eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 432 Brave the power of the sky and face death

"Sichuan was originally a land of abundance. When Fei Aiqing came to Sichuan last year, I did have some expectations. Although my Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, there are not many places as precious as Sichuan. Unfortunately, there are floods first and then droughts."

Mentioning this, Zhu Houzhao was somewhat distressed, "During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, Sichuan was known as the best of the best, but in my Ming Dynasty, Sichuan's annual tax burden was only about 100 million shi."

This level is basically the same order of magnitude as Fujian, which is a province full of hills and mountains.

At that time, Yizhou was the land of Shu, and it was one of the most prosperous places in the world.By the time of the Song Dynasty, rice fields and mulberry and hemp were everywhere here, and the population exceeded 1300 million.

"Fei Aiqing thinks, how can Sichuan be prosperous?"

Fei Hong reported, "At the end of the Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, Sichuan was devastated by soldiers, ten houses were empty, and the population dropped sharply. The Emperor Taizu also immigrated to Sichuan, but today, the number of people in Sichuan is only 300 million. Heavy land is especially rare."

In the mid-Ming Dynasty, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Nanzhili all had tens of millions of people.A land of abundance with 300 million people is indeed a little small.

Zhu Houzhao held his hands behind his back, thinking that it might have something to do with Daming's center of gravity being in the north.For more than 200 years, the greatest threat has been the ethnic minorities in the north.

Moreover, things like immigration are not acceptable to Chinese people who have settled down and relocated.Even if you really accept it psychologically, Sichuan is so far away, how can you get there?

The people with fields don't want to go there, and the people without fields probably won't be able to go there.

But the natural endowment of Sichuan is indeed excellent.

Zhu Houzhao had an idea in his heart that he would definitely change the face of Sichuan in his lifetime.

In fact, if there was no human intervention, this situation would have continued until the end of the Ming Dynasty. However, after finally regaining a little vitality, Zhang Xianzhong entered Sichuan again, and the population dropped sharply again.

So basically in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Sichuan did not catch its breath.

But even so, according to the "per mu" tax data, Sichuan has always been higher than the average level of Ming Dynasty. To put it bluntly, the conditions here are good.

There are many people, sometimes it will cause conflicts and tensions among people, but if there are few people, it will also be depressed.Especially in the era without large-scale machine production, the shortage of people means the shortage of labor force.

"The imperial court must have a high-level plan." Zhu Houzhao had this idea in his heart, "On the one hand, refugees are everywhere, and on the other hand, the population is insufficient. The isolation of the region and the inconvenient transportation make it difficult to communicate with each other. If it is allowed to develop, only Relying on the flow, I am afraid it will be difficult to achieve results."

At this time, the refugees who were relatively close to Sichuan were in the Jingxiang generation.Because there are too many "princes" in Huguang.

"Your Majesty is wise. However, it takes a lot to immigrate to Sichuan. The rations of the refugees, cattle breeds, and agricultural tools will be distributed after entering Sichuan. Moreover, it is difficult to collect taxes at the beginning of reclamation. All of them are calculated. The extravagance required is another. Repeated."

Zhu Houzhao is not afraid of this.

There are millions of acres of arable land and grassland in the Hetao Plain attached to the complex.With land as the 'profit' of war, the money spent is worthwhile and can improve the security situation.

The same goes for Sichuan.

In fact, he was guessing that maybe it was because of the huge cost of this work, and the financial situation was not good in the Ming Dynasty, so it couldn't be done.Everyone lives together, and it is already good if they can live on, so there is no money left to take care of other things.

"Fei Aiqing, when I made re-introduction a national policy, I said that if we fail in one year, we will take three years; if we fail in three years, we will take five years; I’m afraid people will do it. It’s the same with this matter. It’s unbearable for the national treasury to complete it all at once, so it’s going to be done over several years.”

Zhu Houzhao had an idea, as if he had found his goal, "But this matter needs to be coordinated by the cabinet. Where there are many refugees, we should persuade the people there. There are three waves a year, one wave of 100, and there will be more than [-] million in five years. Population. If you travel far, you will feel inferior, and if you climb high, you will feel inferior. We, the monarchs and ministers, should not be in such a hurry, right?"

"Your Majesty has this patience, and I naturally have this patience. I read the books of sages and seek the affairs of the world. Even if I spend my whole life doing only one important thing, I will die without regret!"

"Well, by the way, you are not going to bring a magistrate to Beijing, what about others?"

Fei Hong thought just right, "Go back to Your Majesty, this person is already waiting outside the palace."

"Then let him in."

Gu Renyi entered the border of Northern Zhili at the beginning of February, and entered the capital at the end of February. This month was extremely hard, and her whole body became darker and thinner.

Zhu Houzhao took a look and thought he was already sick.

"Gu Renyi, the magistrate of Yibin County, my humble minister, see Your Majesty!"

"Stay flat." Zhu Houzhao sat back on the dragon chair, flicking his sleeves, "This year, I will receive reports from the officials of the feudal borders. Some of them will not meet alone, but will recommend one or two good ministers for me. Fei Aiqing is the number one scholar in the Imperial Academy. He and Donggong have all experienced experience, and even participated in the compilation of "Xianzong Shilu". When he came to Zhending country, he also entrusted him with the importance of the Southwest. In a word, even if I don't believe you, I will trust him. So you have to be honest, What I do is not only to repay the country's favor, but also to live up to the importance of your boss."

Fei Hong listened to the emperor's words very well.Gu Renyi also felt a passion in his heart, two people and four pairs of eyes were looking at him, and thinking about the beliefs in his heart and the principles he learned from reading, his determination became more determined.

"I would like to abide by the hadith. I am bold, please stand alone!"

Fei Hong's eyelids were closed, and he didn't see any movement, but in fact he was the one who came up with this idea.

Zhu Houzhao was a little surprised. He tried to find the answer from Fei Hong's face but failed.

But thinking about the character of Gu Renyi mentioned in the memorial, and the atmosphere at this time...

He still ordered, "Liu Jin, order people outside to stay a hundred steps away from the Qianqing Palace, and no one will come near during the period. Oh, you and Jin Gui stay here. Gu Renyi, these two are my confidantes, you Say what you have to say, after all, these few people will hear it, and if it leaks, it's easy to investigate."

The corners of Liu Jin's mouth trembled slightly with a smile, the emperor's words were really sharp.At the same time, looking at this little magistrate, I also feel a little resentful. If you accidentally leaked the news, wouldn't our family be unlucky?

But this is just a thought in my heart, and I dare not confide a word.

After a while, the environment is right.

Gu Renyi then took out a memorial from his cuff, and put it on the heads of the whole country, "The minister's performance today is for Huangzhuang and Guanzhuang!"

Zhu Houzhao frowned, "Gu Renyi, think carefully. You are a magistrate in Sichuan."

"I am the county magistrate of Sichuan, but I am also a subject of Your Majesty. If you are a subject of Your Majesty, if you hear about the evils of the Ming Dynasty and refuse to act, you are disloyal! You should be punished!"

Zhu Houzhao was a little shocked, this guy really has an upright temperament.Although he is thin, he seems to have a lot of strength.

He glanced at Liu Jin, and this guy went to get the memorial.

After that, Gu Renyi continued to say: "The minister entered Zhili with the team more than a month ago. I saw the hungry people in hundreds of miles with my own eyes. However, the imperial court has implemented the people's herding for several years. Why is the people's livelihood still so difficult? The minister came to the village Only then did I know that the damage was in the farmland. In the last years of Emperor Xianzong, Li Min, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, once wrote: "Jifu Huangzhuang now occupies more than 20 hectares of land, and Xun Qi and Zhongguan Zhuang occupy 20 hectares of land. Thirty percent of the land in Gyeonggi has been invaded. This was the case [-] years ago, but [-] years later, the situation will not get worse?"

"Moreover, Huangzhuang Guanzhuang is not only large in scale, but also cruel to control the people. Those who cultivate Huangzhuang are tenant farmers. One is a tenant farmer, and they cannot leave their citizenship for generations. The minister also checked the tax of the farmland for eight per mu, three times that of the civilian land .Gain has to pay both the state tax and the village tax to cultivate the farmland. Two taxes for one field is already unbearable."

"There is also an official school in Zhuangtian, and the group is small. They are called Zhuangtou, or they are companions. They occupy the land, collect property, and pollute women. Anyone who resists is falsely accused! The official school is bound, and the whole family is panicked! "

"It has been said in the past that there are many people, herdsmen, and suffering people, but from the perspective of ministers, they are far inferior to Zhuangtian. Those who care for the people in the world are not as serious as Huangzhuang, Xunqi, and Zhongguan Zhuangtian! Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and the Son of Heaven regards the world as his home. , An use Huangzhuang for?"

After saying the above, Gu Renyi took off his official hat and put it in front of him, touched his head to the bottom, and burst into tears: "The minister dared to risk his power and died in retaliation. His Majesty Fu Wei has left a deep sacred meaning, and he will not lose today's promise." If you don’t forget the ambition to change the Yuan Dynasty, then the people will be lucky, and the clan will be lucky!!”

Halfway through his words, Liu Jin started to sweat.Jin Gui couldn't help but use his hands to record.

The world is full of admonishing ministers!
After finishing speaking, the entire Qianqing Palace fell silent.

Gu Renyi bowed his head, Liu Jin and Jin Gui bowed their heads, even Fei Hong bowed their heads too.

They didn't dare to think about how the emperor would react.

Huangzhuang, this is the fault of the Tian family, the imperial court!

In fact, Zhu Houzhao was looking at the memorial carefully. What Gu Renyi said was simple and general, and the details were still on paper.

More than half a month ago, he summoned the governor of Shuntian, and the situation he learned at that time was completely different from what he is now.He is not sure whether the government is extorting or extorting money, because the people and herdsmen will indeed release some social conflicts.But he also knew that what Gu Renyi said was not false at all.

The common people were driven to rebel, but never for a single reason.

Shota...

This is the second big mountain that weighs on the people in the Gyeonggi area.

But this matter involved land annexation, and all relatives, middle officials, and local magistrates were involved.

Expressed in modern discourse, this is the exploiting class's entire oppression on the heads of the common people.And at the top is him, the emperor!

That's why I have this request...

Zhu Hou took a look at Fei Hong, it should be his credit.

pat.

The emperor put down the memorial, and then footsteps sounded, and he walked to the door of the hall step by step, looking into the distance.

"For this matter, you are not allowed to leave this palace. Otherwise, don't blame me for not remembering the old love!"

Fei Hong, Liu Jin, and Jin Gui all knelt down at once, "Your servant (servant) obey!"

Then the emperor turned around and burst out laughing, "Fei Aiqing, the recommendation from you is quite interesting. Let's stop here today, let's take it home first."

"Your Majesty!" Gu Renyi turned around and knelt down,
He didn't get the answer he wanted, and of course he wasn't satisfied.

But Zhu Houzhao interrupted him and said seriously: "I have written down what you said. Listen to what I say and go back first."

Gu Renyi wanted to say more, but Fei Hong stepped forward and stopped him, "You want to resist the order?!"

You can't be stupid at a time like this. With such a memorandum, the emperor doesn't want your life, and let you go back. The answer is in itself!
"Chen, minister, leave."

"kindness."

Watching their leaving back, Zhu Houzhao remained silent for a long time.He already had a plan in mind.However, this matter involves a lot, and it must be planned.

"Is there anyone else behind?"

Jin Gui replied: "Your Majesty, Wei Ningbo also handed over the note earlier."

"Just in time. Xuan!"

(End of this chapter)