This prince is going to heaven

Chapter 209
As soon as he finished speaking, two voices rang out from the stage at the same time.

Wen Ruyu was stunned for a moment, and then glanced at Wen Ruyan in surprise.

The one who talked with him was naturally Wen Ruyan. Although Wen Ruyan didn't care about the government, he also knew that the blind increase in taxes was to push the mountain of the country onto the people of the Li people. They already had to bear the burden. Too much, if you blindly squeeze them, it will only crush them. There will always be a day when they can't stand it. Those who win the hearts of the people will win the world. If the hearts of the people don't exist, what is the community!
General Yang Zhong and Prime Minister Su Dinghe even spoke when they heard Wen Ruyan, and glanced at him at the same time, and then they looked at each other again, with an inexplicable look on their faces.

When the right servant of the household department heard that the two princes refused at the same time, a hint of resentment appeared on his face.

Zhou Tianzi waved his hand at Prince Wen Ruyu, then turned his head to look at Wen Ruyan and asked seriously: "I remember, this seems to be the first time you have taken the initiative to participate in government affairs?"

Wen Ruyan nodded.

"You can't do that just now, tell me the reason!"

Wen Ruyan was silent, as if thinking about how to speak.

Many officials in the audience watched him quietly, but they were just watching a joke. Although His Highness Prince Jing had guessed the crossword puzzle that no one could guess just now, it didn't mean anything. , How can you make any reasonable suggestions on major political affairs?

After thinking about it, Wen Ruyan said, "I left Yanjing a while ago and went all the way south. During this time, I saw a lot of things in the world, but I don't know much about them."

Hearing what he said, most of the officials in the audience couldn't help but sneered.

Nonsense, what can you understand?
Wen Ruyan said this, and then said: "Although I don't understand, I heard a folk song."

Zhou Tianzi asked calmly: "Tell me about it."

Wen Ruyan nodded, and said directly: "It's not strange to chase the rent for the land. All the official land is sold to the people, and the rich family gets the land and the people pay the rent. Every year, the old rent is a new debt."

In fact, this song resounds among the people, and many officials have heard it, but they are not surprised, after all, it is the same in any dynasty.

However, Tianzi Zhou hadn't heard it before. Hearing Wen Ruyan's words right now, his brows twitched slightly, and then he regained his composure. What.

He then asked again: "Then what do you think of this song?"

Wen Ruyan said lightly: "Although I don't know anything else, I can still understand this vernacular ballad. The common people live by renting fields, but the annual harvest is not even enough to pay the rent, and they owe new debts to the rich every year. It's so disgusting. Reincarnation, year after year, generation after generation, they are already living a hard life, if there is an increase in taxes at this moment, how can they bear it?"

Zhou Tianzi was silent.

The Right Minister of the Household Department stood up again and said: "Your Highness's words are also reasonable, but the current increase in taxes is also to prepare for a rainy day. Besides, it is not just ordinary people who have increased. The same is true for those gentry and rich people. They have a lot of land. Naturally, we pay more taxes, and after this season is over, it is not impossible to lower taxes.”

Wen Ruyan sneered after hearing his words, and said, "Master Xu, has he ever been to the countryside?"

Master Xu was taken aback, and was about to answer that he had been there, but Wen Ruyan looked at him again and asked: "I'm not talking about the villages around Yanjing City, but the barren lands far away from the emperor's feet." .”

The right servant of the household department gave a smug smile, and had no choice but to say: "Never."

"Then do you know how much land those gentry and rich people really have? How many poor people have you seen, who farmed for a year and ended up hungry and thin, eating bark and grass roots?" Wen Ruyan was still very calm.

Master Xu was stunned again, and said, "I don't know."

"As the servant of the household department, you naturally know that the current tax is enough to fill the treasury, but why is the household department tight? Do you know the reason?"

"This this."

"Master Xu is in a high position, so he knows the money and food account books of Dazhou very well. Can you see any problems from it?"

"Well, the lower official really didn't see anything wrong with it."

Although Wen Ruyan's tone was unhurried, it was filled with a sense of aggression. Master Xu was at a loss for words when he asked these three questions, and a little cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

In the past, he was afraid of His Royal Highness Prince Jing, who would do anything but ignore him, but now seeing him like this, he was even more afraid.

The civil and military officials present were also a little dazed at the moment. In the past, His Royal Highness Prince Jing had always given them the impression of being a dandy and a fool, but now he suddenly became so serious and spoke in such an orderly manner. They really can't accept it.

"Then don't you know that the left servant, Mr. Ye, knows what I just said?"

Ye Hongyuan was surprised by Wen Ruyan's performance today, when he suddenly heard that he shifted the focus to himself, he was shocked, but he had been in the officialdom for many years, so his reaction was extremely fast.

He got up and said respectfully: "His Royal Highness, I really don't know much about this."

Wen Ruyan nodded. Ye Hongyuan originally thought that he was deliberately looking for trouble for him, but found that his expression hadn't changed much. He wondered in his heart, could it be that I was thinking too much?
Wen Ruyan was silent for a while, organized his words, and then said: "Since the two adults don't know, let me tell you, the reason why the household department is tight is that those gentry and rich people steal the day, They obviously have a hundred acres of land, but they only talk about ten acres, pay ten acres of tax, and enjoy a hundred acres of wealth. How can you say that they are not rich? And those poor people, facing the corvee tax at this time, are already If you can’t bear it, if you increase the tax again, won’t it force them to a dead end?”

As soon as Wen Ruyan uttered these words, the faces of the Minister of the Household Department and several subordinate officials changed drastically.However, Ye Hongyuan's expression returned to normal just by turning his eyes, and his expression did not change much.

Master Xu asked with a face full of shock: "Is there any evidence for your Highness to say this?"

Wen Ruyan glanced at him inexplicably, and Master Xu felt a little guilty after being watched by Wen Ruyan.

All the money and food in the world are under the management of the household department. If there is such a big trick in it, if it is said that these officials don't know anything about it, they will not believe it if they kill Wen Ruyan.

But of course he won't say clearly that there are some unwritten rules that can never be avoided in the operation of the officialdom. Of course, this rule also has a range. As long as it does not exceed this range, it can be accepted by others, and blindly suppressing it may be counterproductive. , There is no gold and no one is perfect. In the world, how many people can keep their hearts in the face of interests. It has been passed down for 5000 years in the previous life, and the officials of all dynasties add up to eight thousand if not ten thousand?But how many of these officials with a clean sleeve have been handed down to the world?People, there are not many people who do not have selfishness.

This truth is not only understood by Wen Ruyan, but also by the prince, and even more so by the emperor Zhou!

How can the emperor's methods be understood by ordinary people?
It's just that now, some people's methods have gradually surpassed that unwritten rule, and if they are not given some vigilance, I am afraid they will only get worse and worse.

Hearing Master Xu's question at this moment, Wen Ruyan chuckled and said: "Of course there is no evidence, but what I said is all what I have seen and witnessed with my own eyes. As the prince of the Great Zhou, this king , in front of the emperor, under the state, can you still talk nonsense?"

Master Xu didn't know what to say after hearing his words.

Wen Ruyan's meaning is obvious, the whole world belongs to our family, so is it possible that I still tell lies?
Zhou Tianzi looked at the silent faces of all the civil and military officials in the audience, and asked Wen Ruyan calmly, "What should you do?"

Wen Ruyan got up straight, walked in front of Emperor Zhou, knelt down slowly, and said, "I don't understand state affairs, and I don't dare to talk about government affairs, but I know that the country is peaceful and the people are safe. If you want the country to be peaceful, you must have people." install."

"How about Cathay Pacific?"

Wen Ruyan thought about it carefully, and then spoke seriously.

"Never add a gift!"

(End of this chapter)