"Thousands of horses are silent and all the sages are silent. Could it be that the white disaster in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is not worth mentioning in your opinion?" Gao pragmatically said coldly: "Or maybe you are ignoring the king's affairs and thinking that the disaster among the people has nothing to do with the country?"
This was a bit harsh, and everyone in the meeting naturally said that they didn't mean it that way, but that disaster relief was not the focus of the court's work in the past, so it was difficult for everyone to come up with a proper plan. Finally, Shi Xing simply said: "Elder Ge is also the great Situ, and the people's livelihood of the world depends on one shoulder. Now he attaches great importance to it. Why don't you first point out the key points for us to build a strategic position?"
Gao Pragmatic didn't know whether this group of people really didn't understand or pretended not to understand, but it was certain that they were suspicious of each other. Now it seemed that if he didn't draw a frame first, this group of people would not take it seriously. .
Having no choice but to say, Gao Pragmatic said: "Since Da Sikong has said this, I will start by talking about several things that can be roughly divided into several tasks."
He cleared his throat and said: "I think this white disaster in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is similar to the earthquake in Liaodong just now, which destroyed many houses and needs to be rebuilt. Due to the ice and snow, the agricultural production in the affected areas may be reduced this year." , pests are increasing. Therefore, I plan to divide this disaster relief project into the following items:
First, in-kind relief. This means that there may be food shortages in the local area this year, so the court needs to prepare some food in kind and put it in when there is a food shortage in the disaster-stricken areas. Why? Firstly, this can protect the local people from falling into famine; secondly, it can also prevent unscrupulous and profiteers from hoarding and using the people as flesh and blood.
Second, seed relief. As I said just now, during the white disaster, I am afraid that a lot of the original grain crops will be lost, resulting in a shortage of local seeds during spring plowing. Farming has been an important matter for people's livelihood since ancient times and must not be neglected. Therefore, the local government should provide grain seeds free of charge or at low prices to avoid missing the farming season.
Third, paid loans. Relieving the victims is certainly something that our court should do, but once the disaster area is too large and there are too many people affected, even the court may not be able to provide relief. Otherwise, it will cause a serious deficit, and the final problems may become more serious.
Therefore, although relief operations are necessary, in addition to opening porridge shops to protect people's food, post-disaster reconstruction and resumption of production must also be taken into consideration. Some people may have lost their seeds, their houses may have collapsed, or their cattle may have froze to death. In short, it will be difficult to resume production.
At this time, the court can organize low-interest loans... Well, you must have heard this statement in recent years, right? What I mean is that the imperial court itself may not be able to provide so much cash to support the reconstruction of the disaster area, but the imperial court can take the lead in gathering major banks, banks, etc., to provide the people in the disaster area with the loans they need to resume production according to the interest rates uniformly stipulated by the imperial court. "
When Gao Pragmatic mentioned this, someone asked: "We all admire Situ's benevolence, but banks are originally a profit-making business. How can any bank not take heavy interest but respond to the imperial court's initiative and provide low-interest loans for this kind of business?" Wasting your capital?"
Gao pragmatic took a look and saw that he was a member of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He was born in the same Jinshi class in Zhejiang Province. Gao Pragmatic couldn't judge his intention for the moment, but since he was from Zhejiang, he should always think of his hometown. Therefore, Gao Pragmatic tentatively decided that the intention of his words was to discuss the matter.
"That's a good question. This question is to the point." Gao Pingshi smiled slightly and said, "But I also have a question: In the disaster-stricken areas, there have always been generous gentry and wealthy businessmen. What are their intentions?"
The person who asked the question was silent. In fact, it's not that he doesn't know what the "profits" of this kind of gentry and wealthy businessmen are, but he just can't say it clearly - it can't be said that they are most likely to be the names of the plans, right? In the Ming Dynasty, seeking fame was actually seeking profit, because fame and fortune can often transform into each other.
As the saying goes, "A house that accumulates good deeds will always be happy; a house that accumulates evil will always be in trouble." Your family has a good reputation. If you are a landlord, there will definitely be more tenants and long-term workers coming to your house. , and worked more diligently, which improved the input-output ratio per unit area;
If you join a wealthy businessman, there will naturally be more people willing to do business with you and take care of your business. In this way, your business will naturally run more smoothly, your career will prosper, and it will get bigger and bigger. .
Business in the Ming Dynasty was actually quite developed, but certain traditions were still deeply ingrained, such as paying attention to reputation and reputation. These days, many businessmen are actually far more committed than officials. Sometimes they don't even sign a contract for such a large deal. As long as there are respected witnesses present and both parties make a promise to each other, the agreement is reached. Even if something unexpected happens later, among them Even if one party loses its original capital, it will not default on the debt.
Although the traditional sense of morality in Chinese society plays a role in this situation, the more direct issue is undoubtedly the issue of credibility and reputation. It doesn't matter if your business fails today, as long as your credibility is still there, there will be people willing to help you make a comeback. On the other hand, if your reputation as a businessman is ruined, then you are really unjust and have little help, and there is a high probability that you will be dead.
However, although it was difficult for everyone to refute what Gao Pragmatic said, it was not enough on its own, so Gao Pragmatic continued: "In addition, there happens to be something that I have imagined for a long time. I will take this opportunity to think about it today." Speak up and discuss with everyone: the imperial court can issue a separate new regulation to reward these righteous deeds."
When everyone heard this, they immediately became energetic, but everyone still had a lot of doubts, so someone asked: "I wonder what kind of reward Mr. Ge thinks?"
Gao Pragmatic smiled slightly and said: "As for rewards, they naturally have to be divided into several levels according to the impact of their righteous deeds on the local area. My current opinion is that they can be divided into at least three levels:
At the first level, one is given an honorary title, such as being called a knight, and is allowed to have higher-level uniforms, higher-level door lintels, and higher-level vehicles, and is allowed to build a self-made memorial arch. People below the third rank will not be worshiped by officials. This honorary title is not a royal title, has no rank, cannot be inherited, transferred, sold, etc., and will be extinguished upon death;
The second level is to give the name of a wise man in a certain government, such as Hangzhou wise man so-and-so, who is allowed to be in the fifth rank or below without being worshiped by an official. If there is a lawsuit or other matters, the Yamen must accept it immediately. This name is valid for ten years and cannot be transferred. , buying and selling, etc., will be eliminated upon death;
The third level is to give the name of a good gentry of a certain county, such as a certain Qiantang Good Gentleman, who is allowed to be in the seventh rank or below without becoming an official. If there are lawsuits and other matters, the yamen must accept them immediately. This name is valid for five years. It cannot be transferred, sold, etc., and will be extinguished upon death. "
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was in an uproar. Everyone's first thought is - this is changing the ancestral system!
However, after everyone thought about it, it seemed that Lao Gao Ge had changed the ancestral system not just once or twice, but this time... it seems that we can't say that he had changed the ancestral system, because even the "Sir" who shocked everyone the most clearly said that "This honorary title is not a royal title, has no rank, cannot be inherited, transferred, sold, etc., and will be extinguished upon death."
In other words, apart from being a so-called "title" in name, this thing was actually completely "unfashionable" in the court. Of course, it still has some uses, such as "it is allowed to have higher-level clothing, higher-level door lintels, higher-level driving, and is allowed to build a self-made memorial arch. People below the third rank will not worship officials."
The reason for skipping the level of uniform color is that Emperor Taizu had clear and very strict regulations on what colors people of different statuses could wear.
For example, in February of the first year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an edict to "return to the same clothes and hats as in the Tang Dynasty". At the same time, it was stipulated that all the people should have their hair tied on their heads, officials should wear black gauze hats, round-collar robes with belts, and black boots; Black and yellow are not allowed for scarves and variegated collars; musicians wear green-letter scarves and tie with red and green silk belts; wives of concubines and concubines are allowed to use silver-plated jewelry, earrings with gold beads, bracelets with silver, and wear light-colored clothing. , Tuanshan shirts are made of silk, silk, thick silk...etc.
In the fifth year of Hongwu's reign, an order was issued: folk women's attire should only be made of purple, without gold embroidery. The robes should only be purple, green, peach red and other light colors. Red, crow green and yellow were not allowed, and blue silk was used for belts.
In order to implement this system, Zhu Yuanzhang formulated the regulations of "submitting clothes and violating the style" in the "Da Ming Code" to severely punish the behavior of arrogant clothing.
But there is a problem here, which this book has mentioned a long time ago, that is, the clothing rules of the Ming Dynasty, like many other systems, have long since been abolished more than 200 years after the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Let's put it this way, unless you wear a dragon robe to show off in the market, or wear python robes, unicorn suits, bullfighting suits, flying fish suits, etc., otherwise it is just the color of the clothes that is illegal (note: except for bright yellow), generally not People will give you trouble - even if you wear red, that is, bright red, it usually doesn't matter.
However, this does not mean that the "leapfrogging service color" given by Gao Pragmatic is unattractive, because the reason is very simple. After all, there is a big difference between not violating the rules and not violating the rules. What's more, in addition to the service, Gao Pragmatic also gives the door lintel, car driving and other privileges that can leapfrog the next level.
This is very powerful, equivalent to actually allowing a person to complete a "class jump." Take the "lintel" as an example. The so-called "lintel" here actually refers to the architectural shape of the home.
The regulations from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty were: the first and second-rank official halls had five rooms and nine shelves, and the ninth-rank official halls had three rooms and seven shelves; the common people's houses should not exceed three rooms and five shelves, and Dougong and colorful paintings were prohibited.
Customized in the 26th year of Hongwu: the official halls of the sixth to ninth ranks have three rooms and seven racks, and the main entrance has one room and three racks; the common people's main hall must not exceed three rooms and five racks. In the 30th year of Hongwu's reign, he reiterated: The number of houses can be as many as one or twenty, but the number of spaces and racks cannot be increased. In the twelfth year of Zhengtong, the court made a slight change and changed the number of racks to more, but the number of rooms could not be changed.
Some people may not know what "interval" means. Here is a brief explanation. The space between beams is called "jian", and the space between trusses is called "frame". Space is the unit of measurement on the building plane; frame is the unit of measurement on the building.
In short, to put it simply, it is actually very simple to check the social status of a family. You just need to find a high place outside his house and take a look at the main hall of his house.
For example, the main hall of the highly pragmatic Nanning Marquis Mansion has five bays and nine bays. Even if you don't look at the plaque on the door of his house, just by looking at the bays in the main hall, you will know that the owner of this house is at least a second-rank official of the imperial court. [Note: Rixin Building is a regulation authorized by the emperor, and it is not the main hall of his house. ]
So according to the "leapfrogging" given by Gao Pragmatic here, it means that even if your family is just a commoner, if you are awarded the title of "Jazz", then the main hall of your home can be upgraded from three rooms and five shelves to three rooms and seven shelves. In the Ming Dynasty, when the etiquette system was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, this was a great grace!
However, as Gao Pragmatic expected, his words immediately aroused great controversy, and it was obvious that there were few in favor and many against.
This is not surprising, it is completely within Gao Pragmatic's expectations. The truth is obvious. I have achieved social status with great difficulty after ten years of hard work. How can you, a bunch of arrogant people, spend a little money to be on an equal footing with me?
Gao Pragmatic took his time and watched everyone arguing with a smile.
At this time, Chen Yubi was also a little restless. He leaned over again and asked in a low voice: "Rixin, I don't think it will be easy to implement this strategy. You may even be impeached, saying that you are 'disrespecting the famous weapon of the imperial court.'" '! You don't really want that, do you?"
"Don't be anxious, don't be anxious." Gao pragmatically comforted Chen Yubi, and then without waiting for him to say anything else, he suddenly clapped his hands to calm everyone down, and then said: "Donate one hundred thousand taels of silver during the disaster. After the local chief official reports to the court, the court will appoint the governor of the province to personally review and determine that the person has indeed served the public and abided by the law, and can be granted knighthood."
How many? One hundred thousand taels? Everyone present was shocked.
No, your hometown in Gaoge does not run a slaughterhouse. How come you are so skilled at killing pigs?
Are you always worried about having too much money at home and no longer know the value of money? One hundred thousand taels, do you know what one hundred thousand taels is?
Even in the capital, the average price of a pig is only one or two and a half grains of silver. One hundred thousand taels of silver, that’s 66,666 pigs! You can kill more than 60,000 pigs with one blow! Is there such a good deal in the world? You are willing to sell it, but will anyone be willing to buy it?
Seeing that everyone was dumbfounded and silent, Gao Qingshi smiled even more kindly and continued: "Sir, it's more expensive... No, it's reasonable to ask for more. The next two levels will naturally wait - a certain mansion A wise man, thirty thousand taels; a good gentry of a certain county, ten thousand taels."
It’s a good idea to wait and wait, it’s a good thing to wait and wait! A wise man is equal to 20,000 pigs, and a good gentry is equal to 6,600 pigs... The famous weapons of the Ming Dynasty are now measured in terms of how many pigs they have, right?
Almost everyone began to fall into a trance, so much so that they did not listen to the disaster control and relief measures that Gao Pragmatic continued to talk about later. Regarding tax reduction and corvee reduction, the establishment of disaster relief agencies, the establishment of a charity warehouse system, etc., everyone basically puts it in one ear and out the other.
Everyone felt that their ears were buzzing, and their minds were filled with pigs all over the mountains and fields...
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Thanks to book friend "I am Liao Zhenxin" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
PS: I always felt that I couldn't afford to update. Although I had been squinting for more than two hours, I still couldn't sleep well, so I just washed my face in cold water and finished coding this chapter. Now I feel at ease and go back to sleep.
