My father is Yongzheng, and I am Qianlong?

Chapter 400 The New Dynasty Slays a Great Evil, Emperor Qianlong Performs the Grand Ceremony of Registering Farmers!

On the first day of the first month of the first year of the Qianlong reign, as the rising sun leaped out of the east, illuminating the earth like a bright candle.

Xin Yougu also looked up at the rising sun.

He was grinning, holding the tickets he had just received.

Passes were used by Qing Dynasty citizens as proof of tax payment to the government.

Because Wang Shijun made false reports and concealed information, Hongli asked Wu Yingfen to be promoted to Governor-General of Hedong, and to conduct a new survey in Shandong and Henan based on actual conditions, and to compile a new "Complete Book of Taxes and Labor".

The Complete Book of Taxes and Labor Services is a combination of the Yellow Register and the Fish Scale Register of the Ming Dynasty. It records the land area and population of each household, and lists the tax payable by each household, including not only land tax, but also salt tax, tea tax, etc.

Since Wang Shijun had been executed, Wu Yingfen knew the emperor's resolve and naturally dared not be perfunctory, especially not when Qianlong had just ascended the throne. Therefore, he also kept a very strict watch on him.

Yanzhou Prefecture, which was the first to be re-assessed, also produced a new prefecture-level "Complete Book of Taxes and Labor".

The tax burden on Xin Yougu's seventy-five mu of land was thus reduced to the actual tax burden on sixteen mu of land.

He then received a new warrant from the government and got his money back.

Kong Jinli, the servant of a powerful family who lent him money, was also found to have colluded with officials to illegally lend money. The government ordered the destruction of all the loan contracts he had issued, so that he no longer needed to sell his land to repay the high-interest loans he had borrowed from Kong Jinli.

Crunch.

As the prison cart carrying Kong Jinli and Bai Decai paraded through the streets toward Xin Yougu, who had been waiting for a long time, Xin Yougu turned his gaze away from the east and spat fiercely at Kong Jinli and Bai Decai.

Both men hung their heads, letting the saliva of Xin Yougu and the other people fly onto their straw-like hair.

Because Emperor Qianlong adhered to the principle that "correcting a wrong requires going to extremes," he also made this demand of Wu Yingfen, who was responsible for rectifying the results of reforms in Henan and Shandong.

Therefore, Wu Yingfen immediately ordered the execution of Kong Jinli, Bai Decai, and other corrupt officials who directly persecuted the people at the grassroots level.

Although, in essence, these two men only gained the opportunity to further persecute the people because of Wang Shijun's excessive implementation of reforms.

But Wu Yingfen knew very well that killing these two men would restore the government's prestige in the area even more than killing Wang Shijun.

After all, the local people might not know Wang Shijun, but most of them knew how despicable Kong Jinli and Bai Decai were.

Hongli was aware of this, so he decisively executed the two men before the end of the year.

For the emperor, killing a petty official and a corrupt merchant would win back some public support and increase revenue—a sure-fire way to make money.

Kong Jinli and Bai Decai were no longer as arrogant as before. When they were pushed onto the execution platform, one was so frightened that his legs trembled, and the other wet his crotch.

Xin Yougu, who came to watch the execution with the crowd, smiled even more brightly.

"cut!"

As the midday sun passed directly overhead, Kong Jinli and Bai Decai's heads fell to the ground after a shout.

Xin Yougu and the other people watching the execution laughed and clapped, but as they laughed, tears began to fall.

At that moment, Xin Yougu looked up at the sky again.

The sky was a clear, deep blue, without a single cloud in sight.

same!

Although he was a commoner, the beginning of the Qianlong reign brought him a state of mind so pure that only hope and tranquility remained, rather than sorrow and grief.

This prompted him to immediately take his son and daughter-in-law to the fields as soon as spring returned.

Before the snow in the fields had melted completely, his family picked up manual plows, seemingly striving to become the first producers to cultivate and sow crops during the Qianlong era.

The human-powered tractor was invented by Ouyang Bijin in the Ming Dynasty. It was a type of tillage machine designed to solve the problem of reduced farming efficiency caused by small farmers not having oxen.

This type of tillage frame uses pulley and windlass technology, which can save a lot of effort, but it requires three people to operate together.

Xin Yougu's son was turning the windlass, while his daughter-in-law was tightening and loosening the rope to propel the plow forward, with Xin Yougu himself holding the plow from behind. Among the common people, many poor people often had to share their trousers, so there was no strict separation between men and women. Even small landlords and rich peasants would not prevent women from working in the fields in order to save on the cost of hiring long-term laborers.

Therefore, Xin's daughter-in-law also had to work in the fields.

Soon, the newly melted spring mud was turned up, revealing rows of moist, shiny soil and leaving behind deep furrows.

Xin Yougu and his son and daughter-in-law all smiled broadly.

"My family managed to cultivate the first piece of land during the Qianlong era. Thank God, I hope this new dynasty can harvest more grain so we can buy a cow."

After Xin Yougu finished plowing, he clapped his hands and laughed as he spoke.

……

"My first field for cultivating land during the Qianlong reign has finally been cultivated. May Heaven bless my Great Qing and bring a bountiful harvest and celebration to the world in the first year of Qianlong's reign!"

In February of that year, Hongli also completed his first "plowing ceremony" at Fengzeyuan in Xiyuan.

The two elderly farmers who helped him with the plow received a generous reward from him.

The three high officials and nine ministers in charge of farming, as well as the Minister of Revenue in charge of delivering the plows, the Vice Minister of Revenue in charge of sowing, and the officials of Shuntian Prefecture also received the honor of a banquet.

Hongli himself stood with his hands on his hips and sighed on the renovated floor, then said this with a smile.

Afterwards, he got into his sedan chair and returned to the palace.

Like many others, he, the emperor, was full of hope for his new dynasty.

This made him get up earlier the next day than usual.

According to custom, he would go to the Hall of Diligent Governance and Appreciation of the Virtuous to handle government affairs. Every time he passed through a palace gate, he would set off a firecracker to remind the Grand Councilors and Grand Council Secretaries on duty to be prepared.

"Your Majesty is departing!"

Snapped!
"Your Majesty is departing!"

Snapped!
As firecrackers exploded, Hongli became increasingly lucid.

When he arrived at the Hall of Diligent Governance and Appreciation of the Worthy, he was already in high spirits, which made him very efficient in reviewing memorials.

Even Jin Yufeng and Cao Lu were wide awake, intently watching Hongli review memorials under the candlelight.

When Hongli felt that he was as diligent in his duties as Emperor Yongzheng, he asked the chief eunuch Chen Fu with great interest, "Go to the Grand Council and see if all the people on duty have arrived?"

The Grand Council's office in the Yuanmingyuan was located inside the main gate, some distance from the Hall of Diligent Governance and Appreciation of the Virtuous.

Chen Fu went there briefly, and then returned to report: "Your Majesty, the officials on duty have not yet arrived. Should I go and urge them to come to court?"

Hongli smiled and said, "No need. They are all veteran ministers. I can wait for them."

Although Hongli was somewhat disappointed that these veteran officials could not work as hard as he did, he could understand that they could not possibly have the energy of someone his age.

After all, even the harsh Emperor Yongzheng allowed these veteran officials to arrive a little later.

However, when the sun was high in the sky, Hongli thought that the Qianlong era had just begun and the most important thing to do was to fill the official vacancies. Some time ago, he asked the Grand Secretaries and ministers of the ministries to recommend candidates for governors, ministers, and vice ministers. Since these candidates needed to be interviewed, he asked Chen Fu to notify the Grand Secretaries and ministers of the ministries.

But after waiting for an hour, only Yue Zhongqi, the Minister of War, showed up early, while the other ministers had not yet arrived.

He, the emperor, had waited in vain for so long in the Hall of Diligent Governance and Appreciation of the Worthy.

"Send guards to investigate what's going on! Have they all reported to work at the yamen? Otherwise, they wouldn't be so late!"

Therefore, Hongli instructed Chen Fu.

(End of this chapter)