Chapter 437: County Town Microcosm 1
Inside the Forbidden City, Princess Kunxing was busy reviewing memorials. Liu Rushi approached, clutching a stack of them.
Princess Kunxing looked up and asked, "What are these memorials in your hand about?"
"It was officials from all over the country who requested the princess to take charge of the government. Some of them even thought of a title!" Liu Rushi said.
Princess Kunxing's mouth twitched when she heard this, and then she said, "Keep them all here! Don't they have anything to do? We'll conduct a key inspection of these officials next year. The seeds Zhao Xiaofei brought from there have all been distributed. If we don't see a yield of 800 catties per mu next year, we'll send them all home to look after their children!"
"Yes!" After Liu Rushi agreed, she took out a small notebook and wrote down the names of those officials who seemed to have nothing to do in submitting memorials.
Women! You officials really don't understand women. I don't know how you managed to offend the princess and even have her write it up in her little notebook. I'll take a look at the little account and punish you later.
Zhao Xiaofei brought hundreds of thousands of tons of high-quality crops from modern society, including corn, wheat, rice, and millet. These crops were designed to withstand the dry and cold Little Ice Age, and were high-yielding, cold-resistant, and drought-resistant.
However, Liu Rushi could hear Princess Kunxing's attitude towards Zhao Xiaofei. The princess addressed Zhao Xiaofei by his first name. This was considered very rude in ancient times, especially for a wife to her husband. Even if you really wanted to become emperor, you couldn't treat him like this.
Zhao Xiaofei didn't know that the princess's attitude towards him was changing. He even wrote to her, asking her to take charge of the government and grant amnesty to the people. This would show the tolerance of the Beijing court and win more people's hearts.
But Princess Kunxing was very disgusted. She didn't want to listen to other people's opinions at all, let alone let others guide her.
When they first got married, Zhao Xiaofei told her a lot of historical stories. She was not stupid and learned a lot from them. She also had her own understanding of these historical stories.
At present, the war in the north has ended, the population has dropped sharply, and nine out of ten houses north of the Yellow River are deserted, so there is basically plenty of land.
It can be said that everyone who survived had land to farm, and since there was no enclosure movement like the Jianlu, everyone was worried about not having enough land to farm.
The former large landowners had been largely wiped out by the bandits. Even those who managed to survive returned to the government to demand their land, but even if they were given it, they couldn't find more tenants. With everyone owning their own land, who would still rent it? Furthermore, the only rent collected was in kind: grain, with a 10% in-kind tax per acre.
The peasants and common people in the north were the most supportive of the princess ruling the country. They had a very simple idea that they would support whoever was good to them.
There was a scholar in Zhuozhou, Zhili, who preached to everyone in Zhuozhou City about the disadvantages of having a female ruler.
A few peasants passed by, who had no idea of politics. When they heard that the princess was going to rule the country, they firmly opposed it.
These peasants were quite bold and came up to ask, "What's wrong with the princess being the emperor? If someone else becomes the emperor, can we still live like this?"
"Yes! If someone else becomes emperor, can he provide us with food?"
"If someone else becomes the emperor, will he only accept silver and not grain?"
The scholar on the stage was speechless. "Giving away grain for free to help a bunch of peasants like you? The Tang King in the south probably couldn't even come up with the money even if he sold him!" As for the grain tax, what's the point of the court if they don't collect money? Of course, they want them to convert the grain into silver before collecting it.
How many families in the world are like yours, relying entirely on exports to survive? Of course you despise those agricultural taxes. Every year, you export perfume, clothing, soap, glassware, and even silk and porcelain. How much silver is that? Why go to war with you? Except when a woman is in power, the rest of the war is all about silver!
The scholar was speechless and stammered, "Do you know what orthodoxy is? You bunch of peasants, this has nothing to do with you! We must ensure that the Zhu family will rule the Ming Dynasty!"
"We don't understand! But we know that the princess can let us live a peaceful life, and that's enough!" said a farmer.
Several nearby peasants surrounded the scholar, and one of them ran to a patrol officer standing nearby. Yes! That's right! This was also what Zhao Xiaofei had suggested to Princess Kunxing: separate the constables from the county government. They would only be responsible for maintaining law and order and apprehending thieves.
County governments across the country also began to decentralize power. County magistrates were no longer responsible for adjudicating cases, and courts were established to handle them. The former chief constable became the chief of police, an eighth-rank official.
Of course, it wouldn't be as clearly divided as in later times. Because productivity and population were completely different from those in later times, Zhao Xiaofei didn't suggest that Princess Kunxing organize the government in the same way as in later times.
The county magistrate was in charge of local administration, taxation, and education. The police station was under the jurisdiction of the court, with arrests and trials handled in a seamless manner.
Several farmers knew that knowledgeable people in the county had said that those wearing black uniforms and wide-brimmed hats were responsible for public security. So one farmer ran over to the police and said, "Patrolmen, there's a scholar over there talking nonsense, saying bad things about the female leader. Arrest him immediately!"
When the patrolmen heard this, they knew someone was up to something. They had to arrest him immediately. Perhaps he was a big fish, and catching him could earn them a promotion. At the very least, the judge could reward them with a few silver dollars.
Several people wearing black uniforms and holding glue sticks followed the farmer and rushed over.
When the scholar saw the patrolman coming, he immediately stood up and prepared to slip away.
But the peasants who surrounded him wouldn't let him go. They grabbed him by the collar, like a chicken, and said to the patrolman who came over, "Sir, here's a scholar talking nonsense!"
The three patrolmen immediately pulled out their handcuffs and prepared to arrest the scholar. The scholar got anxious and immediately lost his composure. He broke free from the hands of the farmers and ran away.
"Follow me!" a patrolman said to his two men. Then the three patrolmen chased the scholar from behind, and the streets of the county town were in chaos.
This is a small microcosm of an ordinary county town, and also the direction of reform in the northern cities of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, farmers still had to apply for travel permits from the government if they wanted to travel elsewhere, but the regulations were lax now. As long as you applied, had a legitimate reason, and had the village head guarantee you, the government would approve it.
However, there are still many voices across the country opposing Kunxing, and one can often see fearless people openly standing up to oppose it.
As long as someone reports you, you will be immediately arrested and sent to a labor camp. This will let you experience the hardship of "farmhouse fun"! It will let you know the hardships of farmers and why the grassroots people support the princess in power.
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