Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 192 Big Rat, Big Rat, Don’t Eat My Millet

The local county magistrate obviously did not expect that the emperor would receive a mere tenant, so much so that no one came after a long time.

The emperor, along with a group of senior officials and county magistrates, stood crowded on the edge of a field, looking quite uneasy.

While the tenants had not yet arrived, Daxing County Magistrate Wei Yunzhen stayed close behind the emperor and reported from time to time on the progress of the land survey and household liquidation, as well as the subsequent arrangements and preparations for the county government.

“…It is being verified this month.”

"I have ordered the village jia to imitate the fish scale phoenix flag style of the Hongwu and Zhengtong periods, and compile a map book, which lists in detail the original amount of land grain, word market, number of rules, strips, and wasteland, as well as the number of mature population."

"Afterwards, the county government had the tax officials re-survey and verify, separate the boundaries, measure the acres, record the number of corrections and exemptions for reclamation, and print it into a book, which was stored in the government and distributed to the villages for permanent reference."

Zhu Yijun stood with his hands behind his back, looking out and listening very attentively.

Call it scheming or being ambitious, all in all, Wei Yunzhen's business ability is impeccable.

It was also thanks to Zhu Yijun's painstaking efforts to distinguish between friend and foe.

For example, this Jinshi in the fifth year of Wanli was also firmly opposed to Zhang Juzheng's seizure of his position, and even repeatedly submitted memorials, hoping that the preferential treatment for the sons of hall officials in the imperial examination next year would be cancelled. He also satirized Zhang Juzheng, Shen Shixing, Wang Xijue and others in a subtle way, hoping that they would be sensible and not put the emperor in a dilemma because of their sons' imperial examinations.

No matter how you look at it, he is a standard villain who is just taking advantage of the situation.

But on the contrary, his reputation among the people is very good. He is only just beginning to be seen in Daxing County now, but in history, when he was the governor of Shaanxi, he reclaimed farmland, exempted miscellaneous taxes, cut government expenditures, and built military and civilian infrastructure. Even in later generations, there were literary and artistic works such as "Commoner Governor Wei Yunzhen" to pass on his name.

If this kind of person is placed in the position of censor, neither side will be happy. Instead, he should be kept in the local area and do something practical for the people.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yijun finally turned around and asked: "Are the tax officials who have passed the examinations in the county government these years still working smoothly?"

The prefectures and counties of Shuntian Prefecture held two civil service examinations in advance, perhaps in preparation for this.

Wei Yunzhen's expression was a little unnatural.

He thought for a moment and replied tactfully, "Your Majesty, except for the unfamiliarity with the local climate, the tax officials have rarely made mistakes in their duties."

Being unable to adapt to the local environment means that he does not get along well with the local officials, but he does his job better than the original group of people.

Zhu Yijun understood after hearing this.

The officials who passed the examination naturally took up the positions of local officials, and conflicts between the two sides were inevitable.

This is actually beneficial for the county magistrate to extend his power, so Wei Yunzhen has a positive attitude.

However, this is only temporary. Considering the current population mobility in the Ming Dynasty, these qualified officials will sooner or later be assimilated by the local wealthy families, and they may even write a memorial titled "Daxing Officials".

Of course, having a threshold is always better than having no threshold at all. You can take one step at a time. That’s how the imperial examination system was used to overthrow aristocratic families bit by bit.

Zhu Yijun looked at Wei Yunzhen and asked, "Are there any difficulties or obstacles in measuring the land and clearing the households?"

Wei Yunzhen did not answer immediately, but glanced obliquely at the eunuchs around the emperor.

After pondering for a long while, he slowly said, "Your Majesty, during the new policy of the ninth year of Jiajing, we have investigated the farmlands of the nobles, eunuchs, temples and monasteries in the six prefectures of Shuntian, Baoding, Hejian, Zhending, Guangping and Shunde."

There is a tax exemption limit for nobles, eunuchs, and temples and monasteries, but it is not completely exempt.

According to the system, three cents of silver were collected per mu of top-quality land, two cents of silver per mu of medium-quality land, one and a half cents of silver per mu of middle-lower-quality land, and one cent of silver per mu of lowest-quality land.

Wei Yunzhen paused and continued, "At that time, Emperor Shizong once said that after the land was measured this time, a new boundary would be built and it would become a precedent so that there would be no more disturbances."

"Today, many of the nobles, eunuchs, and temples in the county still have the imperial edicts of Emperor Sejong."

"A few days ago, the officials came to the gates of the nobles and temples, but were expelled by the villagers on this ground..."

Officialdom is a complicated place, and being constrained by historical documents left by predecessors is a lesson that every official must learn.

Emperor Sejong allocated land to nobles, eunuchs, temples and monasteries, which naturally showed that he was a capable monarch. Making compromises to reduce resistance was also a common practice. Perhaps Sejong himself was even prepared for this "joke".

It just so happened that this opportunity to break one's promise and gain wealth fell into the hands of the emperor and his ministers during the Wanli reign.

Faced with such an unreasonable situation, what else can we do except being unreasonable?

Zhu Yijun looked at Wei Yunzhen and asked directly, "Oh? Which nobles, eunuchs, and temple officials are so arrogant?"

Even though Wei Yunzhen only mentioned nobles and temples and monasteries, that was because the eunuchs had surrounded the field and he didn't want to point fingers at them.

The difficulty in measuring land is that most of these people are unwilling to give up their land.

At this point, Wei Yunzhen did not hide anything and simply replied: "Your Majesty, according to the report from the clerks in the yamen, the farm of Huairou Earl Shi Guangzu is inaccessible."

"Several temples and monasteries in the county held the Emperor's imperial edict and politely advised them to withdraw. I did not want to use force, so I invited several abbots to the government office to discuss the matter."

"Yao Zhong, the eunuch of Xixinsi, ordered his cousin Deng Xun to beat and drive away the county clerks with sticks, and even threatened that anyone who dared to come to his house again would have his legs broken."

Zhu Yijun was stunned when he heard this.

He put Wei Yunzhen aside for the moment, and turned to look at Zhang Hong, and asked in surprise: "Zhang Daban, are the people in the palace so arrogant outside?"

He could still understand what Marquis Huairou and the monks and Taoist priests did. After all, they were in the right, and it was only natural for them to ask for some preferential treatment.

But is Yao Zhong crazy? How dare he resist violently at this critical juncture?

Zhang Hong had been standing silently beside him, but when faced with the emperor's questioning words, he immediately knelt down, his forehead touching the dirt: "I failed to discipline you! I am guilty!"

"Please, Your Majesty, have mercy and allow me to go there in person to arrest and interrogate him!"

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun waved his hand and dismissed him, saying, "By the way, let me ask where you got the courage from."

It is easy to guess that the relationship has twists and turns, and will most likely end up with the two Empress Dowagers, or the close ministers of the Empress and concubines.

It’s just right to deal with them together.

A group of close ministers made way for them. Zhang Hong stood up, bowed, and then turned around and left in a hurry with a few eunuchs.

Zhu Yijun turned around and continued to talk to Wei Yunzhen: "What about Shi Guangzu? He is not..."

Halfway through the words, the voice suddenly stopped.

Just as Wei Yunzhen was wondering, she heard some movement behind her.

Turning around, he saw that it was the tenant whom the emperor had summoned earlier, being led by the Embroidered Uniform Guards and coming this way.

Zhu Yijun glanced down.

Seeing that the field ridges here were really narrow, he simply went to greet the tenants on the country road, and a group of ministers followed closely behind.

The three tenants had never seen such a scene before.

Seeing Ziweixing and a group of Wenquxing approaching, the three tenants knelt down hurriedly: "Your humble servants pay their respects to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Then he knelt down and bowed in a very formal manner.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun suddenly stopped.

He looked at the uniform movements of the tenants in front of him and felt a familiar sense of déjà vu.

After a moment, Zhu Yijun suddenly turned his head and smiled at the Minister of Rites Wang Zongyi, saying, "Mr. Wang, the Ministry of Rites has always told me that etiquette should not be extended to common people. It seems that this is also biased."

"Even if we were born as tenant farmers, we were so polite and well-mannered. You have really done a great job in educating us."

Wang Zongyi was stunned when he heard this, then he reacted.

After looking the three tenants up and down, he turned his gaze directly to Shuntian Prefecture Prefect Wang Zhiyuan and Shuntian Governor Hu Zhili.

Wang Zhiyuan and Hu Zhili looked at each other and then looked at Daxing County Magistrate Wei Yunzhen at the same time.

Wei Yunzhen looked a little unnatural and seemed to be hesitant to speak.

While their eyes met, Zhu Yijun did not give his subordinates a chance to reply, but turned around and faced the three tenants.

He looked at the three tenants and said bluntly, "Do you know that deceiving the emperor is a serious crime?"

"I will send the Royal Guards to verify this later. If the three of you are not tenants here, I will kill your three clans."

Killing three clans is better than killing nine clans. It seems more realistic when scaring people.

Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, the expressions of the three "tenants" suddenly changed drastically.

The three of them hurriedly bowed again and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, please spare us! Your Majesty, please spare us! We are the village heads of Daxing County! Magistrate Wei asked us to deal with Your Majesty, we dare not not come!"

His tone was so mournful that everyone who heard it was moved, as if he had used all his strength to save the three tribes.

Wei Yunzhen sighed when she saw that the three people sold them out in the blink of an eye.

He walked from behind the emperor to the front, lifted up his skirt, knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that the tenants will be rude and offend Your Majesty, so I took this desperate measure."

This was a common practice among superiors, censors, and officials during inspections, but today it was discovered at a glance by the emperor who had lived in the deep palace for a long time.

This was really beyond Wei Yunzhen's expectations.

However, what he said in his argument was indeed what he thought in his heart.

Whatever the emperor wanted to know, it was enough for him to ask the county magistrate - he had traveled all over Daxing County and read through the files of the yamen, so how could there be any omissions?

Why should I lower my status and come into contact with the red people?

The emperor did not feel cared for at all. Instead, he stared at Wei Yunzhen expressionlessly and said in a bad tone, "Wei Qing, my ancestors were just beggars. How can you act so high and mighty on my behalf and look down on the common people?"

As soon as these words came out, Wang Xijue in the crowd couldn't help but look at the emperor again.

Wei Yunzhen just felt that these words were hard to handle.

He didn't look down on the red people, he just felt that there was a huge gap in their status.

In desperation, Wei Yunzhen reluctantly replied: "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and you are granted the mandate of heaven, not just by blood relationship."

This little action of his was not a serious crime, otherwise 99% of the officials in the world would have been punished.

At best it was just a warning, and at most he would be deducted two months' salary for deceiving the emperor.

But since the emperor brought up his family background, Wei Yunzhen had no choice but to plead guilty.

Zhu Yijun suddenly sighed and said with regret: "Wei Qing, that's why you were ranked third in the policy essay last year."

"I'm afraid you haven't even read the essay by Li Sancai of Lintong that was published throughout the country."

Wei Yunzhen didn't understand what was going on, so he just kowtowed and bowed again: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask for your advice."

Zhu Yijun shook his head and recalled for a moment, "The Yuan government was in chaos, and the people could not bear it, so they entrusted their lives to Taizu. Taizu then raised his sword and swept away the filth, and received the great treasure from heaven, so I was able to carry it and pass it on to me."

"You said that destiny has been bestowed upon me, but do you know what destiny is?"

"The fate of all people is the destiny of heaven!"

"How can one gain the mandate of heaven by disdaining the common people?" Zhu Yijun looked into Wei Yunzhen's eyes and spoke each word with emphasis: "Wei Qing, Emperor Renzu was also a commoner, and I am also the son of a farmer."

After saying this, Zhu Yijun shook his head and said nothing.

He did not let Wei Yunzhen stand up, but waved to the three village heads and said, "Let's go, take me to the village to meet the red people."

After saying that, he turned around and walked along the country road.

Wei Yunzhen looked at the soil on the ground in confusion, the emperor's words just echoing in her mind.

The fate of all people is the destiny of heaven...

"That is why Your Majesty would rather stir up factional strife in the court than to measure the land and clear the households."

Wei Yunzhen subconsciously raised her head and saw Xu Jie standing hunched beside her, looking at the emperor's back with a complicated expression.

The former still didn't understand and murmured to himself: "I have never seen the Yellow River clear."

When the Yellow River becomes clear, a sage emerges. If what the emperor thinks in his heart is really as he says, then he is truly a sage.

Wei Yunzhen was so surprised that he couldn't believe it - he had seen many officials using the people as a cover, but he hadn't seen many who really took the people to heart, let alone the emperor?
Xu Jie naturally understood what Wei Yunzhen was talking about.

The old man had experienced many ups and downs and was about to die. He was no longer restrained in his words: "If he was faking it, he has been faking it for eight years, starting from the time he wrote a letter of apology when he bullied me in Nanzhili."

“If you can be consistent, you are also a saint.”

Wei Yunzhen remained silent.

……

"I kneel down before His Majesty!"

"Greetings to the Emperor!"

The names were mixed up, the self-proclaimed names were bizarre; the movements were staggering, the people were crawling and kneeling in embarrassment.

Zhu Yijun easily confirmed that the people in front of him were the second lowest class of people in the Ming Dynasty, only slightly better than slaves - tenants.

While signaling to his eunuchs to help the man up, he looked around the village.

There are too many familiar scenes.

The sparsely populated houses, those made of bricks and tiles still look like houses, while those made of wooden boards and thatched roofs seem to be riddled with holes due to the wind and sun.

Chicken and duck feces can be seen everywhere on the ground. Flies and insects have not completely disappeared even after the winter. On the kicked-over stones, there are earthworms crawling on the moss.

The hoe was placed in a basket made of bamboo strips, the seedling pots were placed in the middle of the yard after sowing, and the vegetables were washed. A foul smell emanated from the ditch.

Everything looked exactly like the hometown where he grew up as a child in his previous life.

It was not until these red people with cunning and timid looks in their eyes stood up that Zhu Yijun, who was somewhat dazed, was brought back to reality.

He looked at the young man who was looking at him curiously through the window - he was a tenant farmer who took turns wearing the same pair of pants in the winter, and naturally he was not allowed to meet the emperor with his bare bottom.

He looked at the aunt who turned and left barefoot - women were not allowed to talk to the emperor, and the opportunity to meet him was something Zhu Yijun had repeatedly requested.

He looked at the sturdy man who was dark and skinny, with calloused hands and even a disabled body - the heavy burden and forced labor, and the trauma suffered by the body were just the most intuitive manifestations.

Zhu Yijun suddenly felt a little embarrassed. He used to be able to handle civil and military ministers with ease and power, but now he had disappeared quietly.

"I……"

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered something and swallowed it back.

After pondering for a while, he said again: "I've been trying to find a way to make life better for the common people recently, so I came to see you."

The tenants looked at each other, and no one responded.

It’s not that I don’t understand, but I’m afraid of saying something bad.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun spoke again: "Answer my questions and I will give you two pairs of straw sandals, a quilt, and a hoe."

Things should be given in just the right amount; giving too good a thing may only cause trouble.

The tenants looked at each other again, not disguising the desire and hesitation on their faces.

After a while, a strong man who looked better responded, and everyone nodded.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and asked, "How many meals do you eat a day?"

Whether or not you can have enough food to eat is the lowest standard.

All the tenants looked at the strong man who looked better. The latter hesitated for a moment and said, "Those who work will eat three meals, and those who don't work will eat two meals."

Zhu Yijun was stunned when he heard this.

At this time, Xu Jie suddenly interrupted: "Your Majesty, in the early Song Dynasty, farmers with a little property gradually began to eat three meals a day. During the Zhengde period of this dynasty, tenant farmers also began to eat three meals a day."

Zhu Yijun looked at the former Prime Minister who was waiting for advice with some surprise, and said bluntly: "It's not quite what I thought."

Xu Jie has been focusing on adopting children for many years and knows these things best.

He bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, since the Zhengde reign, prices have not increased much."

"A bunch of water chickens is only four cents, pork is eight cents a pound, fish and shrimp are four or five cents a pound, not to mention rice and noodles."

These are the achievements of the Ming Dynasty compared to the previous dynasties. When Xu Jie talked about them, there was no lack of pride on his face.

Zhu Yijun nodded slowly.

Then he turned around and looked directly at the tenants, and asked curiously, "How much money can you earn in a month?"

Prices are not cheap, but that is when compared with the income of the common people.

It’s not like a big man like Xu Jie who can just say it’s cheap.

The strong man hesitated and replied, "Your Majesty, how much we earn depends on what kind of work we do."

"I've been chopping dry wood these days. I sell one load every three days, and thirty loads for one ounce of silver."

"The rest of the time I go digging for herbs and hunting, which I earn thirty-one or twenty-two cents a day."

"I am strong. People like Lao Ba and Gou Wa find it tiring to carry firewood, so they go to the city to sell pulp. I can earn 16 or 17 cents a day."

Zhu Yijun really believed it this time.

Perhaps it is because of the abundant supplies in Beijing, but even so, the difference between other places will not be too outrageous.

It seems that the prices are indeed not high.

However... Zhu Yijun took another look at the clothes of these tenants.

He frowned and asked, "Why do I see you wearing such shabby clothes?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a look of resentment flashed across the sturdy man's face.

But he said nothing.

Zhu Yijun naturally understood the shrewdness of these tenants.

He pointed to Jiang Keqian who was wearing Feiyun uniform beside him and said, "This is Jinyiwei. If you answer well today, I will let him take you in, and you don't have to worry about anyone's revenge."

When the sturdy man heard this, his face showed ecstasy.

He naturally understood what the Jinyiwei were like!
Even if he is just a private, it is still a huge pie!

He immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "Everyone in the city says that the emperor has the law of heaven on his lips and his words are binding!"

Zhu Yijun smiled and said, "This kind of thing is as easy as going to the toilet for me."

The strong man, who was originally reluctant, immediately answered the question with a beaming face: "It's nothing, I'm just saving money to pay the rent."

"The officials in the government offices have to pay tribute every month, otherwise it will be troublesome to go to the city."

"If you sell pulp, you have to pay a toll to Mr. Shi, otherwise you will be taken to the mines in Yunnan to do corvée labor."

"The firewood mountain belongs to the temple, and we have to pay half of the money for cutting firewood. Hunting is killing, and the Buddha said that we have committed sins and must pay merit money to the temple."

"We eat to make money. If we don't eat, we won't have the energy to pay the rent anyway. We can't save money. It's better to eat more and make more money. Why wear nice clothes every day? They will definitely wear out before we can do anything about it."

The more Zhu Yijun listened, the more silent he became.

The word 'harming the people' rarely has a certain sense of reality.

He suppressed the complicated thoughts in his mind and asked, "Is it easier to live when you have land, or to live by farming for the master?"

The strong man said without hesitation: "Then he must have land to farm and make a living!"

"In previous years, I had to perform corvée labor, but twelve years ago, I could use silver to offset it, so of course it was the most comfortable to have land."

Zhu Yijun understood.

It refers to the labor service system that Gao Gong tried out in northern Zhili in the second year of the Longqing reign. Those who performed labor service had to pay silver, and the government would use the silver to hire laborers to do the work, with each getting what they needed.

However, because this policy was suspected of bribing wealthy households and involved technical issues such as the conversion of silver collected for various corvee labor, the implementation progress was extremely slow.

As Gao Gong's official career was bumpy, this policy was never further improved and continued to operate by inertia only within the northern Zhili area.

Zhu Yijun shook his head in his heart and asked casually, "Then why did you plant the fields for the master?"

When the sturdy man heard this, I don't know what sad thing he thought of, and his excited look suddenly stopped.

He replied sullenly, "There was a natural disaster six years ago, and the harvest was poor. It was not enough to pay the autumn grain, so I borrowed some from the temple."

"Later, when I couldn't pay back the interest, my land was taken away and I was given a piece to farm."

Zhu Yijun looked the man up and down and asked curiously, "How can you farm with your figure?"

He is the tallest among the short guys. Although he is not very strong, he is still one of the strong men in the village.

It's the masters' loss if we don't catch them and beat them.

The strong man turned his head away: "Buddhas say that if you don't have a daughter, you are only fit to work in the fields."

　It is my blessing to finish writing before twelve o'clock.

　　Correction: The figure of 18,117 hectares and 11 mu in Daxing County mentioned in the previous article is wrong. It is an error in the record. Looking through other materials, this figure should be the total data of several counties. Therefore, Daxing County should only have a few thousand hectares, but the exact number is not clear.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)