Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 1029 Fox Tail
Xu Youzhen was stunned for a moment, as if she didn't expect Chen Xun to ask such a straightforward question.

With a wry smile, he cupped his hands.

"Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from the teacher."

"Students think that Luo Hengxin, the former governor of the Xuanfu, and Chen Jingzong, the former governor of the Imperial College, are resolute, courageous, loyal, and well-known among scholars. , Civil and military officials, only then can they feel at ease."

Chen Xun looked Xu Youzhen up and down, and his eyes became more and more strange.

Now Xu Youzhen and Zhu Jian are very close, and Zhu Jian is very partial to the Supreme Emperor in many things, so Xu Youzhen may also consider the Supreme Emperor in his actions, and he expected this.

However, what he didn't expect was that Xu Youzhen would sneak out Luo Hengxin and Chen Jingzong.

Don't talk about anything else, just talk about seniority, both of them are Jinshi in the second year of Yongle, and they are the same year as Hu Wei, who is the oldest senior in the court today!
No wonder Xu Youzhen said that she was looking for an 'veteran' who could hold the scene, which really meant the literal meaning.

These two elders are the same age, counting their ages, this year happens to be seventy-three, and both of them just became official two years ago.

As for the reason for becoming an official...

One is because they are old, and the other is because they are all ministers who are highly relied on by the Supreme Emperor.

At this time, Xu Youzhen proposed to revoke them, which shows that he still has the intention of using these veterans to assist the Supreme Emperor to restrain the emperor.

Thoughts turned in my mind, Chen Xundao.

"The cabinet ministers have a lot to do with them. These two are indeed a little old. I understand what you mean. However, the affairs of the court will affect the whole body. This matter, the old man will think about it later. You are in the East Palace. The most important thing is His Royal Highness the Prime Minister, and you don't need to worry too much about other things."

This is a polite way of saying it, and it actually means, I know the matter, don't worry about what to do, just take care of yourself.

Seeing this situation, Xu Youzhen was unexpected, she didn't get too entangled, but said.

"The teacher's lesson is, but apart from this matter, there is another matter. The students want to discuss it with the teacher."

It is said that if there is nothing to go to the Three Treasures Hall, but Xu Youzhen came here today, there are too many things, so Chen Xun continued to ask patiently.

"what's up?"

Xu Youzhen didn't say anything directly, but asked rhetorically.

"I don't know if the teacher still remembers Song Wenyi, the eunuch recalled by His Majesty not long ago?"

Chen Xun thought for a moment, but he remembered such a person.

"The former eunuch guarding Liaodong was appointed by His Majesty as the eunuch of the mining tax after returning to Beijing. It is said that Song Wenyi is currently collecting the mining tax near Gyeonggi?"

Having said that, when Song Wenyi first returned to Beijing, it happened that Cheng Jing, the eunuch who was in charge of the chief inspector of ceremonies, was transferred out of the capital, so rumors abounded that he would replace Cheng Jing as the chief inspector of ceremonies.

In the end, the emperor gave him the title of mine tax eunuch. This matter caused a lot of discussion among the ministers.

However, it was only for a while, there were many eunuchs in the palace, but the only ones who really deserved the attention of the ministers outside the court were the Si Li Jian and Dong Chang.

Since Song Wenyi had nothing to do with these two, he naturally gradually faded out of everyone's sight.

At this moment, what did Xu Youzhen ask him to do?
Seeing that Chen Xun still had an impression of him, Xu Youzhen continued.

"The teacher has a good memory. This is Song Wenyi. More than a month ago, he was officially appointed by His Majesty as a mining tax eunuch to go to various places in the capital to collect mining taxes. However, this mining tax supervisor does not belong to any of the 24 yamen in the inner court. It’s a new inner court yamen.”

"According to the explanation given by the Ministry of Rites, the mine tax supervisor should be responsible for the management of Huangzhuang and the mining of the royal family in various places. Can you see the violation of this matter?"

Hearing Xu Youzhen mention this matter, Chen Xun pondered for a moment, nodded slightly, and said.

"The lesson of mining tax has long existed. Although I did not encourage mining because of the high labor and low income, there are not no mines everywhere. These mines have always been under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Households. Even if there are private mines , Taxation is also the responsibility of the Ministry of Households.”

"His Majesty's establishment of the Mining Tax Supervisor actually overlaps with the Ministry of Household Affairs. Since the Mining Tax Supervisor is the inner court office, the income from mining and the mining tax collected will naturally be included in the internal treasury and will not flow into the national treasury."

This sounded nice, but in fact, Chen Xun knew very well that this was the emperor collecting money from the inner treasury.

Because strictly speaking, except for the Ministry of Households, other yamen are not eligible to collect any taxes. All taxes other than those stipulated by the Ministry of Households are called exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes.

But the problem is that there are too many exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes in various places. Is it even worse than the emperor?

And among other things, the emperor allocates a lot of money from the inner treasury to the treasury every year. The mouth of eating people is short, the hand of taking people is short, and setting up a mine tax supervisor is not appropriate in the eyes of courtiers, but it is still temporary. able to endure.

Therefore, the aftermath of the civil war is that the tolerance of the elders in the court to the emperor has really been greatly improved.

It's just the mine tax supervisor, how much money can be spent by tossing around, even if it is bigger, how many years will it take to compare with the gold and silver that wasted in such a big war?

Therefore, after only a short pause, Chen Xun shook his head and said.

"This matter has been discussed by ministers in the court for a long time, and many censors have also participated in this matter, but His Majesty has put it aside. Besides, although there is a mining tax in my dynasty, it is close to none. The military and civilians are prohibited from mining, and there are very few mines registered by the government, and the taxes are very small, and the total is only 3 to [-] taels."

"However, since Yongle, the mining ban has been gradually loosened. There are many private mines in various places, and the Ministry of Households has no power to govern. Now His Majesty has set up a mining tax supervision. Although there are some irregularities, it is still a way to increase revenue."

After all, Chen Xun had experience in the cabinet, so he also knew a little about the situation in each yamen.

Daming has always discouraged mining because he felt that it would delay the farming season, and that it required too much manpower and material resources, but produced little minerals.

However, with the increasing population, the number of government-owned and private-owned mines in various places has gradually increased. At least in the Yongle period, the income of the Ministry of Households from mining taxes was several times that of the Hongwu period, reaching Nearly 10 taels.

And this is just a mine registered with the government, and the mine that was secretly opened is at least several times more than the one on the surface.

However, due to the old system, the Ministry of Household Affairs has not been able to include this part of the mining tax into the national treasury. After all, the general direction of the imperial court still focuses on agriculture.

These mines require a lot of manpower, and once they are turned on the bright side, it means that the court has recognized their legitimacy.

Therefore, the current attitude of the imperial court towards these privately opened mines is that once they are discovered, they will be sealed up, the mine owners will be detained and punished according to the law, and the miners will still be sent back to their hometowns to work in agriculture to protect the agricultural capital.

But it is conceivable that this method is not a long-term solution, and mining can be profitable, so even if the imperial court strictly investigates and punishes them, private mines still emerge in endlessly.

The investigation is endless, and if you let it go, you can't let it go, and it makes your teeth itch, so it's better to let a mine tax supervisor go out.

Since this mine tax supervisor belongs to the inner court yamen, it means that the tax it collects is not an act of the imperial court. Naturally, it cannot be regarded as the imperial court's recognition of these private mines.

At the same time, the money has also been obtained. Although it is said that it has entered the emperor's internal treasury, the emperor has always been generous. When the treasury is short of money, he will never stand by.

Therefore, this is the reason why all the important ministers kept silent about the matter of the mine tax supervisor. The people at the bottom had been making noise for a few days, but without the support of enough ministers, and the emperor's intention to deal with it coldly, naturally they slowly No sound.

The meaning of Chen Xun's words is very clear. He knows that the mining tax supervision is not in compliance with the regulations, and most of the important officials in the court are also aware of it. However, due to various reasons, everyone is now in a state of acquiescence. Put out this thought.

Sure enough, after hearing these words, Xu Youzhen's expression changed slightly, as if a little unexpected, but it was only for a moment before he shook his head and said.

"The establishment of the Mining Tax Supervisor is right or wrong. The students dare not comment. However, the students know that some people use the name of the Mining Tax Supervisor to rob usuriously, buy and sell by force, oppress the people, amass money beyond measure, and tarnish Your Majesty's reputation. , is the teacher indifferent?"

"what?"

As soon as these words came out, Chen Xun frowned and asked in a deep voice.

"what happened?"

So Xu Youzhen got up and cupped her hands, saying.

"Don't dare to lie to the teacher. This matter, the students also heard from some of the same year that the mine tax supervisor is not only responsible for collecting mine taxes, but also responsible for His Majesty's Huangzhuang. Therefore, after he took office, he used the name of mine taxes to plunder the people's fields. .”

"Many officials and gentry around Gyeonggi suffered greatly from it. He used the excuse of buying land for Huangzhuang to wantonly lower the price of private land. The land he obtained was often less than [-]% or even [-]% of the market price."

"If there is resistance and unwillingness to sell the land, Song Wenyi will make something out of nothing, saying that there are mines under his field. If the gentry is unwilling to sell the land, they will have to pay a large amount of mining tax."

"In just one month, at least tens of thousands of acres of civilian land have been looted by him. As for the money plundered in the name of mining tax, it is countless."

"Because during this period of time, the imperial court has been paying attention to the border situation, so few people know about this matter. However, the students feel that Song Wenyi's behavior is no different from robbery. If he is left alone, it will definitely stir up civil uprisings. If things go on like this, it will damage the reputation of the imperial court and your majesty's sanctity."

"However, the mine tax supervisor was set up by His Majesty, and Song Wenyi is also working for His Majesty. Therefore, it is still difficult for the students to decide how to do this matter, so I want to ask the teacher for advice."

They said they were asking for advice, but to put it bluntly, they just wanted Chen Xun to help.

After all, Song Wenyi was standing behind the Son of Heaven. If no one with enough weight came forward, then either the memorandum would be handed over and nothing would be heard, or he would cause trouble for himself.

However, I have to say that Chen Xun did not know about these things Xu Youzhen said before.

If the matter is true, then it is true, you can't just sit idly by...

After pondering for a moment, Chen Xun asked.

"Where did your news come from? Is there any evidence?"

Since Xu Youzhen dared to speak out, she would naturally not be unprepared. Hearing this, she immediately replied.

"Master Song Jie Song of the Ministry of Military Affairs, his family is in Dingxing County, Zhili. A few days ago, his family came to Beijing to file a complaint. Because of this, the Song family was raped by the eunuchs in the name of mining tax. Take 540 two acres of fields, and the gold and silver treasures are worth thousands of taels."

"It is said that Mr. Song has already prepared a script to play, and the military department has been given to Mr. Lin Cong, and he has also agreed to accompany him. In addition to Mr. Song, Mr. Cui Gong, the head of the household department, Mr. Cui, and the official department to Mr. Ma Liangma, The Minister of General Administration, the left counselor Wang Fuwang, all intend to play the same version."

"There are a lot of things involved in this matter. Lord Ye Sheng from the Ritual Department and Lord Ni Qian from the East Palace are all very concerned about this matter. It's just that it's not easy to bring up this matter under this year's festival, so there is a delay."

"After the New Year's Eve, I'm afraid some adults will be playing. A few days ago, Master Lin came to my residence and explained the matter to me. He wanted me to play together. The students are dull and uncertain, so they have been hesitant. So, I take the liberty to come here today, and I want to ask the teacher to teach me."

Therefore, the branches and vines in the officialdom come into play at this time.

The Song family was bullied by eunuchs and plundered, so they approached the officials of the family to sue, and then Song Jie found his old friends of the same year, united with some officials who also suffered from it, and then went around , gathered a large number of people.

And among this large group of people, most of them have their own heels, such as Xu Youzhen, who ran to Chen Xun for advice.

If Chen Xun agreed to come forward, then things really took a turn for the better. Many things in the court were so intricately connected.

However, it is obviously not so easy to convince Chen Xun.

Frowning and thinking for a moment, Chen Xundao.

"Does the President know about this matter?"

For things like this, Science and Dao have always been the first, but now that Science and Dao is shackled by the emperor, it is not as free as before, but there is still a way.

As long as Chen Yi, the Zuodu censor, is willing to nod, then, at least on the censor's side, all problems can be solved easily.

However, at this point, Chen Xun suddenly had a strange thought.

Did the emperor prepare for today's reform and rectification of science and roads?
This thought disappeared in a flash, and was soon left behind by Chen Xun, because whether it was true or not was a foregone conclusion, and it was useless to think about it any more.

For now, focus on what's in front of you.

This time, Xu Youzhen's face was a little embarrassed, he paused for a moment, and then he spoke.

"As the Chinese New Year is approaching, it might be inappropriate to interfere with the General Constitution. Therefore, Lord Lin and Lord Ye plan to discuss this matter with the General Constitution after the New Year's Day."

In this way, it is still not sure to convince Chen Yi.

With a smile on his face, Chen Xun mercilessly exposed Xu Youzhen, saying.

"Did they go to Chen Zongxian to discuss, or did they want to ask the old man to be this lobbyist?"

(End of this chapter)