Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 560 Hongmen Banquet

Throughout the dynasties, land is one of the issues that cannot be avoided. Meng Jun actually thought about whether to take the land back to the court, and then use the power of the court to distribute the land and restrict land annexation.

But after thinking for a long time, Meng Jun gave up this idea. The reason was that the officials' corruption made Meng Jun unable and dared not entrust the livelihood of the people to these court officials.

The system is not necessarily better the more perfect it is, and it must suit the current situation. Therefore, Meng Jun decided to implement the system of equalizing the tax rate based on the amount of land he owned. Moreover, Meng Jun went a step further and increased the tax by one point for every 500 acres of land owned by the gentry.

This was a blatant conspiracy, and also the Qian Dynasty version of the Enfeoffment Order. There were many large families, and Meng Jun hoped to split these large families into several small families.

In the past, it was difficult for imperial power to reach the countryside, and if the court wanted to have stronger mobilization and governance capabilities, Meng Jun had to extend his ruling power into the towns and villages. However, extending his ruling power into the towns and villages with a large family would obviously be detrimental to the court's rule.

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In Jinling City.

Lu Ping's words made Wu Jinkun fall into deep thought. Wu Jinkun was not afraid of a head-on confrontation, but this weak resistance made him even more uncomfortable.

Thinking of this, Wu Jinkun said hesitantly: "I know that reform is not easy, but it is not easy for Lord Lu to invite the gentry to make sacrifices!"

Lu Ping smiled heartily and said, "Haha, Master Wu, why not give it a try? It's just the cost of a meal anyway!"

Wu Jinkun thought about it and agreed. It would be okay to let Lu Ping give it a try. Even if he couldn't get everyone to cooperate, at least he could divide some people, and that would be a success.

So Lu Ping invited the gentry to a banquet in a restaurant in Jinling and held a discussion with them.

Although there were delicious dishes on the table, the faces of many gentry were not very good. If Lu Ping had not forced the invitation, many people really did not want to have anything to do with the Qingluan Guards, such a group of lackeys. Moreover, this banquet was not a good one. It was purely a Hongmen Banquet.

Lu Ping spoke calmly and slowly, "You are all well-educated people, but I am different. I have never read any books in my life. However, I know that the people are suffering. You are all wealthy, so why do you have to go against the court?"

Hearing this, everyone turned pale with fear and said, "No, no, how dare we, the common people, go against the imperial court? Lord Lu, you must not speak like that!"

Lu Ping blinked and said, "Then why have the Qingluan Guards reported to me these days that you all resist the new law from the bottom of your hearts and have been letting those servants delay the land reclamation team?"

At this time, an old man with white beard shook his head and said, "In the past, Duke Zhou spit out food to feed his guests, and was respectful to the wise and humble, so his good name has been passed down through the ages. Our family business was built up bit by bit by our ancestors, but the court has increased taxes on future generations because of our ancestors. I would like to ask you, sir, what crime have we committed?"

Lu Ping was stunned when he heard this, and thought to himself: "This old man is quite bad!"

However, Lu Ping thought about it, coughed twice, laughed, and said, "What's your name?"

When the old man heard this, his face turned a little unhappy, and his hand stroking his beard paused for a moment. He, Ma Boxian, was a prestigious person after all, and Lu Ping invited him without even knowing his name, which really displeased him.

Ma Yuan replied calmly: "I am Ma Boxian, styled Yuankang, and my ancestral home is Liyang!"

"Oh...what a nice name!"

At this point, Lu Ping paused, then his face turned serious and he said unkindly: "Although the name is virtuous, this is not virtuous at all. Although I am not well-educated, I also know that taxes are the foundation of a country. Without taxes, how can we support the army, repair water conservancy, and support the court? You all have big families and big businesses, so I just pay more taxes, not take away your wealth. You should know that although the court governs the world with benevolence, the court's knife is still sharp against evil gentry and bullies!"

When these words came out, everyone was a little scared. Because of the salt and iron monopoly, Qingluan Guard Lu Ping had killed a circle of salt merchants and maritime merchants all over Jiangnan. Some time ago, he arrested both the Lin and Wen families. Lu Ping's deterrent power was not an empty talk to these gentry.

Lu Ping knew that it would be difficult to achieve a win-win situation for everyone with such things that hurt interests. Therefore, Lu Ping invited gentry who owned large amounts of land. As long as he could force these wealthy families to bow their heads, the situation in Jinling Prefecture would be solved.

The gentlemen present looked at each other obscurely. For a moment, there were neither opponents nor supporters, and the scene fell into an awkward silence.

Lu Ping didn't feel embarrassed. After he finished speaking, he picked up the chopsticks and started eating the delicacies on the table. Among the people in the circle, Lu Ping was the only one who started eating.

After a long time, Lu Ping ate until his belly was full, burped, wiped his mouth, then looked up at everyone, snorted coldly, and said, "Everyone, there is an old saying that goes, don't refuse a toast, then drink a forfeit. I know very well that you ordered the servants to do small tricks and delay. I guess you should confess now. Everyone, we are at the same table now, so it's okay, but if you leave this door, then I can only handle the case according to the law!"

In fact, these were just Lu Ping's threats and intimidation. This delaying tactic wouldn't lead to killing everyone, right? If so, the memorials impeaching him would pile up as high as the palace in the capital.

It's just that the gentry didn't know, or maybe they did, but they didn't dare to guarantee whether Lu Ping would use them as a target, so some of them turned pale with fear, and regardless of their private oath to stand together, they immediately expressed their loyalty, "Sir, the tax-tax system is the national policy of the court. This policy benefits the country and the people. I will definitely support it with all my strength and have no intention of delaying. Please rest assured, sir, I will go home right away and hand over the land register to you. It is my duty to survey the land!"

After he finished speaking, the man felt that everyone's eyes were focused on him. When Lu Ping heard this, he clapped his hands and smiled, and said enthusiastically: "Well, Mr. Jiang is indeed well-educated and sensible. Good, good, if you have any difficulties in the future, as long as it does not violate the law, you can come to me for other matters!"

Then, Lu Ping looked at the other gentry who had not spoken yet, and his tone suddenly became cold, and said: "Mr. Jiang has taken the lead, what do you say?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, but since they were under someone's roof, they really had to bow their heads. A few scattered voices came out: "We support the government's national policy."

Although his voice was weak, Lu Ping was still very happy. He had accomplished another task. Lu Ping stood up and said to everyone, "My fellow officials, you are indeed well-educated and well-mannered. You are indeed well-read people. However, I hope that you will do what you say. You should know that the eyes of my Qingluan Guard are not for show!"