My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 208 New Changes in the System
Su Ze was also one of the Ministry of Revenue's "own people," so Xia Chun, the head of the Shanxi Division, naturally told the truth:

"This accounting record is a major matter overseen by Grand Secretary Zhang. The department has been working diligently, and it has now begun."

Xia Chun added, "All the accounts in Beijing that exist have been roughly compiled."

Su Ze exclaimed in surprise:
"So fast?"

Xia Chun said with a wry smile:

"With Grand Secretary Zhang urging us on, everyone can work even harder."

“These accounting records are actually recorded by each department every year. In the past, they were all compiled separately. It’s not difficult to compile them into a book. The difficulty is to proofread out the errors and balance the accounts.”

Su Ze immediately understood Xia Chun's meaning.

Even a large court like the Ming Dynasty wasn't without accounts.

However, before the accounting records were compiled, everyone kept their own accounts, and these accounts were not connected to each other.

The largest ledger in the Ming Dynasty was the Yellow Register.

Zhu Yuanzhang established the Yellow Register system, officially known as the Yellow Register of Taxes and Labor.

The Yellow Registers served as proof of taxation. They were created every ten years, with the original registers stored in the Yellow Register Archives at the back lake of Xuanwu Lake in Nanjing, and copies kept in the prefectures and counties.

Of course, no one knows how much reliable data remains in the Yellow Register of Xuanwu Lake's back lake.

However, Su Ze knew that in the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, there were so-called "flying off" and "deceptive" methods to evade taxes.

"Flying off" refers to the practice of wealthy people altering the land registers to distribute land taxes to poor households.

"Ghost ownership" refers to a practice where landlords register their land under the names of scholars who have tax-exempt privileges.

In addition to these, there are various other methods.

Moreover, as long as you are willing to spend money, not only can the Yellow Registers stored in prefectures and counties be modified, but even the Yellow Registers in the back lake of Xuanwu Lake can be modified properly.

Therefore, for the Ministry of Revenue, the biggest difficulty in compiling the "Longqing Accounting Records" was not the lack of data, but the abundance of useless data, which required careful screening and verification.

Su Ze asked:

"What about the accounting records of Shanxi Horse Administration?"

Xia Chun nodded and said, "The horse administration has already been written. Would Su Zhonglang like to see it?"

Su Ze quickly replied, "Thank you very much!"

Xia Chun then said:
"But we would like to ask Su Zhonglang to go to the cabinet storehouse for inspection."

Su Ze said quickly:

"Su understands that these files are related to state secrets and cannot be taken out of the Ministry of Revenue."

Xia Chun shook his head and said:
"This accounting record is going to be published anyway, so it's not exactly a secret. The reason I asked Su Zhonglang to come here is fine, Su Zhonglang, just come with me."

When he arrived at the Shanxi Department's archives and saw the mountain of account books and files, he finally understood why Xia Chun had asked him to come and see for himself.

This is too much!

"These are the documents from the Shanxi Horse Administration, including data from the Taipusi Horse Ranch."

Upon seeing this information, Su Ze's solution was to call in reinforcements.

Where in the entire capital is there more people knowledgeable in mathematics than at the Imperial Observatory?

Su Ze returned home from the Ministry of Revenue and sat in his study to draft a memorial to the throne.

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting a thorough survey of Xiu Rong's horse farm was sent to the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng and Zhao Zhenji both strongly supported your memorial, and the cabinet unanimously voted to approve it.

One day later, the Longqing Emperor approved the memorial.

Although the emperor approved your memorial, problems arose during its implementation in Shanxi.

The Prince of Jin's Mansion and the Fan family of Datong secretly opposed the land survey of the horse farm. Local officials outwardly complied but inwardly defied the order, and under Wang Yongji's supervision, only a portion of the land was surveyed.

——[Simulation End]——

[Should I spend 200 reputation points to ensure the memorial is fully executed?]

[Remaining Prestige Points: 220]

Huh?
Su Ze was shocked to discover that the system had changed again!
The memorial passed smoothly with the emperor and the cabinet, but according to the system's standards, it still failed.

The Ming Dynasty had too many examples of this: the policies were good, but the vested interests opposed them openly or secretly, ultimately ruining the good policies.

Land is the most fundamental interest of local powerful families.

The local people are all their people; if they fight back fiercely, they can indeed make things disappear.

For example, during the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu's land survey was unable to be implemented because local powerful clans kept instigating rebellions.

However, the system was able to consume prestige points and completely implement the policies in the memorial!
In other words, the system not only affects the emperor and the Grand Secretaries, but also everyone involved in the entire policy implementation process!

The portable Ming Dynasty court-style camera has more functions than I expected!

That's right, this is a causal law-level item.

Wouldn't that mean that any policy you formulate yourself can be implemented without fail?
However, seeing the prestige points consumed, Su Ze's excitement subsided somewhat.

A land survey at Xiurong Horse Ranch costs 200 reputation points!

If we were to survey all the land in the country, how many prestige points would that require? Even if I earned a lot of prestige points myself, it wouldn't be enough, would it?

As for why a survey of horse ranch land requires so many prestige points, Su Ze has his own guesses.

Previous memorials were mostly related to the direction of the court's major policies. The main obstacles were the emperor and the cabinet, meaning the system only needed to change their decisions.

However, surveying the horse farm is a major event involving a huge chain of interests, affecting hundreds or thousands of people, and naturally requires even more prestige.

Of course, these are all just Su Ze's guesses. The [Handheld Ming Dynasty Court] doesn't have an instruction manual, so Su Ze can only figure out how to use it little by little.

"determine."

[Prestige points have been deducted, remaining prestige points: 20.]

Please complete the letter in real life.
-
August 17th, Taiyuan, Prince Jin's Mansion.

The Mid-Autumn Festival had just passed, but there was little festive joy in the Prince of Jin's mansion.

The current Prince of Jin, Zhu Xin, is currently recuperating in bed.

The Prince of Jin, who inherited his title in the fifteenth year of the Jiajing reign, is now fifty-four years old.

Zhu Xin was originally the son of the Prince of Xinhua, but the previous Prince of Jin had no heir, so he was the successor of the main line from a minor line.

Zhu Xin had lived a cautious and prudent life for most of his life, but the abolition of the Daifan regime last year still frightened him.

The entire line of Prince Dai was stripped of its fiefdom, and so many high-ranking members of the imperial clan lost their privileges overnight. Zhu Xin, who was already in poor health, became even more bedridden after the removal of Prince Dai's fiefdom.

Of course, although Zhu Xin was bedridden, his mind was still very clear.

Zhu Xin dispatched his trusted subordinates to the capital to constantly monitor the political climate there.

Zhu Xin concluded that the reason for the Prince of Dai's removal of his fiefdom was his unclear understanding of the court's attitude, which gave the emperor an excuse to abolish the fiefdom. Zhu Xin's solution was to strike first and absolutely not give the court a reason to abolish the Prince of Jin's fiefdom.

"Your Majesty!"

Zhu Xin's personal steward rushed into the bedroom and placed several letters and newspapers on the bedside table.

The manager said:
"Your Highness, before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Su Ze submitted a memorial requesting a survey of the fields at Xiurong Horse Ranch and the restoration of Xiurong Official Horse Ranch."

Upon hearing about Xiu Rongguan Horse Farm, Zhu Xin asked in confusion:
"What does this have to do with our Prince Jin's Mansion?"

The manager said:
"Your Highness, please take a look at this newspaper."

Zhu Xin picked up the newspaper. This was the last issue of the "Yuefu Xinbao" published before the Mid-Autumn Festival. An article on the sixth page, in the section on mountains and rivers, recounted the history of Xiurong and explained why the area was suitable for raising horses.

Originally, there was nothing wrong with this article, but at the end, it veered to the current situation of Xiurong Horse Farm.

The article lists the decline of Xiurong Official Horse Farm, from 15,000 horses during the Yongle era to 500 horses today.

The article also states that the decline of Xiurong Official Horse Ranch was due to the encroachment of local powerful families, among whom the Prince of Jin's Mansion occupied the largest share.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Xin broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhu Xin quickly asked:
"How could I not know that the Prince of Jin's residence had occupied the land of Xiu Rong's official horse farm?"

The steward stammered:
“Your Highness, the place where you went hunting last autumn was originally the land of Xiu Rong Official Horse Ranch.”

Zhu Xin quickly said:
"Those lands were occupied by the previous King of Jin! Return them immediately!"

The manager said bitterly:
“Your Highness, much of this land wasn’t even occupied by our Prince’s Mansion. With so many people in the Prince of Jin’s domain, quite a few of them have occupied land in Xiurong. Are we going to make them all give it back?”

Zhu Xin suddenly jumped up from his sickbed and said:
"If they don't retreat, His Majesty will have to abolish the Jin vassal state!"

"Who is Su Ze? He was the one who orchestrated the removal of the princes of Dai and Liao. He is also the editor-in-chief of the Yuefu Xinbao. This article is clearly aimed at our Prince Jin's residence!"

After saying all this, Zhu Xin became even more terrified. He had been paying close attention to Su Ze these days and had gradually figured out his tactics, such as using public opinion as a common method.

"Summon the Prince of Jin's lineage to Taiyuan for a meeting! Those who have occupied the horse farm and refuse to vacate it, I will personally bind them and take them to the capital to apologize to His Majesty!"

Zhu Xin added:
"Those who want to die shouldn't drag the entire Prince Jin's lineage down with them! Those who are stubborn and unyielding, I will petition the Imperial Clan Court to remove them from the imperial clan!"

Zhu Xin was so angry that the stagnant energy in his body was released, and he felt much more comfortable.

These members of the Jin royal family must have realized that he had been ill for a long time and were now secretly trying to defy orders.

Zhu Xin was able to succeed the main branch of the family as a member of a minor branch of the family and still firmly hold the position of Prince of Jin, which shows that he had the ability to do so.
-
Meanwhile, in the ancestral hall of the Fan clan in Datong.

The Fan family of Datong was in a precarious situation during this period.

First, there was the military settlement in Datong. After the fall of the Prince Dai's Mansion, many fields that the Fan family had entrusted to the Prince Dai's Mansion were cleared away by Wang Yongji and divided between the Prince Dai's relatives and the soldiers of Datong Guard.

Then, after Qi Jiguang took command in Datong, the great victory at Soutao forced the Mongols to retreat, which greatly affected the Fan family's smuggling business to the grasslands.

A few days ago, grain merchants in the capital hoarded grain and engaged in speculation, but were suppressed by the Crown Prince. Although they did not lose money because they sold off their stock in time, their reputation among grain merchants in the capital was completely ruined.

Now they're embroiled in the horse farm issue.

Fan Baoxian, the clan chief of the Fan clan, couldn't understand why his clan was always involved in every incident.
Of course, the Fan family would not look for problems within themselves.

As the head of the four major Shanxi merchant families, the Fan family still wielded considerable influence in Shanxi.

Fan Baoxian sat in the first seat at the bottom of the ancestral hall, looking at the clansmen gathered in the courtyard, and sighed deeply.

Although the Fan family is said to be the head of the four major families, they are only local powerful families.

Shanxi is a province with nine parts mountains and one part farmland, making its land resources extremely scarce. Therefore, like Fujian, where land resources are also scarce, the people of Shanxi have to find ways to make a living outside of agriculture.

This is how Shanxi merchants were born. The Fan family started by smuggling along the border and gradually expanded into other businesses, becoming well-known wealthy merchants in Shanxi Province.

However, the situation is also changing.

When the Prince of Dai abolished the feudal system, the former General of Datong was purged. The Fan family managed to escape this political turmoil, but they also lost their local protectors.

Qi Jiguang, the military commander of Shanxi, was not familiar with the Fan family, and Wang Yongji, the governor of Datong, was an incorruptible censor, making life even more difficult for the Fan family of Datong.

The Fan family of Datong would absolutely not dare to confront the imperial court head-on.

However, the Fan family still had the audacity to secretly sabotage the imperial court.

Fan Baoxian gathered his clansmen with the intention of creating obstacles for the government and preventing the investigation of the horse farm land.

However, when the members of the Fan clan gathered together, they had many different opinions but could not come up with an effective solution.

Just then, a man rushed in from outside. Fan Baoxian looked closely and recognized him as his cousin, Fan Kuan.

Fan Kuan previously worked as a hermit in the capital, helping the Fan family communicate with officials in the imperial court.

Later, Fan Kuan's investment in the grain business failed, and he voluntarily resigned from his position as a hermit. Why did he suddenly come back?
Fan Kuan rushed into the ancestral hall and addressed the many clansmen:

"At this critical moment, we must not confront the imperial court!"

Many members of the Fan clan knew Fan Kuan and had heard that he had suffered a setback in the capital, so they held him in low regard.

Several clan elders stood up and rebuked Fan Kuan for not knowing the rules, saying that with his seniority and status, he had no right to enter the ancestral hall to discuss matters.

But Fan Kuan remained unfazed and said to Fan Baoxian:
"Clan leader, that Su Ze possesses supernatural abilities and is incredibly shrewd; he is far beyond the capabilities of our Datong Fan clan!"

"The Prince of Dai, the General of Datong—weren't they both big shots in Shanxi, whose mere presence could shake the region? Where are they now?"

After Fan Kuan said this, the ancestral hall quieted down a bit. Su Ze's achievements were indeed astonishing.

Fan Kuan then said:
"The imperial court's land survey of Xiurong Horse Ranch is already in the right. Moreover, Xiurong is surrounded by mountains, with limited output, at most for grazing horses and sheep. Is it worth offending the imperial court and Su Ze for these lands?"

At this moment, an elder stepped forward and said:

"Bah! What do you know, Fan Kuan, a mere hermit! Land is the foundation of our Datong Fan clan!"

Fan Kuan said with a cold smile:

"Fifth Grand Uncle, is it because you own a horse farm in Xiurong that you said that?"

The old man waved his cane and was about to step forward, but Fan Baoxian ordered him to be stopped.

Fan Kuan said:

"To put it another way, even if our Datong Fan family doesn't own the most land in the horse farm, why should we stand out in front of the Prince of Jin's mansion?"

"If the Prince of Jin's mansion takes the lead in defying orders, then we, the Fan family of Datong, will follow suit. But if even the Prince of Jin's mansion surrenders, how can we, the Fan family of Datong, withstand it?"

After these words were spoken, the members of the Fan clan present fell silent.

Fan Kuan was right. At this time, the first to jump out would be the one to suffer the iron fist of the imperial court. The best strategy would naturally be to follow behind the Prince of Jin's residence and fish in troubled waters.

Fan Baoxian waved his sleeve and said, "Let's stop here for today. Fan Kuan, come with me."

Fan Baoxian led Fan Kuan to the inner hall. After his trusted men guarded the doors and windows, Fan Baoxian asked:

"Persuading the clan to give up the horse farm land is not something that can be done in a few words."

Then Fan Baoxian looked at Fan Kuan and said:

"You're being so reckless today, that's not like you. Tell me, have you found some way to make money?"

(End of this chapter)