In September of the second year of Ming Liang, when all parties were vying for the position of the Ministry of Rites, Shen Yichen and the Ministry of Household Books were rich and officially promulgated the decree of the National Clearing of Fields and Mu, and redrew the fish scale book to determine the ownership of the land!

As soon as this decree came out, to be honest, it did not arouse too many people's attention and opposition, the reason is that Shen Yichen only simply cleared the land, and did not use a whip method and a method of spreading into acres.

It's still the same routine of boiling a frog in warm water, register first and then collect taxes to avoid triggering a fierce confrontation scene.

But there are still a small number of officials, vaguely aware that things are not so simple, Shen Yichen has never been an official for many years, everything he does must have its deep meaning, full of back hands.

It's just that even if the civil and military officials of the imperial court let their imagination fly, they probably couldn't imagine that Shen Yichen would dare to be so bold, and the ultimate goal was to attack the entire scholar class.

To say an exaggerated word, saying that Shen Yichen wants to rebel and usurp the throne, it is estimated that five adults have a suspicious mentality. To say that he wants to limit the privileges of the entire gentry, including himself, is probably not enough to believe.

No one will choose to change their own lives, but Shen Yichen is the only outlier.

Among the court officials, Yang Hongze was the only one who got Hu Hu's hint and knew that Shen Yichen was planning an unprecedented reform and change, so according to the other party's character and plan, he suddenly announced that Qingzhang's national acres of land were definitely closely related to reform.

But the question is, what is the connection?

Yang Hongze couldn't figure it out alone, so the few remaining important ministers of the civil official group gathered together and speculated about what tricks Shen Yichen was playing behind him.

He Wenyuan stood up first, and said with a serious face: "The decree issued by the Cabinet Joint Household Department must have been known to you. Now that Shen Yichen is becoming more and more powerful, this kind of military affairs has not been held in the court, and only the cabinet and the household department have made a decision alone, how can this move put the cabinet and the cabinet in the eyes? ”

When He Wenyuan said this, his heart was filled with a sense of anger, since ancient times, the Son of Heaven and scholars have ruled the world together, even if the imperial power of the Ming Dynasty has been concentrated to a state close to the peak, many military affairs still have to be held in court discussions, and the cabinet and the nine secretaries jointly determine that the procedure is completed.

Otherwise, if the emperor only issued an order to carry it out, it was very likely to be rejected and reduced to a central decree, which was tasted by Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu once.

Now that Shen Yichen is relying on his power, he is even more arbitrary than today, completely skipping the cabinet department's grand nine secretaries' court discussions, and directly ordering the household department to implement it.

Originally, there was a power struggle in the cabinet department, not every senior official in the ministry was willing to become a "subordinate" of the cabinet minister, according to Shen Yichen's operation for a long time, the cabinet will completely override the six ministries, and they will no longer have the strength to check and balance each other.

"Heh, this is not the first time that Shen Yichen has exceeded the rules, the previous examination law was also directly promulgated by Li Xian, the secretary of the joint ministry, and it is time for us to clear the source."

Yu Shiyue, the secretary of the Criminal Department, immediately echoed a sentence, as the chief official of the Criminal Department who deals with the law all day long, Shen Yichen's overstepping and overstepping behavior is undoubtedly a violation of the taboo in his heart.

Hu Hui's retreat and forbearance before, coupled with his sudden resignation, made the civil official group lose its backbone and was chaotic for a while, and was successfully speculated by Shen Yichen so that the examination method could be implemented, and now it is absolutely impossible to let Qingzhang Tianmu pass smoothly!

"Having said that, but the snake can't fly without a head, and the bird can't fly without wings, if we want to gather strength to compete with Shen Yichen, we have to let He Shangshu ascend to the position of the great uncle!"

Under the sense of crisis of losing his official position, Le Yun, the general political envoy, has completely fallen to He Wenyuan, hoping that the other party's superiors can suppress Shen Yichen and his henchmen, and at least find a way to transfer Xiao Yi elsewhere.

The position of the secretary of the Ministry of Rites is the backbone of the civil official group, and now that Shen Yichen has not interfered, he has to quickly determine it, so as not to have too many dreams at night.

"What Le Tongzheng said is right, it is inevitable that the court will push us in three days, but Cao Jixiang is an outlier, I didn't expect him to be able to win over Yang Shan, the imperial envoy of the right capital!"

Yu Shiyue added with a solemn face, Cao Jixiang is menacing this time, coupled with the emperor's close relationship, it is very likely that the result of the court will not pass the holy will.

Hearing the conversation between the two people, He Wenyuan said with disdain: "The eunuchs united with a few civil officials and scum to manipulate the government, did he think he was the original Wang Zhen?" ”

"Even if it's Wang Zhen, the old man never bowed his head back then, just Cao Jixiang's teeth!"

He Wenyuan has the confidence to say this, he once resisted Wang Zhen in the Battle of Luchuan that year, so that he returned to his hometown. In the same year, Liu Qiu's fate was even more miserable, and he was killed in prison, so there was a plot of Shen Yichen's revenge on Zhaoxue.

Cao Jixiang is far inferior to Wang Zhen, and Yang Shan is not comparable to the civil officials and important ministers who were attached to the eunuch party back then, as long as Shen Yichen does not go along with the eunuchs, even if the emperor issues a holy decree, he dares to let the six departments refuse.

The disadvantages of the young emperor's accession to the throne and the absence of the empress dowager's auxiliary government are here, and the high-ranking ministers in the court have gradually become accustomed to ignoring the holy will, and the deterrent power of the imperial power has fallen to the bottom.

Hearing that everyone present turned the topic to the power struggle of the previous dynasty, Yang Hongze felt inexplicably upset and irritable. His original intention as an official was to practice the way of Confucius and Mencius, and to assist the Son of Heaven to "be the inner saint and the outer king, so that the rites and music would be prosperous."

It's not for intrigue, to prop someone up to power and keep power!

Even if He Wenyuan is in the same camp as himself and fights against the same enemy, Yang Hongze is still disgusted from the bottom of his heart.

So he brought the topic back and said: "It's too early to say the results of the court push, and the most puzzled thing about this official now is Shen Yichen Qingzhang Tianmu, what do you want to do, do you colleagues have thoughts?" ”

Yang Hongze said this, but it reminded everyone of the business of gathering together today, Yu Shiyue replied: "The last time the Ming Dynasty cleared the country's acres, if the official remembers correctly, he has to go back to the Hongwu period." ”

"At that time, the founding of the country measured the land, compiled a fish scale book, recorded in detail the number of acres and the radius of each household in each township, and drew a map, which became the basis for the imperial court's taxation and forced labor."

"Obviously, Shen Yichen did this, it must have something to do with taxes!"

None of the court officials were fuel-efficient lamps, and it was easy to guess Shen Yichen's intentions.

"According to Da Situ's meaning, Shen Yichen wants to expand the source of tax revenue and the amount of tax?"

He Wenyuan responded, Qingzhang Tianmu land is not just to prepare for taxation, it is nothing more than to see whether the object of taxation is the common people, or the group of dignitaries.

According to the thinking of later generations, of course, they are inclined to "rob the rich and help the poor", but in the thinking of the ancients, they would not think that anyone dared to violate the rules of social operation for thousands of years, and let the ordinary people point the finger at the gentry and the powerful.

So Hu Leyun added: "This must be the case, Shen Yichen is currently preparing grain and grass for Shi Heng's Western Expeditionary Army, and he also wanted to launch the Northern Expedition before. ”

"With swords and soldiers, spending money is like flowing water, especially in the face of a strong enemy in the north, which is not comparable to the group of barbarians in Luchuan. If you want to sustain the war, you will inevitably have to pay taxes on a large scale, and I am afraid that clearing the acres of land is the first step! ”

I have to say that Le Yun's guess is really crooked, Shen Yichen advanced the opponent of the courtier's doctor's class, and did not use ten or twenty years to slowly figure it out as he had planned, the turning point was Shi Heng's expedition to the west, and Tiansheng Khan also unexpectedly pacified the civil strife in Mongolia first, and once again showed his heroic talent.

In the past, when dynasties prepared for foreign wars, they often set up clever names to carry out exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, such as the "Liao Salary", "Suppression Salary" and "Training Salary" collected in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

It was the collection of these "three salaries" that became the last straw that crushed the authority of the Ming Dynasty, so that the people's hearts were lost, and Li Zicheng of the Dashun Dynasty conquered Beijing, and the people at the border even preferred to become the leading party of the Manchu Dynasty.

Now that Shen Yichen's battle has not yet been fought, he is ready to collect taxes, and he really doesn't plan to let go of a trace of people's fat and people's ointment!

Thinking of this, several members of the civil official group present immediately burst out with the literati in their hearts, and they rebuked them one after another with righteous indignation. In his words, Shen Yichen was denounced and belittled as a lone man who was reckless, a minister who scraped the ground, and a traitor who brought disaster to the country and the people.

Especially He Wenyuan, who was against the Battle of Luchuan back then, broke off his career and spent nearly ten years in his hometown, and he hated this kind of wanton war, and he was ready to impeach Shen Yichen on the spot.

But fortunately, he was dissuaded by Yu Shiyue, Le Yun and others, after all, the opening court is close in front of him, and he is the most powerful candidate for the Ministry of Rites. At this time, Shang Shu offended Shen Yichen, in case this son did not do two things, he simply united with Cao Jixiang again to promote Yang Shan, the right capital.

It was really a scene of snipe and clam fighting, and the fisherman profited.

Just when the members of the civil official group speculated about attacking Shen Yichen's decree, the parties did not notice these at all, and rushed out of the palace to Gao Gu Mansion in a hurry. The reason is that Shen Yichen learned the news that Cabinet Minister Gao Gu suddenly suffered a stroke on the way to the court, and immediately fell into a coma.

After being rushed back to the house for medical treatment, the whole person appeared in confusion, and the doctor predicted that it was almost time to die.

The appearance of this scene can't help but be reminiscent of the former cabinet assistant Ma Yu, who suddenly suffered a stroke on the way to the court, and died of illness after being bedridden for three days when he returned home. Compared with Ma Yu who was only fifty-three years old at the time, Gao Gu is now nearly seventy years old, and his physical condition is much worse, and he may not be able to hold on for three days.

With Hu Hui's return to his hometown, Gao Gu can be said to be the last minister-level minister to come over during the Orthodox Dynasty, and in a sense, he has helped Shen Yichen, so he should be visiting.

The Gao Gu Mansion is in the core area of the Beijing magnates, because he is an official eunuch family, and the three generations of ancestors have reached the height of the official residence, and now it has continued to the fourth generation.

It's just that in Gao Gu's generation, it is obvious that there is a trend of falling in the middle of the family, first of all, the son-in-law was born too late, and he really has no academic talent, and he has not even obtained the most basic talent and fame at present.

If Gao Gu is ranked as a cabinet minister without disaster or illness, he can still be blessed as an official in the same dynasty, but now he is sick like a mountain, and the heir of the unsuccessful gentleman may not be able to walk to the position of the scarlet robe for the rest of his life.

For the four generations of official families with one product, there are no scarlet robes and high-ranking officials in the court, and decay is almost a sure thing.

may be aware that the future of the family is worrying, Shen Yichen stepped into Gao Qian's mansion and heard his wife and concubine's family wailing, fortunately, the servant housekeeper had seen the world after all, and when he saw the cabinet chief assistant coming to visit in person, he quickly invited someone out to give Shen Yichen and Gao Gu space to spend alone.

As long as Shen Yichen can remember the old feelings, and then take care of one or two in the court, he can at least keep the number of people after the grain for ten years!

Entering the room, he smelled a strong smell of medicine, Gao Gu was lying on the couch at this time, and his whole face appeared a strange flush, judging from Shen Yichen's later experience, this is a typical cerebral hemorrhage symptom, of course, it is called a stroke in this era.

The doctor was still diagnosing Gao Qian's pulse to see if there could be any miracles, Shen Yichen paced to the bedside and asked softly, "Doctor, how is the situation in the high school hall now?" ”

In the face of Shen Yichen's inquiry, the doctor first bowed his hand and bowed, and then shook it back: "Gao Ge Lao himself is old, and he is tired from being busy with government affairs all day long, I am afraid that this time it will be more auspicious." ”

You must know that the doctor treats such an important minister as Gao Gu, and generally does not dare to say too seriously, and the lack of good luck basically means that the limit is approaching.

"The cabinet department knows, you can step back first."

"Yes, Shen Gong Bao."

The doctor knew that the conversation between Shen Yichen and Gao Gu must have involved secrets between the DPRK and China, so he hurriedly bowed and retreated.

Looking at Gao Gu who was unconscious on the sickbed, Shen Yichen felt a lot of emotion in his heart for a while, in fact, he and Gao Gu did not get along harmoniously in the early days, and the other party was disgusted with seeing him as a member of the eunuch party.

It wasn't until Wang Zhen took the initiative to go to Shandong to control the water that Gao Qian's impression was changed, and he also took the initiative to say a few words of parting words in the East Pavilion. The real change is still in Yang Pu's last words before his death, Gao Gu followed the instructions of the master to help Shen Yichen tilt the government and the opposition, and step by step stepped into the position of the first assistant of the cabinet.

Even if this is the case, in fact, the friendship between Shen Yichen and Gao Gu cannot be regarded as deep, and there is not much contact in private. But after all, people still have to know their kindness, if it were not for Gao Gu's strong support in the cabinet over the years, Shen Yichen knew that he would not be able to sit in the position of the first assistant of the cabinet, at least not so quickly.

At the same time, Gao Gu is the last cabinet minister left over from the Orthodox Dynasty, if he dies, it means the real end of an era, and at the same time, Shen Yichen has also lost a senior who can teach life experience.

"High School ......"

Shen Yichen called silently, he didn't have much hope for Gao Gu's awakening.

But I don't know if it's a coincidence or a miracle, Gao Gu's tightly closed eyes trembled a few times, and then slowly opened. Looking at Shen Yichen's face in front of him, two lines of tears instantly fell from the corners of his eyes, presumably he had the same mixed feelings in his heart at this moment.