After the rebirth, the queen took the Meiqiang tragedy script

Chapter 219 Change

Ye Qinghuai was originally angry, but when he heard this, he couldn't help but show doubt.

This was the first time she heard about this.

The perpetual land system was established during the reign of Emperor Kangxi. At that time, the country was just beginning to settle down, and there was wasteland everywhere. Emperor Kangxi therefore stipulated that every man in a family could be allocated 100 mu of land when he reached adulthood, of which 20 mu was perpetual land, which could be passed down to his descendants after his death, and the remaining 80 mu had to be returned to the court after his death.

According to this rule, the total area of ​​this permanent farmland should increase year by year. It would be normal for it to increase tenfold during the Xingrui period 150 years later.

Lin Yuxiu did not explain further, he continued: "The population statistics are even more interesting. The first census was conducted in the eighth year of Xingrui. At that time, there were rumors of reform in the court. Everyone knew that taxes would be levied immediately after the population was counted. As a result, the national population was only 27 million. In the tenth year of Xingrui, Emperor Xingrui issued a new policy, which clearly stated that the assessment and promotion of officials would mainly depend on the local population and taxes. So in the twelfth year of Xingrui, the population of Dajing suddenly became 75 million. In just four years, it tripled."

Ye Qinghuai knew something about this period of history. Lu Yanchen had once asked her to write a policy paper on the matter, so she always felt that population statistics were difficult to achieve.

"But in fact, the population of Dajing at that time should be between 40 and 45 million. The 30 million people that appeared out of thin air was a ladder for many officials to rise to the top, but it was also a disaster that countless people could not bear. With an extra 30 million people, there must be corresponding taxes to be presented to the emperor. From the tenth year of Xingrui to the fifteenth year of Xingrui, it can be said that these years were the years with the heaviest taxation in the history of Dajing. Officials from all over the country came up with a variety of taxes, such as shoe taxes, military training taxes, and young crown taxes, to make up for the 30 million head taxes that appeared out of thin air."

"People are having a hard time, so they blame it all on the reforms of Emperor Xingrui, thinking that everything is the fault of the reforms. So when the Xingrui Reforms failed and were called off, people applauded. This was obviously not the original intention of the Xingrui Reforms. The original intention of the Xingrui Reforms was undoubtedly good, but the effect of the reforms was completely contrary to its original intention. Your Majesty, do you know why?"

Lin Yuxiu asked a question, but did not wait for Ye Qinghuai's answer. Instead, he answered himself: "Because of people."

"Because whether it is registering the population door by door, reporting taxes to higher authorities, or even just posting notices of new laws, these all need people to do it. But not all of these people who do the work are Emperor Xingrui. They may be county magistrates who have dozens of people to support, or they may be Jinshi who finally passed the imperial examination with the help of fellow villagers, or they may be local officials who racked their brains to make a name for themselves in the capital. They have filial piety to fulfill, favors to repay, and reputation to earn. For them, these things are far more important than the success or failure of the reform."

Lin Yuxiu paused, he looked directly at Ye Qinghuai and said, "Your Majesty, a good policy is far from enough with just a good idea, because any policy needs people to implement it. And as long as people are in charge," Lin Yuxiu paused, and then said, "there will be operations. Because everyone has their own identity and position. And the behavior of most people in this world will be loyal to their identity and position."

Lin Yuxiu's series of speeches were like the answers he gave in the palace examination that year, like a cold wind in winter, which kept pouring into Ye Qinghuai's heart and extinguishing the flames of impatience in her heart.

Seeing Ye Qinghuai's wavering expression, Lin Yuxiu returned to the topic: "Your Majesty is talking about these people, they are the loyal and honest people of the court, and they are also the future of Dajing. But in my humble opinion, they are just seeds now, and they still need time to take root and sprout."

"If Your Majesty needs someone to carry out government affairs, there are indeed plenty of people available in the court. But if Your Majesty wants to implement a new policy, then what Your Majesty needs is not a scholar who can only talk about it on paper, nor a mediocre official who always complains about everything. What Your Majesty needs is someone who understands the pros and cons of the court system and is well aware of the needs of the people and the country. More importantly, this person must have the determination to reform, and this determination must exceed his concern for his own interests."

Lin Yuxiu's expression darkened, and he said, "Only those who have personally experienced the pain brought about by the shortcomings of the current system can have such a strong determination. Otherwise, they are just people who want to profit from it under the name of 'reform'."

Ye Qinghuai was silent for a moment with a gloomy look on his face, and returned to the original question: "So how long do you think it will take to start rebuilding the Censorate?" "When there are a lot of voices questioning the local regulatory mechanism in the court, it is time to rebuild the Censorate." Lin Yuxiu added, "Your Majesty, reform and new policies should be a natural thing, and you should respond to the voices of your subjects and follow the trend. It should not be changed for the sake of 'change'."

Ye Qinghuai said angrily: "I don't feel like I'm going with the flow at all. On the contrary, I feel like I'm struggling against all the court officials."

A faint smile broke out on Lin Yuxiu's usually cold face, as if he was amused by her plain and simple words.

But Ye Qinghuai didn't notice it at all. She still frowned, immersed in those headache-inducing problems.

"That's because people's mouths were sealed, so Your Majesty couldn't hear everyone's voices. But the situation has begun to improve. From the Spring Examination fraud case to the prisoner exchange case in the Ministry of Justice, Your Majesty resolutely drew his sword outside Chengtian Gate and severely punished the powerful officials at the East Market Execution Ground, which gave people hope and made them no longer keep silent."

Lin Yuxiu glanced at the two piles of memorials on Ye Qinghuai's desk and said, "The number of memorials submitted to His Majesty's desk now must be much greater than a year ago."

This is true.

Ye Qinghuai followed Lin Yuxiu's gaze to the memorial on the desk and couldn't help but sigh.

Ever since she started the secret memorial method, not only did the number of secret memorials increase, but the number of memorials sent by the cabinet every day also increased, which directly led to her having less and less time to rest.

In fact, most of these memorials had no substantive content. They were either routine reports on daily work, or exaggerated attacks between officials, or flattering articles to show their loyalty to her.

Poor Ye Qinghuai, who was only 17 years old, had to appease and mediate like a parent. Sometimes, she had to use the power of the Eagle Guard to find out the officials she was not familiar with. When she replied to the memorials, she had to choose her words carefully, for fear that she would accidentally hurt the delicate nerves of the court officials and alienate them from her.

Ye Qinghuai sighed again and said, "Hey, don't you know that most of these memorials are useless? It's better to talk to you for an hour than to read them for a month."

"That's because Your Majesty has only been in power for a short time. Many court officials are not familiar with Your Majesty yet, so they cannot have heart-to-heart conversations with Your Majesty like I do. What Your Majesty needs to do is give them some time and confidence."

I wish you all a happy Dragon Boat Festival!