There are many problems in clearing households in Dutian, and they are not limited to one or two in Shuntian Prefecture.
The problem with grassland is the same, and it is not limited to Wanping County.
After a few days, the emperor and his party traveled from Wanping, through Liangxiang, Fangshan, Gu'an, and then to Yongqing. Among the counties they saw, none of them had clean and complete pastures.
Either the farmland was occupied, or the registered land did not match the land registration, or it was simply sold to a wealthy family, making the ownership unclear.
Grassland can be cultivated into acres, and the price difference is collected by the Taipus Temple of the Ministry of War. There is a system in place - "Those whose grassland has been cultivated into fields, the rent will be collected every year, and the disaster will be used to support the market horses, and the compensation will be discounted
, then the horses and gold will be collected and the army will be lost."
The question now is, why was it not reported? Where did the price difference go?
Why did Taipu Temple say nothing? Why did Yuanma Temple know nothing? Why were the local Caochang ambassadors in charge and the Household Ministry’s Caochang doctor supervising them all missing?
…
Dongan County grassland.
Zhu Yijun stood on the slope and looked up: "Whose pasture does this belong to?"
Each piece of pasture has a corresponding camp and guard to use it. Under normal circumstances, there will be no one-pot meal.
Zhang Yixin, the magistrate of Dong'an County, reluctantly replied: "Your Majesty, it is the grazing pastures of various camps and guards in Beijing."
This question was so outrageous that Chen Jingbang, the Minister of War who was already looking a little embarrassed, couldn't help but look away.
Zhang Yixin was a Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli, ranking second and 218th.
In the past two years, he was not particularly outstanding. He was neither transferred to Yanguan nor promoted to prefect. He just continued to work in the position of county magistrate.
Zhu Yijun was obviously a little unhappy and frowned: "I want to ask you which guard you are from!"
Zhang Yixin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and replied hesitantly: "Your Majesty, this pasture was opened during the Hongzhi period. It has been grazing for a long time. It has been properly supervised by the military and household departments. It is used by the Beijing Camp and Guards to reserve spring and autumn horses."
Hubu Fan Yingqi and Xu Guo looked at each other, silently mourning in their hearts.
Where did Mr. Hermit come from? He used the same trick he used to fiddle with Shangguan to fool the emperor.
I'm afraid this will require a seat in the Imperial Procuratorate.
Sure enough, when he turned around, he saw the emperor looking furious.
Seeing this, Zhang Mengtong, the magistrate of Wanping County who was invited to follow him by the emperor's order when he exposed the matter, quickly pushed aside Zhang Yixin and interjected: "Your Majesty, this pasture is for the Yanshan Youwei to raise horses. The original amount on the list is fifteen hectares and eighty hectares."
One acre.”
The Yanshan Guards are on duty in Peiping, the so-called city guards, and the Forbidden City is also within the scope of their duties.
Wang Xijue followed the emperor very closely and couldn't help but shake his head when he heard this. This is why it is said that occupying the grassland is extremely difficult.
Before and after the death of the late emperor, the generals of the Ming Dynasty who were able to gather together to rebel and seek rewards were not easy to act lightly. Even if improvements were made after several years of rectification, they still had to be cautious.
"Yanshan Right Guard...Fifteen acres and eighty-one acres..." Zhu Yijun murmured, his expression slowing down, and then suddenly sneered: "In comparison, Magistrate Wanping knows so much, it seems like he knows both.
Dong’an County is average.”
I don’t know who this sneer was directed at.
Zhang Mengtong lowered his head: "Your Majesty, if there were not so many evidences, I would not dare to expose them."
His revelations were well-prepared, and he was naturally aware of these things, or in other words, he had been prepared for them.
Otherwise, after the emperor visited Wanping, he would not have taken the county magistrate along with him for consultation.
Zhu Yijun skipped this section and looked at Dong'an County Magistrate Zhang Yixin again: "Zhang County Magistrate, are there still fifteen hectares of this pasture?"
The group of people stood on the hillside, and the view was not bad.
Looking around, there is probably not even half of the 15 hectares of grassland.
Zhang Yixin was vague: "Although it's not enough, it's not far off."
Caochang belongs to a three-level leadership system. In terms of ownership, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War; in terms of financial rights, it is also supervised by the Ministry of Household Affairs; based on the principle of geographical division, each county magistrate must take stock of the numbers with the Caochang Ambassador over the years and enter them into the register.
Zhang Yixin was caught off guard and covered up, which is reasonable.
However, this picture of a dead pig that is not afraid of being scalded by boiling water really almost made Zhu Yijun laugh.
Not far away? If there were seven or eight hectares here, he wouldn't be so angry.
Historically, this guy was just messing around like this. When he was the magistrate of Huojia County, Henan, he didn't move at all when he was working on the fields. When reporting the number of fields to each household, he actually copied them all from the old records without changing a single word. He was arrested by the household department, Yao Xuemin.
Come out and ask for a two-level salary reduction.
It can only be said that not everyone will change after the emperor works hard.
Zhu Yijun nodded and said in disgust: "Take him to the Metropolitan Procuratorate and interrogate him strictly."
During this inspection of Shuntian Prefecture, there were countless bad governments and countless officials who were dishonest and lawless.
He no longer has any unnecessary expressions.
Those who are not responsible will be invited by the Metropolitan Procuratorate; those who are illegal will be appointed by Beizhen Fusi, and Zhu Yijun has already dealt with the muscle memory.
Hearing this, Zhang Yixin's expression suddenly changed, and he changed his words in a hurry: "Your Majesty! I remembered it! Now I have five hectares, ninety-five acres, three-thirds and three centimeters!"
Although the change from fifteen hectares to five hectares was a bit outrageous, Zhu Yijun was too lazy to talk to him anymore.
He waved his hand perfunctorily: "Have a good interrogation, and by the way, I'll also search Magistrate Zhang's house."
After that, he ignored the latter's plea for mercy and signaled to his left and right to send Zhang Yixin to the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
After the shouts of killing pigs subsided, the emperor stepped down the hillside and walked down to the pasture without looking back.
All the courtiers looked at him intently, and they were already familiar with strange things along the way.
Even the most staid Minister of Rites, Wang Zongyi, followed the emperor calmly, not knowing what he was going through.
Zhu Yijun stepped into the grassland and sighed: "In the twenty-seven prefectures and counties of Shuntian Prefecture, the original grassland was 1,846 hectares and 44 acres, and now it may not even be 800 hectares."
Yes, but I don’t know what it is like in Jizhou and other places.”
This is not even a fraction.
As we patrolled all the way down, we found that the matter of occupying grassland was extremely complicated.
It is still expected that the Ministry of Household Affairs, Ministry of War, and local county offices will be involved.
After the grassland was converted into farmland, the ownership became even more diverse. Some merchants bought it with bribes, some people rented it, and some guards operated it privately... It was a complete mess!
The root cause of this move is that it is profitable.
The land is still the same land, but the value of cultivated land is much higher than that of grassland.
After the pasture was converted into cultivated land, as long as the price difference could be concealed, the price difference would fall into the hands of the officials and soldiers. Of course there were soldiers and generals. If the amount of horse grass was not enough, the horses would naturally be able to shut up. The soldiers and generals would not divide the money. How could this happen?
Shut up.
This is not the plan of the Center.
The fodder is prepared for raising horses.
Pasture may not be as valuable as cultivated land, but its starting point is originally from military considerations, not profit - after suffering so much at the hands of nomads, where is the time to care about profits when raising horses?
Unfortunately, in the eyes of some people, horses are hungry and people are full. The former is not as important as the latter.
If by then the horses are so weak that the frontier army suffers a loss in mounted combat... then it will be the frontier army's own problem, as they are not good at fighting.
This is true of all the good governance of the central government.
Therefore, the design of nursing homes in the Ming Dynasty was extremely crude. Therefore, during disaster relief, many local officials would mix chaff into the food to make it less edible.
As long as there is a profit, there will always be someone looking for it.
"Your Majesty, the disadvantages of grassland go far beyond encroachment." Zhang Mengtong, who exposed the matter, spoke again, as if to show that his preparations did not end there. "Since the forty-three years of Jiajing, the shortage of grassland has become increasingly large. Every year, the Ministry of War has
When necessary, the Ministry of Household Affairs will order the county government to organize merchants to trade with Caochang."
"In the past few years, the two departments of Hubing and Hubing had ordered the purchase of new fodder on February 11th, but now the order has gradually been delayed until April or even May."
“April and May are the summer months, with lots of rain, so fodder is prone to moisture and rot, and the price will also rise. However, preparations for autumn are urgent, and the pastures are empty. We dare not delay at all, and can only let the vendors increase their prices.”
"The huge price difference is a total loss of national funds..."
Zhang Mengtong was lamenting the ills of the times, but he hadn't finished speaking yet.
Suddenly, Wang Xijue, who was walking in front, waved his sleeves and interrupted him directly: "Okay, we will talk later when people from Taipu Temple, Yuanma Temple, and Hubu Caochangzhong come."
When some things are still unclear, it is not convenient to break the casserole and ask the truth.
The lives of monks, Taoists, nobles, and even ministers and nobles are all cheap and not worth mentioning. If they die, they will die.
But now that it involves the six yamen and civil servants, we must be cautious.
When Zhang Mengtong saw that the Minister of Civil Affairs was interrupting, the emperor had no intention of refuting, so he had no choice but to shut up and let it go.
He naturally understood Wang Xijue's concerns.
Among the parties that invaded the grassland, in addition to the officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War, there were also adjutants and generals from various guards in the Beijing camp.
It is hard to say whether Jinwu's left and right guards, Yanshan's left and right guards, Shenshu Yingcheng garrison, and even the more than a thousand Shenji camp soldiers following the emperor were all divided.
If there is any trouble, why not give the emperor two swords?
The big-headed soldier didn't care about this. When Chen Jin, the number one scholar in Jiajing Guichou Branch, was observing mourning at home, the big-headed soldier came to ask for food and salary. Chen Zhuangyuan relied on his status and refused to pay, so he was hacked to death by the big-headed soldier with two swords.
There are many other examples of big-headed soldiers fighting for power and killing imperial envoys, and officials from hundreds of households stealing vassal money and killing the vassal king.
These central officials were calm at this time, which showed that they were awake enough.
It's good to be sober. If these central officials had not been capable, he would not have dared to bet on the New Deal and resolutely expose the occupation of grassland.
"Zhang Qing, I remember that you were promoted to Wanping from Yanzheng Yamen?"
While thinking about the matter, Zhang Mengtong suddenly heard the emperor's question.
He quickly collected his thoughts, and regardless of whether the emperor changed the subject, he just responded respectfully: "Your Majesty's Sacred Heart encompasses the universe!"
"I was born as a supervisor in Shandong Province and served as an official in Jining Prefecture. In the second year of Wanli, I passed the examination and was promoted to take charge of Dengzhou and Hong Kong affairs."
"In the fourth year of Wanli, the port was built, and in terms of maritime transport, he was transferred to Mr. Yu, who was then the transportation envoy of the Salt Administration."
"In November last year, he was promoted to Wanping County based on his merits in salt administration."
The official environment of the Ming Dynasty changed greatly around the first year of Wanli.
There is also a new direction in terms of promotion.
In the past, there was a saying: "In the official career, the workmanship must be precise, the letter must be always open, and the charcoal must be abundant. Everyone must be harmonious, harmonious, and respectful."
After that, it became: "To bravely advance to the Three Lords, you must show extraordinary achievements and be loyal. If you insist on the New Deal to be a hero, you will not be given the posthumous title Wenxiang, but Wenzhong."
Therefore, Zhang Mengtong, who worked hard in the construction of the seaport and contributed to the Yanzheng Yamen, can be said to have taken every step as fast as flying.
Zhu Yijun nodded and asked casually: "It has been seven years since the Salt Administration was restructured. From your perspective, how effective is it?"
Although Yin Shidan, the Governor of the Salt Administration, went to Beijing every year to report, anyone who has often been an emperor knows how precious the opportunity to understand local conditions from different angles is.
When these words came out, Wang Xijue also turned to look at Zhang Mengtong - his colleague Yu Youding was promoted to governor of Shandong because of his salt policy.
Zhang Mengtong couldn't help but pause when he saw everyone looking at him.
After much thought, I decided to give an impartial and brief summary of the salt administration reform: "Your Majesty, from the perspective of my ministers, the salt administration reform can be said to be step-by-step and quite effective."
"After the salt sales in Huaihe, Zhejiang, and Shandong were unified under the jurisdiction of the Salt Administration, they were able to arrest illegal salt, transport salt from the south to the north, and stabilize the price of salt, etc., all of which were very effective."
"Salt taxes are increasing year by year, but the people do not bear the burden. Especially after the sea transportation was opened, the price of salt dropped significantly in Jizhou, Liaodong and other places, and the people thought it was good governance."
The emperor and his ministers listened quietly.
I understand to some extent that there is some element of flattery in it. If it is said that after the unified dispatch, taxes will be collected easily and illegal salt will be easier to combat, this may be true.
But when it comes to suppressing salt prices, it is probably just a slightly lower price at a certain place and at a certain time. After all, the total output has not increased much.
After Zhang Mengtong finished speaking, Zhu Yijun asked the question of concern: "Where is Yanyin?"
Shioyin's reputation has been tarnished by nobles, clans, and court officials.
Rebuilding trust is a long-term process.
Seven years have passed, and every year Yin Shidan said that it was in sight, but Zhu Yijun was a little unsure about the specific details.
Zhang Mengtong carefully observed the emperor's expression and slowly said: "Your Majesty, at the beginning of the salt industry, salt merchants were not convinced, but now it has improved greatly."
"In the second year of Wanli, the Ministry of Revenue issued the first batch of salt. The number was equal to 70% of the salt held by Lianghuai and Shandong Yancang. Even so, a group of salt merchants were still afraid that the Ministry of Revenue would issue indiscriminately, or the Salt Administration Yamen
They printed and sold it privately, but they all hesitated to move forward and were afraid to wait and see."
"Fortunately, in the past four or five years, the Ministry of Revenue has adhered to the right path and has not abused it. Governor Yin has made repeated orders and orders, and not a single salt quotation has failed to be honored."
"Coupled with the fact that Mr. Wang Ge and Xu Shilang's clansmen are secretly helping with the blending, today's Yanyin has gradually gained some credibility among salt merchants."
"Especially on the first day of the year last year, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development synchronized or exchanged or recycled the first batch of salt quotations, and also issued the second batch of salt quotations. Salt merchants were extremely enthusiastic and were scrambling to be the first."
These words are all true.
The main reason is that both himself and the leader Yu Youding have left the yamen, so he can't say good or bad things about Yin Shidan.
On the other hand, Xu Guo, the Minister of Punishment, suddenly heard that he was mentioned, and subconsciously shrank his neck and glanced here a few more times.
Zhu Yijun looked a little expectant: "Can you exchange salt for the same amount of silver in Shandong now?"
Seeing the emperor's appearance, Zhang Mengtong certainly understood what the emperor wanted to hear.
This is also something that has been speculated about by everyone in the Yanzheng Yamen in recent years.
But after much thought, he chose to tell the truth: "Reporting to your Majesty, it is not common for salt to be bartered for silver."
"Only bankrupt families or ignorant people would use salt to barter for silver."
"Last year, a merchant wanted to sell salt, but he refused to sell it at 80% of the market price. He just wanted to get the full price, but he was scolded by the whole city, and in the end he sold only 70% of the price."
Compared with other places that follow the 2,000-year-old ancient system in the Yellow River area, Jining is more elegant when swearing.
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but shook his head after hearing this.
According to this situation, Yanyin has probably returned to the status of an asset.
Compared to waste paper, this progress is actually not too slow.
But if you want to use it as a banknote, I'm afraid you have to do it step by step.
He asked a few more questions casually, and he probably had some idea of ​​the situation in the salt administration.
Zhu Yijun nodded slowly, nodded to Zhang Mengtong and said with a smile: "Let's do this for now. Zhang Qing will go back and remove Wan Ping from his post, and go directly to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to report."
The Wanping County Magistrate has also been with us, and we have learned almost everything we need to know about the situation.
What happens after the pasture is no longer a matter of grassroots research.
Zhang Mengtong reacted immediately and quickly prostrated: "I obey your order."
His reporting to the Metropolitan Procuratorate was different from Zhang Yixin's.
This is to be promoted to censor!
Even though the county magistrate and the censor are both in the seventh rank, there is a huge difference in the power contained in them!
Zhu Yijun did not stop to wait for the former magistrate of Wanping County. Instead, he waited for others to stand up and follow him before he continued: "In the matter of the grassland in Beizhili, you will be responsible for supervising the grassland affairs, the county government, and the military preparations."
"Clear the number first, and then talk about the rest."
After Zhang Mengtong heard this, he immediately expressed his stance: "Your Majesty is so graceful! If I am promoted, I will not hesitate even to the death!"
A mere humble Juren went from being an official in one state to the Metropolitan Procuratorate within seven years.
Life is full of ups and downs, so you should bet!
Qingzhang pasture is a dream come true!
Zhu Yijun waved his hand, indicating that he could leave for Wanping.
The latter realized what was going on and stopped, silently bowed and left.
Zhu Yijun was walking on the grassland, looking at the cultivated fields not far away, and asked casually: "Who is the grassland doctor, the official of the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
The grassland doctor, the official of the Ministry of Household Affairs, is the chief officer of the Ministry of Household Affairs and will check the situation of the grassland every year.
It stands to reason that those who invade the grassland should not be able to bypass them no matter what.
Wang Xijue from the Ministry of Personnel opened his mouth to speak, but Fan Yingqi from the Ministry of Revenue overtook him: "Your Majesty, you are a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing, Gao Shi."
Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, with a look of recollection on his face, and asked with some uncertainty: "Gao Shi... was the director of Da'ankou Pasture in Jizhou before?"
After he took charge, there were naturally a lot of memorials to deal with.
The people who came into contact with and understood it gradually spread from a bunch of high-ranking officials in the six departments and nine ministers to some low-ranking officials in the fifth and sixth grades.
Wang Xijue nodded: "Your Majesty, it is this person."
Zhu Yijun frowned: "I remember this person. The year before last, Xiao Lin, the Minister of Nanjing Taipu Temple of the Ministry of War, reported to the Ministry of War that all the pastures and horse mills were set up for breeding livestock. There are many powerful people who want to occupy the fields. Please let me check for the pasture."
"I followed the wishes of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs and did not conduct a large-scale investigation. I only issued an edict to postpone the investigation of Jiba and the two prefectures."
"As soon as the edict was issued, a fire broke out in the Da'ankou grassland in Jizhou, destroying tens of thousands of grass bundles, and the matter was settled."
"At that time, I wanted to deal with this person, but everyone above and below said that without a certificate, it is not a minor crime. In the end, I had to demote him to the second level for dereliction of duty."
"Is this the case?"
The pasture thing has actually been around for a long time, and anyone with knowledge can see some clues.
It's not just Xiao Linshang who has been neglected.
Xiao Yan, the minister of household affairs, Wang Guoguang, the minister of the household department, and Ren Kai, the director of the grassland management committee of the household department, all went to Shu to request the measurement of the grassland.
However, because the time was not ripe at that time, the central government was unwilling to provoke Du Tian's sensitive nerve prematurely, so it did not agree.
However, Zhu Yijun, who tried a little but ended up in a fire and failed, was still very impressed by this.
Wang Xijue wanted to answer the call, but couldn't help but hesitate.
He just came to Beijing, how could he know about these old accounts?
At this time, Fan Yingqi spoke again: "Your Majesty, if this happened, the Yuan Fu drafted a vote to demote Gao Shi to Jiangxi."
Zhu Yijun sneered: "I demoted him two levels, and then someone promoted him three levels in a row. Who is so moral?"
This is called hazy push up.
It is something that all emperors who do not fully control their power must go through. They have just been demoted from above and may not have left the capital yet, but the second transfer order has arrived.
I don’t know who transferred him, but it was just to erase the emperor’s fine. This is called hazy. It mainly focuses on an official protecting each other, and it is confusing.
Of course, Zhu Yijun is rarely seen nowadays, only once in a year or two.
On the contrary, it is Wanli in history. It is really a ticket that is worse than toilet paper. Today it will be downgraded to one level in person, and tomorrow it will be upgraded to three levels.
Wang Xijue reminded him without leaving any trace: "Your Majesty, Chen Yi, the Minister of Civil Affairs, has taken up his official post."
This was definitely not done by Shen Shixing.
But Chen Yan, the left minister, has already retired from office, so it will be difficult to pursue him.
Zhu Yijun twitched his lips with a smile: "This matter has nothing to do with Gao Shi. Let's see who will give him a promotion this time."
Wang Xijue is very energetic and will not be forced to delegate key personnel rights to his left and right ministers like Shen Shixing did.
In this regard, Wang Xijue is very useful.
A group of people walked from the pasture to the plowing fields, and everyone talked about the pasture.
At this moment, Zhang Hong trotted over from not far away.
Everyone turned around.
"Your Majesty, Zhao Yin, the minister of Taipu Temple, and Ren Kai, the director of the grassland of the Ministry of Household Affairs, would like to see you." Zhang Hong bowed and saluted.
Zhu Yijun frowned: "Only two of them? Where are the Minister of Yuanmasi and the doctor in charge of the grassland of the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
Chapter completed!