"What kind of meeting is this today?"
"Yes, why do I feel that in addition to high-ranking officials from the imperial court, nobles from all over the country are here."
"Consort Lu, why are you here too?"
"Master Xu, it's a pleasure to meet you. I haven't seen you for a long time. I'm fine."
"I'm sick, but the Imperial Master still insists that people come. Isn't this a joke?"
Today, there are crowds of people in front of the Fengtian Palace. They are all high-ranking officials from the imperial court and dignitaries from Southern Zhili. They were summoned to the Imperial Palace in Nanjing City.
Regardless of whether they are sick or have official duties, they must come. Jinyiwei is not a vegetarian and cannot help them.
Even nobles and consorts are not immune. These people also include great nobles like Li Jinglong.
They all have several things in common, that is, they eat royal food and have a lot of land.
Li Xiao wanted to take over the land of these people and make it the land of the imperial court. The first step in the reform was to have officials. Even the officials were handed over. What excuse did others have to refuse?
Li Xiao has infiltrated the Hubu Department, and Yu Shi from the Hubu Department is his confidant, so he can check the land change records over the years.
There were no computers in this era, and all were paper files. Therefore, it was very time-consuming to find clues from the mountains and seas of files to figure out the ownership of these lands.
During this period of time, Li Xiao has not been idle, mainly to figure out these things.
"Looking back at the time when the country was founded in the future, it was a bit unethical to attack local tyrants and divide their land, but the advantage was that the land would directly belong to the country and then be redistributed."
"However, I can't do that now. I still have to do it step by step. After all, it's not the founding of the country."
"To take a step back, even when Zhu Yuanzhang founded the country, he did not dare to go too far. He also recognized the rationality of the Yuan Dynasty and inherited the system of the Yuan court, which of course also included land. Therefore, a lot of land was retained from the Yuan Dynasty. In the hands of these people.”
At this time, Li Xiao was sitting high up in the Fengtian Palace, overlooking the commotion of the crowd below. If he had not appeared, these people would have been the richest people in the Ming Dynasty.
And their wealth is the kind of wealth that makes people despair, wealth that cannot be surpassed. No one can be rich for more than three generations. Land, as the only means of production, is passed down from generation to generation. It is a despair that ordinary people cannot turn over.
If in the future, ordinary people can still stand up in various ways, especially in the era of great development, there will be countless opportunities.
In this era, ordinary people cannot stand up at all. The land is always in the hands of a few people. One or two natural and man-made disasters are enough to make an ordinary family disappear forever. Once there is a famine, they will starve thousands of miles away and change their children to eat. .
But these landowners were able to survive the famine easily because they had a lot of land and a lot of food. They would hoard the food and make a lot of money during the famine. A pound of food could buy a life or a slave. !
This is why, when Li Zicheng rebelled, there was no food at all, but the team he led specialized in attacking landlords and grabbing food, and the team became bigger and bigger.
Li Zicheng's fighting skills were not high, but he relied on robbing landowners. He was wiped out by Sun Chuanting several times and only a few people were left, and he was able to make a comeback.
King Fu of Luoyang was the largest landowner in Henan. Li Zicheng killed King Fu and robbed him of enough food to feed 100,000 soldiers for several months. What an exaggeration.
Li Xiao doesn't blame the group of people in front of him. This is a problem of the system.
If he had not become the son-in-law of King Zhu Di of Yan, had not become sworn to Zhu Yuanzhang by mistake, and gained his appreciation, he would not have such high authority.
Then there is a high probability that I will not dare to take out the things in the system for development, but will just stay there. Then there is a high probability that I will become a landlord class.
If he became the landlord class, Li Xiao would never think of overthrowing himself.
But now I am not. I am the national preceptor of the Ming Dynasty, Duke Yongle of the Ming Dynasty, and Li Qingtian of the Ming Dynasty.
As the saying goes, as long as you are in your position and have the ability to accomplish great things, you should do what you should do and what you can do!
"Everyone, Imperial Master, should be here by now."
Qinglong looked around and then said to Li Xiao.
Li Xiao nodded slightly and said, "Let's click on it, no one should be missing."
Qinglong took out the roster and began to roll the names, from high to low: "Wei Guogong Xu Huizu."
Xu Huizu was invited to Nanjing from Peiping. No matter his official position or title, there was no exception.
Xu Huizu was a little surprised when Jin Yiwei came to visit him.
However, he was the Duke after all, so he refused on the spot. Later, Jin Yiwei's attitude became tougher, and Xu Huizu reported the matter to the court. However, both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Gaochi ignored the matter.
Xu Huizu was a smart man and immediately understood his position. Xingye followed Jin Yiwei to Nanjing.
However, Xu Huizu was still dissatisfied. The dignified Duke was summoned here after traveling thousands of miles, but he was still summoned by a junior Li Xiao.
Li Xiao was just the son-in-law of his biological sister Xu Miaoyun, so he snorted and casually cupped his hands, "I'm here."
Qinglong checked the list and continued to click on the next name: "Founding Duke Chang Sheng."
The eldest son of the founding hero Chang Yuchun was Chang Mao, who was granted the title of Duke of Zheng in the third year of Hongwu. In the 20th year of Hongwu's reign, he was reduced to nobility, and he died in the 24th year of Hongwu's reign.
The second son, Chang Sheng, was granted the title of Duke of Kaiguo in the 21st year of Hongwu and was a descendant of Chang Yuchun.
As soon as these words came out, the whole scene was shocked.
What happened today? The meeting convened by Li Xiao even invited these princes. This power is too great. What is the purpose of today's meeting? Such a mobilization of troops and crowds!
Chang Sheng was treated the same as Wei Guogong Xu Zuhui. He failed to pretend to be ill and was carried from Peking to Nanjing by the Jin Yiwei. He cupped his hands and said without saying a word, "I'm here."
After all, he is a national master. He does not dare to make mistakes and knows how to be patient. His eldest brother is an example. Zhu Yuanzhang is still here, and the nobles cannot act recklessly, not to mention that he is still a junior and has not made much achievements.
Qinglong continued: "Cao Guogong Li Jinglong."
Li Jinglong handed over his hands very respectfully: "Your Majesty, Li Jinglong is here."
Immediately afterwards, Qinglong kept calling names. After the duke, there were marquises. Fortunately, there were not many of these founding fathers left. Most of them were taken away by Zhu Yuanzhang. The lands they owned were all rewarded by Zhu Yuanzhang. Now Li Xiao wants to Take it back.
After the marquis came the earl, but there was only one earl, Liu Bowen's grandson Liu Lao, who was the sincere uncle. It is worth mentioning that the title of Lord Chengxin lasted until the end of the Ming Dynasty.
Next are the princes-in-law. These princes-in-law cannot be officials, but they can rely on their reputation to make money and annex land.
"Husband-in-law Fu Zhong." Qinglong shouted.
However, no one answered.
Qinglong continued to shout: "Consort Fu Zhong!"
Fu Zhong couldn't help shouting angrily: "What are you shouting for? Don't you have eyes? Can't you see?"
This Fu Zhong had a very arrogant attitude. He had some background. He was the son of Fu Youde, the founding hero of the Republic of China. Fu Youde originally asked Zhu Yuanzhang for a thousand acres of fertile land. Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Fu Youde was greedy, so he gave him death.
And his son Fu Zhong married Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite daughter, Princess Shouchun.
Zhu Yuanzhang was always suspicious and cold towards outsiders, but he treated his relatives as lovingly as an old farmer.
Zhu Yuanzhang loved this daughter very much, and the dowry he gave her included 800 hectares of fertile land, or 12,000 acres.
As a founding hero, Fu Youde was jealous when he wanted a thousand acres of fertile land, but his son married a princess and easily obtained ten thousand acres of fertile land.
However, Princess Shouchun died a few years after her marriage at the age of eighteen.
These fertile fields naturally fell into Fu Zhong's hands.
As the saying goes, middle-aged men have three great blessings: promotion, wealth and the death of their wives.
Fu Zhong, whose wife died, secretly kept a group of wives and concubines and committed evil deeds. With his generous dowry, he grew bigger and bigger over the years. He used his status to annex land and became a big landowner. He already owned 28,000 acres of fertile land.
Maybe it was because he had drifted a bit over the years, and he seemed to have heard the news that the imperial master was going to take over his land this time, so he was in a bad mood and had a very bad attitude.
"Come here, slap your mouth."
Li Xiao said lightly.
"Yes!" The Jin Yiwei on both sides immediately stepped forward.
Fu Zhong was so frightened that he backed away and shouted: "Li Xiao, do you know who I am? I am the consort!"
Li Xiao smiled and said: "Of course my master knows."
Fu Zhong shouted: "You were just a prince-in-law at first, but now you have become a prince-in-law. I am also a prince-in-law, so you can't hit me. The court has regulations that even if the prince-in-law commits a crime, it will be dealt with by the clan government. You can't control me." .”
Bang bang bang——
Before he finished speaking, Fu Zhong was arrested and slapped in public by several loud mouths. With so many people watching, he felt his face was burning and he felt ashamed.
Li Xiao looked over and said, "If you make any more noise, you won't be able to get away with being slapped in the mouth."
At this time, Fu Zhong was too frightened to move.
Others looked at him like a fool.
The Duke didn't dare to say anything before, but it's good for you. A prince-in-law actually dares to talk to the Imperial Master on this occasion.
Even first-grade military attachés are killed when asked. Isn’t this self-inflicted humiliation?
Sometimes people just can't cry without seeing the coffin.
After being slapped several times, Fu Zhong finally understood that the consort in front of him was completely different from him.
He is the son of Duke Ying Fu Youde, but because he married a princess, he cannot be an official or inherit the title. He becomes the Prince Consort, and his achievements and power have nothing to do with you.
Li Xiao, the consort, is an exception. Not only does he have a title, but he also has an official position, which is the largest official position.
He looked around and saw that countless people were quiet. Then he looked at those Jin Yiwei. They were so crazy that even the Jin Yiwei could be dispatched at will!
Afterwards, he suddenly understood that he seemed to have made a big mistake. He seemed not to pay attention to these officialdom matters before. It turned out that such a big change had already occurred in the officialdom.
This Li Xiao obviously feels like he can cover the sky with one hand!
Thinking of this, Fu Zhong broke into a cold sweat.
In the following time, the prince-in-law did not dare to say anything anymore, honestly.
After Qinglong's roll call, the remaining people responded respectfully and did not dare to make any mistakes.
After an hour, the roll call ended.
"Master Imperial Master, the roll call is over. All the nobles, relatives of the emperor, and officials on the list are here, a total of 480 people."
Qinglong reported after reading the roster.
Although this list does not have many people, it owns a lot of land. In total, there are more than 6 million acres of land in various places.
"Very good." Li Xiao said, "Then we will distribute the land ownership register."
Qinglong nodded, then waved.
His subordinates, Jin Yiwei, began to take the booklets and deliver them to everyone's hands.
These booklets are not simple. Each booklet is for one person. It records all their plot information, including the size of the plot, location, coordinates, the year the transaction was completed, and whose name it is under. It is well documented.
All in all they have one thing in common, no matter how hidden they are, these lands belong to them.
These investigations were very complex. In addition to the participation of Jin Yiwei, Li Xiao also sent a large number of his subordinates to participate, some of whom were transferred from the Anti-Corruption Department of Beiping Prefecture, which took a lot of time.
After everyone got the booklet, they were all surprised.
It felt like their panties had been lifted and exposed to the public.
Some officials who have a lot of land have their land scattered among many relatives. They can't figure it out without looking through the accounts, but it is clearly written on it.
"Everyone please confirm whether the land you have is correct at the moment." Qinglong shouted: "If there are any omissions, vacancies, or problems, please raise them in time."
"I have a problem!"
A fifth-grade official pointed at the book and shouted: "None of this land belongs to me. The names of my relatives are also recorded in the fish scale book. Why is it counted as my head?"
Qinglong came over, glanced at this person, then opened the book in his hand and said: "Nan Shixu, a native of Yangzhou, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, the fifth rank, responsible for the rural examinations in many places, in the 21st year of Hongwu, a man named Zhang Haolin's candidate won the exam, and on the next day, your nephew Diao Xu had an additional 100 acres of fertile land in his name, and all the harvest from these fertile fields over the years went into your pocket."
After saying this, Nan Shixu, who asked the question, was so frightened that his face changed, "This is slander, slander."
Qinglong was unmoved and continued: "August, the 22nd year of Hongwu."
Nan Shixu's expression changed. How dare he let the other party continue talking? He quickly changed his words: "It's mine, it's my field."
Qinglong smiled and said: "Very good. Since you admit that it is your land, you have admitted your crime of corruption. Come on, put me in jail and conduct a detailed investigation. If the evidence is conclusive, your family property will be confiscated!"
As soon as he finished speaking, several Jinyi guards walked out and immediately held down the doctor of the Ministry of Rites named Nan Shixu.
"It's unjust. You are unjustly accusing a good man. I want to face the saint and frame him. The national master framed me."
The sound gradually faded away, and Nan Shixu was soon suppressed.
The first person to refute at the beginning was immediately thrown into jail, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. How can the rest of the people say anything?
Those holding the list swallowed their saliva and did not dare to continue talking. They wondered what the national master wanted to do and why he wanted to turn out the land list? ?
Li Xiao knew that these people would not be honest unless they were shocked, so he arranged this move.
Not everyone broke the law. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang's harsh punishments and the emergence of various crop seeds made everyone richer, and many officials did not dare to be greedy.
Most of the land annexations here are legal and compliant, and most of them come from Zhu Yuanzhang's rewards.
But just now so many people wanted to refute, Qinglong also picked someone to answer, and that's what led to the scene just now.
"Very well, does anyone have any questions?"
Li Xiao looked at everyone.
Hearing this, hundreds of people on the field were silent, and no one dared to answer.
"Good, since everyone is fine"
Li Xiao smiled slightly and said calmly: "Then the officials' field harvest meeting will officially begin!"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone in the audience changed.
The word "collect fields" was particularly harsh. Everyone understood what Li Xiao was going to do. Li Xiao actually wanted to deal with them like he dealt with those powerful families and take away the fields from their hands! ! ! (End of chapter)
