The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Beijing, Forbidden City, Wenyuan Pavilion.

"Liu Shizeng reported that only in Zhili, there were many households with more than 100 hectares of land, such as one family with more than 1,300 hectares, three families with more than 500 hectares, and two families with more than 100 hectares.

Qi Wan had 2,800 hectares of land for one family, 1,500 hectares for one family, and 1,100 hectares for seven families.

Nine families were eliminated, with more than 3,500 hectares of land.

The four families who were granted fields but did not record them had more than 200 hectares of land.

There are also five families of traitors with more than 3,000 hectares of land, which should be pursued.

The Ministry of Household Affairs discussed that the homes of ancestors and relatives should be slightly better, those that are not recorded in the register should be verified again, and those that have been abolished but the tombs of ancestors are still there should be set aside for sacrifices.

But instead of just simply verifying the quantity, the court should set a limit on how much farmland should be left to the families of each honorary relative. It is best to have a limit. If the amount exceeds the limit, taxes and duties should be levied according to the law. "

The one who spoke was Ma Sen, the Minister of Household Affairs. Today was the day when the cabinet convened a meeting of the six ministers. The Liu Shizeng he was talking about was the censor of the current Northern Zhili patrol. It was nearing the end of the year and all parties began to collect taxes and levies for the year and complete their tasks. And headache.

Although the governor of Zhili held a high and powerful position, he had many problems in his governance. The most important thing was that most of the fields had become imperial estates or Xunqi family estates, which caused great resistance to local officials in collecting taxes and services.

The Ministry of Revenue constantly put pressure on the governor's office to remit taxes and services as soon as possible, but the local government was still unable to make a decision.

As a patrol censor, you naturally have to participate in supervision.

After some questioning, they finally found out that there were Huangzhuang and Zhuangtian everywhere, and they couldn't afford to offend these families.

Among them, there are even some so-called Zhuangtian who are suspicious, but they have been turned away after repeated inquiries.

Liu Shizeng also became ruthless this time. When the Ministry of Revenue pressed him again, he revealed everything and asked the Ministry of Revenue to talk to these noble groups.

He couldn't afford to offend Huangzhuang.

Although the Xungui Group is a phoenix that sheds its feathers and is worse than a chicken, he can't afford to offend them, but the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet still don't care about them.

Determining the number of fields in Xungui Zhuang, I feel that it has nothing to do with me. At this time, the ministers of other ministries are sitting there. Some old monks are in meditation, or they are picking up tea cups and savoring it. Ma Sen is there, and the five cabinet ministers are there. It's not their turn to come out yet.

"What do you think, Mr. Wang?"

Li Chunfang looked at Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others, and saw that they had no intention of talking, so she asked Wang Ting.

When it comes to demarcating farmland, the Ministry of Household Affairs can set the tone, but Ma Sen did not directly choose to submit the report. Instead, he took it to the ministry meeting and said it. Naturally, he did not want to bear the revenge of the Xungui Group alone and wanted to drag the cabinet into trouble.

However, the cabinet can do this, but it requires the cooperation of the Procuratorate. After all, they have the responsibility of supervision.

Let’s first see if the Metropolitan Procuratorate wants to get out of this muddy water, and then decide how the cabinet will express its position.

Wang Ting said cheerfully: "As long as the imperial court sets standards, the Metropolitan Procuratorate will definitely send people to cooperate. After all, our duty is to supervise."

Wang Ting only admitted that he would send people to cooperate with the local government to supervise the measurement of Zhuangtian, and did not care about other matters. This was also very cunning.

"Master Ma, what do the Ministry of Household Affairs think? How much land is suitable for Xungui Zhuang?"

This time Li Chunfang no longer asked vague questions, but pointed out the key point, that is, how much tax-free farmland the Ministry of Revenue thinks it is best to leave to each family.

There was still conversation over there, while Wei Guangde lowered his head and looked at Liu Shizeng's report.

Ma Sen only gave a rough idea before, but Liu Shizeng's memorial indeed made it clear that the fifth generation of Xunqi Fu sent more than 100 hectares of land, Chengguo Duke Zhu Xizhong had more than 1,300 hectares of land, Dingguo Duke Xu Wenbi, British Duke Zhang Rong, Hui'an Bo Zhang Yuan's land each has more than 500 hectares, and Taining Marquis Chen Liangbi and Jinyiwei Commander Li Guangxian each have more than 100 hectares.

Qi Wan received too many gifts, including more than 2,800 hectares of land for the consort Li He, and more than 1,500 hectares for Xu Congcheng. More than thousands and hundreds of hectares.

These only occupy a large amount of land. As for the fields of other nobles, most of them exceed one hundred hectares.

Qi Wan was actually a maternal relative. She was rewarded by the emperor for marrying into the royal family, and was also rewarded with a large amount of farmland.

Zhuangtian was actually the most common and public method of land annexation in the Ming Dynasty.

In the Ming Dynasty, Zhuangtian was designated and granted by the emperor according to different status and grades.

There are palaces owned by the emperor, palaces owned by concubines and feudal princes who have not yet joined the feudal vassal, palaces owned by princes and princesses who have already joined the feudal vassal, and farms owned by relatives, honorable ministers, and eunuchs. , belonging to the farm owned by the temple.

These farmlands all enjoyed feudal privileges such as exemption from rent and servitude. They were initially managed by the government. According to the regulations of 3 cents of silver per mu of grain, the state and county collected the land from farmers in the farmland, and then the owners of the farmland went to the state and county to collect it.

Later, the princes and nobles abandoned the state and county governments and sent their own people to operate, manage and collect rent.

Since the farmland they occupied ranged from a few hundred hectares to tens of thousands hectares, they successively set up several farms in their respective villages and managed them separately.

In Huangzhuang and Wangzhuang, attendant eunuchs were sent to serve as "servants". They were located in the farms and managed various properties of the farms, and were followed by thirty to fifty people from the banner school.

Later, various types of farms gradually adopted the method of sending family members to manage the farm, called the village head, and accompanied by many "village heads" to act as thugs, manage production and collect farm rent.

The land was granted to the emperor by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it existed during the time of Zhu Yuanzhang. He once issued an edict to grant the prince a thousand hectares of land, and used the rent as lumi.

The princesses were given a farm each with a farm, and they could harvest 2,500 shi of rice every year to make up for the rice.

This kind of imperially-given farmland was declared as Yongye farmland and exempted from rent and tax.

When Zhu Di was the king of Yan, he privately built a farm in Wanping County, called Wangzhuang, to raise funds for training his own troops. After the emperor ascended the throne, Wangzhuang was renamed Huangzhuang. This was one of the direct plunders of land by the Ming Dynasty emperor. beginning.

During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, the land confiscated by the eunuch Cao Jixiang was turned into the palace village, also known as the Huangzhuang. After that, more and more Huangzhuangs were added.

The vassal kings and dignitaries also followed suit. They used methods such as "begging" and "begging" from the emperor to obtain "imperial gifts", so they used the name of land that was deserted by officials and occupied people's fields without scruples.

Later, the clan and nobles also listed the land acquired in other ways in Zhuang Tian, ​​because it could be regarded as permanent land without paying rent and taxes to the court.

Of course, this result also led to the local government having less and less land that could collect taxes and levies, which increased the burden on the people. In the end, they had to choose to sell their own fields. When these fields entered the hands of the powerful, they turned into farmland. Such a vicious cycle .

In Zhu Yuanzhang's original imagination, the farmland he rewarded was actually horse pasture or wasteland on the river beach. This system was established to allow his descendants to reclaim the wasteland themselves.

This can not only ensure their own livelihood, but also ensure the increase in the number of fields in the country.

But in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, because the land under the name of the clan and nobles did not need to pay taxes, the descendants of the Zhu family and the nobles began to annex land crazily.

During the Jiajing period, due to the rapid expansion of the clan population, the rapid reduction of farmland, and the large increase in fiscal expenditures caused by official corruption, the national finances suffered a long-term and large deficit, which almost depleted the old treasury accumulated by previous generations of Ming Dynasty emperors.

By now, senior officials in the imperial court had to focus on the Zhuangtian in the hands of the clan and nobles, hoping to increase fiscal revenue and make up for the shortfall.

Wei Guangde didn't know if there was any shadow of the Hubu behind Liu Shizeng's memorial, but in his opinion, it was not an isolated incident.

At this time, Ma Sen, Li Chunfang, Chen Yiqin and others had already begun to speak and discuss.

The more consistent opinion is that for honorable nobles and Qi Wan, a certain amount should be set according to the title or the source of the land. The amount within the amount still belongs to the land, that is, no tax is imposed, and the excess will naturally have to be taxed by the court.

As for those whose clan branches have been extinct and those who have lost their title, their land should be taken away. Those who are insinuated by traitors should be rented and brought into the official position. However, a few acres of the tombs of ancestors should still be reserved for sacrifices.

We have no opinion on the general direction, but there is still controversy over the specific amount that should be left.

Most of the nobles thought that only a hundred hectares of land should be left, because they originally received Lumi from the court.

At this point, it actually involves the confusing accounts left over from the Hongwu period.

In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang established the Lutian system, which meant that official fields were distributed to clan members, nobles and officials, and the harvest of the fields was used as compensation for Lumi.

However, this system was abolished after more than ten years of implementation, but the abolition was not complete because part of the Lutian was recovered, but part of the Lutian was still preserved.

Zhuangtian, Lutian and Lumi form a confusing account that is difficult to explain clearly.

In fact, during the Jiajing period, Xia Yan said in "Fengbo Survey and Report on the Imperial Village and the Qi Fields of the Heroes" when talking about the royal family's land and land, "Now that the official salary is given, but the land is given again, it is a return to the past." Made.”

The imperial court granted both salary and farmland, which was the reality at the time, and a solution was never found.

Whether it was recovery or something else, Emperor Jiajing never gave a clear answer.

Even Emperor Jiajing was not good at making rulings, so when Emperor Longqing came here, he was even less likely to stand out.

The figure of one hundred hectares is ten thousand acres of farmland. In fact, for the relatives, it is certainly enough for them to eat and drink.

As for maintaining a luxurious and decent life, it is certainly not enough, but they have many ways to make money. Land rent and taxes are only a small part of it. Most of the income still comes from gray income such as salt.

However, Wei Guangde did not intend to remain silent at this time. He had to stand up and help Xungui gain some benefits.

Nowadays, the contacts between Wei Guangde and Xungui Mansion have increased significantly, and everyone has a good relationship.

Although Zhuangtian is not the main source of income in each company, it is obviously inappropriate for him to choose to remain silent on this matter.

After the other six ministers expressed their agreement with Ma Sen's words, Wei Guangde did not wait for Zhang Juzheng and Yin Shizhen to express their opinions and said first: "The number of Ma Sen's hundred hectares should be increased as appropriate. They are all families who have made great contributions to the establishment of the country. The imperial court should be generous."

In such a conference room, cabinet ministers usually express their opinions last. Wei Guangde is ranked lowest in the cabinet, so it is normal for him to speak first.

Wei Guangde hopes to increase the number of Xungui farmland. This is actually not unexpected by others. Who doesn't know the relationship between his family and Xungui.

In fact, there are many families of important ministers who are married to nobles, but like Wei Guangde, they are not related to the top nobles such as the Duke of Wei and the Duke of Ding.

Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen only glanced at him, while Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng did not change at all.

After Wei Guangde spoke, neither Yin Shizhen nor Zhang Juzheng had any intention of answering. In fact, they were just waiting for Ma Sen to give a reply.

"I wonder what amount Wei Ge Lao means to increase by discretion?"

Mason asked.

Well, after receiving the order and joining the cabinet, other officials changed their names when they saw Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen, and called him "Ge Lao" when they met. Wei Guangde, who was only thirty, got used to it in a few days.

"Master Ma, is the number of one hundred hectares the number negotiated by the Ministry of Household Affairs?"

Wei Guangde did not answer immediately, but asked.

"Yes, the Ministry of Household Affairs has considered that one hundred hectares of farmland is enough to support the noble family."

Mason answered directly.

"The Household Department should only be referring to the people in their house, and does not take into account the expenses of the clansmen they need to take care of. As far as I know, it is also a huge amount."

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "In my opinion, double the number discussed by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and two hundred hectares is more appropriate."

With just one mouthful, he doubled his tax-free land, and the other ministers just looked at each other.

In fact, they know that even if the court sets the amount now, it will gradually deteriorate over time.

They were just officials, temporary officials, but they couldn't compare with hereditary honors, or even with military honors like Wei Guangde.

A scholarly family sounds nice, but once there are no scholars in the family, the family will fall into decline. This is why in the middle and late dynasties, fraud in the imperial examinations became common. Everyone wanted to make arrangements for the family while they were still in officialdom.

It was impossible for them not to be jealous of so many fields owned by Xungui, but they could only be jealous.

Now there are people who are desperate and want to cut some flesh from these nobles, and everyone is happy to see the result.

Jealousy is jealousy, but they really don't want to offend people severely.

After Wei Guangde said that the land of Xungui Village was designated as 200 hectares, no one came out to complain to Wei Guangde because it was really not worth it.

No one else spoke, but Ma Sen had to catch it.

In fact, after the news came out, the children of the Xunqi family in the Ministry of Household Affairs made trouble, which ultimately affected other people's interests.

Making trouble is making trouble, after all, it is the imperial court's yamen, and they don't dare to go too far. The number Wei Guangde said now can just stop the nobles' mouths, so that they will not trouble the Ministry of Household Affairs again.

"This is because I am ignorant. If so, two hundred hectares is not unacceptable."

Mason immediately agreed.

Wei Guangde heard about the news that the Ministry of Household Affairs had set a limit of 100 hectares last night. The minimum limit for nobles was one hundred and fifty hectares. Wei Guangde originally planned to grind it out, but he didn't expect Ma Sen to agree directly. He couldn't help but regret it. Points.

But think about it, it’s all for national affairs, so forget it.

Similar to those time-travel novels, Wei Guangde actually hopes that the nobles can take their eyes off the fields and go out to do business to make money, instead of catching the common people.

It's just that he can't convince people of the deep-rooted concepts of the Chinese people.

"Xun Qi has set a limit of 200 hectares. Qi Wan may still have your Majesty come to judge."

Relatives are divided into those who are close and those who are not. Wei Guangde does not want to have a relationship with his relatives.

In fact, the nobles looked down on their relatives and always felt that the wealth created by their ancestors was nobler than those who rose to power by marrying their daughters, so Wei Guangde did not intend to interfere in this matter.

The ministers did not object to increasing the amount of Zhuang Tian, ​​and Li Chunfang saw that other cabinet ministers had no intention of objecting, but he still asked them one by one before saying: "In this case, the Ministry of Revenue will submit today's agreement in writing." (This chapter) over)