Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Unlike Liu Zongzhou who fully supported the emperor, Qian Qianyi felt that he was being used by the emperor again.

The last time he wrote, "On Permanent Property", it was revised by the emperor, from a theory favoring the bourgeoisie to a theory favoring the middle class.

He himself was forced to give up his land and become a so-called permanent property owner.

Especially after the emperor formulated the property tax and land restriction policy according to this theory, he was often criticized by big businessmen and landlords and lost the support of many people.

For this reason, Qian Qianyi made many explanations and suppressed more radical remarks in the Datong Daily, which he presided over.

The reason why the sales of his "Ta Tung Daily" are not as good as "Ming Pao" is also related to this contradictory behavior.

Many people noticed that his actions were inconsistent with his words and he seemed to be resisting the theory of permanent property.

So many scholars who came to submit their articles turned to Ming Pao, and Zhang Pu and others were competing with him for the right to interpret the theory of permanent property.

Although Qian Qianyi was dissatisfied with this, he was actually secretly glad that he had attracted the support of many property owners with his more stable ideas.

In the recent incident in Suzhou, he also insisted on "one man with five people managing 100 mu of land", only taking the figure of 100 mu, without considering the actual area now and in ancient times. He was recognized by the emperor for this and was given the title of Minister of State.

I thought this was the emperor's trust, but unexpectedly, a black pot flew over:
The emperor described the policy he wanted to promote, "Those who till the land own the land," as his theory.

"This is, really..."

"I really don't know what to say!"

Qian Qianyi originally wanted to say it was a "sudden disaster", but then he thought of the appeal of the saying "He who tills the land owns it".

Although he did not agree with this theory, he knew that the poor people in the world would definitely support it, especially the landless refugees, who would definitely welcome it.

In particular, this theory is in line with the theory of permanent property. The tiller owns the land, which means that they should have permanent property.

He couldn't push it out even if he wanted to, because everyone in the world knew that this was the theory he proposed at the imperial lecture.

Even his student Qu Shisi thought so:

"Teacher, why did you suddenly have this idea?"

"This is even more radical than what Zhang Pu and his gang shouted."

Zhang Pu and others mentioned permanent property many times in Ming Pao, discussing how to create more permanent property owners.

Qu Shisi originally thought that his teacher would not agree with this, but he did not expect that at the emperor's imperial lecture, he would actually propose the theory of "those who till the land shall own the land."

This is more radical than Zhang Pu and others. At least they did not say that the land should be distributed equally.

Qian Qianyi sighed and said:

"This is not what I said, but the emperor's theory."

"Your Majesty mentioned the standard of a moderately prosperous society at this imperial lecture for this purpose."

"I was not careful for a moment and was tricked by the Emperor."

Qu Shisi was speechless when he heard this. He didn't expect the truth to be like this.

Thinking about the record of the imperial lecture published in the "Dibao", which included the teacher's explanation of this sentence, he began to believe what the teacher said and also thought that the teacher was not such a person.

This made him feel relieved and he said:

"It's good that the teacher doesn't think that way. Students are really worried that the teacher will divide the land equally and divide it again."

"Fortunately, the teacher explained it quickly and persuaded the emperor to leave some room and only divide five acres of land."

The five mu of land distributed to the poor does not require much land. Not to mention that the official land will not be divided equally among them.

Qian Qianyi thought of the public land in the drafted etiquette and law clauses, and sighed:
"Not only government fields, but also clan fields, school fields and other public fields must also assume public responsibility and give priority to renting them out to the landless poor."

"From now on, these fields will be supervised by the Sino-Agricultural Temple and cannot be arbitrarily designated."

"The court's etiquette is becoming more and more strict, and there are fewer and fewer loopholes to exploit."

Qu Shisi had the same feeling when he thought about the various etiquette laws drafted by the Etiquette Committee.

The emperor's revision of rituals and music this time was extremely detailed. It was said that he wanted to sort out all the rituals and imperial edicts since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

We ignored their attempts to exploit loopholes before in order to finalize the policy.

In the future, the enforcement will become more and more rigorous, leaving no room for loopholes.

Qu Shisi sighed in his heart, and thought of the controversy about the theory of permanent property that his teacher had to bear before the emergence of the "land to the tiller" policy. He asked:
"Teacher, do you want to explain these in the newspaper?"

"You can't just memorize this theory without knowing why."

"You have already been criticized for your theory of permanent property. If this theory of tilling the land gets spread, I am afraid that even more people will be dissatisfied."

Qian Qianyi thought about the passiveness brought about by the theory of permanent property and was somewhat tempted by it.

But thinking about the current emperor's methods, he shook his head and said:

"It's already been published in the Gazette. It's useless to explain it now. Instead, people will accuse me of going back on my words and failing to stick to my ideals."

"Besides, this theory was given by the emperor. Can I apply it?"

"The current emperor has shown me great kindness and has left me two hundred miles of fiefdom in New Jiangnan. Do you think I can refuse?"

A fief of two hundred li means viscount, and the emperor was clearly hinting that he would confer the title of viscount on him in the future.

Although Qian Qianyi felt that overseas was desolate and the Lancang River Delta might not become the new Jiangnan, he could not give up his hereditary title. At least he could have a thousand acres of land.

He had accepted the advance reward. If he did not help the emperor to take some criticism, he would probably not only fail to get the title, but even lose his position as a minister.

Qian Qianyi had finally gained the emperor's trust and was expected to become one of the Nine Ministers or Grand Secretary. Naturally, he was unwilling to ruin his own future and said that the emperor had misinterpreted his remarks.

He said to Qu Shisi:

"I will write a letter to my family and ask them to give priority to renting the clan land to the poor."

"You should also be more careful in the future and don't make mistakes on this."

"No matter what, 'Land to the tiller' was proposed in my name, and we can't make any mistakes on this."

Qu Shisi was speechless. He didn't expect that he would be implicated in the matter.

But thinking about the care the teacher had given him, he had no choice but to agree.

I can't fall out with my teacher over this and not follow the rules of etiquette and law written by the court.

However, thinking about the theory of permanent property and the land to the tiller that had been mentioned to the teacher one after another, he asked cautiously:

“Teacher, should we promote this in the future?”

"Or will it be like the theory of permanent property, and never be mentioned again?"

Qian Qianyi thought about it and remembered that the emperor had promoted him after he supported the recovery of Suzhou's official land, and now he was giving him the "land to the tiller" policy.

Some of them understood what the emperor wanted them to do, sighed and said:

"No matter what, everyone in the world will think that the teacher supports permanent property and wants to distribute land to the poor."

"Now I can't change my ways, I can only continue on this path."

"We will speak for the wealthy and the poor from now on. The emperor needs such ministers in the court."

Upon hearing this, Qu Shisi suddenly realized that the emperor did this on purpose.

Now that the teacher has been forced to make a choice, he can only go down this path. Thinking of his position as the Minister of Taifu Temple, he thought about it and said:

"Now it seems that property tax is inevitable."

"And the business tax should also be levied progressively."

"Students should formulate measures when they return to make the tax collection method formulated by the Taifu Temple more favorable to permanent property owners."

Qian Qianyi nodded and said:

"Just follow the imperial tax collection method. Don't try too hard."

"Don't forget that you are from Suzhou, and you can't be an official in the Ministry of Revenue in the future."

"Although the Taifu Temple does not completely belong to the Ministry of Revenue, it is still an office supervised by the Ministry of Revenue."

"No matter how well you do, you can't become the Minister of the Imperial Household Department and the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

"I will think of a way to change your position."

Although Qian Qianyi had already made up his mind to implement the theory of permanent property and the principle of "land to the tiller" as arranged by the emperor, he still did not want his disciples to be too deeply involved.

Especially since taxation was an offensive job, he didn't want his disciples to be involved in it.

Therefore, he instructed Qu Shisi to carry out the court's measures and make contributions over the years, and if the position of Shaoqing became vacant in the future, he would help him find a new position.

Positions such as Guanglu Temple and Honglu Temple are very suitable for Qu Shisi. In the future, as long as he serves as a junior official in the two temples, Qu Shisi will have the opportunity to serve as a governor. After a few years of experience, he will have the opportunity to become a minister in the court.
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Qu Shisi was very moved by the teacher's arrangement. He recalled a rumor and asked:
"I heard that something happened in Shanxi again. Prime Minister Han has a relative who was involved in a case of collusion with the merchants there."

"Shanxi has been in a lot of trouble in recent years, and this time it's related to Prime Minister Han."

"Teacher, do you think the emperor will take this opportunity to replace Prime Minister Han?"

Qian Qianyi had also heard about this incident, but thinking of the emperor's praise of Han Yu at the imperial lecture, he said:
"The Prime Minister will not be replaced. The Emperor wants this cabinet to serve a full term and set a rule for future generations."

"But Prime Minister Han will probably have a hard time staying in the cabinet and it will be hard for him to be re-elected in the future."

When Han Yu, the Prime Minister, first came to power, both the government and the public had high hopes for him, and the emperor even appointed him as prime minister.

But after starting a few fires, his presence became increasingly low, disappointing many people in the government and the public.

Now, he is implicated again because of family affairs. Many people believe that he can only serve out this term at most and it is impossible for him to be re-elected.

Qu Shisi held this idea and discussed it with Qian Qianyi:

"Teacher, if Prime Minister Han leaves office, who among the Donglin officials can serve as Grand Secretary?"

"Teacher is now the Prime Minister. Will there be any chances in the future?"

In theory, the Prime Minister could be included in the candidates for the Grand Secretary, but Qian Qianyi thought of the former Minister of Taichang Temple Li Biao and felt that he was still a little short of it.

Li Biao is now only the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites. It would be great if he could become a Vice Minister in the next term. He has no chance at all to become a Grand Secretary.

Thinking about what happened at the imperial lecture, he said:
"If Prime Minister Han leaves office, the one who has a chance to join the cabinet is Minister Cheng."

"He is the Minister of Rites and has great insights into remaking rituals and music."

"The emperor appreciates such talents and will probably make him a Grand Secretary."

"but……"

Shaking his head, Qian Qianyi said:
"Even if Minister Cheng becomes a Grand Secretary, he will still be ranked at the back of the cabinet. He cannot have the power of Prime Minister Han."

"We still need to do our best to protect Prime Minister Han and get him re-elected."

No matter what, Han Yu was pushed to power by the Donglin Party.

After he became the Prime Minister, people all over the world confirmed that the Donglin Party had been rehabilitated and was no longer persecuted.

As the successor of the Donglin Party, Qian Qianyi still hoped that Han Yu could continue to serve as the prime minister.

However, thinking about what Han Yu had done, he couldn't help but feel a little dissatisfied:

Before he became the Prime Minister, I thought he was very talented. I didn't expect that after he became the Prime Minister, he was not much better than Huang Liji.

If the emperor had not been personally involved in many matters, he would have been driven out long ago.

However, the emperor has selected many women to enter the palace this year, and it is said that he will select again next year. He is becoming increasingly lazy about state affairs, and needs the prime minister to get things done.

Therefore, Qian Qianyi and many court officials believed that Han Yu could not continue.

But now the Donglin Party needs Han Yu as the chief minister, which makes Qian Qianyi sigh:
"Why can't Prime Minister Han control his family? He is criticized because of his family."

"We must persuade him well and make him harden his heart."

Before Han Yu became the Prime Minister, he was impeached by Han Yiliang because his family accepted bribes. However, the emperor wanted to appease the Donglin Party and let him get away with it.

I thought he would learn his lesson and control his family, but unexpectedly his in-laws, the Zhang family, were involved in a case of collusion with the enemy by Shanxi merchants.

Now those who had previously defended him were speechless. This was the second time his relative had committed a crime, and it could not be excused by simply saying that he had not disciplined him strictly enough.

Qu Shisi also sighed, not understanding why a smart man like Han Yu was repeatedly implicated by his relatives:

"Cultivation of one's character, order of family, governance of country, peace of the world."

"How can Prime Minister Han govern the country in the future if his family is not united?"

Qian Qianyi shared the same view and believed that Han Yu had serious problems in managing his family.

However, with Sun Chengzong away on a military expedition and Liu Yirong disliked by the emperor, the Donglin Party could not put forward another candidate for prime minister.

Like Cheng Jiming, the most he could be promoted to is Grand Secretary, and he would need to endure for many more years before he could be promoted to the position of Prime Minister.

Compared with a prime minister, the power of an ordinary university scholar can be said to be very different.

Qu Shisi also understood this, but he thought of Cheng Jiming's current position as Minister of Rites and said:
"It's not bad for Cheng Shangshu to become a Grand Secretary. Does that mean you will have a chance to become the Minister of Rites?"

"Now the six ministers are all real nine ministers, and they have far more power than before."

Qian Qianyi was also somewhat tempted, but thinking of the emperor's habits of employing people, he shook his head and said:

"Although I have been promoted to Minister of State, my qualifications are still not as good as those of the Ministry of Rites."

"And most importantly, the emperor would not be happy for the Donglin Party to continue to serve as the Minister of Rites."

"It is estimated that the teacher will be transferred to other departments or even sent out."

This was his own premonition, but Qu Shisi was unwilling to say:
"Teacher, can't you fight for your place in the capital?"

"If I accomplish a few more feats, will there be a chance?"

Qian Qianyi sighed and said:

"It's not that easy to make achievements, let alone the Taichang Temple."

"I just hope nothing goes wrong and I can carry out the emperor's orders with peace of mind."

The most important task for the Taichang Temple now is to rectify the sacrificial rites and re-determine the system of gods and immortals according to the emperor's instructions.

The dispute was very troublesome, and Qian Qianyi was afraid of making mistakes and being impeached.

He just hopes to be safe and sound and complete this term of office well. (End of this chapter)