After Xie Shen left the cabinet, he did not go directly to the leopard room to see Zhu Houzhao, but went to the Ministry of Industry. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Major projects such as dredging canals and removing silt must be presided over by the Ministry of Industry.

There is a specialization in the art industry, who else can Xie Shen ask if he doesn't come to ask for the opinions of professionals?

At this time, the Ministry of Industry Shangshu was Fan Cheng, an old minister of the Hongzhi Dynasty.

As one of the few remaining old ministers of the Hongzhi Dynasty, Fan Shangshu's qualifications are definitely enough. But maybe it's because of old age, some energy is not enough, and basic affairs are handed over to the people below.

But Rao is like this, he is still the official of the Ministry of Industry, and some major policies still have to be decided by him.

However, after Xie Shen came to the Ministry of Industry Office, Fan Shangshu stood up tremblingly and came to greet Xie Shen step by step, so frightened that Xie Shen hurriedly stepped forward to support Fan Shangshu, who was aging Long Zhong.

"Why should the old man be polite, he was born late."

Fan Cheng was older than Li Dongyang, and Xie Shen claimed in front of him that there was no problem with being born later.

Fan Shangshu shook his head and said, "The second assistant is here, how can the old man be rude." ”

Xie Shen said helplessly: "It's not a secret, I have an important matter to ask Fan Shangshu for advice." ”

"The second assistant is here to dredge the canal, right? I don't dare to ask for advice, but the old man can really discuss a thing or two with the second assistant. ”

Previously, Zhu Houzhao had already ordered Jiuqing to discuss this matter. Fan Cheng is still the secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Residence and Industry, and is naturally also among the Jiuqing courts.

Xie Shen hesitated for a moment and said: "In my later life, I thought that the canal should be dredged and desilted, and a new canal should not be dug. It's not that the latter is bad, it's that the consumption of treasury silver is too great. ”

Xie Shen said tactfully, in fact, the total amount of silver in the Ming Treasury is less than one million taels, which is not enough to dig a new canal, where is the consumption too great!

"Well, the old man thinks so too."

During the court discussion, Fan Cheng always adhered to the view that it is better to be negligent than to chiseled. Because he is the secretary of the Ministry of Industry and has strong professionalism, he directly influenced the outcome of the court meeting.

"So how many people does the boss think it will take to dredge a section of the canal from Shandong to Jingshi?"

This is a professional question, and it is by no means something that can be calculated by patting the head.

Xie Shen didn't want to show his timidity, so he asked Fan for advice very modestly.

Fan Shangshu did not answer immediately, but pondered for a moment.

"A conservative estimate of 100,000 people is not a small project."

Fan Shangshu's words are undoubtedly the most authoritative. He said this to prove that it would take no less manpower to dredge the canal.

Fortunately, it takes much less time to dredge the canal than to dig a new one, and the people who recruit should be able to accept it.

"Is there any way to speed up the dredging?"

Xie Shen is a cabinet minister after all, and many things need to be thought of, otherwise if you really start to dredge the canal, there will be a series of problems, and then you will have to be in a hurry.

"This ......" Fan Cheng was obviously a little hesitant, his eyes flickering.

Xie Shen cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry, boss, it's okay to say anything." ”

Fan Cheng sighed and said: "In fact, if it is really young and strong to dredge the canal, it will take three months at most to achieve initial results." But most of them are old and weak, and it is difficult to guarantee the time. ”

Xie Shen was shocked: "Why is this? ”

Fan Cheng explained: "The Ming conscription is a compulsory system, and every citizen has the obligation to participate in the conscription. However, there are policies and countermeasures, and many people do not want to suffer from forced labor, so they pay someone to participate in the competition on their behalf. Over time, a trend has been formed, and there is even a special kind of livelihood that is conscripted on behalf of the conscription. ”

Xie Shen nodded, he knew about this, but what does this have to do with the fact that the people who participated in the conscription were all old and weak?

Fan Cheng continued: "Conscription is very hard, and you often have to stay outside for most of the year, so many people give up the idea of making a living after participating in it once. There are only a limited number of people who can stay, and over time they are all old. ”

Xie Shen suddenly realized!

Participating in the conscription service on behalf of the people is not planting trees and watering them on behalf of others, this is a fateful thing, and it is estimated that not many young people are willing to suffer from this.

Most of those who are willing to endure hardships are some experienced old people, who understand that life is not easy, and as long as they can beg for a bite to eat, they are willing to participate in conscription on behalf of others.

"But why didn't the imperial court report it when it knew that these were those who participated in the conscription on their behalf?"

"Whistleblowing? How to report? Even if it is reported, what is the use? ”

Fan Shangshu sighed faintly: "In fact, the local government knows it, but it is impossible to really turn against the local gentry."

Xie Shen realized.

The Ming Dynasty was the emperor and the scholars who ruled the world together.

This co-governance is embodied at the local level.

The Ming Dynasty was under the imperial power of the county, and the county level relied to a large extent on the autonomy of the gentry clans.

And what is a gentleman? Aren't they the officials or relatives of these officials?

They are inextricably linked to the official class and have significant influence in the local area.

The prefect of the county order is an outsider, and his term of office is three years, and he pats his ass and leaves after three years, so there is no need to tear his face with the local gentry for some "trivial things".

In other words, local officials were afraid that offending the gentry would affect the evaluation of officials, thus delaying promotion. And the local gentry also took advantage of this to do many things that were beneficial to themselves.

Finding someone to do the conscription on behalf of you is one of them.

Thinking of this, Xie Shen was depressed.

Feudal society has its own set of operating rules, which may not be all right, but they are real and ubiquitous.

It's not easy to change it.

Take the matter of dredging the canal and levying conscription as an example, the government clearly knows that all the people who come are stand-ins, but no one cares about it, and no one dares to take care of it, isn't this a lamentable thing?

He cares about things that no one dares to do, and he does things that no one dares to do!

"Boss, this matter must not be left to its own devices, the late life will ask Your Majesty, please ask the local government to strictly investigate the conscription of conscription, if there is an impostor, both sides will be imprisoned according to the felony!"

Xie Shen knew that doing so would offend the interests of the entire gentry class, but he had to do it!

After going through so much, he found that Daming's roots were rotten here. If the thorn of the gentleman is not removed, Daming can be better for a while, but it is impossible to get better forever.

The reason is very simple, the imperial power is not under the county.

What's the use of letting your new policy be in full swing in Beijing and even Zhili, and if it can't be implemented in the local area, and it is strongly resisted by the gentry.

So in order for the Ming Dynasty to really rise, this thorn must be pulled out.

The authority of the court must not be threatened in any way, and if the gentry resisted, they would be kicked away.

Fan Shangshu was obviously a little excited, he hadn't heard such powerful words for a long time, and this matter might really be successful if Xie Cifu pushed it.

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"That's good, it's good." Fan Shangshu burst into tears, waved his fist excitedly and said, "Although the second assistant lets it go, the old man will definitely second!" ”

What Xie Shen wants is not Fan Cheng's statement, in fact, whether Fan Chengbiao does not express his position will not have a big impact on things. But Fan Cheng's willingness to support him at this time still moved Xie Shen a little.

Now it seems that the silting up of the canal is not necessarily a bad thing, and if it can be used to rectify the domineering gentry, it can be regarded as a blessing in disguise.

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In the Zhengde Dynasty, Xie Shen's words were the most weighty except for the Son of Heaven.

Even if the things he decided could not be done immediately, they must be moving in the direction of being done.

After a long conversation with Xie Shen, the Son of Heaven also realized the crux of the problem and decided to cut the big knife at the gentry class.

It's not going to be easy, of course, but you have to try everything.

Zhu Houzhao was an ambitious and heroic monarch who would not watch the empire decay and decay.

This matter was directly handed over to Xie Shen, and Gu Dingchen acted as his deputy.

The fact that the second assistant of the cabinet and the third scholar were also responsible for the dredging of the canal is enough to show the importance that the Son of Heaven and the imperial court attached to this matter.

Since dredging is to be carried out, the first step is naturally to levy and issue conscription.

From Shandong to the prefectures and counties of Zhili, the government at all levels conveyed the decrees of the imperial court, but the response was not very enthusiastic.

In particular, the gentry landlords had a negative and even resistant attitude towards this matter. Instead of sending the conscripts to the government for the record in a timely manner, the officials who went to urge them were closed.

It is nothing to dare to disobey the meaning of the government, but these gentlemen are already disobeying the will of the court.

In other words, in the eyes of these gentlemen, any official government and any court are bullshit!

This made Xie Shen furious. He did not expect that the gentry landlord would so blatantly disobey the imperial decree. Originally, he thought that these people would be more reserved, but now it seems that they are fearless.

The wealthy merchants on the southeast coast who colluded with the enemy, and the gentry landlords in Shandong and Zhili who oppressed the tenant farmers into rich and unkind...... The Ming Dynasty has these moths, how can it really rise in the middle of the Ming Dynasty?

Now it seems that the so-called Hongzhi Zhongxing is really a joke, although Emperor Hongzhi is diligent in government, none of the key things have been moved, and one dare not move.

And if these things do not move, it is impossible to revive only by the diligence of the emperor and the cabinet, at most it will be a return to the light.

Emperor Hongzhi was afraid, Xu Pu, a scholar of the previous dynasty, was afraid, but Xie Shen was not afraid. If someone has to stand up, then he has to be careful!

Since he could mercilessly punish the southeastern maritime merchants who were in common with the Japanese, he could naturally train these gentry and landlords to obey.

Didn't these gentry landlords refuse to serve in forced labor? Didn't you pretend not to know?

Xie Shen was not polite to them, and directly ordered the officers and soldiers of the guards from all over the country to go to the granges of these gentlemen, tie these family masters to the yamen, and then escort them to the river for dredging.

These gentry landlords are parasites who do not work and produce, and they cannot carry their shoulders or hands, and they are naturally very resistant to the dirty work of dredging.

But I'm sorry, it's the officers and soldiers who are in charge of river supervision. They don't care if you are a bitter farmer who is digging in the land, or a landlord with a family of fertile land. Since they participate in conscription, they are all treated equally.

If there is a lazy person, the whip will be drawn immediately, and the small arms and legs of these lazy bones will immediately swell with bloody purlins in the shape of earthworms.

Where have these gentry landlords suffered such grievances, even if they want to resist, but in response to them is a whip on their heads and faces.

The beaten faces of the landlords were covered with blood marks, and they no longer dared to make a mistake, and obediently tied up their trouser legs with other people who were serving in forced labor, rolled up their sleeves, and pouted their cheeks to dig into the mud.

Even the local government and county officials didn't expect such a good effect, and they all admired Xie Shen.

In fact, Xie Shen just made a fuss by taking advantage of the psychology of all parties.

The local government and the gentry were inextricably linked, so it was impossible for them to completely offend the gentry.

But the garrison army is different. They are not subject to local administrative constraints, and they do not have to look at the faces of the gentry to cultivate their own fields.

Moreover, the officers and soldiers of the guard station are generally strong-tempered, and the landlord gentry who are most unaccustomed to the sissy cannon, these gentry will definitely suffer if they fall into the hands of the officials and soldiers of the guard.

The next thing is much easier.

If any gentleman dares to refuse to serve the forced labor, he will be compelled by reference.

As for those who hire others to serve in lieu of forced labor, Xie Shen also focuses on cracking down.

In Xie Shen's view, serving conscription is an obligation of the people of the Ming Dynasty, and it must not be easily discarded.

Those who have meritorious service can be exempted from forced labor, and there is no way to change this policy.

But most of those gentry are just relatives of meritorious scholars or officials, so why can they be exempted from forced labor?

Does a person ascend to heaven with a chicken dog?

The more people who escaped from forced labor, the more it showed that the Ming Dynasty tended to be flashy. These people's bones were weak and broken, so Xie Shen helped them pick them up.

Since you are alive, you have to live upright and straighten your back.

Of course, real officials can be exempted from forced labor. Xie Shen will not order the guards to be strong.

In addition, there are also a large number of hidden households that Xie Shen ordered to investigate.

The so-called hidden household refers to a black household that escaped from his home register in order to avoid forced labor and taxes, and is not on the local government register.

There were not many of these black households in the early Ming Dynasty, because Zhu Yuanzhang cracked down on hidden households very strongly, and he also invented a road guide for this purpose. The government will severely punish the hidden household after it is caught, and the cost of escaping is too high, and there will naturally be fewer people who flee.

But that has since changed.

Especially in the late Ming Dynasty, a large part of the Zhuang people fled and became hidden households. In order to survive, they often attached themselves to the granges of local gentry and landlords, and became the servants and tenant farmers of these landlords.

Although they are tenant farmers, they are not registered in the local government and are real black households. However, since these gentry and landlords were all local tyrants, the local government mostly turned a blind eye to every time a population inventory was conducted.

These large numbers of hermits were able to escape the investigation and continue to remain in the landlord's grange.

There is a big discrepancy between the official population recorded by the Ming court and the actual population, which is due to the relationship between the hermitages.

The peak population recorded in the "Ming Shilu" was about 70 million, but the actual population was nearly 200 million. The difference between the two is three times, which shows the huge number of hidden households in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the late Ming Dynasty.

There were already a large number of hermits in the Zhengde Dynasty, but they were not as exaggerated as the late Ming Dynasty. It's still too late to remediate.

Xie Shen ordered the officers and soldiers of the guard office to take the opportunity of this levy to conduct a population inventory on these gentry and landlord granges, and immediately lock up those who concealed the report to the government for punishment.

This opening must not be opened.

Because the hidden households do not have to pay taxes, this will lead to a large loss of tax money from the imperial court.

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