"The nationalization of land simply means that the ownership belongs to the imperial court, and private individuals only have the right to use the land, but do not have ownership. ”

"If so, how shall the people cultivate the fields?"

Yuan Chang smiled slightly and explained lightly: "The common people can lease land from the imperial court for farming, and lease the land according to their own ability and the number of people in their families. And the people pay as much tax as they lease the land, so they don't have to worry about the heavy taxes putting too much pressure on the people. ”

Guo Jia thought for a while, and said bluntly: "This law can indeed change the problem of land annexation, but in this way, it will inevitably make the strong opposition of the scholars and local gentry, which is a problem; secondly, the people lease the fields according to their own ability, which will inevitably cause a lot of land to be vacant and wasted; and if this way of collecting taxes is implemented, the income of the imperial court will also be greatly reduced, and in many cases, the money and grain that should be used will not be available." ”

It is inevitable that the big families and local gentry will oppose the nationalization of land, and who would want to do so if land that was originally private belongs to the court now that it has become the imperial court? In the past, the reason why the common people would desperately cultivate the land was because of the high taxes. Nowadays, according to the amount of land planted and how much tax is collected, the people do not need to work so hard, not to mention that the land will be wasted, and the financial revenue of the imperial court will inevitably not keep up. If there is a war, where will the soldiers get their food and grass? If there is a natural disaster, what will they use to provide disaster relief? A policy that seems to be something that can be changed with a single sentence has many problems, and if these problems are not resolved, the reform of the law will only be empty talk.

"The road to change the law is imperative!"

Yuan Chang said in a firm tone, a cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he said sharply: "The reform of the law is accompanied by bloodshed, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Qin State appointed Shang Ying to implement the law change, and finally enabled the Qin State to sweep through the United States and dominate the world, even if some people objected." The changes have not stopped. In the end, Shang Ying died, and the law after the reform could still be enforced, and if the clans and local gentry of Youzhou objected, they would naturally be suppressed by harsh means. Let them know that we are determined to change the law in Youzhou, and as for the land that will be vacant and wasted, there is no need to worry about it. I have thought of some tools and methods to improve farming, so that the people can cultivate more fields and pay less taxes, and I think that the people will be willing to cultivate more fields, but as for the lack of taxes. That's not a problem. In fact, the tax revenue of the common people cultivating the fields is only a small head, and the real income is actually those merchants, whose taxes are the most considerable. ”

There is no doubt about the earning power of merchants, and the rulers of China's dynasties, because they disdained the status of merchants, did not attach much importance to the taxes paid by merchants, but stared at the little agricultural tax of farmers, which is simply putting the cart before the horse. Yuan Chang as a traverser. Naturally, this will not be spared.

"My lord, how much can the merchant pay in taxes?"

Guo Jia asked extremely puzzled, and everyone present also asked Guo Jia as the spokesperson, and told the questions in everyone's hearts. It was Yuan Chang who said this, and everyone would have doubts, if someone else dared to say this, I am afraid that he would have scolded him a long time ago, and his saliva would have spurted. The lowly merchants didn't even bother to look at them, and they were told to collect the merchants' taxes. Isn't that a joke?

"Before answering this question, let me ask you, do you know how the word merchant came about?" Yuan Chang did not answer, but asked with a calm face.

"There is a saying in "Han Feizi": 'The husband of the ancients does not plow. The grass and trees are full of food, the women do not weave, the skin and the clothes of the animals are also the feet, and they do not work hard to raise their feet', this is the origin of the word merchant, dare to ask the state pastor. Is this the case?" this time it was Cai Yong who spoke, as a scholar, Cai Yong naturally knows the classics very well, Cai Yong has a collection of thousands of books at home, and he has read each of them, so Cai Yong naturally cites the classics at his fingertips.

"Han Feizi" said that if you don't engage in labor, you can have no worries about food and clothing, and it is true that it is true to say that the word businessman appears, however, the word merchant does not appear for this reason. Yuan Chang nodded at first, then shook his head again, and seeing that everyone was puzzled, Yuan Chang explained: "At the beginning, King Wu cut down the Shang Dynasty and destroyed the Shang Dynasty, in order to prevent the people of the Shang Dynasty from rebelling, King Wu ordered the people of the Shang Dynasty not to be soldiers, farmers, and workers, and could only live on commodity trade. Therefore, because most of the people who bought and sold were the people of the Shang Dynasty, the people who bought and sold were called merchants, which is the origin of merchants. I know that you all look down on businessmen, thinking that they are lowly and do the business of buying low and selling high, not doing production, and taking advantage of the short. However, in fact, the importance of merchants is self-evident, and in my opinion, there is no essential difference between merchants and scholars, peasants and workers, only different functions. Imagine if there were no merchants, how would the goods of the south appear in front of us? How could we see the rare and exotic objects of the countries of the Western Regions? How could the war horses of foreign races be used by us? So, in fact, if you can broaden your horizons, you will find how narrow your thinking was in the past. ”

Yuan Chang's eyes swept over a few henchmen, and saw that although they were listening, there was a disapproving look on their faces. Yuan Chang also knew that the status of businessmen was low, and it was not that he could change their views with just a few words, but only let them slowly understand and understand. Therefore, Yuan Chang did not continue to say more.

"I won't say much about the role of businessmen, maybe when your thoughts are really clear, you will be able to understand. As for how much tax a merchant can bring to the imperial court, to put it simply, if the tax of a peasant cultivating his land is one, then the tax brought by a merchant is a hundred, or even more. Since ancient times, the profits generated by the merchants are the most, and it is the wisest choice to levy their taxes, but how can the treasury be filled if the imperial court puts the cart before the horse, ignoring the huge profits of the merchants, and instead keeps an eye on the peasants' small taxes?"

"Lord, the taxes paid by merchants are a hundred times that of farmers, isn't it a bit exaggerated?" Guo Jia's eyes widened, not only him, but everyone present had the same expression as Guo Jia. What Yuan Chang said made them really hard to believe, but what Yuan Chang said seemed to have never been missed.

"Whether that's the case or not, you'll see sooner or later!"

Yuan Chang smiled slightly, and didn't explain too much. In Yuan Chang's previous life, the taxes of 700 million or 800 million peasants on farming were reduced or reduced, and the tax revenue of merchants was only close to 100 million yuan, and the country was strengthened. It can be seen how staggering the tax collection of merchants is.

"The land is nationalized, and the specific implementation plan and steps need to be discussed by you, and then it will be communicated to the counties. The next reform is to change the military system. ”

Yuan Chang served as a state pastor. With local administrative and military powers, it is natural that there is no problem in implementing any system you want. Besides, today's imperial court has no ability to protect itself, and the heroes are divided. Unless you are the kind of person who is truly stupid, you will not have anything to say about such a situation. Even Kong Rong, a descendant of Confucius, has never expressed any opinion on the current situation, and of course others will not say anything.

The Han Dynasty implemented the conscription system, which followed the Qin Dynasty military system after the Shang Dynasty Art of War. According to the regulations, men must be registered with the government at the age of 20, regardless of whether they are high or poor, and from the age of 23 they will officially serve in the government according to the principle of three years of cultivation and one savings. Until the age of fifty-six. According to the Book of Han, the man was 20 years old and served one month of hard labor every year, called "change death". After the age of 23, military service begins and the duration of service is generally 20 years, one year of service in the county or county, called "regular pawn", and the other year to guard in border counties or to guard in Beijing, called "garrison" or "guard". There is also an opinion that these two years of military service are collectively referred to as "regular soldiers". In case of war. They must also be drafted into the army at any time and can only be exempted from military service until fifty-six. The Han also often sent criminals or apprentices as soldiers, which was called "Zhan Shu". According to this military system, many people will not be able to return to their hometowns until they die. Or when he returned to his hometown, his temples were already gray.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, that is, by the time of the Second Emperor Huan Ling, the conscription system had gradually declined, and the conscription system began to gradually become the mainstream.

The conscription system is a military system that has existed since ancient times, and this military system is extremely strict. Conscription is a system in place to complete the conscription of each man. Therefore, the soldiers recruited under the conscription system have no salary, and they all rely on themselves to earn a little on the battlefield, and if they do not fight, they have no income at all. In addition, the problem of weapons and food had to be solved by himself, and when the weather was cold, he had to write a letter to his mother to make a winter coat and ask his father to send it. After the battle, the soldiers who did not die went back to continue farming, and the things on the battlefield were like a dream, and they only hid the weapons stained with the blood of the yellow sand in the cellar, hoping that they would never be used again.

Under such circumstances, when Wu Qi during the Warring States Period presided over the reform of the law in the Chu State, he proposed another military system, that is, the conscription system.

The conscription system selects soldiers based on strict criteria, and once enlisted, they are paid by the imperial court to become professional soldiers, unlike the conscription system, which sends them home to farm when the war is over. In addition, Wu Qi also stipulated that once a man in his family enlisted in the army, the family could be exempted from forced labor and taxes, and the land and houses could be returned. However, Wu Qi's reform violated the interests of the nobles of Chu State, and finally Wu Qi was killed by random arrows, and the reform was terminated, and the conscription system was not popularized because of this, but was only used from time to time, and it was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty that the conscription system gradually became the mainstream. It has to be said here that although Wu Qi's reform was not successful, it indirectly affected Shang Ying's reform. As a descendant, Shang Ying's experience of changing the law through guò Li Kui and Wu Qi's reform finally summed up a more perfect idea of changing the law, and it was able to be implemented in the Qin State. In fact, Li Kui's reform and Wu Qi's reform were both strategies to strengthen the country, and the fundamental reason why Qin was able to use the Shang Yang reform to become the most powerful country, and then unify the six countries, was that the Shang Yang reform could continue to be implemented after his death.

Li Kui's reform and Wu Qi's reform have a beginning and no ending, but they have become strong for a generation, and they cannot make the country strong forever. Therefore, the fundamental factor in whether the law can be changed to strengthen the country still lies in its continuity.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the conscription system became the mainstream, which was also the main reason for the division of the heroes.

"You should also know that if the conscription system is the main thing today, the implementation of the conscription system is also the main reason for the division of the heroes today, do you think so?"

Whenever a war broke out, the county governor or governor had the right to recruit soldiers without having to apply to the imperial court. Therefore, if a local official has a different opinion, he can use the conscription system. Find any of your subordinates to pretend to be thieves, and then you can recruit troops, gradually grow your power, and then rise up again. In fact, the soldiers recruited by the conscription system in the late Eastern Han Dynasty were actually very weak in combat.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the conscription system was used as an auxiliary and supplement to the conscription system, and the recruited soldiers were few, but they were all strictly selected elite and brave men, and the battle was often one as ten, and the combat effectiveness was extremely strong; Ethnic minority men, and even death row prisoners, such as the Duliao camp, which is composed of recruited death row prisoners, and there are also many prisoners in other important places. The army composed of these people was low-quality, poorly combat-effective, and had bad military discipline. In fact, just looking at the battle between Cao Cao and Tao Qian can find this.

Cao Cao's soldiers were young men who recruited the Yellow Turban Uprising, and after some training, they were called Qingzhou soldiers. In addition to the elite Danyang soldiers recruited by Tao Qian at the beginning, the remaining Xuzhou soldiers were recruited through the guò recruitment system, Tao Qian was killed by Cao Cao a few times, and the soldiers were injured countless times, and tens of thousands of soldiers could be recruited at any time, where are there so many elites to recruit for him, obviously these soldiers are some idle people in society, unemployed vagrants, and there is no food to eat, so they go to serve as soldiers to eat rations to fill their stomachs. Therefore, Tao Qian was beaten by Cao Cao and shrunk in Xiapi City and did not dare to fight.

After the conscription system became mainstream, its disadvantages became clear. In addition to the poor combat effectiveness and low morale of the soldiers recruited, and the corruption of military discipline, it is also easy to cause the division of local forces. Therefore, in all dynasties, often a general rebelled, and the soldiers under his command followed, because of the conscription system; in addition, the money and food of the soldiers convened by the conscription system were paid by the imperial court, which would easily make the imperial treasury empty and unable to pay.

Therefore, the conscription system must be changed, otherwise, the combat effectiveness will not be raised, not to mention, there will be many drawbacks. (To be continued.) )