Chapter 535 Donating Land

"Asshole! Don't run!"

In the eldest prince's mansion, Zhu Gaochi took out his belt and chased Zhang Anshi panting.

"Brother-in-law, brother-in-law, please don't get excited!"

Zhang Anshi was agile and saw that he was being chased and had no way to escape. With a sudden movement, he jumped up to the tree with his hands and feet like a monkey. He put his legs on the trunk of the tree and looked at the ground.

"Cut this tree down for me!"

Zhu Gaochi ordered to the guards. The guards looked at each other, but they had to obey the eldest prince's order. Although they couldn't use the waist knives in their hands, they could still find an ax and saw.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhang Anshi was helpless while hiding in the tree. In fact, he also knew that if he really wanted to get him down, these guards could easily do it. Why would he need an ax or saw?

At this moment, Mrs. Zhang pulled Zhu Zhanji over and rushed over.

"What is this doing?"

"I have to kill this bastard today!"

Ms. Zhang hurriedly stepped forward, blocked Zhu Zhanji behind her, and shouted to her husband: "Don't be angry. An Shi is still young, so it is understandable that he is a little rebellious! Besides, he is Zhang If you beat the only child in the family to death, what will your parents do? If you have anything to say, where else can he go?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Zhang Anshi shouting loudly: "Sister, sister, help me!"

Hearing his brother's call, Mrs. Zhang quickly turned around and waved to Zhang Anshi: "Come down."

"No, my brother-in-law is going to beat me to death."

Zhang Anshi was swinging around on the branches.

His behavior made Zhu Gaochi's face become even more livid, he pointed at Zhang Anshi and shouted: "Okay! See how I deal with you!"

"elder sister."

Zhang Anshi shouted at the top of his lungs.

This voice almost made Zhu Gaochi lose his breath. He pointed at the tree and yelled angrily: "Evil! Evil! It's useless to call you sister. I have to beat you to death today!"

"Father, please calm down! Don't argue with your uncle."

Seeing Zhu Gaochi's menacing attitude, Zhu Zhanji was also frightened, and pulled his clothes corner and said.

Zhu Zhanji grabbed Zhu Gaochi and said to Zhang Anshi: "Uncle, come down quickly."

Zhang Anshi gritted his teeth and jumped down with a snap.

Mrs. Zhang glared angrily, then looked at Zhu Gaochi and said with a smile: "An Shi is young and ignorant, so please tell me slowly if you have anything to do."

"You're young! You get into a lot of trouble!"

"Let's go back to the house and talk."

Mrs. Zhang then turned around and comforted Zhang Anshi softly: "Your brother-in-law has been having a hard time lately, so you have to be sensible, you know?"

"Sister, don't worry, I know."

Zhang Anshi answered quickly.

"Get the food ready."

Mrs. Zhang ordered the maid next to her to set up the banquet.

Zhu Gaochi and Zhang Anshi entered the flower hall accompanied by Mrs. Zhang, and a group of maids and women immediately came forward to arrange the table.

Mrs. Zhang glanced at Zhang Anshi, then turned to Zhu Gaochi and nodded slightly, indicating that he should sit down before talking.

Zhang and Zhang Anshi sat down on the left and right, while Zhu Gaochi sat on the main seat above them, and Zhu Zhanji sat next to Zhang.

Mrs. Zhang raised her eyes and glanced around, then her eyes fell on Zhang Anshi: "What are you still doing? Why don't you fill up the wine for your brother-in-law? Are you still counting on your brother-in-law to pour the wine for you personally?"

"yes."

Zhang Anshi quickly stood up and poured Zhu Gaochi a glass of wine, and the atmosphere temporarily relaxed.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"Ask him." Zhu Gaochi said angrily.

"That's right. Someone came to check the fields today, and I called him back."

"Clang~"

Zhang's hand shook and the wine glass accidentally fell to the ground, shattering all over the floor.

"Are you crazy? All the nobles in the city are investigating. Who gives you the courage?"

Zhang Anshi looked a little sad and said: "I can't bear it."

Yes, the three teenagers who were in the military academy two years ago are now only two years old, and their life trajectories are already very different.

Xu Jingchang usurped the title of Duke Dingguo and now runs an industry for the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army. He has gained a firm foothold. Although Zhu Yong was unable to follow him to conquer Annan because of his father's illness, he joined the tax this time. The soldiers and guards went to the countryside with him, and they had a bright future.

But what about Zhang Anshi?

If you fail to learn martial arts, you will drop out of school halfway; if you fail to learn literature, you will fail in seeking an official position.

Besides thousands of acres of fields outside Nanjing, what else is there?

And now the imperial court is going to investigate the illegal land properties of powerful people. No one knows how much of these thousand acres of land was obtained by unknown means. But Zhang Anshi only understands one thing, that is, it will definitely not survive. Start investigating.

There is a saying that Zhang is actually right. Zhang Anshi is really young and ignorant.

In Zhang Anshi's view, with his sister and husband here, the national teacher can be regarded as half a teacher. This is not a matter of principle. It is just to occupy more land. Why can't he be fooled?

But today, not to mention Zhu Gaochi, Zhang, who has experienced the incident of taking in a monk, knows that things in the court can no longer be careless.

Zhu Gaochi was imprisoned for three months last time, and his power could be said to be retreating instead of advancing. This time, if Zhang Anshi is caught again, he can go directly to the emperor. The Northern Expedition is about to add obstacles to the emperor. Zhu Gaochi will not bear it. A charge of lax discipline?

Even if he only punished Zhang Anshi, wouldn't that be a slap in Zhu Gaochi's face? After all, that was Zhu Gaochi's brother-in-law, just such a brother-in-law!

"Asshole!"

Zhang directly gave Zhang Anshi a hard fight.

Zhang Anshi was confused.

Zhang still wanted to shoot her bow left and right, but was pulled down by Zhu Gaochi.

"Okay, the child is still young."

Zhu Gaochi let out a long sigh: "Actually, my sister and brother-in-law have no other intentions. They are just angry for a moment. You don't understand that the investigation of the illegal property of the powerful is the government's current policy to rectify taxation. This is a big deal, not to mention you. Even in the house of Duke Gonghou, if you should retreat, you must retreat. If you retreat now, everything will be fine."

"Do you lack this little bit of land? Is this bit of land as important as our family's prosperity and wealth?" Mrs. Zhang seemed to hate the fact that iron cannot be transformed into steel.

Zhang Anshi suffered a big fight and recovered from his confusion. He also realized that he seemed to have done something wrong.

Zhang Anshi hesitated for a long time and asked tentatively: "What should we do?"

"Go and take back all the fields you invaded before, and donate the remaining fields."

"ah?"

Zhang Anshi was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhu Gaochi in disbelief and said, "This..."

In Zhang Anshi's opinion, it was enough to give back the over-occupied fields. Why should the other fields be given back? What can we eat and drink after we retire?

After all, Zhu Gaojiu and Zhu Gaojiu spent money unscrupulously, but it was not convenient for Zhu Gaochi himself to buy any property, so in fact, Zhu Gaochi's property was all in the name of the Zhang family.

These fields may sound like a lot, but in fact they are nothing compared to those big landowners. Zhu Gaochi's family relies on these fields to maintain their income and dignity. Otherwise, they only rely on salary and salary. To live with rewards, the whole family has to drink from the northwest wind.

"Don't leave any?" Mrs. Zhang was also a little distressed. To put it bluntly, she has long hair and short knowledge.

"Is there no land in Beijing? Can it really starve you to death?"

Zhu Gaochi took a sip of wine and was really angry when he looked at these two pig teammates who were holding back.

However, it is impossible for him to divorce Mrs. Zhang. This is the imperial concubine that Lao Zhu gave him to marry during his lifetime, and the relationship between the two of them has always been good. There is also the bond of Zhu Zhanji, which cannot be broken away no matter what, so That is to say, I complain briefly in my heart, and I have to live my life as I should.

"Go quickly, go now!"

After Zhang Anshi was sent away, the family of three had a serious meal.

"It's not easy to raise taxes."

Zhang said intentionally or unintentionally.

This is definitely not Jiang Xinghuo's intention alone. If this kind of thing can be settled, the emperor must also want to do it. Jiang Xinghuo cannot decide on his own.

As for other things, it can be said that the level of reform has always been relatively high, but when it comes to taxation, it needs to take root.

It's like a child's legs hanging from the kang and jumping to the ground. It's okay to land safely, but it's not uncommon if it really falls and breaks its feet or sprains its feet.

The area involved in this kind of thing is really too wide. Even if Southern Zhili is used as a pilot project, it is difficult to say whether it can really be promoted.

After all, there is a saying that goes well, the king of hell is easy to meet, but the devil is difficult to deal with.

Among the subordinate staff and tax collectors below, which one is not a ghost? If there are really any changes that are not conducive to them, won't they just pass by if they continue to prevaricate?

But Zhang still doesn't know how determined the court is in this tax reform.

Zhu Gaochi raised his eyes and glanced at the door. Several maids wisely withdrew and closed the door.

Zhu Gaochi whispered: "Li Jinglong will be back soon, do you know?"

"Of course, I heard that Duke Cao Guo was poisoned after eating mushrooms in Annan and is still ill. By the way, what kind of mushrooms did he eat?"

Zhu Gaochi was not interested in Zhang's gossip, he said it directly.

"Do you know why you came back at this time? You brought tens of thousands of soldiers with you."

"Why?"

Zhang just asked out of habit, then he was stunned.

"Isn't it to take over the garrison in Nanjing?" Zhu Zhanji was also stunned. He put down the bowl with rice grains in it.

"Don't care so much."

Zhu Gaochi ate his food again and the conversation stopped abruptly.

However, the meaning behind this is extremely obvious.

Li Jinglong brought back tens of thousands of expeditionary troops. In addition to taking over the garrison in Nanjing after the army's northern expedition, and being responsible for presiding over the daily work of the Fifth Army Governor's Office, he also had to cooperate with Jiang Xinghuo in tax reform.

Clearing out the land illegally occupied by nobles in the capital is only the first step.

This first step is actually a good one to take, because most of the noble military officials of Jingnan Xun have to follow the three major camps of the Beijing Camp in the northern expedition, so when the emperor gave the order, everyone understood the idea and obediently gave up their fields. Return.

As for the second and third generations of Hongwu's founders, now that they had lost their power, they naturally did not dare to stubbornly resist the emperor.

Therefore, the land clearance work carried out by the President's Reform Affairs Office was actually very smooth.

The slightly more difficult step is the second step, which is to clean up the properties illegally occupied by local powerful people.

The tyranny of the early Ming Dynasty is naturally not the same concept as the tyranny of the Wubao tribe in the past. It refers to the rich and powerful landowners in the countryside who have some servants to protect their homes. These people are unable to fight against the imperial army.

But that doesn't mean they are easy to do.

Because local powerful people basically have one hand covering the sky, the most difficult thing is not to send troops to annihilate them, but to obtain evidence.

How do you prove that my field is illegally occupied?

Read the fish scale book? It doesn’t work well, because not only have the fish scale books in many places not been updated for many years, and I don’t know how many versions behind them, they can’t be used as a basis at all. More importantly, some fish scale books have long been used by local tyrants in the name of updating. He bribed the petty officials in the yamen and tampered with them.

Therefore, judging from the fish scale book, these lands were bought and sold reasonably and legally.

So is it okay to find witnesses? Since it is illegal occupation, there must be victims, right?

It's not very good. On the one hand, although the court has enhanced its credibility at the grassroots level through flood control and other activities, its credibility is still very limited in many places where it cannot have influence; on the other hand, local powerful people can directly influence the lives of the witnesses and their families. , plus stuffing money into their mouths, many people are destined to be afraid to speak.

Therefore, it is very difficult to clean up.

Of course, if the tax guards can really take root in the countryside and investigate slowly, they can still get evidence.

But for a while, I’m afraid it won’t be possible.

Therefore, no one can say for certain how much land illegally occupied by powerful locals will be uncovered during this summer tax clearance.

But no matter what, since Li Jinglong's army is suppressing the battle, no matter what, the local tyrants will not be able to overturn the situation.

The second step is not easy, the third step is even harder.

Everyone at the grassroots level, including the subordinate officials and tax collectors, is unclean. Even if they forget the past and only start from the summer tax of the second year of Yongle, it is difficult to say whether these greedy and pushy people can put an end to such problems.

——————

Jiang Xinghuo has been very busy recently.

After a night of drinking and being carried home at dawn, Jiang Xinghuo never relaxed and entered a busy working state.

Let’s not mention other parallel matters for the time being. The most important thing is, of course, to clear away all the nobles’ property that should be cleared away before the army marches north.

Ningyang Bo Chen Maogang, the leader of the Daning Department, came to visit him. Not long after he left, there was a sudden noise outside the door.

Jiang Xinghuo's eyes flashed, he stood up and walked to the door.

Who will come at this hour?

It seems that everything that should have come has actually come. Under the background of Qiu Fu's initiative to retreat, the nobles of the Weizhou clan also cooperated in clearing away the property. Anping Marquis Li Yuan and Jing'an Marquis Wang Zhong usually looked fierce. This time it was quite easy to talk.

Not to mention the Yanshan and Hebei factions, they basically followed the Northern Expedition. No one wanted to give the emperor eye drops, so they were very proactive.

Jiang Xinghuo looked out of the courtyard through the carved wooden door.

Outside the courtyard gate, Zhang Anshi led a group of followers, surrounded a carriage, and stopped in the middle of the courtyard.

"Why is this kid here?"

"Anshi?"

Next door to Jiang Xinghuo, Xu Jingchang, who was in charge of the Industrial Department, also walked out.

Both of them were a little surprised.

What did Zhang Anshi come to see them for?

Because there were too many nobles involved in Qingtian, and Zhang Anshi's matter was not big, or his family's priority was not high at all, and could not compare with those big landowners, so there was no time to report it to Jiang Xinghuo and others. level.

"National Master, this is a congratulatory gift, please accept it with a smile."

Jiang Xinghuo glanced at Zhang Anshi suspiciously and said: "It's not the right time to give you a gift? Give me a car? Besides, don't say that I don't accept it, I just accept it. You are so fair and just come to give it at the right time." of?"

Xu Jingchang's face darkened and he asked, "What is in this carriage?"

"The land deed and the account book." Zhang Anshi said.

Xu Jingchang went up and flipped through it, then whispered a few words to Jiang Xinghuo.

Seeing this, Zhang Anshi quickly explained: "The imperial court wants to clear the fields. This is a big deal. Our family must actively cooperate. The fields have been donated. My brother-in-law also specifically asked that these things must be handed over to you, the Imperial Master."

The corners of Jiang Xinghuo's mouth twitched and he said, "Just take back what you occupied before. You donated it all. What can we eat and drink at home?"

This matter seems a bit incomprehensible to Jiang Xinghuo. Zhu Gaochi is a smart man, but a little conservative, but why would such a smart man do such a thing?

After all, the Zhang family was attached to Zhu Gaochi's existence and donated everything. The first impression given to people was not that they were general, but that they were angry.

At this time, Zhang Anshi scratched his head and said proactively: "I drank too much yesterday and I didn't know what was going on, so I kicked out the people who came to Qingtian."

After saying this, Jiang Xinghuo understood.

Jiang Xinghuo was a little dumbfounded and said, "You can take these things back. We don't need them. If we need your cooperation, just return the excess."

"No, my family must donate!"

Xu Jingchang said from the side: "An Shi, you have to think clearly."

"Is there anything I can't figure out? Isn't it just real estate?"

"Then if you donate, do other nobles want to follow suit? If there is a second one, there will be a third one. Isn't this a mess? It's not like the imperial court is forcing nobles to donate their fields." Xu Jingchang reminded.

Zhang Anshi curled his lips and said, "Besides, there is no reason why I did this."

"reason?"

Xu Jingchang was a little curious as to what this reason was.

"Find something for yourself to do and let me follow you to Qingtian, okay?"

Zhang Anshi once again took matters into his own hands.

If Zhu Gaochi were here, he would probably go crazy.

But there was no way, Zhu Gaochi was in his twenties, Zhang was just twenty, and Zhang Anshi, as Zhang's younger brother, was still a rebellious adolescent at this time. It would be strange if he didn't make his own decisions.

In fact, he didn't have to go to such trouble to ask for an official position. As long as he waited for the emperor to go to the north, Zhu Gaochi would arrange it for him casually. But seeing that Xu Jingchang, his classmate at that time, was now in a high position and working in the yamen like a big shot, he was still doing nothing. Zhang Anshi's mind was inevitably agitated when he found out.

"Isn't this like selling an official position to get a title?"

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a while and said: "If you donate all your land, firstly, it will affect the normal clearing of land by other nobles, thinking that the court is forcing them to donate their land; secondly, it will spread out that you can sell your official title by donating land. It won't affect your brother-in-law like this. Let's return the excess land first and leave the rest untouched. If you really want to do something, if your brother-in-law agrees, then come over and work as an errand. How about that?"

Zhang Anshi rolled his eyes. He thought it was good, but

"National Master, I have to go back and discuss this matter with my sister and brother-in-law."

"Can."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly, then patted his shoulder.

He didn't know that his move made Zhang Anshi's heart flutter again.

Although Zhang Anshi is not a smart man, he is not stupid either. He knows that his sister and brother-in-law don't really expect him to accomplish anything. It's not that they don't look down on him, but they want him to live a peaceful life. In fact, his parents are like this too. Otherwise I wouldn't have given him such a name.

But that’s how young people are. They always look forward to being the protagonist of this world and want to build a career through their own efforts. Especially after being left behind by their former classmates, this impatience makes them even more helpless. Depressed.

Zhang Anshi left, and Jiang Xinghuo simply stopped reading the documents in the newspaper. He rubbed his eyes that were starting to sparkle in the sunlight, and said to Xu Jingchang: "Let's go, there are still a few fields with disputes. The people below are doing it." Maybe, we will run away together this afternoon."

"good."

Xu Jingchang stretched out his waist, which was a little sore after sitting for a long time, and went directly to the stable to lead the horse.