Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 137: Can White Be Leaving?
Near Fenglin Town not far from Xiangyang, a group of common people gathered together, and a pedant in the middle was reading the content on the list.

Halfway through hearing this, an old farmer looked humanely said: "Oh, one acre of land needs to pay three dou of official grain, how can there be such a heavy tax in all dynasties?"

The other nodded again and again: "Yeah, I haven't heard of it for thousands of years! One liter or two liters per mu, no matter how high it is, it can't be more than a few liters! The current grain harvest is not a tenfold increase in taxes! It scares me to death! "

The people next to him echoed.Another person said: "You who have land are calling for heavy taxes. Don't we customers have no way to survive? Not only do we have to pay the three buckets of grain, but we also have to share it with the master's family!"

The pedant in front said: "Didn't you understand? Now all the exorbitant taxes, including science and technology distribution, and purchases, are all suspended! From now on, farming will only pay three buckets of grain for one mu of land a year, and nothing else will be paid! "

Some people said: "So what? Didn't the tax increase mean that there will be no exorbitant taxes from now on? And which one is less?"

The pedant said: "This is clearly stated. In the future, all taxes will be collected using government-issued buckets, dendrobium noodles, additional levies, etc., which will not be allowed in the future. Not only that, in the future, all farmers in the countryside will not have to pay taxes. That is to say, if you farm in the countryside, you only receive this amount of grain! Alas, you fools! Calculate how much grain you have to pay the government for a year now?"

The old farmer next to him shook his head: "I only know how to farm, and I don't know how much food I have in a year. I just know that my family has more than [-] acres of land. The government has paid money and food, and the five members of my family have been hungry for half a year."

The pedant asked: "You always know how much grain you can produce per mu."

The old farmer thought for a while and said, "Last year was a good harvest. There were two stones of grain per mu. If it was paddy field, it would be more."

The pedant said: "It's said above that originally, if the acres are good or bad, they should be divided into upper, middle and lower grades. One mu and three buckets are said to be farmland. Now the world is difficult, and all the fields are temporarily counted as first-class farmland. Your family has 34 mu of land, two shi per acre, forty shi a year. If you receive three buckets of government grain per mu, then you only need to pay six shi, and you have [-] shi left! There are five people in your family. Even a big-bellied man can't eat so much food!"

The old farmer was a little embarrassed when he heard this.He whispered: "After paying the food, we still have to collect this kind of money, that kind of money, there are countless names! How much can the remaining food be sold for? In the end, there is still no food and clothing!"

After speaking, the old farmer sighed and kept shaking his head.

The pedant said: "It is different now. It is clearly stated on the list that anyone who farms will only pay grain. And it is clearly written that Xiangyang Mansion only harvests rice, wheat, and beans, and no expenses are allowed. Other than that , the government does not accept any food or money. Do you understand?"

Seeing that most people still looked puzzled, the pedant couldn't help but sighed: "It can be seen that Wang Guan, who has newly occupied Xiangyang, knows that you people are ignorant. If there are too many tax names, you will be deceived. So now the tax collectors Articles, reduced to the point of reduction, can not be further reduced. Let me tell you, it is stated on the list that anyone who has how much grain is allowed to sue. As long as you know, in the future, you can only pay one mu and three dou for farming.”

After speaking, go on to read the list.He said to the people: "Now when farming, the government only collects two things. One is three buckets of rice per mu, and the other is [-] workers per year. In the past, there was no number of forced labor. Our people are miserable. It’s all right now, the number has been fixed, fifty workers a year.”

After finishing speaking, he turned to look at everyone and said, "Do you understand? From now on, the government will only charge two kinds of taxes for farmers in the countryside. One is the land tax, three dou per mu of land. The other is forced labor, fifty workers a year. Anyone who exceeds this amount shall be sued!"

Although what the pedant said was simple and clear, most of the onlookers still couldn't figure out whether the tax was more or less, and there was a lot of discussion there.The pedant saw it and could only shake his head.People in the countryside can't explain too many things clearly.

In the state government office, Wang Xiaolie was sitting idle with a few of his subordinates, also discussing the recent reforms.

Chen Yuyi said: "I heard people say that after the announcement of the list, there were a lot of discussions among the people. Many people said that in the past, the official grain was collected only a few liters per mu. From the [-]th tax in the Han Dynasty to the present, The tax is only one tenth. Now three buckets per mu of land, even if two stones are collected, it is more than [-]%. For thousands of years, I have never seen such a heavy tax."

Wang Xiaolie laughed when he heard this: "Many people in the countryside can't even count numbers above ten, so it's normal for them to be unable to figure it out for a short time. But there are always scholars in every village, and there are always people with a clear mind. It only takes a few days , they will be able to explain things clearly to the people. After all, no matter what name the government uses to collect taxes, it is to let the people hand over money or things to the government. The people don’t understand anything else. They always understand things. So the key to this matter is not how the common people feel in a short time, but that the government should really do things."

Speaking of this, Wang Xiaolie looked at the other generals, and said in a serious voice: "The government has increased taxes, but the burden of the people has been reduced. Let me ask you, where does the extra money and food come from?"

Cao Zhiyan said: "It's nothing more than coming from tax collectors such as Lizheng and Xiangshushou."

Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "Lizheng has always been a heavy duty. I don't know how many people, who were very rich, have been in Lizheng for a few years, and their families have been ruined. The extra money actually comes from the local tyrants, or from powerful households. Yes. It has always been said that exorbitant taxes make the people unable to survive, and the tyranny is fiercer than a tiger. But in fact, when the people are burdened so heavily that they cannot survive, the government receives less money. Where does the money go? Of course, it goes to the powerful people It’s gone. It’s a big problem, not to be underestimated!”

Shao Ling said: "Why is it a big problem? People pay less money, so the whole world should be celebrating!"

Wang Xiaolie sighed: "How can it be so simple? If we do this, ordinary people will be better off, but it will also cut off many means of making money for powerful people. Why are these people called powerful people? Because they have power in the local area. Some people are officials in the family, some people have a large population and no one can beat them, and some are money handed down from the ancestors, all kinds of things. But in the past, most of the local affairs were in the hands of these people. To cut off their money, Do you think it will be all right? In other words, in the past dynasties, no one would have thought of doing this like us? Of course not! They didn’t do it before because they couldn’t do it!”

Seeing that everyone still didn't understand, Wang Xiaolie said: "In the local area, these people used to manage them. They have power and power, and they are paid by the government to keep the local peace and order. No matter how the government thinks about being good to the people, it must be up to them Do it. Even if you don’t collect taxes, with these people, the people will still have no food and clothing. Just like Jinghu South Road, where there are many wild mountains, where are there taxes? How are the people living there? Without these people, if the government cannot go down If we manage, troubles will inevitably arise. Therefore, if we want to cut off the money of these powerful families, we must send people to manage them. Do you think it is easy for the government to send people? I used to say that there are too many officials and officials, and more establishments will be made. Officials, how can it be easy?"

Having said that, Wang Xiaolie looked at the sky.After a while, he said: "The announcement has been revealed. Now there are two things. The first is to guard against rebellion by the forces. Our army, especially the officers in the army, has nothing to do with the localities. But every Every county in the state must be prepared and ready to quell these troublemakers at any time. You must be determined not to be frightened by the chaos everywhere, and to arrest people if something happens! Another thing is to prepare to send a large number of people to the countryside. The government's own control of the villages is the fundamental way to cut off the local tyrants!"

Chen Yuyi was dumbfounded.Hearing this, I couldn't bear it.Dao: "How many officials will be needed to manage all the villages? How much money will the officials need? Where will the money come from?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "Of course there are many officials in need, maybe even more than the previous officials. Of course, it is not a small amount to send them money and food. There are two methods for the money and food needed. One is to collect from the people, The second is to earn it yourself."

Speaking of this, Wang Xiaolie looked helpless at the stunned crowd.Indeed, without the memory of the previous life, it is really difficult to think about this aspect.As a ruler, of course, it is hoped that the fewer political affairs the better, and the fewer people who directly manage the better.But how?The administrative capacity of the country and the happy life of the people will be swallowed up by this simplicity.This is not transferred by human will.As long as this is done for long enough, the country will slowly decay and eventually get out of hand.

When people come together to form a society, it needs to be managed.If the government does not manage, the people will produce managers themselves.In general, the more directly managed by the government, the lower the cost of management.The less the government participates, the higher the cost of management will be.In special cases, the government can be replaced by religion.In most cases, the manager should be the government.

Recognizing this is not easy.It becomes clearer as human society develops and becomes more mature.

Human society does not naturally take the state as the main body.From the very beginning, families and tribes formed alliances to form countries.From the very beginning of a federal state, it has gradually become a unified country.Great unification means that most of the relationships of human beings are integrated into the national level.

Confucianism talks about self-cultivation, family harmony, state governance, and world peace.In this way, it is like step by step, there is a way to follow.From people to forming families, from families to forming countries, and from countries to forming the world, each level is very clear.In fact, it doesn't make sense.

Self-cultivation is easy to say, it is your own business.What will the Qi family do?How can we not only make the family harmonious and happy, but also let everyone in the family grow up healthily and have their own beautiful life?Frankly, it's practically impossible.If you want to do it, you have to follow Xunzi's grand etiquette and respect for the law.Those so-called aristocratic families, the so-called generations of parents are all virtuous, but they are actually cultivating robots.In the past, there were big families, family properties, and their own manors. The Qi family could also become a foundation for governing the country.In the Song Dynasty, it was actually impossible.

If the Qi family can't do it, how can the country be governed based on the Qi family?It is said to be the way of Confucius and Mencius, but in fact it is gradually drifting away from the theories of Confucius and Mencius, and finally falls into the evaluation of Confucianism.

As for the flat world, human civilization has been nearly ten thousand years old, and it is still far away.

The development of Chinese society in the Song Dynasty has different characteristics from before.With the decline of the aristocratic clans, clans played little role, and the folks were mainly based on small families.It should be managed on the basis of small families, and above that is governing the country.

From a small family to governing the country, all kinds of powerful forces in the middle are superfluous.Only when the middle class is cleared away will the society be clear.

In human society, some people are poor and some are rich, some live a rich and colorful life, and some have no food and clothing. This is a normal phenomenon.With the development of human society, society will present various colors.You can't force everyone to live the same way, and you can't force everyone to live the same way.

why is it like this?In the final analysis, it is still a question of how the ruler understands people.Are people the same?What should human nature be like?What kind of life is suitable for human nature?Social problems, especially political problems, are basically problems of understanding people.

Xunzi believed that human nature is evil, while Mencius believed that human nature is good. In the Song Dynasty, they basically agreed with Mencius' views.Awareness of this human nature is fundamental to politics.Failing to realize this is not enough to talk about politics.

In fact, not only the Song Dynasty, but also the later political theories are basically the same.Politics basically starts with people.Human nature is inherently evil, human nature is inherently good, and human nature is inherently simple, each of which will bring out different political theories.The monism and dualism in the understanding of people will lead to the development of all kinds of capitalism, socialism, and other kinds of doctrines in later generations.

It would take a long time to discuss this issue.But there is one thing, no matter what doctrine you believe in, if you cannot realize that this doctrine begins with the understanding of people, you can only be a blind believer.

Wang Xiaolie's understanding came from the sentence in the previous life that the people are the masters of the country.The understanding of people is not good and evil, nor is it based on the monism and dualism of Western culture, but Tao follows nature.Human beings are like that, to get to know people, to form one's own understanding of human society.The core of which is that the people are the masters of the country.The appearance of this sentence is ever-changing, but it remains the same.

Tao follows nature, these simple four words, but the content is thousands of thousands.

There were famous scholars in the pre-Qin period, and there were two famous questions.One is a white horse is not a horse, and the other is whether it is hard to leave?These two problems, when scholars of later generations explain, they will say that they are simple ideas, which celebrities in which country, and which methods have already been solved.This is a common problem of later generations. Scholars feel that they have learned both Chinese and Western, and the thoughts of these ancients are as simple as children's questions to themselves.

Is it really that simple?of course not.Most of the people who explained it are actually not worthy of leaving their names in history.This is simple, that has some truth, and the person who explained it is not worthy of making this conclusion.

Is it hard to leave?In fact, human society has developed for more than 2000 years, and it is still impossible to make a definite judgment.If whiteness is inseparable, how can we know the world?It's just four words, Tao follows nature.

In other words, the theories and methods that are believed to be inseparable are techniques.Only the theories and methods that are believed to be inseparable and inseparable can be called a Tao.The same is true for the theory of man.

What are people like?What is human nature?Making answers and developing theories can only be called techniques.People are people, and people are what they are.The original appearance of human beings is both good and evil, both good and evil.Human beings are human beings, neither monism nor dualism nor pluralism.Don't ask what people are like, what people should be like, people are people.

This is Wang Xiaolie's understanding of how he behaved in two lifetimes, and it is his way.The core of this principle is the people.There are tens of thousands of people, and they can't see clearly if they want to see, but the people are very clear.As long as you recognize the people clearly and take measures that are in the interests of the people, it is correct.

(End of this chapter)