Since Sima Yan unified the world, he has gradually learned to enjoy himself. He is no longer the hard-working, frugal emperor he was when he started his business. In addition to being addicted to wine and sex, he also rewards ministers lavishly, sometimes hundreds of thousands.

Millions of money, cloth and silk

It was a gift of dozens or hundreds of horses. Although tax revenue was increasing year by year, the court's expenses were also increasing. The wealthy nobles were also extravagant. After Taikang, there was a trend of exaggeration and fighting for wealth in the court.

The trend, and this cannot be achieved without a large amount of taxes.

There are two agencies in charge of taxation in the imperial court, namely Da Sinong and Shaofu. Da Sinong is in charge of the official treasury, and the money in the official treasury is used for the country and the country; Shaofu is in charge of the private treasury, which is the private treasury.

money for the palace

Expenditure. In principle, official and private officials are clearly distinguished, but in practice there is often confusion. A wise emperor may use money from his private treasury to supplement the country, the country, and the country, while a fatuous emperor may use money from his official treasury to squander his enjoyment.

Sima Yan was not a wise king, and certainly not a mediocre emperor. He had merits and demerits, and had mixed reputations. What kind of emperor he was, future generations have their own opinions. After the Ping of Wu, there was a small incident that helped to increase the appreciation of him.

In order to increase his wealth, Sima Yan once sold his official position at a clearly marked price, but he kept all the money from selling his official position.

His own private treasury. After pacifying Wu, he once asked the ministers: Which emperor of the Han Dynasty is he comparable to? Some ministers said that His Majesty is comparable to Han Gaozu, some said that His Majesty is comparable to Emperor Guangwu, and most of them said that he is comparable to Emperor Guangwu.

You are comparable to Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, but a minister who spoke out and dared to remonstrate said: Your Majesty, you are comparable to Emperor Huan Ling. Emperors Huan and Ling were the most famous emperors in the Han Dynasty.

After hearing this, Sima Yan was very unhappy and asked him, "Although I am not as good as those sage kings, I have self-deniald myself and unified the world. If you compare me to Emperors Huan and Ling, isn't it too great?"

Is it too much? The upright minister said: Emperors Huan and Ling also sold their offices, but the money they paid for selling their offices went into the official treasury, and Your Majesty

The money you paid for selling your official position went into your private life. From this point of view, you are not as good as those two. After hearing this, the other ministers were very worried about him, fearing that the emperor would kill him. But unexpectedly, Sima Yan

But he laughed loudly and said: Huan, there has never been a minister like you in Ling Dynasty who dared to speak out, but there is one in our court, which shows that I am still different from them.

It is unknown whether Sima Yan actually deposited the money that should have been deposited into the official treasury into his private treasury. However, it is certain that Sima Yanyu was magnanimous, which is why Shu Yan made such direct remarks.

It's not that Sima Yan doesn't want to think about the people, but there is considerable resistance to tax reductions and exemptions. Even if he agrees to tax reductions and exemptions, it is expected that the ministers will never agree. When implemented, the resistance will definitely be quite large. Because in the Wei and Jin Dynasties

During this period, the power of the wealthy noble families was unimaginably great, to the point where they could compete with the imperial power.

Why do wealthy families oppose tax reductions and exemptions? Because paying taxes is a matter for ordinary people. All wealthy nobles with titles and even ordinary officials above the ninth rank do not have to pay taxes. Moreover, all these people with titles are within the scope of his fief.

, will enjoy the common people's taxes according to the level of the title and the number of households they own. From the largest to the royal family with tens of thousands of households, princes, county princes, small

From Xiaotinghou to Guannaihou who own hundreds of households, they are all enjoying tax income. From high nobles to low nobles, the enjoyment ratio is one-half to one-ninth. The higher the title, the more households they own.

The more; the higher the title, the higher the proportion of taxes they receive. In other words, within a certain fiefdom, these people with titles first take their due proportion from the tax income, and then the rest

It's the country's.

Because of this, if the imperial court orders tax reduction or exemption, it will inevitably touch the interests of these people, and of course they are unwilling to do so. These people are often from wealthy families, and they all hold military and political power in the court. The imperial power in the Wei and Jin Dynasties has historically been

Generally speaking, they are the weakest. Many things are controlled by noble families, and sometimes the emperor is helpless. Just like Sima Yan at this time, he just kept a straight face and was noncommittal.

Seeing that the emperor was hesitant, Biyu asked Shu Yan, "What is the basis for your nonsense about raising the age of adultery from sixteen to twenty?"

"Why not? "The Book of Rites" says that the crowning ceremony is held at the age of twenty, which means that the crowning ceremony is not held until the person is twenty years old, and he is considered an adult. Otherwise, why not hold the crowning ceremony at the age of sixteen? Furthermore, since then, the crowning ceremony has not been held until the age of twenty.

Starting to pay taxes at the age of twenty has been around since ancient times and was practiced during the prosperous period of the Han Dynasty. But as you said, we are now in a prosperous age, so why can't we practice it?"

"You..." Biyu wanted to refute Shu Yan again, but his father, Shi Hui, stretched his clothes and signaled him to stop talking. It turned out that Shi Hui had already seen that Shu Yan's proposal would not pass, because

Sima Yan did not clearly express his support; and the ministers present were also opposed to it.

Compared with his own Marquis of Xiaoxiaoxiang, the ministers present, princes, county princes, county princes, etc. have much higher titles. The tax reduction and exemption proposed by Shu Yan will have a much greater impact on them than himself, so there is no need for him to

If a father and a son talk too much, one person will object more fiercely and guarantee that he will not pass.

Sure enough, Shu Yan's enthusiasm, a heart that worried about the people, and his words that had been painstakingly prepared for a long time were all drowned in the stern and contemptuous scoldings of the officials. Even Shu Yan, who had always been upright and always defended himself,

Wei Guan didn't say a word for him at this time. I don't know whether it was because Wei Guan felt outnumbered, or because he himself was a high-ranking noble of Duke Shi Yang.

After retreating from the court, Shu Yan walked out of the Tai Chi Hall listlessly. His heart was cold and he wanted to cry without tears. He didn't know what his future was, let alone the future of the country. He knew that Sima Yan trusted him very much, so

He just wanted to serve the court a lot. Once, when the prince and party were fighting, Sima Yan asked him about the departure or stay of King Sima You of Qi.

Shu Yan did not express his position clearly at the time. For this reason, Shu Yan regretted it for many days. Only then did he understand, why should he regret it? He took himself, who was born in a poor family, too seriously. He had raised the issue with the court many times.

Suggestions, including no longer accepting the Huns and surrendering, etc., but once they touched the interests of wealthy families, they were never passed.

People from poor families have no status and are squeezed out in the officialdom. Only then did Shu Yan realize it deeply. This was what his grandfather, Dr. Shu, had warned him before he became an official. Only then did he understand why his grandfather was always reluctant

His son and grandson entered the official career. Shu An was influenced by his father. Although he was determined to work and study, he could not

No one knows whether he is really completely willing in his heart. This is because all the hermits chose to abandon their official positions and return to their fields after experiencing setbacks in the officialdom. But Shu An has not experienced this, but he himself is very

He was talented, so Shu Yan guessed that his father would always be a little bit regretful about this.

At that time, no one understood Dr. Shu and thought that he had delayed his son's future. Shu An and the Zhou couple, one was indifferent to fame and wealth, and the other was a husband and wife, but they were also content with the joy of the countryside. Although they were like this, they always regarded Shu Yan.

intentionally or unintentionally

Instilling the concept of "cultivating oneself, harmonizing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world" is obviously contrary to one's own ambition of farming and studying. The couple was like this, and the old servant Xie Yi even urged Dr. Shu: It's okay for you to influence your son, but you must not

No more delaying my grandson's future.

In Dr. Shu's mind, there are many contradictions as to whether his grandson should work as an official or farm and study. The two ideas ebb and flow. His son's talent is no less than his own, but he is buried in the countryside. It is impossible in his heart

There is no pain at all. As for my grandson Shu Yan, he is more talented than him.

Father, can I still bear to let my grandson continue to bury his farmland? I can’t bear it. There is an insurmountable barrier between the gentry and the common people. He has been an official for many years and he understands it well. The reason why he resigned from office and opposed his descendants to become officials was probably for this reason.

As for dissatisfaction with Sima Zhao's killing of Cao Mao, it was just a direct inducement.

Can't people from the common people be officials? Of course, as long as you can endure the injustice - the injustice to yourself, to the poor families of the common people, and the various privileges of the wealthy families; as long as you are willing to bury your head and not go

If you want to take on any responsibility, just to receive a salary, then there is nothing wrong with it. But the Shu family cannot do it. When the grandson was very young, Shu Bo

The scholar knew his character, hating evil as much as hatred. How could a poor boy who hates evil like hatred gain a foothold in the officialdom controlled by wealthy families? No. Where does this "cannot" go compared to the "intolerance" mentioned above? Dr. Shu didn't know, he

What he can do is to train his grandson to be a gentleman who is "acquainted with the five classics and six arts", and let him take his own path in the future.

Regarding his ideal of becoming an official, Shu Yan didn't care how big an official he could be promoted or how high his salary would be. All he wanted was to do something for the people of the world. The road he had come to now became more and more confusing.

Before becoming an official, I did some practical things for the people in my hometown of Ruyin, including building

Xuexue, begged money and other items for the people. But after arriving in Luoyang and becoming a formal official, he did not do anything beneficial to the people. Compared with various local counties and counties, where nobles from the capital gathered,

Perhaps it is even more unsuitable for children from poor families. Government orders come from the gentry, just to protect the interests of the nobles.

What Shu Yan was worried about at this time was not his own future, but the fate of the entire country. Although on the surface, this dynasty was already prosperous, with a multiplied population and all industries prospering, it was actually surrounded by crises and problems, just like a building.

People only see its extremely gorgeous appearance with carved beams and painted beams, red walls and whitewashed walls, but no one notices that it is actually bent and swaying by the weather. With just a little external force, it may collapse.

Judging from some of the things I have experienced, such as: choosing a mentally retarded prince as his successor, arbitrarily conferring kings, kings supporting their own troops and respecting their own territory, unlimited acceptance of foreign people into the hinterland, the huge rift between the gentry and the common people,

There are huge crises hidden in them all. These crises will come sooner or later, but we don’t know when or who will come first.
Chapter completed!