"This is not a problem, Your Majesty, in the opinion of the ministers, you can let the gentry sell the vacant fields to the imperial court as official farms, and then the imperial court will distribute these fields to the yeoman farmers with little land and little land, or let the yeoman farmers with rich labor apply for contracts, of course, the gentry can also not sell them, but they have to prevent them from forcing the common people to become tenants."
Fang Congzhe said at this time.Zhu Youxiao nodded and smiled: "What Yuan Fu said is very true!
Do it!
”Fang Congzhe was obviously very good at figuring out Emperor Zhu Youxiao's thoughts, and knew that the emperor wanted to curb land annexation or even reduce land annexation, so he also suggested that the gentry sell the vacant land to the imperial court.Yuan Keli glanced at Fang Congzhe because of this, and he had to admit that compared to Fang Congzhe, he was inferior in terms of pleasing the emperor.......
"The Holy Decree's disposition of the captured tenant farmers, Duke Song, must already know, right?"
”Huang Liji asked Song Quan with a depressed face.Song Quan nodded and said, "All the troublemakers have been exiled, but in this case, who will cultivate our fields?"
What's more, many of these tenant farmers are the clansmen and villagers of us gentry, and they are the foundation of our gentry in the local struggle against the government!
Now, if these tenant farmers are exiled, it will be the foundation of our gentry. ”"Who says it's not, the gentry and tenant farmers who are making trouble behind their backs have never fought Your Majesty!
However, Your Majesty's methods are really ruthless, first brutally suppressed, and you don't care about the reputation, and then exile all the captured tenant farmers, so that your official gentry power will be dismembered!
”Huang Liji replied with a wry smile.At this time, Huang Liji heard crying outside."
Unaccompanied!"
Huang Liji had to say something to Song Quan, then walked out of his pavilion, called his housekeeper Qin Rui and asked, "What's the matter?"
”Qin Rui hurriedly replied: "Go back to the master!"
The scholars of the same township also came to Beijing with a group of tenant farmers of our Huang family, saying that they also followed these official gentry and tenant farmers of Shuntian Mansion to participate in yesterday's trouble, and now several of their relatives and friends have been arrested, saying that they are going to be exiled, and now they come to you and say that they want to help!
”After hearing this, Huang Liji suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, and shouted: "What nonsense are you talking about!
Our tenant farmers have always been well-behaved, where do they dare to enter Beijing to make trouble!
Besides, my Huang family has always been law-abiding, how could I go against the court because the officials and gentry paid food as an errand!
Those people outside must be accusing my Huang family and driving them away!
No, let them be tied up and sent to the government. ”"Yes!"
The housekeeper hurriedly replied.Soon, several tenants of the Huang family who came to find Huang Liji outside were also very angry after learning that Huang Liji refused to help them.Someone scolded directly: "The surname is Huang!"
When you came out of school, you still relied on the money that Lao Tzu's father borrowed from your family, and now you have dedicated your land to you, why are you now prosperous, but you don't recognize people!
”"That's it, this time we are here to speak for you readers, why don't you come out to speak for us!""
Yes!
Didn't you old men say that the imperial court would not do anything to the people, why did the people of Xichang bombard us directly!
”Then the others followed suit.Huang Li was a little distressed, and couldn't help but come back and say to Song Quan: "The official didn't instruct them to go against the imperial court, why do you blame the official for coming, these people are really diao!"
”"What Huang Gong said is that these Diao people are so unreasonable!
Thinking that if you help the scholar say a few words, the scholar will have to disobey the imperial court?
It's hilarious!
”Song Quan said with a smile.At this time, Huang Liji's housekeeper Qin Rui had already taken the Huangfu house slaves and came outside, shouting to these tenants: "What nonsense, tie up Lao Tzu and send it to the official mansion!"
”…… Huang Liji is not the only civilian official to do so.Although these villagers gathered to demonstrate for the sake of the scholars.However, the scholars who were already officials or students in the capital did not buy their accounts, and even rushed to dissociate themselves from them, and even took the initiative to arrest the troublesome tenant farmers to the government.Therefore, in the end, the tenant farmers did not succeed, and even if some of the tenant farmers wanted to rebel, they were first informed by the gentry of the same township to the government, and were suppressed by the government.The gentry behaved very cowardly in this incident, and they were also very inconsistent.There was no way, the class position of the gentry determined that it was impossible for him to turn against the court for the sake of the tenant farmers.After all, they still need to rely on the imperial court to maintain their other interests.Therefore, except for ordinary scholars such as Jiang Hede and Gao Eryan, who were beheaded for participating in the agitation, most of the officials and gentry in Beizhili were not implicated because of this demonstration of the villagers, and continued to actively write a New Year's greeting for the seventh year of the Apocalypse to His Majesty the Emperor.The tenant farmers who participated in the riots were even more miserable, having to tie their hands and then start boarding ships in droves to Taiwan and Nagasaki, leaving their homes.Some of them felt resentful because of this, thinking that the officials had betrayed them and harmed them, but they were helpless."
I heard that Huang Liji, Wei Zaode, and the courtiers all took the initiative to send the troublesome tenant farmers who came to them to the official mansion?"
In the political affairs hall, Zhu Youxiao also asked Fang Congzhe about the matter.Fang Congzhe replied with a smile: "Back to Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. ”Zhu Youxiao nodded: "They all know the proportions, the officials and gentry of Shuntianfu will be regarded as carrying out the work of paying grain as an errand as soon as the Shuntianfu is over, they will first implement the policy of paying grain and being an errand for the officials and gentry in Shanxi, and then Shandong, Shaanxi, and all the way to the whole country." ”"When the officials and gentry end of the integrated payment of grain, in the opinion of the ministers, they should reform the commercial tax, such as today, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, the people are no longer mainly agricultural, and the commercial tax should begin to be the main source of tax in the Ming Dynasty."
Yuan Keli said at this time.Fang Congzhe glanced at Yuan Keli after hearing this, he knew that Yuan Keli's sudden mention of business tax was aimed at himself.Zhu Youxiao also saw this in his eyes and knew it in his heart, but he intended to let the civil gentry and the commercial gentry class check and balance each other, and now the civil gentry on Yuan Keli's side have lost their interests because of the official gentry's integrated payment of grain and errands, so he naturally needs to support the civil gentry and crack down on the commercial gentry, so he said: "The commercial tax has to be changed!"
Motosuke then presided over a court meeting attended by the cabinet and ministers of the ministries to discuss the matter of taxation. ”"Obey!
However, there is one more thing at the moment, and the minister has to start His Majesty. ”Fang Congzhe replied."
Speak!"
Zhu Youxiao had to admit that as his power as the emperor became more and more powerful, the open and secret battles between the ministers were much more obscure than Wanli Taichang and the beginning of his accession to the throne, all of them were very cautious and abided by the rules, unlike before, they were directly impeached with a white face, and even lay down at every turn, cry at every turn, and between political enemies, either you die or I live, just whether they are in the same party or not, whether it is black or white.He found that even if Fang Congzhe didn't want Yuan Keli's commercial tax matter to be discussed again, he did not directly oppose and refute it, but changed the topic."
What the minister wants to play is that now the eldest son of the emperor is four years old, I don't know if I should go out of the cabinet to study, and I ask Your Majesty to give instructions."
Fang Congzhe asked.The ministers present were all shocked when they heard this, they didn't expect Fang Congzhe to suddenly mention this.