strictlysupreme Chapter 943 Bringing things to order
Chapter 943 Bringing things to order
Chapter 943 Bringing things to order
After Zhang Cong left,
Gu Renyi took over the position of Prime Minister.
Back then, this fearless and outspoken county magistrate brought up from Sichuan by Fei Hong eventually surpassed his mentor and reached the pinnacle of civil officials.
Political failures rarely end in a definite way, and successes never end in a definite way.
Zhang Cong left in a safe manner, which really did not please some people, so many people from all walks of life continued to report him.
If the emperor was not Zhu Houzhao, he would not have escaped a dark ending.
Now Zhu Houzhao kept all these memorials and used this as a way to establish his authority over the Qingliu, in order to tell them that they did not have the final say in the Ming Dynasty.
As for the rest, Gu Renyi can put things right.
Starting from April of the twenty-second year, Lord Gu began to submit memorials.
The first step is to request an overturning of the verdicts of some officials of all ranks who had been framed before. It doesn't matter if they are dead, at least their reputations will be cleared. If they are still alive, their positions will be reinstated to a certain extent.
Secondly, Gu Renyi believed that since the currency reform had been very effective, the Jinyiwei and Dongchang troops could be withdrawn to reduce the fear of local officials and the people. Zhu Houzhao partially agreed.
With these two changes, the tension among the officials and the people of the entire Ming Dynasty was relieved.
This was also what Zhu Houzhao wanted to achieve before, to tighten the atmosphere for a while and then relax it for a while. Now Gu Renyi relaxed the atmosphere, so the singing and dancing continued.
Even the brothels in the city that never sleeps are seeing some improvement in business.
Third, Gu Renyi proposed to further increase the weight of Confucian classics in the three-division examination, and to make traditional classics more important than science. Basically, if you don't pass the Four Books and Five Classics, you will definitely fail the exam.
Zhu Houzhao also agreed. The foundation for the scientific development of the Ming Dynasty was already in place. Confucianism played an important role in maintaining the rule. It was not that he was afraid of the instability of his imperial power, but he did not want to see the An-Shi Rebellion in the heyday of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, some political and ideological control is still necessary.
The fourth one, Gu Renyi, submitted a memorial requesting a reduction in taxes across the country.
Zhu Houzhao agreed to this point in principle.
Because of the introduction of commercial taxes, agricultural taxes can indeed be reduced to a certain extent.
In fact, the tax rate in the Ming Dynasty was not very high. There was no unified number because different regions, fields, and people paid different taxes, but the overall average was between 5% and 10%. Only in Suzhou and Songjiang areas were the tax rates very high, at about 20%.
Everyone knows the specific reasons.
As for the heavy burden on the common people, this is mainly due to the irrationality of other supporting systems, such as the often-mentioned removal of the privileged gentry.
This means that most of the people who pay taxes are poor people.
This group of people would have a hard time even if they didn't pay taxes, let alone the fact that all the taxes in the world are borne by them?
Apart from these lower-class people, everyone else lived a decent life. For example, in the Jiangnan region, when Emperor Chongzhen died, Jiangnan was still thriving.
The collapse of the national governance system did not even cause chaos in Jiangnan. Instead, the relaxation of control brought about a period of prosperity.
But we who live in modern times all know that any prosperity must have a good economic foundation. Otherwise, why are you happy with an empty stomach?
Let's talk about why Zhu Houzhao agreed in principle.
That is, he does not agree with comprehensive and universal tax cuts.
Regarding this point, he summoned Gu Renyi into the palace to specifically inform him that he only agreed to reduce taxes for the lower-class people in poor areas.
Now the Ming Dynasty collects land taxes based on the land, not the person. That is, no matter who owns the land, the tax must be paid.
If no one claims this land, that's fine, you don't want it, right? The government will take it back.
In this way, there is the technical condition to determine whether a person is rich or poor.
Therefore, tax cuts can be targeted, that is, for households with an average of less than five acres of land per person, tax cuts can be made.
Those whose income exceeds this amount are either landlords or rich peasants. What’s wrong with paying some taxes?
Of course,
There are policies and measures to counter,
The imperial court wants to recognize per capita distribution, so there is a reason for this, such as giving birth to a child quickly - is that different?
Zhu Houzhao also agreed with this point. In this era, population size is not a burden. What about the vast tracts of land? Population size is part of a country's strength.
Another problem is that the land is demolished artificially.
For example, if two relatives have an average land area of 5 per mu and one has an average land area of per mu, they can make arrangements with each other if possible and officially adopt a child, but in reality nothing will change.
These are basic operations in rural society. No matter how you set the policies, the people will have a way to deal with them.
But compared with the positive impact of tax reduction and exemption, none of this is important.
Although the new cabinet chief, Gu Renyi, had a high reputation, he was not as famous as the Zhengde Emperor, who had been in power for twenty-two years. He did not dare to disobey the emperor's suggestions.
At least it was partially successful.
The cabinet then scrambled to work out the details of how to cut taxes.
All of this is what the Confucian officials of the Qing Dynasty want.
Take a look.
Employing upright officials and eliminating villains and treacherous ministers, while at the same time reducing taxes and levies and valuing traditions, this is the prosperous age in their minds!
As such decrees were announced one after another, the whole world was naturally excited.
Zhu Houzhao also followed the agreement and temporarily put away the claws of the factory guards.
The world began to enter a stage of recuperation and rest as conflicts gradually eased.
It can be said that the trend in the court was completely reversed.
Having accomplished his mission, Wang Yangming returned to Nanjing to continue his post as the governor of Yingtian, and his reputation rose to a new level.
In August,
After the expansion of the Yangming Academy, which he personally founded, he posted a notice to recruit talents for the first time. At one time, all the talented people came, young and old, and the number of people exceeded a thousand.
People speaking different accents gathered in Nanjing from all directions, making such a commotion that foreigners in Nanjing could not understand.
The common people who were watching the fun said with envy, "They are all scholars!"
Being a scholar is the greatest honor of this era.
They carried bookbindes on their backs, held books in their hands, and wore long gowns. They all came here to learn.
Yangming Academy is right beside Xuanwu Lake. The buildings in the academy are simple and elegant, with flying eaves and pointed corners, red walls and black tiles. It is surrounded by green trees, birds singing and flowers blooming, as if it is a paradise far away from the hustle and bustle of the world.
Wang Yangming was also dressed simply like a scholar, and when he sat down, thousands of students were sitting on the ground.
This grand scene of rich academic atmosphere and rich cultural heritage became another proof of the prosperity of culture and education.
Wang Yangming is worthy of being a great master of his generation. He had no reservations towards those who came to study with him, and in his discussions with several close disciples, he explained what he had understood in his life, namely, Yangming's Four Sentences: The heart has neither good nor bad intentions in its nature, but has good and evil intentions in its actions. Knowing good and evil is conscience, and doing good and avoiding evil is the study of things.
Amid the sound of reading, his disciples also had heated discussions on this issue.
Some people say: "These four sentences probably haven't touched the root of the problem. If the mind is neither good nor evil, then thoughts, cognition, and things should also be neither good nor evil."
The disciples sitting next to Wang Yangming were actually in their 30s or 40s. Such a group of grown men were immersed in "academic discussions".
When he heard someone raise a question, the eldest disciple Wen De said worriedly, "This will miss the point where we should start working."
What this means is that if you understand it this way you may lose the entry point to practice.
While arguing,
Wang Yangming explained: "The nature of the mind is indeed neither evil nor good, but people have different qualities. For those with higher understanding, they can start directly from the origin of the mind, because the nature of the human mind is originally clear and unobstructed, and it can be revealed with a little enlightenment;
As for those who may have more faults and bad habits, they need to work hard to correct and cultivate themselves under the guidance of their conscience. This is just different for each person in practice. There is no such thing as "losing". "
After this explanation, everyone understood and said, "That makes sense, that makes sense."
Wang Yangming pondered the theory of the unity of knowledge and action in his mind for his entire life, and he had figured out all the key points. Even if there were a thousand people here, or even a thousand more, it would be impossible for him to answer them.
With this as an example, many of his words and deeds during this literary meeting were recorded in "Chuan Xi Lu".
On the last day of the conference,
Another important person came to Yangming Academy - He Tingren, the emperor's attendant.
He was recommended to the emperor by his teacher as a disciple.
Since the relationship between master and disciple still exists, how can we do without him at this time?
And because of his special status close to the emperor, the atmosphere here seemed to have changed since he stepped into Yangming Academy.
Although he was not wearing fancy clothes, people would automatically give him a halo because of his power and position, making people feel awe when looking at him.
Wang Yangming didn't know this in advance and stood up with the help of people around him.
Heaven, Earth, the Emperor, parents and teachers are all members of the family. The Emperor comes before the teachers.
He Tingren stood straight, with the imperial edict exposed from his sleeves. He held it horizontally with both hands and said majestically, "Personally confer the title of Xinjian Earl and Yingtian Governor Wang Shouren, accept the edict."
Imperial edict?!
Everyone's complexion changed.
Wang Yangming also straightened his face and knelt down without any hesitation.
"Your Highness, I am Wang Shouren. I accept your order!"
"The Emperor of Fengtian Chengyun proclaims: I have heard that the area south of the Yangtze River is known as a place of profound cultural heritage. Recently, I have heard that Wang Shouren, also known as Bo'an and Yangming, has used his outstanding talents to work hard to govern the area south of the Yangtze River. He has promoted education and revitalized the cultural heritage and enlightened people. His achievements have been remarkable. The people have been enlightened and the atmosphere of scholars has been completely renewed. He is truly a pillar of the country and a pillar of the country.
Wang Shouren has promoted the teachings of sages and promoted the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. His determination and sincerity have made our cultural and educational undertakings flourish, the people's hearts have been won, and the country is peaceful and the people are safe. In view of his achievements, I am very pleased. I have specially issued an imperial decree to confer the title of Shao Bao and Zhu Guo as a commendation. I hope you will cherish this honor and continue to carry out your ambitions. Spread the teachings to the world, so that it will be like spring rain and spring breeze, moistening all places, so that human relations will be harmonious, national strength will be prosperous, and the foundation of the country will be forever consolidated. I decree this!"
"Teacher, please accept my order."
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your generosity!" Hearing this decree in front of so many people made him feel both shocked and impressed. He then kowtowed and said loudly, "Long live the emperor!"
He Tingren turned around.
The thousands of students below the stage also bowed in sincerity. The emperor's reward to Wang Shouren was a reward for them and the path they sought.
"Long live my emperor! Long live!"
(End of this chapter)