Zhang Yanling certainly knew the consequences, and he also believed that if the emperor really wanted to do this, the nobles would definitely protest. The nobles would never be ambiguous when it comes to safeguarding their own interests.
They have lost many political interests and will never suffer heavy losses in their privileged self-interest.
Zhang Yanling frowned and thought carefully for a while, then smiled and said: "Father-in-law, since I want to hear my son-in-law's opinion, I will boldly say a few words and have the right to discuss it. If there is anything inappropriate, my father-in-law should not be offended."
Xu Guangzuo smiled and said: "Why are you so humble? You are not a humble person. Just say it."
Zhang Yanling said slowly: "Father-in-law, some of the long-standing shortcomings of our Ming Dynasty are indeed very serious. For example, the land occupation and annexation is a hidden worry for our Ming Dynasty. Forgive me for being alarmist, but if this continues, our Ming Dynasty will probably fall."
Up here."
Xu Guangzuo was stunned and frowned: "What do you mean?"
Zhang Yanling said: "The noble princes and wealthy officials all occupy large tracts of land as their own and do not pay taxes to the court. The court's finances have dropped sharply and cannot make ends meet. Military expenditures and various expenditures cannot be guaranteed, so how can we talk about the rejuvenation of the country?"
The tax burden on the common people has become increasingly heavy and unsustainable, and a large number of common people have been forced to give up their own farming and become tenant farmers, becoming destitute people. If things go on like this, the court cannot operate normally and the common people have no way to make a living. Will the Ming Dynasty recover?"
Xu Guangzuo looked at Zhang Yanling in astonishment and was speechless for a moment.
Xu Yande said in a deep voice: "Brother-in-law, what do you mean? Are your elbows turned out? Are you trying to blame us? It's really unreasonable. Aren't you one of them? You talk about these nonsense outside, don't come here.
Preach to us.”
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Brother, I said I won't be angry, why are you angry again? I'm just discussing the matter and expressing my opinion."
Xu Yande glared and said: "Aren't you talking nonsense and deliberately causing trouble for us? According to what you said, our nobles are sinners of the imperial court."
Xu Guangzuo said in a deep voice: "Yande, listen to your brother-in-law."
Zhang Yanling cupped his hands and said: "What I mean is that our nobles are sinners. What I mean is that land annexation is very harmful to the imperial court. The annexation is getting more and more serious, and it has affected the operation of the imperial court and the livelihood of the people.
Yeah, that’s a big deal
The consequences of the people having no food to eat are very serious. When the people are in dire straits, the world will be in chaos. We all eat in the pot of the imperial court. If the pot is smashed, no one will eat. As the saying goes
This is the truth. If the skin is gone, the hair will not be attached."
Xu Guangzuo said in a deep voice: "What you said, I can't say that you are wrong. However, this is not our fault. Doesn't the emperor himself have an imperial estate of more than 200,000 acres? The emperor himself is like this, why?
Can you blame others? If you say so, we should all dedicate our acres to the court, and then we nobles should all take bowls and go to the streets to beg for food, right?"
Zhang Yanling smiled bitterly and said: "My son-in-law didn't mean that. What I mean is that this matter should cause alarm. Didn't the emperor talk to his father-in-law and the British father-in-law about paying taxes? This shows that the emperor has actually noticed it in his heart.
This matter is over. What my son-in-law means is that we all have to have some knowledge in our hearts. Maybe one day, the emperor will issue an imperial edict and everyone’s land will be taken away."
Xu Guangzuo sneered and said: "If the emperor does that, I'm afraid he will be criticized by thousands of people."
Zhang Yanling said: "Father-in-law, when the day comes for the emperor to issue the decree, the situation must have been corrupted and we have to do it. By then, fighting is meaningless. It will only bring more serious punishment and will only be punished.
The world thinks that the nobles are acting for personal gain regardless of the stability of the imperial power and the safety of the court. Instead, they have become the culprits."
Zhang Yanling's words were cryptic, but Xu Guangzuo understood clearly. What Zhang Yanling meant was that the emperor had really reached the point of issuing an order to take back the land of the nobles, because it must be because the imperial power was difficult to stabilize. By then, the nobles were unwilling to sacrifice
If you seek profit, you will be punished mercilessly because there is no way out.
"Actually, from my son-in-law's point of view, this benefit from the land is nothing. My family's more than 100,000 acres of land brings me only tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. This is indeed a lot of money, but I
I really don’t like it. That’s why I opened Jishitang to sell medicine. My father-in-law also
You see, Jishitang makes a net profit of 400,000 yuan a year just from supplying first-aid powder to the army. Isn’t this money coming faster and more than digging money from the mud? To be honest, if the emperor asks me for a reward,
If he wants the land, I will give it to him without even frowning," Zhang Yanling said.
Xu Guangzuo sneered and said: "You are just lucky. Besides, this money is not the money of the imperial court. To put it bluntly, it is just for personal gain, and there is nothing worth boasting about."
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "Father-in-law, you are wrong. Although the business was facilitated by the transaction with the outer court, in essence, I did not harm the interests of the court. The military also spends a large amount of money every year to purchase trauma medicine.
You know this well. Li Dongyang just transferred the order for purchasing wound medicine to me. I am not taking money from the court's pocket.
It's just taking money from the pockets of other people who supply gold sore medicine. This is a pretense of self-interest, not a pretense of public benefit. Besides, the first-aid powder of our Jishitang is a holy medicine for healing, which is a great thing for the soldiers. Although it is expensive
It’s a bit strange, but it’s worth the money. This is an excellent thing for me, a lieutenant general of the Ming Army. I don’t feel anything ashamed.”
Xu Guangzuo smacked his lips and said: "Even so, it is your luck. What does the Honorable Family rely on if it does not rely on land? How can there be so much good business? Without land, the Honorable Family will have to drink from the northwest wind."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "If there is a big business and we can earn more money than what we can get from the land, will my father-in-law be willing to return the land to the court?"
Xu Guangzuo frowned and said nothing.
Xu Yande sneered and said: "Brother-in-law, you are out of your mind. We are here to listen to your countermeasures, but you really persuade us to hand over the manor land, right?"
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Forget it, this topic is over. The above are all nonsense from me. My father-in-law and brother just pretend that I didn't say anything. As for the matter at hand, this is what I think."
Zhang Yanling refilled the tea for Xu Guangzuo and his son, and said softly: "My father-in-law, my son-in-law believes that there is no need to overreact to this matter. In my opinion, the emperor is just testing the waters. He will definitely not seriously want to do this."
Xu Guangzuo said in a deep voice: "Oh? Why did I see you?"
Zhang Yanling said: "First of all, with the emperor's intelligence, how could he not know the importance of the family of his relatives to the royal family? Not long ago, he had made great contributions and received a reward. How could the emperor suddenly do such an obvious move?
Something that aroused the anger of nobles? Secondly, the court has not yet arrived
It's not like squeezing money from the heads of the princes and nobles. Although the court's money and food income are tight, even if it wants to take action, it will not be all at once on the heads of the nobles. If the emperor really wants to do something, he will still care about the two
What do you think of a prince? Isn’t that unnecessary?”
Xu Guangzuo nodded slightly and said: "That's very true. I and the British father also felt strange. Why did they suddenly mention this matter for no reason? It's really confusing. According to what you said, why would the emperor test us?
Woolen cloth?"
Zhang Yanling said solemnly: "I think this is a signal. Maybe the imperial court is really going to do something. The emperor wants to test the reaction of the relatives first. If you overreact at this time, it will be counterproductive."
Xu Guangzuo twisted his beard and remained silent. Zhang Yanling's explanation did not satisfy him.
Zhang Yanling said softly: "My son-in-law believes that the emperor's temptation is not that the emperor wants to do this, but that someone asked the emperor to do so."
Xu Guangzuo looked at Zhang Yanling in confusion and said, "Why didn't I understand what you said?"
Zhang Yanling said: "If someone wants to do something but is not sure about it, it is certainly a good idea to ask the emperor to come out for an interview or to spread the word."
Xu Guangzuo said in surprise: "What do you mean? Someone wants to take action on our heads? Use the emperor's mouth to test our reaction?"
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "It's not on us, but on others. Once word spreads that the emperor summoned the two princes and asked the family of the honorary relatives to pay money and food, it will be a shocking thing. The whole country will be shocked.
If the princes and princes all have to pay money and food according to the acres of land, let alone others? Others are trying to scare the monkeys, but the emperor is trying to scare the tigers. Use this matter to let others understand the determination of the court."
Xu Guangzuo stood up slowly, like lightning lighting up in a dark cloudy sky, and the fog in his mind suddenly brightened up. He seemed to have captured something.
"Father-in-law, someone wants to rectify the money and food issues in the field, and wants to do something big. Before the rain comes, thunder will ring first. Please ask the emperor to come out for an interview. If the Xunqi family overreacts and does something extreme, then it will
Let us fall into a passive position. If the Xunqi family expresses cooperation, this attitude can be exploited. This is a perfect plan that has a moderate amount of advance and retreat, and has both sides." Zhang Yanling laughed.
The fog in Xu Guangzuo's mind completely dissipated, and he laughed and said: "Awesome, awesome, who is this? It's a perfect plan that has been carefully thought out. Who is so capable? I admire it, I admire it."
Xu Yande stared at it for a long time, and finally tasted the taste. He was shocked and said: "This is too scheming. Brother-in-law, you can analyze it, you are not simple."
Zhang Yanling said: "I only realized it not long ago."
Xu Guangzuo said in a deep voice: "So, who is it? The people who can come up with such a perfect plan must be Li Dongyang and Yang Tinghe. Only civil servants can have so many tricks."
Zhang Yanling shook his head and said: "How dare Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and others take such big actions at this time? This is something that offends many people. Isn't it stupid for them to do this?"
Xu Guangzuo said in a deep voice: "Liu Jin! Could it be him? It can only be him. But how could he have such a plan?"
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "Don't forget, a large group of civil servants are now attached to him. Jiao Fang, Zhang Cai, Liu Yu, they are not useless. They will help come up with ideas. Hahaha, Liu Jin, Liu Jin, forgive you for being such a traitor
Damn it, you took the bait after all. I thought you wouldn’t bite my hook.”
When Xu Guangzuo and his son heard this, they looked at Zhang Yanling in shock. Xu Guangzuo said slowly: "Yanling, please don't tell me that this matter was your plan."