Chapter 150: Offend Magic, and You Shall Vanish into Smoke?

Merging the poll-tax into the land tax!

With the implementation of this policy, an uproar swept across the entire nation, spreading from Northern Zhili to Southern Zhili.

The capital, already rife with undercurrents, was now completely boiling over!

Memorials of dissuasion flew in like snowflakes, accompanied by overwhelming curses and abuses. Even the ordinary people, who understood little, were swept up by a mysterious force and began cursing the Emperor.

For the past two months, Xia Yuanji had been utterly overwhelmed. Just transmitting the decree down to the various prefectures and counties involved resistance so fierce that it left him feeling helpless.

From imperial kinsmen and high-ranking officials above, down to gentry and landlords below—representing the landlord class that held half of the Ming Dynasty's national power—they opposed it with all their might. This resistance was far more severe than the Single Whip Law introduced by Zhang Juzheng in earlier times.

After all, back then, the losses suffered by landlords at all levels—including the imperial clan, civil officials, and the gentry—could be partially compensated by manipulating silver prices and shorting grain prices during the conversion of silver and grain.

However, the merging of the poll-tax into the land tax was designed purely by the imperial court to increase revenue, leaving no room for anyone else to profit. How could anyone possibly endure this!

The imperial commissioners dispatched by Xia Yuanji to various regions suffered heavy casualties, with fewer than one or two out of ten returning alive. Moreover, the imperial edicts vanished like clay oxen entering the sea, receiving not the slightest response.

It was as if touching some sort of spell would cause the policy to dissolve into thin air.

"Your Majesty, that is the current state of affairs. Zhang Juzheng first proposed it during the Jiajing reign, but it was not implemented until the ninth year of the Wanli reign—there was a half-century of gestation behind it. To try to implement it immediately right now makes the difficulty unimaginable!"

Xia Yuanji forced a bitter smile. Every word he uttered conveyed a single meaning: your humble servant cannot pull this off!

He was no Zhang Juzheng; he, too, was a member of the landlord class and deeply understood the gentry and landlords' intense aversion to this policy.

To truly press forward with it would be no exaggeration to describe it as making enemies of the entire nation.

For the past two days, as he walked the streets, everyone looked like an assassin to him, and he lived in constant dread that someone would leap out and stab him. The anxiety and fear had left him looking noticeably haggard.

Zhu Youjian sat upright on the dragon throne, his eyes opening and closing slightly with a flash of cunning. He spoke softly, "Attendant Wang, is the Intelligence Department under the Western Depot fully prepared?"

Wang Chengen's eyes were bloodshot, the potency of the pill he had just taken still diffusing through his body, helping him muster his spirit as he replied, "Responding to Your Majesty, the seventy-two hundred men have already reached the various prefectures and counties. The seventy-five thousand copies of the newspaper were distributed several days ago. Per Your Majesty's decree, each newspaper is sold for a single copper coin. Those who recite the entire text aloud in the presence of an Intelligence Department operative receive two cash of silver."

The *Great Ming Daily*.

The Intelligence Department, operating under the aegis of the Western Depot, possessed fifteen printing houses and over ten thousand staff members, most of whom were former members of the hundreds of thousands of Embroidered Uniform Guards from the Chongzhen era.

Now, they had become a glorious corps of paparazzi. Since their previous line of work involved eavesdropping behind walls, gathering intelligence was hardly a career change; it was merely that they used to report to the Emperor alone, and now they were publishing for the masses. No matter how one looked at it, they knew the ropes inside out.

Having become the throat and tongue of the Great Ming, exclusively loyal to the Emperor and free from the interference of civil and military officials, the most crucial factor was that the Emperor was willing to spend lavishly, making the paparazzi of the Intelligence Department fiercely loyal.

Zhu Youjian nodded. "Minister Xia, the common people must have already memorized this policy that benefits them and harms the powerful. From here on, you can boldly carry out your work."

True, Zhu Youjian might not have understood the art of governance, but he understood the people who lived upon this land: a single copper coin to buy a newspaper, with two cash of silver rewarded upon reciting the entire text.

A two-hundred-fold return on investment was an temptation that, apart from wealthy landlords, even impoverished scholars found impossible to ignore.

With grain prices currently stable, two cash of silver was enough for a person to afford rice for a full month, and the only cost was memorizing an article of fewer than five hundred words.

Probably the entire nation was reciting this benevolent policy that favored the people. The doors of village private schools were nearly being beaten down, and even illiterate farmwives in remote villages were already reciting it backward.

At the same time, the rate of cultural literacy rose dramatically—it was an endeavor with countless advantages and not a single drawback.

Xia Yuanji fell into a brief daze, then said sincerely, "Your Majesty's methods are truly uncanny... truly unfathomable!"

"From now on, there is no need to fear popular uprisings. Should there be any further turmoil, kill without hesitation." Zhu Youjian sneered as he stood up.

He raised his head, his gaze burning as he looked out at the azure sky, his tone reeking of unbridled dominance:

"To touch their interests means to vanish into thin air... what an exceptionally bold claim. I return these words to them: any existence that dares to block my path shall be reduced to ashes, obliterated until not a trace remains!"

Xia Yuanji respectfully prostrated himself on the ground, his forehead pressed deep against the floor, remaining motionless for a long time.

Half a month passed.

The Great Ming Dynasty's first-ever public opinion war was launched. As the common people grew more and more enthusiastic in their recitation, a few began to grasp the underlying meaning, and a small minority started to cause trouble.

This even included the scions of noble families—after all, who could guarantee that a landlord's household wouldn't produce a foolish son? The ringleaders were mostly impoverished scholars, alongside a small fraction of young masters and young lords.

Yet, under the heavy suppression of government bailiffs, elite estate guards, and the landlords' long-term laborers, the unrest gradually subsided.

Simultaneously, small-scale uprisings spontaneously erupted in various regions, and some major bandits had even captured two county seats, showing a fierce and formidable momentum.

After memorials detailing this poured into the capital from all directions, civil and military officials submitted joint memorials requesting the Emperor to issue an edict of self-blame and abolish the policy of merging the poll-tax into the land tax.

When these memorials reached the Directorate of Ceremonies, however, they sank like stones into the sea, eliciting no response whatsoever.

On this day.

The fifty thousand newly recruited troops of the Capital Garrison received an increase in pay, with each soldier equipped with a rifled musket and a hundred rounds of ammunition. They were accompanied by a logistical support battalion of one hundred thousand men. Operatives from the Intelligence Department and agents from the Western Depot accompanied the army without participating in military affairs.

Fifty veteran soldiers who had washed Jiangnan in blood during the Chenghua reign were promoted to senior company commanders, while four hundred veterans were promoted to junior company commanders. They split into fifty independent companies and marched out toward various prefectures and counties, with no one daring to block their path along the way.

Under the threat of loaded muskets and live ammunition, the various bands of rebels, large and small, melted away as swiftly as snow beneath a blazing sun.

The imperial kinsmen, who had been howling the loudest under the instigation of mysterious forces, saw two of their imperial princes killed and received an imperial decree bearing only two words: "Served right." Following this, the members of the imperial clan suddenly became exceptionally well-behaved.

Assisted by the Three Yangs, Xia Yuanji began executing sweeping and drastic reforms.

Starting from Northern Zhili, the policy of merging the poll-tax into the land tax gradually radiated outward to Southern Zhili. Land was surveyed and populations were audited, with the process proceeding remarkably smoothly.

Clearly, there was no stubborn problem in the Great Ming Dynasty that could not be resolved with a volley of muskets.

When the memorials detailing the population census and land surveys were placed upon the Emperor's imperial desk,

Zhu Youjian raised an eyebrow and remarked, "The population has surged by half? And the taxable land area has tripled? These people certainly knew how to hide things."

[The national fortune of the Chongzhen era has increased; unlocking the Zhengde spacetime.]

Hoo.

Zhu Youjian let out a breath. An increase in national fortune meant that this policy was a major boon for the current Chongzhen era.

Naturally, one could easily imagine how immense the opposing forces must have been.

With a beaming smile, he said, "Attendant Wang, I hear that quite a few civil officials and gentrymen have frequently been going to visit Dorgon, who resides within the city. Have you caught wind of any news?"

Wang Chengen smiled and replied, "Replying to Your Majesty, those damned scoundrels are plotting to instigate Dorgon to seize the opportunity and rebel. Recently, a large number of Jurchens have inexplicably entered the capital to do business—numbering around five thousand people. This servant has already had the Depot guards keep a close eye on them; not a single one will escape."

"Rebelling while the Capital Garrison is depleted? How audacious. It seems this recent distribution of firearms has also allowed these people to acquire quite a stash," Zhu Youjian said with a light chuckle.

"Go, summon Dorgon to enter the palace for an imperial audience. I want to see whether this grand dog truly possesses such guts."

...