"Tomorrow is the first day of April. Are you telling me that only 20% of the newly registered official land is rented out?"
In the Guangzhou government office, Yang Shen told himself that he should control his anger, but looking at the magistrates who came to govern the counties and prefectures in front of him, and the county magistrates or registrars who were sent over due to illness or other reasons, it was still difficult to suppress his voice.
"Don't think that I don't know this clearly!" He said with a sullen face, "Even if the official land is paid more, it is still less than the land rented by wealthy tenants! From the end of last year to now, the people of each county should not be rushing to rent the land. Is that right? Why is it only 20%?"
The magistrate of Panyu in Fukuo County lowered his head and said nothing, and some other magistrates did not speak either.
The governor was angry. Wasn't there the county magistrate or the chief registrar? Let them explain it first.
"Master, it's not that I'm a low-ranking official who doesn't take care of me." A certain clerk could only say with a grimace, "The population of private households is limited. In addition to their own fields, those who rent the fields of wealthy households also have leases. The lease period has not yet expired. Just give up if you can? If you need to rent some additional official land, the family's strong men will not be enough to work, not to mention there will be more corvees this year... Xiaguan is located in Qingyuan County, and from the county official to Xiaguan, every mile has been traveled , In fact, we can only give out 20% of the hidden tenants who were registered last year after their father-in-law was released..."
Yang Shen fully felt the strength of the local gentry and wealthy households. His stay in Guangzhou during this period of time was not in vain. Hearing this, he said in a cold voice: "The corvee is heavy among the people, but what about the rich gentry? None of them are tenants?"
No one spoke, the situation was clear.
Aren't these hidden fields that were reclaimed by the emperor and reclassified as official fields dug out from the hands of these gentry and wealthy households?
If they don't want to rent back, can they still force it?
If there is land but no one is planting it, it actually does not affect this year's land tax - anyway, it can be collected almost in full every year, unless there is a famine.
The more than 36,000 acres of hidden land cleared by the Guangzhou Prefecture were not included in the fish scale book.
Strictly speaking, these new official fields will allow Guangzhou Prefecture to harvest more grain. This part of the hidden field can be rented out at 20%, and the total income can be more than 7,000 dan, which is not bad.
If this part is included in the annual tax payable, it will be less than 2,000 taels of silver; but if it is based on the market price, it will be more than 3,000 taels of silver. It depends on how it will be dealt with later.
But Yang Shen was not satisfied, very dissatisfied.
"Last year, how many cases of forced buying and selling of land by villagers and wealthy households were tried in your counties and counties?"
The magistrate of Xinhui County felt a sudden change in his heart and said quickly: "Master, these disputes are mediated by Li Zhengxian as a rule. Many of them have no solid evidence, and some of them are from twenty or thirty years ago. If there is any solid evidence, there have been reports of fatalities." Those who came to the county government were all judged by the lower officials, and it must be the same in other counties, right? Xie Shenzhen was unselfish in politics, and there were many hidden fields. This made the big households in each county speechless. "
He felt that Yang Shen was crazy. How could he start from those headless cases and then try to deal with the wealthy gentry? This year's land tax actually depends on them.
If they delay the farming work in their fields on the pretext of responding to the lawsuit, they can afford it and have excuses.
The magistrate of Panyu County also reminded: "Master, last year I, the wealthy gentry in Guangzhou Prefecture, were considerate of the difficulties faced by the government. In some areas, they couldn't send people and couldn't get the money, so they all donated money to let the government hire people to serve on their behalf. This is Official land must be rented out gradually. Now that the land has been cleared, what is the court's attitude towards taxes and servitude? Not only the rich gentry, but also ordinary people are not sure, so they dare not rent it rashly..."
Yang Shen looked at them one by one.
The court's attitude?
"Did the imperial court give more tax to Guangdong?" Yang Shen said sternly, "At the beginning of the People's Republic of China, there were more than 230,000 hectares of land in Guangdong, and Guangzhou alone had 90,000 hectares. Now, the entire Guangdong only has more than 70,000 hectares! Last year Only more than 300 hectares of hidden farmland have been cleared, and Guangzhou Prefecture has reduced its frontal land by more than 50,000 hectares compared with the early days of the Kingdom. You want to know what the imperial court's attitude is towards taxes and servitude, right?"
After being fooled by Gui E with data, Yang Shen made up for the lesson.
But no one answered him.
One hectare and one hundred acres means that Guangzhou Prefecture lost more than 50,000 hectares of fertile land, which is more than five million acres. If all land tax is collected, it will cost at least two to three million shi of grain, which is nearly one million taels of silver based on the price of grain!
Without collecting land tax, what about the rented grain received? An acre of small land can yield seven or eight bushels of rice, while a good field can yield one stone of two or three bushels of bushels. On average, this is probably nearly six million stones of grain and nearly two million taels of silver!
Per year!
This is just one city in Guangzhou.
So Yang Shen doesn't know how much interest is behind this. How many local Guangdong officials and officials who have served in Guangdong are involved?
There are still more than a hundred years to go!
Liang Chu took the lead in sorting out the contributions, and the number of fields and dings assigned to Guangzhou Prefecture has increased a lot. There are more than three hundred hectares of official land, you have a chief assistant father, and your political achievements are enough, why are you wading into this muddy water?
Hurry up and ask your father to transfer you away. It’s good for you, and it’s good for us too!
We want to know, but there are so many civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty, and there are so many officials who have become official, who doesn't want to know the court's attitude towards taxes and servitude?
Seeing that no one answered, Yang Shen felt increasingly helpless.
"Since I have come to Guangzhou, I will tell you clearly!" He gritted his teeth and said, "Under the rule of Guangzhou Prefecture, no matter whose family it is, they will be exempted from a few acres of land tax and a few tons of corvee. Let’s check every family in my house! We don’t have a sword from the emperor, but I am the governor of Guangzhou and can enforce the laws of the country! From today on, starting from Panyu, I will personally visit every gentry’s house! I want to Look, how considerate are the wealthy gentry who have acquired the more than 50,000 hectares of fertile land that have disappeared, and how difficult it is for the government to do so!"
Everyone else changed their colors after hearing this.
You came here just because your father is the chief assistant, right?
Will die!
…
Tian is right there, but he won't actually run away.
It's just that the local officials and subordinates who do daily work don't take it seriously, and they don't care about how many fields and acreage the families with official status and fame have.
It was mid-April when Zhai Luan and the three great talents arrived in Guangzhou by speedboat.
He was studying in Guangdong, so the first person to look at the academic affairs was naturally Guangzhou Prefecture.
Before the provincial examination in August, he had to visit every prefecture.
Then I heard that Yang Shen had gone to the countryside, and he would not go back to live in the government office.
Not only that, the Tongzhi, Tongpan, Tuiguan, Governor and even Zhaomo in the government office were no longer there, they all went with Yang Shen.
There are only some subordinate officials in the government office.
When I went to Panyu County, I saw that the magistrate, county magistrate, and chief registrar were not there, and even the edicts had gone with them.
After asking about the situation, Zhai Luan hurriedly came back to see Zhang Fujing: "Futai, what is Governor Yang going to do?"
Zhang Fujing naturally knew what was going on, and his expression was very complicated.
At the beginning, the hand-sword prince said that he was an imperial envoy, had an imperial edict, had the sword given by the emperor, and had five hundred officers in brocade clothes, and he was relatively sure of it.
Yang Shen only has a father.
But Zhang Fujing was a little impressed with Yang Shen: he finally figured out that his father was his father. Since his father is still the chief minister of the cabinet, he can hide behind him and make people fear him.
He brought the magistrates of the whole government and the county magistrates to visit him with great fanfare. Will you accept him?
He didn't handle the case either, so he just asked about the situation.
How many fields do you have in your own name, how many people are in your family, and how many slaves do you have?
How many fields do your relatives and friends have in Guangzhou, where are they, and how many slaves do they have?
The clerk was recording it with a pale face next to him.
The matter was very serious. He did not say that he would change the land tax or introduce corvee labor.
But under the current national law, what kind of people can be exempted from the number of fields and how many dings can be exempted, that has been decreed by the imperial decree, right?
Did you escape some?
So Zhang Fujing said to Zhai Luan: "Zhong Ming was a doctor in the Ministry of Justice before, and now he is a scholar in Guangdong. Do you know what your Majesty sent you to Guangdong for?"
Zhai Luan's face turned pale: "...Futai, this is going to cause big trouble!"
"... In the whole of Guangdong, only Yong Xiu dares to do this." Zhang Fujing expressed his admiration, "He insists on doing this, so I can only ask Wang Jiantai to send some people to follow him. But for the next step, I'm afraid we need to start with Zhong Ming. .Zhong Ming, what do you think?"
Zhai Luan knew that when he came to Guangdong, he would cooperate in doing some things, but Yang Shen's battle frightened him.
"Futai, this can't be done just by finding a few conclusive evidence and getting dismissed from office! How can Yang Yongxiu be biased in his actions with such a big fanfare?" Zhai Luan's voice was extremely bitter, "Don't you have to dismiss most of the people in Guangzhou Prefecture? , for the reputation of promoting people? Aren’t so many officials and their relatives and friends guilty?"
He couldn't help but complain: "Does Mr. Yang Ge know about this?"
"What do you think? It only started on the first day of April. The news hasn't reached the capital yet."
Zhang Fu admired him for this: Yang Shen was crazy, and after the news spread throughout the provinces, Mr. Yang Ge really became the leader of the reform faction.
After hearing this, it is unclear whether His Majesty will praise Yang Shen repeatedly or blame him for ruining the overall situation.
Zhang Fujing was busy with his affairs, so it was impossible for him to pay attention to Yang Shen's mental journey.
In short, one thing seems quite clear now: after coming to Guangdong, he probably received a lot of stimulation...
"Then what should I do?" Zhai Luan cursed in his heart. At the same time, he was anxiously trying to figure out the true attitude of the court and thinking about what he should do with Zhai Luan's fields everywhere.
Zhang Fu sighed and said, "In my opinion, Zhong Ming might as well go find Yongxiu and accompany him for a few days before we talk. He didn't say how to deal with it, he just visited each house first."
Zhai Luan doesn’t want to go, very much!
He's already present at the provincial level, isn't that just a threat?
Hiding the land is not allowed by the national law, so why do you still escape from the land tax and corvee? Do you still want the fame?
But he must go.
Sooner or later, the lawsuit will come to him, and sooner or later, it will come to Zhang Fuking!
When Zhai Luan hurried to the foot of Baiyun Mountain outside Panyu County, he was surprised to find that Zhu Yunming and the others were also here.
And they were looking at Yang Shen, who was squatting on the edge of the field with the hem of his official uniform pinned to his waist.
There was mud on the dignified mansion's shoes and hands, so he just pinched a handful of dirt, then stood up and said with a smile: "Superior fields."
The expressions and moods of Zhai Luan and Zhu Yunming are probably the same: Are you an old farmer? Do you know Tian? Just by pinching a handful of dirt, you will know whether it is high-grade, medium-grade or low-grade?
Yang Shen didn't care about this, he was just here to put pressure on him anyway.
A certain person standing next to him had a forced smile on his face, and he had to say: "Master Fu, you'd better go sit down in the humble house first."
However, Yang Shen saw Zhai Luan and his eyes lit up: "Zhong Ming? I haven't congratulated Zhong Ming on his promotion to Deputy Inspector General and his promotion to study in Guangdong. Unexpectedly, we meet here."
It was time for Juren to look even worse.
"... Use Xiu, stay safe..." We all had stayed in the Hanlin Academy, so we were old acquaintances.
Yang Shen introduced him with a smile on his face: "These three are the four great talents in Wuzhong. Now, His Majesty has granted them the same background as Jinshi and serve in the Royal Wanfa Hall. Having studied in Guangdong, they can encourage the students!" "
"...I went south with the three worshipers."
"Today is really rare." He smiled and said to the master again, "Uncle Zong is here in person, and the talented people from Wuzhong are also here. It suddenly dawns on him that he has left some good sentences and masterpieces! Master Feng, what do you think?"
"...Don't dare! The master of the palace has killed the students... It's just as it should be, just as it should be, the humble house is full of glory. Mr. Zongbo, the master of the palace, the three worshipers, all my lords, please..."
He was cursing and trembling in his heart, but he could only smile and invite them to go to his house.
The three talented men saw that Yang Shen had untied his official robe and there was some mud on his waist. Behind him, there were all the officials from the prefecture and county with worried expressions.
Occasionally when I have to laugh, it feels like crying, and everyone looks quite haggard.
Before reaching the gate of the house, I saw a government official bringing a few frightened farmers over to report: "Master, the young tenant of the Feng family has been invited."
"Come on, come on, let's go in together. Don't panic, I just want to ask about farming matters and understand the people's sentiments."
The people of Guangzhou Prefecture now know that the Prefecture Master is the Number One Scholar and Wenquxing.
But they also know why Fu Zun has been wandering around the countryside of Panyu recently.
So they knelt down with a plop: "Master Fu, the common people don't know anything..."
Feng Juren was so frightened that his white face turned dark again, but he did not dare to interrupt.
"Don't you know how much you have harvested from the fields you cultivated in previous years?" Yang Shen has become a lot more skilled and still smiles warmly, "Don't be afraid, I just understand the people's sentiments and will never ask you what you don't know. Come on, come on , let’s talk in the yard first.”
The villagers burst into tears: "Common people, please answer here."
"Get up first, get up first."
Yang Shen reached out to help them, so several tenants were timid and did not dare to be touched by him, so they stood up and crowded together.
You pushed me, and only an old man with a dark face and wrinkles was pushed in front, and everyone was trembling.
Officials and subordinates in all kinds of official uniforms and soap clothes gathered around, and everyone's expressions and postures were so rich that the three talented men felt that this scene was too impactful.
... Could this be the "scenery" that His Majesty asked them to come to Guangdong to see?
Is that Yang Shen, the dignified champion, well-known Qingliu, and son of the chief minister?
Just when Yang Shen turned into a mudslide and rushed into Guangzhou, what happened here was finally reported to Beijing.
In the royal study room, daily senior study classes are still held.
"Your Majesty, urgent report from Guangdong! Yang Shen, the prefect of Guangzhou, personally led the governor and county magistrates to visit the local gentry one by one, observe the people's sentiments, and inquire about the land and people..."
Before Gao Zhong finished speaking, Yang Tinghe, who had been "re-educated" for more than half an hour, was already dizzy. When he heard the bad news, his eyes suddenly turned black, and he staggered and fell over.
News came and went that Yao Rong, the governor of Yansui, had not yet arrived.
The Seventeen Arhats, Zhang Bi, and Gu Dingchen were all stunned. Yang Ting and Jiang Mian beside him quickly supported him.
"...Quickly announce the Imperial Physician! Hurry and prepare some ginseng tea!"
After Zhu Houcong gave his instructions, he left the throne and walked towards Yang Tinghe. He saw Jiang Mian pinching one of Yang Tinghe's men.
Yang Tinghe woke up quickly and saw many heads gathered together and looking over, with expressions of concern on their faces.
He was so sad that he burst into tears immediately.
What a sin!
How did I really become the leader of the reformist party?
(End of chapter)
