Chapter 560 Everything is difficult at the beginning

Chapter 560 Everything is difficult at the beginning

When we returned to the academy the next day, the atmosphere was even more mysterious.

Sun Shan pulled Song Junhua over and asked, who told him that he was a well-known gossipmonger in the academy, so if he wanted to know any news, it would be best to go to him.

Sun Shan looked around, his eyes rolling around: "Brother Song, what's going on in the academy? Are you still discussing the tax issue?"

Song Junhua looked around and saw that no one was passing by. He said mysteriously, "Yes, I heard that the imperial court will reform taxes in the near future.

Besides, I heard that it will start in the Jiangnan area.

And, I heard that the first place chosen was Jinling.

Oh, I don’t know what the new tax system is like. I’m from Jinling. If the tax system is changed, my family will definitely be affected.”

Song Junhua is a native of Jinling, the kind who owns land and houses.

His home was at the foot of Qingliang Mountain, and the two mu of land that Sun Shan rented was from his family.

His family grows Yuhua tea.

Sun Shan continued to ask: "Didn't you find out the content of the new policy?"

Many high-ranking officials in the capital are from Jinling. If there are any new developments in the court, Jinling will receive them first.

Song Junhua said secretly: "I heard that, I heard that the court wants to put all taxes into the fields, and there will be no other taxes."

Sun Shan was stunned. Isn't this "equalizing the land tax by land"?

So I quickly asked, "Does it mean that those who have more land will pay more tax, and those who have less land will pay less tax? If there is no land, then there is no tax or only a little tax? Will we no longer pay the population tax based on household registration?"

Song Junhua's eyes widened, and he asked in surprise: "Brother Sun, how did you know? Where did you get the information from?"

I was thinking, Sun Shan is an ordinary person who never sees mountains or rivers, how could he know so much about the new tax policy of the imperial court?

And it’s so specific.

He is not even sure what the new policy will be like?

What Sun Shan said was just President Geng's guess; the court did not reveal the specific details.

The court was adjourned yesterday afternoon, and Song Junhua could not wait to go and find out the news the next day.

So I bought a few kilograms of Yuhua tea. Since it was produced at home, I didn’t feel bad about giving it as a gift.

He secretly asked Geng Yousheng to come out and ask him for information.

Geng Yousheng also had a loud voice. He spoke out the news he knew and also told Dean Geng's speculations.

Finally, I would like to add that this news is not groundless. The imperial court has wanted to change taxes for a long time, but has not been able to do so for various reasons.

Geng Yousheng also speculated that because the emperor was in poor health, he wanted to make a major reform before leaving to clear obstacles for the prince.

Sun Shan thought to himself that he had no idea where to find information, and all this was just speculation.

He asked in a low voice: "Brother Song, how do I know it's not important? What's important is whether what I said is right?"

Looking at Song Junhua expectantly, waiting for his confirmation.

Song Junhua and Sun Shan met in the library. Later, because of orchids, their relationship progressed and they became good friends.

He nodded and said, "That's what Dean Geng guessed."

He told Sun Shan all the news he had received from Geng Yousheng and asked, "Brother Sun, do you think what Brother Geng said is right?"

Sun Shan frowned and thought for a while. He learned two things from Geng Yousheng's revelations.

One thing is that the current emperor is in really poor health and may pass away in one or two years.

Another thing is that the prince's position is very stable, and His Majesty has no intention of replacing him.

Sun Shan had heard of such a rule: If a dynasty wants to reform, it must start the reform when it is just established, and the reform must be carried out by Emperor Taizu.

Because Emperor Taizu had the most authority, the reforms encountered the least resistance.

If Emperor Taizu couldn't reform, the emperors after him would be even less able to do so.

All things are difficult at the beginning. If you don’t solve the difficult problems at the beginning, future generations will not be able to solve them.

The current emperor must want to return a clean and honest dynasty to his descendants, so he took the lead in stepping out and resisting the pressure to carry out reforms.

Trying to ensure that his dynasty would last forever.

Sun Shan thought that the emperor was running out of time, so he might as well risk his life to solve the most critical problem.

The most critical problem now is not outside, but inside.

Taxation is undoubtedly an eternal problem. If the tax reform is good, the dynasty can last longer. If the tax reform is not good, the court will not be able to collect taxes and will naturally be short-lived.

Sun Shan didn't know who suggested to the emperor to reform the taxes, but perhaps the emperor saw the problem and reformed himself.

But if the reform is really carried out according to the "taxation system based on land", it will undoubtedly be a much better improvement than the current "Two Tax Law".

As for whether it would succeed, it required the right time, right place and right people. Sun Shan was not sure whether the emperor had such determination.

Sun Shan thought about his situation. The Sun family had just entered the ranks of "landlords", but they were small landlords.

If the taxes are really to be changed, the impact on the Sun family will be almost zero.

For a big landlord like Song Junhua, it is definitely not a good thing. His family has a lot of land and tea plantations, so he will have to pay more taxes in the future.

Sun Shan looked at Song Junhua. The silly boy had not yet realized that his family would suffer losses. He was still gossiping about things, looking very gossipy.

However, Sun Shan was a reformist, so he thought that farmers should pay less taxes and big landlords should pay more taxes. Robbing the rich to help the poor was what every court needed to do most.

Sun Shan patted Song Junhua on the shoulder and said, "Brother Song, we can only know about the tax after it is confirmed. Right now it's all gossip, and I don't know if what Brother Geng said is right."

Song Junhua thought about it and realized that it was indeed just a guess. No one knew the specific situation. Perhaps only the current emperor knew.

The two walked and talked as they entered the classroom and continued to listen to the teacher's lecture.

Regardless of whether the taxes are changed or not, they have to continue studying and prepare for the imperial examination three years later.

Sun Shan returned home after the ceremony and saw Shi Gou there. He smiled and asked, "Shi Gou, do you have a day off today?"

When Shi Gou saw Sun Shan coming back, he immediately went forward to help Sun Shan get his things, poured water from the kitchen for Sun Shan to wash his hands and face, and then poured tea and water. The servant was very skilled and did not do his job awkwardly at all.

Shi Gou said happily: "Master Juren, the clinic has given me a day off today, so I can come out now."

Shi Gou was recommended by Sun Shan to be an apprentice at Wanjia Medical Clinic, which has always been under completely closed management.

Like Sun Shan when he was studying at Hong Xiucai School, he could only go home during holidays.

Sun Shan took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "Is it good to work in the clinic? Can you get along well with your fellow students?"

Shi Gou looked at the young master Wan Songjin of the Dong family next to him, how could he dare to say that he was not good, and he was not bad at all, so he quickly said: "It's good, the senior brothers all take good care of me, and I can get along well with my classmates."

Apprentices at Wanjia Medical Clinic do odd jobs half a day and teach half a day. Food and accommodation are provided, but there is no salary.

As for whether it is hard or not, it is definitely hard, but such opportunities are also extremely rare and you can’t get in without connections.

For a half-grown boy who preys on the poor, the Wanjia Medical Clinic provides food and accommodation, and allows him to learn technical skills, which is already a very good treatment.

As for whether the apprentice will be wronged, the answer is yes.

However, children from poor families have always suffered injustice, and being able to survive without going hungry is already much luckier than most people.