First Minister of Ming Dynasty

Zhu Chongba was taken aback, of course he knew that there was a problem with Guo Zixing, but from the very beginning, there had been an omen.Guo Zixing, Sun Deya and other five people joined forces, and after entering Haozhou, they were all called Marshals.

Everyone has a group of brothers. To put it bluntly, Guo Zixing is the leader of the alliance, and any alliance, whether it is the Jujube League against Dong Zhuo, or the Five Sacred Mountains League against the Demon Cult, internal struggles are inevitable, from history to martial arts, from reality From fantasy to fantasy, we all abide by this rule. After all, there is no unbreakable alliance in the world...

Zhu Chongba lowered his head and was full of thoughts. Just trying to win over a group of brothers is the king of the mountain, not conquering the world.

Zhang Ximeng continued: "My lord, a man can't leave without a head, and a bird can't fly without a head. Especially for rebellion and turf wars, if there is no core and no one has the final say on such a big matter, I'm afraid we will also It will end like Marshal Guo!"

These words are definitely sincere and hit the point.Zhu Chongba was shocked, and had to admit that what Zhang Ximeng said made sense, but now there was a fatal problem.

"We, we don't have that status!"

Strictly speaking, Zhu Chongba is still Guo Zixing's nine husbands.

Of course, he can call himself a marshal, or even a prince, an emperor...whatever he likes to call him, but the question is how many people can recognize you?

"My lord, I don't think this is a problem. Even if Marshal Guo gives the lord a high official position and asks the lord to recruit troops, it's just relying on the prestige of Marshal Guo, not the lord's own. In my opinion, the lord should win everyone's support." , Let the big guys really support the lord, and at that time, the official status will be irrelevant."

Zhu Chongba nodded, but shook his head again, "That's the truth, but, what are we going to do?"

Finally at the critical point, Zhang Ximeng smiled and handed Zhu Chongba a stack of manuscripts, which was the strategy for granting land written by him.

About the land, Zhang Ximeng told Jia Lu twice, which frightened the old man.

However, these two discussions were still about the general direction of the principle, and how to implement it has not yet been discussed.But this time the land granting strategy is too detailed.

It really comes down to the implementation.

First of all, any decree should be concise and direct, fair and reasonable, and easy to implement... Those extremely complicated ones, which ghosts don't know how to operate, almost encourage big guys to take advantage of loopholes in the law.

In the same way, if you can't treat them differently and cut them across the board, you won't be able to land.

Even though average fields are average, it is impossible for everyone in the country to cultivate the same amount of land, which is unrealistic.

Therefore, this average is limited to the category of natural villages.

This is the same as the land policy of later generations.

"In a village, the land is equally distributed to all people. Among these lands, a line for a ration field is set... For example, in Linhuai Town, the land here yields one stone five to two stones per mu, and one person has five grains per year. Shi, it is necessary to divide the three-mu grain ration field... All the people in the village will first share the three-mu field equally. If you can get two mu, the surplus grain will be three to four shi, and according to the annual yield per mu, [-]% will be taxed, if the surplus grain exceeds [-] shi, [-]% will be collected, if more than [-] shi, [-]% will be taxed!"

"If there are some big landlords in the village, and they really haven't done anything wrong, and the source of the land is considered innocent, then they need to collect land taxes at [-]% after ensuring that the whole village is allocated ration fields!"

Zhang Ximeng explained his strategy to Zhu Chongba, and Lao Zhu listened patiently. When he said this, Lao Zhu seemed to understand something.

"Sir, if the big households still keep a lot of land, they have to pay [-]% of the land tax. But if they hand over the land, wouldn't they be able to reduce a lot of land tax?"

Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Master Shengming, we must first ensure that ordinary farmers can survive, and second, we must suppress those ordinary wealthy households, but we must also provide a way to survive, and then we can concentrate our efforts to eliminate those who committed the most crimes and serve as lackeys for the Yuan court. hawk dog minion!"

Zhu Chongba stared at Fang Lue, read it several times, and suddenly he let out a long breath, his eyes glowed with confidence.

Is Zhang Ximeng's strategy complicated?

In fact, it is not complicated. The land tax of the Yuan Dynasty should also be divided into official land and private land. According to the level of land, it should be divided into upper field, middle field and lower field.And because the rich and powerful temples, powerful and wealthy households, all kinds of tax relief and evasion have made the tax system extremely chaotic, and it is often the poor tenant farmers who suffer the most.

Zhu Chongba knew this best. His family had been renting land since their great-grandfather, but they were forced to run around due to heavy burdens. At first they lived in Pei County, then they moved to Jurong, and later they moved to Sizhou.It was in Zhu Chongba's father's generation that he lived in Fengyang, but after a disaster, he could no longer run, and his family was ruined.

One of the most eye-catching aspects of Zhang Ximeng's land granting strategy is the design of the ration field, which provides a foundation for all the people, and there will be no refugees.

Secondly, the more fields there are, the more surplus grain there is, and the higher the land tax to pay. In this way, the impulse to merge is restrained, and the wealthy households are prevented from oppressing the poor.

"Grandfather, if this method can be followed, the people in Linhuai will be allocated to the fields first, so that they can live and work in peace and contentment. Wouldn't it be possible to eat rice from the Zhu family and spend money from the Zhu family?"

Zhu Chongba was shaken all over, and woke up like a dream.He grabbed Fanglue, held it firmly in his hand, and walked outside... When he came, Zhu Chongba felt guilty and panicked, but when he went out, he was full of confidence.

"Mr. Zhang, come with us and tell them a good story!" Zhu Chongba's voice was thick and resonant.

Zhang Ximeng quickly agreed, saying that he was about to face Huaixi Xungui, so he was quite nervous.

Chapter 33 Awe

A group of fierce men who played the Ming Dynasty can definitely be compared with the Nanyang 28th and Guanlong Group of the great magister Liu Xiu.It belongs to the top warrior group for thousands of years.

What kind of demeanor should they be at this moment?

Zhang Ximeng rushed out excitedly, and was immediately disappointed when he saw it... What the hell are they?Wearing a hat crookedly, dressed in rags and tatters, there is a snot-nosed man who keeps sniffing his nose, and his strict eye-catching is rhythmic.

With this kind of virtue, it is difficult to be a good soldier, and it is a joke to want to conquer the colorful world!

But Zhang Ximeng knew that this group of people were indeed the future nobles of Huaixi.

It can only be said that they met the right person and along the way, as long as they survived by luck, even a piece of scrap iron could be turned into steel.

So things are the result of the hard work of the big guys, but the leader is really too important.It was not Huaixi Xungui who made Lao Zhu, but Zhu Chongba who brought out Huaixi Xungui.

Zhang Ximeng sighed a little. Right now, this group of people can't stand on their own right now, they have to be beaten and practiced.But no matter what, it can be regarded as a group of potential stocks.

Zhang Ximeng took the initiative to greet everyone and salute.

It's just that compared to Zhang Ximeng's politeness and thoughtfulness, this group of people is a bit superior. The guy who sniffed his nose forcefully sucked his nose back, and said to Lao Zhu with his mouth curled up: "Chongba, who is this? Your godson ?”

Zhu Chongba's old face turned dark immediately, and he gave the guy who didn't know what to do.

"Hua Sanqi, please be honest! This is Mr. Yunzhuang's grandnephew. He is resourceful and talented, but he is our right-hand man and the most confidant."

The Hua scratched his cheeks, tilted his head, looked at Zhang Ximeng, and held back for a long time, "You are so good? Why are you following Chongba? Why don't you find a better place?"

Really good at chatting, Zhu Chongba is even more embarrassed... What kind of weirdo did he find?

Zhang Ximeng said calmly: "My lord saved my life, so naturally I have to work for my lord. I think you are newcomers and don't know what we are doing. Why don't you invite the big guys to watch a trial? What do you think?"

This group of people you look at me, I look at you, okay, just look at it!

The person surnamed Hua said to Zhu Chongba again: "That Chongba, everyone is hungry, you give me some food first."

Apart from agreeing, what else can Zhu Chongba do... They are all fellow villagers, so naturally they have to prepare delicious food, flatbread, stewed meat, all arranged.

While preparing dinner, Zhu Chongba pulled Zhang Ximeng aside, his face full of shame.

"Sir, this group of people are all gangsters, they don't know anything about the military, and they rely on us being from the same township, and if they offend us, please take it for our sake, sir, and don't take offense."

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "My lord, you are being polite. In fact, they should be like this."

Zhu Chongba was taken aback.

Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "They used to be peasants. Is it possible for them to immediately lead the army to fight, observe military discipline, and understand the rules? Besides, they were used to playing with the lord in the past, so how could they immediately feel awe?" ?”

Zhu Chongba nodded vigorously, the reason is correct, but this is not acceptable!

There can be no rules in the military.

"My lord, don't worry. Let's first tell the big guys what we are going to do... explain the truth clearly and let them understand the rules in the army. Before long, these people will become the confidants of the lord. I reckon that there will be a few more month, the lord will have a strong army that cannot be defeated."

Zhu Chongba originally had a high spirit, but now he is skeptical.

Full of confidence, Zhang Ximeng dragged Zhu Chongba to the center of Linhuai Town. At this moment, Lao Zhu's fellow villagers were all arranged under the earthen platform, and each of them was given a bowl of meat and two pieces of cakes, and they ate deliciously.

People gathered in batches from all directions.

There are more and more people, there are almost 2000 people, half of them are soldiers, and the other half are the people around. The big guys look solemn, as if they are participating in some great event.

As for Lao Zhu's fellow countrymen, they were just watching the fun.

It's not a festival, is this going to be an opera?

Soon, someone brought up a guy with gray hair and a stooped back.This person is very thin, only a few dozen kilograms.

His legs were weak, and he seemed to be slender. He was lifted onto the earthen platform and placed in the middle of the platform, like a pool of tofu.

"Lu Anmin, I'm going to explain your matter clearly in front of everyone today."

Lu Anmin!

That Jinshi who went out on Anfeng Road?

The soldiers and civilians stared angrily.

In Lao Zhu's hometown, most people don't know who Lu Anmin is, but there are a few people who know that one of the young people with prominent cheekbones can't help but widen his eyes!

This, isn't this the glorious Lu Jinshi, Wen Quxing?

How did he become like this?

Is it the same name, or what?

The young man's surname was Xu. He peeked at Zhu Chongba and found that Zhu Chongba was staring at it with gritted teeth. He didn't dare to say anything, but just watched him anxiously.

"I, I have nothing to say... We are our own masters, and we have fallen into your hands. We will die."

Zhang Ximeng chuckled, "It's rare that the Yuan Dynasty still has you as a loyal minister!"

Lu Anmin's body shook. He didn't want to be a loyal minister of the Yuan Dynasty, but Zhang Ximeng didn't give him a chance to surrender.

"I, I am willing to work for the Red Scarf, I want to correct evil..."

"It's late!" Zhang Ximeng interrupted unceremoniously, "Lu Anmin, some time ago, you ran to Haozhou to show off your power and persuade the Red Scarf Army to surrender to the Yuan court on behalf of the Yuan Tartars. Now the Yuan court has been defeated, with 10,000+ people , turned into ashes, and you also became a prisoner. This is beyond your imagination, right?"

Lu Anmin was so bitter that he wanted to cry, he still couldn't figure it out, how did he lose?

Maybe this is God's will?

"Lu Anmin, why did the Great Yuan Dynasty lose? I think you should know...Since you were admitted as a Jinshi and became an official in the court, your family's farmland has increased from [-] mu to [-] mu. One of them Thousands of mu, you forced the folks to sell it to your family when the Yellow River was flooding. If someone refused to sell it, you hired bandits and killed them. There were more than ten people in three families. After the people died, they were thrown into the river. , isn’t this a lie?”

"Yes! Exactly!" Lu Anmin turned pale with shock, and suddenly shouted angrily, "You want to accuse me of crimes, you want to frame me!"

Zhang Ximeng sneered, he didn't bother to talk nonsense at all, and when he turned around, three or thirty people walked out from the crowd.

People, old and young, saw Lu Anmin and gritted their teeth extremely. Some people rushed up to strangle him, but luckily a soldier stopped him and just spat a few times.

Others were wailing, mournful.

In front of everyone, he told all the bad things the Lu family did.

One of the blind old women said that the Lu family fell in love with her daughter, and wanted to lay hands on her when her daughter went to the Lu family to do needlework, but the daughter refused to obey, and was beaten to death by the Lu family. .

They went to ask for an explanation, but the Lu family just brought out a donkey.

"My girl who looks like a flower and a jade! How did a lively and lively person become a donkey? God, who will give us justice?"

Lu Anmin's face was pale and his lips trembled. Of course he knew about it, but he didn't think there was anything wrong.

"This is the rule of the imperial court. Your daughter's life is cheap, and she is worth a donkey. You, you can't blame me!" Lu Anmin argued with a guilty conscience.

The old woman stood up suddenly, followed the sound and rushed towards Lu Anmin. The old woman gritted her teeth and cried bitterly, "Let me kill him, and I will pay for his life!"

Zhang Ximeng quickly reached out and stopped the old woman.

"Don't worry, this is not the Yuan Dynasty, and those bullying bullshit laws don't work. Let's talk about one reason, one heaven's reason! Kill people to pay for their lives, and debts to pay back money. Isn't the big guy right?"

"Yes! Well said!"

Among the crowd, thunderous cheers erupted, and everyone supported it.

Zhang Ximeng asked the old woman to sit first, and then several people stood up one by one to identify Lu Anmin... Some said that Lu's family used usury and forced people to death.It is said that they force others to be slaves, kneel on the ground, and serve as horses and stones for them.

All the crimes were revealed by the big guys.

It is simply a bloody and tearful accusation, too numerous to describe.

There was a man who was caught in a disaster and owed rent, so he was arrested and hung on the beam for three days. He was not given food and begged for some water, but he was fed a pot of horse urine... for three days Afterwards, he was forced to give his daughter to the Lu family, or he would be beaten to death.

The man couldn't bear it anymore and agreed.

Now he was kneeling on the stage, slapping his mouth hard.

"I'm useless, I can't keep my daughter! I should be struck by lightning!" He fainted from crying, and was rescued again with blood in his eyes.He didn't spare his life, he still had two children to take care of.

Don't even dare to die!

The common people are too bitter. Once they open their hearts, the bitter water is like the water of the Yellow River, flowing endlessly...

At this moment, more than half of Lao Zhu's fellow villagers have stared wide-eyed. They can feel the same experience. Even if they have never encountered it, it has definitely happened to the neighbors in the same village, and there are even ones that are a hundred times worse than this.

"It should be killed!" The young man surnamed Xu gritted his molars and spat out two words.

And the one surnamed Hua clenched his fists, wanting to make a move.

At this moment, Zhang Ximeng said: "Lu Anmin, you can understand... your crimes are too numerous to write down. In conclusion, you served as a running dog for the Yuan court and opposed the rebel army. Secondly, in your fish and meat village, you killed the people. There are no less than dozens of human lives, all of which are iron-clad!"

Zhang Ximeng turned his head and looked at Zhu Chongba.

"My lord, how to punish, please ask for instructions!"

Zhu Chongba came up with big strides, walked up to Lu Anmin, stretched out his hand and grabbed his neck, and lifted him up. Suddenly, Zhu Chongba lifted Lu Anmin up, and then fell down hard on the stage !

With a scream, Lu Anmin fell in front of everyone like a pile of rotten meat.

"Chop him up and vent your anger on the folks!"