"As the old saying goes, if you are poor, you will want to change. If a person is poor, he has to find a way. If he doesn't know a way, he will remain poor. If he is about to starve to death, but he still puts on an airs, that is not integrity, that is seeking death. A general can bend and stretch.
, he is indeed a real man and deserves to be learned by everyone. He works hard to make money and is not ashamed of himself or embarrassed anywhere!"
There were many well-educated officials among the officials. After hearing Li Mu's words, they all slandered in their hearts. Is this what the saint's classics say?
Poverty leads to change, change leads to smoothness, and generality leads to long-lasting. The saying comes from the "Book of Changes", which says that things will change when they reach their end, and it talks about the principle that things must be reversed when they reach their extreme. This "poverty" is not the other "poverty", and it comes to Li Mu.
But unfortunately, this "poor" is the same as that "poor". A good sage's words are suddenly filled with the smell of copper, which is simply unbearable.
Li Muke didn't care how weird others looked at him, and continued: "This second method is related to the fields we are going to talk about next."
Hearing the word "field", the ears of all the officials immediately stood up. When it comes to land, it has something to do with them. Thinking of the recent news that went viral in Chang'an City, everyone's hearts suddenly rose to their throats.
Li Mu took in everyone's reactions and said leisurely: "Your Majesty, the sudden increase in food prices happened years ago. Your Majesty was furious because of this, and was greatly offended by the Shandong grain merchants. Although the matter has been resolved, I still
Don't forget this matter. The right way is that the king is worried about the labor of his ministers, and the king humiliates his ministers to death. In order to understand your majesty's worries, I worked hard all night, stayed up all night, studied the laws of this dynasty and the previous dynasties, and finally found a solution to the problem.
A good remedy.”
Li Shimin knew that it was time for him to praise him again, so he answered in a serious voice: "What a good recipe, please tell me quickly!"
"Your Majesty, I have learned from my research that the land system of this dynasty is an equalized land system, and taxes are based on renting and yongding. The equalized land system is that if a man is over twenty years old, he will be granted a hundred acres of land, of which twenty acres will be permanent land.
Eighty acres were divided into fields. The fields were returned after death. Each man had to pay two stones of millet to the court every year, which was called rent; he had to pay two feet of silk, three liang of cotton, or two feet and five feet of cloth and three pounds of hemp, which was called transfer; he had to serve as corvee for twenty days.
In leap years, two days are added to serve as regular servants. If the court does not need them to serve, each soldier can pay the standard of three feet of silk or three feet, seven inches and five cents of cloth per day, and pay the full amount for twenty days in lieu of service. This is called
To be mediocre, generally speaking, "accepting silk as a servant is mediocre", which is also called "losing mediocrity as a servant". Your Majesty, gentlemen, am I wrong in what I said?"
Li Shimin nodded slightly and said: "I made it clear and clear. I can see that you have put in the effort? Why, do you have any novel insights into this country-based strategy?"
"Yes." Li Mu said loudly: "The land equalization system and the rent-to-yong system are both systems inherited by this dynasty from the previous dynasty. In my opinion, this system is a backward system. The collapse of the previous dynasty is related to this system.
There is a certain relationship, and if this dynasty continues to follow suit, the hidden dangers are deep and it will inevitably make the same mistakes again!"
As soon as this statement came out, all the officials were in an uproar. The censor's platform was already ready to move, and the first one who couldn't hold back was the censor, the Prime Minister Jingze. He held up the iron tablet high, stood out of the queue, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something for you.
I am not happy to say anything! Zhuluhou is too arrogant and arrogant. The land equalization system and the rent-to-yong system are the accumulation of experience of past dynasties and are national policies. Zhuluhou actually boasts that this system is backward, and also makes alarmist remarks in an attempt to deceive.
Your Majesty, if you try to shake the foundation of the country, you will be punished!"
After saying that, he glared at Li Mu angrily, as if he wanted to die with him.
Li Mu admired Wang Jingze's performance and secretly gave him a thumbs up. This guy's acting skills are getting better and better, and he has to admire him. His words obviously represent the aspirations of the vast majority of people. With a leader, several others have stepped forward one after another.
Individuals from the Censor's Office, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Officials, and other ministries all accused Li Mu of being arrogant, but their tone was much softer. After all, Li Mu's notoriety was there, and they were deeply offended, and they were afraid of his revenge.
Li Shimin also frowned. The last time Li Mu told him, he only said that the land would be used to blackmail the nobles, but did not explain how to implement it. He suddenly mentioned the land system, and Li Shimin was a little unprepared. He looked at Li Mu and saw that Li Mu
He responded affirmatively, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Li Mu, you are not allowed to talk nonsense about the country's fundamental matters. If you can't make sense today, I will punish you."
This sounded like a threat, but it silently blocked the mouths of all the officials. What Li Shimin said was that if you can't explain a reason, the implication is to "tell a reason" for Li Mu.
Chance.
How could Li Mu not understand this meaning? He immediately said: "Your Majesty, I dare to say it, it makes sense. Your Majesty and all the gentlemen, please listen carefully."
"First let's talk about the equalization of land system. As far as I know, the birth of the equalization of land system originated from the Northern Wei Dynasty and became popular in the former Sui Dynasty. All dynasties have praised the equalization of land system. But no one has pointed out its shortcomings. I am very puzzled.
, it’s really strange that no one has noticed the disadvantages of such a system with such obvious disadvantages!”
Wang Jingze was like a perfect compliment. When he heard this, he jumped out and said: "Zhuluhou, please speak more clearly. What are the disadvantages? Why can't the sages of the past dynasties see it, but you can? You are so arrogant.
, do you really think of yourself as a saint?”
Li Mu glanced over coldly and said: "Wang Zhongcheng, your Majesty asked me to speak, but he didn't ask you to speak. If you interrupt me again, believe it or not, I will knock out all your teeth with one fist and make it impossible for you to speak for the rest of your life?"
"you!"
Wang Jingze stamped his feet angrily, but did not dare to make a sound. The whole hall was silent. Everyone knew that if Li Mu was stunned, no one could stop him except Li Shimin. He would really piss him off and he could do it.
!
Li Mu continued: "In order to solve this mystery, I conducted in-depth research, and finally I solved the answer."
"The background of the birth of the equal land system was the period of confrontation between the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During this period, both the Southern and Northern Dynasties, dynasties changed frequently, and there was rarely a period of more than a few decades without war. Please pay attention, what does this mean?
"
"This means that after the population has grown for a period of time and reached a certain number, it will rapidly decrease due to war. In other words, when the population accumulates to a certain level, there will not be enough cultivated land, and war will begin. War,
After more than half of the people died, the land was divided again, or even more than before, so the disadvantages of this equal land system have never been noticed."
After a pause, Li Mu continued: "Speaking of which, your majesty and the princes must understand what I mean. Yes, the biggest disadvantage of the equal land system is related to population. If the world is peaceful and there is no big war, or
If there are few big battles, and the population increases to a certain value, there will not be enough land to divide the land. One day the court will have no land to divide, and when that time comes, the chaos will begin."
"And rent-to-use modulation also has very big drawbacks."
"Let's talk about renting first. The court divided the fields according to men. The number was fixed, and they were all one hundred acres. However, there were fertile fields and poor fields, and the output was different. The population of each household was also different. Some households,
There is only one husband and one wife, but some households may have an old mother and children, but there is only one male in the family. I would like to ask your majesty and the gentlemen, the situation of each household is different, but the rent and adjustment must be paid according to the same standard.
, is this fair? Is it reasonable? Or do you think that only men are considered human beings, and women are not considered human beings and do not need to eat?"
"Also, natural disasters and man-made disasters are unavoidable, and the court's taxes must be collected every year. If there is a natural disaster and no grains are harvested from the fields, will the taxes be less? If there are poor fields, the food grown in the fields will only be reduced.
If the taxes are enough, what will the people do? Starve to death? Or become refugees? Have your Majesty and the princes ever thought about this?"
"As for 'losing the mediocre to forced labor', it is even more unfair. This system has spoiled the wealthy merchants and scholar-bureaucrats, and suffered the poor people. The poor people not only have to bear the rent, but also have to do corvee labor. If
There is only one male in the family, and he has gone to work as a corvee, leaving no one to do the farm work at home. As a result, the poor become poorer and the rich become richer. The people will always be slaves and maids, with no future for them!"
"That's what I mean when I mentioned the previous dynasty. The previous dynasty unified the north and south, and its national power was unprecedented. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, the population increased explosively, and the land became increasingly stretched. But when Emperor Yang came, he was not aware of this hidden danger.
Without taking any measures, they just levied excessive taxes on the people and forced them to do corvee work. Finally, the people were overwhelmed and revolted in various places. Therefore, I said that the end of the former Sui Dynasty was due to the equalization of land. Is there anything wrong?"
Li Mulang said loudly: "Your Majesty should be your Majesty to the people of the world, not just to the scholar-bureaucrats. Today, I risk offending the powerful and powerful people by pointing out the shortcomings of the land equalization system and the rent-to-rent system. I hope that your Majesty will think carefully about it."
After finishing speaking, Li Shimin and all the officials remained silent.
It wasn't that Li Mu was wrong, but that he was so right. They couldn't think of words to refute every word or sentence. What shocked the monarchs and ministers even more was that Li Mu's thoughts were so advanced that they were not even a little bit ahead of their time.
Didn’t even think of that!
Everyone couldn't help but have the same question in their hearts: why could Li Mu think of this? Could it be that he was really a banished immortal and descended to earth?
Changsun Wuji looked even more gloomy. As the number one person in the Conglong Dynasty and the actual prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, it would have been more appropriate for him to propose these words. But he did not expect these at all. Instead, it was Li Mu who said these words.
, if he succeeded, wouldn't he want to be remembered in history?
Thinking of this, Changsun Wuji was about to make a move. He wanted to stand up and stop him, but when he caught a glimpse of Li Shimin's face from the corner of his eye, he took back his steps. Before he could figure out what Li Shimin was thinking, he knew that his wisest choice was not to speak.
.Even now he is a little doubtful whether the scene before him was discussed between Li Shimin and Li Mu. He really can't believe that Li Mu has such profound insights. Is it possible that Li Shimin has already thought about doing this, but it's just that
Li Mu was instructed to speak out. If this is the case, then the intention behind it is difficult to say.
For now, it’s better to be cautious.
Changsun Wuji took a deep breath, withdrew his gaze, and stared at his toes, like an old monk in trance. On the other side, after a brief silence, Li Shimin finally spoke up.
He stood up, came to Li Mu, took his hand solemnly, and said to the officials: "Everyone, please take a look, this is a real pillar of talent! I did not misjudge the person, although Li Mu usually
It was a bit of a joke, but if he is serious, he can really share my worries and do things for me! You have all heard what he just said, but has anyone stood up to refute it? "
Li Shimin turned his attention to everyone at the Yushitai, especially Wang Jingze, and said, "Wang Aiqing, what else do you have to say? Do you think there is anything wrong with Zhulu Hou's remarks?"
Wang Jingze was dripping with cold sweat and said hurriedly: "The remarks made by Marquis Zhulu are enlightening and enlightening. I have learned a lot and I am extremely ashamed."
Li Shimin laughed, unwilling to accept this, and looked at Wei Zheng again, saying: "Wei Aiqing must have made some high-level remarks. Can you comment on it?"
Wei Zheng glanced at Li Mu in surprise, lowered his head and said, "I have spoken highly of Zhulu Hou. I admire him so much that I don't dare to do anything for him."
"Okay!" Li Shimin laughed happily three times and said: "Wei Gong is Wei Gong. He can admit his own shortcomings and affirm the advantages of others. This alone is better than countless people. I am very happy today. I am very happy.
Happy! God is pitiful and has given me a blessed general. Li Mu, you have lived up to my expectations. Since you pointed out the shortcomings, you must have a good solution. Please tell me quickly so that I can see it with all my dear friends."
Li Mu hurriedly bowed and said humbly: "I can't take my knowledge seriously. It's just a little immature suggestion. Your Majesty will have to discuss it with the princes to make a decision."
"My solution is to defeat each system one by one and prescribe the right medicine according to the shortcomings of each system just like treating a disease."
After laying the groundwork, Li Mu felt a lot more relaxed and started to talk: "Let's talk about 'losing the mediocre to serve as slaves' first. I think it's not impossible, but the method is a little inappropriate. Rich people pay their property instead."
The imperial court accepted their money, and everyone seemed happy. But there was a problem. Who would do the labor they were supposed to do? After the imperial court collected their property, what did they do with it?"
Li Mu chuckled lightly and said: "According to my investigation, it's hard to say what the imperial court did with their property. But what is certain is that it definitely did not use the property they paid to hire craftsmen to replace their labor.
Labor service was distributed among the people who had no money. Originally, 100 people were required to perform corvee work, but after fifty people paid their property, only fifty people were left to do the work. In this way, their corvee work was doubled. This was an unbearable situation for the people.
The main reason for carrying heavy loads.”
"In this regard, the solution I give is very simple. You can pay property in lieu of corvee, but the property paid must be earmarked. Use this money to give to those who have overburdened themselves with corvee, like those in the Ministry of Works
Craftsmen. They used to serve as corvees and came to Chang'an City and were unbearable. But after the reform of the Ministry of Works, their labor was rewarded. Now none of them are willing to return home. This is the difference between spontaneous and forced!