The preferential exemption of the gentry in the Ming Dynasty is contained in the "Records of Taizu": The family of Shilu and the common people are equal to the nobles and the lowly, and those who tend to serve in the service are the affairs of the common people. If a virtuous man and a gentleman are noble and return to their families, then there is no difference between a gentleman and a savage, and it is not a way to persuade a man to treat a virtuous man. Since then, the Hundred Divisions have been appointed to the homes of officials, and those who have land will be exempted from forced labor except for the rent tax.

Among them, there is a sentence that is difficult for our later generations to understand: there is no difference between a gentleman and a savage, and it is not the way to persuade a man to treat a virtuous person.

Zhu Houzhao, as the person with the highest status, actually benefited from this sentence, and its connotation lies in the fact that the status of officials and the people is not equal.

The hierarchy is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and is indispensable for the stability of the dynasty. All his own opulence and luxury also came from the oppression of the lowest people.

In this case, the gentry should have their own preferential treatment, which is a political co-optation in exchange for economic preferential treatment.

No matter how important the sage scriptures emphasize that 'the people are the foundation of the state', in fact, the logic of serious rule is actually to ask the common people to be the common people in peace and stability.

So the fundamental logic in this is distorted and self-contradictory.

What is shouted is that the people are precious, but in fact, all dynasties have suppressed the people everywhere.

Just like before, it was a truth that people were not allowed to stop the sedan chair to file a complaint.

In this sense, Peng Ze's statement that 'not to be rash' is to seek the country.

It takes considerable courage and wisdom to do this.

Of course, people often think that Yongzheng promoted the gentry to pay for food and grain, thus raising his evaluation.

But there are several things that need to be clarified, first, the gentry integrated grain and errand was not proposed in the Yongzheng Dynasty, but was actually the result of a series of reforms in the later period of Shunzhi.

Second, the Qing Dynasty was not the same as the Ming Dynasty, or it was different from all dynasties. The ruling base of the Ming Dynasty was the gentry, but not the Qing Dynasty, and his foundation was the Eight Banners aristocracy.

Third, any historical event has a process of initiation and brewing, and it is not isolated and suddenly emerges from Yongzheng's head.

After the Qing Dynasty entered the customs and completely defeated the military, the Jiangnan gentry still tried to retain their political and economic rights.

Especially during the Shunzhi period, the Qing Dynasty continued to restore the old system, which made these landlords feel that the 'old days' were back, so they began to test each other with the Qing court from the beginning of the Shunzhi Dynasty.

The so-called three major cases in the early Qing Dynasty were the specific manifestations of the Qing court's suppression of the Jiangnan gentry.

In the past few decades, the Qing court first executed an official named Chen Mingxia, and then executed more than 1,000 officials, which was to shatter the voice of southern officials in the court.

Prior to this, a large number of southern officials had surrendered to the Qing court, and they were at odds with the values of the Manchu officials, and they were trying to influence the court in the same way as in the past, and it would be even better if they had been their voices, as in the late Ming Dynasty.

However, facts have proved that military victory is the fundamental guarantee of political victory. During the Shunzhi period, the Manchus did not care at all about the political traditions of Confucianism and the privileges of scholars hidden under the word etiquette.

Later, the Qing court banned all kinds of 'league societies', which deprived this group of political influence among the people. Then there was the literal prison, which dismantled their influence on the ideological level.

These continuous measures basically completely crushed the political status of the Jiangnan gentry, so we have never felt that the literati of the Qing Dynasty were as arrogant as the Ming Dynasty.

Since then, they no longer have political privileges, and it is only natural that they will lose their economic privileges later.

So it's about the courage of an emperor, and the courage of surpassing an emperor.

The situation faced by Zhu Houzhao was completely different from that of Emperor Yongzheng.

He cares about the political tradition of Confucianism, he has to be bound by etiquette, and his basic plate is the gentry.

But the reason why he raised the issue with his ministers today was that half of the financial support for his military power came from the burgeoning commerce; A considerable part of the political forces in his hands have already very much recognized the dynasty Zhongxing he founded.

"I will say it in Fengyang, and I will say it when I get to Hangzhou, so Peng Ze, you should be relieved first, I will not be reckless in this matter." Zhu Houzhao was quite calm and calm when he said this.

He didn't even want to be on the sidelines, but talked with three of his confidants outside the palace and in the pavilion on the lake.

Peng Ze seemed to understand something, "Your Majesty's investigation and handling in Huai'an Mansion and Yingtianfu must also be for ...... Rally? ”

Saying this, Xie Qian and Jing Shaokui also understood, and it seemed that the emperor had made a preliminary decision.

"During the Hongwu period, the Taizu became a law, and the world's money and grain were framed by the tax system, and the new land was no longer cultivated. Jing Shaokui added.

He was talking about historical facts.

Zhu Yuanzhang is of course a great emperor, but he has a disadvantage, that is, he looks at things from a static perspective, he feels that he has designed everything, and he does not need to change from now on.

Just like the household registration system, your father is a craftsman, and you will be a craftsman in the future. You are a farmer, you are a soldier, and our Zhu family is a royal family. Okay, that's it, let's live like this from now on, don't make a fuss.

Therefore, there is also the sentence that the "Emperor Ming Zu Xun" warned his descendants: "All my descendants, please accept my life, do not be wise, mess with the law that I have already made, and not a word can be changed."

"Of course, I understand. But as you all know, this time is different from the past, for more than 100 years, the people have continued to shrink the tax base of the imperial court through hiding, surrender, etc., just like the shrinkage of the military camp. As Jing Shaokui said, land donation is a private act, and it is difficult for the imperial court to supervise, if it is not changed, one day eighty percent of the land in the world will not pay taxes, and the remaining two percent will not only have to pay taxes for homesteaders, but also require them to serve to support such a huge upper class. At that time, it will not be a change of law, but a change of dynasty. ”

Zhu Houzhao's tone was not intense, he did not want to teach people, but to discuss with a deep worry, "I, I am not the kind of emperor who wants to leave a good reputation, what I care about is the people, it is the country." My purpose is not to levy a little more tax, but to eliminate the great hidden dangers of future generations. To boast again, among the emperors of the past three generations, I am still a strong monarch, if I don't do it, will I leave the weak monarch to the heirs? ”

There was silence in the gazebo for a while.

Until at some point, the emperor's murmur sounded again, "...... The problem of displaced people in the Huguang Jingxiang area is still only a disease of scabies, and when the imperial court forces the common people to have no way to live and force them to become homeless, will the whole world be homeless at that time? ”

Suddenly, Jing Shaokui lifted his official robe, and he knelt at the feet of the emperor sitting on the stone bench, "Your Majesty has both ability and political integrity, fortitude and courage, takes on the heavy responsibility of the society, cares about the well-being of all the people, and in the past ten years, he has cultivated politics internally, expanded the territory externally, revitalized the prestige of the king's division, and guarded the land of the four seas." Controlling floods, soothing the people, promoting education, and benefiting the government are really the blessings of the clan and the people. The minister hereby swears today that he is willing to follow His Majesty, be loyal, and do his best to achieve His Majesty's great plan! ”

If he takes the lead like this, Xie Qian and Peng Ze will naturally follow.

However, Xie Qian was still worried, and he added a sentence at the end of his loyal words, "...... The minister only hoped that His Majesty would not be in a hurry, lest the gentry of the world and the court deviate from morality, resulting in the danger of turmoil in the society. ”

"Tomorrow is to worship the ancestors, I will show this to the ancestors, if the ancestors do not allow it, I will come to the underground and ask for sin, but I know, presumably the ancestors also know, you are all loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty."

The three of them fell deep on the ground again, and the emperor could say this, which was very rare. It seems that many years ago, when he was still the crown prince, he showed his kind of responsibility.

In any case, after experiencing Yingzong, Daizong, and Xianzong, the Ming Dynasty can produce such emperors again, and as honest courtiers, they can actually feel the word 'happiness'.