Jiajing Chengming

"These extravagant and wealthy people are really speechless."

"Instead of improving the economy, they wantonly created more poor people in order to live a more extravagant and licentious life, and only kept more servants, which led to a sharp increase in expenses."

"Aren't they afraid that their family business will collapse in the future because it can no longer support the increasing expenses?"

Zhu Houcong couldn't help but shake his head and asked Zhang Cong and others.

Zhang Cong bowed and said, "Your Majesty, reviving a family business is like reviving a country. It is not only hard work, but also easy to offend people. It is a thankless task and you will sacrifice yourself for the family in vain. Therefore, a family is like a country. There are often many people who enjoy honor and glory, and few who revive the family business. People who advocate making their current lives more comfortable are the main ones. This is why most of the extravagant and wealthy families do such incredible things."

Zhu Houcong nodded, then looked at the three ministers of the Imperial Study and said:
"So, we cannot govern the country in this way. We cannot let those who carry firewood for the people freeze to death in the snow and wind!"

"This land survey is a war. If we have to fight it, we have to fight it well. It is not only to complete the survey, but also to win the public opinion. Let those who work hard for the revival of the world not end up being trampled by thousands of people."

"Whether you believe it or not, I promise you first. Since you have begun to survey the land for the court and promote the cause of enriching the people and strengthening the country, I will never let you down and will never let you die a bad death."

Zhu Houcong continued speaking to Zhang Cong and Xia Yan.

Zhang Cong said yes with tears in his eyes.

Xia Yan also bowed solemnly and said yes.

"Let's talk about the present matter first."

"If they want to create more poor people, we have to save more poor people."

"In areas where dikes were destroyed and fields were flooded, relief should be stepped up, and disaster victims should be recruited as a source of labor for the construction of tracks. When the granaries were burned, an order was issued to allocate silver and grain for reconstruction to help the people survive the famine, and the interest rate should be lowered again."

"As for the matter of Sang Nong killing the official..."

"Tell Gui E and Xiong Jia that the wealthy and powerful families in Suzhou think it is impossible to use an ordinary mulberry farmer as a scapegoat to intimidate the officials who are responsible for land surveying!"

"This ordinary mulberry farmer must have a mastermind. If there is no mastermind, then everyone in Suzhou must be his mastermind!"

"As my imperial envoy, he can decide as he sees fit whether to impose punitive taxes on Suzhou, revoke the qualification to take the imperial examination, or arrest reactionary traitors."

"In short, I only want one result, let everything fight, let the whole Suzhou be in turmoil, and further divide it!"

"Let the moderate, radical, reactionary, open-minded, and loyal members of the Suzhou gentry have conflicts with each other, and then let those who can be won over be won over, and those who can be eliminated be eliminated."

"Only when Suzhou is in chaos can we intervene and establish a ruling order that belongs to our imperial party and aims to strengthen the country and enrich the people!"

"Only this kind of Suzhou can become the Suzhou of our Ming Dynasty."

"The same goes for other areas of Nanzhi. Tell them not to be afraid of chaos. With the support of the capital and the troops sent to Huai'an, and millions of disaster victims who can take up firearms and sweep across the world at any time after training, and with nearly 10 million catties of steel, tens of millions of shi of grain, and tens of millions of taels of silver in the national treasury every year, they don't have to worry about the chaos getting out of control."

“How can we establish a new order without breaking the old one?”

After Zhu Houcong said this in a resounding voice, Zhang Cong and Xia Yan were both shocked, and naturally they looked even more dumbfounded, and they could only bow and accept the order.

Follow the left door.

At the court meeting the next day, Li Shi, the Minister of Rites, said, "Your Majesty, a relative of mine wrote to me saying that the land survey in Nanzhi was too excessive. Some officials falsely increased the land area during the survey, counting half an acre as one acre and one acre as two acres. This is no different from increasing taxes on the people! If taxes are really levied on the people based on the results of the survey in the future, it will disturb the people too much and may provoke a civil uprising! The chief minister Zhang Fujing's presiding over the survey is not a good policy, but a move that disturbs and harms the people!"

Minister of Justice Xu Zan said: "Your Majesty, I have relatives and friends in Nanzhi who wrote to me saying that Nanzhi has now been thoroughly surveyed, which has allowed local wealthy families to collude with bureaucrats to transfer more land to the common people, forcing more common people to become slaves. So on the surface, the number of acres of land in the court has increased dramatically due to the survey, but in fact, the number of taxable land is decreasing, and the number of self-cultivating farmers who can be levied labor is also decreasing. Prime Minister Zhang Fujing is greedy and impatient, and has suddenly implemented policies that disturb the people. He should be held responsible for this!"

Minister of Works Qin Jin also said: "Your Majesty, I am from Nanzhi, and I have received many letters from relatives and friends saying that Nanzhi's current land survey has caused officials to take advantage of the opportunity to wreak havoc in the local area and extort money. Those who do not pay bribes will be forced to add hundreds or even thousands of acres of land to their accounts. Those who pay bribes will have their land and people reduced in the tax and labor register, which has led to a trend of bribery. Many people who cannot pay the money have gone bankrupt, and some have even been forced to become thieves and bandits. Some have even attacked government officials."

"The Prime Minister Zhang Fujing did not listen to the advice of the former Minister of Revenue Zhu Gong and others, but instead took power to replace people and forcefully implemented the land reclamation. This caused chaos in my hometown, and the people in other places were also in panic. Now it has reached the point where it is not enough to quell the anger of the people unless he is dismissed. Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Fang Xianfu, the Minister of the Dali Temple, also said: "The Prime Minister Zhang Fujing is a meritorious official of your majesty's establishment of rituals. He should be treated with respect from beginning to end. I hope your majesty will consider Mr. Zhang's affairs after his death and give him a light punishment to prevent him from continuing to be criticized by the world."

"The Prime Minister Zhang Cong has been causing chaos in the country and has doubled the suffering of the people. I also think that he should be dismissed from his post!"

"The Prime Minister Zhang Cong and the Second Prime Minister Gui E are both loyal but treacherous. That is why they disregard the lives of ordinary people and arbitrarily make decisions. They are cunning and worthy of death! Your Majesty, please understand!"

"Your Majesty has been working hard to govern the country, but Zhang Cong is greedy and favored, so he has come up with such an impatient policy that has brought disaster to the country. He is not upright in his intentions and should be punished!"

Soon after, other court officials also began to criticize Zhang Cong, including Zhang Cong's ally, Gui E.

Zhu Houcong could see that the nationwide land survey indeed touched upon the core interests of the vast majority of landlords and officials. Therefore, unlike in the past, ministers such as dukes and chancellors would first attack Zhang Fujing using the problems arising from the land survey, followed by court officials such as the Kedao, Hanlin, and Imperial College.

Zhang Cong was being attacked by so many people at this time, so naturally he could not hide his anger.

Because many of them had a good relationship with him, or even got promoted with his recommendation, but now they were stabbing him in the back.

For example, the Minister of Works Qin Jin and the Minister of Dali Temple Fang Xianfu.

Although these people put themselves in a very upright position, standing from the perspective of the people and the court, they truthfully reflected the problems in the land survey and then used this as a basis to deny the land survey, and even now they only attacked him, which was clearly telling Emperor Jiajing that they were not dissatisfied with the emperor, but were dissatisfied with Zhang Cong, and dissatisfied with him for ruining the emperor's country and foundation.

Zhang Cong also knew that his policy of surveying the land throughout the country really touched the pain points of all officials in the world!

It was expected that his former political enemies hated him even more, and it was even more reasonable that his former relatives and friends would also betray him.

Although Zhang Cong was angry, he was not afraid. He only looked at Zhu Houcong.

As long as Jiajing continued to persist, he could still continue to control the bureaucracy to survey the land all over the world for Jiajing, so that the ruling power of the imperial power would really sink to the Lijia level.

If Jiajing wanted to remove him and take the blame for the chaotic government, he would not dare to complain.

He naturally believed that Jiajing would choose the former.

After all, Jiajing made a promise to him yesterday.

“You said that during the land survey process, there were many problems that disturbed and harmed the people.”

"I have also received many reports about problems that occurred during the land survey process. I even learned not long ago that a mulberry farmer killed an official in Suzhou."

"But what I want to tell you today is that I am the one who wants to carry out the land survey, and Prime Minister Zhang Fujing is just following my orders. As for why I want to carry out the land survey, it is naturally because the country should carry out the land survey now!"

Zhu Houcong did stand up at this time and clearly expressed his attitude to these court officials. (End of this chapter)