I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 255 The red-robed official kneeling at the gate of Xu's house

Hai Rui's face was dark and shiny.

Seizing fertile land by trickery and force, and then distributing the tax on these fertile lands to other people, this is the basic method used by the aristocratic families to seize land.

They just want the land, not the tax.

In the 200 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has not been a nationwide land survey since the Hongwu period.

Various forces wantonly occupied the farmland. Imperial family members, temples and Taoist temples, officials and gentry, all showed their magical powers.

They occupied all the land and evaded taxes by taking advantage of various preferential policies of the imperial court. Or, like the powerful landlords, they colluded with county officials to hide their land.

However, the Yellow Book of Fish Scales was still there, and the Ministry of Revenue still had to collect taxes according to the figures on it. So the county officials had to distribute the taxes on the occupied land that they could not avoid to the powerless self-cultivating farmers and small landlords.

The self-employed farmers and small landowners were overwhelmed by the huge amount of taxes they had to pay. Some of them went bankrupt, or simply surrendered their land to the nobles and officials.

This is the reason why the land tax has become less and less and more and more difficult to collect over the past two hundred years in our dynasty.

Hai Rui had served in various local governments and was well aware of the actions of prefectures and counties that were harming the people. However, this was the first time he had heard of an act of occupying more than 50,000 acres of fertile land at one time, making the land taxes of Songjiang Prefecture, Huating and Qingpu counties temporarily unsustainable.

It's so cruel!

He turned his head and glanced at Yang Jinshui, indicating him to stay calm and wait for further instructions.

Prefect Cai, along with two county magistrates, spoke loudly three times at the gate of Xu's house, and finally a manager came out.

The steward was in his forties, wearing a brocade gown and a square scarf on his head, looking like a highly respected country gentleman.

He came out of the side door of Xu's house, walked to the front of Magistrate Cai, and said, "Governor Cai, my son said that the land was sold to the Xu family voluntarily by the original owner, or voluntarily donated to the Xu family, and there is a written contract to prove it.

My master is a senior official, a cabinet minister, and a first-rank university scholar. According to the court's custom, he should be exempted from punishment. My Xu family does things in accordance with the law, but Master Cai brought people to force the emperor to abdicate today. Isn't that too much?

No one's money and grain come from the wind, and the same is true for the Xu family. But Governor Cai wants my Xu family to spend money to fulfill your duties. Haha, this is a logic that cannot be justified anywhere."

Prefect Cai raised his head and said sternly, "Sir, do you really want to reason with the Xu family? Then how about I take out the latest "Regulations on Special Exemptions and Exemptions" promulgated in the 24th year of Jiajing and read it to you all!"

The steward's face twitched a few times, and after a moment's hesitation, he said angrily, "Officials have two mouths, so you can say whatever you want. If Magistrate Cai insists on doing this, don't blame me for writing a letter to my relatives and friends in the court, bitterly complaining about Magistrate Cai's evil deeds of using his power to threaten the gentry and bully the people."

The people around could not stand such confusing right and wrong words and booed in an uproar.

Hearing the people around them making a fuss and mocking the Xu family's ugly and evil deeds, the steward's face changed and he swept his cold eyes around.

The slaves behind him immediately jumped out, pointed at the onlookers and shouted, "Do you want to rebel? You gathered in front of the gate of my Xu Mansion and wantonly humiliated everyone in the Xu Mansion. I will take you away and send you to Huating!"

Suddenly remembering that the officials of Huating County and Songjiang Prefecture were standing at the gate of the prefecture, Hao Nu changed his voice and said, "I will take you to the Nanjing Ministry of Justice and send you a name card. I will definitely let you have a good beating so that you can understand clearly what the law is like a furnace!"

The slaves' harsh rebukes did not scare the onlookers. They looked on coldly, and the chillness in their eyes was as sharp as a knife.

Not only did the booing not subside, it became louder, like a mountain torrent or tsunami, one wave after another, rushing towards the Xu Mansion.

Prefect Cai took the opportunity to say to the steward of the Xu residence: "Steward Xu, did you hear that? Did you see that? The will of the people cannot be violated! And today, the emperor is wise and wise. If the Xu residence insists on having its own way, don't you fear the might of the emperor?"

Manager Xu was shocked by the reactions of the people around him. After hearing what Governor Cai said, he hesitated for a moment, then turned around and went in through the side door.

After walking through the gate and the courtyard for a long time, the steward finally arrived at the study room deep in the inner courtyard and reported the situation to Xu Fan, the eldest son of the Xu family, who was sitting inside reading leisurely.

"My Lord, the governor outside, Cai, is pressing us step by step, and he is also inciting thousands of people who don't know the truth. For a time, the people were in turmoil and were outraged.

Sir, do you want to ask someone to chase them away?"

Xu Fan sat comfortably on the chair, holding a book in his hand, and said without turning his head: "He is the prefect, a fourth-rank official! Once the Xu family takes action, they are in the wrong!"

"Master, what should we do? This is not a big deal after all." "Cai Guoxi was a Jinshi in the 38th year of Jiajing. The chief examiners of the joint examination that year were Li Ji and Yan Ne, and the examiners of the palace examination were Yan Song, Ouyang Bijin, Li Ben, Yan Ne, Li Chunfang and Gao Gong."

When Manager Xu heard this, he felt a little uneasy, and his voice changed slightly, "Master, are you saying that the reason why Governor Cai is forcing us so hard is that Li Chunfang or Gao Gong is behind it?"

Xu Fan put down the book, stood up, put his hands behind his back and said slowly: "No matter which direction the wind blows, as long as Dad is in the cabinet and holds the position of Prime Minister, the wind will not reach our Xu Mansion."

The manager of the Xu Mansion was still a little worried.

The master is not young anymore, he is over seventy years old, and he can't always sit in the position of Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

"My dear, the master wrote to me saying that he would retire and return to his hometown in the next two years. Will they catch him and whip him to settle the old scores?"

Xu Fan glanced at this confidant, saw through his thoughts, and said lightly: "You only know one side of the story, not the other."

"Master, please tell me something, otherwise I will feel lost and uneasy."

"What's there to be ashamed of? My Xu family is the face of the Jiangnan family. But do you know whose face the Jiangnan family is?"

"I'm so stupid, I don't know!"

"The Jiangnan family is the face of the world's scholars and all the scholars in the Ming Dynasty."

The steward blinked his eyes, still not understanding.

What about the reputation of all the scholars in the Ming Dynasty?
Xu Fan took the teacup, took two sips, and continued to say to the steward: "The scholar studied hard for twenty years, passed three examinations in a row, and endured hardship for more than ten years, and finally he was able to attend the imperial court.

Getting up at midnight and attending court before dawn, rain or shine, like cattle and horses, what is this for?

Manager Xu answered hesitantly, "To rise to prominence, to be rich and powerful, to become a superior person?"

Xu Fan smiled lightly, "Superficial! It's to become a scholar-official, a scholar-official who rules the world together!"

Manager Xu's eyes widened, not quite understanding what was said.

"Since the Xuande reign, the imperial examination has become the right path, and only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet. The emperor must rely on scholars to govern the world and govern the people.

The Yan Party, the Hu Party, the Xu Party, the Jin Party, the Jiangxi Party, the Zhejiang Party, and the Chu Party were all just intrigues, power struggles, and internal struggles among the literati.

Emperor Jiajing was such a shrewd man that he knew that without the scholars and officials like us, the imperial decree would be difficult to leave the Forbidden City. The royal family's attitude towards the Xu family also means the royal family's attitude towards the Jiangnan family and the attitude towards the scholars of the world.

Mencius said, "If the ruler treats his subjects as his own hands and feet, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their own heart and soul; if the ruler treats his subjects as dogs and horses, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their fellow countrymen; if the ruler treats his subjects as dirt, then the subjects will treat the ruler as their enemy."

Manager Xu still couldn't hear clearly and had a big doubt in his mind. Now everyone in the court and the country knew that the emperor in the Forbidden City was a sleeping emperor, and the real emperor was not in the Forbidden City, but in the Western Garden.

The imperial orders of the Ming Dynasty did not come from the Forbidden City, but from the Western Garden.

But Manager Xu was thoughtful and knew that the eldest son's words today were an exception. He did not dare to ask any more questions and continued to ask about the situation outside the mansion: "Eldest son, how should I deal with Prefect Cai outside?"

"Just say that I'm not feeling well and can't see Prefect Cai. We can talk about it when I feel better."

"Yes."

Manager Xu went out of the house again and said to Cai Guoxi, "My eldest son is ill today and cannot see Governor Cai. Please go back. When my eldest son is better, I will invite Governor Cai to come to the house to discuss this matter."

Cai Guoxi's face changed. He took a step forward, lifted his clothes, and knelt down in front of Xu's house with a plop.

The faces of the onlookers changed.

(End of this chapter)