Jiajing Chengming

Hu Zongxian did not expect that Emperor Jiajing would meet him directly.

When Hu Zongxian arrived before the emperor, he saw two high-ranking civil servants sitting and a eunuch standing before him.

In order to improve the efficiency of government administration and show his favor, Zhu Houcong would grant seats to important officials who entered the imperial study.

So, when Hu Zongxian came in, he saw the two civil officials sitting.

This made him, who was already very excited, look surprised.

But soon, Hu Zongxian discovered that one of the two civil servants looked at him with an unfriendly gaze.

Zhu Houcong also looked at the civil servant at this time: "Yuan Fu, please ask him on my behalf."

Zhang Fujing withdrew his unfriendly look towards Hu Zongxian, stood up and bowed in agreement.

Then, Zhang Fujing asked Hu Zongxian, who was already kneeling on the ground, "Young man, why did you submit a petition to the court to stop the land reclamation?"

"Your Majesty, although the purpose of measuring land is to curb annexation, equalize taxes and labor service, and strengthen national strength, it actually causes great harm to the people!"

"Local officials and gentry mostly take the opportunity to exploit the people more. From the village head to the governor, most of them use this survey to increase the amount of land that the common people have to pay. In my hometown, some common people have had their taxable land increased several times or even dozens of times because of the survey."

"As a result, the land tax of the common people increased greatly. Under the pressure of the officials, the number of people who offered themselves as slaves and sold their children and daughters increased sharply, and even civil unrest occurred!"

"In addition, some local wealthy families are worried that after the land survey, the imperial court will find out that they, rather than the common people, are the ones who evade taxes, and will demand taxes from them accordingly. Taking advantage of the fact that they still control the power to collect taxes in the local area, the imperial court will now distribute the taxes owed to the people in advance, or even demand double the taxes."

"So in my hometown, officials were everywhere, and many people lost their homes because of the sudden increase in taxes."

"In short, the policy of land measurement has become an opportunity for local officials and gentry to take advantage of it to intensify annexation, so I ask Your Majesty to stop the land measurement."

After Hu Zongxian answered, the imperial study fell into silence.

But Zhang Cong had already stood up: "This only shows that the officials in your place did not do the land survey seriously, but were just doing their job perfunctorily. They did not truly serve the emperor with sincerity and love the people! It's not that the land survey is wrong!"

"I have come all this way and discovered that such tragic situations are not unique to my hometown. It is clear that land surveying will only bring serious disasters to the people."

"The people are the foundation of a country. I don't think the court should have to make so many people slaves and bandits for the sake of land reclamation when the country is peaceful and the people are safe!"

Hu Zongxian replied.

Zhu Houcong personally interrupted and said, "You are right! But do you know that the desire of local big families to merge is no longer affected by whether I want to conduct a land survey?"

Hu Zongxian was stunned after hearing this, and then he bowed his head to the ground and said: "I am willing to listen to the holy teachings."

"In recent years, the country has a strong army, abundant treasury, timely disaster relief, and the people have often received tax reductions and exemptions. Officials and scholars have also received increased salaries, and my harem is also in good order."

"But man-made disasters keep happening. The Yellow River in Henan burst its banks, followed by floods in warehouses all over the country, and then the Wanggongchang explosion. My daughter was frightened to death."

"These things all show that even if I don't survey the land, the local wealthy families' intention to harm the people will not be reduced much more than it is now. In short, it is not the national policy of surveying the land that has aggravated their greed. It is their greed that has always existed and has become more and more intense as they grow stronger. Therefore, the current national policy of surveying the land has also changed in nature."

Zhu Houcong said this and looked at Hu Zongxian: "Do you agree?"

Hu Zongxian was speechless for a moment and could only reply: "Your Majesty is right. I did not say that the national policy of land reclamation is wrong, but the world is not suitable for land reclamation."

"Since you agree, you should understand that even if they don't settle the land survey, they will still find ways to destroy more people's homes!"

"They survive by 'eating people'!" "The land survey now will make it even more difficult for them to 'eate people'!"

Zhu Houcong said very seriously at this time.

Hu Zongxian defended himself, "But what I have seen in my humble village is that since the land reclamation, the people have been living in poverty and disasters have occurred everywhere. Your Majesty, please understand!"

"That's just what you saw, it doesn't represent the results of the whole world."

"You'd better go to a few more places."

"Besides, your belief that the Qingzhang is terrible is also related to your own position!"

When Zhu Houcong said this, Hu Zongxian couldn't help but open his mouth to defend himself, but he didn't.

"You naturally won't notice places where there are no tragic incidents. Even if these places are also undergoing land reclamation and the people are even benefiting from it, you can't hear the people's voices and don't even take the initiative to investigate and listen to their voices. On the contrary, places where tragic incidents occur make you take the initiative to notice them and even investigate and record them."

“You think you are reflecting the facts, but what you are reflecting is still not the facts, but your position.”

"Because, if you really believe that land surveying is beneficial to the country and the people, you will not be willing to accept that you have not heard any good news about land surveying, and you will take the initiative to ask until you hear good news. Even if it is just a little bit of good news, you will try your best to find it and then defend the justice of your position."

"So, I just said that this is essentially related to your own position."

After Zhu Houcong said this, Hu Zongxian couldn't help but sweat on his forehead:

"Your Majesty's words are very enlightening to me, but I really don't think that land reclamation is wrong. It's just that after seeing it with my own eyes, I have to admit that land reclamation will only harm the people."

"That's why I want you to go and look more, ask more questions, or even make a bold assumption that the land survey is really useful before you seriously investigate."

"In addition, whether the national land survey is beneficial or harmful to the people does not depend on the survey itself, but on the person who has the final say on whether the national policy of land survey is successfully completed."

"This is why the Prime Minister suggested that I survey the land across the country!"

After Zhu Houcong said this, Hu Zongxian looked like he was thinking seriously.

Not long after, Hu Zongxian suddenly kowtowed again and said, "I understand! I was blinded by one thing and did not understand the real reason. I even disrespected my emperor and father. I am willing to accept the punishment!"

Zhu Houcong smiled knowingly.

He was not surprised by what Hu Zongxian said.

In any case, this famous official in history who was willing to endure humiliation and sacrifice his life for the people of the world would not fail to understand what he meant after he explained the reasons.

If you still don’t understand, then you are either stupid or really broken.

"You are still young and inexperienced. You made some mistakes in the matter of land reclamation. You are not confident in my ruling alone. I understand that, so I will not really punish you."

"I will give you a chance to make meritorious deeds and atone for your sins. As long as you can speak out more for the land survey among the scholars and common people, guide others to correctly understand the profound meaning of the court's decision to survey the land throughout the country, and let the people of the world understand that the national land survey is not just my business, but the business of everyone in the world. As the saying goes, every man has his share of responsibility for the rise and fall of the country, and make everyone in the world work hard to solve the problems that arise during the land survey process, I will still be willing to believe that you are a loyal and good person who can serve the people of the world and the country and the people."

After Zhu Houcong said this, Hu Zongxian thanked him and kowtowed to accept the order.

When Hu Zongxian came out, many candidates who were waiting at the drum came to greet him and asked him how the audience with the emperor went.

Hu Zongxian took the initiative to ask these people at this time: "Do you think that with your Majesty's current virtue, are you qualified to survey the land in the whole country?" (End of this chapter)