My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 486 On the Skin and Bones of the Field

County government office.

Magistrate Wu was reluctant to use whale oil lamps, so ordinary oil lamps were still lit in the storeroom.

Li Yiyuan flipped through the files, his eyes straining under the dim light. Finally, he ordered Xu Shuli to move the files outdoors, so that he could finish reading them all before sunset.

In Li Yiyuan's view, the case that Magistrate Wu found difficult to decide was full of loopholes.

After reading it, Li Yiyuan had a better understanding of the situation. He said to Magistrate Wu:
"The facts of this case are clear; Lord Wu may now proceed with the proceedings."

Magistrate Wu was overjoyed and immediately ordered his yamen runners to hold court.

Magistrate Wu sat upright, his brows furrowed; Scholar Zhang stood below the hall, his face arrogant; Zhang and his son knelt on the ground, sobbing, their clothes tattered.

Li Yiyuan sat calmly in the audience, his expression indifferent. Xu Shuli stood behind him, scanning the entire room warily. Outside the hall, a crowd of villagers had gathered to watch, and even the postmaster Zhang Gui huddled in a corner, filled with unease.

With a slam of the gavel, Magistrate Wu spoke first: "Scholar Zhang, the Zhang family accuses you of seizing land and falsifying slave registers. Do you have any defense?"

Scholar Zhang cupped his hands and said, “Your Excellency is wise! Tianpi is the ancestral property of my Zhang family. He and his son signed a contract of servitude long ago, and it is written in black and white here!” He presented a yellowed contract with neat handwriting and a private seal.

The Zhang father and son cried out urgently, "Injustice! That was a fake contract we were forced to sign!"

Faced with this sudden new evidence, Magistrate Wu was somewhat at a loss, but Li Yiyuan, who was listening in, calmly said:
"Your Excellency, may I have a look?"

Magistrate Wu nodded immediately, and Xu Shuli took the contract.

After reading it, Li Yiyuan's lips curled into a slight smile.

He presided over the revision of the "Great Ming Code" and immediately saw the loopholes. Although the contract was "formal", it did not specify the details of the perpetual tenancy rights and was not registered with the government.

Simply put, Zhang Juren's new evidence was not filed with the government and is therefore completely invalid.

Li Yiyuan said:
“Zhang, according to the ‘Land and Housing Law’ of the Ming Dynasty, the landowner may not take over the land without explicit permission unless the perpetual tenancy right is explicitly abolished. Your contract only mentions ‘being dependent on the Zhang family’, but does not specify ‘selling oneself’ or ‘abandoning the tenancy’.”

"The transfer contract you just submitted does not have the official seal of the government, nor is it registered with the household registration department. This county does not support it, so it should be judged according to the old contract, which is the contract under which the Zhang family has perpetually rented the land."

According to the law, the land should be returned to its original owner.

Zhang Juren's expression changed slightly; he knew he had encountered a master.

He said quickly:
“The Zhang family, father and son, are also my family’s servants, and their land is also our land.”

Li Yiyuan's face immediately changed color, and he said sternly:
"Our dynasty strictly prohibits the private keeping of slaves! The Great Ming Code states that the number of slaves employed by dukes and marquises shall not exceed twenty, twelve for first-rank officials, ten for second-rank officials, and eight for third-rank officials."

"You, a mere scholar who has only passed the imperial examinations, dare to speak of keeping slaves?"

Knowing he had spoken carelessly in his panic, Zhang quickly tried to cover it up:

"The Zhang father and son are the adopted sons of our Zhang family."

While the Ming Dynasty did prohibit ordinary people from keeping slaves, it was still quite popular among the common people, especially among wealthy families in the region, who would take in bankrupt farmers as servants.

However, due to legal prohibitions, Ming Dynasty scholar-officials kept slaves under the name of "adopted sons," that is, they registered these slaves as "adopted sons" and signed contracts similar to permanent employment, making them de facto household slaves.

At this moment, Magistrate Wu also realized what was happening. He slammed his gavel and said, "Even if he is an adopted son, the perpetual tenancy contract is the private property of the Zhang father and son, not the clan property of your Zhang family. How can you arbitrarily seize it?!"

This left Zhang Juren speechless.

Magistrate Wu's words were going to be disastrous.

Within a clan, clan property and private property are kept very separate.

If a clan wantonly seizes the private property of its members, then the clan will disintegrate.

This is a matter of maintaining the foundation of the patriarchal clan system, and no matter how skilled Zhang Juren was in litigation, he dared not make a fuss about it.

Unless he wants to go against the entire patriarchal system of the Ming Dynasty.

Seeing Zhang, the scholar, suffer a setback in court for the first time, Magistrate Wu was extremely agitated and immediately pronounced his verdict:

"This case is clear: the Zhang family father and son have indeed held the perpetual tenancy rights, and are not your servants. Scholar Zhang has falsely accused you of misappropriation of property. He shall be fined ten silver dollars and banned from renting out his property for three years!"

Upon hearing the verdict, the Zhang father and son kowtowed and wept, while the villagers cheered. Zhang, the scholar, looked ashen-faced and retreated dejectedly. Magistrate Wu breathed a long sigh of relief.

Back in the inner hall, Magistrate Wu repeatedly thanked Li Yiyuan.

However, Li Yiyuan showed no sign of pride.

For a high-ranking official like himself, dealing with a petty litigious scholar was nothing to be happy about.

Through this case, Li Yiyuan has developed his own reflections.

Li Yiyuan said, "Magistrate Wu, although this case is closed, the gentry of Henan, relying on their power in criminal matters, are still oppressing the people. How can such a case possibly reverse this situation?"

Magistrate Wu hurriedly asked:
"What advice does Lord Li have?"

Li Yiyuan stroked his beard and said:

"I have a method to temporarily suppress its momentum: the government should strengthen the confirmation of land ownership."

Magistrate Wu was now at a loss. He was completely ignorant about the law and was far from being a legislator like Li Yiyuan. He simply couldn't keep up with Li Yiyuan's line of thinking.

"The county government can issue a notice to investigate all land deeds, and all those not registered with the government must be registered; in future cases, the rights and interests of the land owners will be given priority."

"In addition, in fact, land leased for five years can be converted into land ownership. Tenants who lease land for a long period can directly request the government to establish land ownership and convert it into perpetual tenancy."

"The county government will also issue a ban on abandoning land. If landlords abandon their land, the government can intervene and directly auction off the land, allowing ordinary people to buy it freely."

After careful consideration, Magistrate Wu felt that Li Yiyuan's method was truly ingenious!

Strengthening the land skin means weakening the influence of the land bone owners, that is, the gentry.

The five-year lease was converted into perpetual tenancy, which was an incentive for farmers to actually cultivate the land and also a way to crack down on local gentry.

Then, prohibiting land from being left uncultivated was used to force landlords to rent out their land, thus closing the loophole that allowed landlords to leave land uncultivated rather than rent it out.

Magistrate Wu exclaimed with delight, "Your Excellency's insight is brilliant! This method will surely bring peace to the people!"

But Li Yiyuan shook his head.

"This is merely a temporary solution."

None of this works?

Magistrate Wu was dumbfounded.

He felt this was the best possible solution, yet this lord was still not satisfied?

Are you really the new magistrate of Gansu?
Li Yiyuan said:
"Why can't the county do without local gentry? It's because tax collection is impossible without them."

"The county can be said to have outsourced all the tax collection to the local gentry in order to complete the annual tax collection."

"Therefore, as long as the collection of land tax remains in the hands of the gentry, there is no way to protect the rights of self-cultivating farmers."

“Strengthening the confirmation of land ownership will only lead local gentry to resort to other methods of pressure or collude with clerks to tamper with contracts, or sue under the pretext of ‘rent arrears.’ Without levying commercial taxes and reforming the official system, it will ultimately be a case of putting the cart before the horse.”

"This is why the gentry in Henan refused to levy commercial taxes no matter what."

After careful consideration, Magistrate Wu felt that Li Yiyuan's words hit the nail on the head. The county government was powerless against the local gentry because it lacked both manpower and financial resources, and had to cooperate with the gentry on the matter of taxation.

"Does Lord Li have a fundamental solution?"

At this moment, Li Yiyuan admired Su Ze even more.

Su Ze had already proposed a fundamental solution.

Li Yiyuan said:
“Promoting industry and commerce, and enabling cities to pay taxes, will weaken the influence of the gentry in the countryside.”

“Urban commerce and industry can absorb rural population. With fewer tenants, the bargaining power of tenants over gentry can be strengthened. At that time, as long as the government tries to side with the tenants, the gentry will naturally have to give in.”

"Finally, when agricultural output is not as good as that of industry and commerce, some people will turn to industry, and only then will the lives of farmers improve."

Magistrate Wu became hopeful and looked at Li Yiyuan, saying:
"Lord Li, the local gentry are blocking us, so the county has no way to levy commercial taxes."

Li Yiyuan suddenly said:
"If the new method is used to confirm the ownership of the land, can the county government directly collect taxes from the landowners?"

Magistrate Wu thought for a moment and said:

"If the land ownership can be confirmed this year, the landowners will definitely support the government. If all else fails, we can mobilize local students to help. If we give it a shot, we can make it happen."

Li Yiyuan then asked, "So, when the land ownership is confirmed this year, will the holders of the land be required to pay more than in previous years?"

Magistrate Wu said:
"If the land rights can be confirmed this year, the perpetual tenants will be much more motivated to pay taxes, and they can complete the summer and autumn grain harvests this year. With less exploitation by the local gentry, they should be able to exceed the levels of previous years."

Li Yiyuan said, "If Magistrate Wu can sign a pledge, I can help him by leading the county to hold the civil service examination and forcibly collect commercial taxes."

call!
Magistrate Wu gasped.

After witnessing Li Yiyuan's abilities, Magistrate Wu did not think he was bragging; he genuinely believed that Li Yiyuan had the ability to accomplish all of this.

Li Yiyuan meant that as long as Magistrate Wu could guarantee that the collection of summer and autumn grains this year would not be affected, he could bypass the obstruction of the local gentry and facilitate the direct collection of commercial taxes in the county!
With the introduction of commercial taxes, the county will have its own officials, allowing them to collect taxes directly from permanent tenants without going through the local gentry's tax-collecting system.

This is actually what local county magistrates are most worried about.

If commercial taxes are forcibly levied, these landlords and gentry will resist during the summer and autumn grain harvests, thus disrupting the collection of land taxes.

Commercial tax collection also takes time, and establishing businesses requires investment before there is a return.

If commercial taxes cannot be collected and land taxes cannot be collected, then the local magistrate will have to resign and go home.

Land tax was the Achilles' heel through which local gentry pressured county magistrates.

According to Li Yiyuan's method, by strengthening the establishment of perpetual tenancy rights, taxes could be levied directly on the self-cultivating farmers who held perpetual tenancy rights, thus avoiding the threat from the local gentry.

After all, most local gentry did not farm themselves.

When the government guaranteed the perpetual tenancy rights of the self-cultivating farmers, they were able to pay taxes enthusiastically in the beginning.

Once the commercial tax is levied and the government gets back into operation, the impasse will be broken.

Magistrate Wu gritted his teeth and said:
"We will collect taxes from each household in this county to ensure that the summer and autumn grain harvests are fully collected this year!"

Li Yiyuan nodded. If Magistrate Wu was willing to be the one to take the lead, then he was naturally willing to support him.

After seeing Magistrate Wu off, Li Yiyuan opened the window and untied the rice bag at his waist.

A short while later, the fat pigeon actually flew in.
-
Capital.

After reading the letter brought back by the fat pigeon, Su Ze was filled with admiration for Li Yiyuan.

No wonder he was able to reach the position of Grand Minister of the Nine Courts; his level of competence is truly high!

The issue of commercial taxation in Henan is also a concern for Su Ze.

Liu Zhijie, the Provincial Governor of Henan, was very decisive in promoting commercial taxes.

Thanks to Su Ze's matchmaking, Li Wenquan, the heir of the Marquis of Wuqing, invested in Huaiqing Prefecture, which led to a rapid increase in commercial tax revenue in Huaiqing Prefecture (Jiaozuo). Coal from the entire Huaiqing Prefecture sold well throughout the Central Plains region, and officials in Huaiqing Prefecture also carried out many projects to improve people's livelihoods, receiving awards and promotions.

However, despite the excellent results achieved in Huaiqing Prefecture, it failed to prompt other regions in Henan to levy commercial taxes.

Liu Zhijie was also very troubled by this, and wrote to Su Ze many times to ask for advice on how to break the deadlock.

Back then, Liu Zhijie promised the emperor and the Grand Secretaries that within three years of taking office in Henan, he would definitely levy commercial taxes throughout the province.

With almost a year gone by, and only Huaiqing Prefecture still collecting commercial taxes, how could Liu Zhijie not be furious?

However, Su Ze had no good solution to this.

Each region has different natural endowments. Huaiqing Prefecture is a coal city with a large number of metal mines. He was able to persuade Li Wenquan to invest in building a factory, and he did indeed reap the rewards.

However, the situation is different in other parts of Henan Province.

Local growth cannot rely entirely on investment. The best approach is to encourage local governments to levy taxes voluntarily and develop industries and businesses that suit their local conditions.

We can't just dig coal all over Henan.

Su Ze was certainly aware of the resistance from the local gentry.

But this is also a chicken-or-egg problem.

To free local officials from the constraints of the gentry and ensure that land taxes do not decline during the reform period, a bureaucratic system is needed to implement the reforms.

However, commercial taxes must be collected first in order to have enough money to support professional officials and ensure land taxes.

Moreover, the local gentry wielded considerable influence, so it wasn't something you could simply levy taxes on.

The land ownership in the local area is very complicated. Local officials can't understand it just by holding the land registers, so they still have to rely on the local gentry.

Li Yiyuan unintentionally came up with a way to break the deadlock!
By establishing permanent tenancy rights for land, the control of local gentry was broken.

When property rights are determined, the tenant's tax obligations are also determined.

In other words, the time when land tax is most easily collected is when the ownership of permanent tenants is confirmed.

This is a short window of opportunity.

The reason it is called a short window of opportunity is that once land becomes a formal land asset, it will quickly be monopolized and solidified, eventually leading to the emergence of so-called "land gentry".

There's no way around it; human nature is inherently inclined to laziness and aversion to work. Those who control the means of production will eventually become rent collectors.

Therefore, completing the commercial tax reform before the self-cultivating farmers of Tianpi become corrupt is a very ingenious move.

In that case, we need Henan's full support.

Su Ze immediately wrote a letter to Liu Zhijie, the Henan Provincial Governor, explaining Li Yiyuan's plan and asking Liu Zhijie to do his best to help Magistrate Wu to make this pilot project a success.

Su Ze then took out the memorial to the throne, intending to submit it to endorse Magistrate Wu.

If the pilot program is successful, the work in Henan will begin.
-
The fat pigeon flew out of the fifth branch of the Zhongshumen School, while Zhang, the scholar who had lost the lawsuit, addressed his clansmen:

"Let's go! We're going to the prefectural city to file a complaint against the county magistrate!"

(End of this chapter)