The prince is more stable

Chapter 961 Storm Convergence
"People's livelihood is difficult."

After hearing the old farmer's words, only these four words came to Liu Zening's mind.

An entire village, with nearly a thousand acres of land, belonged to the same landlord. All the villagers had become tenants of the landlord, working the land for him. After a year of labor until the autumn harvest, and after paying the rent, the remaining grain was still not enough to feed their families.

This is not just the situation in Zhiping Village, but a common situation in various places throughout the Song Dynasty.

Why did the government push through the land tax equalization law despite opposition? Because he saw the suffering of the people. He knew very well that the powerful and wealthy landlords were gaining more and more, while the common people were losing more and more.

Large tracts of land had been seized by powerful landlords, and peasants had become serfs in the landlords' households, barely surviving.

The old farmer's plight is actually a microcosm of the plight of most farmers in the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty was not short of land. In fact, the population of the Song Dynasty was close to 100 million, and farmers naturally accounted for the vast majority. However, the Song Dynasty also had a lot of land. From the Central Plains to Jiangnan, from Hebei to Lingnan, there were vast tracts of land available for farmers to cultivate.

No matter how much land one has, it can never outweigh the greed of the powerful and wealthy.

Using their power and connections, they acted like greedy mythical beasts, employing every means to seize land that originally belonged to individual farmers.

Farmers who lose their land have only two options: become refugees, leave their homeland with their families, and one day starve to death on the vast road ahead.

Secondly, they were reduced to serfs in the landlord's household. Their homeland remained, but their freedom was lost. Like the old farmer before us, they toiled for a year but still could not support their families.

"Old man, the imperial court has issued a new decree called the 'Equal Taxation Law for Fields,' have you heard of it?" Liu Zening continued to ask calmly.

The old farmer asked blankly, "What square field? What does that mean?"

The old farmer then smiled bitterly: "I don't understand or have ever heard of any imperial decrees. Any decree that benefits us common people is stopped at the county government. The officials won't let us live comfortably."

Liu Zening's smile had turned somewhat cold as he said indifferently, "Perhaps, this time will be different."

The old farmer sensed the coldness in his words and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Is a distinguished person also an official?"

Liu Zening didn't answer, but just smiled and said, "Father-in-law, just wait a little longer, the good days are coming soon."

The old farmer hurriedly shook his head: "I dare not count on it. I don't have many years left to live. I don't care whether I starve to death or not. I just hope that my children and grandchildren will not suffer and that they can have a few more full meals in this life."

Liu Zening felt a pang of sadness.

The simple and kind nature of the common people contrasted sharply with the greed and cruelty of the landlords.

He turned his head and looked at the Imperial Guards standing silently behind him. These men had escorted him all the way and were responsible for protecting his safety.

Accompanying them was a clerk from the Censorate, a middle-aged man.

Liu Zening summoned the clerk and asked in a deep voice, "How many acres of land are there in Zhiping Village, Yucheng County, according to the government's records? Which landlords own each plot?"

The clerk took out a stack of account books, opened them, and carefully examined them for a while before slowly saying, "In Zhiping Village, Yucheng County, the total land recorded by the county government is 1,442 mu, which is a village with relatively little arable land."

"According to the county government's records, there were more than 1,400 mu of land, most of which were cultivated by ordinary farmers. Only about 600 mu of land belonged to three landlords, whose names..."

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Zening interrupted him: "The landlord's name is not important. What I want to know is, does this village really only have 1,400 mu of land?"

The clerk, not knowing the answer, could only shake his head.

The old farmer who had been listening to their conversation suddenly widened his eyes in shock and exclaimed, "What? Our Zhiping Village only has 1,400 mu of land? This..."

Liu Zening smiled and asked, "How much land do you think this village actually has?"

The old farmer was shocked for a long time before he sighed and said, "I don't know which bastard made this register. I remember that during the reign of Emperor Yingzong, several decades ago, our village had more than 4,000 mu of land. It was a superior village in Yucheng County. How come there are only more than 1,000 mu left now?"

Liu Zening immediately understood something, and the smile on his face gradually turned cold.

More than 4,000 mu of land dwindled to just over 1,000 mu after several decades. What went wrong?

Of course, the problem lies with the local government and landlords.

After Wang Anshi's reforms, he conducted a land survey of the five prefectures surrounding the capital, and found that the amount of land concealed in various places was as high as more than two million hectares.

Why conceal the number of acreages of land?

Only by concealing the truth could landlords pay less tax and keep all the land for themselves. Of course, they would also have to bribe the local county government officials and even the higher-level officials such as the prefect and governor every year.

By concealing the acreage of land under their jurisdiction, local officials and landlords could become extremely wealthy, and no one cared about the meager salaries issued by the imperial court—they weren't even enough to fill a tooth gap.

This is a typical example of collusion between officials, businessmen, and landlords, where officials and landlords ate their fill while ordinary people starved to death.

This is also why the government insisted on implementing the equal taxation system for farmland.

Unfortunately, the land tax equalization law promulgated by the imperial court was clearly not implemented effectively. The old farmers in the village were completely unaware of it, while the village landlord continued to enjoy his extravagant and decadent lifestyle, living a peaceful and carefree life. The basic information that needed to be known was already understood, but it was still insufficient.

Next, Liu Zening will continue his journey. He will secretly visit many villages to gain a general understanding of the land situation in various prefectures, counties and villages under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture, and collect a lot of evidence.

Although everything is calm now, Liu Zening knows very well that a massive earthquake will soon occur in the entire officialdom of Yingtian Prefecture.

A storm has gathered and formed over Yingtianfu.

…………

Inside the Yingtian Prefecture government office, the atmosphere was incredibly heavy, as if the air itself had almost solidified.

Three or five officials sat around a charcoal stove. Although the temperature inside the stove should have been warm, these officials inexplicably felt icy cold all over, as if they had accidentally fallen into icy water in winter, and the cold had seeped into their bones.

There weren't many people in the room, but everyone looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Some were so timid that cold sweat beaded on their foreheads, which they couldn't wipe away.

Liu Zening's decision to change course halfway through the journey truly threw the officials of Yingtian Prefecture into disarray.

The current situation is that no one knows where Liu Zening is, what he is investigating, how much he has found out, or which officials in Yingtian Prefecture he has implicated.

Everyone, including Li Huai who stayed behind in Nanjing, felt apprehensive.

Yes, Li Huai, the top official in Nanjing, is not clean either.

The room was quiet, with only the soft crackling of the burning charcoal in the stove.

After a long silence, Li Huai sighed and said in a deep voice, "I already attached great importance to the inspections by the officials of the Censorate, but I didn't expect that I still underestimated the Censorate..."

"The establishment of this Supervisory Office by the Emperor is truly a death sentence!" Li Huai couldn't help but criticize the Emperor, his face revealing undisguised resentment.

Zhang Xiran, the prefect of Nanjing, also sighed and said, "From what I've observed, the way the Censorate operates is quite different from other officials, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with them."

"The unspoken rules of officialdom are meaningless to these supervisory officials. They completely disregard the rules, deliberately avoiding Yingtian Prefecture and changing their route halfway for a secret visit. They are clearly here to find fault. Does the Supervisory Bureau really intend to turn the Yingtian Prefecture officialdom upside down?"

The network of relationships in local officialdom is intricate and complex, with various interests intertwined. Officials, merchants, powerful figures, and landlords—each person's interests are a thread in this network. It is these individual threads that weave together an impenetrable web in the local area.

Liu Zening now seems to be planning to tear the whole net apart and dismantle every single thread in it to determine guilt.

This is no longer just about infringing on the interests of local officials and landlords; it's about taking down the whole group.

"The Equal Tax Law for the Fields... Is the Emperor really that determined this time?" Li Huai frowned and muttered to himself.

Zhang Xiran said with a solemn expression, "I'm afraid it's no small matter. I heard that because of this new policy, the Emperor even killed three of the Empress Dowager's relatives, and a large number of officials were dismissed. As a result, the imperial family and relatives of the Empress Dowager rushed to hand over their land properties."

"Last month, the Emperor promoted Cai Jing, the Minister of Revenue, to the position of Vice Minister of the Chancellery and put him in the Hall of State Affairs. Rumors in Bianjing suggest that the Emperor may be considering dismissing the Chancellor, because Chancellor Zhang's support for the implementation of the Equal Land Tax Law was not firm enough, which caused the Emperor to harbor resentment."

The officials present felt increasingly heavy-hearted upon hearing this, and their expressions grew increasingly grim.

Li Huai, who remained in Nanjing, was even more agitated, feeling a kind of anger that he wanted to vent but could not.

"With peace reigning over the land, the court and the people in harmony, the royal army displaying its might and conquering foreign territories, the nation's power and strength are flourishing. Wouldn't it be better to maintain the status quo?"

"Why must we make a fuss about land? Over the years, the new policies have been changed repeatedly, with orders being issued one day and another the next. It's not us local officials who suffer the most. Why does the government have to do this?" Li Huai said resentfully.

Zhang Xiran said with a wry smile, "His Majesty's move is naturally to consolidate imperial power. Let's not discuss this matter anymore. Instead, let's think of a way to deal with this inspector from the Censorate."

"Gentlemen, the situation is very serious. That Liu Zening conducted a clandestine investigation on his own, and we don't know how much he has found out. It concerns our future and lives, so we dare not take it lightly!"

The officials present immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Another oppressive, suffocating silence followed. After a long while, an official suddenly said in a low voice, "The supervisory officials will definitely find out a lot of things. This can't be hidden. You and I don't need to take any chances."

"Once Liu Zening returns to Bianjing, countless people in Yingtian Prefecture, from top to bottom, will be dismissed from their posts and questioned."

Zhang Xiran's eyes flashed, and she slowly said, "The things Liu Zening found out cannot enter Bianjing, otherwise we will both be in great trouble."

"So, how do we keep what he found in Yingtian Prefecture?" Li Huai seemed to be muttering to himself, but his gaze inadvertently swept across everyone's faces.

Zhang Xiran lowered his voice even further: "If a person cannot leave Yingtian Prefecture, then what he finds will naturally also be inseparable from Yingtian Prefecture."

Li Huai frowned, his face full of worry, and said, "What I'm worried about is that this inspector is too young and lacks experience in being a person and an official. When he arrives in the local area, he is bound to make mistakes. If he speaks or acts inappropriately and does not know the taboos, I'm afraid it may incite a popular uprising..."

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then shocked and stared at Li Huai in disbelief.

(End of this chapter)