Chapter 235: The Sword Slashes at the Ming Official

You, old Taoist priest, don’t agree.

Then I won’t say anything further.

Above the main hall of Wanshou Palace.

Yan Shaoting's face looked solemn and serious.

The young man was wearing a green robe and stood out among the old eunuchs in red robes.

The old waiters naturally had different expressions.

Some people scoffed.

Some people fell into deep thought.

Gao Gong frowned, looking like he was deep in thought.

In the past, I only thought that as long as the country's administration was rectified, things would get better for the Ming Dynasty and the people.

But today I heard what Yan Shaoting said.

seem.

That's not the case.

The taxes and labor service are all in arrears.

Once the imperial court hastily starts to rectify the administration of officials, this will inevitably be its primary goal.

If that's really the case.

What would happen to the billions of people in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty?
I haven't thought about it myself.

A trace of shame flashed across Gao Gong's eyes.

but.

He quickly looked coldly at the other people present.

I haven't thought about it, so it's even less likely that these people will think of it.

As for the emperor.

Jiajing originally just wanted to see whether Yan Shaoting, who had brought him unexpected surprises many times this year, could bring the same unexpected surprises in the administration of officials this time.

He also didn't think that the young Yan Shaoting could really make any achievements in administration.

But Yan Shaoting's speech.

But it surprised him.

Yan Shaoting did not talk about how to rectify the administration of officials at the beginning, nor did he say what specific measures to take to rectify the administration of officials.

Instead, he quoted from classics and finally brought the topic to the rectification of official administration and the responsibility for people's livelihood.

This incidates that.

He really put a lot of effort into the administration of officials.

Jiajing immediately said, "Today, the cabinet and the six ministries are all here. I can agree to your request. As long as the law of rectifying the administration is well agreed upon, all the laws should be based on the examination of land restoration, development, recruitment of refugees, and the establishment of simple folk customs."

After getting the promise from the old Taoist priest.

Yan Shaoting then bowed and nodded before continuing to speak.

"To rectify the administration of officials, the first thing to do is to evaluate them. In the past, the imperial court evaluated officials who had completed their terms based on the payment of taxes and labor service. I think this is a gross mistake."

"Once the court starts to rectify the administration, it will still follow this principle. Although I am young, I can see that the people of the world will surely mourn when the time comes."

"All the officials inside and outside the court must strictly enforce the payment of taxes and labor service arrears, and compete to collect the taxes and labor service arrears."

"Taxes and labor service are all taken from the people. To protect their political achievements, officials will exploit the people without any bottom line."

"At that time, officials will use various means such as locking, beating, and imprisonment to force taxpayers and related persons to pay taxes and labor service within the prescribed period, or even to compensate for the losses."

"All the officials and government offices will try their best to beat and enslave the people, and the people will be devastated. By then, we will surely see people wearing shackles and chains, walking on the road, supporting each other, and fleeing to other places, like birds that have lost their nests, and suffering like fish that have been fed. Some will ask to be hired as servants, and their wives will be sold as concubines to pay the debt. There will also be people who will lose all their property and wait to die in shackles without any trace."

Inside the palace, Yan Shaoting spoke in a sad tone.

What he said was not aimless.

Once the imperial court really only seeks to pay off taxes and labor service debts, it will evaluate officials throughout the country.

This is what is bound to happen.

It was also his dissatisfaction with Zhang Juzheng's attitude towards him.

After Zhang Juzheng introduced the strict performance evaluation system.

In the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, countless officials successively engaged in the pursuit of excellence and coolness.

For example, several successive prefects of Juzhou adopted various inhumane tortures such as "wind stirring up snow", "beating with a vine", and "head hoop" to collect taxes.

Pan Gongliu took Bu Bu to the martial arts arena and whipped him with mixed bamboo boards, which was called "wind stirring snow"; and he arrested Xi and hooked the people's ankles, which was called "beating the carrot".

He was tortured to death and Mo was so exhausted that he escaped by trickery.

At the beginning of the Wanli period, Liu Zifen of Jinxi used even more cruel torture.

In the hall, a brain hoop was used. The method was to tie the head with a rope, and then press two wooden fists against it. If it was twisted, the eyes would pop out more than an inch and the person would die instantly. After being soaked in water, the person would wake up after a long time.

The same arresting office tortured them with fingers, and sentenced them with bamboo sticks and two leather whips tied together. The whipping of the buttocks was likened to grain. They were required to go to four offices each day and try various torture instruments. The skin was completely exposed to the flesh, and the flesh was completely exposed to the bones. Every time they were driven in and out, they were tied with a heavy iron chain through the head, and their hands and feet were tied together. The foul stench was everywhere, and the pain was so severe that they could not move forward. The officials would use their feet to irritate their sores and use the rope to tie their necks.

Therefore, the bodies of those who were executed or beaten with sticks were piled up behind the City God Temple, and a Jingguan could be built.

The folk song says: Eight hundred wronged souls go to the upper world, and three thousand people are scattered to other places.

At that time, more than 800 people died unjustly.

Once you enter their territory, there is no smoke for a hundred miles.

Yan Shaoting continued, "This is just a normal phenomenon. If there is a famine, officials will still be assessed for their outstanding taxes and labor service.

It is inevitable that the old quota has not been paid, and the new quota has been urged; the new quota has just been paid, and the old arrears have come again. The quota is difficult to ease, and the extra quota is urgent. There are no barking dogs in the village, but people are still knocking on the door to urge them; there are cuckoos crying in the trees, and the blood of the whip is spilled. The yellow dust is red, and there are almost no people in every village. There are bones and phosphorus, and ghosts cry every night.

Even though the old Taoist priest had agreed to put people's livelihood first, Yan Shaoting still emphasized on rectifying the administration of officials and considering the possible problems that might arise if unpaid taxes and labor service were the main considerations.

He seemed very patient.

Seeing this, Jiajing also raised his hand and said, "If the court starts to rectify the administration of officials, local officials who do not put people's livelihood first, but pay taxes and labor first, and are harsh on the people, will be executed!"

After saying that.

Jiajing looked at Yan Shaoting with a dim gaze.

I have already said so much, it’s time for you to get to the point.

Yan Shaoting looked up at the old Taoist priest and asked, "Will His Majesty issue an order like this?"

Jiajing glared.

This kid actually still doubts himself.

He said solemnly, "Don't joke!"

Yan Shaoting nodded and finally said, "I have checked the Ming Dynasty Code from the beginning of Emperor Taizu Hongwu to the present dynasty, and I would like to report it to Your Majesty. If you want to rectify the administration of officials now, you should examine them four times if there is anything wrong.

"In the future, when the examination officials conduct examinations, they must record the achievements of the various industries of the agricultural and sericulture schools, with the restoration of farmland, the development of new land, the recruitment of refugees, and the establishment of simple folk customs as the top priorities. Those who violate the rules will be punished.

"Secondly, when the six ministries and the Censorate encounter various memorials, they either submit them in accordance with the imperial decree or report them to the emperor for approval, and forward them to the relevant government offices. They shall first consider the distance and urgency of the matter, set a deadline, and keep a record of it in a written form, which shall be recorded at the end of each month.

"For the three examinations, each ministry and government office must bring two copies of the examination results book, one to be sent to the department for cancellation, and one to be sent to the cabinet for examination. The department will attach the previous items in the book one by one for examination, and they will be completed next month.

"If the four examination officials report on the affairs of the governors and censors and find that there are delays in the cabinet's examination, the ministry shall report it; if the ministry cancels the documents and finds that there is concealment or fraud, the Ministry of Science and Technology shall report it; if the six departments submit the original documents and report that there is concealment or fraud, the Cabinet shall report it.

"Putting people's livelihood first, and the outstanding taxes and labor service second, all civil and military officials inside and outside the court, as well as all government offices, are ordered to make preparations at the beginning of the year, make annual calculations, quarterly assessments, and a final accounting at the end of the year. "If there are deficiencies in people's livelihood, they will be severely punished, and if there are deficiencies in taxes and labor service, they will be investigated and punished.

"In this way, the administration of this dynasty will be clean and honest, and people's livelihood will be prosperous, which will make the people rich. If the people are rich, there will be no need to collect taxes and labor service. The people will be willing to pay, and the court will not default on the payment every year.

I am young and incompetent, and I speak nonsense. I only want to repay the emperor's grace and comfort the people. Your Majesty is wise and can see clearly. "

After saying that.

Yan Shaoting clasped his hands together and returned to Old Yan.

The four tests he mentioned are actually basically the same as Zhang Juzheng's performance evaluation method.

But there is an additional, more fundamental issue than Lao Zhang’s.

Right now.

State policies and administrative reforms are all for the common people.

But facing the emperor, the Taoist priest, we cannot directly say that it is all for the common people. We have to add that if the common people live a good life and have money and food in their hands, they will naturally be willing to pay taxes, and then the money and food in the pockets of the court and the Taoist priest will naturally increase.

This is a complementary thing.

God knows why Lao Zhang didn’t think of this at the beginning.

It would be strange if reforms were divorced from the people.

With people's livelihood and all industries being given priority, the performance evaluation system can be considered truly perfect and have a foothold from now on.

Inside the main hall of Wanshou Palace.

Everyone was silent.

Even Yan Ne, Pan En and Yang Bo frowned and pondered.

It now seems that the court's plan to rectify the administration of officials is about to come true.

What the three of them were thinking about now was what kind of impact it would have if the court began to conduct examinations and rectify the administration of officials as Yan Shaoting had said.

The three of them racked their brains, trying to find even a single loophole in Yan Shaoting's petition.

But until now.

All three remained silent.

Because there were no loopholes in Yan Shaoting's request.

Even if they wanted to refute it, they had no basis for doing so.

Jiajing thought of what happened not long ago.

that day.

It is also in the Wanshou Palace, but not in the main hall, but in the back hall.

It was still Yan Shaoting standing in front of him, but that day there was no one in red robe.

There were only him and Yan Shaoting, the king and his subject.

that day.

Yan Shaoting said that a rich people means a prosperous country.

When the people are prosperous, the country is strong.

But it was also on that day that he rejected Yan Shaoting's idea of ​​reform.

But this time...

Rectify the administration of officials?

Because of the tragedy caused by Xu Fan in Miyun, the rectification of the administration of officials became a natural thing to do.

As for Yan Shaoting who retreated, although he was clear about the matter of rectifying the administration of officials, he would definitely carry it forward.

But he still felt regretful.

Because there was another more important matter that I didn't mention.

Does the governance of royal families fall within the scope of the imperial court's rectification of officialdom?

To know.

In the 28th year of Jiajing, when Wang Shizhen and Zhang Han investigated the clan membership, there were more than 10,000 clan members supported by the court. Ten years later, in the 38th year of Jiajing, this number had doubled to more than 20,000.

To this end, the imperial court had to pay the royal family a salary of up to 8.5 million dan a year.

What is the total land tax revenue of the imperial court in a year?
About 22.85 million shi.

The imperial court would spend more than one-third of its annual land tax revenue just to pay the salaries of the royal family.

Even if all the wealth in the world were used up, it would still not be enough to give it to him!
The land taxes secretly concealed by officials, gentry and dignitaries both at home and abroad are another matter.

That was never included in the court's land tax revenue.

If we were to survey all the land in the country, this amount would probably be more than the amount of salaries paid by the imperial court to the royal family.

However, the royal family's salaries are real and consume the court's finances every year.

It’s just.

Whether it is the salaries of royal family members or the officials and dignitaries, nothing can be touched now.

Can you claim the salt tax and royal family salaries yourself?

Or can they call for surveying all the land in the country and requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together?

both are not.

There is no such political foundation.

So this is why Yan Shaoting himself proposed the performance evaluation method today.

Besides going with the flow, it is something that can be done right now.

It is also to prepare for the future.

The road must be walked step by step, and the meal must be eaten one bite at a time.

You can't bite off more than you can chew!

At that moment, the broadsword could only be used to chop down Ming officials.

Just when Yan Shaoting was thinking about the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

Gao Gong jumped out immediately.

"Your Majesty, I think what Yan Shaoting said is that the purpose of rectifying the administration of officials is to benefit the people of the world. Yan Shidu's current assessment method for officials is to focus on the people's livelihood. If the people are prosperous, the country will be strong. The assessment method for all officials should be based on this."

"As an assistant minister of the cabinet, I receive salary from the emperor. I should share the emperor's worries and make the country prosperous and strong."

"I, your Majesty, request that you issue an edict to allow me to supervise the government to rectify the administration of officials! Starting from the 41st year of Jiajing next year, this year will be the end of this policy. I will order all ministries and government offices in the two capitals and 13 provinces of the Ming Dynasty to set a deadline of the 41st year of Jiajing. The court will evaluate the performance of all officials and government offices. This has already determined the fate of the people of the world!"

It is unlikely that the Yan family will participate in the rectification of official administration.

Xu Jie has returned home now.

As for this matter, the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty should be responsible for it themselves!

…………

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(End of this chapter)