Chapter 562 Others cut their flesh to feed the eagle, but Duke Xu sacrificed himself to feed the tig

Chapter 562 Others cut their flesh to feed the eagle, but Duke Xu sacrificed himself to feed the tig

In a blink of an eye, the New Year has passed, and Sun Shan is already twenty-one years old, and he has never written a name to this day.

Sun Shan should have chosen a name for himself last year, but few people choose their own names. Usually, it is chosen by respected elders or trusted teachers.

Sun Shan had no one and nothing in Jinling, let alone any elders he was familiar with, so this matter had to be postponed until he returned home to ask his elders to pick it up.

The first elder that came to mind was Hong Xiucai.

During his student career, the person who had the greatest influence on Sun Shan was Hong Xiucai.

First of all, Sun Shan always believed that Hong Xiucai was a pragmatic and dedicated teacher.

Secondly, among so many scholars, the one who valued Sun Shan the most was Hong Xiucai.

Sun Shan thought that if he returned home, he would ask Hong Xiucai to help him choose a name, and he believed that Hong Xiucai would definitely not refuse.

The beauty of April is fading, and the peach blossoms in the mountain temple are beginning to bloom. Before I knew it, the cherry blossoms in Jiming Temple are about to wither. Time flies.

When Sun Shan entered Chongzheng Academy, Song Junhua pulled him over and asked, "Brother Sun, have you heard?"

Sun Shan didn't know what Song Junhua had heard, but judging from his expression, it must be a big event.

He asked anxiously: "What? What happened in the academy?"

Song Junhua shook his head and said, "It's not the academy, it's Jinling. I heard that Duke Xu returned to Jinling yesterday."

It is not surprising that Duke Xu returned to Nanjing when he was in his seventies, after all, his original residence was in Nanjing.

After a pause, Sun Shan asked doubtfully, "Could it be that Xu Guogong has returned home to spend his old age in Nanjing?"

The people of Daqian have always believed in returning to their roots, and Duke Xu may have returned to Nanjing to retire.

However, Duke Xu’s hometown is not in Jinling, but in Suzhou, next to Jinling.

Song Junhua quickly shook his head and said, "No, Duke Xu did not resign from his post. I heard that Duke Xu returned to Nanjing on the order of His Majesty."

When Song Junhua said this, Sun Shan's heart skipped a beat.

I returned to Nanjing on the order of the emperor, which means I returned with a mission.

As for what order it was, Sun Shan's mind immediately popped up the tax reform mentioned last year.

At the beginning, Dean Geng speculated that if the emperor wanted to carry out tax reform, he would definitely start with the Jiangnan area and would definitely let Duke Xu come back to take charge.

The person His Majesty trusts the most is Duke Xu. If any drastic reforms are to be made, they can only be left to Duke Xu.

Firstly, he had been a soldier all his life and had made great contributions to Daqian. He was the most noble duke in Daqian, with the most honorable status and position, and was able to suppress opposition forces from all sides.

Secondly, Duke Xu and the current emperor grew up together and have always been by his side. In a sense, Duke Xu represents his emperor, and the emperor's determination to reform is further strengthened by Duke Xu's presidency.

The reason for choosing Jiangnan is that Jiangnan is a land of fish and rice and has been rich since ancient times. Here, officials and gentry collude with each other, political parties are numerous, and the relationships are intertwined and complicated. It is a very difficult place to deal with.

If His Majesty were still young and healthy, he would not choose the most difficult place.

But the mistake is that His Majesty has been sick one after another in the past few years and can no longer attend court as intensively as before. This is because his physical conditions do not allow it, so His Majesty does not have much time left.

What's more, Jiangnan is the emperor's hometown, the place where he started his career, and his base camp.

Among them, Jinling is the base camp among the base camps.

President Geng speculated that if there was to be tax reform, Yingtian Prefecture would definitely be chosen.

It expanded from Yingtian Prefecture to Jiangnan, and then from Jiangnan to different places.

The emperor wants to take advantage of his reputation to tackle the most difficult part. After that, when the prince ascends the throne, he can tackle other easier parts. In this way, the transition will be gradual and the court will be much more stable.

Song Junhua asked anxiously, "Brother Sun, if the court put all taxes into the fields and no longer collected other taxes, do you think this would be a good or bad thing?"

Sun Shan did not answer, but asked: "Brother Song, what do you think?"

Song Junhua shook his head and said, "I don't know either. I think it's a good idea. If you have more land, you pay more taxes, and if you have less land, you pay less. As for taxes like poll tax, corvée, military service and other taxes, if they are abolished, it will indeed reduce the burden on the people.

However, my father doesn't think so. If these are cancelled, my family will be assigned more taxes, especially my tea garden, which collects much more taxes than ordinary farming. If this change continues, my tea garden will lose money."

In fact, it is not that the tea tax is higher than the land tax, but that Song Junhua's family not only has a tea garden, but also is a tea merchant, so his family needs to bear much more taxes.

He was the only juren in his family, so even if he had the tax-free rights for 400 acres of land, it was still a drop in the bucket.

The Song family is a big landlord. They not only own several large tea gardens, but also a lot of fields.

If we strictly follow the tax rules, his family can be considered a major taxpayer.

So Song Junhua clearly felt that his family was harmed by this tax reform.

Sun Shan didn't know what to say, so he shook his head and said, "Brother Song, I don't know whether it's good or bad. But whether it's good or not, we can't stop it. If the court is determined to change the tax, we can only accept it."

Sun Shan looked calm on the surface, but he was actually clapping and cheering.

Your Majesty's tax reform has both advantages and disadvantages, and will have limitations. But it is much better than the two-tax system currently in place.

The burden on farmers is definitely much lighter than before.

The Sun family has just started out, so even if they harvest the meat, the amount would be just a drop in the bucket, insignificant.

Sun Shan could have just stayed out of the matter.

However, he was in Chongzheng Academy, where all the wealthy and powerful people lived. Sun Shan did not dare to applaud and cheer for the emperor's tax reform.

The ancestors of the Sun family once said that one must make a fortune quietly, be low-key and never let others see what you are thinking.

Even if you strongly disagree, keep silent.

You have to quietly infiltrate the inside and act undercover, and never reveal your intentions.

Only by knowing both yourself and the enemy can you fight a hundred battles without danger.

In order to protect himself and avoid being beaten, Sun Shan chose to remain silent.

After the morning class, the students did not leave, but instead started a series of discussions about Duke Xu's return to Nanjing.

Student A said, "The emperor sent Duke Xu back to do something big. How can he let Duke Xu do it himself for such a small matter?"

Student B said: "What should we do? If the tax reform is really as the rumor says, we will have to bear a lot of taxes."

Sun Shan squatted in the corner and took a furtive look at Student B. From hearing what he said, he knew that he was a big landlord, and must be either rich or noble.

It's normal to feel painful now that I have to cut some meat.

Student C said: "When it comes to tax reform, Duke Xu should be the first to oppose it. Why did His Majesty let him handle it?"

Duke Xu is the largest landlord in Jinling, so if there is any opposition, it should be Duke Xu who is most likely to oppose it.

Others cut their flesh to feed the eagle, but Duke Xu sacrificed his own body to feed the tiger.

Suddenly someone came in from outside. It turned out to be Dean Geng.

Sun Shan and others immediately stood up and greeted him.

Dean Geng stroked his gray beard, waved his hand, and said in a serious tone: "If you have nothing to do, go back and don't discuss in class. The court's affairs are not for you students to discuss. The court has its reasons for doing this, so don't discuss it. Study hard and don't worry about other things."

Dean Geng had a stern face. Sun Shan and the others quickly replied "yes" and then scattered like birds and beasts.