Chapter 248 Enhanced Version of Zhang Taiyue

Hai Rui went crazy.

Zhang Juzheng went crazy.

Now even the old Taoist priest has gone crazy.

If the guess is correct, Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng's memorials only reached the Cabinet and the Western Garden. As long as the old Taoist priest suppressed them and kept them without sending them out, nothing would happen.

But the old Taoist priest went crazy.

Go crazy with Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng.

And myself.

The leader of the younger generation in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, the pioneer of clean government and self-discipline in the Ming Dynasty, and the first person in the Ming Dynasty who is loyal to the country.

Yet he suffered an unexpected disaster for this.

Is it true that no one cares about me, a flower of the Ming Dynasty?

Where is the sunshine?
Where are the rain and dew?
Yan Shaoting felt somewhat sad and angry, and could only helplessly take over Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng, two crazy men, from Lu Fang and throw them into the hot potato in Beijing.

He lowered his head to look at Zhang Juzheng's memorial which Lu Fang had not yet finished reading.

This Zhang Taiyue!
Chunchun just doesn't care about other people's life or death!

Behind the beaded curtain.

Jiajing's eyes were grim, and he said in a deep voice: "Read it! Read it carefully!"

His eyes kept examining Yan Shaoting.

It seemed as if he wanted to dig out something that had been hidden before and that he had never known.

Yan Shaoting had the hot potato in his hand and could only lower his head and continue reciting after Lu Fang.

"Your Majesty, I, Zhang Juzheng, would like to make a statement in defiance of my death. I beg Your Majesty to approve it..."

"The two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court, the cabinet, the six ministries, the five temples, the nine ministers, and all the government offices and yamen have carried out various reforms and initiated various changes in this dynasty."

"I, Zhang Juzheng, humbly ask Your Majesty to allow me to rectify five long-standing malpractices in the court."

"First, the royal family is arrogant, second, the officials are idle, third, the government is inflexible, fourth, the border defenses are not well maintained, and fifth, the treasury is greatly depleted."

crazy!

Zhang Taiyue is really crazy!

Now I can only go crazy with this guy.

Yan Shaoting frowned as he read Zhang Juzheng's memorial. Every word was like a knife, cutting heavily into the body of the Ming Dynasty, which was now covered with festering sores.

"I have visited the areas along the Grand Canal and in Huaiyang, and have found that the royal family, princes, nobles, officials, and gentry have used their power to oppress others and seize farmland by offering, begging, and buying.

In the current dynasty, in areas such as the two prefectures of Suzhou and Songjiang, and even in the Huai'an area, two-thirds of the land that paid taxes at the beginning of the country has been lost, and more than half is secretly occupied by the powerful, who refuse to pay taxes, causing the national finances to be in deficit and the treasury to be empty, making it unsustainable.

The common people are exploited by the rich and powerful, living in poverty day by day, and it is difficult to get out of poverty. How can they dare to say that they have enough food and warm clothes? There is a local rumor: "One mu of government land yields seven dou, six dou are first sent to the imperial court, and only one dou is kept for marriage, which makes people worry about their old hair. It is not surprising to collect rent for land. All government land is sold to the people, and the rich get land and the people pay rent. Every year, the old rent is incurred and new debts are incurred."

I request that the land in the two capitals and 13 provinces be surveyed during the founding of the country. All mountains, rivers and lakes must be measured, and the occupied land of the people must be returned. The amount of land tax levied by each road, prefecture, state and county must be strictly enforced and no reduction or omission is allowed! "

After Yan Shaoting finished reading this paragraph, everyone in the hall felt uneasy.

Zhang Juzheng wants to survey the land across the country!

Moreover, after the land survey, the strict amount of land tax should be re-determined.

This is a direct blow to all the vested interests today.

Yan Shaoting swallowed.

He couldn't understand why. Didn't Lao Zhang know that if he wanted to carry out reforms, he had to become the Prime Minister of the Cabinet?

Doesn't he know that he must have a group of reformers following him?
Could it be that Lao Zhang and Hai Rui had stayed together in Suzhou Prefecture for too long, and the two infected each other?

Has Lao Zhang also become an iron-headed kid?
Yan Shaoting continued reading with confusion in his heart.

"On my way back to the capital, I heard that Yan Shidu of the Imperial Academy had proposed a method of evaluating performance in order to rectify the administration of officials. I ask Your Majesty to approve it. This dynasty should make great use of Yan Shidu in reforming its laws."

Finish reading this sentence.

Yan Shaoting almost fainted.

He looked up at the old Taoist priest behind the bead curtain.

He was already cursing Zhang Juzheng in his heart.

Co-authored.

This Zhang Taiyue has put his plan here.

No wonder the old Taoist priest insisted on reading this memorial himself.

I was actually taken away by Zhang Juzheng!

Yan Shaoting took a deep breath, suppressed his uneasiness, and continued: "In order to achieve justice, don't be anxious to ensure people's livelihood; the key to ensuring people's livelihood is to check the administration of officials. If the discipline is not strict, the law is not enforced, the people below will be accommodating and will be accommodating in all matters. Ambiguity can be called mediation, and compromise can be called good treatment.

"The whole world must have laws in place, govern by law, punish and reward, and uphold justice, so as to promote moral integrity and win the trust of the world. Strictly enforce discipline and strict restrictions, so that people of all ranks will be cautious and determined, and officials who are arrogant and unruly will obey the law.

I dare to say that if Your Majesty approves the reform and the survey of the land in the country and the implementation of the system of performance appraisal, then the tax collection will be correct and there will be no deficit, the treasury will be full, and the financial and tax revenue will be sufficient and there will be no shortage of expenses. "

Yan Shaoting's speaking speed gradually slowed down until he finished reading this paragraph.

He couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart.

What I have been thinking about is to take it step by step, and eat the meal of reform one bite at a time.

Zhang Juzheng was even worse. Not only did he launch a full set of reforms, he also put himself in a box.

This makes it impossible for me to wash myself clean even if I jump into the Yellow River.

Yan Song also seized the opportunity and said, "Your Majesty, I think Taiyue's memorial on this matter..."

"Old Yan Ge!"

Jiajing looked at Yan Song with a calm but somewhat cold expression.

"Let Yan Shaoting finish reading it before we discuss it." Yan Song could only nod as if he understood something, and then he shut up and lowered his head.

He didn't even look at his eldest grandson.

Yan Shaoting had no choice but to continue reading.

"I have traveled thousands of miles, and I have seen that people's livelihood and government are not peaceful, and the soldiers in the garrisons are also like this. Compared with the reigns of Taizu and Chengzu, it is far different. However, at this time, there are frequent wars on the borders of our dynasty, and the border troops have long been exhausted and difficult to maintain. I request to rectify the military preparations, show restraint outside, improve defense inside, promote good generals, and reward them for their merits. Accumulate money and grain, repair dangerous passes, train soldiers and horses, repair equipment, open military farms, manage salt laws, collect horses on the border, and disperse the rebels. With these eight matters, supervise the internal and external military forces of the country."

"We should rectify the administration of officials, military preparations, and people's livelihood in order to improve the internal affairs of the people. But today, the rich have land but no food, while the poor suffer from the burden of levies. The land is annexed and hidden, and the population is fleeing and losing more and more. The household and land registers are in chaos and distortion. The land and population controlled by the court are shrinking, and the financial resources are exhausted. Private households are getting richer, while the government is getting poorer. The country is poor and the people are poor. This is the real problem."

"When I ask that we measure the land in the country, we should restore the land of more than 8 million hectares at the beginning of the country, and we should increase it. If it is less than 9 million hectares, there will still be some hidden reasons and the land is still concealed."

"Now, I have observed that the transport of grain has suffered from many problems for many years. The great river has repeatedly burst its banks, causing disasters in the lower reaches. The court should send good officials to tame the great river so that thousands of miles of fertile land can be cultivated on both sides. After the court has completed the survey, it should collect the tax on population and land, and pay them all with silver, so that the court can transport grain between the north and the south and save money."

"The court should pay taxes with silver, and should also pay the salt tax and grain prices. The court should strictly prohibit big merchants from driving up or lowering the prices, so that the court will suffer losses in the compromise between the two matters, and the people will suffer losses in selling."

"I, Zhang Juzheng, feel so grateful to the Emperor that I cannot bear to fail him. I cannot forget the Emperor's grace of giving me a new life. I am so grateful that I am willing to risk my life. For this reason, I personally present this document and respectfully submit it to the Emperor in compliance with His Majesty's order."

He finished reading the five words "respectfully obeying the imperial edict".

Yan Shaoting looked as if he had been fished out of a flood.

True.

Zhang Juzheng's memorial requesting reform was no different from the original one, but it contained some more details.

For example, the core issue of the Single Whip System was to control the prices of the five grains to prevent losses for the people and the court.

For example, when surveying land, Zhang Juzheng gave a clear number this time. The total number of land in the country at the beginning of the country, plus two hundred years of reclamation, must have increased compared to the beginning of the country.

This is an enhanced version of Zhang Taiyue!

Zhang Taiyue, who was trapped in Suzhou Prefecture for more than a year and witnessed all kinds of things in the place, and finally built a great road!
but.

Now is not the best time!

Yan Shaoting sighed in his heart.

urgent!
Too urgent!

Everyone is too eager!
Hai Rui is one!
Zhang Juzheng is also one!
Yan Shaoting felt that he would probably be harassed by the old Taoist priest today because of the two memorials from Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui.

Although he had doubts and even disagreed with many parts of Zhang Juzheng's proposal for reform.

But in the eyes of the old Taoist priest.

I'm afraid I'm in the same group with Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng.

He wanted to implement the reform step by step, quietly and subtly, and when all the strength was accumulated enough, and after the new dynasty had established a certain foundation, he would take the lead in promoting the reform.

As for Hai Rui and Zhang Juzheng, they share my opinion that they want to reform the political system.

Yan Shaoting couldn't help but look at Gao Gong.

Could it be that the impatience has caused the virus to spread from person to person in the court?

Just as Yan Shaoting was thinking about how to deal with the old Taoist priest's difficulties.

The Minister of Rites Yan Ne had already stood up.

Yan Ne's face was full of anger and he looked upright.

"His Majesty!"

"I ask your Majesty to issue an order to hold Zhang Juzheng accountable!"

"The whole dynasty is in good order and the people are united. Before the end of last winter, Your Majesty issued an edict to rectify the administration of the court and officials, in order to reform the old and establish the new, and to appease the people's livelihood."

"Now Zhang Juzheng is even talking nonsense about reforms. In order to succeed, he speaks wildly and speaks wildly about the royal family, princes and the common people of the world. He seems to be seeking fame and fortune."

"As a minister in the Ministry of Rites, I dare not sit idly by and watch the country breed people who are greedy for fame and fortune and forget the rules of propriety. I request Your Majesty to severely rebuke all the requests made by Zhang Juzheng!"

Inside the main hall of Wanshou Palace.

The Minister of Rites Yan Ne spoke first and criticized Zhang Juzheng, who had already clearly called for reform.

The Minister of Justice Paine followed closely behind.

"Your Highness, I am the Minister of Justice, Paine."

"I second the motion to request Your Majesty to issue an edict severely condemning Zhang Juzheng's request and severely punishing Yan Shaoting, the Imperial Academy's attendant reader."

"Zhang and Yan, one in the court and the other in the local government, have been in the government since last year. They seem to be estranged from each other, but they are actually the same. They often talk wildly about reform and innovation, but in fact they are both greedy for fame and fortune, and they don't care about the royal family, the country, the rites and the people."

"Your Majesty, take this opportunity to rectify the government and the administration of officials this year to issue an order to severely punish Zhang Juzheng, Yan Shaoting, and Hai Rui, who tried to execute officials of one prefecture and six counties in Huizhou with a single memorial!"

"Although these three people are not in the same place, they are as one as one. They are all people who pursue fame and fortune."

"The court is now rectifying the style of administration, but these three people are upside down, ignoring the facts, and only focusing on their own interests, which is not good for the court and the country."

"Even though I die, I will impeach these three people. Your Majesty, please eliminate these treacherous people in the court!"

Yan Shaoting turned around helplessly and looked at Yan Ne and Paine.

You know it yourself.

When Zhang Juzheng included himself in the reform, these conservatives would certainly launch a counterattack against Zhang Juzheng and themselves.

But I didn’t think about reforming the law now!

If you want to kill, just kill Zhang Juzheng!

He has a stubborn head and a hard neck!

I, Xiao Yan, am still young and can’t handle the hard work!

…………

Monthly ticket recommendation ticket

　Thanks to GM212955 and Yi Yangqianxi for their tips

　
(End of this chapter)