There will indeed be a lot of old friends at the court, Jin Gui set up a seat, Zhu Houzhao also set a seat, and he invited Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Xie Qian.

In addition to the fact that they are all important ministers of the first emperor Tuogu, these three are all dedicated to Huguang, Yingtian and Shandong.

Zhu Houzhao sometimes reads the secret reports given to him by Jin Yiwei, and what he sees, whether it is the payment of taxes or the promotion of the court to decide the case, although these three old men are pedantic, they still have a basic sense of justice.

Especially in Shandong, Liu Jian has been patrolling Shandong for four years, during the four years he cared about the people, revitalized education, built water conservancy, punished evil officials, Shandong provinces were under great rule for a while, and the bandits in the province were significantly reduced, plus the imperial court did have money in recent years, so the water conservancy project was also good.

Zhu Houzhao also tried to exempt some conscripts from forced labor in Shandong, but this was the matter of four years of Zhengde.

Different from modern times, in ancient times, the common people went to work, which belonged to 'servitude', and there was no salary, not only did they have no money, but they also had to bring their own dry food, and the so-called conscription refers to this.

The word servitude is also two parts, paying taxes and serving servitude are both obligations of the people, and as long as the state needs it, it must be obeyed.

So why is it that once a war breaks out, the burden on the common people is heavy?

Because the transportation of military rations is a kind of conscription. In ancient times, ordinary people were busy from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, and it was very good to be able to fill their stomachs, if they were pulled out for a few months, they had no income, and they were still eating their old books, they would definitely be hungry, which was called 'the frequency of servants, and the people were trapped in the pain of transit'.

That's how the word "light" comes from.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao's ongoing clean-up of military cantonments, in addition to the occupation of acres of land by ordinary soldiers, the indiscriminate distribution of conscripts is also a prominent point, and it is one of the main reasons for the difficulties in the life of military households, such as pulling them over to build cities.

But the problem of conscription did not permeate the entire 2,000-year-old feudal society. For a period of time, the system of conscription changed from unpaid levy to paid levy.

The one who did this was really the Manchu Dynasty, which was criticized a lot by later generations.

Perhaps the Manchus knew that it was a foreign rule, so from the end of Shunzhi to the early years of Kangxi, the Qing court attached great importance to the phenomenon of 'indiscriminate conscription of husband and wife, which caused great harm to the people', especially the Kangxi Emperor in the process of leveling the three feudatories, quite struggling, on the one hand, he repeatedly issued edicts to strictly prohibit private expropriation and abuse, on the other hand, the war was anxious, and the financial situation was tight and had to be requisitioned for labor without compensation.

Therefore, after the end of the rebellion of the three feudatories, Emperor Kangxi examined himself and said, 'I am very sorry for every thought'.

During this period, the Qing court mainly strictly restricted this kind of indiscriminate expropriation through edicts, so as to reduce the burden on the people.

After Yongzheng apportioned the acres into the mu, all official business became to pay a certain amount of money, and there were also sayings such as 'soldier difference', 'river difference', 'work difference' and 'emperor difference'.

Of course, anyone who knows a little about officialdom knows that the above policies are one thing, and how to implement them below is another, and we don't know how much money to give, how to give it, and whether it is enough or not.

In general, it is estimated that there are those who are given and those who are not.

What is more interesting is that in the 33rd year of Qianlong, Emperor Qianlong saw a case of "trying to exempt local servants and seeking a license" in the Criminal Department. He immediately reacted, the errand was originally paid, why did he ask for exemption? Then it occurred to him that it must be someone below who was messing around.

So he immediately issued an edict, asking the governor of Zhili to find out the performance in detail, and at the same time asked the provinces to check the truth and hearsay. This incident tossed the governor of Zhili, and it can be seen that during the Kang Qianyong period, the issue of conscription was still relatively properly handled.

Relatively, nature is the right period before the bad one.

Zhu Houzhao also knew that it was not good, but he didn't dare to change it all with a holy decree, and all dynasties and dynasties had to serve the people in conscription, which must be necessary by the country.

But on the other hand, if the Manchu emperor can do it, it means that this thing can be done.

Liu Jian is his 'test field', because he intends to let Liu Jian stay in Shandong for a long time.

The first thing to do is to ask the common people not to bring their own dry food when sending conscripts? Don't give out money, at least the housekeeper's stomach is full.

At that time, sweet potatoes were also being promoted, and Zhu Houzhao thought that there would be more grain to be grown in the future, which could actually reduce the burden of this part of the people.

In October of the fourth year of Zhengde, Liu Jian wrote a letter to Li Dongyang, the governor of Yingtian, in which he praised this as a benevolent government.

This guy is no longer the kind of upright he used to be, he has entered the palace every year in the past few years, and he has become more docile year by year, and this year he is even more docile, and last night he heard that the court was successful in quelling the chaos, and he also sent a congratulatory letter to praise the holy monarch overnight.

It's strange to call Zhu Houzhao.

When they were summoned, Liu Jian had to give him a complete kneeling salute even if he was holding his old body. And on the New Year's Day, he was already seventy-eight.

"Flatten, take a seat."

It was not a big banquet in the palace, Zhu Houzhao only made a small table, set up three white porcelain wine glasses, and a few exquisite side dishes, mainly taking into account the taste of the elderly, when did he ever suffer from hunger in the palace.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"The reason why I invited three of them is to repay my wish." Zhu Houzhao kept waving his hand, because they didn't dare to sit, and asked the eunuchs behind him to help, so the three of them sat down, "You are all old ministers of the third and fourth dynasties, you are old, and you can all take care of your old age, but because of me, you have to take care of the affairs of a province, and you can be an example of hard work, so I have to invite you for a meal." ”

They are all people who have not seen the emperor for a long time.

Li Dongyang's eyes were sour, "Your Majesty has the heart of your subordinates, but the ministers are sparse and weak, and they are not meritorious, and they are always ashamed of your majesty's kindness in their hearts." ”

Zhu Houzhao opened his mouth wide and smiled, "Okay, okay, our monarchs and ministers are not polite, let's eat." ”

"Yes."

He took the lead himself, but he didn't give them vegetables, otherwise the move to win people's hearts would be too obvious, and it would be unwise to use it against smart people.

After eating two pieces of tofu, he raised his eyebrows and began to speak, "There is something I have to tell the three old gentlemen first, and the edict itself is also being prepared." From this year onwards, the Great Dynasty will not be held once a year, the road is long, you are also old, and it is not easy to hurry, so if you go back this year, you will have to wait until the seventh year of Zhengde, and our monarchs and ministers can see each other again.

It's not easy to meet once, so if you have anything to say, you have to say it to your heart's content. The ancients said that sixty ears are obedient, seventy is not beyond the heart, between our monarchs and ministers, we should not be suspicious of each other, but also understand each other, what can not be said? ”

"Your Majesty, but if you ask, we will know everything." Liu Jian put down his chopsticks and said in a hoarse voice.

"Hmm." The emperor nodded, twisted a small snack in his mouth, "How are the people doing in your three places?" ”

Li Dongyang said: "Yingtianfu is the land of fish and rice, and if you do good governance, the people will be fed and satisfied, and the ministers have been as worried as Your Majesty, so they went down to see it in person." Most people can drink millet porridge twice a day, because the water network is dense and they can catch some fish and shrimp in the river. In addition, in recent years, the imperial court has implemented a policy of opening up the sea, and it is also an income for each family to send a labor to the workshop to weave cloth. ”

"I approved a note last year, the Duke of Wei fought with the people for land in Changzhou, this matter should be implemented later, can there be a repeat?"

"Not yet."

"Hmm." Zhu Houzhao nodded, so that he was a little more relieved.

"It's just that Susong and Susong are quite heavily enslaved, and the people of Wuzhong have poor families and no food."

This was the policy set by Zhu Yuanzhang at the beginning.

"If it's really difficult, we need to pay attention to the relief."

Then he turned his gaze to Liu Jian, "Shandong shouldn't be bad." ”

Relying on the support of the saints, the minister has tried his best to reduce the burden of the people in recent years, first, he has handled several cases of land invasion; the second is to repair more than 130 large and small rivers, which can newly irrigate more than 80 acres of fertile land; Third, there are 18 counties in the northeast of Shandong that involve people and herdsmen, which have been completely canceled last year; Fourth, some paid forced labor has been tried out on a trial basis; Fifth, we have provided relief to the drought twice. As a result, for several years, there has been no starvation in Shandong. This is Your Majesty's benevolence! ”

The matter of Shandong Dazhi has indeed reached the ears of many people, and Liu Jian has enough confidence to say it.

Zhu Houzhao said: "At the beginning, I wanted to keep Mr. Liu, one of which was to benefit the people of Shandong, and now it seems that they are not blessed. ”

"Your Majesty's holy monarch is in the court, caring for the people, this is the blessing of all the people in the world."

When Xie Qian wanted to say something, Zhu Houzhao stopped him first, and in the fourth year of Zhengde, Hubei asked for a lot of disaster relief food from the imperial court, relying on this help, there should be no big problems, but it is not much better.

"I know the situation in Huguang, and I'm already thinking of a way."

The three old men communicated together, and in fact, they also knew that Huguang was the worst situation.

Xie Qian immediately stood up and bowed, "It's really a crime for the minister to live up to the expectations of the monarch. ”

"I know it's not your fault, so sit down. I promise you that if there is still a shortage of food in Huguang this year, the imperial court will still provide relief. The people of Shandong are the people, and the people of Huguang are also the people. However, it is my business to help the victims, and the food that has been transported has been intercepted layer by layer, and it cannot reach the victims, so that is your business. ”

Xie Qian Dantian exerted his strength and said loudly: "Your Majesty rest assured!" No matter how pedantic the old minister is, he will not condone officials at all levels to embezzle the life-saving food of the victims! ”

"Okay, you thank Yu Qiao for saying this, I believe it." Zhu Houzhao breathed a long sigh of relief, "However, it is not so easy to completely solve the problem of Huguang, we have to wait." The rule of the world is in virtue and benevolence, I understand this truth, and I am willing to be such a good person, provided that I have the ability to be. It's been five years since Du Zhengde, and the three of them should be able to understand me, right? ”

Of course, this goes without saying, even if they don't understand, the current situation of Guotai and Min'an is enough to convince them.

"Your Majesty!" Li Dongyang plucked up a little courage, "The minister has also heard about the paid conscription in Shandong. The minister thought that this method could also be tried out with the qualifications of Tianfu. Therefore, I would like to ask His Majesty's permission. ”

"Yes!" Zhu Houzhao agreed without hesitation, "The court will give the benefits that can be given to the people." The so-called prosperous era, opening up the territory is one thing, but the people's abundant food and clothing are also equally important. I don't even want a hungry world! ”

This is Emperor Zhengde.

Therefore, the seventy-eight-year-old Liu Jian, whether he met or left, was always unwilling to lose a bit of etiquette, and he saluted from the heart.

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It's the end of the month, so let's vote for the monthly ticket. Or do you not vote for me when it expires?