The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"If Xu Jie wants to die, it's up to him."

Wei Guangde spoke calmly.

"Um?"

When Chen Yiqin heard what Wei Guangde said, he looked at him in surprise, as if asking how to say this.

"Gao Suqing was forced out of office. Who doesn't know that Xu Chieffu was behind this matter? Now he forces Gao Suqing away and takes action against Guo Zhifu. What will Your Majesty think?"

Wei Guangde raised the corner of his mouth, and a sneer appeared on his face, "Our Majesty is indeed soft-tempered, but he knows who is good to him.

It can be said that Xu Shoufu's affair with Gao Suqing was caused by Gao Suqing's initiative. This Guo Zhifu had never taken the initiative to provoke him. If he killed everyone like this, would your Majesty not have any thoughts? "

"That makes sense. I've completely forgotten about this."

Chen Yiqin nodded when he heard this, and said with some annoyance: "Before, my vision was limited to the pavilion, but I have forgotten about today."

"Yeah, now, how many people still have this day in their hearts, hum?"

Yin Shizhen whispered without hiding anything.

After defeating Gao Gong, Xu Jie's reputation is now at its peak in both the government and the public. After all, he is a minister who has been with the emperor for ten years. He will continue to do it if he is told. All officials now respect and fear Xu Jie.

If it were the end of the dynasty, there would be a chance for such a person to exist and even cause big things. But now that the Ming Dynasty is as stable as Mount Tai, how could such an official be allowed to exist?

No matter how easy-tongued the emperor is, he will never tolerate a chief minister who can challenge his power. It can be said that Xu Jie has now made a mark in Emperor Longqing's heart.

As long as he did not leave the court, the emperor would be thinking about how to weaken his power and weaken his influence all day long.

"Guo Zhifu is not like Gao Suqing, who offends people everywhere. He has always been very popular as an official. If Xu Jie really instigates someone to get him, the direction of public opinion will change again."

Wei Guangde just smiled and said.

"Why?"

Yin Shizhen asked in confusion.

"The officials in the court attacked him because he was on Gao Gong's side. They were actually targeting Gao Gong, not Guo Zhifu. If they really forced him away, it would seem that Xu Shoufu had no tolerance for others, and What's the difference between Gao Suqing and Gao Suqing?"

Wei Guangde replied.

"Yes, yes, yes."

Yin Shizhen nodded and said happily.

"Shan Loi, you'd better hand over the knife over there as soon as possible, so that His Majesty can vent his anger, and at the same time suppress Xu Jie's arrogance."

Immediately, Yin Shizhen continued.

"By the way, there is something else going on in the cabinet today, and I will tell you about it, just in case any colleagues ask about it and you still don't know."

Before Wei Guangde answered, Chen Yiqin suddenly spoke again.

"What's the matter?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously, and Yin Shizhen also listened attentively.

"Today's cabinet meeting was originally about opening up the sea, but in the end, Ge Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue took out another copy of his memorandum and submitted it to the cabinet, requesting to suspend the implementation of the 'One Whip Law'. As a result, there was an argument with Zhang Shuda A heated argument.”

Later generations' contributions to Zhang Juzheng were mainly concentrated in the implementation of a series of reform measures during his more than ten years as the chief minister of the cabinet.

In terms of finance, the land was cleared and the "one whip method" was implemented. All taxes and labor were paid in silver. "Taicang millet can be used for ten years, and the Zhou temple has accumulated more than four million yuan."

Militaryly, Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang and other famous generals were appointed to the north of the town, and Ling Yunyi, Yin Zhengmao and others were used to quell the southwest rebellion;

In the administration of officials, a comprehensive examination of names and facts is implemented, and officials at all levels are evaluated using the "examination method". "Although they are thousands of miles away, they will be implemented day and night," and the political system is awe-inspiring.

However, what Wei Guangde remembers is that the implementation of the "One Whip Method" and the "Examination Method" offended many bureaucrats, so in the end the Zhang family did not fare well.

Therefore, before Wei Guangde became an official, he was surprised when he discovered that the Ming Dynasty implemented the "one whip method" tax collection in some places. After learning more about it, he realized that "implementation" was the focus of the "one whip method".

The essence of the "One Whip Method" is to merge taxes and levies, merging land taxes and various types of corvee and levying them together, and at the same time, spreading part of the burden of the labor into the land.

In the past, corvées were based on households and dings, and instead they were apportioned according to the number of dings and fields. Except for the government's need to collect rice and wheat, all tax burdens were converted into two taels of silver. Farmers and various households that could afford to do the servitude could pay for the servitude. The government hired people to undertake the tasks; the collection of taxes and levies was handled directly by local officials. The original "people's collection and people's liberation" system in which taxes and levies were collected and released through grain chiefs and district chiefs was abolished and changed to the "official collection and official relief" system.

In the ninth year of Jiajing, Liang Cai, the Minister of Household Affairs, put forward a plan to eliminate the drawbacks of tax and labor based on Gui E's memorial on "compilation and examination of corvee": "Together, the ten grains of grain and grains of each li will be consolidated in one li, and the grain grains of each li will be consolidated in one state and one county. The dingliang of each state and county is under one government, and the dingliang of each prefecture is under the chief secretary.

The Chief Secretary will assign corvées to each province's dings of grain. In addition to the number of privileges and exemptions, each grain will be compiled into a certain amount of silver, and each ding will be reviewed and reviewed.

In the 10th year of Jiajing's reign, Fu Hanchen, the imperial censor, called this method of "generalizing the grain of a province and assigning corvees to the same province" as the "One Weaving Method", which later became the "One Whip Method".

The early implementation was first implemented in Nanzhili and Zhejiang provinces with heavy taxes and levies, followed by Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi. However, at this time, it was only limited to certain prefectures, prefectures, and counties, and was not generally implemented.

Since the reform of taxes and servitude affected the economic interests of the officials, gentry and landlords, there was great resistance and progress was slow in the beginning.

In fact, the imperial court has been encouraging local governments to adopt the "one whip method" to collect taxes and labor. After all, after implementation, the tax increase will be obvious, and the burden on the people will be significantly reduced.

Between an increase and a decrease, the interests of the officials, gentry and landlords are actually harmed, and they have to pay more taxes than in the past.

In fact, if you look carefully at the places where it was implemented, you will find that most of them are concentrated in the south. There are very few implementations of this method in the northern provinces of the Ming Dynasty. The reason is naturally that the power of the officials, gentry and landlords is too strong, and it is difficult for local officials to implement it smoothly.

"In the cabinet, Shangshu Ge listed the actual situation in Beizhili, Shandong and other places. The land is vast and the people are poor, and many people are moving around. However, some departments have chaotic reforms, too heavy a burden on the subjects, and uneven recruitment.

The new law did not care about the status of households, but only the amount of land, which caused the people to give up their land to avoid labor. South of the Yellow River and east and west of the Taihang Mountains, the land was so barren that they could no longer pay the official tax, so how could heavy labor be used. "

Chen Yiqin just frowned and recounted today's events, but did not express his position.

In fact, this is not surprising. As a cabinet minister, his statement is of great importance and will not be revealed easily.

"It is true that several governments in Shandong implemented the 'one whip law', and some civil unrest did occur, but if the local government handled it properly, it was no longer a big deal."

Yin Shizhen was from Shandong, so he naturally knew some news from his correspondence with his family.

"Does Shangshu Ge mean to restore the system of the early dynasty?"

Wei Guangde asked.

Chen Yiqin nodded, "Ge Shangshu said that in the early days of the country, money and grain were collected, and the Ministry of Households determined the name of the warehouse and the number of stones, and the common people paid according to the warehouse. The total amount of the debt was clear, and the method was very convenient.

In recent years, it has been adopted as a whipping method, regardless of the entrance of the warehouse, and does not open the number of stones, but only the amount of silver per mu. This has resulted in officials being treacherous, adding or subtracting factions, and causing many disadvantages.

In response to the order, the old regulations were reviewed, and the whip and other laws were all discontinued, so that the tax amount could be equalized and the collection and distribution would be convenient. "

"Most of Jiangxi Province implements this method, and there are not many disadvantages."

Wei Guangde just said lightly. Wei Guangde didn't know what was going on in Yin Shizhen's family. When it came to Shandong, naturally Yin Shizhen had more say.

If Wei Guangde spoke out against Ge Shouli's words, he didn't know if he would offend Yin Shizhen.

However, Wei Guangde knew clearly that although the "One Whip Method" was ultimately not implemented in the Ming Dynasty, it was eventually implemented forcefully in subsequent dynasties, which also shows that this method is not bad.

Its existence is reasonable. Since it has been implemented in two consecutive dynasties, it means that there must be something outstanding.

"Is Jiangxi still using the 'one whip method' now?"

Yin Shizhen asked, Wei Guangde hesitated for a moment.

Speaking of the "One Whip Law", the Ming Dynasty highly praised this law from the emperor to hundreds of officials, because the tax and service system established in the early Ming Dynasty was extremely complicated. The tax and service were collected separately, which could easily lead to local tyrants using this method to deceive the people. Leading to an uneven showdown.

Moreover, the "one whip law" is also in line with Zhu Yuanzhang's legislative intention: the law must be revised to be concise and clear, so that the people can understand it at a glance, and to prevent some corrupt officials from taking advantage of the loopholes in the law to deceive the people.

But when it comes to the local area, due to the reasons of southern orange and northern orange, there is indeed a phenomenon of acclimatization.

The "One Whip Law" originated in the south of the Yangtze River, so it was implemented to a large extent in the south of the Yangtze River. However, due to changes in local officials, the implementation was intermittent, because although the court advocated it, it did not forcefully require its implementation.

So when Yin Shizhen asked Wei Guangde about the current situation in Jiangxi, Wei Guangde really couldn't answer.

Regarding the "one whip method", Wei Guangde has also thought about it, but he feels that many of the problems are unsolvable, so he does not have a clear position, whether to support or oppose it.

The main reason is that although this method simplifies the types of taxes, it will not essentially reduce the impact of excessive taxes on the people. It is just that because most of the taxes are spread to the land, the people have no land or little land, so they will pay less tax money.

But don't forget that the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes criticized by the people are also collected in the "One Whip Law". The taxes are mixed together, making it easier for local officials to add private goods.

Moreover, we know that the hardest nut to crack in the land reform of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty was "fire consumption", which almost shook the foundation of the dynasty.

As for the problem of fire consumption, in fact, no one in the Ming Dynasty is aware of it yet. The fundamental reason is that the "One Whip Method" has not been fully promoted. In fact, many problems cannot be noticed at all just through trials in various places.

Fire consumption is due to the tax law stipulating the payment of silver, and the so-called "fire consumption" is produced in the silver melting and casting process.

The actual fire cost of melting and casting broken silver is an average of 1 to 2 cents per tael, or 12%, but the actual fire cost is often much higher, reaching 2 to 3 cents per tael, and sometimes even more.

As a result, fire consumption has become an ingenious means of local accumulation, and has also become a heavy burden for taxpayers.

As for the methods of exploiting and squeezing the people such as "silver is expensive and grain is cheap" created by collusion between local officials and businessmen, there are even more.

Wei Guangde still remembers a text in his previous Chinese class. It said that after the harvest, people in Jiangnan used wooden boats to carry rice to the towns for sale. They calculated that based on the grain prices in previous years, after paying taxes and land rent, they would still have leftovers. How many.

When I was still fantasizing about buying something, news came that the price of food had plummeted due to the bumper harvest. After the final reckoning, I didn't have much money left after paying taxes and land rent. It seemed that there was not much difference from previous years.

Wei Guangde was very impressed by these.

It can only be said that everything has two sides. It is difficult to say good or bad, right or wrong.

As for Wei Guangde, he is not as keen on studying this method as Zhang Juzheng, mainly because of this.

There is not much silver in the Ming Dynasty, and the decree to open the sea has not been issued. The Ming Empire is far from becoming a silver empire. If the "one whip method" is promoted, the price of silver will skyrocket to an unknown extent, and the people are afraid that it will be even more miserable. Is it possible? Want to collect a large amount of copper coins and transport them to the capital?

I'm afraid that the local economy will die by then, and the most money in the hands of ordinary people will actually be copper coins.

At the current price of silver, one tael of silver costs nine hundred to one thousand for good money, while bad money costs one thousand two thousand or more.

If local governments levy all taxes on silver, even if the price of silver rises by half, it will be light, and this part of the loss will only be borne by local officials on the people.

Therefore, it is actually not bad to implement the "one whip law" for two years from time to time across the country. At least during that period, it can reduce the burden on the people, so that local stability can be achieved for two years.

This is the result of Wei Guangde's careful consideration, so he does not intend to take sides, not on either side.

Sure enough, early on the next morning, news spread in the official office, not only the cabinet's proposal to open the sea, but also the memorial from the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Ge Shouli, regarding the discontinuation of the "one whip method".

In addition, Wei Guangde also confirmed the news. Someone was indeed connecting in private and seemed to be pointing the finger at Guo Pu.

Wei Guangde actually did not pay attention to this matter, because he believed that Xu Jie would not be so short-sighted and could not see the consequences of expelling Guo Pu. Even if he failed to notice for a while, someone would soon remind him.

He just asked Lu Bu to keep an eye on the news from the cabinet, as to when Emperor Longqing would approve the red flag and issue the decree to open the sea.

Finally, in the afternoon, Lu Bu entered the duty room and told him in a low voice the news he had just learned. Near noon, the Chief of Ceremonies had already approved the emperor's dismissal and sent it back to the cabinet with a printed statement. The cabinet can draw up decrees.

Open the sea.

Although the decree is far from the actual opening of the sea, at least there is a good start.

The decree to open the sea represents the imperial court's approval of this matter. Next, the cabinet and the local Fujian government will discuss the specific details of the sea opening and plan the detailed rules. It will be officially implemented after completion.

Wei Guangde estimated that it would take at least half a year to complete all of this and establish the commercial port.

Perhaps by the end of the first year of Longqing, the first merchant ship could go to sea and the government could receive the first tax payment.

Just when Wei Guangde was studying the list of Taoist officials in the department and looking for Xu Dang Yushi who had left an impression on Emperor Longqing, an impeachment storm against Guo Pu finally started.

Wei Guangde did not expect that in just two days, the Qianqing Palace, which had just calmed down, would be flooded with impeachment memorials again.

In the duty room of the Ministry of Personnel, Wei Guangde put down the list of censors in his hand and looked at the note copied by Lu Bu. It was the censor's memorial to impeach Guo Pu and Emperor Longqing's reply.

Like Gao Gong before him, Emperor Longqing rejected all these memorials to impeach Guo Pu one by one and reprimanded the alarmists among them.

However, the tone is still soft, and it seems that he has not learned a lesson from the Gao Gong incident, and responds with a tougher attitude or stays in the middle. (End of chapter)