At the Great Sutra Banquet, Wang Yuan lectured the emperor for the last time.
The cabinet, the six ministries, the six departments, the five temples, the general affairs department, the governor's office, and even the chief officials of the ceremonial supervisor and the imperial horse supervisor all gathered together to listen to the lecture of the grand master.
When Wang Yuan arrived, all the officials stood up and paid tribute.
There may have been other factors involved in the past, but this time the salute came from the sincerity. Everyone knew that Wang Yuan would not return to the Ming Dynasty.
Not long after, the emperor ascended the throne.
Zhu Zaiyi said: "Today's Sutra banquet meeting will not teach ordinary subjects. Taishi can speak freely."
Wang Yuan took out a pamphlet and said: "During my period, I, Ding You, also wrote a book. Your Majesty can publish it all over the world and engrave it in Wenyuan Pavilion."
All the ministers were shocked. The previous book "Macroeconomics" was praised as a technique for managing the world and benefiting the people. The Grand Master actually hid a more powerful book?
Zhu Zaiyi asked: "What is the content of this book?"
Wang Yuan replied: "The title of the book is "The Land Acquisition System of the Past Dynasties". From the Western Zhou Dynasty to the State Dynasty, it is only part of the State Dynasty. There may be some praise or criticism of Taizu, so I dare not reveal it to others easily."
Zhu Zaiyi added: "Today's officials and scholars all want to restore the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. The grand master will tell you about the land ownership system in the Tang Dynasty."
"Dare you disobey me?" Wang Yuan stood up and walked to the speaker's seat.
All civil and military officials, eunuchs and guards were all waiting to listen.
Wang Yuan straightened his sleeves and said: "The land system in the Tang Dynasty can be traced back to the Northern Wei Dynasty. The Northern Wei Dynasty was a foreign regime. There was no taxation system at the beginning, and the court did not even pay salaries to officials. So how to solve the financial problem? The court relied on robbery, Officials relied on corruption. The Empress Dowager Feng of the Northern Wei Dynasty took over the unowned wasteland as state-owned, and then distributed the land to the refugees. In this way, the Northern Wei Dynasty established a tax system, and had money and food to pay officials' salaries. From then on, it was illegal for Northern Wei officials to rob the people. This was the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The origin of equalization of land!"
"Why was it possible to implement equalization of land at that time? Because the entire north was destroyed, sparsely populated, and full of barren fields."
"During the period of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, due to the large increase in population compared with the Northern Wei Dynasty, the court seriously lacked land to distribute to the people. This was one of the main reasons for the demise of the Sui Dynasty. Today, we will not talk about the Sui Dynasty, but only the farmland system in the Tang Dynasty."
"Due to the Sui system in the Tang Dynasty, the equalized land system was also inherited. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was great chaos and the population dropped sharply, so the equalized land system became feasible again. How did the Zhenguan era come about? The equalized land system was just added to the military system. Most of the land in the country was owned by the imperial court. , distributed to the people in the form of land and land. The people not only had to pay rent to the court, but also fought for the court, and they also had to prepare their own soldiers to fight. In the early Tang Dynasty, especially in the Guanzhong generation, all the people were soldiers, soldiers and peasants. Oneness.”
"However, this land-acre system has a fatal flaw, that is, the clans and nobles are completely exempt from tax. With the power of the clans and nobles, it only takes a hundred years to annex a large amount of land. In this way, by the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty When he was in power, the nobles who owned a large number of acres did not have to pay taxes to the court. But the peasants who owned a small number of acres had to bear the responsibility for the operation of the entire country. In this way, the court would have no money, and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was very poor."
Zhu Zaiyi suddenly interrupted: "In the early Tang Dynasty, there were many advisers, so didn't they formulate national policies to restrain them?"
"Yes," Wang Yuan explained with a smile, "Take the common people as an example. When a common person reaches the age of 18, he or she can obtain land granted by the state. It is based on one hundred acres, of which 20 acres are permanent fields and can be passed down. For future generations. The other eighty acres are allocated to the land. After the landowner dies or commits a crime, he must return it to the court, and buying and selling is prohibited. However, there are policies from above and countermeasures from below. How can the people honestly hand over the land they have been allocated to the court? ?Once the imperial government fails to manage the land, the land will be resold privately, or the land will be deregistered and become a black household, and the land will also become a black field."
"The imperial court of the Tang Dynasty counted the land once every October, and also reviewed the population and household registration. Men over the age of 18 were entitled to one hundred acres of land. The elderly, seriously ill, and disabled were entitled to forty acres of land. Widows and concubines were
, you can get 30 acres of land. Each household head can get 20 acres more. In the above cases, no matter how much land you get, 20 acres will be the permanent land, and the remaining land will be divided in October of the next year.
Return it to the court."
"But the officials in the world are lazy. They do a census of the fields every year. They are simply too busy, and they don't want to be so busy. Whoever cultivates this field this year will also give it to the same person the next year. It will only be restored to the court in name.
Distribution. When the landowner dies, he will not report it to the government and continue to occupy the land. When Dingkou reaches eighteen years old, he immediately reports to the government and requests the court to distribute the land. In this way, the more the land is divided, the more the land is harvested. If
If you really can’t hide it from the government, you will sell the dead man’s land to the nobles. How can local officials dare to take over the land from the nobles?”
"So, by the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, most of the land in the country, although it still belonged to the country's official land, had long been in the hands of the nobles and powerful men. But every year, men came of age, and land was allocated to the people every year. Places
Officials can only take the official land on paper and distribute it to the newly adult men."
"These men have land in name, but their land is actually cultivated by the nobles. The nobles occupy the land without paying taxes, but the men must pay taxes. Moreover, after the men are allocated virtual land, they must also give it to the country
Fighting, this is the government's military system. A man has to support his family and has no land to cultivate, so he has to prepare his own soldiers for the court to fight. How does this make the people live? They either flee or work as tenants for the clan. When the government recruits troops,
One after another, they chopped off their own fingers and became crippled, so that they could escape the military service of the military system."
"The people are in difficulty, and so is the country, because the court cannot collect taxes."
"So the Jiedushi envoys appeared. The imperial court had neither money nor the ability to recruit troops, so it was left to the Jiedushi envoys to collect taxes and recruit troops. The major Jiedushi envoys thus became local emperors who governed both the people and the army. Li Linfu, Yang Guozhong
Why was Emperor Xuanzong so favored? Is it really because Tang Xuanzong was mediocre? No. Because Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong were able to help Emperor Xuanzong make money. Without Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty could not even afford the expenses of the palace, because at that time he could not even afford the palace.
Officials can no longer afford their salaries!”
"Why were the military governors of the Tang Dynasty mostly served by foreign generals?"
"Because military generals in the Tang Dynasty could join the central government and serve as prime ministers. Jiedu envoys controlled local military, financial, and civil affairs. It was easy to establish meritorious services and go to Beijing to serve as prime minister. Of course Yang Guozhong did not want his power
The position was threatened, so a large number of foreigners were promoted and appointed. Because foreign generals like An Lushan were illiterate, it was impossible for them to become prime ministers."
"Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was very clear about this. He also had his own plan, which was just to let Yang Guozhong, Li Linfu, and the local military governors check and balance each other. The technique of checks and balances is very useful, but the Tang Dynasty had long-standing shortcomings. How could it be possible to check and balance as well as the Tu emperor?
Jiedushi?"
Wang Yuan suddenly smiled and said: "Today's young scholars all admire the prosperous Tang Dynasty. But the real prosperous Tang Dynasty can barely be regarded as the rule of Zhenguan. After all, the country's population was sparse at that time, the land equalization system, and the military system could still operate smoothly. As for the Kaiyuan Dynasty,
A prosperous age, what do you call a prosperous age? The people are displaced, preferring to commit suicide rather than serve as soldiers, the aristocrats are extravagant, the court has to rely on the prime minister to make money, and the officials have to default on their salaries. Is this a prosperous age? It is the end of the Kaiyuan Dynasty!"
"Who is the chief culprit of the Anshi Rebellion? Tang Xuanzong? Yang Guifei? Yang Guozhong? Li Linfu? An Lushan? No. The culprit should be the Equal Land System of the Northern Wei Dynasty."
"However, the equalization of land did make the Northern Wei Dynasty strong, and it did make the Sui and Tang Dynasties prosperous for a while."
"The system has nothing to do with it, but it must change according to the times."
"Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, was a genius of his generation and an emperor throughout the ages. But Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty made a big mistake. He should not have followed the equalization of land system. He was the one with the best chance of reform. If Li Shimin did not change the law, Wu Zetian and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty would not be able to change it.
.The root cause of the Anshi Rebellion lies with Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty!"
"Why did you change the law? Your Majesty can think of it."
As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials were shocked and looked at Wang Yuan in stunned silence.
The cause of the Anshi Rebellion actually lies with Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty?
The prosperous age of Kaiyuan is actually the end of Kaiyuan?
No wonder Wang Yuan never took out this book, "The Land Acquisition System of the Past Dynasties", which simply overturns the world's three views.
Zhu Zaiyi broke into a cold sweat because when his father Zhu Houzhao was in power, the situation in the Ming Dynasty was very similar to that in the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty.
Especially in the provinces south of the Yangtze River, because of the large amount of official land and the guard system, what is the difference between it and the destroyed land equalization system? The gentry and rich evaded tax exemptions and annexed large amounts of land, while the people had no land but had to pay heavy taxes. The imperial government's finances were in danger.
Liu Jin was sent to make money across the country. Isn't Liu Jin the replica of Yang Guozhong?
Zhu Zaiyi asked for the pamphlet and opened it. The first chapter was "The Well Field System".
All the land in the world belongs to the Emperor of Zhou.
The emperor distributed the land to the princes, the princes allocated the land to the officials, and the officials allocated the land to the ministers. There were no salaries at that time, so the land was the salary, which was the foundation for maintaining the operation of the Western Zhou Dynasty.
However, once the land is divided, there is no hope of getting it back.
The retainers coveted the land of the officials, the officials coveted the land of the princes, and the princes coveted the land of the emperor. All levels were trying to "conquer the top" and annexed each other, which ultimately led to the chaotic times of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, which also brought about the contention of a hundred schools of thought and the reform of various countries. Who reformed the most thoroughly?
, who can unify China!
Zhu Zaiyi has read history books and has some understanding of "Spring and Autumn" and "Warring States Policy".
But now after reading the chapter "Jingtian System", it was like an enlightenment, and I understood the entire history of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
Zhu Zaiyi carefully put away the "Field Acquisition System of the Past Dynasties", stood up, bowed to Wang Yuan and saluted: "Teacher is truly a sage through the ages, and my disciples will never allow anyone to destroy the achievements of the reform."
Wang Yuan stood up and cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I bid farewell to you, Your Majesty."
After saying that, he turned around and bowed to the ministers: "Farewell to all my colleagues."
All the ministers hurriedly avoided the banquet and stood up, returning the greeting: "We will bid farewell to the Grand Master!"
(PS: I recommend the historical text "Qiming 1158". I personally think it is a good book.)