The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 313 Insights
A: "Did you hear that Er Gouzi was released?"

B: "Er Gouzi? Who is that?"

C: "That's the gambler who was caught five years ago because he refused to repent because he had cheated on his wife."

B: "Oh... So it's him. This kind of person should be executed. If he is released, isn't it causing harm to people?"

C: "You can't say that. It's not easy for his mother-in-law to raise her children alone and support her parents. If he can change his mind..."

B: "Hey... if you expect this kind of person to change his mind, it's better to expect the river to flow back."

"Although it's not easy for his mother-in-law, the court allocated fifty acres of land to their family, and her parents are still strong enough to help with the work."

"The two children are almost grown up, so if they are a bit hard and tired, they can still get by."

"Now that he comes out, he may cause harm to the whole family."

C: “Hey, who says it’s not the case?”

Believing it to be the law of eternity, Ming Dynasty wanted to create an unprecedented era.

His explanation to Ye Yunliu was: "Judging from past policies, the imperial court has a comprehensive plan."

Under such circumstances, why did my great-grandfather still say that the New Deal was good?
Therefore, Ye Dui comprehensively analyzed the New Deal for him.

He announced in public that he would observe filial piety for half a year and then set off to the Kingdom of Korea to find Fang Xiaoru to study.

"I also gave Ergouzi's mother-in-law a note. From now on, his mother-in-law has the final say in their family."

The young man is Ye Yunliu, who has traveled around the world to gain knowledge.

At the next table, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy sat alone. His face was calm, but his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

It’s really not guaranteed at the end of the year.

A: "You can't say that...my seventh uncle's brother-in-law, his third nephew's brother-in-law, works as an errand in the government office."

"Observe more. If you still can't see the effect in a few years, it's never too late to object."

Such a great talent, he actually targets him for his own benefit.

"The New Deal is good. People's lives are much better than before."

In ancient times, funerals were very important. As the most respected great-grandson, Ye Yunliu had to observe filial piety for three years.

His cheap teacher Fang Xiaoru often sent letters back from the Korean Kingdom to help him answer various questions.

The Ye family themselves were also victims of the New Deal. They were subject to greater restrictions and paid more taxes.

Observe more, plan before making a decision, and you will have more evidence even if you object.

B: "It would be great if this could really happen. His mother-in-law is also a pitiful person."

Although Ye Yunliu is young, he also agrees with this point of view.

"We don't understand it now, maybe because the effect hasn't been revealed yet."

Ye Yunliu was very puzzled.

He didn't understand that the court couldn't see such obvious harm?
However, he did not object to this, but adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

It could be said that Ye Dui had planned everything for him in advance.

"He also gave special permission to his two sons. If he dares to mess around again, he is allowed to be tied up and sent to the official."

Ye Dui made arrangements in advance. He went out to study during the period of filial piety, which was in compliance with the rules of his great-grandfather.

But his great-grandfather Ye Dui was a staunch supporter of the New Deal.

Last year, Ye Dui died on his birthday. Before leaving, he specially called a group of witnesses to crown Ye Yunliu in advance.

Because of this, Ye Dui was full of regret for having been a Confucian accomplice against Chen Jingke.

He also told him not to go directly, but to walk and see more along the way.

In this process, his concept of family, country and world gradually formed.

However, Ye Dui's own understanding of some policies was very limited and could not even be understood.

"Especially that one who works as a stall owner... In the past, we bastards were either working or serving, so how could we have time to chat here."

But he is now at the age of entering school, and if he is delayed at home for three years, he will probably be delayed for a lifetime.

A and C both agreed: "Yes, the court prohibits wife marriage and allocates land to the people, otherwise her mother-in-law would have been destroyed long ago."

For example, the relaxation of population restrictions has increased social instability and led to a sharp increase in the number of crimes in various cities.

Ye Yunliu understood his great-grandfather's thoughts more clearly. He was not afraid that he would delay his studies, but that he would learn wrongly by following this group of Confucian scholars.

He also has his own views on the New Deal.

"According to him, if anyone dares to bet with Ergouzi after the township order has been told, the police will be asked to check whose house every day."

To be more precise, as a member of the gentry class, he was influenced by the people around him and was very dissatisfied with the New Deal.

More people joined their discussions and talked about the benefits of the New Deal.

It gave him a more comprehensive understanding of the New Deal.

People around them say that the New Deal is inappropriate for people, competing for profits with the people, and harming the interests of the people.

In fact, he was deeply influenced by his great-grandfather and teachers, and he also disdained those celebrities and great scholars.

The knowledge is indeed profound, but it has a strong smell of decay.

This can be seen from their attitude towards the New Deal.

Even a fool can see the benefits of spreading the land from one person to another, but the gentry are opposed to slandering it.

why?
It's just because their own interests have been harmed.

His mouth is full of moral articles, but his belly is full of male thieves and female prostitutes.

Therefore, after observing filial piety for half a year, he set out according to his ancestor's orders and traveled to the Kingdom of Korea.

In the past few months, he traveled to several major provinces in the south and went deep into the grassroots to observe the situation of the New Deal.

When he was a child, he went to the countryside with his great-grandfather, and the sights he saw left a deep impression on him.

The crops in the fields are growing strong and the people are working very hard.

However, everyone's clothes were in tatters, most of the pedestrians had sad faces, and the villages they encountered along the way also looked dilapidated.

This contrast puzzled him. Although the crops were growing so well and the people were so hard-working, why were people still having a hard time?

Ye Dui told him that the taxes were too heavy.

Taxes in several southern provinces are more than twice those in other places.

He doesn’t understand why the tax rates are different in the same country.
Ye Dui's explanation was that because the people here supported Zhang Shicheng back then, this was a punishment for them.

When he was young, he felt that there was nothing wrong with him, but there seemed to be something wrong with him.

The provinces that supported Chen Youliang had normal taxes. Why did the localities that supported Zhang Shicheng have heavy taxes?
He asked several people, and most of the answers he got were that the emperor hated Zhang Shicheng even more.

Later, as he grew older, he began to realize something was wrong.

Is it right for the same country to treat them so differently?
He determined to solve this problem when he grew up and entered politics.

But before he grew up, the imperial court carried out tax reform and unified the tax rate across the country.

A series of tax cuts were also implemented.

On the surface, land taxes have increased, but all excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes have been abolished, and the overall taxes paid by the people have decreased.

After a few years, I visited the countryside again and saw a thriving scene.

The people also worked hard, but there were hardly any patches on their clothes, and there were smiles on their faces.

Entering the village, the sound of looms is everywhere.

Spun threads and woven cloths are dried in the yard of almost every household.

There are also traders who come to buy cloth in the center of the village.

Ordinary people don't ask so many reasons. They only know that cloth is very valuable now, and the price is more than twice as expensive as before.

Just weave the cloth and sell it at your doorstep.

The money earned can cover the family's expenses.

But Ye Yunliu knew that all this was due to the rise of sea trade.

The silk, cotton, porcelain, tea, etc. produced in the Ming Dynasty were in short supply.

What the people don't know is that the price of shipping cotton cloth to the county town will be about 50% higher than the purchase price from vendors.

Ye Yunliu told the local people about this.

Originally, he thought that everyone would be very grateful to him and go to the county town to sell goods.

After all, that's 50% higher than the price.

However, the result was completely different from what he thought.

The people either didn't believe what he said, were skeptical, or believed it but ignored it.

This result made him unable to accept it for a while.

People work so hard, shouldn't they value the fruits of their labor?
Why aren't you willing to travel dozens of miles more to sell it at a higher price?

If you feel that your own supply of cloth is not worth the trip, you can go together with several families.

After learning the real reason, he fell silent.

People are used to being tied to the local area, and a county town dozens of miles away is another world to them.

To them, the outside world is like a dragon's pond and a tiger's den.

So much so that now that the imperial court has relaxed personal restrictions, people still dare not go out.

At this moment, he finally understood why the imperial court relaxed personal restrictions.

It is to open people's horizons and let them go out, so that they will not be exploited by a small vendor like they are now.

And he had a vague feeling that the court must have a deeper intention, but he couldn't figure it out yet.

Then he went to more places and saw more things.

He saw the Han and barbarians living together peacefully, saw the people living and working in peace and contentment, and saw the schistosomiasis being gradually controlled.

The more places I travel, the deeper my understanding of the New Deal becomes. Many questions that were previously incomprehensible also have answers.

Some time ago, he finally crossed the Yangtze River, crossed the Huai River, and entered the northern border.

Saw another scene again.

Poor, but more positive and full of spirit.

That kind of feeling doesn't need to be communicated in words. Just by looking at the spirit, you can tell that they are full of hope for the future.

Although Ye Yunliu is young, he knows what this thing called hope means.

All this shows that they are very satisfied with the court and believe that through hard work they can live a better life.

And he found that people in the north were generally more loyal to the imperial court.

At first, he thought it was caused by the imperial court's crackdown on clan forces in the south.

The north has been in turmoil for hundreds of years, and it has long been dilapidated, and there is no clan power.

On the contrary, the south is relatively peaceful and full of clan forces.

The imperial court attacked the clans one after another, and the north was hardly affected.

It's different in the south. Forces large and small have attacked it several times. It's normal for the people to be dissatisfied.

But after learning more about it, he found that things were not that simple.

People in both the north and the south are generally very satisfied with their current lives.

People in the south would say: We are finally living the good life we ​​deserve.

People in the north would say: We are finally living a good life.

It seems to be similar, but after careful consideration, I found that the core is completely different.

The south is more prosperous, and the people believe that it is necessary to live a good life. If they do not live a good life, it means there is something wrong with the government's policies.

The north is even more dilapidated, and if people's lives improve, they will be very grateful to the country.

There is no right or wrong between these two ideas, it's just the environment.

The icing on the cake is not as good as the true portrayal of giving timely assistance.

This realization gave Ye Yunliu a completely different understanding of many issues.

He finally understood the meaning behind many seemingly strange policies.

I have even more admiration for those who designed these policies.

At this time, I was sitting in a street tavern, listening to a group of farmers discussing the country's new policies.

Once again he felt the difference between the north and the south.

Southerners care more about business and culture.

When people are chatting, the topics are more about what is cheap, whose children are in school, and whose children are talented.

People in the north pay more attention to national policies, and it is common to discuss the New Deal.

There is also a lot of attention to the war, where the war was fought, the victory or defeat, etc.

Then there is the discussion about farming, whose crops are better, how they should be planted, and so on.

This is also caused by regional differences.

The South has been at peace for a long time and has become more prosperous. People pay more attention to making money and culture and education.

The economy in the north is relatively simple, relying on agriculture, and facing border dangers from the grasslands, so it naturally pays more attention to politics and farming.

This difference may seem unimportant, but in fact it has a huge impact on policy.

If rulers do not understand these and do not take them into consideration when formulating policies, problems may easily arise.

The good policies implemented in the North may not necessarily apply to the South.

The policies in the south were very good, but in the north they were not adapted to the local conditions.

But compared with these, he feels that what is more urgent is to eliminate the differences between the north and the south.

If things go on like this, I am afraid that the dispute between the North and the South will intensify, which is not conducive to the long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Just when he was caught up in brainstorming, Strong Man Ding passed by and shouted:
"Why are you still chatting here? Go watch the fun."

A: "What's the excitement?"

Ding: "The Xu family... the Duke of Wei is selling land. Of the total 70,000 acres, only 4,000 acres are left, and the rest are sold."

B said in shock: "What? Why do you want to sell the land?"

B said with obvious disbelief: "How is it possible? Their farmland is of good quality, and canals have been built to the end of the field. How can they sell it?"

A also expressed disbelief.

Ye Yunliu couldn't help but be stunned. The Duke of Wei sold the land? really?

He quickly put away his divergent thoughts and pricked up his ears to listen.

Ding said proudly: "You don't know this, right? The imperial court issued a new decree called staircase tax..."

Everyone looked puzzled.

Ye Liuyun's heart moved and he said: "Taxation is tiered. The more fields there are, the higher the field tax paid."

Ding: "Ah, yes, yes, the young man is a scholar at first glance, and he knows a lot."

B urged: "Hurry up and tell me what's going on."

Ding explained the tiered tax collection in detail, and then said:
"... Wei Guogong had four sons, so he kept 4,000 acres of land and sold the rest."

"It's being sold in the east of the city right now. People from the Yamen are here, handing over the money and the land deed."

C was even more confused: "Grade... stepped taxation... doesn't it offend all the big households? Why would a good court do this?"

A said proudly: "It must be a crackdown on a big business. The imperial court has done this kind of thing many times."

Others also agree with this point of view. Restricting land to one thousand acres is just a crackdown on large households.

Ye Yunliu couldn't help but said: "The imperial court did this to restrain annexation and help the people keep their land."

Seeing someone's rebuttal, A looked a little embarrassed and said, "What does restricting large households have to do with us common people?"

Ye Yunliu explained patiently: "The big family wants to buy and sell the land of ordinary people. How can any ordinary person resist?"

Everyone couldn't help but nod. The good times had only been a few days, and they knew the methods of the big players very well.

Ye Yunliu continued: "The imperial court limits large households to only one thousand acres of land. Will they still go out of their way to seize land from the common people?"

Everyone suddenly realized it, and then became excited.

"Okay, okay, that's great."

"The imperial court is really good to us people."

"Not only do we allocate land to us, but we also find ways to protect our land..."

"I really hope that His Majesty can live 10,000 years, and the lives of us ordinary people will be easier."

"Yes, there are also the prince and grandson..."

"Hehe... The prince, grandson, and grandson are both virtuous kings. Our people can at least live a good life for a hundred years."

"Yes, yes, the days are getting more and more exciting."

The more he talked, the more excited everyone became.

Ye Yunliu actually had the same idea. The prince and grandson all had virtuous names, and a prosperous Ming Dynasty could be expected.

He also heard about the stepped tax collection in a restaurant a few days ago.

I was shocked at the time, but I have to admit that this policy is really brilliant.

If it can really be implemented, the land annexation problem that has been unable to be solved by previous dynasties can be effectively alleviated in the Ming Dynasty.

He admired Chen Jingke even more as his savior.

I can't wait to go to Luoyang to ask for advice in person.

But he didn't dare.

First, I feel that I am not knowledgeable enough, and if I go, I will show my disgrace.

Secondly, after all, I had offended the other party in the first place, and it would be fine if others did not pursue the matter. How could I still have the nerve to hang around in front of others?

Let's wait until we get to the Joseon Kingdom and study with the teacher for a few years.

The teacher and Chen Jingke have a close relationship. With this relationship, I am taking the initiative to apologize, thinking that the other party will forgive me.

However, he was more concerned about the New Deal than his own affairs, so he found an opportunity to interject and asked:

"The people who suffer the most from the stepped tax collection are the nobles, bureaucrats and gentry. Don't they object?"

Ding said excitedly: "How could you not oppose it...all the civilian officials are opposed to it, and the military generals support the new deal."

"It is said that the two factions started fighting in the court. His Majesty arrested dozens of officials in one go and sent them all to prison."

"In order to prove their support for the New Deal, the military generals are selling off their land."

"Not only the Xu family, but also the Tang family and Feng family in the next town... dozens of families are selling land separately."

Bing slammed the table excitedly and said: "It makes sense, it makes sense. Military generals conquer the world with His Majesty, so they naturally support His Majesty."

Then he said with disgust: "Civil officials... huh, scholars are the most heartless."

After saying that, he thought of Ye Liuyun next to him and said awkwardly:
"Mr. Lang, please don't misunderstand me. I'm talking about them, not you."

Ye Liuyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he could only pretend not to hear.

But my heart was churning again.

It’s not surprising that civilian officials opposed him, but why do you support the New Deal so much?
And it's not just verbal support. The New Deal has only been promulgated for a few days, so the court probably hasn't come up with specific regulations yet.

They have already started selling land.

Not just one or two, but dozens.

This is still Fengyang, what about other places?
What happened in the court?
At this moment, he wished he could fly to Luoyang and understand the situation in person.

(End of this chapter)