Chapter 46: Private Visits

He Xi didn't know that his disguise had been seen through. He changed into a scholar's green shirt. With Xu Bao'er and Wang Qianli, there are already four or five guards. Dress up as a scholar on a study tour. did not stay in the city of Jiaxing for long. Instead, he went directly out of the city and went to the countryside.

After leaving Jiaxing City, He Xi did not decide where to go, but followed the small river in the countryside and wandered among the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River. Walked for half a day. I saw an old man under the big tree by the river, with a straw hat over his face and a fishing rod next to him.

He Xi got off the boat and went over. said: "Uncle, can I ask you about something." ”

The uncle didn't even put down the straw hat on his head, waved his hand, and said, "Go, go, don't surprise my fish." ”

Seeing this, He Xi thought about it, and asked his entourage to fold a bamboo pole with a rope hanging on it, and drop the bait. I also pretend to be fishing.

For a long time, this old man put aside his straw hat a little, exposed his eyes, and saw that He Xi had not left. said: "You son, you can ask about anything you want, I understand." With you, I don't want to think about fishing today. ”

He Xi said: "Uncle is your surname." ”

The old man said: "Don't be expensive Liu." ”

He Xi said: "Uncle Liu, where are you from?" ”

Uncle Liu raised his hand, pointed to the small village not far away, and said, "Liujia Village." ”

He Xi said: "If you want to come to Uncle Liu in the village, you can be regarded as an elder." ”

Uncle Liu said: "Since the emperor ascended the throne, it can be regarded as a few years of peace. Let me live for a few more years, and most of the people in the village are my juniors. ”

He Xi said: "Uncle, how many people are there in Liujia Village?" ”

Uncle Liu replied indifferently: "More than a hundred households." ”

He Xi asked, "How much is the tax per mu?" ”

Uncle Liu was stunned for a moment, sat up, looked at He Xi and said, "Who are you and why are you asking this question?" ”

He Xi said: "I am a student of the country, and I came out to study. Just ask. How can there be anything that can't be said? ”

Uncle Liu said: "There is nothing that cannot be said. Three buckets. ”

He Xi was stunned for a moment and said: "The imperial court pays taxes, more than five liters per mu. How can your family's land endowment be six times more than the imperial court stipulated? He Xi seemed to have thought of something. said: "Uncle Liu, is your family Guantian?" ”

Uncle Liu sneered and said, "My family doesn't have that blessing. ”

He Xi was a little puzzled and said, "How do you say this?" The taxes paid by the official fields were much heavier than those of the private fields. How can it be considered a blessing? ”

Uncle Liu said: "They haven't handed it over. ”

He Xi became more and more confused.

What is Guantian? It is the land occupied by Zhang Shicheng's relatives. After Zhu Yuanzhang pacified Zhang Shicheng, he designated these lands as official fields. Let the magistrate collect the rent on his behalf. Therefore, what the official land had to hand over to the government was the imperial court tax plus tenant rent, which was more than double that of the private land.

The burden on the official land is heavier than that on the private land. That's the reality.

He Xi said: "Please also ask the elders to teach." ”

Uncle Liu looked He Xi up and down and said, "I don't think you are a prisoner of the country. It seems that there is a heart. ”

He Xi said: "Uncle has won the award. ”

Uncle Liu said: "However, it's not a secret that it's okay, the dog officer did it, can't we say it?" You should know how Guantian came about. The best field in Jiangnan is Guantian. They are all good fields near the river and water, and they produce a lot more than ours, and some of the good fields can have twice as much as my family's fields. ”

"These fertile fields are no longer official fields. and was occupied by large households. And after these big families encroached on the official land, they didn't even want to pay the tenant rent of the official land. No, let's do it for you. ”

He Xi never imagined that things had developed to this point.

Zhu Yuanzhang's establishment of official fields was the essence of the peasants. After he defeated Zhang Shicheng, the most important loot he obtained from Zhang Shicheng was a large area of land. How to dispose of these fields, let Zhu Yuanzhang release them to the people, Zhu Yuanzhang is reluctant. So it was set up as an official field, in essence, it was just a share of tenant rent.

These official fields were essentially the property of the imperial court. If it is according to Zhu Yuanzhang's original intention. These lands are directly managed by tenants. When the government collects taxes, it is also levied on tenant rents. After all, tenants rent land for farming, and they also have to pay land rent.

To be honest, He Xi felt that the Guantian system was not reliable.

Without him, Zhang Shicheng and the magnates of Zhang Shicheng's group encroached on the richest land in the south of the Yangtze River, and even if they paid an extra share of tenant rent, it was profitable to rent official land. Therefore, when He Xi knew about the Guantian system, he was worried that there would be a second-hand landlord phenomenon.

That is, the big families occupy the official land and turn the official land into private land. Turning what was originally a tenant rent into a tax.

It's as if many low-rent houses have not reached the hands of those who need them, but have become a profit-making tool for second-hand landlords.

But He Xi never expected that they would go so far.

It's no longer just a lump sum of money, but the entire cost is passed on.

"No wonder. Guo Huan has such great ability. He Xi's heart suddenly changed.

Guo Huan is just a political envoy, how can he cover up all aspects tightly. He Xi tried his best to figure out the truth, and the manpower and material resources used were no longer something that a political envoy could do.

Guo Huan is not just a person behind him.

It is a group of people who were fed by Guo Huan with the anger of the court.

He Xi said: "Old man, didn't Your Majesty say that such a thing can be reported in Beijing, and Your Majesty will definitely uphold justice for you." ”

Uncle Liu was silent for a while, and said, "It's not that I haven't thought about it, it's just that I've lived so many years in vain." Some things are still understood. This is easy to say, but not so easy to do. Nowadays, there are about three stones of grain a year in the fields of Jiangnan. Now it's only one-tenth, gritting your teeth, you can still get by. If you go to Jingshi to accuse, Your Majesty Shengming will definitely deal with the dog official. But what happens next? ”

"Some of the villagers can't leave."

"In fact, it's not that there are no villagers who complain, but the family is ruined."

"Think about it, forget it. This is much better than the chaos in the world more than ten years ago. Isn't it like this all your life? The people do not fight with the officials. ”

The common people of China are the most resistant and the most able to endure suffering. Pushing them to the brink will lead to a war that will shatter the heavens and the earth. But if you don't push them to the brink, many things, they can endure.

It's like now.

Yes, Guo Huan increased taxes for the people and sought benefits for the gentry. Then, based on the principle of dividing the seeers, the officialdom is integrated up and down. I don't know how much money I have. However, the end of the Yuan Dynasty was not far away, and Zhu Yuanzhang has been committed to cultivating the farmer's land. Nowadays, most of the people of the Ming Dynasty are self-cultivated farmers.

Therefore, although the tax was increased sixfold at once, plus the burden of imperial servitude. But it's not that you can't survive.

Therefore, they only cursed verbally, and did not have the courage to fight the corrupt officials to the end.

Of course, it will not be kept secret for these dog officials, but it will not be possible for them to take the initiative to report it to the court.

He Xi was silent for a while, and said, "Uncle Liu, can you tell me, are those villagers who sued and were ruined?" ”

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After leaving Liujia Village, He Xi visited several villages and got much more information. And he also figured out where the grain in the warehouse in Hangzhou came from.

It's a small town. And at the end of the street in the town, there is a warehouse. Now it is in ruins, and they have seen the light of day. Not to mention guarded. It is a place where wild dogs and wild cats are haunted.

He Xi walked in it, and when he moved slightly, he saw smoke and dust everywhere.

And his mind is even more like this, and he can't stop tumbling. He Xi sneered and said, "It's really a clever robbery. ”

In order to prepare for famine and disaster, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered all villages and townships to prepare Yicang. The so-called Yicang means that every household produces some grain, which is managed by the village or town. The county is responsible for oversight. In a year of calamity, the people could divide the grain from the barn.

It can be said that this is a very original insurance agency.

Please note that the ownership of this Yicang is not in the imperial court, nor in the official government, which only has the responsibility of supervision. In today's terms, the ownership of this Yicang is at the level of the village collective.

The imperial court has no right to mobilize the grain of Yicang.

And what He Xi saw, the Yicang in the villages around the country was already in ruins. However, each family's annual donation must also be paid. In the past, it was not mandatory to donate food to the Yicang. It's just that when you don't donate food to the Yicang in a disaster year, it will be difficult for you to receive food from the Yicang.

But now Yoshikura no longer exists. But the donation is still there. This is clearly a new kind of exorbitant tax.

Xu Bao'er said with some concern: "Lord He." This has been checked. Let's go back to Beijing. Just report to Your Majesty. made such a thing, the slave maid didn't believe that the Jiaxing Mansion didn't know. The slave is worried that the adult will leak out of the way here. I'm afraid there are things I can't bear to say. ”

Originally, Xu Baoer was not worried.

But at the moment he was a little worried.

Without him, he could see it. Guo Huan's case is too much to implement. It is a big nest case, and it is estimated that the officials of the entire Hangzhou City, and even the political envoys of Zhejiang Province, down to the magistrate of the county, are all in this big net, and there are even local gentry, and even some officials in the center.

The likelihood of danger is even greater.

Even Xu Baoer was not worried that Guo Huan would send someone to kill He Xi, he was worried that some people behind Guo Huan would treat Guo Huan as an outcast. Let Guo Huan bear the charge of assassinating Qincha. All they want is for the court to stop investigating.

He Xi wasn't actually worried about this. Because people think differently. In He Xi's opinion, what kind of person Zhu Yuanzhang is. It is not an emperor through the ages, but it is also a rare time to see a hero for hundreds of years. Where does Guo Huan have this guts. However, He Xi didn't want to use his life to see Guo Huan's guts.

He Xi said: "Okay, Jiaxing is almost checked here." Let's go to Huzhou. ”