"Mu Zhai Gong! In front of Your Majesty during the day, why don't you stand up against Li's actions to bring disaster to the country and the people? ”

The night hides a lot of secrets, and on the Qinhuai River shrouded in moonlight, among the sound of oars, lights, shadows, and music, a beautiful and exquisite painting boat has become the best secret place. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

Lu Daqi, Zhao Zhilong, Qian Qianyi, as well as Zhou Bi (remember this), who was recently appointed as the head of the household department, Jiang Yueguang, a scholar of Dongge University and a scholar of the Ministry of Rites, Lei Yanzuo and others gathered together. It seems that it is in this boundless wind and moon on the ten miles of Qinhuai to chant the wind and make the moon, taste wine and inscribe poems, but it is to take advantage of the environment where there are many people and eyes, but it is not easy to attract attention, and the act of gathering and discussing secretly.

It was Qian Qianyi's boss who spoke, Jiang Yueguang, a scholar of Dongge University and a scholar of the Ministry of Rites. However, our Qian Dacai ignored Scholar Jiang's words, and just held up the silver-inlaid ivory chopsticks to look for a place to put down on the table of Yangtze River Sanxian banquet in front of him.

Since it is the leaders of the people who are here to have an elegant gathering, it is natural that they can't get a pot of beef potstickers eaten by the coolies to deal with your lords. It just so happened that it was the season when the Yangtze River Three Fresh was on the market, so the boatman hired a master to organize such a table of Yangtze River Three Fresh Banquet, with saury, anchovies, and puffer fish to feast on guests.

"Three or two peach blossoms outside the bamboo, the prophet of the plumbing duck in the spring river. Artemisia is full of short reed buds, which is the time when the puffer fish wants to eat. Qian Qianyi pinched his chopsticks in one hand and held a glass wine glass in the other, reciting the famous foodie Su Dongpo's poem in praise of puffer fish, and admiring the intoxicating color of the aged daughter red in the carved glass wine glass under the lamplight.

"Mu Zhai, we all know that you are rich and rich, so you don't want to chant poetry in front of us. You just have to tell us clearly, why did Li propose to abolish the benevolent government of Jiangnan tax exemption since Chongzhen two years ago, not only to recover the arrears of money and grain, but also to abolish the new preferential exemption of the god master, so reckless, wouldn't it make the first emperor and Emperor Shenzong Xian cry under the nine springs? ! ”

Zhou Bi completely forgot that Wanli, who he kept praising the "Divine Sect" and "Emperor Xian" on his lips at this time, had been scolded by them as a miserly emperor who was greedy for money and good goods for many years before. However, now that someone has moved out of another more vicious emperor, Shizong Jiajing, Wanli immediately became the master and virtuous monarch in the hearts of scholars.

(Oh, it seems that the emperor who is called Sejong has a bad reputation among scholars!) Sejong Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty and Sejong Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty are all kinds of jokes and rumors. In addition to these two, the temple name of Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty is also Sejong. Except for Chai Rong of Later Zhou Shizong, who did not leave much bad reputation because of his untimely death, Sima Shi and these people, all of whom are called Shizong, have a bad reputation. ）

"The braised anchovy is fresh at both ends, and the steamed anchovy attracts the gods." I took a pair of chopsticks to steam the anchovy, put it in my mouth and carefully tasted the deliciousness of the anchovy, and read a poem that is not like a poem, and a folk song is not like a folk song, so Qian Qianyi put down the chopsticks.

"They themselves will kill themselves. Why should I stand in his way? Not only do we not have to stop him, but we can also give him a ride. ”

Listening to Qian Qianyi's sneering assertion, he couldn't help but make the people present dumbfounded.

"Suicide? Mu Zhai, what is self-defeating? Lu Daqi was also a little confused, and could only try his best to recall Li Shouhan's words and deeds in front of Zhu Yousong during the day.

Li Shouhan proposed to restore the preferential and exempt rules in the Jiajing period and abolish the new preferential and exempt policy in the Wanli period, but in Ma Shiying's view, this means is also a means that can raise huge military expenditures, fight against the powerful, and quickly collect a large amount of silver money and materials in the south of the Yangtze River for the war in the north.

The local gentry could no longer rely on the new preferential exemption rules to annex land on a large scale, so there were more people who paid taxes and grain. The fields that can be taxed on money and grain will also appear several times and dozens of times in the booklet of land and acres.

What's more, in accordance with Li Shouhan's proposal to use the Jiajing preferential exemption rules as the standard, the arrears of money and grain in Zhejiang, Nanzhili, Huguang, and Jiangxi since the second year of Chongzhen can be recovered! As long as even one percent can be recovered, it will be enough to suppress the thieves in the area north of the Yellow River and west of Wuchang. Slowly use strong manpower and material resources to fight a war of attrition with them, and consume them little by little.

What's more, Li Shouhan then proposed many policies such as apportioning the land into the mu, levying commercial taxes, setting up customs, and collecting customs duties.

"Well, sir, I don't know anything. Please sir teach me. ”

"The minister doesn't dare, but the minister knows, and he must know everything and say everything."

"If it is the land of the clan and the gentry, how should the money and grain be collected after the implementation of the preferential exemption rules?"

Zhu Yousong's words can be regarded as speaking to the heart of civil officials and nobles. The nobles are better, and over the years they have gradually ceased to be a symbol of wealth by owning large tracts of land. But the civil officials are still proud of Tian Lianqianmo. The beautiful house is their goal.

"Your Majesty, it's very simple. The excess part is subject to a progressive tax system. When the minister was in Nanzhong, there was a tiered tax system, and each level corresponded to the amount of tax that had been paid on the land and income. In the case of the minister himself, the annual contribution is about half of his income. After paying the money and grain, the ministers will pay the tax in front of the ancestral hall to worship. ”

Zhao Zhilong could barely hold back his excitement, and planned to pounce forward and strangle Li Shouhan to death! You've got mercury in your head! You want us to be like you and pay half of our money and grain to the treasury? Have you eaten too much?! Or is there no place to put it with a lot of silver?

Qian Qianyi couldn't help but sweat a little on his forehead, he calculated the situation of his houses and fields in Changshu and other places, and found that he also had to pay money and grain taxes at the highest level according to what Li Shouhan said.

"Humph! This is nothing, I'm not afraid that your official law is like a furnace, and it is difficult to defeat my officials as smooth as oil! Suddenly, he figured this out, and suddenly settled down a lot.

Not only was his heart at ease, but he also used the weapon provided by Li Shouhan to attack the shield with the spear of his son. He bowed deeply in front of Li Shouhan: "The marshal has a high opinion, and the subordinate officials are suddenly opened." However, what His Majesty said about how the clan should deal with it, it seems that the answer of the marshal is not what His Majesty asked. ”

Ma Shiying immediately discovered the stinger buried in Qian Qianyi's words: You just talk about how to treat the gentry, how to collect high taxes from the gentry. How do you treat the clans, how you collect taxes from them, how do you deal with them, why don't you say a word?

Li Shouhan also sneered, "Sure enough, it's a Tianqiao star who is listed in the Donglin Point Record!" The mind is more agile than the ordinary! Bengong hasn't said it yet, so why should Lord Qian be anxious!? ”

For the vassal kings in various places, Li Shouhan has already made a plan. Most of the names left in history have become lost dogs at this time, and the land of the feudal domain has long been turned upside down by Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, not to mention Wangzhuang's fields, I am afraid that the daily use is dependent on the help of others.

As for those who did not leave anything to resist the Qing Dynasty and died, but were obediently taken to Beijing by the Qing army and finally beheaded, Li Shouhan did not intend to be polite. Anyway, you were all raised as pigs and killed as pigs. Instead of cheapening others, it is better to let you cheapen your own family.

"Your Majesty, the minister still asks Your Majesty to restore the Sejong system. According to Jiajing's 24th October 5th, the matter of Chen Zongfan was investigated in the matter: 1. Discuss the sealing of Lu, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi Wangfu Lu grain, which is dozens of times more than at the beginning of the country, and now we should quickly plan to deal with the aftermath. 2. Grace. 3. Suppression. Fourth, Du Jiaojie, the beginning of the country was divided, except for one or two distant domains, not to Zhuang Tian, now the local tyrants contributed, a group of small collusion, Wang Zhuang's field is in it, the white lotus, Maitreya religion prevails among the people, all falsely claim to be grange tenants, it should be strictly prohibited. Fifth, the degree of the feudal domain, now the local officials and the kings of the princes and counties are under the basket of bereavement, food and drink are interspersed, and it is fashionable to be punished. Sixth, choose the king's officer. His Majesty was asked to issue a decree ordering each of its divisions and yamen to administer all the clans and clans in accordance with this rule. In order to prevent treacherous people from taking the opportunity to cause chaos and endanger the clan. ”

Li Shouhan's proposal was tantamount to preparing a sharp blade for Zhu Yousong, who had long been dissatisfied with the Lixian faction in Nanjing, which could be used to deal with vassal kings everywhere. Moreover, all the princes still have bitterness that they can't say. If you are not obedient to the management, and are not willing to hand over more land than your royal palace has given you in accordance with the number of farms and fields that have been given to you over the years, are you prepared to rely on your wealth to plot against this country at a time when it is in peril? Ready to learn King Ning?! Don't have that guts? Then why don't you follow the rules set by the Sect Master?!

Zhu Yousong almost jumped up happily. He has already taken King Lu as the first target and sent him to the high wall of Fengyang to be imprisoned! As for the King of Tang, King Gui, and King Hui, as long as the princes who had appeared on the list of supporters, Zhu Yousong had arranged a place for them in his heart. "I want to follow the example of Chengzu and kill these vassal kings one by one!" Zhu Yousong gritted his teeth in his heart. In the past few years since the loss of Luoyang and the closure of the country, he has drifted around Jiangbei and Henan, and he can be regarded as experiencing the suffering of the world. From a prince with fine clothes and food, a person with the title of county king, he suddenly became a mourning dog who wants to look at other people's eyes, how can the gap be described in words? Seeing that those clans were singing, dancing and feasting, but they refused to come up with some money to make their daily expenses less embarrassing, Zhu Yousong had already gritted his teeth at that time.

After a long pause, the hall was silent, and everyone was making their own calculations in their stomachs.

Zhu Yousong thought for a while how to find a no, threw King Lu into the high wall of Fengyang, and finally thought of preparing to let King Lu take out a large amount of money and food as a reason for military salary. "As long as he doesn't pay it, I will issue a decree to abolish his king's title! It can be regarded as a bad breath for His Royal Highness the father! "The grievances and entanglements between King Lu and King Fu have been entangled for decades. From the beginning of the struggle for the throne between Emperor Wanli and his younger brother King Lu, to the climax of Emperor Wanli's plan to change King Fu to the crown prince, to King Fu's preparation to go to Luoyang to prepare for King Fu's 40,000 hectares of Wang Zhuang with reference to King Lu's standards, this pile has long been engraved in Zhu Yousong's heart. Now, a sharp sword that can slaughter King Lu's vein at will has been given away by Li Shouhan, how can it not make Zhu Yousong very happy in his heart?

"Sir, do you have any clever ideas to offer??"

How does Zhu Yousong look at Li Shouhan now, how does he feel pleasing to the eye, the world's first loyal minister and good general.

"Yes! Fourth, it is called the armor of the soldiers, and the whole army. ”

Hearing Li Shouhan, who was known as the marshal, say this, he immediately made the four newly sealed uncles puff up their chests and straighten their waists. Originally! If you want to restore the old mountains and rivers, or block the thieves north of the Yellow River, in addition to relying on the elite soldiers and strong generals under the command of the marshal father and son, then you have to rely on us people! Zuo Liangyu is far away in Jiujiang, and he is a guy who was scared by Li Chuang, he has been breathing for so long, and he may not have half of the scene of the year now, but he is afraid that it will be difficult to recover his vitality in another three or five years.

That's our chance!

Strong armor and sharp soldiers, that is to say, the marshal wants to replace and add armor and weapons to us, and then reorganize the soldiers and horses to prepare to fight with Li Chuang, the eldest prince in the north, Li Huayu, who is the acting governor of Shandong Denglai's soldiers, horses, money and food, in order to restore the Beijing division.

In this way, we can ask the marshal and the court for the best Nanzhong armor, Nanzhong swords, guns, guns, guns, a large number of artillery, and the same amount of silver as the sea, which can be used to recruit troops and horses to expand our strength.

This is the fantasy of the four earls for the future. However, it is precisely that sentence that the ideal is very plump and the reality is very skinny.

"Your Majesty, the raising of military salaries that the minister said before is nothing more than open source. However, the matter of throttling expenditure also needs to be done in many ways. As far as the minister knows, the Pingqi Town of the Zuoliangyu Department of Jiujiang in the upper reaches has 50,000 posts on the military register, but it claims to be 200,000 or 300,000. However, judging by the standard of the ministers, the number of soldiers who can go into battle to kill the enemy is no more than 30,000 horses. With such redundant soldiers, it is also a waste of food and salary to keep them, and it is better to leave the weak and strong for a good life, so that the old and weak can return to their hometowns to farm. Although it was Zuo Liangyu, the hearts of the four earls immediately cooled.

Zuo Liangyu's methods, they are also very proficient. The so-called selling of moonshine is a good hand if you don't commit it. The same strong and strong men, indiscriminately collecting and subduing the people, and coercing the good people, these things to expand their strength and replenish the soldiers, they have done the same.

Therefore, there is only a town of soldiers and horses that claims to be tens of thousands, and there are no more than 10,000 soldiers available.

"Therefore, the minister suggested that on the one hand, we should open up tax sources in various parts of the south of the Yangtze River to provide military salaries and food for the anti-thief war in the north," Li Shouhan paused slightly, "and procure all kinds of sophisticated equipment to arm all units of the army, so that the soldiers will not be able to fight against the thieves with poor armor and soldiers with crude and simple weapons in their hands with hunger and cold." However, before that, His Majesty issued an edict ordering the Governor's Office of the Five Armies, together with the military department, the household department, the Jinyi Guard and other yamen, to inspect all towns and battalions, and all those who were short of quotas, indiscriminately collected, had incomplete armor and equipment, and were too old or too young to be dismissed and repatriated to their hometowns. ”

Just now, Lu Daqi and Zhao Zhilong, a group of civil officials, wanted to rush up and give Li Shouhan a just trial with their fists and feet, and now, a large group of military officials in the hall were eager to pull out their waist knives and cut this damn guy into meat sauce and drag him out to feed the dogs!

However, these measures offered by Li Shouhan were greatly appreciated by Zhu Yousong, and even if he ordered Yousi to cast a gold seal, he granted Li Shouhan the governor to ask for money and food for the soldiers and horses of the thieves. "Order the celebrant to choose an auspicious day, and the Ministry of Rites will draw up a beautiful name. I want to canonize Liang Guogong as a general, recruit soldiers, and recruit all kinds of thieves! ”

This unofficial court meeting ended with the eunuchs and the nobles winning the most and gaining the most. Everyone can see that Zhu Yousong is dissatisfied with Shi Kefa, a scholar of Dongge University and a scholar of the military department, and he will not be in this position for long. And Li Shouhan, a powerful traitor and minister of eunuchs and nobles, became the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses, and the governor begged for money and food for thieves and horses. Nominally and in real power, even Shi Kefa, as a cabinet elder, has to be used under his account.

And Ma Shiying, another leader of the eunuch party, because he first proposed to support King Fu, Zhu Yousong was also very proud of his talent, and everyone could see that this Ma Yaocao became the first assistant of the cabinet is just around the corner.

"Mu Zhai, seeing that the traitors and powerful ministers are rampant in the court, and they are about to bring disaster to the world, you are called my military advisor in Donglin, and you are the most resourceful, why are you helpless today?" Zhou Bi, the head of the household department, had already heard the rumors, and he would soon issue an edict to recover the money and grain accumulated in the four provinces south of the Yangtze River for more than ten years, and at the same time, abolish the new preferential exemption regulations. The sound of the wind made his mouth immediately full of bubbles.

"If you don't eat pufferfish, how do you know the taste of fish? After eating the pufferfish, there is no freshness. Qian Qianyi sandwiched a piece of puffer fish meat in front of Zhou Biao and invited him to taste this delicacy that he said he wanted to eat desperately. Please rest assured that the cook has already eaten a piece in front of me, and it is safe and sound, which shows that its poison has been removed. ”

"Makisai! For the well-being of millions of living beings in Jiangnan, if you have a plan in your heart, don't sell it anymore! Jiang Yueguang saw Zhou Bi's eyebrows raised, his eyes widened, and he knew that this Tianqiao Star was afraid that he was going to provoke the thunderbolt to go crazy, so he hurriedly came out to play a round.

"Ladies and gentlemen, do you remember what I said that day? Static braking! Now, although Li Mou looks aggressive, and all the evil strategies he has offered have been approved by His Royal Highness the Prison State, you might as well think about whether the many Chens he offered are like this pufferfish, and the eyes, internal organs and other places contain highly poisonous. But the meat is extremely delicious? ”

"What do you mean by that?"

"His dedication to widening the tax sources and paying off the arrears is undoubtedly offending the people of Jiangnan for us. The abolition of the new preferential exemption regulations made Jiangnan Shizi hate him to the core. Think about it, how many hard-working scholars have to live on the rent and taxes collected by dozens of acres of land donated by others? Now that these taxes are gone, we can also make these poor people even worse, so that they can pay all the money and grain that Chongzhen has accumulated in the past two years! and then publicized everywhere that these things were caused by the generals asking for money and food. You say, what should the people of Jiangnan do? ”

"Naturally, the people's grievances are boiling!"

"It's not terrible that the people's grievances are boiling, but what I'm afraid of is the resentment in the army." Lu Daqi also understood the subtlety of this trick to move Jiangdong from Qian Qianyi's words. "Inspecting the soldiers and horses, and eliminating the old and weak, it made Zuo Liangyu, Liu Zeqing and other martial artists resentful. As long as we play a little trick with these people, we are not afraid that they will not rebel! ”

Qian Qianyi raised the wine glass in his hand, "Gentlemen, that's how puffer fish is eaten. We eat fish, is this poisonous!? ”

"I sent it to the general to be used!"

There was a burst of laughter from the boat. (To be continued.) )