As soon as the empress's words fell, Duan Yunchong, who was still smiling, looked extremely nervous.

What was originally a relaxed atmosphere quickly turned heavy.

This is the reason why the empress summoned Liang Xiao.

A cloth cloth, located far away from the rivers and lakes, can point out the country, and even assert that the Great Zhou has signs of the death of the country.

If the Duanmu family knows, they will definitely be the first to jump out and give Liang Xiaoan a charge of punishing the nine clans.

It was precisely that coping strategy that convinced the empress that Liang Xiao had the intention to serve the country.

Liang Xiao was unhurried and asked rhetorically: "Your Majesty, how many years has it been since the founding of the country?" ”

The Empress replied, "Fifty-five years." ”

"Fifty-five years, it was originally just the rising period of a dynasty, but today's Great Zhou is still a situation of ruins waiting to be revived, how is it different from the end of the dynasty?"

"At the end of the dynasty?" Everyone was stunned.

Liang Xiao explained solemnly.

"The so-called general trend of the world, together for a long time, must be divided, and for a long time, it must be united. After the collapse of the Wu Dynasty, the heroes rose together, the people suffered from wars, and the population plummeted, and finally Gaozu replaced him and named it the Great Zhou. At the beginning of the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it was also the Gaozu and Shizu who recuperated with the people and encouraged childbearing, so that the population of the Great Zhou Dynasty returned to the level of the Wu Dynasty. ”

"In the early days of the dynasty, the country was as vast and sparsely populated as the previous dynasty was founded, and the imperial court encouraged the people to reclaim wasteland for a long time. According to common sense, the country has always lacked people, not land. But Your Majesty should also know that the situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty and the Wu Dynasty is completely different, and there are a large number of officials and gentry who still control a large amount of land, and constantly annex the land of the people at the bottom in various ways. ”

This has created a strange status quo, and the land and land have not been alleviated by the favorable time and place in the early days of the dynasty, but have been increasingly intensified compared with the previous dynasty. No matter how hard these people work to reclaim wasteland, every time there is a natural or man-made disaster, they will go bankrupt, and the land they have worked so hard to cultivate will be forced to sell it at a low price, and the cycle will start over and over again. ”

The empress pondered and asked, "Do you think that land annexation is the root cause of the omen of the Great Zhou Dynasty?" ”

Liang Xiao shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, the so-called land annexation is actually just an appearance. ”

"Appearances?"

The empress, Duan Yunsleeve, and Zhuge Hui glanced at each other, and the three of them couldn't hide their curiosity.

Being not in the temple and being aware of the dangers of land annexation has proved that this son is extraordinary.

As a result, the annexation of land seemed to him only a façade?

Liang Xiao said in a deep voice: "The real reason for the omen of the country's demise is because the imperial court's taxes are getting less and less!" More and more land was in the hands of the gentry, who had the privilege of being exempt from taxes, and they were the real big landlords. The state cannot collect taxes from their land, and in order to maintain their expenditures, it is natural to exploit the people. The people were overwhelmed, and in the end, of course, they rose up. ”

Duan Yunyi's breath stagnated, and he also realized the problem.

"Your Majesty, the Great Zhou Dynasty has received too many former ministers, the Duanmu family in the capital, the Tuoba family, the Dugu family in Jiangbei, and the Ram clan in Jiangnan. These are the rentier strata left over from the previous dynasty, and they are currently forces that His Majesty cannot move lightly. ”

"The current Da Zhou can still breathe because His Majesty firmly controls the military power. If the finances are not enough to supply the army in the future, these armies will naturally leave His Majesty one after another. When His Majesty can't control the capital and the local army, in the face of the rebels from all over the country, and the Beihu who took the opportunity to wave his troops south, and then these families secretly support, the royal family only has His Majesty and the princess to support it, and the Great Zhou will not be destroyed? ”

"When the country can't stop the financial collapse, can Bashu, who is separated from the court, still bow down and be a minister? Da Chu, who is good friends with Da Zhou, can he not take the opportunity to get a piece of the pie? At that time, the Great Zhou was naturally about to perish, and His Majesty thought that he and the princess would be the fate of women? ”

Without waiting for Liang Xiao to finish speaking, all the Xuanwei in the imperial study, led by Feiyun, scolded in unison: "Bold! ”

Duan Yunyi took a deep breath and said loudly, "Let him speak freely!" ”

Duan Yunsleeve on the side looked at his sister with blank eyes, and then looked at Liang Xiao.

This guy doesn't know how to pick a good one?

Liang Xiao continued to explain.

"Your Majesty also knows that these families are far more cunning than ordinary people, and they are no different from appendage gangrene to the country, constantly sucking blood, and in times of peace, Your Majesty cannot find an excuse to raid their homes. But they also have concerns: if there is a change in the world, His Majesty will be desperate to cut them, and they will not be able to bear it. ”

"Moreover, now they are the rentier class of the Great Zhou, as long as it is profitable, they are naturally reluctant to tear their faces with His Majesty. Your Majesty can temporarily stabilize these people and take the opportunity to promote reforms. As long as the Great Zhou court did not collapse, Bashu would not dare to have any rebellious intentions, and it would be impossible for Great Chu to venture north. ”

"So how can we change the finances?" The empress looked at Liang Xiao and asked.

Among the coping strategies that Liang Xiao gave her, "The Omen of the Death of the Country" is only one of them.

This first article alone kept her awake at night.

It was a deep sense of powerlessness that knew the status quo but was powerless to change it.

Liang Xiao replied: "Since ancient times, the people of this land will not rebel as long as they have a bite to eat, as long as they reduce their exploitation and give more favors, the people will naturally support the imperial power." Therefore, only by abolishing the privilege of tax exemption for the gentry and gradually implementing the integration of the officials and gentry on errands and paying grain in one can we ensure that the state can collect the land tax and no longer have to exploit the people. ”

"One errand, one food??"

The empress sister looked at Zhuge Hui and found that he was also shocked.

This is something they have never imagined.

"This law is expected to solve the financial dilemma, but in this way, it will offend these gentry, and I am afraid that the consequences will be equally serious." The Empress sighed.

Liang Xiao said solemnly: "Your Majesty, Shen Zhen is a fierce medicine!" Now the military power is still in the hands of His Majesty, if you wait for the military power in various places to gradually get rid of it, then it will be really powerless to return to the sky! ”

Duan Yunsleeve said worriedly: "Even if this law can really be implemented, if the land tax is not increased, it may not be effective, right?" ”

"Your Highness, this is to the point!" Liang Xiao praised.

"And?" The crowd suddenly came to their senses.

Liang Xiao explained: "The reason why China's finances are tight is actually because there is still a poll tax that has not been collected. Because of the poll tax, there are a large number of hidden households, black households, and slaves in the Great Zhou, who live in the names of these landlords, that is to say, the poll tax collected by our country is actually equivalent to being taken by these big landlords as their own. ”

The empress's eyes were full of shock, and she sighed, "You can actually realize this...... So how do you fix it? ”

Liang Xiao smiled: "Gradually implement the apportionment into the mu, cancel the poll tax, and then collect taxes based on the amount of land, so that ordinary people will not have the pressure of poll tax, and they will no longer have to be hidden households, let alone sell themselves as slaves." And those big landlords who occupy a large amount of land, even if they hide many slaves and hidden black households, the fields cannot be hidden, and naturally they have to pay taxes honestly. ”

After a brief dead silence in the imperial study, the sisters and Zhuge Hui exclaimed in unison.

"Wonderful!!"

This is a method they never envisioned, if it can be implemented...... It's just, can it be so easy to implement?

Liang Xiao said solemnly: "It takes time to spread the land and the official gentry to work as one errand and pay for grain as one, and it will take time to get promoted, and it may even face unimaginable difficulties and obstacles, and the national finance may not be able to persevere." Therefore, His Majesty must find a way to maintain the finances first, and start from other aspects to make money! ”

Make money?

The sisters looked at Liang Xiao with surprise and joy.

"So, that's what you're doing business?"

Liang Xiao replied: "It also takes time for ministers to make money in business to repay Your Majesty, and the future is unpredictable, before this, our Da Zhou actually has a lot of means to make money, but Your Majesty has not yet discovered it!" ”