Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 241: Chen Shiju's Journey, Brothers of the People and All Things

At this moment, all the ministers in Wenhua Palace had the same idea - the emperor is really an actor!
As Li Youzi came out to make a reply, no one believed that the emperor was really as ignorant as he had just appeared to be.

Especially when the big box full of case files carried by the young eunuchs stopped in the middle of the Wenhua Hall.

How long in advance do you have to start preparing for this?

Everyone subconsciously paid their respects to the dozens of files neatly arranged in the box.

Even though the three little Huizhou kids were kneeling on the ground, they couldn't help but look back through their armpits.

Is this the Ministry of Revenue's record regarding Huizhou Prefecture?

Li Youzi covered his mouth and nose and brushed away the dust from the old object. "Your Majesty, this is a register from the Ministry of Revenue. It records all the tax affairs of Huizhou Prefecture from the Hongwu period to the present."

"Rong Chen will tell you one by one."

This scene is so professional.

Everyone in Huizhou Prefecture looked at Li Youzi with eager eyes, feeling both expectant and nervous.

Minister Li was much more relaxed. He had nothing to do with the matter, so he spoke the truth: "First, the petition said that the silk and silk of She County's population was the summer wheat tax owed by the six counties. This statement is not true."

"The summer tax on raw silk is only the amount of summer wheat owed by She County, not the total amount of the six counties!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the expressions of Yin Zhengmao, Xu Guo and others suddenly changed.

Shuai Jiamo stepped forward in disbelief and argued with Li Youzi, "Impossible! I calculated that She County only owed 2910 taels of silver for summer wheat, and the other five counties owed 3234 taels! This is exactly the amount of silver required for collecting raw silk!"

He is confident in his calculations; there is no way he can be wrong!

However, Li Youzi just laughed and said, "You calculated wrong. It cannot be converted into silver. The price of silver is totally different between the beginning of the country and now."

Shuai Jiamo was stunned on the spot.

Silver price...

He suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.

Li Youzi took out a case file from the box and handed it to the secretary to circulate: "The Ministry of Revenue also has files on this matter. The Yisi reform took place on the first day of April in the second year of Wu."

“歙县一共亏欠夏税9766石9斗3升6勺，每亩额外征发四钱生丝，补生丝9041斤。”

"In addition, the Xingzhongshu Province at that time, in addition to finding that She County owed 9700 shi of summer wheat, also re-investigated some abandoned fields in Dengying and Mingde Townships under its jurisdiction and collected additional taxes."

"Adding them together, the total number of silk and satin is 8780 pieces."

"This number is completely consistent. There is no such thing as She County shouldering the burden of the other five counties and the summer wheat tax arrears."

Shuai Jiamo couldn't help but pause.

Xu Guo and Yin Zhengmao looked at each other in disbelief.

Li Youzi did not forget to make up for the loss and took out another book: "Besides, at the beginning, only She County needed to pay the summer wheat with silk, and the other five counties did not need it."

"Take Wuyuan County as an example. Before the Yisi reform, the tax amount was 8315 dan of wheat and 8315 dan of rice."

"The following year, Wuyuan produced 8000 dan of wheat. Although it owed 315 dan of wheat, the rice harvest was good, with 8624 dan, which made up for the deficit. Therefore, Wuyuan County did not need to pay the wheat tax at all."

"Take Xiuning County as an example..."

Every time he spoke, he took out a book.

Wang Xijue was quite curious when he saw this, so he took the book.

As soon as I saw it, I was dizzy by the densely packed numbers on it.

What? The original summer tax on wheat was 8,999 shi, 4 dou, 5 liters, 2 he, 2 scoops, and the autumn tax on rice was 18,490 shi, 8 dou, 7 liters, 8 he, 6 scoops.

What? The change is 993 shi 2 dou 2 sheng 1 he 8 shao of wheat and 214 taels 8 qian 5 fen 1 li 3 hao of silver.

What? Add 11,851 shi, 4 dou, 8 sheng and 8 he of rice, and 5,747 taels, 9 qian, 7 fen, 1 li and 7 hao of silver.

Wang Xijue immediately handed it to Shen Shixing.

Lord Shen was unwilling to just look at it, so he quickly moved his eyes to the end, "Now the number is equal to the outside," and pretended to understand it.

With an unfathomable look on his face, he turned to Wang Xijue and explained, "Even Xiuning County does not need to make up for the summer wheat tax that year."

Afterwards, all the ministers looked at the books one by one.

Everyone looked amused and seemed to be getting more and more interested.

Wonderful!
She County said that it had taken on too much and was also responsible for the unpaid taxes of the other five counties.

Li Youzi was hit hard - the silver price fluctuated, you calculated wrong!

What a twist.

Yu Maoxue, kneeling before the emperor, turned his head and danced with his eyebrows in front of Xu Guo.

Yin Zhengmao was shocked and confused.

Li Youzi ignored Xu Guo's eye contact and continued, "Secondly, the petition said that 8780 pieces of 'determined silk' were collected by Huizhou Prefecture, but it did not mention which county was responsible for paying them. So it should be shared equally among the six counties. This is also wrong."

Shuai Jiamo was looking through the previous volume of the case file, trying to find mistakes in Li Youzi's words.

Hearing this, he couldn't help but look up in surprise.

After one crisis came another, the imperial court even refused to share the burden equally! ?

Shuai Jiamo raised his head and pointed at the official document in Xu Guo's hand with a trembling hand, almost crying: "The Ming Dynasty Code is written in black and white, and there are official documents to prove it! It clearly says that Huizhou Prefecture took it!"

Li Youzi nodded, then shook his head.

He did not look through any case files this time, and said slowly: "Whether it is the Ming Dynasty Code or the Ministry of Revenue's investigation documents, there are rules for writing. In Zhili, it says prefecture instead of county; in each provincial government, it says province instead of prefecture."

"For example, the Ming Dynasty Code also states that the summer tax of silk and cotton was levied from the Zhejiang Provincial Government, but in fact, it refers to the collection from eight prefectures including Hangzhou, while Wenzhou, Taizhou and Chuzhou were exempted from paying."

"The same is true of the survey document, which says 'taking the summer tax of silk and cotton from the Zhejiang Provincial Administration', but does not mention any specific prefectures or counties."

All the ministers looked at Shen Shixing.

As the actual editor-in-chief of "Da Ming Hui Dian", Shen Shixing should be most familiar with these rules.

The latter glanced at Xu Guo, hesitated for a moment, and nodded: "It is true."

A slight nod was like a heavy hammer, striking the hearts of everyone in She County.

Xu Guo and Yin Zhengmao looked at each other, and saw the same two words in each other's eyes - it's over.

Only Shuai Jiamo, who was unfamiliar with the court rules, was still arguing.

He was heard to argue urgently: "Master, how can Huizhou be confused with the case of Zhejiang!"

"Eight prefectures in Zhejiang have cotton, but three do not. Naturally, the province can collect taxes based on production."

"But among the six counties of Huizhou, not a single one produces silk! Shouldn't we take local conditions into consideration and distribute the tax among the six counties?"

"In these years, only the people of our county have sold their grain for silver, and then used the silver to buy silk to pay taxes to the court. How can this be possible!?"

This is the disadvantage of unclear official documents.

If Zhejiang is only allowed to collect cotton, Zhejiang will naturally share the burden with the eight prefectures that produce cotton. What if the court asks Huizhou Prefecture to collect silk, but there is no county that produces silk?
In response, Li Youzi reached out his hand again, took out a case file from the box, and said slowly: "If this is the case, it just shows that this tax should be borne by She County."

"At the beginning of the founding of the country, several townships under the jurisdiction of She County, including Dengying, Mingde, Renli, Yongfeng, and Xiaoti, had mulberry gardens."

"The amount of tax was adjusted in the 10th year of Hongwu, the 24th year of Hongwu, and the 10th year of Yongle, and She County never raised any objection."

He handed the case file to Shuai Jiamo and said softly, "On the contrary, the other five counties have never planted mulberry gardens."

There used to be mulberry gardens in She County! ?
Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo both shook their heads, obviously not knowing.

And this time, Shuai Jiamo did not reach out to take it.

He stood there blankly, not knowing what to think.

Li Youzi kept talking: "Third, if it is said that the third class and the sixth room in the government secretly tampered with it, there is the original yellow book of the 14th year of Hongwu, and the copy kept in this county may have been tampered with, but the original book is still in this department..."

Minister Li took out book after book from the treasure box.

When the ministers heard this, they understood the whole story.

The records of the Ministry of Households clearly pointed out that it was a misunderstanding caused by the villagers of She County!
This silk tax was originally intended for She County!

It’s not the head tax of the six counties, it’s clearly the specialty tax of She County!
Before they knew it, Li Youzi's voice was the only one left in the court, and he was still listing off his treasures and arguing point by point.

"Okay, Li Qing."

Zhu Yijun also stopped Li Youzi's pursuit in time.

Li Youzi paused after hearing this and his voice stopped abruptly.

He smiled and bowed to the emperor, then took the circulated books from his colleagues one by one and put them all back into the box.

As Li Youzi returned silently, there was silence in the hall for a moment.

Zhu Yijun looked at Yu Maoxue: "Yu Qing, what do you say?"

Yu Maoxue was overjoyed, his eyebrows dancing with joy: "I am convinced! I am convinced! Minister Li is dedicated to his duties and follows the principles. He is well-versed in knowledge and has mastered the art of governance. Your Majesty is in control of all things and can divide yin and yang..."

Zhu Yijun quickly told the fellow to shut up: "Enough, enough!"

Yu Maoxue shut up immediately, but couldn't stop smiling.

After this battle, his reputation in the village will surely skyrocket, and he may even be able to enjoy sacrifices beside Zhu Xi!

Thinking of this, Yu Maoxue became more sincere when he knelt on the ground to apologize, and his butt was raised high.

Zhu Yijun held down Yu Maoxue and looked at Yin Zhengmao: "Mr. Yin, what do you think?"

Yin Zhengmao was speechless: "I don't care about this matter anymore."

There was helplessness in his words, and although he had distinguished right from wrong, his reputation in the village was likely to be ruined!
Whether or not we can return to our roots in the future is another matter.

Zhu Yijun looked at Xu Guo again: "Xu Qing."

Xu Guo was silent for a long while before he slowly spoke: "I am guilty."

Things have come to this point. If you are wrong, you lose.

Zhu Yijun shook his head, and finally looked at Shuai Jiamo: "Shuai Jiamo, the dispute between the six counties started because of you."

"Now the people of the five counties have abandoned farming and stopped trading. There is even a meeting of the five counties, intending to go to the imperial court to file a petition to accuse the people of She of committing a crime of rebellion and making it a law. They also intend to raise an army to fight a decisive battle and punish those who instigated the rebellion in She."

"What do you think?"

How bad has the situation in the six counties gotten?
In Xiuning County, "the ignorant people in the countryside and the thugs in the city gathered again, holding flags and making noises."

The people of Wuyuan "called on all the counties to beat and humiliate the gatekeepers."

Jixi County was even more rampant, directly "putting wooden ladders on the screen wall of the county, removing the original notice, hiding in the house, inciting the ignorant people in the village to shout and clamor with the people outside the door."

Qimen County and Qian County have few people, so "when they gather together, the emotions of millions of people will be turbulent and unpredictable."

The elders and young men of the Five Counties cried out in despair and supported each other, and everyone took the left side. When the Censorate and Provincial Surveillance Commissioners heard of the rebellion, their swords were of no use and their tongues were of no use.

It has come to this point and it turned out to be a misunderstanding. How should the person who started it deal with it?

Shuai Jiamo was stunned for a long time before he knelt down dejectedly: "I am willing to accept the death penalty."

He knelt on the ground, looking resigned to his fate.

It doesn't matter if the petition is right or wrong. The worst that can happen is that you will return home in disgrace. But now that a mass incident has occurred, it is very important to be right or wrong. If it is right, you can still have a chance of survival, but if it is wrong, you will be doomed. Shuai Jiamo gritted his teeth and waited for his death sentence.

However, after a long time, there was still no news of punishment from the emperor.

Instead, I only heard the emperor change the subject.

"There was also the matter of Fu Can, the magistrate of Xiuning County, petitioning to increase taxes for this county and She County."

"Shuai Jiamo, since you have read most of the tax records of this county, do you know how many taxes there are in She County now?"

Shuai Jiamo looked up in confusion.

He didn't know why the emperor didn't punish him, and he didn't know why the emperor suddenly asked about this matter.

Fu Can, who gave birth to a child without an anus, naturally knew it.

He was even more familiar with the miscellaneous taxes of Huizhou Prefecture.

He was so depressed at the moment that he could only reply stiffly, "As you know, our county abolished some of the miscellaneous taxes during the Jiajing period, and now there are less than a hundred types of taxes."

"There are subsidies, silk, drum casting, shop fees, postal services, planting, tax deeds, service, officials, gatehouse management, accompanying services, tea plants, wine and vinegar, house rental, pepper, fruit and flower tax, tung oil, ink kiln, oil press, water mill, waterwheel mill..."

Shuai Jiamo took dozens of breaths until the air became thin - if there was no lack of air in the Wenhua Palace, how come the faces of the ministers turned darker every time a tax item was read out?
Zhu Yijun tapped the table while listening.

What a great “less than a hundred kinds”!
These are not dozens of miscellaneous taxes, but dozens of slaps on the faces of the emperor and his ministers in the Wenhua Palace!
However, although he was angry, Zhu Yijun was very patient this time and did not interrupt.

Wait until Shuai Jiamo finishes reading them one by one.

Zhu Yijun nodded slightly, restraining his unnecessary expression: "I already know everything about Huizhou Prefecture."

All the ministers looked at each other with awe, thinking that the emperor was about to make the final decision.

Of course, this matter has little to do with the ministers in Wenhua Hall. Everyone is just waiting for the emperor to reveal his true purpose.

Only Yin Zhengmao, Xu Guo, Yu Maoxue and others showed genuine concern and bowed down one after another: "We humbly beg for your wise ruling."

Zhu Yijun first looked at Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo: "You are also high-ranking officials of the court. You should know that my Wenhua Palace is not a place for distribution based on noise."

"I cannot reduce taxes in She County just because you guys are making so much trouble."

"She County should continue to pay this amount of silk in the future."

The Huizhou government had proposed a tax exemption plan at the beginning, but this loophole could not be opened.

As soon as the news of tax exemption was announced for She County, the other five counties immediately started making a fuss, clamoring that since She County was tax-exempt, they also wanted tax exemption.

In this case, one can only be hard-hearted.

Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo felt extremely embarrassed and staggered in response to the order.

Seeing that the two men obeyed his orders respectfully, Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction.

He slowed down his tone and said with some leeway: "But what Fu Can did back then was not fair. Merchants are rich, so there is no reason to increase the head tax for the entire county."

"Add to that the dozens of miscellaneous taxes and the hardship of people's livelihood, and that's why the six counties are so prone to ignition."

Yin Zhengmao and Xu Guo reluctantly agreed.

The eunuchs and officials from the Ministry of Revenue came forward one after another and said, "We have failed to supervise."

Zhu Yijun ignored him and continued, "Although I will not directly exempt She County from all taxes, Huizhou Prefecture can be used as a pilot for this tax reform!"

"Just like Songjiang Prefecture, we will merge dozens of miscellaneous taxes, and according to what was just said in the court meeting, we will abolish the head tax!"

"Use the Ministry of Revenue's survey and accounting documents to calculate the final amount and re-draft the land tax, business tax and other taxes."

Xu Guo looked up suddenly.

What is the way to control subordinates? This is the way to control subordinates! It is really thunder and rain, all of which are grace from heaven!
Yin Zhengmao didn't think too much, there was only pure surprise on his face.

Redefine taxes!

The amount of silver that can be eliminated after the merger and settlement of dozens of miscellaneous taxes is not a small amount!

There are countless miscellaneous taxes levied repeatedly at the local level.

For example, the assistance that Shuai Jiamo mentioned just now was the repeatedly collected head tax, one of which was given to Jinqu Dao and the other to Huining Dao - just because Huizhou itself was protected by Huining Bingbei Dao, and later it was transferred to Jinqu Dao, the Bingbei Dao secretly did not tell the Huizhou Prefecture.

All of this is hidden in the ancestral rules of the three classes and six rooms, or the policy inertia.

Once the miscellaneous taxes are checked, no matter they are the laws passed down by our ancestors or they are to cover up the illegal taxes levied by us, we can take the opportunity to clear them all out!

Not to mention the abolition of the head tax, it would really bring happiness to every family!

Let alone the dissatisfaction with the silk tax, for such merits, it is not impossible for She County to build a shrine for the three of them!

The three young men from Huizhou Prefecture were still daydreaming. The Zhongshu Sheren, who was in charge of drafting the document, hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the Yingtian Governor Sun Piyang was just dismissed. Do you want to issue an imperial edict to Yingtian Inspector Bao Xixian?"

When an imperial edict is issued, there must be someone to receive it. We can't let Sun Pi Yang change the taxes while packing up and going home.

Zhu Yijun shook his head expressionlessly. "They have been delaying for decades. They have to wait until I come forward to make a decision. Why do they need to send an edict to the Nanjing Ministry and the Yingtian Governor's Office? Are they going to wait until I die?"

"Since they can't control Huizhou Prefecture, then they should just stop caring!"

When the ministers heard this, their eyes lit up. What a fierce and vicious word!

For an instant.

I don't know how many glances exchanged opinions in the hall.

The emperor turned a blind eye and said: "Transfer Xu Xuemo, the governor of Huguang, to Fengyang to supervise the taxation of Huizhou Prefecture!"

"Issue an edict to the governor of Caojiang and the Fengyang governor's office, and assist the Fengyang governor of taxation Xu Xuemo to implement the Huizhou Prefecture tax reform pilot project!"

"After the reform, all the tax revenues of the prefecture, except for those retained, will be transferred to the capital through the office of the governor-general Caojiang and Fengyang governor!"

Zhang Juzheng and Wang Guoguang looked at each other.

coming! finally come!
The frog has been boiled in warm water for seven years, it’s time to turn up the heat!

At the beginning, Li Chunfang proposed to help the emperor seize the taxation power of Feng, An, Hui, Ning, Chi, Tai and Guang prefectures in Southern Zhili.

The emperor rejected the proposal because it was too hasty. However, on April 18th of the first year of the Wanli reign, he established the post of Fengyang Governor-General and took away the military power of Southern Zhili.

Now that the time has come, the emperor is obviously ready to take action on the taxation power of Southern Zhili!
There are only bad officials in the palace, no stupid ones.

After listening to the emperor talking for so long about the tax dispute in Huizhou Prefecture, everyone finally sensed the emperor's purpose!

I'm afraid the situation of the two capitals in the north and south will end in this dynasty!
The ministers from the south lowered their heads, their thoughts in a tizzy, but the three southerners in the cabinet remained silent.

Only a group of ministers from the north were eager to try and were ready to support the emperor at any time.

The atmosphere in the Wenhua Hall suddenly became hot.

The eunuch tactfully replaced the ice buckets in several corners with new ones, and the Secretariat Secretary concentrated fully, ready to write at any time.

The emperor's light words instantly caused an undercurrent in the Wenhua Hall, stirring people's hearts.

Only the emperor who lit the powder keg seemed unaware and continued to tie up all the clues step by step: "Shuai Jiamo, you fabricated the words, claimed to report, incited people's hearts, and led to civil unrest. You are exiled to Anqingwei!"

Shuai Jiamo was stunned.

Isn’t Anqing Wei right at the doorstep of Huizhou Prefecture?
But in a moment, he suddenly realized! The emperor had clearly pardoned him, allowing him to resume his old job and contribute to the tax reform of Huizhou Prefecture!

What a benevolent king!
He immediately knelt on the ground and said, "Master, please be gracious and gracious. I am willing to record what was discussed in the morning court today and persuade the villagers!"

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, signaling his attendants to take the latter away.

The man knelt three times and bowed once before following the eunuch out of Wenhua Hall.

After everyone left, Zhu Yijun pretended to sigh: "A mistake has caused the six counties to be in such a mess."

"Wu Dajiang held the county magistrate hostage and sent a telegram to the provincial governments of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, etc., claiming that Xiuning and Wuyuan counties had been invaded by more than 10,000 She bandits and the situation was extremely urgent."

"Cheng Renqing and others set up a council in Wuyuan County, appointed themselves as the chief, arrested and beat the runners, allocated food and rice, and deployed firearms, which was almost the same as treason."

"My fellow countrymen, we are brothers and sisters. It only takes a few false words to stir up trouble. People's words are really scary."

"If I hadn't thought of Shuai Jiamo's good intentions, I would have wielded the butcher knife long ago."

The ministers were waiting for the main event and had no intention of flattering the emperor. They just perfunctorily called him a wise and benevolent monarch.

Fortunately, the emperor did not keep people waiting too long.

The emperor just waved his hand.

A group of eunuchs came out from the side hall carrying a bunch of wooden boxes.

The ministers all looked strange - they couldn't get along with these documents and files today.

Zhu Yijun paused and sighed, "The matter of the six counties is not limited to the six counties."

"Shuai Jiamo's unintentional miscalculation could lead his fellow countrymen in Huizhou Prefecture to fight each other."

"I really don't know if the instigation of a hundred people will cause the Ming Dynasty to raise an army and fight like the people of the six counties."

As the emperor spoke, the eunuchs opened the box, and inside were stacks of newspapers.

Seeing this, Wang Zongyi frowned and turned to look at the shift of the Ministry of Public Security.

Unfortunately, Zhou Ziyi, the Right Minister of Public Security and in charge of the News Edition Office, was not in the court today.

"This is the 'evil book' that was recently confiscated by the Nanjing News Publishing House. It has never been circulated in the market. You are lucky to see it."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand gently, signaling the eunuchs to pass the newspapers.

The ministers were very good at cultivating their qi, waiting silently in their positions, only their thoughts were constantly wandering.

The case of the evil book.

The fact that the emperor could call it by this word must have been extremely crazy - you know, when Tan Yao spread the revelations and insulted the emperor and Zhang Juzheng, he didn't even have the honor of being called a "demon book".

While he was thinking, the newspaper had already been delivered to the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng just held the scroll in his hand without even looking at it.

Shen Shixing secretly thought that the emperor had indeed consulted with the prime minister. He shook his head, lowered his head and unfolded the newspaper in his hand. After a careful look, Shen Shixing was stunned and speechless.

Not only Shen Shixing, but Wang Xijue was also stunned.

It was like a plague. All the court officials who received the newspaper were shocked and unable to control themselves.

As the ministers whispered to each other, the buzzing sound in the Wenhua Hall became louder and louder.

Demonic book!

It really is a demon book!
Newspapers were circulated among colleagues, but just a glance at the headlines would lead to falling into an endless abyss.

It is said, "When measuring the land, we take the southerners as a penny, and treat the northerners as dirt and sand."

It is said, "The blood and bones of the southern border feed the corrupt officials in the north."

Said, "The emperor is not the ruler of the Northern Dynasty, how could he bear to kill the people of the Southern Dynasty?"

……

There are so many kinds of this!
There seemed to be a gust of cold wind blowing through the Wenhua Hall.

It was a summer noon and it was so cold that countless court officials shivered.

(End of this chapter)