I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 137 Five Hundred Thousand Mu! Yin Zhengmao: I am one step closer to joining the cabinet.

Kaifeng Prefecture, the Zhou Prince's Mansion.

In the tea room.

After being told the truth by Yin Zhengmao, Prince Zhu Zaiting realized that the court might really target the Prince Zhou's residence, and he became somewhat anxious.

"Both Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu said that the emperor should be kind to his nine clans and extend the grace of kinship, so that the ancestral temple and state may be forever secure and the relatives and princes may enjoy boundless blessings. Would Your Majesty... would you violate the ancestral rules?"

Zhu Zaiting brought out the ancestral laws established by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di.

Yin Zhengmao stroked his beard and said, "Your Highness, you only remember that the court should treat the imperial princes well, but you have forgotten that the princes must also fulfill their duties as rulers and subjects."

"In recent years, the imperial court has been burdened by the imperial princes, the national treasury is short of money, and the stipends for the princes are difficult to pay. You should be aware of this."

"Currently, the Zhou Prince's fiefdom has occupied nearly 30% of Kaifeng Prefecture. If this continues for a few more years, Kaifeng Prefecture may become the Zhou Prince's fiefdom."

"Consider this: if words like 'Half of the Central Plains have fallen into the hands of the princes' and 'Only fragrant grasses remain on the roads of princes, not entering the vermilion gates of the imperial princes' homes' reach His Majesty's ears, will His Majesty show compassion for the princes and princesses, or will he feel that the princes and princesses have become a scourge to the local areas?"

Zhu Zaiting hesitated for a moment.

"I am willing to fully cooperate with the land survey in Henan, and urge other vassal states in Henan to do the same. Is that acceptable?"

We will cooperate fully.

This signifies that one should not conceal private land ownership and should not allow others to place land under the name of the Zhou royal family.

This is already a considerable loss for the Zhou Prince's Mansion.

Yin Zhengmao shook his head slightly.

"If Your Highness had done this at the beginning of the land survey in Henan, His Majesty would have been pleased, and the court would have rewarded you. But that's not the case now. The court is determined to survey the land this time, and all the land that has been seized and plundered should be returned to the people!"

“If Your Highness wishes to prevent the Zhou Prince’s Mansion from being implicated by the false land survey, I suggest that you take the initiative to donate land to the people.”

"As for how much can be donated, I would like to ask Your Highness to decide. Of course, if Your Highness is unwilling to do so, I can simply submit the testimonies of the officials from all the provinces of Henan to the capital. Then we can see how the court will handle it. I'm afraid that instead of donating land, they will confiscate it!"

Donate land to the people.

It sounds much better than the label of "obstructing the new policy and forcing the return of land to the people".

Zhu Zaiting, with a helpless expression, gritted his teeth and said, "The Prince of Zhou's Mansion... is willing... is willing to donate 100,000 mu of fertile land."

Upon hearing "ten thousand mu," Yin Zhengmao slightly pursed his lips and said, "Your Highness, please pretend I was never here today. Farewell!"

After saying that, Yin Zhengmao got up to leave.

"Minister Yin, 100,000 mu is not a small amount. The Prince Zhou's mansion has far too many people to support, and I also have my own difficulties!"

Yin Zhengmao looked at Zhu Zaiting.

"Your Highness, as the largest clan in Henan, the Zhou Prince's Mansion currently possesses approximately 4 million mu (40,000 hectares) of land granted by the imperial court and registered under other people's names, which has been acquired in recent years. Any one of the more than forty princes in the Zhou Prince's Mansion could easily provide 100,000 mu of fertile land. Aren't you...aren't you just fooling the imperial court?"

As the Minister of Revenue, Yin Zhengmao naturally did his homework before coming to Henan.

"Yes...yes...there is that much, but...but it also supports a lot of people! Apart from the clan, more than half of the people in Kaifeng Prefecture depend on my Prince Zhou's Mansion for their livelihood. I...I...can only donate a maximum of 200,000 mu, and that's after this harvest. Any more than that, let the court punish me, Zhu Zaiting. I don't believe the court can strip me, a prince, of my title!"

When the interests of the Prince Zhou's residence were involved, Zhu Zaiting also became more assertive.

“Six hundred thousand mu!” Yin Zhengmao looked at Zhu Zaiting.

"Impossible!" Zhu Zaiting resolutely refused.

“Your Highness, since you are so resolute, then I can only proceed according to official procedures. From now on, all illegally acquired land of the Zhou Prince’s Mansion will be confiscated, and all land registered under the Zhou Prince’s Mansion’s name will be confiscated. In addition, I will thoroughly examine the list of Zhou Prince’s Mansion’s clan members in the Imperial Genealogy. Those who do not meet the qualifications will be removed, and those who made false reports will be handed over to the Imperial Clan Court for severe punishment!”

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zaiting immediately became somewhat intimidated.

As a prince, he could still withstand the false measurement of land.

If the imperial court were to remove him from office, all the vassal kings would plead for him, since they would share both glory and ruin.

However, if one examines the list of names in the Imperial Genealogy in detail, it becomes clear that the number of people involved in the Zhou Prince's Mansion case is not just one or two.

Especially during the Longqing reign.

All the princes and vassals were engaging in the practice of falsely claiming positions to compete for imperial stipends.

Zhu Zaiting hesitated for a moment, then held up three fingers.

"About 300,000 mu!"

"Six hundred thousand mu!"

“Four hundred thousand mu!” Zhu Zaiting held up four fingers.

"Six hundred thousand mu!"

"450,000 mu, no more than that!" Zhu Zaiting's lips were trembling at this moment.

Yin Zhengmao paused for a moment.

"500,000 mu! But there's a prerequisite."

"What premise?"

"Your Highness must order all the princes and vassals in Henan to donate land to the imperial court. In addition, you should submit a memorial requesting that all the princes and vassals of the Ming Dynasty should donate land to the imperial court to show their support for the land survey in Henan!"

"This...this...isn't this just making all the princes and vassals in the land curse me?"

“Your Highness, you live in separate fiefdoms and never see them, so why fear being criticized? Whether you hear the criticism or not, I do not know, but the whole world will hear His Majesty’s praise for you,” Yin Zhengmao said with a smile.

Zhu Zaiting slowly sat down in the chair and began to think seriously.

After half a cup of tea.

"Minister Yin, please allow me to discuss this matter with my clan. I cannot make a decision on this matter at the moment!"

Among the Zhou vassals of Henan, Zhu Zaiting was the most powerful.

However, below him are more than forty princes and thousands of generals and assistant generals of the same clan.

These 500,000 mu of fertile land are naturally distributed among everyone.

He needs to gather these people for a discussion.

Yin Zhengmao cupped his hands and said, "Then please give me an answer before dusk on March 14th. Also, whoever disagrees will be the mastermind behind this false land survey. I can make that decision."

Zhu Zaiting nodded.

Yin Zhengmao's words were true. If he wanted to use the false land survey to deal with the Zhou Prince's Mansion, the Zhou Prince's Mansion would definitely face increasingly difficult days ahead.

……

After a while.

Yin Zhengmao walked out of the Zhou Prince's Mansion.

Five hundred thousand mu is not a lot for the entire Zhou Prince's Mansion.

After being shared equally.

Some princes simply replaced their silver chopsticks with bamboo chopsticks, which did not affect their drinking and eating at all.

Yin Zhengmao was very confident that Zhu Zaiting would do as he asked.

Next.

All he needed to do was wait for news while interrogating those provincial officials.

These provincial officials in Henan were too concerned about their personal careers and wanted to complete the tasks assigned by the imperial court without offending the imperial clan.

As a result, they offended the group they least wanted to offend: the people of Henan.

If they had a strategy like Yin Zhengmao's, they could have easily controlled Zhu Zaiting and wouldn't have been dismissed and placed under house arrest.

It was a foregone conclusion that they would be dismissed by the imperial court.

……

March 14th, near dusk.

Zhu Zaiting, the Prince of Zhou, sent someone to tell Yin Zhengmao: everything should be done according to Minister Yin's wishes.

Yin Zhengmao was overjoyed; Zhu Zaiting had finally compromised.

If this plan succeeds...

Not only will land taxes in Henan increase, but other vassal states will also donate some land, making life easier for the people and the imperial court.

He made great contributions.

"Haha, this year's national treasury revenue will surely increase, and I'm one step closer to joining the cabinet!" Yin Zhengmao's face was full of smiles.

He devoted himself so diligently to investigating cases and seeking land for the court, all with the aim of entering the cabinet.

The Ming Dynasty's officialdom had both "perfect men" like Hai Rui and "old hands" like Yin Zhengmao.

It's impossible to say who contributed more to the Ming Dynasty; only by placing them in the right positions can their value be truly appreciated.

And currently.

The positions of Yin Zhengmao and Hai Rui in the court were clearly correct. ...

March 15th, early morning.

The day of the imperial examination in the Ming Dynasty.

When the young Wanli Emperor personally arrived at the Hall of Supreme Harmony, all the officials stood on either side as if it were a regular court session.

Four hundred and eighty successful candidates were led by officials from the Ministry of Rites to the Danchi (red platform) outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, where they lined up in an east-west direction and stood facing north.

Immediately afterwards, the young Wanli Emperor bestowed the examination questions and ordered the eunuchs to place them on the examination table.

Those who passed the examination immediately performed the ritual of five bows and three kowtows.

Ceremonial music and firecrackers were set off outside the hall.

After this process was completed, the young Wanli Emperor and his officials left the court one after another.

Then, the Imperial Guards set up examination tables and chairs on the steps of the palace, and officials from the Ministry of Rites distributed the examination questions. After the successful candidates knelt to receive the questions, they began to answer the questions.

The palace examination officially began.

now.

The examiner, Wang Xijue, watched the expressions on the candidates' faces with great excitement.

He thought that the candidates' expressions would be incredibly varied when they saw this question from the imperial examination.

Even if it were him who took the imperial examination back then, he might not have been able to answer this question correctly.

really.

Before long, several candidates showed expressions of bewilderment, neither laughing nor crying.

The imperial examination question drafted by the young Wanli Emperor was over a hundred characters long.

In short, this can be summarized as follows: taking the case of false land surveying in Henan as an example, this paper discusses in detail the advantages and disadvantages of increasing land taxes.

Many candidates guessed that the palace examination might test the recent false land survey in Henan, but they focused their attention on the significance and value of the land survey law and never expected that the examination would test the advantages and disadvantages of increasing land taxes.

The difficulty of this question lies in—

In the eyes of many candidates, increasing land taxes was the quickest way to relieve the national treasury when it was in dire need, which was perfectly normal.

However, considering the case of the fake land survey in Henan, such practices of using fake archers to indirectly increase land taxes are clearly unacceptable.

This left many candidates at a loss as to how to begin, unsure whether the emperor wanted them to answer about the advantages or disadvantages.

Although the questions in the palace examination only required a reasonable answer, there was no right or wrong answer.

However, the entry point for this question is very difficult to write, and the arguments are also very difficult to cite classical texts, making it completely different from the questions in the usual palace examinations.

In the blink of an eye, a quarter of an hour passed.

Not a single person picked up a pen.

Fortunately, the palace examination lasted long enough, with the requirement that candidates must answer questions in front of the palace and leave by late afternoon, meaning they could only submit their papers between 3 pm and 5 pm.

Before long, Wang Xijue saw a scholar begin to write.

Tang Xianzu of Linchuan.

He had an impression of Tang Xianzu.

Candidates who frequently interact with farmers and rural people are more likely to know how to write and are more willing to put pen to paper.

The key to this question is positioning.

Arguing from the perspective of old systems and regulations, from the perspective of the interests of scholar-officials, and from the perspective of the court's short-term interests, it is difficult to arrive at a truly excellent answer.

Only by taking the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty as the guiding principle can one write a good policy essay.

While Tang Xianzu was putting pen to paper, Shen Maoxue, the biggest favorite to be the top scorer in this year's imperial examination, was still deep in thought.

Zhang Sixiu and Lü Xingzhou, both sons of officials who always considered issues from the perspective of the interests of the literati, were somewhat at a loss, picking up their pens several times and putting them down again.

……

Meanwhile, inside the Cabinet Office.

When Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng and Second Grand Secretary Lü Diaoyang saw the palace examination questions, they were both somewhat bewildered.

Their son participated in the imperial examination.

Although the two tried to avoid suspicion, they would still give each other pointers at home.

After all, this is a momentous event that will bring glory to the family.

It is only natural for a father to help his son as long as he does not violate the rules.

They would feel ashamed if their son did not do well on the exam.

"Uncle, this...this question has both advantages and disadvantages. How are the candidates supposed to answer it? Imposing additional land taxes is an extraordinary measure by the court. How can it be used as an exam question?"

Zhang Juzheng stroked his beard and said, “His Majesty may be acting recklessly, and Ziheng may be acting recklessly, but Tiqian (Ma Ziqiang, whose courtesy name is Tiqian) will definitely not let them act recklessly. Tiqian agreed to use this as the topic for the palace examination, so he must have been persuaded. Let’s ask him.”

Just as the two were about to send someone to find Ma Ziqiang and ask him questions, Ma Ziqiang and Shen Shixing arrived at the Cabinet Office.

The two of them came to explain.

immediately.

Ma Ziqiang then brought out Shen Nian's theory that "a true golden age is one where all the people in the world have enough to eat."

Ma Ziqiang stated that he agreed to the palace examination questions for three reasons.

Firstly, this test question can cultivate candidates' love for the people, respect for the people, and a willingness not to compete with the people for profit, demonstrating a broad perspective.

Secondly, this test question differs from the usual palace examination questions, making it easier to assess a candidate's character, vision, and ambition, and more likely to select practical talents.

Thirdly, this test question helps to cultivate the young Wanli Emperor into a benevolent ruler who does not engage in militarism and aggression that would impoverish the country and its people.

These three reasons are all incredibly compelling.

Zhang Juzheng and Lü Diaoyang had no reason to refute this.

"Shen Ziheng really dared to dream of enabling all the people in the world to have enough to eat. No dynasty in thousands of years has been able to do this!" Lü Diaoyang exclaimed.

Zhang Juzheng slowly stroked his beard.

"When I was in my twenties, I also thought the same thing: ignorance is bliss. But this kind of fearlessness is good. Just because Ziheng gave His Majesty a direction to strive for with these words, this palace examination question is a good one!"

In Zhang Juzheng's eyes, the palace examination was just an ordinary imperial examination, and the most important thing was the impact of the exam questions on the young Wanli Emperor.

Shen Nian's words have the same meaning as Zhang Juzheng's advocacy of "making the ruler like Yao and Shun".

Zhang Juzheng implemented a series of new policies, which were actually aimed at stabilizing and securing the lives of the people, because he knew that the rise and fall of a dynasty depended most on the support of the people.

He is looking forward to it too.

If he could ensure that all the people in the world had enough to eat during his lifetime, he would be the most outstanding Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty.

……

Near dusk.

Four hundred and eighty candidates walked out of the palace one after another.

Outside the Meridian Gate, groups of scholars gathered, all eager to know what the questions for this year's imperial examination would be.

When the scholars saw that most of the candidates, who were already halfway to official positions, were leaving the palace looking dejected, they were somewhat bewildered.

Normally, these people would call their friends and have a wild celebration.

When they learned the questions for the palace examination, they couldn't help but exclaim: This...this...this is too obscure, too difficult!

Not surprisingly.

For the next month, the questions for this imperial examination will be the focus of discussion among scholars and officials.

Meanwhile, inside the Hanlin Academy.

Shen Nian is writing his theory on a prosperous era in the editorial office.

The young Wanli Emperor gave Shen Nian four requests, which can be put simply as follows:

Firstly, Shen Nian was required to write down the reasons and purpose behind the imperial court's setting of this examination question.

Secondly, the article was required to demonstrate the court's concern for the people of the world.

Thirdly, it requires that one be able to encourage students and officials throughout the land to prioritize the people and the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Fourth, the article should guide the people to have more trust in the court and to have expectations for the current new policies.

With so many requirements, the article naturally cannot be written casually.

Shen Nian's situation today is even more difficult than that of the candidates taking the palace examination. Tonight, he is destined to stay up all night.

(End of this chapter)