Who can take this breath?

The so-called qi is nothing more than the damage to interests. The more you lose interests, the harder it is to swallow this. However, if you want to do a big thing, you can't do it with the help of your family alone, and you have to attract other people.

After leaving the house, Li Hesun did not go to find the Zhang family, which is known as the first in Yingzhou. Why?

Because Zhang Heming of the Zhang family was a loyal and wise man who was buried with the etiquette of Emperor Chongzhen, when the bandits attacked the city, the five sons of the Zhang family died at the top of the city, so the saying "Golden heads are buried, and five gates are out of the coffin". When the Gan Sheng Dynasty praised the loyal and wise men of the Tianqi and Chongzhen dynasties also recognized the loyal and wise men of the Tianqi and Chongzhen dynasties. The Zhang family could receive a hundred taels of loyal and wise man every year without excellence. Moreover, after the Zhang family passed the county examination, they could enter the Imperial College for study without examination. Although this favor only benefited one generation, such favor still made them grateful.

As for the Li family... although his father died at the hands of a thief, he was a "eunuch party", so Chongzhen naturally did not give any praise. Therefore, the Li family was naturally not a "family family", and they were not allowed to go to the Imperial College for free and not allowed to go to the Imperial College for free... they didn't even think about it.

However, there is not only one Zhang family in Yingzhou Prefecture. The Zhang family is grateful to the court, but more people are dissatisfied with the court!

Li Hesun went directly to the Ning family. Ning Kuan, the ancestor of the Ning family, followed the King of Yan and made great contributions. He was named the commander of the "hereditary and the country to rest together" and Yongzhen Yingzhou Guard. "hereditary and the country to succeed" means descendants, and the rank is not reduced; "hereditary and the country to survive and die together with the Ming Dynasty. The commander position was inherited from generation to generation. The Li family has been in full swing for more than a hundred years, but the Ning family has been in a glorious position since the time of Emperor Chengzu...

Oh, by the way, the Ning family is no longer in glory now. In the second year of Gan Sheng, the military fields of the garrison were cleaned up. The Ning family was found to have engulfed more than 67,000 acres of military fields. The Ning family was killed by the family's eldest son, and the 67,000 acres of house land and Changmen's property were all found to be in the official position.

Why did no one dare to move when the court "took action" against the gentry later? It was because the Holy Emperor started, which was really cruel and ruthless!

The Changmen is gone, but the Ning family has a side branch in Yingzhou. Now the Ning family in Yingzhou is the Ning family. During the Wanli period, Shang Baocheng, who was born in Ning Zhongli, a Jinshi and a second-rank official. His son Ning Yuqing is currently the Minister of Revenue; his grandson Ning Gao, who is currently the magistrate of Taipei, is still the Ning family in Yingzhou.

"I have met Brother Ning."

Ning and Li families are relatives. The servants here reported that Li Hesun asked for a meeting, and naturally they were welcomed in. Ning Yuli, who is in charge of the family, is Ning Yuqing's elder brother.

As soon as the two met, they were polite for a while, and the topic was brought to the old story by Li Hesun, mentioning the glory of the Ning family back then and the panic when Gan Sheng retired from the second year of Gan Sheng.

"Don't leave with the country, and with the country... Your Majesty treats loyal and kindness harshly!"

Ning Yuli said to him with a resentment.

"I think my ancestors of the Ning family were Emperor Long Chengzu and fought south and north. They worked hard and made great contributions. With military merits and talent, they have built Yingzhou. However, Your Majesty did not remember the decree of Chengzu and seized the position of commander commander of the Ning family, and then seized all the Ning family's business..."

Ning Yuli, who was increasingly dissatisfied, said again:

"It would be fine if I didn't check the Nagato land, but what else would I say in the end, "Although the family has been separated for a hundred years, the military land must be taken back." Is it necessary to let the Ning family retreat the land, and even my family has withdrawn more than 300 acres. Isn't this deliberately humiliating us?"

Li Hesun sighed.

"It's not a humiliation. You didn't see that the land was cleared from your Ning family, and the Yingzhou Guard was reset. If you don't confiscate the land of your Ning family, then there will be fields to settle the military households in the Holy Dynasty? If you don't confiscate the money from your Ning family, then there will be money to build houses for the military households? Haven't you seen that those military households are one by one, and they look more glorious than us! If you don't take the job, don't pay food, you will even beat people, and the yamen will not ask them!"

"Bad!"

Ning Yuli scolded.

"It's just a group of Qiu Bas. What's the point of being proud of? Once the emperor and the ministers are gone, their good days will come to an end when Emperor Gan Sheng collapses and the new emperor succeeds to the throne. Back then, when his ancestors were in Yingzhou, those Qiu Bas were all arrogant! Now... they're just starting out!"

"Why have to wait?"

Li Hesun took out a newspaper and gave it to Ning Yuli:

"Brother, look at what the newspaper says: military households are not bad at food, not bad at law, and domineering in nature, which has long aroused public resentment. People are resentful in the countryside. Shouldn't we, the gentry, stand up and uphold justice for the villagers?"

The so-called "country gentry" does not refer to landlords, landlords... are just local rich people with two rich money. Before the Holy Dynasty, they all depended on "country gentry". What is "country gentry"? To put it bluntly, scholars with fame and fortune. The difference between gentry and ordinary landlords is that there are hanging cards on their homes - "Jinshishi", "Jinlin", "Shangshu" and other hanging cards. In addition, the archway in front of the house, only such families are "country gentry". If they have not left the Jinshi family, even if they are rich, they are "local rich people", "noble-offs", and "gents", and they are not qualified.

A considerable number of those gentry officials were officials. After they retired, they were idle clouds and wild cranes wandering around the mountains and forests, chanting poems and lyrics. They fished, ate wine, drank tea, listened to singing, played leisure cards, and enjoyed their old age. They were so uncomfortable.

But don’t think that these old guys are really idle people and have no sense of existence!

If a previous magistrate is stable in one place, he must gain their recognition.

In ordinary civil disputes, they are often asked to mediate the referee.

The magistrate wanted to raise money, run schools, and build roads, so he also asked them to call for donations.

Even the civil opinion the inspectors traveled around the place and listened to was also communicating with these old guys.

The so-called "hometown wish" is actually the "hometown wish"!

This circle is not about money, but about fame and identity.

Although this circle is in a vain state of the Holy Dynasty, it still exists. After all, in general, people in the village are more willing to let them uphold justice than the government. This is especially true for housework.

To put it bluntly, in many cases, local gentry plays the role of "grassroots regime". Of course, the government is willing to do so, why?

Grassroots regimes have to spend money, and the salaries of officials in the Holy Dynasties still follow the old system, consisting of three parts: rice, silver and banknotes. Even if a minor official from the ninth rank is in the last rank, he still needs twelve shi of rice, 19.25 taels of silver and 180 guan a year. As for the officials of the yamen, the most ordinary yamen runners need twelve shi of rice, 12 taels of silver and 12 guan a year.

Is it too much?

Many.

Before the Chongzhen Dynasty, in addition to officials of grade and six-house officials in the yamen, there were many yamen servants in the yamen who had no salary. They did not get paid, but why were they willing to work for nothing? These "white servants", that is, the reason why temporary workers were willing to work for nothing was to extort the people?

Why did local officials in ancient times be willing to use temporary workers even though they knew the purpose of working for free? To put it bluntly, it was because they needed someone to work.

Is it possible that I want the horse to run and don’t eat grass?

If the court does not provide local staffing, local officials will naturally find ways to solve the problem. For this reason, the solution to the Holy Dynasties is to increase the number of officials and prohibit the use of "white vocational service". Correspondingly, the court's financial expenditure has increased.

At the same time, facing the vast countryside, even the Holy Emperor is powerless. Why?

There are hundreds of thousands of villages and towns across the country, and each village has a mayor and two or three officials. The mayor must be from the ninth rank. As for officials, not to mention the salary of the Sixth House Official Code, the least the salary of the yamen that is not included. In addition to the office funds, a town can start at 500 taels a year.

There are 20,000 towns, 10 million taels a year.

What if there are 30,000 towns?

The annual expenses start at least tens of millions of taels.

Establishing grassroots administrative institutions requires cost. What is its core?

It's necessary to be sufficient!

In a town with thousands of people, how much land tax can be collected in a year? It may only be three or four hundred taels, but administrative expenditures are five or six hundred taels. Who will bear the cost?

Unless Emperor Gan Sheng allows grassroots regimes to collect "township and township retention" in addition to land taxes, allowing grassroots officials to "contract and support themselves", the so-called grassroots regimes cannot be maintained at all. Whether those officials can "contract and support themselves" can replace the gentry, is not clear, but officials will definitely slaughter the ground, especially the minor officials in the last ranks.

Since this is the case, we can only follow the old system. The squire still plays a role in the Gansheng Dynasty. Of course, there is a tight hoop on their heads - the Tiqi scattered all over the place is their tight hoop.

The gentry speaks for the villagers, that is even more... the righteousness!

"It is our duty to speak out for the villagers!"

After looking at the article in the newspaper, Ning Yuli's pupils shrank and immediately said to the Gao Li maid beside him:

"You all go out."

There were only two people left in the room, and the atmosphere was a bit subtle.

Ning Yuli asked:

"You came here for me, for this?"

Li Hesun said:

"That's right, military households are domineering, and as gentry, you and I should be fair to the villagers!"

Ning Yuli asked again:

“How to host it?”

"Of course it's the old way!"

Li Hesun said:

"On one hand, the gentry petitioned, and on the other hand, senior officials from the court wrote to the court to express their gratitude to the local government."

"How is this possible?"

Ning Yuli was surprised.

"The rule of the Holy Dynasty is to be civil and not martial, and martial is not related to civil and civil. If our third brother mentioned this, it would not be pushed into the fire pit, but would lose his head!"

Ning Yuqing, the third son of Ning family, is a member of the Ministry of Revenue. The person surnamed Li came to the door, so he must have wanted the third son to stand up and express his feelings for the local area?

Falling out?

What a big deal!

Civilians intervene in military affairs with ulterior motives, and they will lose their heads!

This Li surname is trying to kill the third brother, right?

"Look at what you're anxious. I, Yu Laosan, are a classmate and friend, how could I harm him!"

Li Hesun shook his head and explained his thoughts in detail:

"Military households do not have food, are not bad, and are very domineering. They have many disputes with local people. Officials are limited by laws and cannot take military households. How many villagers are not suffering deeply? Nowadays, some people shout "Where is the law of heaven?" in newspapers, yes, what is the law of heaven? We gentry should ask for the orders of the villagers. While asking for the court, they also criticize the military households for their tyranny by relying on privileges and tyranny through newspapers. As for the third brother and the others, they will write directly to the letter. Announcement - Just report the grievances that the people have suffered, and interfere in military affairs. What they are talking about is not military affairs! It is an ordinary civil matter. Can't officials in the court write to him? Our military households have received great grace from the emperor, which has never been seen in ancient times. Even so, there are military households who do not remember the emperor's grace, do not abide by the law, domineering, act as a barbarian, and oppress the good... Just tell these things out. As for whether the court orders a thorough investigation, it is not important at all."

"unimportant?"

Ning Yu digested it for a while and said in confusion:

"This is enough to let the court cancel the privileges of military households? Let them pay the imperial grain and national taxes?"

"From ancient times, it is natural for the people to farm and pay royal grain and national taxes. Why are military households special?"

Look, this enlightenment!

He is simply a "good squire" of the Ming Dynasty!

"Not only can we eliminate military privileges,"

Li Hesun said proudly:

"Even the Jinyi Tiqi, who has been rampant in the countryside for many years, can be driven out together!"
To be continued...