In prosperous times, ants cry; in troubled times, ants die.
This is the tragedy of the feudal dynasty and a true portrayal of the people at the bottom for thousands of years.
Looking at the prosperous times of any historical dynasty, most of them are rich and beautiful in the writings of literati. They are the accumulation of wealth in one or several places. The methods are often similar to the Yuan Dynasty's "the poorest in the south of the Yangtze River and the rich in the north", plundering the world's wealth to show off. Prosperous times.
It has nothing to do with anyone else whether the bottom is five people wearing a pair of old trousers or an old cow plowing dozens of acres of land.
The officials closed their eyes and enjoyed the wine, the businessmen left in pursuit of profits, and the literati wrote and thought about what kind of poem they should write for tomorrow's spring outing, which won the applause of the whole house.
Everyone's eyes seemed to be rolling, they could see above but not below.
This is an eye disease and needs to be cured.
The prosperous age that Zhu Yunwen pursues is not the carnival of a few landlords, but the food and clothing of the majority of the lower class people!
That’s right, just enough food and clothing!
As for the main conflict between material and culture in later generations, it has nothing to do with the current Ming Dynasty!
They don’t have enough to eat and don’t have warm clothes, yet you still export culture?
Zhu Yunwen did not dare to hope for a moderately prosperous society. It took New China 70 years of development and relied on large-scale industry, large-scale policies, large-scale commerce, large-scale transportation, and large-scale poverty alleviation to basically enter a moderately prosperous society.
There is nothing in Ming Dynasty, so why do you want to be well-off?
The only feasible solution is to first untie farmers, reduce their burden, and allow them to produce and survive.
If the situation is good, you can exchange the surplus grain for some silver to improve your life. If the situation is not good, you will not go out to beg for food and wait for relief from the court.
The whip method is the most suitable method in line with the current situation of the Ming Dynasty.
The highest official of the General Department of Agricultural Taxation is the left minister, Xia Yuanji, and the right minister is Yan Qiliang. Xia Yuanji coordinated the national agricultural tax and was responsible for the response of agricultural departments at all levels. Yan Qiliang went out of the capital to implement the one-whip method, mainly in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
After Yan Qiliang arrived in Huzhou Prefecture, he arranged to accompany the supervisors. Under the leadership of the officials from the chief envoy's yamen, he went to each county to implement a whipping method. , the supervisor will report to the agricultural tax department of the government, and the agricultural tax department will contact the chief envoy of a province to replace the official.
Hu Jun, a student of the Imperial College, galloped on his horse and led twelve people into Changxing County. Before they reached Changxing County Yamen, they heard a cry, desperate and desolate.
"Team supervisor, let's go to the county government office."
On the side, Yang Chengxuan, the chief envoy to the Yamen office, frowned when he saw Hu Jun stop.
Hu Jun turned his horse's head and said: "The supervisor of our team has the duty to investigate the public sentiment. How can we turn a blind eye? Go and have a look."
This is a dilapidated alley. On both sides of the surrounding area, there are low earth walls as fences. Most of them are simple wooden fences. As you walk in the alley, you can see what is in the yard at a glance. A real one.
What made Hu Jun feel sad was that he didn't see any grain piles in the yard, not even a grain of grain outside. Looking at the dilapidated and low-rise houses, I'm afraid they can't accommodate a few people. Even if there are people living in them, they can't hold a few stones of food.
"Let go of my daughter, let go of my daughter!"
"Zhou Bapi, I'll fight for you!"
"I pay grain to the emperor. If you dare to resist, you are fighting against the emperor. You want to rebel. If you are beaten to death by me, you will also share the worries of the imperial court!"
The noisy sound, accompanied by the dull sound of beatings and crying, hurt Hu Jun's heart.
"Stop it all!"
Hu Jun sat on the horse, shouted loudly, and waved his hand. Behind him, the supervisors and the chief envoy's Yamen officials dismounted one after another.
Hu Jun dismounted and immediately grinned.
Damn it, riding a horse for a long time is a living hell. Walking unnaturally bow-legged, Hu Jun led people into the courtyard.
When Zhou Bunong heard the noise, he went out of the house and saw a lot of people coming. He couldn't help being surprised. When he looked carefully, he saw that the leader was actually a prison student. With contempt in his eyes, he shouted: "Passing by? Just do what you have to do." What are you going to do? Don’t disturb me!”
Hu Jun walked towards Zhou Bunong without fear, looked at the thugs blocking the door, and said in a deep voice: "Get out of the way!"
The thugs looked at Zhou Bunong, who sneered and said, "This family is a traitor. If you are interested, you should leave quickly and don't delay your own future."
Hu Jun snorted, turned to look at Zhou Bunong, and said coldly: "May I ask, who are you?"
Zhou Bunong puffed up his chest and shouted: "In the next week, Bunong is the grain chief of Changxing. He is dedicated to collecting taxed grains. This family does not pay taxes and grains. As the grain chief, he should work for the court and share the emperor's worries. , ensuring that not a few grains of grain are transported to the capital!"
"Chief of grain?"
Hu Jun nodded slightly and cupped his hands.
Zhou Bunong felt even more majestic.
The grain chiefs of this era do have the ability to be prestigious.
The grain chief is not an official, but he has power.
The grain chief system was created by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang for the purpose of collecting taxes and grain services.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the previous generation of landowners were basically dead. The number of new generation landowners was not large enough, and the land was still scattered, which made it very difficult for the government to collect grain.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and found that no one was responsible, so he should find someone to take responsibility. This is not easy. Just get a few grain growers to take care of things, wouldn't it be solved?
The scope of the grain chief's responsibility is the district, and the district's grain payment is 10,000 dan, or several thousand dan. From now on, one or four grain chiefs will be set up in this district to be responsible for the collection, collection, and transportation of grain.
When the grain chief delivered the grain to the capital, Lao Zhu held a banquet for everyone to meet and have a drink. Lao Zhu saw that the young man looked good, had decent physical fitness, and was not very smart. He could be an obedient official. It's still possible. With a stroke of a pen, don't go back to be the head of grain. Stay and be the head of the household department.
But how to choose a grain manager?
Lao Zhu's standard is that whoever pays the most grain will be the grain chief. The reason is very simple. These people have contributed to my Lao Zhu family.
Who pays the most food?
Landlord.
A group of small and medium-sized landowners thus became the pillars of Zhu Yuanzhang's grassroots management, co-governing the grassroots with the village chiefs and Jia chiefs. Some powerful grain chiefs even have the power to hear lawsuits and handle prisons. Even the county magistrate needs to watch their expressions.
Zhou Bunong looked at Hu Jun who turned around and walked towards the horse, and sneered: "Young man, you are so self-sufficient."
Hu Jun took out a document from the bag on the horse, turned to Zhou Bunong and smiled: "Zhou Liangzhang, you heard clearly, the imperial court abolished the grain chief, and there is no longer a grain chief in the Ming Dynasty!"
"What? Impossible!"
Zhou Bunong looked frightened and panicked.
"The imperial documents are here, how is it impossible?"
Hu Jun dropped the paperwork, looked at a group of thugs, and shouted sternly: "I am Hu Jun, the Superintendent of the Agricultural Taxation Department of the Ming Dynasty. Anyone who dares to stop me from entering the farmer's household will be punished with disobedience. If you don't get out of the way!"
