"Because the people farmed hard and worked hard, hunger and cold came to them."——————【The Uncomprehensive Theory of Salt and Iron No. 15】
Weiyang Palace, Xuanshi Palace.
In order to better adapt to the economic recovery and solve the current financial difficulties of the court, the emperor decided to convene his ministers to discuss the state affairs. He first had a draft in his heart, and then expanded the objects of the meeting. In addition to the important ministers who were responsible for the affairs of the minister,
The nine ministers involved in finance, such as Tai servant Liu Biao, Grand Secretary Nong Liu He, Shaofu Wang Jiang, and Du branch minister Han Bin, were also ordered to formulate a complete set of economic reform policies and plans in the Propaganda Office.
At the beginning of the meeting, Liu He, Wang Jiang and others reported one by one the wealth of last year, the income and expenditure from the beginning of this year to the present, and the current abundance of warehouses. In fact, you don’t need to ask too much to know that the imperial court has been engaged in wars for many years, and there are always ten
Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians were mobilized, followed by rewards, pensions, and the official dynasty. Not to mention the newly recovered states and counties in Guandong, even Guanzhong and Guanzhong, which had just resumed production, were a little overwhelmed.
Therefore, this was an external factor that prompted the emperor to follow public opinion and propose the national policy of "rest with the people."
As for other factors, the emperor also needed to use this to change some tax systems without touching the fundamental interests of the powerful families, so as to ease the burden that had always been on the shoulders of the common people.
"Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the land rent has generally been about 30 taxes per year. Occasionally, there is a tax of 15 per cent, and a tax of 10 per cent, but it is not a common thing. After Xiaohuan and Xiaoling came, the court was troubled, divisions and brigade were frequently established, and the expenses were insufficient.
Therefore, the tithe is paid." Huang Wan, Situ's official secretary, knew the topic of today's meeting and said first: "Today's army and people have thousands of hectares of farmland, with an annual income of millions of dendrobium, and a surplus of grain reserves. For the purpose of rejuvenating the world, I, your Majesty,
Please follow the old system of the Han Dynasty and order the prefectures and counties to collect thirty-one taxes on land rent to relieve the people's difficulties."
The tithe had originally been abolished when the emperor took charge, and the ancestral system of thirty tithes to one tithe was restored in Guanzhong areas. However, the imperial court attacked the Yuan family, Han Sui and other forces. Within a few years, more troops were used, and the supply of food and grass was in short supply.
, as a last resort, the tithe was temporarily restored. Not only did it further squeeze the common people, but even the powerful landlords suffered greatly.
Now Huang Wan, out of various considerations, proposed that the emperor resume thirty-one taxes, which would benefit both the country and the people.
"Well, now is the time to issue an edict." The emperor immediately agreed to the suggestion without thinking.
Thirty tax is already the lowest tax rate in history. Based on the current yield of two to three dendrobium per mu, a family of five, farming 100 acres, and harvesting 200 to 300 dendrobium per year, only needs to submit seven to ten dendrobium to the court.
Dendrobium grain. But this is only the land rent. After paying the land rent, excluding the one and a half stone ration per person per month, there are still one hundred fifty or sixty stone left.
If calculated based on the price of 30 yuan per stone, the farmers would only receive more than 4,000 yuan. This more than 4,000 yuan includes all kinds of expenses during the year, such as trying new things in the community, offering sacrifices to ancestors; clothes, oil and salt, etc.
In addition to the purchase of farm tools, expenses for diseases and weddings, the money is almost spent.
These expenses do not even include taxes, and are calculated based on thirty yuan per stone in normal years. If there is a bad harvest, although the price of food will rise, the harvest will be poor, and farmers will still have a hard time.
The emperor read the "Book of Han" and related books frequently in the palace, and knew that the thirty-one-tax field rent was of little use to the people, because in addition to the field rent, there were also heavy burdens imposed on the people.
In the event of natural disasters, a large number of homesteaders went bankrupt and sold their land to landlords and became tenant farmers. The tenant farmers had to pay five-tenths of the land rent to the landlords, while the landlords only had to pay thirty percent to the court.
One-third of the land rent.
However, because the common people were reduced to tenant farmers and their household registrations were concealed by the powerful, without the need to pay other taxes, the government's financial resources would be reduced and it would be unable to meet various expenses; without the need to provide various labor services, the government would be unable to organize water conservancy and other projects. As a result, the production environment was poor.
, the more likely it is that the homesteaders will go bankrupt, and an endless cycle begins until the refugee problem becomes more and more serious, resulting in a series of social unrest...
The emperor knew that this was tricky and even harmful, and he repeatedly reduced and exempted land rents in the past dynasties. Although the original intention was to relieve the tax pressure on the people, in the end it was the powerful landowners who annexed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land who benefited.
The powerful man who was supposed to pay one tax per ten or one tax per fifteen suddenly asked the court to reduce the tax to one tax per thirty. Who in the world does not support such a "benevolent government"?
However, maintaining high land rent will continue to increase the burden on the common people. Therefore, although the thirty-year tax must be restored, it must be changed in the future. At least it should be changed to a progressive tax system, and different proportions of land rent should be paid according to the amount of land occupied. This is only fair.
It's just that this level of reform is based on clear land and household registration in various places. At present, it is not convenient for the emperor to allocate land on a large scale. At the moment, he still has to make the people rich first, and then...
"The main reason why the people are poor is not the land rent, but the tax collection." The emperor's tone was a little solemn. He tapped the booklet presented by Wang Jiang, the young master, and said: "Now the tax is one hundred and twenty yuan per mouth.
The tax is twenty-three qian per mouth. In addition, there are more taxes, household transfers, and cuo drafts. All these have caused the people to suffer a lot. How can they be relieved by a mere reduction in land rent?"
"I believe that light corvee and low taxation are the foundation of rest. At the beginning of the year, the imperial court issued an edict that no corvee service is allowed in all prefectures and counties in the world except for agricultural leisure time. The soldiers of the inland prefectures and counties have to cancel border guards and only guard their own counties. From this, more taxes can be greatly reduced.
"If the people reduce their fatigue and do not delay the farming, the barns will be abundant in the coming year and the people will be happy with their work." Huang Wan knew that the emperor's intention was to reduce taxes and allow the people to keep enough food. However, it was natural for him to cater to it.
His thoughts are involved, and it is not just a public plan.
"The imperial court is reducing rents and taxes. As a result, the less money we have this year, the more difficult it will be to meet expenses next year." Liu He, the senior clerk sitting in the back row, couldn't help but interjected.
"In the final analysis, the wealth of the imperial court must be for the people." Yang Qi, the official in charge of the court, said coldly. He turned slightly from his seat and glared at Liu He: "Officials should not compete with the people for profit, as Confucius said
'If the people are enough, who is not enough?' Is it the people's rest that is more important, or the imperial court's wealth?"
Liu He was young and not well-known, so he did not dare to confront Yang Qi directly. He was stunned for a moment and then stopped answering.
"Since your Majesty has issued an edict to rest with the people, he said that all kinds of trivial chores will be reduced or reduced as appropriate, so that all counties and counties in the world will not have to worry about urgent matters. Naturally, the expenses of the imperial court should be reduced as much as possible. I ask the branch to strictly review the government offices and offices.
Spending money can start from the ministers." Huang Wan said with great righteousness, and took the initiative to propose the establishment of an organization assigned by the du branch in the government offices to inspect the use of various funds and reduce expenditures.
The emperor has always hoped to establish branch offices with accounting and auditing functions, as well as personnel departments that organize personnel and test performance in the central government offices and local counties, to establish a smooth channel from top to bottom, strengthen control and
Supervision. Unfortunately, this attempt has been resisted and blocked by all parties. Until now, he has only established corresponding institutions in the local Hedong County and the central Taiwei Mansion.
Now that he heard that Huang Wan took the initiative to give in and let the Du branch strictly control the budget expenditures of various government offices, the emperor was a little unsure of the other party's plan. He looked up at Han Bin, the Shangshu of the Du branch, who was from Yingchuan, and suddenly asked: "
What do you think Mr. Xun has to say?"
Among the servants, Xun You, Ping Shangshu Shi, seemed to have known that the emperor would ask this question, and replied unhurriedly: "The imperial court attaches great importance to 'rest' and reduces taxes and levies. This is something that His Majesty had already agreed on at the Chengming Palace at the beginning of the year. Now.
When it is time to reduce expenditures and reduce taxes to support the people, we can first establish Duzhilang from the government offices of the public ministers to review the financial plans of each government office. After one or two years, it will be implemented throughout the world, just like the Hedong example."
"It seems that Mr. Xun also thinks so." The emperor nodded, and he understood at this time. He suddenly said: "In this case, the Ministry of Personnel also dispatched various ministers to allocate ministers to various offices according to the regulations.
Well, at the end of the year, we can also take exams based on this, and the officials will review the merits and demerits."
With this move, the emperor was finally able to establish branches of the two institutions in the inner dynasty in the outer dynasty, which to a certain extent realized his system design concept of "governing the affairs of the inner dynasty and managing the affairs of the outer dynasty".
According to the emperor's original division of powers among the various ministers headed by Shangshutai, whether they are the official department, the criminal department, or the branch department, they are all targeted at the functional departments of foreign ministers and even local counties. Following this trajectory,
The inner court does not specialize in specific civil matters, but only controls and supervises officials, while the outer court is responsible for specific affairs and faces all aspects of social governance.
As the emperor continued to make adjustments, the outer court ministers gradually regained their previous real power. However, after the inner court lost the power it had wrested from the ministers, it gained the power to restrain and even override the outer court. From then on, the system gradually gradually
On the right track, the Shangshutai will lose its power to draft edicts and become a pure government agency.
At this time, the internal and external dynasties restrained each other and stood in parallel. The Chengming Palace shared power with the emperor, which not only expanded the imperial power, but also played a role in ensuring that the power was not partial.
"I sincerely promise that the Ministry of Personnel and the Du Branch will dispatch officials to various government agencies. They can start from the imperial court first, and then discuss the implementation of the various counties." Huang Wan knew that the emperor would slowly implement this system sooner or later.
It's better to make an exchange in exchange for the 'frugal use' of the imperial wealth in recent years.
"Building water conservancy and developing schools in the county were also agreed upon by the Chengming Palace." Zhao Wen, the Sikong and Lu Shangshu, immediately raised objections after the matter was finalized: "The imperial court has insufficient funds to hire workers.
No labor is allowed. So where should the money for building post roads, dams, ditches, and schools in recent years come from? Shouldn't this just be saved?"
"These require several years of work, how can they be accomplished overnight?" Yang Qi retorted: "You can let the local county and county governments organize labor to build it during the slack time."
To reduce the burden on the people, taxes and servitude must be reduced. Once the income of the imperial court decreases, it must practice "spending". Many things must be avoided if possible, and even if they want to be done, they cannot be done.
"From now on, the people will have to work during the slack time. If the government has no choice but to organize labor during the slack time, the affairs of the county will be reported to the county, the affairs of the county will be reported to the state, and the affairs of the state will be reported to the Ministry of Industry. After approval,
Only then can it be implemented. If anyone acts rashly, he will be handed over to the court to be punished." The emperor stipulated the approval process at all levels according to the scale of the project. While ensuring that repeated large-scale projects were reduced, he also considered compensating the people for delaying their farming time: "
The organized concubines will all have their land rent reduced or exempted for the current year, and will be given commissions ranging in value."
In the past, "labor" was unpaid voluntary labor. If you participated in the labor, you had to prepare your own rations. If you did not participate, you would have to pay someone to do the labor on your behalf. Usually, each man had to pay 300 yuan a month to hire someone to do the labor on his behalf. This was also called More gifts.
Now the emperor has reduced the time of unpaid voluntary labor from the whole year to the off-farm time, and stipulated that those who participate in labor during the rest of the time will receive reduced or exempted land rent and commission compensation, which greatly reduces the burden of the common people.
However, it will inevitably increase the government's expenditure. Faced with Huang Wan's objection, the emperor said: "Save what needs to be saved, and use what needs to be used. You can't just do nothing just because of the word 'frugal use.'" Already."
As soon as these words came out, Huang Wan seemed to feel something and suddenly stopped talking.
Dong Cheng, the hussar general who had been silent all this time, felt that he had the opportunity to intervene, and said: "Since I was ordered to measure the troops and seize them, I have made some calculations. All redundant soldiers and generals in the world will be sent to the fields to support themselves. , it can save the military millions of dollars every year." Only a month or two had passed since the reduction of troops, and Dong Cheng couldn't wait to take advantage of Zhu Jun's absence to take the opportunity to claim credit: "Although the military system of the prefecture and state has been restored, the local soldiers have taken turns. If the system of guarding the border areas is slightly modified, there will be no extra labor and expense, and in this way we can save more money."
The rotational garrison system first appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At that time, the territory of the vassal states was not large, and the inland garrison troops could move easily. However, with the expansion of the country's territory, the rotational garrison system became somewhat inappropriate. One year, the border was guarded, and the other was garrisoned. In the capital, sometimes you may not always come back when you go there. So in the end, this system became a system where the people paid to be exempted from the garrison, which invisibly added another layer of tax.
Let the border camp soldiers and border counties be responsible for guarding the border, and the inland county soldiers will only guard the interior of the county. This is what the emperor and Zhu Jun and others have already decided: "This can indeed save useless expenses, but the inland county soldiers Guarding the border can be exempted, but elite officers and knights must be selected from the counties every year to serve as guards. The expenses and supplies must be paid by the guards. This system cannot be changed."
Huangmen Rencong was in charge of the imperial front, Lang Wei under Guang Luxun was in charge of the palace entrance and the guards inside the palace, the soldiers under Wei Wei were in charge of Weiyang Palace, Zhi Jinwu and Chengmen Xiaowei were in charge of Chang'an city defense, and the Northern and Southern Army was in charge of guarding the three districts of Gyeonggi Province. Auxiliary, these constituted different military forces that guarded the emperor.
Allowing elites from each county to serve as guards in the palace can not only strengthen their loyalty to the emperor and their cohesion to the court, but also improve the elite level of the imperial army.
Dong Cheng received the emperor's approval and hurriedly lowered his head and made a promise.
Recently, he has been troubled by the pregnancy of the Song Dynasty, which has aroused the hidden worries of retiring from Taiwei to Hussar General. He has to pin his hope of consolidating his position on doing errands for the emperor wholeheartedly, and let himself If it is useful, the emperor will continue to use it.