The reason why there were so many refugees in Xianghe and the surrounding counties was that most of these military households had fled from Tianjin and Jizhou, and some even came from Liaodong. Dengzhou and Laizhou also had some, which made Zhu Youxiao very helpless.
This can be considered a historical problem, but now that these military households have been driven out, all the court has to do is to resettle these people, and other matters have to be put on the back burner.
After a moment's silence, Zhu Youxiao asked again, "What do you mean by tenant farmers?"
Ma Qiandao looked at Zhu Youxiao and said quickly, "Your Majesty, besides some of the escaped military households who are shady households, there are also some ordinary tenants. These wealthy families will not rent their land to them."
"Why? The court is only investigating the land, so why don't the wealthy rent it out?"
"Because they want to turn those lands into wasteland." Ma Qiandao looked at Zhu Youxiao and said, "That way, they won't be considered their land. After the court has conducted an investigation, they can continue to farm."
"But the people who are measuring it aren't fools. How could they not notice this?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Ma Qiandao and asked, "Do they want to bribe everyone?"
In order to prevent this situation, Zhu Youxiao has sent many inspection teams, but he did not expect that there are still people who dare to commit crimes against the wind.
The most important thing is that they drove away the tenants. Aren’t they afraid that they won’t be able to hire anyone again?
"Your Majesty, they drove away the tenants, I'm afraid they didn't intend to leave the land idle for a year." Liu Xian took a step forward and said, "I'm afraid these people won't be cultivating these fields anytime soon."
"If the land is truly abandoned, after three to five years, or even ten to eight years, the land will still belong to them. That's why they drive the tenants away. Firstly, to prevent the news from leaking out, and secondly, if it's only for a year or two, they can support the tenants. Of course, it's also possible that they're reluctant to part with the money and food. To them, aren't tenants just people who can come at their beck and call?"
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao's face darkened. He turned to look at Ma Qiandao beside him and asked, "How are they going to count these lands as wasteland?"
"Your Majesty, these fields were never registered with the court. All the local authorities need do is ignore them when they register them. There's nothing else to do. They weren't their land to begin with, so there's no registration or title deed. Just keep it that way."
"These wealthy families bribed local officials and clerks. For example, if a family has 300 acres of land, only 100 acres are registered. This time, they registered an extra 20 acres, which is considered their hidden land. The rest can still be kept. Even if the court wants to confiscate it, it will be difficult."
Zhu Youxiao knew that this was indeed very difficult and that he could not send anyone down. Moreover, even if he sent people down to investigate the whole country, they would inevitably accept bribes.
Local officials will protect those wealthy people. In these matters, they will definitely eat and drink to their heart's content and make a lot of money, but they are also afraid that the higher-ups will find out.
The collusion between wealthy families and local officials made this matter difficult to handle. The imperial court was not in a position to intervene in such matters of localism, which was why they were so bold and dared to act in this way.
Furthermore, they were now driving out the tenants and the hidden household members, clearly causing trouble for the local authorities and the imperial court. Perhaps the local authorities would report a major disaster to resolve the matter.
Zhu Youxiao breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "These people are really bold. They are trying to take advantage of this opportunity to make a fortune."
No one around said anything. Everyone knew that His Majesty must be angry, and this time it would definitely not end well.
Ma Qiandao stood aside, feeling a little excited.
Your Majesty, please tell me what to do quickly. I will let them know the power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
This matter is not just a matter of Xianghe County, nor is it just a matter of Shuntian Prefecture. It is a matter of the entire world.
You have seen what happened in Xianghe County, but what about the places that you cannot see?
Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Liu Xian and asked, "What do you think we should do about this matter?"
Liu Xian was a graduate of the Imperial Academy, considered an exceptional graduate. He had done quite a bit in recent years, having worked in the General Staff Office, the Cabinet, and the Ministry of Revenue. Now, he had been transferred to Zhu Youxiao's side, essentially offering advice.
After hearing what Zhu Youxiao said, Liu Xian quickly said, "I think we should send people to conduct a thorough investigation. We should mobilize personnel and send them down from county to county. Each province should send a working group, and then the working groups will send people to each state, city, prefecture, and county. All places should be thoroughly investigated. Mobilize the Jinyiwei from all over the country and send the royal guards to participate at the same time."
Liu Xian's expression was extremely serious. He looked up at Zhu Youxiao and said, "Your Majesty, there is no other solution. If local officials and wealthy families are colluding, then our original plan of confiscating all that land and turning it into public property, and not allowing it to go uncultivated, will become unrealistic. After all, when it comes to collusion between officials and businessmen, there's hardly any problem that can't be solved."
"Okay, then let's do as you say." Zhu Youxiao looked at Liu Xian and said, "I will send an order to the cabinet to establish a national land survey operation team. You will go back and be responsible for organizing and raising funds for this matter. I will also send an order to Wei Zhongxian and Chen Hong, asking them to obey your orders."
Liu Xian was stunned when he heard this.
This is certainly an opportunity. If he can do this well and beautifully, he will be able to rise to prominence and may even be able to become a prime minister one day.
But Liu Xian also knew he couldn't do it. His experience was too limited, and his prestige wasn't high enough to intimidate those involved. It would be easy for something to go wrong. Not only would he fail to get things done, but he would mess it up, which would block his entire future.
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