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

Chapter 124 The Single Whip Law and the Integration of Land Tax and Labor Service
Empress Ma emerged from a chaotic era and deeply understood the suffering of ordinary people during such times.

Farmland is the foundation of people's livelihood. In the beginning, people were able to protect their land, but once there was a natural disaster or man-made calamity, they had to sell their land.

Ultimately, land inevitably shifted to the wealthy, powerful, and influential.

However, if land sales are prohibited, and something happens to a family, making it impossible to cultivate the land or pay land taxes, it would be tantamount to forcing people to rebel.

Resolving this contradiction is extremely difficult.

The civil and military officials of the court thought about it for a long time, but could not come up with a suitable solution.

If Zhu Xiong Ying has a solution, it would be an excellent thing for the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Xiong Ying shrugged, looking completely innocent.

"Grandmother, it's not that there's no solution, it's just that this solution would offend too many people!"

"In the Ming Dynasty, there were many people who did not need to pay taxes. This was a gift from the Emperor and their privilege, but it was precisely this privilege that was the beginning of land annexation!"

“When the country was first founded, they didn’t have much land. Most of the land was still in the hands of the people, and the country was able to collect taxes from them!”

"But as land is transferred to these people, the taxes the country can collect will gradually decrease!"

"If a country runs out of money, neither the military nor other sectors can function properly. Therefore, in order to accomplish certain tasks, it is necessary to increase taxes!"

"For example, initially 60% of the land was subject to national taxes, but later only one or two layers of land could be taxed. To solve this problem, the tax collection efforts had to be increased. In addition, local officials would impose various exorbitant taxes. Over time, the money that the people had to pay increased, and when it reached a breaking point, rebellion would naturally occur!"

"The best solution is to merge the poll tax into the land tax, with both the gentry and commoners paying taxes!"

"A person should pay taxes according to the amount of land they own. In addition, we should abolish privileged organizations and require gentry to pay taxes in the same way. Only by taking this two-pronged approach can we collect enough taxes as long as the land area remains!"

Therefore, although Zhu Yuanzhang ruled the Ming Dynasty, there were many powerful families and civil officials in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, and they all controlled a great deal of power.

They were originally using their privileges to gain benefits.

If this matter is really brought up, Zhu Xiong Ying will probably become the common enemy of these people, and then he will probably be isolated and helpless.

The privileged organizations of the Ming Dynasty were the imperial family, nobles, and aristocratic families, none of whom were easy to mess with.

If they are pushed too far, Zhu Xiong Ying may find himself with no place in the imperial court.

Moreover, the Zhu family is the most privileged organization.

"Xiongying, you must never tell anyone about this, otherwise you might become the public enemy of the powerful clans!"

"Your imperial grandfather killed many people in his life, and what he hated most were corrupt officials. But despite this, he still kept his distance from scholars!"

"If we don't have these scholars, how will our Great Ming Dynasty be governed? Wouldn't the people of the world be even more chaotic and uneasy then!"

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded without saying anything more.

That is indeed the case in the Ming Dynasty today, but every reform must be accompanied by bloodshed and sacrifice, that is beyond doubt. If it is for the sake of the people, then it is not such a big problem.

However, these people possess extremely powerful forces, and we must guard against their final counterattack.

"Don't worry, Grandmother, I understand all of this. Although I know what to do, I won't be too hasty, after all, this kind of thing can't be done in a short time!"

"However, I believe that I will be able to accomplish this in my lifetime!" Empress Ma nodded in satisfaction when she saw Zhu Xiong's heroic spirit. This was the kind of son her family should have.

"Alright, stop arguing here. It's better to finish what your grandpa told you to do than anything else. Be careful not to fail, or your grandpa will come and spank you!"

Zhu Xiong Ying was startled by these words and hurriedly slunk away.

The atmosphere became extremely strange even before the court session began the next day.

Several people who had never appeared in the court before suddenly all came this time, making the court extremely crowded.

There were even more of them, especially among the military officers.

Lan Yu was extremely surprised to see this and quickly pulled Fu Youde to his feet.

"Hey, Lao Fu, what day is it today? Why are all these guys here? Didn't they say they were retired? Why are they all back!"

Fu Youde shook his head, his face full of innocence.

"How would I know? They contacted me before, but I ignored them. However, it seems they're not up to anything. Let's just ignore them!"

Lu Zhongheng and Tang Shengzong and others couldn't see eye to eye with Lan Yu and his group, but this matter was of great importance to them, so they naturally wanted to seize every opportunity to unite.

Marquis Fei Ju of Pingliang walked over to Fu Youde with a smile.

"So it's the Marquis of Yingchuan. It's been quite a while since we last met, hasn't it? I wonder if you have some free time? How about we go for a couple of drinks after court?"

Fu Youde felt a sense of crisis for no apparent reason.

This old guy has nothing to do with me, but Ke Yan's sudden invitation to drink is definitely not a good thing; he might even be setting a trap for him.

Thinking of this, Fu Youde rolled his eyes at him.

"Fei Ju, what do I have to do with you? We're not acquainted, so don't get too close to me!"

After saying that, he took two steps in another direction.

Marquis Fei Ju of Pingliang looked rather unpleasant. He flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and left the place, finding a spot to stand up.

Lan Yu walked up to Fu Youde with a gloating expression.

"Well done, Lao Fu, that's a tough one!"

Fu Youde glanced at him.

"These guys are up to no good. They don't usually show any kindness, but they've suddenly come looking for us now. We'd better be careful!"

Hu Weiyong stood quietly at the front of the civil officials, head bowed, without saying a word.

The group of civil officials behind him looked at him as if they wanted to devour him.

During this period, Hu Weiyong offended quite a few people in order to complete Zhu Xiong Ying's arrangements and try the blank seal case. Naturally, no one was willing to stand with him, and Hu Weiyong felt extremely helpless.

(End of this chapter)