The emperor's dull voice echoed in the palace, and Song Wenyi stood there, complaining in his heart.
Is it him who is asking this question?
Yes and no!
He was the one who answered, but as he was in front of the emperor, if he really dared to express his opinion, his life would end.
What his opinion is is not important at all. What is important is what the emperor's opinion is.
In Song Wenyi's view, this matter is nothing more than some squire taking advantage of the situation and buying the land at a low price. This kind of thing happens one after another in every disaster year. Even if it is not a disaster year, this kind of thing is very common in normal times and is not uncommon. Strange.
However, just by watching the emperor specifically mention this matter, we know that in the emperor's heart, he does not think this is a common thing.
So, what exactly does the emperor want to do?
Song Wenyi's mind was spinning rapidly. After all, he had too little contact with the emperor, so he could only make judgments based on limited information.
Calm, calm, calm!
At this time, we should not panic!
After quickly reviewing the details after he was summoned, Song Wenyi quickly figured out a vague context.
It should be said that Song Wenyi was able to be sent to Liaodong as a guard eunuch, which shows that his ability and status among the eunuchs should not be underestimated.
The reason why he was repeatedly frustrated in front of the emperor today was that he had been away from the capital for too long and knew too little about the emperor. The second reason was that his experience of returning to the capital this time affected his judgment.
To put it bluntly, although Song Wenyi didn't believe the rumors outside, they still inevitably affected him, making him subconsciously feel that his transfer back to the capital was a sign of being reused.
However, after he really returned to the capital, he faced such a long period of neglect that he could not even see the emperor's face.
After finally looking for connections, he was finally summoned, but as a result, the emperor first denied the rumors that he would be transferred to the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and then sent him to manage the Imperial Mansion.
It would be fine if that was all. However, after he saw the generosity of Wang Cheng who held the imperial store, and then looked at his own imperial store, the gap in his heart was naturally even greater.
The combination of these reasons made him so out of proportion.
However, when he forced himself to calm down under such huge pressure from the emperor, his thoughts became much clearer than usual.
The first thing that made him lose his position the most was that when the emperor called him back to the capital, he wanted to use him in a more important way or to ignore him.
The various rumors before and his experiences after entering the palace kept him swinging back and forth, but if he thought about it carefully, these were all useless worries.
Whether it is to be reused or left out in the cold, there should always be a reason.
Song Wenyi himself knew how much he weighed. In terms of origin, he could barely be regarded as a member of Jin Ying. Although Jin Ying was now sent to Nanjing to eat fast and chant Buddha, judging from the emperor's tone when he mentioned Jin Ying, he was an old man. At least he doesn’t have any bad feelings towards Kim Young-shi.
Therefore, there was no factional reason that made the emperor hate him.
Apart from this reason, during his time as a guard eunuch in Liaodong, although he did not dare to say how well he did, he still adhered to his duties and did not interfere in local military and political affairs. There is absolutely no fault.
In this case, if someone hadn't said bad things about him in the emperor's ears, then the emperor would have no reason to suddenly recall him to the capital, just to ignore him.
As for the last reason, Song Wenyi thought to himself that among the people who are favored now, he has no sin, so the high probability can be ruled out.
And if this is the case, then it means that the emperor transferred him back to the capital, at least with the intention of settling him well.
Although he may have been neglected during this period, the fact that the emperor was willing to summon him shows that he is still used.
As for where to use it, it is undoubtedly Huangzhuang.
However, the problem is that the emperor has just said that when the old man stayed in his residence, there were not many farms in Prince Tao's palace. Even if the imperial shop is getting bigger and bigger now, it should be enough for Wang Cheng to be in charge of several palaces. Not too much trouble.
After all, whether it is Huangzhuang or Huangdian, Wang Cheng does not need to take care of it himself. There will naturally be a group of people below to take charge of it.
Even if Wang Cheng doesn't want to take care of it anymore, then he can just find any eunuch in the capital to take over. Why go to all the trouble to transfer him, the eunuch who guards Liaodong, back just to take care of these farms?
Although it is said that all eunuchs are slaves in front of the emperor, slaves and slaves are also different.
Being able to serve as a guard eunuch shows that Song Wenyi at least has a certain status among eunuchs.
If an ordinary eunuch can do something, why would the emperor let him come back?
When this situation occurs, it is either a deliberate neglect, or... the emperor feels that the importance of the imperial palace requires a eunuch of sufficient weight to be in charge!
Song Wenyi thinks the former can be ruled out, so there is a high probability that it is the latter.
You know, the imperial store was an inconspicuous job at the beginning. However, with the changes in the imperial government and with the help of the emperor, the imperial store became a monopoly and became the most popular job in the palace.
Is this also the case in Huangzhuang today?
Although it looks inconspicuous now, this is because the scale is too small. What if in the future there are not just a few Huangzhuangs like now, but dozens or hundreds?
Let’s make some more bold guesses. What if in the future, Huangzhuang will be located not only near Gyeonggi Province, but also in various places, and will expand to the same size as Huangdian?
That can completely explain why the emperor now specially transfers a person like Song Wenyi, who is quite important among the eunuchs, to abandon the job of guarding the eunuchs and return to the capital to take over. It can also explain why the emperor couldn't help but reveal the truth when he saw him just now. When you look frustrated, you will be so angry.
As his thoughts gradually became clearer, the mysteries that he could not figure out before were solved one by one, and Song Wenyi truly calmed down.
If it is said that all the speculations he just made are correct.
Then what remains is the last and most critical question, which is...
How can today's Huangzhuang expand to the same level of importance as the Huangdian?
The voice of the emperor's question still seemed to be echoing in his ears. Song Wenyi shuddered violently. A trace of shock flashed in his eyes. He looked up at Shu Liang, who had a calm face. He felt that the answer was almost ready to come out...
It is true that Song Wenyi himself did not know the emperor, but there were people who did, for example, among the several great officials in the palace, the one who bore the brunt was naturally the eunuch of the Dongchang.
Therefore, Song Wenyi quickly recalled several descriptions of Shu Liang's words just now.
"...It was a disaster, the people suffered, the court was busy, but in the end it took advantage of these squires...the local government sat back and watched...no fewer than dozens of people were forced to die..."
You don't have to read carefully to hear that this description contains a strong feeling of disgust towards the behavior of these squires.
Shu Liang said these words, but the bad feeling in them was definitely not from Shu Liang himself, but... came from the Emperor!
To put it bluntly, Shu Liang’s attitude is actually the attitude of the emperor!
At this thought, Song Wenyi suddenly had a direction in his heart and said angrily.
"Your Majesty, these traitors are really hateful. Although I am at the border, I have heard that Your Majesty is working hard to govern the country every day. After Your Majesty ascended the throne, you drove away the bandits, protected the country, opened mutual markets, and built large canals. All of these are for the stability of the country. , the people live in peace."
"The Ministry of Works is building canals, which is so beneficial to the country and the people, but Your Majesty is still unwilling to impose corvee labor. It is hateful that these so-called country squires colluded with the government, tortured the people, ruined the name of the court, and ruined His Majesty's hard work. Isn't it hateful?"
"As Eunuch Shu said just now, the capital city is overturned. The whole court is doing its best to provide disaster relief, just to allow the people to survive the disaster safely. However, at this time, these squires not only do not want to share the worries of the court, but instead take advantage of the situation and rob the people, displacing the people. This is blatantly opposing His Majesty. Such people with no conscience and no gratitude should be killed!"
Song Wenyi said these words with indignation, as if these people were really in front of him and he would immediately pounce on them and really kill them.
However, despite saying this, in fact, Song Wenyi was always paying attention to the emperor's reaction from the corner of his eyes.
After all, what he just said were all guesses. Although he was very sure, if he guessed wrong, it would really be the end.
Fortunately, he was right this time!
After finishing speaking, Song Wenyi saw that the emperor's expression softened visibly. Although there was still anger, it was obviously not directed at him.
"That's right, he deserves to be killed!"
After saying these words, Song Wenyi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
However, the emperor's silence next made him feel uneasy again.
Even though he had been in contact with the emperor for a short time, he could feel at this moment that the emperor's mood was not high and the atmosphere was quite torturous. However, he could only lower his head and wait, not daring to say a word.
Just kidding, those big guys don’t dare to persuade them at this time, so who is he?
I don't know how long it took, but Song Wenyi suddenly felt the pressure around his body lighten. He secretly raised his head and saw the emperor leaning on the couch, saying with a somewhat sad tone.
"How many people in the imperial court like to call me the common people, the country, the country, and the country in front of me. But are the people they call really the common people?"
"How many people really have the common people in their hearts?"
"Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. The river that overturns the mountains and rivers is also formed by the gathering of a cup of water. But in the end, who really cares about the power of this cup of water?"
These words were spoken in a complicated tone, in a very soft voice, with an inexplicable hint of mockery, and even more of a deep sense of wistfulness...
This was obviously not said to Song Wenyi, more like talking to himself.
To be honest, Song Wenyi didn't understand what these words meant, but his intuition told him that the emperor was still in a bad mood.
He lowered his head and did not dare to speak. However, while he was silent, someone spoke.
I saw Huaien, who had been waiting by the side, gently replacing the cold tea cup in the emperor's hand with a new one, and said.
"Why do you need to be so worried, Your Majesty? There are still truly loyal and upright ministers in this court. What's more, even if the ministers don't have such insight, aren't you still here, Your Majesty?"
"Whether it's a cup of water or a river, they are all your people after all. As long as you have the world in mind, everything will go smoothly..."
From Song Wenyi's perspective, he felt that at this time, as a eunuch, the best way was to keep silent.
However, compared to him, Wynn obviously understood the emperor better. After these words, the emperor was in a much better mood.
Seeing the emperor casually pick up the warm tea cup he had just changed and take a sip, Song Wenyi felt that the emperor's eyes fell on him again and said.
"The local government has no control over these matters. Some of these squires are deeply rooted in the local area and have great influence. Some members of the clan have officials in the government. Local officials often turn a blind eye to them."
"Moreover, although they are taking advantage of the situation, they use various methods. At least on the surface, both parties are voluntary. Even if some are not voluntary, they can use some money to pass the paperwork to the government. The local officials are unwilling to take care of it. Some Even if you want to control it, you can’t.”
"But I have to take care of it, do you understand?"
The overwhelming power that hit him made Song Wenyi bend down involuntarily. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke carefully.
"Your Majesty, please give me a lesson!"
Then, the emperor's voice sounded again, a little more serious.
"There are some things that local officials can't control, and it's not easy for the court to control them, because court officials have to talk about reason, etiquette, and human relations. There's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I also have to talk about these things, but once I talk about them, it's okay. I can’t control it, so I need someone who doesn’t talk about these things.”
"Song Wenyi, I have ordered people to open a new yamen in the palace, the Mining Tax Supervisor. From now on, you will be the eunuch of the Mining Tax Supervisor. You can choose all the chamberlains in the palace. There is only one thing you have to do. thing……"
"This time, the group of people who took advantage of the earth dragon to turn around and plundered. As much as they swallowed, I will let them spit out as much as they can."
"Don't say that I won't give them a chance. Don't they like to tell the government that they are buying and selling at low prices voluntarily? Since it is a business, there must be buying and selling. I will buy it at half the price when they bought it back. Come here, they must be willing."
"These fields will be returned to the imperial manor, and the money will be deducted from the inner treasury. Wang Cheng will help you when the time comes. I only want to mention two points. First, you are not allowed to oppress the common people, plunder the fields of the common people without any reason, and only use cleverness to plunder. Secondly, you must not treat the tenants in the imperial estate harshly, do you understand?"
As he spoke, Zhu Qiyu glanced at Wang Cheng beside him, who immediately understood and stepped forward.
"Eunuch Song, Your Majesty has a special decree on how to manage the Imperial Village. It is complicated. We will explain it to you in detail later. There are two most important points. One is that all tenants who farm in the Imperial Village need to be registered. , rent an acre of farmland, one ding to fifteen acres at most.”
"Secondly, for the land in the imperial village, the rent is twice as high as the official land tax. After that, the rent will be reduced year by year, and it will be reduced by half a bushel a year. When it reaches the same level as the private land tax, there will be no further reduction. The number of years will be calculated based on the accumulation. In the event of a major disaster , can be exempted as appropriate. If there is an exemption, it will not be reduced in the following year. If the tenant dies, the new tenant will have to pay according to the original tax, which will be calculated again year by year..."
