Chapter five hundred and fortieth IX The theory of students
After Zhong Jinwei read it, he handed the investigation report back to the chamberlain on the side. Emperor Chongzhen above saw it and said: "Master Zhong, I don't know if I don't investigate. I will be really shocked if I investigate!"
When Zhong Jinwei heard Emperor Chongzhen's sigh, he was also quite emotional. Not to mention the fact that a large county basically had thousands of residents in the report, because Zhong Jinwei was not sensitive to this, but what he said later surprised him.
There are 100,000 hectares of land in a county, and 50,000 hectares belong to the students. Since the students have grain fields, they are exempt from tax. With a little help, these 50,000 hectares of land can be exempted from tax. But this county has a total of
If you have one hundred thousand hectares of land, you must pay the tax of one hundred thousand hectares of land. These taxes will eventually fall on the people who own the 50,000 hectares of land.
In some places, the ratio has even reached an astonishing ratio, with 90,000 hectares of land being used for living. In other words, the tax on 100,000 hectares of land ultimately falls on the people who only have 10,000 hectares of land.
The same principle applies to corvee labor, which was all passed on to the common people, making them overwhelmed and fleeing one after another.
The reason for this situation is that there are too many students. Those wealthy squires saw the benefits enjoyed by students and tried their best to obtain the qualifications of students by buying or donating.
Zhong Jinwei nodded and replied seriously to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, this situation must change, but it is not appropriate to do it now."
Emperor Chongzhen had already read this report and thought about it. He was not surprised when he heard what Zhong Jinwei said. He nodded and asked, "Is what Master Zhong said about the feudal feudal overseas affairs of the vassal king?"
"Your Majesty is wise. The refugees caused by the land annexation just provided favorable conditions for the vassal king to recruit a large number of manpower. Only in this way will the largest number of people leave the Ming Dynasty and go overseas. This is one of them."
Emperor Chongzhen nodded slightly and listened as Zhong Jinwei continued: "Secondly, land is the lifeblood of us Han people. If this piece of land is touched, it will inevitably cause a violent backlash from them. In this troubled year, Ming Dynasty is beginning to reform and strive for power.
At the time of the ZTE, too many uncertain factors will be added and the impact will be too great. I believe that the court must focus on the large and let go of the small, and resolve the main contradiction first."
Emperor Chongzhen thought the same way. When he heard what Zhong Jinwei said was the same as what he thought, he said, "Master Zhong, I understand what you said. I just want to know how to solve the second point?"
Emperor Chongzhen pointed out the second point. In fact, there have been several serious incidents, including the Nanjing Civil War.
Specifically, it means that students use their own privileges to disrupt the normal work of the government.
Health officials may not worship the official, but can receive food and be exempted from corvee service. Usually, they rely on themselves as an extension of the government's local power, colluding with subordinates or directly being subordinates themselves. When encountering something that offends their interests, they may receive bribes.
Later, he often interfered with the government's work.
If the government wants to solve this situation, they will make noises one after another, saying that they will kill scholars, trap scholars, and attack them in groups. They will put up big-character posters, or block the entrance of the government office, and so on. The final result will often be like this.
The students’ wishes.
In fact, this kind of thing has been going on for more than a hundred years in the Ming Dynasty, so that the Shengguan became more and more arrogant. From the Wanli period to the third year of Chongzhen, there were many large-scale civil riots led by the Shengguan.
In the Ming Dynasty, everyone wanted reputation, and no Confucian scholar was willing to be a murderer. Even the emperor was unwilling to have the reputation of cheating Confucians.
Another hidden reason is the complex relationship between students and officials at all levels, such as classmates, same year, and teachers. These relationships even extended to the era before Zhong Jinwei came. They were all interrelated relationships.
The reason why the people dared to carry out the Nanjing Civil War this time was that the black hands behind the troublemakers were found out by the Dongchang officers. The evidence was conclusive, and what they did also hindered the national policy.
Zhong Jinwei thought for a while and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, this matter may be said to be difficult or simple."
"Master Zhong, what do you mean by this?" Emperor Chongzhen asked with concern.
"Your Majesty, if the court does this passively, for example, if something happens to a student and the court responds to it, it will be difficult to cure the situation."
Zhong Jinwei's words are easy to understand, but they are not the focus of Emperor Chongzhen's concern. He asked with a little urgency: "Master Zhong, what about the simple one?"
Zhong Jinwei raised his eyebrows and replied in a slightly loud voice: "Your Majesty, the simple way is to guide the students back to the right path. In this way, whatever the purpose of the imperial court's preferential treatment of students is, let them do whatever they want. It can be combined with the current reality.
The situation, with slight changes, can guide the students very well."
Emperor Chongzhen looked thoughtful. After a while, he said to Zhong Jinwei: "Master Zhong, please tell me the specific measures."
Hearing this, Zhong Jinwei raised his finger and said: "First, strictly implement the imperial court's rules and regulations for students. Assessments must be held strictly and regularly. Those who do not comply will be deprived of their honors and titles."
Then Zhong Jinwei stretched out a second finger and said: "Second, we can appropriately increase the knowledge of the students so that they will not all have to recite the eight-part essay with fixed routines. Those who have learned the skills can pass the exam at a young age, thinking that
All the major events in the world are under their control, and it is easy for people to appear who can only talk but not do anything; it is not very reasonable for a talented person who has no knowledge but cannot be an official in his life."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen first shook his head, then nodded and said: "Master Zhong, the reason why the imperial court uses eight-part essay is for the sake of fairness. Only in this way can the possibility of human manipulation be eliminated to the greatest extent. But Master Zhong said
It makes sense, if the court’s selection of scholars is limited to eight-part essays, some talents will indeed be missed.”
When he said this, Song Yingxing, Xu Xiake, and even Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi and others appeared in his mind. The latter two were admitted to Jinshi very late and began to really contribute to the court.
"Master Zhong, eight-legged writing is still indispensable in recruiting scholars. But if you have anything to add, you might as well tell me." Emperor Chongzhen looked at Zhong Jinwei and asked hopefully.
Zhong Jinwei couldn't help but secretly nod in his heart. Emperor Chongzhen was obviously much more mature than when he first met him, and he had his own thoughts on many things.
He was a little pleased, and then smiled and said to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the imperial court has now established a research institute, and the researchers in it all have corresponding titles, and their salaries are provided by state-owned enterprises. They are famous and profitable, and are comparable to ordinary officials.
In fact, there is not much difference. I suggest you make full use of this road!"
When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he felt something. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Master Zhong means to guide the students and others in this direction so that they have something to do. Are there other options?"
The imperial examinations in ancient times were more difficult than the college entrance examinations in Zhong Jinwei's time. What really happened was that when thousands of troops crossed a single-plank bridge, only a very small number of people could pass.
It is not uncommon for some students who cannot cross the single-plank bridge to stay and cause trouble.