Do you know: I am Qi Heng

At the beginning of each dynasty, there were always some potential pitfalls for future generations.

Later generations even came to believe that the Ming Dynasty actually ended with Zhu Yuanzhang.

The reason for this claim is that many systems during Zhu Yuanzhang's reign had loopholes and hidden dangers.

He planted the most landmines for future generations, but he was also very confident in his own system and policies. Fearing that future generations would make changes, he even created the "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty".

In feudal society, it was extremely difficult for an emperor to change the systems and rules left by his ancestors.

The "Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty" left by Zhu Yuanzhang gave officials the confidence to prevent the emperor from changing the rules and regulations.

That's why this saying came about.

But frankly speaking, the rules and systems established by the founding of any dynasty are in line with the situation and circumstances at that time.

The Tang Dynasty's military system, for example, eventually became unsustainable as the country became more peaceful and land was annexed.

This is what Su Shi said earlier: times have changed, and some systems are no longer applicable to the current situation.

However, not all systems become outdated; some systems remain applicable.

Qi Heng paused for a moment and said, "Although all the officials would try to stop the emperor from changing the ancestral rules and regulations, they did not completely stop him."

Regardless of the dynasty, there are examples of changes to rules and regulations.

Why are some rules that can be changed, while others, despite their obvious problems, are stubbornly opposed to being altered by officials?

"Because of profit?" Su Shi said.

"good!"

Qi Heng nodded and said, "The officials did not strongly object to changes to rules and regulations that did not affect their own interests but were beneficial to the court."

Officials will resolutely oppose any changes to rules and regulations that would affect the interests of many people.

They didn't care whether it benefited the court; they only cared about whether it would affect them personally.

"Doesn't what Prefect Wang did exactly match this point?"

Su Shi asked doubtfully, "In the eyes of the officials at court, there should be no difference between local gentry and ordinary people, right?"

"That's how it appears on the surface."

Qi Heng said, "But this is only in the eyes of the officials in the court; local officials do not see it that way."

Local officials rely too heavily on local gentry when governing their areas. When the interests of the local gentry are harmed, what do you think the local officials will do, Brother Zizhan?

There is one sentence that left a deep impression on him during Wang Anshi's reforms in history.

That is—the people are not taxed more, yet the country has enough to use.

This means that his reforms did not require increasing taxes on the people, yet they could still fill the national treasury.

But from the most basic logic, apart from a few state-run industries, the imperial court's income came entirely from taxes.

As the saying goes, the wool comes from the sheep.

This increased revenue will definitely come from the private sector.

If the problem doesn't originate from the common people, it will originate from the gentry.

Some of Wang Anshi's systems do seem very good. Su Shi's earlier mention of lending money to the people was actually the Green Sprouts Law.

Landlords and gentry lent money to the common people at high interest rates, so local officials lent money to the common people at even lower interest rates.

This would increase the government's revenue, and reduce the interest on loans and grain for the people.

It harmed the interests of the local gentry, but although their interests were damaged, the damage was not too great.

They wouldn't rebel over something like this.

However, local officials relied too heavily on local gentry when governing their areas.

In ancient times, the imperial court generally believed that imperial power did not extend to the countryside. The villages below the county level were governed by local gentry.

Local clans wielded considerable influence, and local officials relied on their assistance even for tax collection.

Moreover, there are only a few officials in a county, so many junior officials are needed to assist in governance.

These minor officials, being from the local gentry, would certainly prioritize their family interests.

If they unite, they might not be able to completely sideline officials, but they can certainly make it so that officials can't get anything done by feigning compliance while secretly opposing them.

If a local official cannot collect taxes and the area under his jurisdiction is in a state of disorder, his future is over.

In the imperial court's management logic, local officials did not govern the people, but rather the local gentry.

As long as the local gentry cooperate, they can achieve political success; otherwise, they cannot.

Under such circumstances, how could those officials possibly carry out the imperial court's orders and offend the gentry?

"Therefore, local officials are crucial to achieving these goals."

Qi Heng said, "Only by reducing local officials' dependence on local gentry and incorporating this into the evaluation process for official promotion can officials implement the policy effectively."

"Yuan Ruo's words are incisive and thought-provoking; Zizhan admires them!"

Qi Heng's words were rather cruel; if those pedantic people heard them, they would surely criticize him harshly.

However, Su Shi was not the kind of person who was pedantic. The Su family was also a prominent clan in the area, and they had a deeper understanding of this matter.

"Brother Zizhan, you flatter me."

Qi Heng smiled and said, "These are just some of my humble opinions."

"Yuan Ruo, there is no need for modesty."

Su Shi said, "My Su family is quite well-known in Meishan. I have experienced all of what Yuan Ruo mentioned, but I did not truly realize it. I am truly ashamed!"

Qi Heng smiled. Su Shi wasn't unaware of it; rather, the long-standing class differences had long been taken for granted by everyone.

Su Shi chatted with Qi Heng for a while longer, then politely declined Qi Heng's offer to stay for dinner and took his leave.

Qi Heng saw Su Shi off outside the mansion, watched him leave, and pondered for a moment before turning back into the mansion.

He didn't know whether Su Shi's conversation with him about the local collection of exorbitant taxes was just casual chat, or whether Su Shi intended to use him to relay the information to the officials.

If it's the latter, then one can only say that Su Shi was somewhat naive.

Even after the imperial court abolished the system, local governments continued to levy exorbitant taxes and levies, which were not yet handed over to the imperial court. Did the emperor really not know this?

Moreover, were the exorbitant taxes and levies really collected by local officials through their orders to levy them?

Qi Heng thought it was unlikely. Unless all officials did this, the matter would probably have been exposed long ago.

This was most likely done by local gentry, since the minor officials and runners in official robes were all locals.

However, there is a rule in this dynasty that officials are not allowed to go to the countryside unless it is for official business.

This rule was established by Emperor Taizu to prevent officials from disturbing the people when they went to the countryside.

Normally, local officials rarely go to the countryside, and with this rule in place, officials are even less likely to do so.

The people pay taxes based on evidence, and they have no idea that some exorbitant taxes have long been abolished, so they won't cause trouble.

Only someone like Su Shi, who traveled extensively and interacted with ordinary people in the countryside, would know this.

Of course, this doesn't mean those officials were completely unaware; it simply means they deliberately chose not to know.

Anyway, with the rules set by Emperor Taizu in place, even if things were exposed and the court questioned them, they would have a reason to defend themselves.

Furthermore, the Great Zhou Dynasty had a rule against killing scholar-officials, so it wasn't a big deal at all.

However, if this matter were exposed, it would be tantamount to offending all the local gentry, and as long as they remained officials in the area, they would face numerous troubles.

……

During dinner, Princess Pingning chewed her food carefully. After swallowing, seeing that Qi Heng didn't seem inclined to bring it up, she casually asked, "Heng'er, I heard that when you came back from school, a scholar came looking for you. Who was he?"

"Mother, that person is an examinee I met yesterday at the Xiangguo Temple," Qi Heng said.

"The test taker?"

Princess Pingning asked with some doubt, "The imperial examination is still a long way off, yet some candidates have already arrived in the capital?"

"The father and his two sons traveled to the capital for study, so they arrived relatively early," Qi Heng said.

"I see!"

Princess Pingning said nothing more upon hearing this. Su Shi was not old, and the fact that he could participate in the imperial examination showed that he was quite talented.

She was happy to see Qi Heng interact with people like that.