Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 191: The Second Year of Taichang, People Harming People
"Mr. Jingfan, we are all waiting for you to explain the difficulties to us!"

In Jingli, Wuxi, Changzhou Prefecture, Gu Yuncheng looked at the local gentry and old friends who came after hearing the news.

Outside the Gu family compound, grain was being loaded onto small boats by the stream.

That's why they came running.

Last year, Jingli was still a place filled with the sound of reading, but this year there are fewer scholars - they all went to Wuxi City to prepare to enter Donglin Academy.

Some were also dissatisfied with the "weakness" of the two Gu brothers.

Gu Yuncheng bowed his hands and said, "Everyone, the grain tax has been converted into gold and silver. As for the white grain, I have also refused it for more than a month at your request. My brother runs a college and is going to open it for lectures this year. This is related to the culture and education of Changzhou and even Jiangnan. I am ashamed that I cannot miss such an important event. Don't you also care about this year's Imperial College examination and the future of the children in the family?"

"Can……"

"If the grain does not cross the Huai River by the end of March, it will be a serious offense. The transport troops, local governments, and officials will be questioned by the court. What will happen next? Although white grain is not grain for the imperial court, more than a month has passed. The government, the Ministry of Revenue, and the General Grain Transport Bureau have all let it go, and the Zhayang Bank is not impatient and waiting. Could it be that the five government offices really let Your Majesty and the officials of the capital be deprived of food?"

They couldn't refute Gu Yuncheng, but they also looked at Gu Yuncheng with anger and unwillingness.

Gu Yuncheng turned around and went to the back, taking out a letter.

"Perhaps it will be announced to all counties soon. This decree should have reached all prefectures." He pulled out a piece of letter paper. "The Censorate and Duke Yansheng jointly requested it, the Grand Secretary of the Ministry of Rites drafted it, Your Majesty approved it, and the six censors all agreed. From this year on, those who have made achievements but are not in office, except for the retired officials who have been approved by the emperor, will be examined by the Academic Supervisor every three years."

After handing them the letter, Gu Yuncheng slowly sat down and picked up the teacup: "Take a look."

After the questions in Beijing are submitted to six departments for approval, their contents will be completely public.

The Gu brothers had been officials in their past, and had spent many years cultivating their connections both in the court and in the opposition, so they were extremely well-informed, and this time they had almost caught up with the speed at which the imperial edict was conveyed.

The gentlemen who came to visit gathered together to read the contents of the letter, and their faces became uncertain and even more depressed.

One of them looked faster, and returned to his seat and slapped the back of his chair heavily, "Lord Jingfan, the court treats the gentry so harshly, and you actually ordered people to transport the white grain to the Shuici warehouse as soon as you heard the news? Shouldn't we all jointly protest against such a harsh policy?"

"Remonstrate?"

Gu Yuncheng put down his teacup and looked at his old friend and a few others who were still holding the letter and looking at him.

"Can an ordinary citizen submit a petition?"

"…I studied hard to get a good reputation, and I served as a scholar in the countryside to protect my hometown. Why did Lord Jingfan compare the ignorant people with us?"

Gu Yuncheng looked at him deeply and said, "This is the key point. Whether it is the dismissed officials in the opposition, the retired old officials, or even the ordinary students and candidates, the court allows them to submit their opinions in writing. I just want to ask you, was it like this at the beginning of the country? What do the rules and regulations of learning engraved on the stele to the left of Minglun Hall in the Imperial College say?"

These people were certainly not students of the Imperial College, but that didn’t mean they didn’t know what Gu Yuncheng was talking about.

In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, Taizu issued a clear order: Students are not allowed to make suggestions on matters concerning the interests of the military and the people. If there are matters concerning the interests of the military and the people, the relevant officials, wise men in the wild, ambitious warriors, simple farmers, merchants and craftsmen can all make suggestions, and no one is allowed to stop them, but students are not allowed to do so.

"Which is less important and which is more important?" Gu Yuncheng said, "Your Majesty regards the gentry as ministers and takes the same examination as officials, which is a good thing. Is it like the temple forbidding academies? Or like during the Hongwu period, no one was allowed to make suggestions and discuss state affairs?"

He emphasized the academy again. These people actually understood what the existence of the academy and the existence of the opposition gentleman Lin Qingyi meant to everyone.

The gentry is the link between the local government and the common people. When investigating local officials, they would ask the local gentry about their opinions of them. The power of local public opinion is in the hands of the gentry, and it is the most important thing to them.

Because too many government orders are passed up and down by them. Even if they don't misinterpret, they can always mislead ordinary people through hints and other methods by virtue of their local advantages.

For example, regarding the white grain and labor service silver, Wang Dewan did not have enough experience, or the court left a loophole, and they were able to change the people's understanding later to mean that they did not have to pay any white grain and labor service silver.

Now Gu Yuncheng reminded them: What if the court really began to suppress the gentry's opinions with all its might and deprived them of the privilege of submitting petitions to express their opinions, which had actually broken the rules?

Donglin Academy was finally allowed to go through many twists and turns. Gu Yuncheng already knew what Gu Xiancheng meant, so he directed the focus in this direction.

The core and foundation of this right to public opinion is their achievements and written records of their origins.

Academic supervision goes straight to the point.

"…First, strictly implement preferential treatment and exemption, then survey the land, and conduct an examination every three years. If you make concessions today and tomorrow, maybe one day even the public opinion will exceed the rules! Lord Jingfan, aren't you just waiting to be killed?"

"What should we do then? How many times have we discussed the joint petition in private or in person? Where is the text? How many people signed it?"

Everyone's faces turned red and blue after he asked them back.

The words just haven't been made clear: the highest intensity of resistance that one wants to show is nothing more than using "public discussion" to express the "boiling public resentment" in the local area.

But even for this, no one wants to be the first to take action, let alone rebel.

After much difficulty in reaching a consensus and doing something about the transportation of white grain, the response they got in return was that people at levels above the prefecture level were indifferent.

Then no matter how much the county and state officials tried to make things difficult for themselves, it would be of no avail, as they usually relied too much on local gentry to govern the local area, or it could be said that this was a joint test by everyone.

"It is better to take the examination diligently, whether it is in the local area or in the Imperial College. It is always the right way for the sons of the clan to have more achievements and honors. Since preferential treatment and exemption have been strictly implemented, more local officials will be retained. It is not easy for local officials to ask for money from the gentry and wealthy families, right? Your Majesty, since I am examined every three years, if there are officials who exploit me again, you should allow the local gentry to report the truth, right?"

"Mr. Jingfan means... to stop paying respect to his parents?"

"Since the court has strictly enforced preferential treatment and exemptions, they are just a matter of abiding by the law." Gu Yuncheng did not respond directly, "With the knowledge of the children of each family, there will be a few more students and candidates in a few years, right? If the gentry are all abiding by the law, and the court is reducing preferential treatment and exemptions because most of the officials are harming the people, is it ignoring the truth? We should cry out for such injustice." Everyone finally understood what he meant: to make up for the losses of strictly enforcing preferential treatment and exemptions and surveying the land through imperial examinations and the elimination of private filial piety.

Although the local governments had more money and grain left over, the rewards for diligence and honesty given to officials were far less than what they had received in the past.

On the one hand, the actual money received was less, and on the other hand, they still had to rely on local gentry and wealthy families to govern the area, while the officials were insatiable.

In the end, because they still had to find ways to make money for themselves at the expense of the people, the rest of the innocent gentry were demoted and exempted. Shouldn't they cry out for this injustice?
Most importantly, Gu Xiancheng and Gu Yuncheng believed that officials in office would definitely cause more harm to the people.

Because as long as the gentry really "decouple" from them in terms of interests, and grit their teeth and carry on these years to use the "tactic of self-torture" to retreat in order to advance, what will eventually be exposed is bound to be bigger problems in the officialdom. The good work done by the local government in the past will eventually run into problems due to the lack of active cooperation from the gentry.

When that time comes, naturally no one in the court will be good enough, and there will naturally be a major replacement.

The young emperor sees that he has been promoted to a higher position and salary, but state affairs are becoming more and more difficult to handle. How much spirit can he retain?
Gu Yuncheng watched them leave, knowing that they would come up with more ideas.

In short, the Gu family had taken the lead in transporting white grain in a "noble and upright" manner, and simply refused to accept any labor service wages from the county.

The Gu family did whatever the court said and devoted themselves to teaching.

The world is such a muddy place. The cleaner the gentry are, the more corrupt the officials are.

As for those who fail to understand this truth and still dream of going back to the past, they deserve to see their families fall into poverty or even be thrown into jail.

Gu Xiancheng has already seen the opportunities hidden in this. As long as the academy can be preserved and strengthened, the more students can be trained in the Imperial College and the imperial examinations, the more active they will be in the future.

Now that Your Majesty and the New Party have unsheathed their swords, why shouldn't they be waved around for a few years?

Throughout the dynasties, every new law would take several years or even more than ten years to implement.

But it can only last so long, and in the end there is often a reconciliation. Some new policies are retained, and some are restored to the old practices.

And a new group of people would often be replaced in the court.

Didn’t something like this happen once in the Ming Dynasty twenty years ago?
What was the difference between the young and ambitious new emperor and the young and trustworthy emperor Zhang Juzheng in the new policy?

Niu Yingyuan heard that the white grain from Wuxi had begun to be shipped to Shuici Warehouse, but he now had to rush to Changzhou County and Taicang County.

The decree was passed to the village, and fighting broke out in both places over competition for water for farming in early spring.

It involves the clans of two great cabinet ministers.

So it's obviously not a fight over water.

Shen Shixing's youngest brother, Shen Shijie, looked at a brother in the clan who was covering his head.

"They are bullying us! Bullying us! They don't listen to a word I say, they just want to make trouble for us Shen family. Sixteen people were injured and three died! What kind of minister is this? Why do you let others bully you?"

"...I know why." Shen Shijie clenched his fists, "I know."

"The water has been divided many years ago, why are we suddenly fighting over it?"

But his cousin didn't understand.

The Shen clan was also quite large, and there were always many real common people and farmers among them.

I heard that the fight started very quickly and was so fierce that someone was killed in the end.

Shen Shijie gritted his teeth and said, "You have to give an explanation!"

Fights are only fought among various side branches and offshoots, and of course will eventually be brought to the county government and to the main clan.

What happens next? Those who pay with their lives will get their lives, and those who pay with money will get their money.

But do those behind the scenes care? What needs to be expressed is an attitude.

The Wang family had their engagement broken off, and someone from the Shen family was beaten to death.

Big brother, don’t you care at all whether our family can continue to survive in Changzhou?

You have to give an explanation!
The news that the gentry would be examined every three years by the Censor-in-Chief of Education caused various reactions in Changzhou, Suzhou, Huzhou, and other places in the Ming Dynasty.

Not every place has Donglin Academy, and not every place has the home of a cabinet minister.

Some have a longer-term vision, some are angry, some are afraid of trouble, and some are willing to risk everything.

More often, they expressed their attitudes through various minor incidents that the emperor and important ministers had no specific involvement in, and even local officials found difficult to judge and reconcile.

There were no major cases such as the robbery and destruction of grain in the second year of Taichang, but there were numerous minor cases. For the time being, there were no officials harming the people, only the people harming the people.

Can the Ming Dynasty do without local gentry?
(End of this chapter)