Ming Dynasty, starting from the empty seal case

Chapter 27: Shocking and enlightening

Chapter 27: Shocking and enlightening
Actually.

Now Su Xian, after seeing that little baby.

I was already complaining crazily in my heart: Lao Zhu, Lao Zhu, I really belong to you.

But even so.

Su Xian himself is also a half-year-old child.

He clearly saw the other party turning back, as if he was saying something.

After a while, he came back and looked at himself again, with a smile on his face, bright eyes, and a sweet voice.

"Did you really write that memorial? No one taught you?"

Of course Su Xian knew that there was someone behind the other party, but he pretended not to know.

Just nodded, "I wrote it."

Just finished.

He then saw him turn around again, seeming to be communicating again.

When the officials who were close saw this scene, they were all shocked. However, before they could turn their heads and look around to communicate, they saw many unfamiliar faces already occupying the surrounding area.

And he cast a cold and stern look at the officials who were not far away from the palace wall.

Don't know what to think of.

These people quickly shook their clothes, pretended they had seen nothing, and quickly left the place where the trouble was.

At this time, Zhu Xiongying was behind him.

"My dear grandson, don't turn your head to look at us. Just look at him. Just ask him what grandpa said."

He corrected his eldest grandson again.

Zhu Yuanzhang also came up with ideas and thought about what he should ask.

Got it!

He never believed that the memorial was written by a six-year-old child.

People are here now.

If you have any questions, ask directly in person.

If it was really him, he could explain it clearly in a few sentences.

If it weren't for him, huh, for such an older child, the same question of a few words could make him reveal his secret!
But if he really thought about it, he hesitated for a while.

He originally wanted to ask Su Xian how he knew that he initiated the empty seal case on his own initiative, rather than the officials protecting each other and hiding him from each other like those crimes.

But when I thought about it, the reason was already written on the memorial: it was to eradicate the old ministers from various places at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, to let the people in remote places know that this was the Ming Dynasty, not the Yuan Dynasty, and to make those landlords and gentry restrain themselves!

If he memorizes these and answers accordingly, he won't be able to analyze anything for a while.

But... another thing!

Thinking of this...

He quickly figured it out.

"You ask him, in the memorial he wrote to us, why did he say that after our empty seal case, local officials were able to engage in corruption and ink corruption in an open and honest manner, or that we caused the madness to intensify!"

He seemed to think that his grandson couldn't pronounce this long sentence, so he cut it into short sentences and asked his grandson to repeat it.

soon.

Zhu Xiongying looked at Su Xian and repeated the previous paragraph.

Su Xian pretended not to know that there was someone behind him, but after thinking for a moment, he said directly:

"The simplest reason is that there is no blank seal. If there is a slight error in the accounts in various places, they will be reset again. This time..."

"I don't want to hear this..." Zhu Xiongying shook his head, "The court has its own inspections. Besides, the first time, you can be considered negligent. The second time and the third time you will be pulled out and executed!"

Don't think about it.

Su Xian knew that these were the words of the person behind it.

Immediately, he said again: "Then give me an example."

"Before the Kongyin case, for example, an ordinary family only had to pay two shi of tax grain according to the court's collection rules. Governments at all levels would also collect these taxes and grain according to the standards. Then they might transport them to the provincial governments. warehouse, or transported to other health centers..."

The current taxation methods of the Ming Dynasty still focus on taxing grain and silk goods.

Following the "Two Taxes Law" passed down from the Tang Dynasty, taxes are collected twice every year in February and March, and again in July and August.

Of course, all of these taxes and grains are not sent to the capital, but are transported in batches to the treasuries in each province, with part given to the vassal king, part to the local guards, and then part of it is retained by the local government.

What the court collected was only "a proportion" of the annual taxes and grains.

Su Xian did not explain this to Zhu Xiongying, because there were people behind him listening to his words.

"When transporting tax grains, there will be losses. Or if it rains heavily and the roads are muddy. Or if there are bandits or landslides on the road, if you are delayed for one day, there will be losses."

"There is no way to determine these losses."

"In previous years, before the empty seal case, officials at all levels came to the Ministry of Household Accounting with documents with changed seals. If the numbers did not match, you could just fill them in yourself. As long as they met the proportion set by the court, it would be considered a pass. "

at this time.

Su Xian's voice was not loud.

But it happened that not only Zhu Xiongying could hear it.

It can even be heard by Zhu Yuanzhang, Queen Ma beside him, and Zhu Biao.

Su Xian's answer obviously made the expressions of the three of them look a little serious.

because……

He's right.

But Su Xian's voice continued to sound.

"But... once the empty seal case is over, the strict figures required by His Majesty must be reconciled with the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue. So, what will this bring to the local governments at all levels?"

When hearing this question.

Zhu Yuanzhang was suddenly startled.

Zhu Biao looked thoughtful at first, then looked at Queen Ma, and then they both saw the worry in their eyes.

Only Zhu Xiongying looked on blankly...

next moment.

Su Xian's voice had completely sounded. "Intensify the collection!"

The appearance of these four words immediately exploded in the thoughts of several people.

"After the Kongyin case, local officials were afraid of the emperor of Ming Dynasty and the sword of the pro-military governor, but they were not afraid of the people of Ming Dynasty."

"Besides, with this murderous crime ahead, His Majesty's rules are like a knife hanging over the heads of local officials."

"All they can do is increase the collection."

"As long as the taxes and grain collected are enough to make up for the losses on the road, then there will be no need to travel too much when you get to the Ministry of Household Affairs."

"Of course, there may be some officials who can't bear it or are soft-hearted and don't want to intensify the collection. They just continue to follow the previous rules. However, as long as there is a discrepancy with the accounts of the Ministry of Accounts, they have to run back and forth, and run the first time. According to what you just said, I can be forgiven, but if I run a second time or a third time, I will be caught and beheaded by you!"

The "you" in Su Xianhua is of course not Zhu Xiongying.

"If you obey the rules, you can't bear to be beheaded!"

"If you run too much, you'll be beheaded!"

“If you don’t follow the rules and increase the tax collection, you can still survive!”

"What would you do if you were a local official?"

Behind the city wall, Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

As for Zhu Biao, his emotions were ups and downs, because these words were not difficult to understand, and he could clearly think of the local officials' thoughts every step of the way after the empty seal case.

But the sound didn't stop at all.

"The first time the tax was increased, local officials found that they could easily handle the accounts of the Ministry of Household Affairs and did not have to worry about empty seals. They cried with joy and cried again and again."

"Because they have discovered that for the extra money they collect, they can blatantly and openly use the name of [waste] to collect more taxes and grains."

"He who is greedy will suffer a lot; a person who is far away will suffer a lot."

"There are many people who come and go, but they don't live in the Household Department of the Ming Dynasty."

“But the extra money goes into the pockets of local officials!”

"It's you! It's your Majesty who gives them the confidence to be fair and even blatant!"

"Only the people are left complaining."

After the last sentence fell, Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned pig purple.

"nonsense!"

He shouted in a low voice, and then looked at his grandson.

"Tell him, the inspectors and envoys in various places do not live on hard work, and neither do our pro-military governors. If the people pay too much, Ming law will make the decision for them, and we will make the decision for them! "

Zhu Xiongying blinked and felt that this game was really fun.

But he couldn't remember this sentence at all, so he had to say: "Nonsense! If there is really a mistake, the emperor will make the decision for the people."

Su Xian smiled helplessly, "Your Highness, why don't you understand?"

"This is caused by your grandpa's deliberate connivance!"

"You're talking nonsense." Even if Zhu Xiongying didn't understand, he could clearly understand that these were bad words directed at his grandfather.

He immediately pointed angrily at Su Xian, "You're talking nonsense!"

Su Xian smiled helplessly again.

"Whether it's nonsense or it's true, someone will understand."

He paused.

The sound was slow but intense.

"The more stringent your Majesty's demands are, the more stringent your Majesty's demands are to tell the world that the royal family will not be responsible for this loss, and the court will certainly not be responsible for it, and local officials will not be responsible."

"Only the common people can bear it!"

"It's just a waste and a hardship to the people!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Zhu Xiongying's face turned red with anger, but he didn't listen to what Grandpa Huang said to him. Grandpa Huang was so good that he dealt with memorials until late at night every day. He couldn't find time to play with Grandpa Huang even if he wanted to find time. .

Grandpa Huang said that as the emperor of Ming Dynasty, he must make decisions for the people of Ming Dynasty!

What does he know?
"Your Highness, this is forced by the current situation."

Su Xian ignored it completely and continued to talk about another topic.

"Because His Majesty needs money, because His Majesty believes that all extra money in the world should belong to the court, and what belongs to the court belongs to the family."

"Another reason for this empty seal case is also because we need to find money and food!"

"You're still talking nonsense." Zhu Xiongying stretched out his hand, his face getting redder and redder.

"You have no idea how simple the emperor is in the palace. We can't even eat like the books say, and we can't even wear the best clothes. My grandma still has to sew clothes every day. , my mother’s jewelry is not as good as those outside!”

"What do we need so much money for? You don't know anything!"

For little Zhu Xiongying, this kid who is older than him is really annoying!

That's all nonsense.

I don’t understand anything and I’m still slandering them.

Su Xian sighed. Of course he would not disbelieve what Zhu Xiongying said.

Because this is indeed true.

The queens of the Ming Dynasty basically took Queen Ma as their benchmark.

The last Queen Zhou of the Ming Dynasty even wanted to imitate Queen Ma for money, calling on the maids in the palace to keep spinning to make money,

This is not a legend.

but……

"When I say lack of money, I don't mean that the palace is short of money."

"What is that?" Zhu Xiongying asked loudly.