Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 365: The helplessness of the wealthy families after the abolition of the system of donating money to become officials!
Because Zhu Houcong said this, Yang Yiqing and others didn't say anything more.

The Ministry of Personnel also officially began to discuss how many additional officials should be added.

Zhu Houcong knew that the Ming Dynasty had no shortage of high-ranking officials above the fourth rank, but was in great need of minor officials below the sixth rank.

There is a shortage from the central government to local governments.

Needless to say, even a large town in the south of the Yangtze River like Nanxun Town with a population of 100,000 was basically under the self-governance of the gentry, with no officials sent to govern.

In addition to a Shangshu and left and right vice ministers in each central ministry, each department below it only has one Langzhong, one Yuanwailang, and one Zhushi.

Below that are only officials.

But there is also a serious shortage of officials.

After all, the Ming Dynasty is such a large empire and has been established for such a long time, so the affairs of various ministries have increased a lot.

The number of officials who retired due to mourning or other reasons and needed to be recommended for reinstatement by the Ministry of Personnel alone was much higher than at the beginning of the country, and the number of candidates and tribute students who signed up for official selection was also much higher than at the beginning of the country.

In many cases, it was necessary to add additional officials, managers and clerks.

However, because the Ming Dynasty court had always been financially short of money, it was extremely cautious in adding officials and would not add them unless it was absolutely necessary.

But Zhu Houcong was different now. The fiscal revenue of his Jiajing Dynasty increased greatly, and he knew that there were many external resources that could be converted into national wealth.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong was not afraid that adding more bureaucracy and strengthening the bureaucracy would put pressure on the finances, so he stopped accepting donations to increase the number of officials.

However, the Ministry of Personnel's suspension of donations was indeed equivalent to cutting off the roots of the wealthy families' manipulation of the court and government.

The first people to be affected were those who paid money to buy official positions in the Ministry of Personnel.

Because as soon as they arrived at the Ministry of Personnel, they learned that the Ministry of Personnel no longer posted a list of vacancies for which donations were accepted.

"The imperial court doesn't allow donations for official positions anymore?"

Xu Shouyu, a student who made his fortune in business with the support of his brother who was an official and was also planning to donate money to get an official position, finally arrived in the capital, but found that the Ministry of Personnel had stopped accepting donations, which disappointed him greatly.

After leaving the Ministry of Personnel, Xu Shouyu went to complain about this matter to his brother Xu Xiangsheng, who was the Censor in Beijing.

Xu Xiangsheng was also very disappointed after hearing this: "This is the result of your Majesty's efforts to govern the country and seize the benefits of maritime trade. The court's annual income has increased greatly, so naturally the donation can be stopped. I knew there would be such a day, so I asked you to donate money to get an official position as soon as possible before the donation is stopped, instead of having to rely on the imperial examination when you are sixty.

"Isn't that the truth?"

Xu Shouyu clapped his hands in dissatisfaction and replied.

He now wished that Zhu Houcong would die soon.

It was because after Zhu Houcong worked hard to make the country truly prosperous, he stopped collecting donations, making it impossible for rich people like him to take shortcuts by using money.

"There is no other way."

"You should return home and prepare for the imperial examination, or continue to do business."

Xu Xiangsheng said to Xu Shouyu.

Xu Shouyu said unwillingly: "But I really don't want to be a businessman anymore. As a businessman, even if I make hundreds of thousands a year, I will be like a dog in front of a county magistrate, let alone a higher official! Every year, when the village discusses matters, I can only stand to discuss because I don't have an official position. Those local officials with official positions can not only sit to discuss, but also go directly to the government office to meet with local officials. If they are famous, they can even give them instructions!"

"That can't be helped!"

Xu Xiangsheng shouted in frustration, then added:

"The donation system was introduced back then because the emperor's prestige was completely lost and the treasury was depleted after the Battle of Tumu. That's why there was such an opportunity. Now the emperor's prestige has greatly increased, and he controls the maritime trade with the imperial merchants. Even if the donation system is to be stopped, no one has a reason to stop it, and it's impossible to stop it!"

Xu Shouyu took a deep breath.

After a while, he sneered, "Okay! Since the court has increased taxes now and doesn't want the money from us big families, I will use the money originally used to donate to the government to organize a literary society, write articles, and plead for the people. As long as the court is immoral, don't blame us for not covering it up! If we have the ability, the current emperor can really be a sage, love the people like his own children, and make the country prosperous! You don't have to be an official to gain power."

"If you are really determined to gain power and are not satisfied with just doing business and making profits, you can do this."

“Power can generate money, but money can sometimes generate power.”

"But you must remember not to act recklessly, or else you might end up causing unrest among the gentry in the country without threatening the imperial court."

Xu Xiangsheng gave instructions.

Xu Shouyu nodded: "I know."

Next.

Xu Shouyu really went back to the south, and in a brothel on the Qinhuai River in Nanjing, he spent a lot of money to invite many literati who were concerned about current affairs to come, and said:
"I invited you here today for no other reason than that I am moved by your concern for the country and the people. I have decided to support you in criticizing the government. As long as your criticism is good, I am willing to pay you a dollar for each word you write."

These scholars and writers were very excited after hearing this.

After all, Nanjing is a place of feasting and revelry, with high consumption, and these literati and poets are all people who are obsessed with all kinds of high-end entertainment, so they are naturally quite tempted.

"In this case, I criticize the imperial court for not surveying the land in the whole country!"

"If the hidden fields of so many wealthy families are not surveyed, sooner or later taxes will be imposed on the common people, resulting in more and more refugees, and a large number of hungry people in the capital every year at the end of the year."

"And what is the imperial court doing now? It is just blindly providing relief to the refugees. This is like trying to stop a boiling pot by adding more water. It is only treating the symptoms but not the root cause! To completely stop the increase of refugees, we can only do land surveying."

Tang Shunzhi, who was invited to the banquet hosted by Xu Shouyu because of his literary reputation in Nanzhi, spoke first and bowed to Xu Shouyu: "Since Mr. Xu has generously supported us to write articles criticizing the government, and I happen to be short of money, I will take this opportunity to write this article."

Cough!

Xu Shouyu started to cough, and hurriedly smiled and stopped him, saying, "It's better not to criticize this. The national land reclamation will affect the whole body and cause chaos. It's better for the court to be cautious in this regard."

"Yes, the fact that the imperial court did not conduct land reclamation is not a point worth criticizing."

"That's right. Land measurement can easily cause disturbances to the people and cause trouble. It's good for the court to be cautious."

Many people also echoed.

Tang Shunzhi had no choice but to give up.

"If we cannot criticize the imperial court for not conducting land surveys throughout the country, then we should criticize the imperial court for not strictly controlling those who violate the etiquette and laws. In today's world, not only merchants wear silk and satin, but also common people sit in the living room, and even men wear red makeup and women wear revealing clothes. This is against the teachings of our ancestor Taizu!"

At this time.

Ge Shouli, who came to Nanzhi to study and came to Nandu to attend the meeting with Tang Shunzhi, put forward his own views.

Another scholar, Cheng Wende, was furious after hearing this: "You are pointing at a monk and calling him a bald donkey! Mr. Xu is now a businessman, but he is also wearing silk! Do you want him to take it off?"

Ge Shouli could not help but be stunned, and then he quickly explained: "I didn't think of this."

talking.

Ge Shouli immediately bowed to Xu Shouyu and apologized.

Xu Shouyu smiled awkwardly: "It's okay!"

He knew that he was not an official after all, and he really couldn't do anything to these scholars.

But he was also quite depressed because it seemed that the more he criticized the court for things that it did not do, the more it would make things difficult for big families like himself.

This made him not want to organize a literary society anymore. He couldn't organize a literary society to sing praises to the imperial court, right?

(End of this chapter)