Ming politicians

() It was March in a blink of an eye. During the busy farming season, Yan Zizhang was so busy that he was dizzy. When he first took up the post in Jiangning County, he began to worry about farming. According to the arrangement, Jiangning County will have a large-scale renovation of farming and ditches. 30 taels of silver came out, such a large amount of money, how could he not be trembling, for fear that something might go wrong.

In the busy process, he gradually became clear about some of the rules of Jiangning County. To put it bluntly, it is to take care of ordinary people and puss as much as possible, restrain the privileges of gentry and wealthy households, and between the two, maximize the neutralize the balance.For example, repairing ditches and cultivated land is to allow the pus to benefit directly. Most of the money from the county government is wages. Except for some necessary material purchases, the rest are distributed to the pus who work.

As for the exemption of the land tax, Yan Zizhang fully agreed. When he was in Mengjin County, he saw the plight of pus, and it is not an exaggeration to describe it as penniless.If the pus cannot be stabilized, the desperate pus will most likely join the bandits when the bandits are plundering.

The county government does not treat gentry, wealthy households and merchants across the board. It is definitely not using violence to forcibly confiscate their property. In fact, the county government is very polite to these people. There are many merchants in Jiangning County. There were more than 2000 households in the past, and it has increased to nearly [-] households. These merchants have basically paid donations and taxes to the county government. They are willing, and they are still secretly competing for the amount of donations. The treatment enjoyed is also higher.

As for the wealthy gentry.The focus is on grain, and the county government has exempted the land tax.However, rich gentry households who own a large amount of land are required to sell grain at a price lower than the market price. The grain is mainly sold to some grain merchants in the county to promote the business of grain trading.

The amount of silver donations paid by salt merchants was completely beyond Yan Zizhang's expectations, 160 million taels per year.Including the donations from merchants, this is more than 200 million taels. With so much income in the county government, there is no need for cao heart land tax, and the pus land tax can be completely avoided.

Of course, the expenditure is also very large, but this is not enough.It's all clear, and all of them have seen the effect, there is no extravagance and waste, and the money has been used in key places.

No wonder the situation in Jiangning County is getting better and better.

Yan Zizhang, who was busy, felt full of energy.It's a good mood to do things in such a place, and, in a short time, he may be the magistrate of Jiangning County.If it can promote the pace of development, wouldn't it be a great achievement.

Lan Qiao is describing himself.Arriving in Jiangning County, it seems like a carp jumping into the dragon's gate again. There are too many scholars in Jiangning County, especially in the Zhongxing Academy, which almost gathers most of the top scholars of the Ming Dynasty. I have been with these people for a long time. Qiaozheng felt that his level was improving rapidly, and his horizons were gradually broadening.

He spent the most time talking with Liu Zongzhou and Huang Daozhou, and each time he was modestly asking for advice and constantly comprehending.

He didn't need to worry too much about the affairs of the county government. The officials and government servants below are all elites. Some things, as long as they are arranged well, they can naturally do their best.

When it came to the busy farming season, Sun Chengzong, Lu Shanji, Liu Zongzhou, Huang Daozhou and others from the Zhongxing Academy all went to the fields to experience the busy farming season and at the same time do some research. I am still very interested in the matter. When I went to the villages and towns, I saw that most of them were busy in the fields. When I walked into my home, there was enough food in the rice tank. I didn’t have to worry about eating and drinking. I walked all over the villages and towns of Jiangning County. It is a great miracle to see a household without food.

Of course, the prosperity of merchants in the county has long been discovered, and there have been some disputes over the number of workshops. Some people think that there should not be too many people in workshops, which will affect farming, but the actual situation in Jiangning County The situation has made these people speechless. No one can refute the fact that the people have enough food and clothing. Merchants have earned a lot of money, and the money handed over to the county government has also increased. Burdened.

This is a track of benign development, and Liu Zongzhou and Huang Daozhou paid the most attention. They combined the situation here with some theories they had studied, and vaguely felt that what Su Tiancheng said was evil, although it sounded like It's not very comfortable, for example, the role of money should not be underestimated, and the spirit cannot always be used to encourage, no pains, no gains, etc., but these principles, when implemented in practice, can have a huge effect.

Slowly, they began to reflect, think about what they insisted on in the past, and they really need to make some changes. Facts speak louder than words.

A large number of literati and rich gentry came to Jiangning County. Some of them came here because of the reputation and insisted on joining the Zhongxing Academy. Some people wanted to see what was going on in Jiangning County. , Sun Chengzong and others continued to indoctrinate the ideas of the Zhongxing Academy, and even took everyone to visit and ask around Jiangning County.

Think about Sun Chengzong, Lu Shanji, Liu Zongzhou, Huang Daozhou and others, what kind of influence they have, everyone still believes what they say, and the prosperity and prosperity they see, most people are convinced .

Many merchants also came to Jiangning County. Here, they found business opportunities, and many people discussed that when the time was right, they would move to Jiangning County to do business.

This is probably what Su Tiancheng didn't think of. He also thought about it when he came here. Relying on the Zhongxing Academy, he gradually changed the views of the gentry and wealthy households, and then affected the court officials, and finally spread many ideas of seeking development to the Ming Dynasty. Everywhere, he thought this process would be a long one, to see if after ten years, the idea of ​​doing practical things could become the mainstream of the Ming Dynasty, but judging from the current situation, it would not take such a long time at all.

Speaking with facts, it really makes sense.

Huang Zaisheng, who was far away in Shanhaiguan, finally received his first letter.

The letter was written in early February, and it took a full month to arrive in Jiangning County. The person who came to deliver the letter was a merchant from the north, who knew nothing about it, so he handed the letter to Su Tiancheng, who had also heard about Jiangning County Wealthy, come and see if there is any way to make money.

After the merchant met Su Tiancheng, he didn't say anything. He didn't know that the letter he brought was for the magistrate of Jiangning County.

After receiving the letter, Su Tiancheng began to think about it.

At the beginning, Huang Zaisheng was arranged as an insider, but he did not take into account so many actual conditions. After all, dealing with the Eight Banners of Manchuria after the Jin Dynasty was still a long way off. Now that the situation has changed, the emperor and the court may not have so much patience. For a long time, the years of war will begin, so it has become a very important thing to penetrate the route of intelligence.

The best way is to let Qu Qingze take charge of such things, but unfortunately Qu Qingze has already left and returned to the stable.

Only Jinyiwei is the fastest transmission channel. If you want to focus on building an information system, it is unrealistic, not to mention that it will cost a lot of manpower and financial resources. Even if the emperor and the court know about it, what will they think?

When the merchant was resting in the mansion, Su Tiancheng opened the letter, and there were two letters inside.

The first letter actually begged Su Tiancheng to arrange suitable things for this merchant and not to return to the Shanhaiguan area for the time being. Moreover, this merchant has many family members and servants in Shanhaiguan. If he can gain a foothold in Jiangning County , It is necessary to do business, and when the time comes, there will be a fixed place to deliver letters, and it will be much easier to handle.

In the letter, Huang Zaisheng introduced the situation of this merchant in detail, saying that this merchant is reliable.

Su Tiancheng laughed secretly, it seems that Huang Zaisheng was a little considerate, and it might be for his own safety, if the merchants knew his identity, went back to Shanhaiguan, and spread the word, Huang Zaisheng might be in trouble.

After thinking about it for a while, Su Tiancheng called Su Jun and asked Su Jun to arrange for this merchant. In some cases, he could tell this merchant. Of course, doing business in Jiangning County is naturally also included in the plan.

After Su Jun left with the merchants, Su Tiancheng went back to the study again and opened the second letter.

A few minutes passed, and Su Tiancheng's face changed, becoming a little ugly.

The information that Huang Zaisheng mentioned this time is very important. It turns out that Hou Jin Huang Taiji wanted to unify Monan Mongolia and planned to conquer Chahar. The entire Liaodong and Liaobei are almost all occupied by Houjin. Now, Houjin wants to conquer and unify Monan Mongolia. If it succeeds, Houjin can directly threaten Yongping Prefecture, Yanqing Prefecture, and Xuanfu Town in North Zhili , Shanxi Datong, or even Miyun in Shuntian Prefecture, if you want to attack the capital, it will be much more convenient.

Moreover, as long as Hou Jin made a move to threaten the capital, it would be a huge shock.

Su Tiancheng was aware of Huang Taiji's mind, he was very ambitious, and it would not take long for him to think about unifying the Central Plains.

This time, the information sent by Huang Zaisheng must be accurate. Since Huang Taiji has made such a big move, he will definitely prepare carefully. According to the historical records, Huang Taiji's conquest of Monan Mongolia this time also invaded Datong, Shanxi, and the north. The Zhili Xuan and Da areas caused such a great shock that Zhu Youjian couldn't sleep at night, always thinking about the threat of Houjin.

Although this action of Hou Jin did not cause much shock, it already foreshadowed that the defense of the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong and Liaobei basically ceased to exist.