"My lords, if you have something to do, please leave the court. If nothing happens, please leave the court." Wang Feng said habitually.
But the moment he caught a glimpse of the young master, he realized that there was going to be a fight between dragons and tigers in the imperial court today.
If a person who habitually does not go to court suddenly appears, others may become panicked.
"I, Qin Shiyi, the imperial censor of Zuodu... This is not an impeachment, I just want to remind the young master that you should wear court clothes when going to court. It is unbecoming of a saint to be dressed in white."
Qin Shiyi left work, said something calmly, and then returned.
The tone was not offensive at all, it was like a genuine reminder.
But suddenly, Lin Yanhai, the Minister of Rites, frowned.
This is an etiquette issue that the Ministry of Etiquette should remind me about. The Censor came up and said, "Is it because I think the Ministry of Etiquette doesn't understand the etiquette and you want to help me remind you?"
"Master Qin, the young master is not a disrespectful person. I think he must have a reason for doing this, so I will not comment for the time being." Lin Yanhai said.
It not only gave Fang Jue face, but also explained it to the Ministry of Rites to avoid being accused of dereliction of duty.
"Yushitai didn't mean that." Qin Shiyi shook his head and smiled.
Seeing this, the emperor suppressed the verbal dispute between the two and looked at Fang Jue.
Qin Shiyi said it, so he couldn't pretend not to see it.
"Doesn't the young master's court uniform not fit him well? Is there a profound meaning in why he wears white linen clothes to go to court?" Xiao Pingsi asked with a smile.
Fang Jue is now at the height of his power, and the emperor cannot criticize him at will, and the emperor originally had no objection to Fang Jue.
Let alone Fang Jue wearing common clothes, even if he wore fancy clothes, the emperor would only say that he looked good.
But these words made the etiquette department immediately sit up and take notice.
The Ministry of Rites is responsible for court uniforms. Although they are manufactured by the Chaoru Clothing Bureau under its jurisdiction, everyone in charge is from the Ministry of Rites.
The court uniform does not fit, and it is another crime committed by the Ministry of Rites. Although it is not painful or itchy, it is still embarrassing.
Hearing this, Fang Jue came out and said, "It's not an oversight by the Ministry of Rites. My court uniform fits me very well. I just didn't wear it today."
Lin Yanhai breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good." Xiao Pingsi smiled and didn't ask Fang Jue why he was dressed like this.
As an emperor, he cannot be led around by others, he has to let people speak out for themselves.
"Then, Master, why don't you respect the etiquette and wear white clothes to go to the palace?" Zhuge Qingshan was on the side and deliberately guided.
The ministers glanced at the emperor and the chief minister, feeling speechless in their hearts.
How many years have you two been playing double act? Are you tired?
Fang Jue smiled and said: "That's a good question, Mr. Chief Assistant... Your Majesty, I wear white clothes to go to the palace. I just want to remind you, don't forget that there are still white clothes in the world."
There are still white clothes in the world.
This means, common people.
The emperor has such a sharp ear and eyes, he already guessed the purpose of Fang Jue's visit when he saw Fang Jue entering the palace in white clothes.
The ministers were silent and immediately realized why Fang Jue had come.
He comes for the people of the world!
Some people teased him for his boldness, while others admired his magnanimity.
But they were all looking at the emperor's face.
The young master said, I want to remind you all, but who doesn’t understand the implication? It’s just to remind the emperor not to forget the common people.
These words were so loud that everyone was worried that the emperor would be angry.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Pingsi asked with a smile: "Why did the young master say this? Could it be that some gentleman has done something to forget the people?"
His eyes were gentle, but when he turned to the officials, they were indeed sharp and filled with murderous intent.
"I don't dare..." The ministers quickly gave up.
When Fang Jue saw this, he went straight to the topic:
"Your Majesty, I heard that someone suggested to Your Majesty that they plan to increase the grain tax by 20% starting from next year. May I ask if this is the case?"
"Raise food taxes?" All the officials were surprised.
"Twenty percent?" Zhuge Qingshan narrowed his eyes, glanced at Hu Bu, and was filled with anger.
Originally, Daxia's grain tax was already 50%, and the common people, excluding taxes and local miscellaneous donations, were left with the remaining 35%.
Moreover, after those tenants paid 50% of the grain tax, they had to pay half to the landlord, leaving even less for themselves.
Another 20%?
This means directly starving people to death!
Everyone understood why the young master went to the palace in white.
Many courtiers were angry, but some were quick-thinking and realized what this meant and did not speak.
"It is indeed true." As an emperor, Xiao Pingsi would naturally not deceive his subordinates.
Qin Shiyi went out: "Your Majesty, this must not be done!"
The censor of Youdu also echoed: "Whoever dares to say this will be punished!"
Cabinet ministers also came out one by one and spoke sharply.
"If the tax rate is increased by another 20%, the people will starve to death. Whoever came up with this is a bad idea. They should be pulled out and executed!" Zhuge Qingshan said angrily.
Everyone knows what the person who put forward this opinion is thinking, but they all pretend not to know.
First, he reprimanded angrily to leave a loyal image in front of the young master and the emperor.
Of course, some people are really angry.
When Xiao Pingsi saw the crowd's anger, he was not angry. Instead, he smiled with satisfaction and said, "I am very relieved that you are serving the country and the people with such passion."
Then he looked at the official who made the suggestion.
Yan Lanfeng was shocked when he saw the emperor looking over.
"Yan Papi, is that you?" The officials around him suddenly stared at him, furious.
Yan Lanfeng shook his head quickly: "It's not me..."
Your Majesty, please don't cheat me. Where did I say this?
But at this moment, standing behind Yan Lanfeng, the minister who also belonged to the Ministry of Household Affairs came out.
"Where in front of the building?" Everyone understood.
"It's really this thing. As soon as the young master said it, I thought of him."
"This He Louqian only thinks about taxes. He has been like this all his life."
In front of everyone, He Louqian was not nervous at all, even though he was being stared at by the chief assistant and the young master at the same time.
He was still unhurried and said: "My minister, He Louqian, has indeed submitted a letter to suggest that the grain tax will be increased by 20% starting from next year."
Fang Jue turned around and said, "Master He, do you think the people's life is too good?"
The tone was cold and spoke directly to people's hearts.
Xiao Pingsi remained silent and took a sip of tea, preparing to watch a good show.
He Louqian did not answer, but looked at the emperor: "Your Majesty, I went to Fangjiazhuang to see it before. The output of new grains... is so amazing?"
"The yield per mu is at least three times that of rice, and it can produce two crops a year."
"For such a high-yielding grain, even if the imperial court taxes 20% more, it will leave more for the people than before. I think it can be considered."
"This..." The ministers began to think.
According to this statement, it seems to be true.
He Louqian continued: "For example, the yield of cassava per mu exceeds 5,000 jins. Even with a tax of 70%, the common people can keep 1,500 jins... What a surplus?"
"This was something I would never have imagined before. People's lives have become several times richer."
"In my opinion, 70% is too little, we should charge 80%!"
Many people fell silent and stopped blaming He Louqian, and even vaguely felt that he was right.
But I felt that what he said seemed wrong, but I couldn't tell what was wrong.
The emperor's eyes were wandering, and he was also thinking. He glanced at Fang Jue.
Everyone looked at Fang Jue, wanting to see how he would argue.
Fang Jue said calmly: "The improvement of productivity is to make the people of the world live better, not to allow you to better exploit the people!"
As soon as these words came out, those who felt that what He Louqian said was wrong immediately felt convinced.
Zhuge Qingshan's eyes also lit up.
Fang Jue continued: "In the past, farmers plowed the fields without plows or harrows. At that time, they worked hard and had no time to spare all day long."
"Later, the plow was invented, which saved most of the time in cultivating the land. When the people had free time, they could gather at the entrance of the village to chat and have some leisure time."
"I would like to ask Mr. He, did the person who invented the plow originally want to save time and effort, or was it to allow the people to work hard all day and plow more land?"
"This..." He Louqian still didn't understand.
Fang Juedao: "The improvement of productivity is to liberate the labor force and make the lives of poor people easier. This is also my original intention of bringing out the new grain."
"But in Mr. Lou's view, that has become a better reason to exploit the people?"
"With high-yield food, the people can sleep at sunset instead of sunrise, and live a more leisurely and comfortable life... But if you do this, the people will still work as hard as before, and they will just have enough to eat... What's the point?"
"He Louqian...are you messing with your mother!?" Fang Jue was furious and almost roared in the end.
The ministers were shocked.
The emperor was startled, and Mo Yuan also put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
This guy actually roared into the court.
But what he said made sense, and I couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Yes, why should we embarrass the people like this?
Can’t you see that the people can live a better life by saving more food?
Just what is a roll?
"You..." He Louqian seemed to be mute, pointing at Fang Jue, but was speechless for a moment.
Lin Yanhai, the Minister of Rites, coughed and said: "Ahem, young master, please calm down, and please don't disrespect me before you."
If others were like this, Lin Yanhai would suggest taking it down.
But I feel that these words are really touching people's hearts. Everyone has a steelyard in their heart, and it is clear at a glance who is who.
He Louqian said so much, but he always had one core idea - just let the people eat enough. What should they do with the extra food? Do they deserve it?