Yongli Ming Dynasty

Chapter 340 Public Opinion
In the hall, He Wuzuo heard what His Royal Highness the Regent said, and he no longer hesitated and spoke directly.

"The gentry of the two prefectures shaved their heads and surrendered to the enemy, betraying the grace of the emperor, allowing the Qing army to march straight in, putting Your Highness in danger, and they should be severely punished."

"However, our Ming Dynasty has always favored the gentry. The confiscation of the land of the gentry in the two prefectures has shown the law of the court. Please exempt the gentry in the two prefectures from paying taxes and grain to show that our Ming Dynasty court favors the gentry."

After He Wuzuo finished speaking, he bowed down and then Lu Daqi also walked out of the court and said

"Now that our Ming Dynasty is competing with the Qing for the hearts of the people, if we abolish the power of the two governments to grant preferential treatment, it will surely alienate the scholars in Jiangnan and the Central Plains, and will also be detrimental to the court's future recovery of the old territory. Please temporarily suspend the seven-dou grain system, Your Highness."

Lu Daqi bowed, and then Chen Zizhuang followed.

"Your Highness should punish the gentry of the two prefectures, but at this time, first confiscating the land of the two prefectures, and then taking away the privileges of the scholars of the two prefectures. The combination of the two is very likely to cause unrest in the two prefectures."

"The two governments are close to the capital. If there is any chaos, it will attract the attention of other provinces. Please suspend the seven-dou grain system for the time being."

Chen Zizhuang bowed solemnly, and Qu Shisi was silent for a moment, then he walked out of the train and bowed to speak.

"Your Highness cares about the suffering of the people. We, the ministers, all know that Your Highness is kind, but things will be better if we take our time. Please proceed slowly and temporarily suspend the seven-dou grain system."

After Qu Shisi finished speaking, he also bowed. After Qu Shisi stepped out of the line, all the civil officials on the left side of the court suddenly stepped out and spoke in unison.

"Your Highness, please temporarily suspend the seven-bucket grain system."

In the hall, except for Su Guansheng and a few ministers from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, all the other officials from the Ministry of Civil Service, the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Public Administration, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Academy, and all the officials in the court bowed and asked for their opinions.
Zhu Lang saw all the officials bowing down in the hall, and his expression changed slightly. Although he had expected that this incident might cause a stir in the court, he never thought that the officials in the court could be so united on this matter.

When the land of Chaozhou and Huizhou was confiscated, only nine officials were involved. Zhu Lang thought that his prestige in the court was enough to suppress the officials.
But now it seems that all parties in the court are clearly preparing to give up Chaozhou and Huizhou in order to stop the seven-bull grain system.
Although Zhu Lang had prepared personnel from the Guanzheng Hall and the Chuxian Hall to fill the positions, it was impossible to dismiss all four cabinet ministers and officials from all departments in the court at once.
At this time, the officials in the court seemed to be pleading for the gentry of the two governments, but both the officials in the court and Zhu Lang knew very well that what they were opposing was the seven-bull grain system that deprived the gentry of their right to exemption.
The seven-dou grain system that Zhu Lang wanted to promote at this time was actually the land tax system. The land tax system and the unified tax system for officials and gentry were two sides of the same coin, and neither could be missing.
Most of the land in the Ming Dynasty was concentrated in the hands of the gentry. If the gentry were allowed to enjoy a huge amount of exemptions after the land tax was distributed, the taxes collected by the court might be even less than before.

Zhu Lang's main purpose in implementing the seven-bull grain system was to increase taxes in the court. If the taxes collected by the court were less than before, what would be the point of the reform?

At this time, in the hall, almost all the civil officials on the left side bowed their heads, while the military officials on the right side also changed their expressions slightly, and seemed a little at a loss.
Some military officials did not understand why the punishment of the guilty gentry in the two prefectures could lead to collective disobedience by the civil officials in the court.

Although the military officials in the court were confused, the leaders Jiao Lian, Ma Bao and other generals did not move. The remaining military officials Zhao Xing, Hao Shangjiu, Jin Tongwu, Ma Chongxi and others also followed suit and stood still.

Zhu Lang looked at the military officials standing quietly on his right, and he was slightly relieved. The Guangdong Provincial Government was newly established, and the several imperial guards in the court were all established by Zhu Lang himself.
The commanders of the imperial guards, Jiao Lian and Li Mingzhong, were all new nobles in the court and had not formed stable industrial interests in the local area.
As for Ma Bao, Li Dingguo, Li Guo and others, there is no need to mention them. These three imperial guards were all born as bandits. From top to bottom, they were all from other provinces. It was impossible for them to have any interests in the three provinces.
At this time, Zhu Lang's reform was collectively opposed by the civil officials in the court. However, if a few years or more were to pass, and the military officials of the various armies had acquired a large amount of land in various places, if Zhu Lang wanted to implement the reform again at that time, I am afraid that even the military officials in the army would come out to oppose it.

If that time comes, what use will it be for me to be the emperor?
The ministers in the hall bowed down and there was silence. After a long time, a voice finally came from above.

Li Guoyong stood on the steps and spoke loudly

"The seven-bull grain system is not only to punish the gentry of the two prefectures, but also to alleviate the people's suffering, enrich the country and strengthen the army. The officials in the court did not understand the truth and made rash comments, which greatly violated the emperor's will. After returning, the officials should reflect on themselves and make further comments later."

Upon hearing this, the court officials also looked up, but they were shocked to find that the throne was already empty.

In the warm room in the backyard of the imperial palace, Zhu Lang sat behind the table, while Qu Shisi sat below

At this time, the two men had quite calm expressions on their faces. Although Qu Shisi and other officials in the court came out to oppose the new system, Zhu Lang did not feel much anger in his heart.

Qu Shisi was the chief minister, and his job was to coordinate the harmony between yin and yang. Qu Shisi not only had to follow the will of the palace, but also had to take into account the opinions of the officials below.
The will of all officials in the court has now been unified, and Qu Shisi is also helpless. If Qu Shisi is like Su Guansheng in the court today and stands on the opposite side of all officials, then Qu Shisi, the Prime Minister, will probably have difficulty taking any step in the court in the future.

Moreover, Qu Shisi probably did not agree with Zhu Lang's proposal of a seven-bull grain system.

Qu Shisi looked at the calm young man behind the table with a complicated expression on his face and said

"Even if Your Highness wants to reform the system, why did he make this known to the whole court and cause unrest in the court?"

Jinyifu arrested several clerks in the Ministry of Revenue a few days ago. The news of the two government restructurings seemed to have been leaked by the Ministry of Revenue accidentally, but Qu Shisi did not believe it at all.
The secret meeting system of the Military Affairs Bureau was set by His Royal Highness the Regent himself. Since the establishment of the Military Affairs Bureau, the important military affairs of the court have almost never been leaked in advance.

The situation in the past where the court discussed matters in the morning and the tabloids copied and circulated them in the afternoon so that everyone in the court knew about them almost never happened again.
If His Highness really intends to conceal the news and then force the matter to be decided with lightning speed, the news of the two government restructuring will not be known to the court officials in advance.

Given His Majesty the Regent's temperament, if the Ministry of Revenue had leaked the news, it would have ruined His Majesty's plans.
Li Chengzhi, Deng Mingwu and others had already led the Jinyiwei to surround the Ministry of Revenue. How could they just arrest a few clerks and leave it at that?

Zhu Lang's expression remained unchanged, but he had no intention of hiding anything. He directly admitted the matter and said, "I reported this matter to the court in advance to avoid turmoil in the court!"

"If the news spreads now, only the people in the two prefectures will be killed. If we wait until later, all the people in the province will be killed."

Seeing His Royal Highness the Regent admit it directly, Qu Shisi's expression became more complicated. After a moment of silence, Qu Shisi spoke again.

"When we were in your province, His Highness said that he would wait until the results of the trial in Lin'an came out before he would start implementing the new system."

"There is no result yet from Lin'an, Yunnan Province. Why is Your Highness rushing to implement the new system in Chaozhou and Huizhou?"

"We are just going with the flow. Yunnan Province is still too far away for the DPRK. Guangdong Province also needs a model."

This was the best time to try out the new system. Zhu Lang had just returned from a great victory in the southwest, recovering several provinces in one fell swoop, and his personal prestige was at its peak.
The imperial army had just returned to the capital, and the imperial guards had not yet had time to establish contact with the various parties in the imperial court.
After the gentry in Chaozhou and Huizhou were fined and their land was confiscated, the power of the officials and gentry in the two prefectures was bound to be greatly reduced. Chen Bangyan and others had been operating in Chaozhou and Huizhou for a year. The soldiers of the imperial army were given the land and were more likely to obey the orders of the court.
This is a perfect opportunity with favorable conditions. If we cannot promote the new system in the two governments now, it will be even more impossible to promote it in the court in the future.
The two of them sat quietly in the hall, and there was silence in the room for a long time. Qu Shisi obviously could not accept Zhu Lang's statement of going with the flow. Now almost all the civil officials in the court were against it. How could this be called going with the flow?
Qu Shixi said in a deep voice

"Your Highness wants to eliminate old abuses and relieve the people's suffering. I know that although the seven-dou grain system is light, it will inevitably affect the interests of the gentry in the court."

"Although the common people benefited, they were ignorant. They only knew that the land tax in previous years was two or three dou, but now it has suddenly increased to seven dou. After hearing this, the common people will only think that the court is raising taxes again."

"If the gentry continue to spread rumors in secret, the people may be instigated by them. The war in the court has just ended, and we cannot afford any more unrest at this time. Your Highness, please temporarily suspend the seven-bull grain system."

Zhu Lang was unmoved when he heard this, and said in a deep voice
"The seven-dou grain system must not be changed, but as Lord Qu said, a sudden implementation of the new system will inevitably cause unrest, so I will only try it out in the two governments first."

"Lord Qu has been in the countryside for a long time and understands the plight of the people. The land tax in our dynasty is much lower than in previous dynasties. Why do the people of our Ming Dynasty prefer to rent land from others rather than cultivate their own land? The people are suffering not from the land tax but from the additional labor service."

"Zhang Jiangling's method is good in one whip, but bad in another. Zhang Jiangling compiled various miscellaneous articles, but failed to compile them all."

"A bunch of clerks are looking for excuses to impose levies today and levies tomorrow, and demand that everyone pay money. If the court asks them to collect one cent, they can only collect ten percent. How can the people bear such exploitation?"

"During the reign of Chongzhen, our Ming Dynasty controlled the Central Plains and the four seas, but still could not collect enough taxes and military pay. Now the court has even lost Jiangnan, and only these few small provinces are left."

"Last year, the tax collectors of the three provinces also saw that the salaries of the imperial guards were almost entirely supported by the spoils seized from the inner treasury."

"Last year, the court had captured some spoils. What should we do this year? Should we fight the Qing invaders again to seize them? Or should we cut the salaries of officials in the court? Or should we let me reduce the military pay?"

"If we still follow the old way, the taxes collected by the court now are not enough to pay the soldiers in the court, let alone drive out the barbarians in the north to restore the country. If the court still wants to restore the Central Plains, it has to change now."

"Lord Qu, you should support me in this matter."

Upon hearing this, Qu Shisi fell silent, but still refused to respond. Seeing that Qu Shisi still refused to speak, Zhu Lang spoke again.

"Lord Qu, this matter will benefit all the people in the world."

"favorable"

"This matter will benefit the court and the country, and will also help to restore our homeland."

“Beneficial”

"I am carrying out this matter in order to plunder the people and amass wealth for my own enjoyment."

"No"

Zhu Lang looked at Qu Shisi, who was wavering, and said in a deep voice:
"Then Lord Qu will support this matter."

"I am willing to assist Your Highness in implementing the new system and reviving the country."

Qu Shixi was silent for a long time, and finally spoke respectfully, bowing to the sky.
Zhu Lang was relieved when he saw that Qu Shisi finally agreed to cooperate, but he knew that persuading Qu Shisi was only the beginning, and it was far from the time to subdue the court.

(End of this chapter)