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◎What the Emperor wants, the Emperor gets.◎
Qingyang learned from Jia Fangping that there were problems among the people, such as the common people trying to evade taxes and the scholars taking the opportunity to annex land. She had thought about how to solve this problem herself, and now she has reported it to her father. It is up to her father to decide whether to change it or not. Qingyang also knew that she was just talking lightly, but her father had to consider all the possible consequences, so if her father was hesitant, Qingyang would not be angry about it.
Throwing the difficult problem to her father, Qingyang continued to be a little princess who studied, practiced martial arts and observed government affairs. In everyone's eyes, she was a carefree ten-year-old child.
Emperor Xingwu was a little jealous of his daughter. She was old and cautious, and she only asked questions to her father, but never helped him...
Never mind, his daughter is only ten years old. It’s amazing that she can think of these things. Does he really expect his daughter to give him a perfect plan for reform?
Emperor Xingwu believed that if he dared to hand the matter over to his daughter and allow her to mobilize the court officials to assist her, she might really be able to make it happen, but this would be too contrary to the order of the court. The ministers would think that his daughter was making trouble and would then advise him as the emperor to dissuade her. If he did not listen, the ministers, especially the literati whose interests were harmed, would use the most vicious words to scold his daughter and accuse him of being a tyrant who allowed his daughter to disrupt the order of the court.
Emperor Xingwu was reluctant to put his ten-year-old daughter in such a difficult situation. Besides, he was still alive. As a father, he would never leave the problem to his children to worry about!
He dares to do what the prince will not dare to do in the future. He will do what his daughter dares to think of at such a young age and show her!
Two days later, Emperor Xingwu summoned the Imperial Censor Nie Ao and asked him whether the civil servants retained from the previous dynasty had committed any acts of corruption or other illegal activities recently.
The Censorate was responsible for supervising and impeaching officials, and shared the same authority as the Dali Temple to try cases committed by officials.
Nie Ao bluntly stated, "There are many, but the Censorate doesn't have hard evidence against most officials yet, so they need to investigate step by step. Of those officials for whom we have already gathered evidence and are preparing to impeach, I can name five."
Emperor Xingwu: "Which one is closest to the capital? I am referring to officials retained from the previous dynasty. Those newly recruited after my ascension to the throne or those newly admitted through examinations do not count."
The old officials of the previous dynasty were divided into two categories. One was those who had been forced out of office by the tyrant emperor and his corrupt ministers. They were either truly talented or of high moral character who disdained to be corrupt, so Emperor Xingwu sent people to bring them back. The other was those who were in office when he ascended the throne. The most treacherous and evil were all executed by Emperor Xingwu. Those with minor problems were retained by Emperor Xingwu as long as they were willing to cooperate with the new policies and hand over the proceeds of their previous corruption. After all, he did not have that many reliable talents to fill the gap.
Nie Ao thought for a moment and said, "Shen Furen, the magistrate of Yuanling County in Xingyang Commandery, the capital, was transferred to Yuanling two years ago. He repeatedly accepted bribes from local wealthy merchants and powerful individuals, leading to the unjust imprisonment of seven victims. The families of six of these victims were coerced into staying silent. Only this year did a victim report his crimes to the Xingyang Commandery Censorate."
Emperor Xingwu: "How old is this person? Please tell me about his past experience."
All the officials that the Censorate was preparing to formally impeach would be thoroughly investigated. Nie Ao immediately reported Shen Furen's ancestral home, family background, age, how he had passed the imperial examination in the previous dynasty, and his subsequent official career. In this dynasty alone, Shen Furen had been the chief official of four counties for eleven years, and he had seven years of experience in two counties in the previous dynasty.
Emperor Xingwu sneered, "I don't believe he's only become corrupt this year. Have you investigated all the cases he handled in the five counties before?"
Nie Ao: "I would like to first convict him in Yuanling County, and then ask the Emperor to order the magistrates of the five counties to review the cases handled by Shen Furen."
Emperor Xingwu said: "Alright, remember to investigate his land in all places, whether it's owned by him personally or by his family, relatives, or even servants. Every acre must be investigated. Any land whose origin is questionable must be confiscated and notices must be posted in the villages, towns, and counties where the land is located to serve as a warning to others."
Nie Ao obeyed the order and, before leaving, he glanced at the emperor's clothes. The emperor suddenly asked him about the case of the officials who had been retained by the previous dynasty, and he explained it in such detail. Could it be that there was some new measure to clean up the officialdom?
Nie Ao couldn't figure out the emperor's thoughts, but he was happy to see corrupt officials punished!
.
At the morning court session on April 13, Qingyang heard that Nie Ao had accused five officials in one breath, including one who had raped a woman, one who had allowed his relatives to hurt others, and one who had been corrupt and wrongly convicted. His father approved the further investigation by the Censorate, and if there was sufficient evidence, they could be convicted.
Nie Ao had collected all the evidence before impeaching the emperor. Impeachment was just a formality. After leaving the court, he submitted a memorial of impeachment. After it was presented by the Secretariat, Emperor Xingwu approved it with his own hand. Nie Ao then sent the order directly to the local Censorate, ordering them to arrest people, redress grievances, and then investigate the property of the convicted officials.
The case of Shen Furen involved his land in his hometown and the six counties he governed, so it took two months to check and verify the accounts. In order to wait for the outcome of the case, Emperor Xingwu did not go to the Western Garden Palace to escape the summer heat this year.
In mid-June, Nie Ao finally handed the compiled memorial to Emperor Xingwu. Shen Furen, a seemingly ordinary and mediocre county magistrate, had served in two dynasties for seventeen years. He had more than seven thousand acres of land listed by the common people in his name. This did not include the twelve thousand acres of land that Shen Furen had been forced to hand over after Emperor Xingwu ascended the throne.
The more Emperor Xingwu calculated, the angrier he became. He threw the memorial onto the table and looked at Nie Ao and asked, "These 7,000-plus acres of land are mostly near his hometown and the two counties where he served in the previous dynasty. Why didn't he hand over these fields when we sent people to urge him to hand over his ill-gotten gains?"
Nie Ao said helplessly, "Because the people voluntarily gave it to him, it's not considered seizure. He only needs to tell the people in advance that the new dynasty will continue to collect rent from them that is lower than the imperial court's land tax, and the people will not report him."
Emperor Xingwu suddenly laughed and said, "Has the court posted a notice about confiscating all his land and property?"
Nie Ao: "Your Majesty, if you approve this memorial, I will immediately send someone to post it. However, since these 7,000 acres are owned by the people, wouldn't it be more appropriate to return them to them?"
Emperor Xingwu said: "Why should we return it? Shen Furen used the money he embezzled to buy these fields. Now that he can't pay the money, it's only natural that he can use the fields to offset the stolen money."
Nie Ao: "I'm afraid the people who lost their land will cause trouble..."
Emperor Xingwu sneered: "Let them make a fuss. I am already merciful enough not to pursue their crime of tax evasion."
The emperor was determined, so Nie Ao had no choice but to obey his orders.
.
Among the counties where the land under Shen Furen's name is located, Wanling County is the closest to the capital, only 300 miles away. The official document was sent at an expedited speed of 200 miles, and it will arrive the day after tomorrow if it is sent today.
Just three days after it was sent out, the newly appointed Wanling County Magistrate sent an urgent letter, saying that the original owners of the 800 acres of land owned by Shen Furen here had all knelt outside the county government office with their families, claiming that the land was actually theirs and begging the court to return the land to them. Some people even threatened to commit suicide. Fortunately, the government officials stopped them in time and no one was killed.
Nearly a thousand people surrounded the county government office and made trouble, which was a major case in any dynasty. At the morning court on June 22, Emperor Xingwu asked his ministers to discuss the matter together.
Qingyang hid in the Imperial Road and heard his father ask in a slow, bewildered tone, "This is ridiculous. I can't figure it out. If the 800 acres of land belong to the common people, why would they pretend to sell it to Shen Furen? Aren't they afraid that Shen Furen will take the land and claim it as his own, then rent it out to others for a higher rent?"
Then, she heard Deng Chong's loud voice: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? This kind of thing happened in our hometown before. The land tax in the previous dynasty was too high, and the people used this method to evade taxes."
"I remember this, but after I established the Great Qi, I set the land tax at one-fifteenth. How could this still happen?"
Deng Chong: "The emperor takes one out of fifteen, and the officials take one out of twenty, isn't it the same? Anyway, as long as they take less than the court, the people will still be willing to rely on them."
Prince Yong: "This is what they call the devil is one foot high and the way is ten feet high. The common people are the best at living."
Emperor Xingwu: "...You mean, my court is the devil, and the people who evade taxes and take advantage of me to enrich themselves are the Tao?"
Prince Yong: "Ah, that's not what I meant. The previous court required the people to pay 60-70% of taxes. That was evil. Your Majesty didn't even receive 10%. You are the benefactor of the people and a wise ruler!"
Emperor Xingwu dismissed the military officers and turned to the unusually silent civil officials. "Left Prime Minister, Right Prime Minister, and all you beloved ministers who are well-read and profoundly savvy about righteousness, tell me, between me and Shen Furen, who is the righteous and who is the devil?"
Yan Xizheng and Dai Lun were the first to kneel down, and the civil servants behind them also knelt down in panic, shouting "The emperor is a wise ruler!"
The military officers also knelt down in cooperation.
Emperor Xingwu was still furious. He threw the urgent report from the Wanling County Magistrate into the center of the hall and said angrily, "I also thought I was a wise ruler. The previous dynasty collected such high land taxes, but I only take one in fifteen. I think I am very caring and compassionate to the people, right? But I care about the people, but they treat me like a tiger. I even hand over my land to corrupt officials, secretly treating them as benefactors. Tell me, is there any wise ruler as cowardly as me?"
All the civil and military officials in the court touched their foreheads to the ground, not daring to utter a word.
Emperor Xingwu descended the stairs, his rage escalating, threatening to lift the roof of the hall off. "The common people have little education, and have been abused by the previous dynasty for so long that they haven't come to their senses yet. I can sympathize with them, but what about officials like Shen Furen? They actually dare to cooperate with the common people in seizing the land taxes that the court should have collected. Have they lost all their lessons in propriety, righteousness, and integrity? If all officials in the world are like this, my Great Qi will sooner or later follow in the footsteps of the previous dynasty. What kind of emperor am I then? I'd better go home and study, pass the imperial examination, and become an official. I also want the common people to leave their land to me. I'll set a rent of one in twenty for them, so that they will all be grateful for my presence!"
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Your Majesty, please calm down!"
"I can't rest. I want you to come up with a solution today. Otherwise, I won't be the emperor anymore. Whoever wants to do it can do it!"
The hem of his dragon robe rose and fell with his quick steps. Emperor Xingwu walked to the door of the hall, then turned back and sat back on the dragon throne, waiting for his ministers to speak.
The military officers all tilted their heads and looked at the civil officials who usually had the most ideas.
The civil servants who were able to attend the court were all shrewd people. When the emperor's intention was very clear, the left prime minister Yan Xizheng and the imperial censor Nie Ao almost said in unison: "I have a plan..."
Emperor Xingwu: "Left Prime Minister, please speak first."
What Yan Xizheng said was exactly what Emperor Xingwu was thinking, and Nie Ao certainly had the same idea.
Emperor Xingwu asked other civil officials for their opinions. With his majestic power, Shen Furen's greed and the people's stupidity right before their eyes, who would dare to oppose him at this time?
Emperor Xingwu calmed down a bit and ordered the Secretariat to draft a detailed reform plan as soon as possible. Finally, he said, "Although the people do not understand my painstaking efforts, I cannot really leave them without land to farm. Nie Ao, you must immediately send a letter to the Wanling County Magistrate to return the land to its original owners."
Nie Luo wiped his eyes and said admiringly, "Your Majesty is so kind and benevolent. I will definitely ask the Wanling County Magistrate to convey the Majesty's love for the people to the local people!"
【Author’s words】
Tonight is Daddy's big show [dog head]
Here I come, 100 little red envelopes, see you tomorrow~
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