eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 721 Mr. Zhang Ge (third update)
This wave of changes in the court ended with Zhang Cong's entry into the cabinet.

This scholar who came out of Wenzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province finally realized his dream.

In the tenth year of Zhengde's reign, he was 41 years old. He was younger than when Yang Tinghe entered the cabinet, and he was much younger.

In order to give him a platform, Zhu Houzhao specially held a morning court meeting, and all officials above the fourth rank in Beijing participated.

The emperor had just severely punished a minister who no one expected, and had just driven away a pavilion elder who disobeyed the holy will. The atmosphere in the court had changed from the usual laziness, and even the three cheers of long live were louder.

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is wearing a crown robe. He is obviously young, but his eyes are full of vicissitudes of life. He is obviously immature, but his wrists are full of sophistication.

The emperor sits upright, all civil and military officials are humble, and the Ming Dynasty is as vigorous as the rising sun in the east.

At the beginning of the court meeting, necessary etiquette must be performed.

After that, some routine court affairs were described, and then the imperial edict was read out, conferring Zhang Cong the title of Bachelor of the East Pavilion, joining the cabinet, and preparatory maintenance.

Then Zhu Houzhao asked people to read out the "Order of Clearing Fields Under Heaven":
Land is the foundation of the country and the lifeblood of the people.A hundred years have passed since Hongwu. The fish scales have been changed and the yellow records are inconsistent, causing the world's taxation to be chaotic. Officials do not know households and people do not know taxes.I think this is the great plan of the country and the foundation of people's livelihood, so we must be cautious in order to secure the foundation of our Ming Dynasty.Moreover, I have inherited the legacy of my ancestors and shouldered the important responsibilities of the world. For the sake of the country and the people of the Ming Dynasty, I want to carry out the order of clearing the land of the world...

This order was the first time Zhu Houzhao issued an order to the entire Ming Dynasty.

He has not yet mentioned the elimination of the elite gentry, but only said that the fish scale atlas recording population and land is seriously inconsistent with the facts, and it is time to sort it out.

After the opening chapter, he set down the four points proposed by Zhang Cong in the name of imperial edict.

This is what Zhang Cong tried his best to state.

It's useless to just say it. He must write it down and write it down in the imperial edict!
One after another, majestic voices passed through Fengtian Hall, past Fengtian Gate, then Meridian Gate, Duanmen... But the officials did not dare to say anything to prevent the emperor from issuing orders.

After the reading, Zhu Houzhao stood up, glanced at everyone with his tiger eyes, and said majestically: "The order to clear the land under heaven is an order I issued to all parts of the Ming Dynasty, including all ministers in Beijing. From today on, no one from the cabinet to the six ministries is allowed." Anyone who acts against the law and secretly obstructs the land clearing order in the world, if I know who conceals the land for their own selfish reasons or helps others, I will not spare them!"

"Come on, follow your orders!"

The emperor's eyes signaled that he would put this decree into Zhang Cong's hands.

Zhang Cong carried the imperial decree and suddenly felt the power in his hand. He turned around and raised his head, "This is the holy decree. I, Zhang Cong, swear here that if I cannot clear the land of the world and live up to the grace of the Holy Emperor, I will immediately sacrifice the human head on my neck." !”

This scene can be regarded as the highlight moment of his life.

Speaking of which, although the removal of elites from the gentry and the clearing of their father-in-law's land are two different things, they must be started at the same time.

Because there were various kinds of land dedicated in Ming Dynasty, why were they dedicated?It's just to put it in someone else's name to avoid paying taxes.If the gentry did not eliminate the elite, then clearing the land would be a joke, because it would only encourage more people to be more motivated to contribute.

Because clearing the land of the father-in-law at this time is infringing on their interests. After all, if the land under their name is verified by the court, they will have to pay taxes.

At this time, the court's "rights confirmation action" actually legalized the landowners' annexation behavior.

Because once the measurement is clear, it is impossible to change it. You must follow this in the future, otherwise the measuring hammer will be left here.

Only when the land is cleared, the gentry must be eliminated after it is released, in this way can the 'doneee' be forced to refuse to donate, because the more land that is found, the more taxes and servitude will be.Fu is only one aspect, it is money and food. It does not scare them. The key is service. Who will serve?

In fact, this was also an aspect that placed a heavy burden on the common people under the tax farming system of the Ming Dynasty, because large families were often able to collude with the government and blame this burden on others.

But that was when the court did not investigate. Now that we are investigating each piece piece by piece, it will be difficult to handle the matter.

Therefore, there was no room for change in this matter for Zhu Houzhao. He just had to move forward with determination and move everyone who stood in his way!

……

……

After the morning court, Zhu Houzhao left Zhang Cong in the palace.

"When it comes to recruiting people, you need people to do it as soon as possible. You don't have to worry about the changes in the court now. The most important thing is to make things the best. You told me that you wanted people, money, and time, and I gave them all. I even packed up the uncooperative people and sent them away together. From now on, I will see the results.

The Ming Dynasty is now more and more prosperous. At this time, it can only continue to win. Once it fails, if you fail to do this thing, it will be the next best thing. If you interrupt this rising trend, it will be a sin.This is no joke, you understand? "Zhang Cong knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, don't worry, I have nothing on my mind right now. All I can think about is that even if I go up the mountain of knives and go down into the sea of ​​fire, I will give my husband all the land in the world. "

"Well," the emperor touched his chin, stretched out his index finger, and said firmly: "If someone asks you why you cleared your land, just say it directly. In order to collect taxes together in the future, the gentry also pays taxes. If you pay more, you will pay less. I don’t know, but I must accept it. A true man should act openly and aboveboard, and don’t hide around and behave badly. If one person objects, you deal with it yourself. If there are hundreds of people who object and you are too lazy to deal with it, let them come to me. If ten thousand people oppose it, it doesn’t matter. Raise the flag of righteousness, raise the righteous soldiers, and drive me off the throne. I will give him the throne!"

Zhang Cong also felt it. After this incident, the emperor became more and more domineering and could not hide it.

Under normal circumstances, 'give up the throne' is a relatively taboo word, but he said it easily and without any scruples.

"I will definitely not let this situation happen."

"Haha, it doesn't matter. The butt determines the head. There are so many hidden fields in the world. No matter who he is, no matter how much he opposes me, as long as he sits in this position, he will eventually be like me, otherwise he will not be a good emperor. Until then At that time, even though I am dead, I still have more paper money in my hands than he can spend underground!"

Zhu Houzhao pinched his waist and sighed: "Now is not the time of Hongwu. The land was annexed and the country was ruined. I can only do this. Oh, by the way, I have to give you a team of golden guards to protect you secretly and cut off people and money. , if you kill your parents, you have to be careful."

"I am not afraid. Your Majesty is very kind and righteous. Even if I die, Your Majesty will take good care of my children and grandchildren."

"You can't say that. I hope you live and live well. Have you ever received special salary in the past?"

Zhang Cong shook his head, "Not yet."

"Then I will give it to you."

"I haven't made any merit yet, so I don't dare to be rewarded."

"You deserve it. The imperial court is fighting in the northwest and also in the East China Sea. It relies on the money saved in the past few years. However, as the territory expands, it will be necessary to build after destroying it. There will be a lot of wars in the future. At that time, we will still have to rely on strong people. National strength, so you can bear it.”

"Yes! I have thanked Your Majesty!"

Zhang Cong is very courageous and has a wild personality. Others might not dare to accept this.

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about these small details in major matters, but You Zhi rushed over and said something that made him change his face.

It turns out that when Mao Ji returned to his hometown, he was treated politely by officials along the way. These prefects and county magistrates not only did not treat him as a criminal, but instead received him as an upright and famous official who had suffered.

"It is said that men of letters despise each other, but when it comes to messing with me, they are very closely united."

You Zhi asked tentatively: "Do you want to punish these officials?"

Zhu Houzhao raised his eyes and looked at the person next to him, "Zhang Cong, what do you think?"

"I believe that these officials are greedy for fame. Not only do they not follow the behavior of Mao Ji's tyrannical officials, but they climb on the lintel of others for personal gain. They have no emperor and father in their hearts and have no bottom line in their behavior. Moreover... they do not take the emperor in their eyes. If If we don’t punish them severely, won’t everyone associate with tyrants like Mao Ji?”

You Zhi did not object, but he said one thing, "But there are also important officials in the court who approach Mao Ji."

Zhu Houzhao blinked, "Is there any? Why didn't I know? Why didn't you report it to me?"

When You Zhi heard this, he was slightly stunned and then quickly understood.

"Yes, I understand. I will deal with these officials now!"

"We will arrest people after Mao Ji leaves and investigate other things about them. Don't arrest him for this crime."

Zhang Cong narrowed his eyes imperceptibly.

This is the Zhengde Emperor in his imagination, the emperor's style!
Why arrest people after them?

Just tell the world that the people you meet, Mao Ji, are not very good either. Check it out and you’ll be damn sure!

===
I was a bit sluggish the past few days, so I added more to make up for it.

(End of this chapter)