weaving

Chapter 1066 I'm on my way!
The North and East Roads of Xuanfu Town are also facing the enemy. The important pass fortresses entered by all parties have set up temporary inspection departments to strengthen the inspection of people and goods entering, so as to prevent anyone from entering the North and East Roads. destroy the place.

After all, "a dog jumps over a wall when it is in a hurry, and a rabbit jumps an eagle when it is in a hurry", and the North Road and East Road are the fundamental places of the Yongyi Army, and Zhang Cheng has to guard against them.

Under the vigorous propaganda of the Yongyi Army Shogunate, the soldiers and civilians in the east and north regions are also united as one. They are stepping up the production of various materials. Orders from merchants in other places.

What's more, a large number of guns ordered by the generals of the four towns of Ji, Liao, Shanxi, and Datong, these are real gold and silver, and they are naturally working hard to speed up production.

On the other hand, the army and the people are united and strictly guarded against death, especially those ordinary people such as military households and civilian households. They don't want their little days of food and clothing to be destroyed by outsiders.

Most of the civilian households in the East Road area have their land allocated, and many of them have even applied to join the military households. Therefore, those who have just seen good expectations have a stronger desire to protect their own happiness.

Even for those big gentry households, although their fields were measured and recalculated by the various guards, the extra land of each family was taken back by the state government and the guards respectively, but [-]% of the compensation was given according to the quality of the land.

For them, although this could not make up for everyone's losses, it was better than nothing. After all, the Xuanwu Battalion of the Bravery Army led by Li Jiyu had thousands of soldiers scattered all over the place, and they were all murderous demons without blinking an eye.

As soon as Zhang Cheng left the East Road and went to the town to take up his post, Li Jiyu started to check the fields on the East Road.

Most of the East Road is private households. After more than [-] years of development, just like other prefectures in Daming, almost all the land has been concentrated in the names of those big gentry households.

And they used all kinds of reasons and excuses, even bribed the local officials, reduced the land measurement, and even classified many upper fields as wasteland.

This caused the majority of private households to become tenant farmers under the name of the gentry because they lost their land, and they were completely attached to the name of the gentry.

And those people who still have land have to pay the land tax they evaded and concealed, which in turn leads to more and more people selling their fields and land, even their children and daughters, until they finally sell themselves as a slave.

As for the widely circulated saying in the Ming Dynasty that "gentry do not pay food", it does not exist at all, it is just rumors and historical misunderstandings by some people!

In the Ming Dynasty, only the "Huangzhuang" under the name of the emperor and the empress, and the "Wangtian" under the names of the princes of the past dynasties did not have to pay the land tax to the court. Everyone else Wait, you can't get rid of it.

The "Gentlemen's Preferential Exemption Policy" in the Ming Dynasty first appeared in the Hongwu Dynasty. According to the "Records of the Taizu", "The family of food and salary is equal to the common people, and those who tend to serve as servants are the affairs of the common people. There is no difference between a gentleman and a savage, and it is not the way to persuade scholars to treat the virtuous. From now on, when Baisi sees the family of officials, those who have land and land will be exempted from corvee and labor."

It can be seen from this that only the corvee of the official's family is preferentially exempted, and the sentence "those who have land lose the rent and tax" even more superficially that even court officials have to pay the court's land tax, and then all other corvees are exempted .

And the phrase "Hundreds of Divisions See Officials' Home" also shows that those who are eligible to enjoy preferential treatment include only court officials who serve in the capital, and do not include local officials who have been sent out, nor do they include those officials who have retired to serve, let alone What are you talking about Jinshi, Juren, and Xiucai?

However, with the passage of time, since the 18th year of Hongzhi, it has been clarified that "officials who are appointed and appointed with courtesy are exempted from miscellaneous corvees as usual."

Later, the scope of the imperial government's preferential exemption policy was further expanded. When the "Regulations for Preferential Exemption" was revised in the 24th year of Jiajing, it was clearly stipulated that "Beijing officials have a first-class premium exempted grain for thirty shi, and each person is thirty ding, and the following are reduced. ...; Foreign officials will be halved; Judiciary, prison, and students will be exempted from two stones of grain and two persons; the official will be exempted from seven tenths of this product." Regulations.

Since then, even the families who have won Jinshi, Juren, and Xiucai have been exempted from corvee. This expanded preferential exemption has made the burden of the large number of ordinary people even heavier.

And here the so-called "exemption of grain [-] shi... [-] dong per person" actually refers to the exemption from the miscellaneous corvee attached to the land per person. Compared with the land tax that should be paid, there is no penny at all. Relationship.

From the beginning to the end, the privileges and exemptions of the Ming Dynasty usually refer to various corvees other than the land tax and the regular tax, and never include the land tax.

But once it comes to the implementation level of the "preferential exemption policy", it completely deviates from the scope of the imperial court's "Preferential Exemption Regulations", although the preferential exemption in the Ming Dynasty has always only included corvee labor, never including the regular tax of land tax .

However, when it came to the specific level of implementation, the squires under the governments, prefectures, and counties would use all kinds of unimaginable means to collude with the magistrates and county officials to neither serve the imperial corvee nor pay the regular land tax.

As a result, all labor and taxes were concentrated in the hands of the vast number of poor peasants who did not own a few acres of Susukida, and as a result, there was a large-scale escape of the poor.

And those greedy gentry and country officials once again occupied the fields of the poor after the poor fled, which caused more poor people to flee from their homes.

This is why in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, there were refugees everywhere in the world!
It was also Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others who were the rogue kings in the late Ming Dynasty, but as long as they scattered a little grain and raised their arms, they could gain the basis for the response of the world.

In fact, in many cases, the policies are good, but the implementation of government orders requires officials at all levels to implement them down, otherwise it will be difficult to even leave the Forbidden City.

In the process of implementation layer by layer, there will always be various deviations, making many officials, gentry, and eunuchs become vested interests, and their greed will become more and more greedy, and they will eventually devour everything like gluttony until the country is finally destroyed. Death, but not stop!

This is the case with the gentry and eunuchs in Yanqing Prefecture and Baoan Prefecture on the East Road. They not only invaded a large number of fields, but also colluded with state and county officials to hide the land taxes under their own names and tried every means to evade taxes.

Over the years, they have already formed interest groups. No matter who is the magistrate or county magistrate, they will take the initiative to show their favor. As long as their interests are not moved, everyone can live in peace.

Once their vested interests are mobilized, they will join hands from top to bottom to do their best to make false accusations upwards, while downwards they will incite tenants under each family's name to stop farming and make trouble. In the end, they often win, while the magistrates and county magistrates are defeated. Transfer elsewhere.

Just like Liu Minshen, the magistrate of Yongning County at the time, although he wanted to clean up the local political affairs, clear up the land, and collect the land tax, but layers of resistance made it difficult for him.

These resistances come not only from the dissuasion and dissuasion of the upper officials, but also from the opposition and obstruction of the poor tenant farmers at the bottom. Those gentry and township officials who hide their land without reporting it and do everything possible to evade the state's land tax are completely hidden behind the scenes. He controls everything without showing his head.

However, Li Jiyu didn't take these considerations into account at all. He was only responsible to Zhang Cheng for clearing the land on the East Road, urging the land tax and commercial tax, and the rest were out of his consideration.

…………

Prior to this, Zhou Ruli, an officer in the Xuanwu Battalion, had a conversation with Li Jiyu.

"Brother, it's not easy to do things on the East Road."

Li Jiyu replied with unchanged expression: "It's not easy to do, we have to do it, this is uncle's trust in us."

"Anida Buddha..."

After Zhou Ruli proclaimed the Buddha's name, he continued worryingly: "'One thought to become a Buddha, one thought to go to hell'. This matter on the East Road is not easy to handle. Success may not be due to the imperial court, and failure may result in death. "

"Monk, I don't understand those principles better than you who practice Buddhism."

Li Jiyu looked up at the sky, and continued: "I only know one thing, it is the uncle's 'graciousness' to us, this time we have to accept this mission, and we must do it beautifully."

"It's a hard job, my brother."

Zhou Ru continued with a serious expression on his face: "Brother, the brothers are willing to follow you until now, all because of the word 'loyalty', what you have done is worthy of the respect of the brothers.

That day, in Tiefo Village, you resolutely accepted Zhang Shuai's consolation and led our old brothers to submit to the imperial court. Although you were bound by various military laws and regulations, it was the right way after all, and Zhang Shuai was also worthy of following.

But since we are generals of the imperial court, we have to think about the future. Let’s talk about the East Road matter. They Zhang Guangda, Zhang Guodong, and Chen Zheng, who are veteran murderers, don’t go out, but they teach me to wait for the Henan Gang to be the villains.

If the killings are too heavy today, if you offend all the civil servants and gentry on the East Road, it may be detrimental to your future development, big brother! "

The corners of Li Jiyu's mouth turned up, and a sinister smile appeared, and he said: "Monk, you have practiced martial arts in Shaolin Temple, and you have also read some books. What you say makes sense, and you are much better than those rough men."

He first praised Haiyong monk Zhou Ruli, but the conversation suddenly changed: "However, although we are from bandits, we have read a few books when we were young, so we don't necessarily understand the truth less than your brother."

Zhou Ruli smiled awkwardly: "Hai Yong has only read a few Buddhist scriptures at best, how dare he compare himself with elder brother."

Li Jiyu didn't bother with him about these details. He looked at Zhou Ruli and said, "Although we apparently surrendered to the imperial court and became a military officer of the imperial court, what has become of the imperial court now? In your mind and mine It's all very clear.

If we hadn't been forced by those officials, we would never have embarked on the road of occupying mountains and becoming bandits. Although we are military officers of the court now, if we were to be with these bastards, we would still not be able to escape the fate of being played to death by them sooner or later. "

He fixed his eyes on Zhou Ruli, and said in a resolute tone: "I, Li Jiyu, surrendered to Yongning Bo Zhang Dashuai, not to this damned court. Uncle treats me with sincerity. If you know me and use me, I will definitely do it." Repay with life."

"Although there are thousands of people, I will go!"

…………

Huang Daozhong, magistrate of Yanqing, and Deng Rongxun, magistrate of Baoan Prefecture, in the territory of Xuanfu East Road lost their voices collectively.

Although there is an endless stream of people who go to the prefectural office to visit and see each other every day, the two of them, as if they had agreed, would not meet them, and they would all refuse them on the grounds that they were ill and it was inconvenient to see guests.

The gentry and officials in the states and counties on the East Road were all anxious like ants on a hot pot, but they couldn't even enter the gate of the state government. Usually I don't eat less of everyone's benefits, but now I have such an attitude.

Many people also went to the Huailong Bingbei Road Office in Huailai City to ask to see Qi Yuchu, Huailong Bingxian, but they didn't get rejected here, but they didn't get any benefits.

Those who were able to come to Huailai to see the military constitution were all prominent families in the two prefectures, Qi Yuchu naturally had to see him, and he treated each other with courtesy, delicious food and drink, but he didn't mention anything about Zhang Tianmu.

Even if someone mentions things like clearing Zhang Zhang’s land, urging Chen to owe land taxes, and collecting commercial taxes, Qi Yuchu still talks about him in a hurry. Responsibility, it is inconvenient to intervene."

The gentry and officials from all over the country were helpless on the East Road, so they got entangled again and gave Zhu Zhifeng, the newly appointed governor of Xuanfu in the town, and Jiang Yuxu, the governor of Xuanda in Yanghesuo.

At the same time, they also joined forces to mobilize their relatives, friends, classmates and old friends, and even went to Beijing to buy the censor, bribe the courtiers, and try every means to prevent Li Jiyu from tracking down the land and other things.

At the local level, they also repeated the same tricks, using some illusory promises, such as rent reduction or exemption as bait, or distributing grain for purchase, to encourage those poor tenants who have no land to come out to the market.

Often, in order to make the situation look more serious, they will even send out their own servants and thugs, and they will also hire some green-skinned thugs from the city to mix among the tenants in the downtown area, so that they can not only monitor them, but also provoke bigger troubles.

However, this time they completely miscalculated. For the matter of the East Road, Zhang Cheng tried his best and planned more than a year in advance.

He first rectified the military settlements on the East Road, forcibly clearing up the farmland, and vigorously organized land reclamation and reclamation. During this period, he also occasionally touched people's fields. However, there were not many fields, and they were all resolved satisfactorily in the end. care.

Although they had colluded with the officers and generals of the guards and occupied a lot of farmland before, these were military fields after all. Zhang Cheng investigated the matter in the name of the guards. Even if they didn't want to, they couldn't be too entangled.

Afterwards, although Zhang Cheng had never mentioned the matter of Mintian and Guantian on the surface, he had been planning in secret. For a while, Su Yiyang's secret hall devoted most of its personnel and energy to the East Road.

The situation of the gentry and officials in various villages has already been clearly arranged, and now, with the fish scale books of Yanqing and Bao'an prefectures, the rest of the matter is as easy as finding out according to the map.

Teams of armored soldiers, led by their respective superiors, went deep into villages in various counties, and cleared the fields directly according to the fish scale books, and at the same time cleared the old land taxes owed by the major households.

In front of these elite fighters, who else would dare to make trouble?
The agitated tenants also knew in their hearts that those military households were all poor before. After Qingzhang garrisoned the fields, almost every household was allocated some fields. Although they could not live comfortably, they would not suffer from cold and hunger and die.

Furthermore, those green skins understood the truth of the phrase 'know the current affairs to be a hero' best, so they would not rush forward foolishly and face the swords and guns of the brave soldiers.

That is an existence that even the Tatars of Liaodong feel afraid of, so how can they compete with it?
Although there were also some short-sighted guys who mingled among the crowd, intending to make trouble, but when they made a slight movement, they saw the heroic warrior with the top helmet rushing into the crowd quickly, and picked him out very accurately.

Without further ado, he will be beheaded in public!
This kind of imposing manner of executing it on the spot without interrogation completely shocked everyone in an instant. Since then, no one dared to make trouble in front of the brave soldiers.

(End of this chapter)