Qianlong: Qing Dynasty?What about my Daqing?

Chapter 361 The rural structure is collapsing

Similar complaints can be seen everywhere in the Ming Empire.

Moreover, the government of the Ming Empire didn't care much about these folk opinions.

Although there are many complaints.

But the atmosphere of this society is much more open.

Don't talk about making fun of the court.

Even Emperor Zhu is sometimes choreographed.

In fact, this is wrong, because according to the etiquette, one must not be disrespectful to the emperor-so it is not that there are no magistrates who want to commit some crime of "disrespect".

But if the matter gets involved, at most they will be fined, and if they cannot pay the fine, they will be exiled—that is, to Nanyang or Australia.

But the magistrate who does it.

It is said that he got a comment from Emperor Zhu: Don't focus on business!
In other words.

In Emperor Zhu's view.

Officials who focus on how to cover other people's mouths every day.

It's just nonsense.

I have this thought.

Don't think too much about how to develop the local economy. Isn't it good to collect more taxes?
Can people complain that such a big Ming Empire collapsed?

Certainly not.

If the Ming Empire collapsed, it must have collapsed because of economic and financial problems first. If there are no financial problems, the army will have no problems. It can be pressed down in minutes.

The downfall of any dynasty begins with the collapse of its own financial problems.

Let people talk.

The sky can't fall down.

So the future of that magistrate is limited to this - he is on the emperor's blacklist, isn't he?

So the local sheriffs don't care what these farmers say at all.

Will manage.

Instead, it's those pickpockets.

Now there is a pickpocket just walking over.

Seeing these people sitting and not working, I immediately became angry: "What are you doing! Is the work done? My lord, I hire you to work for ten cents a day, and I also take care of two meals of white rice. I want you to get together for days What? Hurry up and work!"

The visitor is also dressed as a farmer.

But the clothes are clean.

And it's annoying to talk.

Annoy people.

"Master Li, what are you talking about? Why don't we stop working? We want to work. Isn't the work in this field finished? What's the matter? .”

"That's right, isn't it just one cent. The spinning mill in Chengdu gives three cents a day."

"That's right, Mr. Li, let's raise the wages a bit. You can get [-] cents a day to grow rubber in Borneo!"

"Go! Go! You go! You go quickly!"

The person called Master Li was Li Zhongren Li Daxiucai—now he is not a scholar, because the Ming Dynasty court did not admit it because of his fame in the previous imperial examination, and there was an age limit for the Ming Dynasty imperial examination, so Li Zhongren could not pass the examination.

So I can only be Li Paipi.

"Just like you, you are lucky if you don't die on the road! Return to Borneo! If you have the guts, you should go!"

Li Zhongren shouted loudly.

Although the farmers who were squeezed out by him were not very convinced.

But I dare not speak anymore.

Although everyone called him "Master Li".

But I was definitely not convinced in my heart.

The second son of their family, Li Zhongyi, is the eighth-rank official of Daming, so he can be called a master.

What kind of master is he, Li Zhongren?

But after all, the Li family has a lot of prestige in Daqiao Town.

The second son of the Li family is an official again.

So these farmers really didn't dare to provoke him.

Li Zhongren dared not speak when he saw everyone.

He snorted coldly and said: "You don't want to do it, some people do it! If you don't want to do it, you can, get out as soon as possible! You go to Chengdu, you go to see if the spinning mills run by Zhejiang guys and Cantonese guys will want you rough hands Peasants? It’s not easy to go to Borneo! I’ll go to the county magistrate now and ask him to send someone down to pull you there. Do you want to go? Hehe, it’s easy for you to go, just sign up, but the county magistrate The lords in my hometown have a rebate of more than ten yuan. And what about you? You have to eat and sleep in the wind and sleep across the ocean, and you have to die before you reach the place. When you arrive, you have to fight the natives! Just like you, Don't throw the lives of the whole family outside."

in fact.

Li Zhongren said this very bluntly.

But it's really a good thing.

at the moment.

The industrial development of the Ming Dynasty and the migration to the Northeast and Southeast Asia led to an increase in the price of rural labor in Guangdong and Jiangnan.

But this is in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta, and there are some factories in Sichuan and Chengdu.

in the vast countryside.

That's still densely populated.

There is simply no shortage of labor.

One dime a day, guaranteed harvest in drought and flood.

Three hundred days a year, more than 30 yuan a year.

Compared with when I was a tenant, I earned a lot more. When I was a tenant, where could I earn money? It was hard to just eat enough.

Now Li Papi still manages at least two meals.

So I really don't have to worry about not being able to recruit people.

"Can you finish the work in the field? After harvesting the coptis, you won't weed and loosen the ground? Hurry up and work. I am happy today, master. I will leave work early in the afternoon, add vegetables for dinner, and have wine and meat."

Finish talking.

Li Zongren left with his hands behind his back.

Don't look at how fierce he was just now.

But I'm actually in a good mood.

Farming is really booming this year.

Two-fork land can be planted here in Sichuan every year.

Plant Chinese medicinal materials in one season and rice in the other.

Although the price of rice is not high, the price of rice has not fluctuated much in recent years, and it is considered to be very stable.

The price of medicinal materials has skyrocketed.

The price of Coptis chinensis has doubled compared to last year!
Roughly.

He earned more than 100 yuan from the 3000-odd acres of land in his hands.

Deduct costs.

The net profit can be more than 1000 yuan.

It seems that we can buy some more land in the future and continue to expand the scale.

Moreover, Chinese herbal medicines can also be cultivated in mountainous areas.

Mountains are cheap.

Li Papi was happy.

Liu Guangzong, the county magistrate of Luojiang County in Sichuan, has a big head.

At the beginning of this year, after Liu Guangzong took the Sichuan Provincial Imperial Examination, he studied at the Official Training Institute in Chengdu for a month before taking the post of Luojiang County Magistrate.

Liu Guangzong, who is only 25 years old this year, can be said to be the star of the Sichuan imperial examination this time.

Ranked fifth in the province.

Most of the people on the same list as him are now rank eight or nine Zhima officials.

And he, Liu Guangzong, is now the county magistrate of the seventh rank.

In his official career, he can be regarded as a step ahead.

This step first, maybe step by step first!
First promoted to a government-level official in Sichuan Province, and then have the opportunity to be sent to other provinces.

In the future, it is not impossible to seal borders and join the cabinet.

But the county magistrate is a parent official, so he has a lot of troubles.

The most upsetting first thing.

It's a local matter, but it's really not easy to manage.

In the Ming Dynasty, scholars were officials.

The original masters, scribes, catchers, government servants, etc. in the local area are now filled by scholars and Wu Xiucai.

But the abilities of the officials tested in these examination rooms are really mixed.

At least for those local officials who can't play with them-these unemployed officials are not uncommon.

Besides.

The collapse of the gentry system has also left Liu Da County magistrate without the assistance of gentry when he manages the place.

become more difficult.

Fortunately.

Most of the scholars sent to the localities were also part of the original gentry group.

These are more familiar to the place.

Coupled with the establishment of the county council, some powerful local people have been absorbed into the ruling group.

So after the chaos of the first few months.

The "ruling structure" of Luojiang County has finally stabilized.

The inspectors sent by Sichuan Province came and went a few times, and they were quite satisfied, so at least the county magistrate was doing well.

And after securing the county magistrate.

Liu Guangzong, who had ambitions to seal borders and join the cabinet, was naturally unwilling to be a county magistrate and eat civil servant benefits on his own.

It's because I really want to make some real political achievements.

He quickly found out.

Luojiang County.

There is a serious problem that is happening—the land is being concentrated in the hands of a few large households at an accelerated rate, and at the same time, a large number of tenancy withdrawals have occurred in the process.

Land annexation and nothing.

In a land-centered society, land is the most important social wealth and resource, and the concentration of wealth and resources to a few people is something that will occur in a social development.

The problem lies in the tenancy withdrawal.

In the former Qing Dynasty, there were also cases of withdrawal of tenants.But not serious.

because in the past.

Most of the land was concentrated in the hands of the gentry.

But the gentry did not manage the land themselves, but leased the land to tenants.

Therefore, there are not many things about retiring the tenancy.

But in these two years.

Due to the implementation of various policies, especially after the imperial examination set an upper age limit.

Many landlords chose to sell their land and leave the countryside.

Or, take back the land, take care of it yourself, and hire people to cultivate it.

This will inevitably lead to a concentration of tenant withdrawal incidents.

In this over-commitment, various disputes will inevitably arise.

People die every now and then.

The tenant beat the landlord to death.

The landlord drove the tenant to death.

Have happened.

And the clansmen of the tenants often carried people to the yamen to beat the drum of injustice—this drum of injustice belonged to the previous dynasty, and there were no drums of injustice in the county government of the Ming Dynasty.

It's not that no one calls for injustice, and it's not that there are no injustices.

The Ming Dynasty was not a harmonious society with a high moral level.

A semi-feudal, semi-capitalist imperialist country.

Of course there are injustices everywhere.

However, the county magistrate of the Ming Dynasty is not responsible for judging the case.

But Sichuan used to be a military and political place, and now judges from all counties are trained intensively in Chengdu.

so.
As the county magistrate, Liu Guangzong will have the opportunity to judge the case.

These county magistrates who have not received judicial training can only judge cases according to their own intuition and conscience.

Today's county government is very lively.

A group of people cried at the gate of the county government office.

There was a family of seven or eight members kneeling neatly.

There are clansmen who support them behind them.

And they accused Li Zhongren of the Li family in Daqiao Town.

But it was Li Zhongren who actually submitted the just-indicted document.

Li Zhongren sent the documents and title deeds for the land sale, sued Chen Asheng's family in Daqiao Town who refused to withdraw their tenancy, and asked the county government to expel Chen Asheng's family.

But Chen Asheng's family won't do it.

The Chen family is also a big family in Daqiao Town, and immediately many Chen family members went to the county government together with Chen Asheng to make trouble.

both sides.

One side came with the title deed.

On one side was crying and kneeling at the gate of the county government office.

Axiom axiom.

What should I do?
Liu Guangzong's head grew bigger.

In the end, he could only attribute the responsibility to Li Zhongren.

"This Li Papi, how can he be so ruthless for the rich! Isn't he afraid of arousing public anger?"

Liu Guangzong walked up and down in the office room in the county government.

There are words in the mouth.

All he said was complaining about Li Zhongren.

He also dealt with Li Zhongren.

This guy has the name "Li Papi".

You can see what the reputation is like.

But dissatisfaction is dissatisfaction.

He dared not dismiss Li Papi's lawsuit.

Because this Li Papi is a big family in Luojiang County.

Taxes are top notch.

He is also a member of the county council.

At the same time, he also joined the Daming Royalist Association, which supports the royalist party, the largest political party in the Ming Dynasty Council.

Although he is not an official, he has the power to supervise and impeach officials.Although his request is not humane, it is in line with the law of the country!If Wang Anguo does not act in accordance with the law, the county council will definitely impeach him!

"County station, you don't need to worry, it's just a matter of business."

The person speaking was Wang Shuisheng, the head of the security department of Luojiang County.

The Secretary of Public Security can be regarded as the real power unit in a county.

In charge of patrolling and arresting, county guards, etc.

It is different from Liu Guangzong who is wearing a big red robe.

Wang Shuisheng was wearing a Ming Army officer uniform with the epaulets removed, a revolver hanging from his waist, only the right ear was left, and half of his face was still bumpy.

Take a look at this look.

I knew it was a retired military officer who retired due to injury.

The officials of the Ming Dynasty except those who came from the imperial examination.

There are also some who have retired from the army and changed jobs.

Because the middle-level officers of the Ming Dynasty all had experience in military academies—whether it was a short-term assault squad or a long-term military academy officer.

And they also have management experience in the military.

Therefore, after retiring, many military officers were arranged to be local officials.

This is actually the "sand" that Emperor Zhu mixed with the gentry class and the bureaucratic system.

Most of these officers are "his own people" that Emperor Zhu can trust.

"Business?"

"That's right, it's a matter of business. This Li is justified. We can't interfere after retiring the tenant. At most, we can just ask for some compensation for Chen Asheng."

Wang Shuisheng said.

Liu Guangzong sighed.

"But... if you do this, aren't you afraid that the people will see their complaints boil?"

"People's grievances are boiling?"

Wang Shuisheng shook his head and said

"No matter what era, the people at the bottom are suffering. Now I still have the Northeast and Nanyang lands. If you want to make a fortune, go to the Northeast, go to Nanyang, and go to the New World!"

"If you don't even have the guts to venture into these places, do you still have the guts to rebel?"

Wang Shuisheng said with a sneer.

"Want to rebel? Don't even look at the officer's bullet and agree!"

Liu Guangzong looked at Wang Shuisheng blankly.

I cursed secretly in my heart as a "soldier ruffian".

He ordered people to invite both groups of people from outside the county government office.

"My lord, brother, there is nothing wrong with the contract documents for my land sale, right? Are the [-] acres of irrigated fields all owned by my brother? Didn't my brother pay a penny for the deed tax and stamp duty that should be paid?"

Li Papi, who is a member of the council, stood in the county office and said with a straight neck.

As for the young and old of Chen Asheng's family, after entering the county government office, they became much more honest.
(End of this chapter)