Chapter 27: Unimaginable Things
Xu Da had been an official for over ten years and knew the secrets within, especially the distinction between corrupt and honest officials, which was an enigmatic existence.
What kind of official is considered corrupt? What is considered honest?
Even the emperor himself might not be clear on this.
For instance, if an official uses his own money to buy supplies for the government office, and the merchant offers a very low price, but the court allocates funds at the normal price, and the official pockets the difference, is he a corrupt or an honest official?
This matter is inherently ambiguous, seen differently by different people.
Now, His Majesty says he wants to investigate whether Li Fan is an honest official.
But there seems to be no way to investigate this.
So, he curiously asked:
“How does His Majesty plan to investigate?”
Zhu Yuanzhang actually did not know how to investigate either, if it was just an audit, the result should be easy to come by, but given Li Fan’s cleverness, a simple audit would likely not yield any results.
However, conducting an audit is always a good idea, giving himself a clear conscience.
Taking a deep breath, he said softly:
“I have already ordered the Ministry of Revenue to send people to Fengyang for an audit. If the accounts are in order, then it proves Li Fan is an honest official!”
Xu Da was stunned, not expecting the emperor to use this method.
But this method of auditing was clearly useless, especially now that the Ministry of Revenue was controlled by Liu Bowen, there would likely be no good results.
Feeling quite worried, he directly said:
“The officials of the Ministry of Revenue have always feared Fengyang, sending these devils to audit is like sending a lamb to a tiger! Even if there are no problems, they will find some!”
Zhu Yuanzhang looked distressed, furrowing his brows, and asked in confusion:
“It shouldn’t be that bad, right?”
Seeing the emperor’s puzzled expression, Xu Da knew he had to give the emperor a warning in advance, otherwise, it would be difficult to handle any problems that might arise later.
He immediately said:
“You have exempted Fengyang from all taxes, which means that all the taxes collected by Li Fan can be kept for himself. The ten percent agricultural tax and the six percent commercial tax, do you think Fengyang has no money? Now all school-age children in Fengyang can attend school for free, regardless of gender, anyone can attend, and no one can be stopped. All elderly over sixty receive free medical treatment! They also receive a monthly stipend, no longer needing to worry about being destitute in old age!”
Hiss!
Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma were both extremely shocked upon hearing Xu Da’s words, taking a sharp breath.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Li Fan had been heavily taxing, but he didn’t expect Li Fan to have done so many good things.
Just the free schooling for all school-age children, was something no official could achieve, considering the number of children in Fengyang, this was a significant expense.
No wonder Li Fan needed to earn so much money, it was all being used for this purpose, and even providing monthly stipends for those over sixty.
This is simply unimaginable.
The amount of money involved is not small.
He had always prided himself on governing the country with filial piety, but it had only been talk, never put into action.
Unexpectedly, Li Fan had implemented it in Fengyang, leaving him deeply moved.
Li Fan was indeed not a simple person, being able to execute it so perfectly, prompting him to remark:
“The people of Fengyang might bear heavy taxes, but they are indeed the happiest group!”
Empress Ma looked at His Majesty in surprise.
Although she initially thought the taxes in Fengyang were heavy, with a 40% agricultural tax and a 60-70% commercial tax, such a burden would be overwhelming anywhere else.
But this was not the case in Fengyang, so she felt the need to clarify things with His Majesty, lest he continue to misunderstand Li Fan. She quickly said:
“If Your Majesty thinks the taxes in Fengyang are heavy, you are gravely mistaken. In fact, the people of Fengyang are particularly happy!”
Zhu Yuanzhang looked puzzled at Empress Ma, not understanding what she meant.
With 40% agricultural tax and 60% commercial tax, how could they be particularly happy?
Was there something he didn’t know?
Curious, he asked:
“I think the taxes in Fengyang are very heavy, how can they be particularly happy?”
Empress Ma hurriedly explained:
“Although Fengyang collects a 40% agricultural tax, all the people are self-farming farmers, they only need to pay 40% grain tax, without other burdens. Moreover, Fengyang county does not require the best grains for the tax, just any grain will do, so the people sell the good grains, then buy old grains at a low price to pay the tax!”
Zhu Yuanzhang looked dissatisfied at Empress Ma, thinking about how his granaries were filled with old grain, and how these officials were deceiving him, this was treasonous.
Angrily, he said:
“If the entire Ming Dynasty followed Li Fan’s method, the imperial granaries would have no good grain!”
Ha!
Empress Ma looked at the clueless Zhu Yuanzhang, silently sighed, her husband really understood nothing.
She could only slowly explain:
“Even if the court collects the best grains, officials sell them at market price to grain merchants, then buy old grains from them to pocket the difference, this profit goes into the officials’ pockets. So, Li Fan directly collects old grains, transferring this profit to the people, making everyone happy!”
Zhu Yuanzhang’s face turned pale, realizing he knew nothing about this.
It seemed the deep-seated issues in Ming were much more profound, he had only seen the surface splendor, missing the underlying problems. He sighed and said:
“It seems I still don’t understand the officials of the Ming Dynasty! These deceitful officials deserve to die!”
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