Han Shizu

Chapter 1828 Some things can only be done by me
All the ministers retreated suspiciously, and the crown prince Liu Yang was left behind. Father and son were alone, and there was no longer the harmony and warmth of a loving father and filial piety. Looking at Liu Yang standing respectfully and respectfully in front of him, Emperor Liu was silent for a long time before asking : "Do you know why I decided to promote tax reform?"

Liu Yang thought for a while, then cupped his hands and said, "For the long-term peace and stability of the big man!"

Hearing this, the corner of Emperor Liu's mouth raised an arc, and he said mockingly: "It doesn't matter whether Changzhi can do it, but the near chaos is probably in sight!"

Hearing what Emperor Liu said, Liu Yang's face changed slightly, and he responded subconsciously: "How come?"

"You won't be able to detect the problem?" Emperor Liu looked directly at Liu Yang, as if he wanted to see through him, and said lightly: "Your hesitation, your hesitation, what is the reason, you know it in your heart, and I don't necessarily know it. !"

Liu Yang frowned tightly, thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty has made up his mind, I just have to go all out and follow orders!"

"Really?" Emperor Liu said indifferently with a look of disbelief: "I want to kill corrupt officials, and you reacted so big, worrying and doubting, but now this is a major matter involving the national economy and people's livelihood, but you are so decisive. Could it be, Want to wait until the reforms solve problems, and then stand up and 'speak for justice'?"

Emperor Liu's words became more and more disrespectful, he did whatever he wanted, regardless of the occasion, he spoke quickly for a while, but the pressure he brought to Liu Yang was hard for others to explain.

As soon as Emperor Liu's words fell, Liu Yang's face was full of excitement, and his tone was sincere: "I have no such intentions, please learn from your majesty! I am slow-tempered, but I dare not neglect the overall situation. The tax reform will benefit the world billions of trillions. For the affairs of the people, I can only fully support and assist with all my heart, even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire, I will not hesitate to do it, and I will never hesitate!"

Seeing Liu Yang's statement, Emperor Liu let him go, looked away, and said calmly, "I understand in my heart that the implementation of tax reform will not go smoothly. In your opinion, where will the difficulties arise? "

Sensing the change in Emperor Liu's tone, Liu Yang calmed down a little bit, thought about it, and said solemnly: "As far as the tax system is concerned, no matter whether it is new or old, some existing problems may still exist in the new system, especially when it is implemented. In the process, the court must strengthen supervision, which is more important than coming up with a perfect land tax system.

Li Xiang and his ministers have already mentioned it just now, so I won't say much.And what they haven't mentioned is also the biggest difficulty of the reform, which is the huge resistance from the court, the government and the people! "

Speaking of this, Liu Yang glanced at Emperor Liu and saw that he was listening seriously, so he continued: "The common people, regardless of the tax system, mostly pay taxes according to the law, and rarely resist. What's more, under the new system, it is beneficial to the farmers and common people who make a living by farming. Under normal circumstances, they will not oppose it, and even rejoice.

On the contrary, those who occupy a large amount of land and own huge property, the more land they own, the more taxes they pay. This is difficult for them to accept. Once the new system is implemented, it will inevitably cause complaints and confrontation! "

"To be more specific, who are they?" Emperor Liu stared straight at Liu Yang.

Liu Yang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Ordinary landlords and merchants are naturally hard to resist the power of heaven. Even if they are dissatisfied, only the government will try their best to subdue it. However, nobles and officials want them to accept and make the new system The smooth implementation, I think there is a big obstacle! At the beginning, Zhao Xiang's reduction of noble and tax-free land has already caused a lot of dissatisfaction, and now it is going further, I am afraid that the storm will be unstoppable!"

As a matter of fact, Zhao Pu's policy of restricting nobles only scratched the surface. The restrictions on land acquisition and taxation of nobles were very loose and only scratched the surface.Under the two-tax system, "apportionment" is the main tax payment method. Although land and property are the basis for tax calculation, they have long been superficial.Seeing more and more pressure pouring in on those small people and small households and self-cultivating farmers, while dignitaries, bureaucrats, and merchants are attached to the body of the big man to suck blood and knock out the marrow, this situation also forced Emperor Liu to go to war.

However, without Liu Yang mentioning it, Emperor Liu also knew that the tax reform would inevitably be full of resistance and would not go smoothly.As for the huge, deep-rooted honorary and bureaucratic class of the big man, the more Emperor Liu was jealous, the more he wanted to reform.

After pondering for a moment, Emperor Liu asked again: "How do you think they will fight against the new system?"

Liu Yang pondered for a while, and said: "With your majesty's mighty virtue, they don't have the guts to confront directly, but there are still endless methods of obedience, obscurity, and delay! In the opinion of my ministers, I'm afraid it's impossible to clear the land. It will not go well, maybe the responsible officials will be bought and dealt with, maybe they will try their best to hide the land, maybe the executive officials will not try their best from the beginning, and the troubles faced by the new system are likely to exceed imagination."

"You are scaremongering!" Hearing Liu Yang's description of the situation so grimly, Emperor Liu felt irritated in his heart and couldn't help scolding.

Liu Yang's body froze slightly, and then he replied calmly: "This is my humble opinion, I only hope that Your Majesty will be fully prepared!"

The father and son looked at each other for a while, Emperor Liu waved his hand, and said softly: "You are right, I gave Li Fang and the others a buffer time, and I gave myself more time to prepare! Those people have more coping time"

"It is necessary to organize a team of officials with sufficient executive power to carry out the will of the court!" After a short silence, Emperor Liu said solemnly: "In order to govern the army, first select the generals. Do you think Li Fang can take on this important task?"

Emperor Liu's words revealed a sense of distrust, not for people, but for things.Liu Yang naturally felt it too, but, after all, this is his teacher, so he has to defend a little bit, Liu Yang thought for a while, and said: "Li Xiang has been loyal to the royal family for 30 years, and has always been diligent."

"I didn't ask him whether he was loyal or not!" Seeing that Liu Yang's answer was not what he asked, Emperor Liu was not polite, and said directly: "Just ask him if he can!"

Regarding this, Liu Yang was silent, hesitated for a few moments, and then said: "Those who implement this policy need extraordinary people, with great perseverance and determination, not to avoid the powerful, and to act vigorously. Although Li Xiang has high morals and prestige, I forgive you bluntly. There may be deficiencies in this matter!"

Liu Yang's evaluation of Li Fang was to the point, and Liu Yang nodded in agreement, before he said leisurely, "Who can be this extraordinary person!"

When Liu Yang heard the words, he was thoughtful, thought about it seriously, and made up his mind, and said to Emperor Liu: "I am willing to take over this job!"

Seeing him asking for orders, Emperor Liu was a little surprised. He couldn't help changing his sitting position, leaned forward a little, and said meaningfully: "You know the difficulty of this matter, this is an errand that offends others!"

Facing Emperor Liu's gaze, Liu Yang said with emotion: "There is always someone who wants to do it! I think about the government and the people all over the world, and I can take the lead in implementing His Majesty's will. There is no one other than the crown prince!"

Seeing Liu Yang's statement, Emperor Liu was stunned for a while, and couldn't help but smile. He hadn't shown that kind of expression of approval to Liu Yang for a long time, but he shook his head: "You don't care about this matter!"

"Your Majesty!" Liu Yang wanted to say something.

Emperor Liu resolutely said: "Maybe there are difficulties and obstacles, but it's not that only you, the crown prince, can implement it yourself. Is there no one in the court?"

"I still remember the farmer in the southeast! I don't know how he has recuperated in the past few years, can he still eat and eat meat?" Emperor Liu murmured.

Obviously, Emperor Liu thought of Zhao Pu again.Liu Yang also heard who Emperor Liu was referring to, and was a little surprised in his heart. He was so straightforward when he kicked Zhao Pu out of the court. It's only been a few years, does he have the idea of ​​using it again?

While thinking about it, I heard that Emperor Liu said to Liu Yang in a sad tone: "Don't I know the difficulty of this matter? You don't need to inquire. As soon as the news comes out, I'm afraid those high-ranking dignitaries in the capital will cause an uproar.

Do you know why I do this time-consuming and labor-intensive but thankless thing to offend those nobles, bureaucrats, and landlords?To put it in a word of self-satisfaction, I have already achieved great success in conquering the Han Empire. From the beginning of the treasure year, even if I did nothing, the name behind me will still be passed down through the ages.

From now on, even if I don't do anything, as long as you children and grandchildren don't mess around, follow the old government and abide by the government system, it will not be a big problem for the Han to enjoy the country for 200 years.

However, there are some things that only I can do.I am old now, and time is running out. While I still have some energy, I will do something for my descendants, for the country, and for the people of the world! "

As he said that, Emperor Liu looked at Liu Yang calmly, and confessed to him: "I am confident in my authority, but people's hearts are changeable, and my desires are hard to fill. Now how effective my authority is, this matter can be tested!

The tax reform can also be regarded as my first attempt, and perhaps it will be the last feat in my political career.I don't know how far I can go and what the consequences will be, but if I don't do it, I will inevitably die in regret! "

"Your Majesty." Hearing that Emperor Liu said the matter with a bit of sadness, Liu Yang was greatly surprised and wanted to comfort him.

But Emperor Liu said in a caring tone: "You can't mess with the right and wrong in this matter, and be your prince well."

(End of this chapter)