Chapter 975
I'm Here
Chen Xun opened his mouth to look at her, and after a moment whispered, "People will die."
Yu Qian remained silent, his expression unchanged.
Hu Ying sighed, “His Majesty has only been on the throne for a year. At this time, the land survey will not uncover many hidden fields. Grand Secretary Yu proposed this at this time for three reasons: first, to find an excuse to rectify official corruption; second, to help the Ministry of Revenue increase production; and third, to make an example of someone to warn others and make those people behave themselves in recent years.”
Hu Cheng, being from the south, remained silent.
Hu Ying glanced at Pan Yun and then chuckled softly, “It’s not so bad. With the land survey as a precedent, it will be much easier for the Ministry of Works to do these things. However, this report must not be leaked. At most, it can only be shown to His Majesty.”
Some national policies need to be publicized to the world in advance so that officials and people can work together.
However, some things need to be kept secret, and other excuses can be used to facilitate their achievement.
Because once something is announced, it will face tremendous resistance from the very beginning.
Once certain people see this document, they'll probably consider land surveying a trivial matter.
The most crucial point in this document is people!
The whole thing is about people!
If it is as the memorial states, it will not only settle the people who have lost their land, but also pull many farmers out of the land.
How many of those farmers are actually cultivating their own land?
Hu Ying was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) during the Jianwen reign and had also toured the country. With the help of the annual reports from the Ministry of Revenue, he could guess just by listening to them how many tenant farmers there were in the country.
Once these people move from the land to the mines, factories, various workshops, and various industries listed in the document, who will cultivate the land of the landlords who own thousands of acres?
The landlords can't exactly go and farm the land, can they?
Which of the nobles and high-ranking officials in the court wasn't a large landowner?
Hu Ying glanced at Yu Qian, oh, except for him.
Hu Ying thought that if the petition was successfully submitted, his family would have to reduce the rent in order to retain their tenants.
Tenancy fees will likely have to be reduced to 30%, no, not even that, it's very likely that 20% will be needed to retain employees.
Now, landlords pay tenants 40% to 70% of the rent.
The most critical group is 70%, the most lenient is 40%, and the majority are 50%.
Hu Ying's family has always given 40%.
He is seventy years old, and has already reached the age of fifty. He doesn't have high expectations for his children and grandchildren. They have their own blessings, and he has already given them what he could.
Therefore, he accepted it calmly.
Hu Cheng was only focused on weapon crafting and had no interest in politics. While Chen Xun and others were scrambling to get into the cabinet, he was the only minister who had no desire for the cabinet.
Moreover, like Yu Qian, he didn't own much land.
Oh, by the way, this Hu Cheng is Vietnamese. He and his father were both top science and technology talents in Vietnam. However, his father had a particularly sharp tongue, so when Emperor Yongle was fighting against Vietnam, he successfully piqued the emperor's interest. As a result, his whole family, along with other craftsmen, were relocated to the Ming Dynasty to serve the Ming.
This Minister Hu was obsessed with forging weapons, building houses, and repairing bridges and roads. His greatest hobby in weapon forging was making guns and cannons.
Before Pan Yun appeared, the most advanced guns and cannons in the Ming Dynasty were basically designed by him.
He had a lot of land in his hometown, but it's no longer related to him. He lives in Beijing, just like Yu Qian. He doesn't have much land except for a house, which he can cultivate himself.
He doesn't need to farm himself; he can find apprentices. He doesn't need tenant farmers.
So he nodded directly, praising the memorial as excellent.
Therefore, the only person who remained silent at the scene was Chen Xun, the Minister of Revenue.
Everyone looked at him. Chen Xun became nervous and quickly said, "Of course I agreed. After all, if this is done, the country will never be short of money again."
Pan Yun: "It's not that we don't lack money. Money is meant to be spent. It should be taken from the people and used for the people. We can't let the money we earn rot in the warehouse or transfer it to the internal treasury."
Pan Yun remembered and asked, "Is the Imperial Treasury still withdrawing money from the National Treasury?"
Pan Yun had only recently learned that the royal family had a tradition of withdrawing silver from the national treasury every year and then repaying it with copper coins, thus embezzling national wealth in this way.
Chen Xun thought to himself, "So it was she who brought this up with the Emperor. No wonder the Emperor couldn't stand him during that time."
His Majesty must have thought that he deliberately told the Imperial Advisor so that the Imperial Advisor could offer advice.
In all honesty, he had once complained to Vice Minister Wang, and Pan Yun, who was nearby, overheard him and took the bill to look at it.
Chen Xun replied, "His Majesty was unaware of this matter before. After learning about it, he showed compassion for the people and strictly ordered the Imperial Household Department not to withdraw silver from the national treasury. He even replenished some of it from the Imperial Treasury. For example, the Imperial Treasury contributed some money for this birthday celebration, which greatly alleviated the pressure on the national treasury."
Pan Yun nodded: "That's good. Let's get back to the topic. Lord Chen, do you truly agree, or are you just saying it?"
She said meaningfully, "Don't agree now, or you'll leak the secrets once you get out."
Chen Xun's face flushed red, and he said angrily, "Grand Preceptor, I may have more land than you all, but state affairs are more important, and I, Chen Xun, would not do something so unethical, would I?"
Yu Qian looked at Pan Yun with some disapproval: "Although Minister Chen is not as clever and resourceful as the Imperial Preceptor, and cannot come up with so many good ideas, his character is very good."
Yu Qian sighed regretfully, "It's just that my abilities are limited."
Chen Xun: ... He wasn't happy at all to hear those words of defense on his behalf.
Pan Yun said, "I naturally trust Lord Chen's character, otherwise I wouldn't have invited him here. However... I don't quite trust Lord Chen's ability to judge people."
Chen Xun: ...I'm even more unhappy now.
He paused for a moment, then bounced back: "Did the Imperial Advisor invite me because he truly trusts my character, or because the Ministry of Works needs money to do these things?"
According to the document, doing so much work would require a lot of money.
It's obvious that such a large sum of money can't be paid by individuals; it can only come from the national treasury.
Chen Xun snorted lightly; they were here to ask him for money.
Pan Yun shook his head and said, "It would be good if the national treasury provided the money, but if the national treasury doesn't provide it, I also have ways to deal with it."
She counted on her fingers and said, "My money, the money of the Emperor and Empress's Imperial Household Department, can be multiplied from one to two, and from two to three. Plus, all the talents in the world can be used by His Majesty. It's not difficult to accomplish these things."
“I invited Minister Chen here not for the principal, but for business operations.”
Chen Xun asked in surprise, "Business management?"
Yu Qian pondered for a moment and said, "Everyone has their own expertise. Minister Hu is not good at business. Even if the steel plant is set up, he will find it difficult to make it profitable. Therefore, I would like to ask Minister Chen for help."
Pan Yun nodded affirmatively: "That's right. In addition to the steel mill, there are all the other factories listed here that require the cooperation of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works."
She said meaningfully, "If the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works do this, these things belong to the state; if the Ministry of Works and the Emperor and Empress do this, then they belong to the imperial family."
Chen Xun immediately shouted, "I'll do it!" (End of Chapter)