By extension, the former is actually the control of land and population by the elite class. If the latter develops, it is actually the loss of control of local military forces.
At the moment, these two problems don't seem serious, but Zhou Jun understands in his heart that these are huge problems that run through the lifeblood of the Tang Dynasty.
One hundred and fifty years later, the Tang Dynasty collapsed, and more than half of the reasons were attributed to this.
Zhou Jun looked at the officials in the court and asked: "The Ding tax is strict and the population is difficult to grow. Dear ministers, do you have any good strategies?"
The palace fell into silence.
One of the problems mentioned by the emperor is a historical problem, and the other is a legacy of war. If you want to solve it, it involves all aspects and cannot be solved simply.
Zhou Jun turned his attention to Du Fu.
The latter wanted to answer it, but after thinking about it, he felt helpless on his face.
Du Fu was concerned about the country and the people, and was good at discovering shortcomings on weekdays. However, he was a scholar at heart, and his political skills were still insufficient.
If he were asked to analyze how government affairs should be handled, Du Fu would naturally not be able to tell.
Zhou Jun also knew this and turned his attention to others.
After thinking about it, Feng Changqing said: "Since the pre-Qin Dynasty, Ding tax has been a regular system of the imperial court. In order to prevent noble families from annexing land and privately accepting private households, the past dynasties have also thought of many ways. To deal with it, the key lies in two points.
, Inventory and Quota.”
When Zhou Jun heard about the inventory and quotas, he suddenly remembered something.
He asked the officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs: "Can the world's population and land measurements be counted?"
The latter replied: "They are all numbered."
Zhou Jun: "Okay, now that the world's population and land have been counted, from now on, the Ding tax will be spread into the land."
Is the tax paid into the land?
When all the officials heard this, they were all puzzled.
Zhou Jun: "The population of the Tang Dynasty has been calculated. Based on this figure, the total amount of the Ding tax in the Tang Dynasty should be calculated."
By multiplying the population figures by the single-person tax, we can get the amount of the total tax in the Tang Dynasty. This is not difficult.
Seeing the ministers nodding, Zhou Jun added: "The total Ding tax has been counted, and the privately occupied land in the world has been measured. From now on, the payment of Ding tax will no longer be based on the increase or decrease in population, but will be based on the increase or decrease in population."
Each acre of land is calculated and paid.”
Seeing that everyone was still puzzled, Zhou Jun gave an example: "For example, the total population of the Tang Dynasty is 15 million, and the Ding tax is 40 yuan per person, so from now on, the total Ding tax every year will be six.
After measuring the land, the land that should be granted is 20,000 and 80 million acres. Based on this calculation, each mu of private land should be paid a tax of almost two cents per year."
"And this calculation method, if you can describe it in one sentence, is 'to breed people, never add taxes, equal taxes and measure the land, and divide the land into acres'."
The officials in the palace were all shocked when they heard these words from Zhou Jun's mouth.
The Ding tax no longer increases according to the population. Instead, people pay the Ding tax according to the amount of land they occupy.
This move abolished the "poll tax" that had lasted for thousands of years in previous dynasties, and also discouraged the powerful class from annexing land.
The most important thing is that landless and landless people no longer have to bear high capitation taxes. In a sense, this is equivalent to liberating the people's labor force.
Let the world's population no longer focus on the fields, but encourage them to leave farmland and move closer to cities and handicrafts, which to a certain extent liberates the labor force that is bound by the land.
Zhou Jun knew clearly in his heart that never increasing taxes and allocating land to households were policies of the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. This move eased social conflicts, released social vitality, promoted production development, and made the subsequent prosperous era of Kangxi and Qianlong possible.
After Feng Changqing carefully understood the policy of dividing land into acres, he asked Zhou Jun a question: "Your Majesty, this is a good policy, but it may also cause the people to abandon their land voluntarily in order to avoid the land tax."
Zhou Jun nodded and said: "You are right. In order to avoid the Ding tax, the common people may take the initiative to abandon their fields. The nobles who own a lot of land may also take the initiative to reduce the land property under their names in order to reduce the burden brought by the Ding tax. This is actually not a bad thing.”
Feng Changqing was a little confused: "If the people abandon their fields, there will be fewer farmers in the world, and the food collected by the court will also be reduced. This may cause food prices to rise, which is not good for people's livelihood."
Zhou Jun did not intend to explain more at this time, but just said to Feng Changqing: "After the announcement of the land allocation, the Ministry of Household Affairs will take the lead, and then issue a document to the prefectures and counties. If there are common people or large households who want to abandon their land, the imperial court will take it all." .Register these fields, all of them will be collected and stored by the state, and re-recorded as official fields."
After Feng Changqing heard the words, he bowed and obeyed the order.
The matter of Ding tax has come to an end for now, and then comes the issue of feudal towns.
Comparatively speaking, the issue of vassal towns is far more difficult than the Ding tax.
Moreover, the Northern Tang Dynasty is still in the war stage and is surrounded by enemies on all sides. If you rashly attack the vassal town, it will cause chaos and the gain will not be worth the loss.
Therefore, Zhou Jun did not mention the word "vassal town" in the court, but focused the whole matter on relocation and seclusion.
Zhou Jun asked the officials: "People are flowing from the north to the south. The issue of Ding tax has been concluded. So other than that, is there any way to stop this trend?"
Next, an official stood up.
Zhou Jun was a little surprised when he saw this person's appearance clearly.
This person is none other than Yuan Zai, a member of the Jinyiwei Wenjie Department.
After Yuan Zai came out of the queue, he bowed to Zhou Jun and said: "Your Majesty, I have a plan to welcome the people from the south to the north."
Zhou Jun: "What's your plan?"
Yuan Zai: "When I was in Hebei, I saw in the market that the people were particularly fond of opera and storytelling. Among them was "Datang Wenbao", which was a popular publication. The people couldn't put it down after seeing it and circulated it for a long time. His Majesty once wrote the manuscript , it is even more popular among newspapers and newspapers, and is sung by people."
When Zhou Jun heard this, he felt it and couldn't help but nodded slightly.
After Yuan Zai saw it, he said with a smile: "Your Majesty is very talented and knowledgeable. "Datang Wenbao" is even more popular among the people. Even Jiangnan, Shuzhong, Shannan and other places are famous far and wide. In this case, why not Use literary newspapers as a basis to promote His Majesty's civil and military achievements to the people in the south, so that they will arouse their desire to surrender?"
After listening to this, Zhou Jun felt that Yuan Zai had said a good idea.
The reputation of "Datang Wenbao" has now spread to every corner of Datang.
Using the influence of this newspaper to promote the achievements of the Northern Tang Dynasty, while secretly belittling the Southern Tang Dynasty, will make the people of the world want to move north, which is also a good way to help the immigrants return.
After Zhou Jun thought about this, he looked at Yuan Zai. He was about to say some words of praise when he suddenly reacted.
This guy Yuan Zai is worthy of being known as a eloquent man in history. In just a few words, he not only got things done, but also flattered people and made people feel comfortable listening to them.
Although such people are convenient to use, if they are not controlled in the future, they may also be troublesome.