Chapter 181: The Land is Shrinking and the Field is Hiding

Chapter 181: The Land is Shrinking and the Field is Hiding

Chapter 181: The Land is Shrinking and the Field is Hiding
The atmosphere in the military tent was somewhat solemn.
Several marquises looked over and stared at Lu Yunyi.
It made him feel a tension he hadn't felt in months.

Lu Yunyi took a deep breath and told the story of Liaodong and Liaowang County.

The soldiers just listened without interrupting.
After about a quarter of an hour, Lu Yunyi finally finished explaining the whole story.
Finally, he said solemnly:

"General, my lords, our Ming Dynasty is now strong and powerful. We must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression."

Lu Yunyi spoke loudly, and his voice echoed slowly in the military tent, causing several marquises present to have complicated expressions.

Finally, Wuding Hou Guo Ying nodded gently:
"You did the right thing. Since the Ming Dynasty took over Liaodong,
Whether it is Nahachu or the Northern Yuan Dynasty, or the current Liao King and others,
They are all inextricably linked with Liaodong, and the most important thing involved is money.

You were able to resolve Liaowang County in one month, which really exceeded our expectations."

"That's right. We thought you wouldn't be able to return to Beijing in time for your reward."

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi had a loud voice, and his laughter almost overturned the entire camp. He laughed for a while and continued:

"Now that the Northern Expedition Army has made another great contribution, we will ask for a reward for you when the time comes. His Majesty and the Crown Prince will not be stingy."

Lu Yunyi's heart was pounding, but he smiled and bowed to express his gratitude:
"Thank you, General and all the dukes."

At this time, Lan Yu came down from the upper seat and pointed to the entrance of the military tent:

"Let's go and see the King of Liao."

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi threw away the fruits in his hand and wanted to follow, but Geng Bingwen on the side quickly pulled him back:
"Hey~ The general is going to give a lecture, why are you joining in the fun?"

Guo Ying, Marquis of Wuding, also smiled and winked at Wang Bi, Marquis of Dingyuan.

Wang Bi sat there blankly, blinking his eyes gently.

I felt empty for no reason, so I picked up the fruits again and muttered:
"This is also the general of my front army."

"That's enough, you saw it all during the Northern Expedition.

Lu Yunyi is very good at fighting, and if he learns your family skills, it will be a disaster." Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, hurriedly comforted him.

After saying this, Geng Bingwen felt a little regretful. He looked back and saw
As expected, Wuding Hou Guo Ying's face turned dark, and he also threw the fruit in his hand:
"Damn it, why didn't you wait for me?"

Seeing the same look on everyone's faces, Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, shook his head, sighed, and walked aside.
He pulled out a long, narrow box from the gap.
When you open it, you will see exquisite calligraphy and paintings inside.

"What are you doing?" A hint of surprise flashed in Wang Bi's eyes.

Geng Bingwen squatted on the ground and searched back and forth. A voice came:

"The Northern Expedition Army has made another achievement.
I'll look for some valuable calligraphy and paintings to hang for the general.

Don’t forget to ask Du Peng and Shang Tai to come and see. These two old guys are always beaming with joy. Give them some more fuel, and you’ll have it!”

As he spoke, Geng Bingwen straightened up, his face flushed a little, holding a painting in his hand.

"Traveling in the Mountains and Rivers, by Fan Kuan of the Northern Song Dynasty,
This is a rare treasure, I will send it to the palace when the time comes to make His Majesty happy."

As Geng Bingwen told the story, he unfolded the calligraphy and paintings and hung them up.

Wuding Hou Guo Ying's eyes widened:
"Be careful. His Majesty is in a bad mood these days. If you get hurt, His Majesty will skin you alive."

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi also looked frightened and sighed:
"How can these southwestern natives be so self-indulgent?

Judging from the news sent, Si Lunfa really wants to compete with Lord Mu in the southwest.

I heard that they gathered 300,000 soldiers, but I don’t know how many soldiers were left in the end.”

"Why should we be afraid of him? We will gather 300,000 soldiers and wipe out Luchuan in one fell swoop."

Guo Ying, the Marquis of Wuding, was not able to join the Northern Expedition. He was extremely angry and continued to speak viciously:
"In my opinion, there is no need for the Luchuan Pingmian Xuanwei Mission to exist.
Just use Lu Yunyi's method, rush in and kill the young and strong, and make them unable to catch their breath for twenty years, and see if they dare to act recklessly again. "

Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, glanced at him:
"Why are you so murderous? There are only about 10,000 young and strong men in Liaowang County.
There are so many people in Luchuan. If there are millions of dead bodies, how will the other Xuanwei Envoys think?
Things are different now, we in the Ming Dynasty need to be more respectable."

Guo Ying's face was silent and he was angry and didn't say anything.

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi chuckled, somewhat gloating:
"Let Lord Mu worry about it. After the New Year, I will go to Shanxi to train troops and hide for a while."

Geng Bingwen shot arrows left and right, glanced at him again, and sneered:
"Take advantage of returning to Beijing to learn how to measure the land and study the ins and outs of it. Don't let yourself be deceived by your superiors and subordinates and mess up your job."

Wuding Hou Guo Ying became interested and felt a little gloating:
"Yes, yes. Peking has already come up with some tricks such as measuring land and shrinking ropes, hiding farmland and not reporting it, renting houses and living in them, and dividing up the family property. Don't let anyone cheat you when the time comes."

Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, was already gloomy, and after hearing this, his face became even gloomier.

I felt a little uneasy in my heart, and some doubts appeared on my face:
"Measurement of land, shrinking the rope, hiding the land and not reporting it has been around since ancient times. What is this about renting a house, living in a farm, and dividing the property?"

"Haha, I'll teach you today."

Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, laughed and walked closer.
Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi quickly made way for the seat, vacating it, and said with an apologetic smile:

"You come, you come."

Guo Ying also leaned forward, and Geng Bingwen spoke:
"When measuring a field, the length of the measuring rope is shortened to reduce the size of the field.
The less can be reduced by 20%, but if there is collusion between the upper and lower levels, it will be impossible to stop it.

There has been a 70% decrease in the land in Peking, and they are simply fooling the imperial court.”

When he heard him talking about tightening the rope again, Dingyuan Hou's face darkened and he almost cursed Geng Bingwen for his slowness.
But when he heard the number, he stopped talking.

Local dignitaries hide 10% or 20% of their land.
Sometimes the court would not pursue the matter because of their outstanding achievements.

But hiding 70% directly is too much.

"You are so brave! You deserve to die!" Guo Ying said viciously with murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

"Kill what, kill what, just kill, kill, kill all day long." Geng Bingwen glanced at him and said helplessly:

"The man from Yintian is the son of Chahan Temur, the former Minister of the Yuan Dynasty. How can we kill him?

If his father hadn't been in charge of the Guyuan Post Station and helped us a lot, how could the war between Shandong and Henan have gone so smoothly?
If you kill his son now, what will those people who surrendered from the Yuan Dynasty think? Many of them are still alive."

"It turns out to be this old guy. He's not dead yet." Wang Bi also recalled it and cursed.

"He's eighty-five years old and will die soon. When he dies, we'll bring up the past and kill his entire family!" Guo Ying spoke sinisterly, and the atmosphere in the military tent turned cold.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes." A hint of coldness flashed in Geng Bingwen's eyes.

The Ming Dynasty was newly established, and many officials from the previous dynasty were still alive.

If we start a reckoning at this time, people will become unstable.

But it would be much easier if we wait until they are all dead.

With a sigh, Geng Bingwen continued:
"Measurement of land and reduction of ropes are small matters, at least there are traces to follow. But renting a house or dividing the property is much more difficult.

The drawing of the Yellow Book of Fish Scales was done according to the Yellow Book of Taxes and Labor Service.
However, some wealthy families purchased land outside their registered places.

He deliberately did not live in his registered place of residence and went to Yingtian Jiangnan.
Officials can't find the land or the people, so where do they collect the taxes from?"

Wuding Hou Guo Ying and Dingyuan Hou Wang Bi frowned, looking doubtful and uncertain.

As the saying goes, every policy from above has its countermeasures.

The imperial court wanted to collect taxes, so these wealthy families came up with such methods to evade taxes. They might as well evade them for a while, but this is really too outrageous!

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi's eyes flashed with a sharpness: "Just confiscate them all!"

"You are right, that is what the King of Yan did.
But just as the land was confiscated, the impeachment letter arrived in Yingtian.
I heard there are a lot of them. That land has become a hot potato. The King of Yan can’t withdraw even if he wants to.”

Geng Bingwen was somewhat gloating and raised his chin towards Wang Bi:
"The Fourth Prince is favored by His Majesty and protected by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. These impeachments cannot do anything to him.

But if it falls on you, I don’t know if you can handle it.”

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi's eyes widened, his lips were dry, his throat rolled up and down, he scratched his head thoughtfully, took a breath, and felt his scalp tingling. The dispute between civil and military officials in the court had just begun to emerge. Maybe he couldn't do anything about it now, but he was afraid that the old accounts would be brought up.

"I will be seriously ill tomorrow. I won't listen to you anymore. I am sick."

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Biteng stood up and was about to leave.
But the seven-foot-tall Guo Ying was quick-witted and pulled him down:
"I didn't get sick during the Northern Expedition. It's too late to get sick now."

"Oh~" Wang Bi sighed heavily, feeling a little regretful.

Geng Bingwen had a serious illness, but now he does not look sick at all, and he is worthy of being the first defender of the Ming Dynasty.

He continued:
"Compared to this kind of living in a manor, the division of property is more thorough.
Someone in Peking adopted nearly a hundred sons at once.

The family's land was dispersed, and each family claimed that the land was poor land;

But everyone knew that those hundreds of people were his tenants and the land was rich land.
But there was nothing they could do about him. Someone in Peking had already submitted a petition.
The distinction between poor and rich fields should be determined by the imperial court and should not be handed over to the local authorities."

After hearing this, Wang Bi and Guo Ying's faces turned serious.
The local governments would certainly not agree to this, as it involves annual taxes, so how could they just leave it to the court to decide for nothing? There are huge interests involved.

"So what about this matter?" Wang Bi asked tentatively.

"What else can I do? It's natural that it will be left unresolved.
It's just that under pressure, Peking arrested the man and prepared to execute him!"

Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing, spoke in a hoarse voice and glanced at Wang Bi indifferently.

Wang Bi quickly pushed the tea over and smiled: "Come, drink some tea to moisten your throat and continue talking."

Geng Bingwen drank the tea in the cup and said decisively:
"What? I won't say any more. There are so many things involved that I can't finish talking about them in three days and three nights.
We are military commanders, so let the civil officials take care of these matters.
Going to the local area to train the troops, gathering them together and keeping a close watch on them can help prevent any chaos, and it would be a great help to them."

Dingyuan Marquis Wang Bi's expression changed back and forth, and he felt a little angry:

"Damn it, this is our kingdom that we conquered, why should those rich people have the say?

I bought some land at home and was reported by those damn censors.
They are fine, living a leisurely life with their large tracts of land, and the court cannot investigate them, and they cannot collect taxes. How can this be justified?"

Geng Bingwen also felt a little emotional and sighed:

"No matter how high the position is, it's not a big deal. No matter how much money is, it's not a lot. Just enough to spend is enough.
Your son is not doing well. Don't let him get into trouble. Things are different now.
Duke Xin returned home, Duke Song was imprisoned in Fengyang.

Duke Ying is now fighting with Lord Mu in Dongchuan, and no one can protect us, so we'd better be careful."

"Don't we still have the general?" Wang Bi muttered.

Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, had a gloomy expression, as if he was disappointed with his friend:
"Hey~ The general may not listen to what His Majesty says, but what can the general do if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince says it?"

Wang Bi opened and closed his mouth, but no one knew what he was saying.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the nephew of the General, and has always obeyed him from childhood to adulthood.
He had followed the general in fighting for so many years, but he had never seen the general and the Crown Prince quarrel.

Wang Bi suddenly felt a little lonely and waved his hands helplessly:

"We are all old, and it's time to find a place to spend our remaining years."

"You can support me if you want. I won't."

Wuding Hou Guo Ying stood up suddenly, left in a hurry after saying a few words.

Not far from the military tent, General Lan Yu did not immediately follow Lu Yunyi to where the King of Liao was, but wandered around the army.
Now the sky is already dark, the night is as black as ink,
Even though it is almost September, the weather in Pei County is still so hot.
The air was damp and humid, making people feel uncomfortable.

Lu Yunyi is from the north. He is wearing armor at the moment. His forehead is covered with sweat, which he wipes from time to time.

Lan Yu walked aside, glanced over and chuckled:
"This is the weather in the south. The air is filled with moisture, and it's especially uncomfortable when wearing armor."

Lu Yunyi kept wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, and finally took off the head armor and smiled helplessly:
"General, it's too hot in the south, and the soldiers can't even train peacefully.

If you are in the north now, it is a good time to practice.
The autumn weather is crisp and the air is cool, and the soldiers are less aggressive. "

Lu Yunyi looked around.
The patrolling soldiers could not take off their head armor like him, nor could they wear ordinary clothes like Lan Yu.

The flames of the torches flickered gently, and he could see the sweat on the soldiers' foreheads and the anxiety in their eyes.

Now this military camp is like a furnace.

Lan Yu also agreed and nodded slightly:

"The north is good, but most of the military nobles are from Fengyang. Asking them to live in the north permanently is tantamount to taking their lives."

As soon as these words were spoken, Lu Yunyi's eyes flickered and he keenly sensed something.

He had just spoken out to test the possibility of moving the capital to Xi'an.
Understanding the thoughts of military generals sooner can help avoid future disasters sooner.

Thinking of this, Lu Yunyi's eyes flickered, a smile appeared on his face, and he said with some complaints:

"General, you don't know.

I traveled day and night for nearly 20 days before arriving in Nanzhili from Qingzhou.

If I hadn’t personally visited here, I wouldn’t have known how big the Ming Dynasty was.”

At this point, Lan Yu also laughed:

"It's still a long way to go. There are still thousands of miles from Yingtian to Guangdong. The territory of our Ming Dynasty stretches thousands of miles from north to south, and this is not just a casual statement."

"General, I am here to persuade the King of Liao to surrender.
It would take nearly two months to rush from Liaowang County to Yingtian after Liaowang County returned to the Ming Dynasty.
The territory of our Ming Dynasty is indeed too large, and Yingtian is too far away. If there is a war in the north, the news from Yingtian will be too delayed. "

Lu Yunyi continued to speak, his voice flat, but only he knew the test in it.

Lan Yu sighed softly:
"That's true. If we travel light, it's fine, but it would take several months to travel thousands of miles with a large army. It's too troublesome.

Some generals in the army also complained and said that they should dismiss the soldiers early.

But this time they returned with great victory, and the Five Military Commandery wanted to hold a ceremony in Yingtian.
So we didn’t send all the generals away, and it took us so long to reach Nanzhili.”

A hint of joy flashed across Lu Yunyi's eyes.
Judging from Lan Yu's words, there were some generals in the army who disliked the long journey as the capital was far away.

In this way, at least some generals would not oppose the relocation to Xi'an.

Just by knowing this, Lu Yunyi gained a lot.

Lu Yunyi's face was serious, with a hint of doubt in his eyes:
"Guards of honor? Your Majesty wants to review the Northern Expedition troops?"

There was a hint of tenderness in Lan Yu's eyes:
"Your Majesty has been troubled by the Fish Scale Yellow Book incident lately. He has no appetite for tea or food.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince thought that he should use the vigor of the soldiers in the northern expedition to kill the decadent atmosphere in Yingtian City.
The military ceremony was conducted by the Five Military Commands and the Ministry of War.
If you have any ideas in your mind, you can tell me and I will report them to you."

"I?"

Lu Yunyi's eyes widened in disbelief.

He is just a lieutenant general, how can he have the right to make decisions during a military parade?

"Don't think too much. All the generals in the army will have a share. When the time comes, we will submit a summary to the Governor's Office and the Ministry of War, and they will adopt it."

As he spoke, Lan Yu's eyes flashed with sharpness, and he snorted coldly:
"What do the civil officials in the capital know about battle formations? If we want to demonstrate the military might of the Ming Dynasty, we still have to rely on the generals in the army to arrange the troops and battle formations."

After hearing this, Lu Yunyi immediately understood.

He knows very well how to make a military parade grand and majestic.

He quickly bowed and said in a loud voice:

"I will prepare a set of rules and submit it to the general in the next few days."

"Well, you are very careful and considerate. I am waiting for your rules." Lan Yu smiled and continued:

“What do you think about the war in the northwest?
The imperial court has sent a military report, and Silunfa has already begun to station troops. I think it won’t be long before war breaks out in the southwest.”

So fast? Lu Yunyi was shocked.

(End of this chapter)