I'm really not doing business

Chapter 909: Returning the land is a panacea, it works as soon as you take it

On the third day of July in the seventeenth year of the Wanli reign, the Ming Emperor Zhu Yijun brought his concubines to visit the West Lake again. He mainly went to see the renovation of the Yu Gong Temple.

Last time, Zhu Yijun made clear requests for the renovation of the ancestral temple. Hangzhou prefect Yan Shixuan obviously had no intention of perfunctorily appeasing the emperor and renovated the ancestral temple thoroughly.

After a small-scale expansion, the Yu Gong Temple still retains its tranquility, but it is finally no longer as simple as before.

Zhu Yijun burned incense at the Yu Gong Temple and also burned incense for Yu Yue, the great-great-grandson of Yu Shaobao. Yu Yue was a loyal hero who fought against the Japanese pirates and died in the Battle of Shuangyu in the 27th year of Jiajing. Because of the public opinion in Zhejiang, Yu Yue could only be placed in the Yu Gong Temple instead of the Yu family ancestral hall.

The grass is lush and green, the trees are shady, it's not too busy, just right for peace and quiet.

The inscription "The Only One in a Hundred Generations" written by Zhu Yijun himself is still hanging in the Yu Gong Temple. It may be because the emperor has visited here, or it may be that Yan Shixuan did it to welcome the inspection. When the Ming emperor came again, the incense offerings in the Yu Gong Temple finally became more prosperous and no longer as shabby as before.

The Ming Emperor stood in front of the Yu Gong Temple for a very long time before leaving. He would tour the south again, come to Hangzhou, and come to worship again.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, the Second Prime Minister and General Qi are waiting for you." When Zhu Yijun returned to the West Lake Palace, Feng Bao reminded His Majesty that the people he wanted to see had arrived.

"Xuan."

After all the ministers greeted each other, Zhu Yijun looked in the direction of Yu Gong Temple and was silent for a long time before he spoke: "Yu Shaobao was wrong. He should not have saved the Ming Dynasty in the first place. He should have followed Xu Youzhen and called for migration to the south. Anyway, we are in peace in the south of the Yangtze River. The Central Plains has experienced this twice. If it happens again, the northern barbarians will sharpen their knives and put the knives on your neck. You will know to repent."

It is obvious that the emperor still has some complaints about the lack of popularity in the public ancestral temple.

"The biggest mistake Yu Shaobao made in his life was that he served as an official for decades, but in the end he did not live up to the image of a cultural aristocrat. He seemed to be incorruptible, capable, and able to turn the tide, and to repel the northern barbarians after the emperor's northern expedition. However, he was unwilling to live in harmony with the literati and endure for the country."

Zhu Yijun said viciously: "Tolerating each other for the sake of the country and living in harmony with the world are the two most disgusting words I have ever heard."

"What does a cultural aristocrat look like? The marriage between the Cai and Xu families is like this. They are a family, and the purpose of the marriage is to form a close alliance of interests based on morality and public order and good customs."

"It's just that Xu Duncheng went too far. If it weren't for the unclear relationship between Xu Duncheng and his mother-in-law Ni, no one would care if Xu Duncheng found dozens of concubines outside, including Cai's daughters."

The view of marriage among cultural aristocrats is different from that of ordinary people. The marriage among cultural aristocrats is a close alliance of interests, based on morality and public order and good customs. What the Cai family of Deqing is fighting for is fairness and the face of their own family. They also want to punish the Xu family for betraying the alliance of interests.

Ordinary people’s view of marriage is family. A couple walks hand in hand until they are old, goes through ups and downs together, and when they grow old they have beautiful memories together.

Each class has its own class logic.

The class logic of the cultural aristocracy is completely different from the class logic of the poor and coolies, and the view on marriage is also part of the class logic.

This is also the reason why the Confucius Mansion in Yanzhou mocked the Zhu family as nouveau riche. Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor, but he was still a small peasant. Empress Ma was a wife, not an empress, and Zhu Biao was a son, not a prince.
Zhu Yuanzhang’s class logic was wrong, and neither was Zhu Di’s. They both spent their whole lives with Empress Xu, and almost all of their children were born to her.

Obviously, Zhu Yijun did not get rid of this class logical fallacy. He directly regarded the emperor as a farmer and a donkey in the mill. As an emperor, instead of learning from the previous emperor to build a harem, take concubines, enjoy the support of hundreds of millions of people, and work hard all day to make the Ming Dynasty great again, what was the point?

"Your Majesty, Yu Shaobao does not regret it." Zhang Juzheng said with a smile after seeing that His Majesty was full of anger after returning from a visit to Yu Gong Temple.

Yu Qian had no regrets. He was loyal to the court, loyal to the king, loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and even more loyal to his own understanding. When he defeated the Oirat Mongols, Yu Qian had already realized his loyalty and had no regrets.

Zhang Juzheng sometimes thought that since the Wanli Reform was a great success, as long as the emperor and his policy did not perish, it would not matter if he was torn into pieces by five horses like Shang Yang.

When the Jin Party continued to pull Zhang Juzheng and the Chu and Jin parties merged, Zhang Juzheng had already figured out this problem.

Zhu Yijun took out a newspaper, handed it over, and shook his head, saying, "I just don't understand, how did Yu Shaobao become a powerful official who tried to seize power?"

The overall meaning of this miscellany is: forming a clique for personal gain under the Grand Tutor, and serving the country and the people under Zhu Qizhen.

The wise and brave Zhu Qizhen was going to Xuanfu Datong to investigate military corruption, which caused fear in the border towns. The truth was that Guo Jing, the orthodox eunuch guarding Datong, had been smuggling steel fire feathers to the grassland for many years, making huge profits and sending them to the palace.

Led by Yu Qian, the Northwest Army deliberately fabricated false news about Yanghe Maoerzhuang to force the wise and brave Zhu Qizhen to go to war;
Zhu Qizhen ignored all objections and insisted on leading the army in person;

After Zhu Qizhen personally led the expedition, the Xuanfu garrisons Yang Hong and Yang Jun deliberately evacuated the troops from more than a dozen border forts and concealed the news of the Oirat invasion, allowing the Oirat to raid Zhu Qizhen's rear.

Then Yang Jun himself led the cavalry and the Oirat people to raid the Tumubao camp and defeated the Beijing camp.

Yu Qian successfully seized power and supported the puppet Emperor Jing. He also cooperated with Yesen in the capital. Yesen robbed and returned to the grassland. Yu Qian became an extremely powerful official.

The sun and the moon are dim, but they cannot illuminate the dark rooms of treacherous people; the mountains and rivers actually hide the venomous fangs of snakes. The way of heaven is clear, how can we allow treacherous people to deceive the world and steal the name of heaven!
"What a mess, what the hell?" Qi Jiguang said dully after reading it, "Isn't this pure nonsense? Anyone who has led more than ten people to do something knows that this kind of conspiracy is impossible to succeed, because people are living creatures."

Qi Jiguang didn't believe it at all. This was something that could be written by a human. It was extremely weird. Qi Jiguang couldn't imagine how such a conspiracy would be carried out.

The Tumu Fortress Incident killed twelve people with military honors, fourteen central civil officials including the Prime Minister, the Minister of War, the Minister of Revenue, and the Vice Minister, and twenty-six other officials. It can be said that the entire central government of the Ming Dynasty was wiped out, military honors were lost, and the civil service was rebuilt.

It turned out that this huge scheme was set up by Yu Qian, who was then the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and had to rent a house when he went to the capital.

Qi Jiguang exclaimed: "To realize this conspiracy, not only do we have to convince the central government that all 66 ministers, including Emperor Yingzong, are extremely stupid, but we also have to be able to accurately control Yesen and set up an ambush at Tumu Fort with precise dates, and we also have to make Emperor Yingzong himself act according to the plan like a puppet."

"Because if one of these sixty-six ministers who fully control the power knew about this, wouldn't the conspiracy be broken?"

Human beings are living beings. Oftentimes, they cannot even control themselves, let alone others. To precisely control so many people is even more terrifying than the soul-calling technique in Shanghai County.

Qi Jiguang fought wars all his life and committed the crime of killing more than 200,000 people. He didn't believe in this nonsense. If there were really any supernatural powers, these ghosts would have torn him to pieces long ago. He was so happy with his food that he was preparing for his second invasion of Japan.

Regarding this conspiracy that is full of loopholes, what if Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen has the same personality as the previous emperor, who likes to stay in the palace and set up a harem. How can he lead the army in person to fight and would rather die than go out? How can this conspiracy be carried out?

"Does anyone really believe this?" Wang Chonggu asked dully after reading the newspaper.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said, "Yes, their biggest argument is that Tumubao is inside the pass, only 220 miles away from the capital."

"Well, actually we shouldn't have built the highway. Now it only takes two hours to get there by highway." Qi Jiguang was speechless. As a general, he didn't know what to say. In some people's minds, this 220-li distance was roughly the distance of two hours by highway.

It only takes two hours to get to Tumubao from Beitucheng in the capital along the Chidao Road. The natural barrier has become a thoroughfare.

Qi Jiguang also thought for a long time before he said, "Your Majesty, it took 220 years to travel these miles in the Central Plains."

"Shi Jingtang offered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to the northern barbarians as a puppet emperor. On June 17, the second year of Hongwu, Chang Yuchun, the Prince of Kaiping, broke through Shangdu of the Yuan Dynasty, and Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty fled north in embarrassment. Only then did the Ming Dynasty recover the Nine Prefectures outside the mountains and completely recover Yanyun."

"If we count from the An-Shi Rebellion, when the Central Plains lost actual control over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, it took the Central Plains 220 years to travel this 614-li distance."

Something went wrong while repairing the Chidao Road, because the Chidao Road only took two hours to reach, which became a solid basis for this conspiracy theory.

How difficult is this road? It took the Central Plains 600 years to cross this natural chasm.

Qi Jiguang sighed and said, "Your Majesty, when Prince Kaiping conquered Yuan Shangdu, he did not take Juyongguan, Xuanfu, or Datong, but took another route. That is why Prince Kaiping was able to achieve such a feat."

"At the end of May in the second year of Hongwu, the Prince of Kaiping set out from Beiping and headed north. On June 17, he captured the Yuan Shangdu. The Yuan army in Xuanfu and Datong no longer had the heart to fight and defend, and only then did he recover all the nine states outside the mountains in one fell swoop."

Chang Yuchun and Li Wenzhong, with 10,000 cavalry and 80,000 infantry, marched north to attack and destroy Yuan Shangdu. They only brought ten days' worth of rations with them, because the Yanshan Trail was not a thoroughfare, and without any logistical supplies, ten days was the maximum amount of rations they could carry.

The solution to the problem of food and fodder is simple. Just rely on the enemy for food. If I don’t have food, the enemy will have it. As long as I defeat the enemy, not only the food and fodder, but also the territory will be mine.

At the end of May, Chang Yuchun and Li Wenzhong led the army with ten days of rations, and went out of Songting Pass, passing Luerling and Huizhou, pretending to attack Daning. The governor of Daning, Yesu, was a good general who was good at fighting and defended the dangerous place.

The Yuan court at this time could never have expected that just three days later, Chang Yuchun would suddenly appear in Jinzhou and kill the Hu Yuan Jinzhou defender, Duke Tang Jiang Wenqing, by surprise.

It was a 400-li journey from Daningwei to Jinzhou, but Chang Yuchun managed to get there in just three days. Duke Hu Yuantang and Jiang Wenqing had no idea where the Ming army in Dalinghhe came from!

It is like it had wings and could fly four hundred miles in three days. It is truly horrifying.

Jiang Wenqing suffered a great defeat, and Jinzhou returned to the Ming Dynasty. However, this 400-mile surprise attack on Jinzhou was still a feint!

Just when everyone thought that Chang Yuchun was going to head for Naha in the northeast, Chang Yuchun's troops disappeared again.

Six days later, Chang Yuchun appeared in Quanning Wei. The journey was 800 miles long and caught the Quanning defenders off guard. Yesu fought with Chang Yuchun in the field outside Quanning Wei. Yesu was defeated by Chang Yuchun and had to escape.

At that time, the Yuan army was saying that Chang Yuchun could fly and hide underground, otherwise he could have fought for 1,200 miles in nine days, which was simply incredible.

On June 7, Quanning Wei and Daning Wei were captured by Chang Yuchun. After Chang Yuchun captured Jinzhou, Quanning and Daning Wei, he began the second half of the battle.

Chang Yuchun captured Daning Wei and his troops did not rest. Three days later, they arrived at Daxingzhou, a strategic location at the pass of the Great Xianbei Mountain. The defending commander this time was King Tuohuochi of Jing. Tuohuochi fled in fear, but was captured alive by Li Wenzhong and presented to the emperor.

On June 15, Chang Yuchun and Li Wenzhong led their troops across the Daxianbei Mountain Pass to Xinkailing, which was the last barrier of Yuanshangdu. The one guarding this place was Hu Yuanzong Wang Huanghuo Timur.

Huanghuo Timur tried his best to resist but was killed in battle formation by Chang Yuchun. Just these three words "killed in battle formation" seem as difficult as ascending to heaven.

On June 17, Chang Yuchun captured Yuan Shangdu. Emperor Shun of Yuan had fled north on the 15th. This caused the Yanshan offensive and defense, which had been stalemate for two years, to completely lose its balance.

The Yanshan Defense Line constructed by Wang Baobao, Emperor Shun of Yuan, Prime Minister Yesu, and Duke of Tang Jiang Wenqing fought against the Ming Dynasty for two years, but was completely defeated because the central center was destroyed.

Qi Jiguang's evaluation of Chang Yuchun's 20-day and 3,000-mile expedition was summed up in four words: a military miracle.

"From the first year of Wanli to the ninth year of Wanli when Wang Rulong captured Yingchang, we took the same road. Jinzhou was still under the actual control of the Ming Dynasty. It took me nine years, but I was certainly not as brave as King Kaiping." Qi Jiguang sighed sincerely.

This journey was extremely difficult; it was a military miracle of great detour, encirclement and penetration.

It took nine years to reach the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli period, but Chang Yuchun only took twenty days. Chang Yuchun should have sat at the same table with Huo Qubing.

"It's mainly because Zhenwu delayed the time. If the Beijing camp fights again today, we can get there in 20 days." Zhu Yijun comforted Qi Jiguang.

It is not that Qi Jiguang is not as good as Chang Yuchun, the Prince of Kaiping. Chang Yuchun led the elite soldiers of the founding of the country. His master was Zhu Yuanzhang, and his teammates were Xu Da and Li Wenzhong. The soldiers led by Qi Jiguang were southern soldiers and northern soldiers with many contradictions. The court regarded him as a wart, that is, a superfluous and useless thing. It is better to say that Zhenwu slowed down the pace of the march than to say that it took nine years to complete the journey that Chang Yuchun took twenty days.

Qi Jiguang was also a famous general. He reviewed the battle in which the Ming Dynasty recaptured Daning Wei and Quanning Wei. He felt that he was far less brave than Chang Yuchun.

Zhu Yijun also didn't think so. He felt that Qi Jiguang and Chang Yuchun were not the same type of generals. Qi Jiguang was more similar to Wei Qing and Xu Da. They were all the kind of generals who were steady and cautious, and could do nothing about it even if the enemy knew what they were going to do.

"You can't go straight up the road to the Nine Provinces outside the mountains. It took the Central Plains 600 years to get there, and it was King Kaiping who took a detour from Liaodong."

"Xuanfu is easy to defend but difficult to attack. If Yang Hong really had ulterior motives and wanted to join forces with Yu Qian to set a trap for Yingzong, why would he set up such a trap? Yang Hong and Yang Jun, father and son, only needed to form an alliance with Yesen, and the Ming Dynasty would have no choice but to move south." Qi Jiguang explained why this conspiracy had no military basis.

Xuanfu is the gateway to the capital. If Xuanfu is lost, it means that the Ming Dynasty can return to the south, and the Beiya will definitely not be able to defend it.

At that time, Da Ning Wei, Quan Ning Wei and Ying Chang were also in the hands of the barbarians.

Qi Jiguang glanced at Wang Chonggu, and Wang Chonggu was frightened by the look!
Wang Chonggu was immediately shocked and said, "Your Majesty, I did embezzle a lot of money when I was in Xuanda, but I didn't join the alliance with Altan Khan and get involved. Your Majesty, please understand!"

He admitted that Wang Chonggu was a traitor, but he was also a minister and had never thought of surrendering to Altan Khan. Qi Jiguang's look frightened Wang Chonggu so much that he trembled three times!

This crime was too serious. Wang Chonggu was indeed greedy, but he did not want to be a puppet emperor Shi Jingtang.

"Yesen is too impatient. If he attacks Xuanfu and Datong, and then takes Juyongguan, not to mention Emperor Jing and Yu Qian, even if Emperor Taizu Gao, Xu Da, and Chang Yuchun were still alive, they would only be able to plan for the future." Qi Jiguang had no intention of criticizing Wang Chonggu, so he quickly changed the subject.

If Wang Chonggu had really been secretly communicating with Altan Khan, or even forming an alliance with him, it would have been a huge trouble.

Yesen entered the capital via Zijing Pass, and Altan Khan went south from Gubeikou, but neither of them captured Xuanfu.

To some extent, Yesen and Zhu Qizhen could sit at the same table. In the Battle of Tumu Fort, Yesen won a great victory. He was probably a little proud and didn't know who he was. He even dared not to take Xuanfu Juyongguan and took a detour through Zijingguan.

He is really brave and treats military affairs as a joke.

Back then, Genghis Khan Temujin did not dare to do so. Temujin first took Xuanfu and then Juyongguan. After the Jin Dynasty lost Xuanfu, it had to move south to Kaifeng, and finally the country was destroyed.

Wang Chonggu felt something was wrong the more he read it, and said in a stern voice: "Your Majesty, I have seen that this newspaper is not about Yu Qian's story at all, but is full of sarcasm!"

"Is the Yu Qian mentioned here Yu Qian? He is actually the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng! The father and son Yang Hong and Yang Jun mentioned here are not Yang Hong at all, but the rebellious son of me and Wang Qian! The Shi Heng mentioned here is General Qi!"

"It's correct, all of it is correct! This is simply outrageous!" Wang Chonggu slammed the table and stood up in anger.

He understood that this was not about the civil war, but was actually talking about the Wanli Restoration!
Wang Chonggu was the governor of Xuanda who entered the capital. Yang Hong was labeled a traitor, so Wang Chonggu was naturally also a traitor.

This miscellaneous report is very convoluted and tries to force a connection between Shi Heng and Qi Jiguang, and it will probably lead to the conclusion that Qi Jiguang was also going to rebel.

Zhang Juzheng didn't say anything. He read the newspaper for a long time, holding a corner of it. Yu Qian was finally labeled a traitor and beheaded in public by the restored Emperor Yingzong.

According to Wang Chonggu's mapping method, Zhang Juzheng would have the same fate as Yu Qian. After returning to power, he would be beheaded in public by the emperor who had taken control of the imperial power, but this did not seem to have happened.

"Your Majesty, this is no longer an ordinary traitor, arrest him!" Wang Chonggu was easily angered, and this kind of traitor could only be dealt with with heavy punches.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Wang Ci Fu. The more you pay attention to this nonsense, the happier they will be. I will just show them."

Zhang Juzheng bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

For evil books, the most important thing for the court is to ignore them. This is true for many things. The more attention is paid to them, the easier it is for people to believe them. Just like your majesty's red comments in the public temple, public opinion will be determined after a long time, and it will take time to find such a person.

No matter how you arrange it, that's what happened. It was Emperor Yingzong who lost his troops and was captured, and it was Emperor Jing and Yu Qian who repelled the Oirat and turned Yesen's head into a reward.

The court’s decisions must never be swayed by public opinion.

Zhu Yijun and the ministers began to discuss the miscellaneous newspaper, but it was just a casual chat because the emperor and his ministers were not so busy on the way to the southern tour.

"The return of land in Zhejiang is actually just as Hou Yuzhao said, exactly as he said. Now even Deqing has completed the return of land, and only Wukang County is left." Wang Chonggu found it unbelievable that such a difficult task was actually accomplished.

Zhu Yijun took out a memorial and said, "Wukang County has also reported that the land will be returned within this month."

Deqing and Wukang were connected, the Cai family of Deqing obeyed the government order, the Xu family was confiscated, and only Wukang was left. When the powerful and influential people in Wukang saw that they were the only ones left, they did not put on airs and surrendered immediately.

If you don't surrender now, the Ming army will arrive, and you will be labeled a traitor and hung on the city wall.

"Renhe County was the first to complete the return of farmland. The newly born babies in Renhe County are already running all over the streets." Zhang Juzheng said with emotion.

Whether the return of farmland to farmers is successful can be judged by whether there are children born in the local area. In Renhe County, where farmland was returned to farmers the earliest, the children of poor laborers have already learned to run, and they can be found everywhere in the fields.

The Tiqi could not look through the land deeds one by one, so they just called all the children in the village together, counted them one by one, and compared them with the deeds before the land was returned, and the whole thing would become clear at a glance.

In addition to the number of children, Zhejiang's overall economic vitality has been fully activated. Since last year, various workshops in prefectures, states and counties have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

Those who have constant property have constant perseverance. The poor people and coolies in Zhejiang have turned their lives around and demonstrated extremely strong enthusiasm for production.

This can be seen from the Sun Shangli Index in Zhejiang.

"Sun Shangli is an idiot. Why is this index called the Sun Shangli Index? It should be called the Yao Guangqi Index. Starting today, the name must be changed." Zhu Yijun did not like the name of this index and let Quan Yi act a little willfully.

Sun Shangli, a scholar who believes in supernatural powers, is really not worthy of such an important index.

From today on, the index that reflects the rate of price increases will be called the Yao Guangqi Index.

The Yao Guangqi Index was compiled through three methods: the Tax Inspection Office, local household statistics, and reports from supervisory officials, and then submitted to the Northern Pacification Office and the Ministry of Revenue's Qingli Office. The emperor would also send imperial guards to conduct random checks on some of the data.

For example, this time when the Tiqi investigated the situation of returning farmland to Zhejiang, they went to rural fairs and town markets to conduct surveys and confirm the authenticity of the data.

The price of grain in Zhejiang has dropped. Originally, the price of rice in Zhejiang was not expensive, less than three cents of silver per stone. Now it has dropped to two cents and five cents of silver per stone.

This means that Zhejiang's local grain supply is sufficient. The prices of rice, flour, grain, oil, cloth and firewood, which are related to food, clothing, housing and transportation, are falling, while the prices of expensive goods are unchanged, which means that the supply is becoming sufficient, and the tax collection by the imperial court is increasing, which means that the trade volume is increasing.

Everything is thriving. The effect of returning the land to the fields is much more powerful than Zhu Yijun had imagined.

"Doesn't this mean that Zhejiang can take a step ahead and be the first to complete the transformation of commodity economy and production relations after Songjiang Prefecture?" Zhang Juzheng was also very surprised.

All the data were better than expected, and in order to rule out the possibility of being deceived by local officials, the Tiqi conducted a comprehensive investigation of the data and confirmed that it was true.

"Returning the land to the people is a panacea. It works as soon as you take it." Zhu Yijun said with a smile on his face. No matter how high the consumption enthusiasm of the wealthy and powerful is, the proportion of their number in the total population is too low. They really cannot consume much, which is far less than releasing the consumption capacity of the poor and hardworking people.

Since the poor laborers have no money, we try every possible means to make them rich so that they have money to spend.

Wang Chonggu frowned and said, "I'm afraid this will cause dissatisfaction in other places."

"Zhejiang burned down the official residence of Renhe County. Four years later, Zhejiang ushered in such a development opportunity. Doesn't it mean that other places have to burn down the palace to develop? Even the first mature and stable domestic demand market in the heart of the Ming Dynasty will be established in Zhejiang."

An imminent and pressing matter for the court was that the large sailing ships did not carry away enough goods, and the domestic demand market had to be built faster.

Now, Zhejiang is expected to become the first province in the Ming Dynasty to complete the three major transformations of commodity economy, transformation of production relations, and construction of domestic demand market. This will have a much more far-reaching impact than Songjiang Prefecture.

Songjiang Prefecture has a population of no more than 240 million people, while Zhejiang has 1382 million households and million people. If Zhejiang can complete a brilliant turnaround, it will be of great significance to the Ming Dynasty.

But the irony is that all this happened because the emperor wanted to punish his disobedience.

Isn't this a distribution based on noise? A fire burns out a bright future. If you make a fuss with your Majesty, your Majesty will give you the policy for Zhejiang. Then Shandong, Jiangzuo, and Jiangyou will all have their palaces burned down.

"Returning the land is really a punishment." Zhu Yijun held his forehead with his hand.

He swore that the original purpose of implementing the land return order in Zhejiang was to intimidate and punish, and his original intention was bad. He reduced the number of Jinshi candidates in Zhejiang, made Zhejiang and Korea sit at the same table and compete on the same stage, and implemented the land return order, all in order to teach the powerful and wealthy in Zhejiang a lesson.

The result of the implementation is actually beneficial to the whole of Zhejiang.

Even the powerful and wealthy who should have been punished, although they lost their land, they obtained new means of production, ships, ship certificates, and an economically vibrant Zhejiang, and earned much more money than before.

"I originally planned to reward Zhejiang if the land is returned successfully. I would reduce the land tax for one year and halve it for three years. Zhejiang has been tossed around so many times and it deserves to recuperate. Should I show it some favor?" Zhu Yijun was a little undecided.

Zhu Yijun had a very thorough plan. During this southern tour, if the local people in Zhejiang Province deceived their superiors and subordinates and did not return the land properly, he would set up a large execution platform in Hangzhou Prefecture, conduct a public trial and behead the person, and hang him on the city wall of Yanghe Gate.

Killing is useful and can also vent anger.

If Zhejiang completed the return of land, he would withdraw the previous punishments, and exempt Zhejiang from land tax for one year and reduce the tax by half for three years if the area cooperated in returning land. This could be considered a reconciliation between the emperor and Zhejiang.

Zhu Yijun was very skilled in using both kindness and severity, but Zhejiang's current strong economic situation made Zhu Yijun hesitate as to whether he should continue to show kindness.

Zhang Juzheng thought again and again and said, "We still need to show some favors. After all, Zhejiang is really returning farmland. The fire in the official residence in Renhe was also caused by some ambitious people who took risks. If we don't show favors, it means that rewards and punishments are unclear. It can also be regarded as accelerating the transformation of the commodity economy, the transformation of production relations and the construction of the domestic demand market."

"What you said makes sense, sir." Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu and asked, "What do you think, Wang Cifu?"

"What the Prime Minister said is right." Wang Chonggu agreed with Zhang Juzheng's opinion. He thought for a moment and said, "Commercial taxes cannot be reduced or exempted, and a comprehensive tax audit must be carried out! Zhejiang cannot take all the benefits."

"If you refuse to pay taxes, you will be charged with treason!"

(End of this chapter)