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"These are the work of the Imperial Property Bureau. Please listen to the appendix to this clause." Changsun Chong patiently explained, "The so-called public grain is relative to taxes. Taxes are equal to land rent. Your Majesty has given everyone food fields that do not need to pay taxes, ensuring everyone's food rations. Then the extra land will naturally have to pay taxes, and 10% of the harvest will be harvested. This is already an extremely low land rent. At the instructor of my mentor, I personally led my colleagues from the Imperial Property Bureau, that is, my classmates, to visit villages near Chang'an City, and learned that private tenants rent land owners' land to farm, and they have to pay 50% to 70% of the harvest every year as rent."

Wei Zheng frowned and interrupted, "Don't be alarmist, 70% of the rent, how is it possible?"

Changsun Chong said seriously, "It's not a false statement. Even some of the seniors present's land was rented out." He glanced at him, and many people avoided his gaze. Changsun Chong smiled and said, "I won't give specific examples here, just talk about the results. Take ordinary corn as an example. The land near Chang'an City produces an average of 103 kilograms of land per mu. The tenant farmed twenty acres of land a year, and only earned 600 kilograms of corn. One of the laborers in the family, a wife, and the elderly and children, was still struggling to feed. If you have a little illness and disaster, you can only wait for death and be helpless."

Changsun Chong looked at Wei Zheng and also looked at Li Shimin, saying, "This is the real life of the people near Chang'an City. Chang'an City is the capital of the Tang Dynasty. The people near Chang'an City are like this. What other places look like, Your Majesty and the Lords should be able to imagine."

This was the first time Li Shimin heard about this and frowned and said, "Is this a common practice? 70%?"

Changsun Chong shook his head and said, "Most of the fields are first-class fertile land. If you ask for 70%, the people can barely make a living. On average, the area near Chang'an City is roughly 50% or a half, that is, about half of the food you harvest must be handed over."

Li Shimin sighed, "That's not a lot."

"My teacher described this as the wine and meat smelly of the rich, and there were frozen bones on the road. The wine and meat of the rich were exchanged for depriving the people of food. The teacher said that for this reason, he never felt guilty when he earned money from the "My clan".

All officials chewed on this poem. Some people were complacent and indifferent, but some people showed a look of shame. They knew that the rich people in Li Mu were talking about.

"My teacher sets the tax as 10% of the gains, which is much less than 50% of the rent. For the people, a good year is not worth mentioning, and a disaster year may be taken out, and it will not put too much pressure. The issue of how to determine the problem is that the crop types and yields in each place are different. The Imperial Products Bureau will count the average of the local yield in the previous year and take it as a consideration for tax collection in the next year. For example, the yield per mu of corn near Chang'an City just mentioned will be determined as a criterion for tax collection, and 10% is ten kilograms, that is, ten kilograms are collected for one acre of land. Plant grains and harvest grains, and cultivate millets and harvest millets, based on the amount, not the value."

"Public grain is another major initiative of my teacher." Changsun Chong sighed again and said, "My teacher was moved by the wanton actions of Shandong grain merchants at the beginning of the year. He made plans for His Majesty and the country, and decided not to put the control of grain prices in the hands of grain merchants. Because merchants were pursuing profits and forgot their righteousness, grain was the foundation of the country, and the strategy of the foundation of the country must be in the hands of the court. My teacher thought hard and thought about it all day long and night, and finally came up with this solution."

Wei Zheng couldn't help but say, "Changsun Chong, just talk about it when you say something. Can you boast about your mentor in three words, which is annoying."

Many people nodded and agreed. Changsun stopped, looked at Wei Zheng with his eyebrows, and was silent for a moment, and responded without hesitation, "Mr. Wei can only question, but his appearance is also annoying. His mentor is talented and genius, and he thinks of many good policies. What's wrong with a few words of praise?"

Seeing that the quarrel was about to start again, Li Shimin interrupted, "Changsun Chong, talk about serious matters, and talk about them if you leave the court."

"Your Majesty forgive me, I know I am wrong." Changsun Chong stopped looking at Wei Zheng and continued, "My teacher's method is to set up Changping warehouses in various places. The main components of Changping warehouses are to collect local taxes, which is 10% as mentioned just now. Then there is public grain. Public grain is not forcibly robbing. Instead, it is calculated by calculating the grain output and value of the entire Tang Dynasty and giving a reasonable purchase price. Use this purchase price to buy the people's food."

"There are too many benefits. For example, if a disaster in a certain place is normal, if grain is needed to mobilize grain everywhere, the grain commerce will interfere and hoard. After Changping the warehouse, the court can quickly mobilize grain. For example, if a certain place is flooded and a certain people's crops are gone, Changping the warehouse can lend him grain and seeds, and return it with a bumper harvest next year. Moreover, with the purchase price set by the government, the grain vendors cannot deceive the people when reselling the food of the people, because Changping the warehouse gives a price. If it is lower than this price, the people will not sell it."

"In places with fertile land and high harvests, the stock of wealthy grain can be often closed every year, and the imperial court's ability to regulate grain prices will be greatly improved. In the event of a disaster, the hoarding of black-hearted grain merchants will be greatly reduced."

Li Shimin nodded slowly and said, "This plan is great, Li Mu has considered it with considerate. I can't think of any omissions, I think it's feasible."

"Wait!" Wei Zheng was still unwilling to give up and said, "What's going on with renting land and contracting land? Why is there more tax on contracting land than renting land?"

Changsun Chong looked at Wei Zheng like a fool and said, "Don't Wei Gong understand? Because you should stop taking advantage!"

"What's the meaning!"

"Land is divided into three categories. The land does not require taxes for food and renting land only 10% of the land. Where can I find such good things? If it is 10% of the tax, what is the difference between confiscation? So my teacher limited the first two categories, and the food field guarantees rations. If there is no tax for one person, it is enough to eat if there is no tax for ten acres of land. If renting land for every person for 40 acres, 10% of the tax will make life better. Although it is only 50 acres, compared with the first twenty-year-old males who can get 20 acres of Yongye land and 80 acres of land for the first twenty years.

The income from each household is much more. This is actually the transfer of the court, which makes the people live better. But everything is limited. The court gives the people food and improves their lives. Is it still a responsibility to make every people a landlord? So in addition to the extremely low rent forty acres of land, if you want to get more land and make money from farming, you have to pay more taxes and public grain. What's the problem?"

Datang Technician @B
Chapter completed!