Chapter 31: The Grievances of the People

As a result of Xu Wei's family wealth inventory, there are more than 5 million taels of silver alone, and there are countless treasures, which is really a corrupt official who eats the people's fat and the people's ointment. On the day of the street parade, in the city of Hangzhou, thousands of people were empty, and the shouting and scolding resounded through the streets. Everyone said that Xu Wei deserved to die, and some people asked: Why didn't you execute such a corrupt official? As a result, Dai Yun's plea became a well-known thing. The announcement of the results of the household audit made many people suspect that it was Dai Yun who really embezzled a huge amount of money, and Xu Wei, who listened to him, just practiced some of Dai Yun's leftover bones. The king did not track down Dai Yun because he wanted to marry his daughter and was afraid of the Dai family's military power. When public grievances cannot be extended, they often evolve into a boiling of public grievances.

Xu Wei traveled the street, only walked a short way, the scene was out of control, although the Ministry of Officials sent more than a dozen officials to escort Xu Wei to the street, but in the face of the bricks and tiles thrown like a storm, these officials who had no shields and did not know martial arts could only dodge. Xu Wei's parade on the street finally turned into a stone smashing people. Because of the chaos of the scene, even the officials of the Ministry of Officials did not see clearly who the murderer was. When the forbidden army heard the news and dispersed the people, Xu Wei had been dead for a long time, and this corrupt official who was pardoned by the king because of the marshal's intercession finally died in the beating of the people.

After Xu Wei's family property was confiscated, the money for the renovation of the houses destroyed by fire by the Luocheng Forbidden Army was settled, and not only did they start construction.

After that, Qian Hongzuo returned to a state of rarely speaking, just silently listening to his mother and ministers discussing politics, but no minister dared to despise this young monarch who was in the court, spoke little, and had not yet been pro-government. Moreover, many ministers who are old and sophisticated have a hunch that Qian Hongzuo may not be a "benevolent monarch", and if he offends him, even if there is a generalissimo to intercede, it may be a dead end.

Contrary to Qian Hongzuo, Dai Yun's official reputation has dropped to the lowest point. In the past, he was considered by the people to be the patron saint of the family and the country. Nowadays, whether in the court or in the opposition, there are people who talk about him: he is a traitor who embezzles the state treasury. Under such an official reputation, even if he really relied on the assassination of Qian Hongzuo to obtain royal power in the future, it would be so unpopular with the people, and it would be difficult to guarantee that he would not be attacked by the masses. After repeated discussions with his cronies, Dai Yun planned to formally propose an increase in military spending to prove that the military spending approved by Empress Dowager Xu and Qian Hongzuo was not enough. As for Xu Wei's corruption and perversion of the law, it was only Xu Wei's crime alone, and it had nothing to do with him.

In this way, not long after Zhen Fu took charge of the household department, even the screening of Xu Wei's subordinates approved by the Queen Mother was still in progress, and Dai Yun openly put forward a request to increase military spending in the court. He also said that due to the insufficient rated military spending, he had no choice but to ask Xu Wei, the former head of the household department, to allocate additional military spending.

Empress Dowager Xu did not agree, nor did she refuse, when the time to levy the autumn tax was approaching, the Empress Dowager Xu ordered Zhen Fu to determine the officials under the jurisdiction of the household as soon as possible, and then decide whether to increase military spending according to the collection of the autumn tax.

The collection of autumn tax is very unsatisfactory and the progress is slow. When Xu Wei was the head of the household department, he often used excuses to increase taxes. When the forbidden army renovated the houses destroyed by fire, his immediate thought was to use this to raise taxes, which was a natural practice. Because tax collection has almost become a channel for him and his subordinates to make a fortune, in order to fill their pockets, the tax collector has pressed the price of grain and other things paid by the people, and invented the black-hearted scale, which is only about seven or eighty percent of the original weight. and then rushed into the treasury with high price, high price, and original weight, and the difference became the foreign wealth of Xu Wei and others. Moreover, the method of taxation is very harsh, and most of them force the people to pay taxes by arresting people if they do not pay taxes. Many people who could not pay their taxes were even beaten to death in their cells. Because of its vicious methods, the people dare not speak out. When poor families encounter disaster years, they have to rely on loans to get by, and even borrow usury. Due to the hardship of the people for many years, after the autumn harvest of this year, the creditors collected debts and the official collected taxes, which made it difficult for many people to bear it, resulting in difficulties in the collection of autumn taxes.

When Zhen Fu was a big farmer, he already realized that the heavy taxes hurt farming, and the people were already overwhelmed. But now that he was the head of the household department, he decided to go to the states to supervise the work in person, and in the case of difficult taxation.

Zhen Fu is a great Confucian of Wu Yueguo, sympathetic to the suffering of the people, and has the integrity of a scholar, and is unwilling to take the form of forced conscription. When he inspected the states, he personally went to the people's homes to persuade them to pay taxes, and originally planned to persuade the people to pay taxes as soon as possible on the basis of the principles such as paying taxes is patriotism and patriotism is protecting the family. It is supplemented by fair taxation to alleviate public grievances. But after visiting the people's homes in person, he saw that their homes were surrounded by walls, ragged clothes, and some were even cornered by creditors, Zhen Fu realized: It is not that the people resist taxes and do not pay, but that the heavy pressure of years of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes has made the people miserable. The tax problem is worse than you think. This inspection prompted Zhen Fu to decide to return to the court, and suggested that Empress Dowager Xu reduce taxes so that the people could recuperate.

On the way back to the DPRK, Zhen Fu thought about the way to 'solve the difficulties and save the people' day and night. What he didn't expect was that Dai Yun had already heard that he had little effect on supervising taxes, and secretly conspired with his cronies and ministers to make trouble. The day when Zhen Fu returned to the court became the time when he was dismissed, and regained control of the household department.

On this day, Zhen Fu returned to the court to restore his life, knelt down in the court to give salutes, and the Empress Dowager Xu repeatedly asked him to calm down, Zhen Fu still knelt on the ground, and said: "Qi Yu Empress Dowager, Qi Yu Sheng, Weichen went to the states to urge the payment of autumn taxes, failed to complete the mission, and had the responsibility of the Queen Mother and the Holy Lord, and hoped that the Queen Mother and the Holy God would surrender." ”

Empress Dowager Xu asked: "Is it because of the difficulty in collecting taxes in autumn because of the poor harvest?" ”

Zhen Fu said: "In order to resist a strong enemy, I, Wu Yueguo, recruited men into the army, from 18 to 50 years old. After the men left, only the old and weak women and children were left in the house, and they had difficulty working and the harvest was not as good as before. When Xu Wei was the head of the household department, there were many harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the people could not afford to pay them, so they had to sell their property and even borrow money to get by. After this year's autumn harvest, many people were forced by creditors to pay taxes. If heavy taxes are imposed, households may abandon their homes and become displaced people. If there are many displaced people, it will be difficult for businessmen to do business. In the long run, all industries will wither, and the national strength of my Wu Yue Kingdom will gradually decline. The minister dared to ask the Queen Mother and the Holy Authority to reduce this year's taxes, so that the people could have a chance to breathe. ”

Before the Empress Dowager Xu could answer, Dai Yun, who was sitting on the Taishi's chair, squinted at Zhen Fu and said, "Now it is your tax collection that is unfavorable, but you are putting the responsibility on your predecessor." But even if he is clever and clever, he cannot become the food and grass of the army. The military expenses of the Queen Mother and the Holy Lord were originally small, and the current military rations were not enough to eat, the military uniforms were not enough, and many of the weapons were rusty, but there was no money to replace them, and the soldiers' salaries could not be paid on time. Originally, I was waiting for the household department to raise the autumn tax to solve the urgent need, but you are better and recommend reducing the tax. If the ministers of Wu Yueguo are like you, they will be reduced if they can't complete their errands, and the major military affairs will be lost! ”

Empress Dowager Xu said: "Lord Zhen, the collection of autumn taxes is blocked, and it is not your fault......

Empress Dowager Xu originally wanted to exonerate Zhen Fu, but before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Dai Yun: "What the Queen Mother said is very true, Ben Shuai has already said that Zhen Fu is not qualified for the position of head of the household department, but the Queen Mother did not listen to him and insisted on using him, and now it is true." Although Xu Wei is a corrupt official, as the head of the household department, he can pay taxes after all, and he can ensure the use of the military state, while Zhen Fu is only empty talk, and it is difficult to take on important responsibilities. ”

Dai Yun's words were no longer reprimanding Zhen Fu, but in front of the Manchu Dynasty, he was accusing the Empress Dowager Xu. Qian Hongzuo pursed his lips tightly and tried to restrain himself, but because of his anger, his hands were already clenched into fists.