A few years ago, King Shan Yin intended to increase taxes to alleviate the country's scarce resources, but this suggestion was vetoed by the left prime minister Yuan Jiang at the time.
In addition to not wanting to cause unrest at the bottom of the country due to increased taxes, another important reason is that it is the officials of the court and the various families in the kingdom who really control a large amount of land.
Once taxes are increased, the first people to be benefited are those who own large amounts of land.
Therefore, Shan Yin's suggestion was rejected in public as soon as it was exported.
At this time, I heard that Wanxiang's words seemed to be about expropriating resources from the people. This was related to the interests of everyone standing here at this moment, and they naturally would not let this happen.
Countless eyes are intersecting, and everyone's minds are gradually unified.
If Wanxiang dares to solicit resources from the people, no matter what her reasons are, everyone will resist without hesitation.
Zhong Wei felt the thoughts of the ministers around him, and felt slightly anxious, and couldn't help but want to dissuade him.
"His Majesty..."
Wan Xiangsu raised his hand slightly to stop him from speaking. He looked at the ministers in the palace and said word by word:
"I am ready to implement an aristocratic system!
Courtesy Officer!"
A ceremony official came out and said:
"I'm here!"
Wan Xiang said calmly:
"Purpose:
From now on, the kingdom will implement the aristocratic system.
All frontline soldiers who have made outstanding contributions in the foreign war of resistance, have made great contributions in many wars, and have made changes in the war situation, whether they are generals or ordinary sergeants, can obtain noble seats."
...
One day later, countless postmen carried the new king's will to deliver it to various cities in the kingdom.
Soon, notices were posted on bulletin boards in various countries in the royal city.
In a small city, hundreds of people gathered around a notice board and listened to officials read the contents of the notice loudly.
Originally, most of the citizens of the 'Suzaku Kingdom' were literate, but in recent decades, due to war, the kingdom has been unable to provide free education.
And the people did not have the time and energy to learn knowledge, so there was a gap in Wang Guodong's education.
At this time, a small number of people standing in front of the bulletin board could still read a little bit, but most of the people could only listen to what others preached.
"...From now on, the kingdom will implement the aristocratic system.
All frontline soldiers, whether they are generals or ordinary sergeants, who have made outstanding contributions in the foreign war of resistance, have made great contributions in many wars, and have changed the situation of the war, can obtain noble seats.
This aristocratic system is divided into five levels of nobility: "gong, marquis, uncle, son and male".
The aristocratic system will abolish the twenty-level military nobility system in the kingdom. Sergeants with military nobility can be converted into nobles of the corresponding level according to their own military nobility.
Anyone who becomes a noble can have his or her own fief, and within this fief, the nobles of the fief will have relatively independent rights.
The title of Duke has a fiefdom of three thousand miles, the title of Marquis has a fiefdom of one thousand miles, the title of Earl has a fiefdom of five hundred miles, the title of Viscount has a fiefdom of three hundred miles, and the title of Baron has a fiefdom of one hundred miles..."
At the feet of a strong hunter lay a beheaded bear-like monster. The monster was two feet in size, and its teeth and bear paws shone slightly.
The hunter scratched his head and asked:
"Officer, what do the words in this notice mean?"
The official looked a little excited and explained:
"The notice means that if you can perform meritorious service on the battlefield, you can become a noble!"
Someone else asked:
"What is nobility?"
The official's eyes flashed and he said:
"If you can become a noble, even the lowest baron, you can get a hundred miles of fiefdom.
Do you know how big the city is beneath my feet right now?"
He tried his best to open his hands in front of him, as if to include everything in front of him.
"The size of this city is exactly one hundred miles.
In other words, if you can become even the lowest level of noble, this city will become your private property!"
"What?"
"This...how is this possible?"
"That's right, how can an individual own a city? This is absolutely impossible!"
"..."
The people around him were shouting and shouting, and they were all red-faced and quarrelsome.
The hunter couldn't hear the official's explanation and shouted impatiently:
"Shut up, everyone!"
This shout was loud like thunder, and everyone around was startled and immediately fell silent.
Orion turned to look at the official and asked with a smile on his face:
"Police officer, is this true?
Once I become a noble, will everything in this city belong to me, including these countless houses and people?"
The official couldn't help but rolled his eyes and shouted:
"What good thing are you thinking about?
Becoming a noble can indeed own a city, but it does not mean that everything in the city belongs to you personally.
Let me ask you, can you manage a city?
Can you grow crops?
Do you know how business works?
There are countless things happening in this city every day, can you deal with them?
you know..."
Every time the official said something, Orion shook his head. After the official asked a series of questions, Orion's head was shaking like a rattle.
Orion said with some frustration:
"It seems that this nobleman is of no use, right?"
"No use???"
The official's voice suddenly rose to the point of shrillness, and he shouted very fast:
"Although the nobles cannot interfere in the city's affairs, you can get 70% of the city's taxes!"
The official's face turned red, and he made a 'seven' sign with his fingers, and his tone became more and more intense.
"Do you know how much tax this city gets in a year?"
He gestured with his hand like a mountain and shouted excitedly:
"If these taxes were exchanged for copper coins, a mountain could be built.
More importantly, even when you die, this city can be passed down to your descendants.
Here, inherit, disregard, replace!”
The official spoke in an almost dreamy tone, extremely intoxicated.
At this moment, everyone near the notice board felt suffocated.
They were imagining in their minds what it would be like to have a city made of money, and at the same time they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Even though the announcement was stamped with a seal representing the government, they still felt unbelievable.
Orion swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked softly:
"Prince, why did the kingdom make such a decision?"
Even though he knew nothing about national affairs, he knew that the establishment of the aristocratic system would greatly weaken Wang Guodong's ruling power.
After the official was silent for a moment, he said in a low tone:
"The kingdom is now besieged by two major countries. It can no longer produce a grain of food, nor can it recruit a single soldier.
In order to resist the attacks of the two countries, the new king issued this decree."
Orion and the people around him gradually woke up from their excitement. Someone suddenly asked:
"I also want to kill enemies for my country, but I don't know how to fight!"
The official looked at the people in front of him and slowly said:
"Nobles who obtain titles for their military exploits in war are called 'military nobles', and their fiefdoms are just like what I just said.
In addition to meritorious service on the battlefield, there are two other ways to become a noble.
That is donation.
In order to resist the attacks of other countries, the kingdom needs countless resources. As long as you donate enough resources, you can also become a noble.
But such nobles are ordinary nobles, and their fiefdoms are only half of those of military nobles.
In addition, there is also a kind of "pioneering noble". This kind of noble can only be granted a title if it acquires territory outside the country.
Moreover, such nobles can appoint officials within their fiefdoms on their own, which gives them great power, but of course it is also the most difficult to obtain."
'A state within a state!'
This is the first thought that comes to everyone's mind after hearing "Pioneering Nobility".
Most of them do not understand why the Kingdom decentralizes authority, which is extremely detrimental to the Kingdom's management of local areas.
But there are also some people who understand why the kingdom is so tolerant of the 'pioneering nobles'.
Since only by acquiring territory outside the kingdom can one achieve the status of a 'pioneering noble', this means that one needs to expand territory outside of one's own country.
It has to be said that using things that are not our own to encourage citizens to develop outward is a very clever move.
As for how these noble fiefdoms will be managed in the future, this is not within the scope of everyone's consideration.
Then the official said:
"If you have the ability, I sincerely hope that everyone can take advantage of it.
The reason why this aristocratic system was promulgated was because other countries were invading and the country's national power was exhausted.
The country has a population of hundreds of millions, and the aristocratic system promulgated this time will definitely trigger a large number of citizens to participate in the war.
After the country establishes a certain advantage, this aristocratic fiefdom system is expected to be abolished.
In other words, if you want to secure a hard-won future for yourself and your descendants, now may be your only chance."
The many people around him were all excited.
But someone hesitated and said:
"The kingdom is willing to offer land as a reward, so it must be very difficult to obtain it.
In my opinion, maybe only those with big families and powerful people will have the opportunity.
I'm afraid it will be difficult for ordinary people like me to get enough meritorious deeds!"
The official rolled his eyes and said angrily:
"Naturally, a title of nobility cannot be obtained casually. It is true that a big family will have more opportunities.
But since you want to gain a bright future, how can you not pay the price?
What's more..."
The official paused briefly and continued:
"In addition to the title of nobility, there is another decree issued at the same time.
That is, any individual who has made great contributions to the country on the battlefield or in other aspects will be awarded the title of "Scholar" by the country.
Those with this title will receive certain preferential treatment in taxation, promotion and various systems in the future.
For example, if you don’t bow to the official before you meet him, you can send a message directly to the king, or..."
He looked at the people in front of him and said solemnly:
"duty free!"
"duty free???"
All the onlookers exclaimed.
The official nodded and said:
"Yes, there are nine ranks of 'shi'. The lowest 'ninth rank' can get a lifetime tax exemption of thirty acres of land, while the highest 'first rank' can get a lifetime tax exemption of one thousand acres of land."
Then he looked at everyone and said:
"Even if you can't become a noble, if you can become a 'gentleman', you can still find a good background for yourself and your descendants. What are you waiting for?"
As he spoke, the official reached out to take off his official hat, unbuttoned his robe and put it aside.
Someone asked strangely:
"What do you mean?"
The official smiled lightly.
"I'm going to join the army. If I'm lucky enough to survive, maybe I can become the lord of this city one day."
After saying that, the man walked towards his home.
The hunter's expression changed. After a moment, he kicked up the two-foot demon bear corpse at his feet, held it on his shoulder with one hand, and shouted loudly:
"Hey, brother, I will go with you to join the army, please wait for me!"
As he spoke, he took long strides forward.
Some people around looked at each other, and one of them gritted his teeth and shouted:
"If you try hard enough, if you die, you will be reincarnated early!"
"Go together, go together!"
"That's right, your life is worthless, and living is just a waste of food. Let's fight!"
"Fight!"
"..."
Many other people also echoed one by one.
Scenes like this appeared in thousands of cities in the ‘Suzaku Kingdom’.
Countless people left with their bags on their backs amid the tears and expectations of their families.
Under the guidance of officials one after another, countless people began to surge toward the west and north fronts.
At the same time, countless families, big and small, are also preparing their strength to move abroad.
After the first donor was granted the title of 'Baron', it took only half a month for the eight hundred granaries of the 'Suzaku Kingdom' to be filled again.
Endless resources of all kinds are gathered together.
The "Suzaku Kingdom" has been established for more than 350 years. It is not that there is no wealth among the people, but a large amount of wealth is controlled by countless families and businessmen.
Wanxiang kept his promise, and based on the amount of donated resources, 800 nobles were enfeoffed in just half a month.
When it felt that the resources were ready, Wanxiang immediately announced a decision in the Suzaku Hall that surprised everyone.
Conquer in person!
As soon as this statement came out, it immediately caused an uproar.
What a joke, you are now the king of a country, how can you still lead the army in battles like in the past?
Zhong Wei, the imperial censor, was the first to stop him.
"Your Majesty, you are the king of a country. If you are not here, who will be in charge of the affairs of the court?"
Wanxiang replied:
“Each city is presided over by a city lord, and you can make your own decisions on daily matters.
If there is anything that cannot be decided, you can send someone to the army to report it!"
‘According to the standing order’ Xin Chuan stopped him and said:
"Your Majesty is the symbol of the kingdom. Once something goes wrong in the army, the kingdom will be in chaos!"
Wanxiang responded with a stern voice:
"Since I am the king, when danger comes, I will be there before the people.
If I can't protect these hundreds of millions of subjects, what's the point of being the king of this country!"
Seeing that Wan Xiang had made up his mind, all the ministers had no choice but to compromise.
When Wan Xiang's words came out, countless people in Yanwan City burst into tears.
They shouted the name of Wanxiang loudly to show their respect for the new monarch.
With the shouts of countless people, it is unknown who remembered the incident of the Zhuque flying across the sky to protect the capital more than a hundred years ago, and was the first to shout the slogan "Southern Ming Zhuque, all things are on fire".
As a result, such shouts and shouts were everywhere in the capital.
Three days later, Wanxiang, wearing a golden and red flaming cloak and riding a nine-horse king's chariot, left the capital and headed north.
In addition to the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, nearly a million people from the capital also left with him.
The people are simple. Since they recognize the monarch from their hearts, they will naturally follow him closely.
Countless people gathered around the king's chariot to escort him as he marched north.