Qin State, outside the city of Chang'an.

Fu Jianweifu made a private visit to check the autumn harvest, generally speaking, this year's wind and rain are smooth, and the country has not experienced war, which is a rare peaceful year.

However, the people saw the slightest joy of harvest on their faces.

"Uncle, this year's grain harvest is abundant, why don't you seem to be happy at all." An attendant ran over and asked.

The old man sighed and said, "A notice has just been issued from above, saying that the imperial court needs grain and grass to fight a war, and this year's harvest will pay more taxes." ”

"This is a little bit, it's three percent higher, and it's not as good as a disaster year. The rest of the food is enough to eat for a month, and the rest of the days can only eat leaves and gnaw bark. ”

Fu Jian's face on the side was ugly, he agreed to raise taxes, and in order to maintain the 600,000 army, he could only squeeze the people's strength.

His allies, Liang Guo, are mountainous and have little arable land on the plains, and the grain production is not enough to feed themselves, let alone provide them to feed a large army. The situation is even worse in the country, where livestock-based agriculture is basically zero.

More than 70% of the 600,000 army had to be supplied by the Qin State, which was a huge burden for them with a population of less than 5 million.

Tax increases are an inevitable consequence.

Although Fu Jian has such and such shortcomings, it is undeniable that he is a diligent and loving person, and he is both helpless and guilty about this decision.

"Let's go, let's go back." At this time, he no longer had the heart to pay a private visit, and returned to the palace with people.

However, the old peasant's words always echoed in his ears, and he couldn't help but start thinking, what was he doing all this for?

In the past, he never thought about such a problem, self-cultivation and Qi family rule the country and the world, this is his pursuit, and he also thinks that only he can do all these things well.

Can ...... now He looked at the books on the table and fell silent.

Compared with what is written in these books, his previous pursuit is so ridiculous.

He still can't imagine how the emperor of the Tang Kingdom created this new idea and new system. People don't just write books, they do it.

As for whether this new thinking and new system is feasible...... There is no doubt that in less than twenty years, people have created a huge country, and it is on the verge of domination.

He also thought about implementing a new policy in China, but he knew that it was impossible. If he really dares to do this, he will be abandoned by the powerful and powerful in the country.

Because the new ideas and the new policies are completely on the opposite side of the powerful and the powerful.

Unless he can be like the emperor of the Tang State, popularize education from scratch, open up the wisdom of the people, cultivate civilian talents, and cultivate enough officials who are loyal to himself and loyal to the new policy.

In this way, there will be a chance to implement the New Deal.

But he knew that it was impossible, and he was nothing without the Qin State. Starting from scratch just looks good, and you don't know how hard it is to actually do it.

The experience of the Tang Emperor is almost impossible to replicate...... The most crucial point is that he has to admit that his ability is not as good as the other party.

Tang Huang can do it, he can't do it.

This answer made him very frustrated and ...... There was a hint of desperation.

The saddest thing for him is that he knows that there is no way ahead and he has to persevere, and he doesn't know what he is holding onto.

While he was thinking wildly, Wang Meng asked to see him.

He put away his messy thoughts, and his expression returned to solemnity. Wang Meng went to inquire about the situation in Tang Guo this time, and now there should be results, I hope there will be good news.

Although unlikely.

The truth is just as he thought, all bad news.

"It only took half a year to stabilize the people's hearts and resume production, Tang Huang's ability is really admirable, I might as well do it."

Wang Meng nodded and continued: "Emperor Tang has exempted the people from paying taxes this year, and next year only the cultivated land for more than three years will need to pay taxes, and the land that has been cultivated for less than three years will have a three-year tax holiday. ”

Fu Jian's expression froze for a moment, this was undoubtedly a slap in the face. The Tang State is exempt from taxes, and he is raising taxes.

Wang Meng guessed his thoughts and comforted: "The Tang Kingdom has Luzon, Hainan and the land of the former Funan, and it is said that rice is cultivated three times a year. With such unique conditions, tax exemption can be supported, and other countries cannot follow suit. ”

Fu Jian sighed: "Whether it is Hainan or the original Funan, they are both regarded as wild places, and others are like snakes and scorpions. ”

"Only the Tang Emperor has a unique eye to discover the advantages here, and it took more than ten years to develop the granary that it is today, I might as well do it."

Wang Meng was silent, this kind of ability, not to mention Fu Jian, is unprecedented.

Fu Jian only sighed, and quickly cheered up and asked, "Is there anything else?"

Wang Meng said: "The new capital of the Tang Kingdom has been built and named the Northern Capital, and the Tang Emperor ordered the migration of 100,000 poor families from all over the world to fill the population. ”

This is another unexpected decision, generally the imperial court immigrants fill the population of Jingshi, and the wealthy households will be moved.

First, these people have money, which can promote the prosperity of Jingshi. Second, to get these wealthy people to the capital, so that it is convenient to monitor and manage, so that they will not interfere in the local yamen's governance.

But after nearly a year of cleaning up on the Tang side, more than 5,000 people were killed, and only a few people with a good reputation and indeed meritorious service remained, such as the Tao family. The rest are about to be killed and extinct.

Haoqiang, Dahu, Wubao, etc. were all uprooted, and the cold gate was also cleaned up. More than 20,000 were put to death, and tens of thousands were sentenced to other punishments.

Even those who remained were taken away from their land and wealth, and the people were moved out of their ancestral lands and scattered to settle in new places.

In addition to the knowledge that has been retained, all other wealth and the like are gone.

It can be said that the Tang State carried out a thorough purge of the old forces, and even if he wanted to move the rich to the northern capital, it became impossible.

It is better to migrate the poor to the past, which can not only reduce local pressure, but also better help them get rid of poverty and become rich.

Wang Meng continued: "I heard that they have just passed a major project to dig a grand canal from the northern capital to Luoyang to Huiji County. ”

Fu Jian gasped when he heard this, and said, "It's at least five thousand miles from north to south, right?" ”

Wang Meng said: "Nearly 6,000 miles, an unprecedented project. ”

Fu Jian immediately realized the role of this river: "Yanjun is too far from the south to be conducive to the rule of the imperial court, originally I thought that it was not wise for the Tang Emperor to put the Jingshi here, but now it seems that I have shorted my knowledge." ”

With the communication between the north and the south of the Grand Canal, it is barrier-free, and the most prosperous places from the south to the north are linked together, which has two major roles: transportation and economy.

However, Fu Jian immediately said puzzledly: "The world has been in turmoil for a long time, and the people are at peace, and it is the time when they need to recuperate, why do they have to work so hard to build such a big river?" Aren't you afraid of forcing the people to rebel? ”

Wang Meng replied: "Because of the New Deal, land reform and tax exemption, the people of the Tang Kingdom have recovered a certain vitality. As long as they are not in a hurry, it will take them three to five years to complete the excavation of this canal without hurting the people's resources. ”

"And it's not as difficult as it seems. Since the pre-Qin period, the ancients have been digging canals, Wu has dug ditches, Xuxi, and Huanggou, and the former Han Dynasty opened Yang canals to build Jianhu. ”

"Cao Cao built the white ditch and so on, and Cao Pi opened the Bian ditch again...... As long as the Tang State plans the route and connects and widens these old rivers, it can get twice the result with half the effort. ”