Hearing this, Tie Xuan and Han Kezhong were shocked and stood up to plead guilty.
"I don't blame you!" Zhu Yunxi was open-minded and said with a self-deprecating smile, "No one can figure out how many officials have made unclear accounts! I have issued edicts to various places since the spring of the second year of Yongchang, and the officials reported it themselves. What's the result?
Hey, I'm in a complete mess, I only talk a few words, I deal with things, I avoid the important and take the easy!"
As he spoke, he shook his head and said, "Even my Jin Yiwei can't find out how much land the officials have! You can find out the land owned by the common people, landlords and wealthy households, which is already rare among rare and a great achievement!"
Seeing the emperor's behavior, Tie Xuan and Han Kezhong also sighed.
The emperor is right. Who can clarify this account throughout the ages? From the founding of the country to the fall of the country, there has never been a clear time in all dynasties.
"So, in Zhejiang Province, including other provinces, the reason why the apportionment method is well promoted and has quick results is that it only affects the small interests of some landowners, but does not harm their fundamental interests.
It’s not their fault that they would get into trouble with me, the emperor, over such trivial matters!”
As he spoke, Zhu Yunxi frowned and stood up, patting the window sill heavily.
"But what the emperor will do next!" Tie Xuan stood up, followed in Zhu Yunxi's footsteps, and whispered, "I'm afraid it will hurt their roots!"
"Are you afraid?" Zhu Yunxi turned around and smiled.
Tie Xuan shook his head, "It's not that I'm afraid. What am I afraid of? It's just that I'll be shattered into pieces. I'm afraid..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhu Yunxi laughed loudly and said, "You are not afraid of what you are doing. What should I, the instigator behind the scenes, be afraid of?"
At this moment, footsteps were heard from the stairs and Deng Ping's voice said, "Long live my lord, all of you are here!"
~~
Between Sumeru and Lezhizhai, the second floor was full of people, all of whom were Zhu Yunxi's confidants.
Zhu Yunxi's eyes slowly looked over, and everyone raised their heads to meet his eyes.
"I suddenly remembered the past!" Zhu Yunxi said with a smile, "When I was not the emperor, I was in charge of state affairs for the emperor's grandfather. I met with the ministers and handled government affairs in this study every day!"
Everyone was silent, knowing that what the emperor was going to say was definitely not as simple as chatting about family matters.
"In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed!" Zhu Yunxi sighed, then smiled, "Which of you still remembers Ling Tietou?"
"I will never forget the name of my mentor!" Hou Yong said.
"Back then, in this study, Ling Han told me, Your Majesty, it is true that the affairs of the world must be dealt with in a thunderous manner, but more importantly, we must plan them slowly and prioritize them. Some things can be urgent, and some things cannot be urgent. Some things must be done in a hurry.
Do it immediately if you have the conditions, but there are some things you have to wait for when the time is right!”
As he said that, Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, "Now I feel that the time has come for something!"
Yes, the time has come.
Zhu Yunxi now wants to take action against the gentry class, the biggest stubborn problem of the Kingdom of Xia in ancient times.
Everyone was looking at the emperor, waiting for what would happen next.
"It's a good job to work as a farmer to farm the land!" Zhu Yunxi crossed his legs and seemed very relaxed, "So I decided to implement the most important step in the new policy." He said, suppressing his smile, "That is, the officials and the gentry will work together.
Let’s get food together!”
Deathly silence, there was deathly silence in the palace.
But Zhu Yunxi could see everyone's expressions.
He clearly saw that some people were surprised, some were lucky, some were frightened, some were excited, and some lowered their heads in silent contemplation.
This is what Tie Xuan said just now, touching the roots of officials and gentry!
It's like digging their ancestral graves.
"Let's talk about it!" Zhu Yunxi picked up another walnut and said with a smile, "Just say it casually, it's not a court meeting, it's just a secret message of our monarchs and ministers. It doesn't matter if you say it wrong, and it won't spread to other people's ears!"
Silence, everyone is still silent.
So much so that the sound of cracking walnuts was particularly clear and harsh.
~~
"As soon as this policy came out..." Zhu Gaochi spoke first, "The whole world was in an uproar!"
Eight words directly describe the worst consequences.
Zhu Yunxi nodded, his eyes firm and unmoved.
"In this case, neither officials nor scholars can agree!" Hou Yong said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, think twice!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!" In an instant, several ministers stood up and bent down to salute.
"I know you all have good intentions!" Zhu Yunxi blew the walnut shell crumbs in his hand, poured the walnut kernel residue between his fingers into his mouth, and said with a smile, "Let's talk about the benefits first!"
Xin Yande stood up and said, "People's support!"
Zhang Yan, the Minister of Household Affairs, pondered for a moment and said, "Official administration!"
Xie Jin, the bachelor of Nanshufang, sighed, "Treasury finance!"
Hou Yong, the Minister of Civil Service, opened his mouth, "Land annexation!"
Bao Zhao, the Minister of the Institute of Integrity, laughed, "There are countless benefits!"
But then, he looked worried and said, "Your Majesty, Taizu Emperor Gao once said that a family with food and salary is equal to the common people, and those who serve and serve are the common people's affairs. If a wise man and a gentleman value his body,
But when the family is reinstated, there will be no difference between a gentleman and a barbarian. This is not the way to encourage scholars and treat the virtuous. From now on, those who have land and land in the families appointed as officials will be exempted from corvee service except for paying rent and taxes."
The Ming Dynasty was looking for scholars from the official and gentry classes, and it actually started with the old man.
In fact, it is quite unbelievable when you think about it. The old man hates these people the most, and is wary of these people the most. He is also called a tyrant by them in private. But he still shows great kindness to these people. Isn't it a bit confusing?
As an ordinary person, you may not be able to figure it out, but as an emperor, Zhu Yunxi has long understood it.
Again, these people are the pillars that maintain the Ming Dynasty, and they are the flesh and blood of the Ming Dynasty.
Not only the Ming Dynasty, this chronic disease of all dynasties was actually the panacea for the rise and fall of dynasties.
Think about the original time and space. At the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, how many gentry raised their own troops to resist Li Zicheng and resist the Manchus.
Going further, hundreds of years later, Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang and others who suppressed the Taiping Army in the Manchu Dynasty also came from this class.
One more thing, when the Qing Dynasty passed to Emperor Gaozong, Shizong's New Deal was abolished. In fact, what was abolished was that the officials and the gentry were integrated into paying grain and serving as errands, while the shareholding system was still used.
"As the saying goes, if you learn martial arts, you will sell it to the emperor's family!" Bao Zhao continued, "Your Majesty, what does a scholar do to be an official?" As he said, he looked around, "I'll tell you a harsh truth, studying to be an official
When you become a squire or an official, you want to be at peace with the people and to distinguish yourself from the common people!"
"The reason is to be treated well by the country and be treated as superior to others by the king!"
"If officials and gentry work together, then both officials and civilians, gentry and scholars, must serve the country!"
"We all have to pay taxes and have to pay food! Then, what's the point of studying? What's the point of being an official?"
"Isn't that the distinction between high and low?"
What he said was absolutely correct, and he also left some room for error.
Once Zhu Yunxi did this, it would be tantamount to destroying the soil of traditional Confucian thought and culture that has been deeply rooted for thousands of years.
To put it mildly, it was the anger of the officials and gentry.
To put it more seriously, it means that the cornerstone of maintaining the operation of the country has been lost.
Doing this is like shooting yourself in the foot!
But....
Suddenly, Zhu Yunxi felt a little funny in his heart, and bursts of pride surged out, "What Yongzheng can do, can't I do it?"
"I know that what you say is reasonable and correct!" Zhu Yunxi said slowly, "I also know that it is difficult. If it were not difficult, I would not come to you to discuss it!"
Han Kezhong said in a low voice, "As you have said, there are many difficulties! But as you have said, there are more benefits!" As he said, he looked at Zhu Yunxi, "But I think that the biggest difficulty in this administration does not lie with you.
The stakes your Excellency talks about do not involve the principles of monarch and ministers, nor does it involve instability."
"Oh?" Zhu Yunxi was greatly surprised, "Please tell me carefully!"
"The biggest difficulty lies in people!" Han Kezhong said loudly, "The emperor's new policy will harm the interests of scholars and officials all over the world. But those who implement such a new policy must also be officials with scholar backgrounds!"
"The so-called rules that have existed for thousands of years, the so-called privileges, are actually all because everyone is in this and are unwilling to do things against themselves!"
"The difficulty now is, who is willing to provoke the window paper, who is willing to be criticized by thousands of people!"
As he said that, Han Kezhong sneered, "As for the uproar in the world, the outrage of the people, and the scolding of thousands of people. I would like to say something disrespectful. When Emperor Taizu Gao wiped out the world's scholars with blood, who dared to say no?"
"The case of Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong that day implicated more than 60,000 officials. Was there a shortage of officials in the Ming Dynasty?"