My uncle's name is Zhu Di

Chapter 282 We Are Relatives of Duke Ding

What Xu Jingchang said was easy, but to the ears of the ministers, it was extremely absurd.

So everyone gathered around Jian Yi again, including Fang Bin, Secretary of the Ministry of War, Lu Zhen, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, Luo Qian, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Yizhi, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Liu Guan, the censor of Zuodu...

The big guys got together and there was only one issue to discuss.

"Jian Shangshu, Ding Guogong said that the method used in Yingtian should be generalized and used on the gentry everywhere. I can't agree to this matter anyway. We people can't just sit idly by and turn a blind eye."

Jian Yi's face was sullen, and he said nothing. Over the years, Xu Jingchang has done many annoying things, and there was never a time when the big guy didn't yell and object, but the question is how to stop it, can it be stopped?

"Fang Shangshu, the method that can be used in Yingtian, why can't it be used in other places?" Jian Yi asked back.

Fang Bin was very surprised, Jian Shangshu?
Are you out of your mind too?

"It's not obvious. Grain merchants are merchants after all, they're just villains! They hoard and only want to make a profit. They often make the sky angry and the people complain. But the gentry are different. They cultivate and study their families, and they are honest and responsible. That is the pillar of the country, the root of it, and persecuting the gentry like this is no less than self-destructing the Great Wall!"

Jian Yi said coldly: "After all, what Fang Shangshu means is to give preferential treatment to the scholars and respect the gentry? Naturally, your statement is good. As long as you can convince His Majesty, His Royal Highness, they all agree, Dingguo Naturally, the public's claim cannot be pushed... What do you think?"

how is it?

Not much!
Fang Bin looked at the others, and the others also looked at him.

The big guys have gradually realized that the sword aimed at the grain merchant this time has already been cut at the gentry behind... It is no exaggeration to say that this time is more terrifying than targeting the Kong family. Start with the lifeline of the economy, and if one is not good, it will completely cut off the roots of farming, studying and heirloom. How can the scholars of the world sit idly by?

It's just that if you want to obstruct this matter, there should be a proper way, and head-to-head is absolutely impossible.

What should I do?

Everyone fell into silence, and Jian Yi simply didn't say a word, he couldn't make up his mind, no matter how much he said, it would be useless...the crowd dispersed.

But when the crowd dispersed, Yizhi, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, caught up with Fang Bin.

"Fang Shangshu, in fact, Ding Guogong is just saying that, this kind of thing must be done by someone, and the local government is much more troublesome than the court. Those big families are really shameless, and they can do it by any means. Is it possible that he Can Duke Ding go down to do things in person?"

Fang Bin mused, "It's true who will do the work, it's a matter of success or failure. But looking at the Ming Dynasty, there was no shortage of cruel officials who were ruthless and willing to charge forward."

Yizhi smiled faintly, "There are cruel officials, but there are also places that cannot be touched."

"where?"

"Jiangxi!"

Yizhi spat out two words lightly, Fang Bin thought for a while, and said with a smile: "Jiangxi's famous courtiers are as numerous as a cow's hair, and it is really difficult to deal with, but who can pick this leader, and who is willing to take the lead?"

"The Xu family!"

……

Jiangxi has a long cultural history, and in the early Ming Dynasty, it reached a peak. Half of the scholars of the Manchu Dynasty and Jinshi Hanlin came from Jiangxi. Above the imperial court, the Jiangxi dialect even overwhelmed the Hongwu Zhengyun.

If there are many scholars, there will be more people with fame.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang promised to give preferential treatment to the scholars who passed the examination for the purpose of encouraging study. If they were first-class scholars, they could be exempted from military service, and the yamen would send servants back.

When they reach the Juren level, they are not only exempted from military service and food, but also have the qualifications to be an official. For example, Hai Rui was born in Juren.

The situation here is very obvious. A scholar, enjoying preferential treatment from the court, lives much better than ordinary people.But if it is the kind of old scholar who has failed the exam for many years, is old and ugly, the family's money is exhausted, and the servants have all abandoned their secrets, they will still live in poverty.

But if you enter the rank of juren, you can not only exempt yourself from military service and food, but also take care of other people.In this way, it is natural for some people to flatter and contribute.

And Juren can be an official, edict, county magistrate, county magistrate... Although serious Jinshi officers look down on these positions, they are still unattainable for ordinary people.

So why is Fan Jin so excited after Zhongju?
Think about those classmates who passed the civil service exam, are they happy?

Fan Jin started as the head of the Education Bureau. His starting point is the end point that many ordinary civil servants can't reach in their lifetime. Who can fall on it?
Jiangxi is such an outrageous place, there are so many Jinshi, and raising people is not a dish.As for the scholar-in-law, you can hurry up and go aside, you will embarrass your ancestors if you say it.

There are many people with fame and fame, and there are many people who are exempted from military service and food... So the entire Jiangxi Province is the place where the Ming Dynasty owes the most tax and food. If you want to collect it, who will collect it for you?
How did you collect it?

You are a little county magistrate, my master is a high-ranking official in the capital, a celebrity in front of the emperor, if you come to my house to act wild, isn't that courting death!

If the grain cannot be harvested, the imperial court has no choice but to procrastinate. Over time, arrears have formed, and some provinces even followed Jiangxi's example and made a lot of chicken feathers.

After Xia Yuanji became the Minister of the Ministry of Households, he mainly did this. He cleaned up the contributions, tracked down the outstanding debts, and forced the local officials to collect taxes.

Xu Jingchang's censorship was released, and important officials were dispatched to investigate old accounts in various places. He also spent a lot of effort on Jiangxi.

So in the court, Xu Jingchang received the most scolding, followed by Xia Yuanji.

No way, who made them offend the stronghold of scholars!

But compared with the next one, the two of them are nothing.

Just when the big guys were guessing who would be in charge of Jiangxi affairs, Xu Jingchang revealed the final candidate... Chen Ying, the original censor of the right capital, was transferred to be the secretary of the household department and the governor of Jiangxi Huguang Tax District!

After this appointment, the whole Yingtian was boiling!

Chen Ying!

It turned out to be him, something big is going to happen!

Their hunch was indeed correct.

The first order Chen Ying gave was to check the grain reserves of each household.

Aren't those rich and powerful households all granaries?
How much food your family has stored must be truthfully reported to the imperial court and be inspected.

When the news spread, Jiangxi was boiling, and all kinds of opposition voices came and went one after another.Some people wrote thousands of words and blood letters, strongly opposed, and some people contacted the officials in Beijing through contacts, begging them to help clear up.

After fumbling around, Yang Shiqi had no choice but to bite the bullet again and found Xu Jingchang.

"Mr. Dingguo, do you see that these grains are considered as the private property of each family? For example, how much money each household has saved, can this be known to outsiders? They are all peaceful people, and they have not violated the king's law. I'm afraid that the investigation will disturb people's hearts, right?"

Xu Jingchang nodded again and again, "That's what you said. For example, how much money I have in my family, I can't let others know, right? In case a thief is recruited, is that what you mean?"

Yang Shiqi nodded, "Mr. Dingguo is so reasonable, I want to thank you on behalf of the folks."

Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "How about this, you invite Hu Yan and Yang Pu, and then Lu Zhen, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and I will issue a new decree."

"New decree? What decree?"

Xu Jingchang said: "I plan to study with the big guys, whether food is considered personal property or not!"

"what?"

Yang Shiqi was stunned, "Mr. Dingguo, I don't understand, what do you mean?"

Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "It's not easy! For example, if there are three or five people in the family, there are [-] catties of grain at home. Wanshi's food is definitely not for food. Since it is not food for food, let's discuss whether food and money can be regarded as the same?"

……

"Returning to Duke Ding, I don't think food can be equated with money. The main thing is that food is a life-saving thing, which is related to life and death. Two meals a day, one meal less will make you hungry. And spring planting and autumn harvesting, one or two seasons a year , the harvest is also there. Even if there are some famines, as long as they are deployed properly, people will not starve to death."

Hu Yan concluded: "The amount of money can only be said to be different from person to person, but food is a matter of life and death, and it cannot be generalized."

Xu Jingchang was quite relieved, "Scholar Hu is really knowledgeable and knowledgeable about heaven and man. Since this is the case, can we include food in the list of important supplies related to the security of the country?"

Hu Yan was startled, and subconsciously asked, "Dingguo Gong, what's on this list?"

Xu Jingchang said: "Food is naturally the first to bear the brunt, followed by copper, iron, coal, wood for shipbuilding, sulfur, saltpeter, salt, etc. All the main things related to the national economy and people's livelihood must be included in it."

Hu Yan straightened his back, and asked again: "Once you enter this list, what should you do with it?"

Xu Jingchang said: "After entering the list, you can still buy and sell, but the number of transaction prices must be limited to avoid big ups and downs. If there is a national war, the imperial court can give priority to buying, and merchants are not allowed to drive up prices. Of course, we can also give business Provide loans to merchants to ensure their smooth operation without problems."

Hu Yan's eyes lit up when he heard this, "This is a good idea, I agree!"

Yang Pu rolled his eyes, nodded and said, "I think this method is good."

Xu Jingchang looked at Yang Shiqi one last time.

Yang Shiqi is helpless, this method is a good method, but if he really does this, I am afraid that the gentry will have no way out!

He had no choice but to nod, "Mr. Dingguo has far-sighted plans, and the real benefit will last forever."

I won't talk about contemporary things.

Originally, Chen Ying was a cruel official, but with this government order, he became even more unscrupulous.

Isn't there a lot of rich and powerful families in Jiangxi!
Then don't let any one of us go, Luo family, Xu family, Yang family, Fang family... no one is an exception.

"Look, your family's granary would rather pile up the grain to rot than sell it. It's disgusting. Arrest them!"

The master of the Xu family was furious, "Are you arresting us? We are Huang Liushou's relatives, and Ding Guogong is only our grandson-in-law, won't you cause a disaster?"

(End of this chapter)