Chapter 23: The Change Starts from Touching Porcelain
It's snowing, the first snow this winter, and it has been snowing for three full days. It is said that auspicious snow heralds a good harvest, but the backyard of Prince Fu's Mansion is full of gloomy clouds. At Zhu Youcong's request, Gu Xichou took people to take a look below.
After Gu Xichou’s detailed investigation over the past few days, he found that at least 70,000 of the original 100,000 people in Luoyang City were below the food and clothing line. The local poor were no different from the refugees who had just arrived here in every aspect.
Owning the land of a wealthy family, they were so busy all year that they even had no guarantee of food and clothing.
"Mr. Ruiping, how much grain is there in the official warehouse now?" Zhu Youcong's face was not very good. On the one hand, he was worried about how these people would survive this winter; on the other hand, he was worried about the grain for the coming year.
and farmland issues.
"Back to the young prince, according to the preliminary calculation of the minister, less than 600 shi can be transferred!" Gu Xichou was also worried. There was really no food in the warehouse, but he did not dare to touch the military rations; the 600 shi had to be transferred outside.
The officials were scolded before they left.
"Six hundred shi?" Zhu Youcong wondered if he had heard it wrong, or if Gu Xichou had said it wrong. In such a large Luoyang mansion, the inventory of food was only 600 shi. Who would believe it? You must know that the Ming Dynasty could
As the main taxation is in kind, it is reasonable to say that the treasury has no money.
"It's hard to get down from an official position. The people living in Luoyang Mansion are all high-ranking families; the people are in debt every year, and there are quite a lot of them in prison now..." Gu Xichou was embarrassed to say, just your little fat man's family
He is the largest landowner in Luoyang, and he doesn't have to pay taxes.
"Food..." It's not easy to handle. It's not easy to handle. The six hundred dan in the treasury is life-saving food and cannot be used unless it is absolutely necessary. But the food problem this winter must be solved. "In this way, tomorrow we will pull 2,000 dan from the house.
After the food is out, Mr. Ruiping organizes the government officials to give porridge inside and outside the city."
In the past, Zhu Youcong would definitely not have been so decisive. For two thousand dan, his fat father would have been distressed for several years if he knew about it? But since he unexpectedly got a large sum of gold, bone china is now very popular.
King Fu had also completely degenerated. He was no longer interested in occupying fields and hoarding food, which were scolded and useless. Every day, he was either in the accounting room calculating how much he had earned, or squatting in the treasure house counting gold ingots.
Play.
"On behalf of the people of Luoyang, I would like to thank the general for his great kindness!" Gu Xichou left his seat and bowed deeply, and then said: "But... this is not a long-term solution after all!"
Yes, two thousand dan is a lot, and it is barely enough for the people to farm in the spring. But what about after the spring? Will everything be the same as before? Will we come again to give porridge next year? In the final analysis, the people still have no land! This is the policy of the Ming Dynasty.
It's very good. It stipulates that "people are given fifteen acres of land and two acres of vegetable land." And "new cultivated land is rent-free for three years." But is this policy implemented? Just look at the land owned by Prince Fu in Luoyang.
.
"Let's go! Let's go to the tenant farmer's house in the palace!" Zhu Youcong decided to operate on his own house first to reduce the burden on the farmers as much as possible. Of course, rent exemption is unlikely, and his fat father will probably make a fuss as soon as he says it.
Hang yourself! Hey... If only the 20,000 hectares of land mentioned in the book really existed, I would dare to exchange two for one, and bring all the land as far away as Huguang to Luoyang!
"Whose motorcade is that across the street? So arrogant?" As soon as Zhu Youcong arrived at the intersection, he found a group of people coming across the street. They were all tall horses, and there were several luxury carriages. Someone was clearing the street in front of him.
Passers-by who were slow to dodge were immediately hit with a whip, and stalls that didn't have time to close were simply overturned.
"Tao?" Gu Xichou looked at the other party's flag carefully before replying: "It's the home of Ambassador Tao in the west of the city."
"Tao Yushi?" Is the imperial envoy great? He is more majestic than me, the general who governs the country, when he engages in such a big battle. Tao Yushi? Isn't he the one who is second only to Prince Fu's Mansion in Luoyang?...
"This is so lawless! General, stay here for a moment, I will come as soon as I leave..." Gu Xichou was extremely intolerable to this kind of bullying of good people, and his temper suddenly rose, and he was ready to rush out and scold him.
"Wait, wait... Don't panic, Mr. Ruiping!" Zhu Youcong rolled his eyes, as if there was something going on! But he still has to ask, what if he is a good person? "I wonder how this Tao Yushi is reasonable?
Politics..."
"Hmph! In the early years, this beast had injured several good people outside the capital, raped civilian girls in Baoding Prefecture, and secretly sold salt and grain to the Tatars... If it weren't for the protection of someone in the court, he would have been involved in it long ago.
Fallen!" Gu Xichou was filled with anger when he mentioned this man.
"Oh, then leave this matter to me!" Okay! After doing this for a long time, you are not a good character, and you are still half a traitor. Just now, I was worried about not having enough farmland at home! That's you
Wow!
"This..." Gu Xichou was about to say something, but he saw Lu Xiangsheng winking at him constantly. Judging from the words in his mouth, he clearly said, "Don't move, the little monster is going to hurt you!"
"Mr. Ruiping, according to my Ming Law, what crime should they be guilty of if they hit and hurt me?" It's not that Zhu Youcong didn't notice the glances between the two men, but he just didn't have the energy to pay attention to it now!
"It's a crime to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan! But..." Of course Gu Xichou knew it after he was familiar with the laws and regulations, but what is this little general going to do? Attack you? Don't even think about it! Don't look at him being so arrogant, it's not because you haven't come out yet.
Well; if they see you, they will have to step aside. The royal family and the descendants are not on the same level, and the scholars know this very well. So they can criticize you, but no one will be stupid enough to touch you.
All at once!
"Okay, that's okay! Mr. Ruiping will cooperate with this general to put on a big show later!" This result made Zhu Youcong very satisfied! There is no need to exterminate the clan, but confiscation of the house! Hum...forget it,
I'm a kind little fat man, so I won't have my house ransacked, but your land... you have to donate it!
"Acting?" Lu Xiangsheng was also confused! He knew that the little fat man must have no good intentions, but he really didn't know what would happen, so he blurted it out, saving others from asking.
"This general will be unlucky to be bumped by them, and then...what did the Ming Dynasty Law say?" Zhu Youcong touched his thick cotton pants, yes, not bad, he won't be hit when he falls off the back of the mule.
It fell badly!
"General!" Before others could react, Lu Xiangsheng was shocked. If...if this little fat man was really hit, then Luoyang would be in trouble! Well, even if this little fat man was hit
Not even if you bump into it yourself! "Either...or go down..."
"Go away, you can't do this!" In Zhu Youcong's heart, Lu Xiangsheng is a fierce general. He is a good general who can lead an army to defeat the enemy thousands of miles away, but he is definitely not a little ruffian who can play rogue!
"Look at the right time! I am going to go..." Before everyone could fully understand the spirit, Zhu Youcong slapped Zi Ling, lightning flashed out, and rushed towards the opponent...
"oops……"
With a scream, the poor kind-hearted little fat man Zhu Youcong fell to the ground, his eyes flashing with tears of grief and anger. This time he really wasn't pretending, although Zi Ling was very considerate and let him fall down slowly.
; But the little fat man was too excited and didn’t pay attention to the ground. Now there was a small pebble under his fat little butt through thick cotton pants, smiling silently!
"Help! Someone was killed! Wuwuwu..." Zhu Youcong felt sad, why didn't he notice the pebbles on the road? Who is so bad, put them here! Isn't it harmful to others? And...
...and why does it look like the mule is snickering?
"Damn—"
“Go away——”….
The servants of the Tao Mansion didn't know who the fat guy in front of them was, so they showed their usual tough style, and one of them even raised his whip high...
"Little prince...little prince...who has no eyes..." The loyal minister Xiao Lezi, who was stunned by this scene, came to his senses after being kicked by Lu Xiangsheng, and rushed out with a cry of sorrow!
"Young prince?" The servant of Tao Mansion was dumbfounded. He swallowed the dirty words he was about to say, and the whip he held up was instantly frozen!
Prince? Everyone in the entire Ming Dynasty knows that there is only one prince in Luoyang! That is the late emperor's favorite, who would have become emperor if the scholars had not stopped him - Prince Fu Zhu Changxun! Little Prince? People in Luoyang also know that there are four princes in Prince Fu's Mansion.
My lord, the youngest one is Prince Fu’s favorite!
Looking at the little fat man in front of him, the quick-reacting servant felt a bolt from the blue! Looking at his age...could he be the former Crown Prince of Prince Fu and now the general of the country! Well, this is not the young prince, this is just the general of the country! But...
...but they are also relatives of the emperor! The servants regretted it. Did Mr. Tao go out today without reading the almanac? Why did a little fat man appear while he was showing off his power? If it was just a fat man, it would be a scare.
Scared, coax me, or I'll pay you some money at worst!
Oh my God! He bumped into General Zhen Guo, scolded him, and even... even raised his whip! The servants had not read any books, but they seemed to see the executioner in red with a ferocious face peeping at them with a smile!
ps: According to the Records of the Unification of the Ming Dynasty, the population of Luoyang County once reached 9,570 households during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, which was more than the number of households in the nine counties under the jurisdiction of Henan Prefecture in the Yuan Dynasty. In the tenth year of Yongle, the population increased to 83,124, and in the 18th year of Chenghua
In 1482, the population was 85,124. In the late Ming Dynasty, the population decreased due to natural and man-made disasters. By the early Qing Dynasty, the population of Luoyang County was approximately 50,000.