Going up the mountains to enjoy the scenery, fishing in the water, and staying overnight at a farmhouse, Emperor Liu enjoyed some pastoral life in Liangshan. Although it was comfortable, it was just a temporary pleasure. The children who followed him had a good time, and it was rare that there were no palace rules. With restraint, you can laugh loudly and run wildly.
Of course, while playing around, Emperor Liu's attention was inevitably attracted by the living conditions of the people at the bottom. The results of the inspection made him quite satisfied.
In Liangshan, he visited three villages and one village, and the feedback he received was that the local people were very satisfied with their current life. They basically had enough land to farm, houses to live in, and enough food and clothing.
As a people-friendly emperor who came out of the war years, Liu Chengyou knew very well the plight of the Han people at that time. It can almost be said that the whole country was hungry. Although it was backed by green mountains and green waters, and the products were abundant, it could not represent The whole world, but this scene is enough to make him happy.
The most important feedback received from local villagers is that the Kaibao New Policy has achieved good results after several years of implementation, and the burden on the people has indeed been reduced.
There are only two policies that are most popular among the people. One is the reduction of Ding tax, which is now the lowest in history. Up to now, every household in Liangshan area has at least six people in a family. The population has increased. , especially obvious in recent years.
The second is the reduction of tax revenue. Under the two-tax tax system, each state and state allocates taxes according to the imperial quota. The people near Liangshanbo are considered relatively wealthy. Even when the finance department formulates the tax amount, it has certain restrictions on wealthy areas in accordance with the imperial court's wishes. It's on the heavy side, but because of the large population base, it's not too much if it's spread out to every household.
However, for some poor areas, the preferential policies of the court have not achieved very good results. The biggest drawback of the two-tax tax system is that it is difficult to achieve fairness. The idea that the poor pay less and the rich pay more has not been achieved. reflect.
In fact, Emperor Liu was also aware of the issues regarding the tax system, but he had not taken any major action. There are two main reasons. First, at present, the two tax laws are still in line with the development of the times and are a mature set of laws that have been implemented for a long time. The system accepted both internally and externally should not be easily overturned;
The second is that although there are disadvantages, for today's Han Dynasty, society is in a stage of rapid development, with political stability, clear administration, and economic explosion. All social contradictions are covered up in this advancing wave of the times. Woke up.
As an emperor, maintaining the rule is the first thing. Before the problem breaks out, why bother to take the initiative to poke it out and cause internal and external turmoil?
Changes in the past dynasties have their own specific historical conditions and environments. Just like the various reform measures taken by Emperor Liu after he ascended the throne, the situation has developed to a certain extent and has the foundation and conditions for reform. It conforms to the development trend of the times. Emperor Liu is following the trend. The promoter of trends.
The same reason applies to the tax system. Although he has foresight and can see the flaws and shortcomings of the tax system, the flaws cannot be concealed and it can better meet the current needs of governance. Emperor Liu will not change it easily. Small adjustments can be made, but big changes will not You have to be careful, because without realizing it, Emperor Liu changed from an enterprising reformer to a conservative one.
According to Emperor Liu's insight, it might be possible to achieve a relatively fair tax system, but it would still have to be based on the amount of land divided into acres. However, with the current population status of the Han Dynasty, does it need to be implemented impatiently?
Furthermore, can the so-called sharing a small family into an acre really be achieved once and for all? Obviously not, no matter how good the system is, it must be implemented and maintained by people. As long as people have problems, it will be in vain after all. Emperor Liu Bingguo is like this
Over the years, many problems have become clear to me.
On my last night in Liangshan, I didn’t stay at a farmhouse anymore. The local people built a mountain temple at the foot of the mountain. As a contemporary god, it was not a big problem to stay in the temple of a small mountain god.
Although it is already late spring and summer is about to begin, it is still a bit cold when night falls, especially near the water, where the trees are dense and the water vapor is heavy.
The establishment of the mountain temple was obviously based on Feng Shui. The location is excellent and the view is excellent. However, Emperor Liu and his entourage also made the temple's fireworks atmosphere much stronger.
Several tents were erected high, and the accompanying guards were closely guarding the surroundings. The palace attendants were waiting on them. Facing the lake, the bonfire was burning brightly. What was being grilled on the grill was the fatty fish he caught personally today.
The eldest princess Liu Jia was tired after playing for a day. She leaned against Emperor Liu and stared blankly. Seeing this, Emperor Liu gestured to Xiao Fu: "If you are sleepy, go and have a rest first!"
Of course Xiao Fu wouldn't. It was a rare opportunity to have such an opportunity to accompany the driver alone. During these few days in Liangshan, there were no other concubines or other princes and princesses, so she truly felt like a "family". Therefore, even if she was a little tired,
He still expressed his intention to accompany Emperor Liu.
Emperor Liu did not force her, but Liu Jia couldn't bear it anymore. She apologized and went back to her tent to go to bed. The ninth prince Liu Shu was already eleven years old.
Apart from the fifth son Liu Yun, he is the most naughty.
As they grew up, the personalities of Emperor Liu's sons were also revealed. In terms of family background, Liu Shu was outstanding, but this boy liked everything except studying. For example, he went out of the palace to fish and play in the water.
, cutting bamboo to weave boats, having a great time.
At this time, Emperor Liu was still looking at the fish on the grill with keen eyes. Seeing the greedy look on his face, Emperor Liu couldn't help but be happy: "I haven't eaten any delicacies in the palace, but this kind of grilled fish will bring out the greed in you."
Already?"
When he was staying at a farmhouse, Liu Shu was extremely repelled by the people's food. He found it unpalatable and clamored for delicious food. If he hadn't been hungry, he would not have tried that simple meal.
Food.
At this time, facing the emperor's father's question, Liu Shu couldn't help but shrink his neck, seeming to recall the scene where he was scolded by Emperor Liu because of his picky eating two days ago.
Pointing to one of the fish that was already roasted to a crispy brown, Liu Shu replied: "This is the fish I netted myself, so of course I want to taste it!"
Emperor Liu smiled and cast his gaze again to the Liangshan Mountains in the distance. Under the cover of darkness, the criss-crossing harbor seemed even more mysterious and quiet, with some lights looming amidst the forest.
"I think this beautiful place, Liangshan, can build a town!" Emperor Liu said, "In this way, the people at the foot of the mountain don't have to go to the market in boats!"
"Yes!" Zhang Quhua waited aside and quickly wrote down the matter.
Emperor Liu also took a look at the terrain of Liangshan, and with his not-so-outstanding military vision, he could see that this was indeed an excellent place for green forests to gather.
As soon as he opens Chrysanthemum, you can imagine that a new town will rise at the foot of Liangshan Mountain.
"There is one more thing, you should also remember it!" Emperor Liu kept thinking and continued: "Everyone is happy when the Ding Fu is reduced, and there are still more Dingkou among the people. What I mean is based on the books recorded in the five years of Kaibao.
For this reason, from now on, the Ding tax will be collected as it is. Five years after the opening of the treasure, the increased population will not be within the scope of collection, and from now on, Ding tax will never be added!"
"Your Majesty, once this edict is issued, I am afraid that the imperial court will object!" Zhang Quhua couldn't help but said: "Twenty years later, the imperial court will lose a large amount of fiscal revenue!"
"You said it will happen twenty years later!" Emperor Liu waved his hand: "It can be sent back to Tokyo for discussion at the political hall, but my wishes must still be implemented!"
"Yes! If this edict is passed, it is conceivable that all the people in the world will be grateful to Your Majesty for your kindness!" Zhang Quhua was a smart man and understood Emperor Liu's intentions.
That's right, Emperor Liu played the trick of "never adding more gifts". For a big man, forty coins a year is not much, so the cost of investment is not high nowadays.
.Only after the population surges and the base is huge, it will be a huge amount of income. But if the empire develops to the point where the head tax can affect the national finance, then there will definitely be problems with such an empire.
Moreover, no small amount of money is added, but the regular taxes and various corvee services can be adjusted in real time. As a monarch, Emperor Liu knew very well what the highly praised "never increase taxes" was about.
But no matter what, Emperor Liu could predict that five years after opening the treasure, the people would be more motivated to have children, and the population of the Han Dynasty would continue to explode.