Diligent Palace

Emperor Rongjing dealt with government affairs on weekdays and summoned his ministers. In the palace of diligent administration, Chen Qizheng, the secretary of the household department, was talking eloquently.

"The new policy is being implemented in Shanxi and Henan provinces, and it is progressing smoothly, and the tax revenue in the two places is expected to increase by three percent this year, and if it is promoted nationwide, the tax growth will be more obvious, which will greatly reduce the pressure on the treasury."

However, this good news was not appreciated. On the throne, the Son of Heaven frowned slightly, "Do you know the key to the implementation of the new policies of the two provinces?" ”

The Son of Heaven is now more than thirty years old, with handsome eyebrows and eyes, and he looks extremely young. But when he spoke, no one dared to ignore him. Those dark eyes, sharp and deep, penetrating people's hearts. The sky is mighty, and it can't be forced, but it makes people forget his appearance.

Chen Qizheng's voice paused, and he hurriedly said, "Back to the saint, Shanxi Governor Wen Zhonghan invites those who have contributed to the promotion of the new policy to be awarded the Yin Xun official from the Wupin Association, and the gentry compete for it, and the resistance to the new policy is eliminated." Tao Yan, the governor of Henan, implemented the integration of the gentry on errands, and those who obeyed the new tax policy could be exempted from service errands as appropriate.

These two laws have different paths, and both have advantages and disadvantages, but they are both good strategies to promote the new policy. ”

Emperor Rong Jing naturally knows the trick, "Two strategies are one for grace and one for strict orders, but there are shortcomings." ”

I have to say that this question made Chen Qizheng think deeply, and it was impossible for the emperor to be untargeted.

"What does the emperor mean? Will these two policies be enough to ensure the smooth implementation of the new policy? Chen Qizheng said tentatively.

"What do you think?" Emperor Rong Jing snorted coldly.

When Chen Qizheng heard this, he immediately felt that he was still thinking too simply, and all kinds of thoughts were spinning quickly in his mind.

At present, the imperial court has reduced the taxes of the freedmen, stopped collecting the three salaries, and transferred part of the local tax power to the central government, which is directly managed by the local governors, so as to prevent arbitrary apportionment and embezzlement of taxes. Now the reform of the landlords' estates of the gentry and wealthy families is the top priority this time.

In the previous dynasty, due to the extremely unfair tax system, the peasants who could not afford it had to turn to the landlords with tax-free privileges and became slaves who worked on their estates, and this class was huge in number in the middle and late periods, and it was completely solidified, and even became a slave class for generations.

If land annexation is allowed to become more severe, the peasants in a stable society become fewer and fewer, and the peasants who lost their land are divided into slaves and vagrants, the former increasing the power of the gentry, and the latter becoming a force for subverting the dynasty.

"If the local gentry are allowed to annex and control the land, it will inevitably strengthen the gentry and other forces, causing hidden dangers! Is this the top priority of reform? ”

Emperor Rong Jing glanced at Chen Qizheng, and finally nodded, "If it is not restrained, the local forces will inevitably develop into behemoths, and if they are not handled properly, they will immediately cause civil chaos and be difficult to clean up." Not to mention conquest by force, even a slight damage to interests may lead to a backlash, and the harm will be endless. ”

It can be seen from the last years of the previous dynasty that the rise of wealthy families, and the power of the imperial court was broken down one by one and swallowed by others. Until the Song family raised troops and supported Sheji, they completely smashed the world and abolished the old and established the new. The collapse of the previous dynasty was essentially nothing more than the erosion of the central government, and the local division reached its peak, and finally collapsed. If we blindly indulge, it will lead to the intertwining of local forces and a mess.

This is what is most alarming to Emperor Rongjing!

If you own land, you have more resources and funds, and with these, you can do more!

It is often said that "self-respect for the army", but having more land resources should not be neglected either.

Only by strengthening centralized rule can Emperor Rongjing feel at ease.

Speaking of which, where else does Chen Qizheng not understand? The emperor was worried about the impact of land annexation.

"Back to the emperor, if you want to break this pattern, you should prohibit the peasants from selling themselves and the landlords to become servants and slaves; It is strictly forbidden for landlords to force peasants to bear hard labor; It was strictly forbidden for landlords to abuse the peasants, improve the treatment of tenant farmers, and change the lease contracts, with the aim of increasing the number of free laborers, alleviating the shortage of non-slave labor, and then reclaiming wasteland, increasing the number of acres, and stabilizing the people's minds.

Second, it was possible to further divide the power of the gentry by clearing the land and contracts, digging out the hidden land of the gentry, eliminating some illegal industries such as large landlords, ensuring that the cultivators had their own land, and helping the peasants to stand on their own feet. ”

In a hurry, all Chen Qizheng could think of was this.

And Emperor Rongjing has calmed down, and said slowly, "I have been in Dingding for a hundred years, the society is stable, the country is peaceful, and the population has nearly doubled in a hundred years. ”

When Chen Qizheng heard this, he was in awe, and even the officials of the imperial court were thinking about how to maintain the existing stability, and what the emperor was worried about was how to make the future still stable.

Chen Qizheng bowed and bowed, and said in a trembling voice very excitedly, "The emperor is far-sighted and far-sighted, and the ministers are ashamed and embarrassed." The ministers must formulate measures to stifle the wind of land annexation and do their best for the stability of the country. ”

"Chen Qing, that's not enough! Without the drive of profit, how can they be willing to give up the profits in their hands? ”

Chen Qizheng hurriedly said: "The emperor has a good plan? ”

"Sea trade is feasible, according to the salt introduction! This sweetness is enough for them to flock to!

How to issue a ticket? How is the sea tax levied? How to supervise the outbound and inbound materials? How to curb pirates? How can the dispatch of armaments at sea be controlled? And so on, you go down and discuss it with Yang Mingshi, Gao Jiwen and others, and draw up a charter! Let's talk about it later. ”

Emperor Rong Jing handed over this matter to Chen Qizheng to take the lead, and as for the charter, I am afraid that it will have to be discussed in the end.

"Command!" Chen Qizheng bowed again and withdrew from the Qinzheng Palace.

Watching Chen Qizheng leave, Emperor Rong Jing rubbed the corners of his forehead, lowered his head and picked up the secret report of the secret agent to read it. Although I don't want the secret agent to become as notorious as the secret agent of the previous dynasty, there are not many credible bureaucrats around and below, and there are constantly conflicting groups. I'm afraid that if you're not careful, I'll give you a big hole. What's even worse is that some big families don't care who will be the emperor at all. If it endangers its own interests, whether it is a traitor or a foreigner, he can pull down his face and secretly communicate with him.

This inevitably requires knocking on the mountain and shaking the tiger from time to time, giving some people a wake-up call, so that their hands don't stretch too long. However, it is all the more prudent to deal with the deposed officials to avoid the danger that may lead to the endangerment of everyone in the DPRK and China. Emperor Rongjing shook his head while reading, he did it as an emperor, he couldn't do it if he wasn't careful, be cautious.

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