bookrebus Chapter 82: The Reconciliation of the Two Parties Fails
Chapter 82: The Reconciliation of the Two Parties Fails
During the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty
On this day, Zhu Yuanzhang handed over the government affairs to Zhu Biao again, while he watched Lin Ke's live broadcast from the side, taking the opportunity to relax.
Zhu Biao: Good, good, good, another father who's ruining his son's life!
Zhu Yuanzhang was unaware of Zhu Biao's discontent; his gaze was fixed on the ID displayed on the screen—"The Great Ming Dynasty, One Rope, Chongzhen."
I remember Miss Lin telling us that the last emperor of our Ming Dynasty ended his life with a rope.
Could it be this kid?!
I don't know if I can contact him to ask about the specifics.
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang clicked on this ID, he saw the video call option and immediately clicked to call without hesitation.
But then a sentence popped up and made his heart sink!
"Attention! Attention! This spacetime has just been accessed; we do not have permission to communicate!"
Okay, let's wait and see when it will be accessible again!
……
Lin Ke coughed twice and continued, "During the Yuan You era, when Empress Dowager Gao was in power, many people considered it the time when the new laws were completely abolished."
"But as Old Wang once said, among the officials of the Song Dynasty, only Sima Guang was a complete opponent from beginning to end."
"But Sima Guang died in September of the first year of the Yuan You era. So how many new laws were actually abolished during the Yuan You period?"
"First and foremost was the Green Sprouts Act, which was abolished in the first year of the Yuan You era (1086 AD) and was not reinstated until the Shao Sheng era after Emperor Zhezong of Song assumed personal rule."
"As mentioned earlier, Sima Guang opposed all reform measures that aimed to increase revenue, such as the Market Regulation Law and the Labor Service Law, which were both abolished."
"The previously revised corvée labor law was also promoted after the exile of key figures in the New Party, which actually led to a problem."
"The abolition of the immunization fee reduced the revenue of local governments, which was generally used for corvée labor and infrastructure construction. This put some impoverished areas in a difficult position, and in the end, the governments would still shift these responsibilities to the people, thus further increasing the corvée burden on them."
An official of the Ming Dynasty said: "In this way, the harm to the people will be far greater than that of the conscription system."
A romantic and talented scholar from the Tang Dynasty: The idea is good, but it's unreliable in reality!
"In the end, it was Sima Guang's good friend Lü Gongzhe who helped him solve this problem. He proposed setting up a detailed office for determining labor service laws and included Liu Zhi, Su Shi, Su Zhe, and others on a list."
"These people all offered their opinions, but ultimately they still couldn't resolve the consequences of the court lacking this money. It's important to understand that this money wasn't solely used for hired labor."
"During the Yuan You era, Su Zhe worked tirelessly to adjust the labor service system and improve the lives of ordinary people. As his position rose higher, his influence over the labor service system also grew stronger."
"In the seventh year of the Yuan You era, Su Zhe finally heeded Su Shi's advice and used surplus government funds to purchase official land, which was then distributed to local militia. The rent from the collected official land was used to pay for their employment."
"This method is called the Land-Given Labor Service Method. It originated from Lü Huiqing and Li Chengzhi of the New Party, but it was opposed by the old king. However, it was implemented and promoted by Su Shi, who was serving as a local official, and it received a lot of praise. So Su Shi recommended it to his good younger brother Su Zhe."
Su Zhe, a professional barber: Good brother!
Su Dongpo, the optimist: Good brother!
……
"But when Su Zhe began to fully implement this law, Empress Dowager Gao, who had relied heavily on him, passed away. Emperor Zhezong of Song, after assuming power, thought to himself, 'I've waited so long for this day, and I've long disliked the corvée labor law.' Without giving Sima Guang any face, he overturned his corvée labor law and restored the labor service system."
"This is quite awkward. Now Su Zhe's land-based labor service system is useless, and it's come to nothing."
"Next was the Fangtian Equal Tax Law, which was halted shortly after Emperor Shenzong's death. The Agricultural Irrigation Law did not prohibit it; for example, Su Shi undertook numerous water conservancy projects while in Hangzhou."
"The subsequent Baoma Law and Baojia Law were improved to some extent. Finally, the most important reform was the imperial examination system. Sima Guang and Lao Wang both believed that poetry and prose should be abolished and replaced with policy essays for selecting officials."
"This shows that Sima Guang did not completely reject Wang Anshi's reforms."
A scion of a prominent family in the Ming Dynasty: The struggle between the New Party and the Old Party became increasingly fierce in the later Song Dynasty!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ? ? ?
A civil official of the Tang Dynasty: If it comes to reform, the emperor's support is also quite important.
……
"Between the New Party and the Old Party, there was a man who constantly opposed Wang Anshi's New Policies and was severely demoted. Sima Guang, in order to promote the New Party, brought back many scholar-officials who had opposed the New Policies, but this same man then began to oppose Sima Guang."
"This person is Su Shi, the food blogger with a built-in following, whose relationship with Sima Guang became somewhat delicate after returning to the capital."
"After Sima Guang's death, Liu Zhi, who inherited his power, became even more hostile towards the Su brothers, Su Shi and Su Zhe."
Su Dongpo, the epitome of optimism: That's me for sure! I'm just that eye-catching!
Su Zhe, a professional at salvaging relationships: Why are you hostile towards my brother!
Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty: ...