"I know that the national policy of supporting the clan will put a heavy burden on the imperial court every year."

The Empress sighed softly again.

"But the preferential treatment of the royal family is the ancestral oath of Emperor Taizu's alliance with heaven and earth, if the national policy is wanton, it is not respecting the ancestors, making Taizu lose his trust in heaven and earth, and it may even cause Taizu's immortal path to be broken, such a big unfilial thing, how can future generations do it?"

"Moreover, three hundred years ago, when the Great Xia country fell into the danger of overturning again, if it weren't for the fact that the ancestor Emperor Guangwu had a lot of family resources, he decisively scattered his family wealth to gather volunteers, and the remaining clans in various places united as one, gathered under the command of Emperor Guangwu, and recovered the cause of Taizu together, so that the world would return to the hands of the Jiang royal family again, and Great Xia would have ceased to exist a long time ago, which is also the original intention of Emperor Taizu to establish this national policy."

Speaking of this, the empress's voice inexplicably became a lot lower.

Lu Chen had been in this world for several months, so he naturally knew the history of Great Xia.

In fact, although it has been nearly a thousand years since the founding of Great Xia, it has actually experienced two catastrophes of overturning.

To put it simply, it is somewhat similar to the Han Dynasty and the Eastern and Western Han Dynasty, after the fall of the Western Han Dynasty, the male lord with the royal blood of the previous dynasty restored the ancestral foundation, so that the completely decayed dynasty was reborn in the complete destruction.

It's just that in the middle of the change of imperial power in Great Xia, no new dynasty was established.

If Great Xia is destroyed, the history of Xia in later generations will definitely not be summarized directly by the "Book of Xia", but will be divided into "Book of Xia", "Book of Middle Xia" and "Book of Later Xia" to distinguish this history.

If the surname is still Jiang today, naturally no one dares to divide the history of Great Xia into three so rebelliously.

The empress said slowly: "Therefore, the national policy of preferential treatment of the royal family cannot be moved, I can only find a way to make up for the deficit of the national treasury, and control the number of the royal family through various means, like the previous emperors, so that as much as possible for more royal families to enter the Tao, so that like King Yu, due to the fear of Taoism, they will reduce, or even no longer reproduce." ”

For this way, Lu Chen has only one evaluation.

"Treating the symptoms is not the root cause."

He shook his head.

"Great Xia stretches for thousands of years, each generation of the clan that enjoys the support of the imperial court has no worries about food and clothing, and some even hold the right to life and death of the people, and there are very few people who are willing to bury their heads in penance, and limited by talent, most of the clans cannot enter the Tao, plus patriarchal restrictions, they cannot engage in the business of the four people, there is nothing to do, there is nothing to pursue, so that there are countless people who rely on the blood of the royal family to do mischief and profligacy, and the number of parasites that are entrenched in the blood-sucking and sucking marrow in various parts of Daxia is constantly surging. Every year, the imperial court needs to spend money and grain on supporting the royal family, and the spirit stones will only grow rapidly, and there will be no end. ”

"Not to mention whether the current annual income of the imperial court is greasy, the current tax on the book alone can no longer support the huge expenses of supporting the royal family, and the treasury has already run short, even if the annual income of the imperial court doubles several times, it will never be able to satisfy the bottomless pit of infinite expansion of the clan."

"Things have extreme desires and infinite desires, with limited limits, it is impossible, and when the imperial court's finances completely collapse, the world will fall into the chaos and change of governance three hundred years ago, will you still expect a hero like Emperor Guangwu to stand up and reorganize the mountains and rivers?"

After saying so much in one breath, Lu Chen felt a little dry in his mouth, so he picked up the teacup that he didn't know when he was putting it on the side, and drank all the tea that was only half in it.

Well. It's normal to be bitter with sweet.

It's just that this time Gan seems to be a little too much.

Hearing him say this, the empress's face was slightly shocked.

Lu Chen put down the teacup and continued: "It is impossible that every time the country is overturned, there will be a clan rising and rebuilding Great Xia, and if Great Xia is destroyed, Emperor Taizu will completely cut off the national fortune, and the Immortal Dao will definitely collapse, and then it will not be just a matter of whether the ancestral system is not the ancestral system." ”

As he spoke, his face became more and more solemn.

"Therefore, in such a grim situation, if you don't try to change in order to continue the national fortunes and keep the Great Xia country, it is the real unfilial piety!"

When the words fell, the empress suddenly frowned and pondered.

For a long time, she didn't speak again, obviously weighing something.

Although he is extremely wise at a young age, and the city government is quite deep, after all, he has been struggling for many years under the nose of the Queen Mother, and he has to exhaust his mental strength every day just to deal with that extremely suspicious and extremely cautious woman, and it is naturally difficult to spare the energy to put it on national affairs.

Now that she has just taken power, she doesn't know much about many aspects of governance, and she has not been very deeply involved in the hundreds of years of accumulation of disadvantages in Great Xia.

Lu Chen's words, she needs to digest them well.

Lu Chen didn't bother silently, but gently picked up the brush and kept writing on the white paper.

After a while, he slowly lowered his hand.

"Your Majesty, please see."

Hearing this, the empress immediately put away her thoughts, leaned over to look, and a somewhat overdeveloped place gently rested on Lu Chen's shoulder.

A fragrant breeze blew, and a wisp of green silk swept by Lu Chen's cheeks, making him feel crispy and numb.

Very comfortable.

saw Lu Chen write on a blank piece of paper-

The prince receives 12,000 stone per year, 3,000 stone for the king of the county, 2,000 stone for the general of Zhenguo, 1,200 stone for the general of the auxiliary state, 800 stone for the general of Fengguo, 600 stone for the lieutenant of Zhenguo, 400 stone for the lieutenant of the auxiliary country, and 200 stone for the lieutenant of Fengguo.

In the previous year, the total amount of silver converted into the central tax income was 42.28 million yuan, and the total expenditure for supporting the clan was 11.52 million yuan in silver money.

The annual income of Sui Prefecture was converted into a total of 90,000 guan of silver, and 35,000 guan was spent a year to support the king of Sui and his clan.

Looking at the data above, the empress's heart gradually sank.

"More than 30% of the local revenue is used to support the clan, and the latter part must be kept in the treasury for emergencies, and part of it must be handed over to the central government, so that there is still money and grain for building bridges and paving roads, flood control and water control, and benefiting the people?"

"The people are poorly clothed, hungry, and the people's livelihood is withering, and the matter of taxation by the imperial court will become more and more difficult."

"The annual income of the imperial court is gradually decreasing, but the expenditure for supporting the clan is increasing year by year, so how can the treasury not be in deficit?"

Lu Chen put down his pen, he didn't know what he suddenly thought, and his voice gradually became cold.

"During Weichen's tenure as the governor of the two states, in addition to assisting Xiao Shangshu in controlling the water, he also had a general understanding of some local situations and the so-called rules of officialdom by combing through local government affairs and consulting various files, and knew how to deal with the so-called parent officials who represented the imperial court when there was a problem in the treasury."

"Look at the falling leaves and know the autumn, Your Majesty, what do you say if the treasury is empty, in order to keep or obtain a higher position?"

Looking at Lu Chen's cold eyes, the empress couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart.

"How?"

Lu Chen did not sell the guanzi, and said bluntly: "The treasury has always been empty, either to fight the ideas of the people or the ideas of the merchants, just like when the demon queen was in power, when the court spendthrift, it will plunder the people, and when the people change imminently, they will plunder the business." ”

Click

The little hand under the empress's dragon robe tightened suddenly.

In my mind, I gradually came up with the people's livelihood situation that I had investigated by the way when I sent Xuan Jiwei to the three provinces to collect evidence.

The picture in the photo talisman that Xuan Jiwei sent back to the capital seemed to flash quickly in front of his eyes, and the tragic situation revealed in Lu Chen's short sentence gradually combined.

Now the Great Xia clan is more than 100,000.

Multiply on this cardinal base

Just thinking about it makes people's scalps tingle.

Although the misery of the people's lives is not all due to the calamity of the clan, it is certainly one of the main reasons.

"Although the land of the two states does not represent the entire Great Xia, Weichen believes that there will never be only one King Yu and King Sui in Great Xia."

Lu Chen stared at the white paper in front of him, and his voice became heavier and heavier.

"Yuzhou's trip made Weichen realize an extremely cruel fact."

"The clan does not pay taxes, the gentry do not pay taxes, and all the burdens of the court are all on the people, who bear the hardest labor and pay the most onerous taxes, but they are also robbed by corrupt officials and corrupt officials, oppressed by the clansmen, and treated like pigs and dogs by the people they give everything."

"What is the reasoning? Is there anything more cruel in the world? ”

When he said this, the distracting thoughts in Lu Chen's heart almost completely dissipated, and his mind was instantly filled with the human tragedy he had seen during his trip to Yuzhou.

"The people are the foundation of Great Xia, and only they will place everything in the imperial court, as long as the people live and work in peace and contentment, they will naturally be devoted to the imperial court. And why let the clans all over the world become the backhands when the country overturns? ”

"On the contrary, if this extremely unreasonable status quo is not changed, Great Xia, the country will die one day!"

The loud words fell, and the entire Zichen Hall continued to echo.

Like a burst of incomparably thick bells, it constantly shook the empress's heart.

"Lu Qing. It makes sense. ”

After a while, the empress took a deep breath, and the moment she met Lu Chen's eyes, her face quickly revealed a solemn expression.

"If we don't solve the shortcomings accumulated in this millennium, no matter how hard I work and how prosperous I create, it will be just a flower in the mirror, a moon in the water, meaningless."

Hearing this, Lu Chen's eyes suddenly relaxed slightly.

"Your Majesty, now Great Xia is at a juncture point, either to get rid of the old evils, the imperial court to take on a new look, and move towards an unprecedented and extremely prosperous world, or to completely sink in the old ways, and then count on a new round of chaos and change."

"I see."

The empress slowly straightened up, and then said to Lu Chen seriously:

"Lu Qing, please help me to save the Great Xia, which is already showing a trend of decline."

Lu Chen got up at the same time, bowed slightly to the empress, and said solemnly: "This is the righteousness that Weichen should have, as the so-called food monarch's Lu bears the king's worries, Weichen is favored by the country, and is trusted by His Majesty, so he should be loyal to the king's affairs, for Daxia, for His Majesty's liver and brain!" ”

The empress bowed slightly, and the trust in Lu Chen in her heart was a little stronger.

Needless to say, Lu Chen's loyalty and character go without saying.

Now he has shown such talent.

This is a real combination of ability and political integrity!

Such a loyal, brave, and talented peerless virtuous minister, as the emperor of Great Xia, how could she not love it?

"Lu Qing, what do you think about the national policy of supporting the clan, as well as the various drawbacks you just mentioned?"

Speaking of this, Lu Chen immediately came to his senses.

He thought about it for a while, sorted out his thoughts, and organized his language, and then said: "Back to Your Majesty, when I was in Yuzhou, after realizing the harm to Daxia caused by the system of clan support and the system of clan relatives and gentry not paying taxes, I have been thinking hard about how to fundamentally eliminate these drawbacks, and after thinking for many days, I have thought of some solutions. ”

Hearing this, the empress did not immediately ask, but frowned slightly, and said softly:

"Lu Qing, this matter must involve the fundamental interests of the clan, the gentry and other behemoths, and it is very likely to incur their resentment, so everything should be cautious, be cautious, protect yourself first and then plan slowly, and you must not be in a hurry."

For the empress's kind reminder, Lu Chen shook his head.

"What Your Majesty said, Wechen dare not agree, it is a pity to do great things, if you flinch back, you will definitely not be able to do anything in the end, this matter is related to the national fortune of Great Xia, if Weichen does not hold the consciousness of death, how can you get rid of the thousand-year-old dark clouds accumulated over Great Xia, and return the people to a panicked and prosperous world?"

Hearing this, feeling the determination in the words, the empress was suddenly moved, and there was a faint hint of strange brilliance in her eyes when she looked at Lu Chen.

The little hands under the dragon robe were clenched tightly, and the nails were sunk into the flesh without realizing it.

At this time, she had only one thought in her heart-

Such a loyal peerless warrior, even if he gives up everything, I will protect him!

After a while, her little hand slowly let go, the determination in her eyes flashed, and her face was no longer entangled.

"Well, such a big thing can't be done without great wisdom and bravery, and I really shouldn't hesitate."

She walked slowly towards the dragon chair not far away.

"Lu Qing, tell me what you think, I want to know where you plan to start."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen responded solemnly, and then sat down slowly.

"The harm of the clan has accumulated so far, and its root cause lies in the ancestral system established by Emperor Taizu Hongwu when he founded the country.

"Of course, Weichen does not intend for His Majesty to cancel this national policy and completely abolish the ancestral system, but wants to work the amount."

Hearing this, the empress suddenly narrowed her eyes.

"Lu Qing plans to write a letter to reduce the treatment of the clan?"

"Nope."

Lu Chen shook his head.

"A simple reduction of the Yulu is too straightforward, not only will it attract the dissatisfaction of all the clans in the world, but even fierce resistance, damaging Your Majesty's holy name, how can Wei Chen do something that will make Your Majesty fall into injustice?"

It is certainly not enough to simply offend the clan.

These people have no real power, although they are united and powerful, but they may not be able to help him who was saved by the empress.

We'll have to drag another wave of people into the water.

The empress couldn't help but be even more curious.

"Then Lu Qing, what are you going to do?"

"We can't let them lose all hope all at once, we have to give them hope."

"How?"

Lu Chen took a deep breath, and then said slowly:

"Wechen plans to change the original system of distributing the salary to a fixed amount, and link the treatment of the clan with the tax income of the local government and the people's livelihood."

Tomorrow evolves the second more beast

(End of chapter)