Ming politicians

The difficulty of the land reform was beyond Su Tiancheng's imagination. Many gentry and wealthy households united against the government and opposed the transfer of land to the imperial court. Moreover, some gentry and wealthy households were unwilling to hand over the land deeds, and were unwilling to follow the imperial court's decision. Selling the land at a low price, they put forward many demands, and even cursed the Jin Dynasty and Su Tiancheng.

After basically unifying the south, Su Tiancheng's idea is still to strive for stability. It is necessary to stabilize people from all aspects, including ordinary people and gentlemen and wealthy households. They cannot be biased towards a certain aspect. If it is completely for the interests of the common people, regardless of other aspects, In the end, there will still be big problems. After all, the common people in this era basically have no demands of their own.Therefore, the methods Su Tiancheng adopted were relatively gentle, and the imperial court had very strict requirements on officials at all levels. Unless it was absolutely necessary, force should not be used casually, nor would it cause many mass incidents.

It's a pity that there is something wrong with Su Tiancheng's thinking, it's too wishful thinking.

The difficulty of reform will exist after hundreds of years. Every major reform of the feudal dynasty is a revolution to change the dynasty. It can only be achieved by bloody means. It requires those with vested interests to give up their own interests. This is tantamount to If you want their lives, they will naturally fight you hard.

The matter that made Su Tiancheng furious and made up his mind came from Lishui County, which is under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture. In the process of carrying out the work of returning the land to the imperial court, the officials encountered opposition from the gentry and rich households. Three officials were killed and their bodies were hung up for public display. Many gentry and wealthy households were against such things.They are all in favor, and they have been publicized everywhere, which has led to the almost complete stagnation of the work of retrieving the land in Lishui County to the imperial court.

Su Tiancheng decided to make a move. As a time traveler, he knew very well how to use the power of ordinary people.Let these gentry and wealthy households live worse than death, but they were unwilling to do so at the beginning. Now these gentry and wealthy households have begun to confront the court for their own interests. Reasoning with them is of little use. The forced sale of the ginseng in the palace was not forced out by the gentry and wealthy households. Su Tiancheng didn't have so many scruples. The New Deal required bloodshed.

The Imperial Palace in Nanjing.Whether it is in terms of scale, or in terms of momentum and feng shui, it cannot be compared with the imperial palace in Beijing. Su Tiancheng's office is in Qianqing Palace, which is also the office of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The Imperial Palace in Nanjing, the terrain of the palace is high at the front and low at the back. When it rains, the waterlogging is serious.But the back of the palace is mainly the core of the palace.Zhu Shenxuan, Yang Sichang and others all suggested to renovate the imperial palace, but Su Tiancheng refused. Although the household department has a lot of silver, there are many places that need silver for good steel to be used in the blade.Besides, Su Tiancheng felt that the space occupied by the imperial palace was already very large, and there was no need for so much space, and the renovation was even more unnecessary.It is enough to live and work.

Zhu Shenxuan, Yang Sichang, Fan Jingwen, Zhang Pu, Hong Chengchou, Qu Qingze, Lu Xiangsheng, Xu Eryi, Su Jun, Xu Jili and others gathered in Qianqing Palace. All the prime ministers of the imperial court were present. Lu Xiangsheng was the minister of the Ministry of War. Xu Eryi is the Imperial Envoy of the Right Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and Su Jun is in charge of Dali Temple. Needless to say, this is a big issue to be discussed.

Su Tiancheng's expression was very serious. Xu Jili, governor of Yingtian Mansion, reported what happened in Lishui County. After careful investigation, the case has been solved. It was a gangster hired by a big family in Lishui County who brutally killed the officials of the county government. Moreover, the officials were stripped of their clothes, their eyes were gouged out, their noses were cut off, their lips were torn, and the genitals of three people were cut off, and they were hung in a conspicuous place in the county seat.

The impact of this incident was very bad. The officials in Lishui County were filled with righteous indignation, and they were ready to confront the gentry and wealthy households in the county, that is, to resort to violence.

After Xu Jili finished speaking, the expressions on everyone's faces were angry, even unbelievable. You can kill people. This is a conflict of interests, but you can't insult other people's bodies. In this era, everyone's The point of view is clear, if the body, hair and skin of the parents are incomplete, it will be considered unfilial.

As the head of the hundred officials, Zhu Shenxuan must be the first to speak.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the nature of this matter is too bad and must be severely punished, and we must not be lenient. As for the two murderers, I believe that the two murderers must be hacked into pieces, so that the anger in the hearts of officials can be calmed down. Severe torture of officials is not in favor, but in special times, special matters can be dealt with specially. As for the gentry and wealthy households in Lishui County, they should also be severely warned, and even necessary punishments should be taken for some stubborn resisters, so that the land can be guaranteed. The matter of returning to the imperial court will be carried out in an all-round way..."

During the process of Zhu Shenxuan's speech, everyone kept nodding, obviously agreeing with Zhu Shenxuan's opinion.

However, Su Tiancheng heard the smell from it. He always believed that the officials in the imperial court, in terms of their status, were members of the gentry and rich families. No matter from what point of view, the ruling class needs to protect themselves For the benefit, the gentry and wealthy households in Lishui County have fought against officials, which violates the big taboo. If they fight each other within a class, the punishment must be very strict, but if they treat the common people like this, everyone's attitude may be very serious. are different.

Although he has received a lot of advanced education, in Su Tiancheng's heart, he still insists on some things, such as the concept of elite politics. Some people think that elite politics is not acceptable. No, it is the common people who will bear the consequences in the end, those so-called elites will not have much to lose, so they still have to rely on the common people in the end, this understanding Su Tiancheng disagrees, no matter when, people who engage in political career will be called As a politician, or a politician, this is a group, that is, an elite group. To deny the existence of an elite group is to deceive yourself and others.

There is another point of view. Su Tiancheng believes that it is impossible to demand complete equality between officials and ordinary people. Even after hundreds of years, it is impossible for people to be completely equal, regardless of the political elites No matter how much you preach, this is actually impossible. A person's status and wealth can fully demonstrate his identity, and if he tries to force people to be completely equal, he will eventually lead to a chaotic situation.

Based on this understanding, Su Tiancheng acquiesced in certain privileges for officials, gentry and wealthy households. As long as they do things according to the requirements and safeguard the interests of the court, they are allowed to live a life of superiors and accept the worship and admiration of the common people. .

But there is one of the most basic conditions in it, that is, you must safeguard the decisions and interests of the imperial court, and you cannot go against the imperial court, otherwise your privileges can also be deprived by the imperial court.

In Zhu Shenxuan's words, although he was in favor of taking decisive measures, there was still a hint of protection for the gentry and rich households in it, and he issued a severe warning. This is actually a situation that Su Tiancheng does not want to see. Under the circumstances, it is useless to warn those gentry and wealthy households, and decisive measures must be taken.

"I understand your opinions, but I don't think so anymore. It should be said that at the beginning of the implementation of the imperial court's policy, I still considered all aspects. I needed to respect the so-called gentry and rich households and protect their interests. The development of the current situation proves that these ideas of mine are wrong, and it is difficult to reform the land policy without adopting iron and blood methods."

"You all know that I don't want to cause disturbances, and I don't even want to kill people. I'm afraid some people think that this is my weakness, and some people even secretly rejoice, thinking that I am just an unprincipled and confused king, and what I like is the superficial. Prosperous and prosperous, it is easy to be fooled, but unfortunately, I don't think so."

"I remember that a long time ago, I discussed with some of you courtiers. I am not opposed to enjoying the glory and wealth, and I am not opposed to officials and families of gentry and rich families living a good life. I will not be like a rogue. The banner of equalizing the rich and the poor, large-scale plundering of the gentry and rich households, these things are my bottom line, and now some people have misunderstood my bottom line, they don't know that the orders issued by the court are my biggest bottom line , anyone who touches this bottom line, no matter what his identity is, I will not forgive lightly."

"What happened in Lishui County, Mr. Xu will deal with it according to today's discussion. The perpetrators will pay for their lives, and the envoys will be beheaded together, and money will be used to compensate the officials who were killed. How to deal with it, the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple will intervene. Follow the relevant rules."

"Today, I would like to ask everyone to discuss a decision. The policy of taking the land back to the imperial court must be adhered to, and it must not be shaken. I used to think that it would be possible to return the land to the imperial court smoothly, but it seems impossible, so let's discuss it. One method is to forcibly take back the land. The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple have drafted a law. In my opinion, anyone who forcibly violates this decision will be directly held accountable by the government. Those who should be detained should be severely punished. During the land process, there were murders, and all those involved were beheaded. Most of the family’s property was confiscated, and a small part was left for the family to live in. I would like to remind you that this law must be clear and easy to operate. "

"The cabinet must check, and the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple will ultimately supervise the implementation."

This was an epoch-making discussion. After the regulations were promulgated, the gentry and wealthy households were greatly shocked. They knew that the court had taken action, and it was serious. If they continued to fight against the court or concealed the land, the punishment they would suffer would be miserable. In particular, the confiscation of property can be said to have hit most of its weaknesses.

Since then, the matter of clearing and recovering the land has been carried out quickly, laying a solid foundation for the prosperity of the Jin Dynasty. (To be continued..)