Chapter 46 Private Visit
He Xi didn't know that his disguise had been seen through. He changed into a scholar's green shirt. With Xu Baoer and Wang Qianli, there are already four or five bodyguards. Dressed up as a traveling scholar. He did not stay in Jiaxing city for long. Instead, he went directly out of the city to the countryside.
After leaving Jiaxing City, He Xi did not decide where to go. Instead, he followed the river in the countryside and wandered among the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Walked for half a day. Under the big tree by the river, I saw an old man covering his face with a straw hat and placing a fishing rod next to him.
He Xi got off the boat and went over. Said: "Uncle, can I ask you something?"
The uncle didn't even put down the straw hat on his head. He waved his hand and said, "Go, go, don't scare my fish."
Seeing this, He Xi thought about it and asked his entourage to fold a bamboo pole, hang a rope on it, and drop the bait. He also pretended to fish.
After half a day, the old man put aside his straw hat a little and exposed his eyes to see that He Xi hadn't left yet. He said: "Young master, you can ask about anything you want. I finally understand. As long as you are here, I won't even think about fishing today."
He Xi said: "My surname is yours."
The old man said: "I won't pay you much."
He Xi said: "Uncle Liu, where are you from?"
Uncle Liu raised his hand, pointed to the small village not far away, and said, "Liujia Village."
He Xi said: "I think Uncle Liu is considered an elder in the village."
Uncle Liu said: "Since the emperor ascended the throne, it has been a few years of peace. It has allowed me, an old man, to live a few more years. Most of the people in the village are my juniors."
He Xi said: "Uncle, how many people are there in Liujia Village?"
Uncle Liu replied nonchalantly: "More than a hundred households."
He Xi asked: "How much is the tax per mu?"
Uncle Liu was stunned, sat up, looked at He Xi and said, "Who are you and why do you ask this question?"
He Xi said: "I am an Imperial College student and I am out to study. Just ask me. Is there anything I can't say?"
Uncle Liu said: "There is nothing that cannot be said. Three fights."
He Xi was stunned and said: "The court tax is more than five liters per mu. How come your family's land tax is six times more than what the court stipulates." He Xi seemed to have thought of something. Said: "Uncle Liu, is your home a government farm?"
Uncle Liu sneered and said, "My family does not have that blessing."
He Xi was a little confused and said, "How do you say this? The tax on official land is much heavier than that on civilian land. How can it be regarded as a blessing?"
Uncle Liu said: "They have never handed over."
He Xi became more and more confused.
What is Guantian? It was land occupied by Zhang Shicheng's relatives. After Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Zhang Shicheng, he designated these lands as official land. Let the local officials collect the rent on your behalf. Therefore, what the official land had to hand over to the government was court taxes plus tenant rent, which was more than double that of civilian land.
Official land has a heavier burden than civilian land. This is reality.
He Xi said: "Please ask the elders for advice."
Uncle Liu looked He Xi up and down and said, "I don't think you look like a Imperial College student. You do seem to be a caring person."
He Xi said: "Thank you, sir."
Uncle Liu said: "However, it's not a secret. Why can't we say that the dog officials did it? You should know how the official fields came from. The best fields in the south of the Yangtze River are the official fields. They are all close to the river and water. Good fields can produce much more than our fields, and some good fields can produce twice as much as my fields."
"These fertile lands are no longer government lands. They have been occupied by wealthy families. After these wealthy families occupied the government lands, they no longer even wanted to pay the rent for the government lands. So, let us do it for you."
He Xi never expected that things would have developed to this point.
Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of official fields was due to the nature of farmers. After he defeated Zhang Shicheng, the most important loot he obtained from Zhang Shicheng was a large area of land. How to deal with these fields and let Zhu Yuanzhang return them to the people, Zhu Yuanzhang was reluctant to part with them. So it was set up as official land. In essence, it was just a share of the rent.
These official lands were essentially the property of the imperial court. If you follow Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention. These lands were managed directly by tenant farmers. When the government levied taxes, it also levied tenant rents. After all, tenants who rent farmland also have to pay land rent.
To be honest, He Xi felt that the official land system was not reliable before.
Without him, Zhang Shicheng and the powerful people of the Zhang Shicheng Group occupied the most fertile land in Jiangnan. Even if they paid an extra cent of rent, it was profitable to rent official land. Therefore, when He Xi learned about the official land system, he was worried that there would be a phenomenon of second landlords.
That is to say, wealthy families occupied official land and turned official land into private land. Turning the original tenancy into a tax.
It's as if many low-rent houses have not reached the hands of those who need them, but have become profit-making tools for second-time landlords.
But He Xi never expected that they would go so far.
It’s no longer just taking a cut, but passing on the entire cost.
"No wonder. Guo Huan has such great ability." He Xi suddenly realized.
Guo Huan is just an envoy. Is there any way to cover up all aspects? He Xi tried his best to find out the truth. The manpower and material resources used were beyond what a chief minister could do.
There is more than just one person behind Guo Huan.
They were a group of people who were fed by Guo Huan with his generosity to the court.
He Xi said: "Old man, didn't His Majesty say that such things can be reported to Beijing, and His Majesty will definitely uphold justice for you."
Uncle Liu was silent for a while and said: "It's not that I haven't thought about it, it's just that I have lived for so many years. Some things are still clear to me. This is easy to say, but not so easy to do. Nowadays, Jiangnan land production is about There are three stones of food. Now it is only one-tenth. I can still get by if I grit my teeth. If I go to the capital to accuse him, His Majesty will surely deal with the dog officer. But what will happen next?"
"Some people from the countryside can never leave."
"Actually, it's not like there were no complaints from the villagers, but the family was ruined."
"If you think about it, forget it. This is much better than the chaos that broke out in the world more than ten years ago. Isn't it like this all your life? The people don't fight with the officials."
The Chinese people are the most rebellious and the most able to bear pain. Pushing them to a corner will lead to a huge war that will cause the world to collapse. But if they are not pushed to the edge, they can endure many things.
Just like now.
Yes, Guo Huan increased taxes for the people and benefited the gentry. Then, based on the principle of division, the upper and lower parts of the officialdom are integrated into one. I don't know how much money I have. However, the end of the Yuan Dynasty was not far away, and Zhu Yuanzhang had always been committed to land for the tiller. Today, most people in the Ming Dynasty are homesteaders.
Therefore, although the taxes suddenly increased six times, plus the burden of court taxes and services. But it’s not like he can’t survive.
Therefore, they just cursed verbally and did not have the courage to fight against corrupt officials to the end.
Although they will not keep secrets for these dog officials, they will not take the initiative to report to the court.
He Xi was silent for a while and said, "Uncle Liu, can you tell me, are it the villagers who sued and their families were ruined?"
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After leaving Liujiacun, He Xi visited a few more villages and received much the same news. And he also figured out where the food in the Hangzhou warehouse came from.
This is a small town. At the end of the street in the small town, there is a warehouse. But this morning it was all dilapidated and had all seen the light of day. Not to mention being guarded. It is a place where wild dogs and cats roam.
He Xi was walking among them, and when he moved a little bit, he saw smoke and dust rising everywhere.
And his mind was even more like smoke and dust, constantly rolling around. He Xi sneered and said, "It's really a plunder."
In order to prepare for famine and disaster, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered all villages and towns to prepare charity warehouses. The so-called voluntary warehouse means that each household contributes some grain, which is managed by the village or town. The county is responsible for supervision. In times of disaster, people can distribute food from charity warehouses.
It can be said that this is a very original insurance institution.
Please note that the ownership of this warehouse is not owned by the imperial court or the government. The government only has the responsibility of supervision. In current terms, the ownership of this charity warehouse is at the village collective level.
The imperial court had no right to mobilize the grain from the free warehouse.
What He Xi saw was that the charity warehouses in various villages were already in ruins. However, each household must still pay the annual charity donation. In the past, it was not compulsory to donate food to charity warehouses. But if you don't donate food to the charity warehouse in a disaster year, it will be difficult for you to receive food from the charity warehouse.
But now Yicang no longer exists. But the charity donation is still there. This is clearly a new form of exorbitant taxes.
Xu Baoer said with some worry: "Master He. This has been investigated clearly. Let's go back to Beijing. Just report to His Majesty. I don't believe that the whole Jiaxing Mansion doesn't know about such a thing. I'm worried that if the master is here, it will be leaked. Feng Se. I’m afraid there’s something unbearable to say.”
Originally Xu Baoer was not worried.
But now he was a little worried.
Without him, he could see it. The Guo Huan case involves too much. It is a big case. It is estimated that all officials in Hangzhou City, and even Zhejiang Province, from the chief envoy to the county magistrate, are involved in this big net. There are even local gentry and even some officials in the central government.
The possibility of encountering danger is even greater.
Even Xu Baoer was not worried that Guo Huan would send people to kill He Xi. He was worried that some people behind Guo Huan would regard Guo Huan as an abandoned son. Let Guo Huan bear the charge of assassinating the imperial envoy. All they want is for the court to stop investigating.
He Xi is actually not worried about this. Because people's ideas are different. In He Xi's opinion, what kind of person was Zhu Yuanzhang. It can't be said that he is the emperor of the ages, but it is rare to see a hero in hundreds of years. How could Guo Huan have the courage? However, He Xi didn't want to risk his own life to see Guo Huan's courage.
He Xi said: "Okay, the investigation here in Jiaxing is almost done. Let's go to Huzhou."
