Chapter 93 The policy of ignoring the people has been implemented in all dynasties
Chapter 93: All dynasties and dynasties have implemented a policy of obscuring the people.
A new dynasty has just been established, and all kinds of wastes are waiting to be revitalized.
After the imperial center and local systems were initially determined, the survival of the people became the next focus.
After much discussion among officials, Song Xuan issued the decree.
All miscellaneous taxes and fire costs were exempted, and farmers only needed to pay agricultural taxes on time every year. From now on, the court would no longer force the allocation of corvees, but instead recruit them for a fee.
In terms of business, commercial taxes are levied nationwide according to the tax rates of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Anyone who engages in business activities must pay taxes in accordance with the law.
In order to ensure that the taxation work can be successfully completed, the Ministry of Finance has set up a tax bureau and set up an independent tax army to suppress all small and lawless people!
In the Wu Dynasty, there was no distinction between high and low, but if you dared to evade taxes, you were considered a lower class person, and you had to be prepared to be punished by violent agencies.
Song Xuan promulgated many political decrees in succession, and then, when it came to education, the officials in the court had a dispute.
According to Zhu Yuanzhang's suggestion, at least one enlightenment school should be established in each township, at least one county school in each county, and at least one institution of higher learning in each province.
Boys over six years old are under the supervision of the local government and must attend enlightenment schools for free and complete five years of basic education.
This move will be used as a rigid indicator for the annual official assessment. If the completion rate of enlightenment education is poor, all local officials from village to township to county will be dismissed from their posts.
Zhu Yuanzhang's suggestion, to be honest, offended all the civil servants in the dynasty.
In this era when the troubled times have just been calmed down, those who can stand in the court and serve as officials must be knowledgeable people.
As for the educated people, which family has poorer conditions?
No matter how bad it is, he is from a poor family, and the so-called poor family is just because his ancestors were rich and his family background has declined.
A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even if you come from a poor family, it cannot be compared to those people who spend all day digging in the fields.
To put it bluntly, the civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty were actually still members of the gentry class.
The reason why the gentry class is at a high level is because they control a large number of scholars, who can train and sponsor scholars to study, and make them official spokespersons for the gentry, landlords, and businessmen.
Zhu Yuanzhang proposed policies to popularize enlightenment education nationwide and even provide various preferential policies. This move was simply more ruthless than when the imperial examination system interrupted the aristocratic family's monopoly on officials.
In the short term, it will naturally not affect the gentry class, but over time, the foundation for the gentry class to monopolize officialdom through reading will be broken!
Many civil servants expressed opposition to Zhu Yuanzhang's suggestion.
The reason they gave was that to popularize enlightenment education nationwide, financial expenditures would inevitably be extremely huge. The Wu Dynasty had just been established, and every penny had to be spent wisely.
Such a huge expenditure just after the founding of the country will most likely put the empire's finances into crisis.
In response, Song Xuan looked at Hu Qian.
He wanted to know the attitude of the Minister of Finance, who came from a large Jiangnan family and could be said to be a typical representative of the gentry class.
Seeing His Majesty the Emperor's eyes falling on him, Hu Qian looked stern, straightened his body, and then slowly walked to the center of the hall.
Then, facing the expectant eyes of many civil servants, he solemnly said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, if the national treasury is not enough, I will sell all my wealth, but I am still willing to solve the problem of enlightenment education for the people!"
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the court.
You, a speculator who came from a big landowner and a wealthy gentry, stopped being greedy for money and started to be close to the people. What the hell are you doing?
Song Xuan glanced at Hu Qian with deep meaning. It had to be said that this old boy had a ruthless vision and never stood on the wrong team when it came to key positions.
This kind of person may not be a good official, but he is definitely the favorite minister of the superior.
I have no choice but to be worry-free and sensible. Which emperor would he not like if he were on the throne?
At the same time, Liu Bowen also spoke.
"Lord Hu, there is no need to spend all the family wealth. I was in charge of taxation before, so we know better than anyone how much money the Wu Dynasty has.
In a word, my Wu Dynasty is not short of money!"
There is indeed no shortage of money. As the emperor, Song Xuan knows this better than anyone else.
Ordinary people can never imagine how much tax Liu Bowen collected from the powerful gentry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang when he led teams of firecrackers.
There are hundreds of thousands, millions, or even a family receiving over ten million taels of silver.
It is precisely because of the lack of money that Song Xuan was able to create an invincible army of firearms in just a few years, sweeping away all kinds of dissatisfaction and dominating the world!
Two of the three giants of the civil service have come forward to express their support for the universalization of enlightenment education across the country. The civil servants in the hall who had originally spoken out against it all languished.
Although Li Shanchang has not expressed his position yet, everyone knows that he is an old fox who will not let go of the hawk until he sees the rabbit. It is impossible for him to directly express his position before the emperor expresses his intention.
Sure enough, when Song Xuan asked Li Shanchang for his opinion, the chief official of the Ministry of Civil Affairs did not express his position directly.
"Your Majesty, universal enlightenment education is a great gift to the people. But at the same time, it has advantages and disadvantages.
The positive side is of course that in the future, our Wu Dynasty will produce talents in large numbers, and we will no longer have to worry about the lack of talents.
The disadvantages are also obvious. After the popularization of enlightenment education and the people's wisdom, I am afraid that management will become much more difficult in the future.
In fact, all dynasties in the past have implemented a policy of obscuring the people. The less the people understand and the pattern is fixed on their own one-third of an acre, the easier it will be to rule.
And if the people's wisdom is opened, the people will know more, understand more, and their inner desires will continue to increase. For the officials of the Wu Dynasty, how to govern the people will become a big test!
Whether to enlighten the people's wisdom or to continue the policies of previous dynasties, I don't dare to say anything on this matter, it is up to His Majesty to make the final decision in one word!"
As soon as the words fell, the birds in the court were silent.
Many people looked at Li Shanchang and couldn't help but admire him.
The policy of obscuring the people has been something that has been tacitly acknowledged by all dynasties, but who dares to take the initiative to speak out in a court meeting.
If these words are spread out in the future, they will definitely be reviled by all the people.
If things go wrong, Li Shanchang, the head of the civil service, will be a living target for the so-called elites to increase their prestige and reputation.
Song Xuan looked at Li Shanchang quietly and said with a smile: "I am very pleased that Li Qing is not afraid of rumors and dares to tell the truth in this court. Before I make a decision, can you tell me what you think?
Do you want to enlighten the people's wisdom, or do you not want to?"