Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 218: Arrest the vassal king and shut up the court officials!

After hearing this, Shu Sheng's face darkened and he asked, "You mean that if the imperial court continues to rectify temples and monasteries like this, you will stop paying autumn grain?"

The Ming Dynasty's taxes were divided into summer taxes and autumn taxes.

Autumn grain has always been more important than summer taxes and is the most important source of income for the imperial court, because autumn grain income has always been about five times that of summer taxes.

As the most important grain-producing area in the world, Huguang paid more than two million shi of autumn grain, ranking top ten in the country during the Ming Dynasty.

If Huguang stops paying autumn grain, it will naturally be a huge loss for the imperial court and will have a great impact on the entire empire's military and political expenditures next year.

That's why Shu Sheng asked very seriously at this time.

"Of course we dare not stop paying the autumn grain, but the people of Huguang are mostly kind men and women. If the court does this now, I'm afraid it will make them resentful and they will not be active in paying the autumn grain!"

Deng Mo replied at this time.

Huang Wensheng also said: "That's right! Please think twice!"

"Then let them owe it!"

Shu Sheng replied.

Then he returned to the sedan with a sneer.

Deng Mo, Huang Wensheng and other local officials were even more surprised to see this.

Deng Mo couldn't help but shout loudly: "Isn't the Zhongcheng really afraid that the people will owe taxes because of this, and you will be labeled as having a bad test score?!"

Shu Sheng did not respond.

Deng Mo looked at Huang Wensheng at this time: "Why is he so fearless?"

Huang Wensheng thought for a moment and said, "He probably thinks we are just trying to scare them and they don't dare to do this! Let all our friends who are grain chiefs flee to other places and let the government collect the autumn grain themselves!"

"Huguang is not Shandong. Without the assistance of local big households, even if we set up a national tax bureau here, it would not be convenient to go around the mountains and plains looking for farmers to collect taxes!"

Deng Mo said with a sneer.

The taxation system in the Ming Dynasty was originally based on the system of grain chiefs, where each village would take turns to appoint a chief to be in charge of taxation.

But later, due to land annexation and the growth of the gentry group, the wealthy families in each village were able to evade the task of being grain chief through various means, and only the middle-class families were allowed to serve as grain chiefs.

Naturally, these middle-class families did not dare to collect taxes from the wealthy families, and even if they did, they did not dare to demand payment. In the end, they had to pay the taxes, and then ended up losing everything because of being the grain collector.

Therefore, later on, the system of grain chief became one in which whoever's turn it was to be grain chief would flee, and would rather give up farming and become a refugee than become a grain chief.

For this reason, the imperial court had to reform and could only hire some rogues and slaves from the market to serve as grain chiefs. Because these people were responsible for collecting taxes, they gave rise to the huohao.

The scoundrels and slaves in the market are mostly the minions of the rich families. Naturally, they will not collect taxes from the rich families. They will only help to hide the taxes of the rich families. As a result, many rich families are not only exempt from military service but also from taxes. The rich families can also control whether the tax grain can be collected smoothly through these people.

Therefore, local officials such as Deng Mo and Huang Wensheng dared to use the autumn grain to threaten the Huguang government forces represented by Governor Shu Sheng.

Simultaneously.

That's why Deng Mo said this with a smile at this time.

But Huang Wensheng suddenly reminded him with a serious look: "But don't forget that this is a period of severe crackdown. Will treacherous officials like Shu Sheng and Gui E use this opportunity to force taxation on the big tax-owing households?"

Deng Mo couldn't help but stop smiling, twisting his beard and frowning, saying, "That makes sense!"

“I don’t know when this crackdown will end!”

Huang Wensheng pondered at this time.

Deng Mo said: "It is clearly mentioned in the "Di Bao" that the crackdown can only be ended if the real murderer who killed the former governor Xiao Cong is found!"

"The real murderer of Xiao Cong is most likely the traitor Guo Xun who acted under orders!"

"Only Guo Xun knew where Xiao Cong went after he left the Liao Palace."

"Now the traitors in the government are crying thief, how despicable!"

Huang Wensheng said in a deep voice.

Deng Mo smiled and said, "That being said, if we want the imperial court to end the crackdown in Huguang as soon as possible, we should find a murderer for the imperial court even if we don't know who the murderer is!"

Huang Wensheng nodded: "The key is to make the emperor feel satisfied after knowing who the murderer is. We have to figure out who the emperor hates in Huguang now."

"Prince of Liao!"

Deng Mo replied without hesitation.

Huang Wensheng nodded: "It should be. We all know that the Liao prince insulted Yuan Zonggao. The emperor must have known about it too."

……

……

The rectification of temples and shrines and the collection of money for merit not only affected the interests of local officials, but also the interests of the royal family and vassal states.

Zhu Zhige, the crown prince of Liao, was very dissatisfied with the fact that the royal family of the Liao king in Jingzhou was hired by Yan Song to spread the news that temples and monasteries were misappropriating national funds.

For this reason, Zhu Zhige specially arrested several members of his own clan and ordered the guards in the Hu Mansion to beat these members of the same clan with sticks. "I told you not to report to me and to follow those treacherous officials in the court to cause trouble!"

"What does the temple's occupation of land have to do with you?"

"Hit me! Hit me hard!"

Zhu Zhige had the power to manage the royal palace, and naturally he also had the power to deal with his own line of royal family.

"what!"

The royal family members who were beaten naturally screamed in pain.

"Your Highness!"

At this time, the Chief Clerk He Chong came over and said to Zhu Zhige, "Your Majesty, the Royal Guards are outside and they said they have an imperial decree to announce!"

"Jinyiwei?"

Zhu Zhige was suddenly shocked.

then.

Zhu Zhige had no choice but to order an end to the beating of these royal family members, and ordered people to open the main gate of the palace to receive the imperial edict.

Zhu Wu immediately announced the decree to strip Zhu Zhige of his title of crown prince, demote him to a commoner, and escort him to the capital.

After hearing this, Zhu Zhige sat down on the ground dejectedly.

Zhu Wu waved his hand and asked his Jinyiwei to help Zhu Zhige up.

When Zhu Zhige was helped up, he struggled and shouted, "I didn't commit treason. I am wrongly accused. I don't know who Jue'an Miaoshan is! Let me go!"

But Zhu Zhige naturally could not struggle free, and was forcibly taken away from Jingzhou by the Jinyiwei.

The Chief Secretary He Chong was also sent to the capital in chains.

……

……

Capital.

Many court officials in the capital were still impeaching Yuan Zonggao for competing with the people for profit, and Shu Sheng and Gui E for persecuting gentry and flattering the powerful in Huguang.

After receiving Yan Song's report, Zhu Houcong specially said to these officials at the court meeting at Zuoshunmen:

"You said that my teacher was competing with the people for profit, and that your friends in Huguang had written about it in black and white in their letters. You dare not expose it in the book just because Yuan Zonggao is my teacher!"

"But the report I received is different from yours."

"Send all the articles, confessions and letters that Yan Song submitted in Huguang about the customs and sentiments of the people in Huguang! Send them to the ministers in the court for their review!"

After Zhu Houcong said this, he pondered and gave instructions.

then.

Huang Jin brought several eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, brought hundreds of relevant materials that had been brought in beforehand, walked up to the ministers, and distributed them to them one by one.

Zhu Houcong said at this time: "Please share this with each other and see what the people in Huguang think of my asking you to return to Huguang to lend money at low interest rates and what the people in Huguang think of Shu Sheng and Gui E's true feelings after they went to Huguang!"

“We can discuss with each other!”

"Many Confucian scholars praised the low-interest loans and wrote letters of thanks and articles praising the new policy. There are even testimonials from ordinary people."

"Tell me, are they the ones who will lie, or are your friends the ones who will lie?"

Zhu Houcong started asking as he spoke.

The ministers were all passed around to look at it one by one.

Even the court officials who usually criticized the emperor most fiercely for allowing his trusted and powerful people to lend money at low interest rates to the people, and who criticized Shu Sheng and Gui E, shut up after reading some of the thank-you letters.

Because they could not continue to talk nonsense in the face of irrefutable evidence, otherwise the emperor would have a reason to kill them.

"His Majesty!"

"Even if low-interest loans and competing with the people for profits did not exist, Shu Sheng and Gui E did not cause public outrage in Huguang!"

"But the imperial court shouldn't treat monks harshly or exile monks without ordination certificates just because some evil monks and nuns are plotting something bad!"

"And I'm collecting money for my merits."

"Not only does this not accord with your majesty's ideal of benevolent governance, it will also exacerbate public resentment!"

At this time.

Wang Wei, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, knew that it was no longer appropriate to criticize Shu Sheng and Gui E for low-interest loans, so he simply spoke out against the mistakes of the temple landlords.

Zou Wensheng, the Minister of the Imperial Household, also echoed, "Your Majesty, I second the proposal. Low-interest loans may not be considered as competing with the people for profits, but collecting merit money is clearly competing with the people for profits! It is not in line with the teachings of the saints to reduce taxes and levies! I implore Your Majesty to issue an order to stop the trial implementation of the merit money system!"

(End of this chapter)