White-robed Minister

Chapter 153 0151 [The matter is too great; even the Empress must back down]

In terms of upholding moral integrity and restraining her family members, Gao Taotao ranks among the top empresses and empress dowagers throughout history.

Two years ago, the eunuch Ren Shouzhong gave her precious jewels. If it weren't for the issue of defection, she probably wouldn't have accepted them, nor would she have dared to. She thought this would help her husband seize power.

Of course, the result was that her husband was furious and she attracted unanimous criticism from the censors.

She didn't take special care of her family either. Zhao Shu tried to promote her younger brother Gao Shilin many times, but Gao Taotao resolutely refused each time.

But her so-called lack of special treatment simply meant not giving her high-ranking positions and generous salaries, and not attracting attention.

Take her recently deceased younger brother, Gao Shilin, for example. He was not a spoiled brat. When collecting taxes in Yangzhou, he improved the "fire seal" to "carved seal," which led to the surrounding counties following suit.

Note that her brother works as a tax collector in Yangzhou!

All merchant ships traveling north from the Yangtze River basin had to pass through the tax gate overseen by her brother.

A huge amount of oil and fat.

Before her brother took office, Zhao Shu gave him a special instruction with four words: "Strictly abide by the law."

But in that position, it was impossible to strictly abide by the law; otherwise, he simply couldn't have stayed in the position. Or rather, if Gao Shilin had strictly abided by the law, he would have inevitably caused a great stir in Yangzhou, which would certainly have been recorded extensively in history books.

Gao Shiqian's actions at Hongqing Palace were the same as Gao Shilin's tax collection in Yangzhou.

They don't actively embezzle or extort money from the people. They simply go with the flow, quietly pocketing the illicit income.

Compared to those truly arrogant and domineering maternal relatives, the Gao brothers could indeed be described as "virtuous and kind".

This time, Xu Lai has overstepped his bounds!

Because of the enormous amount of money and resources available in Hongqing Palace, it was tacitly agreed that trusted eunuchs and favored relatives of the empress would reap the rewards. Xu Lai broke this unspoken rule of officialdom by provoking "well-behaved" eunuchs and relatives of the empress.

In the eyes of Gao Taotao and Zhang Maoze, Xu Lai's behavior constituted deliberate provocation.

Gao Taotao had just lost her favorite younger brother and hadn't even recovered from her grief when Xu Lai went and attacked her other younger brother. You can imagine how furious she was.

Was Gao Taotao really deceived by her brother's letter?

Why did she summon Zhang Maoze for questioning after reading the letter? It was out of caution that she was testing Zhang Maoze's attitude!

"How could Sanlang be bullied?" Zhao Shu subconsciously sensed that something was wrong.

Gao Taotao stopped talking.

Zhang Maoze, who stood by and served, is highly regarded in historical records and is hailed as a "wise eunuch." If he hadn't later joined forces with Wang Anshi to drown so many people, he might have truly deserved this honor.

Zhang Maoze ate only one bowl of rice per meal, and it was always simple food. He was known for his integrity and dedication to public service.

Seeing that the empress refused to speak for herself, he also refused to file a false accusation, let alone fabricate stories about Xu Lai harming the people.

Both of them are clever; they know that the emperor is not easily fooled.

Zhang Maoze said jokingly, "The top scholar is quite powerful in Yingtian Prefecture. The people secretly call him Tiger Xu."

This was mentioned in a letter by my adopted son as an amusing anecdote.

The imperial palace in the Northern Song Dynasty was very small, and the number of eunuchs was also very small.

During the reign of Emperor Zhao Kuangyin, there were only 50 eunuchs, but this number increased to 180 during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song. This was, of course, to prevent eunuchs from seizing power and to delegate many of the duties previously handled by eunuchs to female officials and palace maids.

Emperors treated eunuchs with both strictness and leniency.

For example, eunuchs were allowed to adopt sons, but strict adoption procedures were established to make the adoption of sons public and set an upper limit, in order to prevent eunuchs from controlling the palace through a large number of adopted sons.

This management model led to the fact that eunuchs in the Song Dynasty treated their adopted sons very well, truly caring for them as if they were their own.

"Xu Laohu? Because of last year's restructuring case?" Zhao Shu asked.

Zhang Maoze said, "This year, Scholar Xu investigated the land ownership. Wang Yishan (Wang Jichen), a cousin of Prince Ying, was also exiled after his property was confiscated because he had concealed several hundred acres of land. His cousin is old and will most likely die on the way to exile."

Zhao Shu was taken aback upon hearing this.

Hiding hundreds of acres of farmland, and he was actually exiled after his property was confiscated? This seems a bit excessive; the methods could have been a little more lenient.

Zhang Maoze added, "Scholar Xu is now investigating the land holdings of Hongqing Palace. My adopted son and Gao Sanlang, fearing they might disturb His Majesty's ancestral spirits, tried to negotiate with Scholar Xu privately. However, they couldn't reach an agreement, and they are very anxious, as they have no say in the matter."

Having ruled in his own right for over a year, Zhao Shu was becoming increasingly difficult to fool: "How much land does Hongqing Palace own?"

"Three thousand mu," Zhang Maoze replied.

Three thousand mu is a respectable figure.

Because officials were frantically acquiring land, Emperor Renzong of Song issued an edict stipulating that officials' land holdings could not exceed 3,000 mu.

After that, if any official liked to collect land, the excess would either be hidden or transferred to his own relatives.

In an effort to curry favor with Emperor Renzong of Song, the officials and Taoist priests at Hongqing Palace kept reporting that there were only 3,000 mu of land.

Zhao Shu thought to himself: If the fact that Xu Lai is investigating the land holdings means that Hongqing Palace's land holdings must already be tens of thousands of acres. This matter is really difficult to handle.

If Xu is allowed to investigate thoroughly, and too much is uncovered, it will inevitably damage the royal family's reputation.

If Xu Lai is not allowed to investigate, the fact that Hongqing Palace has hidden so much land will have a negative impact on the people and will definitely ruin the reputation of the Zhao family ancestors.

It needs to be checked.

But the investigation should be conducted discreetly and only to a certain extent.

Zhao Shu immediately planned to bypass the court and send a private edict to Xu Lai. However, he felt that sending a private edict was too risky, as it could easily give civil officials a handle to use against him. If Xu Lai were to reveal the contents of the edict, the emperor would lose face in front of his subjects.

The emperor could only issue an oral edict; once the matter was exposed, he could simply say that nothing of the sort had happened.

Zhao Shu asked, "Is there anyone suitable to convey an oral message to Xu Lai?"

Zhang Maoze said, "Wang Yuanbi, the head of the East Gate, once served as a traveling attendant in Guangdong. He seems to know Scholar Xu."

7

The next day, Zhao Shu summoned Wang Yuanbi: "Do you recognize Xu Lai?"

Wang Yuanbi was overjoyed. He had been waiting for this opportunity for several years: "I do indeed know Scholar Xu. When I was assisting in the trial of the robbery of the imperial convoy, Scholar Xu was one of the witnesses."

""

Zhao Shu said, "Go to Yingtian Prefecture and tell Xu Lai not to make too much of a fuss about Hongqing Palace. He should know when to stop. Also, tell the supervisor and officials in charge of Hongqing Palace to exercise restraint and not to have any conflicts with Xu Lai."

"Your Majesty's edict will certainly be delivered," Wang Yuanbi replied.

Several days later, Wang Yuanbi arrived in Yingtian Prefecture.

Accompanying them was a member of the royal family, whose official duty was to perform ancestral rites at Honggyeong Palace. After all, there had been a series of natural disasters in the past two years, so it was indeed appropriate to pay homage at the original imperial ancestral temple.

Yuan Fang and Gao Shiqian were overjoyed and prepared to hold a grand ceremony for the sacrificial ceremony, even planning to invite officials from both the circuit and prefecture levels.

They wanted to use this to put pressure on Xu Lai.

Wang Yuanbi, however, privately approached the two men and said, "The Emperor has issued an oral decree."

The two men suppressed their smiles and respectfully received the imperial edict.

Wang Yuanbi said, "The Emperor has instructed the two of you not to clash with Xu Lai. This ancestral worship ceremony should also be simple and free from extravagance."

"Your subject obeys the decree." The two men's moods instantly soured.

While the worship ceremony was still being prepared, Wang Yuanbi privately approached Xu Lai.

"I have seen the angels!" Xu Lai greeted them with a bow.

Wang Yuanbi smiled broadly and warmly held Xu Lai's hand, saying, "I've really missed you, Scholar Xu. It's been several years since we last met, and you've become even more outstanding."

Xu Lai said, "The angel's charm is even greater than before."

"Haha, we're old acquaintances, no need for such formalities. Why not have a few drinks?" Wang Yuanbi said with a smile.

Xu Lai said to Bu Chao and Chen Xiaoyi, "Go and prepare some food and drinks."

After dismissing Xu Lai's attendants, Wang Yuanbi got to the point, saying in a low voice, "His Majesty has issued an edict. He is already aware of the matter at Hongqing Palace. Don't make too much of a fuss; know when to stop."

"Please have the angel report back to the Emperor, saying that I understand," Xu Lai replied ambiguously.

If the emperor cares about his reputation, then give the emperor face.

But it depends on what kind of face you're looking for.

Xu Lai can leave the eunuch Yuan Fang and the imperial relative Gao Shiqian alone. Just like in "Journey to the West," monsters without powerful backers are killed with a single blow, while those with powerful backers are sent back to Heaven or Mount Ling.

Yuan Fang and Gao Shiqian took office last year, while Hongqing Palace has been annexing land for decades.

Their responsibility was not great, or rather, the responsibility of each of them was not great.

One administration after another accumulated and merged land properties, which is why Hongqing Palace ended up in this state.

Hongqing Palace didn't even need to actively annex land; it could simply wait for landlords and self-cultivating farmers to contribute land. The more the government levied taxes and forced labor, the more land the people were forced to contribute to Hongqing Palace.

Ultimately, the responsibility lies more with local officials!

During Wang Yuanbi's participation in the sacrificial ceremony, Xu Lai submitted two memorials to the court. One was a regular memorial, and the other was a secret memorial.

In his regular memorials, he discussed his experience in surveying land and suggested that the court allow him to produce fish-scale maps in the seven counties of Yingtian Prefecture and establish the fish-scale maps as legal documents of Yingtian Prefecture.

The secret memorial was naturally for the emperor.

After reading the secret report, Zhao Shu's expression turned very displeased.

The contents of the secret sermon can be summarized as follows:

First, the amount of hidden farmland in Hongqing Palace is astonishing, exceeding 10,000 mu already discovered. If the investigation continues at this rate, it could exceed 30,000 mu, or even 50,000 or 100,000 mu.

Secondly, Hongqing Palace did not seize the people's land; rather, the land was donated voluntarily by the people. The more heavily the officials of Yingtian Prefecture and Songcheng County imposed on miscellaneous taxes and corvée labor, the more people donated land to Hongqing Palace the following year.

Third, some large landowners voluntarily donated their land to Hongqing Palace purely for tax evasion and to reduce their household registration status.

Fourth, the land acquired by Hongqing Palace, especially in the last twenty years, was repeatedly resold under false deedes after the initial transfer of ownership. Due to Hongqing Palace's tax exemption privileges, the government was unable to collect taxes from it. After the resale under false deedes, Hongqing Palace did not report it to the imperial court, and these properties became hidden lands.

Fifth, although the white contracts were constantly being resold, Hongqing Palace was still the landowner. However, those hidden fields were still controlled by the original landowners, who paid a fixed amount of rent to Hongqing Palace every year.

Sixth, because Hongqing Palace occupied too much hidden land, the regular tax revenue of Songcheng County was sharply reduced. However, miscellaneous taxes and corvée labor were shifted onto law-abiding citizens, making their burden increasingly heavy.

Seventh, the heavier the burden on law-abiding citizens, the more land they contribute to Hongqing Palace. This has created a vicious cycle.

Eighth, Xu Lai stated that he would thoroughly investigate the matter and report to the emperor through a secret memorial. As for whether to make the final results public, that was up to the emperor to decide.

Ninth, eunuchs and relatives of the emperor were all temporary officials who could make money and then leave. But the Taoist priests of Hongqing Palace were local tyrants; they all married and had children, and treated the hidden fields of Hongqing Palace as their own private land. Xu Lai stated that during the land survey, it was discovered that some farmers were paying their rent directly to the Taoist priests' homes.

Tenth, Xu Lai suggested that the emperor set a tax exemption cap for Hongqing Palace, or a cap on the amount of land it could occupy. Otherwise, if things continued this way, all the land in Songcheng County would become temple land for Hongqing Palace. At that point, the government would have no taxes to collect and no labor service to levy.

Zhao Shu returned to his palace expressionlessly and handed the secret report to the Empress.

After reading the secret report, Gao Taotao broke out in a cold sweat. If the situation at Hongqing Palace was truly that serious, her younger brother absolutely could not be involved, or he would surely get himself into serious trouble.

Gao Taotao quickly said, "Sanlang is also ignorant. How can we not report this to the court? Let's recall him and find him another job collecting wine taxes."

"It's time to recall them," Zhao Shu nodded.

He could hardly imagine what kind of uproar the court officials would cause if Hongqing Palace truly occupied 100,000 mu of land.

Xu Lai's secret report was written in a clear and logical manner, and he analyzed the reasons for the merger of Hongqing Palace's land holdings very clearly.

This is a loophole in the rules!

Other temples and monasteries are required to pay taxes, but Hongqing Palace, as the original imperial temple, is exempt from taxes. While temples and monasteries are not allowed to purchase farmland from the people, ordinary citizens can voluntarily donate. Furthermore, Hongqing Palace has no upper limit on the amount of land it can occupy or on the amount of tax it is exempt from.

With so many loopholes coming together, even a fool could see the consequences. The result would be that the people would frantically donate land, allowing Hongqing Palace to continuously annex and tax-free its properties.

As Xu Lai said, if it is not controlled, sooner or later all the land in Songcheng County will belong to Hongqing Palace.

After much deliberation, Zhao Shu made a decision.

He should take the initiative to order Xu to investigate Hongqing Palace. This would make it appear as if the emperor was taking the initiative to eliminate long-standing problems, and no matter how big the matter became, it would be seen as the emperor being wise, powerful, and selfless.

If they pretend not to know, the news will definitely not be kept secret, and the reputation of the royal family and the emperor will be damaged.

Not only was his reputation damaged, but the emperor also gained nothing.

Because Hongqing Palace had so many hidden fields, the money and grain were taken away by eunuchs, relatives of the emperor, and Taoist priests, and there was no need to hand them over to the government or the royal family.

The following day, Zhao Shu issued an order to transfer Yuan Fang and Gao Shiqian, and to send his trusted confidants and relatives to take up the positions. In this way, those who were transferred would not need to be investigated, and those who were newly appointed would certainly not be held responsible.

Two days later, Zhao Shu summoned Han Qi and, under the guise of discussing Xu Lai's regular memorials, casually arranged the contents of Xu Lai's secret memorial.

The foreign officials did not know what Xu Lai had written in his secret memorial, so it was the emperor who had to take the initiative to order an investigation of Hongqing Palace.

What a wise ruler!

Oh, wise ruler!

Zhao Shu then said, "I believe that Xu Lai's suggestion of the fish-scale map can be promoted to various regions. People are alive, but the land is inanimate; the fish-scale map is very useful."

Han Qi, however, said, "The Fish Scale Register can only be created through a comprehensive land survey. During the Qingli era, the court also ordered a nationwide land survey. But what was the final result? Only half of the land in the country was actually registered. Officials and landlords colluded to turn the registered land into hidden land!"

Zhao Shu, hearing this for the first time, was incredibly surprised and asked, "How was Xu Lai able to do that in Yingtian Prefecture?"

Han Qi said, "The task of investigating land ownership can only be accomplished by capable ministers and officials. If mediocre officials were to take charge of the land investigation, it would inevitably cause widespread resentment in the local area."

Han Qi's words gave Zhao Shu a clearer understanding of Xu Lai's abilities: a capable and competent official who could oversee the clearing of the fields!