Chapter 377: Sleeping at 1:00 and waking up at 6:00, lying down in the ICU and drinking millet

As soon as he walked out of the room, Zhu Cixiang looked at several villagers who were uniformly dressed outside. After seeing Chongzhen's clothes, the leader nodded and joined hands in salute to Chongzhen.

"Young Master Li is welcome to come to Hejiapu to collect news. Mr. Li, my master's family heard that the young master has arrived and asked me to ask him if he can pay a visit when he is free.

If you feel that you are tired and have no time today, I hope you can leave a greeting note and look for an auspicious day. I hope you can visit me and discuss knowledge with the young master."

"It just so happened that I originally planned to visit Hejiapu. I felt tired after walking here, so I stopped for a while. Now I have rested enough. Please lead the way."

"Sir, please go ahead. It's just along this road. I don't dare to go in front of you."

The old man's son was not lucky enough to see the future leader of the Ming Dynasty. When he was a child, Chongzhen did not behave particularly well to the people, which was not in line with his current status.

On the way from the edge village to Hejiabao, Zhu Cixiang saw similar villages a mile or two apart along the road. Each village had the same mud houses, but some were more exquisite, and some were even more dilapidated.

"City? Countryside?

Were farmers like them paying the land tax in the Ming Dynasty? What did those people living in the city do? Those who opened cloth villages and banks, how could they be so rich?

He Jincai of Hejiapu controls so much land, why do the people still think he is good? Why exactly? How can the people think that the government officials are bad people?"

Zhu Cixiang didn't say anything, he was too confused, and this was only the second day, there was still half a month of parade waiting for him.

When you arrive at Hejiabao, you can see the tall courtyard walls surrounding it through the two arrow towers at the entrance of the fort, with masonry and green tiles shining brightly. Looking at the majestic Hejiabao, Zhu Cixiang's contrast is even greater.

They are also in the farmhouse. The villagers in Hejiapu, a few people close to the owner's family, and the children of the village elders are playing together. Their state is completely different from the thin children just now.

Although only the two young grandchildren of the master's family were wearing brocade clothes, and the remaining three children were just wearing ordinary gray cloth clothes, they were already much better than those children in the village outside the castle.

After He Jincai welcomed Chongzhen in his house, he had a conversation with Chongzhen. It was obvious that Chongzhen, who was acting, had no idea about the scholar class and daily life. He would soon be overwhelmed by what Sun Chuanting and the people from the county government taught him.

So after sitting down casually, Chongzhen excused himself because he was bored and left with Zhu Cixiang and a group of government servants. Before leaving, he also brought a pair of porcelains that He Jincaining had sent to the wrong dock so that no one could leave empty-handed.

"Father, He Jincai is running rampant in the countryside, using big and small buckets to deduct people's land rent. It's so abominable, why don't we kill He Jincai?"

"Kill He Jincai? Why kill He Jincai? Is it because he withholds land rent? Or is it because he is living a good life while the people are living a poor life?"

On the way back, Chongzhen heard Zhu Cixiang's question and looked at Zhu Cixiang seriously.

"Because it was he who raised the land rent, and the people gave him the land in order to avoid corvee and survive. But it was not enough for him to take the land rent, and he had to force the land rent to increase, and he still didn't care about the people."

"In this case, don't you think the people's problem is bigger? Why did He Jincai be killed? Why should He Jincai's money be given to the people?"

"What???"

Zhu Cixiang looked at Chongzhen with wide eyes, somewhat suspecting that there was something wrong with his ears.

"You said that the people gave the land to He Jincai in order to avoid paying taxes. He Jincai was not wrong. On the contrary, the people violated the law by evading taxes.

He also helped the people to block the corvee, which might save a lot of food. It’s the people who don’t want to pay the corvee. Isn’t it the people’s fault?”

"But, father, when you say that, don't you also say that the people are very pitiful? Why...

The people gave their fields to He Jincai because of the handymen. He Jincai was right, so it was the handymen who were at fault?... Is this a problem of the government?"

"Is there a problem with the government? Shouldn't corvee labor be levied? What you see is only the first level. Think about it, why does the government keep doing miscellaneous labor?

The government does not have much to do in a year. Tens of thousands of people in a county come in turns and only do a few things. They can always be completed without affecting planting and production.

But why are all the people afraid of corvee? What is the root cause? Corvee affects production, so the people have to give money and not serve. Only when the government has money can it find work for people who have nothing to do.

Do you still remember that when I was in the county, I asked the He family what made them rich?"

"It's because someone from the previous generation in his family won the Jinshi. Being a Jinshi has certain privileges, which can make the government jealous.

Although it is not enough to be completely tax-free, it is still possible to prevent the government from levying corvee services nearby, so as long as he is willing, the farmers around the He family will not use it!!!

The son understood that this was the case, so as long as the people with fields near the He family, there would be more and more corvee labor, which would even directly affect farming. However, no matter how the people paid, the money would not be used by the government to hire people.

Instead, the government will continue to conscript unprotected people and make them work as handymen."

After Chongzhen slowly spread the corvee system, Zhu Cihong understood. Just mentioning this made him hate He Jincai even more. At the same time, he also understood why the people thought the government servants were bad people.

"But father, in this case, shouldn't He Jincai and his like be killed? If we kill them, the people will have no landlords."

"Killing, one He Jincai is killing. There are thousands of He Jincai in the world, have they all been killed?

Well, it’s not impossible.”

Chongzhen touched his chin and said something, which made Sun Chuanting tremble. The landowners in the world are huge and powerful, and the landowners are equal to the officials. If they really start to kill them, how can they finish them off?

"However, you must always understand that killing cannot solve this kind of problem, not to mention that the landlords are all officials.

They were involved in a wide range of things, and killing them all would be a complete destruction of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the root cause was the issue of government servants.

If it were you, how do you think we should solve it?"

"Father, you have already planned to redistribute the fields. In the future, everyone will naturally have fields, so we must set rules for corvees, and we can no longer allow corvees to be added at will."

"That's right! You've already made the point. It's never the salary or the agricultural tax that really puts the people on the road to desperation, but the handyman.

But you also have to think about it, if the previous handyman system was not used, it would be very difficult for the local county government to carry out its work, because they have few people and cannot collect money as handymen, so they would not have money to find people to do the work.

If we want to carry out work, we have only two options, add people, or add money from the Ministry of Household Affairs, which also involves the issue of national treasury revenue."

"Well……"

Zhu Cixiang was a little frustrated. The problem Chongzhen mentioned was followed by another problem, which made him feel how difficult it was to solve.

"Son, you have to remember that governing a country means managing money. If the country has money, you can make the arrangements you want.

This is a virtuous cycle, so you not only have to look at agricultural taxes, but also collect taxes from farmers. How much is that? You have to think about it, there are so many rich people in the world, how do they make money?

Study hard. I talked too much today and you still can’t understand it. Take your time and I can still protect you for a long time.”

Chongzhen no longer indoctrinated Zhu Cixiang. This name was still the first place controlled by the Royal Army and the first place to provide disaster relief. Therefore, the people in these prefectures in Zhili have actually recovered.

The places to be inspected next, such as Henan and Shandong, are different. The Royal Army arrived late and had not yet had time to conduct large-scale control, and the personnel had not been expanded in place.

In the coming time, Zhu Cixiang will see more and more suffering in the world and more hells on earth, and the prince of the Ming Dynasty will see more and more of the real conditions of the people.

"Father, where shall we go tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? Go directly to the canal tomorrow and show you how the canal's handymen live, and how the canal became a burden to the Ming Dynasty."

At night, Zhu Cixiang was on the bed in the tent, tossing and turning unable to sleep. After listening to Chongzhen's words, he had too much to think about. In the past two days, he had learned about the true dark side of the Ming Dynasty.

Precisely because he understood more, he felt more and more helpless about how to govern the country in the future as the prince. Everything could not be solved by killing, but had to be solved with brains.

But it is obvious that his brain is not enough now, so when faced with these problems between the people's livelihood, the government, and the different classes of landlords, he deeply feels that it is difficult to be an emperor.

"Hu Banban, tell me why the Ming Emperor before my father was able to live such a carefree life.

When Uncle Tianqi was here, did he know about the sufferings of the people? Did they ever visit old farmers' homes? I remember that my father had visited many people's homes."

"Go back to Your Highness, this old slave doesn't know anything about it."

"You, you, you know everything I ask you in life. When I want to ask some confusing questions, you don't know, so you just pretend."

"Back to Your Highness, these questions are not appropriate for you to think about yourself and ask me to understand them. Since you ask, I dare to say something today.

If the people below cannot solve the problem, are even involved in the problem, or have a family member having an affair, naturally they will not tell you the real cause of the problem.

They will even use questions as spears to attack you, whether they are courtiers, in the palace, or in the army.

Your Highness, you must make your own judgment, have the channels to see it with your own eyes, and truly see it with your own eyes.”

"I understand, yes, if I didn't see it with my own eyes today, I often hear about the sufferings of the people in the palace, so what's the use of reading memorials and reporting disasters?

The people have no clothes at home, so I think the six ministries can find a way so that the people can put on clothes. The people have no food at home, so I think we should send people to provide disaster relief. If the number of refugees increases, I will feel comfortable with it.

But who will tell me why the people don't have money to buy clothes? Why do the people who farm the fields leave less than half of their rice in the end and can't even eat? Why do the people have no fields?

On the contrary, He Jincai is squatting in the fort, but he eats in vain and is fat and has green tiles and high walls? Who will tell me these? Who will tell me how He Jincai got rich? And how to solve it?

They are all in the same group, and my father is right, why should He Jincai be distributed to the people?"

The eunuch listened to Zhu Cixiang's soliloquy and felt a little relieved. What he said today had already crossed the line. It was only when he saw that the prince wanted to find someone to talk to but could not find someone to talk to the emperor that he felt uncomfortable, so he spoke.

Zhu Cixiang didn't know that there was a small black strip attached to the base of the desk lamp in his room.

In Chongzhen's room, Chongzhen and Wang Chengen wore headphones, listened to Zhu Cixiang's words in the room, and nodded.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Your Highness has this insight. He will be able to govern wisely in the future. With His Majesty's protection and His Majesty's support in the Ming Dynasty, we can look forward to it forever."

"I still have to pave the way for him. He doesn't have my unscrupulous ability. He has to pay attention to his methods in the future. He can't be so rough, and he has to prevent being deceived by others."

"Your Highness, don't worry. His Highness is very clean. Hu Bao'er has been an old slave for decades. Didn't you choose him to take care of His Highness because he was unknown?

From the measured way he spoke today, it can be seen that he has never induced His Highness in ordinary times. In the future, Your Highness will learn more from His Majesty and you will know how to guard against slander from those around you."

"Indeed, Wang Banban, please go take care of the prince when you have time and explain some rules to him. Hu Baoer did a good job. Those who follow the rules should feel free to use them. They will be rewarded with silver and promoted."

Chongzhen thought about himself. From the time he came to the throne, everyone believed it, to the subsequent disbelief, he had experienced too much in this process. Likewise, these experiences were what he needed to pass on to Zhu Cihong.

Chongzhen wanted his experience to never happen again to Zhu Cixiang. If one day the system no longer exists and he dies suddenly, at least Zhu Cixiang can take over smoothly.

"It's getting late. Wang Banban, you should rest first. Your health is important. You need to go to bed at 6 o'clock. There is no ICU in Ming Dynasty where you can lie down and drink rice. I will continue to read these information."

"Okay, Your Majesty, please go to bed early and call me if necessary. I will go to bed boldly."

The way Wang Chengen and Chongzhen get along is a bit strange, but they are also very close. The two have complete trust in each other. Which of the ordinary eunuchs would dare to sleep in front of the emperor?

But Chongzhen's situation was different. He made good use of his system capabilities. He often stayed up until two or three o'clock to sort out report materials from various places, and would get up on time at six o'clock in the morning.
To be continued...