Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 69: Paying food as a tenant

It was a dark and windy night. In the ancient temple's living room, candlelight flickered and human figures floated. The crows cried sadly, adding a touch of sadness to the quiet ancient temple.

Danchu's eyes sparkled as he said, "In these chaotic times, the Tartars have seized the Central Plains, the world is turned upside down, ethics are lost, and all lives are in ruins. Sir, you have extraordinary talent, you have mastered the Five Classics, and you have integrated the knowledge of hundreds of schools of thought. You should serve your country with all your strength. How can you waste your time in the mountains and forests?"

After many ups and downs, Fang Yizhi had long seen through the secular world: when the capital was captured, he once went to Donghua Gate and was arrested, and his ankles were broken. During the Hongguang reign, Ma Shiying excluded Donglin and started a big case. He arrested Fang Yizhi and put him in the imperial prison, causing an uproar throughout the country. During the Yongli reign, the powerful eunuch Wang Kun framed Fang Yizhi...

Having seen through the mundane world and lost his fighting spirit, Fang Yizhi would not easily leave the mountain, let alone follow an eighteen-year-old boy. He smiled slightly, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, and said:

"The Ming Dynasty is in decline. The emperor is no longer an emperor, the ministers are no longer ministers, and the generals are no longer generals. A great disaster is imminent. Rising up to serve the country is but a waste of time. It will only increase the suffering of the people. Can it reverse the situation?"

"Sir, you are wrong!" Danchu said in a serious tone, interrupting Fang Yizhi and saying:
"As for increasing the suffering of the people, the Tartars massacred our cities, raped our wives and daughters, seized our land, forced our people into slavery, prohibited our people from entering the country, changed our clothes, and left us with our heads but not our hair, or with our hair but not our heads. The three massacres in Jiading, the ten days in Yangzhou, and the eighty-one days in Jiangyin are so numerous and numerous that it is hard to count the number of our crimes!
"Sir, you retired to the mountains and forests, watching the lives of the people suffer, ignoring the lives of the people of the world, and putting the people of the world in pain. How could you bear it? Practicing medicine can save lives, but it cannot save the country, nor can it help alleviate the suffering of the people. Forgive me for being blunt, but you are just a coward and avoid the world."

Fang Yizhi's heart moved, and he secretly admired Danchu's eloquence.

Bi Fangji said: "Mizhi, the ancients said, 'Although the road is long, if you walk, you will reach your destination; although the task is difficult, if you do it, you will succeed.' Although the Ming Dynasty declined, there are still several provinces in the southwest. Although the Qing Dynasty was prosperous, the provinces rose up in vain. I am an outsider and I don't believe that the Qing Dynasty can replace the Ming Dynasty. Mizhi came from a noble family, why do you have to complain about it?"

Yan Wei, like Fang Yizhi, can be classified as a member of the Donglin Party. At this moment, he also said seriously:

"Mr. Jingyang (Gu Xiancheng) wrote a couplet at the Donglin Academy in Wuxi: 'The sound of wind, rain and reading is heard by the ears; family affairs, national affairs and world affairs are all of concern to me.' We are all members of the Donglin Party, determined to correct the evils of the times. If we all retreat to the mountains like Mizhi, we will hand over our beautiful country to the Tartars."

Fang Yizhi remained silent, as if he was remorseful.

Danchu struck while the iron was hot and said, "The sage said, 'Even if there are tens of thousands of people, I will go.' Wen Tianxiang was alone and loyal outside the mountains. Although his achievements could not be measured, his will and integrity will shine through the ages.

"At that time, the Mongol army was strong, the best in the world, and its influence reached overseas. Wen Wenshan was unmoved, determined to repair the sky, and had no regrets even if he died a hundred times. The Yuan Dynasty replaced the Song Dynasty, and the country and the world were destroyed. The culture was lost and the civilization was lost.

"Taizu rose up, united the heroes of the world, drove out the Tartars, restored the Central Plains, and created the 300-year prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. Today, the Tartars are less populous than the Mongols, and their military strength is not as good as the Mongols, while the heroes of the Ming Dynasty are all over the world.

"As long as the heroes of the world unite as one, carry forward the spirit of Taizu, and work together, why should we worry about not being able to revive the Ming Dynasty?"

Fang Yizhi was moved, took a sip of tea, and sighed: "Taizu was endowed with wisdom and courage, rose from the common people, combined military and literary skills, and was able to drive out the Tartars. This heroic and great ruler is incomparable to ordinary emperors.

"Since ancient times, wise rulers must take charge of all power, unify laws, and coordinate rewards and punishments. At this critical moment, the Lord is mediocre and weak, without authority, power, soldiers, or food. Although he is a descendant of Taizu, he is not a ruler who can revive the Ming Dynasty. How difficult it is to revive the Ming Dynasty!"

To put it bluntly, this is a problem of organization and leadership. It is difficult to succeed in doing big things without strong organization and leadership.

After nearly a year of exploration, Danchu already had the answer in his mind and said bluntly:
"The current emperor is weak and has no ambition to revive the country. He only wants to make do with the status quo. The civil officials in the court are fighting among themselves, the military generals are arrogant, and the local governments are doing as they please. The Ming Dynasty is in a state of dire straits and is in a terminal state. Only a strong dose of medicine can bring it back to life."

"What is a strong medicine?" Fang Yizhi asked, becoming interested. Danchu had a plan in mind, saying, "Start a new business and ask the tenants to pay taxes."

It was indeed necessary to bypass the imperial court and start a new business to avoid being constrained. Fang Yizhi understood this and asked, "Why do we need to pay taxes?"

Danchu paused, drank a sip of tea, and said:
"Since ancient times, Chinese people have collected taxes by paying rent and grain. Tenants rented land from landowners and paid rent to the landowners, who then used the rent to pay taxes to the government. The imperial court was financially exhausted and had no choice but to impose additional taxes on all parts of the country.

"In the later years of the dynasty, land annexation intensified, and the taxes that the court could collect were greatly reduced. The court added one cent of tax, the government added two cents of tax, and the landowners added three cents of rent. The burden of adding more and more taxes was already unbearable for the tenant farmers, who were even left with no other options but to take risks.

"It is difficult for Chinese dynasties to last more than 300 years, and this is the root cause. The decline of the Ming Dynasty was not due to the rise of the Qing Dynasty, but the increasingly serious problem of land annexation, which has threatened the foundation of the country.

"What does it mean to require tenants to pay taxes? It means that the government no longer collects taxes from the landowners, but bypasses the landowners and collects taxes directly from the tenants. For example, the harvest from the land is divided 50-50, with the tenants getting 50% and the government getting 50%.

"The government gives a portion of the 50% harvest to the landowner, such as 10% or 20%. The beauty of this is that it recognizes the landowner's property rights to the land, but deprives the landowner of the income from the land, thus increasing the tenant farmers' enthusiasm for production.

"Most of the world's population are tenant farmers. As long as we can get their support, nothing can stop us."

After more than half a year of observation and reflection, Danchu has determined that, given the current national conditions, equal distribution of land and exemption of taxes is not feasible.

There are three reasons: First, the land relationship in China for thousands of years cannot be easily destroyed. Second, there is no strong cadre team and a strong enough army. Third, the local tyrants are intertwined and they will definitely fight to the death if their land is confiscated directly.

On the contrary, requiring tenants to pay taxes is a fairly feasible policy. It can not only maintain existing land relations and avoid fierce resistance from landlords, but also reduce exploitation by landlords and officials, allowing the government to collect as much tax as possible.

This is also clearly evidenced in history.

During the Southern Ming Dynasty, Sun Kewang implemented the farming system in Yunnan, Guizhou, and western Sichuan, which was actually a system of renting land and paying taxes, and achieved remarkable success. The cultivated land and grain output in various provinces across the country declined to varying degrees, but in Yunnan and Guizhou under Sun Kewang's rule, the farmers' enthusiasm for production increased significantly, and the cultivated land and grain output increased significantly. Yunnan and Guizhou have always been poor, but under Sun Kewang's rule, they were able to feed hundreds of thousands of Dashi troops.

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom also implemented a policy of requiring tenants to pay taxes in the occupied areas. However, after collecting taxes from tenants, the Taiping Army did not transfer taxes to the landowners, thus cutting off the landowners' livelihoods and provoking fierce resistance from them.

Fang Yizhi was extremely intelligent and understood things quickly. He was very fascinated by the policy of tenants paying taxes.

After becoming a monk, Fang Yizhi also had more compassion for the world. The majority of the people were still tenant farmers, living a miserable life, unable to afford food and clothing, which was heartbreaking. Looking around the world, tenants were in turmoil all over the country, and if the policy of tenants paying taxes could be implemented, the lives of the people would be much improved.

Finally, a smile appeared on his face, and he said, "When and where does the governor plan to implement the tax collection system? I would like to go and see for myself."

(End of this chapter)