In the Constitutional Yuan, Zhao Jun communicated his main reform proposals to everyone first.

However, the plans are basically moderate reforms, not as radical as Fan Zhongyan, nor like Wang Anshi, who has become an idealist who is detached from practice as a great man.

Because his plan was decided after nearly three years of research and practice at the grassroots level across the country to determine that it could be implemented.

For example, the increase in consumption and the return of taxes to the public and the abolition of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes basically include those landlord classes are the beneficiaries, and naturally there is no resistance.

The only thing to guard against is that when the imperial court has abolished so many harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, there are still local officials who have set up clever names and continue to find ways to make money in the name of the imperial court.

It depends on the intensity of supervision.

To raise the taxes of the landlord class, the landlord class of the Great Song Dynasty was originally going to pay taxes, and there was no way to resist the tax policy of the imperial court.

It's just that they are very likely to pass on the consequences of raising taxes to tenants, for example, the original land rent of six or seven percent has now been raised to eight or ninety percent.

But in that case, the tenant class will definitely not do it, and in the past, six or seven percent of the tax could barely survive, but now eight or ninety percent of the tax can barely survive.

Just like Cao Wei's Tuntian system in history, it was close to collapse in the later period, and there were countless people in Tuntian who rebelled, just because Cao Wei changed the rent of Tuntian from the original six to four to eight to two or even ninety-one.

Once such a situation occurs in the local area, the imperial history is inspected and the local officials report it, and the imperial court can put the responsibility on the landlords, and then take advantage of the situation to deal with a few landlords with relatively bad circumstances, grasp a typical example, give an explanation to the people, and transfer internal contradictions.

When there is a large inflow of silver from Japan in the future, this problem will not be a problem. Because the imperial court had money, it could hire people to dig canals, build canals, and carry out infrastructure construction to carry out the first industrial revolution.

At that time, the localities may face the problem of a shortage of tenants, and the landlords will naturally have to lower the rent to attract people to farm.

To sum up, Zhao Jun's method is to temporarily alleviate the increasingly dissatisfied contradictions of the people at the bottom, and transfer the contradictions to the landlords first. When the people were oppressed by the landlords to the point of revolting, the court came forward to appease and kill the landlords and grab the fields.

In this way, the contradiction between the people and the court became a contradiction between the people and the landlords. The imperial court can also reclaim the fields through such means, just like Zhao Jun did all over the country, killing a group of landlords who behaved badly and had human lives on their hands, confiscated their farmland, turned the fields into official land, and rented them to the people at a low price.

Economically, we have made up for the price difference caused by the reduction of agricultural taxes in China by vigorously developing foreign trade, and through state-run reform, we have invigorated the rigid sales system and accelerated economic circulation, thus making industry and commerce more developed.

In this way, the economy will grow and the agricultural reform will be much smoother.

"I have said many times before that Wang Anshi's original intention of changing the law was good, but it is a pity that the local government has not implemented it in place. And he also ignored that the local government was robbing the interests of the landlords, and the landlords and wealthy households naturally wanted to join forces with the local officials who implemented Wang Anshi's reform to obstruct them. ”

In the Constitutional Yuan, Zhao Jun once again emphasized: "But although my set of reforms has further oppressed the landlords, I have not competed with them for benefits." They are also allowed to continue to lend, provided that they do not evade taxes or violate laws and disciplines. ”

"The peasants have less to pay taxes, and their pressure will be reduced, so the amount of borrowing from the landlords will also be reduced, which can be regarded as a disguised reduction in the exploitation of the people by the landlords through borrowing and land annexation."

"But in the same way, although the taxes on the landlords and kulaks should not be excessive, there is a critical point in this. If it was too harsh, it would inevitably lead to a large revolt of the landlords and kulaks. ”

"According to my research, the positive tax is really light, only between 5% and 10%. A large amount of taxes and miscellaneous taxes can be levied, which can reach 4 to 5 percent of the people's annual income. However, in an agrarian society, a year's harvest may not necessarily support the family, but such a high amount of taxes will obviously provoke social conflicts. ”

"So I think it's more reasonable to reduce the tax revenue of poor peasants with less than 20 acres of land to about 10 to 15 percent, while landlords and rich households with more than 50 acres of land must maintain between 20 and 50 percent, and the tipping point is about 50 percent."

"But the specific division is more difficult, because the local officials do not necessarily collude with the local landlords and rich households, but the officials below are basically locals, and the landlords and rich households have a deep involvement.

"For example, a landlord with 10,000 acres of land, in order to reduce taxes, will definitely find a way to get the local officials to tamper with the scale of his land, and even have a few powerful roles, simply let himself become a tenant with no land under his name, and get that kind of ultra-low tax qualification."

I have to say that Zhao Jun's consideration has been quite thorough. It is not at all like Wang Anshi, who did not take into account the phenomenon of local officials colluding with landlords, acting in an embarrassed way, and turning a good policy into a bad policy.

Basically, all of Zhao Jun's strategies have already thought of the worst outcome, and he has also adjusted the way to deal with it.

Everyone listened to his analysis, and for a while they felt that they were comprehensive, and Lu Yijian couldn't help but ask: "Since you have thought of the problems that may arise, is there any way to solve them?" ”

"The first is the intensity of supervision! The second is the severity of the punishment, which goes without saying much, and once discovered, it is necessary to deal with it severely, and confiscate all the concealed land and property, so as to set an example. ”

Zhao Jun said: "In terms of supervision, I think the most important is the tripartite supervision, one is the supervision of local officials, which should be included in the assessment standards. The second is the supervision of the imperial history, and all states and counties must have the imperial history inspection and verification every month. The third is the supervision of the Imperial City Division, starting from next year, the Imperial City Division will be stationed all over the country! ”

The Imperial City Division is stationed all over the country?

Everyone looked at each other, all helpless.

Zhao Jun wanted to do this a long time ago, but they were all held back by them because the imperial court had no money for the time being.

It's true that there is no money.

At present, the money of the imperial court is temporarily supplied to the army, even if the treasury is still rich, it cannot be used to do other things, and the Western Xia and Liao countries will be solved first.

If the Imperial City Division is stationed at this juncture, even if it is only calculated according to the number of 150,000 Jinyi guards in the country during Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu period, it will be a huge expense, and the annual cost will be millions of yuan.

At that time, if the imperial court needs to supply money and food for the war, isn't this picking up sesame seeds and losing watermelons?

Therefore, Wang Zeng also immediately persuaded: "Shouldn't this matter be slowed down, now that the war is going on, there are countless amounts of money and grain to be spent every year, if the Imperial City Division is sent out now, I am afraid it will cause the treasury to be empty." ”

"It can't be delayed, the Imperial City Division is an important part of the supervision process, and it is more convenient to settle in the local area as soon as possible for future reforms."

Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "What's more, I expect that the war will end next year at most, and there is good news, we have built a business channel in Japan, and it is expected that from next year, Japan's silver will flow in." ”

"Oh? Will the war end next year? ”

Everyone was amazed.

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "This kind of large-scale military confrontation costs countless amounts every month. Our Great Song Dynasty can afford it, but the Liao State can't afford it. At most, it will be a year and a half, and Yelu Zongzhen will either fight a wave or withdraw from the army. Lao Fan should be able to come back by the second half of next year at the latest. ”

"That's just as well."

Wang Zeng nodded in agreement, and then asked, "What is the situation in Japan?" ”

"I sent someone over the year before last, this person's name is Song Cai, and he has a friend named Daijian Saburo, who is a nobleman in Japan."

Zhao Jun explained: "The Japanese official took the prestige of the Liao State, and chose to be pro-Liao and had a relatively cold attitude towards the Song. However, the Japanese people had great respect for the Great Song Dynasty, and the porcelain, tea, and silk of the Song people were also very popular in Japan. Song Cai returned last year, and now he has formed his own forces there, supported the local nobles, and found silver mines in the Iwami area. ”

According to historical records such as the Nihon Shoki and the Kiro, there were Song Dynasty merchants who traded in Japan from the Song Dynasty's Jianlong period (960-963).

By the time of the Northern Song Dynasty, with the prosperity of the southern coastal economy and the expansion of maritime trade, the number of Song Dynasty merchants in Japan gradually increased.

It is estimated that by the time of the Southern Song Dynasty, there were already hundreds to a thousand Song merchants engaged in trading activities in Japan.

It can be seen that the people-to-people trade between Japan and the Song Dynasty was still very frequent.

However, the Song Dynasty at that time mainly lived in Kyoto, Tottori, Yamaguchi and other places, and the Iwami silver mine was only discovered in the 16th century.

Before the discovery of the Iwami Silver Mine and the Sado Gold Mine, Japan was actually a barren island country, and was not favored and valued by Song Dynasty merchants.

For example, during the Southern Song Dynasty, the goods imported from the Song Dynasty to Japan included copper coins, tea, ceramics, silk fabrics, books, four treasures of the study, spices, medicines, paintings and other products.

The only goods that Japan could import to the Song Dynasty were minerals such as copper and sulfur, as well as handicrafts such as wood and Japanese knives produced in the west.

Therefore, compared with the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, which could bring a lot of gold, silver and copper to the Central Plains Dynasty, at least before the Ming Dynasty, Japan was not the main trading object of the Central Plains Dynasty.

But now that Iwami silver has been discovered, it will completely change the fate of Japan.

From then on, Japan stood up, and finally got rich and went to the Great Song Dynasty to buy and buy, and a large amount of silver flowed into the Great Song Dynasty.

"At present, the Iwami silver mine is mainly occupied by the national division and the nobles in the Iwami region of Japan, and of course, our Great Song Dynasty also occupies a certain proportion of it."

Zhao Jun continued: "Japan is now in the Heian period, and the local warlords are divided and the internal chaos is in chaos. For example, Iwami Kuni's previous national secretary was protested by two county secretaries in the country against his bad government, and attacked the national government with 270 peasants, beating the national secretary to death. The news of the appearance of silver mines in Iwami may be coveted by the nobles and powerful of the surrounding countries of Japan, and when the time comes, it will inevitably cause our losses if the Great Song Dynasty can garrison two or three thousand troops in the Iwami area, it is estimated that all the scenes will be suppressed. ”

"Speaking of which, we really don't know much about Japan, but what are these national divisions and county divisions?"

Yan Shu couldn't help but ask.

"The country is the administrative body of Japan, which is equivalent to our road. Japan was still ruled by the emperor during the Heian period, and the country was divided into more than 70 countries, each country had several prefectures, such as the Izumo state of Annong, Rima, Naga, Eizome, Shikazu, and Mino, the national secretary was an official sent by the emperor to take charge of a country, and the county secretary was often held by local nobles and wealthy families. ”

Zhao Jun explained: "It's just that because the local aristocracy and the powerful have overwhelmed the national division in the local power, the actual management power is in the hands of the local nobles and the powerful, and the power of the national division is much smaller, or even completely hollowed out, resulting in a very serious division in Japan." ”

"I see, this country sounds famous, and the old man thinks it's a country."

Lu Yijian said with a smile.

"His country is no different from our county."

Zhao Jun shook his head with a smile and said: "Japan is not strong now, not only is the emperor's control seriously insufficient, but the local area is also very chaotic, attacking each other and fighting each other is the norm. And their army is pitifully small, a few years ago they had a "Heitashi Rebellion", which was a rebellion of local tycoons, but do you know how many people the emperor sent out to pursue the army? ”

"How much?"

"Less than three thousand."

"So little?"

"That local wealthy clan called Ping Zhongchang, hundreds of people dare to rebel, what do you say?"

"Okay."

Lu Yijian was speechless.

Japan is too weak.

"Later, during the Kamakura shogunate, Japan was a little more centralized, but in the face of the Mongol attack, even if the whole country was called, it gathered a force of 20,000 or 30,000 people, and it was completely dependent on the help of hurricanes to repel the Mongols."

Zhao Jun continued: "During the Warring States period of the Ming Dynasty and Japan, warlords fought with each other, and the scale of the war ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands. So at least the current Japan is indeed very weak, and the Great Song Dynasty only needs to be able to station a few thousand people in Iwami, Japan, to ensure our interests, and the only thing to worry about is the Liao State. ”

"Hmm"

Everyone groaned, and Song Shou said: "Yes, Liao is strong, and Japan is also pro-Liao." Now that Japan is weak, it is afraid that Liao will intervene. ”

"But next year, everything will be solved!"

Zhao Jun said with a decisive word: "As long as Fan Zhongyan defeats the Liao State, he will defeat the invincible Liao State and flee back to the north." Then you can rely on the power of breaking Western Xia in the west and resisting the Liao State in the north to stabilize the domestic and foreign situation. ”

Internally, after the defeat of Western Xia and Liao, the news was quickly spread throughout the country and the people's hearts were inspired. The contradictions among the people will be temporarily eased, which will help promote the development of reform. ”

"Externally, even the Liao State has been defeated, and Japan, Goryeo, Dali, Tubo and other neighboring countries and tribes will all look at the Great Song Dynasty differently, and will no longer be as strong as before, and dare not have official contact with the Great Song Dynasty."

"As long as Fan Zhongyan defeats the Liao State next year, a large amount of Japanese silver flows in, there is money, and the outside world is stable, then we can calmly reform, change the law to become stronger, and strengthen the national strength!"

Zhao Jun finally looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, I hope to be able to establish a united front, in this matter, no one is allowed to hold me back and make any objections, as long as everyone works together and unites as one, we can complete our ultimate goal of changing the law and trying to become stronger, do you hear?" ”

Hearing Zhao Jun's serious words, although he was a young man, and everyone was an old man who had half a foot in the coffin, they were all solemn, and after looking at each other, they all got up and bowed their hands, and said in response: "Yes!" ”

They are united by a common secret, and by the power of the Constitutional Yuan. But this does not mean that their interests are the same except for power.

But now, under the common program of changing the law and building the Great Song Dynasty and the name of righteousness.

Regardless of whether it will harm their own interests, in order to maintain their power and maintain their commitment in front of the officials, they must also stand together, support Zhao Jun, and form a new interest group!

(End of chapter)