As the Minister of Civil Affairs, Wu Lin has always been a cautious and even somewhat rigid person.
The ancestral method, of course, cannot be moved as long as it can be moved.
Rather than making drastic reforms and causing trouble, it is better to act honestly and in accordance with the old rules and regulations.
Although the efficiency is lower, it is better than making a mess.
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Wu Lin coughed lightly and continued to express her own point of view: "Throughout history, most reforms ended in failure."
"Wang Mang's reforms in the Han Dynasty and Wang Anshi's reforms in the Northern Song Dynasty, which one was not vigorous at the beginning, but ended up with nothing in the end?"
"Reform must be done very carefully."
"Although Mr. Hu's idea is very good, this reform not only touches the interests of local gentry, but also a major reshuffle of the grassroots governance system."
"If something goes wrong by then, who can take responsibility?"
As soon as Wu Lin finished speaking, she received repeated support from many veterans.
Even Li Shanchang couldn't help but come out to dissuade him and said: "Your Majesty, Mr. Hu's idea is good, but it is indeed very difficult to implement it!"
"It was less than 20 years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty. It was a time when people's hearts were in a state of flux. The people had not yet been enlightened. There were remnant Yuan forces in the north who were eyeing the country, and Zhang Shicheng's old troops in the south were causing trouble at sea. It could be said that there were internal and external troubles."
"If we carry out drastic reforms at this time, it will be easy to say that it will succeed, but if it fails, it will not be solved by simply messing up for a while."
"If this gets serious, it will be a major event that can shake up the country!"
Li Shanchang followed Zhu Yuanzhang when he first revolted, so he naturally knew Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts well.
What Hu Changan said before really touched Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.
Judging from Zhu Yuanzhang's intentions, it is very likely that he will push forward reforms despite all opinions.
This made Li Shanchang very anxious. When Wu Lin expressed his opinion, he jumped out and gave Hu Changan eye drops, hoping to dispel Zhu Yuanzhang's ridiculous idea.
If the reform was really implemented, Hu Changan would be transformed from a commoner to a hero of reform. Naturally, Li Shanchang did not want such a good thing to happen to Hu Changan.
On the other hand, Li Shanchang's family is also a well-known local squire family, with countless private fields under its name, and the amount of tax evaded is only a lot more.
If this reform can be implemented smoothly, Li Shanchang will definitely have a layer of skin peeled off.
Publicly and privately, Li Shanchang hoped that this reform would be aborted.
As soon as Li Shanchang finished speaking, Hu Changan took over and said: "My lords, as the saying goes, you have to eat your food one bite at a time. Of course, this reform cannot be accomplished all at once."
After everyone heard this, they all looked at Hu Changan suspiciously.
This guy, who just now was trying his best to sell the benefits of reform, why did he lose his temper when we mentioned it?
I'm afraid there is no conspiracy.
What everyone thought was indeed correct, Hu Changan really had a backup plan.
Seeing that he had attracted everyone's attention, Hu Changan cleared his throat and continued to talk: "I'm afraid you may have misunderstood. The reform will indeed cause a series of turmoil, but this reform cannot be carried out in a day or even a year.
Can it be completed immediately?"
"Just like making wine, you can only get delicious wine by studying it slowly and waiting patiently."
"We can implement this reform in a small area near Yingtian City first."
"After all, the imperial court's control near Yingtian City is definitely stronger than in some remote areas."
"If the reform is unsuccessful, then just give up and continue with the old routine, and there will be no big losses."
"If the reform is relatively successful, we can invite some capable officials or Imperial College students with excellent academic performance to go to the countryside to promote this new model."
"For those places that are more powerful and stubborn, we can slowly grind them down."
"The new policy may not be implemented within one year, but what about two years later, five years or even ten years later? As long as the new policy is superior, I believe that one day, the new policy will take root in the land of Ming Dynasty."
"Even if those squires refuse to carry out the imperial orders, if the people see that the tax burden has been reduced after the implementation of the New Deal in other places, they will definitely be dissatisfied. When the people's dissatisfaction accumulates to a certain level, they can directly defeat the clan's stubbornness from the bottom up.
The rule of power.”
Before anyone could comment on this, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting at the top, couldn't help but nodded in approval and said: "Hu Aiqing, what you said is so clear and logical! It is a great blessing for Ming Dynasty to have talents like you.
"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had made a concluding speech, all the officials in the audience immediately bowed their hands and saluted.
It seems that this reform is inevitable.
A member of the Huaixi faction wanted to raise objections, but Li Shanchang grabbed his sleeve and signaled him not to say any more.
Didn’t you see that His Majesty already agreed with Hu Changan?
Your Majesty has always been a man of his word. Either he doesn't speak, or if he speaks, the decision is final and no one can change it.
After hearing what Hu Changan said, Zhu Yuanzhang was also very happy.
As the founding emperor, he understood the twists and turns of the people better than those emperors who had never left the Forbidden City.
Compared with other ministers, Zhu Yuanzhang had a longer-term vision.
Hu Changan's strategy is not just as simple as measuring the land and understanding the people's sentiments.
If used properly, this reform can not only find out the hidden land of the people, but also serve as a sharp knife on the necks of local powerful people.
Jia Shou and Li Chief can not only help the government count the population, measure land, and reflect public opinion, but they can also handle civil disputes under the guidance of the government!
Originally, these matters were handled by local gentry.
After all, the county magistrate is only one person and cannot handle civil disputes all the time.
Only serious cases involving human life or huge amounts of property will be reported to the government.
In general, most minor disputes among the people are adjudicated by the local squires.
Although these squires may not be as fair as the county government, they have all studied for several years and are barely qualified as intermediaries in handling disputes.
Over time, these squires accumulated a certain amount of prestige in the local area.
And this prestige accumulated invisibly has been transformed into power to a certain extent.
The common people in the countryside only know about the squires, but not about the government.
Even sometimes when the government is running errands, they have to discuss it with these squires in a good voice.
This invisibly greatly weakened the authority of the government in the local area, and also gave the landlords and gentry room to abuse their power for personal gain.
And if the New Deal continues to be implemented, the original functions of these landlords and gentry will be shared among the chiefs and village chiefs.
In this way, the power that originally belonged to the landlords and gentry would be distributed to ordinary people.
