Mixed with salted fish in Hongwudang

Chapter 415 They are acting for Your Highness!
Ever since Zhu Yunxi entered the border of Shandong, smoke was rising everywhere he went, and the people lived and worked in peace and contentment.

This made him very surprised. Could it be that Shandong lied about the disaster?
Seeing Zhu Yunxi's puzzled expression, Gao Ming couldn't help explaining.

"Your Highness, we have just arrived at the border of Shandong, and it is far from the hinterland of Shandong. Naturally, the impact of the disaster is much smaller..."

"However, the people's life is far from the peace we see. Just because they didn't suffer from the disaster, it doesn't mean that they have an easy life."

"If you don't believe me, ask a few people to come over and ask..."

When Zhu Yunxi heard the words, he ordered people to "invite" a few people to come over. The boss of Jinyiwei couldn't control so much, they rushed into the village one by one on fast horses, arrested Lizheng and several young people arbitrarily, and came over.

Zhu Yunxi severely criticized the Jinyi guards, and then personally untied a few villagers who were as frightened as quails.

Old Lizheng Wang Chun knelt on the ground and trembled, even if he was untied, he would only kowtow, unable to utter a single word.

But he can't blame him, the biggest official he has ever seen in his life is the county magistrate, or he saw it from afar when he was on duty in the county government, when did he see such a grand occasion as the grandson of the emperor going on tour?

At a glance, the traveling team of tens of thousands of people can't be seen at a glance...

"My lord, please forgive me, the little one really didn't do anything, woo woo woo..."

"Don't be afraid, old man, it's just... We just want to ask you a few words."

At this moment, Zhu Yunxi finally understood why Lao Zhu was always "we", and it was a bit nondescript to call an old farmer in the countryside lonely.

I don't know whether it was Zhu Yunxie's "we" that took effect, or Zhu Yunxie's kind tone infected Li Zheng, Li Zheng finally dared to look up and take a peek.

When Wang Chun saw that the questioner was a beautiful young man wearing a crown, he felt relieved.

When he thought about it, the other party was still a child, so what evil could he have?
"You are the emperor's grandson?"

"Yes!"

"Wow!"

"We saw the grandson of the emperor, hehehe..."

"Look at the grandson of the emperor's lord, he is handsome, with red lips and white teeth, and he eats white flour buns every day..."

Zhu Yunxi smiled slightly when he heard the words, and continued to nod affirmatively.

"Yes!"

"And what we ate was steamed buns made by the emperor himself!"

When the Jin Yiwei around heard such nonsense, they laughed instantly.Even Gao Ming couldn't help smiling when he thought of Lao Zhu wearing a dragon robe, an apron around his waist, and steaming steamed buns around the stove, and secretly scolded the emperor for being naughty, and even dared to arrange gossip for His Majesty!
Seeing the emperor's grandson speaking so kindly, Wang Chun immediately felt kind and courageous.

"Yo!"

"The emperor's grandson, the young master, speaks kindly, just like our country people's temper!"

"Young master, just ask what you want to know, and talk about what you know, and I will never tell you nonsense!"

"Gu... We heard that there was a disaster in Shandong. It hasn't rained since the harvest, and the whole area is in severe drought, and there is no harvest?"

"Drought is a drought, but there have been a few rains, so the land will not be full of crops."

"But I don't know about other places. It is said that there are tree bark gnawers in the north. A few days ago, dozens of fleeing famines passed by our village..."

"So your village is doing okay?"

"What can I do, I'm just going to starve to death..."

"The Chief Minister increases taxes every year. It is only natural to pay taxes for farming, but you have to pay taxes for having a baby, you have to pay taxes for getting married, you have to pay taxes for building walls, and you have to pay taxes for pouring manure on the ground..."

"So that now the village dare not have children, dare not water the land, and can't pay the tax!"

Zhu Yunxi frowned when he heard this.

"What does it mean to have a baby and pay taxes?"

"According to the regulations of the imperial court, isn't it true that no one is not required to pay taxes?"

Wang Chun looked at Zhu Yunxi in surprise when he heard this, and snorted coldly.

"What?"

"Do you pay taxes after you become adults?"

"Then why do we have to pay poll tax from birth, no matter men, women or children?"

Gao Ming heard this and went two steps forward.

"Your Highness, although His Majesty stipulates that the poll tax should be collected after reaching adulthood, the local government has always collected it according to the time when the yellow book is entered. If it happens to be added when the yellow book is recorded, even if it is only one month old, the tax will be collected according to the normal adult. .”

"This is true of all the places in the south of the Yangtze River, let alone the North..."

After hearing Gao Ming's words, Zhu Yunxi was very shocked.

The reason why he has not abolished the poll tax for a long time is that he thinks that the tax will be collected only after the adults are born anyway, which will have little impact on the common people.

It is planned to develop for a few more years, and save a few years of financial resources before implementing it.

Looking at it now, as long as the court opens an opening, the bastards below will dare to poke a hole for you!

"Come here, write down all the tax names that Li Zheng said!"

"After the questioning, give each of them a jug of wine and a piece of cloth to scare them!"

"promise!"

The old man, Wang Chun, heard a few words and rewards, and he laughed so hard that his brows couldn't see. The other country guys also cheerfully added when they saw this, for fear of offending the nobles, they won't be given it then Give rewards.

Zhu Yunxi settled several villagers, and boarded the large carriage with Gao Ming.

"Master Gao, if the poll tax is abolished, how feasible do you think it is, and what resistance will there be?"

Hearing this, Gao Ming frowned and thought for a moment.

"Your Highness, there are two obstacles to the abolition of the poll tax. One is from the court, and the other is from the local government."

"If you can make up for the court's annual poll tax from other places, then the resistance from the court can be ignored."

"It's just that it will be more troublesome at the local level, because if there is one less tax type, local officials at all levels will have one less name to ask the people for money, and they will definitely obstruct it, or even obey it..."

"Make up for it?"

In fact, Zhu Yunxi planned this way from the beginning. He wanted to wait until his own industrial revolution was completed, and then use the money earned by the workshop to subsidize agricultural taxes, so as to achieve a smooth transition.

But he found that he thought things too well. If everything was ready for him, the common people might suffer a lot.

"It's easy to make up, it's just about the location..."

"Grandpa Huang has killed more than [-] years, but he still hasn't stopped corrupt officials!"

Gao Ming felt melancholy when he heard the words, and he had nothing to do about it.

He could even think about how the local officials would deal with it, and what new names they would make up to continue collecting money, but he didn't know how to contain this group of people.

Finally, Gao Ming sighed helplessly.

"It seems that the only option is to use His Majesty's severe punishment..."

This was the most disapproving and even the most disgusting practice of Gao Ming before. His elder brother died under the severe punishment.

But when he became an official, stood at the highest level of the empire, and saw the difficult operation of the empire, his mentality changed quietly.

It's not that the emperor wants to kill people, it's that if some people don't kill people, it's not enough to make the common people angry, and it's not enough to deter Xiaoxiao!

"If all miscellaneous taxes are canceled alone, all taxes will be unified into one and incorporated into the land."

"Those who have more land will pay more, those who have less land will pay less, and those who have no land will not pay, what does Master Gao think?"

Gao Ming's eyes lit up when he heard the words, and he praised sincerely.

"This method is very simple, and it is of great benefit to the country and the people!"

What Zhu Yunxi said was actually what he had discussed with Lao Zhu, but he had always followed Lao Zhu's warning and never mentioned it to outsiders.

"It's just that the land is divided into barren and fertile. The crops in the north and the south are different, and the harvest is also different. How should this tax rate be determined?"

"For example, on a piece of land of the same size, the income of those who grow mulberry and silkworms must be higher than that of the common people who grow grain, so how to distinguish between them?"

"Do people with more income pay more, people with less income pay less, or pay the same tax?"

"If those with more income pay more, how should we calculate in the year of disaster or the year when the price of silk drops sharply?"

This new question raised by Gao Ming gave Zhu Yunxi a blow in the head.

He only knew the words "spreading into the mu", but he never thought that it would be so much trouble to implement it.

Fortunately, he is not alone now, he can gather the most intelligent people in Daming to discuss countermeasures.

"This is where Master Lao Gao and several other masters are thinking for Gu. Gu only proposes a direction, and how to implement it depends on how you plan."

"Your Highness is really a good shopkeeper..."

After Gao Ming finished speaking, he smiled at Zhu Yunxi, leaned against the wall of the car and began to ponder.

This matter is simple to say, only four short words, but if you want to form a system, the details involved in it are so numerous that it can be compiled into a book.

Zhu Yunxi also knew the complexity here, and didn't expect Gao Ming to figure out the details in three or two days, but just pointed him in a direction and let him extend and expand along this direction.

After Zhu Yunxi posed a problem to Gao Ming, Gao Ming stopped coming to eat and drink in his carriage, and began to hide in his own carriage for retreat.

Zhu Yunxi was also happy to be at ease, observing the customs along the way every day, or asking about the livelihood of the people along the way.

When the convoy of a group of people entered Jinan Mansion, Zhu Yunxi finally saw the scene after the disaster.

Years of hunger, people eat each other!

There were countless people who sold their children and women along the way, and many ragged people kowtowed to the convoy.

Zhu Yunxi couldn't stand it anymore, so he could only force the two tigers to distribute some food to alleviate the urgent need.

This move caused great dissatisfaction with Erhu. He had fought with the army and knew the importance of rations.

Once there is not enough food in the army, it will cause turmoil in the army and mutiny of the sergeants.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, even if you watch the people starve to death, the military rations cannot be moved.

But the emperor's grandson was shocked by the tragedy of the victims. He could only squeeze out a few grain carts from the army, and set up a few large iron pots where the victims gathered to serve porridge for the people.

Zhu Yunxi only gave porridge to the people for one day, and then he saw Zhao Ziliang, the political envoy of Shandong, Qu Neng, the envoy of procuratorate, and the command envoy Chen Zhi, who led Shandong bureaucrats, big and small, ran dozens of miles to greet them.

In order to show respect for themselves, they also went to Qufula to bring a bunch of old and young members of the old Confucian family to act as appearances.

Zhu Yunxi looked at the group of bureaucrats in front of him who were not busy with disaster relief, but busy with welcoming him, feeling sick from the bottom of his heart.

It is really a tragedy for the people of Ming Dynasty that there are such bureaucrats in Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Yunxi directly rejected the welcome ceremony, but ordered Zhao Ziliang, Qu Neng, and Chen Zhi to be called.

These three people can be described as the three giants in Shandong, one in charge of civil affairs, one in charge of justice, and one in charge of military affairs.

As long as these three people are under control, the whole Shandong is under control!
The three of them bowed respectfully to Zhu Yunxie in the tent. Before Zhu Yunxie could speak, Zhao Ziliang hurriedly reported his work.

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, the Emperor Taisun, the humble officials have strictly ordered the squires of Jinan Prefecture to do their best to give porridge to the people!"

"And write to the imperial court, requesting the imperial court to open warehouses to release food to alleviate the disaster..."

When Zhu Yunxi heard Zhao Ziliang's words, his gloomy mood improved.

"Give me a seat!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, the Empress Dowager!"

Not long after, when the three of them sat on the small stool, the hearts of the three of them relaxed a little.

Chen Zhi and Qu Neng looked at Zhao Ziliang in admiration. If it wasn't for Lao Zhao's strong arrangement before leaving, how could the three of them get a small stool to sit on?

Zhao Ziliang was also faintly proud of himself. He secretly sent someone to inquire about the emperor's grandson's behavior style as soon as the emperor's grandson and his party entered the border of Shandong.

After learning that the emperor's grandson was serving porridge in Jinan Prefecture, he immediately set up hundreds of porridge sheds in Jinan Prefecture.

Looking at it now, this move really worked, and it happened to flatter the emperor's grandson.

Zhu Yunxi told them in detail about the disaster in Shandong and how serious the disaster is now.

After learning that there were estimated to be 300 million people affected by the disaster, Zhu Yunxi finally had a bottom line in his heart.

"300 million, I can still get relief with a single effort..."

"By the way, what measures have you taken?"

"Return to the emperor's grandson, Wei Chen and others have ordered all levels of prefectures and counties to do their best to help the people, call on the local rich households and gentry to donate money and goods, and allow the people to leave the country freely and go to other places for food..."

The so-called going to other places to eat, to put it bluntly, is an elegant way of fleeing famine and going to other places to beg for food.

Zhu Yunxi nodded when he heard the words, secretly thinking that Zhao Ziliang could be regarded as a capable minister, and these few disposal measures were considered in place.

But why are there so many disaster victims on the road?
Could it be that Zhao Ziliang is just messing with me?

But now that he is surrounded by everyone, it is no longer easy to find someone to inquire about the details, so he can only listen and believe.

"I know it!"

"You have worked hard, go down and have some food, let's go to the city with Gu tomorrow!"

"promise!"

The next day, Zhu Yunxi came outside Jinan City and saw dozens of porridge sheds opened at the gate of the city. Tens of thousands of disaster victims lined up to receive and eat porridge in an orderly manner. His mood improved a little again.

Regardless of whether they are showing off for themselves, or for what purpose, as long as the people who come here are fed.

After Zhu Yunxi entered Jinan Mansion and lived in the governor's yamen, he secretly sent out some Jinyiwei, and asked them to check the reputation and reputation of officials at all levels in Jinan Mansion for him, and inquire about the disaster situation in various places.

As for himself, he was surrounded by officials from Jinan Prefecture every day to inspect porridge sheds in various places and issue various disaster relief orders.

The only thing that bothers me is that what he sees is too harmonious.

The people are harmonious, the officers and soldiers who give the porridge are harmonious, and the officials are also kind to the victims.

Everywhere I went, His Highness Chitose's voice was even more uniform, as if I had rehearsed it specially and waited for me to come.

But he can't pick on these faults. He can't think that people's slogans are too neat, great?

"Master Zhao is really good at governing the people. The voice of the common people shouting to Qiansui is more orderly than that of the people in the capital!"

Zhu Yunxie said such a sentence, which caused Zhao Ziliang to smile awkwardly.

The emperor's grandson is really shrewd!
Zhao Ziliang had received a letter from his colleagues in the capital a long time ago, knowing that the grandson of the emperor in front of him was not easy to fool, so he made special preparations for a long time, and only then did he create this famous scene of disaster relief in an orderly manner.

However, the emperor's grandson still saw the flaw, which turned out to be too well prepared...

"The emperor's grandson is full of praise!"

"It may be that Shandong is the hometown of etiquette, and the common people have been exposed to it since childhood, right?"

Zhu Yunxi only gave Zhao Ziliang a "hehe" when he heard the words.

Xindao wants you to laugh for another day, wait for Gu's Jinyiwei spies to come back, and see how Gu can deal with you!

In the middle of the night, Xu Liuzi entered the office of the chief envoy with a dozen Jinyi guards.

"Your Highness, I found out that the Jinan Mansion began to distribute porridge from the day before yesterday. It was Zhao Ziliang, the chief minister, who paid for it from the yamen and bought grain from the grain merchants to give the porridge to the people..."

"In addition, there are problems with the people outside the city. Many of them are soldiers in the guards of Jinan Prefecture, as well as small officials in the yamen, as well as their family members and relatives..."

"They are acting for His Highness!"

(End of this chapter)