Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 228: To be the enemy of the whole world! Why did your majesty rebel?

In addition to the commercial tax being collected by the Taxation Bureau, local governments already had the power to investigate land rent and taxes.

Those who did not pay taxes and land rents would usually be locked up, put in shackles and displayed to the public, and in serious cases they would even be tortured to death in a jar of soy sauce.

The so-called "sitting in a soy sauce jar" means tying up a person and stuffing him into a soy sauce brewing jar.

Put manure in a jar, then press the human head into the jar full of manure and drown the person.

This is a very severe punishment.

The general punishment is to wear a cangue and be displayed to the public.

They were shackled to weigh dozens of kilograms and had to be worn for several days and nights, during which they could not eat or drink. There were many people who died while wearing the shackles.

In fact, the entire feudal era emphasized cautious punishment and minimal punishment.

Generally, criminals sentenced to death would be executed in the autumn.

In theory, it had to be reviewed and approved by the emperor himself.

Although in reality the emperor might not even look at the case file and approve it casually, the procedure was very strict, which reflected the court's cautiousness towards the death penalty.

It embodies the Confucian concept of governing the country with “benevolence and righteousness”!
But on the other hand, due to the influence of many factors such as medical conditions, living environment, and living standards, life is very fragile.

Prisoners often die from various reasons after being locked up for just a few days.

Or maybe he just used a little torture, the wound became infected, and he died soon.

Punishments like wearing the cangue have a high mortality rate if the victim is forced to wear the cangue for more than one day.

If it is hot and sunny, the prisoners cannot drink water and may die of heatstroke after wearing it for several hours.

The same is true in particularly cold winters.

On the other hand, if the weather conditions are good, neither too cold nor too hot, then if you wear it for a day and then take it off, you may be fine.

The punishments may appear to be the same, but their actual effects are very different.

Of course, being tortured in a jar of pickles is a death sentence, and it is the most severe form of death penalty.

However, it was widely used to punish people who did not pay land rent and taxes. Officials who collected taxes could execute people on the spot without having to go through a trial, sign or seal the case, or report to the court for approval.

Local authorities used these punishments to intimidate the people.

The number of civilians killed by government punishment every year is dozens of times more than the autumn executions officially reported to the court.

Reporting to the court that criminals were executed in the autumn was more of a memorial to the Confucian way of governing the country, to flaunt benevolence and righteousness.

If officials really want to kill a civilian, they don't need to go that far.

Once someone is put in prison, there are ten thousand ways to kill him.

In fact, given the terrible conditions in prisons of that era, it would take no effort at all for someone to be locked up for several months without dying, which meant that he definitely had an abnormal physique.

The Suzhou government specifically reported this, indicating that there were not just one or two people evading taxes, but a large number of them.

Officials in Suzhou Prefecture were worried that the punishments were too severe and that too many people would be executed, which would arouse public outrage and cause unrest, so they reported this to the court and asked the court to grant them the "Imperial Sword".

In this way, officials can act without scruples.

Zhu Yunxun frowned and asked, "What do you think about this?"

Yang Shiqi thought for a moment and said, "It is really hateful to deposit money and grain in the Grain Bureau and the Ming Bank to avoid taxes. But since this has become a common practice in Suzhou, if we investigate it, it may implicate too many people. The court has authorized Suzhou Prefecture to be cautious."

In normal times, there were many local officials who acted recklessly and oppressed the people without any orders from the court.

If they were really allowed to do as they pleased, I'm afraid Suzhou Prefecture would start another major crackdown.

I don’t know how many people will lose their families and how many will be separated from their wives and children!
The fact that officials directly requested the court to mobilize troops first to prevent any changes is enough to illustrate the problem.

Xia Yuanji said: "This is only prevalent in Suzhou. In the final analysis, it is because the taxes in Suzhou are too heavy."

"When the country was first established, Suzhou and Hangzhou were the most prosperous areas in the world, while the people in the Central Plains were mostly in poverty."

"The world's tax revenue can only rely on the Suzhou and Hangzhou areas."

"So the imperial court imposed extremely high taxes on Suzhou."

“It made sense at the time.”

"I personally think that it has become a bad policy today."

"Now that the treasury is full, we can reduce Suzhou's taxes and make its economy prosperous again."

"Otherwise, I'm afraid Suzhou and Hangzhou will never be able to recover."

"Your Highness, why don't you reform the old system and reduce taxes for Suzhou? The people of Suzhou will be grateful."

“Suzhou can also regain its former glory.”

Yang Shiqi shook his head and said, "Suzhou should indeed reduce taxes and redefine taxes."

"But not right now."

"The trend of tax evasion and tax avoidance in Suzhou is getting worse and worse. If the court reduces taxes for Suzhou at this time, it would be tantamount to giving in to them."

"They will think that it was their own struggle that forced the court to give in, which will set a very bad precedent."

“Other places may also follow Suzhou’s example.”

"What should the court do then?"

"This trend must not continue!"

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Then according to your opinion, we can neither investigate strictly nor give in. How should we deal with it?"

Yang Shiqi clasped his hands and said, "Tax arrears and tax evasion in Suzhou Prefecture are not new to this year. We can handle it as usual."

"Officially, the Ministry of Revenue can send a document urging Suzhou Prefecture to strictly collect and inspect taxes."

"This shows that the government will never give in to tax evasion and tax avoidance."

"I will write a letter to the governor of Suzhou in my personal name, telling him that as long as he collects the same amount of land rent and taxes as last year, it will be enough and there is no need to make a big fuss."

"In this way, we can get through this year smoothly."

Zhu Yunhuan picked up the teacup on the desk, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "You are just doing it like a paperhanger, just getting by."

Although he said this, his tone was very gentle and he did not seem angry.

Zhu Yunhuan knew very well that governing a country was often just a matter of patching things up, just like the lives of ordinary people, just muddling through.

For many things, you can't be too serious or too rigid.

If he had not frantically expanded the Ming Dynasty's technology tree, opened banks, published newspapers, and changed commercial taxes after he came to power, the court's income would have increased greatly.

Otherwise, the court’s annual budget expenditure will still be a big problem.

As for daily life, it is normal for most families to be short of money and have to borrow money from everywhere.

The same is true for the country.

The government's financial resources seem to be strong, but when they are actually used, there will be no surplus.

But even so, we cannot force too much to collect taxes and grain.

Old Zhu was a very stubborn person, but the problem of tax arrears in Suzhou Prefecture had been going on for more than one or two years.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang issued edicts every year requiring Suzhou Prefecture to strictly investigate tax arrears, increase tax collection efforts, and crack down on tax evasion and tax evasion, Suzhou Prefecture still owed land rent and taxes.

Old Zhu knew the reason clearly and knew that even if he was strict, he had to stop at the right time.

As long as it can be passed, just turn a blind eye.

This is why Suzhou Prefecture has been in arrears of taxes for many years.

To this day, this has become a long-standing problem for the imperial court.

The Ministry of Revenue has a headache about this every year.

However, the situation this year is a bit special.

On the one hand, after the imperial court opened up business, many people in Suzhou Prefecture made a lot of money from it.

Plus, it’s a bumper harvest year.

Local officials thought it would not be difficult to complete the court's tax collection tasks this year.

Unexpectedly, due to the establishment of the Ming Bank and the Grain Agency, people in Suzhou Prefecture found ways to hide grain and money, and the trend of tax evasion was far more serious than in previous years.

That's why the officials of Suzhou Prefecture wrote to the court, they must punish severely!

Yang Shiqi said: "The fundamental solution is to measure the land in the country again and redefine the land rent and taxes."

"If we start measuring this year, we will have seven or eight months to complete the measurement. By the autumn harvest next year, the land rent and taxes can be reset, and Suzhou's tax problem can be easily solved."

"As for the arrears from previous years, my suggestion is to exempt them directly after the new tax is implemented and not to pursue them any further, so as to show the court's kindness."

Xia Yuanji said: "It is indeed necessary to re-measure the land in the country. But after re-measuring a piece of land, if the result is to reduce or exempt taxes, it will be fine. If taxes are to be increased, I am afraid that it will cause a lot of trouble."

Uneven collection of land rent and taxes meant that some people paid heavy taxes, while others only paid very little taxes for a long time.

The vested interest groups who pay less tax certainly don't want everyone to pay the same.

This is like the college entrance examination in later generations. The benefiting regions will definitely not be willing to admit students according to a unified score line or the same ratio.

Who would be willing to give up the benefits they have gained?

Zhu Yunhuan pondered and said, "We can put aside the question of how to determine the taxes and rents for the land and measure the land in the world first."

"Also, when measuring the land this time, do not disclose the news that the court is going to re-determine the taxes and rents. This is just a preliminary survey."

“Not only should we count the farmland, but also the wasteland, mountains, forests, towns, road land, building land, and even rivers and lakes.”

"In addition, officials should be asked to report which wastelands can be reclaimed and which cannot, so that plans can be made while the land is being measured."

"You two are jointly responsible for this matter."

A hammer is fixed.

Yang Shiqi and Xia Yuanji immediately accepted the order.

Zhu Yunhuan added: "If there is nothing else, you can go down first."

Yang Shiqi and Xia Yuanji looked at each other, their eyes seemed a little strange.

Finally, Yang Shiqi stood up, bowed, and said, "This spring, Fang Xiaoru taught the way of the sage at the White Deer Academy. To this day, he has countless followers."

"But Fang Xiaoru's remarks were often unorthodox, so there were voices of opposition and criticism from both the government and the public."

"Recently, a number of imperial censors have submitted reports to the court, saying that Fang Xiaoru arbitrarily changed the teachings of the sages, spread evil scriptures, and preached crooked doctrines. He deserves death, and requests that the court severely punish him."

"There are quite a few officials in the court who seconded this proposal. They all said that Fang Xiaoru was talking nonsense, misleading the people with his lies, using his talent to seek fame, and using his fame to cause chaos in the world. This guy must be killed."

Zhu Yunhuan's pupils narrowed slightly.

He had already seen the information about Fang Xiaoru's lectures in the secret reports submitted by the Intelligence Department.

This is the chess piece he made himself.

Now, it has finally taken root and sprouted.

"In your opinion, how should we deal with this?" Zhu Yunxun asked with a smile.

Yang Shiqi remained silent.

The atmosphere in the field suddenly became a little weird. Xia Yuanji seemed a little puzzled.

He looked at Yang Shiqi, then turned to look at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Finally he stood up, bowed and stepped back.

Next to him, Yang Rong, who was taking notes, suddenly came back to his senses, gently placed his pen on the table, and stepped back.

Soon, only Yang Shiqi and Zhu Yunhuan were left in the room.

Yang Shiqi suddenly opened his mouth and said, "May I ask Your Highness, the Crown Prince, is Your Highness supporting Fang Xiaoru's lectures behind the scenes?"

Before Fang Xiaoru left Beijing, Zhu Yunhuan went to see him.

Yang Shiqi knew this.

Zhu Yunhuan did not answer directly, but picked up the teacup, took a sip, and asked again: "Do you think what Fang Xiaoru said makes sense?"

Yang Shiqi sighed and said, "Who doesn't want to be fair to the world? But how easy is it to achieve it?"

"I know that His Royal Highness wants to be a famous monarch throughout the ages and do things that the ancient emperors could not do."

"But the laws of nature are unfair. People are of different heights, weights, and skinnies. Some are smart, some are stupid, some are beautiful, some are ugly, some are diligent, and some are lazy."

"Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince divides all the wealth in the world equally among the people, after a few years, the wealth will flow back into the hands of a few people. It will be in vain."

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head slightly and said, "Absolute equality is not desirable. I have never expected the world to be completely equal in wealth and poverty."

"What I have done is nothing more than two things. One is to ensure that the poor do not suffer from famine and have nowhere to go, and to ensure that their lives are guaranteed."

“The second is to enable talented and strong people to stand out regardless of class restrictions.”

"Only if we can achieve these two points can the rule of our Ming Dynasty be truly long-lasting."

The ruling class is a class that naturally pursues class stability.

They wished that all the passages leading upwards from the bottom floor were blocked.

Since there is no one below to rush up, they themselves will not fall down.

To put it bluntly, everyone has a position in this society. When someone climbs up, someone else has to fall down and make way.

And this is what those who climbed up first don't want to miss.

As soon as I got in the car, I wanted to weld the door shut and didn't want the people behind me to get in.

But in Zhu Yunhuan's view, blocking class mobility is precisely the most stupid behavior.

There are two conditions for the lower classes to rebel and overthrow the rulers.

The first is that there are a large number of lower-class people who are desperate, see no hope, and are forced to rebel.

The second is that there are geniuses who can guide them on how to take up arms and how to rebel!
When the two are combined, a terrifying force will erupt, smashing the original rule into pieces.

If one of them is missing, nothing can be accomplished.

Where do the geniuses who can guide the lower classes on how to rebel come from?

It is because of the stupid upper class that the normal promotion paths for these talented people are blocked.

To put it bluntly, people are born different.

Some people are born with good looks.

Some people are naturally more capable than others.

Some people are born with higher IQs than others.

This is God-given.

According to the mean reversion theory, geniuses are not necessarily born into upper-class families; they can also be born into families of lower-class people.

If there are normal paths for advancement in society, then talented people born at the bottom of society will be able to stand out through their own efforts and use their innate outstanding talents, and slowly climb to a higher class position.

It is normal that the vast majority of people at the bottom of society cannot change their fate in their entire lives.

It is impossible for an ordinary person to change his destiny easily.

But the talented people who make up a very small proportion of the lower class are different.

If talented people at the bottom of society are not given the opportunity to stand out and are forced to remain at the bottom, then their talents will not be used by the upper rulers but by the people at the bottom.

This will release terrible power and eventually overthrow the rule.

This is the significance of the existence of examination systems such as the imperial examination system.

It can provide a way out for talented people.

But this is far from enough.

For example, someone like Lao Zhu is born with abilities in all aspects that far exceed those of ordinary people. It is no exaggeration to say that he is the best among all living beings.

People like him need to be selected by the rulers, promoted to a higher position, and elevated to a higher class.

In this way, Zhu Yuanzhang would not lead the lower classes to rebel.

Without the leadership of a genius like Zhu, all the talented people have been selected, leaving only mediocre people at the bottom. No matter how much they rebel, they can only cause a little unrest and it will be difficult for them to achieve anything.

Society needs more channels to select all geniuses or people with relatively outstanding talents and abilities.

As for ordinary people who have mediocre abilities and come from the lower classes, we only need to ensure their basic living needs, ensure that they do not starve to death or freeze to death, and that they are not left with nowhere to go, and let them live and work in peace and contentment, that's all!

If these two points are achieved, the dynasty's rule will be extremely stable and indestructible.

Yang Shiqi's body froze instantly.

He himself came from a low-income family. His family fell into poverty when he was young, and he wandered for many years until he met Zhu Yunhuan. Only then did he rise to prominence. Naturally, he deeply understood what Zhu Yunhuan meant.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince's ambition is something that I admire greatly."

"Yang will spare no effort to help His Royal Highness accomplish this great cause."

"However, there are many people involved in this reform. Yang believes that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince must not personally take part in this matter."

On the surface, these two things seem to be very simple and seem to be natural.

But with Yang Shiqi's talent, he naturally thought of a lot of things in an instant.

How to implement it?
No matter what is done, it will greatly harm the vested interests.

To put it bluntly, they are more willing to use their resource advantages to block the upward path of the lower classes and solidify the class structure.

He would rather be overthrown by a rebellion than give up his position on his own initiative.

Zhu Yunhuan wanted to ensure that the lower classes had enough food to eat, and he could do so by increasing the country's total grain output.

This seemed out of reach before.

But with the implementation of a series of national policies, it doesn't seem that difficult now.

But it is different if we want to allow the elites at the bottom to stand out.

Because this means that a large number of the ruling class will fall.

The difficulty of this matter lies in the fact that it will make everyone in the ruling class feel insecure.

It is in the interests of all upper classes to block the upward path for the lower classes, or to leave only a very small channel.

Until the blockade can no longer be stopped, the dynasty is overthrown or replaced, and the rule ends.

But the reason why history repeats itself is because the weaknesses of human nature are universal.

Human nature has the same weaknesses, and history will continue to repeat itself.

Yang Shiqi bowed and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is extremely talented and unparalleled in the world."

"To this day, there is no rival in the court."

"But since ancient times, when emperors governed the country, the real enemy has never been a powerful person."

“It’s about the benefits that are everywhere.”

"The world is bustling with people, all for the sake of profit; the world is bustling with people, all for the sake of profit."

"To fight for the position of crown prince, Your Highness only needs to defeat one or two enemies."

"But according to His Royal Highness's idea, if the fundamental system is changed, His Royal Highness will have to face the entire court, and even the complicated forces from all sides."

"In the past, Emperor Taizong fought wars in all directions, conquering all lands and conquering all lands. He was such a gifted man, but he was powerless against the small 'Five Surnames and Seven Families'."

"If His Royal Highness wants to make changes today, the opposition he will face is thousands of times stronger than the 'Five Surnames and Seven Aristocrats'."

"Only by ruling quietly, not paying attention, and making plans in secret can we have a chance of winning."

Zhu Yunhuan took a deep breath and said, "I know what you said. Otherwise, the person who went to Bailu Academy to give lectures would not be Fang Xiaoru."

Fang Xiaoru never served as an official under Zhu Yunhuan, nor was he promoted or reused by him.

Zhu Yunwen believed that Fang Xiaoru was bribed by Zhu Yunhuan, but that was just his own opinion.

People in the world don't think so.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for Fang Xiaoru to resign from his official position and leave Beijing.

Following His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you will have a bright future.

Zhu Yunhuan used Fang Xiaoru to give lectures in the hope of disassociating Fang Xiaoru's theories from his own.

Even now, when he holds great power, he still cannot get involved.

Yang Shiqi was right.

If there is only one enemy, no matter how strong the enemy is, there is always a way to deal with it.

But if the enemy is a huge group and its influence is everywhere, it will be difficult.

After all, the emperor, as the supreme ruler, is also the representative of the ruling class.

If the emperor betrayed the ruling class, then it would really become "Why is Your Majesty rebelling?"

"His Highness the Crown Prince's decision to use Fang Xiaoru was indeed a good move," Yang Shiqi said. "His lectures have already caused a great response. I'm afraid the court will have to make some response."

Zhu Yunhuan raised his eyebrows and said, "What will happen if we continue to ignore it?"

In Zhu Yunhuan's view, the best thing to do is to ignore it and let this theory continue to ferment.

Yang Shiqi shook his head and said, "If the court does not ask, I am afraid that local officials will arrest him. The charges are ready-made, 'changing the words of the saints without authorization and misleading the people with evil words'."

"Once that happens, we will be in a passive position."

If such a thing really happened, whether to release him and how to release him would be a big problem for Zhu Yunhuan.

How Fang Xiaoru is convicted and how serious the crime is will expose his intentions and tendencies, thereby arousing the vigilance of opponents and creating greater obstacles to future reforms.

"Now that His Royal Highness wants to measure the land of the world, I am afraid that some people will associate it with Fang Xiaoru's lectures and think that His Royal Highness wants to divide the land of the world, which will cause greater panic."

Yang Shiqi added.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"It's not like there's no solution to this matter. His Royal Highness still has a card in his hand." Yang Shiqi whispered, "Huang Zicheng and Ashikaga Yoshimitsu have been detained for so long, it's time for the court to try them."

……

(End of this chapter)