The northern provinces were extremely noisy because of the supervision of censors throughout last year. The provincial examinations in spring and February even changed the cages and changed the birds, causing great changes in the officialdom.

According to the conservative estimates of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the official vacancy in the nine northern provinces, excluding Suiyuan, and the remaining eight provinces and one prefecture reached 40%, which almost overturned the entire imperial rule.

Last year, two batches of provincial examinations this year, plus the promotion of civil servants, we managed to stabilize the position without any mistakes.

However, it is precisely because of this that the officialdom of the northern provinces has been renovated and the enforcement of government orders has been strengthened.

Of course, this was just the emperor's opinion. In fact, for the officials, they thought that Emperor Shaowu would follow the rules, but it turned out to be true.

Under the Ming Dynasty system, we are afraid of taking everything seriously.

From this, everyone naturally became obedient and serious.

The policy of reducing rents and interest rates is being implemented smoothly in the north.

As for the foundation for success, in addition to the refreshment in the officialdom, the reality is also very important - lack of people.

War, drought, and plague have left people in northern provinces in dire straits, with sixty-seven out of ten of their household registrations lost, and landlords even lacking tenants to farm.

Because there was so much wasteland and the imperial government had exempted it from taxes for many years, many homesteaders chose to open up wasteland, leading to a labor shortage in the countryside.

Under such circumstances, rent reduction and interest rate reduction are natural and logical, with little resistance.

However, in a game of chess across the country, the North has started, and the South cannot avoid it.

The most successful ones are the two provinces of Huguang and Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and there is not much resistance.

Because of the abundance, the population grows very quickly. Once there are too many things, they are worthless, let alone the population.

The pressure to survive in the South is extremely high, and so are the pressures on scholars.

For example, in Zhejiang, where there were many scholars, there were many masters; in Jiangxi, there were many fortune tellers; in the two southern provinces of Zhili, there was a prosperous literary style, and many people were aides to the Qing Dynasty.

Needless to say, Fujian has eight mountains, one water, and one farm. It is customary to be a maritime merchant and go to Southeast Asia.

It is precisely because of this that land rent in the north is basically around 50%, while in the south it is as crazy as 70% or even 80%.

Although there is a reason for double-cropping rice in the south, the greed of the landowners is still outrageous.

Gu Yanwu bluntly said: "The people in Wuzhong own ten tenths (one-tenth) of the land, and those who live as tenants are ten tenths (nine-tenths)... And the private rents are as high as two or three bushels per stone, and as small as seven or eight bushels."

The tenants work with all their strength for a year and work with excrement. The fee for an acre is only one bushel, but the income they receive is only a few bushels. There are people who pay the rent today and beg for money tomorrow."

After paying the rent today, you have to go to the landlord's house for a loan tomorrow.

Coupled with the high interest rates, it has been difficult for tenants to escape for generations.

Therefore, when the rent and interest reductions spread to the south, they were resisted by most landowners.

The land rent cannot exceed 30%, and the interest cannot exceed 30%, otherwise the third generation will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination.

This is tantamount to poaching their interests alive, how can it be so exciting.

Shaoxing, Zhejiang, Zhangjia.

The Zhang family is very famous in Shaoxing, and their clan lives on both sides of the Toushi River. There are more than a hundred families in the clan, and with the number of servants, there are thousands of people.

The Touji River connects to the Fu River in the west and the Miao River in the south. After flowing through the Shaoxing Prefecture Academy, it turned into a large bay. In the 21st year of Jiajing, the Zhang family collectively invested money to level the large bay and it became the Zhang family's property. Inland river.

His wealth attracted Shaoxing's attention.

Zhang Dai has long hair, wearing a loose robe and wooden clogs on his feet. He is reading a book leisurely. Not to mention how beautiful he is.

At this time, a burst of footsteps sounded, "Fourth Master——"

Zhang Dai didn't even need to raise his head to know that this was his younger brother Zhang Min.

"The pace is hurried, what's going on?"

Zhang Min, who was in his thirties, was out of breath. Looking at his brother's leisurely look, he couldn't help but laugh: "You are not in any hurry when your two sons are taking part in the examination?"

"If you fail the test, just try again!" Zhang Dai shook his head: "They are still young, so it doesn't matter if they try one or two more times."

"Looking at your hurried steps, you definitely don't care about your nephew.

, what are you here for?"

"The East and West are discussing matters. Father asked me to invite you!"

Zhang Min said angrily.

"What do you want me to do when my father is here? I might as well read a book!" Zhang Dai then turned around and waved his hand.

"Brother, this is not up to you." Zhang Min sat down and said, "It concerns the entire clan. All adult men must discuss it in the ancestral hall. This is what the clan leader said."

"With so many people, what can we discuss?"

Zhang Dai had no choice but to put down the book.

"Change a pair of shoes!" Zhang Min said helplessly, "Although it's just a formality, in the end it's a matter of public discussion!"

Later, the two brothers came to the ancestral hall.

The prosperity of the Zhang family in Shaoxing can be clearly seen in the ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall covers an area of ​​more than ten acres, with more than ten halls, large and small, to worship ancestors who have lived for hundreds of years. The land for worship alone exceeds 500 acres.

This is enough to accommodate thousands of people gathering.

When the two brothers arrived, the place was already full of people, but there were not many noisy ones, and most of them looked solemn.

Zhang Dai's great-great-grandfather was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing, his great-grandfather was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Longqing, his grandfather was a Jinshi in the 23rd year of Wanli, and his great-uncle was a Jinshi in the 41st year of Wanli.

Only his father, Zhang Yaofang, is more shameful than him because he was born in Juren.

It is precisely because our ancestors are so powerful that they are at the forefront.

Sixty-year-old Zhang Yaofang was sitting at the main seat. When he saw his two sons arriving, he stared at Zhang Dai with unkind eyes.

The latter could only give up after begging for mercy.

His great-uncle Zhang Rumao has now become an official. He is sitting in a high position at the age of about seventy. He smiled at Zhang Dai and said that he has become the patriarch.

After waiting for another half an hour, everyone arrived.

Zhang Rumao then said, "Today I want to talk about rent and interest reductions. Last year, the imperial court issued an edict requiring local governments to reduce rents and interest rates by no more than 30%."

"This is benevolent government. Who in the Ming Dynasty dares to say otherwise?"

"For the sake of my children and grandchildren, I have changed the lease a long time ago, but there are still some people who don't follow the rules."

As he spoke, his eyes widened, and with the support of his grandson, he loudly said: "If someone reports him, his descendants will not be allowed to take scientific examinations for three generations. For the sake of a small profit, he will ignore his relatives and friends. He should really

I dug my heart out and fed it to the dogs."

"You can do it yourself. This will ruin the reputation of our Zhang family. How will we get married then?"

"The reputation that our ancestors have worked so hard to accumulate cannot be destroyed."

"From today onwards, anyone who violates the law again will be expelled from the Zhang family and will not be included in the family tree——"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar.

If you are expelled from the Zhang family, without the support of the clan, your studies, business, and even weddings and funerals will be greatly affected, and you may even be reduced to a slave.

There are countless Jinshis in the clan, and even the prefect does not dare to act arrogantly. With so many benefits, who wants to leave?

Zhang Dai clapped his hands with the paper fan and praised: "My uncle's move is brilliant. For the reputation of the Zhang family, a small profit is not worth it."

Zhang Min said softly: "It is clever, but for some people, this is suffering."

"In Zhejiang, for the sake of reputation, our Zhang family charges 50% of the rent, which is quite satisfactory. If it is less than 20%, we will lose nearly half of the income, which is very uncomfortable."

Zhang Dai was stunned when he heard this.

A wealthy family like his can earn a lot of money just by relying on the Zhang family's reputation, and rent is nothing.

But for ordinary people, it is indeed fundamental.

"It seems that double reduction, there is a lot of resistance in our south!"

"That's not true. The policy is a good policy, but the key is that it is difficult to implement." Zhang Min sighed: "I hope it doesn't end in an anticlimax!"

Next, Zhang Rumao said tremblingly: "Now, the county government has sent a document..."

As he spoke, another person stood up and read aloud the document sent by the county government. Then he called the person who didn't read much and explained:

"Anyone who has a good reputation in his family will not

We can live together for three generations, and father and son can live together, so we can separate and establish a separate family——"

"What about those without fame?"

"It's still the same-"

"Wouldn't that mean leaving the Touji River?" "There's no need for that."

"It's just a family separation——"

Those who have read basically don’t ask many questions, while those who haven’t read much just have questions.

Zhang Dai has long understood the fundamental reason for his long-term subscription to the "Daming Gongbao".

Although it is said that families should not be separated when parents are alive, the imperial court requires that families with high status must be separated and counted as a separate household.
To be continued...