Chapter 159 Its too late for Yang Tinghe to regret
Chapter 159 Yang Tinghe regrets it too late
When they started arguing, Zhu Houcong looked at them quietly.
"Both the two battles at Tuen Mun were decided at sea and never invaded the hinterland. The annual grain quota in Guangdong in summer and autumn exceeded one million taels, and it was only worth one hundred thousand taels of silver to be transported to Beijing. Last year, the quota of grain and wages was more than 400,000 taels. In four years, Guangdong's
How much can we save on transportation costs? If we don’t send a little more this time, what will happen if the other provinces intend to follow suit and ask for taxes in lieu of payment in the name of banditry?" Li Hao was the first to retort.
Yang Tan also spoke: "Your Majesty's wedding will take place after the autumn grain harvest. The summer grain quota in Guangdong is only more than 5,000 dan. At this time, only places like Guangdong have the most people!"
Mao Ji said: "However, the land in Guangdong has been cleared, and everyone knows that the new law will be implemented. At this time, the corvee has increased. Doesn't it give the wealthy gentry an opportunity to incite the people to cause trouble?"
Wang Qiong joined the battle group: "It's just a matter of clearing the land, and it has not been restructured. If any wealthy gentry takes the opportunity to cause trouble, the sword given by Emperor Zhang Fujing will still be there!"
Fei Hong shook his head: "If this happens, won't all the provinces be frightened? Last year's rebellion by rebels and killing officials may happen again, and the whole world will be uneasy. The new law must be implemented, but we can only slow it down."
Jiang Mian: "There is also the matter of the daughter of Grand Scholar Sun becoming the empress. Who is it that breaks the ban on the Chinese language? Da Sinong, your Ministry of Household Affairs has invited all places to bring fragrant tea. Isn't this another reason for Guangdong to share the distribution? Chun
How time-consuming and laborious it is to pick and prepare tea, and the products that are donated need to be selected from a hundred! The strong men are working, and the women and children are picking tea. Who has time to plow the fields in Guangdong in the spring?"
Li Chong's heirs were all dumbfounded: Sun Jiao's daughter? Queen?
Besides, what's the etiquette for you to quarrel like this?
Uncle Zhang Zilin, didn’t you say that the monarch and his ministers were united in the national policy meeting?
Zhu Houcong watched their performance quietly.
In the local area, it was the conspiracy of the gentry and the local officials' desire for power to please the emperor.
In the imperial court, it was the backbone ministers in charge of practical matters in each department who secretly hid their selfish desires in national policy, and it was the central ministers who used them to fight.
How many people are thinking about reform to become stronger?
The concept of country is very vague in their minds.
The definition of people is also different in their minds.
Wen Yanbo said: Your Majesty wants to rule the world with the scholar-bureaucrats. On the surface, many people will not agree with this sentence, but they will silently praise it in their hearts.
And now, what is the background behind this superficial fight and quarrel?
Gui E couldn't see it, and neither Zhang Fujing nor Yang Shen could see it.
No one wants to harm anyone, it's all a tacit understanding.
Otherwise, why didn't the ministries report and the cabinet had opinions? Why did the emperor have to nod and agree to everything related to this year's wedding?
Zhu Houcong smiled when he heard this: You want me to take the blame, you want to make peace with me, you want to remind me in a subtle way of the fundamental difficulties of the new law.
"Okay, stop acting."
The emperor's words made the hearts of these veterans jump greatly.
Zhu Houcong stopped their further quarrel: "Guangdong is trying out the new law, and the provinces are uneasy. What is the situation now? The whole world is converging to block the effectiveness of the new law in Guangdong. In three to five years, the changes will get worse and worse, and I will stop.
Think about it, am I right?"
Zhang Fujing, Chen Jin, Mai Fu, and Zhu Qi are watching the situation in Guangdong. What Zhu Houcong wants to solve is the root of the problem: everything is because of the new law.
When the imperial study became quiet, Li Chongsi also felt the same as Cui Yuan did at the beginning: This minister who participated in the national policy meeting must prepare a few pills with him.
Why is the world uniting to block Guangdong... In this national policy meeting, isn't it just that all the ministers are united to block the emperor?
The first assistant could only speak again on behalf of the people: "Your Majesty, I have said before that I am not willing to reform the evils and make new ones. However, the evils have been accumulated for hundreds of years, and this is the difficulty of the matter. The foundation of land tax, the purpose of corvee service, and the supervision of courses
Management, warehousing and transshipment, and military and political divisions are all entangled together. In Guangdong, there are also problems such as ban on shipping, shipping, and border guards. Where to start with the new law? It is not because that side is contrary to the so-called land of ministers.
And it’s difficult.”
Yang Tinghe seems to have really become a member of the reform faction now. It's not that he doesn't want to do it, but he has to explain clearly what the difficulty is.
"Shrinking ropes to hide fields, concealing households under false pretences, reporting famines on the pretext of disasters, spreading wildfires, widening lines...these local methods are collusion between gentry and wealthy households and officials. Last year, Guangdong only cleared Guangzhou Prefecture, Zhaoqing Prefecture and less than three prefectures.
The situation of farmland is already very worrying. The land allocated to the two governments has dropped by 20% compared to the Hongzhi period. This has already taken into account the result of part of the land being hidden and part of the land being seized without proof of sale."
"As for the farmland for military settlements in Guangdong, there were only more than 70 hectares in the early days of the People's Republic of China. Now? More than 70,000 hectares! I don't know how many civilian fields in Guangdong have been converted into military settlements over the years. However, even though the output of Guangdong's farmland has exceeded 150,000 shi
, the imperial court still needs to send food and wages to the country every year!" Yang Tinghe sighed, "Your Majesty, this is just the land that is less than three houses, and we have not yet implemented a new policy on taxes and servitude."
Zhu Houcong listened.
Fields are the assets that can provide the most stable output in this era. Even if you want to do business, the stable output of fields is guaranteed, but there is always huge uncertainty in doing business.
For a country, food is also the most important, and people must live first.
Zhang Fujing killed many people in Guangdong and collected a lot of stolen land as official land. This official land also needed to be cultivated by common people. When people cultivated official land, they not only paid land tax, but also paid an additional rent to the local government.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that one mu of official land should be taxed at five liters, three in five spoons, and one mu of civilian land should be taxed in three liters, three in five spoons. As for the official land that was not registered, the tax standard was one mu, one dou, and two liters.
But only the last sentence of Yang Tinghe's words touches the root, only one word of it.
"Taizu once compiled the fish scale book and said that the wealthy people in Zhejiang and Zhejiang were afraid of avoiding corvee labor, so they often used their land property to cheat relatives and tenants, which was called iron-footed cheating. Over time, it became a common practice that the villages bullied the prefectures and counties, and the prefectures and counties bullied the governments.
There are many disadvantages, which are called "treacherous messages". As a result, the rich get richer and the poor become poorer. What Yang Ge said about shrinking the rope to hide the field, hiding the household with the sly message, using disaster to report famine, flying and spreading, and widening the line are generally the same.
These little tricks, right?”
"Your Majesty is very aware of everything." Yang Tinghe was silent for a moment, a little surprised, and then looked at him seriously after he finished speaking.
He really understands...
"In the beginning of the country, only officials in the capital were exempted from the tax, and only a certain number of acres were exempted, and officials from outside were reduced by half. By the time of the emperor's brother's reign, the first grade was only exempted from 400 acres. Those with official status, and those who were promoted to official positions with courtesy,
There are exemptions and exemptions for all corvees. Is that right?"
Wang Qiong nodded, already knowing what the emperor was going to say.
"In the early days of the Republic of China, it was also stipulated that supervisors, students, and officials could be exempted from corvee, right?"
Yang Tinghe looked at the emperor with a solemn expression.
"So what's the situation in the local area now?" Zhu Houcong looked at Yang Tan with a smile, "How much of the annual land tax for a large agricultural worker is actually paid by the official household and official land?"
Yang Tan felt sweating on the back of his head and answered bravely: "More than half..."
Zhu Houcong nodded: "Don't forget, sir, when I came to the throne, the first thing I did was to check the accounts. In the fifteenth year of Chenghua, my Ming household registration was more than 70 million. In the seventeenth year of Hongzhi, it was 60 million. In the first year of Zhengde,
, more than 46 million. In less than 30 years, what kind of natural disasters and military disasters occurred in the Ming Dynasty, so that a full 30% of the population was reduced? In the two years before the emperor's brother ascended the throne, more than 1,300 people died in the Ming Dynasty
Ten thousand people? During the ZTE period, more than 10,000 people died every day? Regardless of whether it was ZTE or not, no matter how much fewer people there were or how much less land they were entitled to, the land tax was never less and the annual income was never less. They were all very stable. Do you think it’s strange?
"
There was silence in the imperial study room, and everyone looked at the emperor with complicated expressions.
Stop being so weird, I know you understand.
As long as you can express your fear of avoiding corvee...
Zhu Houcong quietly looked at them who were embarrassed.
Where did the people in the Ming Dynasty’s census go? They didn’t die, they just escaped. Without legal status, they were all working as slaves.
Why? The land tax was very heavy, and the corvee was even heavier.
Taizu set a tax rate of thirty to one tax. This ratio is actually not high, so why do people want to flee their hometowns?
Because officials and gentry were exempted from corvee and official households had certain tax exemptions, it was most cost-effective to sell their land to official households.
Because the local government apportioned corvee labor, officials and officials would not allocate it to the tenants of official households.
What should wealthy households do if they don't want to serve in the military? Find officials, find people with meritorious titles, and "sell" their fields to them.
Many local wealthy households were actually tenants, or "partners" of the government gentry.
Many farmers are also willing to sublease land from wealthy households for farming, and wealthy officials and gentry households will also "cherish" their tenant farmers and "domestic slaves."
Because this is a profit chain, you can naturally cultivate more carefully and produce more without having to bear the burden of labor.
The tax rate on real private land is very low. But the proportion of real private land now occupied by private households is less than 40% on average nationwide.
Therefore, although the amount of land to be entrusted is getting less and less, the land endowment has been very stable.
If it is stable, it means there are no problems, and there will be no big checks on people in the local area who are illegally evading land taxes.
In fact, more than half of the taxes in the Ming Dynasty were paid by officials. The wealthy households and farmers who rented their land were executives and migrant workers respectively.
The situation is so funny. What is Daemingzhu stone?
Zhu Houcong also checked the accounts in detail and discovered that in the Ming Dynasty, there seemed to be no so-called exemption of land taxes and corvee for both officials and gentry in his memory!
He didn't know that this was a system of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry that was originally formed in the 26th year of Jiajing and was further expanded during the Wanli period.
At that time, everyone from the capital officials to the foreign officials, from the scholars, to the civil servants to the miscellaneous officials, all had exemptions from the land tax. In the Wanli period, the first-rank official in the capital was exempted from the land tax of 10,000 acres, and the eighth-rank officials were exempted from the land tax of 2,700 acres.
Foreign officials are exempted by half. Jinshi who are not officials can be exempted from a maximum of more than 3,000 acres, those who are elected can be exempted from more than 1,000 acres, and scholars can be exempted from 80 acres.
As for corvee service, let’s not even talk about it. It’s called how many ding can be exempted, but in reality, who cares how many ding the officials and gentry have in their homes?
In this situation, how can the finances not collapse?
Zhu Houcong looked at them quietly: So why are they acting in such a tacit understanding now?
Half hoping that Zhu Houcong would see where the real difficulty lies, and half hoping to dissuade him from touching it.
It was a real chaos in the world, affecting officials, gentry and wealthy households all over the country.
This is the actual meaning of Fang Muxian's words.
The Ming Dynasty's land tax is carried on their shoulders! The purpose of moving their land is not the land tax. How much is the total land tax?
What is affected is the burden of corvee on these fields, and they are required to bear the burden of corvee.
The officials, gentry, wealthy households, and subordinates are all respectable people, so how can the corvee work be done by them and their people? Just apportion it to ordinary households.
If households were busy farming, they would have to pay money in silver, and the government would then hire people to serve.
Local governments impose exorbitant taxes and this kind of corvee is the real burden on the people!
Li Chongsi thoroughly felt the difference between today's national policy meetings and the court.
The emperor was neither happy nor angry, he just explained the problem thoroughly and let them find a solution.
Cui Yuan looked at the emperor in embarrassment: There is no way to think of this.
Why was it that after the land was cleared in Guangdong, there was no way to get it? Because the method proposed by Zhang Fujing and Gui E could not solve the fundamental problem.
Many local laws were compiled into one whip, which could not solve the problem of corvee apportionment.
The people who carry out this whip are local officials and subordinate officials. They themselves do not bear other apportionments other than land tax. In the end, it is the common people who bear it. At most, the local government will be less greedy.
"I have said that in the next three years, I will only focus on three things, and Guangdong's new law is one of them." Zhu Houcong looked at them, "There is no way? Then let me tell you a direction first?"
"...Your Majesty, please make it clear." Yang Tinghe could only bite the bullet and listen to what he had to say first.
"I have always made it clear." Zhu Houcong glanced at him quietly, "I know that studying outside of work is very expensive. I also know that the local editor's salary is very small. The wealthy households, officials, gentry, and distinguished relatives involved in commercial tax are not included.
It is not a pillar of stability, I know that too. However, Tai Shigong said: There are people who die because of service, and there are people who die because of no gifts. Serve the people but not the officials and gentry, sooner or later the Ming Dynasty will have no people to serve, and sooner or later the country will perish.
The foundation of our country is ultimately the people. These pillars are also based on the people and on the etiquette and order of the Ming Dynasty."
"The implementation of the new law in Guangdong is secondary. The ministers and others are participating in national policies. At this time, they are just discussing, so don't act. The fundamental problem is there. What the monarch and his ministers need to discuss at this time is whether the new law will avoid this fundamental issue."
In Li Chongsi's eyes, the emperor said these words calmly, "Although I am indeed co-ruling the world with the scholar-bureaucrats now, if all the people in the yellow book disappear from the officials and gentry, will I become a scholar-bureaucrat in the future?
Rule the world and reward my descendants with a bite to eat?"
Li Chongsi's hair stood on end, and he left his seat and knelt down together with the others in tacit understanding: "I don't dare, Your Majesty, please calm down..."
"Do you think I am angry?" Zhu Houxuan smiled, "I told you when Fang Muxian said such arrogant words. What a scholar wants in his life is to harmonize his family and serve his country. I understand the importance of motivation.
Nature. If you become an official, you will serve the country, if you don't serve, you will educate. I will also protect the status of officials and gentry. When discussing the etiquette, I also said that I bear the responsibility of safeguarding the interests of everyone in the order of etiquette. Thinking of the new law, I talked about it.
Others have misunderstood the new law. Why do you also misunderstand it? Do I seem to be someone who does not understand these principles? Get up and take your seats."
Eighteen people, plus Zhang Bi, the "scholar-official" whose pen was shaking with fear just now, stood up and sat down again tremblingly.
How does it feel when the emperor understands so well?
But is it really okay for scholar-bureaucrats to rule the world and give the emperor a bite to eat? The murderous intention is too strong!
"I said that just because I hope you and others will understand the truth behind it. All the people in the world are my subjects. Now the eldest son is successful in studying, and the second son takes care of the family business on his behalf. The younger son is responsible for many important and chores in the family.
.The frail body is overwhelmed by the burden, and the youngest son is almost the slave of the older son. Even if I want to teach them brothers and sisters, I have to look at the face of the eldest son and the second son. What kind of father is kind and son is filial?" Zhu Houcong looked at them, "Everyone.
Sir, is this the situation? Is this the truth? If things go on like this, will the parricide of fathers and brothers happen again?"
There is nothing wrong with using a family as a metaphor for a country.
But now, do we really have to blame the eldest son and the second son?
"So I make it clear to you and others that this new law in Guangdong, I think, will face the fundamental problem of corvee labor." Zhu Houcong looked at them, "Unless you don't participate in the national policy meeting, otherwise after it is agreed, you and others will be with me. The new law must be implemented.
, Your Majesty and others are all those who advocate reform. How to do it can be discussed later; but walking with me is still going in the opposite direction, and this is more important."
Li Chongsi wanted to escape, but couldn't.
When he first arrived, what he encountered was probably the most important national policy meeting.
He understood the spirit of the meeting.
From now on, no one of the central ministers who sit at the national policy meeting will disagree with the emperor on the general direction. At most, they can suggest whether to take the water route, the dry road, or the narrow path.
Otherwise, the remaining positions will be the end of your official career.
"In order to ensure that the monarch and his ministers are united, I said at the beginning of the establishment of the National Policy Council that ministers participating in the National Policy Council have those three major privileges. Even if they just come here for a visit, they can also receive an honorary salary without stopping. Therefore, Wang Qiong and others are involved in old affairs.
, I can also protect my favor first." Zhu Houcong finally pointed out, "I will only focus on the Beijing camp and this matter at the national policy meeting in the next three years, so you can think carefully about your stance now, and avoid the fundamental problem of corvee service."
The emperor remained silent.
Two months after the Spring Festival, the emperor once again became tough on something, but his words and deeds were consistent, and he was only talking about the new law in Guangdong.
This attitude is difficult to express. This attitude must be expressed.
Because it has risen to the level of loyalty or disloyalty, "filial piety or not".
So the ministers acted in a tacit understanding, so why did they use this matter to fight?
If you fight someone away and sit in his seat, you still have to leave if you avoid this fundamental issue.
It's definitely not an emeritus job, he's almost a new Mao Cheng.
The emperor was very calm.
No wonder he is not anxious now. Zhang Fujing is like an ant on a hot pot in Guangdong, but he is not at all anxious about what he wants Zhang Fujing to do next.
He first wants a center that is as strong as an iron barrel and truly "the king and his ministers are of one mind".
If there is no result on this position issue, I am afraid it will continue to be discussed until it is truly stable.
If you don’t agree, change the batch.
If you have other ideas, just kill some first.
Kill only these, while continuing to be tolerant, easy-going, and honest with others.
Before the new law has been officially implemented, and before Guangdong has even just cleared the land, are you going to join forces to rebel? In what name?
If it is settled now and starts to move later, and there is another rebellion, ministers who have experience in participating in policy will be the targets of greatest suspicion!
There is no need to be afraid then. With the concerted efforts of the eighteen important ministers at the national policy meeting, what kind of things cannot be suppressed?
Yan Song finally understood the emperor's weddings, relatives, heirs of Emperor Zhengde, new laws, etc., and what kind of fish were caught on these lines.
The big fish at the national policy meeting.
He has lived in the countryside for a long time, and before that he only stayed in the Hanlin Academy. He has no pressure from family interests and township party interests, at least not much.
Therefore, Yan Song was the first to say righteously: "I think what your Majesty said is true. It is time to take action on this fundamental problem!"
Wang Shouren was silent for a while and then said: "This is a matter of conscience, there is no way to avoid it, and I agree with it."
Yang Tinghe looked at him:...
Cui Yuan is an honorary relative. He knows that His Majesty has new ideas about honorable relatives, so it is not a big deal to watch the excitement: "I also think that we should not avoid it."
Sun Jiao already has the count's "retreat": "...I think it is really necessary to plan for my descendants."
Which of the other five cabinet ministers and nine ministers has not been an official for many years and represents huge interests?
But Wang Qiong, Wang Xian, Yang Tan, and Li Hao all understood His Majesty's true intention of protecting them: "I second the proposal."
If you don't say anything now, you will be punished for all the crimes!
The others are still deep in thought.
There is no choice in this matter. If you don't take a stand, you can either become an official or find a casual job and stay there without opposing and cooperate with the new law in the future.
It is difficult to rebel. Look at what kind of emperor this is now. He will definitely be very patient in planning and fishing.
There is no such thing as being pretentious and conciliatory. They will definitely arrange their own tasks and take the lead in implementing them.
"I second the proposal..." Li Chongsi was unwilling to get out as soon as he came.
"I second the proposal..." Zhang Zilin saw the importance of the Ministry of Rites in the future, and he also had a "criminal record" with the emperor.
All six ministers were alive, leaving only eight people.
Yang Tinghe thought of Yang Shen who had gone to Guangdong to practice "meritorious service", and thought of leaving and leaving the important task of safeguarding the interests of the nurse gentry to Fei Hong. Will this old fox regret that he had indulged Prince Ning so that his family's ancestral graves were dug up?
Use the knife yourself.
He spoke from the bottom of his heart with helpless tears in his eyes: "I... second my opinion."
Why don't you care about mental studies and continue to stay in the court? You should leave after finding out that Your Majesty understands the importance of Neo-Confucianism.
When Yang Shen entered the imperial study and the war broke out at Tuen Mun, why was he so coaxed by a series of events and the emperor's "heart-to-heart words" that "it was difficult for everyone" that he stayed in a daze until now?
It's too late!
He knows best about getting up and running, have you forgotten?!
After Yang Tinghe dared to take the lead, he finally made a series of statements.
Zhu Houcong nodded with a smile on his face: "I am very relieved that the monarch and his ministers are united."
Li Chongsi finally confirmed that the unity of the monarch and his ministers at the national policy meeting had always been formed in this way.