People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 469: The civil servant who sat in the observatory was laughed at by the businessmen!
If ordinary people heard what the civil servants said at this time, they would definitely agree with it.

Just as this civil servant said, if the people feel that the reforms are correct, then they will definitely be of great benefit to their lives.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to continue implementing this reform.

Although Wang Anshi's reforms in the Northern Song Dynasty were good, in the later period, as the Minister of Rites said, he became good at disturbing the people but had no idea how to govern the country.

In particular, many officials have never actually thought about implementing real reforms and changes.

Perhaps deep down in their hearts, they do not agree with reform.

I find many of the reform provisions ridiculous.

They are the ones who have vested interests, so when they implement reforms, they naturally distort the policies of reform.

They even used reforms to gain personal benefits and fame, thereby laying the foundation for their promotion and higher rank.

If such a person were to carry out reforms, how could he not bring harm to the people?

Can the people have any favorable impression of such reforms?

It was because the reforms eventually became a means of disturbing the people and the people did not accept them that they gradually became a taboo.

Even if Wang Anshi tried hard to maintain the reform, even if he told Emperor Shenzong that only reform could turn the situation around in the Northern Song Dynasty.

However, as the reforms became too disturbing to the people, Emperor Shenzong had to cancel them.

As a result, Wang Anshi’s efforts went to waste.

To put it bluntly, the Northern Song Dynasty was a bit of a hopeless case.

After those civil servants gained power, they did not want to give up their interests.

They are afraid that reforms and changes will affect their most fundamental interests.

Therefore, even if they see that reforms would be beneficial if implemented sincerely, they would rather let them rot in the ground.

Because for many officials, if the people live well, their interests will be harmed.

Where do their interests come from?

It comes from the common people.

The better people's lives are, the more uncomfortable they are.

The better the lives of the people, the stronger their resistance to their oppression will be.

Is this what these interest groups want to see?
In their eyes, as long as the common people honestly take root in the land and always provide them with benefits, that's enough.

Why should you common people live so well?

What should we do if you guys are doing well?
Who are we going to exploit?

Therefore, the fundamental reason for everything the civil servants said is that the reforms eventually turned into a method of disturbing the people.

That's why the people hate it.

Finally, after the civil officials had obtained this information, they gave feedback to Emperor Shenzong.

This forced Emperor Shenzong to cancel the reforms for the sake of the overall situation.

This is the reason why Wang Anshi’s reforms failed.

“But your Excellency, look at what the common people in Beiping Prefecture feel now?
Do they hate reform?

Are they resisting reform?

All these things have never happened, so why do you say that the Duke's reforms are the same as Wang Anshi's?

Simply speaking from the perspective of disturbing the people, when the Song Dynasty's reforms were being implemented, the civil servants did not actually implement the national policies. Instead, they found various ways to use the national policies to exploit the people.

However, the Duke's reforms were successful, but because there was a two-way supervision mechanism at the local level, even if the officials were resentful, they had no choice but to implement the reforms honestly under the pressure of the performance evaluation system.

This is the difference. We have seen these differences, so we feel that reforms have the potential to be implemented.

Before, we were in the capital and didn't see the situation below, so naturally we thought that reform was a disaster.

Reforms like Wang Anshi's will make people's lives worse, and people will definitely resist collectively.

So from that perspective we oppose reform.

We are not descending to the ground, we are suspended in the air."

When he said this, many officials lowered their heads.

As the official said.

They are well-read and always feel that they are sensible and know the laws governing the development of many things.

So you can control everything without any investigation.

However, it was not until they arrived in Beiping and made an on-site investigation that they realized the benefits of reform in the eyes of the common people.

It turns out that the Duke's reforms were implemented quite well under the supervision of multiple supervisory mechanisms.

Even though all the officials were resentful, they still had the performance evaluation system, the Tax Inspection Bureau, and the local treasure banknote withdrawal bureau to supervise.

No one dares to use his official hat, or his head, to break the law.

When ordinary people see that their lives are getting better and better after the implementation of the reform, they will naturally support the reform more.

After hearing this, the civil officials said again, "We used to be so self-righteous that we thought we could understand everything. We thought that Confucian knowledge would allow us to know everything without having to go through on-site knowledge. But now we find that we are really just looking at the world from a well."

An official stood up and said: "This is true. We are in the capital, and it has been too long since we went to the local government offices and the local provincial capitals to see the real lives of the common people.

So all we know is what is reported by local officials.

In fact, those officials were full of resentment, because every government office, including the Performance Evaluation System, the Tax Inspection Bureau, and the Treasury Note Administration, and every national policy was a shackle for them.

So it is understandable that they all have grievances.

But we, the high-ranking officials, those of us living in the capital, sometimes listen to the opinions of these people, and a single word may cause irreparable losses to the local people.

Prince, you are a well-read person, and you have a deep understanding of the harm of reforms, so we can understand your resistance to reforms and your prejudices against them. "

The Minister of Rites raised his head and looked at the official.

The official also looked at him with a firm look.

Seems to be giving him a chance.

Because in their eyes, the Minister of Rites was doing this with a lot of selfish motives.

But in fact, he is quite impartial.

Before realizing that the Duke's reforms have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, how many people were like them, viewing reforms as a disaster.

This is because repeated historical lessons have made more civil servants conservative and cautious, fearing that reforms will fail to produce results and instead shake the foundation of the country.

This is something that many scholars are wary of.

They believe that as scholars, they should benefit the world.

Therefore, if they find that the reforms are going in a bad direction, they will naturally want to stand up and protect the people.

After hearing these words, the Minister of Rites sighed.

He still has some resentment in his heart.

Although the civil officials were trying to persuade him, it was still difficult to change his mind. He thought for a long time before saying, "Give me some time and let me wander around Beiping Prefecture for a few days.

If it is true as you said, that the people of Beiping Prefecture support reforms and changes, I will naturally change my prejudice against reforms.

But if not, I will insist on my own opinion, even if it means offending the soldiers of Beiping Prefecture, even if I have to accuse them of fraud, I will not hesitate. "

Officials know that getting to this point is good enough.

Don't force this old guy to get angry and embarrassed.

Of course, everyone knows that this is actually an excuse for the old guy to save face.

If they agreed immediately, they would think that this old guy was up to some other evil ideas.

But he didn't do that because he wanted to experience it personally, which shows that he had listened.

I just want to verify it in my own way.

The officials all smiled knowingly when they saw this, and no one spoke anymore.

……

That night, the Minister of Rites lay in bed and carefully thought about what the officials had said to him that day.

All his colleagues said that the people of Beiping were very supportive of reform, but he still didn't believe it.

After arriving here, he developed a resistance to the people of Beiping Prefecture because the unruly citizens there threw rotten eggs and rotten vegetable leaves at him, and he did not take the matter seriously.

He murmured to himself: If I really saw that the people were very supportive of the reforms and changes, what should I do?
The reason why he had such conflicting thoughts was because of his own brother. Due to the reform and innovation, it was discovered that there were problems with his family’s tax payments for more than ten years.

The Tax Inspection Department ordered them to pay all the taxes owed within six months and also impose a fine.

He got so angry that he had a stroke and his mouth and eyes became crooked.

My younger brother is a handsome and charming man, a dozen years younger than me.

Middle age is the time when people should be able to do great things, but because of the reforms, they become neither human nor ghost.

He went home to see his brother in person, and his heart ached with grief.

So I have no good feelings towards reform.

If one only knows that reform and change are methods of disturbing the people, he may end up like Wang Anshi's reform philosophy in the Northern Song Dynasty.

He was determined to do this from the beginning and had a strong resistance to reform.

So when his colleagues told him that Chen Han's reforms were completely different from Wang Anshi's, he still had some doubts in his heart.

Reform and innovation are reform and innovation. In addition, many of Chen Han’s reform and innovation policies are actually extensions of the policies implemented by Wang Anshi. What’s the difference?

He was not convinced.

So make up your mind.

"Okay, I will go to the market tomorrow. I don't believe that these remote people know about the so-called reform.

I even don’t believe that no one has objections to the reforms and changes. There must be some objections.

They must be as afraid as I am that the reforms will fail and that officials will make things difficult for them.”

He even thought about explaining it clearly to the people during the process of communicating with them.

Wang Anshi's reforms at that time also achieved some small results.

But in the end it ended in failure.

Because of what?
This is because the officials who implement the policies will become unscrupulous due to their own greed in the future, and then you will be in trouble.

He even thought about inciting the people to resist reforms.

Early the next morning, he disguised himself as an ordinary citizen and slipped among the people.

He first went to the West Market in Beiping Prefecture.

This is where the most people flow.

When the gong sounded to signal the opening of the market, people and merchants flocked to the market.

This place not only gathers various commodities from the surrounding areas of Beiping Prefecture.

Even the Mongolian Tatars in the north, the merchants from Shanxi in the west, and even the merchants from the Western Regions further west, as well as those from the Middle East, came here to do business.

Because of the Ming Dynasty's current open attitude, many businessmen have made a lot of money, so of course there are endless business opportunities.

Ordinary people can also enjoy products from all over the world, even from overseas.

Wandering in such a market, even the Minister of Rites, who had the most radical views on the reforms and changes, could not help but be startled.

He has been staying in the inn all this time and has not gone out.

He had a prejudice against the "troublemakers" in Beiping Prefecture and was unwilling to meet them.

Every day, other colleagues would go out to investigate, while he would just sit in the inn and analyze the data.

He discarded many reports from his colleagues that were in favor of reform.

But now that he was at the market, he truly felt that the people here seemed to be living quite well.

As soon as he had this thought, he immediately shook his head to deny it, saying it was definitely an illusion, it must be fake.

The people seem to be living a good life, but in fact they are affected by high taxes and must be living an unhappy life.

Especially those who do business, how can they make money if they pay such high taxes?

Who would be willing to support reform if they can’t make money?

So after having this thought, he went straight to a businessman.

First I went in and bought some things.

Then, since he was the first one to open the shop for the boss today, he started chatting with him.

"Boss, do you think you can still make a profit under such high taxes imposed by the imperial court?

Now I heard that the tax has been increased more than ten times. If it were me, I would have closed down long ago. Who would be willing to give all the hard-earned money to the court?"

As soon as he said this, the shopkeeper stopped calculating on the abacus and looked at the Minister of Rites. "Old man, you just came from the countryside, don't you know what the world outside is like?"

After hearing this, the Minister of Rites immediately became embarrassed.

"What do you mean, shopkeeper?"

The shopkeeper moved the abacus beads back to their original positions with a few clicks, and then began to teach him, "Old man, you may not know that the world outside has been turned upside down.

In the past two or three years, those of us who are doing business have been doing better and better business because of the reforms made by the Duke.

As for what you said about paying more than ten times the tax, what does that matter?

Do you know that we who do business now are no longer discriminated against by the court or the people, and can do business everywhere.

This profit is fifty or even a hundred times higher than before. Compared with those profits, what is the cost?

Old man, you are really ignorant."

……

(End of this chapter)