The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 574 A new generation replaces the old one [4000 words two-in-one chapter]

Li Xiya retired and Xie Siming took over.

The handover of the power of the First Assistant University of the Ming Dynasty was successfully completed.

Although there were a few small episodes in it, generally speaking, it did not have a big impact and was within the controllable range.

At this time of reforming the old and reforming the old, the officials of the Manchu Dynasty sent congratulations to the new Shoufu.

Whether it's the six ministers, the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, or the official of the Ke Dao, they have praised Xie Shen as an eternal star with their extremely beautiful words.

This is in stark contrast to the silence of the officials when Yang Yiqing launched an attack.

At that time, most of the civil servants had a wait-and-see attitude.Don't be in a hurry to express your attitude and stand in a team, and wait until one side shows its winning power before making a decision.

This is actually the way to survive in the officialdom, and there is nothing wrong with it.After all, no one will stand behind you selflessly except your mother and father.

The important thing is that these officials can truly support Xie Shen's new policy and contribute to the reform of Ming Dynasty.

Xie Shen is very satisfied to be able to do this.

As for Yang Yiqing, no one would care about his life or death.

Exile in Qiongzhou Prefecture, where snakes and scorpions are everywhere, basically announced the end of Yang Yiqing's official career.When civil servants talked about this former colleague, they could only express a few words with emotion.

There is no way, who can't fight well, but wants to fight with the chosen one, isn't that courting death?
Pressing these aside, it is said that three years later, that is, in the eighth year of Zhengde, potatoes and corn were fully promoted and planted in the two capitals and the thirteen chief ministers of the Ming Dynasty.

After three years of hard work, the people of Ming Dynasty finally accepted this new foreign crop.

This is not an easy task.

You must know that the people of Ming Dynasty, especially the people of Zhuanghu, are very conservative.

Believes the old very strongly, and the new takes great effort to be accepted.

Coupled with the fact that the imperial power does not descend to the county level, the Ming Dynasty's decree was passed down to the county level at most.

Further down, it cannot be carried out by the government alone, and the cooperation of the local patriarch is needed.

In this way, a lot of work needs to be done, and there are many little-known transactions, the complexity of which is far beyond ordinary people's imagination.

Of course, after the actual planting, the common people have tasted the benefits, and they will take the initiative to plant it without the government's advocacy.

This is an extremely important matter for Daming.

The Ming Dynasty finally perished because the land annexation was too serious, and most of the land and wealth were concentrated in the hands of a small number of people.

This abnormal gap between the rich and the poor naturally caused the poor people to feel unbalanced, and they were fooled by those who wanted to, and they rose up and fought desperately with the court.

In addition, there is a self-respecting Li Chengliang in the north. He thought everything was under control, but he got rid of the Jurchen fattening and was pushed to subjugate the country by a wave of flats. It is really miserable.

Well now, with high-yield grain to solve the food problem, large-scale peasant uprisings will not break out.

The people of the Ming Dynasty were actually very docile, just like those of previous dynasties.As long as they are fed and not hungry, they will not raise flags to rebel.

After all, no one wants to live in fear with his head pinned to his waistband.

Of course, the land issue is the root cause. Only solving the food problem without solving the land problem will cause problems sooner or later, but the outbreak of conflicts will be slower.

This is also the reason why Xie Shen tried his best to promote land reform.

Land reform encountered greater resistance than the planting of new crops.

This is also understandable, after all, the land is the lifeblood of the gentry and landlords.The land reform is to cut their flesh with a knife.

But it is impossible not to cut this meat. If this meat is not cut, the Ming Dynasty will be sore and rot, and finally collapsed.

Xie Shen's land reform plan is very simple, that is, to return all the land properties entrusted to the big households to the original owners.As for the land of corrupt officials and criminals, it will be divided equally.

Land clearing nationwide is the basis for this step.Of course, the land under the name of temples and Taoist temples is the focus of inventory.

Land equalization is only the first step, and the next step is grain tax reform.

Daming was still an agricultural society, so grain tax was an important source of annual income.

Although the commercial tax accounts for an increasing proportion, no one dares to touch the grain tax because it is the foundation of the country.

Xie Shen moved without hesitation.

Because he understands that if the grain tax does not change, it will be difficult for Daming to develop its hard power.

Xie Shen's food tax reform can be summed up in one sentence, which is to abolish poll tax.

Unsurprisingly, this plan was opposed by all civil officials when it was first proposed.

After all, the feudal dynasty has collected poll taxes for 2000 years, and the risk of just abolishing them is too great.

In fact, this was also expected by Xie Shen.

After all, when Zhang Jiangling implemented a whip method, he encountered strong resistance, and it couldn't even be implemented locally.And Xie Shen's abolition of the poll tax is obviously more thorough than a whip.

But Xie Shen was not worried.Because the emperor firmly supported him.

According to the New Deal, people without land no longer have to pay grain taxes, which is tantamount to liberating this part of the labor force.It allows them to devote themselves to handicrafts, commerce and other industries.

Otherwise, as long as there is a male in the family, he has to pay taxes, whether it is tax in kind or silver, it is extremely unfair.After all, some people no longer work in farming and sang, but instead do other things.

This reform cannot avoid labor pains, but as long as it survives, it will be of great benefit to the improvement of comprehensive national strength.

As the saying goes, long-term pain is worse than short-term pain.Rather than being tortured by the grain tax all the time, it would be better to cut it off with a single knife.

Of course, there are also big problems with directly collecting silver taels, that is, it is easy to hoard goods and cause food shortages.

Therefore, Xie Shen did not force the payment of silver taels, but let the people choose freely, they can pay grain or silver.

In this way, a balance will be reached, and the possibility of food shortages will be greatly reduced.

However, there is one point in Xie Shen's new policy that is consistent with Zhang Jiangling's whipping method, and that is to replace corvee with Bank of Communications.

This part is done by the imperial court to hire professional laborers, which can be regarded as the refinement of social division of labor.

The common people are naturally in favor of this point.Corvée is too hard, and it can be confiscated at any time.Sometimes it is the busy season of farming, but corvée has to be conscripted to build river embankments. Are you going or not?
Go ahead. No one is working the fields.If you don't go, you are refusing corvee service, and you will be spanked by the government board.

Well now, the imperial court stipulates that you can be exempted from corvee as long as you pay a piece of money, and the special handyman will do it, and the people will naturally applaud.

Of course, there is also a problem with this, that is, the number of handymen in the country is limited.If you encounter a large project, it is impossible to complete it only with the existing handymen.

At this time, temporary recruitment is required.

However, the imperial court also issued silver money to these recruiters.

It means that under special circumstances, the people have changed from the previous unpaid work to paid work, and they must have a lot of balance in their hearts.

At first glance, Xie Shen's new policy seems to be very open-minded, but it is actually formulated based on the facts and is very pragmatic.

The process of people's mentality change from resistance to acceptance to welcome also reflects the process.

The Ming Dynasty has never lacked clear streams of boasting, but there is too much shortage of doers who can calm down and do things well.

This is also the reason why Zhang Juzheng was able to obtain such a high historical status.

Of course, Xie Shen will not follow Zhang Juzheng's old path. It is impossible to monopolize the power if the New Deal can be implemented.At least let Zhu Houzhao play a pivotal role in the reform.

Only in this way will the young emperor have the desire to continue reforming.

Of course, this is also the category of psychology. Politics itself is a constant game and compromise.It is impossible for only one party to benefit for a long time.

The reformer needs firm resolve.Reformers also need a well-equipped team.

There are not many people Xie Shen can rely on now, namely Wang Shouren, Gu Dingchen, and Tang Yin.

But as long as these three people can perform their duties, they can still deal with possible troubles.

Man is actually a very strange and eccentric creature.

Often you still insist on a point of view a moment ago, but after something happens, your attitude will change drastically.

Just like the corn and potatoes that were previously promoted.Before the implementation, there were endless voices of opposition from the officials to the common people.But Xie Shen insisted on carrying it out, and after the autumn harvest, everyone was dumbfounded.

This new kind of grain is too high-yielding, and the taste is not bad. Wouldn't it be a pity not to grow it?
In fact, Xie Shen is more of a guide, guiding Daming to the most suitable path.

But this role is dangerous at the same time, and one must be careful of opponents' counterattacks. After all, too many vested interests have been offended, and it is unknown if they are attacked together.

Since Xie Shen is committed to reform, he has made up his mind.The only thing I can't let go of is my family.

So he must not fail, and must not be in danger, otherwise the lives of his most cherished family members will be affected.

Now Wang Shouren has been promoted to Minister of the Ministry of War, and Gu Dingchen is the second assistant and the Minister of the Ministry of Households.Xie Shen is the chief assistant and concurrently the official secretary.

Tang Yin is the left servant of the Ministry of Rites.

The most important four of the six are from our own people, so naturally there won't be too many constraints in the implementation of the New Deal.

As for the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Industry, they don't have their own people, but it doesn't matter if these two places are not the most important departments.

After the court meeting that day, Zhu Houzhao left behind Xie Shen, Gu Dingchen, Tang Yin, Wang Shouren and Liu Ran, Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

The emperor was very concerned about the construction of the mausoleum.At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he ordered the Ministry of Industry to go to investigate.However, due to various reasons, the construction of the imperial mausoleum was temporarily put on hold.

Now that everything is on the right track, Zhu Houzhao naturally thought of this again, and the cabinet team came to inquire.

The five people present are all cabinet ministers now.

Except for Xie Shen and Gu Dingchen, the rest are group assistants.

Arranged according to the time of joining the cabinet, Wang Shouren was earlier than Liu Ran, and Liu Ran was earlier than Tang Yin.But in fact, none of the three had a bachelor's title, but only participated in maintenance.

Zhu Houzhao cleared his throat and said, "Liu Qing, how is the construction of the mausoleum going?"

The construction of the mausoleum is naturally the work of the Ministry of Industry, and Liu Ran is duty bound.

He bowed his hands to Zhu Houzhao and said: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the main hall, middle hall, and apse have been built in the underground palace. Now only the left and right side halls are left."

Xie Shen said in his heart that fortunately, the tombs of the Ming Dynasty were built in Tianshou Mountain in Changping, so there is no need to think too much about Fengshui.Otherwise, with Zhu Houzhao's temperament, it may take more than ten years to study Fengshui.

After all, Xie Shen is a time traveler, and has always been disgusted with such things as building mausoleums.

First, repairing the mausoleum is a huge project.Countless craftsmen need to be recruited, and it will take several years or even decades.

Some emperors repaired the mausoleum as soon as they ascended the throne, and the mausoleum was not completed until the death of the emperor.

Moreover, in order to ensure that the underground palace will not be discovered after the mausoleum is built, the craftsmen will be buried alive in the ground, which is really cruel.

From the emperor's point of view, this is naturally reasonable, but it does not conform to the humanitarian concept.

Anyway, Xie Shen will definitely fight this matter with reason.Could it be that if you bury the craftsman who built the mausoleum alive in the ground, you will not be robbed of the tomb?

It also underestimates the professional level of the tomb robbers.
Zhu Houzhao is a good boy, and Xie Shen believes that as long as he makes the truth clear, Zhu Houzhao will agree to let the craftsmen who built the mausoleum live.

Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed when he heard the words, and praised: "Very good, very good. Liu Qing really puts his heart into doing things, and he deserves a reward."

Liu Ran was very proud, and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty has given you too much praise, these are the duties of a minister."

He thought in his heart that it was finally the turn of the Ministry of Industry, if he didn't seize the opportunity, wouldn't he be too sorry for himself?

Zhu Houzhao was so flattered by being flattered, he laughed and said: "If you have meritorious service, you should be rewarded. I will reward you with three hundred pieces of silk cloth and a thousand taels of gold."

This is a great reward, Liu Ran excitedly pushed the golden mountain and inverted the jade pillar and knelt down on the ground, and the atmosphere of Shan Hu Long live was very harmonious.

But at this moment, Xie Shen cleared his throat and said, "Building the mausoleum is certainly important, but Your Majesty should still focus more on political affairs."

Tsk tsk, this is what Xie Shen dared to say, if it was someone else, he might be pulled out of the court.

The majesty of the king cannot be offended, even if you are a high-ranking official.

"Haha, sir, that's what you said. But recently, the country is prosperous and the people are safe, and the auspiciousness is frequent, so there is not much for me to worry about, right?"

Zhu Houzhao's words are true. In the past three years, the weather in Daming has been smooth, and there has not been a single drought or flood.This is extremely rare for the vast Ming Dynasty.

Coupled with the implementation of the New Deal, the increase in treasury tax revenue, and the drill of the new army are on the right track, the Ming Dynasty seems to be rejuvenating.

Perhaps to take advantage of this spring breeze, auspicious signs are frequently reported everywhere.What Ganoderma lucidum, white tiger, and cranes all scrambled to take the lead.

After all, Zhu Houzhao is a young man with a strong vanity.

Seeing auspiciousness appearing frequently, he naturally attributed it to himself.

Xie Shen felt that it was necessary for him to educate him, otherwise Zhu Houzhao's tail would not be up to the sky.

As the saying goes, the king of Chu has a thin waist. If Zhu Houzhao's attitude does not change, this auspiciousness may continue to appear.

"Your Majesty, you can't trust auspicious things. Some of them may be true, and some of them are fabricated by local officials. Your Majesty should be good at distinguishing through personal photos."

In fact, auspiciousness is true if you say it is true.If you say it is false, it is false. There is really no conclusion to speak of.

But speaking also requires skill and art.

Although in Xie Shen's view, auspiciousness is basically concocted.But you can't say that.Otherwise, His Majesty the Emperor would be very shameless.

I had no choice but to mix the truth with the false.As long as it can have the effect of persuasion, these words are not in vain.

(End of this chapter)