Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 234 234 Equalizing land, eliminating taxes, and solving the dilemma
"What a fucking teacher, I never taught them how to be corrupt and take bribes."

Wang Buli listened to the sounds of the students in the prison crying and wailing.

"Prince-in-law, they can't resist this temptation. If they really enter the officialdom in the future, they will be skinned. If they are caught now, maybe the criminal law will not be so severe."

Wang Buli did not dare to agree with Tian Liugen's words.

Who knows whether Lao Zhu will expand it. After all, if he doesn't kill a few chickens, I'm afraid the evil fire in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart will not go away.

After staying at the county government office until the next shift, Wang Buli strolled home.

There hasn't been much going on recently, and it's not an exaggeration to say Haihe Yanqing.

As for the dire straits in other parts of Ming Dynasty, it has nothing to do with me.

Wang Buli was not kept waiting for long. The outgoing inspection teams brought the prisoners back to Beijing one by one and stuffed them all into the prison.

It became crowded again for a moment, and then the guards took the initiative.

Based on the above reasons, the landlord power in Jiangnan was quickly revived in the early Ming Dynasty.

However, the war lasted for a long time in the late Yuan Dynasty. The Central Plains was wild and the people were sparse.

Therefore, there is a proverb that if you are familiar with Suzhou and Hangzhou, you will have enough in the world.

Qian Shangshu touched his beard and shook his head. This kind of thing is inevitable.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened the imperial examination in order to give these Jiangnan landowners a channel to enter the court, serve the Ming Dynasty, and win the hearts and minds of these people.

Not to mention that the prison students couldn't resist the temptation, even the local officials were their spokespersons.

This trick is what he learned from the Han Dynasty.

In addition, the uprising wars in the late Yuan Dynasty developed unevenly. Some areas were at war with each other, while other areas were completely silent.

Therefore, the fiscal revenue of all dynasties came from taxes collected from agriculture.

Although the landlords in the south of the Yangtze River suffered a big blow in the late Yuan Dynasty, the centipede insects were still alive. The first distinctive feature of this landlord was that the same clan lived together, and the second was that he had been an official for many generations.

In order to obtain more fiscal revenue in Jiangnan, Lao Zhu not only took over the official land since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, but also expanded the official land.

Therefore, as the strength of Jiangnan landlords recovered and developed, they had conflicts with Zhu Yuanzhang over the redistribution of wealth, but it has not been completely intensified yet.

As for the Yuan Dynasty, one-third of the world's food came from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

The Ming Dynasty's military and state could only rely on the prosperous Jiangnan.

The iron broomsticks of these insurgents were beyond their reach. Not only were the local landlords safe, but they also protected the fleeing landlords from outside.

After Zhu Yuanzhang swept across the south of the Yangtze River, the new dynasty needed a lot of funds for the Northern Expedition to the south and the west, for the construction of the central capital Fengyang and Nanjing, and for the salary of the huge bureaucracy.

But it was not only Zhu Yuanzhang who was eyeing this piece of fat, the Jiangnan landowners below were also constantly expanding their private fields.

In the Song Dynasty, with the construction of water conservancy projects in the south and the development of lake fields and polders, the arable area expanded and grain production in the south increased significantly.

This move really caught the grain managers off guard.

This is also the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang later changed the title of Lao Wu, the King of Wu, to Henan. As for the fat land in Jiangnan, he could not even give it to his own son, let alone allow others to get involved.

In addition to Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen, Chen Youliang and the lonely ministers and filial sons of the Yuan Dynasty, the crowd here also included many wealthy families.

Starting from the Flying Liang Case, the Kongyin Case, the Hu Weiyong Case, the Guo Heng Case, the Lan Yu Case, and the North and South Bang Cases that began in the fourth year of Hongwu, there was not a single time in this series of political struggles that the Jiangnan landlords were not implicated.

Therefore, Lao Zhu often arrested officials.

As a result, the landowners in the south of the Yangtze River looked at each other in clothes and clothes during the two hundred years of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. They were deeply connected and had a great social foundation and political reputation. These people called on their neighbors to form strongholds to protect themselves.

The amount of land confiscated during the Ming Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty was very shocking.

This incident revealed a huge flaw and was discovered by the more serious Lao Zhu. Now the prison is overcrowded.

These landowners who formed strongholds to protect themselves were not attacked by the rebels. By the way, some of them had the foresight to join Zhu Yuanzhang directly and became heroes in the founding of the country.

The heavy rain this time happened to fulfill their wish to make less money.

In the Northern Song Dynasty, millions of grain grains from the Jianghuai River were transported to Bianliang through the Bianhe River every year. The Southern Song Dynasty was relatively peaceful and relied on the supply and demand of the prosperity in the south of the Yangtze River.

According to a report from the Ministry of Household Affairs in the third year of Hongwu, there are many wealthy people in western Zhejiang and Suzhou alone. There are 490 households with grain output ranging from 100 to 400 shi per year; 56 to 4,000 dan from 500 to 1,000 shi. Stone division and so on.

From the middle of the Tang Dynasty, agriculture in the Jiangnan region had a decisive impact on the country's economic situation. After the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty relied on the south.

Of course, Lao Zhu believes that everything in the world belongs to his Lao Zhu family, and he does not want the wealthy areas to be in the hands of a few families.

Songjiang Mansion, the northwestern part of the county is "poisoned by violence, massacre and burning", and the Yinghu Lake area in the south part of the county is "on the surface of the war", and it is still "the first and third clouds are connected, and the fat and the fat are connected".

Wang Buli directly gave up the home court, and Qian Tang, the Minister of Punishment, ran here frequently in the past few days.

In particular, Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu Daxing Prison, the Jiangnan landlords suffered a huge political blow from Lao Zhu.

The general meaning is that the taxes in the Jiangnan area are too heavy, so these grain chiefs thought of taking advantage of the floods to pay less this year. As a result, Lao Zhu did waive a lot of taxes and also provided disaster relief.

Lao Zhu's policy of increasing fiscal revenue by expanding state-owned official land aroused strong dissatisfaction among Jiangnan landowners, so they often resisted by defaulting on land taxes.

In recent years, Lao Zhu has been issuing bans on Jiangnan landowners to suppress annexation. In order to enrich the population of Fengyang, and also to divide the Jiangnan landowners, he moved many wealthy households to Fengyang to guard their graves.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the land in Jiangnan was highly concentrated. Rich people such as Shen Wansan had their fields spread all over Wuxia. The richest man in Jiangnan was not for nothing.

Of course, the property of these migrants was also deprived by Zhu Yuanzhang, and he attacked the local gentry.

The Ming Dynasty does not allow such an awesome person in this realm to form a stronghold to protect himself.

The issue of heavy taxation in Jiangnan led to great internal conflicts among the landlord class. In order to ensure the financial revenue of the Jiangnan region, Lao Zhu attached great importance to the selection of local officials.

Chen Ning, who is now promoted to the central government, was once a typical cruel official.

I don't care about this or that. If you don't pay all the taxes to me, I will personally burn your skin with a hot iron. There are also local officials who dare to collude with the landlords, so they will burn your skin together.

So when Chen Ning was the top leader in the Jiangnan area, he was given the prestige of Chen Biaotie, but all taxes were paid, so he won the trust of Lao Zhu.

However, after arriving at the Central Committee, Chen Ning even beat his own son to death for admonishing him, which was why he was disgusted by Lao Zhu, a man who valued family ties.

Chen Ning had to hug Hu Weiyong's lap.

It is very difficult to be the prefect in the Jiangnan area. In Suzhou alone, Lao Zhu had more than 30 people (Hongwu had a total of thirty-one years). In addition, people like Chen Ning who did a good job had to be added. Worked for several years.

Most of these officials did not end well.

Mainly because Lao Zhu changed horses frequently because he was dissatisfied with the fact that these people were sitting on the side of the local gentry.

When the interests of the central court cannot be guaranteed, and the Ming Dynasty can only control the surrounding areas of Nanjing in the long run, will the Ming Dynasty still have the surname Zhu?
Zhu Yuanzhang was even more angry about this.

Lao Zhu not only uses high-pressure policies, but also slightly exempts some taxes to ease conflicts.

But the local people don’t think so. You, Lao Zhu, are finally scared, aren’t you? This shows that our struggle over the years has been effective, and we must continue our efforts to ensure local interests.

As a result, the battle between the central government and Jiangnan localities did not stop, but instead entered a fever pitch.

After Lao Zhu passed away, Emperor Jianwen ordered a reduction of taxes in Jiangnan in the second year after he came to power.

Four years later, the fourth brother came to power and immediately announced the abolition of the Jianwen New Deal, which naturally included tax reductions and exemptions in the Jiangnan region.

But as soon as Lao Zhu died, the Jiangnan region began to default on taxes.

Emperor Jianwen came to power and announced reductions and exemptions, but the new dynasty did not accept them all.

The Jiangnan landlords became even more aggressive. After so many years, they finally managed to kill Zhu Yuanzhang.

Then I still pay shitty taxes!

By the 20th year of Yongle, Suzhou alone already owed nearly four million shi in taxes.

After Xuande ascended the throne, the tax arrears of the Suzhou government doubled.

This kind of data shows that since Zhu Yuanzhang, the landlords in the Jiangnan region have counterattacked on a large scale and refused to pay taxes.

The later emperors did not even raise a knife against the Jiangnan landowners, forcing them to pay taxes obediently.

So much so that by the late Ming Dynasty, no taxes could be collected.

The tea tax in the entire Zhejiang Province is only six taels, and it is said that the tax is assessed using treasure notes that have almost depreciated into waste paper.

In the Ming Dynasty, anyone who paid taxes would be laughed at and scolded by the landlords: You are such a fool!

Wang Buli listened to Qian Tang teach him some things about Jiangnan landlords, but he didn't tell them all.

However, Qian Tang believed that Wang Buli was a smart man, so there was no need to explain some things clearly.

Qian Tang's mouth was dry and he moistened his mouth. He found that Wang Buli was still staring blankly and shook his head to express that he didn't understand.

He couldn't help but laugh out loud, and coughed a few more times, really choking on the water. "Shang Shu Qian, why do you choke when you drink water? You must be too tired. You should rest more as you get older.

You are not physically capable of rolling out swords like His Majesty, you will definitely not be able to survive him. "

Qian Tang pointed at Wang Buli, shook his head again, and said nothing more.

He understood that Wang Buli was pretending to be confused.

The most important thing about messing around in official circles is that it is rare to be confused.

Some people are really born to hang out in officialdom.

So Qian Tang didn't bother to point it out. It was good for everyone to pretend to be confused.

Now Qian Tang feels more and more that today's people have a really good way of looking at people, and he is worthy of being a hero who came out of the sword.

The most important thing is that Wang Buli is trying to persuade him in disguise not to be so eager to do things. According to the emperor's habits, there will definitely be no shortage of major cases to be handled in the future.

The Kongyin Case was a means to weaken local forces and strengthen the power of the central court.

I'm afraid we will have to resort to such means in the future.

The two chatted for a while, and then the eunuch Kang Changmin invited them into the palace to talk, saying that His Majesty wanted to inquire about the progress of the case.

Wang Buli pointed at himself and said: "Eunuch Kang, I did not participate in this case. I only cooperated with Qian Shangshu. Why do you need me to go to the palace to complain?"

"Prince-in-law, your majesty ordered it, even the young ones don't dare to ask."

Kang Changmin had a flattering look on his face.

He also attended the emperor's birthday banquet, but he knew very well that the prince consort in front of him was taken too seriously.

Even the young masters of the Korean public family can't compare with him, so what is there to say? Taking good care of him is the best choice!

Wang Buli followed the Minister of Punishment into the palace and listened to Qian Tang's report on the progress of the case.

No one did not admit their guilt, but they all begged His Majesty for mercy.

They all said the same thing, that is, the taxes in the Jiangnan area are too heavy, and they hope that His Majesty can reduce the taxes. He will never do so next time.

Moreover, no one actually came to collect food, and no loss was caused to the national treasury.

Plead guilty.

But there are extenuating circumstances, and I hope the emperor can be merciful.

"Bu Li, you have read the Ming Dynasty Laws carefully. What do you think of what Qian Tang said?"

"Return to your Majesty." Wang Buli quickly stood up from the chair he had been given:

"Qian Shangshu's judgment is in line with the laws of the Ming Dynasty and does not bend the law for personal gain."

"Of course I know." Zhu Yuanzhang put down the ink pen in his hand and looked at Wang Buli's reserved look:

"I feel that if you handle it so lightly, they will inevitably dare to do it next time. I must teach them a lesson, so I want to ask you if you have any good ideas?"

"I?"

Wang Buli looked at the people in the hall. One was the prince Zhu Biao, one was the minister, and the other was the emperor.

With my political ability, I am still a Silver rank, you ask me?

"Yes, you have been at the grassroots level for a long time, so you must know better than us what the people think, so I wanted to ask."

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was very kind, and he no longer looked angry at all when he pretended to be Chief Guo.

Qian Tang also understood that the emperor was testing Wang Buli.

Zhu Biao had a cheery look on his face.

Wang Buli was silent for a while. To put it bluntly, it was actually the landlord class fighting among themselves.

But Zhu Yuanzhang, a big landowner, was more powerful.

Just grasp this main contradiction!

Since he dared to ask, I dare to say. Wang Buli raised his eyebrows and said with a smile:

"Your Majesty, I do have a way to deal with these grain chiefs, but I don't know if your Majesty dares to use it."

"Oh? Tell me, there is nothing I dare not do yet."

Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely looking forward to Wang Buli's coming up with a good idea that would draw fire from the bottom of the cauldron.

It would be great if local power could be weakened.

"Equal land is exempted from taxes."

When Wang Buli uttered these four words, Zhu Yuanzhang was obviously stunned:
"What, what do you mean?"

"Since His Majesty wanted to provide relief to the affected people who had no land, these grain chiefs leased their fields to other tenants. This resulted in those who actually suffered losses not receiving relief from the court."

Wang Buli looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said: "These grain chiefs are mostly wealthy households, so why not take advantage of this opportunity to kill a small group of them for the crime of deceiving the emperor.

Then organize most of them into the ranks of craftsmen and send them to the north to build places, so that they can better fight against the Mongols in the future.

The most important thing is that His Majesty personally distributed all these grain-producing fields to the landless tenants.

In this way, the guilty people were punished, and the landless people were rewarded by His Majesty.

They will definitely be devoted to His Majesty. As long as the Ming Dynasty exists, their fields will exist.

In this way, His Majesty can be regarded as a truly effective example of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, destroying the local gentry who are united to collectively fight against the imperial court, and dividing them.

Moreover, a group of people who are loyal to His Majesty have been installed among the local people. With this example, those landless people hope that the grain chief will make mistakes, and the grain chief will inevitably be careful about the land taxes confiscated by the court.

For a long time, the local and central courts did not dare to oppose each other.

In this way, the dilemma can be solved by dividing and vibrating at the same time. "

When Wang Buli shouted out the dilemma, everyone in the hall fell silent.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a breath. Why did the slogan of equalizing land and freeing land sound like a slogan of rebellion?

If he had been able to call on everyone in the world to join Zhu Yuanzhang during the Red Turban Uprising, would Chen Youliang have bothered to deal with him so much?
Now that Wang Buli had given him a way to solve the dilemma, Zhu Yuanzhang was really shocked and did not dare to agree easily.

Once other places also call for equal land and no tax, who has the most land in the world?

Of course, Lao Zhu has the most official land, and it is also the most fertile!
Is it the landowners in Jiangnan that you, the boy, are trying to evacuate?

It was obviously our Lao Zhu who was smoking!
Zhu Biao clapped his hands when he heard this, and stood up: "What a land equalizer without taxes, brother-in-law, what you said is good. In this way, it is really a dilemma.

If things continue like this, if local governments want to fight against the central government, they will have to consider whether the fields they own can still belong to them. "

Qian Tang's political sense was much stronger than Zhu Biao's. Although he was surprised, he did not show it and just pretended to be thinking.

But Zhu Yuanzhang did not let him go: "Qian Tang, what do you think of this move mentioned by the consort?"

"Hiss." Qian Tang pinched his beard and nodded slightly: "Return to your majesty, the prince-in-law's strategy of removing salary from the bottom of the cauldron sounds like it can solve this problem, and it is a good idea."

As an official, it's rare to be confused.

Zhu Yuanzhang also nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.

Zhu Biao didn't understand what his father was still thinking about. What a great move!
Our brother-in-law has a lot of clever ideas.

If I were given the opportunity to assist the government, then the Ming Dynasty would be able to dominate the surrounding areas.

After Wang Buli finished speaking, there was a smile on his face. Anyway, he has all the tricks. It just depends on whether you, Lao Zhu, have the courage.

Zhu Yuanzhang specified that he could not agree with Wang Buli's statement. He finally stood firm: "The words "equal land and exempted from taxes" cannot appear.

He also ordered the person who wrote the emperor's daily life records to directly delete these four words mentioned by Wang Buli, as well as what the prince Zhu Biao said.

If this word spreads, let alone the land, it will definitely cause even greater trouble.

After all, there are many people who don’t have land!

This kind of thing must never happen.

Wang Buli listened to Zhu Yuanzhang asking people to delete the daily records without saying a word. For his own notice, Lao Zhu specified that he would not do such a thing, otherwise he would be killed.

"These unscrupulous people do not deserve to have fields, so I will give the fields of the unscrupulous people to the virtuous people who have no fields."

Zhu Yuanzhang finally changed his explanation.

Tian was given by him, the emperor, on his own initiative. It is a gift from the emperor to you!
So just kowtow and be grateful. The emperor’s kindness will never end!
(End of this chapter)