After the officials from the two ministries exchanged some words of blame, the Minister of Hubu shouted: "Your Majesty, although our Daxia is a vast land with rich resources, a vast territory, and a large number of people, only a few state capitals pay taxes to the imperial court..."
Emperor Anping frowned, "Why are there only a few state capitals? What's going on with those state capitals that don't pay taxes? Don't they belong to my Daxia Dynasty?"
"Not really." The Minister of Hubu quickly explained, "Some state capitals have special circumstances. For example, some places in Yizhou and Jiaozhou are autonomous by local chieftains. The imperial court promised that as long as they surrender to Daxia, they will not have to pay taxes."
Emperor Anping nodded.
This is a policy formulated by the central government in order to win over the barbarians on the border. It has been in existence since the previous dynasty, and those barbarians were so poor that even if they were scraped, they would not be able to get any oil or water out of them. If one of them failed, they would turn against them, and the court would suffer even greater losses.
Good deal.
"There are also some places that are the fiefdoms of the feudal princes. Only part of the taxes are paid to the court, and the rest is given to the feudal princes." Minister Hube added.
Emperor Anping asked: "No more?"
The founding emperor of Daxia was afraid that his descendants would starve, so he granted each of his descendants a vassal title, and the taxes from the fiefdom could be taken away directly. This was also a long-established rule.
The Minister of Household Affairs took a careful look at the cold-faced Lu Wei, and then said: "Also, there are still some places where due to the war, they had to support a large number of troops, but they never paid taxes..."
"Oh? Is there such a thing?" Emperor Anping sat condescendingly on the dragon throne. The twelve strands on his crown covered his face, making it difficult for people to see his expression clearly. "Where is it?"
The Minister of Household Affairs could not see that his minister was so afraid of Lu Wei, and simply said: "Liangzhou has not paid taxes in full in recent years, and Jingzhou has not paid taxes in full in recent years."
A stone fell in the hearts of all the officials. They were finally convinced that Emperor Anping was pursuing the issue of insufficient taxes with such great fanfare and thunder.
This is because the emperor saw that Liangzhou was getting better and better year by year. There were more people and more money, so he wanted more money.
As for Jingzhou, it was all wiped out by Jin Yongxiu. The people were eating each other and had no money to pay taxes. In fact, they were targeting Lu Wei and wanted Lu Wei to pay for the construction of the tombs of Emperor Taichang and Emperor Anping.
"Liangzhou and Jingzhou..." Emperor Anping tapped the armrest of the dragon chair with his fingers, looking at Lu Wei and Jin Yongxiu meaningfully with a reserved expression.
Since Lu Wei "took over" the control of Liangzhou, he has not paid the full amount of taxes to the court. Either he used the excuse that Liangzhou was in war, the people were in dire straits, and could not collect money, or he used Liangzhou taxes to offset the military expenses provided by the court.
.
Everyone knows that this is an astronomical sum without using an abacus. Lu Wei started from scratch and has now accumulated a bit of family fortune. However, if he takes out this money, he will have to break his muscles and bones and live on the earth for ten years.
Jin Yongxiu didn't say a word, his eyes were gloomy. Who didn't know that the tragedy in Jingzhou was caused by him scraping the land in order to collect military pay and rations? Could it be that the emperor saw that he had killed the rebel king of Jiangxia and wanted to hold him accountable afterwards?
donkey?
Thinking about the hundreds of thousands of troops in his hands, Jin Yongxiu made up his mind. If Emperor Anping dared to hold him accountable, he would dare to rebel.
The emperor knew full well that Jingzhou could not bring out any money, and the main reason was to get Lu Wei to pay. He wanted to see how Lu Wei responded.
"After years of war and barbarian plunder in Liangzhou, the people have already suffered terribly. Now is the time to recuperate." Lu Wei looked as usual and stood up and said, "If we increase taxes at this time, I'm afraid Liangzhou will reappear.
Jingzhou starved to death thousands of miles away, bones exposed in the wild, and people starved to eat each other!"
Emperor Anping's expression was not very good, but Lu Wei unexpectedly refused.
His Royal Highness the County Prince, who has never cared much about government affairs, also attended the court meeting and took a step forward and said: "It is clear from the Holy Spirit that Liangzhou is already very difficult to resist foreign troops and horses. Internally, it must always support the suppression of rebellion. The stability of Liangzhou is of great significance.
, the policy towards Liangzhou cannot be changed easily!"
Emperor Anping endured it and said: "Now that there is no war at the border, the Hu people have already sued for peace, and Liangzhou no longer needs to concentrate on defending against foreign enemies."
In the past, Lu Wei used the excuse that he wanted to go to war and had no money, but now there is no war in Liangzhou, and the barbarians have been defeated. Emperor Anping's meaning is very clear. Liangzhou should pay taxes in full like other state capitals, and don't do anything special.
Already.
"Your Majesty, there is no war at the border. We have gone through many hardships in Daxia and it is time to recuperate and recuperate. The barbarians have coveted our country in Daxia for a long time. If Liangzhou is even the slightest bit weak, they will definitely march in with their swords and repeat the same thing as before.
The tragedy of the Erwei Incident!" Lu Wei said coldly.
Jin Yongxiu couldn't listen anymore and said coldly: "Lu Tongzhi will shirk it. Who doesn't know that Liangzhou is prosperous now? It is Jingzhou that should recuperate. Hundreds of thousands of troops are still waiting to eat and drink! It's a pity that their lives are not good.
If you fall in love with a coach like me who is incompetent, you will not be able to earn any fame or fortune for them! You will bleed and sweat in vain on the battlefield!"
These words were full of resentment, almost pointing at Emperor Anping's nose and saying that the emperor did not give him promotion or power.
Emperor Anping could hardly sit still.
Now that all the rebels in Jiangxia have been put to death, the more he looks at Jin Yongxiu, the more displeased he becomes.
In order to earn military merit, Jin Yongxiu scraped away thousands of miles of uninhabited Jingzhou, which was originally a prosperous land of fish and rice. Such cruel behavior had long been criticized by scholars, and the eighteen generations of the Jin family were scolded to the point where they could not hold their heads up underground.
Jin Yongxiu's albums can fill the entire hall.
Little did he know that Jin Yongxiu was nicknamed "King of Hell" among the common people! Judging from his reputation, Jin Yongxiu was destined to be infamy for thousands of years. If he wanted to reuse Jin Yongxiu, there was no guarantee that he would also become a notorious person.
Moreover, his biological father, Emperor Taichang, died outside Nanyang City because of Jin Yongxiu's negligence.
However, Jin Yongxiu was like a mad dog pestering him to get an official position and power. He didn't care what the occasion was today, and was still obsessed with the reward. How could he not bore Emperor Anping to death!
The prince took a deep breath and said loudly: "I have a plan that can solve the current financial difficulties."
Emperor Anping looked at his lame cousin and said without any hope: "Then tell me."
"The taxes in Daxia are already very heavy, and the people are miserable, but only 50% of them are collected into the national treasury! Except for corrupt officials, the worms of the country took part of them, and most of the rest went into the private offices of the vassals everywhere.
"Treasury!" the prince said loudly, "I ask the Holy One to issue an edict to take back all the taxation rights of the feudal prince!"
Lu Wei looked at the thin prince in shock.
Everyone knows that a lot of the tax revenue of Daxia was divided by the vassal kings, but no one dared to mention the matter of taking back the tax rights from the vassal kings. First, this was a rule set by the founding emperor of Daxia, and he wanted his descendants to share the tax revenue.
Wealth and honor are shared by the country he built, and the sacrifices of the people are shared for generations to come. Daxia governs the world with filial piety. Overturning the rules of the ancestors is a great unfilial act. Secondly, the vassal king also has private soldiers. If he really wants to cut off their pocketbook, the vassal king is very
There may be a rebellion.
But on the other hand, if the tax power of the feudal king can be nationalized, it will not only fill the national treasury, but also suppress the root cause of the feudal king's rebellion.
No money to raise soldiers, no money to fight any war!
But no one dared to raise this proposal. The vassal king was powerful and anyone who dared to touch their financial resources would be killed and sacrificed to the flag if the vassal king rebelled.
Dare to say such words in a court gathering where all the ministers gathered, the prince really pretends that he only cares about the world and not himself.
The huge court meeting was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Emperor Anping did not expect that the prince would cut his own flesh with just one opening of his mouth. He remained silent for a long time and said, "The family law of our ancestors cannot be abolished."
Of course he hoped to receive all the money in his own hands, but the rebellion of the King of Jiangxia for so many years had made Daxia weak and exhausted. He was really afraid of the feudal king revolting.
If the tax power of the vassal king is forcibly taken away, I am afraid that the vassal kings from all over the country will rise up and rebel!
After the court meeting, the prince did not leave, but stayed to continue to see the emperor.
The ministers walked out one after another, and Lu Wei turned back and saw the thin figure waiting stubbornly in the hall. Everyone knew where Daxia's stubborn disease was, but no one dared to use a knife to cut it.
Only this crippled prince, who was despised and rejected by Emperor Taichang and his son again and again, still did not change his original intention. He risked being hated and killed by the feudal king, but he still wanted to present the facts and reform the shortcomings.
Everyone in this palace has selfish motives. Even he is selfish about Liangzhou and refuses to divide his troops and money. Only this prince is really for Daxia.
It's just that he is weak and the emperor is greedy for pleasure, so his efforts are destined to get no results.
Lu Wei turned his head and walked into the crowd of people retreating from the court.
In the afternoon of the same day, Emperor Anping ordered people to go to Lu Wei's home to announce the decree and invite Lu Wei to the palace to discuss important matters.
"Are we still discussing the tax issue in Liangzhou?" Lu Wei asked the eunuch close to Emperor Anping politely.
The eunuch smiled awkwardly, "It's a good thing, a good thing!"
Lu Wei calmly asked the eunuch to wait outside while he went back to the house to change his clothes.
Zhang Yuqing brought him court clothes and put them on him.
Lu Wei looked impatient and complained to Zhang Yuqing, "If he can help me collect Liangzhou's military expenses and rations, Liangzhou will give him taxes!"
Zhang Yuqing smiled without saying a word and said softly: "He can't meet the conditions you want, but he may use something else instead."
Emperor Anping was not a fool. When he opened his mouth, Lu Wei took out the money he got. Are the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in Liangzhou free of charge?
Lu Wei naturally also thought about it. He didn't care about other things. Emperor Anping wanted to ask him for money, and he also wanted to ask Emperor Anping for money! Should the military expenses he owed Liangzhou over the years be settled?
"When I come back, let's go to a restaurant to eat in the evening." Lu Wei kissed Zhang Yuqing's lips, picked up his official hat and strode out.
Zhang Yuqing smiled and watched him go away.
After Lu Wei left, Du Jingyi and others returned. Zhang Yuqing withdrew his servants and asked Liu Quan to guard the door while watching Du Jingyi spread a detailed map on the table.
"The Zen ceremony is held on the top of this mountain." Du Jingyi pointed to a mountain on the map and said.
Zhang Yuqing stared at the map and pointed to a nearby mountain peak, "Is there anyone guarding this place?"
