Hai Rui may have a deeper understanding of human nature because his father died young, or it may be because he has been an official at the grassroots level for a long time. Therefore, although he is a member of the landlord class, like Zhu Yuanzhang, he has no regard for the powerful officials of his own class. The gentry are never afraid to speculate with the greatest malice, and even naturally believe that the powerful officials and gentry are worse than the common people, so they often favor the common people when governing.
So much so. He has always advocated the restoration of the strict bureaucracy of the Hongwu Dynasty. And it was the same now. Hai Rui instinctively regarded the powerful officials and their descendants as the biggest disruptors of the Yilu New Deal.
In his opinion, once these people use the inn, the local officials in charge of the inn will not be able to control these people because they are of low rank and have little power. In addition, these people are powerful and selfish, so it is impossible for the inn to receive any benefits from them. He would even extort a lot of money.
However, not everyone is as malicious as Hai Rui towards bureaucrats of his own class. Most bureaucrats, including the enlightened civil servants in front of Zhu Yijun, still have more favorable impressions than dislike of the powerful bureaucrats of their own class. Most of them are generally considered to be gentlemen who know etiquette and virtue, and will not care about trivial gains, or even Refuse to pay postage fees on credit.
Even Pan Cheng, a great scholar, couldn't stand it, and at this moment he stood up resolutely, expressed his opposition, and said: "The great peasants despise the princes, officials and gentry too much, and actually think that they are inferior to the common people in the interests of the country. This is against the will of the people." Argument!"
"In my opinion, most of the princes, officials, and gentry know the righteousness through reading. In addition, they are not poor. They are wealthy and know etiquette. How can this undermine the new policy proposed by Your Majesty?"
"His Majesty!"
"It is not my lie. The mistakes in governance in the world are often based on the mistake of hoping that the rich and noble will abide by justice and understand friendship, and think that there is no need to use harsh punishments to control them; but they think that the common people value profit over justice and are prone to be unreasonable and unreasonable."
"On the contrary!"
"This dynasty is a country of etiquette, so even the common people know etiquette and virtue, and the reason why it is not noble is that it values righteousness over profit. Otherwise, they would have become rich by taking advantage of tricks, or they would have despised their status and joined the big family. Become a slave and get rich by relying on your power;”
"As for those who are rich, they either appear because they despise righteousness and value profits, or even though their family tradition is upright, they are inevitably tempted by unruly slaves. The right way is to do evil like collapse and do good like climbing. Only those who can truly stick to the bottom line can There are very few people who have power but don’t do evil!”
"I would like to ask your Majesty to first guard against villains and then accommodate gentlemen in the administration of government. You must be on guard against the fact that these powerful officials and gentry are prone to use post stations to get credit for postage fees!"
"Otherwise, although His Majesty's administration is convenient for the people, it will burden the country's wealth, and the country's wealth comes from the people, which will ultimately burden the people!" Hai Rui continued to express his opinions, and then looked at Pan Cheng: "Ge If you don't know the locals, you don't know the evil of the rich. In front of powerful people like Mr. Ge, they have always been honest and courteous, focusing on justice over profit. But when it comes to public welfare and people's wealth, they can take advantage of it. It's like a glutton's ear!" Pan Cheng turned to look at Zhu Yijun and said: "Your Majesty! According to what the great Sinong said, what's the use of reading and knowing etiquette? Even knowing etiquette based on practical experience is wrong. It’s over!”
"Human desires are hard to suppress, and rich people know benevolence. In my opinion, it all makes sense. If you believe only half of the time, you will be ruined. If you listen to both, you will always be enlightened." Zhu Yijun smiled at this time and talked about his views.
It seems muddled, but it is indeed the case. Human nature is sometimes more uncertain about good and evil than the movement of particles, but for a group, everyone is rich and knowledgeable, which will increase the difficulty of internal strife, making it more difficult for people in this group to do evil internally. Increased difficulty.
Zhu Yijun also knew that even if the ruling officials he appointed were selected liberals, there would still be disputes over specific policies.
But disputes are a good thing, and some truths need to be argued over before one can understand them better. It's better than being in the court room where people are fighting each other and stabbing each other behind their backs.
Therefore, after Zhu Yijun said this, all the ministers bowed respectfully to Zhu Yijun and then sat back.
At this time, Zhu Yijun looked at Hai Ruiyan and said: "What Da Sinong said is actually true. I have thought about it, but in my opinion, we cannot stop eating because of choking, and we should not be incompatible with the people. The key is that the government must be upright in governance. , You can’t abandon public service for personal reasons. It’s understandable that you owe money temporarily, but if it reaches a certain level, or even when you can’t make ends meet, you should pursue the debt.”
"The Ministry of War is responsible for managing the Tianxia Post. The Ministry of Household Affairs has set up an audit department, which is responsible for auditing the general money and food incoming and outgoing accounts of the Tianxia Post. If they are not correct, they have the right to petition the imperial court to order the Ministry of War to mobilize troops to collect debts."
“When issuing this edict, it must be stated that the Ministry of Accounts will check the accounts regularly and work with the Ministry of War to collect debts. If compensation is not made within the time limit, for serious debts, the Ministry of War may raid the home to make up for the debt, or the Ministry of Accounts may be listed as a dishonest household and a letter will be sent to the Ministry of Rites to restrict them. Scientific examination and dismissal from official positions."
"In short, we are not afraid that the people will be in debt, but we are afraid that they will not be able to earn money diligently if they do not spend money in advance, and will not be able to bring income to the country." Zhu Yijun said.
Shen Shixing stood up at this time and said: "Now that your Majesty's holy light is shining, and the whole court is full of fierce ministers, it must be appropriate to implement this policy. If it is really untimely in the future, we can also ban the use of official posts by civilians." After hearing this, Zhu Yijun nodded: " Then make the decree!" Hai Rui didn't object anymore.
Of course, everyone knows that as long as Hai Rui serves as the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the world's powerful officials and gentry may not dare to act recklessly on the post road.
It is worth mentioning that because Zhu Yijun increased the salary of hundreds of officials through bonuses, and because Hai Rui now became a public minister, he earned a lot of money, and even his concubine Lu gave birth to a son for him. Because of the increase in his income, he raised a fat and white child. Thinking about this life, the son Hai Rui had given him would not die in infancy again.
Because Hai Rui had an heir, he was more dedicated to serving the country and the people, and he was not polite when he criticized other ministers in the court.
Back to the topic. After that, Zhu Yijun drafted an edict to the whole country in order to follow the instructions of Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.
"The idea of nourishing the people should be replaced by outdated policies" and
On the grounds that "it is a move to benefit the people and secure the country based on the wishes of the saints who value rituals and education", the road diversion system was abolished, and the addresses of migrant workers and homeless people from various places were registered. Those who did not have an address could register the address of their relatives and friends to facilitate official inspections. , and the ban on official posts is loosened, and the people can ride on the post according to the price set by each county.
At this point, the Ming Dynasty abolished the road guide system and began to actively encourage population mobility in an official name. For this reason, the Ministry of War also requested an order to add a post administration department. The chariot and driving department was no longer responsible for post administration, but was only responsible for carriage and horse administration. The post administration department was changed to be responsible for document mailing and post station management.
In this way, the imperial court's restraint on the people of the country will undoubtedly be reduced a lot, and it will promote the development of the commodity economy.
The migrant workers recruited at various construction sites are no longer refugees without government protection. Half a month later, in Huai'an City, Fengtian was inspecting the Yamen.
"Reporting to the Fuyuan, these are newly arrested refugees who went to the mountains to make paper. How do you think they should be dealt with?" Xu Shengwen, the commander-in-chief of the Biao Battalion, escorted hundreds of foreigners to Lu Kun, the governor of Fengyang, that day.
Lu Kunyin received the message from the court: "All the bonds will be released, and the family property will be returned! All the places of origin and addresses will be registered, and residence tickets will be issued. If anything is damaged, the government will compensate according to the price." After hearing this, the people who were taken here suddenly changed from angry to angry. He had an incredible look on his face, followed by great joy.
"Does the master really want to return the paper mill to us?" At this time, a refugee named Chen Jiuzhu couldn't help but ask confirmingly.
