Xiao Huangmen shook his head and said with a smile: "Your Majesty has ruined our family. How can we know what the officials are thinking? Furthermore, even if our family knows, how can we dare to speak out?"
Qiao Xingjian knew that he had made a mistake, so he apologized apologetically, and then followed the small yellow gate into the palace.
Funing Hall.
Zhao Yun met Qiao Xingjian in the main hall. Zhao Yun said: "Qing family, there are not many times when you and I are summoned alone. I remember that even this time it was only twice."
Qiao Xingjian nodded and said: "Your Majesty has many things to do and is busy with government affairs. He has no time to summon ministers. This is what the question should mean, and your Majesty does not need to worry about it."
Zhao Yun smiled and said, "How does the Qing family view the current state affairs?"
Qiao Xingjian felt uneasy and thought, shouldn't she ask Mr. Zheng about such a thing? Why did she ask herself?
His Majesty is young and brave, good at forbearing, and unknowingly brought down Shi Miyuan, who had all the power for a while. For such an official, his problems will never be simple.
Is there any special meaning behind this sentence?
Qiao Xingjian thought for a while, but had no answer. He raised his hand and said truthfully: "Your Majesty, you are the king. I dare not go against your wishes, so I will answer the truth truthfully. If you offend Long Yan, I hope your majesty will not punish Lian."
The minister’s family.”
Zhao Yunwan'er smiled and said: "What did the Qing family say? Am I the kind of king who kills innocent people indiscriminately and doesn't listen to honest advice? If that's the case, what's wrong with the Qing family just lying to me?"
Qiao Xingjian was relieved, Zhao Yun's character was still convincing.
Qiao Xingjian no longer hesitated and said: "Your Majesty, I have always believed that the biggest problem in our Song Dynasty is not in the court, but in the local areas."
Zhao Yun couldn't hide the joy in his eyes, but his face remained as usual and his tone was calm as he said, "How do you say this?"
Qiao Xingjian said: "Whether the struggle for power in the court is between the king and his ministers, or between ministers and ministers, as long as the people in the authority do not openly break up, no matter how vicious the fight is, it will only be limited to a few or dozens of people in the game.
There is a chance to reverse any consequences, and this is how Shi Miyuan's party was destroyed and the political situation transitioned smoothly."
After hearing this, Zhao Yun couldn't help but nodded in agreement.
Seeing this, Qiao Xingjian felt happy and emboldened, and continued: "But this is not the case in the local area. Since the identity of the scholar-officials was established, for thousands of years, the people have been firmly bound by the power of the scholar-officials. The scholar-officials have been in power in the local area.
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The scholar-bureaucrats, who were respected as squires in the countryside, were composed of retired officials and scholars. They were powerful and firmly controlled local affairs.
They governed ordinary people on the pretext of assisting the government, so that the imperial court's power over local areas could only reach counties, not towns, villages, or households.
This is a reflection of how the imperial power did not extend to the counties, and the emperor and the scholar-bureaucrats jointly governed the world. This was true in all dynasties, it was true in the Tang Dynasty, and it was also true in the Song Dynasty."
Zhao Yun seemed to have found a soulmate. He seemed a little excited and a little surprised. He didn't expect that Qiao Xingjian and his ideas were so in tune.
Zhao Yun stood up and said: "The Qing family continues."
Qiao Xingjian went on to say: "The rural gentry and officials take root in the local area, making local forces entangled and intertwined, and outsiders cannot intervene at all. If the imperial court is strong, the local government can barely maintain obedience to the imperial court. However, once the imperial court is weak, the local area will be unstable, and the change of dynasty will also lead to instability."
Ordinary.
Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, more than 300 people have rebelled. Why are the people like this? Is it because the imperial court forced them to live?
If this is really the case, I would like to say something disrespectful. To overthrow a dynasty that has forced the people to survive is to save the country and the world.
But no, our Song Dynasty court was not a court that forced the people to survive.
The tax revenue of the Song Dynasty was indeed higher than that of other dynasties, but the proportion of commercial tax was greater than that of agricultural tax. In previous dynasties, tax revenue almost entirely depended on agricultural tax, which accounted for between 80% and 90%.
However, the commerce and trade in our dynasty was extremely prosperous. During the reign of Renzong, the agricultural tax accounted for only 60%, and during the Xiaozong period, the agricultural tax accounted for only 20%. This was unprecedented. This shows that our court is tolerant of the taxes on the people, and the taxes collected are those of merchants.
Taxes, as well as taxes on salt, iron, wine, tea, etc.”
What Qiao Xingjian said is true. During the Song Dynasty, commerce and trade was extremely developed. Through sea transportation, land transportation, and resale in intermediate countries, the goods of the Song Dynasty traveled thousands of miles and appeared in countless countries such as East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and Africa, and brought back ten
The profits were hundreds of times higher, which also contributed to the highly developed commodity economy of the Song Dynasty.
It was precisely with such a developed economy as the foundation, coupled with the tenacious will of the Song Dynasty's military and civilians, that the Southern Song Dynasty achieved the miracle of resisting Mongolia for 40 years with just a mere chance in history. Looking at the world, no one has achieved this.
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Qiao Xingjian continued: "If the imperial court does not focus on agricultural taxes, why can't the people survive? Because the imperial court does not collect them, but others are finding new ways to collect them."
Zhao Yun was very excited when he heard this and said: "The bad country squire and the country old man are colluding with each other."
Qiao Xingjian nodded and said: "Yes, that's exactly what it is. Just like a bad squire squeezes the people every year during the lean years, forcing them to sell their land and expand their family property. The people eventually become the squire's tenants and long-term laborers, trying to survive.
And this squire is a prominent figure in the local clan. They are even the elders of the clan themselves, and they have great power in the countryside.
Then they would support other village elders to support them, and from time to time they would build one or two bridges, pave one or two roads, and help one or two poor people, thereby gaining fame.
In this way, the squire has gained fame and power. The people eat his food, are under his control, and are even related by blood. Faced with their disguised exploitation, the people do not even know how all this happened.
This allowed the squires to take advantage of the situation to manage the local area and rule the place. Even though the ordinary people were reduced to abject poverty, without the protection of these bad squires, they could not live for a while and could only endure it silently."
Having said this, Qiao Xingjian felt a little thirsty. Zhao Yun raised his hand and motioned to Gao Shi to pour tea for Qiao Xingjian.
Gao Shi poured the tea, and Qiao Xingjian nodded in thanks, took a sip, and continued: "The squires were powerful and used and colluded with local officials. In addition, the court focused on commercial taxes, which ultimately resulted in the government collecting agricultural taxes from various states.
The tax is very small. But obviously the imperial court does not receive much tax from the people who cultivate the land, but their lives are miserable."
When Zhao Yun heard this, he smiled bitterly and said: "So the people in the farmland will resist if they can't endure the hardship anymore, but they can't target the local squires, because they may have a blood relationship and are naturally close to each other.
And every time they were about to starve to death, it was the squire who gave them a mouthful of porridge. Every time they sold their sons and daughters, it was the squire who bought their land with money so that they would not be separated as a family. So to
In the end, if they want to resist, the only object they can think of to resist is the imperial court."