Chapter 296: Rivers of Blood

Zhu Di listened and gazed at Gao Xiang.

The plain-looking, unimpressive-looking person in front of him was extremely organized in what he said.

He paced twice.

At that exact moment, Chen Li hurriedly came in and saluted Zhu Di, “Your Majesty, Minister Jian and the officials of the Ministry of Appointments have arrived.”

He paused and added, “The Hundred Officials seek an audience.”

This is too big.

The court was shaken when the Ministry of Justice was taken out in one fell swoop.

At this point, no one can sit still.

Zhu Di listened, showing a cold smile, and by and by said, “Just in time, all called in.”

In a matter of moments, Jian Yi and some ministers of the Ministry of mandarin, together with the Wen Yuan Pavilion of all bachelors, as well as the ministries of Shangshu, have arrived.

All of them were frustrated and were about to salute.

Zhu Di just coldly swept them a word, then waved his hand, “There is no need to salute, anyway, in the hearts of you and others, I am nothing but a folk thief.”

When these words came out, all the people were scared white, and hurriedly fell to the ground, not daring to come out of the atmosphere.

Zhu ignored them as he continued to gaze at Gao Xiang.

Gao Xiang and others, it is false to say that they are not nervous, but at this point, if there is still a difference, then it really deserves their bad luck.

Zhu Di said, “You just said, each counts his own account, what is the reason for that?”

Gaoxiang fixed his mind and said: ”Separate the authority and responsibility clearly, the transportation of the management of transportation, this account to them, they just ensure that they can be delivered. And levy grain levy his grain, levy how much, to be warehoused how much. In this way, it prevents warehousing, levying, transportation are in the hands of local officials, not only to ensure that they will not be under the guise of wear and tear in the name of additional levies on food, but also to ensure that the accounts of food clear.”

Zhu frowned as he mused, and after careful thought, he said, “Eliminate the addition of pies?”

Adding pies has always been a big problem for the Ming Dynasty.

The biggest variable here is just that, fire consumption.

When Emperor Taizu Gao was around, the taxes given to the people were extremely low.

How low?

At that time, the tax system is: Taizu set the world’s official and civil field tax, where the official field mu tax five liters of three hectares and five spoons, the civil field reduced by two liters, the heavy rent field eight liters of five hectares and five spoons, no official field of one bucket and two liters.

As a matter of fact, the normal civil field is only levied with a little more than three liters of grain, which is almost equivalent to, thirty tax one.

But although the tax system of Emperor Taizu Gao was like this, it was not actually like this, because what was involved was attrition.

When the government collected grain from the people, it would use the name of depletion and ask the people to pay more, plus other names, which led to the fact that the grain that the people collected up could be five liters or ten liters.

Of course, the government would not send the five or ten liters of grain to the court as three liters.

Probably only two liters were actually sent to the court, since they also reported attrition to the court at the same time.

This has been the so-called bird and mouse grain, or fire consumption grain, almost since the Han Dynasty, and it can be said that it is a reasonable and legitimate income that we all know by heart.

Gaoxiang said: “the problem of the increase in the distribution, the terrible thing is, there is no fixed number, if it is a good official, then less distribution, if you meet the greedy, then increase the distribution without measure, with this name, the exorbitant levy. Taipingfu to clarify the account, after the division of power and responsibility, everything has a fixed number, things will be good.”

Zhu continued to ask: “What do you mean by things being good?”

Gao Xiang said: “In the past, the government and gentry did not pay grain, and the hidden fields did not pay taxes. So this tax is mostly collected from the small people, most of the small people can’t read and write, they don’t understand the laws and orders, and they go against the grain, so this is added to the pie, since they dare to be angry but also don’t dare to speak, even if they dare to speak, but they don’t know how to speak.”

Gaoxiang paused, continued, “But Taipingfu, in order to combat the White Lotus religion, so clear the hidden field, and the official gentry must be in the same boat with the government, in order to remove the remaining White Lotus religion, so need to be one of the grain ……”

Zhang Anshi stood aside, listening to the moved, Gao Xiang really ……

Crying to death …… This guy is still thinking about the fight against the White Lotus Sect until now, and he Zhang Anshi has almost forgotten.

Gaoxiang continued: “These official gentry and the readers to grain, especially after the inventory of their hidden field, plus apportionment into the mu, then it must be in accordance with the rules, must not be authorized, if you can not guarantee fairness and impartiality, can not plug their mouth, it is the aftermath of endless trouble, they need to abet the people in the townships, or inciting people to go around the lawsuit, make a mess. ”

Zhu Di listened and snapped out of it.

“This rule must be there, with the rule, how much others are, how much they are, what should be theirs is theirs, what should be the official’s is the official’s, everyone does what he or she wants to do, and only in this way can people have nothing to say and get things done.”

Zhu scrutinized Gao Xiang.

He then raised an eyebrow and said, “But without the attrition, will the government have to come up with a large sum of silver?”

“Yes.” Gao Xiang said, “This was Wei Guo Gong’s idea, but this amount of silver, to say it’s not too big, to say it’s not too small. If it was in the past, this amount of money could be considered astronomical, employing so many people to transport grain, and the expenses of the carriages and ships, the government could not afford it. But in order to combat the White Lotus Sect, the Taiping government has introduced a commercial tax, and with the commercial tax, this is a small amount of money.”

“This is tantamount to using the commercial tax to make up for some of the grain tax, and to levy the commercial tax, it is not good to levy, first of all, you have to make sure. The merchants in Taipingfu can operate steadily in Taipingfu, if not, it is to do everything to fish, so the Tongzhi Hall side, now has an additional duty, is occasionally to solve the problems for the workshop, to provide them with some facilities, such as the gathering area of the workshop, to increase the construction of some roads and bridges, but also the need to build some wharves, in addition to this, try to make the servants shall not go to nuisance merchants, which all sorts of The details of these matters are difficult for the untouchables to explain.”

Zhu Di heard, but felt that this is interlocked: “In order to collect grain from the gentry, it is necessary to abolish the loss, to ensure fairness and justice. To solve the depletion, there needs to be a commercial tax, and to keep the merchants from fleeing to other places because of the commercial tax, but also to try not to nuisance them, to appease them …… this …… works? ”

Gao Xiang then said, “On this front, we need the Office of the Tongzhi to work steadily and make no mistakes. In addition, there is also the Push Officer’s Office, which should be able to collect the public opinion feedback from the people in time to ensure that there will not be any changes. Yes, there is also the Zhaomaoshu, which has to restrain the officials so that they don’t dare to transgress. Then there are the counties below, and the magistrates and chancellors of the counties, even the chief bookkeepers and officials, and even the clerks and errand boys, all need to do their best.”

Zhu Di said, “When you were a Tongzhi, did you know anything about the next three counties?”

Gao Xiang said, “A little bit.”

Zhu casually said, “Who is the county lieutenant of Wuhu County?”

Gao Xiang immediately said, “Liu Wudao, this person is old, his body is not good, but since the Duke of Wei combating the White Lotus Sect, he also dutifully did a lot of things, with the county’s servants, to stop a few times to collect grain caused chaos.”

Zhu was a bit surprised and added, “Then who is the chief bookkeeper of Dangtu County?”

Gao Xiang without thinking added: “Surname Chen name boat, Chen boat this person, do things very carefully, is responsible for the money and food things, three counties, when the county accounts are the most clear. So the untouchables at first, all let the counties of the chief book, to this Chen chief book to learn a lesson. But this time, he was also dismissed.”

Zhu Di sucked in a breath, and the more he heard, the more unthinkable he felt.

“You do such a good job ……” Zhu Di looked at Gaoxiang a word, the eyes have a hidden appreciation, he then mused, mouth said: “This House up and down the thing, as much as in the palm of your hand, why the original …… did not have someone to recommend you?”

This is a talent! At least someone like that shouldn’t, by definition, just stoop to being a co-conspirator in a prefecture.

“The untouchable is not a sage, and once upon a time, like the vast majority of the Tongzhi, did not have any special talents.” Gao Xiang’s face did not have a trace of complacency, on the contrary, he calmly said, “As for these things that your majesty inquired about, all of them are things that since the Duke of Wei took office, for the sake of combating the White Lotus Sect, my humble servant had to go to understand and visit the things that the entire Taiping Province, unlike the other provinces, had to effectively solve the problems caused by the military order, the majority of people in the upper and lower levels of this government, in fact, are the same as the untouchables, and not much different.”

This guy was honest about it.

Zhu couldn’t help but glance at Zhang Anshi.

And then, Zhu Di said, “Do you know why you were rated poorly in the Beijing inspection?”

“Bastard does not know.” Gao Xiang was not a purely honest person, this kind of question at this time, he knew he could not answer.

Zhu Di on the other hand, a cold smile, he is at this time instead of a great anger, but then is to look at the Ministry of the officials, cold voice: “How about you, why do you rate him as inferior?”

Jian Yi and the others, one by one, only solidly kneeling, silent.

A hint of sarcasm flashed in Zhu Di’s eyes, and he turned to say, “Who presided over the matter of the Beijing inspection?”

A short silence followed.

Liu Rong, the langzhong of the Gongkao Qingliang Division, warily kowtowed, “It …… is the minister.”

Zhu deadpanned, “You know Gao Xiang?”

Liu Rong said in a trembling voice, “No …… don t recognize it.”

Zhu immediately asked, “If you don’t recognize him, why is he inferior?”

“He …… they …… were prosecuted ……” Liu Rong said:” Many of the people, complaining, said that they are in Taiping Province, exploiting the people ……”

Zhu Di said, “Who has reported it?”

“It is …… is Yang Dan, a citizen of Dangtu County, and Deng Congren, a citizen of Wuhu County, etc. ……”

Zhu Di fell back at this time and looked at Gao Xiang, “What are they?”

Gao Xiang truthfully said: “is a local rich family, that Deng Cong is still to the Zheng years of the scholar, he has a son, has also been successful, this time from his family clearing out of the hidden field, up to more than three thousand five hundred acres. As for Yang Dan, this person’s hidden field is also in more than a thousand mu.”

Zhu nodded his head, his expression still calm.

Can be unexpected is, he suddenly to Chen Li said: “Send people …… surrounded this two families, this two households false accusations, false accusers sit back, Yang Dan and Deng Cong, immediately killed. Confiscate their properties, the rest of the family, banished to Xinzhou.”

Chen Li said, “Obey the decree.”

With that, the satchel came out.

That Liu Rong heard, seems to be electrocuted, the whole person seems to be scared out of their wits.

Prosecution of a few people households, are such an end, then …… like him these people …… only fear ……

He was so shocked that he trembled all over, and without thinking, he immediately kowtowed to Zhu Di, kowtowing as if he were pounding garlic, his mouth full of grief, “Your Majesty …… Your Majesty ……”

Zhu Di, however, calmly continued, “After receiving the report, was it verified?”

“Verified …… verified …… No, not verified …… there is …… there is verified ……” He began to speak incoherently.

Because he sadly realized that it seemed like no matter what he said, he was wrong.

Verified, so why is this happening?

No verification? How dare you be so blind to what’s right and wrong without verification?

Zhu Di seemed to be trying hard to hold back his anger, and said sternly, “Has it been verified or not?”

“Your Majesty, their official reputation is extremely bad, the influence is very bad, I …… minister at that time …… also heard of these things, then …… then ……”

“The official reputation is extremely bad?” Zhu Di said, “And who is it that says their official reputation is extremely bad?”

“It’s …… it’s ……”

Zhu said, “If you don’t say anything, you’re harboring!”

“At that time, I was in the Ministry of the Ministry of Mandarins, and I heard the head minister, Liang Shangshi, and Wu Kaisheng, talk about this matter ……”

Zhu Di said, “These two people …… take down.”

“Here.”

Zhu continued, “Are these two the only ones? What else? Based on the words of these two people? ”

“There are also the Duzhaoyuan as well as the Da Lisi officials, they assisted in this matter …… for the Taipingfu upper and lower officials, but also quite a few words.”

“Quite a slight comment?” Zhu indifferently raised his eyebrows and said, “What kind of microaggressions?”

“They say …… that the people can’t live with such brutalization of the people, that it’s forcing the people to become thieves, that it’s ……”

Zhu Di impatiently said, “Co-ordinate the Beijing investigation of the metropolitan police and the Da Lisi officials, immediately take the office, lords of the head of the public.”

Another person took the order and went away.

After giving this decree, his fire seemed to subside a little, but he gazed at Liu Rong and said with a tight step, “Just these people? Just because of these people, you don’t question right and wrong?”

Liu Rong cautiously raised his head, and then with fear and trepidation, he glanced sideways at Jian Yi, who was kneeling beside him.

His lips mumbled and shivered, the fear within him had swelled, and tears fell like rain as he said, “No …… there is no one else, it was a moment of inattention on my part.”

“What a momentary inattention.” Zhu Di said, “Because of your so-called momentary inattention, you want my Ming’s capable officials to be exiled to Qiongzhou and serve as officials for generations. Naturally, it is also inevitable that your momentary inattention will teach those who are corrupt and pervert the law to be judged as superior and get promoted. Is this your momentary inattention?”

“Ten thousand deaths, ten thousand deaths ……” Liu Rong had already knocked his head through, his pupils constantly contracted, period, “I ……鑷� ……鑷� ……鑷ｆ湁涓囨涔嬬姜锛岃闄涗笅缃㈤粶鑷ｄ笅銆�”

Zhu Di carried his hands behind his back and said with a cold face, “Dismissed? Why do you have such thoughts?”

Liu Rong shook, raised his head, and looked at Zhu Di prayerfully.

Zhu Di said, “If I only depose you, what will other people think? They will think, it’s no big deal, if you make a mistake, the big deal is just to be deposed. What’s more, if you are deposed, those who are in cahoots with you will surely also think that you are trying to safeguard their benefits, so you have ended up being deposed, only that they will have to offer you up as if you were a bodhisattva, and be grateful to you, thanking you a thousand times. When you return to your old home, those squires, I’m only afraid, will still honor you as a god!”

Zhu stared straight at him, as if he wanted to see through him, then laughed mockingly, “Haha ……… is there such a good thing in the world?”

Liu Rong said, “Your Majesty …… Your Majesty ……”

Zhu Di said, “Exterminate the three clans and lynch him.”

Liu Rong: “……”

Liu Rong completely froze, he had thought that he might get himself killed, but never thought that Zhu Di would be this ruthless.

He only felt his brain buzzing, seemingly because of the desire to survive, and without waiting for the forbidden guards to come and take him, he suddenly said hysterically, “What is my offense?”

He growled, “What fight against the White Lotus Church, is clearly borrowed to fight the White Lotus Church …… to brutalize the people! The people of the three counties of Taipingfu, especially Deng Cong, Yang Danren, etc., are all local elders, in the field of the wise, usually good and charitable …… people like this, Taipingfu up and down, but even forced them to such a point, this Gaoxiang and other people, and cool officials and what difference? Your Majesty …… today kill the minister, to make a big mess of ah, from now on, I am afraid that the people of the world, are going to be centrifugal to Your Majesty, Your Majesty is not these also do not care?”

Zhu Di eyes suddenly swept over a trace of austerity, he sneered: “Emperor Taizu won the world, relying on the courage of the soldiers on the sands, is to stand the people of the tyrannical yuan. I won the world today, relying on the courage of the three armies, is the good people who honestly pay taxes. Those people you mentioned, what are they.”

“When …… they were in the Mongols out of the general, can keep the tyrannical Yuan? Today …… these people have got this dynasty so favorable treatment, but also dare not know enough, even still dare to hold the people hostage, to the so-called public opinion to blackmail me, today cleared out their hidden field, teach them and the people together with the grain, they even dare to collusion like you and so on this kind of beasts to fight against dissenters.”

Zhu Di disdainfully looked at him and said, “If so, it will be centrifugal, is it these dogs, still dare to rebel? If you want to rebel, then rebel early, but to teach them to know, my knife is still sharp or not.”

After saying that, Zhu Di’s eyes fiercely opened, pointing his finger at Liu Rong, his voice lingeringly incomparable: “Execute him with lynching, kill his whole family!”

The forbidden guards didn’t hesitate anymore and dragged Liu Rong away.

Liu Rong at this time no longer have the courage of the party, at this time has scared urine, mouth shouted: “Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I have been repentant, spare your life, spare your life ah …… ”

Zhu Di did not even look at this Liu Rong, but looked at this full of kneeling ministers.

His eyes erupted in fire, and he suddenly said, “Jian Qingjia ……”

Jian Yi kowtowed, “I am here.”

Zhu Di said, “Jingcha reported to you this Shangshu here, have you verified it?”

Jianyi had always remained silent, but now, he knew the silence would not last.

Jianyi said, “Verified.”

At these words, Zhu Di frowned deeply, “What are the results of the verification?”

“There is no mistake with what is reported from below.” Jianyi said, “Deeply in the heart of the old minister.”

Zhu Di looked at Jian Yi with an odd look and said, “In that case, the matter of Gao Xiang and the others is also related to you?”

“Truly relevant.” Jianyi said.

“Why?” Zhu was furious.

Jianyi said: “the state dynasty preferential treatment of the gentry and the readers, and the gentry and the readers for the court, this is the successive dynasties have things, even if His Majesty’s tyrannical yuan, still also know to pull together the gentry and the readers to fight for the hearts of the people. When leveling the world, it is true that you need generals, but dismounted to sit in the world, but never rely on the generals, I thought …… that the things that the Taiping government …… has done are really a hidden danger for my Daming, and I counted for the jiangshan society and the gods of earth and grain, and only then came out with this next policy.”

Zhu Di looked at Jianyi coldly, “In that case, all of this was done on purpose by you?”

Jian Yi said, “Yes, so please Your Majesty do not have to make things difficult for Liu Rong, Deng Cong, and the people of the Du Chuan Yuan and Da Lisi, it is enough to execute the three clans of the ministers.”

Everyone was moved by these words.

Only see Jian Yi then said: “I also love their own lives, but also to their own people concern, I read since childhood, do not dare to slack off, learned …… nothing more than is the governance of the country to calm the world of reasoning, these truths, successive generations of monarchs, there are on its abandonment like worn out shoes, there are some will be enshrined in it as a paradigm. But I dare to ask your majesty, those who will be abandoned like worn out shoes, now where is it?”

Zhu Di sneered, “Good you Jianyi!”

Jian Yi, however, as if he could not feel the anger of Zhu Di, calmly said, “Taipingfu, but it is just a grain levy, relying on the levy of Taipingfu, the money and grain of this world is full, but dare to ask your majesty …… what about the hearts of the people? Your Majesty, just for the sake of these money and grain, can be exchanged for the hearts of the people?”

Zhu Di pursed his lips, a trace of anger in his eyes for the reduction, and exasperatedly said, “Strong words.”

Jian Yi said: “I …… know that the death penalty, absolutely no fluke, what I said today, is not a strong word, just think …… that His Majesty can not be biased in favor of one person only. I am not prejudiced against the Duke of Wei, and he is a military minister, although the relatives, but several times the great achievements in the dynasty, is not an unusual lucky minister. But if the minister is fair to say, Wei Guo Gong is not suitable for governance, governance is not marching and fighting, and is never simple to calculate the amount of money and food, dynasties, the saintly ruler under the arch and rule, the ruler and the ministers get each other, in order to have a peaceful and prosperous world, is this also wrong?”

He continued to kowtow, mouth then said, “If your majesty thinks that the old minister is wrong, but the old minister is convinced that the amount of money and grain for a moment, for the world, will not bring much benefit, but will cause endless harm, I have finished my words, please your majesty …… to kill the minister.”

When he said that, he said nothing more and fell into silence.

And Zhu, too, fell silent.

Jianyi seems to say reasonable, but Zhu Di is still full of resentment, he said to Jianyi, is disgusted to the extreme.

But as he scanned the ministers kneeling at his feet, he noticed that almost all of them, showed the color of a rabbit dying.

Zhu Di was silent for half a second, and finally fixed his gaze on one person and said, “Hu Guang, what do you think I should do about it?”

Hu Guang was silent for a moment before saying, “Your Majesty, I have been reading since I was a child, and what is said in the book, is indeed so, I …… ministers …… hope that Your Majesty can be magnanimous, Jian Yi is an old minister, and his work is in the countryside, so please Your Majesty, please think of his old age ……”

Zhu Di raised an eyebrow and impatiently dropped his gaze on another person, saying, “Secretary Yang, you speak.”

Usually, when the emperor was not satisfied with one person’s answer, he would ask another person until he got a satisfactory answer.

And Young Wing knows this.