In July, the Imperial Court reported to the Imperial Court that the proposal for the collection of agricultural taxes that had been in arrears over the years had been approved, and the Emperor had issued a decree requiring all localities to begin collecting the taxes.

The date chosen to start collecting the arrears of taxes in July is very accurate, July is the peak season of the autumn harvest, and the collection of taxes at this time can be realized.

Long before the arrival of the Di Bao, Zheng Xunrui already knew that the emperor had approved this setback, in addition to anger in his heart, there was also sorrow, and he needed to consider the pros and cons of doing anything, it is said that the emperor should be clear about this, after the crossing, Zheng Xunrui worked hard to maintain the stability of the Ming Dynasty, fight against the Liukou, fight against the Houjin Tartars, and comfort the people, and finally let the situation of the Ming Dynasty gradually stabilize, but this holy decree will make the gradually stabilized situation instantly come to naught.

It should be said that the vast majority of the arrears of taxes are the people who can no longer afford them, and because of the annexation of land, the burden borne by the people is getting bigger and bigger, so that the agricultural taxes of the Ming Dynasty, which is not high, have become very high in some places where land annexation is serious.

At this time, the collection of arrears of agricultural taxes is tantamount to once again pushing the people to a dead end.

Zheng Xunrui really didn't understand why the emperor would approve such a setback, why he didn't understand that this move would lead to local chaos, he couldn't find the reason, and he didn't bother to think about things in the court.

All the prefectures and counties in Huaibei Prefecture have received the Di report.

The amount of tax arrears of the people is very clear, and there are numbers in the yamen, as long as they are collected according to this amount, as for the method of collection, it must be rude, if the yamen of Fuzhou and county cannot collect a certain amount of arrears of taxes, it will also be impossible to pay the difference, and it may affect its official hats.

In addition, the collection of arrears of agricultural taxes would benefit the officials enormously. The fire consumption in the tax will make the pockets of the officials bulge, and as for whether the people can live, I am afraid that they will see the officials of the silver. I don't think about it so much, whether the place can be stable or not, and it doesn't matter in front of the silver.

On the day of the arrival of Di Bao, the Caoyun Governor's Office also issued a document that the four prefectures and three prefectures in Huaibei should levy agricultural taxes according to the original tax amount. As for the arrears of taxes over the years, they should not be collected for the time being, and the document also emphasizes a special point: all peasant households that have real difficulties in their lives should not be taxed for the time being, so that they can have food.

This document was distributed to the prefects, prefectures and counties of Fuzhou County as quickly as possible.

Of course, along with the paperwork, there are also the words of the governor, if there are any prefectures, prefectures, and counties, in the process of collecting taxes, the yang is in disobedience. Severe punishment will be met.

As for the task of collecting taxes in Huaibei issued by the imperial court, it is up to the governor's office to figure out the way.

Such a document can be said to be the loosening of the government in Huaibei, the imperial court newspaper requires the collection of arrears of agricultural taxes over the years, and its core requirement is that the yamen of Fuzhou County must pay a certain percentage of silver to the household department, if it is not able to hand over the silver as required, the governor of the prefecture and county will inevitably suffer punishment, since the governor's office bears the responsibility of paying the silver, there is no need for the officials to force the people to pay taxes.

A more critical point. It is the officials of the Yamen of Huaibei Prefecture and County, and the monthly income has been greatly adjusted, and the Governor's Office has clearly removed the fire consumption policy at the same time, and the officials' income has been adjusted to about three times the original. Moreover, the assessment mechanism is clarified, as long as the officials who pass the assessment at the end of the year can also get a reward equivalent to one-half of the annual salary, according to this ratio, the county can get the annual income, close to three hundred taels of silver.

Furthermore. The prefects, governors, and magistrates of the prefecture and county yamen of Fuzhou County can also receive an average of 1,000 taels of silver from the governor's office every year.

The Governor's Office also ensured the expenditures of the yamen in Fuzhou and counties, for example, the expenses of the yamen's masters, men, etc., all of which were directly responsible for the yamen, and they could directly spend money from the yamen's treasury, but there were uniform requirements for the number of masters and men.

In the past, these expenditures were paid for by the prefects, prefectures, and counties.

Of course, compared with the past, this income must be too much less, after all, a lot of hidden income in the county every year, reaching thousands of taels or even tens of thousands of taels of silver, but unfortunately the governor's office in the clear guarantee of the Fuzhou County officials, after the punishment measures are also very strict, where there are officials who are greedy for ink, once verified, the first is to dismiss the official, followed by the removal of all fame, and finally the severe punishment, those who are greedy for ink up to more than 1,000 taels of silver will be beheaded for public display, and those who are less than 1,000 taels of silver will be exiled to Qiongzhou and other places.

You must know that the Governor's Mansion can directly deal with officials below the fifth grade, that is to say, it can directly deal with the governor's state, the county, etc., even if it is the prefect of the fourth grade, if you violate the requirements of the Governor's Palace, you will receive the same punishment, and the Ministry of Rites and the Criminal Department will basically not interfere with the Governor's Office in dealing with the affairs of corrupt officials.

Severe disciplinary measures, coupled with assurances from the side, were indeed able to regulate the conduct of all officials.

Everyone also noticed one point, that is, after the Governor's Office managed the affairs of the four prefectures and three states in this way, the imperial court's official reports, including the emperor's holy decree, were not as important as the documents of the Governor's Palace, no matter what the imperial court required, many officials had to wait for the documents of the Governor's Palace, and they had to do everything in accordance with the requirements of the Governor's Palace.

Caoyun Governor's Palace, Donglin Book House.

Xu Wanghua held the newspaper in his hand, and his face was serious.

"My lord, my subordinates are a little worried, Huaibei, Shaanxi, Fuzhou and other places, do not levy agricultural taxes in arrears over the years, this move will not trigger the impeachment of some adults in the DPRK and China, since Hongmen began to collect protection fees, the capital and Nanjing, there has been an undercurrent, many people are staring at the Governor's Palace, doing everything possible to find faults, hoping to be impeached, in this case, the documents issued by the Governor's Palace, I am afraid that it will become the basis for its impeachment."

"Mr. Xu, what you said is right, I also thought of this, but the Governor's Mansion can not collect the arrears of taxes over the years, we crack down on the Cao Gang, the purpose is to reduce the burden and pressure of the people, the people finally settled down, and gradually began to calm down, if the arrears of agricultural taxes over the years start to be levied again, it will not once again arouse the anger of the people, so that the people can not live."

"What my lord said is that my subordinates also thought that if the agricultural taxes in arrears over the years are levied, it will definitely trigger a large-scale backlash, and even the people in Huaibei can't bear it, let alone all parts of the north, but the imperial court's mansion report is very clear, and the people who are in arrears of agricultural taxes have been attributed to Diao Min, such a serious stereotype, if the Governor's Office does not implement it, I am afraid it will cause more turmoil."

When Xu Wanghua said this, Zheng Xunrui sighed slightly.

"I know that this move will not only arouse the attention of the imperial court, but also put a lot of pressure on other governors, and it will not be easy for the governor's palace to be isolated, but compared to the stable situation, all this is nothing, I believe that it will not take long for the imperial court to understand that the so-called measure of collecting arrears of agricultural taxes over the years is very wrong."

Xu Wanghua looked at Zheng Xunrui, hesitated slightly, and still spoke.

"Lord Yang, the head of the household department in Nanjing, also sent a letter, saying that the decision made by the Caoyun Governor's Mansion has affected all parts of Yingtianfu, and even Lord Liu Zongzhou feels embarrassed, and Lord Liu also feels that it is inappropriate to levy the arrears of agricultural taxes over the years, but the imperial court has made a decision, and Nanzhili must still implement it."

At this point, Zheng Xunrui's expression also became serious.

"Mr. Xu, at the critical moment, the principle that should be adhered to, we must not give up, not to collect the arrears of agricultural taxes over the years, in order to maintain the stability of Huaibei, including the stability of Shaanxi and Fuzhou and other places, the pressure that should be borne by the Governor's Office will be borne by the Governor's Office, I am worried that there will be a great chaos in the north in a short period of time."

"Shaanxi used to be the most concentrated place of the Liukou, the imperial court has always thought that the people of Shaanxi are fierce, and there are too many people, but why didn't they think that when did Shaanxi begin to appear a large number of Liukou, that is, in the first year of Chongzhen, when the imperial court decided to levy the arrears of agricultural taxes over the years, the north suffered too many natural disasters, the people could not live, and life was unsustainable. That's typical. ”

"Zheng Jiajun has been exterminating the Liukou for several years, seeing that the situation is slowly calming down, in this case, I don't want to appease the people well, so that the people can live, but take advantage of this time to collect arrears of agricultural taxes again, isn't this forcing the people to rebel again, do some people think about the chaos tomorrow."

"For the sake of the people to survive, for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, even if it is to bear the punishment of the imperial court, I will admit it."

After Xu Wanghua left, Zheng Xunrui fell into deep thought.

This time, the document issued by the Governor's Office may cause an uproar, of course, it may not be a big deal, he has never understood why the emperor would make such a decision, this kind of decision to self-destruct the country, if it is not stupid to the extreme, it is impossible to do it, does all this mean that the time for him to break with the imperial court has been advanced.

In terms of the overall situation, Zheng Xunrui is not able to break with the imperial court for the time being, and it is actually not mature, if the situation in Huaibei is completely stabilized and a large number of commercial taxes are levied, Zheng Xunrui does not have to worry too much about breaking with the imperial court at that time. (To be continued.) )