"I am worried about this, so I personally lead the ministers to persuade them. I will give the people of the world half of this year's land rent." Han Shu Chronicles
The imperial court nominally rules the world, but in fact it is hard to say how powerful and majestic the edicts will be after they are issued from Hangu Pass. Both Zhang Chang and Zhou Zhong understand that the taxes the imperial court can collect now are only Sanfu and Hongnong.
County, plus the dilapidated Henan Yin and Hedong counties.
But for the sake of the court's dignity, Zhang Chang naturally would not tell the truth that everyone knew very well, but he avoided the important and said: "Guanzhong is quiet this year, and the people are at home. It is better to levy taxes as usual."
The emperor said lightly: "Guanzhong suffered from Qiang chaos for several years. The people were hungry during the chaos. Guizhou was displaced and had to eat everywhere. As a result, the household registration was extremely complicated and difficult to separate. It would be better to reorganize the household registration according to the time and place, so that the place of origin can be obtained.
It is practical, the relief is comprehensive, and it is also convenient for the court to collect taxes."
Even though Zhang Chang believed in obeying the emperor, he couldn't help but be surprised at this time. Isn't this the same as when Dong Cheng proposed to check the household registration of Luoyang who moved to Guanzhong? Not to mention those who were hiding and occupying the people.
Will the powerful people agree? Just say that this matter should not be brought up by the emperor himself. There will be no room for change on both sides and it will only make the matter endless.
"What?" The emperor always seemed to be smiling when facing the ministers, but at this time, his smile seemed to contain something else: "The household registration is in chaos, so you should send out good officials to check carefully to make sure there are no omissions. If the household registration
I don’t know, how can the imperial court levy taxes? Do they have to allocate them at will?"
The emperor remembered that in history, there were Qiang rebellions, droughts, and military disasters. More than 100,000 households fled to Jingzhou alone. Liu Yan, the herdsman of Yizhou, was composed of tens of thousands of people who fled here through Guanzhong.
Dongzhou soldiers. If you calculate carefully, there are at least more than one million people in Guanzhong, and this is the number of those who live in hiding.
Huan Dian, who had friendship with Huang Wan and the Yang family, could not sit still at this time. He interjected: "Although some refugees have lost their land and left, Sanfu, Hongnong and other counties have planners to calculate the people and register them every year.
Even with Dong Zhuo's expertise, this matter has not been eliminated. If you want to ensure that taxes are levied, your Majesty can order the Shangshu Desk to send accounting books and check the number of households over the years, which can be used as evidence, without having to trouble the people and waste time."
The emperor looked at the teacher, who was known for his integrity, and asked Jia Xu, "Is this true in China?"
Shangshu Jia Xu immediately cooperated and seemed to have settled the matter: "According to the records of Zhongtai, apart from military and civilian settlements in Sanfu, Hongnong and other places, there are a total of 230,000 households and more than 1.1 million people."
."
"Households increase and decrease every year. The statistics in various places must be verified accurately and no false reports can be made." The emperor then nodded and said: "This year's tax will be levied based on this. No more, no less."
The emperor behaved as usual and easily stopped mentioning the household registration check. This made everyone sigh in relief, but at the same time they couldn't help but wonder: What are they hiding by babbling like this and bluffing people from time to time?
What's the intention?
"When Emperor Xiaowen was Emperor Xiaowen, the official tax was 40 qian per person, and the oral tax was 20 qian per person. Later, the court repeatedly imposed additional levies, which increased the annual tax tenfold. Especially the oral tax, which was originally levied at the age of seven, has been reduced.
A tax was levied upon infancy, so that people would be displeased when they gave birth to a baby, or even throw themselves into the water and drown themselves after giving birth." The emperor did not disappoint. With so much foreshadowing, he finally got to the point: "Ting Wei Zhang
Having been in prison for many years, I should have encountered many cases like this."
Fa Yan, who was sitting on the side, did not expect that he would have anything to do with him, so he quickly replied: "Wei, since the Qiang Rebellion, the household registration in Guanzhong has been greatly reduced, and the corrupt officials and subordinates have taken advantage of the power of eunuchs to abuse them wantonly. The local government is pressing for collection and is eager to
"Xinghuo, the people in the countryside are so poor and ignorant that they would rather drown their babies and kill their children than pay the oral tax."
"How did the court captain and the local government deal with this kind of thing?"
This kind of case is very difficult. If it is handled according to the law, it is a little unhuman. If it is left unchecked, it will breed unhealthy tendencies. Fa Yan thought about it and said cautiously: "Emperor Xiaojing once issued an edict: Those who want to order prison officials must first
"Kuan, so whenever we encounter this kind of behavior, we will ask the local governor and magistrate to persuade them with the principles of filial piety and righteousness, and order them to reflect on their mistakes and correct their mistakes."
The drunkard's intention was not to drink, so the emperor said: "These are not all their faults, but the imperial taxation is too strict and fails to take care of the people's livelihood."
The fiscal revenue in the Han Dynasty was mainly divided into two categories: taxes and taxes. Taxes were mainly rent taxes. Since the Han Dynasty, there has been a focus on light corvee and small taxes. Except for an increase in extraordinary periods, the rest of the time is thirty taxes per one. And taxes are oral taxes.
There are also population taxes such as taxes, calculation taxes, and more, such as taxes on behalf of corvees.
Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, in order to support the court's war against the Qiang in Liang and satisfy the emperor's personal desires, the court had to repeatedly impose additional population taxes on the premise that taxes could not be increased. Nowadays, various heavy miscellaneous taxes have made people's lives difficult.
, in order to escape heavy taxes, some chose to become hermits for powerful nobles, while others chose to rebel.
Zhang Chang heard something in the emperor's words, and contacted the emperor's preferential policy on the population tax for rural households. He was so blessed that he immediately understood and responded: "Guanzhong is tired now and needs to be restored urgently. Your Majesty will reduce or reduce the population tax for the rural residents. All the people will be exempted."
I sincerely support it. The previous emperors of this dynasty have also made some reductions or exemptions from this. Your Majesty wants to manage Guanzhong and provide benevolent government. It is advisable to cherish the people's power and re-establish the tax regulations."
Zhou Zhong thought further than Zhang Chang. He found that the people present today, whether they were Shangshu Youcheng Lu Chong who came with him, or he and Zhang Chang, all had one thing in common, that is, they were in charge of the imperial court's wealth.
Grain storage.
As for why Fa Yan and Huan Dian were present, Zhou Zhong's understanding was that the emperor not only wanted to tinker with the original taxation basis, but also wanted to re-establish the taxation in the form of laws.
The reform of taxation is a major matter related to the country. The few ministers who record the affairs of the ministers must discuss the result, and then put it to the public discussion of the doctors, Yilang and other ministers, and finally it can be officially established. But what do you think of the emperor today?
This approach seems to bypass these cumbersome procedures and let them execute them directly.
Huan Dian's face also became extremely ugly. He did not expect that the emperor, who had been keeping a low profile these days, would suddenly want to cause such a big thing without any warning. Regardless of whether the previous words were about building a warehouse, it brought out the meaning of this autumn.
The topic of taxation, or the pretense of checking household registration, and making false accusations are all paving the way for this matter.
I'm afraid the emperor, Jia Xu, Xun You and others had already made plans for the new tax law. But Huan Dian didn't understand why the emperor didn't want to go through the normal procedures? Did the emperor think that just because he didn't mention the household registration check, it would be enough?
Can the nobles accept the new tax laws according to the emperor's wishes?
Sorry, I just posted the two chapters in the wrong order!