There was an impulse in his heart, and he issued an edict to deal with all the monsters, monsters, demons and monsters in Luoyang, but the impulse was only for a moment. He was angry, but for Liu Chengyou, he was not so angry that he went to his head.
Although the land occupation situation in Luoyang is serious and can even be described as bad, given the current situation in the world, it is not difficult to say how big of a mistake these officials have made.
In a desolate and desolate environment, officials "practiced" and actively recruited Dingkou, cultivated land, resumed production, and generated tax revenue for the country. This should be worthy of "encouragement". What really shocked Liu Chengyou was that, The methods used by these officials to occupy land are hard to see, and the issue of occupying people is basically poaching the court, and most importantly, the issue of taxation.
According to the old system, in addition to a portion of the rated acres that are tax-free according to the official rank, the rest of the land occupied by these officials must pay summer and autumn taxes as usual according to the system. However, the room for manipulation is too large. Let the bureaucrats use their own land to collect taxes for the country. You can imagine what will happen.
Moreover, among the land-occupied bureaucrats, there are many powerful figures like Su Fengji. Moreover, today, local finance has not yet been returned to the central government, and only a small part of local finance and taxation is sent to Tokyo. The amount depends on the actual power of the local government. The consciousness of bureaucrats and generals.
Still taking Xijing as an example, if normal taxes are collected into the treasury, how much tax can be collected around Luoyang is definitely a big question mark. Tax evasion, tax avoidance and even tax resistance are probably the basic means of this group of bureaucrats. It is basically certain that most of the wealth will be It comes from the yeoman farmers or semi-owner farmers who only occupy 20% of the land.
At the same time, most of the tax collected will be used for the normal operating expenses of the Xijing government office, the supply of the garrison, and the support of the honorable ministers and nobles. It is conceivable that what can be transported to Tokyo for use by the imperial court will be What a small number.
In fact, this was the situation with last year's autumn tax.
It can be directly associated with the situation in the Song Dynasty. Although Zhao Kuangyin's redemption policy took away military power and suppressed military ministers, it also spawned a large number of nobles, landlords, honorary ministers, bureaucrats and even local powerful people, who were able to legally annex land and purchase land. Luxurious mansions and manors. As for the country, the taxes must not be collected in full, and a large amount of rice, grain, cloth, and silk must be spent every year to support them. Honorable ministers and bureaucrats all receive salaries. This is really a heavy burden on the country's finances. burden.
Zhao Kuangyin relied on land, salary, titles, and rewards to win over the morale of the military, achieving the purpose of "releasing military power with a glass of wine" and solving the "root cause" of military chaos since the late Tang Dynasty. However, it also greatly accelerated the accumulation and outbreak of land conflicts under the feudal dynasty.
One thing to say is that if it was Zhou Shizong Guo Rong, he would never choose such a method. It is not a gap in ability, but a problem of character. Guo Rong is resolute and impatient. In order to increase the country's wealth, he even did "destroying the Buddha" How can we put such a heavy burden on the country if we come out?
With his thoughts wandering a little further, Liu Chengyou could understand more clearly that in the Song Dynasty, transfer envoys were set up in various prefectures to control local finances. In addition to strengthening central finance and taxation and depriving local governments of financial power, it was probably also a limitation. Due to the dangerous and tense land and national situation, if finance and taxation are not independent and left to the control of local bureaucrats, let’s see if they will abandon their selfish interests and be patriotic, or they will not be afraid of power and perform their duties with due diligence.
Let’s not talk about the distant situation for now, now the problem is before Liu Chengyou, how to deal with it?
Issuing an edict to seize their land and houses is the simplest and crudest method, and it is also the most likely to cause trouble. And the effect may be counterproductive. Moreover, not all of these people's land is illegally occupied. One-size-fits-all This approach may lose people's hearts.
Adding taxes may be a slightly milder approach, but the results may not be satisfactory. It is more likely that these "rich people" will pass the pressure on to the tenant farmers who farm for them.
However, this situation must be contained. There are many suitable systems and policies that can be thought of. However, no matter how good the policy is, someone must implement it, and Liu Chengyou lacks people, let alone authority. Even at this moment, he issued an edict, It is strictly forbidden for officials all over the world to privately enclose land and occupy people. Who can stop them? If class interests are affected, it will inevitably lead to mass resistance.
"Perhaps I still need some cruel staff?" Liu Chengyou muttered silently in his heart.
However, fortunately, "a small boat can easily turn around". After decades of war, even though the Han Dynasty has taken over many tired dynasties, the power of the bureaucracy is actually not very strong. As long as the central government is strong enough, the imperial power and the The majesty of the imperial court has been established, and sooner or later a solution can be promoted.
How strong the central government is, how to establish the majesty of the imperial power, ultimately depends on the military. There is no way, in this era, everything must point to the military power, the military is the foundation, and power is the truth.
From a large perspective, land policies and systems need to be re-formulated according to national conditions.
The situation in the whole world is definitely not as serious as that in Luoyang. After all, no matter how much land is occupied, there must be enough people to cultivate it. In the stage of returning chaos to rule, land is not valuable, and people are more important. Moreover, it is only based on place. In other words, if those Jie Zhen Fang Zhen want to amass wealth and wealth, how can they allow their subordinate officials to be too presumptuous and affect local finance and taxation. Of course, the largest landowners also have to count those Jie Du, observation, defense, and team training make......
In Luoyang, due to Xijing's special political status, the situation was obviously a bit abnormal. Regarding this, Liu Chengyou had to find ways to suppress it.
"Army." Liu Chengyou murmured softly.
Li Shaoyou stood in front of His Highness, almost watching Liu Chengyou turn from anger to anger, and then completely return to calmness, sitting there and meditating. Hearing Liu Chengyou's voice suddenly, he became energetic, but when Liu Chengyou mentioned "the army", he was a little confused. . He considered himself to be quick-minded and quick in reaction, but at this moment he felt that he could not keep up with Liu Chengyou's thinking. The Sacred Heart was unpredictable.
After coming back to his senses, Liu Chengyou glanced at Li Shaoyou and suddenly asked out of curiosity: "Since there are many ministers in Tokyo who have purchased land in Luoyang, what about your family?"
Liu Chengyou's question made Li Shaoyou horrified. Did the fire burn him? Carefully paying attention to Liu Chengyou's expression, which was as calm as usual, Li Shaoyou paused for a moment and answered honestly: "I and my son have three manors in total. There are ten hectares of land, and there are about a hundred households of farm laborers.”
Hearing this, Liu Chengyou nodded: "Since I came to the throne, I have not given any rewards to you and your uncle. These manors and land should be regarded as my rewards."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Li Shaoyou thanked him immediately, looking like he was bursting with gratitude.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Chengyou tapped his index finger on the desk, and solemnly ordered Li Shaoyou: "Xijing farmers' officials, let me investigate carefully and make a list of those who have serious crimes, cruel methods, and rampant lawlessness. Come!"
Li Shaoyou was surprised at first, then suddenly realized, he quickly raised his hands and responded: "Yes!"
He knew in his heart that with Liu Chengyou's temperament and methods, he was probably trying to scare the monkeys again, and there would be trouble in Tokyo. At the same time, he also had some contempt for those greedy and excessive courtiers and officials, especially those from the previous dynasty who had little merit for the country. , seeking personal gain but not knowing how to restrain themselves. The two capitals are the hinterland of the Central Plains. After being brought under their rule, they became important financial and taxation areas under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court.
The country is short of money and food. From another perspective, this can be regarded as a robbery of money and people from the imperial court. Especially the robbery of people. The country needs people for farming, but these officials have forced many people to serve as tenants. After thinking about it, Li Shaoyou Gradually, I began to think clearly in my mind what kind of list I should provide Liu Chengyou.
Excessive land area is a condition, and whoever has more people is the most critical factor. As for "oppressing good people, running rampant in the countryside, and preying on the people", it is not a sufficient condition.
Of course, Liu Chengyou's side probably has a similar idea. To directly seize your land and release your farmers will appear to be a harsh and unsightly court method. However, combating corruption, maintaining law and order, and punishing lawless elements are always valid reasons. By the way, Or maybe a house raid?