jdhmnovel Chapter 346 Robbery from the Rich and Giving to the Poor
Chapter 346 Robbery from the Rich and Giving to the Poor
After dinner, when everyone sat down to drink tea to digest the food, Min Xi said to Wanli: "I heard that you helped a father and daughter today?"
Wanli couldn't help but sigh: "I didn't expect that I would personally encounter the issue of selling children."
"You don't have to blame yourself, sir. Falling into poverty due to illness is inevitable in any dynasty. In fact, the court can set up special clauses for widows, widowers, orphans, and the disabled to exempt them from taxes and labor service. If the treasury has a surplus, it can also set aside a sum of money to support those families who really need help to overcome difficulties." Min Xi said.
Wanli frowned: "Do you think this money can reach them?"
Min Xi nodded: "It is indeed difficult. Perhaps we can pass this matter on to encourage local gentry and wealthy families to do good deeds. Every year, we can reward some outstanding gentry and wealthy families in the name of the court, and arrange for people to write storybooks for them to sing. I think this should still be attractive to some people."
Wanli looked at Min Xi doubtfully: "Will this really work?"
Min Xi smiled and said, "I think it should be feasible to a certain extent. When people have a certain amount of money, they will start to want power and fame. Power needs to be earned through real talent and knowledge. No matter how rich you are, if you don't have real ability, you may not be able to get it. But if a good reputation can be bought with money, it is still recognized by the court. I believe there will still be many people willing to do it."
Why do rich people love to do charity? Of course, it is for fame and fortune, to demonstrate their reputation, to increase their influence, and to gain a sense of satisfaction.
After hearing what Min Xi said, everyone looked at him in surprise. Only Yun Ji was not surprised. His ninth brother always said shocking things. He was serious about taking money out of the pockets of the rich. According to him, it was robbing the rich to help the poor.
Zhao Yu stroked his chin and said, "Maybe it will be useful. I have heard that some rich people, in order to gain the reputation of being a good person, spend money everywhere to hire people to help spread the word. If the court recognizes it and issues an official edict, it will definitely attract a lot of people to actively participate."
Wanli was indeed happy to hear this: "I'll give it a try when I get back."
Min Xi also knew that this method could only comfort Wanli's mood, but could not solve the fundamental problem.
When he and Yun Ji were together in private, Yun Ji also said: "What you said to the young master can only solve the problem temporarily, right? The fundamental problem is still not solved."
"Yes, this is only a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution. To completely solve this problem, the Ming Dynasty must redistribute all the land and wealth," said Min Xi.
Yun Ji fell silent. Ever since he decided to take the imperial examination, he had studied a lot of current affairs and researched the various problems that the Ming Dynasty was facing. The most serious ones were land annexation, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few people, and population loss. Among all the solutions he could think of, there was absolutely no solution.
Min Xi's proposal to redistribute land and wealth is indeed the best solution, but it is impossible to implement. Because it involves the interests of too many people in power, who would be willing to share their wealth with others? Even he himself was not so noble as to donate all his property to others for equal distribution.
Yun Ji recalled how Min Xi was full of passion and wanted to buy ships and guns to revive the coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty to prevent it from being bullied by other countries. He was also inspired by him and wanted to turn his ideal into reality, so he returned to continue studying and take the imperial examination.
The more he read, the more he felt their own insignificance. The Ming Dynasty was plagued by illness and there were too many problems that needed to be eliminated. He doubted whether they could do it.
The only consolation was that the Prime Minister Zhang Juzheng was trying to get rid of bad policies, and the young emperor was still determined to make progress. Perhaps under their hands, the Ming Dynasty could still achieve a revival. He hoped that his decision was not wrong, and that he and Min Xi could do something for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.
Min Xi saw Yun Ji was silent and patted him on the shoulder: "Seventh Brother, don't worry too much. It doesn't matter if it can't be solved. Everyone has his own mission. We just need to complete our mission. As for the direction in which the Ming Dynasty will develop in the future, that is not something we can control. Do your best and leave the rest to fate!"
"Okay!" Yun Ji knew that there was no other way except to try his best.
After resting in the town for a day, they set out again.
Ever since he visited the market once, Wanli became interested in going to the market. There were few scenic spots along the way, and the unique folk customs of this season were rarely seen, so going to the market became the only thing they could do.
Along the way, Wanli saw more and more injustices. He was no longer as angry as he was at the beginning. Maybe he had become numb after seeing so much, or maybe he had grown up and knew that his anger was useless, so he began to think about solutions.
As they traveled south, they tried to minimize their dealings with local authorities because they were travelling incognito. If they made too much of a fuss and asked local authorities to receive them, their whereabouts would be exposed, posing a threat to their safety.
Although he did not deal with local officials, he had heard a lot about the reputation of those officials along the way. Some of them could be said to be tyrannical and oppressive to the people. After hearing this, Wanli silently made a note in his heart. A powerful dragon could not suppress a local snake. Now the situation was special and he could not settle the account, so he would write it down and settle it when he returned.
Half a month after setting out from the capital, they finally arrived at the Yellow River.
This was the scene that Wanli was most looking forward to seeing. Floods in the Yellow River were almost inevitable during the tenure of every emperor, and the river burst its banks almost every year. Just in August this year, the Yellow River burst its banks in Nanzhili, causing severe floods in Suqian and other places, resulting in huge losses.
Before Wanli saw the Yellow River, he could not imagine what kind of river would burst its banks every year. When he saw the Yellow River hanging high above the plain, he realized that it would be abnormal for such a river to not burst its banks.
It is the dry season now and the Yellow River has not yet frozen. There is very little water in the river, which is shallowly spread on the riverbed. It is all yellow and you cannot see the original color of the water at all. The Yellow River is really yellow!
Wanli stood on the embankment, looking at the silted riverbed, and sighed helplessly: "I never thought that there would be such a river in the world! How did it form?"
Min Xi explained: "The upper reaches flowed through the Loess Plateau, and there was too much silt, which was washed down. When it reached the plain, the water flow slowed down, and the silt slowly settled down. After thousands of years of sedimentation, it became like this."
Wanli asked: "Is there no way to completely solve this problem?"
"It's difficult, but not impossible. It requires a lot of manpower, material and financial resources, and it can't be completed overnight, so it's almost impossible at the moment." Min Xi knew that solving the Yellow River flood problem would require some technological advances.
Wanli looked around and saw the river hanging on the ground, and he couldn't help but feel a headache.
They brought three carriages with them and had to cross the river, which was a big project. They needed to dismantle the carriages, move them onto the boat, and then reassemble them on the other side of the river, or leave the carriages here and come back to get them when they return.
After discussing it for a while, they finally decided to dismantle it and take it across, after all, they still needed a carriage to get to the other side. So it took them two days to finally complete the crossing.
Min Xi sighed. The Yellow River Bridge is still the best. It only takes a few minutes to cross the river. It doesn't take two days!