Daming: Mixed in Dangzhi County, Beiping

Chapter 283 Another Group of Nobles Died in the Court

This time, Yu Shitai and the officials of the Criminal Ministry acted very quickly, and Li Cunyi, Li You and others were directly arrested.

In less than two days, the whole case came to light, and all the confessions were complete.

"What a group of civil servants, the speed of investigation is faster than that of Jin Yiwei. In just a few days, it was found out that Grand Master Li Shanchang participated in Hu Weiyong's rebellion. The evidence is convincing, and the Grand Master can't argue with it!"

Hearing the news from the capital, Zhu Di has changed from anger to shock.

"Guo Qing, Grand Master Li Shanchang will really rebel?"

Guo An gave a wry smile, and said in a low voice: "Your Highness, Li Qi, the son of Grand Master Li Shanchang, married Princess Lin'an, and he is my son-in-law.

And that Li You is only the grand master's nephew and Hu Weiyong's nephew and son-in-law.

People love their own sons more than the sons of their brothers. The grand master and his sons have already enjoyed the wealth and wealth, so how could they follow Hu Weiyong to plot rebellion? "

Zhu Di sneered and said, "So, it's Zhan Hui and other civil servants who have great powers?"

Guo Andao, "Your Highness, forgive me, my humble minister is clumsy and talking nonsense, please don't take it seriously!"

Zhu Di glanced at Guo An helplessly, and said, "This place is Yan Palace, so can Zhan Hui harm Guo Qing with a few words from Guo Qing?"

Guo An sneered, you don't know the horror of this group of people who think they are the incarnation of legal justice!
However, what happened a few days later made Zhu Di unable to calm down anymore.

At the request of Zuo Du Yushi Zhan Hui and other officials, Grand Master Li Shanchang hanged himself at home.

More than [-] members of his family were executed.

Marquis Lu Zhongheng of Ji'an, Marquis of Yan'an Tang Shengzong, Marquis of Pingliang Fei Ju, Marquis of Xingyang Zheng Yuchun, Marquis of Yichun Huang Bin, Marquis of Henan Luju, and even Marquis of Nanxiong Zhao Yong, who had returned home, did not escape and were implicated to death in the Hu Weiyong case.

"These traitors!"

Zhu Di was furious, "We want to write a letter to my father, how could the grand master Li Shanchang, the Marquis of Ji'an Lu Zhongheng, and the Marquis of Yan'an Tang Shengzong rebel?"

"Your Highness, calm down!"

Guo An and Zhu Fu hurriedly dissuaded them.

Zhu Di said angrily: "We are King Yan of the Ming Dynasty, we cannot watch those treacherous officials in the court act recklessly and frame Zhongliang!"

Guo Andao: "Your Highness, Your Majesty is so wise and mighty, how could he be deceived by treacherous ministers? Moreover, with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in the court, how could he allow traitorous ministers to run rampant?"

Zhu Di let out a long breath and asked, "Guo Qing, could it be that Li Shanchang, Lu Zhongheng and others really intend to rebel?"

Guo An nodded slightly, "Your Highness, if His Majesty wants to kill them, they must have a way to kill them!"

Zhu Di: "..."

After a while, he said leisurely, "Guo Qing is indeed my loyal minister of Ming Dynasty!"

Guo An's complexion remained unchanged, and he said sincerely: "Your Highness, I am just a small long history, and I only want to live a happy and healthy life!"

"Ah……"

Zhu Di sneered again.

Then he got up and walked outside.

"My king is in a depressed mood. I'm going to visit the farm. Would Guo Qing and Zhu Qing go with me?"

Zhu Fu and Guo An hurriedly cupped their hands in salute, "I would like to go."

……

farm.

Two hundred acres of lush green rice paddy growing in excellent condition;

Farther away, there are nearly a thousand acres of tender alfalfa;

On the other side, it has been expanded into an orchard of [-] mu, full of fruits;

As for farther away, on more than a dozen hills, there are countless herds of hogs, cattle and sheep, all over the mountains and plains leisurely gnawing on the green grass...

It is very healing!
"Guo Qing, this year is sure to be another bumper year for my Beiping Mansion!"

"Your Highness is wise, my Beiping Mansion is sure to have a bumper harvest!"

Zhu Di and Guo An were talking, Ding Shang trotted over from a distance with a happy expression on his face.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, another cow fell to death on the mountain for some reason!"

Guo An subconsciously looked up Niu Shan.

Zhu Di smiled brightly, "Bring back half a head for me, I haven't eaten beef for a long time!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Ding Shang ran away into the distance again with a happy expression on his face.

……

Along with Li Shanchang, Duke of South Korea, Lu Zhongheng, Marquis of Ji'an, Tang Shengzong, Marquis of Yan'an and other nobles of the Ming Dynasty were implicated in Hu Weiyong's case and died.

The entire Daming officialdom fell into silence again.

Even those gentlemen, big and small, have become more honest during this period of time.

I'm afraid that if they say a wrong sentence, they will be implicated and their family will be ruined.

this day.

After looking through the grain books and field account books of the Changshi Division.

Guo An found Zhu Di with a heavy face.

"Your Highness, I would like to summon all the gentry from Beiping Mansion."

"Oh?"

A gleam of light flashed in Zhu Di's eyes, "What kind of fetish did Guo Qing research?"

Guo An shook his head slowly, "Return to Your Highness, this minister is because of Tian Mu's matter!"

"Acres of fields?"

Zhu Di was taken aback.

Guo An said in a slow voice: "Your Highness, I have discovered that in the past few years, in the prefectures and counties of our Beiping Prefecture, the acres of land in many gentry's homes have increased at an extremely fast rate.

However, the number of acres of land in the homes of some peasant households is decreasing, and many peasant households, even wealthy households, are gradually becoming black households. "

"Black households?"

Zhu Di's expression suddenly became solemn, "But in our Beiping mansion, there are evil gentry oppressing the people?"

Guo An sighed softly, "Your Highness, it shouldn't be oppression. Otherwise, there are so many caravans in the Yan Palace running in various villages all day long, and I have already received the news."

"Then why?"

Zhu Di looked puzzled.

"Contribute!"

Guo An said calmly.

"Contribute?"

Zhu Di frowned, looking puzzled.

Guo An explained: "Your Highness, the contribution is that some farmers sell their fields to those gentry with fame at a low price.

Even, some people don't want a penny of their fields, and put all of them in the names of those famous gentry.

Not only does it cost no money, but it also rents land to those gentry every year! "

"how can that be?"

Zhu Di was full of disbelief, "Guo Qing, those people are not fools, they worked so hard to reclaim the land, and gave it to those gentry with fame and reputation at a low price or even free of charge, and then returned the land rent to those gentry every year, and they got it." Can't you have hysteria?"

"Guo Qing, haven't you been deceived by those people below?"

Guo Andao: "Your Highness, I give preferential treatment to scholars and officials with high reputations. They don't collect land tax on their family's land.

Even some gentry and officials collude with each other, and after mutual operation, they can be exempted from all taxes and corvees! "

"Ok?"

Zhu Di's expression became serious.

Guo An continued: "After those wealthy households donate their land to the gentry, they don't have to pay taxes and corvees, nor do they have to pay small silver, let alone handy labor money!"

"A group of traitors!"

Zhu Di said bitterly, "I gave them fields in Ming Dynasty, suppressed martial arts and gentry for them, but in the end they actually sold their fields to those gentry with fame in order not to pay taxes to the court and do hard labor. .”

Guo An sighed slightly, "Your Highness, don't worry, there is only a sign now, I should go and talk to those gentry people, let those gentry understand the truth, and they will stop this matter."

Zhu Di asked, "Why don't you punish those traitors?"

Guo An explained: "Your Highness, everyone is driven by profit.

Farming for the imperial court not only has to pay taxes, but also small silver and labor, which is a lot of money after calculation.

And if they farm for those gentry with fame, they only pay a very low rent, which can save a lot of money.

No one can resist such a temptation!

What's more, there are too many peasant households, and they cannot be punished one by one! "

"These traitors!"

Zhu Di was furious, and immediately looked at Guo An: "I don't know if there is someone who donated land in Guo Qing's family?"

Guo An hurriedly explained: "Your Highness, don't worry, there is no fame in the Weichen family. In addition, the Weichen family has a lot of land passed down by the ancestors, and the family property is quite rich."

"So good!"

Zhu Di nodded slightly, Guo An never lied to him.

……

Day two.

Guo An invited all the gentry from the Beiping Mansion to Yanwang Palace, especially the ten gentry who had just obtained Jinshi last year.

Ever since the son of the family got the honor of Jinshi, the life of Huang Bi, Zheng Jun and others became more and more comfortable.

In the past, in front of some petty officials, they all bowed their heads.But now, they are often invited as guests by some officials of Beiping City.

As for those gentry who have no fame, their status is even more lofty.

But in the clan, those clansmen are rushing to donate to them, donating fields that need to pay taxes, even all their fields, to them.

In this regard, they are also happy to accept.

In this way, not only helped the people in the clan, but also earned a lot of food for nothing. This is the benefit brought by fame.

Now, Guo Changshi came to look for them again, there must be good things again!
As for Guo An, he waited until the gentry arrived before walking in.

Seeing Guo An, all the gentry got up quickly and greeted with gracious expressions.

"See Guo Changshi!"

"Get up quickly, fellow countrymen and squires."

Guo An also had a gentle face, and he exchanged pleasantries with the gentry for a while.

Afterwards, he asked: "Your Highness, I heard that since the children of your families have achieved fame, the villages where you live will gradually lose thousands of acres, or even tens of thousands of acres of fertile land?
Then, these fields will appear under your names? "

As soon as these words came out, all the gentlemen froze.

Huang Bi, Zheng Jun and the others couldn't help but looked at each other, and then quickly laughed and said: "Guo Changshi, His Highness must have misunderstood, the villain and the others are good gentry, how could it be possible to occupy the fields of the folks in the village? "

"We and Your Highness both know your character."

Guo An nodded slightly, "Otherwise, I wouldn't let your children enter the academy, or even the small classroom!"

"Exactly, exactly!"

Huang Bi and Zheng Jun and other gentry were in agreement.

Guo An continued: "It's just that those fertile lands that suddenly disappeared from the list are real. I wonder if you can explain it?"

All the gentry couldn't help laughing.

Guo An said leisurely: "Yes, we are all clansmen with the same ancestor, and one family has risen, so we should help the rest of the clan.

They donate the land to you, and they can be exempted from land tax, tax, silver, labor...

In this way, after they do not pay taxes and do not perform hard labor, these will be apportioned to other people. "

The faces of all the gentry could not help but change slightly.

Guo An continued: "We know that according to your abilities, half of the people in the entire Beiping Mansion can be donated.

In this way, you will surely be able to have a vast area of ​​land, lay a foundation for future generations, and benefit the entire family of the original surname. "

"However, for the rest of the common people who did not contribute, their taxes and labor will be doubled.

If things go on like this, they will have nowhere to live.

They will also dedicate all the land and acres of their family to you gentlemen with fame in their families. "

……

(End of this chapter)