The wind in the twelfth lunar month is already spring, and this poem by Lu You is very suitable to be used in the third year of Chongzhen. It has not yet entered the twelfth lunar month, and good news keeps coming. First, Li Yan, who got his wish for reinforcements, reported the good news to Beijing before returning to his country.
Your Excellencies have sent many jars, and stated that they contain treasures that the generals of the country will never forget. Doesn’t that damn fat guy just want to make money all day long? It’s really not light when weighed, even though they said they have to wait for one.
It can only be opened in about a month, but what’s the point? Of course, there are also those who are anxious to open it in advance. For example, Gu Xichou, who was about to take charge of the civil service department, was cursing and didn’t give anything good as a gift. Do you want me to get angry just because someone received a few jars of kimchi?
Put people in jail?
Immediately afterwards, the most troublesome General Zhenguo returned to Luoyang. For this, the civil and military officials of the whole court secretly celebrated each other, and the firecrackers in the capital were almost sold out. God is wise, this scourge is finally gone, although I don’t know what the damn fat man will do next.
There will be some commotion when it appears, but at least I won't have to live in fear for a few months!
Before the excitement of the scholars had passed, a top-secret news accidentally spread in the palace that caused quite a shock among the court. The emperor suddenly decided to take advantage of the spare time before the year to seize the vacant inheritance in the northern provinces.
Announce the post of envoy and show it to everyone to play with!
Chief Envoy, even though it is not as prosperous as when it was first established, you are still a second-level local official! Of course, no one wants to go to that poor place in Liaodong, and Shanxi and other places are not worth thinking about.
After all, the current people in power in these places belong to the imperial party. It is best not to cause trouble for yourself until you solve that damn fat man. The thoughtful Chongzhen obviously took the concerns of the scholars into consideration, and he did not forcefully appoint the chief envoy of Henan.
, but I want to take it to the court and discuss it slowly!
What's the point of discussing this? It's said that first come first, first served. Since there is another news that there is no new governor in Henan because of the presence of General Zhen Guo. Doesn't the governor mean that the third chief envoy can get close to that damn fat man every day?
?As long as you can make him happy, I can't guarantee anything else, but at least you don't have to worry about waking up one day to find that your home has been demolished and the streets are plastered with your own guilt, right?
"Your Majesty, is it too hasty to implement this policy now?" There is already a turmoil outside. In order to get the post of Henan Chief Envoy, the Donglin Party and the Zhejiang Party are gearing up to fight in the street. Although Qiao Yunsheng appreciates Sun Qi
Feng came up with this bad idea, but he was also afraid of causing too much shock to the court.
"Hey... I also want to slow down!" Although doing so would easily reveal his true intentions and make the scholars wary, Chongzhen had no choice. "But you also know, dear, I, Ming, have been ill for a long time after all. If
If we cannot form a culture as soon as possible for local officials to focus on improving people's livelihood, the public support that Congdi helped us gather will be exhausted in a few years. By then, even if he achieves a greater military victory, it will only be for the imperial court.
An act of militarism..."
"Your Majesty said this and I also feel the same way, but..." Gu Xichou, who has been a local official for so many years, has a deep understanding of the problems that existed in the Ming Dynasty. Although the northern provinces have gradually stabilized, the people are no longer suffering from hunger.
.But it is still far from having enough food and clothing in the prosperous age in the dream. If we cannot fundamentally solve the problem and effectively guide the people to turn their enthusiasm into the passion to create wealth, and just rely on the generals to conquer and plunder, in the long run it will be
It is difficult to continue.
"I agree with Ruiping's proposal, and I sincerely ask the emperor to postpone the implementation of this policy..." The mature and prudent Li Guopu also believes that this is too risky. After all, the preparations for the Imperial College have been completed, and as long as the corrupt scholars in Jiangnan are cleaned up next year, a large number of people can start
There is really no need to rush in cultivating the wealth of governing the country.
"What Mr. Li said is very reasonable!" Just when everyone thought that Gao Doushu would also support the postponement of the plan, he changed the subject and said: "But it is precisely because our first task next year is to deal with the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River that we have to do it.
This is dangerous!"
Gu Xichou was not unhappy because others opposed his opinions. Instead, he stared at Gao Doushu with interest and said, "Oh? I wonder what Xiang Xian has to say?"
"I also have a sudden feeling. If there is anything wrong, please correct me!" Gao Doushu did not flinch. After being modest as usual, he continued: "The people of the North have been overwhelmed by many years of natural and man-made disasters. Shilin
The prestige has already been reduced to the lowest, so the general can quickly regain the people's support as long as he can solve their food and clothing problems after quelling the rebellion and destroying the bandits. However, the situation in Jiangnan is completely different. Although the local people live in poverty, they can still barely make ends meet. However, agricultural production is no longer
Food was simply grown, basically cash crops such as mulberry and hemp, and tenant farmers and hired laborers became the mainstream. In addition, the scholars had established a very deep foundation after many years of operation, and even the court's disaster relief actions could
They say it is their own contribution. Can we still expect the Donglin Party or the Zhejiang Party to implement the New Deal and stabilize the situation?"
"Even so, we don't need to risk our troops!" Li Guopu didn't mean to argue. It is precisely because of the great influence of the Jiangnan gentry that they cannot act rashly. Otherwise, with their ability, they would be very likely to jump over the wall and cross the river with the imperial court to rule! "As I said,
In view of this, we can use the trick mentioned in Fan Thief’s suicide note to let a small number of people get rich first and let the common people see the huge benefits that the new policies of the imperial court can bring, thereby guiding them to actively cooperate!”
"No!" Gu Xichou forgot his position and retorted: "With the current situation of our Ming Dynasty, it is easy for the gentry to get rich if they have a lot of resources. Once they have a legitimate reason, they will act more unscrupulously. Maybe they can get rich in the short term.
It can be used to inspire people to a certain extent, but in the long run it will lead to a serious lack of fairness and justice, which will definitely make the rich richer and the poor even poorer, and the court will also face unprecedented troubles because of this!"
"Actually, what Mr. Li said is not unreasonable, and Mr. Ruiping's worries are even more far-sighted!" It seems that the Chinese New Year is approaching and everyone is relatively leisurely. Sun Qifeng actually jumped out and said to Xini: "Although the Ming Dynasty's New Deal is being promoted,
It is about to happen, but it is difficult to gain the trust of the people in Jiangnan with just the empty words of the imperial court. There must be a demonstration to let them know that the imperial court is making great efforts to improve people's livelihood this time. The suggestions put forward by the official are also based on Fan Thief's suggestions.
The suicide note just changed one word in the implementation details!"
"I would like to hear the details!" After all, time is not forgiving, and Li Guopu also knew that he would not be able to stay in the position of chief minister for long. If he really had the opportunity to leave his name in history, he would certainly not refuse it.
"The way to get down from the official position is to change the small to the big! Everyone knows that the south of the Ming Dynasty is rich and the north is barren. More than 40% of the poor live in Shanxi and Shaanxi. If the imperial court can take advantage of the general's early preparations and promote the New Deal, let these people
Most people have become rich first, so the people in Jiangnan are not looking forward to it?" Sun Qifeng said confidently: "I believe that as long as they see hope, no matter how the gentry tries to deceive the public, they will not be able to stop the people in Jiangnan.
Support the imperial court’s new policy!”
"I have no objection to this. But are the appointments and removals of officials in the North too hasty?" Of course Li Guopu would strongly support things like improving people's livelihood. What he was worried about was that after taking control of the military and political power of the northern provinces, Li Guopu would
It was superfluous to install a chief envoy to collect taxes from all over the province.
"No, most of the officials in the northern provinces, from the governor down to the ninth grade governor, are from generals. No matter how great their achievements are, the people will at most praise the emperor's sage, but privately they will still doubt how long such good policies can last.
.And what we have to do is to let the world know that after the implementation of the new government policy, no matter who he is, even a dog must serve the people as long as he takes an official position!" Sun Qifeng did not have the demeanor of a scholar at all.
The analogy is also very inappropriate, but it seems to make some sense.
"Then what are you going to do?" Although the pie drawn by Sun Qifeng is big and looks very tempting, Li Guopu is not so easily convinced. He has to know the specific implementation steps first and then consider whether it is feasible.
.
"Xia Guan's idea is to be implemented in three steps, and this is the first step..." Sun Qifeng suddenly stopped talking, staring at Chongzhen who was drinking tea and watching a show with a pair of evil eyes.
That little fat man was so ungrateful. After learning the news, he ran away overnight and refused to help me take the blame again. I will not take care of you when you get married. Chongzhen put down his tea cup and said with a serious expression: "I'm going to do it."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty!"
After quietly picking their ears, Li Guopu and others confirmed that they had heard correctly before asking in shock, "Why did the emperor say this?"
"I want to learn from Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty who sold his official position!" Chongzhen once again stated his point of view loudly, and even more shamelessly said: "And I will not be secretive. If I want to sell, I have to sell it in public, and I have to sell it at a clear price.
No bully! As long as he can afford it, no matter which faction he belongs to, I dare to entrust him with important tasks!"
Crazy! How much did the emperor drink this morning, and why is he so drunk here? Everyone, including Gao Doushu, who had unconditionally supported him just now, began to wonder if they should chase the little fat man back, so that the emperor, who had no place to eat, would continue to borrow wine.
Damn it! If he really did that, not only would the efforts of his people be in vain, but the entire Ming Empire would collapse in an instant.
"Don't be so nervous. It's almost the New Year and I can't even make a joke with you?" Chongzhen was very satisfied with the reaction of his close ministers. If anyone heard this and dared to agree loudly, then he would just throw it to Wang Chengen behind him.
, so you don’t have to worry about it.
A joke? Are you joking like this? There must be a limit to being nonsensical. How can you tease people about such a national event? The ministers did not dare to criticize the emperor verbally, but in their hearts they almost did not greet Mr. Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Qitai, please pass on the pamphlet we discussed with me yesterday! It will save them from thinking nonsense!" People who have been frightened enough should do something serious. Chongzhen still thought about finishing his official duties and running to Luoyang to deal with the little fat man.
Black! Too dark! In less than half a stick of incense, the ministers in the palace had read the implementation details of less than a thousand words. Everyone no longer worried about whether it would cause turmoil in the court, but instead worried about their colleagues who were about to fall into the trap.
Lament. Chongzhen is indeed selling his official position, and the price is very real! The asking price for a second-grade chief envoy is only three million taels. After taking office, he only needs to provide another fifty shi of grain and thirty taels of silver every year to continue doing whatever he wants.
Yes, very cheap, right?
But you won’t know until you take over this unlucky job that the former is a tax for the imperial court, and it must be collected while maintaining the existing low tax rate policy. The kind emperor also specifically pointed out that after taking office,
It’s okay to continue to maintain the golden mean and do nothing, but you have to pay for it out of your own pocket. Otherwise, don’t blame me if you are asked to live in Zhao Prison temporarily! What, you want to solve the problem by selling land or randomly apportioning money under clever names? No problem.
As long as you are not afraid of violating the land policy that has been implemented for more than a year, and you are not afraid of being rushed to your home and beheaded by the common people, just do it, I am not too lazy to care about you!
The latter is even more exaggerated. The treasury does not need the small amount of money and the emperor does not care about it, but as a single person within the jurisdiction, you still have to meet the annual minimum income! What, do you want to make up the numbers at random to deceive the superiors and deceive the inferiors? I raise my hands.
Agreed, the premise is that you have to dodge the thieving eyes of the Bailian Sect spies who are about to turn from darkness to light in the streets and alleys, and you have to catch all the people who took the alley to Beijing to complain! Otherwise...
So who has researched new torture methods? Hurry up and give it a try!
Of course, as a qualified emperor, he is not so unreasonable. He did not stipulate what methods officials should use to complete this task. In other words, whether you encourage the reclamation of wasteland in exchange for quantity for quality after taking office, or encourage people to leave their homes
Doing business, or just imitating that little fat guy and making new tricks to defraud the rich people in Jiangnan and Western barbarians are allowed! Even in places like Shaanxi, you can cross the border to rob the Tatars! What should you do if you rob?
That's simple. Didn't Sun Chengzong build the Western Front Corps over there? If you can't defeat it, just say hello, and the imperial court will send an army to support you. The military and civilians can cooperate and make a fortune together! (To be continued.)
ps: ps: Updates have been a bit slow recently due to work reasons, so I apologize for this idiot! But my evil-hearted boss said that after this week’s work, I can resume my previous days of just eating and waiting to die, so from now on
Updates will resume every day starting from Tuesday.