Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Huang Daozhou's understanding of Zhang Pu was actually not deep enough.

On the surface, Zhang Pu is a gentle and elegant gentleman, but because of his experiences in his youth, he is quite jealous of evil and does not follow the rules.

For example, when he instigated the slaves to cause trouble this time, although he was worried about causing a slave uprising, he was actually not afraid and did not care at all.

Because he knew that the emperor had always been dissatisfied with the customs in Suzhou, Songjiang and Zhejiang.

It was only because these places were an important source of tax revenue for the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty had no energy to take care of them that it had to leave them alone.

But if someone could tidy up these places in Jiangnan without affecting taxation, the emperor would probably applaud and not blame anyone.

Therefore, Zhang Pu was not worried about causing a slave rebellion. At most, he would spend more time to clean up the mess after the rebellion. For him, who prided himself on his writing, this was just a waste of energy!

Of course, it is best to avoid unrest if possible. When Zhang Pu asked the eunuchs in charge of Susong for help, he had anticipated what he would face.

At this time, he was explaining his actions to Cao Wenheng, the governor of Jiangnan:

"The trend of slavery in Jiangnan is prevalent. Your Majesty has always been dissatisfied with this and is deeply worried."

"Then Governor Cao, do you know why Your Majesty is worried?"

Cao Wenheng was doing well in the governor's office when he was suddenly informed of this incident by the eunuch supervising Susong. He had to come to Taicang Prefecture to prevent a slave rebellion.

Seeing that Zhang Pu showed no sign of repentance and was using the emperor to pressure him, he said unhappily:
"Who in the world doesn't know that the wealthy families in Jiangnan keep slaves?"

"Looking at these large families with tens of thousands of slaves, not to mention the emperor, even I feel worried?"

"Zhang Ximing, I know you are very capable and have a say in front of the emperor."

"But if you have something to say, please speak politely. I also have a silver seal."

"I will report everything that happened today, as well as our conversation, to His Majesty in a secret memorial."

After he dealt with the Shen family last year, he received a reward from the emperor, a silver seal for punishing wrongdoers.

This meant that he could use the silver seal to make secret reports to the emperor and become a confidant recognized by the emperor.

So even though he knew that Zhang Pu was favored by the emperor, he was still not polite to this person.

Compared to him as the governor, Zhang Pu is still very young!
Even if he passed the imperial examination, it would still take Zhang Pu at least a dozen years to reach his current status.

Facing Cao Wenheng's reproach, Zhang Pu remained calm.

He had met many dignitaries in the capital and knew how to deal with them. At this time, he nodded to Cao Wenheng repeatedly and said respectfully:

"Mr. Cao is upright and honest, and is brave in his duties. I have heard of him in the capital."

"Even His Majesty praised Cao Gong's achievements in Shandong and gave him the important task of enfeoffment."

"Who else but Lord Cao can be promoted from a feudal lord to a minister of the imperial court in the future?"

Cao Wenheng was quite pleased with what he said. He then pretended to be dissatisfied and said:

"From what you said, the emperor only praised me for my good work in Shandong and didn't mention anything about my work in Jiangnan?"

"Haven't I done enough in Jiangnan in the past two years?"

In his own opinion, he felt that he was doing better in Jiangnan than in Shandong.

After all, in Shandong he was only the governor, and was constrained by officials such as the governor and the provincial inspector.

In the south of the Yangtze River, he became the governor, able to govern the country with drastic measures.

Moreover, after the emperor implemented the term system, he no longer had to worry about being suddenly transferred and could handle Jiangnan affairs as he wished.

After taking office in September of the first year of Chongzhen, he first quelled the disputes between Suzhou and Songjiang and successfully established the Suzhou and Songjiang Customs.

He then quelled the banditry on land and wiped out the remnants of Japanese pirates at sea.

This was something that was praised by all the scholars and people in Jiangnan. Last year, he also disciplined the Shen family and gained the trust of the emperor.

It can be said that Cao Wenheng was quite proud of his achievements in Jiangnan, and felt that he was better than most governors. He even felt that he might become a famous official in Suzhou like Yuan Keli, and be worshipped beside Hai Rui, the City God of Suzhou and Songshan, when he integrated the City God Temple and the Famous Officials Temple.

However, Zhang Pu said bluntly:

"Compared to Shandong, Cao Gong's performance in Jiangnan is far inferior."

"When he was in Shandong, Cao Gong was only a provincial governor, and he implemented the orders of the court."

"But you are the governor of Jiangnan. What do you think are the main duties of the governor of Jiangnan?"

Cao Wenheng became angry when he heard this, because what he said before was just self-deprecation.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Pu took advantage of the situation and said that he didn't do well enough, which made him look serious and said:

"As the governor, my duty is to travel the country on behalf of the emperor and appease the military and civilians."

"Isn't it enough to quell the banditry and wipe out the Japanese pirates?"

Zhang Pu also praised these in his heart, because they were indeed good things done for Suzhou, and as a citizen of Suzhou he should praise them.

However, if he wanted to convince Cao Wenheng now, he could only pretend to be calm and said:
“These two things can be considered achievements, but they are far from enough.”

"May I ask how many soldiers did Cao Gong train? Or did he win any great battles?"

Cao Wenheng was speechless for a moment, not daring to say that he had trained elite soldiers, and even less did he think that he had won a great victory. Otherwise, he would not have only received the hereditary title of 100 households instead of a higher reward.

Thinking that Sun Chuanting had become a hereditary deputy commander by suppressing bandits in Shaanxi, and now he was sent to Shanxi, he gradually calmed down, knowing that compared with the constant war in the northwest, his contribution was really not a great achievement, and there was no follow-up.

This made his expression change again and again, and he finally bowed to Zhang Pu and thanked him:

"Mr. Ximing is right. Cao has learned his lesson!"

"As the governor of Jiangnan, I really shouldn't be complacent about military affairs."

Zhang Pu dared not accept his gift, so he quickly stepped aside and returned the gift:

"Cao Gong eliminated bandits and pirates, and students in their hometown also benefited."

"But the land south of the Yangtze River is peaceful after all. After what Cao Gong has done, there is really nothing he can do in terms of military affairs."

"I wonder if Lord Cao knows why the emperor praised you for rectifying the Shen family but not for other things?"

Cao Wenheng frowned and thought about this matter.

The reason why he punished the Shen family before was naturally because the emperor appointed Shen Shixing in the court. The Shen family was besieged by scholars and had to accept his "good intentions".

Therefore, he thought that he was doing a private favor for the emperor and was rewarded with a silver medal.

Could it be that there is some hidden story behind this matter that he is unaware of?

Thinking that he was far away in Jiangnan and not as well-informed as Zhang Pu, Cao Wenheng bowed and said:

"Please enlighten me, Mr. Ximing!"

"Cao really doesn't know."

Zhang Pu accepted his salute openly, covered his mouth with his folding fan, and whispered to Cao Wenheng:
"The reason why the emperor praised you for this is because after you cleaned up the Shen family, you pushed forward the abolition of preferential treatment."

"This is the more important place for the court."

"Because the most important thing for the court in Jiangnan is to provide food and taxes."

"Cao Gong abolished the preferential treatment for officials and gentry, which was equivalent to expanding the source of tax revenue."

"How could the emperor not be happy when he learned about this?"

This principle is very simple. Cao Wenheng understood it as soon as he heard it. He slapped the table and said:

"Why didn't I think of that!"

"Mr. Ximing really woke me up with his words."

"Teach me! Teach me!"

I will remember Zhang Pu's guidance this time.

From now on, he had a direction and knew which direction he should work towards and how to please the emperor.

Seeing him like this, Zhang Pu also felt that this man was worthy of friendship. He continued, "Since Lord Cao has already known about this, we can make up for our previous omissions."

"After abolishing the preferential treatment, what should we do next? We don't need students' guidance, right?"

"Don't stop and take the next step!"

These words were spoken cryptically, but when Cao Wenheng heard them, his expression immediately changed.

Because he knew that what Zhang Pu was referring to was the issue of slavery.

The reason why the slaves in Jiangnan joined the wealthy families was because these wealthy families had preferential treatment from the court, which could reduce taxes and labor service and avoid being exploited by the government. Over time, these people who joined the wealthy families became slaves.

Now that the exemptions have been abolished, those slaves not only have to pay taxes and levies, but also have to pay rent to their masters. How can they be willing to do this?
Therefore, more and more people wanted to renounce their citizenship. The government offices in Jiangnan had already noticed this.

As the governor, how could Cao Wenheng not know about this?

But he knew better who the masters of these slaves were. Zhang Pu wanted him to confront all of them!
With a wry smile, Cao Wenheng said:

"Does Mr. Ximing think too highly of Cao?"

"How can a mere governor like Cao do this to abolish slavery?"

"Without the imperial court's order, how could Cao have the courage to do this?"

“There is simply no ability to enforce it.”

Unlike the abolition of privileges, the imperial court had no final decision on the abolition of slavery.

If Cao Wenheng were to force the policy through, it would be hard to say whether the officials in the prefectures of Jiangnan would follow his orders or not. It would also be hard to say how long he would remain as governor.

Even Hai Rui was forced to leave back then, so Cao Wenheng didn't think he could compete with the Jiangnan gentry.

Zhang Pu smiled when he heard this, pointed in the direction of the Wu family and said:

"I didn't let Cao Gong take the lead."

"As long as Lord Cao lets this situation go, the matter will naturally alarm the government and the public, and the court will discuss whether to abolish slavery."

"When the order comes down, Jiangnan's crisis will naturally be resolved."

"If Lord Cao can maintain the Jiangnan region from chaos and collect the Shangxia tax during this process, he will surely be praised by the court and even be appreciated by the nobles."

This was just like the previous time when the students besieged the Shen family and Cao Wenheng went to rescue them. Whenever the servants of each family started to make trouble, Cao Wenheng would protect them. Even if these nobles had to hold their noses, they had to thank Cao Wenheng for saving them.

Cao Wenheng, who had experienced this kind of thing once, was very familiar with it.

This made him point at Zhang Pu and say with a smile:
"You!"

"You really treat everyone as fools!"

"Did you think no one noticed?"

Zhang Pu laughed, closed the folding fan in his hand, and said nonchalantly:

"So what if I can see it?"

"The situation is such that they have no choice but to surrender."

"Otherwise, we will just wait for the slaves to revolt and attack each family one by one!"

"Lord Cao only needs to lead the troops and clean up the mess."

Cao Wenheng's face turned pale when he heard this. He never expected that Zhang Pu would actually allow the slave to rebel.

This made him hurriedly dissuade:
"Absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

"If the grain supply to Jiangnan is cut off, the imperial court will hold you and me accountable."

"If there are no more aristocratic families, who will collect taxes from Jiangnan?"

"Mr. Ximing should be careful with his words!"

Warn Zhang Pu not to have such an idea, let alone say it out loud.

Zhang Pu frowned slightly when he saw Cao Wenheng like this, knowing that Cao Wenheng still thought differently from him. If he wanted this person to cooperate, he had to let him know the truth.

This made him open his folding fan again and whispered to Cao Wenheng:
"What do you think, Lord Cao, about the taxes in Suzhou Prefecture? How do they compare to other prefectures?"

Cao Wenheng sighed upon hearing this and said:
"Taxes in Suzhou Prefecture are, of course, extremely heavy."

"Suzhou Prefecture alone can be compared with half a province or even an entire province."

"If you say that Suzhou's taxes are not heavy, I'm afraid no one will agree."

This is how he felt when he came to Jiangnan.

In Shandong, where he previously worked, the province's autumn grain output was only 199 million shi.

However, the autumn grain output in Suzhou alone was as much as 203 million shi.

If even this is not considered heavy taxation, then there is no place in the world where heavy taxation is found.

In his heart, Cao Wenheng felt very sympathetic towards the people of Suzhou and tried his best to help them solve their other burdens.

However, Zhang Pu said to him:

"As a Suzhou native, I have petitioned Your Majesty to reduce Suzhou's taxes."

"But your majesty said that the taxes in Suzhou Prefecture are not heavy at all."

"Does Cao Gong know what this means?"

Cao Wenheng frowned when he heard this, and for a moment he felt that the emperor was ignorant of the suffering of the people.

At the same time, I felt that given the wisdom of the current emperor, this would not happen.

He said to Zhang Pu:

"Cao is stupid, I don't know how to explain it."

"Has the emperor told Mr. Ximing why?"

Zhang Pu laughed loudly, waved his folding fan and said:
"I didn't understand it at first, but after your majesty asked me to calculate a few numbers, I understood it completely."

"Mr. Cao, you are the governor, you should know the average annual yield per mu in Jiangnan, right?"

Cao Wenheng was of course familiar with this and said:

"Suzhou has two crops a year, mostly rice-wheat rotation."

"Summer taxes are mainly wheat, with an output of about one stone per mu."

"The yield of autumn rice varies, with the lowest being just over one dan and the highest even reaching five dan."

"The average yield per mu this year is about 200 to 300 dan."

Zhang Pu nodded slightly and said:
"Mr. Cao's estimate is correct. Your Majesty ordered people to take samples and calculate the average annual yield per mu in the south, which is 2.6 dan."

"Based on this calculation, how much tithe should be paid?"

(The Study on Grain Yield per Mu in China Throughout the Ages estimates that the average annual yield per mu in the south is 2.61 dan, and the average annual yield per mu in the north is 2 dan, with an average of 2.31 dan. This book uses this number.)

One tenth of 2.6 stone is, of course, 0.26 stone.

Cao Wenheng said this number without hesitation, and then he understood why the emperor said that Suzhou's taxes were not heavy:
Because Suzhou Prefecture had nearly 0.225 million acres of land, the average tax per acre, including summer taxes and autumn grain, was only shi.

This made him lose consciousness for a moment, and he muttered:
"The tax rate of the 11th tax has not even been reached, so why do people say that Suzhou is heavily taxed?"

"Mencius said that the tax rate for the three dynasties was 10% and the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals also said that '10% is the middle and right standard for the world.'"

"Why is this happening?"

The present emperor levies a 11th tax according to the well-field system, and people all over the world say that this is a benevolent policy.

But after Cao Wenheng's calculations, he found that in Suzhou, a place generally recognized for its heavy taxes, the taxes collected by the imperial court were less than one-tenth of the total.

This immediately confused him, wondering what went wrong? (End of this chapter)