The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 123 Conflict between people and land, land annexation

A familiar voice came from behind Zhu Xiong Ying.

Zhu Xiong Ying turned her head and saw that the person speaking was none other than Empress Ma.

"So it's the Empress Dowager! Greetings to the Empress Dowager!"

Empress Ma helped Zhu Xiong Ying up and said with a smile.

"Your potatoes are indeed growing very well, and the yield is extremely high. I am very satisfied with that. They will be ready for harvest soon, and then they will be a great asset to the people of the world!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely warn your grandfather about this matter and have him bestow upon you the title of 'Potato Grandson'!"

Zhu Xiong Ying felt that this form of address was a bit strange, so he scratched his head and said.

"Grandma, could I please use a different form of address? This one is really too strange!"

Zhu Xiong Ying felt really embarrassed about some names, such as the old ones like "Cosmic General" or "Heavenly Pillar General," which were so embarrassing that you could probably find a three-bedroom apartment in them.

"Judging from what the Empress Dowager is saying, she's looking for her grandson!"

Empress Ma nodded.

"Your imperial grandfather sent a letter with some instructions for you. I couldn't find you in the Hall of Diligent Governance and the Eastern Palace, so I guessed you must have come here!"

Empress Ma then took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Zhu Xiong Ying.

Zhu Xiong Ying held the letter but hadn't even opened it yet when she said with a wry smile.

"Grandfather and Father are really something. They went out to play, and when something happened, they just dumped it all on me? They're not suited to handle this, but am I supposed to be?"

Empress Ma was surprised to hear Zhu Xiong Ying complain like a child.

"You haven't even read the contents of this letter, yet you already know what happened?"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded.

"Besides that little mess in Fengyang Prefecture, what else could it be? Those nobles are really not behaving themselves. My grandfather wanted to deal with them, but my father was worried that my grandfather would go too far, so he passed the buck to me. I'm only ten years old. Not only was I brought in to oversee the country, but I also have to deal with all these things for him. Can you believe how wronged I am?"

Empress Ma was surprised that Zhu Xiong Ying could even guess such a thing.

Finally, it came to mind that Zhu Xiong Ying had his own intelligence organization, whose capabilities were no less than those of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Yu Huatian, who guarded Zhu Xiong Ying, should be one of its members.

Thinking about this, he felt that he couldn't understand his ten-year-old grandson. When exactly did he establish such an intelligence organization, and what was the secret recipe for making potato sugar? It was all too unbelievable.

"Now that you've guessed it, what do you think we should do next?"

"What else can we do? We'll just have to do what Grandfather said. I can only say that we won't involve any other innocent people, but none of these people will escape!"

Empress Ma felt a pang of pity and let out a long sigh.

"These people were your grandfather's right-hand men, and many of them even saved his life. Who would have thought they would end up on this path!"

"Your royal grandfather is really something. He's so old, what can't he handle himself? Why does he have to hand it over to you? Do you think he can gain any good reputation by handling this?"

Empress Ma was afraid that this matter would affect Zhu Xiong Ying.

Zhu Xiong Ying shrugged.

"There's no other way. Land is the lifeblood of the people. Nearly 60% of the land in Fengyang Prefecture has been completely seized by them. Add to that the official land, and the people have very little land left. That's why the people's lives are so difficult!" "Grandmother, haven't you noticed that very few dynasties throughout history have lasted for three hundred years? There's a huge connection between them!"

Empress Ma was well-read and had a clear understanding of history; she had never considered these issues before.

Zhu Xiong Ying's sudden question surprised him for a moment. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be true.

Since the Qin Dynasty, no dynasty has lasted for more than three hundred years.

Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted for eight hundred years, it experienced five hundred years of war and chaos, as did other dynasties.

The thought filled her with panic: "Will their Ming Dynasty also end up like this?"

"U.A., how do you know all this?"

"Did someone else tell you?"

Zhu Xiong Ying shook her head.

"There's no need for anyone to tell you this. You can figure it out with a little thought. Many dynasties are like this. These three hundred years are like a curse. In fact, a large part of the reason is related to land or land annexation!"

Empress Ma was very surprised that she had not noticed these things, but when she thought about the land policy, she had some doubts.

"Your imperial grandfather set a tax rate of one-thirtieth, which is already very low. How could something go wrong with such a low tax rate?"

It must be said that a tax rate of one-thirtieth is not considered excessive in any dynasty or generation.

Only during the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing of the Han Dynasty did such low tax rates exist.

This led to extreme poverty in the early Ming Dynasty, with even officials receiving very little salary.

"The taxes are indeed not high now, but as Your Majesty has seen, countless people of our Great Ming have lost their land!"

"Normally, we have enough land, but what if something happens?"

"Many people have had to sell their land in order to survive!"

"If this goes on for too long, the people who have lost their land will have no source of livelihood and will either starve to death or have no choice but to rebel!"

"This has always been the case. Moreover, although the current tax rate is low, who can guarantee that the next ruler won't increase the land tax if something happens in the future!"

"This is only what the imperial court levies; it cannot be ruled out that lower-level officials may create various pretexts to collect additional taxes!"

"When the day comes that the imperial court decides to reduce taxes, these officials, for their own benefit, will absolutely not lower the tax rate!"

"There has always been an unspoken rule that government orders do not reach the county level. The common people have no idea about the policies issued by the imperial court, and they are no match for these local officials. The money ends up in the pockets of these officials, and the only people in the world can resent is the imperial court!"

Empress Ma felt a chill run through her heart upon hearing these words.

"These things are just speculation, but given the personalities of these officials, they are indeed capable of doing such things!"

"Xiongying, is there any way to solve these problems? The people of the world are already suffering too much. You don't know how many people sold their children for a bite to eat at the end of the Yuan Dynasty!"

"Back then, the land from south to north was almost entirely covered with corpses. There were hardly any living people in any village. Life was so miserable. You wouldn't want to see the Ming Dynasty like this, would you? If you have any good ideas, Grandma will definitely ask Grandpa to reward you!"

(End of this chapter)