Chapter 320: The Great Disaster in the World
The most important thing in a debate is not the reserve of arguments but the initiative.
With the initiative in hand, you can easily guide the other party into your own rhythm.
The other party was testing him from the beginning, but Jiang Qingzhi led the debate to the question of how long the Ming Dynasty would last.
Li Chang glanced at Ma Qian. They had discussed before that it would be best to avoid this point of view when entering into a debate, which meant firing targeted shots at the court.
They estimated that Jiang Qingzhi would do the same and turn the debate to the issue of the literati's attempts to suppress Emperor Jiajing.
In this way, the two sides colluded with each other through debate.
Success, from then on the ruler and his subjects lived in harmony.
If that doesn't work, then everyone will just fall out and start fighting.
But what was unexpected was that Jiang Qingzhi chose to get started right away.
"The Ming Dynasty?"
Liang Shu stood up, and Ma Qian beside him whispered: "Since he has torn his face, don't give him face!"
Liang Shu said, "I heard about the officials in the court headed by Prime Minister Yan in the capital, and I am just relaying it."
Yan Song has a very bad reputation, but to be fair, at least half of it is because he blocked the scholars and officials from attacking the Taoist priest.
"Is it true that Prime Minister Yan and his son accepted bribes and promoted their confidants?"
Hire private individuals!
"Is it true that Prime Minister Yan and his son suppressed loyal officials?"
Liang Shu paused for a moment, waiting for Jiang Qingzhi to jump into the pit.
come!
Refute!
But Jiang Qingzhi shook off the cigarette ash and even had time to look back at his wife.
This woman told me to eat less melon seeds before she came here, but now she's angry and complaining again.
Liang spoke for a quarter of an hour. It seemed that the firepower was concentrated on Yan Song and his son, but in fact it was just a shot at a bull from a distance.
"The current situation of the Ming Dynasty is in the court!" Liang Shu made a final statement, "If this dangerous situation is not changed, good officials will be far away from the center, and powerful officials will be in power. This Ming Dynasty... is in danger!"
This is talking about the master.
If you are willing to bow your head, then we can start over again.
If you refuse, then...it will be dangerous!
The Taoist who had experienced life and death situations many times said coldly: "You idiot!"
Jiang Qingzhi stood up.
He placed the half-smoked cigarette on the ashtray that Sun Chonglou brought, and said, "Mr. Liang said that the current crisis of the Ming Dynasty comes from the court. Is that right?"
Liang Shu nodded.
This is to fix the other party's argument.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "But in my opinion, the crisis of the Ming Dynasty does not only come from the court, but more from outside the court!"
This argument is completely opposite to the other party's.
The debate has since become increasingly intense.
"I am all ears."
"What is the foundation of a country?" Jiang Qingzhi said: "Finance, army, and government. If there is a wise emperor, then prosperity will come unexpectedly."
"How is the current financial situation of the Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Qingzhi said, "I have some data here. Since the founding of the country, the tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty has occasionally risen, but it has been declining recently.
I am very curious. Logically, the larger the population, the more taxes there would be. Why are the taxes in the Ming Dynasty decreasing?"
"I have another piece of data here." Jiang Qingzhi said, "In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, there were more than 800 million mu of registered farmland in the country. But now, there are only 450 million mu of registered farmland in the Ming Dynasty. Where did the 400 million mu of farmland go?"
"Eight hundred million acres?"
“So many?”
"There are only 400 million acres left now? No way?"
Everyone was talking about it.
"Where did you get this information?" Liang Shu sneered, "Is it fabricated?"
"I said you are stupid, you really are stupid." Jiang Qingzhi didn't want to make a personal attack, but facing an opponent who only knew how to suppress others with principles, he couldn't help it. "Just send someone to the Ministry of Revenue to inquire."
"Someone come and ask." Li Chang ordered.
"No need." The Taoist said calmly, then waved his hand, and an official came out, "I am Shen Jie, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue. What Lord Wei just said is exactly right."
What the hell!
Dao Ye, you...
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned.
Shen Jie stepped back.
Jiang Qingzhi continued, "Where did the 400 million mu of farmland go? Although the taxes from the 400 million mu of farmland were gone, the number of civil and military officials in the Ming Dynasty increased, and the court's expenses increased every year. Where did the money come from?"
Jiang Qingzhi said: "From the remaining 400 million mu of farmland. In other words, the taxes originally paid by the 800 million mu of farmland now fall on the 400 million mu of farmland. It falls on the heads of those people who have been submissive!"
"Let's talk about population. The population of the Ming Dynasty is very strange. In addition to the births and deaths every year, the population fluctuations are jaw-dropping. Where did those people who disappeared inexplicably in the Yellow Book go?"
Jiang Qingzhi suddenly raised his voice, "After they disappeared, who would bear the brunt of the labor? It would still be the people who accepted it submissively!"
"Where have the fields gone? Where have the people gone?"
Jiang Qingzhi pointed at the great scholars across from him and said, "They have all entered your house!"
"Chang Wei Bo, please stop slandering me!" Liang Shu stood up, "We all make a living by farming and studying..."
"Mr. Liang, do you dare to tell us how much land and houses you have now? Do you dare to tell us how many people you have?" Jiang Qingzhi pressed on.
"There are only thirteen people in my family and three servants." Liang Shu said lightly.
Jiang Qingzhi laughed, "Sun is different."
"Uncle."
Sun Bu Tong came over and knelt on one knee. "I went to the Liang family yesterday to get information. Liang Shu's family has thirteen people from three generations. There are more than 2,400 acres of land, of which 2,100 acres are registered under the name of Liang Xing, the steward of the Liang family. There are also more than 60 slaves, all under the name of Liang Xing." "This is slander!" Liang Shu's face did not change. "Today, I will fight this lawsuit with you to the end. If you don't give me an explanation, I will ask Your Majesty to make the decision today."
evidence!
I want evidence!
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "You really won't cry until you see the coffin. Give him the evidence!"
Sun Bu Tong said: "Brothers sneaked into the Liang family's money and grain warehouse, and there were mountains of money and grain inside. Here is a rough number, about 29,000 strings of money and about 1,000 stones of grain."
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Mr. Liang's farming skills are unparalleled in the world. He has accumulated such a huge family business with more than 300 acres of land."
Liang Shu's expression changed drastically. Jiang Qingzhi sneered and said, "May I ask, Lord Liang, where did all this money and grain come from? Did it just come out of nowhere?"
Sun Bu Tong said, "I left my brothers to keep an eye on the Liang family, for fear of disaster."
The idea of burning the evidence had just flashed through the minds of Liang Shu and others when it was destroyed by Sun Bu Tong.
"Liang Shu!" Jiang Qingzhi shouted, "Is this what you call farming and studying for a living?"
He looked around at everyone, "Have those fields ever paid taxes? Have those people ever served in the military? The Liang family alone has hidden two thousand acres of land and more than sixty people. Looking at the Ming Dynasty, countless Liang families are greedily sucking blood from the Ming Dynasty. You said that the biggest problem of the Ming Dynasty is the court. How dare you say that? Shameless!"
Chen Bin, the commander of the Yulin Left Guard, was with several military heroes. At first, they were talking and laughing, but when they saw Jiang Qingzhi pointing his halberd at Liang Shu, and Liang Shu's face turned pale and he was speechless, the military hero beside him whispered, "Old Chen, be careful!"
Chen Bin's eyes were cold, "I know."
"What is the biggest problem of the Ming Dynasty?" Jiang Qingzhi said, "It is that there is no money!"
"Without money, the officers and soldiers have insufficient food and wages, the army has no fighting spirit, and the generals have no desire to fight. As a result, the nine borders dare not fight when they encounter the enemy, and they are terrified at the first sign of trouble!"
"Without money, the government can only watch helplessly as natural disasters hit the local areas. As a result, refugees are everywhere!"
"Without money, the salaries of officials remain the same after years, and people become restless, so they turn to corruption, plunder, and exploit the people..."
"Without money, the army is corrupt, the people are hungry, and the government is corrupt!"
Jiang Qingzhi put forward one argument after another.
Finally, he looked around at everyone, "Who has any objections?"
No one answered.
"But why does the Ming Dynasty have no money?" Jiang Qingzhi was like a butcher, calmly dissecting this question, "Where does the money come from? From the land, from the population, from commercial taxes. But half of the land in the Ming Dynasty has been annexed. How many people have been taken in? Do you know? I dare say, at least tens of millions!"
Jiang Qingzhi felt that he had underestimated the situation. "That is to say, half of the taxes of the Ming Dynasty were pocketed by those people. Tens of millions of people became slaves of those people."
"Then there is the commercial tax..."
"Chang Wei Bo, that's competing with the people for profit!" someone shouted.
Jiang Qingzhi sneered, took out a medicinal cigarette and held it in his mouth. Sun Chonglou hurried over to light it for him, "Young Master is mighty!"
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal smoke and said, "Competing with the people for profits? Who are those people? More than 70% of the scholars and officials in the capital are engaged in business. I dare say that the number of scholars and officials in the world will not be lower than this.
The people you are talking about are you, right? When the court wants to collect business taxes, you are like being skinned. But has anyone ever thought about the consequences of having no money in the court?"
He pointed at these people with his cigarette-smeared finger, "You are well fed and well fed, but you sit back and watch the court in distress. Is this the knowledge that the ancient sages taught you? Where did you read the books? Did you read them into the dog's stomach?!"
"You bastard, who are you scolding?" Someone stood up with a red face.
"shut up!"
Ma Qian stopped the man, looked at Liang Shu, shook his head and sighed: "Mr. Liang, you...ah!"
Liang Shu bowed deeply, "I am... so ashamed!"
He lowered his head, covered his face with his sleeves, and staggered away.
It’s only been less than half an hour since the show started!
One of the enemy's generals was actually killed by Jiang Qingzhi.
Lady Chengguo said, "Qingzhi is indeed amazing."
Li Tian said modestly: "It's just normal."
"You can't hide the joy in your eyes." Lady Chengguogong teased.
At this time, Ma Qian stood up and said calmly, "Would you like to visit my house, Lord Wei?"
Jiang Qingzhi actually had someone investigate, and it turned out that this man was truly incorruptible.
Ma Qian coughed dryly, "I think the Ming Dynasty has many problems, but if we want to solve them, we must start from the government."
Jiang Qingzhi used the micro level to seize the initiative, and Ma Qian responded tit for tat by pulling the situation back to the macro level.
Li Chang said softly: "Mr. Ma is really amazing!"
Chen Bin looked at Jiang Qingzhi, wishing that he would lose all face and become infamous. How could Jiang Qingzhi have the face to reorganize the Beijing Guards?
Jiang Qingzhi took a puff of medicinal smoke and coughed dryly.
"Can the temple solve the problem of land annexation? Can it solve the problem of population annexation?"
Ma Qian smiled and said, "It is always more sharp from the top down. If the top does not change, no matter how much trouble the people below cause, it will only be a minor incident, right?"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled, which everyone saw as an attempt to ease the atmosphere.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Some drank tea, some ate snacks, some took out fans to fan themselves, and some complained about the hot weather and wondered if it was going to rain...
Changle found that the Taoist had closed his eyes, but his right hand was tightly holding the handle of the fan, "Dad, you..."
Dao Ye shook his head and said, "Those years!"
What those years?
Changle was puzzled, and then he saw Jiang Qingzhi sighing, "Then I want to ask, when Your Majesty ascended the throne, you were full of confidence and launched reforms. Who was obstructing Your Majesty?"
Everyone was stunned.
Ma Qian did the same, he even glanced at the Taoist priest.
Dao Ye whispered, "Who is it?"
Yang Tinghe, Empress Dowager Zhang, the howling ministers outside Zuo Shun Gate... Each of these once vivid figures appeared in his mind, and eventually turned into a face, a word...
"It's you scholars and officials!" Jiang Qingzhi said.
(End of this chapter)
