Wang Shaoqing stared drunkenly for a long time, and suddenly he patted the case lightly and said, "If Uncle Yingxian can be the Taishi Ling, things will be easier to handle!"
Tian Xiu looked at the Shaoqing of the Taishi Bureau in surprise, and after a long time he said: "Taishi Ling seems to be the fifth grade, right?"
"From the fourth rank! Taishi Ling is among the nine ministers, how come he is the fifth rank?" Wang Shaoqing gave her a very dissatisfied look. He raised his right hand, pressed his little finger with his thumb, spread out the other three fingers, shook them twice, and said boldly, "It's from the fourth grade!"
Tian Xiu suppressed a smile and said, "I was wrong. You are right, Taishi Ling is from the fourth rank."
Seeing that she corrected her mistakes immediately, Wang Shaoqing had a happy smile on her face. He muttered something unclear about drinking, and touched the wine bottle again, his hand almost touching the wine bottle, when he suddenly remembered something. His face was immediately filled with gloom, and he said worriedly: "Oh, I forgot, whether County Count Ying has a real title, or a Shangzhu Kingdom, he probably won't condescend to be the Taishi Ling" But in the blink of an eye, he said Cheer up. "Master Tian, ??I remember that Zhu Xiangguo was your teacher, right? How about you put in a nice word for us in Zhu Xiangguo? As long as you can get Uncle Yingxian to agree to serve as Taishi Ling, all of us at Taishi Temple will owe you A favor!¡±
"Huh?" Tian Xiu opened his mouth and didn't say anything for a long time. She didn't give up on Wang Shaoqing's unpredictable and brilliant idea. "Then, whatwhat should Master Zhang do? When Uncle Ying takes over as Taishi Ling, what should Master Zhang do?"
"Tsk," Wang Shaoqing realized then that he was only focused on urging Tian Xiu to bring Shang Yanshan to Taishi Temple, but he completely forgot that there was also a Taishi Ling in the Yamen. He held the empty wine cup and thought sadly, trying to find a way to get the best of both worlds.
After drinking half a glass of wine, he gave up the idea. The various entanglements and embarrassments involved in teaching a general of the Shangzhu Kingdom, who is a third-rank official, to serve as a Taishi Ling from the fourth rank, are probably more difficult than when he is promoted from a sixth-rank official to a prime minister of the third-rank official! However, when it comes to the prime minister, he has some things to say. Even though he knew very well in his heart that these words must not be spoken to Tian Xiu, but he was so drunk that he couldn't control his tongue at all.
What he wants to say is the "inventory of hidden houses and fields" that has been widely criticized by both the government and the public! I don¡¯t know what Zhang Pu and Zhu Xuan wanted to do, but they actually came up with such a bad idea. The matter of Hidden House and Guitian has a long history, at least during the Xianzong period, there was such a theory. But first, we need to figure out where these hidden households are hiding, and where are those treacherous fields hiding? Everyone knows what the answer is: it¡¯s not all in the hands of the squire! So, now that the imperial court wants to investigate the hidden fields, what exactly does it want to do? Is this an inventory of the refugees' land, or is it "Xiangzhuang's sword dance with the intention of Peigong"? If it's the latter, then there's no need to worry. It is clearly written in black and white in the history books that Pei Gong was safe and sound and changed his name to Liu Bang; but Xiang Zhuang, a swordsman, died on the bank of Wujiang River. If it was the former, then he wanted to ask the two prime ministers what the court planned to do after the investigation?
Tian Xiu is relatively clear about this matter. She solemnly said: "Hidden households need to be re-registered; those whose origins can be explained clearly will be returned to farmers, and those whose origins cannot be explained will be recorded as official land, and may be classified as official land in the future." Position field." This is what she heard from others; it is said that it was the result of repeated consultations between the prime minister and his wife. She felt that this method of disposal was relatively appropriate. On the one hand, it appeased the farmers, and on the other hand, it also took care of the officials' emotions. As for those who harbored Dingkou and hid the land, they deserved to suffer!
Wang Shaoqing sneered twice, raised his neck, drank the remaining wine in the cup, and said with a breath of wine: "Return to farmers? Divide the land? Haha, haha" He pressed the wine cup heavily on the table. On the case, he asked, "Mr. Tian, ??look at me, I have been in Beijing for seventeen years, and I still live in a rented house. Except for two relatives who help me, I can't even afford a family member to accompany me. In your opinion, how many acres of land do I have in my hometown, and how many households do I have at home?"
Tian Xiu shook his head and said nothing. She didn't want to say it. Is there any need to say it? No. Looking at Wang Shaoqing's food and clothing expenses, we can imagine that he does not live a well-off life on weekdays, otherwise he would not treat his colleagues to eat fish and meat in this restaurant.
"My hometown in Enzhou has forty hectares of land and three hundred acres of land!" Wang Shaoqing said coldly. He raised his eyelids and stared at Tian Xiu provocatively. But he soon became discouraged, lowered his head, and said, "Actually, the real land that belongs to my family is less than a hundred acres; the rest is all in my name. I am an official in the court and follow the system. My family doesn¡¯t have to bear the burden of corvee taxes, and the people whose land is in my family¡¯s name also don¡¯t have to bear the burden of corvee taxes. These people, and the land, are just living in seclusion, right?¡±
Tian Xiu nodded silently. She looked at Wang Shaoqing with complicated eyes, wanting to say something, but finding it difficult to say it.The situation in Wang Shaoqing's family seems to be different from those hidden houses in secluded fields mentioned by the court.
Wang Shaoqing spread his hands and said with a wry smile: "Look at what I'm wearing, do I look like a rich man with a thousand acres of fertile land? To be honest, my family has taken almost no money from the land in my name. Except for some gifts and snacks at the beginning and end of the year, there is no other money-making food. Friendships and friendships among fellow villagers are passed down from generation to generation. If someone comes to the house to complain, can my family drive people out? Others put land and people in my name just to avoid being exploited. What they want is to keep more food, eat more meals, and live a better life. My family can't block others. Think about this duty! Besides, there is no reason why my family shouldn¡¯t accept names. The geese leave their voices and the people leave their names. When people live in this life, don¡¯t they just want to have a good reputation? "
Tian Xiu felt that Wang Shaoqing¡¯s words were wrong. The Wang family left a good reputation, but it was the imperial court that suffered! But she still didn't speak. She understood that what Wang Shaoqing was saying now was not meant for her, but for her help to pass it on to those big shots. So she didn't say a word, just listened carefully and remembered
"Among the officials in Beijing, there are many people like me. Some people just ask others to send their names and don't receive any extra money. Of course, there are also some people who want to collect a little. Some charge more, and some The harvest is small, the less is only five liters and a half bucket per acre, and the more is only two tenths. However, there are also some people who act like villains and take the opportunity to defraud other people's land - but this kind of scoundrels and stubborn people After all, disciples are a minority. You think, like my fellow villagers, are they hermits, and is their land a deserted field?"
"Yes." Tian Xiu said without hesitation. At least these people were evading the court's corvee and taxes; to put it lightly, they were making a mistake, to put it seriously, they were breaking the criminal law.
"What a scholar thinks!" Wang Shaoqing stood up angrily. He didn't want to say anything more. He asked the shopkeeper to go out with him to get money from the horse's saddlebags. He walked unsteadily and said, "Fortunately, I also heard that you have been a watcher in Jiangnan for several years." Envoy! Are you an observer of the wind, observing the "National Style"? Don't you think about it, why are other people willing to send all the land and people to other people's names? Is it because my reputation is really that good, or maybe they are Are you all blinded by fat?"