Seeing that the topic turned to the unrest in Henan, Li Xing asked seriously: "Brother, why did Li Zicheng ride into Henan alone for a few months and be able to pull out an army of tens of thousands of people?"
Li Zhi pondered and said: "From what I saw in Henan, the reason why Li Zicheng was able to develop so fast was all because of the gentry landlords. Henan is in a disaster year now. The gentry landlords have a surplus of grain, while the owner-cultivators and tenant farmers are
They are digging grass roots and eating tree bark. Although Li Zicheng was overthrown by us, if these gentry landlords do not change, it will not be long before Zhang Zicheng and Wang Zicheng raise the rebel flag again. The official army is deployed in Henan, and Li Zicheng will go to Huguang. The official army
If some of them go to Huguang, Li Zicheng will start trouble in Shaanxi and Shanxi."
Li Xing nodded and said, "Brother is right!"
Li Zhi talked about it: "Those gentry gentlemen talk about morality, but they do dirty things in private. They only know how to collect rents, avoid taxes, and put taxes on fewer and fewer farmers. If there is a good year with good weather,
Farmers can also grow grain for export and pay taxes. If there is a slight famine, there will be no food rations after paying taxes."
"From the time of Emperor Taizu Gao to the present more than 200 years ago, the Ming Dynasty's population continued to multiply, and the cultivated land became more and more. But now the taxable land is only more than half of what it was during the time of Emperor Gao. How ridiculous is this? Tai
During the time of Emperor Zugao, he did light corvee and low taxes, and rested with the people. But now the country's taxes are pressed on this land, which is only half of the original. There are not only regular taxes, but also fire and miscellaneous taxes imposed by corrupt officials. The taxes are the highest.
Sometimes it can even account for 60 or 70% of the harvest, and the burden on the poor people can be imagined."
"The Tatars are rising in the Northeast, and the Ming Dynasty is suffering from serious foreign aggression. If we want money to train our troops, we can only collect more taxes from the fewer and fewer peasants. Increase the taxes, increase the extermination wages, increase the training wages, and the small farmers will bear more and more taxes.
The heavier the tax. As a result, the increased taxes not only failed to annihilate the Tatars, but also crushed the farmers who shouldered the taxes. After paying the taxes, the farmers had no food to eat, so they had no choice but to become thieves. The taxes were too heavy, and the common people were living day by day.
I hope that King Chuang will come, and I want to follow King Chuang to start a rebellion and rob those gentry and landowners who do not pay taxes and have accumulated countless grains."
"What happened in Henan is, in the final analysis, a conflict between the gentry who did not pay taxes and the peasants who paid heavy taxes. The so-called drought only intensified this conflict. Therefore, as soon as Li Zicheng, who led the robbery, arrived, the people rushed to surrender to the thieves.
Like a spark thrown into firewood that has been in drought for a long time, it ignites a raging fire."
"Li Zicheng and others are not engaged in production. If they rob today, there will be no tomorrow. But the people are so oppressed by taxes that there will be no today, so how can they think about tomorrow?"
After hearing Li Zhi's words, everyone in the room fell silent. Although everyone knew that the disaster of bandits must have internal causes, this was the first time they heard such a thorough analysis from Li Zhi.
Gao Ligong cupped his hands and said: "My uncle is wise, he can analyze the subtle details and open up the distance, which is deafening and enlightening!"
Cui Changwu said: "Brother-in-law, although the world is big, the situation in various places is not much different from that in Henan. No matter which province it is, it is the same. If someone climbs up and calls out, I am afraid there will be a crowd of responders. Zhang Xianzhong ravaged Huguang and Sichuan, and there are also some
The support of the poor farmers. The people who had nothing to eat became worried and followed the thieves to rob others."
Li Xing said: "The climate has been quite abnormal in the past few years, and natural disasters are common. Brother, we have to take precautions and find a way to prevent the scene in Henan from happening in the world. Otherwise, thieves will rise everywhere, business routes will be cut off, and our
The industry may have to bear heavy losses."
Gao Ligong nodded and said: "Although my uncle's war in the south and north has brought peace to the Ming Dynasty for a while, I am afraid that this peace will not last long. If there are more famines in various places, I am afraid that bandits will rise again. When the time comes for the Dongnu to enter the Kou border pass again, then
There will be great disaster."
Li Zhi nodded and said: "This short-term peaceful scene has a turbulent undercurrent and cannot last long."
Gao Ligong raised his hands and said, "Uncle, do you have any good ideas to bring order to the world?"
Li Zhi said: "To prevent farmers from becoming thieves, the key is to increase farmers' harvests in disaster years. To achieve this, we can build water conservancy facilities to resist drought and floods, and allow large gentry households to open warehouses to relieve the people during disaster years, and also
Or reduce the taxes borne by farmers and small landowners, and let the large gentry households share the taxes."
After hearing Li Zhi's words, Cui Changwu said: "Nowadays, the war is chaotic, the court is fighting, the officials are corrupt, and the big gentry only consider the current profits. I'm afraid it's impossible to ask them to spend a lot of money to build water conservancy facilities and invest for tomorrow."
Li Xing said: "Today's wealthy gentry households are not good people. They have always been the only ones who have eaten from the poor, and the poor have never eaten from them. It is probably not feasible to expect them to contribute their own food to feed the poor in disaster years."
Li Zhi said: "To put it this way, if we want the people not to engage in thieves in the years of disaster, we can only start by collecting taxes from the government, and spread the heavy taxes that are burdened on the poor peasants to the gentry and landlords who evade taxes."
Hearing Li Zhi's words, everyone in the room was stunned. Cui Changwu was shocked when he heard this and asked: "Uncle wants to collect taxes from the gentry in Tianjin?"
Li Zhi smiled and said, "That's exactly it."
Gao Ligong turned pale with shock. He looked at Cui Changwu and said, "Uncle, think twice. Tax exemption is the foundation of the gentry. Those Jin gentry seem to have countless fertile lands. Speaking of which, I don't know how many of them are just for the sake of traitors."
They brought their fields with them without paying taxes. Once the gentry is asked to pay taxes, the gentry's property will probably fall apart."
"Your Excellency asks the gentry to pay taxes because you want the lives of these gentry. Their counterattack can be imagined."
Li Zhi said calmly: "Let them come, and I will try their methods!"
"I eliminated the two thieves Chuang Xian and wiped out the poor peasants in the world from the thieves' way out. I have to find a new way of life for the poor people in the world!"
Li Zhi looked at Li Xing and said slowly: "Li Xing, go and inform the chief officials of the first prefecture, two prefectures and twenty counties of Tianjin Town and ask them to hand over the yellow tax album and the fish scale atlas. From now on, we will handle this tax revenue."
The General Military Mansion is here to levy taxes! None of those gentry who have a good reputation and do not pay taxes can escape from me!"
Li Xing was so shocked that he opened his mouth wide and couldn't react for a long time.
Gao Ligong's face turned red with anxiety, and he knelt on the ground with a bang and said loudly: "Uncle, think twice, by doing this, you are waging war against the gentry all over the world! In the Ming Dynasty, the gentry had a much higher status than the common people.
It is not an exaggeration for the emperor to rule the government together. The gentry in the world will never let my uncle extract taxes from them without losing their heads and blood."
Li Zhi said calmly: "I have made up my mind. I will rely on these 20,000 tiger warriors to fight the world's gentry to see who will win?"
