Chapter 9 We are all in the same boat, and we are all in the same boat
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang in front of him coldly.
Li Shanchang abdicated very early, and he resigned from the position of left prime minister in the fifth year of Hongwu, but he refused to give up.
When he abdicated, he also recommended his protégé and in-law Hu Weiyong to take over as left prime minister and made suggestions behind the scenes.
The nobles in Huaixi even worshiped him as their leader.
Zhu Yuanzhang also respected him very much, and always asked him to come out to plan whenever he encountered major events.
It's just that although Li Shanchang retreated behind the scenes, he was the actual leader of the Huaixi Group, and he was fighting openly and secretly in the court with the East Zhejiang Group headed by Liu Bowen.
In the past two years, the Zhedong Group has gradually declined with the departure of Liu Bowen, Wang Guangyang's fall from favor, and the fall of Yang Xian.
Under the cultivation of Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong took the position of Prime Minister Zuo of Zhongshu Province.
Cultivate cronies and attack Zhejiang Group.
The balance Zhu Yuanzhang hoped for was broken.
The entire court was gradually controlled by the Huaixi Group.
Li Shanchang, the mastermind behind this incident, was like a thorn piercing Lao Zhu's body, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
Seeing Li Shanchang pretending to be stupid in front of him, Zhu Yuanzhang ignored him.
He looked at the thoughtful General Xu Da.
Then he shook his head.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Xu Da had been going to Beiyuan on his behalf for so many years.
I have no time to interfere with all matters at home.
Fortunately, he has a good daughter, the head of the family, Xu Miaoyun, who is known as the "girl of all lives", and manages the Duke's mansion in an orderly manner.
The general may not know this.
It's a no-brainer to ask.
He looked at Hu Weiyong and saw that he looked content.
He knew that Hu Weiyong, as Li Shanchang's disciple, had already learned the essence of Li Shanchang.
I must have prepared the answer at this moment, just waiting for myself to ask.
We didn’t ask you, we just left you alone! Think of this.
Zhu Yuanzhang turned his attention to the great scholar Liu Sanwu:
"Liu Aiqing, do you remember how much of the public land your family has given you is left?"
Liu Sanwu took a step forward and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, in the fifth year of Hongwu's reign, Your Majesty granted you [-] acres of public land. Over the years, the family has purchased another [-] acres."
"Now I have 560 acres of fertile land in my name."
Liu Sanwu knelt down and answered truthfully.
Zhu Yuanzhang twirled his beard and nodded slightly, without answering, looking at Fu Youwen.
Before Zhu Yuanzhang could ask questions, Fu Youwen quickly stepped forward and knelt on the ground.
Tell the truth about your family's situation, not daring to hide anything.
When Fu Youwen finished his statement, Zhu Yuanzhang waved to Prince Zhu Biao.
Zhu Biao understood and handed back the secret fold in his hand.
Zhu Yuanzhang took the secret fold in his hand and shook it: "I have a memorial here that records in detail the number of acres of land owned by imperial officials.
"My dear friends, look at how many acres your family has, and then look at those of other officials, and then answer my question on how to deal with this policy."
After that, he handed the secret to the eunuch Liu He and asked him to circulate it to everyone.
Xu Da, who was the first to take the secret fold, gasped when he saw the secret fold.
No wonder the superior's face is so ugly, the numbers above are indeed shocking.
The secret folder records in detail the dukes, princes, and counts of the court, as well as the acres of fertile land in the homes of officials from the first to the fourth rank.
In front is the public land granted by the emperor in the fifth year of Hongwu.
What follows is the number of fertile farmlands owned by each official at this stage.
The records are very detailed, and the pro-military governor's office must have conducted a careful investigation.
Looking at the first place on the list is South Korean Gong Li Shanchang, who was granted [-] acres of public land in the fifth year of Hongwu, and [-] acres of fertile land in the eighth year of Hongwu.
Seeing this, Xu Da was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue.
In just three years, South Korea’s public farmland has increased more than tenfold.
What Li Shanchang, a rich man, did, made him the richest man in the world!
How much income will you have this year? Look at yourself in second place.
In the fifth year of Hongwu's reign, 120 acres of public land was granted, and the existing land is [-] acres.
It turns out that his daughter Xu Miaoyun was also involved in the purchase of farmland. She didn't tell him about this, presumably because she was afraid that he would have to work hard.
If you tell yourself, you will definitely not allow it.
Ugh! Then Chang Mao, Duke of Zheng, granted [-] acres of public land and [-] acres of reserved land.
Li Wenzhong, Duke of Cao State, granted [-] acres of public land and [-] acres of reserved land.
Feng Sheng, Duke of Song Dynasty, granted him 530 acres of public land and 310 acres of reserved Yu, Duke of Wei, granted him [-] acres of public land and [-] acres of reserved land.
Zhongshu left Prime Minister Hu Weiyong to grant one thousand acres of public land and 4000 two hundred acres of reserved land.
……
The most outrageous thing is that Zhu Liangzu, the Marquis of Yongjia, was granted a thousand acres of public land in the Hongwu Year, and the existing land is [-] acres.
It is a full 75 times more than the public land given.
The ones with more than ten times more include Pingliang Hou Fei Ju, Annan Hou Yu Tongyuan, Liu'an Hou Wang Zhi, Dongguan Bo He Rong...
There are almost no officials who have not invaded fertile land.
After Xu Da read it, he silently handed the secret folder to Korean Gong Li Shanchang.
He looked up to the sky and let out a long sigh.
He knew that according to the superior's character, this matter would not be left to chance.
Maybe there will be another bloody storm in the court.
Li Shanchang saw Xu Da's face turned ugly, and an unknown premonition suddenly arose.
He took the secret fold, glanced at it, and almost fainted on the spot.
It turns out that the superiors had already investigated everything about the public fields.
I was still lucky, thinking I could get away with it.
Still can't hide it from this clever emperor!
Fortunately, I was more thoughtful and used my son Li Qi as a shield.
Otherwise, how could I explain such a large discrepancy clearly in front of the emperor?
Li Shanchang forced himself to calm down and read the secret book from beginning to end.
Looking at the rows of numbers, each name is listed on it.
In the list of officials from the fourth rank and above in the court, all the acres of land are omitted.
The numbers above are indeed shocking.
After Li Shanchang finished reading the secret book, he felt much more at ease.
Ok!
Almost all the officials in the court were involved in land sales, and some were even more exaggerated than myself.
Even Xu Da, Liu Sanwu and Fu Youwen, who are known for their integrity and purity, have acquired hundreds of acres, but not as much as themselves.
But it has also been invaded.
Well now, everyone is in the same boat and we have to work together to help each other.
After Li Shanchang read it, he silently handed the secret to Hu Weiyong...
Hu Weiyong and the two ministers also took a breath after reading it.
What was recorded on this secret sheet completely confirmed Gongsheng Lin Che’s conjecture.
Just by attending the court, Dukes, Counts, and officials from the fourth rank and above can buy and sell millions of acres of fertile land.
There were tens of thousands of officials in the Ming Dynasty, how many should be appropriated? ! When everyone first saw what Gong Sheng said, they thought it was alarmist and pretentious.
Now it seems that it not only confirms his statement, but is even more terrifying! I don’t know how Na Gongsheng deduced it?
After all, I have never been in the court.
I'm afraid this public land subsidy policy is based on hearsay.
However, Lin Che not only pointed out the shortcomings of the public land policy, but also bluntly said that the policy had endangered the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
Is this guy an immortal?
Can you predict world events?
But if this guy brought this matter up, it might not end well.
After all, there are too many officials involved and the matter involved is too big.
No wonder His Majesty is so angry.
Even the prince, who was usually kind-hearted, had a look of anger on his face.
If this matter is left unchecked, it will continue to develop like this...
It won't be long before all the fertile land in the world has been occupied by officials and gentry.
Where will the royal court's taxes come from at that time?
Farmers have lost their fields. How can they survive in a famine year? The imperial court had no taxes, so how could it have food and money to support the army? How to consolidate border defense without an army?
and also.
Farmers have no land and no livelihood, so they must wander around and become refugees.
Isn't this the same situation as the chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty?
When the time comes, Li Chongba and Liu Chongba will rise up one after another...
(End of this chapter)