I'm in the Red Mansion

After Qin Daxueshi left, Jia Cong thought about it again.

Then Jia Cong had to admit that Yanyun’s reforms could not be copied.

Although he also became the emperor by riding a horse.

Daxia had also been destroyed, but not so completely.

It was not a complete disruption to the reconstruction; the gentry and wealthy families in Daxia were still extremely powerful.

They still hold the place.

Therefore, any attempt to nationalize the land would inevitably cause unrest throughout China.

By then, I’m afraid I don’t know how many people will die.

It is still difficult to nationalize the land.

And if this aroused the indignation of scholars all over the world and all local officials resigned, Jia Cong would not even be able to find so many officials to fill these vacancies.

Therefore, this one cannot be implemented at present.

However, an edict could be issued that ordinary people with less than 100 acres of land are prohibited from selling their land.

In this way, it can be ensured that the people's land will not be annexed.

If they wanted to sell land, only the wealthy and powerful families could do so.

And as long as those aristocratic families made mistakes, they would take the opportunity to confiscate their property and exterminate their clans, and take back their land.

Land annexation is a problem that basically arises whenever a dynasty goes to ruin.

Jia Cong still tried to solve this problem from a policy perspective.

Next, Jia Cong went to discuss state affairs with University Scholar Kou and Lin Ruhai.

The next changes will require the concerted efforts of the three great scholars to promote them.

Moreover, Jia Cong still has a lot of things to do.

For example, how to promote new learning in China?
Just build a few schools? Support from the imperial court?

This is very likely to be superficial, appearing to be thriving but actually producing no results.

The status of craftsmen has always been low, and is lower than that of scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.

The status of merchants is already low enough, and the status of craftsmen is even lower than that of merchants, as can be seen from this.

Therefore, Jia Cong decided to follow the example of Youzhou and pass the new school examination so that he could take up some low-level official positions.

At the same time, the status of craftsmen was elevated to be on par with scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans.

And all these things need to be implemented by the three university scholars.

At the same time, Jia Cong also wants to promote the cultivation of new crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and potatoes throughout Daxia.

These crops have extremely high yields and can be harvested three times in two years.

Once it can be fully promoted throughout Daxia, it can at least feed 300 million people.

According to the original historical trajectory, it was after the Qing Dynasty promoted these new crops that the country's population reached 300 million.

In the later period, it almost reached 400 million.

In all dynasties before the Qing Dynasty, until the Song Dynasty, the population exceeded 100 million.

By the Ming Dynasty, the population reached a peak of 200 million.

Today's China is newly established, and because it has just gone through a series of wars, the population has dropped sharply.

Today there are more than 100 million people.

As long as the three new crops are fully promoted, the population will begin to grow explosively.

Of course, a certain amount of control is also required.

If it is not controlled, the population will grow wildly and without restraint, just like India.

Today, the Chinese court is headed by three grand secretaries.

Among them, University Scholar Kou was respected by everyone because of his qualifications.

Lin Ruhai is second, but he is the emperor's father-in-law and the emperor's uncle, so his prestige is also extremely high.

Qin Daxueshi is the worst, but he is good at dealing with people, and there are many former ministers in the court.

Many of these old ministers were followers of Qin Grand Secretary.

Therefore, the power of Qin Daxueshi is increasing quietly.

However, because Jia Cong, the founding emperor, was able to suppress the three great scholars.

Therefore, the three great scholars were friends but not factions, and they might have had different political views.

But there was no so-called party strife.

And because of the reform, the three university scholars were able to work together.

Therefore, there was a thriving atmosphere in the court.

Well, basically all founding emperors can do this.

In the early days of his administration, most of the ministers in the court were virtuous and capable.

At least in the early stage, there will basically be no treacherous ministers, because during this period, there is no soil and space for treacherous ministers to survive.

Half a month later, Qin Daxueshi submitted a memorial proposing strategies such as equalizing the land tax, requiring all gentry to pay taxes together, and returning the fire consumption tax to the public.

This change - it's not even a change.

The meaning of reform lies in the word "change", which means changing the previous practices.

At present, China has just been established, and the current laws and other systems all follow the old system.

The strategy proposed by Qin Daxueshi can be said to be China's strategy for establishing a nation.

Qin Daxueshi's proposal caused an uproar in the court.

Since the Song Dynasty, with the exception of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial court has always been very favorable to scholars.

In the Ming Dynasty, as long as one passed the imperial examination, one's family would be exempt from taxes if they had 300 acres of land.

The same was true in the Xia Dynasty.

But now, after the emperor ascended the throne, the traitor Qin Daxueshi wanted to cut off the court's support for scholars with one stroke.

All the civil and military officials in the court were scholars - well, the military generals basically did not come from the imperial examination system.

However, military generals were also exempt from taxes.

This time, Grand Secretary Qin offended everyone.

Therefore, as soon as this memorial was released, Grand Secretary Qin was wildly impeached.

There were even radical ministers who begged the emperor to kill this beast.

Even some officials from Qin Daxueshi's faction began to criticize Qin Daxueshi.

When Kou Daxueshi and Lin Ruhai saw this, they both gasped.

They knew that these three policies would cause strong opposition, but they did not expect that it would be so intense just in the court.

Scholar Qin looked even more pale.

The three proposals he made today were actually the emperor using him to test the civil and military officials.

Now, the attitudes of the officials have been tested.

However, this counterattack was a little too strong.

Scholar Qin felt that next, in order to appease the public anger, the emperor might use himself as a sacrifice.

These three proposals will also be shelved.

Future tax policies will still follow the old rules of the previous dynasty, and I will only be treated as a sacrifice.

The ministers pressed on step by step, strongly demanding that Jia Cong punish Qin Daxueshi.

At this time, Lin Ruhai took a step forward and was about to speak.

But Jia Cong did not give Lin Ruhai this opportunity.

Lin Ruhai was a bandit prime minister, so he naturally knew what Jia Cong was thinking.

Lin Ruhai stepped forward to rescue Qin Daxueshi.

It’s a pity that Lin Ruhai might not be able to stop the anger of the civil and military officials in the court.

"How dare you! How can you make such a fuss in the palace?"

"You are all loyal subjects of China, but now you are making a scene like peddlers. How can this be tolerated?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

Jia Cong then asked the Minister of Revenue who was making the most noise: "Minister of Revenue, you were also an official in the previous dynasty. I want to ask you a question."

"How much difference was there between the agricultural taxes in the early and late periods of the previous dynasty? What caused this situation?"

The Minister of Revenue replied, "Your Majesty, in the early period of the previous dynasty, the agricultural tax was about 22 million taels of silver, but in the later period, it was only about 5 million taels."

"The reason for this is that the gentry did not need to pay taxes, and they annexed a large amount of land, resulting in less and less land that pays taxes."

The Minister of Revenue really doesn't want to answer this question, but this question cannot be concealed.

Except for a few officials, the civil and military officials have not yet realized this problem.

Now after hearing these two numbers, I couldn't help but be secretly shocked.

It dropped directly from 22 million to 5 million. This drop is really terrifying.

Jia Cong sneered again, "Why did the previous dynasty fall? If we were to summarize, we could probably come up with more than a dozen reasons."

"But in the final analysis, it was caused by the gentry's land annexation, insufficient taxation, and an empty treasury."

"Why are taxes insufficient and the treasury empty? It's all because the gentry don't have to pay taxes."

"If the gentry don't pay taxes, the country will eventually perish! I don't believe it. You don't understand this principle."

"You only care about your own personal interests and ignore the country! You are really good subjects!"

"I am not afraid to tell you the truth. These three strategies are actually my ideas!"

"I am the founding emperor. Under my rule, land annexation will not be too serious. Even if I do not implement these three policies, I can still create a peaceful and prosperous era."

"I will also be mentioned in the history books. However, I will leave this threat of national destruction to future generations."

"It is extremely difficult to promote this kind of thing. If I don't do it, it will be almost impossible for my descendants to do it."

"Therefore, I will do this job well!"

"I want to leave a clean and peaceful country for my children and grandchildren! I want to bring eternal peace to China!"

After Jia Cong's passionate speech, all the officials in the court fell into silence.

In fact, when Grand Secretary Qin made his memorial, how could they not have guessed that this was actually what the emperor meant?
However, they still pretended to be ignorant and strongly opposed it.

The purpose is to make the emperor take back his order.

But they didn't expect that the emperor would be so tough and decisively admit that he was the one who wanted to make the reforms.

Moreover, no matter how many obstacles we encounter, we will definitely push forward it vigorously.

So, should they continue to give advice?
If he continued to give advice, he would definitely offend the emperor.

It would be unwise to offend a wise and powerful founding emperor.

Therefore, after a period of silence, the civil and military officials made a decision - to continue to give advice.

It is certainly terrible to offend the emperor.

But if they don’t offend the emperor, they will offend all the scholars in the world!
They will be called traitors by scholars all over the world, and will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history, and will continue to be reviled for thousands of years.

The Minister of Finance was the first to kneel down and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that we don't see this, but the truth is, this reform is simply impossible!"

"In China, the literati and the emperor jointly rule the country. The emperor's move will affect the interests of all the literati. How can it succeed?"

"Your Majesty, throughout the dynasties, there have been people who have wanted to promote such changes, but they have all ended in failure."

"As wise as Wang Anshi was, his reforms did not succeed, but instead caused chaos. Sima Guang opposed Wang Anshi's reforms not out of personal gain, but for the sake of his country and the world!"

"Your Majesty, we are not acting for the personal gain of one family or another. We are acting for the sake of China. Your Majesty, please reconsider!" "Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

The Minister of Revenue was very bold and said in front of the emperor that the scholars and officials should rule the world together with the emperor.

"Governing the world together with the scholar-officials" was proposed by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang. All dynasties after the Han Dynasty respected the scholar-officials very much.

However, the rulers of these dynasties only regarded the literati as political tools and did not truly achieve "co-governance."

It was not until the Song Dynasty that the political status of the literati expanded unprecedentedly and the emperor and the literati truly ruled the world together.

After that, with the exception of the Yuan Dynasty, in the Ming Dynasty and Daxia, although the status of the literati declined, they were indeed in a position to rule the world together with the emperor.

But these words were said by the emperor, and the ministers could not say them.

The Minister of Revenue had to have great courage to say this.

All the civil and military officials looked at the emperor nervously, fearing that he would get angry.

Jia Cong sneered and said, "Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country. I don't believe that all the scholars and officials in the world are so short-sighted."

"Furthermore, Wang Anshi's reform failed in the court. Am I the Emperor Shenzong of Song? Are you all against the new law?"

After Jia Cong finished speaking, all the civil and military officials fell silent again.

If the emperor is determined to promote these three policies, the ministers will not be able to stop him.

However, they still did not give up resistance.

The Minister of Revenue bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am truly sincere and this is for the sake of my country and people!"

"If the emperor still insists on doing what he wants, I will retire and return home!"

As soon as the Minister of Revenue said this, there was an uproar in the court.

The Minister of Revenue is so strong-willed!

This is a complete break with the emperor!

To beg for resignation means to resign.

This is a form of resistance second only to death!

After the Minister of Revenue, the Minister of Works also stepped out and said, "If the emperor does not withdraw his order, I will retire and return home!"

The Minister of Rites also followed suit...

In the end, there were as many as eleven ministers who requested to beg for their remains.

This is already half of the number.

If these people left, I'm afraid the operation of the court would come to a standstill.

Grand Secretary Kou, Lin Ruhai, and Grand Secretary Qin all looked very unhappy.

Eleven high-ranking officials of the imperial court!

Of course it is impossible to let them all go. If they were to let them all go, the imperial court would be paralyzed.

But if the emperor compromises, there will be a second time after the first time.

There will be compromises at every step in the future.

Even their three cabinet ministers would be completely sidelined.

The behavior of these eleven senior officials is almost like forcing abdication!

At this moment, Jia Cong couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"You all want to beg for your bones, right? Okay, I agree!"

"Take off your official hats, the handover is complete, and then you can all get out!"

"China has just been founded. We may lack other things, but we don't lack officials!"

"Do you think that without you, the imperial court will not be able to function? Will China be destroyed?"

"Is there anyone who wants to beg for his bones? If you are, please stand up now. I will grant you all the requests!"

Jia Cong's stubbornness frightened all the civil and military officials.

It's not like that. It can't be like this.

Shouldn't the emperor try to persuade them to stay at this time and discuss policy matters later?
These eleven people may not be united, and the emperor has the opportunity to break up their alliance!

There are so many ways, why is the emperor so strong-willed and resolute?
The eleven loyal ministers were also dumbfounded at this time.

When they forced the emperor to death, they never thought that the emperor would really let them beg for their lives.

Although they said they wanted to beg for bones, they didn't really want to beg for bones!
The current emperor is a wise and enlightened monarch and the founding emperor of a country.

There will definitely be achievements, and we will definitely be able to create a prosperous Zhongyuan era!

And these old ministers will surely be able to leave a good reputation in the world, and may even gain a reputation like Fangmou and Duduan of the Tang Dynasty.

But now, all of this is destroyed.

At this moment, these eleven officials felt extremely regretful.

But once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

At this point, they had no way out.

They had no choice but to take off their official hats with trembling hands and slowly put them on the ground.

Then he knelt down again, thanked Jia Cong, stood up and left slowly.

At that moment, they seemed to have aged ten years.

After the court was dismissed, Grand Secretary Kou, Grand Secretary Qin and Lin Ruhai did not leave.

They followed Jia Cong to the imperial study.

After entering the imperial study, the three of them advised Jia Cong not to let these eleven people beg for their bones.

Jia Cong was surprised and asked, "I wonder why? They are against the new policy and feel that they are not competent, so let them leave."

"If they can't do the job, they'll let someone who can do it do it."

Kou Daxueshi said patiently, "Your Majesty, these eleven gentlemen are all the most important officials in the court."

"If they leave at the same time, the six ministries will be in chaos and the court will not function smoothly. I hope Your Majesty will think twice."

"Moreover, Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and you asked eleven important officials to beg for their bones at the same time. If this gets out, it will damage Your Majesty's reputation. I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"

After hearing this, Jia Cong couldn't help but laugh and said, "Master Kou, I never forced them to leave, but they forced me to leave!"

"This is the first time I've heard of eleven important officials forcing the founding emperor."

"If I take this step back, I will definitely give in step by step in the future!"

"The new policy is not a dinner party, but it is something we cannot give in to."

"As for the court being in chaos, I think that will definitely not happen."

"The so-called right-hand men are just those who have done a lot and become proficient at it."

"I only want to ask Master Kou one thing. The ministers around the founding emperors of many dynasties were often his former subordinates who had accompanied him in conquering the country."

"Could it be that at that time, only that place could produce talented people?"

"Of course not, it just happened to give them a platform to display their talents."

"From this we can see that the affairs of the court cannot be operated without anyone."

"With three Grand Secretaries here, I am never afraid of chaos in the court or the six ministries not functioning smoothly."

After listening to what Jia Cong said, the three university scholars remained silent for a long time.

But they had to admit that what Jia Cong said actually made a lot of sense.

These eleven important ministers certainly hold high positions and great power.

However, these eleven old adults may not really do a lot of things on a regular basis.

As long as the number of court members does not decrease by more than half, the court will not stop.

Take the founding period of the Ming Dynasty for example. Zhu Yuanzhang killed corrupt officials all over the world. What a mess it was.
Many officials even had to work in shackles.

Was the Ming Dynasty in chaos during that period?
not at all!
Seeing that they were unable to dissuade Jia Cong, the three university scholars had no choice but to leave.

After they left, Jia Cong ordered someone to summon Ni Er over.

Ni Erben was a commoner. He had never been to school, could not read a few words, and could not lead troops in battle.

But he was a good at gathering intelligence. Jia Cong defeated the Qing army and eventually took over the world, and Ni Er also made a great contribution.

Jia Cong asked Ni Er to set up the Jinyiwei and appointed him as the commander of the Jinyiwei.

This is a third-rank official position, but for the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, what is important is not the rank but the power in his hands.

The Jinyiwei can monitor all officials internally and is responsible for collecting various intelligence information from neighboring countries externally.

And he has the right to directly arrest ministers in the court.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard is a knife in the emperor's hand, dedicated to serving the emperor.

If used properly, it is a powerful weapon; if used improperly, it will surely become a disaster.

As of now, Jia Cong really needs the sword of Jinyiwei.

Ni Er might not be able to do other things, but he is very capable in being a Jinyiwei.

After calling Ni Er, Jia Cong instructed Ni Er to collect evidence of corruption of the eleven court officials who were begging for their remains.

Well, these eleven people actually never engaged in corruption in the new dynasty.

After all, how long has China been established?

But they must have been corrupt in the previous dynasty.

Jia Cong is actually using the knife of today to kill officials of the previous dynasty.

As for Ni Er, he had nothing else to say. After receiving Jia Cong's order, he went down directly.

Jia Cong has decided to take ruthless action against them.

As he said, the new policy is not like treating someone to a dinner, it does not require such courtesy and politeness.

The implementation of the new policy will involve bloodshed, and we must not compromise.

Any concession could lead to the failure of the new policy.

In this case, it would be better to show the butcher knife from the very beginning and scare them.

After the court was dismissed, more than 90% of the civil and military officials gathered at the homes of the eleven important officials who had asked to beg for their remains.

These officials were all filled with righteous indignation and spoke out for these eleven old gentlemen.

Some people even colluded and asked everyone to go on strike collectively to completely paralyze the six departments.

The emperor must be forced to make concessions.

They felt that the emperor was extremely disrespectful to the literati and officials, and they were determined to let the emperor know how powerful the literati and officials were.

Once someone made the proposal, many people responded.

This includes Mei Hanlin.

Yes, Mei Hanlin, as an old official of the previous dynasty, is now also serving as an official in the new dynasty.

Even Mei Hanlin's son was admitted to the Hanlin Academy. The fact that both father and son were Hanlins created a beautiful story.

After everyone left, they returned home.

Mei Hanlin's son couldn't help but ask, "Father, are we really going to go on strike? Will it really paralyze the six ministries? If so, wouldn't that seriously offend the emperor?"

"You know, our Mei family has offended the emperor."

Mei Hanlin's son and Xue Baoqin were originally engaged.

However, when Xue Baoqin came to the capital and prepared for her late marriage, the Mei Hanlin family broke their promise.

And now, Xue Baoqin has become the imperial concubine.

Princess Xue may not be above whispering in someone's ears. (End of this chapter)