The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 170 Deals and threats! Where is the confidence of the gentry?

Big and small Jiuqing.

The duke is noble.

All appear on this account book.

One by one, no one can escape.

Even if they themselves have not been corrupted or bribed, the families behind them have done so.

Of course, Zhu Houzhao left some dignity to the three true kings of the court, Liu Jian, Ma Wensheng and Zhang Fuhua, without mentioning their names.

"Even if they don't take bribes or take advantage of people's interests, what about the clans and families behind them? Is it possible that they have painstakingly trained you to read and practice calligraphy and become a successful person, just to make you become that saint?"

"Of course, the same is true for you nobles, but the number of nobles is only a small number after all, and there are so many officials in the world, and there are so many gentry in the world. Every time an imperial examination is held in an average county, one Jinshi and one Jinshi will be born. Hundreds of scholars and three hundred scholars are all gentry with fame and privilege. Just imagine how many gentry and country gentry will appear in the Ming Dynasty a hundred years later, and how many lands will they annex? "

Tang Hao said coldly: "Because of their fame and privileges, these scholars can annex fields on a large scale, and the people in the countryside will even take the initiative to dedicate their fields to them. They would rather be tenants of these gentry and country squires than be yeoman farmers to the court." Pay taxes, do you know why?”

Directly abolishing the Yunsi and allowing the Beijing army to station in the salt field would mean that all the interests of the salt administration were controlled by Tang Hao, the Marquis of Zhongshan. At that time, all parties would not even get a share of the pie. If they dared to reach out to the salt field, the Marquis of Zhongshan would Dare to kill their whole family!

Everyone looked around and saw Chang Kuohai riding feebly on his horse. After noticing Tang Hao's gaze, he just said one word in a concise and concise manner.

"Have you been short of food or drink these past few days? Let's go out and eat meat and game. Why are you calling me every day?"

Damn it, they had clearly agreed to take a boat directly to Linqing, but the Marquis had to change his mind at the last minute and sneaked them off the boat one night, without even taking the little girl with him.

"It is very ironic to say that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty is the master of the country of the Ming Dynasty. The whole world is not the king's land, and the shore of the land is the king's ministers!"

When the generals heard this, their scalps suddenly felt numb.

"But the imperial decree can only be issued to various prefectures and counties, but never reaches the countryside below the county seat! Why is this?"

The more Tang Hao talked, the crazier he became, and he even had a ferocious look on his face!

"But what about these gentry, country gentlemen, and officials? The change of dynasty has nothing to do with them. They suddenly became loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and they are everywhere in the countryside. They were the real owners of the fields in the early days of the founding of the Ming Dynasty!"

Tang Hao raised his riding whip and pointed at a mansion not far away.

Tang Hao rolled his eyes at Tang Mu angrily and roared: "Take your uncle's boat. The boat has sailed to Linqing. You can fly over and sit on it!"

"Why do the gentry and gentry dare to challenge His Majesty the Emperor?"

Tang Mu couldn't restrain his curiosity and took the initiative to mention what happened just now.

Tang Hao waved his riding whip and looked back at the generals.

The generals looked in the direction of Tang Hao's finger, and all looked thoughtful.

The Changjia Chang here is known as "the one who manages the affairs within a mile" and is responsible for cooperating with the local county government to collect taxes from the common people and arrange corvee services. Therefore, this is actually equivalent to the court handing over this power to the rural gentry. The final result That is, "Tu emperors" appeared one after another.

"I won't talk nonsense to you anymore. Seventy percent of the salt profits will go to the treasury, and half of the salt profits will go to the kitchen households. From now on, it will be custom-made. If it is less than half a point, there is no need for the existence of these six fortune divisions!"

"The gentry and squires control the fields in the countryside, and they control the people. Because if the people want to survive, they have to cultivate food to be self-sufficient, and if they want to cultivate, they need fields, so the people have to obey the orders of these gentry and squires who are entrenched in the countryside. Therefore, these gentry and squires have the right to speak in the countryside, and they are the real owners of these fields!”

Zuo Yidao opened his mouth in a rare move.

When Zuo Yidao heard this, he almost burst into tears.

Following Tang Hao's thinking, the scientific examination is held once every three years, and a normal person's life span is fifty or sixty years. If this is passed on from generation to generation, and generations of gentry and squires annex fields, how many fields are there in the Ming Dynasty for them to annex and occupy? ?

In the end, how many farmers will be left, and how many acres of land will be left?

"Without enough food, the people were in dire straits. The number of refugees increased sharply, and they gathered to cause chaos and revolt... Then, with a bang, the Ming Dynasty collapsed!"

After all, in today's world, life is very difficult for ordinary farmers. How can they have the nerve to ask others for food?

After calling the names one by one, the little emperor found that the anger in his heart was gradually dissipating, replaced by endless sadness and sadness.

All the officials had their heads buried tightly. Who dares to show his head at this time? The little emperor is really good at killing people!

Therefore, this choice is not difficult to make!

Two and a half percent salt profit is indeed a lot.

This is no longer a matter of "disrespect", this is completely treasonous remarks!

The two of them had not yet recovered from the shock, so they all shook their heads in confusion.

As soon as these words came out, everyone looked at Tang Hao in shock.

"For example, San Yang, whose family is one of the top tycoons in the local area; and for example, these nine ministers above the court, their families often have thousands of acres of fertile land under their name!"

"Master Hou, why did you drop this?"

The words Tang Hao said before were like thunder on the ground, exploding in everyone's ears!

"Because the gentry enjoys the privileges of fame and fame, they can be exempted from certain taxes and do not have to bear corvee labor!"

Brother, do you want to listen to what you are saying?

"What will be the end result?"

This is the most basic common sense.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"So, every time the government levies taxes, it is actually a tax apportionment again and again. The gentry and the gentry control the most fields, but they are not saints. They will not pay if they can, or they will find ways to evade taxes and pay less, and the court The corresponding tax amount has long been divided according to the wealth of a county, and the corresponding tax must be paid when the time comes! "

The main reason was that he was afraid that the Marquis of Zhongshan would suddenly become murderous and would want to kill someone again at the slightest disagreement.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, everything was in ruins, and a unified grassroots organizational framework was not immediately formulated. Some of the rural organizations in various places were inherited from the Yuan Dynasty, and some were reorganized or created.

Perhaps, his father also faced such a ridiculous situation back then?

"Because the countryside is the fields, and the real owner of the fields is not our Emperor, but the gentry and squires who occupy the countryside and control the fields!"

The county magistrate is known as the "Marquis of a Hundred Miles" and seems to be the first person in the local countryside, but in fact the entire countryside is in the hands of these gentry and squires, and it is the county magistrate's responsibility to collect taxes on time and in amount. The first priority is that all fools know that these gentry and country squires must not be offended, otherwise the position of county magistrate will not be secure!

Even Liu Jian, Ma Wensheng and Zhang Fuhua, none of them expected that the little emperor had such a skill.

Even the Celestial Empire hundreds of years later has been committed to this arduous road.

Tang Hao looked deeply and sighed quietly.

Everyone subconsciously speeded up and rushed along the pipeline.

Tang Hao nodded after hearing this, but then shook his head.

After all, with the ability of Zhongshan Hou to defeat thousands of people, even if he encounters some blind thief, it will be the other party's misfortune.

It was not until the 14th year of Hongwu that the imperial court ordered the implementation of the Lijia system nationwide. For the purpose of education, an elderly system was established within Lijia. It was stipulated that within Lijia, all those over fifty years old and virtuous , knowledgeable people who are respected by the public, select three, five or ten elderly people in each district to be responsible for settling local disputes, supervising the people to work diligently in farming, and advising the people to abide by "filial piety to parents, respect for elders, and harmony." In the countryside, teach your children and grandchildren that they should take care of themselves and do not do anything wrong."

The leader of ZTE is the late emperor!

When writing this sentence, Zuo Yidao's hand began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Then have you noticed that in every village and town, there are some people who are not engaged in production but still have enough to eat and drink every day?"

But the damn problem is that they don’t bring any money when they go out!

This time, even Tomu looked confused.

"I can handle everything that happened before lightly!"

"Master Hou, what did you just want to say?"

"The gentry and squire who control the most land do not pay taxes or find ways to evade taxes. If the county magistrate cannot pay the tax amount assigned by the court, what will he do?"

Well, as for what His Majesty will think when it is presented to His Majesty, that is not Zuo Yidao's concern.

“The gentry and country squires control the most fields in the countryside, but pay the least taxes, so they can be rich, while the common people guard one-third of an acre of their own land, work hard all day long, but have to pay the most taxes, so they are getting better and better day by day. poverty!"

Savage, savage, come back quickly, I am under great pressure alone!

At the same time, in a village not far from Linqing.

As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.

"Have you noticed anything strange?"

"This is where we are, don't be so nervous!"

"And as someone in their family enters the court, rises to prominence, and becomes their spokesperson in the court, these powerful academic families will go one step further and continue to annex fields and control places. Just one wealthy family in Jiangnan has annexed tens of thousands of people. Mu of fertile farmland, among all the Gonggun princes in the court now, which one does not have thousands of acres of fertile farmland under his name?"

"What Yidao said just now is right. The gentry and squires enjoy the privileges of fame and fame. They do not have to bear the burden of corvee labor and can also reduce or reduce certain taxes. But the only thing wrong is that it is not that there are less taxes, but that they will try every means not to pay taxes!"

But Tang Hao had no intention of stopping there, and instead became more and more interested.

"That's right, it can't be reached!"

"The lives of these people are indeed... very hard."

Can he not be nervous?

After these words, Zuo Yidao was completely numb, and he didn't care anymore. He immediately took out a small notebook and recorded all these "treasonous and unethical" remarks made by Marquis Zhongshan.

From then on, the four important ministers of the court spoke up, and the civil and military officials could only bite the bullet and agree with their stance.

The so-called "elderly" refers to an old man with high moral character and high respect. A person in his sixties is called an elder, and a person in his seventies is called an old man.

"Write down all these words and send them back to the capital for your majesty to take a good look at!"

But he ignored a key issue, that is, the gentry and squires!

"Have you ever thought about it, the gentry and squires have almost controlled the entire countryside by annexing fields. If the county magistrate wants to collect taxes, will he have to compromise with these gentry and squires? Will he have to be controlled by these gentry and squires?"

"eat!"

"Let's talk about another question. Do you think the imperial decree can be issued to the countryside?"

"You can come up and ask these farmers who owns most of the fields in this village!"

As a result, a group of fifty people could only hunt in the countryside and forests to satisfy their hunger every day, and they were too embarrassed to ask for a meal from the farmers.

Tang Mu immediately asked: "How about we go back and take the boat!"

Everyone burst out laughing when they saw this, and the air was filled with a happy atmosphere.

"Master Hou means... sharing?"

After a pause, Tang Hao looked at Tang Mu and other generals again.

"After they become tenants, the amount of rent is all a matter of a word from these gentry and squires, and even the government offices have no control over it. If they encounter evil-minded gentry and squires and charge 80 to 90% of the rent, how can they survive?"

"Controlling the right to speak in the court and the right to speak in the countryside is their greatest confidence!"

Even a fool can hear Zhongshan Hou's joking and sarcastic remarks!

However, Tang Hao continued to talk for this reason, so naturally he would not just let it go.

"I want to eat roasted whole lamb!"

The three true kings of the court looked at each other, exchanged opinions, and then expressed their opinions in unison.

"Yes, it is apportionment. The county magistrate will collect a certain share of taxes from the gentry and squires, no more, no less, maybe only 30 to 40% at most, and the rest will be all apportioned to the farmers, as stipulated by the court In order to complete the corresponding tax amount and keep their official positions, local officials have to forcibly collect more taxes from these common people, such as twenty taxes to one, or even ten taxes to one, or five taxes to one!”

In fact, whether it is by land or water, everyone can accept it.

Gentlemen and country squires may not be 60 or 70 years old, but they must be "highly respected" in this countryside. Whoever dares to deny it will not be able to survive in this countryside!

"In fact, since the beginning of the Song Dynasty, there have been many 'scholar-officials' in the local area. They own a large amount of land and property, and control the life, death and public opinion of the people at the bottom. However, the royal family of the former Song Dynasty was just a weakling, and they actually chose to share it with the emperor and the scholar-officials. The final result of governing the world was that the scholar-bureaucrats became more and more unscrupulous. After controlling the right to speak in the court, they began to fight for power and gain, united the party and opposed dissidents, and excluded dissidents. As a result, the political affairs of the former Song Dynasty became increasingly chaotic and the national power became increasingly weak. It sapped the last trace of the former Song Dynasty's energy. In the end Great rivers and mountains fell into the hands of the Mongolian barbarians.”

Because Tang Hao just mentioned the word "sharing", Tang Mu reacted instantly.

"The national treasury is empty and the military and civilians are suffering. Now the source has finally been found!"

"The Mongolian barbarians are much simpler and more straightforward than those in the previous Song Dynasty. They knew that if they wanted to stabilize the Central Plains, they still had to rely on these gentry. Therefore, the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties directly adopted the "tax farming system". As long as these local literati paid the government on time. Even if they were given a certain amount of money and food, they would not even ask a question, and they would not care about the life and death of the people at the bottom. This made the scholar-bureaucrats annex the fields even more crazily, and squeeze the people more unscrupulously, which eventually caused the anger of the heavens and the people, and the country lasted less than a hundred years! "

Zuo Yidao reminded in a deep voice.

"Although it looks a lot better than those in Zaohu Yanding, life is still very tight. I'm afraid I can't even meet daily food and clothing."

"On the contrary, Emperor Taizu Gao stipulated a tax of thirty to one. Even in a place with heavy taxes and heavy taxes like Jiangnan, it was only twenty to one. These common people are crazy and foolish enough to actively donate their fields to the gentry and squires. No. I want to be a farmer!”

Haiyan Heqing, this is the evaluation of the late emperor by the officials!

Father, Father, how can we revive the Ming Dynasty? !

Tang Hao sneered with disdain. After hearing this, Tang Mu, Zuo Yidao and others all chose to shut up and pretended not to hear.

After all, the words of Marquis Zhongshan were too heartbreaking.

After them, the British Duke Zhang Mao also spoke.

Of course, this so-called "mansion" cannot be compared with his Zhongshan Marquis Mansion. The two are not the same concept at all.

Tang Hao looked at Tang Mu and Zuo Yidao with a smile.

“These gentry colluded with the local government, monopolized local fields, controlled the local population, and controlled the direction of public opinion. They even colluded with the upper and lower levels to control the source of local talents through imperial examinations, and continuously sent family children to the court, thus forming one after another local academic tycoons, that is, The so-called family of bells and dishes, a family of poems and books!”

"Yes, but not entirely!"

None of the ministers in the Manchu Dynasty were loyal and good. They all sought personal gain and occupied national interests. They also obstructed him in every possible way from reforming the past and implementing the New Deal!

"Yes, it belongs to these gentry and country squires."

"Without enough food, the people were in dire straits. The number of refugees increased sharply, and they gathered to cause chaos and revolt... Then, with a bang, the Ming Dynasty collapsed!"

"But this salt accounted for half of the national budget, so you took too much!"

Providing food and clothing for the people is a great goal.

But Tang Hao smiled disapprovingly.

I am also very helpless now!

Tang Hao was riding horses and chatting leisurely with Tang Mu, Zuo Yidao and others.

Tang Mu and Zuo Yidao swallowed, wishing they could kneel on the ground and beg Mr. Hou to stop talking.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Houzhao didn't feel half happy, he just felt it was ironic.

Zuo Yidao once again gave the standard answer, or the official answer.

"Nothing." Tang Hao shook his head, "I just wanted to ask you, do you have any thoughts along the way?"

"Master Hou, this is impossible!"

"Hungry!"

After a brief silence, Tang Mu spoke first.

"Master Marquis, this must be a squire or an elder somewhere!"

"You can give it a try and see if I dare to abolish the entire Transportation Department and directly let the Beijing army stationed in the six major salt fields!"

Tang Hao suddenly reined in his horse and spoke thoughtfully.

After hearing this, all the generals were thoughtful, as if they had grasped something.

"The common people are poor and the gentry are rich. It is really a prosperous era of prosperity and prosperity!"

Zhu Houzhao sat back on the throne with an indifferent expression, and then glanced at the ministers with sharp eyes.

"Master Hou, be careful what you say!"

However, among the rows of low thatched houses with earthen walls, this tall mansion with carved beams and painted beams stands out like a flock of chickens, appearing very abrupt.

To put it more bluntly, the Lijia Elderly System was the rural grassroots organization of the Ming Dynasty, similar to the production brigades in rural areas in later generations, and most of the Lijia Chiefs and Jiachang (brigade leaders and secretaries) were held by these senior citizens.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Tang Hao also didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said in a gentle voice: "Okay, okay, let's speed up and try to reach Linqing before dark. Then you can eat and drink as you like, okay?"

But the question is, do so-called elders necessarily have high moral character and high respect?

"Then let me ask you again, do you know why the gentry are rich and the common people are poor?"

I have to admit that Tang Mu is very clever after all, and he still knows the basic common sense of the Ming Dynasty very well.

Seeing that Tang Hao was getting anxious, Tang Mu immediately changed his mind and said with a smile: "No, Lord Marquis, I am thinking about Chang Lengzi. Look at him, he is so hungry that his chest is touching his back!"

It was only at this moment that Zuo Yidao finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

So he wrote hard, trying to write down everything Tang Hao said, and then immediately sent it back to Beijing and presented it to the Holy Spirit!

Your Majesty, you must know this!

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