Hua Jieyu looked at the information, thought for a while, and said: "The small people who donated the land were cunning and deceitful, which increased the burden on other farmers who farmed honestly, and they were in cahoots with the gentry who evaded taxes. This is the crime of these small people who donated the land. . Now that we have corrected the tax evasion channels of the gentry, they want to get their land back."
"If these small people stay under the gentry, they will be collecting land rent for free from the gentry. The gentry are the main culprits of tax evasion, and it makes no sense to let them benefit. But if the land is simply returned to the small people who donated the land, it will also encourage We have eliminated the habit of these cunning people taking advantage of policy loopholes. We must not punish these cunning acts of donating land."
"The land donated at the beginning was not an ordinary sale, but stolen goods belonging to the crime of tax evasion. The small farmers and gentry who donated the land joined forces to evade taxes and harmed other farmers who were heavily taxed. This is a crime! Once the evidence is conclusively proven that the donation was committed to tax evasion. All the fields were confiscated. The gentry who evaded taxes were not allowed to keep these fields, nor were the common people who donated the land were allowed to benefit. The confiscated land belonged to the General Military Mansion, and the common people could continue to rent it, but the land rent was one bushel of rice. per acre, which is higher than the general tax.”
When Cui Changwu heard Hua Jieyu's words, he raised his hands and said, "Your Excellency is wise. In this way, we not only punished the gentry who evaded taxes, but also educated the cunning commoners, and also expanded the income of the General Military Mansion." Hua Jieyu nodded and said: " Communicate our policies to all courts. If we encounter similar cases again, we will handle them in this way."
Next, the Dali Temple Announcement concentrated its firepower and began to promote the benefits of the "Dali Temple Court" in Shandong. If King Yan wanted to control Shandong, he not only needed to collect taxes in Shandong. Commercial taxes and land taxes are of course a very important benefit, but at the same time, King Yan also needs the judicial power of Shandong. Only by controlling the power to adjudicate criminal prosecutions in Shandong Province could King Yan truly expand his power to Shandong.
Judicial power is the prerequisite for various matters such as controlling public opinion, collecting taxes, running industries, and even running schools. Without judicial power, what should we do if local officials directly embezzle the property of King Yan during the lawsuit? What should we do if officials make things difficult for those who support King Yan? Only by abolishing the power of civil servants in Shandong to adjudicate lawsuits can King Yan truly establish a fair and just social order in Shandong and flex his muscles.
Of course, King Yan's Dali Temple Court was not only a tool for King Yan's rule, but also a strong pillar for King Yan to establish a fair and just social order for the people. The officialdom of the Song Dynasty was corrupt, and local officials were often influenced by power and favor in handling cases. In such a social atmosphere, real ordinary people were easily bullied by the powerful. Society as a whole has no convincing protection of property rights at all. If you have power, you can file lawsuits and seize the property of the weak. Skilled craftsmen must spend a lot of money to bribe those in power to survive.
In such a social atmosphere, only officials and businessmen can develop. Efficient and advanced production methods and productivity, under an unfair social order, are made difficult at every turn, and will fall apart and return to the starting point within a short period of time.
The Dali Temple Court of King Yan gave the people and businessmen a fair and equitable social environment. Under the protection of the court, farmers can fertilize their fields without worrying about powerful people taking over their good land. Craftsmen and workshop owners can improve production without worrying about the encroachment of powerful people. Even small traders can put more goods on their own carts and no longer have to worry about blackmail by green-skinned rogues.
Therefore, the first thing King Yan wanted to build in Shandong was the court. The Dali Temple announcement went into full gear and began to introduce the benefits of the court. The social chaos before the court in Yanjing and the order after the court were repeatedly reported. After the establishment of social order, people's property and personal safety become safer. Public security has improved, social production has expanded, and people have become richer.
After the courts were established in Tianjing New City, some classic cases were published in the Dali Temple Announcement and publicized to various places. On this day, in a teahouse in Jinan, a newspaper reader held a newspaper and read loudly: "Before there were courts, the city lords were in chaos and everything was up for grabs. Song Ning, a small oil seller in Jinghai County, Tianjing New City, said The transaction price was fair and he was an honest man. His business was good and he was living a comfortable life. But because of his beautiful wife, he was noticed by thousands of households in Jinghai County. All of them wanted to bankrupt Song Ning and steal Song Ning's wife to be their concubine. He bribed the government officials to come to Song Ning's store every day to cause trouble."
"Song Ning was so worried that he abandoned his family's shop and fled to Tianjing New City to take refuge. He worked as a cook in a restaurant owned by relatives and friends, and became very poor. One of his sons and one daughter died of illness one after another due to lack of food and clothing." Teagoers in the teahouse heard this. None of these reacted. The official corruption in the Song Dynasty was no better than that in the early Ming Dynasty. The social order was very chaotic and good things would be remembered. Marrying a beautiful wife is very eye-catching. Ordinary people without power will have trouble sooner or later if they have a beautiful wife.
Everyone is not surprised by what happened to Song Ning and is used to it. However, when the newspaper article was written here, the conversation changed. The newspaper reader read: "However, in the third year of Xianping, King Yan opened the Dali Temple Court in Tianjing New City. The judges were honest and fair, eradicated evil and suppressed the powerful, and social order was gradually established. Song Ning had been forced to despair, so he wanted to give it a try. His attitude is to bring everyone who murdered him to court."
"Who knew that the court acted impartially and actually ruled in Song Ning's favor, and sentenced Du Tou to pay Song Ning a fifty-fifty rod penalty for his arrest, and ordered Du Tou to pay Song Ning one hundred and twenty taels of silver. Only then did Song Ning realize that Tianjing New City has changed drastically. , took his wife back to Jinghai County to run an oil shop again, and now he has become the best oil shop businessman in Jinghai. In March this year, Song Ning’s wife gave birth to another son for him. "
The guests in the teahouse were very surprised when they heard the ending of the story. It is a notorious scandal for a powerful man to seize his wife. But in the late Ming Dynasty, no one cared about such things. Tea drinkers are all ordinary people. Who doesn't want to see an end to this chaos? Unexpectedly, in Tianjing New City, the people of Tianjing New City have already enjoyed such a just social order.
Everyone looked at each other for a while, feeling a little sad. Suddenly someone shouted loudly: "Okay! King Yan's court in Dali Temple is great. When will we have such a court in Shandong?" Everyone looked at the shouting tea guests, but no one spoke.
The reader flicked the newspaper and then read: ""The rich man is desperate after his death, the court of Dali Temple saves the family business for his heirs"" "Cangzhou pottery merchant Zhao Fenting has been running the 'Zhao Ji Pottery Shop' for thirty-six years. All over Cangzhou. Zhao Ji's pottery is made of solid materials and fine workmanship. The people like it very much because of its high quality. It is a famous merchant in Cangzhou. The goods are even exported to Gyeonggi. Zhao Fenting accumulated thousands of taels of goods in 21 branches. He was ten years old before his death. I was worried that my property would be divided up by traitors after my death, and I was worried that my two sons would not be able to inherit the family property, so I could only force my two sons to obtain academic qualifications. My two sons studied hard for more than ten years, but they have never been able to pass the examination."
"Zhao Fenting passed away in despair. Before the first seven days were over, his two sons immediately ushered in relatives and friends who snatched the family property. Sixteen shops were occupied in a few days, and the 'Zhao Ji Pottery Shop' suddenly collapsed. However, by this time the court of Dali Temple had become famous, and the two sons of the Zhao family took the robbers to court and finally won a complete victory."
"The Zhao family's property was finally recovered, and the Zhao family's descendants were able to continue to employ workers to run the family's 'Zhao Ji Pottery Shop'."
Hearing this, the tea patrons in the teahouse all cheered loudly. Zhao Ji Pottery is a famous commercial product in Cangzhou, and some people in Jinan have heard of it. The old business like Zhao Ji Pottery Shop has been passed down, and it is not only the two sons of the Zhao family who have benefited, but also the people of Cangzhou.
An old man dressed as a businessman stood up tremblingly, his face flushed with excitement, and said loudly: "If the court in Dali Temple protects private property, I, Jiang Jianshen, will be the first to support King Yan in bringing the court to Shandong!" Everyone looked at each other. At a glance, he secretly knew that this was Jiang Jianshen, a famous silk and satin merchant in Jinan City. Now the merchants are also beginning to support King Yan? On the second day of August, in the county government office of Qidong County, Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province, all the famous Jin gentry and celebrities from Qidong County gathered together and filled the second hall of the county government office.
These big figures in Qidong County gathered together to discuss how to resist the "Dali Temple Court". Now that only the Dali Temple announcement is left in Shandong, King Yan can easily influence public opinion in the province. During this period, the Dali Temple Announcement vigorously promoted the benefits of the "Dali Temple Court" in Tianjing New City, published numerous cases of the "Dali Temple Court", elaborated on the great changes in Hebei before and after the establishment of the court, and elaborated on the people of Hebei's commitment to justice. The huge benefits gained from an equal social order.
Nowadays, more and more people in Shandong are listening to the newspaper. Going to a teahouse to listen to a newspaper only cost one or two cents, and both citizens and farmers could afford it. After the official announcements were destroyed, the number of listeners of Dali Temple's announcements increased significantly. Nowadays, Shandong’s influence can be said to penetrate into every corner of Shandong.
The Dali Temple announcement is so popular, and the "Dali Temple Court" is fully promoted. People in Shandong are increasingly looking forward to the arrival of the "Dali Temple Court". Shandong struck while the iron was hot and published all the arrangements of the "Dali Temple Court" in Shandong:
The courts in Shandong will have one local court in each county, one intermediate court in each prefecture, and one high-level court in Jinan. According to the announcement from Dali Temple: If you feel you have been wronged after completing the lawsuit in a lower-level court, you can also file a complaint with the higher-level court, so that the higher-level court can invest more manpower and material resources in the investigation and give a more authoritative verdict. As soon as the people who listened to the newspaper heard about this gesture, they knew that this system ensured that individual judges could not engage in malpractice for personal gain. They became more aware of the fairness and justice of the Dali Temple Court, and became even more eager to look forward to the opening of the court.
Carpet-bombing publicity and a court system that has really benefited the people have destroyed the charm of the Dali Temple Court. In many states and counties, people who have been oppressed by the powerful are already secretly collecting evidence, waiting for the Dali Temple Court to enter Shandong to redress their grievances.
For civil servants in Shandong, this is undoubtedly bad news. The King of Yan not only wanted to control public opinion in Shandong, but also competed for the judicial power of local officials. If the local chief officials no longer have the power to decide lawsuits, and people will appeal to the Dali Temple court whenever they have disputes, who will take the local chief officials seriously in the future?
What is intolerable is unbearable. However, Yang Peng had strong soldiers and horses, and he had just killed more than a hundred newspapermen in Jinan. It was really dangerous to fight against Yang Peng. Although the local officials in Shandong were angry, they were collectively silent.
At this time of darkness, Qidong County Magistrate Wang Siyong decided to stand up. Wang Siyong, the county magistrate, has a reputation for being clean and honest. He strictly abides by etiquette and laws, is always benevolent and righteous, and is neither greedy for money nor lustful. He is praised as a virtuous person by Shandong scholars. Wang Siyong felt that Hua Jieyu would not be able to catch him. Other local officials were afraid of being caught in the Dali Temple announcement and making a bad reputation, but Wang Siyong was not afraid at all.
In the second hall of the county government office in Qidong County, Wang Siyong glanced at the Jin gentry celebrities, stroked his beard and said: "This order calls you here to discuss the court matter mentioned in the Dali Temple announcement." Before Wang Siyong finished speaking, , an old man with gray hair wearing a silk round collar, on the left, suddenly raised his crutches and said loudly: "Even if the county magistrate doesn't look for us, we will still look for the county magistrate. Yang Peng, a Yan from Hebei King, why do you come to Shandong to hold court? He is the King of Yan, why should he still care about my affairs in Shandong? Does he still have court laws in his eyes? "
He strutted his cane again and said: "What Yang Peng wants to do is not to create a court, but to turn Shandong into a second Hebei. Today's announcement will be tomorrow's court, and the day after tomorrow we will collect land taxes on our tax-free fields." I am afraid that all the things that Yang Peng added to Yanjing will be moved to Shandong."
The old man who spoke was Han Ju from Shanqian Township. He was also a famous figure in Qidong County and had always been prestigious. The Jin gentry present all had their faces sinking when they heard Han Juren mention the word Tian Fu. Hua Jieyu controls public opinion and robs justice, which can be tolerated. But if King Yan finally wants to collect taxes from the gentry in Shandong, he will not be able to bear it.
Look at the miserable fate of those gentry in Hebei after they were collected land taxes. The once prosperous family's income plummeted and its members were dispersed. In extreme cases, some gentry with many wives and children could no longer afford to feed their servants, and even had trouble feeding the family.
If the problem of money reaches a certain level, it becomes a problem of life. A middle-aged Jin gentry jumped out and said loudly: "Yang Peng thought that killing more than a hundred people in Jinan would scare the scholars in Shandong, but he didn't know that the scholars in Qilu are not weaklings. If Hua Jieyu dares When we set up a court in Qidong County, even if I was copied by Hua Jieyu and the three tribes, I would bring my servants to destroy the Dali Temple court."
Another scholar raised his hand and said: "Even if blood is spilled in Yang's court, I will not sit back and watch Yang annex Shandong. I want the officials to know that what Yang has done in Shandong has reached a level that makes people and gods angry."
The words of the two men caused other Jin gentry to applaud. However, although the other Jin gentry present applauded, they were not as excited as these two people. Everyone in the world knew that King Yan was brutal and murderous. Even if several scholar landowners in Qidong County were killed by Hua Jieyu of Dali Temple, they would not cause much trouble. There was no way to stop Hua Jieyu from bringing the court to Shandong.
If Hua Jieyu went on a killing spree and frightened the other gentry, it would be a bad thing. Everyone looked at the county magistrate Wang Siyong. Although Wang Siyong was only a county magistrate, he was a well-known honest county magistrate in Shandong. Even the governor of Shandong had to show some courtesy to Wang Siyong when he saw him. In Shandong, Wang Siyong has a very good reputation among the people. He has been the magistrate of two counties in Shandong for more than ten years, and his reputation for being selfless has spread widely. Which village woman in Shandong doesn't know that there is an upright official in Qidong County?
If Wang Siyong stood up against Li Thief, Yang Thief might still be afraid. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Wang Siyong nodded and said, "I have summoned you all here just to announce my decision. I have some reputation in Shandong, and officials and gentry from all over the country give me a little favor. Since I With everyone's courtesy, I will never remain silent at this critical moment."
"What reason does Yang Peng, a King of Yan, have to reach out to Shandong? I have decided to take the lead in opposing Yang's court. I will write to officials and gentry all over Shandong in the near future, and I will personally call on the gentry in Shandong to stand. Rise up against Thief Yang's court. If the court comes to Qidong County, I will rush in with my crutch and fight with Thief Yang's minions!"
"The world says that I am an upright official. I want the world to see clearly how Yang Peng treats me, an upright official." "If Yang Peng kills me, I will die for the people of Shandong! The people of Shandong will see clearly how Yang Peng treats me." The thief's face clearly shows the lies in the Dali Temple announcement. The gentry in Shandong will shout in unison and smash Yang thief's court to pieces together with the people. As long as things get serious, the emperor will also understand Yang thief's harm to the country and the people, and he will definitely Mobilize a large army to attack the Yang thief."
Hua Jieyu frowned as she listened to the report from Secret Guard Ambassador Han Jinxin.
Wang Siyong, the magistrate of Qidong County, made Hua Jieyu feel a little troubled. This person is not greedy for money and is not a womanizer, but abides by Confucian etiquette. Although he was born a gentry, he never favored the gentry when there were lawsuits between the common people and the gentry, and enforced the law impartially. Not only that, this man implemented benevolent policies towards the people. Although he also exempted and exempted land taxes from the distinguished gentry, on the other hand, he never forced small farmers who were unable to pay their land taxes. Many poor people have not paid their land taxes for several years, but he does not punish them.
Since Wang Siyong was in charge of government in this way, he naturally received less land tax. But he made a lot of money from the prince's farmland. The land of the feudal princes in Shandong was managed by local officials. Only part of it was handed over to the prince, and most of it was used by local officials. Wang Siyong was very tight on this money and would not let his men embezzle it at will. Instead, he turned it over as a land tax.
In this way, Wang Siyong could barely meet the lower limit of the court's land tax collection every year. Although the evaluation of the officials was always low, he would not lose his official position. Wang Siyong was born as a Jinshi and worked for decades, and has always been a seventh-grade county magistrate, but his temper has not changed at all.
The local people naturally praised Wang Siyong for being such an official, and the people in Shandong called him a great upright official. He has been an official in Shandong for more than ten years and is well-known among women and children.
Such people took the lead in opposing King Yan's court and had great influence. Seeing Hua's explanation, Zhong Feng was in a dilemma and said loudly: "Sir, who doesn't have a life? I will lead the troops to chop him down." Lin Qing'er spat: "Zhong Feng, use your brain. In today's world, such an honest official How rare is it? How high is his status in the hearts of the people? If you go and kill him, what will the people think of us? If the gentry incites it, a civil uprising may occur. "
Zhong Feng smiled and said: "A civil unrest is a civil unrest, just suppress it." Lin Qing'er said: "The official position of the King of Yan is the King of Yan. If we infiltrate Shandong, it will not be justified in the court. Forget it if there is a smooth handover, if If a large-scale civil uprising is provoked, the officials may send troops to attack us. When the time comes, we may not be able to defeat hundreds of thousands of us with millions of border troops. Even if we can defeat it, it will go against the original intention of King Yan."
Zhong Feng smiled and said: "Sooner or later, we will have to fight, so let's fight with the court." Lin Qing'er was stunned and cursed: "A dog kills a talent. If you don't talk nonsense, you are itchy, right?" Zhong Feng With eyes widened, Hua Jieyu waved her hand to tell them not to argue. Hua Jieyu asked Han Jinxin: "Master Han, it is impossible for Wang Siyong to create money out of thin air from his own pocket. Since he exempted the gentry from land tax, it is impossible not to hurt the interests of the people. You have not found any problems at all. come out?"
Han Jinxin has made great contributions following Yang Peng over the years. Yang Peng always puts Han Jinxin first when he reports his merits. Now he has been promoted to the commander of the secret guards and serves as the general of Yang Peng's army. Although the official was senior, Han Jinxin was more respectful in front of Hua Jieyu. He thought for a moment and said, "Sir, this is indeed an upright official. His subordinates can't find any problems."
Hua Jieyu thought for a while and said: "He exempted the gentry from land taxes and did not force the poor. In the end, he must be short of money. If there is a shortage of money, problems will occur everywhere. Start investigating from here." Han Jinxin added: "Qidong County Yamen is indeed We are so poor that a mortgage house in the county government collapsed the year before last and has not been built yet. The monthly money of the government officials in the government office is barely enough to feed and clothe these people. Even the county wall was washed away by heavy rain and there was no money to repair it. Later, Wang Siyong called on the gentry to contribute money and the common people to repair the city wall."
When Lin Qing'er and Zhang Xiang heard Han Jinxin's words, they looked at each other with surprise on their faces. I didn't expect that there were such honest officials in the Song Dynasty. They were really unusual. However, such an alternative is always a member of the gentry, and he still wants to fight with the King of Yan. Hua Jieyu snorted coldly and said: "Helping the gentry to evade taxes is stealing the country's finances. Pretending to be an upright official everywhere, deceiving the world and stealing reputation, it seems that he is not forcing the common people, but in any case, he cannot cover up the financial funds for the gentry to evade taxes. It’s not enough. If there is no problem here, there will be a problem there.”
Han Jinxin thought for a while and then said: "The road stations and ports in Qidong County have not had the money to repair them in recent years, and they are very dilapidated. The academies in the county are also in dilapidation, but the scholars are afraid of the county magistrate's reputation as an upright official. No complaints.”
Hua Jieyu nodded and said: "These are not enough to make the people angry. Think again, has there been any major trouble in Qidong County due to lack of money?" Han Jinxin handed over his hands and said, "Sir, please wait a moment. I will go down and ask those Qidong County officials." The county's informant." Hua Jieyu nodded, and Han Jinxin retreated. An hour later, Han Jinxin ran back with sweat on his head.
"Sir, I have a question, let me ask it." Hua Jieyu nodded and asked, "How?" "A government servant who was dismissed by Wang Siyong because of alcoholism said that the embankment of the Daqing River in Qidong County was broken, and there was a local policeman the year before last. The gentry proposed large-scale repairs. But Wang Siyong had no money, so he only reinforced key parts. As a result, a river embankment breached in the flood last year. Although the people worked together to repair it, the flood still poured out and drowned him. More than sixty people."
"This flood is considered a natural and man-made disaster, and most people don't pay attention. Only the government officials who know the inside story understand that the breach in the old dike was caused by lack of money and failure to repair it." Hua Jieyu laughed and said, "This Qidong The county's finances are only so small. Without the gentry's share, there will be no problem. This Wang Siyong deceived the world and stole his reputation, and he was just demolishing the east wall to repair the west wall. He killed more than 60 people at once, and we helped him publicize it. This county magistrate cannot be elected."
"Huan Yihua, the Dali Temple announcements in the past few days have been full of firepower, and they have reported Wang Siyong's affairs. Talk about how Qidong County is getting dilapidated day by day because of his cleverness, and talk about the economic impact of the disrepair of roads and docks. , talk about the impact on the national finance of paying taxes under the lower limit every year."
"The most important thing is to let the people of Shandong know that the more than 60 lives drowned in the flood were all caused by Wang Siyong's reputation!"
Huan Yihua agreed loudly and took Han Jinxin to write the report. On August 11, in the slightly depressed Qidong County, a newspaper boy delivered announcements and ran quickly on the street with his head lowered to deliver newspapers to various teahouses. A small vendor who knew the newsboy suddenly grabbed the newsboy and asked, "Liu Xiaoer, what is the newspaper about today?"
The newsboy's face turned pale, he didn't answer the vendor, lowered his head and wanted to run away. But the small vendor did not let go of the newsboy, dragging him and asking: "Don't run away! What is being reported today? Is there any big news?" Liu Xiaoer looked in the direction of the county government office, shook his body, and posted He spoke into the peddler's ears: "Brother Zhang, something big happened today. Today's headline is "Qidong County Magistrate Wang Siyong deceived the world and stole his reputation, killing sixty-two innocent people."
What happened after all, let’s see what happens next.
