In December of the first year of Zhongping, a guest came to the Luoyang Palace of the Han Empire.
Chen Mu came to the palace quite often, almost every day.
Because the Hongdu Pavilion can be considered as part of the imperial palace, but the scope of activities is restricted.
But this is the first time to go deep into the Emperor's palace in the West Palace.
Zhang Rang took Chen Mu with small steps through various palaces, large and small, all the way to Xuande Hall, where he knew that the emperor was enjoying singing and dancing.
Entering the hall, the chimes on both sides were playing, the konghou was ringing, and the guzheng was singing. The dancing girls jumped up and down, and the whole group sang and danced.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was an emperor who liked to enjoy himself very much. He built the Western Garden and overhauled the palace.
Even if there is war and chaos outside, the mountains and rivers are broken, and disasters in various states, counties and counties are flying like snowflakes into the Chancellor's desk, he has to wait until he can enjoy it.
Seeing Zhang Rang coming in, Liu Hong smiled and waved to him to come over.
Zhao Zhong had previously reported to him that the "guiding fees" from various states, counties and counties had been collected in Xiyuan. Although this year was much less than in previous years, at least it could be regarded as enriching the treasury and making money again.
Zhang Rang hurriedly bowed down and waved to Chen Mu behind him. The two of them walked in with small steps. This was the etiquette for meeting the emperor, and they must use walking steps.
Liu Hong actually saw Chen Mu. Although he didn't know why Zhang Rang suddenly called him over, he knew it was business, so he turned to Yue Wuguan beside him and said, "Let's withdraw first."
"only."
The Music and Dance Palace bowed and led many musicians and dancers out of the palace backwards.
After everyone left, there were only a few small Huangmen servants left around Liu Hong. Zhao Zhong was not here either. He was processing documents at the Shangshu desk.
The current Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty is no different from the Emperor Tianqi of the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong are his Wei Zhongxian. He does not need to deal with too many government affairs every day, and many regular attendants will help him solve them.
This is why other Eastern Han emperors generally only had four regular attendants, while Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty had twelve.
"His Majesty."
Zhang Rang came closer, his old face smiling as brightly as a chrysanthemum, and the white powder on his face fell off.
Liu Hong nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."
"They all serve the emperor."
Zhang Rang responded with a smile. For a eunuch, the greatest compliment is the emperor's affirmation.
Liu Hong glanced at Chen Mu, who was bowing down, and said, "You guys sit down first. Is there anything you want me to do if you want me to come over at this time?"
Zhang Rang and Chen Mu found a seat under Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty and sat down. After they were seated, Zhang Rang said with excitement, "Your Majesty, two things. The first thing is that I hope your Majesty will pardon Lu Qiang."
"Pardon Lu Qiang?"
Liu Hong frowned: "Didn't Zhao Zhong say that the Lu Qiang family is an official in another place and is corrupting everywhere?"
Zhang Rang replied: "Even if there is, he is a member of Lu Qiang's clan and has nothing to do with him. Lu Qiang has always performed his official duties and has done nothing wrong. He was imprisoned rashly for fear that the world would laugh at the emperor for not knowing people. Even if he had problems, he should have done so secretly
The investigation should not be so high-profile."
"That's true."
Liu Hong also knew who Lu Qiang was, so he nodded and said to a young man next to him: "Go and issue an edict to let Lu Qiang go."
After Xiao Huangmen took the order and left, Liu Hong said again: "What about the second thing?"
Zhang Rang smiled and said: "The second thing is the big one. Chen Zigui came to me and told me that he had a way to make money."
"oh?"
Liu Hong was overjoyed and asked, "What's the clever plan?"
He is having a headache due to lack of money.
Zhang Rang then repeated Chen Mu's remarks and reported on the current tax situation across the country.
One thing about the Han Dynasty was better than that of the Ming Dynasty, that is, scholar-bureaucrats also had to pay taxes.
The Ming Dynasty did not pay taxes at all, and the scholar-bureaucrats openly enjoyed the exemption from paying taxes. In this way, the burden of paying taxes fell entirely on the peasants. Once excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes were imposed and the peasants went bankrupt, the land would be transferred to the name of the scholar-officials.
Repeatedly and viciously, the court had no tax to collect.
In the Han Dynasty, there was no exemption from paying taxes, but the land tax was very small. Once the proportion of land tax was raised, it was actually no different from normal tax collection.
Therefore, Chen Mu's method is another form of head tax, and it can be called the best national policy at the moment.
Just hearing Zhang Rang's narration, Liu Hong frowned deeply. It wasn't that he didn't understand the truth, but that he was considering the consequences of doing so.
It has been 16 years since he ascended the throne as emperor at the age of 12. After being the emperor for so many years, he does not even have this political acumen.
Collecting land tax can indeed fill the national treasury, but the resistance it encounters must be unimaginably great. It touches the cake of the bureaucratic family class all over the world. It is equivalent to making enemies of the scholar-bureaucrats all over the world. Even if Liu Hong holds real power in his hands, unlike Liu Hong,
The previous emperors were puppets of Liang Ji, so they had to think twice before acting.
"This matter..."
After pondering for a long time, Liu Hong still shook his head: "No, once the edict is issued, all the powerful people in the world will oppose it, and the whole court will be in chaos. It is better to think of other ways. It will be December soon, and the world will be amnesty.
There will be another amount of redemption money. I will use this money to support it first. As long as there is no trouble in Luoyang, we will talk about it next year."
Zhang Rang sighed and said: "Yes, there are too many victims in Luoyang. Xiyuan cannot make ends meet and provides relief to the victims every day. I don't know how many people will die this winter. Fortunately, it is still stable now, with only small-scale riots occasionally occurring.
By spring plowing next year, things will be much better."
History is like a little girl who is dressed up by others. When the world reads the history books, they only see the greed, ignorance and mediocrity of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, but they fail to see that the world's tax revenue is very low. They only see that he sold his official position and gained titles.
He imposed exorbitant taxes, but we couldn't see how he took out all the money during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, or how he managed to maintain his dilapidated country.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty also liked to enjoy and live a luxurious life.
Therefore, when he was rich in the past, he would build the Western Garden, build palaces, carry out large-scale construction projects, open markets in the palace, collect rare treasures from all over the world, and accept countless maids and concubines, spending money like water.
However, due to successive years of disasters and the chaos of war, Luoyang had millions of victims in just one year, from Yongzhou, Yuzhou, Jizhou and other places around Sili. Some of them were because of natural disasters in their hometown, and some were because of the Yellow Turbans.
Due to the man-made disasters caused by the Rebellion, the population of Luoyang doubled compared to previous years.
These people are like homeless babies waiting to be fed, and they have to eat countless amounts of food every day. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty knew very well that if he did not satisfy them, it would only take one instigation from a caring person to create a chaos comparable to the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
There will be a greater disaster.
As the political center of the Han Dynasty, Luoyang could not be in chaos, nor could it be chaotic. No matter how incompetent Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was, he knew that he must provide relief to the victims.
Therefore, he could only take the lead in purchasing large quantities of grain and open a porridge factory every day to provide relief.
But war and disaster relief were like two bottomless pits. All the wealth accumulated over the years was poured into them. Now Xiyuan could no longer make ends meet, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was extremely short of money.
But precisely because of this, he knew better than to interfere with the interests of the powerful bureaucracy at this time. Otherwise, civil unrest and local power would lead to the collapse of the dynasty.
Chen Mu quietly watched Han Ling Emperor's reaction from the sidelines.
After discovering that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty actually knew the consequences of this strategy, he sighed in his heart.
Sure enough, there were only faint emperors in the Han Dynasty, but none were mediocre.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty is rated so low in history books because he was not the one who wrote the history books.
If Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty only saw the immediate benefits but ignored the consequences of doing this, he would definitely be looked down upon by Chen Mu.
But I didn't expect that his political mind would be so clear, and he knew how serious it would be to offend the bureaucratic family group.
In fact, this consequence was vividly reflected in the Sui Dynasty more than 400 years later.
Emperor Sui Yang was expected to become the emperor of the ages, but unfortunately he failed in the competition with the aristocratic family, and finally let Li Shimin pick the peach.
Hearing this, Chen Mu also knew that it was time for him to stand up. He sat on his seat and bent over and said, "Your Majesty."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty knew that he was going to speak, so he nodded: "Well, you say it, I will listen."
It was already remarkable to think of this national policy, enough for Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty to give Chen Mu some authority and respect.
"The rich and powerful from aristocratic families are the worms of the country. These people embezzle the country's tax revenue. While they are receiving generous salaries from high-ranking officials, they are also plundering the people's wealth. The final result will only make the country poorer and poorer, and the people will also become poorer and poorer."
Chen Mu analyzed carefully and stated the pros and cons: "Although the country has tried hard to support the people, it is only a drop in the bucket and of no avail. Countless people in Luoyang die of hunger and cold every day. If this continues, Luoyang will be littered with corpses and the mountains will be starved to death. But people all over the world will
They will not think about the country's difficulties, but will only feel that the country does not care about them. When the time comes, the country will bear the bad reputation, and the clear name will all belong to them. Who knows whether the history is true or false."
From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, the country referred to the emperor, just like the Tang Dynasty called the emperor a saint, and the Song Dynasty called the emperor an official.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty said displeasedly: "Don't you understand what I just said?"
"Is the country worried about those powerful forces causing chaos?"
Chen Mu smiled and said: "It is easy to solve this problem."
"oh?"
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty suddenly became interested and asked: "What's the plan?"
Chen Mu replied: "The state can order Yizhou, Jingzhou, and Yangzhou, where the disaster is not serious, to pay a tax of 100 yuan on all acres of land in each state to use it to relieve Luoyang, Jizhou, Yuzhou and other severely affected areas."
"What's the explanation?"
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty didn't understand.
"This is a plan of differentiation. If all the land in the world is allowed to pay taxes at once, the powerful people in the world will rebound, and the country of Han Dynasty will be in danger. If only Yizhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou are allowed to pay, the other states will not only
He will not cause chaos, but will applaud and applaud, especially the victims of the disasters in Luoyang, Jizhou, Yuzhou and other places. They will definitely be favored and be grateful to the country. In this way, except for the powerful people of the three places, the whole world will praise the emperor's benevolence and righteousness."
"When the situation in Jizhou, Yuzhou, Xuzhou and other places improves next year, the country will let these three places pay taxes, saying that it will help Liangzhou, Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jiaozhou and other places to resist the barbarians. Then the people in Liangzhou, Youzhou, Bingzhou, Jiaozhou and Yizhou will
People in Jingzhou and Yangzhou will not make any fuss, because one party will benefit from it, while the other party will gloat that they are also unlucky."
"In the end, if the country allows Liangzhou, Youzhou and the other prefectures to merge and pay taxes to the four prefectures, there will be no resistance at all."
When Chen Mu finished speaking, the smile on his face could no longer be suppressed.
Is there anything in this world that makes me happier than others being unlucky but not being unlucky myself?
Just like the famous saying of the German pastor Martin Niemola, when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty asked people in the three states of Yi, Jing and Yang to pay land taxes, people in other states would not speak for them because the matter was none of their own business.
Hang high.
Later, when Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty went to another three states to pay taxes, the other states, including the three states of Yijingyang, would only rejoice in the misfortune because everyone was unlucky together.
Until finally all the powerful bureaucrats in the world have paid the tax once, they will look at each other and realize that they have been tricked by the emperor, but at this time, no one will speak for them anymore.
This strategy is far more clever than the 10 qian tax on all acres in the country that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty will implement next year. Pulling one faction to fight another, joining forces vertically and horizontally, Su Qin and Zhang Yi would probably call him an expert after seeing it.
Hearing his plan, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty opened his eyes wide, his face turned to ecstasy, he jumped up and said happily: "This plan... in a few seconds, the child will return to his true self, and he will be my son's wife. The great ancestor will get Zhang Liang and Han Xin."
Chen Ping has conquered the world, and I have a son to return to, so why worry about the instability of the country and the unrest at home and abroad?"
Zhang Rang cupped his hands and said with a smile: "Congratulations to the emperor, congratulations to the emperor. With Chen Zigui's clever plan, it can not only solve the problem of lack of money in the palace, but also solve the problem of disaster victims everywhere. Countless people will die this winter. He is truly a saint.
achievement."
"The imperial edict was issued, and Chen Zigui was promoted to Yilang and given the privilege of walking in the palace."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was extremely excited and walked back and forth with his hands behind his back.
Chen Mu just cupped his hands and smiled.
This strategy is indeed good and can be called the national policy among national policies.
However, what Emperor Han Ling never imagined was that there was a big trap in this strategy.
That is, although the current mainstream economic system of the Han Dynasty is the manor economy, the small-scale peasant economic system of homesteaders still exists.
Moreover, the poll tax has not been reduced or reduced. Once this order is issued, all the farmers in the world who have not gone bankrupt due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion will be completely bankrupt. It will be a huge disaster for the remaining common people.
At that point, maybe before the day Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty dies, the rebel armies in the world will rise up like locusts. In addition, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty has offended the officials of the family by collecting land taxes. Once the wall is reached, everyone will push him down.
To such an extent, the result is probably even more terrifying than that in the late Sui Dynasty.
Maybe in the real troubled times, there is no need to wait until Dong Zhuo comes to Beijing. In another two or three years, the Han Dynasty will be full of wars and chaos.
Chen Mu kept a smile on his face, but in his heart he was already imagining how he would take over the world with his big brother Liu Bei in a few years.
But the next moment, the smile on Chen Mu's face froze.
Because he saw the emperor crying.
Zhang Rang was also crying.
"I am not a foolish king, nor am I a ruthless emperor. I can save all people and rebuild these mountains and rivers. Chen Zigui, in today's world, there are all the beetles in the dynasty, but you are the only scholar in your country."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty wept with joy, looked up at the top of the palace, and murmured to himself.
He knew that Lu Qiang was honest and upright, and it was because Lu Qiang could only advise him, but could not solve actual problems for him.
He knew that the party members were upright but wanted to ban them because the party members wanted to limit the power of the eunuchs around him.
He reused Zhang Rang Zhao Zhong because Zhang Rang Zhao Zhong could help him receive money.
Without money, where would he get the troops to quell the rebellion?
Without money, where would he get food relief?
Therefore, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty knew very well that those who could only talk and talk could not do anything practical. Those who could do practical things could only be scolded as traitors to the country.
But besides eunuchs, who else can he trust in this world?
If taxes don't come in, the treasury will have no money.
It was not his pioneering practice to sell official positions and win titles, and the opening of a market in the palace had never harmed the world.
So Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was not really fatuous. He also wanted to govern the country, but the country refused to let him govern it. What else could he do except indulge in singing and dancing?
Now that God had given him a national scholar who could be like Chao Cuo, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty suddenly felt that there was hope. He could cheer up and manage this devastated country again.
Seeing Emperor Ling's grand ambition, Chen Mu couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Stereotypes and history books kill people. He thought that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was really as ridiculous as what was written in the history books, but he didn't expect that there were times when the history books were unreliable.
Who knew Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty still had such thoughts.
Judging from the history books, who wouldn't call him a foolish king?
But looking at it now, it is clear that he is an ambitious young man who still has ideals in his heart.
Chaos without damaging the "spirit" may be a bit absurd, but it's not that bad.
"Book of the Later Han Dynasty, Benji, Chronicles of Emperor Xiaoling" records that in addition to opening markets in the palace, driving donkey carts and using dogs as officials, there are also things like opening swimming pools and letting palace maids and dogs...
Unofficial history is just a random fabrication and cannot be taken to be true.
And you can think with your toes that in the first year of Zhongping, Luoyang's population had reached more than two million due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, half of which were victims of military disasters or other disasters. If it weren't for the emperor Ling of Han to raise him,
, Luoyang’s powerful family would be so kind to provide money to support their children?
If these victims died in large numbers, when Dong Zhuo moved to Chang'an, how could there be millions of people in Luoyang to move to him?
So from this point of view, at least Emperor Han Ling is not as bad as people say.
Chen Mu unconsciously thought of his big brother Liu Bei again.
Idealists in troubled times make people feel naive and stupid at the same time.
But isn’t it precisely because of this innocence and stupidity that people can feel that pure sincerity?
What a pity.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty only had less than five years left to live. Without the foundation of modern medical treatment, it was impossible for Chen Mu to change his life.
Otherwise, the words of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty were enough to move Chen Mu to be willing to have sex with him on the spot.
What a pity, what a pity.
Chen Mu lamented in his heart and shook his head. When he raised his head again, his originally cold eyes had softened a lot. What was left was only a trace of emotion, a trace of calmness, and a trace of relief.
"Brother Yu sincerely hopes that you will hold a higher official position than my brother in the future, be more benevolent and righteous to the people, and have a nobler character than my brother."
"The sages once said: "Those who give generously to the people and can help everyone must be holy."
"A quality that even Yao and Shun found difficult to achieve. This is the virtue I aspire to. As the saying goes, "If you want to establish yourself, you can establish others; if you want to reach yourself, you can reach others. Being able to draw examples from those who are close to you can be said to be the way of benevolence."
"So I also hope that when you establish your own heart of benevolence and righteousness, you can also help others to establish it; when thinking about yourself, you can also apply yourself to others in everything and consider others."
"This is what I hope for you, fourth brother."
In his mind, he recalled the words of his elder brother Liu Bei when he educated him in Guangping, and also recalled the scene of Huangfu Song ruthlessly using Han people to build the capital.
Living in this world is very tiring, especially in ancient times, when a word from a big shot could easily determine the life or death of ordinary people.
As common people under the feudal system, they are already suffering enough, so why torture them anymore?
As a human being, you should still be kind.
Thinking of this, Chen Mu sighed, stood up and said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty, in addition to land tax, oral tax and calculation tax must also be abolished. In this way, the population concealed by the powerful will be meaningless, and the people will not need to pay additional taxes.
Taxation, only in this way can the country be stable."
never mind.
I won’t harm the common people in this world, but the wealthy and powerful families. 1603457285