則有主事，清江、衛河有提舉。 兌畢過淮過洪，巡撫、漕司、河道各以職掌奏報。 有司米不備，軍衛船不備，過淮誤期者，責在巡撫。 米具船備，不即驗放，非河梗而壓幫停泊，過洪誤期因而漂凍者，責在漕司。 船糧依限，河渠淤淺，疏浚無法，閘坐啟閉失時，不得過洪抵灣者，責在河道。
Early Ming put military officers in charge of sea transport and briefly created a grain-transport commissioner post, then abolished it. After Yongle came censors, then vice ministers and censor-in-chiefs to press the work, section chiefs to divide duties, and principal clerks to supervise exchange—arrangements shifted repeatedly. Jingtai 2 created the grain transport grand coordinator at Huai'an, who shared transport duties with the commander and vice commanders. The transport office ran twelve squadrons totaling 120,000 grain transport troops, matching the capital's twelve drill regiments. Xuande required the transport commander, grand coordinators, and vice ministers to meet in Beijing each eighth month to plan the next year's transport; once the grand coordinator post existed, he joined them. The annual Beijing meeting was not dropped until after Wanli 18. Each first month the grand coordinator toured Yangzhou and managed lock passage at Guazhou and Huai'an. The commander held Xu and Pi, supervising Hongze lock passage; the transport vice commissioner escorted convoys toward the capital. Censors and section chiefs handled convoy assembly; vice commissioners escorted shipments; principal clerks oversaw exchange, discipline, Hongze, shipyards, locks, springs, and depots; Qingjiang and the Wei Canal had their own superintendents. After exchange and Huai-Hongze passage, grand coordinators, transport officials, and canal officers each reported within their jurisdictions. Late grain, missing boats, or missed Huai deadlines fell on the grand coordinator. If grain and boats were ready but inspection was delayed, or convoys were held without cause, causing missed Hongze deadlines and drift or freeze losses, the transport office was blamed. If schedules were met but silted channels, failed dredging, or mistimed locks blocked Hongze passage, canal officials bore the blame.
17
明初，於漕政每加優恤，仁、宣禁役漕舟，宥遲運者。 英宗時始扣口糧均攤，而運軍不守法度為民害。 自後漕政日馳，軍以耗米易私物，道售稽程。 比至，反買倉米補納，多不足數。 而糧長率攙沙水於米中，河南、山東尤甚，往往蒸濕浥爛不可食。 權要貸運軍銀以罔取利，至請撥關稅給船料以取償。 漕運把總率由賄得。 倉場額外科取，歲至十四萬。 世宗初政，諸弊多釐革，然漂流、違限二弊，日以滋甚。 中葉以後，益不可究詰矣。
Early Ming showed transport special favor: Renzong and Xuanzong forbade impressing transport boats and pardoned late convoys. Under Yingzong ration cuts and shared levies began, and grain transport troops increasingly abused civilians. Transport discipline kept slipping; grain transport troops traded allowance grain for private goods, peddled along the route, and missed deadlines. By the time they arrived they had to buy depot grain to make quota, often coming up short. Grain chiefs routinely adulterated rice with sand and water—worst in Henan and Shandong—leaving shipments soggy, moldy, and inedible. Power brokers lent to grain transport troops at usurious rates, even asking customs revenue be earmarked for boat funds they could seize back. Transport squad leaders usually bought their posts. Depot officials levied extra exactions totaling 140,000 taels per year. Jiajing's early reforms cleared many abuses, but drift losses and missed deadlines kept growing worse. By mid-dynasty the corruption was beyond remedy.
18
漕糧之外，蘇、鬆、常、嘉、湖五府，輸運內府白熟粳糯米十七萬四十餘石，內折色八千餘石，各府部糙粳米四萬四千餘石，內折色八千八百餘石，令民運。 謂之白糧船。 自長運法行，糧皆軍運，而白糧民運如故。 穆宗時，陸樹德言：「軍運以充軍儲，民運以充官祿。 人知軍運之苦，不知民運尤苦也。 船戶之求索，運軍之欺陵，洪閘之守候，入京入倉，厥弊百出。 嘉靖初，民運尚有保全之家，十年後無不破矣。 以白糧令軍帶運甚便。」 疏入，下部議。 不從。
Apart from canal grain, Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou sent 170,040 shi of polished palace rice (8,000 shi commuted) plus 44,000 shi of coarse rice per prefecture (8,800 shi commuted)—all moved by civilians. These were the white-grain convoys. Long-distance transport put canal grain under military haulage, but white grain stayed on civilian transport. During Longqing, Lu Shude wrote: "Military transport fills army stores; civilian transport pays official salaries. Everyone knows how hard military transport is; few realize civilian transport is worse. Boat owners' shakedowns, troop bullying, waiting at Hongze locks, and entry into Beijing and the depots spawned endless abuses. Early Jiajing still had civilian haulers who kept their households intact; within a decade every one was ruined. Putting white grain on military convoys would be far simpler." The memorial went to the ministries for review. The proposal was rejected.
19
凡諸倉應輸者有定數，其或改撥他鎮者，水次應兌漕糧，即令坐派鎮軍領兌者給價，州縣官督車戶運至遠倉，或給軍價就令關支者，通謂之穵運。 九邊之地，輸糧大率以車，宣德時，餉開平亦然，而蘭、甘、松潘，往往使民背負。 永樂中，又嘗令廣東海運二十萬石給交址云。
Each depot owed fixed deliveries; when quotas were shifted to other garrisons, troops assigned to receive exchange grain at landing depots paid the price while county officials sent cart contractors to distant depots—or paid troops to draw at the gate. All this was called direct-assignment transport. Frontier grain mostly moved by cart—Kaiping in Xuande followed the same pattern—but Lanzhou, Gansu, and Songpan often used human porters. Under Yongle Guangdong once sea-transported 200,000 shi to Jiaozhi as well.
20
明初，京衛有軍儲倉。 洪武三年增置至二十所，且建臨濠、臨清二倉以供轉運。 各行省有倉，官吏俸取給焉。 邊境有倉，收屯田所入以給軍。 州縣則設預備倉，東南西北四所，以振凶荒。 自鈔法行，頗有省革。 二十四年儲糧十六萬石於臨清，以給訓練騎兵。 二十八年置皇城四門倉，儲糧給守禦軍。 增京師諸衛倉凡四十一。 又設北平、密雲諸縣倉，儲糧以資北征。 永樂中，置天津及通州左衛倉，且設北京三十七衛倉。 益令天下府縣多設倉儲，預備倉之在四鄉者移置城內。 迨會通河成，始設倉於徐州、淮安、德州，而臨清因洪武之舊，並天津倉凡五，謂之水次倉，以資轉運。 既，又移德州倉於臨清之永清壩，設武清衛倉於河西務，設通州衛倉於張家灣。 宣德中，增造臨清倉，容三百萬石。 增置北京及通州倉。 京倉以御史、戶部官、錦衣千百戶季更巡察。 外倉則佈政、按察、都司關防之。 各倉門，以致仕武官二，率老幼軍丁十人守之，半年一更。 英宗初，命廷臣集議，天下司府州縣，有倉者以衛所倉屬之，無倉者以衛所改隸。 惟遼東、甘肅、寧夏、萬全及沿海衛所，無府州縣者仍其舊。 正統中，增置京衛倉凡七。 自兌運法行，諸倉支運者少，而京、通倉不能容，乃毀臨清、德州、河西務倉三分之一，改為京、通倉。 景泰初，移武清衛諸倉於通州。 成化初，廢臨、德預備倉在城外者，而以城內空廒儲預備米。 名臨清者曰常盈，德州者曰常豐。 凡京倉五十有六，通倉十有六。 直省府州縣、籓府、邊隘、堡站、衛所屯戍皆有倉，少者一二，多者二三十云。
Early Ming capital garrisons maintained army grain depots. Hongwu 3 expanded them to twenty sites and built Linhuo and Linqing depots for relay hauls. Every province kept depots that supplied officials' salaries. Frontier garrisons kept depots fed by military colony harvests. Counties and prefectures maintained reserve depots in all directions to relieve famine. Paper currency reduced the need for many of these depots. Year 24 stored 160,000 shi at Linqing for drill cavalry. Year 28 added depots at the imperial city's four gates for the defensive garrisons. Capital garrison depots were expanded to forty-one. Depots at Beiping, Miyun, and other counties stockpiled grain for northern campaigns. Under Yongle the court opened depots at Tianjin and the Tongzhou Left Guard post and established thirty-seven garrison grain stores across Beijing. It also ordered prefectures and counties empire-wide to expand storage, moving reserve granaries that had stood in outlying villages into county seats. Once the Hui Tong Canal opened, depots went up at Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Dezhou; Linqing kept its Hongwu-era site; with Tianjin that made five landing depots to feed grain transport. The Dezhou depot was later relocated to Yongqing Dam near Linqing; Wuqing Guard got a depot at Hexiwu and Tongzhou Guard one at Zhangjiawan. Xuande expanded the Linqing depot to hold three million shi. More depots were added in Beijing and Tongzhou. Capital granaries were inspected in quarterly rotation by censors, Revenue officials, and Jinyi guard officers of thousand- and hundred-man rank. Outlying depots came under the joint seals of provincial governors, surveillance commissioners, and regional military commanders. Each depot gate was held by two retired officers commanding ten veteran and junior soldiers, rotated every six months. Early in Yingzong's reign the throne ordered a court conference: wherever a prefecture or county already had granaries, nearby guard-post stores were placed under it; where none existed, guard posts were reassigned accordingly. Liaodong, Gansu, Ningxia, Wanquan, and coastal guard posts without county administration kept the old arrangement. Zhengtong added seven capital garrison depots. Once exchange transport prevailed, relay hauls through transit depots dwindled while Beijing and Tongzhou still lacked space; a third of the Linqing, Dezhou, and Hexiwu stores was torn down and rebuilt as capital depots. Jingtai moved the Wuqing Guard depots to Tongzhou. Chenghua closed the Linqing and Dezhou reserve granaries outside the walls and filled vacant city silos with emergency rice. The Linqing store was renamed Changying ("Ever Full") and the Dezhou store Changfeng ("Ever Plentiful"). Beijing had fifty-six granaries and Tongzhou sixteen. Every province, princely estate, frontier pass, station, and garrison maintained its own stores—anywhere from one or two to as many as twenty or thirty.
21
預備倉之設也，太祖選耆民運鈔糴米，以備振濟，即令掌之。 天下州縣多所儲蓄，後漸廢馳。 于謙撫河南、山西，修其政。 周忱撫南畿，別立濟農倉。 他人不能也。 正統時，重侵盜之罪，至僉妻充軍。 且定納穀千五百石者，敕獎為義民，免本戶雜役。 凡振饑米一石，俟有年，納稻穀二石五斗還官。 弘治三年限州縣十里以下積萬五千石，二十里積二萬石； 衛千戶所萬五千石，百戶所三百石。 考滿之日，稽其多寡以為殿最。 不及三分者奪俸，六分以上降調。 十八年令贖罪贓罰，皆糴穀入倉。 正德中，令囚納紙者，以其八折米入倉。 軍官有犯者，納谷準立功。 初，預備倉皆設倉官，至是革，令州縣官及管糧倉官領其事。 嘉靖初，諭德顧鼎臣言：「成、弘時，每年以存留餘米入預備倉，緩急有備。 今秋糧僅足兌運，預備無粒米。 一遇災傷，輒奏留他糧及勸富民借谷，以應故事。 乞急復預備倉糧以裕民。」 帝乃令有司設法多積米穀，仍仿古常平法，春振貧民，秋成還官，不取其息。 府積萬石，州四五千石，縣二三千石為率。 既，又定十里以下萬五千石，累而上之，八百里以下至十九萬石。 其後積粟盡平糶，以濟貧民，儲積漸減。 隆慶時，劇郡無過六千石，小邑止千石。 久之數益減，科罰亦益輕。 萬曆中，上州郡至三千石止，而小邑或僅百石。 有司沿為具文，屢下詔申飭，率以虛數欺罔而已。
When reserve granaries were first created, Hongwu picked respected elders to deliver cash and buy grain for famine relief, putting them in charge on the spot. Counties once kept substantial reserves, but the practice gradually lapsed. As grand coordinator of Henan and Shanxi, Yu Qian revived it. Zhou Chen, coordinating the Southern Capital region, set up separate relief-farming granaries. Few others matched their success. Zhengtong made embezzlement a capital offense—even the thief's wife could be impressed for military service. Donors of 1,500 shi earned an imperial commendation as "righteous commoners" and exemption from miscellaneous corvee. Every shi lent for famine relief was repaid after a good harvest at two shi five dou of unmilled grain. Hongzhi 3 fixed reserve targets: counties within ten li had to stock 15,000 shi; within twenty li, 20,000 shi; Thousand-man guard posts 15,000 shi, hundred-man posts 300 shi. At term's end officials were ranked according to how much they had stocked. Falling three-tenths short cost an official his salary; six-tenths or more brought demotion. Year eighteen required all fines and forfeits to be paid as grain into reserve stores. Zhengde allowed paper penalties to be commuted: eighty percent paid as grain. Delinquent officers could buy off punishment with grain donations counted as merit. Reserve granaries had once had dedicated clerks, but that post was abolished and county magistrates plus grain officers took over. Early in Jiajing, Tutor Gu Dingchen said: "Under Chenghua and Hongzhi, surplus rice was set aside each year for reserve granaries, so emergencies could be met. Now autumn tribute barely covers exchange transport, and the reserves hold not a grain of rice. At the first sign of disaster, officials merely memorialized to hold back other grain and urge the wealthy to lend—going through the motions of old precedent. I beg that reserve stocks be restored at once to relieve the people. The emperor then ordered local officials to stockpile grain by the ancient ever-normal method: lend to the poor in spring, collect repayment after harvest, and charge no interest. Targets were 10,000 shi for prefectures, four or five thousand for subprefectures, and two or three thousand for counties. Later quotas scaled by distance: 15,000 shi within ten li, rising in steps to 190,000 shi within eight hundred li. Soon the stockpiles were sold off at fair price to aid the poor, and reserves steadily shrank. By Longqing even major prefectures held no more than 6,000 shi and small counties only 1,000. Over time stocks fell further and penalties for failure grew lighter. Under Wanli major prefectures topped out at 3,000 shi and some small counties held barely 100. Officials treated the quotas as empty paperwork; repeated edicts changed nothing—they reported fictitious totals.
22
弘治中，江西巡撫林俊嘗請建常平及社倉。 嘉靖八年乃令各撫、按設社倉。 令民二三十家為一社，擇家殷實而有行義者一人為社首，處事公平者一人為社正，能書算者一人為社副，每朔望會集，別戶上中下，出米四斗至一斗有差，鬥加耗五合，上戶主其事。 年饑，上戶不足者量貸，稔歲還倉。 中下戶酌量振給，不還倉。 有司造冊送撫、按，歲一察覈。 倉虛，罰社首出一歲之米。 其法頗善，然其後無力行者。
Under Hongzhi, Jiangxi grand coordinator Lin Jun proposed ever-normal and community granaries. Jiajing 8 ordered every grand coordinator and surveillance commissioner to establish community granaries. Households were grouped in communities of twenty or thirty; each chose a wealthy and upright head, a fair-minded director, and a literate deputy who could keep accounts. They met at every new and full moon, ranked members upper, middle, or lower, and collected from four dou down to one dou per household according to rank, adding five ge of wastage per dou; upper households ran the operation. In famine years the well-off lent to those in need; after a good harvest the grain was returned to the community store. Middle and lower households received relief as needed, with no repayment required. Local officials kept registers for the coordinators and surveillance commissioners, who audited them once a year. If a store ran empty, the community head paid a fine of one year's rice. The scheme was sound, but in time no one had the means to carry it out.
23
兩京庫藏，先後建設，其制大略相同。 內府凡十庫：內承運庫，貯緞匹、金銀、寶玉、齒角、羽毛，而金花銀最大，歲進百萬兩有奇。 廣積庫，貯硫黃、硝石。 甲字形檔，貯布匹、顏料。 乙字形檔，貯胖襖、戰鞋、軍士裘帽。 丙字形檔，貯棉花、絲纊。 丁字形檔，貯銅鐵、獸皮、蘇木。 戊字形檔，貯甲仗。 贓罰庫，貯沒官物。 廣惠庫，貯錢鈔。 廣盈庫，貯紵絲、紗羅、綾錦、槹絹。 六庫皆屬戶部，惟乙字形檔屬兵部，戊字、廣積、廣盈庫屬工部。 又有天財庫，亦名司鑰庫，貯各衙門管鑰，亦貯錢鈔。 供用庫，貯粳稻、熟米及上供物。 以上通謂之內庫。 其在宮內者，又有內東裕庫、寶藏庫，謂之裏庫。 凡裏庫不關於有司。 其會歸門、寶善門迤東及南城磁器諸庫，則謂之外庫。 若內府諸監司局，神樂堂，犧牲所，太常、光祿寺，國子監，皆各以所掌，收貯應用諸物。 太僕則馬價銀歸之。 明初，嘗置行用庫於京城及諸府州縣，以收易昏爛之鈔。 仁宗時罷。
The Two Capitals built their treasuries in stages, on broadly similar lines. The inner palace maintained ten treasuries. The Inner Reception Treasury held silk, gold, silver, jade, ivory, horns, and feathers; flower-pattern silver was the largest item, with annual intake exceeding one million taels. The Broad Accumulation Treasury held sulfur and saltpeter. The Jia-shaped archive stored cloth and pigments. The Yi-shaped archive held padded jackets, battle shoes, and soldiers' fur caps. The Bing-shaped archive held cotton and silk floss. The Ding-shaped archive held copper, iron, hides, and sappanwood. The Wu-shaped archive held armor and weapons. The Forfeiture Treasury held confiscated goods. The Broad Benefit Treasury held paper money. The Broad Surplus Treasury held ramie silk, gauze, brocade, and silk fabrics. Six treasuries fell under Revenue; the Yi-shaped archive under War; and the Wu-shaped, Broad Accumulation, and Broad Surplus treasuries under Works. There was also the Heavenly Wealth Treasury, or Key Treasury, which held keys from every office as well as paper money. The Supply Treasury held glutinous rice, prepared rice, and items for imperial tribute. All of these were known collectively as the inner treasuries. Inside the palace itself were the Inner Eastern Abundance Treasury and the Treasure Treasury—the so-called inner-inner treasuries. The inner-inner treasuries lay outside regular official oversight. Treasuries east of Huigui and Baoshan Gates and the southern city's porcelain stores were called the outer treasuries. Inner palace directorates and bureaus, the Music Hall, Sacrifice Office, Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Court of Imperial Entertainments, and Imperial Academy each kept stores for their own needs. The Imperial Stud received horse-price silver. Early Ming established circulation treasuries in the capital and across the provinces to swap out worn paper notes. Renzong abolished them.
24
英宗時，始設太倉庫。 初，歲賦不徵金銀，惟坑冶稅有金銀，入內承運庫。 其歲賦偶折金銀者，俱送南京供武臣祿。 而各邊有緩急，亦取足其中。 正統元年改折漕糧，歲以百萬為額，盡解內承運庫，不復送南京。 自給武臣祿十餘萬兩外，皆為御用。 所謂金花銀也。 七年乃設戶部太倉庫。 各直省派剩麥米，十庫中綿絲、絹布及馬草、鹽課、關稅，凡折銀者，皆入太倉庫。 籍沒家財，變賣田產，追收店錢，援例上納者，亦皆入焉。 專以貯銀，故又謂之銀庫。 弘治時，內府供應繁多，每收太倉銀入內庫。 又置南京銀庫。 正德時，內承運庫中官數言內府財用不充，請支太倉銀。 戶部執奏不能沮。 嘉靖初，內府供應視弘治時，其後乃倍之。 初，太倉中庫積銀八百餘萬兩，續收者貯之兩廡，以便支發。 而中庫不動，遂以中庫為老庫，兩廡為外庫。 及是時，老庫所存者僅百二十萬兩。 二十二年特令金花、子粒銀應解內庫者，並送太倉備邊用，然其後復入內庫。 三十七年令歲進內庫銀百萬兩外，加預備欽取銀，後又取沒官銀四十萬兩入內庫。 隆慶中，數取太倉銀入內庫，承運庫中官至以空紮下戶部取之。 廷臣疏諫，皆不聽。 又數取光祿太僕銀，工部尚書硃衡極諫，不聽。 初，世宗時，太倉所入二百萬兩有奇。 至神宗萬曆六年，太倉歲入凡四百五十餘萬兩，而內庫歲供金花銀外，又增買辦銀二十萬兩以為常，後又加內操馬芻料銀七萬餘兩。 久之，太倉、光祿、太僕銀，括取幾盡。 邊賞首功，向發內庫者，亦取之太僕矣。
Under Yingzong the Taicang Treasury was first established. At first annual levies brought in no gold or silver; only mining taxes did, and those went to the Inner Reception Treasury. When tribute was occasionally commuted to gold or silver, it all went to Nanjing for military stipends. Frontier emergencies were also met from those funds. Zhengtong 1 commuted canal tribute to silver at one million taels a year, all routed to the Inner Reception Treasury instead of Nanjing. Aside from roughly 100,000 taels for military pay, the rest went to the imperial household. This was flower-pattern silver. Year seven saw the creation of the Ministry of Revenue's Taicang Treasury. Provincial surplus grain, silk and cloth from the ten treasuries, horse fodder, salt levies, customs duties—every silver commutation flowed into Taicang. Confiscated estates, sold property, recovered shop debts, and precedent contributions all went there as well. Dedicated to silver alone, it was also called the silver treasury. Under Hongzhi the inner palace's demands multiplied, and Taicang silver was repeatedly siphoned into the inner treasuries. A Nanjing silver treasury was added as well. Under Zhengde, Inner Reception eunuchs repeatedly complained that palace funds were insufficient and petitioned to draw on Taicang silver. The Ministry of Revenue protested in memorials but could not stop it. Early Jiajing palace spending matched Hongzhi levels; later it doubled. At first Taicang's central vault held more than eight million taels; new receipts went to side wings for easier disbursement. The central vault stayed untouched and became the old vault; the side wings served as the outer vault. By then the old vault held only 1.2 million taels. Year twenty-two ordered flower-pattern and grain-tax silver destined for the inner treasuries sent to Taicang for frontier use instead—but the flow soon reversed. Year thirty-seven added reserve silver for imperial withdrawal on top of the million taels sent yearly to the inner treasuries; later four hundred thousand taels of confiscated silver followed. Under Longqing Taicang silver was repeatedly drained into the inner treasuries; Reception eunuchs even sent blank vouchers to Revenue to collect it. Court ministers remonstrated in memorials; the throne paid no heed. Silver from the Court of Imperial Entertainments and the Imperial Stud was seized repeatedly as well; Works Minister Zhu Heng protested fiercely, to no avail. Early in the Jiajing reign, Taicang Treasury receipts totaled a little over two million taels. By Wanli 6 under Emperor Shenzong, Taicang's annual intake exceeded 4.5 million taels; beyond the inner treasury's regular flower-pattern silver, another two hundred thousand taels for palace purchases became fixed, and later more than seventy thousand taels for inner-guard horse fodder was added. Over time silver from Taicang, the Court of Imperial Entertainments, and the Court of the Imperial Stud was drained almost completely. Frontier rewards for first merit in battle, once paid from the inner treasury, were now drawn from the Imperial Stud as well.
25
凡甲字諸庫，主事偕科道巡視。 太倉庫，員外郎、主事領之，而以給事中巡視。 嘉靖中，始兩月一報出納之數。 時修工部舊庫，名曰節慎庫，以貯礦銀。 尚書文明以給工價，帝詰責之，令以他銀補償，自是專以給內用焉。
The Jia-form storehouses were inspected jointly by section chiefs and censorate officials. The Taicang Treasury was managed by vice directors and section chiefs under the oversight of supervising secretaries. During Jiajing, receipts and disbursements were first reported every two months. The old Ministry of Works storehouse was then repaired and renamed the Frugal-Care Treasury to hold mining silver. Minister Wen Ming spent it on construction wages; the emperor rebuked him and ordered repayment from other funds, after which the treasury was reserved solely for palace use.
26
其在外諸布政司、都司、直省府州縣衛所皆有庫，以貯金銀、錢鈔、絲帛、贓罰諸物。 巡按御史三歲一盤查。 各運司皆有庫貯銀，歲終，巡鹽御史委官察之。 凡府州縣稅課司局、河泊所，歲課、商稅、魚課、引由、契本諸課程，太祖令所司解州縣府司，以至於部，部劄之庫，其元封識，不擅發也。 至永樂時，始委驗勘，中，方起解； 至部復驗，同，乃進納。 嘉靖時，建驗試廳，驗中，給進狀寄庫。 月逢九，會巡視庫藏科道官，進庫驗收，不堪者駁易。 正統十年設通濟庫於通州。 世宗時罷。 隆慶初，密雲、薊州、昌平諸鎮皆設庫，收貯主客年例、軍門公費及撫賞、修邊銀云。
Across the provinces, every administration commission, regional command, prefecture, county, and guard maintained storehouses for gold, silver, paper notes, silk, fines, and confiscated goods. Touring censors audited them every three years. Every salt transport commission kept a silver treasury inspected at year-end by officials delegated by the salt-circuit censor. For tax offices, commercial-tax bureaus, and fishing stations in every prefecture and county—annual levies, commercial taxes, fish taxes, licenses, and deed fees—the Hongwu Emperor required remittance up through county and provincial offices to the ministry, which sealed receipts in the treasury and released nothing without authorization. Under Yongle, inspection was required first; only after approval could remittances begin; and at the ministry they were verified again before final acceptance. In Jiajing an inspection hall was built; approved goods received submission certificates and were held in the treasury. On every ninth day of the month, censorate treasury inspectors assembled, entered the storehouses to accept goods, and rejected substandard items for replacement. In Zhengtong 10 the Tongji Treasury was established at Tongzhou. It was abolished under Emperor Jiajing. Early in Longqing, Miyun, Jizhou, Changping, and other garrisons established treasuries for annual host-and-guest quotas, military-gate funds, pacification rewards, and frontier-repair silver.
27
凡為倉庫害者，莫如中官。 內府諸庫監收者，橫索無厭。 正德時，台州衛指揮陳良納軍器，稽留八載，至乞食於市。 內府收糧，增耗嘗以數倍為率，其患如此。 諸倉初不設中官，宣德末，京、通二倉始置總督中官一人，後淮、徐、臨、德諸倉亦置監督，漕輓軍民被其害。 世宗用孫交、張孚敬議，撤革諸中官，惟督諸倉者如故。 久之，從給事中管懷理言，乃罷之。
No one harmed granaries and treasuries more than palace eunuchs. Supervisors at inner-palace treasuries extorted without limit. Under Zhengde, Taizhou Guard Commander Chen Liang delivered military equipment that was held eight years—until he was reduced to begging in the streets. When the inner palace received grain, surplus allowances often ran several times the statutory rate—such was the abuse. Granaries initially had no eunuch supervisors; late in Xuande a supervising eunuch was placed over the Beijing and Tong depots, and later Huai'an, Xuzhou, Linqing, and Dezhou depots received them as well, to the harm of transport troops and civilians. Emperor Jiajing, following Sun Jiao and Zhang Fuling's advice, abolished most eunuch posts but left warehouse supervisors in place. Eventually, at Supervising Secretary Guan Huaili's urging, those posts were abolished as well.
28
初，天下府庫各有存積，邊餉不借支於內，京師不收括於外。 成化時，巡鹽御史楊澄始請發各鹽運提舉司贓罰銀入京庫。 弘治時，給事中曾昂請以諸布政司公帑積貯徵徭羨銀，盡輸太倉。 尚書周經力爭之，以為有不足者，以識造、賞賚、齋醮、土木之故，必欲盡括天下財，非藏富於民意也。 至劉瑾用事，遂令各省庫藏盡輸京師。 世宗時，閩、廣進羨餘，戶部請責他省巡按，歲一奏獻如例。 又乙太倉庫匱，運南戶部庫銀八十萬兩實之。 而戶部條上理財事宜，臨、德二倉積銀二十萬兩，錄以歸太倉。 隆慶初，遣四御史分行天下，蒐括庫銀。 神宗時，御史蕭重望請核府縣歲額銀進部，未報上。 千戶何其賢乞敕內官與己督之，帝竟從其請，由是外儲日就耗。 至天啟中，用操江巡撫範濟世策，下敕督歲進，收括靡有遺矣。 南京內庫頗藏金銀珍寶，魏忠賢矯旨取進，盜竊一空。 內外匱竭，遂至於亡。
Initially every prefectural treasury kept its own reserves; frontier funds were not borrowed from the inner court, and the capital did not drain provincial treasuries. Under Chenghua, Salt-Circuit Censor Yang Cheng first proposed sending fine and confiscation silver from salt intendant offices to the capital treasury. Under Hongzhi, Supervising Secretary Zeng Ang proposed remitting all surplus levy silver accumulated in provincial public treasuries to Taicang. Minister Zhou Jing argued forcefully that shortfalls came from commemorative casting, rewards, fasting rites, and construction—not from provincial reserves—and that draining every treasury in the realm betrayed the principle of keeping wealth among the people. When Liu Jin seized power, he ordered every provincial treasury to remit all holdings to the capital. Under Jiajing, Fujian and Guangdong presented surplus tribute; the Ministry of Revenue then required touring censors in every province to submit similar annual offerings. The Taicang vaults were relocated and filled with eight hundred thousand taels transferred from the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue treasury. The ministry also submitted fiscal regulations recording two hundred thousand taels accumulated at Linqing and Dezhou and remitted to Taicang. Early in Longqing four censors were sent across the empire to sweep up treasury silver. Under Shenzong, Censor Xiao Chongwang proposed auditing annual silver remittances from prefectures and counties to the ministry; the memorial went unanswered. Thousand-household Officer He Qixian petitioned for a palace eunuch to supervise collections with him; the emperor agreed, and provincial reserves dwindled daily thereafter. By the Tianqi reign, following Yangtze-defense Grand Coordinator Fan Jishi's plan, an edict ordered supervised annual submissions until nothing remained uncollected. The Nanjing inner treasury held considerable gold, silver, and treasures; Wei Zhongxian forged an edict to seize them, and they were stolen clean. With inner and outer treasuries exhausted, the dynasty fell.