As soon as the empress finished speaking, Duan Yunxiu, who was still smiling but not smiling, became extremely nervous.
The originally relaxed atmosphere quickly turned heavy.
This is the reason why the empress summoned Liang Xiao.
A commoner, far away from the rivers and lakes, could point out the country and even predict that the Great Zhou Dynasty was on the verge of collapse.
If the Duanmu family knew about it, they would definitely be the first to jump out and accuse Liang Xiaoan of killing the Nine Clans.
It was that response that convinced the empress that Liang Xiao was determined to serve the country.
Liang Xiao took his time and asked: "Your Majesty, how many years has it been since the founding of our dynasty?"
The empress replied: "Fifty-five years."
"Fifty-five years ago, it was originally just a period of rising power for a dynasty, but today's Great Zhou Dynasty is still in a state of ruins waiting to be revitalized. How is it different from the last period of the dynasty?"
"The end of the dynasty?" Everyone was stunned.
Liang Xiao then solemnly explained.
"The so-called general trend of the world is that if it unites for a long time, it will divide, and if it divides for a long time, it will unite. After the collapse of the Wu Dynasty, all the heroes came together, the people suffered from wars, and the population dropped sharply. Finally, it was replaced by Gaozu, who was named Dazhou. At the beginning of the founding of Dazhou, it was also Gaozu and Shizu.
Recuperate and recuperate with the people and encourage births, so that the population of the Zhou Dynasty can be restored to the level of the Wu Dynasty."
"In the early days of the dynasty, the country was just like the previous dynasty, with a vast territory and sparsely populated areas. The court had long encouraged the people to reclaim wasteland. According to common sense, the country has always been short of people, not land. But Your Majesty should also know that,
The situation in the Great Zhou Dynasty was completely different from that in the Wu Dynasty. There were a large number of officials and gentry who still controlled vast amounts of land and at the same time continued to annex the land of the lower class people in various ways."
"This has created a strange current situation. Not only has the land consolidation not been alleviated due to the favorable time, place and people in the early dynasty, but it has become increasingly intensified compared to the previous dynasty. No matter how hard the people who reclaim wasteland work, they will go bankrupt every time there is a natural or man-made disaster.
, the land that was worked so hard to cultivate was forced to be sold at a low price, and the cycle started over and over again.”
The empress was thoughtful and asked: "Do you think that land annexation is the root cause of the fall of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"
Liang Xiao shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, the so-called land annexation is actually just an appearance."
"Appearance?"
The empress, Duan Yunxiu, and Zhuge Hui looked at each other, all three of them unable to conceal their curiosity.
Being able to realize the dangers of land annexation without being in a temple has proved that this person has extraordinary insight.
As a result, land annexation is just superficial in his opinion?
Liang Xiao said in a deep voice: "The real reason for the omen of national subjugation is that the imperial court's tax revenue is getting less and less! More and more land is in the hands of the officials and gentry, and these officials and gentry have the privilege of tax exemption, so they can
They are real big landowners. The state cannot collect taxes from their land, so in order to maintain expenses, it naturally has to exploit the people. The people are overwhelmed, and of course they revolt in the end."
Duan Yunyi's breath froze and he realized the problem.
"Your Majesty, the Great Zhou Dynasty has accepted too many old ministers of the former dynasty. The Duanmu family in the capital, the Tuoba family, the Dugu family in the north of the Yangtze River, and the Gongyang family in the south of the Yangtze River. The major aristocratic families headed by these families have united together, and through land annexation and tax-free privileges, they have gained control of the country.
Immeasurable wealth. These are the rentier class left over from the previous dynasty, and they are currently forces that His Majesty cannot easily touch."
"At the moment, the Great Zhou Dynasty can still take a breather because His Majesty firmly controls the military power. If the finances are not enough to supply the army in the future, these armies will naturally leave Your Majesty one after another. When Your Majesty cannot control the capital and local armies, he will face uprising.
The rebels from all over the country, and the Beihu who took the opportunity to send troops southward, and with the secret support of these families, the royal family is only supported by your majesty and the princess, how can the Great Zhou Dynasty be immortal? "
"When the country cannot prevent the financial collapse, can Bashu, which is in harmony with the imperial court, still surrender? How can Chu, who is on good terms with the Zhou Dynasty, not take the opportunity to get a share of the pie? At that time, the destruction of the Zhou Dynasty will naturally be imminent, Your Majesty
What do you think will happen to you and the princess as women?"
Before Liang Xiao could finish speaking, all the Xuan guards in the royal study room, led by Fei Yun, shouted in unison: "Bold!"
Duan Yunyi took a deep breath and said loudly: "Let him speak freely!"
Duan Yun on the side looked longingly at his sister, and then at Liang Xiao.
This guy doesn’t know how to choose nice things to say?
Liang Xiao then continued to explain.
"Your Majesty also knows that these aristocratic families are far more cunning than ordinary people. To the country, they are no different than gangrene on the bones, constantly sucking blood. In peacetime, Your Majesty cannot find an excuse to raid their homes. But they also have concerns:
If the world changes and His Majesty goes out of his way to attack them, they will not be able to bear it."
"Moreover, they are now the rentier class of the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as they can make a profit, they are naturally reluctant to break up with His Majesty. Your Majesty can temporarily stabilize this group of people and take the opportunity to promote reforms. As long as the Great Zhou Dynasty does not collapse, Bashu will not dare to
If there is any rebellious intention, it is impossible for Dachu to risk going north."
"Then how can we change the finances?" the empress looked at Liang Xiao and asked.
Among the countermeasures Liang Xiao gave her, "Omen of national subjugation" was just one of them.
Just this first article kept her awake at night.
It is a deep sense of powerlessness that comes from knowing the current situation but being unable to change it.
Liang Xiao replied: "Since ancient times, the people of this land will not rebel as long as they have a mouthful of food. As long as they are less exploited and given more favors, the people will naturally support the imperial power. Therefore, the only way is to cancel the tax exemption privileges of the officials and gentry, and gradually
Only by promoting the integration of officials and gentry on errands and payment of grain can we ensure that the country can collect land tax and no longer need to exploit the people."
"Working as a errand as one, paying for food as one??"
The empress sisters looked at Zhuge Hui and found that he was also shocked.
This is something they have never imagined.
"This method is expected to solve the financial dilemma, but if it does so, it will offend these officials and gentry, and I'm afraid the consequences will be equally serious." The empress sighed.
Liang Xiao said solemnly: "Your Majesty, please give me a strong medicine for your serious illness! Now the military power is still in the hands of your Majesty. If the military power in various places is gradually taken away, then there will be no real way to save it!"
Duan Yunxiu worriedly said: "Even if this method can be implemented, if the land tax is not increased, it may not be very effective, right?"
"Your Highness is on to the point!" Liang Xiao praised.
"What else?" Everyone suddenly became energetic.
Liang Xiao further explained: "The reason why our country's finances are tight is actually because there is still a poll tax that has not been collected. Because of the poll tax, there were a large number of hidden households, black households, and slaves living in the name of these landlords in the Zhou Dynasty.
In other words, the less poll tax collected by our country is actually equivalent to being appropriated by these big landowners."
The empress' eyes were full of shock and she sighed: "You can actually realize this... Then how to solve it?"
Liang Xiao smiled and said: "We will gradually implement the method of apportioning people into acres, cancel the poll tax, and then collect taxes based on the amount of land. In this way, ordinary people will no longer have the pressure of the poll tax, and they will no longer have to live in hiding, let alone sell their jobs.
Slaves. And those big landowners who occupy a large amount of land, no matter how many slaves and hidden households are hidden, the land cannot be hidden, so they naturally have to pay taxes honestly."
After a brief silence fell in the imperial study room, the two sisters and Zhuge Hui exclaimed in unison.
“Wonderful!!”
This is a method they have never imagined. If it can be implemented...but, can it be implemented so easily?
Liang Xiao then said solemnly: "It will take time for the peasants to work as farmers and the officials and gentry as one, and they will pay for the food together. It will take time, and it may even face unimaginable difficulties and obstacles, and the national finance may not be able to survive. Therefore, Your Majesty,
We must find ways to maintain our finances first, and then start making money from other aspects!”
Make money?
The two sisters looked at Liang Xiao, surprised and happy.
"So, you take this into consideration when doing business?"
Liang Xiao replied: "It takes time for me to do business and make money to repay Your Majesty, and the future is unpredictable. Before that, we actually have many ways to make money in Dazhou, but Your Majesty has not discovered it yet!"