Zhu Cihong and Zhu Cijiong were so angry that their faces were livid.
When the two brothers saw their father being scolded, they felt even more uncomfortable than when they themselves were scolded. Zhu Cijiong even clenched his fists, trying to rush forward and knock Gao Hongtu down with his old fists.
But there was no expression on Chongzhen's face.
In fact, Chongzhen was not angry at all, but found it funny.
Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, Jiang Yueguang, Xie Xuelong, and Zhang Youyu should have excellent personal ethics. Shi Kefa has never even sought personal gain for the family.
This is also the shining point of the Donglin Party members.
But this is not the case for the Jiangnan official and gentry group behind the Donglin Party.
The government gentry group in Jiangnan is not only greedy, but also attempts to legally own and occupy the divided official land!
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the 50 million acres of official land in Nanzhi were directly leased by the court to the people for cultivation. The rent for one acre of land was only five liters, three and five spoons, and no more than one spoon was charged.
To be honest, the rent for this land is really ridiculously low.
Calculated based on an output of two dan per mu, the tax rate is only 2.675%, which is less than 30 dan!
In the beginning, this was always done, but after the Jiajing Dynasty, officials and gentry began to invade official fields.
Hai Rui went to Huating to clear out the civilian land occupied by the Xu Jie family, the chief auxiliary. It was not civilian land at all, because there were only 60 million acres of cultivated land in the entire Nanzhi, and official land occupied more than 50 million acres. Songjiang Prefecture was Zhang Shicheng's core ruling area.
Almost all the cultivated land in the government was turned into official land by Lao Zhu, so how could there be any private land that could be occupied?
Most of the official land occupied by the Jiangnan officials and gentry was the official land of the imperial court.
Of course, the Jiangnan officials and gentry would also openly take Nanzhi as their own, but they would only transfer Nanzhi to tenants for farming without authorization. The land rent of seven liters, eight and seven spoons per mu should be paid to the state treasury. It is a mistake.
.
But for the tenant farmers who farm in Nanzhi, the burden of land rent becomes completely the same.
Since before the Wanli Dynasty, how much land rent have actually been paid by the tenant farmers in Shige Nanzhi? It is probably between 70% and 80%, and the average land rent is 70%, 50%!
Where did the middle 47.325% of the land rent go?
The 47.325% land lease is worth 47 million taels!
All those 47 million taels fell into the pockets of Jiangnan officials and gentry!
People's hearts are greedy, and it is a common mentality to go to Long and look forward to Shu.
Before the land rent was divided up, the Jiangnan officials and gentry wanted even less.
As long as Xiao Ming still exists, Jiangnan officials and gentry can only divide the land rent.
Only if Xiao Ming is destroyed can we take over 70 million acres of the south as our own.
That is the inner logic of Nanming's "Party struggle will lead to the destruction of the country, and the destruction of the country will also require party struggle."
Because both Fu Zhibo and the eunuchs headed by Ma Shiying and Ruan Xiaocheng regard Xiao Ming as a state-owned enterprise. When Xiao Ming dies, we can only divide the profits of the state-owned enterprise. Once Xiao Ming dies, we can directly divide the state-owned enterprise itself.
Let Xiao Ming's state-owned enterprise become a private enterprise owned by Jiangnan officials and gentry.
It's just that the Jiangnan officials and gentry thought too naively and too wonderfully.
When Jiannu went south, Xiao Ming really perished. Those greedy, ignorant, bold and brave Jiangnan officials and gentry suddenly realized that Jiannu was just about following the rules and took away the pot.
Returning to the topic, at that time Shige’s 70 million acres in the south had already been divided up by the Jiangnan officials and gentry.
The Jiangnan officials and gentry are also the financial backers of Jie Xuelong. Through a simple relationship network built from teachers and students, students in the same year, colleagues and relatives, we provide activity funds for Jie Xuelong people, help Jie Xuelong rise to a low position, and then let Xie Xuelong
In turn, it becomes our backer and talisman, and eventually forms a whole.
By the time of the Chongzhen Dynasty, Jie Xuelong and the Jiangnan officials had become a suture monster.
Therefore, Chongzhen's proposal to sell Nanzhi was purely to carve out the flesh from the Jiangnan official and gentry group, and to ask the Jiangnan official and gentry group to pay a war tax of 5 taels per mu. How would that work?
Not to mention 5 taels per mu, even 5 taels is fine!
The officials and gentry in Jiangnan have long regarded the 70 million acres of Nanzhi as their own private property.
Let us pay taxes on our private property. What do we think?
Therefore, the Donglin Party and others immediately responded without thinking. Gao Hongtu even opened his mouth to curse, and almost pointed at Chongzhen's nose and scolded me for being a filial son.
Chongzhen smiled warmly and said, "Is Nan Zhi really for sale?"
"It's really sellable." The Donglin party cried bitterly, "You, Xiaoming, rule the world with filial piety. Your Majesty, selling Nanzhi is selling off your ancestral property. The smallest thing is filial piety. In this way, the foundation of your country, Xiaoming, will be destroyed, and the country will be the country.
It’s time to die!”
"Your Majesty, please give me your eight thoughts!" Zhang Youyu, Fu Zhibo, and Fu Zhibo cried bitterly and kowtowed repeatedly.
Even though Gao Hongtu was ready to take off his crown, he would be begging for bones instead of piling up picks.
"Okay, okay!" Chongzhen pointed at the Donglin Party and others and said eight good words in a row, and shouted with a pale face, "They are the ones who collect business taxes, and Nan Zhi, who sells Shige, can also do it. I found out
Is it the Huangzhuang Head Office that sells Jingshi?"
"Selling the Imperial Mansion? That's okay." Gao Hongtu straightened his head with both hands.
Chongzhen asked Fu Zhibo and others again: "Fu Zhibo, Jiang Ge Lao, and there is no Jie Ge Lao?"
Fu Zhibo and others were confused and said in a daze: "There are naturally problems with selling the Imperial Manor, but now that the capital has fallen and the Imperial Manor is in the hands of the slaves, how can we sell it? No one will buy it?"
"Then let them take care of it." Chongzhen said with a white face, "Are they sure?"
Gao Hongtu snorted and said: "His Majesty's words are too heartbreaking. He is the emperor. Who can stop him from doing what he wants to do?"
"Does Beige always feel guilty for saying that?" Chongzhen snorted hotly, "I want to collect commercial taxes and sell Shige Nanzhi, but they stop me?"
"Your Majesty's words are wrong." Gao Hongtu retorted in a low voice, "The non-officials who are blocking him here are the Xiao Ming Ancestor System! If Your Majesty wants to abandon the Xiao Ming Ancestor System and ignore it, I will definitely have seven things to say."
"Okay, let's stop here." Chongzhen waved his hand fiercely and said, "I want to sell the Imperial Mansion in the capital, and also punish those who have taken refuge in the bandits and the property of noble officials and gentry with the honor of establishing slaves. I will sell them all together. Several pavilion elders
You should probably refuse to see me, right?"
"Do you have any opinions?" Gao Hongtu said dullly, "As long as His Majesty can sell it."
"Then it's just a matter of worrying a few pavilion elders." Chongzhen said, "Of course I can't sell it."
After being rejected twice, Chongzhen’s eighth proposal was finally passed.
"In this way, the state expenditure budget for the eleventh year of Chongzhen has been agreed upon." The Donglin Party also breathed a sigh of relief.
Gao Hongtu, Zhang Youyu, and Fu Zhibo were all unhappy because the court meeting on state expenditure could be said to have successfully achieved its intention.
After Shi Kefa left, the Donglin Party said again: "Your Majesty, the seventh item discussed in the court today is to draft men. Uncle Zong has already drafted a draft plan..."
"Huo Qubing knows how the Xiongnu took care of their family before they were destroyed. Am I still the same as the ancients? Besides, I no longer have eight heirs, so I am worried about the lack of national capital, right, Mr. Guantian?"
"That!" Donglin Party was at a loss for words, and Gao Hongtu and others also had something to say in response.
Actually, at Low Hongtu we just want to tie Chongzhen to Nanjing through Xiu Nan’s gentle hometown.
He said that he was an emperor and stayed in Xuzhou all day long, hanging out with small soldiers. What did he say?
Well, what the civil servants were really worried about was that Chongzhen would become Yongle VII, the Little Emperor Chongzhen!
If Chongzhen were allowed to create the same martial arts as Emperor Yongle, and then train a group of nobles like Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng, and Zhang Yu, would there still be no room for civil servants to comment under Xiao Ming's court?
Therefore, we in the Donglin Party instinctively want to stop Chongzhen from guarding the border. We leave that matter to the military commander. If he really doubts the military commander, he will send another supervisor to look after us.
Chongzhen stared into the eyes of the Donglin Party and asked: "Old Guantian, they should believe in my ability to command troops, right?"
"Of course I can." Donglin Party said quickly, "The battle of Xuzhou is enough to prove His Majesty's ability to use troops."
"I understand." Chongzhen said, "Why are they so resistant to me personally guarding the border for Xiao Ming?"
"Your Majesty's words are wrong. I am not against Your Majesty to personally guard the border for Xiao Ming." Di Hongtu frowned and said, "I am just worried about His Majesty's safety and hope that His Majesty will not be safe."
"This is a small matter, but it is necessary." Chongzhen said casually.
"As long as the salary and funds are in place, I will be as safe as Mount Tai in Xuzhou."
"Besides, it is the ancestral motto of the emperor to guard the country, how can I dare to do so?"
"Even if I really have no good intentions, and there is no prince, with King Ding and King Yong here, Xiao Ming's sky will fall."
Chongzhen himself said what he said, and Fu Zhibo and we have more to say, because the emperor guarding the country is really the ancestral precept set by Emperor Cheng Zuwen, and Chongzhen personally guarding the border is observing filial piety.
As ministers, we can always be filial to the emperor.
The Donglin party said helplessly: "Come on, let's bring up the matter of drafting men. Let's discuss the eighth item, Enke."
Zhang Youyu, who was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, went on to say: "Before the Jiashen national crisis, a small number of officials in the capital surrendered to bandits and captives, resulting in a small number of vacancies among the capital officials. A group of officials had to be supplemented from various provinces. However, there were also a small number of vacancies among local officials, so I waited.
Please ask Your Majesty to test one more talents and select a group of worthy scholars for Xiao Ming to go to the local prefectures and counties."
"I'm sure." Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "If you pass me, there will be nothing wrong with you."
After a pause, Chongzhen continued: "The mine supervisors and tax envoys can all be removed, but the workshops affiliated to the inner court agencies such as the Weaving Bureau and the Warfare Bureau will always be left unattended. What do the elders think we should do?
?”
Hearing that, the seven members of the Donglin Party looked at each other in shock, right?
Judging from the tone of His Majesty's questioning, he wants civil servants to manage various institutions in the inner court, right?
When Shang Gao Hongtu asked in a probing tone: "Your Majesty, what if we let the Ministry of Personnel select a group of officials to serve?"
"Are we already enough officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs? If so, we will need to test Enke." Chongzhen said, "That's why it's so troublesome. I plan to directly select the inner court from the scholars who served the King Qin.
The chief officials of various supervisory departments and bureaus, as well as several ministers, should refuse to see them without any reason, right?"
Donglin Party said: "His Majesty has no right to remove officials according to the decree, so how can the ministers approve of it?"
Chongzhen said: "Then the matter has been settled. I'm afraid the official signature of those who have passed the seventeenth prison is no longer applicable. How about collectively calling them secretary prisons?"
