The cabinet headed by Liu Yan drafted a proposal to increase property taxes, and Emperor Chongzhen directly approved the proposal. The government and the public were shocked by it, and all civil servants and generals inside and outside the capital were horrified.
At the same time, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Personnel jointly issued a formal document, instructing officials from two capitals and 13 provinces in the Ming Dynasty to report their property to the court. At the same time, inspection teams and National Defense Force troops sent to various places would also Check the actual situation of officials.
Of course, this must be due to transportation, efficiency and other problems at this time. It is impossible to ascertain the property status of all civil servants and generals in the Ming Dynasty. However, Liu Yan must vigorously promote it. As long as he can get this started and implement this system, It's victory. As the ruling efficiency of the Ming Dynasty continues to improve, as the New Deal is implemented in various places, and as garrisons are established in various places, the collection of property taxes will become more and more perfect.
At the same time, Liu Yan also came up with a strategy to exempt the people from exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and also planned to eliminate the accumulated arrears of the people in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty in the past ten years.
Anyway, now that the Ming Dynasty's treasury is full, eliminating these taxes and accumulated debts that cannot be collected will not harm the overall situation.
Emperor Chongzhen naturally agreed to this, and Zhu approved it with a stroke of his pen.
By the end of October, the northwest inspection team had completed the implementation of the New Deal and military reforms in Shanxi. Under the escort of officers and soldiers of the Ninth Army of the National Defense Force, it had entered Shaanxi and began to verify the implementation of the New Deal and military reforms in various parts of Shaanxi.
The Southwest Inspection Team's verification in Henan has basically come to an end. However, because the situation in Henan is relatively serious and it is now a blank slate, the Southwest Inspection Team
He has not left Henan yet. He needs to continue to appease the people and provide relief to various places in Henan.
The next stop of the southwest inspection team is not Sichuan, because according to the intelligence provided by the Ministry of Military Intelligence, Sichuan Chief Military Officer Qin Liangyu and Deputy Chief Soldier Ma Xianglin are very effective in implementing the military reform strategy. Tens of thousands of Sichuan Guardsmen have been laid off. The results are impressive.
After Chen Shiqi, the governor of Sichuan, was scolded by Liu Yan, he also changed his previous procrastination style and began to work seriously. The implementation of the New Deal also made great progress.
So after Liu Yan learned the news, he changed the next stop of the southwest inspection team to Huguang Road.
As for the Southern Inspection Team, they are still in Southern Zhili at this time. After all, Southern Zhili has a special status. They must first fully implement the New Deal and military reform measures in Southern Zhili before going to the provinces south of the Yangtze River. The next stop Liu Yan decided for the southern inspection team was Zhejiang Road.
What reassures Liu Yan the most is that the inspection team that inspected Beizhili and Shandong has completed its mission and returned to Beijing. The military reforms in Beizhili and Shandong have been fully implemented, and the New Deal has been fully rolled out. The people in the two places have benefited a lot, and the government offices in the two places have also completed reforms.
The four inspection teams have made varying degrees of progress, and Liu Yan feels reassured. At least the situation is developing for the better.
But then Liu Yan received a surprising news.
After the tax reform policy in the New Deal was promulgated, the imperial court exempted many taxes, reducing the burden on the people all over the world.
Liu Yan originally thought that his tax reform would be supported by people all over the world, or at least gain a wave of public support.
However, the intelligence collected by the Military Intelligence Department brought by Wu Guojin showed that actually
However, people in many places have begun to resist tax reform. The current situation is that inspection teams in various places not only have to face the resistance of the gentry and royal families in various places, but also the resistance of the rioters.
"What's the matter with such public opinion?"
Liu Yan couldn't understand why he was offering tax exemptions for the people, but the people didn't appreciate it and started making trouble instead? Could it be that the people of the Ming Dynasty were like those anti-intellectual people in the beautiful country in later generations, who did not know what was good and what was good?
So Liu Yan ordered people to fetch all the intelligence collected by the General Intelligence Department, carefully checked and checked, and finally found a clue in it.
Nowadays, tax resistance incidents occur in various places, basically in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Huguang provinces, and they are concentrated around major cities such as Hangzhou, Taizhou, Jingzhou, and Changde.
Logically speaking, the people near these big cities will be richer than the people in remote places. How can they oppose the tax reform policy?
"This is being used by someone with ulterior motives!"
Liu Yan's eyes flashed with light, and he now understood the key point.
The so-called common people in these places are actually not farmers, but tenants who are dependent on the gentry and even the royal family and officials in various places!
These tenants have no land of their own and rely entirely on the support of wealthy families. For this reason, these tenants have no opinions of their own. They blindly follow whatever the family they are attached to says, and they have no control over what is right and wrong.
"Public opinion? It seems this is the Ming Dynasty's version of kidnapping public opinion!"
Liu Yan sighed in his heart, and then began to think about countermeasures.
Naturally, it was impossible for Liu Yan to directly send troops to suppress the tenant farmers who opposed the tax reform, so he
The General's Minister of Intelligence, Wu Guojin, was summoned.
"Meet Mr. Ge!"
In the residence of Duke Lu Guo, Liu Yan met Wu Guojin in his study. After a few pleasantries, he said to Wu Guojin: "Has the opposition to tax reform in various places subsided?"
Wu Guojin said: "There won't be any trouble for the time being. It's just that the people who are resisting the tax reform are too annoying. If they make a fuss today and again in two days, they seem to be deliberately trying to create a stalemate with the government."
Liu Yan sneered and said, "That's natural. After all, the people behind it will never let the tax reform policy be implemented smoothly."
Wu Guojin frowned slightly, and immediately understood what Liu Yan was referring to, and said, "My subordinates understand. Now we will mobilize people to various places to conduct overt and covert investigations."
Liu Yan said: "Well, it's good to understand. The matter must be done secretly, and the person behind it must be found out. Before the specific list is determined, the matter must not be leaked. Except for me, no other people in the court should be allowed to know." Know."
Wu Guojin clasped his fists and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Ge, I have arranged for Yao Guangming, the commander of Nanzhen Fusi, to handle this matter in person."
"good."
Eight days later, the Jingzhou Prefecture Government Office on Huguang Road, Jiangling City.
Jiangling City was the capital of the Chu State "Ying" during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, thirty-four generations of emperors established their capitals here. It is a veritable ancient capital.
Since the Han Dynasty, Jiangling City has existed as the seat of Jingzhou for a long time, so it is often called "Jingzhou" specifically as Jiangling.
Jiangling is also a place with outstanding people and places, including King Zhuang of Chu, Qu Yuan, Sun Shuao, Cen Wenwen, Cen Shen, and the famous Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng of this dynasty.
At this time, Jiangling City was crowded with people. A four-story wine shop in the south of the city
Inside the building, in a private room on the fourth floor, two well-dressed men were drinking. Through the window, you could see the scenery of Xia Bailizhou outside the city in the south. Thanks to the higher terrain of this restaurant, you could See such beautiful scenery while drinking.
"Are all the brothers in place?"
Among the two, one was very popular, Yao Guangming, the commander of the Nanzhen Fu Division of the Military Intelligence Department, and the other was Zhang Haitai, the general under Yao Guangming's command.
"Don't worry, sir. A total of fifty-eight brothers have been deployed, and six of them are in Jiangling City."
"Um!"
Yao Guangming said: "In the past few days, let the brothers in the city visit more. Be careful not to expose your whereabouts. I will summarize the detected information to you as soon as possible. I want to know it as soon as possible."
"Okay, sir, don't worry."
Zhang Haitai said with a smile: "Those guys can't run away!"
"Also, let me tell you brothers, if you encounter people gathering to make trouble, don't reveal your identity and stop them. The government will take care of it."
Zhang Haitai nodded, and then said: "This kind of secret investigation is not easy to do. It would be better if it was official business openly. Just go over and find out. Who the hell is going to stop Jin Yiwei from doing his work!"
Yao Guangming laughed and said: "Anyone can do the things on the table. It does not show the ability of our Military Intelligence Department. It is the secret investigation that can get the credit. Just do it carefully."
"That's what my lord said."
Then Yao Guangming picked up the wine glass, looked at the scenery outside, and said: "Good scenery, good wine and good food. If there is no official business, this Jiangling City can be regarded as a place for leisure."
After saying that,
Yao Guangming drank the wine in one gulp.
Zhang Haitai also drank a drink and said: "Your Excellency is here to eat and drink. I have already paid for the food and drinks. I will go to the city first and then meet you at your residence in the evening to report today's situation to your Excellency."
"good."
Zhang Haitai then went downstairs and left the restaurant, walked slowly towards the north of the city, and came to the outside of a house. He saw that the house occupied more than half of the street. Behind the high courtyard wall, one could even stand on the street and see When you go to the pavilion inside, you will see that it is the residence of a wealthy family.
Then Zhang Haitai saw a food stall not far away, with three or two people eating and drinking around it. Zhang Haitai also walked slowly over and bought some shortbread cookies for more than ten yuan.
"Huh? This shortbread is not bad, it's very fragrant!"
"Haha, this guest is so delicious. This shortcake is also the best in Jiangling City."
Then Zhang Haitai started chatting with the hawker, and the diners wiped their mouths and left one after another, leaving only Zhang Haitai and the hawker.
"By the way, I don't know who lives in this house. Looking at this house, it must be either rich or noble."
"Oh, this house, this is the Han family's mansion in Jiangling City."
"Han family?"
"The Han family is related to the magistrate and other lords in the city. It is one of the most wealthy families in the city. It occupies a lot of farmland around Jiangling City, and many people in the suburbs are tenants of the Han family."
Zhang Haitai was thoughtful, then swallowed the shortbread in his hand in three mouthfuls, and asked: "Didn't someone make trouble a few days ago and oppose the court's tax reform policy? There must be many tenants of the Han family, right?"
"There should be quite a few, I saw him when I was young
I saw many people coming from the Han family's farmland. "
While the hawker was talking, his men were busy and very busy.
Zhang Haitai nodded, and then said: "Five more shortbread cookies, I want to take them back to eat and drink."
"okay!"
Zhang Haitai paid the money and took the shortbread to another part of the city, where two people from the Military Intelligence Department's Nanzhen Fusi were watching.
Zhang Haitai handed the shortbread in his hand to the two of them, and then whispered: "Keep an eye on the Han family in the city!"
"yes!"
