Li Zhi looked at the information, thought about it, and said: "The small people who donated the land are cunning and deceitful, which increases the burden of other farmers who honestly farm, and is in the same league as the gentry who evade taxes. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info This is the sin of these people who sacrifice to the small people. Now that we have corrected the tax evasion channels of the gentry, they want to get their land back. ”

"If these small people stay under the gentry, they are gentry who collect land rent cheaply for nothing. The gentry are the main culprits of tax evasion, and it makes no sense for them to benefit. However, if the land is simply returned to the small people who donated the land, it has encouraged the habit of these treacherous small people to take advantage of policy loopholes. There is no punishment for these treacherous acts of land donation. ”

"The land that was surrendered at the beginning was not an ordinary sale, but the stolen goods of the crime of tax evasion. It is a crime for the small peasants and gentry who surrendered their land to unite to evade taxes and entrap other heavily taxed peasants! Once the evidence proves that it is a tax evasion field, all the land will be confiscated. The gentry who evaded taxes were not allowed to keep the land, nor were the small people who gave it to their benefit. The confiscated land was placed under the name of the General Military Administration, and the small people could continue to rent it, but the land rent was one bucket of rice per mu, which was higher than the general tax. ”

When Cui Changwu heard Li Zhi's words, he arched his hand and said: "Uncle is wise, in this way, he not only punishes the gentry who evade taxes, but also educates the treacherous people, and expands the income of the General Military Mansion. ”

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Convey our policy to various courts." If a similar case is encountered, it will be handled in this way. ”

####

Soon, when Li Zhi's policy was conveyed to the grassroots level, the judges of Jinghai County confiscated Zhao Lijing's donated land, and Li Zhi's policy spread.

In addition, the "Tianjin Daily" published Zhao Lijing's case on September 18, and this case has become even more well-known.

The small people who came to file a lawsuit to hand over their donated land lined up in front of the courthouse, and each one of them preferred to pay a bucket of land rent and surrender their own donated land. After all, compared with the gentry's rent, the rent of one bucket per mu given by the General Military Mansion after confiscating the fields was still much lighter.

Where can a few judges in the county courts handle so many cases? Finally, all the courts stipulate that if the facts of the case are simple and the evidence is clear, there is no need for a judge to hear the case, and the small people who have donated the land can go directly to the place where the board is made to find the clerk to register, and then the donated land can be immediately turned into public land.

As a result of such a policy, a large amount of land was lost in the names of the gentry. The gentry were demoralized. Some of the gentry wanted to keep the peasants, so they took the initiative to reduce the rent to less than one bucket. In the end, throughout Tianjin, the gentry who accepted the land offer reduced the land rent to a very low level, which was slightly higher than the land endowment of seven liters and one he.

After the gentry lowered their taxes on a large scale, the number of people who came to fight lawsuits and handed over their fields to public land gradually disappeared.

####

On 20 September, Zhu Youzhen, the Son of Heaven, sat on a dragon chair in the study of the Qianqing Palace, spread out a copy of the "Tianjin Daily" on the bookcase and looked at it carefully.

The news from all over the world in the "Tianjin Daily" made Zhu Youzhen watch it with relish. Although local officials reported disasters and military incidents in various places, other news, such as where the price of rice has risen again, where the interest rate has fallen, and even how many ships have gone to sea in Fujian, and how many soldiers have fled in Shandong, are not included in the officials' reports.

Prosecutor General Zhu You is in the deep palace and has never been out of the imperial city, so he knows very little about these news from the outside world. After reading the Tianjin Daily report, he learned a lot about non-governmental matters and felt very fresh.

What interested Zhu Youzhen even more was the commentary article in Tianjin Daily.

One of Zhu Youzhen's favorite commentators is a writer named "Zitong Mountain People". This writer writes articles from a commanding height, commenting on all kinds of things, and always making amazing remarks.

For example, on the second page of the "Tianjin Daily" on this day, the people of Zitongshan wrote an article called "Why are Xingguobo's soldiers and horses so strong?" The people of Zitong Mountain wrote: "Xingguo Bo is strong and strong, without him, the thought is advanced!" ”

"Because of the advanced thinking, it is widely equipped with artillery guns, bombardment with cannons from a few hundred steps away, and killing the enemy with firearms from dozens of steps away..."

"Because of the advanced thinking, he is willing to pay high salaries to soldiers. Soldiers train day by day, practice formations, practice archery, practice horsemanship, and practice swords. If you practice hard every day, you are skilled in your techniques, and if you encounter an opponent on the battlefield who is lax in training for a few days and practiced, how can you not destroy the withering and decaying..."

"Because of the advanced thinking, the casualties were given extremely high pension treatment, so that the soldiers were happy when they heard the battle, and they were not afraid of casualties..."

Zhu Youzhen finished reading this article and didn't speak for a long time.

Wang Chengen stood behind, peeked at the daily newspaper from Zhu Youzhen's shoulder for a while, and said with a smile: "Emperor, this daily newspaper of Xingguobo boasts about his own skills everywhere. Fortunately, the daily newspaper was blocked by scholars outside Tianjin, and it could not be spread in Tianjin. Otherwise, everyone in the world will worship Xingguobo, and I don't know that there is a big Ming mile. ”

Zhu Youzhen sighed and said, "Now Li Zhi not only collects taxes from the gentry in Tianjin, but also sets up a private court above the government. ”

"A town in Tianjin, the surname is already Li. Now Li Zhi is in Tianjin, and he is a warlord who is said to be the same. In front of Li Zhi, the governor can only bow his head and obey orders. ”

Wang Chengen said: "Emperor, although Li Zhi was arrogant in Tianjin, he defeated the thieves and thieves and pacified the Central Plains. The Son of Heaven exchanged a town in Tianjin for peace in the world, this deal is a good deal."

Zhu Youzhen nodded, shook his head again, and said, "Even so, you can't let Li Zhi's family dominate." If the current situation is not changed, Li Zhi's power will only get bigger and bigger, and I am afraid that he will not even listen to my requisition in the future. ”

Zhu Youzhen stood up, walked a few steps back and forth in the study, and said, "I want to follow Li Zhi's Tiger Master and train the new army. ”

Wang Chengen asked, "What does the emperor mean?" ”

Zhu Youzhen said: "In the past year, the Central Plains has been peaceful, and the cost of suppressing thieves has decreased a lot. Now the imperial court can increase military resources to famous generals in various towns, such as Yang Guozhu of Xuanfu, Cao Bianjiao of Yutian, Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong of Jingying, etc., so that they can be equipped with firearms and cannons, and form an army with firearms. The soldiers are equipped with Lumi guns and Hongyi cannons, equipped with cotton armor, to create a new army of 50,000 people with a combat strength not lower than that of Li Zhihu's division. ”

Wang Chengen said: "Emperor Shengming, Lu Mi can kill people a hundred steps away, which is farther than Li Zhi's fire gun that can only shoot seventy steps. Yang Guozhu, Cao Bianjiao and others are even more powerful generals who dare to fight, if they are supplemented by sharp firearms, I am afraid that the combat power will be doubled. ”

Zhu Youzhen lowered his head and pondered for a while, and said: "This 50,000-strong recruit sends out three taels a month, and then provides stable logistics. The soldiers practiced the guns and cannons every day, and practiced until they could match Li Zhi's tiger division with nine shots out of ten. ”

"We also have to learn from Li Zhi's pension system, and the court will compensate the families of the soldiers who are killed in battle, so as not to have food and clothing for the soldiers' families."

Wang Chengen arched his hand and said: "The emperor is wise, in this way, where will the soldiers be afraid of dying in battle?" One by one, if they dare to charge into battle, even Li Zhi's soldiers and horses will be able to fight! ”