Chapter 421: Deceit! The Great Liar Zhu Gaoxu, King of Han Dynasty!

who?

Not afraid of death?

Everyone went out looking for fame.

I saw a person walking outside the hall.

Well, he is tall and strong, but he is wearing a scarlet robe and civil official uniform, which makes him look a bit nondescript.

Where did this guy come from?

Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously looked at this person and asked: "Who are you? How dare you speak nonsense here?"

Wang Ji: "???"

What?

Your uncle!

You don't even know me?

Then why are you trying to hurt me?

Which bastard is secretly harming labor and management?

Wang Ji suppressed the grief and indignation in his heart, and saluted with neither humility nor arrogance: "Your Majesty, Wang Ji, is here to see His Highness the King of Han!"

A group of giants: "???"

Wang Ji?

The new Minister of Academic Affairs?

Why don't you know him, Prince Han?

Then you recommend him to be the new Minister of Academic Affairs?

All the giants first looked at Wang Ji in unison, and then turned to look at Zhu Gaoxu in unison, with extremely weird expressions.

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned when he heard this, and then waved his hand slightly embarrassed.

"Wang Ji, right? You wait nearby, and children should not interfere with adults' matters!"

Hearing this, Wang Jifei almost exploded with anger.

I'm older than you!

You are the child!

Your whole family is...

Hiss... I don’t want to say this!

No way, Wang Ji could only stand aside due to the despotic power of Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu then confirmed the details of the examination method with other giants, and proposed that Chen Qia, the right minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, should preside over the implementation of the examination method.

In fact, Jian Yi, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, is the most suitable candidate. If he, the Heavenly Official, personally presides over the implementation of the Kao Cheng Law, relying on his personal qualifications and prestige, he will definitely avoid many unnecessary troubles and obstacles.

But Jian Yi is already old and behaves in a mature and prudent manner, while Chen Qia is much younger than him, acts resolutely and courageously, and is familiar with military affairs. In comparison, Chen Qia is undoubtedly a more suitable candidate.

Everyone discussed for a long time and finally confirmed the implementation of the examination method. Chen Qia, the right minister of the Ministry of official affairs, will take the lead, with the secret assistance of Jian Yi, the minister of the Ministry of official affairs, and the cooperation of six ministries and hundreds of departments.

A full hour passed before this temporary meeting, which had a profound impact on Ming Dynasty, came to an end, and all the giants retreated.

And poor Wang Ji and Wang Shangde just stood there and waited for an hour.

When the big guys had all withdrawn and only he and Prince Han were left in the palace, Wang Ji knelt down directly.

"Your Highness, King of Han, my ministers are not very talented and have little knowledge. It is difficult for them to take on such a big responsibility. Please choose someone more worthy!"

Zhu Gaoxu took a sip of tea and glanced at him lightly.

"Wang Shangde, if I remember correctly, when you were sent to Shanxi as an envoy, you saw that the local people were living in poverty, so you reported to the court to exempt more than 200,000 shi in arrears in taxes from Yanchi. Do you still remember this?"

"I will certainly remember it and will never forget it!"

Nonsense, of course he didn’t forget it!

If he hadn't asked for life for the people, he, Wang Ji, wouldn't have offended Long Yan and been thrown into the mess of Ying Tianfu Cheng!

"Since you still remember it, do you still remember the original intention of asking for life for the people?"

Wang Ji was startled when he heard this.

The original intention of asking for life for the people?

What else could it be?

I just saw that the local people were living in poverty, so I decided to do something for them.

Seeing that he was deep in thought, Zhu Gaoxu secretly thought something was wrong, so he continued to puzzle: "Wang Shangde, have you ever thought about why the people of Shanxi live in such poverty and hardship?"

Wang Ji shook his head subconsciously when he heard this, and then tentatively replied: "Perhaps it is because of years of fighting that..."

"Wrong, you were a Jinshi in the fourth year of Yongle. In the fifth year of Yongle, you went to Shanxi as an envoy. After five years of recuperation, no matter how hard the people in Shanxi are, they can't even afford clothes or food, right? "

The words of the King of Han made Wang Ji fall into deep thought.

Yes, why is this?

Even after experiencing the chaos and calamity at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the economy in Shanxi was prosperous and the land was fertile, but it was densely populated and land was scarce. Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi, was even more famous as a fertile land!

In the prosperous age of Hongwu, people continued to cultivate themselves, and in the fifth year of Yongle's reign, the people stopped fighting. Why are the people of Shanxi still so poor and hard-working?

"Have you figured it out? If not, I will tell you!"

"Please give me some advice, Your Highness!"

Wang Ji did not hesitate and looked at Zhu Gaoxu sincerely.

Now he just wants to know what is the reason why the people in Shanxi are so poor that they can't even eat.

Zhu Gaoxu did not answer in a hurry, but asked Wang Ji an inexplicable question.

"Shangde, do you still remember what impressions you had of the villages and towns you saw along the way in Shanxi?"

When Wang Ji heard this, he fell into deep thought, and that picture subconsciously appeared in his mind.

He went all the way from the capital to Taiyuan Prefecture in Shanxi Province. Ever since he stepped into Shanxi Province, most of the people he saw had sallow complexions and obvious physical ailments. The clothes these people wore were also in tatters and full of wrinkles. Patches, not even a piece of intact clothes, just like a group of beggars and refugees!

However, they are not beggars, but good farmers registered with the government!

"poverty!"

"Very poor!"

After pondering, Wang Ji struggled to spit out these words.

"How are people living in Shanxi?"

"Low huts, no exception!"

"Oh, isn't there a wealthy family with high walls like Daiwa?"

"This...has it!"

In his remaining memories, Wang Ji could easily see a wealthy family that stood out from the rest.

In fact, in every village and market town that Wang Ji passed through, he saw low thatched houses everywhere. However, in every village and market town, there must be one or two tall families with black tiles, white walls, and carved beams and painted buildings.

This is a fact and cannot be argued.

"Then do you know who owns most of the land in these villages and towns?"

Like a demonic sound filling the ears, the voice of Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu kept coming.

Wang Ji followed his train of thought and subconsciously blurted out: "A wealthy family!"

"who are they?"

"Gentleman!"

"Then do you know that they control the most fertile farmland in the area, but they don't have to pay taxes?"

"Why?"

"Because of fame!"

Fame!

The privilege of readers!

Wang Ji murmured these two words, feeling disgusted with fame for the first time.

"Also, the local government collects taxes according to the fish scale atlas, and the amount of tax paid by the court to the local government remains unchanged. In other words, the local government must collect the corresponding amount of tax for the number of fields recorded in the fish scale atlas!"

"However, the most land in a place is in the hands of the gentry. They rely on their own fame to avoid paying taxes. There are also more and more scholars who rely on the imperial examination to gain fame and become gentry, and the fields under their names do not need to pay taxes... Then Who does this tax ultimately fall on?!”

The tax amount remains unchanged.

The number of gentry increased.

There were more fields to their name.

In other words, there are more fields that do not need to pay taxes.

Then the taxes that will eventually fall on the people will be greatly increased!

It’s a vicious cycle and it’s ongoing!

Wang Ji's scalp was numb with shock, and he looked at Zhu Gaoxu, King of Han Dynasty, in shock.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at him expressionlessly and said softly: "Now you understand why Shanxi is obviously a blessed land, but the local people are so poor and hard-working?"

"The imperial court stipulates that one tax is thirty to one, but because of the existence of the gentry, in order to complete the tax amount, the local government can only secretly increase the tax rate, from thirty taxes to one to ten taxes to one, or even five taxes to one!"

"Wang Shangde, you are a smart man. You know very well what it means for the poorest people to pay the heaviest taxes!"

What does it mean?

Wang Ji already had the answer in his mind.

The government forced the people to rebel, and the world was in chaos until... the dynasty collapsed!