Chapter 229 I will take responsibility for the infamy! (Three updates tomorrow)
Outside Tian Mansion.
A figure was stretched very long by the moonlight.
Tian Jing stood in the mansion, watching Xia Zhibai go away.
When Xia Zhibai's figure was completely out of sight, he came back to his senses with a sense of loss. He looked at the housekeeper who was waiting respectfully outside the house, and said softly: "Butler, do you think what I did is right or wrong? Wrong? ”
The housekeeper looked confused, but still said with a smile: "Parents have their own ideas, and the young ones don't dare to overestimate."
Tian Jing looked at the housekeeper deeply for a few times, nodded, and said to himself : "I have been cautious all my life. Although I have a somewhat impatient personality, I never want to argue with others. I just want to protect myself wisely and get involved in the officialdom. This life of hard work is not in vain. Unfortunately, in the end, I still have to be killed by others."
"Xia Zhibai wants me to be his knife!”
The housekeeper was stunned.
He had a strange look on his face and said in puzzlement: "Parent, Xia Zhibai is only a fifth-rank official. How can He De let you be the sword? Besides, isn't it the same as the right deputy chief censor? Do you have any friendship? Moreover, the parents have a good relationship with other officials of the Salt Transport Department, so why did they become Xia Zhibai’s sword?”
"I don't understand."
The housekeeper shook his head blankly.
He couldn't understand why.
Tian Jing sighed, stood upright, letting the hot wind blow on his face, and murmured: "Is there really any friendship?"
"I'm just being treated as a pawn by these people."
"My official position came and went just as quickly."
"If I was just hanging on for a while, I would not be willing to be manipulated like this, but in the end, nothing has changed."< br>
"Go and prepare some hot water for me."
"I'm ready to rest."
The housekeeper nodded quickly and ran quickly to prepare the hot water.
On the streets.
Xia Zhibai was walking home with Chun Pheasant and Lu Cang.
He was in a relatively happy mood, because the southern salt administration had been stumbling for so long, and after such a long time, he finally convinced Tian Jing. Tian Jing is a very thoughtful person, but In today's powerful society, his mind is destined to be pale.
People are knives and servants, and I am fish and meat.
Tian Jing has been coming all the way and can't get rid of it at all.
In a sense, he helped Tian Jing and at least gave Tian Jing a way to survive. As for whether Tian Jing can survive in the end, it depends on his own performance, but for now, Tian Jing should survive better than normal. It will take a little longer.
Xia Zhibai raised his head and looked at the bright starry sky.
“Although I don’t know what the final result will be, at least it is a sound.”
He shook his head and walked towards the salt shop.
The next day, it was just dawn.
All the officials in Fengtian Hall have arrived, and the monarch and his ministers have been discussing political affairs for a while.
Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, responded to the reports of the officials one by one, and was about to leave the court. At this moment, Tian Jing took the initiative to stand up.
Tian Jing said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
As soon as he said this, everyone in the palace was shocked.
Wei Heng and other Salt Transportation Department officials looked at each other, wondering why Tian Jing stood up on his own? They had clearly agreed before to jointly submit a letter to report certain things to His Majesty so as to get some credit for themselves. But by standing up now, isn't Tian Jing claiming credit on his own?
For a while.
Wei Heng and Qi Quan’s eyes were a little cold.
Li Shanchang and Mei Sizu looked at each other slightly, with a faint smile on their lips. They glanced at the emperor above them imperceptibly, and then quickly looked back, pretending to be unaware of Tian Jing. What is the sudden appearance?
The soup and complexion are slightly condensed.
He vaguely felt that something was wrong.
Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled, looked at Tian Jing with cold eyes, and said coldly: "Oh, it's Tian Jing, do you have something to tell us? Why haven't we seen the memorial you gave us before? ?"
Tian Jing bowed respectfully and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I don't want to speak at this time, but the situation in the south is urgent, so I have to say it."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked slightly. He closed his eyes, a cold look flashed in his eyes.
"What happened in the south?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked surprised.
Tian Jing said: "Back to your majesty, due to the emergence of steam engines, there has been a certain chaos in the salt administration in the south. However, the chief secretaries in the south were unable to cope with it, which has caused certain turmoil in several chief secretaries in the south. And the situation It’s still getting worse.”
"A few days ago, I and other officials of the Salt Transportation Department received a letter from the south, and I was extremely shocked."
"I and the Wei Salt Transportation Envoy originally wanted to report to His Majesty what happened in the south immediately. It's just that as an official of the Salt Transportation Department, I have a close relationship with the turmoil in the south. Therefore, I and other officials of the Salt Transportation Department have been thinking about a solution for the past few days. "
"Now I have thought of it. "
"I want to report to your majesty this time."
The palace is quiet.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes turned cold and he said in a cold voice: "Such a bad thing happened in the south. Why didn't you tell us earlier? If something really happened in the south, I would tear off all your heads one by one."< br>
“Tell me everything you know!”
Tian Jing’s face turned pale.
He took a deep breath, glanced slightly at the front row, and then said: "Back to Your Highness, a year and a half ago, I was grateful for the advancement of steam engines, so I took it upon myself to send the steam engine blueprints to the south. , Wanting to facilitate the developed salt market in the south, the effect was indeed achieved."
"But Chen and others also ignored one thing."
"It is the livelihood of kitchen households."
"The kitchen household system implemented by the Ming Dynasty in the salt administration."
"There are currently hundreds of thousands of kitchen households in the world, and the vast majority of them are in the south. , and the steam engine was extremely efficient in producing salt and required very little manpower. In pursuit of profits, some merchants and landowners in the south built salt factories all over the south. In just about a year, there were one or two hundred more salt factories in the south. "
“This has also caused the kitchen households who originally made a living by making salt to lose their livelihood. Now winter is coming in less than two months. Without surplus food, it is difficult for the kitchen households to survive.”
"So the desperate kitchen households had no choice but to start attacking salt factories in various places, trying to destroy these salt-making steam engines and restore the salt policy in the south to the past. Moreover, this situation has become more and more intense after a month of fermentation, and the situation has become worse and worse. The crisis is coming, and I am terrified.”
"I know very well that it was my lack of consideration that caused today's serious trouble."
"So I haven't had a good night's sleep in the past few days, and have been thinking about how to quell this dispute, and last night , I finally figured out how to deal with it. Now that the world has just emerged from the war, the population is seriously declining, so it is imperative to release some manpower."
"So in my opinion, it is imperative. , the steam engine cannot be scrapped and should be maintained. "
" Just make other arrangements for the kitchen owner! "
Hearing this.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were slightly strange.
Even Zhu Biao, who was standing aside, looked strange. He and His Majesty had actually heard about the incident in the southern Zaohu household for a long time, but His Majesty had been suppressing it and not making it public.
On the one hand, my father was very angry because he had not figured out how to deal with it, but as Tian Jing said, the stability of people's livelihood is the most important thing, and everything should focus on the overall situation. On the other hand, his father was also waiting deliberately to see what kind of trouble could be caused in the south. When Tian Jing came out in front, he thought Tian Jing was here to test his father.
I never thought about it.
Tian Jing really wanted to make suggestions.
Compared with the strange behavior of Zhu Yuanzhang and his son, Li Shanchang and others looked at each other in shock.
They looked at Tian Jing suspiciously, and there was an unexplainable meaning in their eyes. However, Tian Jing's eyes were as bright as a torch, and he was not fake at all. He always looked concerned about the country and the people, and shared his majesty's worries.
Wei Heng's face was slightly cold.
He glared at Tian Jing with an unkind expression.
He should have been the one to take the limelight, but now Tian Jing has taken the lead.
Zhu Yuanzhang calmly glanced at the officials in the palace, taking in all the officials' expressions, and sneered: "Then we would like to hear what solutions you have come up with."
" Tell me."
Tian Jing nodded and said: "In my opinion, the source of the chaos in the south lies in the chaos of the salt administration. Under the powerful influence of the steam engine, the kitchen households who originally relied on salt production, They have gradually lost their means of making a living, and will become more and more embarrassed in the future. A big factor that restricts their livelihood is household registration."
"I boldly suggest that the Zao household registration be abolished."
"All the kitchen households in the world should be classified into the general origin of 'workers and peasants'."
"Let the kitchen households in the future be able to freely choose whether to farm or continue to work, and the court can also get rid of it. The burden of supporting hundreds of thousands of kitchen households has greatly reduced the financial burden of the Ming Dynasty."
As soon as he said this, there were objections all around.
"Not allowed, Your Majesty." Xu Ben, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, stood up and said in a cold voice: "What Mr. Tian Yun said is wrong. Could it be that just because of the chaos in the Zao households, the household registration of the Zao household can be changed at will?" If we change it, doesn’t it mean that we regard the Ming Dynasty’s household registration as a child’s play? If other people are dissatisfied with their household registration in the future, will the government also change it?”
“Wouldn’t the world be in chaos? ”
"Household registration cannot be changed."
"Most of the land in the south now has owners, and there is no extra land to supply these kitchen households. They can only cultivate it by themselves. And this year's autumn harvest has passed, even if Even if they change their household registration, it will be difficult for them to store food for the winter. Now that they have a Zao household registration, the court may be able to help them. "
"What you said is so irresponsible."
“You are treating the lives of hundreds of thousands of people as child’s play.”
Li Shanchang also said: “It is not advisable to change household registration.”
“Abolition of household registration is even more undesirable.”
“When your salt transportation department has a problem, you don’t want to solve the problem and take the initiative to take responsibility. Instead, you just want to abandon these kitchen households and pass the problem to others. This Isn’t it too irresponsible? And it’s ridiculous to cancel the household registration.”
“I also disagree.”
Tian Jing looked stern and felt a lot of pressure.
He took a deep breath and continued: "I haven't finished speaking in official terms yet."
“It is necessary to abolish household registration.”
“Because the kitchen household system has become an obstacle to all parties.”
“The imperial court does not need so many people to make salt, but it has to support so many people. Man, isn’t this a waste of the court’s money and food? Moreover, many salt factories in the south recruit kitchen households under the banner of the court, but they don’t pay for it themselves and rely on local officials to support them.”
"Isn't this ridiculous?"
"And why is it difficult for kitchen households to make a living?"
"It's because of the Ming Dynasty's household registration, which strictly stipulates that kitchen households can only make salt. They can't engage in other industries. They can only do some temporary labor. But can this kind of day labor really support a family? And with the continuous development of steam engines, With promotion, the number of people employed in the salt factory will only decrease.”
“What to do with the hundreds of thousands of additional kitchen households?”
“Should the government support them?”
"To overdo it means to overdo it."
"Otherwise, wouldn't the imperial court always be dragged by the 'zao household'? Rather than being troubled by it, it would be better to simply do it in one step and directly register the Zao household registration It’s useless, if you gentlemen are not willing to bear this infamy, then I, Tian Jing, will bear it.”
"I'm not afraid!"
"As a minister of the Ming Dynasty, I live on the emperor's salary, are loyal to the emperor, and worry about the emperor. What should I be afraid of?!"
Tian Jing said coldly Sweeping through the people in the hall.
Mei Sizu sneered: "You come to bear it, can you afford it?"
"How can you bear the rations of hundreds of thousands of people? And these kitchen households in the south want Change your household registration? Have you asked them? They have made a living by making salt for generations. You have wiped out all the skills of their ancestors with just a few words. It’s so cruel. ”
"Let's talk about it."
"What if we change it?"
"Can these hundreds of thousands of people be arranged?"
"In the end, it doesn't depend on the court. Since the solution is all up to the court, what difference does it make if the household registration is changed or not? At least it can make people feel at ease for now. Otherwise, wouldn't it be necessary for hundreds of thousands of people to flock to farmland and work? Cause greater turmoil? "
"Master Tian, as an official in the government, you cannot be so one-sided, you must take the overall situation into consideration!"
Tian Jing snorted coldly and said calmly: "Since I dare to boast about this Haikou, I naturally want to completely solve the riot in the south. What you ministers said is right. Just changing one household registration will not solve any real problems. There should be more trouble." The biggest problem the court has right now is that it cannot provide proper accommodation. "
"But to be precise, the South cannot provide it."
"What are you talking about?" Mei Sizu frowned, with a hint of evil in his eyes.
Tian Jing bowed his hands to Zhu Yuanzhang and said: "I requested that all the Zao households who participated in the riots be moved to the north to enrich the population of the north. After these Zao households are completely moved away, it will naturally not affect them anymore. To the south.”
“The north can eat these people.”
"Whether it is dividing the fields or going to the salt factories that have just been built, they can all be properly handled. The court may have to worry about this for a while, but as long as spring begins and the grain is planted, all problems will be solved one after another. "
"The imperial court got rid of the burden of hundreds of thousands of Zaohu households, greatly enriched the population of the North, and completely solved the Zaohu rebellion in the South."
"Once and for all, in one fell swoop. Three gains, why not do it?"
"I believe that the chief secretaries in the north and the salt factories established by Xia University can absorb all these people."
Listen. Everyone in the palace was stunned by Tian Jing's suggestion.
They were all shocked and speechless.
They just didn't like the method proposed by Tian Jing. As a result, Tian Jing was even more ruthless and directly came to remove the firepower. Since it was a riot by kitchen households, well, let's gather the power of the court and get rid of these kitchen households. , everyone is gone, so it is naturally impossible to cause further turmoil.
But is this what Mei Sizu and others want to see?
They don’t want to be good people.
(End of this chapter)