Wanli 1592

Chapter 1015 Great Changes and Purging of the Qing Dynasty
The era of great change has had a great impact on the people, especially the tax system and household registration system, which can affect them immediately.

This will directly affect the stability of the country.

Therefore, Xiao Ruxun did not dare to slack off on the reforms in these two aspects. While reducing taxes, he also exempted a group of exorbitant taxes that should not exist, such as fire consumption of silver and the like.

At the same time, tax collectors are strictly restricted to collect excess taxes under clever names. Local prosecutors cooperate in collecting taxes. The branch of the Central Investigation Department set up in the currently controlled areas supervises the whole process. Once a tax collector is found to be illegally collecting taxes, he will be arrested immediately.

This is tax law reform that benefits the general public.

And another reform is also related to all the people, that is, to abolish the household registration system of "military craftsmen and civilians" since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and to abolish military households, craftsmen households, medical households, station households, Yanhu households, Lehu households, Danhu households, etc. The division of household registration is all granted the status of civil household.

The untouchable system existed for a long time in ancient China. Before the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, it was mainly about those prostitutes and actresses. In the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, the household registration system was unprecedentedly retrogressed, and the people of the whole country were divided into many households. To do the same thing, leaving the household category even requires the emperor's special approval.

The Ming Dynasty inherited such a system, and some products were produced on top of it. For example, the Weisuo system was based on military households. This household registration system that is extremely anti-human and severely restricts social development is ridiculous. Xiao Ruxun started early in the morning. planned to be abolished.

But it is even better now, because abolishing these household registration systems is tantamount to benevolence to the people. Xiao Ruxun understands the reason why the predecessors planted trees and the descendants enjoy the shade.

Abolish these household registration systems, integrate them into private households, manage them uniformly, and reorganize household types into occupations to allow transfers between different occupations and allow mobility. Once this decree was issued, it aroused strong repercussions in the three southeastern provinces.

Because there are a large number of lowly families here, including the descendants of Zhang Shicheng's tribe who fought against Zhu Yuanzhang, and the descendants of the remaining tribe of Jianwen Emperor who fought against Zhu Di. They were also liberated and granted land.

They have been transformed from untouchables to tax-paying accounts, and they have been treated fairly. For them, it is like being born again.

The imperial court did not dare to ask any questions about the liberation of other household registrations, but the liberation of military households made the courtiers panic. They didn't know why Xiao Ruxun did this. Who would serve as a soldier after the liberation of military households?
So Xiao Ruxun took advantage of the opportunity and launched his own new military service plan, replacing the military household system with a new military service system, and ending the thing of being soldiers for generations.

This kind of reform to increase local control, increase taxpayers, improve social productivity and the loyalty of the people is only a small government that is more than capable.

At this time, while the purges were intensifying, and at the moment when the resistance of the court was unprecedentedly weak, Xiao Ruxun began to attack the six departments, the first of which was the Ministry of Accounting. Xiao Ruxun ordered the Ministry of Accounting to be divided into two, divided into the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Civil Affairs, separate functions.

The Ministry of Finance is in charge of taxation and finance, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge of household registration and civil affairs. Ye Xianggao became the secretary of the Ministry of Finance, and the position of secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs is temporarily vacant, and is handed over to several servants to manage it. No one knows Xiao Ruxun's favorite secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs who is it.

But it is certain that these reforms will affect the whole body. Since Xiao Ruxun proposed the reform of military service, it is obvious that many departments will be involved together. The household registration is closely related to military service. The household department will definitely be affected. Ye Xianggao has no doubts .

However, Ye Xianggao originally thought that he would be assigned to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, but turned out to be the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, which made him somewhat puzzled.

In addition, Xiao Ruxun set up a new departmental staff department, and transferred Liu Huangshang, the former Minister of the Ministry of War, to be the Minister of the General Staff. The military functions of the Ministry of War were inherited by the General Staff Department. The remaining functions of the Ministry of War were the same as the logistics department, in charge of military logistics and transportation. , that is, part of the original functions of the Arsenal Division, and no longer has any relationship with military command.

In addition, the weapon research and development function of the Arsenal Department was also separated by Xiao Ruxun, and the Military Industry Department was established separately.

The Ministry of Industry is still in charge of the world's engineering as always, unchanged, and has added the function of innovating folk utensils. The Minister of the Ministry of Industry is still Yang Yikui, the only minister-level boss who has not changed in this political storm.

The super-fat department, the Military Selection Department of the Ministry of War, the Wenxuan Department and the Examination Department of the Ministry of Officials, were separated and united together to form a new Central Organization Department directly under the emperor. The functions of managing the official list file and issuing official certificates according to the appointment of the Organization Department.

This department is not bound by any other department, and only obeys the emperor's orders, and the candidate for the minister of this department is actually the emperor's elder brother, King Xiao Rulan of Chu.

Now anyone with a discerning eye can see that the King of Chu will not become the real power minister at all. The actual head of this department is the emperor Xiao Ruxun himself, and the servants under him are the real power, but they are all Xiao Ruxun's confidantes.

It seems that in order to prevent the Central Organization Department from becoming a department with too much power and hindering the emperor's power, Xiao Ruxun used the royal family who could not hold real power as the puppet secretary, and the actual power was in the hands of the emperor.

If the guess is correct, the puppet ministers of this department will also be selected by the royal family in the future, but in fact they will be in the hands of the emperor.

Financial power, personnel power, and military power are all seized by the emperor, and the imperial court is under full control. The officials have completely become the emperor's tools and no longer have the ability to resist the emperor.

Against this background, the Central Investigation Department notified the emperor of the investigation results of the Zhao Shiqing case.

This is a political case led by Cheng Guogong Zhu Yinghuai, and several former Ming nobles and some former Ming Dynasty officials. Dissatisfaction with not giving them real power.

As a result, the case has risen to the level of politics. Zhu Yinghuai decided to kill Zhao Shiqing to sound the alarm for the emperor and let the emperor understand the current situation. He even united with a group of former Ming military officers, planning to launch another coup and kill the emperor if the emperor did not compromise. , to welcome the restoration of Zhu Changluo, the eldest son of the former Ming emperor.

The case finally "come to light" and "the truth came to light".

After the emperor Xiao Ruxun learned the truth of this incident, "Longyan was furious", and extremely angrily demanded that all honorable officials who participated in the incident be executed, all the men in the family were executed together, the women were not admitted to the Jiaofang Division, and all the family properties were destroyed. Confiscated into the treasury.

For some grassroots participants who have not been accounted for before but are now accounted for, such as officers in the original Ming army, they will be dealt with together and wiped out.

Gu Dali and Cai Guozhen, who assisted in the investigation in time anyway, were given lenient treatment, that is, they were executed, but their family members could live, their titles and official status were abolished, they were demoted to common people, and they were allowed to live in the capital, but they could not live in their original address.

Consolation was given to Zhao Shiqing who died tragically, and the posthumous title of Wenzhong was added, and the title of Prince Taifu was added. Zhao Shiqing's son was favored by the court, granted official positions and rewards, and his wife was given a first-class imperial order and enjoyed the honor of the state.

The Zhao family was overwhelmed with gratitude for the emperor's consolation.

Since then, the first major cleansing operation has achieved a staged victory.

(End of this chapter)