Of course, Liu Chao was not the only one in Qingtian who was sent by Zhu Youjian to various prefectures in Xiangyang to make decisions for the people!
During this period, many people from various counties under Xiangyang Prefecture came to Xiangyang City to complain.
Since someone has complained, Zhu Youjian cannot ignore it, but he cannot judge randomly. A fair and legal judgment must be made based on the facts and the Ming Law as the criterion.
Therefore, before making the verdict, Zhu Youjian sent a large number of "Qingtian" to investigate below. In addition to the factory minister Liu Chao, what other "biaos", "dogs", "children" and "grandsons" were there? ... They are all officials who have become famous throughout the world during the Wei Zhongxian era. They are all proficient in the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and everyone is willing to do good things for the country and the people.
In addition, Zhu Youjian also suspected that there were intruders mingling among the begging soldiers to cause damage. Those bad things such as smashing, looting and killing were probably done by intruders.
So he appointed Li Zicheng, the deputy commander of the Youth Army in front of the tent, to deal with the Xiangyang intruders, and sent the warriors in front of the tent to various counties to cooperate with those Qingtian to investigate the case and deal with the thieves!
Now the gentry in Xiangyang Prefecture are really looking forward to a savior!
Li Zichengdu personally went out to catch the robbers for everyone, how could Xiangyang not have He Qing Haiyan? How can the people in Xiangyang Mansion not be happy?
For Zhu Youjian, the beggar emperor in Xiangyang Imperial City, the days of begging were really carefree and comfortable, so this time passed quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was already September of the fifth year of Chongzhen.
The ninth month of the lunar calendar is equivalent to October of the Western calendar, and in the ninth month of the lunar calendar during the Little Ice Age, the temperature in Huguang was already very cold. As the weather turns cooler, the best time of the year in the Huguang area, the autumn harvest season, has also arrived one by one from north to south.
Similar to the situation in the northern Central Plains, the rainfall in Huguang in the five years of Chongzhen was also relatively heavy, and flash floods occurred in many places. But none of the rivers flooded, so overall, the harvest was pretty good.
On both sides of the Han River and around Xiangyang City, there is now a golden sea of rice, and everything looks so rich and peaceful.
The ninth king of Chu, who was more alive and older than the king of Xiang Zhu Yiming, was born in the second year of Longqing. Zhu Huakui, who had been the king of Chu for 52 years, was at this time riding a dragon boat with the king of Xiang Zhu Yiming, along the The Han River came slowly and arrived at Xiangyang City where the Emperor of Heaven was.
According to the vassal ban of the Ming Dynasty, the two kings (the princes of the vassal queen) should not be able to meet each other. However, King Xiang Zhu Yiming was ordered to contact the kings in Huguang area, so he naturally did not have to abide by the vassal prohibition of "the two kings not meeting each other". Moreover, various vassal restrictions restricting the clan are now being gradually lifted.
According to Zhu Youjian's current assumptions, the vassal kings in the north who are not from him can withdraw if they can, and move if they can. After all, the northern Central Plains will suffer from successive disasters in the next ten years, and the land resources have long been exhausted. There is no spare capacity and no need to feed the feudal kings.
However, the situation in Huguang and Guangdong and Guangxi is different.
The contradiction between people and land in Huguang and Guangxi was not prominent during the Chongzhen period, and the burden on the people was also relatively light.
The average land tax in Huguang is one mu, or one pound per mu. Even if 90% of the fields do not pay taxes, the remaining 10% will bear a tax of more than 2 million shi, which is only one dou per acre. For Huguang's water and soil, it is really not a problem - the output of Huguang's paddy fields is only 2 or 3 shi. If dry land is used to grow wheat, it can yield more than one stone.
The harvest is so high and the taxes paid are so low. If Zhu Youjian removes the vassal king to reduce the burden on the people, he will be too pampering to the Huguang gentry and people... It is better to let them act as the leaders of the wealthy family and work with the officials sent by the court. The governor was discussing how to pay taxes.
The land tax burden in Guangdong is heavier than that in Huguang, with 25 million acres (Guangdong has more hidden land, actually more than this number) bearing 990,000 shi, which is less than four kilograms per mu. However, Guangdong's sea trade was very developed at this time, and a small Foshan town was ranked among the best in the world, but Zhu Youjian, the long-lived master, could not collect a few commercial taxes!
As for Guangxi, the land is full of chieftains, almost barbaric. There are nearly 10 million acres of registered land, and the annual tax amount is only more than 300,000 dan.
Therefore, it is not that there are too many princes in these two areas, but that there are too few. It will be better to send more sons over later!
For Chu King Zhu Huakui, it was also a pleasure to leave Wuchang Mansion, where he had stayed all his life, and travel along the Han River, Yangtze River, and Xiang River, visit relatives everywhere, and appreciate the mountains and rivers of Huguang.
As for the one-dou tax per acre and the grain tax paid by both officials and gentry, although Chu King Zhu Huakui did not agree, he was not too worried... Wuchang was far away from Beijing after all, a place as high as the sky and as far away as the emperor. The powerful gentry in the local area are used to being comfortable. They can't even collect enough taxes per acre, so why should they pay per acre? Is the little emperor thinking too much?
So on the boat to Xiangyang, he kept comforting King Xiang Zhu Yiming, and asked King Xiang, who was afraid of having to deal with the little emperor, to find a way to coax Zhu Youjian away... As long as he leaves, Huguang will Is everything still the same?
...
"You two princes, the official ship has stopped at the pier. Please step down and get off the boat."
A Daxuan from Prince Xiang's Mansion walked into the cabin and talked to the two kings of Xiang and Chu who were drinking tea and discussing how to coax Zhu Youjian, a foolish king, to report the ship docking.
"Brother King of Chu, my brother's Xiangyang City has arrived!" Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming smiled and greeted Chu King Zhu Huakui, "Although Xiangyang is not as prosperous as Wuchang, it is also a good place with outstanding people and places. It has been an important town in Jingchu since ancient times, with historical sites inside and outside the city. There are so many, the city is extremely majestic, and the moat is even wider. Our boat is now anchored in the moat. If you come up with a case, you can directly enter the city through the east gate. Not far away is the palace... Long live the Lord's residence now. over there."
"Then let's go pay homage to the Long Live Lord first, and then we can visit Xiangyang's landscape and historical sites together!" Chu King Zhu Huakui didn't know that he was about to be in disaster. He was just like a child, just thinking about having fun - being a five-year-old. Wang, who has not left Wuchang for more than ten years, is indeed a bit bored. After finally going out, of course he has to have some fun!
"Okay, let's go to the city quickly!"
The two old men got off the boat and got on the big sedan chair that only the prince could ride. Under the protection of a group of eunuchs Jingjun (all from Nanhaizi), they entered the city in a swagger. Not far from the city was the prince's palace. As they got closer, they ran into a traffic jam!
Da Xun, who was born in Nanhaizi, rushed to the front of Prince Xiang's sedan chair and said, "Your Majesty, the road ahead is blocked... How about we enter through the back door."
"What? Go through the back door? I am the prince!" Zhu Yiming, the king of Xiang, was unhappy when he heard this, "Why don't you chase people away?"
"You can't chase me away!"
"What? Could it be that Lord Long Live is out?" Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming was startled and hurriedly got out of the sedan. When he got outside, he found that there was already a sea of people outside the gate of his imperial city... everyone Kneeling down while facing the imperial city under the bright sun, this scene is quite shocking.
"What's going on?" Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming asked hurriedly, "Why are there so many people kneeling? Are they here to petition?"
The eunuch nodded: "Yes, I asked about it, they are all here to petition..."
"Why don't you expel people? Long Live Lord Gan Gang decides everything in the Ming Dynasty, so there's no need to petition?"
The eunuch replied: "You can't drive people away..."
The prince asked: "Why not?"
"Your Majesty, I asked this old slave...those people are all the candidates, scholars and children from all over Xiangyang Prefecture."
"What about that?" Zhu Yiming was anxious. He knew how ferocious Zhu Youjian was. He would kill any scholar, scholar, or student who offended him!
"Your Majesty," the eunuch shook his head, "listen to what I have to say...those people came to ask the court to implement the unified payment of grain and taxes by officials and gentry and to increase the land tax in Xiangyang Prefecture to two dollars per mu! Your Majesty, , tell me, such good scholars, can we drive them away?"
"Ah..." Zhu Yiming was stunned. What happened? Why did the scholars in Xiangyang Prefecture suddenly only love Ming Dynasty and not money?
