Chapter 292: To plan for the moment is to plan for eternity

Author: Potato Sweet Potato Pie

Chapter 292: To plan for the moment is to plan for eternity

Why do people try their best to evade taxes?

Maybe Emperor Hongzhi couldn't explain it before, but after hearing so much, why couldn't he explain it?

But when the words came to his mouth, he was blocked, and his face became even more gloomy. After a long time, he asked: "Is that why Ju Zheng wants to reform?"

"yes."

Xia Yuan thought of the time when he had just traveled through time. At that time, he thought wholeheartedly that this was a peaceful and prosperous era, the era of peace and prosperity recorded in the history books.

But what he saw and heard gave him a slap in the face. What kind of prosperous age is this? If this is a prosperous age, what about troubled times?

After a while, Xia Yuan said again: "I want to reform, and it has something to do with the fact that Your Majesty gave me the nickname Ju Zheng."

Pushing back seventy or eighty years, the Prime Minister of Taiyue named Zhang Juzheng was very prominent and devoted himself to reforming the bad government of the Ming Dynasty, and became one of the most famous prime ministers and ministers in the Ming Dynasty.

When the word "Ju Zheng" fell on him, he felt an inexplicable sense of mission.

But Emperor Hongzhi looked at him deeply, and to his ears, these words seemed to have another meaning.

When I gave him a cousin name, I wanted to accept and recognize this son-in-law, and to treat him as my nephew.

And conversely, the same is true.

Xia Yuan was a little tired from standing. He took a look at the slump under Emperor Hongzhi's seat and then at the prince standing in front of him. He gave up his little idea and sighed:

“Some officials actually want to be upright and honest officials.

What's more, there were many officials from poor backgrounds in the country. They had seen how the government exploited the people. They must have hated these corrupt officials at that time and thought: One day, if I become an official, I must make decisions for the people.

parents.

But after they became officials, they also became corrupt officials. Maybe they were appointed officials in a different place and they were not exploiting the people in their hometown. They felt no guilt in their hearts. Maybe they were defeated by reality.

The salary provided by the imperial court is really too low, it is not enough, and it has never been increased. What it was like in the early Ming Dynasty is what it is now, but prices have been rising.

Not to mention that many times the salary is not paid in full. Then we can only make up for the excess and exploit the people under our rule. So what I mean is to increase the salary for the officials."

After listening to him quietly, Emperor Hongzhi felt a burst of disappointment from the bottom of his heart. What did he think this reform was? That's it?

Increase salaries for officials.

Can this also be considered a reform?

To put it bluntly, even if this is a reform, it is clearly a castle in the air. The current salary is so low that the court cannot afford it. It often defaults on arrears, so why should we increase the salary?

He covered up his disappointment well and sighed: "I don't know what Ju Zheng said. If the money is enough, why would those conscientious people engage in corruption? But the treasury is empty, how can we increase the salary?

Got it, still.”

"So we need to make the national treasury full first."

Zhu Youtang was not angry when he was interrupted, but asked thoughtfully: "Let the court do business?"

He knew that this boy was good at business, but how could he do business by doing business to enrich the treasury? What's more, when it came to the treasury, it always felt weird to use business to replenish the treasury.

"Not doing business is treating the symptoms but not the root cause."

Xia Yuan shook his head and continued: "The reforms I mentioned are to reduce the expenses of the vassal kings and clans; to reduce the preferential treatment of all officials and gentry in the Ming Dynasty, such as sharing the land with the gentry, and having the officials and gentry pay the grain together."

The tone was not high, even very soft, but when it fell in the ears of Emperor Hongzhi, it was like a thunderbolt, shocking and making his brain buzz.

When he heard the sentence about reducing the expenses of the feudal prince's family, Zhu Youtang's heart obviously slowed down for two beats. When all the following words were spoken, his heart almost stopped.

At this time, he no longer felt disappointed in his heart, but instead felt horrified and at the same time extremely happy.

Fortunately, I brought it up now. If I die in the future and the prince succeeds to the throne, and this guy encourages the prince to carry out such reforms, I am afraid that the country will perish in the hands of these two people.

Emperor Hongzhi was a man who was very good at hiding his true emotions, but now his eyes were full of incomprehensible horror.

Xiao Jing, who had been standing silently at the door, took out two walnuts from his arms, put them in his hands and kneaded them. Feeling the uneven edges in his palms, he felt that this was real and not a dream.

In the afternoon, he was still complaining about this Xia Xima. He felt that this man was unreasonable and used his own head as a pledge.

But now there are no complaints, why bother with a madman?

Listen to what this is saying, reduce the expenses of the feudal princes and clans, and also reduce the preferential treatment of the officials, gentry and landlords.

After being silent for a long time, Zhu Houzhao saw that his father was still silent and opened his mouth: "Father"

"shut your mouth!"

Emperor Hongzhi yelled at him, and then looked at Xiao Jing who was guarding the door of Nuange with an awl-like gaze, "Xiao Banban, tell me, what did you hear just now?"

Xiao Jing hurriedly knelt on the ground and replied loudly: "I didn't hear anything!"

"It's your blessing that you didn't hear it."

After saying this, Zhu Youtang turned his eyes back and looked at Xia Yuan, his eyebrows twisted into the Chinese character "Sichuan". After a moment of silence, he asked, "Why do you have such incredible ideas?"

After pondering for a few times, he finally did not say those heartbreaking words.

"The feudal princes and clans did not pay taxes, nor did the officials and gentry pay taxes. The taxes of the imperial court were all borne by the common people. Corrupt officials were rampant, and the people were overwhelmed by various excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes. They could only sell their fields to the feudal princes or officials and gentry.

, and the taxes the court can collect will become less and less, and the people will live increasingly miserable lives."

Xia Yuan didn't know what he thought of, but his eyes gradually became a little empty.

"The rich have vast fields, and the poor have no place to stand. If this trend continues, one day the national treasury will be destitute. And the people who have nothing and can't survive will rise up. If the system is not reformed and the law is not changed, there will be no choice but to change."

When he said this, he was suddenly startled and stopped immediately, almost losing his head.

"Changing dynasties?" Zhu Houzhao thought for a while and asked.

"."

Xia Yuan turned around and glared at him. If you want me to die by riding a horse, just say so. There is no need to do so.

Seeing this glare, Zhu Houzhao simply shut his mouth and said nothing, and made up his mind not to say anything later.

First I was yelled at and then glared at, I don’t want to lose face?

"The Ming Dynasty was like the sun in the sky, and the country lasted for tens of thousands of years."

Xia Yuan shouted a slogan, but Emperor Hongzhi didn't believe it. He forced a smile from the corner of his mouth, "There is no country in this world that lasts for tens of thousands of years, and there is no country that lasts for thousands of generations."

Xia Yuan continued: "That's why we need to change the law. The purpose of the reform is to achieve the goal of the country for tens of thousands of years. The so-called one who is not enough to seek for the eternal world is not enough to seek for the moment, and the one who does not seek for the overall situation is not enough to seek for a corner, and the purpose of seeking for this moment is to seek for one moment.

Eternity."

Emperor Hongzhi was impressed by these words. This is the person who truly serves the country, the world, and the country.

His face was gloomy and uncertain. After a long time, he leaned weakly on the cushion behind him and uttered a long voice from his mouth, "I can understand Ju Zheng's desire to pursue the country. It is not easy to change the law, let alone involve the ancestors."

Established law.”

Xia Yuan naturally knew the difficulties of the reform, but he did not lose heart. Instead, he said: "Your Majesty, take your time step by step. Let's implement these few items first, and then carry out the rest of the reforms."

"???"
Chapter completed!