Chapter three hundred and sixty fourth court battle
Outside the palace, as the palace door opened, officials of all sizes gathered in.
This is a royal palace, so officials will naturally not swarm together like a gathering in the market. Depending on the size of the officials present and their reputation, an invisible order will spontaneously form.
"This Xuchang Palace is much smaller than Luoyang and Chang'an, and it is a bit less grand. However, the buildings in the palace are quite compact." Lu Bu was walking on the spacious road, surrounded by Chu Nan and Chen Gong. At this time
Lu Bu was quite high-spirited.
He had walked the road to the palace many times, but this was the first time as a leader. For Lu Bu, it was a different experience than following Dong Zhuo.
The royal palaces in Luoyang and Chang'an both occupy a very large area, but the spacing between the buildings in the palace is very large, giving people a sense of grandeur and openness. However, due to the limited area of the Xuchang Palace, the spacing between the buildings in the palace is smaller, which is not as good as in Chang'an.
Luoyang gives people a sense of grandeur, but it is more compact.
After entering the main hall, everyone was divided according to official positions. Now there are three princes in the court. Taiwei has been vacant since Yang Biao stepped down. Sikong is Cao Cao, and Cao Cao has not filled it since then. Among the three princes, only Situ Zhao Wen is still there, standing on the left.
At the first place, Lu Bu stands at the first place on the right. As the head of the generals, he is also the actual controller of Xuchang today. No matter who was standing here before, this position now belongs to him.
Chu Nan is standing in the middle and back. His position as Minister of Household Affairs has not yet been officially recognized by the imperial court. His official position is still that of a prefect. Locally, he is a high official and a frontier official. But when he comes to the central court,
, the position is right behind Jiuqing.
After Liu Xie stood still for a while, Liu Xie slowly entered the hall. He glanced at the officials. After seeing Lu Bu, he nodded slightly and knelt down silently in his seat.
Beside him, a eunuch said loudly: "If there is something to do, we will start to report, but if there is nothing to do, we will leave the court."
"Your Majesty, there is a severe drought this year. The people in the Central Plains have lost all their harvests and suffered military disasters. Prices in Xuchang City have soared and the people are already living in dire straits. I believe that the military disasters should be stopped as soon as possible and with the common people's heart. Otherwise, as time goes by, disasters will inevitably happen.
Civil uprising!" An official came out and saluted Liu Xie.
The so-called military disaster is not the dispute between Lu Bu and Cao Cao, but a new round of promotion of the New Deal after Lu Bu entered the court.
What the official said is true. The promotion of the New Deal this time was different from that in Xuzhou. It spread to the entire Yanyu land. The nobles in various places resisted. There were no big battles, but small battles continued. Only in the past few months since Lu Bu entered the court, the court
As you know, Yingchuan, Chenliu and other counties were caught in the flames of war.
If we continue fighting like this, the entire Central Plains will be destroyed.
Liu Xie frowned slightly when he heard this, looked at the ministers and said, "I don't know what strategies you have to rectify this chaos?"
"Your Majesty!" Taichang came out and saluted Liu Xie: "The current situation is due to the promotion of the new law. I do not deny that the new law is indeed beneficial to the court. However, the law is too strict, causing people everywhere to resist. I think,
When the promotion of the New Deal is slowed down, or the New Deal is streamlined, and now that the war is over, it is the time to cultivate the people's livelihood. Forcibly implementing the new law at this time will only make the people tired, resentful of the court, and will surely cause trouble in the long run.
"
The Weiwei also came out and said: "Moreover, the new law is too strict and unbenevolent..."
For a time, the princes of the court were talking about the dangers of the new law. In short, they all had the same idea: the new law was unpopular and it was best to abolish it.
Lu Bu frowned slightly, feeling a little headache after hearing this. This new law is the foundation of the Xuzhou Army. The current strength is all due to the new law, and it has been proven in Xuzhou that the new law can quickly accumulate strength and popularity.
But in this court, under the criticism of so many ministers, it felt as if the new law was a serious crime that harmed the world, and I almost believed it.
At this moment, Man Chong suddenly came out of the queue and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
"I love you, but it doesn't matter." Liu Xie nodded and smiled.
"Concerning the new law, our Ministry of Punishment has made further improvements, please take a look at it!" After saying that, Man Chong took out a roll of white silk from his arms and offered it with both hands.
Liu Xie nodded, and a eunuch came forward, took the white silk, and returned to Liu Xie.
"Read it!" Liu Xie closed his eyes and said calmly.
Since the advent of the new law, it has been based on inventorying farmland and re-setting tax laws, but there is no detailed written record.
The most important thing Man Chong did during these days was to perfect the new law and make it into a book, combine it with Han laws, and form a book for easy reference, so that he could have evidence and laws to follow when he was in power.
As the eunuchs read aloud, the specific concept of the new law was officially presented in the power center of the Han Dynasty for the first time.
In fact, the new law is not difficult to understand. The tax system collects taxes based on the land. At the same time, the land is inspected and measured, and the unowned land is returned to the court, and no private possession is allowed.
Logically speaking, this did not hinder the gentry, but the fundamental problem was that a lot of cultivated land owned by the gentry and the powerful did not have title deeds. For example, the farmland cultivated by the common people was seized by the nobles, the powerful and the government through various means.
Come on, this kind of cultivated land actually does not have a title deed.
There are also fields that are privately occupied and cultivated without the authorization of the court, etc. The new tax system is also difficult for the gentry who are used to almost no taxes to accept. This means that they need to pay a large amount of taxes every year, especially
It's a time of war, and taxes are high. According to today's tax rates, the taxes they pay every year are one-third or more of their total income. Putting aside the cost of hiring tenant farmers and the food and clothing expenses of the family,
In the end, only 20% to 30% may be left.
How could the nobles who owned a lot of farmland be willing to do this?
There is also official land. People can rent official land at very low taxes. The harvest in a year is much more than working as a tenant farmer for a large family. This has virtually increased the cost of hiring tenant farmers. At the same time, they want to maintain the same level as in the past.
Hiding the population is no longer possible.
In short, if the new tax law is fully implemented, the gentry will not be devastated, but it will definitely lower their living standards by several levels. This is also an important reason for the non-violence and non-cooperation of local wealthy families and aristocratic families when the new tax law is implemented.
Destroying someone's wealth is like killing one's parents!
"You bastard!" Before the eunuch finished reading, Da Si Nong shouted angrily, pointed his halberd and said, "This is a method that will harm the country and destroy the foundation of the country. What do you want to do with this evil method!?"
Man Chong frowned and glanced at Da Sinong's messy beard, which was still stained with vegetable residues. He suppressed the urge to help him tidy it up, and instead of looking at him, he saluted Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, this method has been completely implemented in Xuzhou.
, Xuzhou now pays seven times as much tax every year as Yanzhou and Henan. However, Xuzhou’s tax is five to one, while Yanyu’s tax is five to two. Last year, it was even two to one.
Nowadays, Xuzhou is rich in resources and people, the people live in peace, and every family has more than enough food, but in the two prefectures of Yan and Henan, the people are in dire straits, and refugees are everywhere."
There is no need to argue, sometimes when the facts come out, all the fancy truths seem pale and ineffective.
"Your Majesty, Man Chong's words are completely baseless. Moreover, the two states of Yan and Henan have been hit by disasters year after year. The people's livelihood is not in dire straits not because of taxes, but because of natural disasters. Man Chong's words are avoiding the truth and replacing the truth with falsehoods. They should not be taken lightly!"
Zongzheng and Liu Ai came out of the queue and said in a deep voice.
The ministers agreed one after another, and at the same time, the court began to become noisy, accusing the New Deal of its shortcomings.
Chu Nan looked at this scene with some amusement. Sure enough, it is not easy to win against these people in the court.
He looked at Lu Bu and coughed slightly. The sound was not loud, but it reached Lu Bu's ears clearly.
Lu Bu understood and said loudly: "Your Majesty!"
Seeing him coming out of the queue, the officials' eyes narrowed and their voices became quieter, wanting to see what the new powerful official was going to say.
"There is no need to debate whether the New Deal will be implemented, but it is a fact that people are now in dire straits. However, the existing system of the imperial court is quite inconvenient for disaster relief. Therefore, I plan to establish six departments to deal with disasters and displaced people. I hope your Majesty will give you permission." Lu Bu said to
Liu Xie bowed and said.
"Six parts?" Liu Xie looked at Lu Bu curiously and smiled: "But I don't know what the six parts Aiqing said?"
The ministers were nervous. Lu Bu did not discuss the rationality of the new law with them at all. He forcefully interrupted the discussion on the new law, which made them angry but helpless. And directly bringing the matter of the Six Ministries to the table also made many ministers feel angry.
tight.
"When Nai Chen was appointed as the pastor of Xuzhou, he created it to facilitate the management of people's livelihood. The first is the Ministry of Personnel, which is responsible for the appointment and dismissal of officials; the second is the Ministry of Punishments, which is in charge of criminal laws and legislation; the third is the Ministry of Husbandry, which is in charge of taxation, household registration, farmland, and commerce; the fourth is the Ministry of Rites.
, in charge of the sacrifices in the ancestral temple, negotiations with foreigners and other food; the fifth is the Ministry of Industry, which is in charge of city repairs, road and bridge construction, and ordnance manufacturing; the sixth is the Ministry of War, which is in charge of the dispatch of troops and horses." After Lu Bu briefly explained the functions of the six departments, he faced
Liu Xiandao: "The establishment of the six ministries will help the court operate efficiently, more effectively cope with current disasters in various places, and provide relief to the victims."
"Absurd!" Liu Ai blurted out in anger.
"Huh?" Lu Bu frowned and looked at Liu Ai.
Liu Ai felt his chest was tight, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. His aura suddenly weakened a bit, and his voice didn't slow down as he said: "How is the six divisions mentioned by Marquis Wen different from those of today's Jiuqing? Even Sangong
The power of the government also fell into the hands of the so-called six tribes. If the six tribes were established, where would Marquis Wen place the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty?"
Lu Bu withdrew his gaze and returned to the train. Chu Nan had said that he could just propose six parts. As for the others, Lu Bu did not need to argue with others. He had to maintain his aloof attitude.
Liu Ai frowned, he didn't think this was Lu Bu's retreat, but since he retreated, he should take advantage of the victory to pursue him.
But before he could speak, Yilang Zhao Yan stepped forward and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I think the division of power among the six ministries is more clear. Although the nine ministers are equally important, in many matters, the subordinates of the nine ministers are unclear. When in power, they will inevitably restrain each other.
, and among the six ministries, there is a clear division of labor, but they are closely connected, and they can handle government affairs more effectively. I believe that the six ministries should be established!"
Liu Ai sneered, "Young District Yilang, when did you have the right to speak in the court?"
Just as he was about to refute, he saw Wang Fu come out and say: "I will reconsider and the six departments should be established."
Wu Shuo came out and said: "I second the proposal, the six ministries should be established!"
For a time, many officials in the rear came out to support the establishment of the Six Ministries.
The faces of the gentlemen in front turned gloomy...
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