Reborn in the late Northern Wei Dynasty

Chapter 208
Poll tax has always existed, and the difference is only whether it is collected by person or by household.

The Han Dynasty divided the head tax into two types, one is the counting tax levied on adults and the mouth money levied on children.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, due to successive years of wars, the population withered. In order to encourage births, Cao Cao reformed the head tax, changing from per person to per household, which is called household adjustment.

The adjustment in the rent regulation pursued by the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Eastern and Western Wei refers to the poll tax collected on a household basis.

The Hudiao of the Eastern and Western Weis was inherited from the Northern Wei Dynasty, and a piece of silk is handed over to a couple every year; for men who are 15 years old and unmarried, every four people who make a Hutiao of a husband and a woman will pay a piece of silk;
For slaves and maidservants engaged in farming and weaving, every eight people will be assigned a household survey of one husband and one woman;

There are [-] farm cattle, and the household adjustment of one husband and one wife is issued.

The place where hemp is produced pays linen, the amount is the same as that of Nabo.

In addition, there are miscellaneous tunes, which can be recruited at any time as needed.

Half of these household surveys paid are central revenue, two tenths are local revenue, and three tenths are official salaries.

There is a huge difference between collecting by household and collecting by person in the context of the land equalization system.

It is collected on a household basis. When children reach the age of [-] and need to undertake household adjustments, they can already be assigned to fields and become independent households, so the public does not need to bear much cost of raising them.

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the tax was collected per person, and a tax was paid for children every year, which undoubtedly could control the people's unrestrained desire to have children.

The collapse of the dynasty, apart from the invasion of foreign enemies, was mostly due to the contradiction between man and land caused by population growth and land annexation.

The effect of the land equalization system on suppressing land mergers is also the reason why Gao Cheng temporarily gave up land policy to ease the conflict between man and land.

This is the most suitable land system for this period.

What Yang Min said was to reform the tax system after reunification, and to control the population after the world was settled.

But in Gao Cheng's view, the Eastern Wei Dynasty's population of more than [-] million was enough to support his unification of the North and the South.

The reform of the tax system can also increase fiscal revenue.

Even if the fiscal and taxation reforms are made immediately, the number of Dingkou will be affected 15 years later. Gao Cheng does not think that with such an advantage, the Eastern Wei Dynasty will still need to spend 15 years mixing the North and the South.

If the ruling group of the Western Wei Dynasty was placed in Jiangnan and the ruling group of Nanliang was placed in Kansai, it may not be possible to unify in 30 years.

But the current situation is that the Yuwentai Group, which has great ambitions and capabilities, is limited by its national power and is blocked in Kansai, lingering on its last legs.

After recuperating from each other for a few years, the Western Wei Dynasty could not recover much strength, but the Eastern Wei Dynasty was able to get out of the cloud of defeat in the Western Expedition. After all, it formed a crushing trend against the Western Wei Dynasty by virtue of its size.

However, Xiao Liang, whose national strength could barely compete with the Eastern Wei Dynasty, chose to live in the south of the Yangtze River and wait to die.

How long a dynasty can exist, the foundation laid by the founder, and the rationality of various systems all play a crucial role.

Delaying the explosive growth of the population is undoubtedly prolonging the life of the future Gaoqi Dynasty. Who doesn't want the dynasty he created to exist for a few more years.

Moreover, taxation per person does not mean no population growth, or even negative growth, as evidenced by the Han Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Gao Cheng felt even more itchy, wishing to reform the tax system immediately.

But he repressed this impulse again. In any case, tax reform cannot be done by himself.

Ignore the scolding voices of the people in Cangzhou, because it is only a state, and Xiao Gaowang doesn't care.

The tax reform is to be reviled by the world.

Although it is doomed to not cause much trouble, it is still the same sentence, scolding is scolding, except for being coerced, no common people will actively participate in the uprising when they can survive.

But Xiao Gaowang wants everyone in the world to take care of his own good.

Well, no, this is where Yuan Shanjian came into play.

He is the Son of Heaven!

In the Eastern Wei Dynasty, is the emperor or the general bigger?

Hmm... In some special cases, it can be the Son of Heaven.

For example, Gao Cheng strongly opposed taxation by person for the benefit of the common people, and resolutely defended the household adjustment system.

But Yuan Shanjian insisted on his own opinion, and even sternly asked in the hall:
"I and the general, who is the emperor!" '

Gao Cheng felt that at that time, he should panic and resign to plead guilty.

Of course, the emperor was also temporarily angry and confused, so he naturally wanted to ask Wei Zhongliang to stay.

And Gao Cheng didn't dare to oppose Yuan Shan's opinion any more, so he could only let him go his own way and promote the reform of the tax law.

Little Gao Wang took the trouble to arrange a good home for Emperor Xiandi of the Han Dynasty for Yuan Shanjian, and Yuan Shanjian should also contribute, as money for his life, there is nothing wrong with it.

The group of cronies only saw Gao Cheng's complexion change inexplicably, sometimes happy and sometimes sad, but they didn't know that he had planned another big drama.

"Zun Yan's words are very kind."

Gao Cheng praised Yang Min without hesitation.

He immediately told all his cronies what was in his heart.

As he said that, he took a special look at Zuo Pushe Gaolong, the Shangshu who accompanied him to Hebei.

Gao Longzhi returned with a clear look.

Isn't it just to threaten and bully the emperor and let him cooperate with the performance?

Seeing that no one objected, Gao Cheng made a final decision:

"Since that's the case, after the tour of Hebei is completed and the journey returns to Luo, the Emperor Sacred Heart will be the dictator and implement the tax reform!"

King Xiao Gao is so considerate, the Emperor's Sacred Heart dictatorship doesn't need to bother Yuan Shanjian to think about it.

Gao Cheng didn't believe it. The Han Dynasty collected taxes per person, which could increase the population. He restored the old system of the Han Dynasty under the background of affluent people, and he could also create a negative population growth.

His purpose has always been to control uncontrolled population growth, not to stop it.

With Yang Min prescribing the right medicine, Gao Cheng is no longer eager to emulate the Northern Song Dynasty, and both agriculture and commerce.

But in the final analysis, as mentioned above, developing the handicraft industry, encouraging commerce, and at the same time adjusting the proportion of farmers and merchants through commercial taxation is the future national policy of the Gaoqi Dynasty.

When the land cannot meet the needs of the agricultural population, reduce the taxation on commerce, divert the agricultural population with handicrafts and commerce, and let some agricultural population give up the allocation of public land.

When the agricultural population is less than the demand for land labor, the commercial tax will be raised, forcing some handicraft and commercial population to return to agriculture and re-apply for acres of land.

Focusing on agriculture, supplemented by commerce, and developing both agriculture and commerce are not the same as emphasizing both agriculture and commerce. The Northern Song Dynasty raised nearly 1 million people in a small area. Although the civil unrest has never stopped, the prosperity of the commodity economy is enough to motivate Gao Cheng. Stick to this path.

Wouldn't there be a time traveler who paid equal attention to agriculture and business in the feudal era, and there wouldn't be a time traveler who insisted on emphasizing agriculture and suppressing business in ancient times?
Now that it has been determined to restore the Han system and collect taxes on a per capita basis instead of per household, Gao Cheng is more determined to implement a national census.

Without a census, how can we know how much revenue can be added to the finance.

Gaining a large amount of money and grain income for nothing, but Yuan Shanjian repudiated his infamy, Gao Cheng's wishful thinking resounded loudly.

Suddenly he realized a problem:
'If the Han system is restored, should slaves pay taxes?And who should pay? '

Gao Cheng would not openly oppose keeping slaves and maidservants during the Southern and Northern Dynasties in the sixth century AD.

To be honest, their Gao family kept tens of thousands of slaves in the three Bohai palaces of Luoyang, Jinyang, and Yecheng. Besides servants and maidservants, the two palaces of Jinyang and Luoyang also had a large number of kabuki and musicians.

He doesn't care what happens to Jinyang, at least the Bohai Palace in Luoyang doesn't have domestic prostitutes to accompany guests.

Because this kind of behavior will make Gao Cheng feel that he is a tortoise.

At first everyone thought that Gao Cheng was young, after all, he was in charge of the overall situation in Luoyang alone at the age of 12, and as time passed, he was used to it even now.

Whoever visits the Bohai Prince's Mansion is to satisfy their physical needs.

Slaves have a need for their existence, and it is impossible to have a movement to liberate slaves in this era.

That is really to cut oneself off from the world.

In fact, under the rule of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the living environment of slaves and maids was not too bad. After all, in order to make room for Ke Zhu Hunyuan, Gao Cheng executed the former Sizhou Mu on charges of torturing and killing slaves and maids.

It is precisely because the case of the year was so impressive that the rich and powerful have restrained themselves.

Although scolding and scolding are indispensable, they seldom kill people.

Gao Cheng didn't stay with his cronies for long, so he asked them to come to Bohai Palace tomorrow, and he will host a banquet for Xiangzhou officials.

After everyone dispersed, Gao Cheng burned the unsent letter from home about Jiangnan's simultaneous development of agriculture and commerce on a candle.

How could He Liuhun survive to that time, wouldn't it be a waste of time to tell him now?

He wrote another letter to his beloved father, Gao Huan, about reforming the tax system.

In the letter, he mentioned to Gao Huan his thoughts on whether slaves should pay poll tax.

Gao Cheng believes that no matter who he is, no matter what his status is, he has to pay taxes to him.

If it weren't for the consideration of saving face for Yuan Shanjian, brother-in-law and brother-in-law, and retaining a little bit of imperial dignity.

He had to let Gao Longzhi enter the palace to collect poll tax from Yuan Shanjian.

What is this called? This means that all people are born equal, and the rights to enjoy can be unequal, but the obligation to pay taxes for King Gao must be treated equally.

As for the poll tax on slaves and maidservants, the object of collection must be the master's family.

Gao Cheng vowed to defend to the death the rationality and legitimacy of having servants and maidservants in the Shijia family.

As long as they pay taxes.

The grandfather of Yuan Yuyi and Yuan Jingyi, Gaoyang Wang Yuanyong, who died in the Heyin Incident (528), had [-] male servants and [-] female servants in his mansion.

Thinking of this, Gao Cheng stopped writing, wondering if it was possible for him, as the grandson-in-law, to get a share of the property of the Gaoyang Palace.

Yuan Bin was abolished, and the new King Gaoyang has not yet been selected from Yuan Bin's brothers.

Maybe we can send someone to communicate, and he will support whoever shares his grandson-in-law.

If everyone is willing to regard their grandson-in-law as their own family, then whoever gets the most share will succeed King Gaoyang.

Gao Cheng immediately ordered someone to go to Luoyang to report to Sun Teng, and he would come forward to do this.

The high-level skin that Buddhism and Taoism preached is well-deserved of its name.

Gao Cheng continued to bury his head at his desk, and continued to write letters:
'...The tax is paid by the boy servant, and the master pays it. If the family resources are lacking, the slave will be released as a citizen, and the land will be rented out as a taxpayer.

'If the family has sufficient wealth, paying taxes and owning slaves can also fill the treasury.

"The emperor issued an edict to reform the tax system. My son asked his father to set an example for the world and pay for the servants of the prince's mansion. My son should follow suit in Luoyang." '

Father and son Gao Huan and Gao Cheng set an example and paid taxes for servants and maidservants.

Didn't it end up in your pocket in the end?

The position is here, as long as you pay money, you can legally own slaves.

If there are too many slaves who are unwilling to pay such a large amount of money every year, then some of the slaves will be returned to the people.

It can not only increase taxpayers, but also further weaken local tycoons.

Win-win!

Gao Cheng reformed the tax system to control the uncontrolled growth of newborns, but he had a different attitude towards the adult population.

Gao Cheng attached great importance to the number of taxpayers, otherwise he would not have included hermit households and forced monks and nuns to return to secular life.

After all, the adult population could immediately help his unification cause.

Gao Cheng sealed the letter and called someone to send it to Jinyang.

But Yuan Zhonghua came in, and her personal maid who brought meals behind her.

"Husband, it's time to eat."

Gao Cheng didn't react for a while.

In the past, Er Zhu Ying'e and others took turns bringing meals, but this was the first time that his first wife Yuan Zhonghua delivered meals to him.

"You won't be waiting outside all the time, will you?"

Gao Cheng asked with a smile while handing the letter to his personal attendant.

"The concubine saw that they were all out of the mansion, so she brought meals over, but my husband didn't move for a long time, so I didn't dare to disturb my thoughts."

Yuan Zhonghua replied that she served Gao Cheng a meal with a gentle expression on her face.

He wanted to cut Gao Cheng's flesh, but he stopped him and said:

"I'll do it myself."

Naturally, he took the knife from Yuan Zhonghua.

In the past, Gao Cheng asked Er Zhu Ying'e to cut and feed him, but the older he was, the more suspicious he became, and he had been doing it himself for the past few years.

Yuan Zhonghua didn't know that Gao Cheng was thinking so much and was about to leave, but he heard Gao Cheng say:
"Tomorrow there will be a banquet at the Palace of Bohai. Your makeup should not be too old or too thick, just be natural."

"Can concubines also participate?"

Yuan Zhonghua said with a little surprise.

"Usually it is inconvenient for you to live in Qinghe Palace, but now that you have entered Bohai Palace, if there is a banquet, you should attend it."

Gao Cheng chewed the boiled beef, feeling very tasty, cut off another piece and fed it to Yuan Zhonghua's mouth:
"Open your mouth."

Yuan Zhonghua's vermilion lips just opened, and Gao Cheng fed the meat into her mouth.

Chewing the beef in his mouth, and looking at Gao Cheng who was cutting the meat, Yuan Zhonghua was surrounded by a sense of happiness.

"If you haven't eaten yet, sit beside me and eat together."

"The concubine has already eaten."

Yuan Zhonghua said, but bypassed the long case and sat beside Gao Cheng:

"But still hungry."

Gao Cheng couldn't help laughing, and turned away the maidservants who entered the door, leaving the couple some time alone.

The night was dark, even though Yuan Zhonghua was reluctant to let go, after Gao Cheng sent her back to the room, he still had to leave.

"Wait another three years."

After washing his hands, Gao Cheng rubbed Yuan Zhonghua's head and said with a smile.

Yuan Zhonghua knew Gao Cheng's intentions, so he could only pout and complain to himself why he was only 13 years old after being married for six years.

Gao Cheng went to the courtyard of the two sisters Yuan Jingyi and Yuan Yuyi that night.

Yunpin Yuji hugged the two sisters, and Gao Cheng told the two girls truthfully that he asked Sun Teng to go to Gaoyang Palace to hint.

"If the two princesses are unwilling, I will let servant Sun stop."

Yuan Yuyi, who was conferred the title of Princess Langya, lay on Gao Cheng's chest, listening to his heartbeat, and said emotionally:

"The concubine is already a member of the Gao family, so how can she go to the Gaoyang Palace again?"

On the other side, Yuan Jingyi, Princess of the East China Sea, who was holding Gao Cheng's arm, also leaned into his ear and whispered:
"The concubine only hopes to be pregnant and get a title."

The breath in the ears made Gao Cheng feel unbearably itchy...

The next day, Yuan Zhonghua put on light makeup for herself with excitement. This would be her first time attending a banquet as a legitimate wife, and was introduced by Gao Cheng to his close confidants, Wen Wu.

Clothes were changed one after another, until Gao Cheng saw that she had not moved for a long time, and went in personally to pick out a blue dress for her, and then he walked out of the room holding hands.

The hustle and bustle of singing and dancing in the lobby did not disturb Er Zhu Ying'e's state of mind. She knew that she had been favored enough, and this was the glory that belonged exclusively to Yuan Zhonghua.

At this moment, what she misses most in her heart is Gao Xiaozhang who is far away in Jinyang.

Just as the Song family cared about Gao Xiaoyu.

Gao Cheng reminisced about the past with a group of Xiangzhou officials at the banquet. Many of them had participated in Xindu Jianyi, but they could not squeeze into the inner circle. After the Gao family seized power, they did not follow to Jinyang and Luoyang, but were arrested Stay in Hebei.

The banquet ended in a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.

Gao Cheng did not mention any political matters at the banquet today, the reason why he held a large banquet was also because he refused to meet a group of old acquaintances who came to visit yesterday.

If it was really necessary to meet each of them, Gao Cheng also found it troublesome, so he simply held a banquet today and met all of them together.

Originally apprehensive, Yuan Zhonghua, who was afraid of being lost, found in the end that she had nothing to do with her at all, but Gao Cheng introduced a few words to everyone during the meeting.

Everyone stood up to greet her, and after re-checking in, all they saw was her husband, the high and mighty general.

Yuan Zhonghua didn't feel left out either. In the final analysis, the wife is also honored by her husband's reputation.

At this time, a carriage was also escorted by servants, and drove away from Zhaojun, Yinzhou.

Li Zu'e in the carriage pouted all the way, looking worried.

Mother Cui Youfei comforted and said:

"Your brother-in-law abandoned his wife and family and fled to Kansai. Your elder sister has become a criminal woman and her life is beyond her control. Don't worry about it anymore."

Only then did Li Zue speak:
"My sister can't help herself, how can my daughter blame her? I only blame Gao Cheng. Since he married his daughter, he refused to let her go. Now that he has a sister, he still wants his mother to send her daughter away."

In Li Zu'e's memory, the image of the slightly restrained handsome boy has long been blurred.

It has been six years, and Li Zu'e, who is the same age as Yuan Zhonghua, thought it was nothing at first after hearing a lot of rumors about him being greedy and lustful.

Didn't my father also marry several aunts to come in?

At least I heard that Li Zu'e was more happy than ashamed when he asked his father to marry him:

It turned out that even if it was just a hasty counting of faces when he was young, he did not forget himself.

All good impressions were shattered when he learned that Gao Cheng took Li Zuyi as his wife.

After hearing Li Zu'e's words, Cui Youfei was terrified. She hurriedly opened the curtain of the car, looked outside, and then lowered her voice and said:
"You can't say that again. You and Gao Cheng have already had a marriage contract. Even if you are angry, you can't let outsiders know about it, so as not to make him unhappy. After all, Zu'e will spend the rest of his life with him."

"My daughter is not stupid, so how can she tell outsiders? I think that Gao Cheng deliberately forced Yuan Ang away. He has been coveting my sister for a long time. Otherwise, when Yuan Ang was on an envoy, why would he rush to send my sister away?" Go back to Hebei."

Not only does Li Zu'e not have much affection for her husband, but she also has a bad face when she mentions her former brother-in-law who abandoned his wife and family.

Cui Youfei said in relief:

"I heard from your father that Gao Cheng was born handsome, accomplished both in martial arts and martial arts, and was gentle and tolerant to others, but he couldn't control his sexuality. You married a real person, not a statue of a sage in a Confucian temple. , there is nothing so perfect."

Li Zu'e didn't refute this time. She couldn't remember the specific facial features of the 11-year-old boy, but she always remembered that he was very good-looking.

Time passed while the mother and daughter were chatting, and the carriage drove to Yecheng non-stop.

And Zhang Liang, who recruited salt soldiers from the south of the Yellow River to the north of the Huaihe River, and the coastal states, finally recruited 2 people.

They are all according to Gao Cheng's instructions, brave to fight with weapons, but still simple and simple salt workers.

Food was provided by the states and counties along the way, and Zhang Liang led the salt soldiers north to Hebei for Gao Cheng's inspection.

At the same time, he also made arrangements for the residence of these people, so that after the autumn harvest, he could take the family members of the salt soldiers there and resettle them.

This was also something that the two had agreed on long ago. Gao Cheng, who had high hopes for this salt soldier, would not be able to rest assured if he didn't inspect its quality in person.

Originally, after Gao Cheng weakened the strength of the salt dealers, he would free up his hands to attack them, monopolize the salt trade, and eat alone.

But now that he decided to develop both agriculture and commerce in the future, Gao Cheng's views on salt dealers also changed accordingly.

Salt dealers are different from privately coined coins. The right to issue coins must be completely transferred to the central government. This is a matter of principle.

The purpose of weakening the salt sellers cannot be changed, but it can leave room for the salt sellers to survive, instead of eliminating them all at once.

Gao Cheng decided to uniformly stipulate the location of salt markets in all states and counties, prohibit private sales everywhere, and arrange tax collectors to collect salt taxes according to the amount of salt entering the market, so as to prevent salt vendors from evading taxes. This is an effective method.

Just when Gao Cheng reorganized the salt affairs, balanced the contradiction between official salt and private salt, and was planning to reform the tax system.

Yu Wentai is not idle either.

Guanzhong, Chang'an.

Knowing that Gao Cheng has gone to Hebei, and the soldiers and people under his command breathed a sigh of relief, Yu Wentai decided to take the opportunity to remove the nail of Yubi.

In Yu Wentai's view, this is undoubtedly the best time. Gao Huan's defeat has only been half a year, and he does not necessarily have the courage to cross the river and enter Kansai.

And Gao Cheng is far away in Hebei, Xitongguan will not be threatened much, and he can go north without worry, but Yu Wentai still has a mind and transfers his confidant Yu Jin to Xitongguan.

On the other hand, he gathered troops in Chang'an, recruited [-] soldiers from the prefectures and counties, and accompanied the main force of the [-] soldiers under his command, crossed the Weihe River in the north, and sent out jade biscuits.

Nearly half a year ago, where Gao Huan's camp was, it was full of saplings, and it was Yu Wentai who planted them with all the soldiers to commemorate the great victory.

Wang Sizheng, who was stationed in Yubi (Huayin), had received the definite news. He ordered people to report the news to Jinyang, and at the same time rectified the city defense.

Fortunately, Yu Wentai had to let his troops rest for a period of time due to spring plowing and farming, which gave Wang Sizheng the opportunity to design and repair the city defense according to his own ideas.

After getting Gao Huan's approval, as Gao Cheng said, Gao Huan really handed over [-] Xianbei soldiers to him.

In addition, when they met in the secret passage of Wuli, Gao Cheng promised that he was recruiting soldiers from Wuqian Prefecture, although he could not be sent out to fight in the field, he could still look good in assisting in the defense of the city.

Wang Sizheng was not afraid.

　I finally caught up, and I didn’t release everyone’s pigeons. Today’s update is still at night, but I will try my best to make more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)