Chapter 602: Surveying the Nation's Land

No one had expected Zuo Guangdou to behave this way; everyone had assumed he would at least say something.

All eyes fell on Han Kuang's face, hoping that this Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat would speak up—after all, having served as Chief Grand Secretary for so long, Han Kuang's authority carried considerable weight.

But Han Kuang said nothing either. He sat in his position below Zhu Youxiao, the only person in the entire hall still seated, and indeed carried himself with something of the air of an old hand.

Those present felt helpless; no one knew what to do.

Zhu Youxiao's gaze swept across everyone's faces as he said, "I simply wish to know exactly how much land our Great Ming possesses. This is something I want to investigate. Do any of you have thoughts on the matter?"

A land survey.

Though the Emperor had not said it outright, those four words were precisely what his speech meant.

Everyone understood that in any dynasty, it was hardly strange for a ruler to take it upon himself to investigate such matters. In most cases, it happened only when there was no other choice—when court tax revenues proved insufficient, only then did they begin investigating.

But the present situation was entirely different; the current Emperor was hardly short of money. So why would he want to survey the land?

Clearly, the Emperor had grown restless from inactivity and was preparing to make examples of people.

Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Han Kuang and asked, "What does my beloved minister think of this?"

No one had expected the Emperor to go straight to the Chief Grand Secretary of the Grand Secretariat so directly. The meaning was simple—the Emperor was forcing Han Kuang to declare his position.

Everyone wanted to see what Han Kuang would say.

Han Kuang had not expected the Emperor to ask him directly either. He rose to his feet, without the slightest hesitation, and said at once, "In the past two years, court tax revenues have grown ever scarcer, and droughts have been frequent across the provinces. Besides drought, there have also been many floods and earthquakes. Thus your minister feels that investigating would be for the best—to have a clear picture in mind. On this matter, your minister supports Your Majesty."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao was not particularly surprised.

Han Kuang had truly become an old fox now. Though not quite like Yan Song of years past, he carried more than a hint of Xu Jie about him. It was plain to see that Han Kuang did not wish to get involved—he would certainly not oppose it, but neither could it be said that he offered much support.

Zhu Youxiao turned to look at Zuo Guangdou and asked, "What does my beloved minister think of this matter? Does the Ministry of Revenue believe it should be done?"

Zuo Guangdou groaned inwardly.

After spending several years farming out in the provinces, he had finally managed to return to the capital and take up the post of Minister of Revenue. He had thought he could enjoy a few quiet years, yet now this matter had cropped up.

Zuo Guangdou understood clearly now—the Emperor had called him back precisely to preside over this affair. There was no dodging it.

Zuo Guangdou stepped forward and said directly, "Your Majesty, your minister also approves. The Ministry of Revenue does indeed have some old records that cannot be sorted out clearly; investigating would be for the best."

"Does anyone object?" Zhu Youxiao's gaze swept over everyone.

Zhu Youxiao's authority at present could be said to be extremely weighty. Especially after this Liaodong campaign, his prestige had reached its zenith, even approaching that of Zhu Di and the founding Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang in their day.

Under such circumstances, no one dared to challenge Zhu Youxiao on such matters. Surveying the nation's land was, after all, a matter of a single word from the Emperor; those below had little grounds for objection.

Yet no one had expected that someone would actually step forward at this moment.

Everyone turned to look and discovered it was none other than Cui Chengxiu, the Left Chief Censor of the Censorate.

This man's reputation was hardly good; that he had risen to his current position was itself quite astonishing.

Everyone knew that Cui Chengxiu was the one who did the Emperor's dirty work. He had contributed no small effort in the Imperial Academy affair back then, and many matters had been handled entirely by his own hand—ruthless and merciless in his methods.

Now Cui Chengxiu had stepped forward again, and no one believed he would oppose the Emperor's policy.

Cui Chengxiu was precisely the sort who had climbed to his current position by clinging to the Emperor's coattails. Clearly, he was up to something!

Many people grew wary.

A land survey in itself was nothing major, but if Cui Chengxiu got his hands into it, then it would become something far from minor.

Cui Chengxiu cared little for others' opinions; he was a man with ambitions. Though the post of Left Chief Censor of the Censorate was hardly low, the weight of this position had diminished greatly. Because of the existence of the Office of Transmission, the Censorate had declined year after year.

Moreover, with the secret memorial system in place, the power of the Censors had shrunk considerably—a disguised form of power reduction. This was a difficult situation for Cui Chengxiu, yet changing such a system was impossible.

At present, the Office of Transmission and the secret memorial system functioned well, and His Majesty was quite fond of them. Restoring the old order was out of the question. Thus, if one wished to rise, one had to find another way.

The method Cui Chengxiu chose was simple—promotion.

As long as he was promoted and left this office, it would no longer have anything to do with him. Whether it was the Grand Secretariat, the Staff Office, or a Minister of one of the Six Ministries—any of them would do.

It was only that Cui Chengxiu had never had the opportunity.

Now that the opportunity had arrived, how could Cui Chengxiu fail to seize it?

"Do you disagree? Or do you have something to say?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Cui Chengxiu and asked with an expressionless face.

On this matter, if Cui Chengxiu did not stand with him, then his career was at an end.

Seeing that the Emperor's attitude seemed rather poor, those around him felt a measure of schadenfreude.

Let him show off—the sooner he was brought down, the better.

Everyone began to think that if Cui Chengxiu said something he ought not to say, they would all pile on together—when the wall is falling, everyone gives it a push.

"I report to Your Majesty—your minister feels that surveying the land is indeed a good thing. In recent years, with the spread of new crops, land yields have increased, yet many commoners have no land to till, and land annexation and land donation have become rampant. Court tax revenues have not increased but have instead declined year after year."

"In your minister's view, this is precisely because people below are concealing land. Your Majesty's wish to survey the land is truly an act that benefits the state and the people. Your minister can only say—Your Majesty is sagacious!"

Everyone cast a sidelong glance at Cui Chengxiu, feeling somewhat disappointed, then smiled wryly at themselves.

A man like Cui Chengxiu—it would be strange indeed if he jumped out to oppose it.

This sort of speech fit his persona perfectly. Stepping forward to lay on a string of flattery—shameless, devoid of any integrity.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Cui Chengxiu and said in a somewhat impatient tone, "Did you step forward just to flatter me?"

Those around him were immediately overjoyed.

Had his flattery landed on the horse's hoof this time?

"I report to Your Majesty—your minister speaks only from the bottom of his heart." Cui Chengxiu said hurriedly, "Beyond that, there is one more matter your minister wishes to raise. Even if the land is surveyed, the same things will happen every year thereafter, and a few years later it will be just the same. Thus your minister feels that surveying the land alone is useless."

"Then tell me, what solution do you have?" Zhu Youxiao seemed to show some interest, fixing his gaze on Cui Chengxiu as he asked.

Everyone's hearts gave a sudden lurch.

This Cui Chengxiu was never a good man—he was indeed trying to get his hands in. Whatever scheme he had concocted was not worth hearing; the fellow never had any good ideas.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cui Chengxiu said quickly, "Your minister believes that the Great Ming's current tax shortfall and the severe problem of land donation all stem from a single cause—and that is that scholars do not pay taxes."

"The founding Emperor's intentions back then were good—granting tax exemption to scholars across the realm so that poor scholars could afford to study and to eat. But by this day and age, the founding Emperor's good intentions have been trampled to pieces by them."

One could criticize matters, but one could not lay the blame at the feet of the founding Emperor—that was a matter of over two hundred years past. Moreover, one could not curse another man's ancestors to his face, so Cui Chengxiu directly attributed the fault to the people of the present age.

The founding Emperor's kind heart, and you repay it with the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog.

Zhu Youxiao nodded and said thoughtfully, "I think what you say makes sense, but I can't very well abolish the Grand Ancestor's policy, can I? After all, it is a good policy, and indeed many scholars have benefited from it."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cui Chengxiu quickly said, "This, Your subject also knows. Many of my colleagues at court came from poor families; it was precisely because of the Grand Ancestor's tax-exemption policy that they were able to afford to study."

"But now many people are being sly and cunning—they have annexed large amounts of land yet pay no taxes, concealing their holdings. This is utterly criminal! So this matter ought to be changed."

"Then how do you think it should be changed?" Zhu Youxiao asked once more.

"The Grand Ancestor's intention was simply to let scholars afford their studies and keep poor scholars from starving to death. So why not change the tax exemption into a grant of money and grain? Whoever is qualified for exemption shall receive money and grain according to the amount of land that would have been exempted. In this way, all land would be subject to taxation, and no one could be exempt. Whatever land you have at home, that is what you pay tax on; if you hold a scholarly title and are entitled to a tax reduction, then the court can return a portion of grain to you. Whatever title you hold determines how much grain you receive—there is a fixed standard."

"Your subject believes that if this policy is carried out together with a survey of landholdings, it will greatly increase the court's revenue. With more tax revenue, the court can accomplish more. And those who wish to conceal their land will find it impossible."

Having finished speaking, Cui Chengxiu withdrew to one side.

The people around looked at Cui Chengxiu, none of them speaking, all somewhat stunned.

This plan had been thought up by Cui Chengxiu.

Who thought up the plan was not really the important thing—the important thing was how did he dare to say it out loud?

One had to understand, this was a matter that offended people!

Everyone knew that in the present realm, the Imperial House paid taxes—whether emperor, imperial clansmen, nobles, or their relatives, all paid taxes. The only ones still enjoying this tax-exemption privilege were the scholars.

In truth, it looked rather grating, but no one dared to say so.

No one had expected that Cui Chengxiu would dare to lift the lid off this matter in this very place—and even offer a workable solution.

If this plan were put forward, it could silence people's mouths—after all, they were being given money and grain, wasn't that the same thing?

Unless you wanted to use the court's policy to evade taxes and conceal land?