Chapter 27 Tian Fu

On the second day, before Zhu Qizhen woke up, he heard a crackle outside, as if countless cavalry had stepped on the ground, and it seemed like countless swords hitting each other.

Dense footnotes, stretched together.

Zhu Qizhen got up in clothes, and someone immediately dressed Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen pushed open the door of the Qianqing Palace, and suddenly boundless moisture rushed in, and the sound was loud, and the water droplets splashed out of the meter, wetting the gate.

Seeing this, Zhu Qizhen stood at the door and did not avoid the heavy rain.

Although it was only room to be splashed in, in a moment, it was wet in the corner of Zhu Qizhen's clothes.

Wang Zhen hurriedly pulled Zhu Qizhen over and said, "Emperor, take care of your body." But it can't rain. ”

Zhu Qizhen smiled: "I am happy. ”

If it's not this era, I don't understand why Zhu Qizhen is so happy about a heavy rain.

After May, the drought in Henan has tended to expand, and even here in Beijing, there has been no rain for several days. This heavy rain is like a leak from the Tianhe.

I think this drought is finally over.

"I don't know what's going on in Henan?" Zhu Qizhen said with a worried face.

"The emperor, the slave is here to report the good news to the emperor, today just opened the palace door, there is a brocade guard sent a message, three days ago, Henan heavy rain, the drought has been resolved. The people, appeased by the public, went home. The drought in Henan is over. Wang Zhen said.

Zhu Qizhen smiled: "That's fine." ”

Zhu Qizhen suddenly thought and said, "Where else has the disaster been affected in the recent excerpts?" ”

Zhu Qizhen understood one thing more and more, for the Ming Dynasty, a year without natural disasters is not a complete year, and the reason why Yu Qian appeased the people so quickly.

It's not that Yu Qian is talented, but that helping the victims has long been a certain rule.

Yu Qian acted according to this method, and then checked and filled in the gaps, and he could complete the matter.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen directly asked where the disaster was, rather than asking if there was any disaster.

"Only Haining reported the tide disaster." Wang Zhen said.

Zhu Qizhen sat back in his place and motioned to the little eunuch to close the door, and suddenly the sound of the rain was isolated outside, he sat down on the imperial seat and asked, "How to deal with the cabinet?" ”

"Let Jiangnan Governor Zhou Chen Zhou Daren provide disaster relief, Haining County, want to build a stone embankment. The cabinet hit back and let the localities deal with themselves. It only exempts Haining County from money and food for three years. Wang Zhen said.

Zhu Qizhen lowered his head and thought about it, trying to figure out Yang Shiqi's thoughts. I think Yang Shiqi may not be inaccurate, but do you think that this is one thing, let the local government do it yourself?

This incident made Zhu Qizhen think suspiciously.

Press first and see how things develop next. He suddenly thought of one thing, that is, most of the exempted money and grain were also exempted from the money and grain that could not be collected before.

Today was supposed to go to court, but the rain was too heavy.

The Ming and Qing dynasties were all outdoor, which is the so-called imperial gate to listen to the government.

Heavy rain can't make all the officials stand in the water, especially now that the court will be more serious and take the formality. Zhu Qizhen was just putting on a show in the past, showing the hundred officials that he was still alive and alive.

The regulations that really deal with political affairs are all on the documents passed by the cabinet to the palace.

Today, even Li Shimian's class was waived.

In this era, a child may die in a rain. The Empress Dowager is very delicate to Zhu Qizhen. Moreover, the Empress Dowager was also very satisfied with Zhu Qizhen's academic performance during this period of time, and it was gradually summer.

The Empress Dowager even asked Zhu Qizhen to avoid dog days, and it was not too late to go to class again.

Zhu Qizhen had time, so he simply asked Wang Zhen to take dozens of eunuchs to calculate the total amount of exempted grain arrears from the Hongxi period to the tenth year of Xuande, that is, this year, and these ten years.

Zhu Qizhen received the total number and was shocked for a while.

The arrears of food that have been exempted from various natural and man-made disasters are actually more than 10 million stones.

More than 10 million stone grain, what is the concept.

The grain that the Ming Dynasty can harvest every year is about 30 million stones, but there is not much grain that can be saved for various expenditures. Anyway, Zhu Qizhen doesn't know if there are more than 10 million stones in the dozens of granaries in Beijing and Tongzhou.

Not to mention anything else, Caoyun transports four million stone of grain every year, which is enough to support the Jingshi.

In other words, this more than 10 million stone can be used to transport grain for two or three years, one-third or nearly one-half of the state revenue per year, and a financial surplus for ten years.

Zhu Qizhen took a closer look, and most of them were tax arrears before the disaster was exempted. But once, it was Emperor Xuanzong who generously exempted more than 3 million stone of grain tax in Jiangnan.

"It's not normal." Zhu Qizhen immediately felt it keenly.

"In many places, even if it is unavoidable, the arrears of grain cannot be collected. Many are exempted in the name of natural disasters. There have been several times, without any excuse at all, and they have been directly exempted. ”

In Zhu Qizhen's view, the state's ability to collect taxes is one of the most important functions of the state. Before him, he vaguely remembered that the taxes at the end of the Ming Dynasty could not be collected.

Now it seems that this is a disease brought out of the mother's womb in the Ming Dynasty.

Between Hong Xuan, although the national strength of the Ming Dynasty cannot be called the peak, but in terms of finance, it is still quite healthy.

Zhu Qizhen said: "I want to go to the Empress Dowager." ”

When Wang Zhen saw this, he hurriedly stopped him and said, "Your Majesty, the rain has not stopped now, why don't Your Majesty wait for a while, and the slave can answer one or two questions for Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Qizhen was slightly surprised, and said, "Wang Daban, please speak." ”

Wang Zhen said: "There is actually a fixed amount of taxes paid by the dynasty. Emperor Taizu was worried that hundreds of officials would disturb the people too much, so he determined the grain taxes to be paid in each prefecture and county during the Hongwu period, not through the hands of the government, but by the grain chief. ”

Wang Zhen's words, if you don't know what Zhu Qizhen meant before.

But in the past half a year, he has been groping up and down the Ming Dynasty, and he doesn't dare to say that he understands it too well, but he still knows some basic common sense.

For example, the grain chief.

The chief of grain was a special title set by Emperor Taizu, not even an official, and was mainly responsible for collecting the taxes of each household and transporting them to the places designated by the imperial court.

"What's wrong with that?" Zhu Qizhen said.

"Your Majesty, the grain chief collects grain according to the yellow book, but the yellow book is not allowed, and it is not a day or two. In many places, there are people who migrate, no households, household registration is not allowed, and naturally cannot be collected, in the Hongwu years, there are grain chiefs to post money inside, and now there are many misses, and they can't be posted at all. ”

"Of course, there are also people who make trouble, and they don't want to pay the imperial grain and national tax, and the civil officials all talk about the way of sages and sages, and they can't do it."

"If you really collect it, I'm afraid you will die."

"You can't really get it."

"Of course, there are also fakes that can't be harvested. It is the local clan, sheltering one side, playing with documents, and deceiving superiors and subordinates. There have been one or two cases of tampering with the Yellow Book. Wang Zhen said: "Without thunder means, there are always some people who have a fluke mentality." ”

Zhu Qizhen was a little impressed by Wang Zhen.

Because of Wang Zhen's reputation in history, he saw Wang Zhen wearing colored glasses. felt that Wang Zhen couldn't afford the big responsibility. Now it's just the Empress Dowager's thoughts.

But I don't want Wang Zhen to have some insight in national affairs.

Wang Zhen saw that Zhu Qizhen looked at him a little differently, and immediately said with great joy in his heart: "The one who owes the most grain is Jiangnan, mainly because Jiangnan Mintian and Guantian are not divided, and Guantian is the land property of Emperor Taizu who took Zhang Shicheng's relatives and generals, and the land tax is very high, and compared with Mintian, it is only half." ”

"In the decades since the founding of the country, many land deeds have been circulated, and the people feel unfair and are not happy to accept grain. Therefore, the grain tax in Jiangnan has been delayed the most. Half of the more than 10 million stone taxes owed by Jiangnan were owed. ”

Zhu Qizhen looked at the form in his hand carefully and said, "Actually, there is another reason. That is, the imperial court collected too much grain from Jiangnan, and Suzhou arrived in other provinces. In this way, how can the people of Jiangnan accept food. ”

Wang Zhen heard this and immediately said, "Your Majesty is wise. ”

Zhu Qizhen secretly said in his heart: "Now it seems that there are not many scholars who send land to the land, and the main reason for the lack of grain is the problem of Jiangnan re-endowment." ”

"However, many of these issues are also worth paying attention to."

"How does the grassroots of the Ming Dynasty work?"