Chapter 432 Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui are two donkeys

Northeast of Nanjing City.

Beside the official road.

Looking at the team coming from afar, Yan Shaoting immediately ran down from the heights, stood on the official road, and smiled.

This trip is heading south.

In his expectation, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui would play a huge role.

A governor of Yingtian, nominally the real official governing the people in the Jiangnan prefectures.

A governor and minister of the sea can appoint naval forces on the pretext of justice and have government affairs dealings with the tax and military offices.

These are two good people who can be used like donkeys!
As for this trip south, I think I will have to stay in Jiangnan for a year or two. With their help for such a long time, subsequent matters will naturally be handled more smoothly.

Thinking of having two donkeys with endless energy at his disposal, the smile on Yan Shaoting's face became more intense.

Then, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui got off the carriage one after another.

Then I saw Yan Shaoting's face full of smiles.

It was so brilliant that it made them both feel sick.

But Yan Shaoting had already stepped forward quickly, stretched out his hands, and grabbed the two... No! The hands of these two heroes!
"Shao Ting has not seen his two brothers for a long time. It really feels like a long time has passed!"

"Shao Ting went south to take up his post today, and the two brothers came together. Upon hearing the news, Shao Ting couldn't sleep at all. He wished he could grow wings so that he could drink and talk with the two brothers early in the morning and discuss state affairs!"

And talking at the same time.

Yan Shaoting held Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui's hands even tighter.

There really is some meaning of shaking hands and chatting jovially.

Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui wanted to break free from Yan Shaoting's hands, but they were both pure civil servants and were not as strong as Yan Shaoting, who exercised frequently.

So and so.

Even Hai Rui, who had a good impression of Yan Shaoting in the past, was confused and wary, fearing that this Yan was setting a trap for him.

Zhang Juzheng forced a smile with a helpless look on his face: "Runwu has been ordered to come south this time. It can be said that the emperor has great grace. He is in charge of the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. He is the superior of local officials in the south of the Yangtze River. I have come to pay a visit to you upon hearing the news."

Think with your toes.

Zhang Juzheng could guess that Yan Shaoting, who was so stubborn that he couldn't eat anything today, must be hiding some tricks waiting for them.

Otherwise, based on his understanding, Yan Shaoting would never do this.

Yan Shaoting shook his head repeatedly: "I have been in the court for a long time. Although I have made achievements and gained the trust of His Majesty, I am still not as experienced as you two brothers in the officialdom. This time, His Majesty issued an order and I went all the way south. But once I entered Nanjing City, it was like entering a dragon's den and a tiger's lair. I didn't know what to do. Today, since you two brothers are here, follow me into the city quickly. After you two brothers have washed up, I will set up a welcoming banquet for you. Tomorrow, I will ask you two brothers to give me advice."

The corners of Hai Rui's mouth couldn't help but twitch twice.

I know that Yan Shaoting is so annoying today because he is waiting here.

He couldn't help but glance sideways at Zhang Juzheng, with many thoughts in his mind.

The reason why he and Zhang Juzheng proposed to come to Nanjing this time was to drag Yan Shaoting into the water so that the two of them could investigate the detailed ownership of land in Jiangnan.

The best thing would be to push Yan Shaoting to the forefront, and have him, as the big shot in charge of the money and grain storage of six provinces, come forward and strictly order the gentry and wealthy families in various parts of Jiangnan to clear out the occupied land.

But now.

Before I could even open my mouth, Yan Shaoting was already digging me into a trap.

Zhang Juzheng received Hai Rui's gaze and immediately said, "Although we have just arrived in Nanjing today, we have heard on the way that Runwu was assassinated by the White Lotus rebels in Huai'an Prefecture. However, Runwu is very lucky and blessed by God. He turned danger into safety. Moreover, after the assassination, he remained calm and stayed in Matou Town for several days. He sent a letter to Nanjing to check the population, household registration and financial accounts of the six provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. With such a demeanor of calmness in the face of danger, the various government offices in Nanjing believed that as long as Runwu made a little move, they could easily surrender."

I already have a lot of troubles on my head.

If I were to be dragged along by Yan Shaoting and focus all my energy on the struggle in Nanjing City, would I still want to do anything?

Zhang Juzheng rejected Yan Shaoting's request tactfully with these words.

But Yan Shaoting just smiled faintly.

He glanced at the faces of the two people in front of him.

He glanced sideways at the wilderness beside the official road.

"I am here to go south this time under the order of the emperor. The emperor and the court have high hopes for me. They hope that I can integrate the provinces in the south of the Yangtze River so that the financial and tax revenues of the south of the Yangtze River can grow again in the future."

"In my opinion, if the fiscal revenue of Jiangnan increases again, it must fall on the land tax and the commercial tax. As I have thought along the way to the south, the only way to deal with these two is to clear out the land occupied by the powerful and wealthy gentry and return the land to the people, and then use the land of officials and the people to pay the land tax together, and the merchants to pay the commercial tax in full. Only in this way can the wealth of Jiangnan be truly used for the country and benefit the people of the world."

Yan Shaoting spoke slowly in front of Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui.

then.

He suppressed the smile on his face and shook his head in pretended helplessness: "It's just... since my brothers are working elsewhere, this matter... forget it! Forget it..."

Talking.

Yan Shaoting finally took the initiative to let go of Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui's hands, turned around and walked a few steps towards Nanjing City.

Then he continued to pretend to laugh.

"My two brothers, please get in the car quickly. We will go into the city to wash up and have a drink before we discuss his affairs."

After finishing speaking.

He did not give Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui a chance to ask questions, and led Liu Wan and his men on horseback, and lined up in front of Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui's team and headed back to Nanjing City.

Riding on the horse, with his back to Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui, who seemed to be stunned at the moment, Yan Shaoting smiled again.

I had made sufficient preparations for this trip south.

During these days, Zhu Qi was not in Nanjing at all, but was secretly visiting various places in Jiangnan with the Jinyiwei.

As for the fact that Zhang Juzheng was dragged into the matter by Hai Rui and investigated the details of local land ownership in Suzhou and Songjiang, how could he not know about it?

These two men hid furtively in the Suzhou City Governor's Grain Office, investigating the details of the ownership of land in the two prefectures. This was not only to pave the way for the subsequent land survey and to return the land occupied by the big households to the common people.

He really couldn't imagine why these two people would stay in Suzhou City all this time, or for some other reason.

Now the bait has been thrown.

These two people will definitely take the bait!
rear.

Seeing Yan Shaoting decisively driving his horse to lead the way, Zhang Juzheng and Hai Rui looked at each other and immediately jumped back into the carriage.

Hai Rui spoke first: "Did he just mention clearing out the land?"

Zhang Juzheng silently lifted a corner of the curtain, and at the front of the team was Yan Shaoting, who was riding a horse and leading the way.

He nodded.

Then he smiled helplessly and said, "Not only did they mention clearing the land, they also mentioned the need to strictly enforce commercial taxes."

Hai Rui swallowed his saliva, looked outside along the corner of the curtain that Zhang Juzheng had lifted, and then whispered, "Is he trying to cheat us and trick us into helping him deal with those people in Nanjing?" Zhang Juzheng lowered the curtain and snorted coldly.

He leaned back in the carriage with some distress, squinting his eyes.

Hai Rui was a little anxious, and pushed Zhang Juzheng: "Why don't you tell me? I'm sure you understand the twists and turns here better than I do. What exactly did he mean by what he just said?"

Zhang Juzheng fell into deep thought.

Hai Rui became more and more anxious and kept looking back at the scene outside the car window behind him.

After a while.

The two of them could already see the towering city walls of Nanjing.

Zhang Juzheng then slowly spoke: "Brother Gangfeng, do you still remember what you said a few days ago, that the root cause of the many problems in the world is land annexation, and the only way to solve the problem is to make the big families clear out the land and return the land to the people. But that day, Brother Gangfeng fell into deep thought again, if we clear out the land and return the land to the people today, what will happen if the big families still occupy the land of the people in the future?"

Hai Rui nodded, "You and I both know this. It is impossible to really be a good policy if we just clear out the land and return it to the people. Only if it lasts for a hundred years can it be called a good policy for the people. But I am not very knowledgeable and I don't know how to solve this problem."

Zhang Juzheng smiled bitterly.

He shook his head and said, "You and I don't need to solve this problem..."

Hai Rui was stunned for a moment, and looked puzzled: "What are you talking about!"

Zhang Juzheng raised his head to look at Hai Rui, then lifted the carriage curtain again and waved his hand to point at Yan Shaoting, who was leading the team in front.

"Because he has just mentioned how to solve this problem."

Hai Rui's face became more suspicious.

He had not listened to Yan Shaoting's words in detail because of Yan Shaoting's unusual behavior today. Now Zhang Juzheng suddenly said that the problem that had troubled the two of them for a long time was solved with just a meeting with Yan Shaoting.

This made him completely unable to think.

Zhang Juzheng, however, showed admiration on his face. He looked deeply at Yan Shaoting's back, and then looked at Hai Rui again: "Brother Gangfeng, today I just realized that Yan Runwu is probably better than you and me in terms of talent in patriotism. But his talent is also a prodigy that can cause countless troubles. This time, you and I may really fall into his trap and be dragged into a trap by him..."

It is amazing that Zhang Juzheng could give such a high evaluation of another person.

Hai Rui remained completely indifferent.

He had a clear understanding of his own positioning. He believed that he might be able to make a difference by governing the people in a small area, such as a county or a prefecture. As an official, he could force his subordinates to do things according to his own political views.

But once you are in a high position, like the current governor of Yingtian, you will be caught up in the official struggles.

Because of this, Hai Rui thought that if he wanted to make further progress in the future, he should be an official of the Three Judicial Departments.

No one can defeat Hai Gangfeng within the scope of the Ming Dynasty Law!

He was just a little confused now: "What exactly is the solution you mentioned, Runwu's solution? I didn't take it into consideration just now. Did I miss something?"

Zhang Juzheng just smiled and said, "His method is to make officials and civilians pay land tax together. In this way, once the land of local civilians is occupied, it will be cleared and returned to the people. Then the big families will no longer be able to occupy the land of the people as recklessly as before."

Why would wealthy families invade common people’s fields and annex land?
The first is, of course, the huge benefits involved.

But the rest is that wealthy families have more ways to be exempted from land taxes, and this can basically be regarded as the driving force.

Because they had ways to avoid paying taxes, they could occupy land with impunity.

The more they take, the more benefits and advantages they will get.

But once everyone, regardless of whether they are officials or civilians, needs to pay the same taxes, the driving force will naturally be weakened immediately.

When these people want to seize the people's land again, they have to think about the costs and benefits involved and whether it is worth it for them to do so.

But doing so will inevitably lead to local resistance and dissatisfaction.

This is also why Zhang Juzheng said that Yan Shaoting's method would lead to unrest.

But Hai Rui immediately frowned and whispered, "This method is indeed amazing, but even so, the rich families can still turn the farmland into hidden farmland after annexing it, or even abandon it this year to avoid the collection of land tax, and then reclaim it next year. In this way, these rich families will get all the benefits and profits."

Zhang Juzheng showed a trace of resentment on his face and snorted twice: "This is the cleverness of Yan Runwu. He deliberately threw out a lead and is probably waiting for us to take the initiative to find him."

Listening to Zhang Juzheng's explanation, Hai Rui gradually fell into deep thought.

Zhang Juzheng was not in a hurry for Hai Rui to respond. He just leaned silently in the carriage, thinking alone about Yan Shaoting's casual remark today that both officials and civilians should pay the land tax.

What he had always wanted to do was to reorganize and implement the One Whip Law mentioned in the "Ren Min Kao" memorial advocated by the former Second Minister of the Cabinet, Wenxiang Gong Gui E, and promote it throughout the country.

When Gui E proposed it, the imperial court did implement it for a period of time, but was eventually forced to stop due to the obstruction of Yang Yiqing and others. Gui E was forced to retire and return home.

The following year, he passed away in his hometown.

That year, Gui E was only 54 years old.

In Zhang Juzheng's view, perhaps it was because the method proposed by Gui E was not truly implemented, and because he saw the disputes in the court clearly and felt depressed, that he died.

So he never brought up the Single Whip Method again.

He had always kept this matter deep in his heart.

But today.

After hearing Yan Shaoting's pretentious remarks.

Zhang Juzheng began to reflect and started to think more deeply about what the world should be like.

The carriage rides leisurely.

Not long after.

The group finally entered the West Garden of Zhongshan Wuning Palace.

Yan Shaoting got off the horse and walked to the carriage again.

A smile appeared on his face again, but it was less disgusting than before.

"Brother Shu, Brother Gangfeng."

"This is the West Garden that Emperor Taizu gave to King Wuning of Zhongshan. You two will live here with me."

After finishing speaking.

He looked at the opened car curtain with flickering eyes.

Looking at these two...

wrong!

I'm afraid the two who have taken the bait will get off the carriage.

…………

Monthly PassMonthly Pass
(End of this chapter)