Chapter 260 Jiangnan Field
Now that the talk has come to this point, naturally no one dares to fall behind others, not to mention the three caves of the cunning rabbit. Digging can dig out a big pumpkin made of gold and silver.
What's more, after these people finished speaking, they all looked at the high-ranking prince pitifully. No matter what, His Highness the Crown Prince shouldn't do such a thing. Asking prices all over the sky and paying back the money on the spot.
Zhu Biao did not speak for a while, and the group felt cold. If the nobleman had a black heart, no one would be able to stop him, but everyone on the scene asked His Highness to accept their wealth for the people in Jiangnan to live and work in peace.
Zhu Biao couldn't help laughing, and the rest of the people naturally had to follow him when he laughed, but their hearts were bleeding, thinking that the efforts of the entire family for several generations were all gone, and it would be better to accept Li Wenzhong at the beginning .
Zhu Biao put down the book and said: "Okay, I don't want to joke with you anymore. I am not a robber, how can I want your property."
The crowd suddenly became furious, as if His Royal Highness didn't want the money because he looked down on them, each of them spoke sternly, as if he would die to show his ambition.
Chen Zhifu felt a headache watching their exaggerated performances, and sure enough, the dog meat couldn't sit at the table, so he hurried forward and said, "This money is not dedicated to His Royal Highness, it's just that I want to do something good for the elders in my hometown, not to mention that the river has been repaired." In the future, the business of each family will be better.”
Sure enough, people in the officialdom can talk, but Zhu Biao really has no intention of asking for their money, let alone all of their family property. He is the crown prince, and if he takes this money, it will stink the street. It was spread all over the world, and reprimands came from all sides for competing for profit with the people, for being a prince but forcibly seizing the property of the people under his rule, and so on.
Don’t underestimate public opinion in any era. People may not listen to the imperial court, but they will definitely listen to local prominent families. No matter how humble their status is, no one wants to miss the opportunity to scold the nobles.
Don’t say that these people are only afraid of Zhu Biao’s rights and say they want to donate all their property. Even if they sincerely want to donate money to the country, Zhu Biao can’t accept it.
Those outsiders will not believe that there are people who are willing to donate their ancestral property on their own initiative. They will only feel that the rabbit dies and the fox is sad. With Zhu Biao's status, the world will sympathize with the weak.
Since ancient times, no serious emperor and prince dared to collect money like this. To be honest, the emperor would dare not give it if he wanted money with his face down. Just like the Jiangnan aristocratic family begged and donated a lot of family property, but this kind of money is hot.
So even if you are greedy for someone else's property, you have to convict him of a major crime of treason and other family robbery, otherwise, how can you take all the family's property openly and aboveboard.
Zhu Biao doesn't care about criticism, but this kind of example can't be opened. It's only natural to collect money to do things.
What's more, the prince has started to accept bribes, so how can you ask the officials below not to be corrupt, including asking for their share?
Everyone calmed down. The people in the towns and cities in the Jiangnan prefectures are all fine, but the people in the villages below live in a mediocre way. No more than the aristocratic families in the Central Plains and the North, they have been slaughtered and have no owners. Most of the farmland in the south of the Yangtze River is in the hands of the aristocratic clans. In the past, most of the people were their tenants.
Now everyone is a little puzzled. Is it possible to give the land to those lowly things for free? , There is no such reason for the people below.
Chen Zhifu said: "Your Highness, benevolence is the blessing of the country and the country. Please show your Highness how to do it. I will have a charter."
Li Qiantang smiled. The reason why the Chen family is the number one family in the south of the Yangtze River is that the best 50,000 mu of paddy fields in the south of the Yangtze River are all surnamed Chen. There are other livelihoods.
Zhu Biao looked at Chen Zhifu and said softly: "Too many unlucky things, it doesn't matter if you can be a businessman with peace of mind, but if you want to go up, it will be difficult. I will return to Beijing tomorrow, so I can figure it out."
Chen Zhifu's expression moved, and the rest of the family who had children who had gone into official careers also frowned. How could they be a merchant with peace of mind?
Now relying on the foundation accumulated in the last years of the dynasty, ordinary officials are not afraid, but as the court stabilizes, their power will gradually weaken. After ten years, let alone Li Wenzhong, just any magistrate in the south of the Yangtze River will be fine. Bite them hard.
Zhu Biao took a sip of tea and started reading again. Everyone was interested in discussing, but how dare they whisper here? Chen Zhifu quickly figured out that money was useless to him long ago, otherwise he would not waste money on a mere magistrate. so long.
Just as Chen Zhifu was about to speak, the head of the Zhang family who was on the side spoke first: "The former culprit rebelled and stole the artifact, making the people miserable, but now the sun and the moon are reopened on my pilgrimage, and the people are attached to the people's livelihood. There are quite a few farmers in my family's land. Good people are just forced to sell themselves as slaves, but today Xia Dazhi should let him farm by himself, which is also in line with the holy heart of love for the world."
After hearing this, Chen Zhifu took a deep look at the head of the Zhang family, and then said: "I am the heir of the family's poems and books, are we merchants? There is nothing wrong with the world, as long as the tenants in the family obey the order of the government to dredge the river, they can get their own land and self-sufficiency in the future.”
Zhu Biao smiled when he heard this. It seems that the old Zhu's dislike of Mencius's words has spread here, and I don't know how Yan Shenggong deleted the books. I haven't heard anyone scolding him yet. I think he is still there. Worrying about how to retain more fame.
The rest of the people also understood that it is impossible for the crown prince to collect their money. After all, he is the heir, what he wants is the stability of the people's livelihood, and they also know how their own tenants are doing. Give it to them, it would be nice to leave a bite to eat.
When the harvest is bad or someone in the family gets sick, they have to borrow money from the master’s family.
Everyone responded one after another, so what if you let them go, sooner or later a group of mud legs will cry and beg to sell themselves, just relying on their little land, it's no wonder they don't starve to death.
Zhu Biao looked at Li Qiantang: "The Li family's selling illegal salt is a serious crime. The whole family should have been killed, but if you come to my palace to plead guilty, you must forgive me for a while."
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(end of this chapter)