I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 200 A Rich Monk Rivals a Landlord! Shen Nian: Buddhist Laws Cannot Violate the Law
As the weather gradually warmed up at the end of March.

Inside and outside the capital, the grass and trees are turning green, birds are chirping, and everywhere is a scene full of spring.

The progress and problems encountered in the nationwide land survey were gradually reported back to the capital.

Under the three policies proposed by Shen Nian to curb land annexation—namely, "establishing a tax on fictitious land, setting up a monument to tyrannical land ownership, and abolishing the power of imperial examinations"—local governments increased their oversight efforts, and the malicious concealment of land through methods such as "flying, deceiving, and falsely registering" that had frequently occurred in the past did not reappear.

Most members of the imperial family, gentry, and powerful clans were very honest.

but.

Collusion between lower-level officials and clerks with local gentry and landlords, involving bribery, extortion, and other illegal activities, has become more common.

In some places, local officials openly advertised their prices: as long as a bribe was paid, fertile land could be turned into barren land, or even wasteland or riverbanks, once it was recorded.

For example, 100 mu of fertile land can be reported as 50 mu of barren land, and 10,000 mu of fertile land can be reported as 1,000 mu of fertile land.

This is used to evade taxes.

Even worse, some people manipulate the measurement of land.

To measure an acre of land, the people were required to pay a measurement fee of three cents of silver. If they refused to pay, they would be dealt with as "concealing land ownership".

They turned the court's new policies into a business for personal gain.

Also.

Some landlords spread rumors that the land survey was a way to increase taxes on the people, inciting them to resist. This led some people to storm the government offices and even engage in physical altercations.

Local officials in charge of prefectures and counties.

In particular, the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) at the beginning of the year all handled these issues very decisively and swiftly.

When members of the imperial family obstructed the process, they reported it to the young Wanli Emperor; when superiors were corrupt, they reported it to the censors and local governors; when lower-level officials were extorted or accepted bribes, they were severely punished directly.

The young Wanli Emperor and his cabinet also adopted a very tough stance.

Anyone who obstructs the land survey will be severely punished.

For example, Xue Lu, the Marquis of Yangwu in Shandong, who had made special contributions in the Jingnan Campaign, still wanted to retain the privilege of extra exemptions. Emperor Wanli directly ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to convey an oral message to scold him severely and to have the head of the family flogged sixty times.

Local officials such as Guo Siwei, the prefect of Chizhou, Ye Mengxiong, the prefect of Anqing, and Yan Bangning, the prefect of Songjiang, were dismissed from their posts by Emperor Wanli for failing to effectively carry out the land survey, falling far behind other prefectures.

As for local clerks.

Some are not afraid of being dismissed from their posts or being flogged; they even fantasize about suffering themselves while bringing happiness to their families.

However, the newly arrived local officials did not give them any opportunity to transfer the bribes. Once bribery was discovered, the whole family would be punished, and the bribe money had to be returned even if they had to sell everything they owned.

When land was measured across the country, no one was allowed to exploit the imperial court or the common people.

……

Historically, the beginning of any new policy is always the most difficult.

However, as long as the court shows a resolute and unwavering attitude, the land surveying matter can get on track and become increasingly smooth within six months at most.

Just when Shen Nian thought that there would be no major changes in the national land survey, a change still occurred.

And it happened right in the capital.

The first day of the fourth lunar month, near noon.

Jin Lijing, Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, submitted a memorial stating—

The day before yesterday, officials and clerks in Shuntian Prefecture responsible for land surveying were acting on a tip from the people that many temples in the Western Hills of the capital were hiding land and evading taxes.

When Yuan Yishan, the magistrate of the Shuntian Prefecture, went to investigate, he was obstructed by the monks of the temple. They not only refused to allow him to measure the land, but also claimed that they would report the Shuntian Prefecture officials and clerks for desecrating the purity of Buddhism to the Buddhist Registry.

Unable to measure it, Yuan Yishan had no choice but to report the matter to Jin Lijing, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

Jin Lijing made a decisive move, leading officials from the Buddhist Registry, which was in charge of temples in the capital, to the Western Hills of the capital, a place where many temples were gathered.

Kim Li-kyung thought that this would allow him to clear the temple fields and find the hidden fields.

Never thought about it.

A group of monks hung a sign in front of the temple field that read "Field bestowed by the Holy Mother" and chanted Buddhist scriptures in front of the field to obstruct the land survey.

They also stated that only if the Empress Dowager said that the temples had annexed private land could they allow the Shuntian Prefecture to measure the land.

The Holy Mother was the Holy Mother of the young Wanli Emperor, Empress Dowager Cisheng Xuanwen, also known as Empress Dowager Li.

Empress Dowager Li was a devout Buddhist.

She frequently visited temples in Xishan to worship Buddha and was also rewarded with land on several occasions. As for how much land she was rewarded with, she probably didn't even know herself.

Jin Lijing learned from the opinions of ordinary people and by reviewing some land sale contracts.

It was discovered that more than ten temples in the Western Hills of Beijing, including Biyun Temple, Jietai Temple, Wanshou Temple, Yiguang Temple, Chang'an Temple, and Tanzhe Temple, owned temple land ranging from 5,000 to tens of thousands of mu.

Empress Dowager Li clearly did not have the capacity to bestow such a large amount of fertile land.

However, with the sign reading "Fields Bestowed by the Holy Mother" in place, Jin Lijing was unable to measure the land and could only report to his superiors to determine a solution.

Upon seeing this memorial, Shen Nian couldn't help but ponder how to write this petition.

Currently, temple land is divided into two types.

One type is land granted as a royal reward.

In the 28th year of the Hongwu reign (1398), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty issued an edict: land was granted by imperial decree, and all taxes and grain were exempted.

One type is where temples own land.

These types of land were completely tax-exempt during the Hongwu period, but due to the accumulation of land by temples over time, in the second year of the Jingtai reign (1451), the court stipulated that each temple could only retain 60 mu of tax-exempt land, and the remaining land would be taxed as private land.

However, this law was difficult to implement and was opposed by monks from all over the country, who secretly acquired land and did not pay taxes.

Therefore, in the sixteenth year of Chenghua (1480), the imperial court relaxed the restrictions again, exempting temples from taxes on less than 500 mu of self-owned land, and levying a 50% tax on the excess.

Despite this strategy, its implementation was still unsatisfactory.

Because temples would falsely claim that some of their own land was granted by the royal family.

In addition, the imperial court wavered on its policy of curbing land annexation, thus neglecting temple lands and allowing them to expand wildly.

Today, the self-owned land in the Western Hills of the capital far exceeds the tax exemption line set by the imperial court.

If Empress Dowager Li were to confirm whether these fields were "fields bestowed by the Holy Mother," the devout Buddhist would most likely nod in agreement, because in her eyes, uttering words that would harm Buddhism would bring great misfortune and lead to hell after death.

Therefore, it is impossible to expect Empress Dowager Li to resolve this matter with a single word.

The imperial court exempted temples from taxes and granted them land.

On the one hand, it was because Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang revered Buddhism; on the other hand, temples undertook functions such as disaster relief, education, providing accommodation for candidates, and sheltering refugees.

But as things have developed to this point...

Many monks did not farm but hired tenant farmers to cultivate the land, keeping all the income for themselves.

Some temple abbots are as wealthy as large landowners.

……

Near dusk.

Shen Nian and a group of drafting officials wrote a draft.

“Buddhist teachings do not violate the law of the king. I humbly request that the land of the temples in the Western Hills of the capital be measured first, and then confirmed whether it is land that has been annexed.”

The Cabinet and the Drafting Office are in agreement.

Once a thorough survey is conducted to obtain accurate figures, the royal reward lands can be calculated from the records of reward lands in the inner court. The remaining lands are all self-owned lands.

Verbal rewards do not count. According to the imperial court's policy, after reserving 500 mu of land for the temples to use, the rest will be reclaimed and turned over to the public.

……

The following morning, after the lecture.

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

Shen Nian stood to one side, serving as the recorder of daily life.

After reading the memorial concerning the obstruction of land surveying by various temples in the Western Hills of the capital, Emperor Wanli thought for a moment and then handed it to Feng Bao.

After reading it, Feng Bao immediately understood what the young Wanli Emperor wanted to ask.

The temples built by Empress Dowager Li were very easy to reward, and all of these were handled by the inner court.

"Your Majesty, the temple lands of the Western Hills Temple in the capital are a real mess. It is difficult to determine at present which ones are granted lands and which ones are self-owned lands."

"This old servant suggests that if the monks' resistance is not too fierce, we can proceed according to this proposal. If the resistance is fierce, we should show leniency, otherwise... otherwise, if the Empress Dowager goes to the temple to pray for His Majesty again, I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

Feng Bao hesitated for a moment, but he had already made his meaning perfectly clear.

If those from Xishan Temple who were obstructing the land survey were arrested and punished, it would be disrespectful to Buddhism, and Empress Dowager Li would certainly oppose it.

The young Wanli Emperor thought for a moment and looked at Shen Nian.

"Minister Shen, my idea is to first thoroughly survey the temple lands, and then consider any lands that cannot be clearly counted as reward lands. After that, I will order the Ministry of Revenue to compile a 'Temple Land Register' to prohibit any further land consolidation from flowing into temples. What do you think?"

These are the words of the young Wanli Emperor.

This means that the practice of temples annexing land is being turned a blind eye to.

Shen Nian bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, there are many temples in the country that have taken over a lot of land. In some places, they have even taken up 30% of the people's farmland. If all of this is counted as land granted as a reward, it will be a mess when the land is surveyed and measured in the future. Your Majesty has promised that every inch of land is the blood and sweat of the people and must be measured clearly!"

With a helpless expression, the young Wanli Emperor thought for a moment and said, "Let's finish the land survey first. Tomorrow... tomorrow, let Grand Secretary Ma lead the team to survey the fields. Those monks will definitely not dare to stop the Grand Secretary!"

The young Wanli Emperor hesitated for a moment.

He originally wanted to order Ma Ziqiang to measure the land by imperial decree, but then he felt that if he did so, it would be tantamount to ignoring the sign that read "Land Bestowed by the Holy Mother," which would be disrespectful to Empress Dowager Li.

Shen Nian immediately understood what the young Wanli was thinking.

He slightly cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty, both Grand Secretary Ma and Grand Secretary Lü have some faith in Buddhism and Taoism. I recommend Grand Secretary Yin to go there!"

aside.

Feng Bao quickly added, "Your Majesty, if Grand Secretary Yin goes there, I'm afraid... I'm afraid he'll have to resort to force. Most of the temples in Xishan were built by the Empress Dowager herself, so we can't have any rough actions that would disturb the tranquility of the Buddhist community!"

Yin Zhengmao was going, and he would not say much to the monks.

They might simply drive the monks aside, then brutally measure the land, and even arrest a few to interrogate them and determine which lands were acquired by the monks for their own enrichment.

If bloodshed were to occur, Empress Dowager Li would likely feel remorse for a long time.

Emperor Wanli looked helpless.

"Then...then...Daibatsu, go with him tomorrow!"

After finishing speaking, Xiao Wanli pursed his lips and said, "If the two of you are together, you will probably start arguing. Shen Qing, the three of you will go together tomorrow. Your task is to make sure that Grand Secretary Yin and the Grand Chamberlain don't start arguing, and you must not insult or fight with the monks. Even for the sake of the Emperor Taizu, you must not resort to violence in the Buddhist community!"

"Your subject obeys!" Shen Nian bowed deeply.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

Yin Zhengmao, Feng Bao, Shen Nian, Jin Lijing, along with a group of Imperial Guards and local officials in charge of land surveying, all headed towards Xishan.

Yin Zhengmao, Feng Bao, Jin Lijing, and Shen Nian rode together in a carriage.

Jin Lijing said, "Grand Secretary Yin, Eunuch Feng, and Lecturer Shen, there are thirteen temples in Xishan. Among them, Jietai Temple is the most prestigious. If we can persuade the 'Treasurer' in charge of money and the 'Landlord' in charge of land at Wanshou Temple, we can get the other temples to compromise."

"Let's head straight to Jietai Temple. If the discussions go well, we might even be able to try their vegetarian food around noon!"

Yin Zhengmao straightened his chest.

"If you have anything to say to them, go directly to Jietai Temple to measure the temple lands and wait for them to object before we talk!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Bao immediately became anxious.

"Grand Secretary Yin, isn't this just fighting over land? Jietai Temple is a sacred Buddhist site, and in the hearts of Buddhists, its status is even higher than that of the Wanshou Temple, the royal temple built last year. If you disturb the tranquility of the Buddhist temple, I will impeach you when I return!"

From the Wanli era onwards, Jietai Temple became increasingly prosperous, and it was a place where Empress Dowager Li often went to worship Buddha.

Seeing Feng Bao's dark face, Yin Zhengmao immediately smiled and explained, "Don't worry, Eunuch Feng, I will never lay a hand on you. If I were to beat these monks up today, it wouldn't be long before all the monks in the world would be chanting sutras to curse me!"

"I won't resort to violence. I just feel it would be more comfortable to talk in the temple grounds, and it wouldn't disturb the peace of the Buddhist community. Maybe they're afraid of Eunuch Feng's power and won't dare to come out, and they'll just agree to let us take over the land!"

Feng Bao immediately fell silent.

Yin Zhengmao looked at Jin Lijing.

Jin Lijing immediately lifted the curtain and said to the coachman outside, "Go directly to the temple fields of Jietai Temple!"

……

As the sun rises high in the sky, the weather gradually warms up.

The group arrived at a large expanse of fertile land.

Looking out, the wheat fields are lush and green, growing well, clearly indicating fertile land.

Yin Zhengmao couldn't help but sigh, "If the common people were to cultivate such land, they would have enough to eat and enough to pay their taxes. It would be much better than having these monks who only eat and never return cultivate it. What a pity!"

Beside him, Feng Bao had a dark expression; he disapproved of everything Yin Zhengmao said and did.

"Begin measuring!" Yin Zhengmao shouted.

Just as the group of officials and clerks entered the fields with their tools, several monks came running at full speed.

One of the monks shouted, "This land was bestowed by the Holy Mother Empress Dowager! Didn't you see the sign in front? How dare you measure this land and disturb the tranquility of the Buddhist temple!"

Yin Zhengmao strode out and said loudly, "I am Yin Zhengmao. Tell your 'Treasurer' and 'Manor Lord' to come here immediately and give me an answer!"

These monks, living in the capital, could not possibly be unaware of the name of Yin Zhengmao, the Grand Secretary who was to beheaded.

Immediately, two monks ran towards the back.

Yin Zhengmao looked at the monk who had just spoken and asked, "Was this entire field a gift from the Empress Dowager?"

The monk opened his mouth, but said nothing.

"Reply to me immediately!" Yin Zhengmao raised his voice.

The monk was somewhat frightened. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I...I'm not quite sure, but...the lands of our temple, apart from those granted by the royal family, are all incense offering lands and merit lands bestowed by nobles, and they are all...tax-exempt lands! If you...you measure these lands, you will offend the gods and Buddhas."

snort!
Upon hearing this, Yin Zhengmao couldn't help but snort coldly.

The incense fields and merit fields mentioned by the other party are definitely fields that have been attracted by the public through tax exemption and have a profit-sharing contract.

However, due to the imperial court's land survey, they changed the contracts, and these "contributed fields" became imperial reward fields, incense fields, or merit fields.

Shen Nian looked at the monk and said, "A monk does not lie; this has been recorded!"

Upon hearing this, the monk immediately turned his head away.

(End of this chapter)