prosperous age

"Xu Jie wants to kill him, let him."

Wei Guangde spoke lightly.

"Ok?"

When Chen Yiqin heard Wei Guangde say this, he looked at him in surprise, as if he was asking what he said.

"Gao Suqing was forced to go to the field. Who doesn't know that Xu Shoufu is behind the manipulation of this matter. Now that Gao Suqing is forced to leave and he is attacking Guo Zhifu, what will your majesty think?"

The corner of Wei Guangde's mouth raised, and a sneer appeared on his face, "It's true that our Majesty is soft-tempered, but who knows who treats him well.

Xu Shoufu's affair with Gao Suqing can also be said to be a disaster caused by Gao Suqing on his own initiative. This Guo Zhifu never took the initiative to provoke him. If he killed him like this, would His Majesty have no idea? "

"That's right, I completely forgot about it."

Chen Yiqin just nodded when he heard the words, and said with regret: "Before, I only focused on the pavilion, but I forgot about the present."

"Yeah, now, how many people still have the present in their hearts, hmph"

Yin Shizhen said in a low voice without hiding it.

After defeating Gao Gong, Xu Jie's prestige in the government and the public is now at the height of the sky. After all, he is a courtier who has been with the emperor for ten years.

Such a person, in the last days of the dynasty, would have a chance to exist, and even cause a big event, but now that the Ming Dynasty is as stable as Mount Tai, how could such an official be allowed to exist.

No matter how eloquent the emperor was, he would never tolerate having a chief minister who could challenge his rights. It can be said that Xu Jie has already made a name for himself in Emperor Longqing's heart.

As long as he doesn't leave the court, the emperor will always think about how to weaken his power and influence.

"Guo Zhifu is not like Gao Suqing, who offends people everywhere. He has always been very popular as an official. If Xu Jie instigates him to get rid of him, I am afraid that the direction of public opinion will change again."

Wei Guangde just said with a smile.

"Why?"

Yin Shizhen asked puzzledly.

"At that time, all the court officials attacked him because he was on the side of Gao Gong. They were actually targeting Gao Gong, not Guo Zhifu. If they really forced him away, it seemed that Xu Shoufu would not be able to accommodate others. What is the difference between Gao Suqing?"

Wei Guangde replied.

"Extremely so."

Yin Shizhen nodded, and said in a cheerful manner.

"Shan Loan, it's better to hand over your knife earlier, let His Majesty show his anger, and suppress Xu Jie's arrogance by the way."

Immediately, Yin Shizhen continued.

"By the way, there is something else in the cabinet today, and I'll tell you about it, so that you don't know if your colleagues ask about it."

Before Wei Guangde answered, Chen Yiqin suddenly spoke again.

"What's the matter?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, and Yin Shizhen was also listening attentively.

"Today's cabinet meeting was originally about opening the sea, but in the end, Ge Shangshu from the household department took out his memorial and handed it over to the cabinet, requesting to suspend the implementation of the 'One Whip Law', and ended up having a conflict with Uncle Zhang. Intense dispute."

In later generations, the contributions to Zhang Juzheng were mainly concentrated in the implementation of a series of reform measures during his more than ten years as the chief assistant of the cabinet.

In terms of finance, clearing the land and implementing the "one-whip method", including tax and service, are all paid in silver. "Taicang millet can be supported for ten years, and the accumulation fund of Zhousi is more than four million";
In the military, Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang and other famous generals were appointed to town in the north, and Ling Yunyi and Yin Zhengmao were used to quell the southwestern rebellion;
In terms of official administration, comprehensive verification of names and facts is implemented, and officials at all levels are assessed by the "examination method".

However, Wei Guangde has the impression that the implementation of the "one-whip method" and "examination method" offended many bureaucrats, so in the end the Zhang family did not get well.

So before Wei Guangde became an official, he was surprised when he found out that the Ming Dynasty implemented the "one-whip law" tax collection in some places. After learning more about it, he realized that "implementation" is the key point of the "one-whip law".

The essence of the "one-whip method" is to combine taxes and servitude, to collect land taxes and corvees of various names together, and to distribute part of the burden of servitude to the fields.

In the past, corvee service was done according to households and cadres, and instead it was distributed according to the number of cadres and field grain; tax and service burdens, except for rice and wheat that the government needs to collect, will be converted into silver taels; The government hired people to undertake it; the collection of taxes and services was directly handled by local officials, and the original system of "receipt by the people and settlement by the people" was abolished and changed to the system of "government collection and government settlement".

In the ninth year of Jiajing, Liang Cai, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, proposed a plan to get rid of the disadvantages of taxation and labor according to Gui E's memorabilia on "compilation and examination of corvee": "Together ten Jiading grains will be collected in one mile, and each mile will be collected in one prefecture and one county. The rations of each prefecture and county are in one prefecture, and the rations of each prefecture are in one chief secretary.

And the Chief Secretary will send a province’s rations to a province’s corvee, and the internal amount will be divided into the number of exempted ones. Each grain will be compiled with a certain amount of silver, and each dynasty will be appraised with a certain amount of silver. Consider the complexity, accommodate the discipline, and formulate a book.”

In the tenth year of Jiajing, Yushi Fu Hanchen called this method of "commonly counting the grain of each province and dispatching corvees of each province" as the "one weaving method", which was later the "one whip method".

In the early days, Nanzhili and Zhejiang Province, which had heavy taxes and labors, were the first to be implemented, followed by Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi.

Since taxation reform touched the economic interests of officials, gentry and landlords, there was a lot of resistance, and progress was slow at the beginning.

In fact, the imperial court has been encouraging localities to adopt the "one-whip method" to collect taxes and servitude. After all, after the implementation, the tax increase will be obvious, and the burden on the people will be significantly reduced.

Between one increase and one decrease, the interests of officials, gentry and landlords are actually damaged, and they have to pay more taxes than in the past.

In fact, as long as you look carefully at the places where it is implemented, you will find that most of them are concentrated in the south. The northern provinces of Ming Dynasty have very little implementation of this law. The reason is that the power of officials, gentry and landlords is too strong, and it is difficult for local officials to implement it smoothly.

"In the cabinet, Ge Shangshu listed the actual situation in Beizhili, Shandong and other places.

The new law doesn't care about households, but only discusses the amount of land, causing the people to give up their land to avoid public servants. South of the Yellow River, east and west of the Taihang Mountains, the land is poor and the official tax has been unable to pay, so how can heavy labor be imposed. "

Chen Yiqin just frowned and described today's events, but did not reveal his position.

In fact, this is not surprising. As a cabinet minister, his statement is of great importance and will not be revealed easily.

"Several prefectures in Shandong have indeed implemented the 'one-whip law', and there have indeed been some civil disturbances, but the local government has handled it properly, and it is no longer a big deal."

Yin Shizhen was from Shandong, so he naturally knew some news through correspondence with his family.

"Ge Shangshu means to restore the system in the early days of the dynasty?"

Wei Guangde asked.

Chen Yiqin nodded, "Ge Shangshu said that at the beginning of the country when money and grain were levied, the Ministry of Households determined the name of the warehouse and the value of the stones, and the small people paid according to the warehouse. The amount owed is clear, and the method is very convenient.

In recent years, a whipping method has been established, regardless of the opening of the warehouse, not the number of stones, but only the amount of silver per mu.

I was ordered to check and restore the old regulations, and one of the whips and other laws should be stopped, so that the tax amount can be evenly collected and distributed. "

"Most of Jiangxi implements this method, and there are not many disadvantages."

Wei Guangde just spoke lightly, Wei Guangde didn't know much about Yin Shizhen's family situation, but when it came to Shandong, Yin Shizhen naturally had a better say.

If he directly opposed Ge Shouli's words, Wei Guangde didn't know if Yin Shizhen would be offended by it.

However, Wei Guangde knew in his heart that although the "One Whip Method" could not be carried out in the Ming Dynasty, it was forcefully carried out in the subsequent dynasties, which also shows that this method is not bad.

Existence is reasonable. Since it has been implemented in two consecutive dynasties, it means that there must be something extraordinary.

"Jiangxi is still using the 'one whip method'?"

Yin Shizhen asked rhetorically, Wei Guangde stopped for a while.

Speaking of the "one whip method", the Ming Dynasty Hall from the emperor to the officials highly respected this method, because the tax and service system formulated in the early Ming Dynasty was extremely complicated, and the tax and service were collected separately, which could easily lead to local tyrants using it to deceive the people. Result in an uneven showdown.

Moreover, the "one whip law" is also in line with Zhu Yuanzhang's legislative intention: the law should be amended to be concise and clear, so that the people can understand it at a glance, and prevent some corrupt officials from taking advantage of the loopholes in the law to deceive the people.

But when we get to the place, because of the South Orange and the North Trifoliate, there is indeed a phenomenon of acclimatization to the soil and water.

The "One Whip Law" originated in the south of the Yangtze River, so it was implemented in a larger scope in the Jiangnan area. However, due to changes in local officials, the implementation was intermittent, because although the imperial court advocated it, it did not insist on its implementation.

So Yin Shizhen asked Wei Guangde about the current situation in Jiangxi, but Wei Guangde really couldn't answer.

Regarding the "one whip method", Wei Guangde also thought about it, but he felt that many of the problems were unsolvable, so he didn't have a clear position, and he chose to support or oppose it.

The main reason is that although this law simplifies the types of taxes, it will not alleviate the impact of exorbitant taxes on the people in essence. It is just that most of the taxes are allocated to the land, and the people have no land or less land, so they will pay less tax.

But don't forget that the exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes criticized by the people are also collected in the "one whip method". The taxes are mixed together, and it is easier for local officials to add private goods to it.

Moreover, knowing that the most difficult piece of the land reform of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty was "fire consumption", this thing almost shook the foundation of the dynasty.

As for the problem of fire consumption, in fact, the whole Ming Dynasty has not realized it yet. The root cause is that the "one whip method" has not been fully promoted, and many problems cannot be detected at all only by trial implementation in various places.

The fire consumption is due to the tax law to pay silver, and the so-called "fire consumption" occurs in the process of silver melting and casting.

The actual fire consumption for melting and casting broken silver is an average of one to two cents per tael, that is, one or two percent. However, the actual fire consumption is often much higher, as high as two to three coins per tael, sometimes even more.

As a result, fire consumption has become a clever means of local accumulation, and it has also become a heavy burden on taxpayers.

As for the methods of exploiting and squeezing the people, such as "silver is expensive and valley is cheap", which was created by the collusion of local government and businessmen, there are even more.

Wei Guangde still remembers a text in his previous Chinese class, which said that after the grain harvest, the people in the south of the Yangtze River used wooden boats to carry rice to the town to sell, and calculated that according to the grain price in previous years, after paying taxes and land rent, there would still be leftovers. How many.

While I was still fantasizing about buying something, the news came that food prices had plummeted due to the bumper harvest, and at the end of the day, there was not much money left after paying taxes and land rent. It seemed that there was not much difference from previous years.

Wei Guangde was very impressed with these.

It can only be said that everything has two sides, it is difficult to say good and bad, right and wrong.

As for Wei Guangde is not as enthusiastic about studying this method as Zhang Juzheng, that is mainly because of this.

I understand that there is not much silver, and the order to open the sea has not yet been issued. The Ming Empire is far from becoming a silver empire. If the "one whip method" is promoted, the price of silver will skyrocket to an unknown extent, and the people may be even more miserable. To collect a large amount of copper coins, and then transport these copper coins to the capital?

I am afraid that the local economy will die by then, and the most common people will actually have copper coins.

With the current price of silver, one tael of silver can be exchanged for nine hundred to one thousand for good money, and one thousand or more for bad money.

If the local government collects all silver, the price of silver may increase by half, which will be light, and this part of the loss will only be deducted by local officials to the common people.

Therefore, it is not bad to implement the "one whip method" for two years from time to time all over the country. At least during that time, it can reduce the burden on some people, so that the locality can be stable for two years.

This was the result of Wei Guangde's deliberation, so he didn't intend to stand on either side.

Sure enough, in the early morning of the second day, the news spread in the yamen of the Ministry of Officials, not only the statement of the cabinet meeting to open the sea, but also the memorial of Ge Shouli, Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, about stopping the "one whip method".

In addition, Wei Guangde also confirmed the news that there are indeed people who are colluding in private, and it seems that they intend to point the finger at Guo Pu.

Wei Guangde actually didn't pay attention to this matter, because he didn't think Xu Jie would be so short-sighted and couldn't see the consequences of expelling Guo Pu. Even if he didn't notice it for a while, someone would remind him soon.

He just asked Lu Bu to keep an eye on the news from the cabinet, when did Emperor Longqing approve the redemption and issue the decree to open the sea.

Finally, in the afternoon, Lu Bu entered the duty room and told him the news he had just inquired in a low voice. When it was close to noon, the supervisor of ceremonies had already approved the emperor's redemption and sent it back to the cabinet with a printed statement. The cabinet can draw up wills.

Open the sea.

Although the decree is far from the real opening of the sea, at least a good start has been made.

The purpose of opening the sea is to represent the approval of the imperial court. Next, the cabinet and the Fujian local government will discuss the specific details of the opening of the sea. The planning rules will be officially implemented after completion.

Wei Guangde estimated that it would take at least half a year to complete the establishment of the commercial port.

Perhaps, at the end of the first year of Longqing, the first merchant ship can go to sea, and the government can also receive the first tax payment.

Just as Wei Guangde was researching the directory of Daoist officials, looking for the Xu party censor who left an impression on Emperor Longqing, a storm of impeachment against Guo Pu finally broke out.

Wei Guangde did not expect that, but within two days, the Qianqing Palace, which had just subsided, was once again submerged by impeachment memorials.

In the duty room of the Ministry of Officials, Wei Guangde put down the list of censors in his hand, and looked at the note copied by Lu Bu. It was the memorial of the censor to impeach Guo Pu and the reply from Emperor Longqing.

As in the time of Gao Gong before, Emperor Longqing rejected all these memorials to impeach Guo Pu one by one, and reprimanded the alarmists among them.

However, the tone is still soft, and it seems that he has not learned a lesson from Gao Gong's incident, and responded with a tougher attitude or stayed in the middle. (end of this chapter)