There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 98 The Weakness of the Gentry

The new tax law was issued, but it was not promoted immediately because taxes had already been levied in the first half of this year and it would not be officially implemented until next year.

Somewhat unexpectedly, no one in the Civil Affairs Office openly opposed it, and Nie Yu was already prepared to go against all odds.

It's very simple. No one is a fool. More than a dozen gentry families in Jingzhou colluded with each other and took advantage of the tax collection period to openly hoard goods and drive up the prices of grain among the people. The news has been released directly by the General's Mansion.

There was no doubt that the dozen or so gentry families would not have a good end, and the general was about to force the new tax law. It was obvious that he had other intentions, and they could see it.

It is human nature to worry not about scarcity but about inequality.

The same applies to this group of gentry and scholars. Not all gentry have huge fortunes and millions of acres of fertile land. The land in these three states is also limited. It is impossible for all gentry and landlords to become rich. The real wealthy gentry are a minority, and most of them are middle and lower-level landlords and self-cultivating farmers who own very little land.

They are also the main force of the Han army's grassroots officials used to rule the local area and extend power to the towns and villages. Otherwise, relying only on the few scholars provided by the gentry and the big families, the Han army may not be able to extend its power to the towns and villages, let alone control the local county towns.

The new tax law naturally had an impact on these landlords from the middle and lower classes, that is, the poor scholars, but the impact was very small and almost negligible.

It was precisely because he knew this that Nie Yu dared to so boldly implement the new tax system, merging and simplifying all previous taxes, and creating a progressive tax system that was clearly aimed at the wealthy and powerful families.

If the wealthy and powerful are not convinced, then let them not be convinced!

If you don't want to be officials, there are plenty of people who are willing to do so.

It just so happened that there were so many grassroots officials below, and they were all working hard to distribute land, build roads, and construct water conservancy projects, all in order to achieve political achievements so that they could be promoted to higher positions.

The new tax law was first distributed to Jingzhou Prefecture via the radio, and soon some angry gentry got together and went to the General's Office to cause trouble.

But it was just a commotion, and there were very few gentry involved, only a few families. Among the wealthy families in Jingzhou City, only one family participated.

The General's Office did nothing for these troublesome gentry but simply ignored them. They were allowed to speak and express dissatisfaction. The Han army did not engage in literary inquisition or punish people for their words.

And then... no more.

The gentry's commotion was fruitless, and they did not dare to actually storm the government office. Storming the government office was tantamount to treason, and no one would come to speak for them even if their properties were confiscated and their families were exterminated.

The gentry who were causing trouble gathered quickly and dispersed even faster. After returning home, some of them felt more and more humiliated and aggrieved. The Han army first forcibly divided up their land, but they could temporarily endure it in order to survive.

Moreover, as the founding leader, in order to achieve great things, it is okay to do many things in an extreme way. It should be said that doing so also shows that the other party does have some of the qualities of a heroic leader.

But those who came with them were not allowed to keep slaves. How could this make sense?

The trade of slaves is natural and right. If the gentry do not keep slaves, who will do the rough housework and serve the master? How will those untouchables who beg for work everywhere survive?

Well, the General's Mansion only issued an order prohibiting the keeping of slaves, but it allowed the use of money to hire servants. Obviously, they automatically ignored it.

After all, servants have basic human rights. They cannot be beaten or killed at will, and they have to be paid. The two parties only have an employment relationship. How can they be as happy as slaves? It’s okay to kill them if you are in a bad mood.

(According to the Qing Dynasty's "Criminal Cases Collection", more than a hundred maids died suddenly in Beijing every year...)
If the first two options could be tolerated for the sake of the merit of following the emperor and for the future prosperity of the new dynasty, the Han army is now unwilling to even give them the opportunity of future prosperity.

Land and slaves have been given. Even if he can't enter the core circle of the Han army, he should at least get some significant benefits in return!

But the result was that the Han army treated everyone equally. Even the wealthy families in Jingzhou who had been won over at the beginning were allowed to enter the Secretariat, but they still had to start as clerks and could only be promoted if they did a good job.

Other gentry and scholars were even more so. They either had to go to the countryside to survey the land or work as clerks in local government offices first, and only after they had achieved political success could they be promoted. Now that a new tax system has been introduced, they are not even given a chance!

Just a few days after the new tax law was issued, some officials came to the General's Mansion to resign. Some of them gave normal reasons, while some simply did not give any reasons. Anyway, the Han army said that no one would be punished for words. They felt that they saw no hope, so they just gave up and hoped that their actual actions could make the Han army general "repent and return to the right path."

The gentry's passive resistance to resigning was of course recorded by the General's Mansion, which did not refuse to retain them. Those who did not want to be officials could leave by leaving behind their official seals, files, and official uniforms. The General's Mansion even paid off their salaries for this month.

Afterwards, the deputy below would be promoted to take over. For example, if the county magistrate quit, the registrar would be promoted. If the registrar quit, the magistrate would be promoted. There would always be someone willing to be an official.

For the truly wealthy gentry, the reason they are unwilling to become officials is that they feel that the General's Mansion promotes people based on their merits and makes them start from the grassroots clerks, which is simply an insult to society!

But for the truly lower-class scholars, this is a benevolent and righteous royal teacher!
Now it is the first year of the Jiaqing reign. There are a lot of poor scholars in the local area who cannot pass the imperial examination to become an official and do not have the money to buy an official position or bribe.

Some gentry could not bear it any longer and chose to resign from their posts and passively resist the Han army. They certainly did not dare to run away. If they ran away without their hair growing out and without braids, they would be regarded as traitors and beheaded for credit.

There were also gentry who were just the opposite. They truly believed that the Han army could accomplish the task, and the tougher Nie Yu acted, the more heroic he seemed to them.

Although the Han army's policies made them angry, it also made them cling closer to the Han army. Before, only a few young men in the clan worked in the Han army's government offices, but now they wish all the elders in the family could join them.

They are not simply going all in. There are many gentry families among them, all of whom are strong-willed and have made their family businesses prosperous. Now they are simply judging others by their own standards and think that success should be replicable.

It just so happens that some people have resigned from their posts, leaving many vacancies. If they send people to fill the vacancies, it would be like timely help, but at least the general of the Han army would be worth a fortune!
It is impossible to directly appoint an official as this goes against the foundation of the Han army, but as long as one can do a good job, promotion will definitely be faster than before.

They are all smart people, there is no need to hide anything. Since these gentry are willing to board the ship, Nie Yu will naturally reciprocate.

In late April, the Secretariat Office of the General's Mansion (Yuezhou).

"Secretary Feng, this is the list sent by the Song family in Yuezhou." Liu Jun picked up a list and handed it to Feng Xiuyong in front of him.

Feng Xiuyong took a quick glance and said, "The Song family is really generous. They've sent all the scholars with the surname Song here! They've even volunteered to start as a land distribution clerk. That's quite clever of them."

"He is indeed smart and makes decisions quickly." Liu Jun nodded.

In the past half month, the lists of scholars given to him by the gentry and noble families were so numerous that he could hardly count them. Those gentry were originally very reserved and seemed to be planning to wait and see.

But as Nie Yu unveiled the new tax law, it was equivalent to a complete showdown with the gentry. Just as Feng Xiuyong had guessed before, many gentry were indeed disloyal, but even more gentry rushed to join him to fill the vacancies left by those who had fled.

As for the scholars from poor families, it goes without saying that none of them ran away or resigned from the beginning to the end. Instead, they worked even harder because they heard that a large number of senior officials had resigned, leaving many vacancies.

In the eyes of the wealthy and powerful, the position of county magistrate is only the bottom line for buying an official position, and it cannot be any lower. But in the eyes of scholars from poor families, this is a lucrative position that they dare not even think about.

Feng Xiuyong shook his head and laughed, "Ah, when it comes to human nature, even though I'm conceited and knowledgeable, I'm still not as clear-sighted as the general. I'm afraid the general has long understood what the gentry of these three states and even the whole world are thinking."

Liu Jun said, "The general is also thinking about the people. Under the new tax law, ordinary people will no longer have to bear heavy taxes, and even many small and medium-sized landowners will benefit. The real victims are the wealthy and powerful families who own millions of acres of fertile land. They own so much land, yet they use various methods to evade taxes. This is extremely harmful to the country. Even if compromising with them now can gain the world, what will happen a hundred years from now?"

Liu Jun had farmed the land himself, and he had suffered from hunger and cold in order to study. He had truly studied hard for ten years. He was just hot-headed at first and didn't see things clearly. Now he thought, why the hell should he meddle in the affairs of the wealthy families and gentry?
It's like the imperial court wants to impose high growth taxes on people who have billions of assets. How can you, a small character who doesn't even have a million in assets, run to carry the flag and charge for them?
Feng Xiuyong nodded. "It's good to serve the country and the people, but I don't know how long this new law can last. Regardless of the land distribution or the new law, there will always be enough land to go around, and the new law will eventually fail..."

Liu Jun laughed and said, "Secretary Feng, you're obsessed. It's good enough if the new law and the land distribution can last for a hundred years. As for what happens after a hundred years, why bother so much?"

Feng Xiuyong said, "That's right. Let's sort out the list now and send it to the general for review later!"

(End of this chapter)