Han ride

Chapter 350
Zhou Yanru's resignation not only caused strong repercussions in the Central Plains, but compared with Wen Tiren, the scholars in the Central Plains were still willing to accept Zhou Yanru.Wen Tiren's reputation is not very good among scholars, especially in the Jiangnan area. When Qian Qianyi wanted to enter the cabinet, he was bullied by Wen Tiren. After Wen Tiren entered the cabinet, he drove Qian Qianyi to Nanjing. He became the servant of the Ministry of Rites.Although Nanjing is also an accompanying school and has six departments, how can the six departments in that place be compared with the six departments in the capital?That place is a place where some people who are unwilling to go will go, and only some old people will go.It can be seen from this that Wen Tiren is not a broad-minded person.There are even rumors that Wen Tiren once wrote poems praising Wei Zhongxian when Wei Zhongxian was in power. Of course, everyone does not know the truth.However, Wen Tiren's reputation was not very good, but it actually spread.

"Although Zhou Yanru is not very good, in the imperial court, no one can help the emperor without him? It's a pity." In the Liuli Palace, Li Xin shook his head looking at the information in his hand.

"No one in the imperial court can use it, no matter how powerful the emperor is." Shi Yuan stroked his beard and smiled.

"It's not that no one is available, it's just that no talents have been found." Li Xin pointed to the crowd and said, "The great talents of you gentlemen are all the talents of the prime minister. Unfortunately, they can only be used by me, Li Xin."

"My lord praised you." Although they knew that this was just Li Xin's words of praise, everyone was still very happy. Even Zhang Chun couldn't help showing a smile on his face.Now under Li Xin's command, there are only five people available. Although this number is far less than that of the imperial court, they are different from the imperial court in that these five people are all great talents. Tired, concentrating on running the army made Li Xin a lot easier.

"I heard that Wen Tiren has a good impression of the lord, and he has helped the lord a lot?" Song Xiance pointed to a part of the information and said, "Hehe, he once used the lord as a sword to drive Zhou Yanru down."

"Wen Tiren is a villain!" Zhang Chun had dealt with Wen Tiren before, stroked his gray beard, and said with a sneer, "When Wei Zhongxian was alive, he had seen Wei Zhongxian, but this person is very cunning, the emperor just succeeded, He sensed that Wei Zhongxian was bound to fall, so he quickly defected."

"What about the court has nothing to do with us. The key is that we have too few talents here. What can you do?" Li Xin waved his hand. Li Xin has no time to take care of the trivial matters of the court. What he is worried about is My own territory is too big to manage, and the grassland is different from the Central Plains, with fewer cities and more tribes, so it is very difficult to manage.

"My lord, you can write a letter to Emperor Chongzhen, and you can be more earnest in your words, asking him to send officials to govern the grassland." Shi Yuanzhi rolled his eyes and said, "Every time the imperial court takes the imperial examination, I don't know how many civil servants appear. I don’t know how many candidates there are in the government and the opposition, and many of them are unhappy. If such a person can guard one side, many people must be willing."

"This?" Li Xin's complexion changed when he heard the words, and he hesitated for a long time before he said, "I definitely agree with recruiting talents, but how many literati in the imperial court can do things?"

Everyone was surprised. They had followed Li Xin for a long time and knew Li Xin's temper. Li Xin had very little appreciation for court officials.For example, the few in front of him, but in fact, he seldom appreciates the officials of the court, and even has a contemptuous attitude, which is very surprising.You must know that being an official in this era is done by an elite group of scholars, and it is extremely legitimate for such people to govern the world.

"Everyone, do you know why there is a rebellion within the imperial court?" Li Xin glanced at everyone and asked suddenly.

"There is a famine in the sky, officials are corrupt and accept bribes are countless, they can't do their best to relieve the disaster, and some ambitious people are jumping up. The combination of the three, naturally there will be many rebellions." Shi Yuanzhi looked a little strange. Looking at Li Xin, I didn't know that Li Xin's jump was so big, he jumped from the aspect of talent to this aspect all at once.

"What Mr. said is only superficial phenomena. In fact, there is only one root of all this, and that is land." Li Xin stood up rarely, with a solemn expression, and said: "Land should be in the hands of the state, not private ownership. It is only natural that the people should pay taxes to the state for renting and planting land, but now it is different. Rent and plant land from these people, and then pay taxes to the court on the one hand, but also pay taxes to these people on the other hand. In this way, no matter it is a bad year or a good year, the people will not have enough to eat. In the court, it was once said, Scholars don't need to pay food, but if they are famous scholars, they can protect some people from paying food. In this way, in order not to pay food, the common people will put their land in the name of those scholars with fame, so that they can pay less food. Or they don’t pay the food. If the court lacks this link, the income will decrease. How can the rebellion be suppressed if there is no money? So the only way is to increase the salary. Today is Liao’s salary, and tomorrow will be another salary. The people are miserable, so naturally So they started a rebellion. Gentlemen, what do you think?"

After Shi Yuanzhi and the others heard this, they all had contemplative expressions on their faces.Li Xin's remarks are actually not very advanced, and someone has mentioned them before, but they are not as straightforward and clear as what Li Xin said.

"Dare to ask my lord, is there a solution?" Sun Yuanhua, who had been silent all this time, spoke up.Everyone was also looking at Li Xin, waiting for Li Xin's answer. Looking at many reformers in history, although they used many methods, very few of them really achieved great results. How much of an effect can the law play?

"If we talk about the solution? It's very difficult." Li Xin thought for a while and said, "One is state-owned land, and the other is to encourage business. Now those rich people, once they have money, the first thing The thing is not to expand production and get more money, but to use it to buy land, and the land will become more concentrated. If they are encouraged to expand production and let them use the money instead of buying land, this will avoid Large-scale land annexation can also liberate those laborers who have no land and let them work in workshops to earn money. Of course, these merchants have to pay taxes. In this way, the court will not be short of money and force the people Tax paid."

"National ownership of the land? Improve the status of businessmen?" Whether it is Shi Yuanzhi or others, they are all from the background of scholars. Talented people will deal with those stinky and stupid things all day long. Now Li Xin wants to improve the status of a businessman, which is a bit unacceptable.

"Actually, there is another way, but although this way is good, it is a pity that it offends more people." Li Xin cast a glance at the crowd and said, "The officials and gentry work as one, and pay as one."

"Ah!" Everyone jumped up, even the boss who opened his eyes, Song Xiance, was obviously even more shocked by this statement, not to mention the officials of the imperial court, even the current Song Xiance and others, after following Li Xin, There are hundreds of acres of pastures in the family. These officials also need to eat and drink, and they also need to pay attention to ostentation. If they have no money, they can't do anything.Why do people want to be officials, isn't it for money and power?Isn't it just for superiority?Scholars have privileges, so that scholars will support themselves.If Li Xin really adopts this method, I am afraid that more than half of the scholars in the world will go away.

"How is it? Just look at the expressions on everyone's faces. You can tell that this is not the way to solve it." Li Xin rolled his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face, but everyone could see that Li Xin's smile was bitter, perhaps in his heart. I have had this idea for a long time.

"My lord, scholars are the foundation of the imperial court. Similarly, my lord has great ambitions. If you want to rule the world, you need the support of scholars. This method can certainly help us get a lot of soldiers, but it makes us lose the support of scholars. The gains outweigh the losses." Shi Yuanzhi sighed.He is a smart person, and he immediately saw the advantages and disadvantages of this, but after thinking for a while, he still raised an objection.

"That's right, my lord, this world is the world of scholars. My lord, it's better to discuss this matter in the long term. The subordinates know that the lord is benevolent and righteous, but they haven't yet won the world. When people in the world oppose it, it will be even more difficult for the lord to take over the world." Zhang Chunji was very experienced and persuaded.Those who can sit here are all outstanding people carefully selected by Li Xin. They will not shake the foundation of Li Xin because of their own selfish interests. As long as Li Xin is around, their interests will be guaranteed, but other people are different. , What Li Xin needs now is not only a strong army, but more importantly, the hearts of the people. To put it more thoroughly, it is the hearts of scholars.However, unlike Shi Yuanzhi, Zhang Chun's proposal revealed this plan faintly, and it would be better to make calculations after Li Xin seized the world.

"Hehe, I'm just talking casually. If we follow this strategy, wouldn't it appear that I, Li Xin, are too incompetent?" Li Xin laughed loudly and said, "Actually, the way to prevent this kind of land annexation is only three One, the first is to be nationalized, and trading is prohibited; the second is to encourage business, and let those businessmen invest their money in other places; the third! It is to use the sword in our hands to create more land for the common people. The earth It is so vast, can't we find more land for our people to cultivate?"

"Master Shengming." Shi Yuanzhi and the others looked at each other. Although they had some opinions on improving the status of businessmen, they couldn't help being moved by Li Xin's rhetoric.Land is a problem that has never been solved by any dynasty. Every time there is a famine, if the government is effective, it may be no problem for the local governments to provide disaster relief, but they are also cautious, for fear of civil unrest. If the government is not effective, it is like In the current Ming Dynasty, there are countless rebels.For this method, Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin once set up the forbidden army and the Xiang army system. Every year when the famine comes, soldiers are recruited from the refugees, which can reduce the risk of rebellion. Unfortunately, it is only a temporary solution. Only Li Xin has the courage to seize more land for the people with swords and swords. In addition, these lands are state-owned, which can prevent new occupation of land from being owned by powerful landlords and let more people without owners Owning more land avoids the possibility of land merger to a certain extent.Although it may cause the possibility of militarism, as long as it is controlled properly, many benefits can still be obtained.Perhaps in this way, more landlords' support can be obtained, at least, there is still the possibility of acquiring land.

Although Li Xin's face was full of smiles, he sighed deeply in his heart. Whether it was the cunning Shi Yuanzhi, or the conspiratorial Song Xiance, or the sophisticated Zhang Chun, Wen Cai, etc. Zhang Cai, who is flying high, or Sun Yuanhua, who is skilled, are all outstanding figures in this era, but their knowledge is also limited, and their eyes are all nailed to the land. Even if this matter is beneficial to the people of the world, they are just Support yourself with limits.

But no matter what, your plan still needs to be implemented.Even if these people object, it is the same. Just as Zhang Chun said, the world is not peaceful now, and he is just living in a corner. People in the world seem to be the emperor Chongzhen who is aloof, but in fact he is still a scholar. They are doing county magistrates, prefects, etc., and even in charge of military and political power. If they offend them, maybe Li Xin can only nest in the grassland and do A vassal king, even a vassal king can't be done, but if he can win the world, it will be different.Even if these people are opposed, they can't stop Li Xin's footsteps.

At this point, he has to admire Zhang Chun, this old guy looks like he is going to die, but when he looks at things, he often hits the nail on the head. It is suggested that he make plans after unifying the world.At that time, even if someone objected, it would not be a big deal.

"During this time, we still need to be more respectful to the imperial court and ask them to send some scholars. Our salary can be raised a bit, half as high as that of the imperial court." Li Xin said loudly with a swipe of his pen.

"Your Majesty is wise, and under heavy rewards, there must be brave men." Shi Yuanzhi nodded, and Zhang Chun and others also showed joy. Being an official for thousands of miles is only for money, but the Ming Dynasty is different from the Song Dynasty. Officials in the Song Dynasty He was very rich and had a lot of benefits, but it was different in the Ming Dynasty. Official salaries in the Ming Dynasty were very low. According to the 25th year of Hongwu, the annual salary system for civil and military officials at home and abroad was re-established.One thousand and 44 stones for the first rank, 880 eight stones for the first rank, 730 two stones for the second rank, 570 six stones for the second rank, 420 stones for the third rank, 310 two stones for the third rank, 280 eight stones for the fourth rank, 250 two stones for the fourth rank, The fifth grade is 190 stones, the fifth grade is 160 stones, the sixth grade is 120 stones, the sixth grade is 96 stones, the seventh grade is ninety stones, the seventh grade is 84 stones, the eighth grade is 78 stones, the eighth grade is 72 stones, and the ninth grade is 66 stones. Grade 36 stones, from grade nine to sixty stones, and [-] stones that have not entered the stream.The thinness of official salaries is well-known in history. Ming Yu Shenxing's "Gushan Bichen" records: The monthly salary of the prime minister in the Five Dynasties and the Northern Han Dynasty was only "a hundred coins" (one coin is one thousand coins), "compared with the end of the Tang Dynasty. It’s too reduced”, and the Ming Dynasty “is the prosperity of today’s unification, and the prime minister’s monthly salary can’t be half that, so the salary in modern times can be said to be extremely thin.”

Although this is only a salary on the surface, these officials still have a lot of gains in private, but no matter what, the salary is still very small, welcoming and sending, doing business around, and drilling around, all of which need money. There is only so much salary, where can I get it without corruption?Even if there is still business in private, it is still a good thing to have more money.Some honest officials disdain those activities, so they live a poor life.Take Hai Rui for example. When Hai Rui served as the county magistrate of Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province, he wore cloth robes and ate miscellaneous grains. Even so, to feed his family, he had to rely on his old servants to grow vegetables.Hai Rui's mother bought a piece of meat for her birthday. The news immediately spread throughout the official circles in Zhejiang. Even Governor Hu Zongxian was surprised and said, "I heard that yesterday Hai Rui bought two catties of meat for his mother's birthday." It can be seen that, With the legal income of a county magistrate at that time, it was very strange to buy two catties of meat to eat.

Li Xin will increase the salaries of officials at this time. It can be said that it is excellent news for those poor scholars and officials who do not want to engage in corruption. It may not attract those with integrity, but it can also explain one point. Li Xin is still very kind to the officials.

"It's good to attract officials to come here, and it would be even better if we can attract more scholars." Li Xin said again: "This Marquis is going to build an academy on the grassland. youngsters who practice martial arts and read books at the same time, let them know our Chinese characters and learn our culture. The grasslands will not only produce elite soldiers, but also scholars. Decades later, the grasslands will be full of Chinese speakers and Chinese characters. After this incident, we can be regarded as leaving a name in history."

"My subordinates, scholars from all over the world, thank you, my lord." Zhang Chun, Zhang Cai, Sun Yuanhua and the others had their eyes brightened, and they stood up quickly and said.Only Shi Yuanzhi and Song Xiance looked at each other, and a trace of horror flashed across their eyes.

It seems that Li Xin is spreading the civilization of the Han family, but in fact, Li Xin is exterminating the culture of the Mongols. Maybe after more than a hundred years, the word Mongolia is only spread in legends. The prairie people who threatened the Central Plains would also consider themselves Han Chinese.This is more terrifying than extermination.

(End of this chapter)