"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: "Reform 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. In the end, the Qin State was able to sweep through the United States and dominate the world, even if some people objected, the changes did not stop. In the end, Shang Ying died, and the law after the reform could still be enforced; if the clans and local squires in Youzhou objected, then they would naturally be suppressed by harsh means, so that they would know the determination of our Youzhou government to change the law; as for the land would be vacant and wasted, there was no need to worry about it. I've thought of some tools and methods to improve farming. It allows the people to cultivate more fields, and the taxes are not much, and the people are willing to cultivate more fields, and as for the lack of taxes, it is 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 disdained the status of merchants. Therefore, instead of attaching great importance to the taxes paid by the merchants, they focused on the little agricultural taxes of the peasants, which was 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, everyone present. As a spokesperson, Guo Jia has been speaking and asking, telling the questions in everyone's hearts. It was Yuan Chang who said this. Everyone will have doubts, if it is a different person, dare to say so. I'm afraid that I would have scolded a long time ago, and my saliva was spraying. Isn't it a joke that the lowly merchants don't even bother to look at it, and let them collect the merchants' taxes?

"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.

"Han Feizi" has a saying, 'The husband of the ancients did not plow, the grass and trees were enough to eat, the women did not weave, the skin and clothes of the birds and beasts were also enough, and they did not work hard to raise their feet', this is the origin of the word businessman, dare to ask the state pastor, is this the case?" This time it was Cai Yong who spoke, as a scholar, Cai Yong is naturally very familiar with the classics, Cai Yong has a collection of thousands of books at home, and each of them has been read by him, so Cai Yong quotes the classics naturally 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, merchants have created the most profits, and it is the wisest choice to levy their taxes, but how can the treasury be filled if the imperial court turns 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. Looks like I've never missed it.

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

Yuan Chang smiled slightly. There is also no much explanation. In Yuan Chang's previous life, the taxes of 700 million or 800 million peasants were reduced or exempted. The tax revenue of merchants is only close to 100 million, and the country has been strengthened, and the officials are still full of fat intestines and oil, which shows how amazing the tax revenue 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, as the governor of a state, has local administrative and military powers, so therefore. Naturally, there is no problem with whatever system you want to implement. Besides, today's imperial court has no ability to protect itself, and the heroes are divided, unless they are the kind of people who are really stupid and loyal, otherwise they 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 and serve in the government from the age of 23 according to the principle of three years of plowing and one savings. Until the age of fifty-six. According to the Book of Han, a man was twenty years old and served one month of hard labor every year. Called "more pawn". Military service begins after the age of 23 and generally lasts for 20 years. One year of service in the county or county is called a "regular pawn". In another year, he went to the border county to guard or to the Beijing division to guard, which was called "soldier" 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 conscripted into the army at any time, and they can only be exempted from military service until 56. 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 they return to their hometowns, their temples will already be 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 implemented to complete the conscription of each man, so the soldiers recruited by the conscription system have no salary, and they 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 junior, Shang Ying, through the experience of Li Kui's reform and Wu Qi's reform, finally summed up a more perfect idea of reform, and it was 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 is of low quality, poor combat effectiveness, and has poor 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 Tao Qian's initial recruitment of elite Danyang soldiers, the rest of the Xuzhou soldiers were recruited through the recruitment system, Tao Qian was killed by Cao Cao a few times, 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 social idlers, unemployed vagrants, and have no food to eat, so they went to serve as soldiers to eat food 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 quality 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, and there will still be many drawbacks. (To be continued.) )