Xu Jingchang said it easily, but to the ears of the ministers, it was extremely ridiculous.
So everyone gathered around Jian Yi again, including Fang Bin, the Minister of War, Lv Zhen, the Minister of Punishments, Luo Qian, the Minister of Works, Yizhi, the minister of Rites, Liu Guan, the censor of Zuodu...
When everyone gets together, there is only one issue to discuss.
"Jian Shangshu and Ding Guogong said that the methods used in Yingtian should be extended to the gentry in various places. I can't agree to this matter no matter what, and we people can't just sit back and turn a blind eye."
Jian Yi had a sullen face and said nothing. Over the years, Xu Jingchang has done a lot of annoying things. There was no time when everyone was not shouting against it, but the question is how to stop it, and whether it can be stopped?
"Fang Shangshu, if the method can be used in Yingtian, why can't it be used in other places?" Jian Yi asked rhetorically.
Fang Bin was astonished, "Jian Shangshu?"
Is your brain broken too?
"This is not an obvious thing. After all, grain merchants are merchants and just villains! They hoard and only want to make profits, which often makes the world angry and the people complain. But the gentry is different. They farm and study their family traditions and do their duty honestly.
That is the pillar and foundation of the country. To force the gentry like this is no less than destroying the Great Wall!"
Jian Yi said coldly: "After all, Fang Shangshu still wants to treat the scholars preferentially and respect the Jin gentry? Your argument is naturally good. As long as you can convince His Majesty and His Royal Highness, they all agree, and the country will be settled.
Naturally, the public’s suggestion cannot be pushed forward... What do you think?"
how?
Not so!
Fang Bin looked at the others, and the others looked at him.
Everyone has gradually seen through it. This time, the sword aimed at the grain merchants has been slashed at the gentry behind... It is no exaggeration to say that this time is more terrifying than the Kong family. That time, it only affected the official status, but this time it is...
Starting with the economic lifeline, if one mistake is made, the roots of farming and studying will be completely cut off. How can the world's scholars sit idly by and ignore it?
It's just that if you want to stop this, you should have a proper way. You can't do it head-on.
So what to do?
Everyone fell into silence, and Jian Yi simply said nothing. He couldn't come up with an idea. No matter how much he said, it was useless... everyone dispersed.
But when everyone dispersed, Yizhi, the Minister of Rites, caught up with Fang Bin.
"Fang Shangshu, in fact, Duke Dingguo just said that this kind of thing must be done by someone. It is much more troublesome in the local area than in the imperial court. Those big families are really ruthless and can do anything. Is it possible that he can't do it?
Can Duke Dingguo go down in person to handle the matter?"
Fang Bin mused: "Whoever does the work is a matter of success or failure. But looking at the Ming Dynasty, there is no shortage of ruthless and ruthless officials, and there are not a few who are willing to charge into battle."
Yizhi smiled faintly and said, "There are cruel officials, but there are also places that are untouchable."
"where?"
"Jiangxi!"
Yizhi spat out two words lightly. Fang Bin thought for a while and said with a smile: "There are so many celebrities and courtiers in Jiangxi, it is indeed difficult to deal with them, but who can pick the leader and who is willing to take the lead?"
"Xu family!"
…
Jiangxi has a long cultural history. In the early Ming Dynasty, it reached its peak. Half of the Manchu scholars and scholars came from Jiangxi. Above the imperial court, Jiangxi's local accent even surpassed the Hongwu pronunciation.
The more scholars there are, the more people will be famous.
At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang, in order to encourage reading, promised to give preferential treatment to scholars who passed the examination. If they were a first-level scholar, they would be exempted from military service for two days, and the Yamen would also send servants.
When you reach the level of Juren, you will not only be exempted from service and food, but also qualified to be an official. For example, Hai Rui was born in Juren.
The situation here is very obvious. A scholar enjoys preferential treatment from the court and his life is much better than ordinary people. But if he is that kind of old scholar, he has not been able to pass the exam for many years. He is old and ugly, and his family has no money.
When all is spent, the servants will abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side, and they will still live in poverty.
But if you step into the Juren class, you can not only exempt yourself from labor and food, but also take care of other people. In this way, some people will naturally fawn over and contribute.
Moreover, people can be elected officials, edicts, county magistrates, county magistrates... Although serious Jinshi officials look down on these positions, they are still out of reach for ordinary people. They are serious Qingtian Grand Masters.
So why was Fan Jin so excited after winning the national examination?
Think about those students who passed the civil service examination, are they happy?
Fan Jin started out as a director of education. His starting point is an end point that many ordinary civil servants cannot reach in their lifetime. Who will fall on his head? Who will be unhappy and go crazy?
Jiangxi is such an outrageous place. There are so many Jinshi that no one can be counted as a dish. As for the scholar-gentleman, you should just leave it alone. It will embarrass the ancestors if you talk about it.
There are many people with honors, and there are also many people who are exempt from military service and grain... Therefore, the entire Jiangxi Province is the place with the largest tax and grain arrears in the Ming Dynasty. If you want to collect it, who will collect it for you?
How can I collect it?
You are a small county magistrate, but my father is a high-ranking official in Beijing and a popular figure in front of the emperor. If you run wild in my house, aren't you looking for death?
If the grain could not be harvested, the court had no choice but to drag it out. As time went by, debts arose, and some provinces even followed Jiangxi's example, leaving the ground covered with chicken feathers.
After Xia Yuanji became the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, his main job was to clean up contributions, track down accumulated debts, and force local officials to collect taxes.
Xu Jingchang instigated the dispatch of censors abroad, dispatched important personnel, and checked old accounts in various places. A lot of his efforts were also used in Jiangxi.
Therefore, in the court, Xu Jingchang received the most scoldings, followed closely by Xia Yuanji.
There is no way, who made them all offend the base camp of scholars!
But compared to the next one, they are nothing.
Just when everyone was guessing who would be in charge of Jiangxi affairs, Xu Jingchang revealed the final candidate... Chen Ying, the original censor of Youdu, was transferred to the position of Minister of Household Affairs and Governor of Jiangxi Huguang Tax District!
After this appointment, the whole Yingtian was boiling!
Chen Ying!
It's him, something big is going to happen!
Their hunch was indeed correct.
The first order Chen Ying gave was to check the grain reserves of each household.
Even those high-ranking families are granaries, aren't they?
How much food your family has stored must be reported to the court truthfully and subject to inspection.
When the news spread, Jiangxi was in an uproar, and various voices of opposition arose one after another. Some people wrote thousands of letters and blood letters to express strong opposition, and some people had good connections and contacted officials in Beijing, begging them to help smooth things over.
After fussing around, Yang Shiqi had to bite the bullet and found Xu Jingchang.
"Dong Guo, you see, these grains are considered the private property of each family. For example, how much money each family has saved, can outsiders know? They are all peaceful and kind people, and they have not done anything that violates the king's laws.
I'm afraid that an inventory will disturb people's hearts, right?"
Xu Jingchang nodded repeatedly, "That's what you're talking about too. For example, I can't let anyone know how much money my family has, right? What if a thief is invited?"
Yang Shiqi nodded, "Ding Guogong is so reasonable and reasonable. I want to thank you on behalf of the villagers."
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "Let's do this. You invite Hu Yan and Yang Pu, and then invite Lu Zhen, the Minister of Punishment, and I will issue a new decree."
"New decree? What decree?"
Xu Jingchang said: "I plan to study with you guys whether food is considered personal property!"
"What?"
Yang Shiqi was confused, "Ding Guogong, I don't understand, what do you mean?"
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "This is not easy! For example, if there are three or five people at home, there are 1,800 kilograms of grain. This must be regarded as rations, and there is no problem. But if a family has a huge warehouse that can store tens of thousands of stones, dozens of
Wanshi's grain is definitely not for eating. Since it is not food for eating, then we have to discuss whether food and money can be considered the same?"
…
"Returning to Ding Guogong, I think food cannot be equated with money. The main reason is that food is a life-saving thing, a matter of life and death. If you eat two meals a day, you will be hungry if you miss one. Moreover, planting in spring and harvesting in autumn can be done in one or two seasons every year.
, the harvest is also there. Even if there is a famine, as long as it is prepared properly, people will not starve to death."
Hu Yan concluded: "The amount of money can only be said to be different from person to person, but food is a matter of life and death and cannot be generalized."
Xu Jingchang was quite pleased, "Scholar Hu is indeed a man of extraordinary knowledge and knowledge. In this case, can we include food in the list of important materials related to the security of the country?"
Hu Yan was startled and asked subconsciously: "Dong Guo Gong, what is on this list?"
Xu Jingchang said: "Food naturally bears the brunt, followed by copper, iron, coal, wood that can be used for shipbuilding, sulfur, saltpeter, salt, etc. Everything that is important to the national economy and people's livelihood must be included."
Hu Yan straightened his back and asked again: "Once you enter this list, what should you do?"
Xu Jingchang said: "After entering the list, you can naturally buy and sell, but the transaction price and quantity must be limited to avoid ups and downs. If there is a national war, the court can give priority to purchasing, and merchants are not allowed to drive up prices. Of course, we can also give business
We provide loans to merchants to ensure that they can operate smoothly and avoid problems."
Hu Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this, "This is a good idea, I agree!"
Yang Pu rolled his eyes and nodded: "I think this is a good idea."
Xu Jingchang looked at Yang Shiqi one last time.
Yang Shiqi was helpless. This method was a good one, but if he really did it, the gentry would have no way out!
He had no choice but to nod, "Ding Guogong has a foresighted plan, which will benefit the future."
I won’t talk about contemporary things.
Originally, Chen Ying was a cruel official, and with this decree, she became even more unscrupulous.
Aren’t there many wealthy families in Jiangxi?
Then let's not let anyone go, not the Luo family, the Xu family, the Yang family, the Fang family... no one is an exception.
"Look at your granary. They would rather pile the food to rot than sell it. It's really abominable. Arrest them!"
The master of the Xu family was furious, "You're arresting us? We are Huang Liushou's relatives, and Duke Dingguo is our grandson-in-law. Are you going to cause death?"
