The Eastern Jin Dynasty inherited the land tax system of the Western Jin Dynasty and implemented the land occupation system and the land assignment system. When a man reaches the age of seventeen, he is considered a Ding and begins to bear the government's corvee tax. A Ding man occupies 70 acres of land. These 70 acres are private land and pay to the government.
You only need to pay part of the tax, and there is also fifty acres of farmland. These fifty acres are government land. All the income from farming is handed over to the government, which is equivalent to serving the government. Of course, in practice, it is impossible to supervise how much income you earn from the farmland.
, but uniformly stipulates the tax standard for each mu of farmland, which creates a problem, because the land may be poor, the year may be rich and poor, and in years of famine, if the government does not have a tax reduction or exemption policy, then the farmers will be unable to pay
As a result, many self-cultivators left their hometowns, abandoned their household registrations, and entered the gentry's large estates to farm for the gentry landowners, becoming hidden households evading corvee taxes. Some self-cultivators did not occupy 70 acres of private land, but still had to pay that much.
Renting taxes and paying taxes on farm work turned into taxes by dings, which also aggravated the bankruptcy of homesteaders. More and more hermit households flowed into noble estates. There was no one to serve the country, and taxes were lost——
After hearing what He's Dian Ji said about the Chen family's expansion of land and annexation of farmers in Qiantang, Lu Chu said: "The Ketian is government land, how can the Chen family take it for themselves?"
He Zhu sneered: "This alone can ruin Chen Cao's reputation."
Lu and He, who were both more talented and less talented in Dianji, said: "Lu Juncheng, Qian Tang, and the Chen family merged the farmland of those farmers into the Chen family's large estate, but they still shouldered the government's taxes, and these
The class fields were not involved in buying and selling. They were brought into Chen's manor by farmers. If we want to use this to accuse Chen of embezzling government land, it seems difficult to convict Chen of the crime——"
Lu Chu nodded and said, "That makes sense." He looked up at Dian Ji, who was about to speak, and said, "If you have anything to say, just say it. If you can succeed this time, I will reward you heavily. Your class
Brother, you can also work under me as an official."
Na Dian Ji quickly saluted: "Thank you so much, Lord Magistrate, for your kindness. I thought, it is not easy to argue with the Chen family's tax fields that have already paid taxes, but there must be farmers' private fields and tax fields that have been newly annexed recently. Those tax fields must be
Before the rent is paid, if you want to sue the Chen family, you can start from here. This time, the villain bought two former tenants of the Chu family. They can be witnesses when the time comes. There is also a farmer who has one hundred and sixty.
Because the land is fertile, they don’t have to worry about not being able to pay taxes. They don’t want to be attached to the Chen family and want to be self-sufficient. Chen felt that the more than 100 acres of land lying in the middle made it impossible for the Chen family’s large estate to be connected together, so she sent
They used both soft and hard tactics, and finally bought the land in early July this year. The farmer was very dissatisfied, but there was nothing he could do about it. The Chen family was so powerful that they could only complain - I had not alarmed this farmer, and I would not do anything about it when the case of occupation of the farmland occurred.
Convince him to accuse the Chen family of plundering his land, and if the two cases are brought together, the Chen family will be defeated."
Lu Chu was overjoyed: "Very good, you have done a good job." He was ordered to do it and was rewarded with fifty pieces of silk. After the work was completed, there was another generous reward.
After Na Dianji and the three bankers retreated, it was already midnight. He Zhu said: "Brother Zishan, this matter cannot be delayed. We should report this matter to your Majesty as soon as possible. There must be a reply before the 23rd of this month."
, remove Chen Cao from his position as envoy."
Lu Chudao: "There are still 19 days left before the review deadline. Tomorrow I will report the matter to the Tuduan Division with an urgent document of 400 miles. Within half a month, there will be a reply. Regardless of whether the Chen family has invaded the field and robbed the land of the neighbors.
Whether the matter is true or not, we can use the example to temporarily remove Chen Cao from his duties as an envoy, pending review."
He Zhu said bitterly: "After Chen Caozhi is dismissed, I want to see what the Yu family, Wei family, Kong family, and Xie family look like. I guess they will feel sad for handing over so many hidden households.
Of course what you hand over cannot be returned, haha.”
Lu Chu said: "Daofang, you, the He family, have to hand over another two hundred hidden households. The same goes for recruiting others after the end of the Tudu period."
He Zhu thought that what Lu Chu said was reasonable. Other wealthy families in Kuaiji had handed over a large number of hermits, but the He family was the only one who had received nothing. This was really inappropriate. He said, "Forget it, I will go back and discuss with my uncle and hand over two hundred hermits."
Please wait until Chen Caozhi is dismissed from office."
Lu Chu smiled.
…
In the afternoon of the next day, Dai Shu, the internal secretary of Kuaiji, urgently summoned Chen Caozhi to the county government office to discuss matters. He said that Lu Juncheng had rushed four hundred miles to send a secret message to Beijing. What happened was unknown, but it must have been aimed at Chen Caozhi. He asked Chen Caozhi to
Be careful.
Chen Caozhi thanked Dai Neishi, returned to the post house, and asked Xie Daoyun to discuss it. Xie Daoyun said: "Zizhong himself is blameless. I expect Lu, if He wants to find an opportunity for you, he must start with your people. Zizhong should immediately
Go back to Qiantang to check whether the clan members have violated the rules and deal with them in advance."
Chen Caozhi nodded and talked about the Chen family's shadow house. Xie Daoyun praised: "Zizhong is careful and far-sighted, but there is no guarantee that the Chen family did not do other forbidden things. Even if the clan members did something illegal, they would not even be able to sit on Zizhong's head."
, but now is an extraordinary period of Tu Duan, and the chief official of Tu Duan, the Minister of the Mainland, is dissatisfied with Zizhong, so it is very easy to take advantage of this to cause trouble."
Chen Cao said: "Brother Yingtai, I ask you one thing -"
Xie Daoyun asked with a smile: "Zizhong wants me to go to Chenjiawu to handle this matter on your behalf?"
Chen Cao said: "Brother Yingtai is always so considerate."
Xie Daoyun said: "That's fine, I can hide it better if I go, and I would also like to see Run'er more."
Chen Caozhi was grateful in his heart and couldn't help but stretched out his hand to cover the back of Xie Daoyun's right hand which was resting on the desk. It was as cold as jade.
Write a letter and I will leave immediately." After that, he went back to his room to pack his luggage.
Chen Caozhi was also a little dazed. He wanted to take Daoyun's hand for some reason. Did he really regard Brother Yingtai as Gu Kaizhi and Liu Shang, or did he have other feelings?
Chen Caozhi didn't want to think too much. These were completely beyond his control and he couldn't control them. He could have clear beliefs about Lu Weirui, but he couldn't have clear beliefs about Xie Daoyun -
Chen Caozhi hurriedly wrote a letter to his fourth uncle, Chen Xian, and ordered Jing Nu and Lai Zhen to return to Chenjiawu with Xie Daoyun.
Before six o'clock on the first day of winter, Xie Daoyun and his party of more than ten people came to Qiantang and did not cross the river to Chenjiawu. Xie Daoyun only asked Lai De and Jing Nu to go back to see the Chen family chief with Chen Caozhi's letter. She wanted to visit Qian first.
Tang County Magistrate Feng Mengxiong needs Feng Mengxiong’s help in this matter to find out in just a few days whether anyone from outside the county has come to inquire about the Qian Tang Chen family’s background——
Feng Mengxiong saw Xie Daoyun and heard what Xie Daoyun said about someone trying to frame Chen Caozhi. How could he be negligent? He ordered two of his trusted subordinates to lead ten officers to wait for Xie Daoyun's dispatch. Xie Daoyun took his maid Liu Xu and eight of his own
Thirteen private soldiers, county officials, and officers rushed to Fenglin Ferry to cross the river. As soon as they arrived at the south bank, they saw Chen Xian, the leader of the Chen clan, and Chen Man from the Beilou. Chen Chang and his son were preparing to rush to the county seat——
Chen Xian knew that his nephew Chen Cao's re-examination was very offensive, so he was quite frightened when he received Chen Cao's letter. He hurried to the county town with Chen Man and his son to meet Zhu Langjun, and he was happy to die at Fenglin Ferry.
Encountered.
Xie Daoyun told the two elders of the Chen family about Chen Caozhi's Tu Duan in Kuaiji. Chen Xian and Chen Man heard that the prime minister of Kuaiji County, Lu Chu, and the wealthy He family in Kuaiji were determined to obstruct Tu Duan and tried to frame Chen Cao Zhi.
They are worried. The Lu family of Wujun and the He family of Kuaiji are powerful families in Jiangzuo. Their power is far beyond what the Chen family of Qiantang can contend with. They cannot get strong support from their families and rely entirely on him alone to support them.
ah!
Xie Daoyun comforted the two old men and said: "Two uncles, don't worry. Since Zi Zhong knew that Lu He had such a conspiracy, he sent me here to help the two uncles thoroughly investigate the matter. I will definitely have a countermeasure."
Xie Daoyun was very efficient in his work. At Fenglin Ferry, he ordered two Qiantang clerks to take ten county officials to visit the Chen family's shade house. They asked for friendly words but no threats. They met at Chenjiawu in the evening.
The two petty officials led the officers and went separately. Xie Daoyun, Chen Xian and others came to Chenjiawu and hurriedly paid a visit to Ding Youwei. They had no time to talk, so they went to the Chen family's ancestral hall to listen to Chen Man and his son explain to her the Chen family's past three years.
Chen Caozhi asked his uncle Chen Xian in his letter not to conceal anything about the development of the family estate from Zhu Langjun. The more justified the violation, the more he should speak out, so that he could make amends——
Chen Chang held a large stack of books and recounted many matters related to the registration of the Chen family in the Qiantang Dynasty in the fourth year of Shengping. Xie Daoyun gently rubbed a jade stick in his hand and listened quietly. Hearing the recruitment of the Chen family
The farmer, who paid the taxes on his behalf, asked, "Isn't it a heavy burden for Mrs. Chen to take such great care of me?"
Chen Xian on the side explained: "This is what Cao Zhi suggested. Cao Zhi believes that large estates can better resist natural and man-made disasters if they work together. Ding Nan occupies more than a hundred acres of farmland. How can he cultivate it intensively? Although he occupies a lot of land, the output is not
If the yield per mu is low, it is better to start by increasing the yield per mu. We, Chenjiawu, reuse experienced farmers and old nurseries with long-term skills. Last year, the yield per mu of Chen's Manor was significantly higher than other gentry manors in the county, so
Chen Changdao: "There is no other registration, but it is noted in the field registration."
Xie Daoyun said: "Please don't bother me. Immediately overnight, register the farmland separately and indicate that it is the official farmland brought by the tenants. The names of the tenants must be sorted out."
Although Chen Chang felt that Zhu Langjun was making a fuss, the Chen family paid the taxes on these official fields. It was not an invasion of the official fields. It was because the Chen family cultivated intensively and paid attention to selecting high-quality seedlings. In addition to paying the taxes, Chen Chang
There was still a slight surplus, but since Zhu Langjun said so, Chen Chang agreed to personally supervise the management overnight and plan to complete the matter.
Xie Daoyun asked: "In the past three years, Chen's farmland has expanded from 40 hectares to 200 hectares. Are all the farmers who come to rely on it voluntary?"
Chen Man said with some pride: "I wish you gentlemen, I, Mrs. Chen, have always been kind and generous. If the tenants of Chen's crop have a bad harvest or are poor or sick, we will reduce or reduce their land rent as appropriate. Those farmers who rely on me, Mrs. Chen, will have no worries. I don't know how many farmers want to
I settled in Chenjiawu because my sixteenth nephew advised me not to expand too much, so I refused to rely on many farmers."
Xie Daoyun smiled slightly, looked at the sky and it was getting dark, and said: "Let's wait until the county officials and officers come to see what they find, and then we can discuss this matter."