The three of them walked hand in hand, with servants waiting on them along the way. They did not feel that the journey was difficult, but it was still January or February weather. The further north they went, the more they saw ice and snow, especially since there was no longer any south in the north.
Once you get rich, wherever you stay, you will wake up every morning and see "road zombies" who have been frozen to death and dragged to the cremation field to be burned. The residents nearby have become accustomed to it, which shows the decline of people's livelihood.
.
After Sun Xiang and Sima Fang saw it, they felt pity in their hearts. When they were having breakfast, they talked about what they saw and heard. They said that if they were local officials in the future, they would not let the people under their rule suffer from the embarrassment of cold and hunger.
This kind of dead person situation cannot happen. When the two of them were going back and forth and talking very warmly, someone next to them suddenly laughed "chi", which meant a bit of disdain.
Sima Fang had an arrogant personality and could remain calm and turn a deaf ear to such things, but Sun Xiang did not have such good self-cultivation. He immediately stood up and sneered:
"Just now, my senior fellow apprentices lamented the sufferings of the people. Which one of them thought that this kind of thing was worth laughing at? What kind of cruelty does it take to laugh out loud in the face of such a tragedy?"
When he said this with a gun and a stick, a young man stood up immediately next to him. This young man was handsome, but had single eyelids and thin lips. He seemed a bit arrogant at first glance, and he immediately said: "No.
People think things like the road freeze are funny! It’s just that your two ideas are too naive and make people laugh!”
Sun Xiang said angrily:
"Okay! I'm going to ask what our two senior brothers think so funny."
The young man sneered:
"How can the views of corrupt scholars not be funny? You keep saying that you should live with the people by doing little corvee and paying little tax. Let me ask you, these eight words are easy to implement, but how do you complete the tasks of summer taxes and autumn grains issued by your superiors every year?"
Sun Xiang immediately said:
"If we impose heavy taxes that force some people to have no food rations until winter, it is an exorbitant tax! Naturally, we should write a letter to remonstrate and advise the Holy Lord. This is the responsibility of our ministers!"
The young man immediately said:
"Well, if it is as light as you said and the tax is light, then let me ask you, if the tax collection is less, the national treasury will naturally be poor! The poor national treasury will make the soldiers fighting in the front have no food and clothing.
While fighting desperately, they had to endure cold and hunger. In the end, the army was disorganized and defeated thousands of miles away. The enemy's wolf-like soldiers and horses drove straight in, raped, plundered, and tortured the people! Did more people die at this time, or did they die of cold and starvation in winter?
Are there many people?”
Sun Xiang was considered an eloquent person but could not find anyone to refute his words for a while. But who was Sima Fang, a dignified disciple of Donglin Academy? He immediately said coldly:
"Will the treasury be impoverished if you do light corvee and low taxes? Your sophistry is truly superb."
The young man immediately said:
"It sounds nice to say that light corvee and low taxes will reduce the country's income. Doesn't it mean that the country's income is reduced, but the national treasury is impoverished?"
Sima Fang sneered:
"Another person who only knows a little about reading! Being considerate of people's livelihood by doing light corvee and low taxes is definitely not based on harming the national strength. If the implemented policies lead to a decrease in national treasury revenue, then the official will take the world as his own responsibility, and he will naturally try every means to serve the country.
Make up for the money you undercharged!”
The young man chuckled again and said:
"It's really nonsense. Let me ask you, how can you save money?"
Sima Fang answered fluently:
"In my opinion, if a county yamen wants to operate smoothly, half of the current official system's manpower is enough. Those redundant officials and redundant officials will naturally be eliminated! This is a huge expense. In addition, the officials above and below
The festivals, annual tributes and other things have also brought a huge burden to the people, so of course what can be saved should be saved."
"You just mentioned the most important place - the army! Yes, that is the most redundant place! It should be mainly the elite, and the old, weak, sick and disabled should be eliminated and go home. Now
It is also common for the armies of various countries to have short quotas. It is nothing more than a matter of severity. After squeezing out these water points and putting into practice what I have said one by one, I do not believe that there will be no room for the common people to do light corvee and low taxes!
"
"Innocent!" The young man was disdainful before, but now he said even more angrily: "You are the corrupt scholar who is ruining the country! Let me ask you, how many talented and outstanding people are there in the five countries? Is it true that you are the only one who has seen this in the army?
The issue of short quotas? Are all the generals in the world corrupt and corrupt beasts??"
"As a prime minister, I can take care of the problem of redundant troops! I want to take care of it, but I dare not, or to put it more seriously, I don't have the nerve to take care of it at all!"
When the young man said this, someone next to him suddenly coughed. He immediately sat down, but he was still suffocating. The coughing man was a middle-aged man, with a sallow face, but his eyes were very lively.
The kind of person who is very determined in doing things and won't stop until the goal is achieved.
But the young man's silence was a torture for Sun Xiang and Sima Fang. Donglin Academy can dominate the world's four major academies and cultivate elite disciples. Of course, it is impossible for the elite disciples to not have the heart to seek the truth. Sima Fang, who has always been arrogant, stood up
He stood up, saluted the young man and said:
"The more you differentiate, the clearer it becomes. Why doesn't this person finish what he said?"
The young man looked at the middle-aged man next to him, but he looked like a stuffy man who only ate and stopped talking.
Lin Fengjin narrowed his eyes slightly. He could also feel along the way that both Sun Xiang and Sima Fang had a slightly perfunctory attitude towards him. The reason for this was very simple. In their eyes, he had always been
As an older boy, he would always be looked down upon in terms of knowledge. Lin Fengjin was also an arrogant person, so he smiled and said:
"Actually, what this brother just said is not a great secret. I guess he has relatives in the army, so he felt a little deeply."
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!" After hearing what Lin Fengjin said, Sima Fang and Sun Xiang became interested. Even the young man couldn't help but look over, but his eyes were definitely not that friendly.
Lin Fengjin said calmly:
"The root cause of redundant soldiers lies in the system and the current culture of looking down upon ordinary soldiers too lightly! There is a widespread phenomenon of short quotas, and part of the extra money is pocketed by officers.
, but I believe that most of them were used and distributed to the sergeants below."
"What?" Sima Fang and Sun Xiangqi asked, "How could this happen?"
Lin Fengjin said seriously:
"Now the military pay for ordinary soldiers is one, two or three cents. This does not include the fuel consumption. Receiving this money means that you are ready to go to the battlefield at any time, risk your life, and gamble with your body! And!
There is still a risk of not being able to get this money--as far as I know, there are many cases of arrears in paying auxiliary soldiers."
"After I went to the battlefield, I was helpless. As far as I know, the pension for the war dead is ten times the military pay, which is returned to the family members by the military judge. Due to various reasons, this money is only about half.
Families can get it. But the most important thing is that the most common thing on the battlefield is injuries! There are also disabilities! But in this most critical place, the country’s system has omitted it intentionally or unintentionally! Those who were injured while serving the country
A disabled soldier may face the fate of having no food and clothing for the rest of his life! But there will be no compensation!"
"A large part of the empty silver taels currently eaten should be spent on these people." Lin Fengjin concluded:
"These sergeants are still alive, so their influence and reputation are there. If they block the entrance of the military camp, every soldier will die and be miserable. They worry that their future is their present. It is impossible to give them any punishment. Who dares
If you do this, you will have to face the huge risk of the army mutiny out of control. Therefore, all the princes in the dynasty have acquiesced in the existence of short quotas, and this is the reason."
Sima Fang and Sun Xiang suddenly understood and said in admiration:
"It's really nice to see you."
"What a fool!" The young man finally couldn't help shouting: "It's so clever to pick up people's teeth! Didn't I bring it up first?"
Lin Fengjin smiled and said:
"The king of inquiry and the minister of solution (asking questions is the job of the king, and solving problems is the job of the ministers). May I ask if you have any solution to the redundant soldiers?"
As soon as Lin Fengjin said these words, not only Sima Fang and Sun Xiang, but also the sallow-faced man couldn't help but look at him deeply.
In current terms, what Lin Fengjin said just now is indeed of a very high standard. The six words clearly explain the responsibilities of the king and his ministers, and they also vaguely contain the principle of admonishing the king.
Those who can understand what they say can be said to be well-educated people. They all know that from ancient times to the present, many people have left their names with one sentence through the ages. And the words Lin Fengjin said today are vaguely...
With this flavor in it.
The arrogant young man was stunned for a moment and couldn't help but ask:
"If I had it, would I still be here? I had already gone to the court, so how could I still be here? Don't you have any solution?"
Lin Fengjin smiled and said:
"Although I don't dare to say that we have a method, we still have a clue."
When he said this sentence, the whole place fell into silence immediately. The lethality can be imagined. If he had said this sentence before, others would have thought he was bragging. But when he said these six words: Lord of inquiry and minister of solution
From now on, it can be said that the pearls and jade come first, which is very convincing.
Sima Fang immediately took a deep breath and said:
"I was just about to listen to Lin Xiandi's advice."
Sima Fang was so arrogant that he could actually say the word "gaojian", which showed that his impression of Lin Fengjin had completely changed. This is what Lin Fengjin wanted, and he said calmly:
"To solve the problem of redundant troops, we must solve one thing from the root, and that is open source!"