In the study of Zhongxiang County, Xiao Han stood in front of Li Zicheng, a trace of unyielding light appeared in his eyes, and it disappeared in a flash, hesitated for a moment, and finally bowed to the ground, "The villain knocks on the governor!" ”

Li Zicheng saw everything in his eyes, pointed to the wooden chair opposite, and said with a smile: "Xiao Zhixian doesn't need to be polite, sit down!" ”

After Xiao Han got up, he reluctantly sat down in front of Li Zicheng, glanced at Li Zicheng, and then looked away and swirled on his toes.

After He Xiaomi served the tea, he stood behind Li Zicheng, although Xiao Han was a civil official, but after all, he had just returned to Shun, and he stared at Xiao Han's every move.

Li Zicheng said lightly: "Xiao Zhixian don't be nervous, I'll just ask you a few questions!" ”

Xiao Han arched his hand, his face was calm, and he looked humble, "Please make it clear to the Metropolitan Governor!" ”

"The lake is ripe, and the world is full!" Li Zicheng said: "Huguang is a province with a large output, and the wealth of the Jianghan Plain is well known to the whole country, but when the governor of Bendu came to Chengtian, he saw that the people were very poor, saying that they were not clothed and hungry, which is not an exaggeration at all, just for what?" You are Zhong Xiangzhi County, the parent official of the people, you should always know the reason, right? ”

"This ......" Xiao Han originally thought that Li Zicheng was going to inquire about the silver and grain deposits in the Fuku County Treasury, but he didn't expect Li Zicheng to ask about the people, and he couldn't help but be speechless for a while.

"Don't worry, what do you have to say," Li Zicheng said in a deep voice, "Is it the flood disaster, the serious land annexation, the heavy taxes of the imperial court, or what other reasons?" ”

Xiao Han's face was stunned, it turned out that the Metropolitan Governor knew everything...... After a long while, he came to his senses, he stood up, waved at Li Zichang, and said, "Most of the Governor Mingjian, the people are poor because of this!" ”

"Oh?" Li Zicheng smiled faintly and asked Xiao Han to sit down and speak, "Tell me in detail, what's going on!" ”

After Xiao Han sat down again, he looked at Li Zicheng and said, "The governor wants to listen to the villain's truth?" ”

"Does Pontus want to listen to that foolish man?" Li Zicheng's expression was very calm, "Today the governor of Pontus is free, you speak slowly!" ”

"Then the villain will be bold!" Xiao Han arched his hand and said: "There are many reasons why the people are poor and weak, mainly because of the three aspects that the Metropolitan Governor just said. ”

Li Zicheng said in his heart, it turns out that the people in the world are poor and weak, and the reason is really similar!

"Let's talk about the disaster first, according to the villain's personal experience, as well as the information of Zhongxiang County, the county has been plagued continuously, since Chongzhen succeeded to the throne for 14 years, there are seven more serious disasters, Chongzhen four, five, nine years of floods, Chongzhen thirteen years of drought and Chongzhen nine, ten, fourteen years of locust plague. The floods caused the embankments to burst and the fertile fields to be flooded; Drought causes seedlings to wither and farmland to fail; When the plague of locusts arises, the locusts cover the sun, and the crops are gone. Natural disasters continue year after year, which is the main reason for the extreme poverty of the peasants and their difficulty in surviving. ”

Li Zicheng pondered in his heart, now is the beginning of Chongzhen's fifteenth year, and in the fourteenth year, half of the time there have been major disasters, plus small disasters, I am afraid that there are countless of them, is Xiao Han shirking his responsibility?

He smiled faintly and said, "Xiao Zhixian, you haven't read the information, why do you remember it so clearly?" Do you know why Pontus is looking for you? ”

"The villain doesn't know," Xiao Han shook his head and said: "The villain knows that Zhong Xiang's people's lives have always been in dire straits, and the villain is anxious, so he knows the disaster well, and most of the governors can ask someone to inquire about the information of the county government and the government office." ”

"Naturally, I want to check!" Li Zicheng whispered a few words to He Xiaomi, He Xiaomi didn't dare to leave, but seeing Li Zicheng's resolute eyes, he still left the study, but soon came back, still standing behind Li Zicheng.

"Most of the governors must bow down, and the villain admires," Xiao Han arched his hand, his eyes were much clearer, and he seemed to have met a bosom friend, "The villain will talk about taxes again, every time there is a disaster, his subordinates will play according to the facts, but the imperial court not only does not reduce taxes and provide disaster relief, but it is constantly increasing taxes, and the actual taxes of the people are more than twice as much as those of the perennial years!" ”

Li Zicheng bowed slightly, the matter of cutting salaries and practicing salaries is not only in Huguang, but also in Henan and Shaanxi, the imperial court taxes are exhausted, in order to cope with the Tartars in Liaodong and the beacon fires everywhere in the country, they can only increase taxes on the land and the people, but the clans, gentry, and industrial and commercial practitioners do not pay taxes in the first place, and they will change their methods to transfer taxes and forced labor to the ordinary people, making the people even poorer and weaker.

The poorer the poorer, the worse the country!

"Let's talk about the situation of the land," Xiao Han said: "Governor, the land situation in Zhongxiang County is a bit complicated, but it is also similar to other prefectures and counties!" ”

Li Zicheng knew that Xiao Han was afraid that he would not understand, so he said: "You tell me in detail!" ”

Xiao Hanlang said: "Zhong Xiang's fields are divided into Tuntian, Guantian, Chutian, Futian, and Mintian. ”

"Huh?" Li Zicheng frowned lightly and said, "Why are there these types?" ”

"Because of the existence of Xianling, the imperial court left two guards of soldiers in Zhongxiang County, and ordered the guards to reclaim the wasteland and cultivate the land, and the fields occupied by the guards were called tuntian; The land occupied by the government and county yamen is called Guantian; Since the Yongle period, Ying, Liang, Xing three kings successively sealed the domain Zhongxiang, the domain occupies the field, the subordinate to the Chu domain is called Chu Tian, the subordinate to the Fu domain is called Futian, after the two feudal domains are extinct, the Xing Wang is the domain Zhongxiang, in addition to the Ying, Liang two kings left Zhuang Tian all assigned to the Xing Wang, but also has Shabu, Luo Xiao, Chihe, Jiaoshan, Luo Tie, Lihe, Luqi, Changhe and other places of each farm. ”

Li Zicheng said lightly: "Mintian is the people's field, right?" ”

"Most of the governors don't know that the people's land belongs to the people on the surface, but in fact the people's share is very small, and most of it is in the hands of the gentry and landlords."

Li Zicheng knew that at the end of the dynasty, that is, when the land annexation was at its most intense, Zhongxiang County was not excluded, and the land that the people really mastered was probably less than a fraction of the gentry, so he said coldly: "Guantian belongs to the Yamen of the prefecture and county, what does it mean?" Who cultivates these lands? ”

"Back to the Governor of Dadu, it is naturally the people who farm, and the Yamen of the prefecture and county collects rent from the people," Xiao Han's face changed color slightly, "Governor Mingjian, the official fields are left over for a long time, without these official fields, the previous salaries, the recent salaries, and training salaries cannot be completed at all......"

Li Zicheng understands that this is the government's greasy, but the people rent official land, in addition to paying taxes normally, they also have to pay part of the rent, which is equivalent to raising taxes in disguise.

Whether to complete the tax task issued by the imperial court, keep his official hat, or ask for the people's life, all officials will choose the same answer!

Li Zicheng is not angry, and being angry cannot change reality, this is the real Daming!

He picked up the tea cup, glanced at Xiao Han, and said, "In Zhongxiang County, the specific values of various fields, does Xiao Zhi County have them?" ”

"The villain remembers probably," Xiao Han said: "The specific value, you need to consult the information, it is in the county office!" ”

"You take it immediately, the more detailed the better, and the population value of Zhongxiang County!"

After a while, Xiao Han held many account books and put them in front of Li Zicheng, "The governor of the capital, the situation of land and population is here!" ”

Li Zicheng casually flipped through the total, 7,568 acres and 27 acres of official land, 274 acres and 42 acres of Chutian, 391 acres and 58 acres of Futian, 4,462 acres and 55 acres of private land, and more than 500 hectares of forest land.

Only one-third of the land is owned by the people, and even if it is all in the hands of the people, they cannot afford natural disasters and endless endowments, not to mention that the land that the people really control is probably less than 10%.

With a total of 1.3 million mu, Zhongxiang County's cultivated land is not small!

Li Zicheng checked the total population again, and couldn't help but be surprised, the small Zhongxiang County had a population of nearly 100,000!

These populations do not include women, that is to say, this 100,000 population is only half of the population of Zhongxiang County, and if you add the children who have recently been born and have not yet registered for household registration, the actual number is probably more than 200,000.

Originally, the soldiers who were allowed to garrison Xianling, twenty acres per ding, seemed to be difficult to achieve.

Li Zicheng closed the account book, was silent for a long time, and said: "Xiao Zhixian, are the numbers on the account book accurate?" ”

"It should be very accurate," Xiao Han seemed to understand Li Zicheng's intentions, "These values are all calculated by the villain himself after they are reported from all over the place, whether it is the source or statistics, there should not be much discrepancy!" ”

Li Zicheng didn't have the heart to investigate the statistical problem, as long as the discrepancy was not big, it should be within the error, he stared at Xiao Han's eyes, and said awe-inspiringly: "Xiao Zhixian, if the Heavenly Mandate Army does not come to Zhongxiang County, as the parent official of the people, how do you plan to save the people from fire and water?" ”

"This ......" Xiao Han didn't expect Li Zicheng to suddenly ask this unsolvable question, his face was flushed, but he couldn't speak.

"Zhong Xiang's people, have they always been content to endure the exploitation of the government and the gentry?" Li Zicheng's face turned cold, and it seemed to have a thin layer of frost, "Didn't anyone hear that the people were crying out for hunger and cold?" ”

Xiao Han's face was flushed, Li Zicheng said this, it was a slap in the face, the court would not see the people of Zhongxiang County, he was the parent official of the people!

When he first entered the official office, he still regarded Zicheng as the leader of the rogues, who only knew how to wander around and rob the people, but at this moment, he suddenly understood that Li Zicheng cared more about the people than him.

No wonder after the Mandate of Heaven army entered the city, there was no harassment of the people!

He trembled and said, "Governor, there has also been a case of people resisting in Zhongxiang County......

"Official coercion # civil rebellion!" Li Zicheng said coldly: "It is you prefects and prefects who directly persecute the people, but the root cause is still in the imperial court, and it is the imperial court that persecuts its own people!" After a pause, he said: "Xiao Zhixian, why do the people of Zhongxiang welcome the Heavenly Mandate Army?" They just want to live, floods, droughts, and locust plagues are not as harmful to the people as man-made disasters! ”

Xiao Han's face was red, and after a while, Fang said, "Governor, what should we do now?" ”

"The people are hungry and cold, Xiao Zhixian can't solve it, and the imperial court can't solve it, only the Heavenly Mandate Army can let the people eat enough!" Li Zicheng looked at Xiao Han and said, "Xiao Zhixian, are you willing to help the people?" ”

"The subordinates are willing to obey the dispatch of the Grand Governor!" Xiao Han left his seat and knelt in front of Li Zicheng, although there was only a short sentence, he had completely surrendered to Li Zicheng, this kneeling was not out of courtesy, it was completely his will, and he expressed his determination to Li Zicheng.

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