Chapter 162 From the One Whip Law to the Land Tax

Chapter 162 From the One Whip Law to the Land Tax

Chapter 162 From the Single Whip Law to the Land Tax

In Xiuwen Hall, the debate and discussion continued, and the empty room seemed to be divided into two parts.

At the "conference table" in the center, young scholars were using their talents to offer suggestions for the new policy in front of the empress and Grand Tutor Dong, and the atmosphere was extremely lively.

Even Mo Zhaorong, after reading the text on the "meeting minutes", stood up, walked to the side of the empress, and participated in the discussion.

So, the only one left in the corner was the lonely Zhao Duan.

And a recorder who was concentrating on typing and transcribing the discussions of the scholars.

Just like in his previous life, many times after get off work, Zhao Duan liked to go to a busy civic square near his home.

The old people would dance in the square, music would be playing on the speakers, and the children would run and laugh in groups of three or five, creating a lively atmosphere.

Zhao Duan would sit quietly on a park bench at the edge of the square, with his head down, thinking about something.

Like now.

"The performance evaluation method."

Zhao Duan stared at the three words he wrote on the paper, and many memories flooded into his mind like a dam bursting.

Historically, Zhang Juzheng's reforms were undoubtedly successful.

Although it also had many drawbacks, it enabled Wanli to revive the country and wipe out the decline without leaving any major problems.

Even after his death, some of his new policies were abolished, but some of them were retained.

Even after the change of dynasties, it was still used by the new emperors, which shows the advanced nature of its strategy.

the most important is……

Suitable.

It is very similar to the situation that the Dayu Dynasty is facing today... However, this is not a coincidence, but a kind of inevitability.

Under the feudal dynasty system, the difficulties faced by successive dynasties have actually not changed in essence.

Just like even in the previous life, on the road to development, the advanced ones had stepped on some pitfalls. Even though they knew they existed, the latecomers had no choice but to step on them.

Zhao Duan sat on the chair, leaning back slightly.

The stack of paper in my hand is very thick and can be used as a notebook.

He simply placed the thick "notebook" diagonally on the edge of the table, and continued to write new words on the paper with the slender brush in his hand:
"In the pursuit of justice, there is no greater urgency than to ensure people's well-being; the key to ensuring people's well-being lies in the supervision of officials."

"Hang the law before the public."

"Give and take, and uphold justice..."

Having written this, he paused, not because he ran out of ink, but because this was not the key point.

This is not a policy paper... There is no need to point out the theme at the beginning, or use a general-specific-general, one-two-three point structure.

got used to.

Zhao Duan turned his wrist and drew a dividing line on the paper. Then he recalled the key points of the performance evaluation method and only excerpted the most core words and sentences.

"Set a limit on the examination."

"Blame people for what they did."

Well, this time it’s correct, Zhao Duan has a toothache.

Because he suddenly remembered that these two sentences were the knowledge points he had learned from the chalk civil service exam paper when he was preparing for the exam.

At that time, I was only concerned with improving my grades and did not seek to understand the content thoroughly. Later, in order to make progress, I studied history books and finally figured out the relevant content.

What's more, when necessary, I can speak it out casually and pretend to be flexible. I have also memorized many key contents. It is not difficult and it can be regarded as the basic skills of the position.

Now I changed to a new piece of paper and dipped it in ink again.

After a brief recollection, I only started to write, and the words flowed out like a trickle of water:
"Set deadlines, keep records, and close records at the end of each month. If a governor is late, the Ministry will report him. If a Ministry allows or conceals or deceives someone, the six departments will report him. If the six departments fail to detect the problem, the cabinet ministers will report him. There will be monthly reviews and annual audits... Those who make mistakes will be punished..."

His calligraphy is not that good, at least compared with that group of ancient scholars, it is far inferior.

But it was neat. In a short time, he had written two pages, half memorizing and half revising.

"Huh... I said, if you keep thinking about it, there will be a response. The effort I put in back then will be useful sooner or later." Zhao Duan sighed.

I looked up and found that the discussion in the room was still going on.

"This problem has been going on for a long time, and it is not something that can be solved in just a few months. I still stick to my original opinion."

"I don't agree. In my opinion, the governance of officials ultimately depends on supervision."

"Expand the number of censors? Send more censors to patrol? But censors cannot stay in local areas permanently, so they will inevitably muddle through the work, which will only waste people's time and money."

"Perhaps we can work on the assessment method?" Someone suggested, "People can only serve as officials for a short time, and we must rely on the law all the time."

"That's true, but...how can we change it? The ancestral system is already complete..."

The lively discussion continued, but the intensity gradually eased.

This shows that these scholars have finished expressing their views.

Zhao Duan discovered that the Empress and Grand Tutor Dong never expressed their opinions. The Empress was just listening and seemed not prepared to speak.

Master Dong asked a few questions from time to time, but most of the time he was still in deep thought.

At this moment, seeing that no consensus could be reached for the time being, he was not surprised. After thinking for a while, he said:

"Let's put aside the question of official administration. What advice do you have on the empty treasury, excessive corvée, and financial exhaustion?"

Zhao Duan raised his eyebrows, remembering what Mo Chou had just said, that the main purpose of the new policy of the Dayu Dynasty was to solve the financial problem.

As Master Dong spoke, the air suddenly became quiet.

No one was in a hurry to speak.

Wang You, the son of the Minister of Personnel, who had spoken a lot before, also shut up, as if he didn't want to say anything more on this topic.

Upon seeing this, Grand Tutor Dong cast a sharp gaze at Han Zhou beside him and gestured to him.

Then he turned his head to look at the empress and said:
"Han Zhou previously wrote a very complete memorial on finance and taxation. I've shown it to this old minister. Maybe you'd listen to it."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly and looked at the other party.

The Grand Master personally recommended it... Is this an endorsement? Zhao Duan also looked over curiously.

Han Zhou, nicknamed Banshan and rumored to be "the most talented man in the capital", a modest gentleman, stood up.

He bowed to the Empress and the Grand Master one after another, then held out a thick memorial, handed it over with both hands, and said:
"I have observed that the root cause of the financial problems of the Yu Dynasty today is not excessive expenditure, but insufficient production. The root cause is the poverty and weakness of the people. Why? First, the corvée is too heavy, and second, the annexation of the powerful families!"

"When I visited the localities in the past, I heard a proverb: 'The rich have land but no food, while the poor suffer from diseases..."

"The wealthy families hide their land, the household registration system is in disarray, and in years of disaster, they hoard grain and annex it... As a result, private households become richer, public offices become poorer, the country is in poverty, and the people are poor. This is the real problem..."

In the room, Han Zhou's tone was indignant, and every word he said was as sharp as a needle.

During the statement, Zhao Duan hid in the corner of the room, listening attentively, so as to understand the financial situation.

To put it bluntly, feudal dynasties could not escape several major drawbacks.

The imperial court had too many construction projects to do every year, such as water conservancy, roads, border defense, mining... As a result, corvée labor always fell on the people, affecting production.

Furthermore, Dayu’s taxation is also varied, and taxes are levied per person.

These days, taxes are often collected in the form of goods, which change hands at various levels, making the statistics extremely complicated.

In addition, local wealthy families annexed land and concealed the population in order to pay less taxes, resulting in a large amount of hidden land in the accounts...it was a mess.

Zhao Duan glanced at everyone present and found that the scholars looked calm.

Obviously, the above analysis is well known, and the key lies in how the new policy can improve it.

At this time, Han Zhou also got to the point and said loudly:

"For this purpose, I have written ten articles."

"First, the Spring and Autumn Tax System...Whenever there is a shortage of food, the government can lend money to the people, paying 2% interest in half a year...and repaying it with the Spring and Autumn Taxes."

"Second, the method of exemption from military service..."

"Third, the method of dividing the land..."

This slightly frail scholar put forward one strategy after another.

Every time a line was thrown out, the expressions of the young scholars present changed a little.

Guo Jieyuan, who was well versed in finance and taxation and always smiled at everyone he met, sat up straight and quickly calculated the loan interest in his mind.

Wang You, who came from an aristocratic family and had the bearing of a nobleman, had a gloomy expression on his face, but said nothing and just pursed his lips.

The other scholars also had different expressions.

Some were surprised, some were amazed, some were in deep thought, and some looked worried...

But no one noticed.

In the corner, Zhao Duan, who was eavesdropping with a pen and paper in hand, had a gradually strange expression on his face.

Although there are many subtle differences among these ten strategies, what’s the reason for this vague sense of familiarity?

Zhao Duan frowned and thought, and the long-lost memories gradually became clear.

There is a gap between the old and the new, so the tax is divided into two types...

and many more!

Zhao Duan's breath was choked, he remembered!
No wonder it seems so familiar. The “Spring and Autumn Two Taxes” law is clearly just the “Qingmiao Law” with a changed name.

There is also the measurement of land and division of it into three levels: upper, middle and lower... Although there are differences, isn't it also a variation of the equal-field system?
The more Zhao Duan listened, the more familiar it sounded.

Many of the other party's strategies were similar to the reforms of Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty that he was familiar with.

However, compared with Wang Anshi's strategy, although Han Zhou's strategy has some similarities, it is much milder in the elaboration of specific details.

And especially emphasize:
"We must take our time and employ talented people."

Obviously, this first talent was also aware that some of the strategies proposed had drawbacks.

If we act too hastily or use the wrong people, even if we succeed in reversing Dayu's financial crisis, the hole left behind will not be small.

"Hiss...are you making such a big deal?" Zhao Duan shook his head slightly.

For any unproven strategy, no one knows the specific results.

Therefore, these ten strategies, on paper, are indeed very effective in reversing the crisis in the court, which is probably the reason why Grand Tutor Dong mentioned it.

Han Zhou is indeed no simple man. With his mere position as an editor in the Hanlin Academy, he was able to come up with these ten strategies, which shows his wisdom.

What a pity... Zhao Duan shook his head slightly, knowing that the essence of this set of laws was to plunder the world's wealth and put it into the national treasury.

If we go against objective laws, it will be difficult to succeed.

With a brush in hand, he first wrote down the names of Han Zhou's Ten Strategies on the paper one by one, and then put an X after "Spring and Autumn Taxes" and "Land Division Law".

I also checked off several strategies, including the Imperial Examination Reform Law, which are worth adopting.

Then he turned another page, too lazy to listen anymore.

Instead, he quickly wrote the four words "One Whip Method" on the paper, then thought about it and crossed it out.

Having already copied it, he decided to finish it in one go. He started a new line and wrote the four words "参丁入牧".

And just as Zhao Duan was recalling the relevant content.

Grand Tutor Dong and others also had a heated discussion on Han Zhou's ten strategies.

Obviously, this memorial caused quite a stir.

With this memorial, Han Zhou also secured his position as the top young scholar in Xiuwenguan.

But the empress remained silent, neither nodding nor shaking her head.

Master Dong also knew that although this method was effective, it also had many drawbacks, so he simply allowed the scholars to discuss the issue together, pool their wisdom and ideas.

Time passed very quickly during the discussion.

Master Dong glanced at the hourglass and was surprised to find that it was almost noon. He tapped the table lightly and everyone looked at him.

(End of this chapter)