Jiajing Chengming

Fu Hanchen just smiled faintly, his expression showing no joy or anger, as if he had already known everything in front of him. His eyes were as calm as water, he neither refuted nor agreed, he just stood there quietly, like a silent mountain.

But Ding Yikui was not trying to intimidate Fu Hanchen.

Although his tone was a bit cold, it was more of a helplessness and resentment.

When the policy of land surveying began to be strictly enforced, the gentry and wise men of Huizhou Prefecture not only let some of the slaves who did dirty things for them die suddenly, but also had to start releasing many slaves out of the prefecture.

The strictness of the land survey made it impossible for these wealthy gentry to hide their large amounts of land.

Moreover, once the hidden fields were discovered, they would face huge taxes and back payments of silver, and would not be able to support more slaves.

As a result, these wealthy families began to release the slaves on their own initiative, and even burned the indentures of some of their slaves, especially those who were new.

After meeting Fu Hanchen that day, Ding Yikui returned home and instructed the housekeeper to send all the newly bought servants and maids out of the house.

The housekeeper of the Ding Mansion stood in front of the mansion gate, facing the dismissed servants, with a somewhat helpless and indifferent tone: "Don't blame the master for being cruel. It's really that the government is too strict with land surveying now. The mansion can't support so many of you, so you should all go home."

Many of these servants were unwilling to leave.

After all, as a servant in the Ding Mansion, although your personal dignity is inferior to others, your material treatment is much better than outside. In fact, some servants with low moral sense have long been accustomed to taking advantage of the power of the Ding Mansion to oppress the common people who were originally in the same class as themselves.

In the words of Lu Xun, they "felt like being slaves."

"But sir, we no longer have a home."

A servant was sobbing softly, his voice full of anxiety and fear.

"Yes, now if you go out you can only be a beggar!"

Another servant also started crying, his eyes full of helplessness.

The Ding family's housekeeper frowned, his tone still cold: "How can we control this? We just hope you don't steal or rob. If you really can't survive, go to the government or the poorhouse. The government will take care of your life or death."

"We listen to you. If we can't survive, we'll go to the authorities!"

The servants responded in low voices, with a hint of numbness and obedience in their voices.

As a result, a large number of homeless slaves, after becoming refugees again, flocked to various government offices.

On this day, when Ding Yikui was riding in a sedan chair passing by the Huizhou government office, he saw from afar a large number of people gathered in front of the government office. The corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a hint of sneer, and he whispered to himself: "Let's see how the government will solve the problem of these people's livelihood!"

But at this moment, Hu Zongxian came over.

He was dressed in a blue shirt, looked calm, and held in his hand a ticket issued by Yan Song, the governor of Zhejiang.

Then, Hu Zongxian brought his servants to these people and said loudly: "Since you don't know where your parents have fled to, or you have lost your parents, then come to our Hu family to apply for the job. The Hu family will take you to a place where you can settle down. Your food and accommodation along the way will also be temporarily provided by our Hu family. This is approved by the government, and it is also the care given by Yan Butang to us wealthy families who are willing to work for the court."

Hu Zongxian's voice was loud and powerful, as if bringing a glimmer of hope to these desperate refugees.

The cards in his hand sparkled in the sun, as if proving to everyone that the Hu family was indeed recruiting people to work for the Governor's Office.

Zhu Houcong had long anticipated that once the national land survey was carried out, more people would be released from the big households, which would cause population pressure. But he also knew that population was both a pressure and a productivity. As long as it was used properly, these people could create more wealth for the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, while Zhu Houcong was surveying the entire country, he asked Yan Song, as the Governor-General of Zhejiang, to carry out major infrastructure construction in Southern Zhili and lay wooden-clad iron tracks to ease congestion in the grain transport and promote trade between the north and the south.

During this process, Zhu Houcong also encouraged some wealthy families to act as intermediaries for the court, recruiting local bankrupt people to work on the construction sites of the court's tracks.

These big players earn commissions from this.

Hu Zongxian took the initiative to let the Hu family take on this function.

Of course, it was not just the Hu family. There were also several wealthy families in Huizhou Prefecture who were not bothered by the trouble and were willing to run businesses and who began to take on this function on their own initiative.

Some wealthy and powerful people did this purely to increase their profits, while others, educated in traditional Confucian thought, still had a sense of repaying their country and worked for the court and provided a safe life for the people.

Regardless of which one it was, it was essentially the highest-level ruler, the Jiajing Emperor Zhu Houzhao, who was willing to spend money to take care of the lives of these bankrupt people, which prevented these people from becoming a population pressure for the Ming Dynasty.

Most of these wealthy families are industrial and commercial gentry.

After all, in terms of production relations, they are naturally more adaptable to the new national policies than traditional gentry who only manage real estate, and will not lose interests as a result, and may even increase their interests.

However, Ding Yikui is not that kind of gentleman.

Because doing business is much more troublesome than merging land and then collecting rent. It requires more wisdom and energy, and the risks are also higher.

Therefore, traditional gentry like Ding Yikui, who mainly collected land rent and studied, suffered the most during the actual land survey and were unable to adapt to the reform.

Ding Yikui's face was terribly gloomy at this moment, like a sky covered with dark clouds.

He knew that once these proletarian people released by the gentry and wealthy families were organized and sent to various places where manpower was needed to settle down, their fantasy that these people would become hooligans and bandits and thus serve as a reason to criticize the land survey would no longer exist.

boom!
For this reason, Ding Yikui returned home and smashed the vase on the table to pieces.

Porcelain pieces flew everywhere, making a harsh sound.

He was breathing heavily in frustration, his face was ashen, like a wild beast trapped in a cage.

Then, he gnashed his teeth at his brother Ding Yijing who was standing beside him and said, "Your Majesty is indeed a virtuous king who can survey the land of the whole world! Even many local gentry have begun to change their minds and help the court complete the survey!"

Ding Yijing stood aside, his eyes full of worry, and whispered, "Yes, but if this happens, the court will thoroughly investigate those of us who took advantage of the land survey to fraudulently deposit land or even owe taxes and further oppress the common people. I don't know how the court will punish us then."

As soon as Ding Yijing finished speaking, the housekeeper of the Ding Mansion rushed in, his face panicked and his voice trembling: "Master, Second Master, the government has come to take away the male who manages the family. They said that according to the imperial decree, all the gentry and civilians who undermine the national policy of clearing land and land occupation will be arrested and awaiting trial!"

Ding Yikui's face turned pale in an instant, as if a basin of cold water was poured over his head.

His fingers trembled slightly, and a hint of fear and despair flashed in his eyes.

He knew that the land survey had inevitably turned into a storm that was unfavorable to a family like theirs, and he could only obediently accept the emperor's punishment for his violation of the land survey. (End of this chapter)