Tibet.

Chapter 1238: Wei Xiang's Advice
Li Dai continued slowly, "Everyone knows what the regent is going to do next. Can he take the throne? It shouldn't be a big problem, but he has a biggest weakness. He is not ruthless enough and is too lenient to others. Although everyone likes this weakness, it is not a good thing for an emperor. Senior is an understanding person, so I don't need to explain it to you!"

Wei Jiansu nodded silently. He could fully understand what Li Dai meant. The emperor was not a kind-hearted person, especially the regent who did not come to the throne in a legitimate way. If he was too lenient, he would be seen as weak in the eyes of others, which would make the people below look down on him, and would definitely affect his position in the end.

Li Dai continued, "I am his father. I am in charge of the Political Affairs Hall, which will hinder him and make it difficult for him to implement many major policies. For example, tax reform has been called for since last year, but now it is February and there is still no movement. Why?
Because the abolition of household tax affects the vital interests of many people, many people do not say it out loud, but are secretly resisting. If this tax reform fails, it will seriously undermine the prestige of the regent.

If it is promoted forcefully, it will inevitably arouse stronger resistance. At this time, a more experienced and shrewd minister will be needed to sit in the government hall to solve the crisis faced by the regent and push him up. This person is the predecessor! "

Only then did Wei Jiansu understand Li Dai's good intentions, which was to help him become the regent.

After a moment of silence, Wei Jiansu slowly said, "In fact, I think the Regent is a bit too hasty in implementing tax reform. He abolished the household tax to increase the population. I understand his feelings, but we can't be impatient. His position is not stable yet. If he takes too big a step, he will easily fall. Don't worry, Jingwen! I will find a chance to persuade him."

"That's good. My advice to him is useless. Maybe if the seniors give him advice, he will listen."

After leaving the restaurant, Wei Jiansu took a carriage back to the Council of State. He pondered for a long time and sent someone to invite Li Mi.

Not long after, Li Mi came over quickly, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "Congratulations to Minister Wei on his promotion to Right Prime Minister!"

"Thank you! Please take a seat, Minister Li."

The two of them sat down as host and guest, and Wei Jiansu said slowly, "I found something strange. When I was in Longyou, the Helong Jiedufu implemented the salt and iron monopoly. Bashu should have implemented it as well! Why is the tax reform being piloted in Bashu again this time?"

Li Mi smiled and said, "The tax reform this time is different from the salt and iron monopoly in Helong. The salt and iron monopoly in Helong did not involve other taxes, but this time it involves various other taxes, so Bashu has to conduct a new pilot."

Wei Jiansu nodded. "Do you think it is reasonable to abolish household tax, business tax and other miscellaneous taxes? Also, do you think it is fair that rural people have to pay land tax, but urban people have to abolish household tax?"

Li Mi smiled bitterly and said, "There are indeed some unreasonable aspects here. For example, the commercial tax. Perhaps your highness's original intention was to reduce the burden on merchants and promote business. The commercial tax was abolished in Helong at the beginning, and the effect was very good. Perhaps your highness did not consider the interests of local governments. The same is true for household tax. Local governments share the profits. Once the household tax is abolished, it will inevitably affect the interests of local governments. Local governments cannot get the salt and iron tax, which will cause conflicts between local governments and the court."

After a pause, Li Mi asked again: "Does Prime Minister Wei have a good plan?"

Wei Jiansu said slowly: "My idea is very simple, I want to achieve the purpose of the regent king, but not affect the local interests, and at the same time reduce the burden on the people."

“It’s not easy to kill three birds with one stone!”

Wei Jiansu whispered a few words to Li Mi, who nodded repeatedly and said with a smile: "Ginger is indeed experienced, you can give it a try!"

"If Minister Li agrees with my proposal, we will go and talk to His Highness."

Otherwise, how can we say that Wei Jiansu is a Taoist master? He knew that it would be difficult to convince the regent by himself, but if Li Mi was included, Li Ye would be easily convinced.

Soon, Wei Jiansu and Li Mi appeared in Li Ye's official residence.

Wei Jiansu bowed and said, "I understand your intention to withdraw from the tax reform. The world is about to be unified, so it is natural to reduce the burden on the people and implement recuperation. However, if the reform is too hasty, it will directly affect the interests of local governments and will inevitably be resisted by local governments. Just like Cui Yuan, your Highness also knows that he is not greedy for money to indulge his children. He is actually destroying the tax reform implemented in Bashu. If your Highness does not consider this issue, I am worried that there will be countless Cui Yuans in the world. At the same time, private salt will be rampant everywhere in the world. How much energy does the inner guard have to investigate?"

Before Wei Jiansu was not the Right Prime Minister, he never raised these issues. Now that he is the Right Prime Minister, he has responsibilities, so he has to make these things clear.

Li Ye was silent for a moment and said, "But when I inspected Jiangnan and Fujian, I realized that the tax burden was so heavy that the local governments could no longer bear it. I believe that the local governments welcome tax reform."

"No! The tax reforms that local governments welcome are those that do not affect their interests. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many officials supporting Cui Yuan. Don't these officials know that Cui Yuan's son is selling private salt? They know, but they condone it. It's not because they have a good personal relationship with Cui Yuan, but because they are using their support for Cui Yuan to resist the tax reform."

Li Mi also said: "Your Highness, Longyou is easy to change, but the world is too complicated and involves the interests of too many people. Your Highness's foundation is not solid, so I also suggest you be cautious!"

Li Ye was more inclined to listen to Li Mi's advice. Since Li Mi also advised him to be cautious, he had to talk to Wei Jiansu patiently.

"What good ideas does Prime Minister Wei have?"

"My first suggestion is to reduce the tax increase. Your Highness may not know that the biggest issue that has caused public outrage in the southern states is the military expenditure. Specifically, when it comes to implementation, it means the tax increase. All taxes are increased by 30%, which has overwhelmed the people and the local government is also very dissatisfied.

So first of all, we should remove the bonus. Since local officials will not get this bonus either, they will definitely cooperate, which will greatly reduce the burden on the people.

Second, the salt and iron monopoly was changed to the salt, iron and wine monopoly, with the wine section being under the control of the local government.

Third, take inventory of the land and take back the ownerless land, which local governments can then rent out to increase their income.

Fourth, continue to collect commercial taxes, and uniformly set them at 5 cents based on the value of goods. This tax still belongs to local governments. In order to avoid intercepting merchants for taxation in various places, it is necessary to strictly implement the rules of taxation upon entering the city. The rules should be unified throughout the world, and those who break the rules will be severely punished.

When the local government has these three additional revenues, it will be enough to make up for their share of the household tax. Then, if Your Highness makes adjustments to the household tax and land tax, the resistance from the local government will not be so fierce. "

Li Mi beside him laughed and said, "Your Highness often told us in the past that we should implement the policy of carrot and stick. This time, Your Highness only used the stick and did not give carrots. Of course, the local government will resist."

Wei Jiansu also laughed and said, "Carrot and stick, this method is good, one hand is hard and the other is soft is the kingly way."

Li Ye nodded, "Tell me how to adjust the household tax and land tax?"

Wei Jiansu continued, "My principle is to ensure fair taxation. Your Highness cannot just abolish the household tax and retain the land tax. This is unfair to the farmers. The local government will be dissatisfied, and the farmers will also be resentful. Once instigated, the farmers will resist the tax and rebel."

"That makes sense, keep going!"

(End of this chapter)