Fu Shanhe

Chapter 492 Shifting the Blame Upwards
Don't take what you say in jest or out of spite seriously.

The fact that the Ministry of Revenue's corruption could become a regular occurrence was because everyone was taking money from it.

If the meat had all been eaten by the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, they wouldn't have had to wait until now; they would have been thoroughly purged by the imperial court long ago.

Throughout Chinese history, there has never been a successful case of anti-corruption efforts at the end of a dynasty.

None of the major political parties in the government are clean; the only difference lies in their degree of greed.

In an era of widespread bureaucratic corruption, anti-corruption efforts often devolve into partisan strife.

"enough!"

"I've called you all here today to discuss countermeasures, not to listen to your arguments!"
Everyone is aware of how dangerous the situation is.

We must find a way to solve this urgent problem, no matter what!

Jiang Shuhan reprimanded him with a stern expression.

The more critical the moment, the more important it is to maintain stability in the court.

It was satisfying to eliminate the Qingliu Party, but the problem was that after dealing with them, the Great Yu Dynasty was also destroyed.

Many officials are incompetent at accomplishing anything, but their ability to cause trouble is absolutely first-rate.

The imperial court both suppressed and courted the gentry in Jiangnan who launched the anti-tax movement.

Local forces bound by clan ties become a joke once they start a guerrilla war with the central government.

If these people were truly pushed to the opposite side, the cost of ruling the empire would be unimaginably high.

Let's raise funds!

"We will personally take the lead and encourage the imperial relatives to respond, so as to raise funds for the court together."

First, gather enough money and provisions for a month and distribute them so that officials outside and soldiers in the capital can have a good New Year.

"The taxes for the Jiangnan region should be collected next spring."

Lu Lingfeng spoke slowly.

In fact, his initial plan was to borrow grain from the Marquis of Hanshui to get through the current crisis.

Although Li Mu made a cover-up, the grain transported from Annam was openly handled by merchants and had nothing to do with the Marquis's mansion.

But every time trouble arose, it was the Marquis's mansion that stepped in to resolve it; anyone with eyes could see who the real owner was.

Everyone's in the bureaucracy; at worst, they'll exchange political interests.

Unfortunately, the grain transport fleet failed to arrive in time, causing his plan to fall through.

“In these times, everyone is having a hard time, and grain prices in the capital have skyrocketed. Donations alone probably won’t be enough.”

All of you present here are pillars of our Great Yu Dynasty, and also have the widest network of connections in our Great Yu Dynasty.

By leveraging their personal connections, they should be able to gather a batch of grain; it shouldn't be a problem.

I think we should assign tasks together, work together, and overcome this difficulty!

"I am the Marquis of Zhendong," he slowly suggested.

It is true that there is a shortage of food in the northern regions, but that does not mean that everyone is without food.

It was virtually impossible for the court to collect grain from the people for its official business.

If it becomes a personal matter, the situation is quite different.

Everyone present was a leader of a faction in the court, and each had a group of followers behind them.

With just a casual greeting, and each family contributing a little, it's easy to produce several thousand bushels of grain.

With a little effort, it wouldn't be difficult to bring tens of thousands of bushels of grain from the south.

This is the charm of power.

"That's one way!"

"Each member of the cabinet is responsible for raising 30,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), and each of the six ministers is responsible for raising 15,000 shi (another unit of dry measure).

In this incident, the Ministry of Revenue lacked the necessary emergency measures, so Minister Lü raised an additional 50,000 shi of grain at a fair price to sell to the imperial court.

Officials of the third rank and above in the capital were required to procure 5,000 shi of grain.

It is imperative to deliver this grain to the capital within forty days.

If you can't do it, just quit your job and go home.

As for the Marquis of Hanshui, I would like to trouble the two marquises to make a trip there.

We hope that the Marquis of Hanshui will consider the well-being of the nation and increase the grain quota so that grain prices can be brought down as soon as possible.

In Nanjing, a document was issued in the name of the cabinet, instructing them to intensify their debt collection efforts.

Make sure to transport the money and grain back to the capital before the spring.

As for fundraising, that's entirely voluntary.

Jiang Shuhan immediately made the decision.

Gathering food is difficult, but food doesn't come for free.

Whether sold to the imperial court or to grain merchants in the capital, it was a transaction involving real money.

Given the current grain prices in the capital, there's definitely a profit to be made by bringing grain in from outside the capital.

If managed well, it can even add another business, making leveraging personal connections a worthwhile investment.

The amount was set at 30,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) mainly to take care of several senior officials from the north.

After all, personal connections depend on your social circle.

Southern officials, as long as they coordinate the relationship between grain merchants and maritime merchants and make some connections along the way, can build a temporary trading network.

The situation is different in the north; there is a real food shortage here.

Not only was there a shortage of food, but the development of overseas trade also lagged far behind that of the south.

In contrast, fundraising is more challenging, as it requires people to actually spend real money.

Forcing someone to take money out of their pocket at any time is an act of provoking hatred.

……

Despite the conclusion of the high-level meeting, the food shortage crisis in the north remains unresolved.

The imperial court's measures were essentially aimed at prioritizing the grain supply to the capital, while neglecting other provinces.

The imperial court was powerless to provide support, and expecting local governments to organize production to save themselves was clearly wishful thinking.

In order to survive, countless people were forced to embark on the path of rebellion.

The gentry and merchants in various places paid a heavy price for their greed.

The rebel army, rising up like a storm, began to conquer cities and seize territories in the north, and letters requesting aid flew to the capital like snowflakes.

Unfortunately, the imperial court was too busy to even pay its daily military expenses on time, let alone send troops to suppress the rebellion.

If things are delayed, the situation in the north will completely get out of control.

Rebel troops were everywhere in Shaanxi, Henan, Shanxi, and Shandong, and even the Southern Zhili region was affected.

The canal workers who rebelled in Xuzhou were initially under the control of the canal gang leaders, and they only occupied the docks as a show.

As the rebellion deepened, the situation gradually changed.

After raising the banner of rebellion, the long-suffering canal workers gradually awakened and were no longer willing to be exploited by the canal gang leaders.

Some influential canal workers gradually gained control of the discourse within the group and turned around to purge the high-ranking members of the canal gang.

After eliminating these gang leaders, the rebel army also completed its transformation.

From being a pawn initially used to restrain the imperial court, they transformed into a genuine righteous army, beginning to conquer cities and seize territory in the Xuzhou region.

The entire Jiangbei region was exposed to the rebel army's advance.

As the situation worsened, the Jiangnan gentry class once again split.

Some prominent families in the Jiangbei region, for their own safety, chose to cooperate with the imperial court to jointly suppress the canal workers' rebellion.

The situation in the south was quite the opposite, because many families had no way out due to their involvement in the tax resistance movement.

They organized local militias based on clan ties to fight against the imperial court's tax collection forces.

If the number of officers and soldiers is small, then fight; if the number of officers and soldiers is large, then temporarily avoid confrontation.

Nanjing City.

"Generals, the progress of tax collection this month is far below expectations."

The imperial court has sent another official document urging us to complete the tax collection before the beginning of spring!

Wan Huaijin said with a solemn expression, "Not to mention the collection efforts in the entire Jiangnan region, even in the southern part of Zhili, less than one-third of the tax revenue has been collected."

These taxes were basically paid by prominent families in Jiangbei.

The money was transferred to the army before it was even properly received.

After all, the military is under a lot of pressure right now.

On one hand, they had to divide their forces to suppress the rebels entrenched in Xuzhou, and on the other hand, they had to carry out tax collection tasks south of the Yangtze River.

If you don't provide enough money and supplies, the people below won't work hard.

"Your Excellency, it's not that we didn't carry out the mission effectively, it's just that everyone's hands and feet were tied."

The powerful families feared the rebels because the rebels were truly capable of burning, killing, and looting.

Our situation is different; you have repeatedly issued orders prohibiting the destruction of farmland and the burning of houses.

As long as it is not a violent resistance against the law, the government troops are not allowed to kill people.

Even if they catch the person, all they have to do is pay the taxes and maybe collect a small fine.

Knowing the imperial court's bottom line emboldens local clans to recklessly circumvent our rules.

Ye Hongchang said indignantly.

When the army went out to collect the debts, not only were their hands and feet bound, but they were also accompanied by military supervisors.

Those who led the tax resistance were caught and handed over to the local government for processing.

Such a restrictive approach naturally wouldn't intimidate the powerful clans.

"General Ye, don't forget that we are government troops, not bandits or brigands."

Government troops should behave like government troops and must strictly abide by the law.

If they were to massacre the gentry, how would they be any different from rebels?

An Jingzhi, the Minister of Justice, was the first to retort.

Civil officials and military generals never think on the same wavelength.

While taxation through killing may be effective in the short term, the long-term consequences are permanent.

Once the butcher's knife is raised, it means there is no room for reconciliation between the two sides; the matter will only end when one side falls.

Civil officials were members of the gentry circle, and while they engaged in internal strife, they could not break the unspoken rules.

To allow them to order the massacre of the gentry would undoubtedly be a betrayal of their own class.

Anyone who dares to issue such an order is cutting themselves off from the civil service.

Not only will they be remembered with infamy for eternity in history books, but their own clan will also be ostracized by the gentry.

"boom!"

"Since that's the case, then I'm powerless to help."

Whoever has the ability to collect debts should do it themselves!

Ye Hongchang slammed his hand on the table and said.

At a different time, if a military general dared to bang on the table in the Six Ministries, he would immediately be sentenced to imprisonment.

Given the current unusual situation, after Ye Hongchang took the lead in making a scene, a group of military officers silently stood behind him to show their support.

For a moment, the civil and military sides were locked in a standoff indoors, neither side willing to back down.

"General Ye, please calm down. We can talk things over."

The laws of the imperial court must be obeyed, but the task of collecting debts must also be completed.

You can be flexible with the specifics of how you proceed.

Wan Huaijin quickly tried to smooth things over.

This implies that he has truly done his best!
There are some things you can do, but you absolutely must not say them.

In fact, from the very beginning of the collection operation, he had indicated to his generals that they could be more flexible in carrying out the task.

Whether his words were too cryptic and the generals didn't understand, or whether they simply didn't want to take responsibility, they all strictly followed the orders.

To allow these people to work freely, he selected the sons of noble families as his supervisors.

Sending nobles to supervise other nobles was merely a formality.

Unfortunately, none of the generals understood.

Even after so much time has passed, they are still relentlessly pursuing debt collection, and somehow they haven't caused a family massacre by rebels.

They were all so well-behaved; if Ye Hongchang hadn't slammed his fist on the table, he would have thought these noble generals had turned into obedient children.

“Your Excellency, we are all uncouth men with limited comprehension abilities.”

Please specify how flexible it should be.

Ye Hongchang said calmly.

They are certainly capable of making an example of someone to scare others.

Previously, such actions were always ordered by powerful figures from the nobility, and they were only responsible for carrying them out.

No matter how big the trouble gets, there are always people in charge who will protect them and prevent them from taking the blame.

The situation is different now; these civil officials don't seem capable of handling things.

The power struggle between the imperial court and the gentry of Jiangnan was itself a process of weighing the pros and cons and making compromises.

What if they just killed someone and then reached an agreement?

How awkward must it be for those who wielded the butcher's knife to find themselves in the court?

Perhaps the gentry of Jiangnan couldn't do anything to the entire noble group, but they could certainly target a single general within it.

Even if they can't kill them, their pens can still smear their reputations.

With reservations in mind, one naturally becomes hesitant and restrained in taking concrete actions.

Civil officials who don't want to take responsibility will also avoid stepping forward and attracting hatred.

As a result, all the previous debt collection efforts were targeted at the middle and lower-ranking gentry.

They didn't visit any of those famous and prominent families.

"General Ye, I didn't say anything!"

"The cabinet decree is here: at all costs, the tax collection must be completed before the start of spring."

I am now in your hands.

No matter what you do, you must complete the task on time!

Wan Huaijin, enraged and embarrassed, said...

I thought these warriors would be easy to fool, but I never expected that they were all so cunning.

They refuse to take any responsibility, yet they call it following orders.

At this moment, he missed Yun Xiangwen terribly.

Although he was a bit reckless, he was truly capable of taking on any real challenge.

When the merchants went on strike, Yun Xiangwen fought his way from the south of the city to the north, and from the west to the east.

The bloody massacre shocked the merchants.

If there were such a formidable figure among the tax collection team, how could they possibly fail to collect taxes?

As for the consequences of doing this, since he didn't order the killing, the gentry of Jiangnan would seek revenge against the culprit.

"Ha ha……"

"Your Excellency, you have an order from the Cabinet. You should have produced it sooner!"
If everyone knew that the imperial court had made up its mind, how could it hold back?

"Don't worry, we'll take our brothers to visit the prominent families of Jiangnan. We should have some success soon!"

Ye Hongchang said with a loud laugh.

Taking advantage of an opportunity to strike at the gentry of Jiangnan was originally the plan of their younger generation.

The lack of activity is a prelude to something big.

If they didn't deliberately show weakness, how could the gentry of Jiangnan dare to make such a ruckus?

The cabinet's order was undoubtedly the best opportunity to take action.

Passing the buck upwards is their traditional skill.

(End of this chapter)