Wei Ni

Chapter 106

This is not the first time the emperor Cao Rui has heard the remonstrance of light corvee and thin Fu.

People such as Gao Tanglong, Yang Fu, and Wei Zhen have all given advice, and even Wang Su, who specializes in academic research, has mentioned it.

But the reason for their remonstrance is that the world is turbulent and the army has been fighting and attacking for many years.

Therefore, when Xia Houhui claimed that the heavy taxation of corvees in the State of Wei had already made the people of Li and common people willing to be the tenants of the rich and powerful families, he had a deafening feeling.

The people are the foundation of the country.

The loss of Li Shu also means that the national treasury will usher in emptiness, and the military equipment will be slack, which will eventually lead to turmoil in the country and the loss of the country.

Which king dares to take it lightly!

However, the emperor Cao Rui is only silent now.

Because he knew that the corvee in Wei State might be really heavy, but the customized tax was not high.

He also knew that Xia Houhui knew this, so he knew that the high tax Xia Houhui said meant that the people of Li Shu were apportioned.

The taxation system of the Wei State was customized during the period of Emperor Wu Cao Cao.

It is the collection of land tax and household transfer, which replaced the system of land rent, oral tax and calculation tax since the Han Dynasty; according to the quota of "four liters of land rent, two horses of silk and two catties of cotton from each household", it was abolished by expropriation in kind. currency tax system.

Moreover, it is stipulated that "the increase in land rent does not increase the tax, and the increase in household adjustment does not increase the tax."

As long as the Li and Shu under the rule do not separate their households, no matter how much the output per mu increases or how much the population increases, the government will not increase the taxes levied by the government.In addition, in addition to land rent and household adjustment, it is strictly prohibited to issue it without authorization, so as to reduce the collection of miscellaneous Fu.

In terms of taxes such as industry and commerce, Wei Wu Cao Cao also stipulated that "except for the prohibition of Chiyu, and the tax of Guanjin, all taxes will be repaid by one tithe." People are allowed to go fishing in the river, and merchants are allowed to develop production. on a ten percent basis.

After the taxation is customized, it is expressly curbed by powerful mergers and apportionment of taxes.

Let the county magistrates in the prefectures and counties conduct strict investigations, in order to "not order the strong people to hide anything, but the weak people also pay taxes."

But since Emperor Wen Cao Pi, this system collapsed.

First of all, it was Cao Pi who cast the "Wei Wuzhu" and abolished the mode of paying taxes in kind.

The original intention of starting out is that when the common people pay taxes in kind, there is no shortage of things that increase the weight of wet valleys and shoddy them, which damages the interests of the government.But after the tax was changed to five baht, the nobles of the aristocratic family had the opportunity to exploit Li Shu.

For example, relying on the power of the family to drive out merchants from other places and monopolize commerce, the local Li Shu had to sell grain and silk to them at a very low price in exchange for five baht to pay taxes.

In this way, a disguised apportionment is formed.

It is equivalent to paying taxes twice by Li Shu, one to the government and one to the aristocratic family.

Of course, there are disadvantages in collecting taxes no matter in kind or in currency, and aristocratic families can also find loopholes. It is a matter of opinion whether it is better or worse.

What really made Li Shu suffer was that the miscellaneous taxes increased a lot during Cao Pi's administration.

And he also delegated power to let the gentry family grow up.

The increase in the power of local wealthy families has also weakened the power of the court picket and blocked the way of speech in a disguised form, so that things between the strong and the weak among the people prevail.

Another reason is the transition from Cao Wei's entrepreneurial period to the entrepreneurial period.

Cao Pi's replacement of the Han Dynasty also means that the heroes who followed Wei Wu Cao Cao's entrepreneurship in the past have ushered in the time to enjoy the fruits of victory.

These people became new dignitaries after they were appointed as marquises, awarded high-ranking officials, and rewarded with fields and acres. After their descendants inherited the legacy of their parents, most of them put their minds on running the family business and establishing the lintel.Leaving aside, taking Xiahouhui as an example, the property he allocated to the west end of Yangqu is much richer than Xiahouyuan's net worth before his fortune.

And the more than [-] households who cultivated in Wubao, the west end of Yangqu, are not a real example of fighting for profit with the country and hiding the population?
Therefore, today's Cao Rui has no way to solve this problem.

The emperor's protégés sent out to local officials were strongly opposed by the officials, which proves that he can't even strengthen local government pickets to bully the weak and curb mergers.

Perhaps, he can only try how to reduce various miscellaneous taxes, save interest and corvee.

And on the premise of not making drastic changes, discussing with the ministers and officials and making compromises to see if some decrees can be implemented to alleviate the current situation a little.

That's why he didn't ask Xia Houhui if there was any way to change it.

Before he had the authority like Emperor Wu Cao Cao, he couldn't rectify this ill, and asking about it would only add to his worries.

Therefore, what he is thinking in his heart now is the emotion of Zhou Xuan's previous judgment on Xia Houhui.

I think the phrase "may increase disputes over state affairs" is very accurate.

Didn't Xia Houhui's advice to rectify the accumulated abuses in the farmland, promote the reform of the scholar family, and the disciples of the emperor all caused disputes in the temple?

And don't say it's the "civil endowment" mentioned today, which even he feels powerless!
He is commendable for worrying about the country.

However, the failure lies in acting too hastily, regardless of the consequences.

Perhaps, he is still in the army and has not experienced the game of the temple, so he thinks everything too simply.

Emperor Cao Rui made a judgment on Xia Houhui in his heart.

Finally, he broke the silence with a voice, "I know the meaning of juvenile power. It's just that this matter should be figured out slowly, and it should not be rashly induced turmoil."

"only."

Responding respectfully, Xia Houhui didn't fight again.

Because he didn't count on it, the emperor Cao Rui is now taking drastic measures to rectify the current malpractice.

This is mentioned for two reasons.

One is that he knew about the fact that the minister of the temple opposed the release of the disciples of the emperor.

That's why I took this opportunity to give Cao Rui a subtle remonstrance - don't play tricks again in the future, and change his advice to benefit the community beyond recognition!Otherwise, it will repeat the mistakes of the disciples of the emperor who were blocked from sending out.

The other is that he wanted to use "light taxation" as an introduction to supplement the policy of rectifying the long-standing abuses in farming and reforming scholars.

He felt that the farming system was outdated.

Now that the world is full of power, the respective territories of the three families have almost been fixed, and Li and Shu will no longer wander around because of avoiding the flames of war. Naturally, the garrison system has lost its original intention of implementing it.

Moreover, the tuntian system is essentially the government's squeeze on the tuntians.

Not only did the cultivated acres not belong to him, but even the distribution of production was far higher than Li Shu's tax.

In this way, it is inevitable that the people will not be attached.

The continuous fleeing of tuntian guests was not only the reason why the tuntian captain colluded with local wealthy families to embezzle acres of land and increase the burden.

It is also the backlash they feel is unfair.

Therefore, Xia Houhui asked Emperor Cao Rui to think about it——

When the reform of the military service redemption of the scholars and the recruiting of the peasants to serve in the army has been carried out to the limit, and the war of concurrent military conquests has eased a little, can we find an appropriate time to grant the farmers and the peasants all the land and return them to the people? This is to win the hearts of the people.

Of course, in order to prevent resentment from the previous ransom family and the recruited farmer, preconditions must be set up for those who will be released later.For example, they are released to the border county, and they will be awarded the land after many years of garrisoning the border for free.

"Your Majesty, the so-called one moment is the other moment."

After talking about his own thoughts, Xia Houhui also said this, "Hui secretly thought that the people's peace is the country's peace. When Emperor Wu started his business, the world was out of order and the people were in disorder, so the system of garrisoning land was good government at that time. Today, we are in the state of Wei. Now that the Han Dynasty has inherited the destiny, Jing'an, the heartland of the Central Plains, should think about spreading favors widely, so that Li Shu can praise the goodness of our Wei State."

Abolish the farming system? !

After hearing this, Emperor Cao Rui was stunned.

This is something he never thought about.

We must know that the reason why the Wei State has been conquesting endlessly every year without worrying about food and fodder is all due to the garrison system!
The destruction of Shu and Wu was not achieved in a day. If the system of garrisoning land is abolished, what will be provided for the soldiers to conquer?
Could it be that he was allowed to follow in the footsteps of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty who sold his official titles?
Why are you always mentioning some irrelevant things today!
Cao Rui, who was slightly angry, was about to reprimand, but then he thought about it, and suddenly remembered that he was already promoting the reform of recruiting soldiers from Tuntian Ke
As Xia Houhui said, the reform of the farming system will eventually come to an end.

But what this ending was, he hadn't thought about it.

Therefore, after pondering for a while, he asked solemnly, "Has Zhiquan ever thought about it, if the farming system is abolished, there may be worries about food and fodder being unsustainable in future conquests by the Wei Kingdom?"

Of course I have thought about it!
Because no matter whether it is abolished now or not, the farmland system will usher in disintegration.

And I also know that Sima Yan abolished the farming system in history, not only did he not have to worry about food and fodder, but he also won the hearts of the people because of it!
"Return to Your Majesty, Hui has thought about it."

Gently nodding his head in response, Xia Houhui said, "Your Majesty has now ordered the troops stationed in Yongliang, Jingxiang and other places to open ditches and expand the military garrisons, so that the troops will be self-sufficient. In this way, there will be a lot of needs for future conquests. And now our country is garrisoning fields. The government is gradually collapsing, and it is true that there is not much food that can be collected into the national treasury; if we don’t let the farmers return to their citizenship and let them pay more taxes for the country, although the number is small, the victory lies in the support of the people! The country is safe!"

This time, Emperor Cao Rui was silent for a long time.

Because in the past few years, he has not been able to rectify the long-standing abuses in farming.

Even if he killed chickens and monkeys in Yingchuan, and transferred the upright minister Yang Fu to Da Si Nong, it only guaranteed the cleanliness of the officials in the villages inside and outside the capital of Luoyang.In other places, the situation of farmland and acres being embezzled and villagers continuing to flee has not changed.

It's not that Yang Fu has neglected his duty.

It's that the Tuntian Xiaowei and the aristocratic Haoyou of the local prefectures and counties already know the taste, and will not curb their greed because of a decree from the temple.

So Cao Rui suddenly felt that Xia Houhui's proposal of breaking through and then building up seemed to be a good idea.

Not just to win the hearts of the people.

For example, the bureaucracy can be simplified and the government's salary expenditure can be reduced.

Secondly, after the abolition of the Tuntian system, all registered land acres can be recovered according to the record.It is justifiable to make those aristocratic families who embezzled the land pay the price!
"Let's leave this matter alone."

Cao Rui changed his mind and thought about his interests, and finally heaved a sigh of relief, "If the farming system becomes unsustainable in the future, the childish rights can be removed, and I will ask the ministers to discuss it together."

However, for his concession, Xia Houhui refused without thinking.

"Your Majesty, Hui thinks that His Majesty should discuss this matter with the ministers himself, and it is not appropriate for Hui to advocate for it."

What, even you are starting to have selfishness?
Just after getting married and starting a career, you started to seek a career, and you don't want to be a pawn for me and play games with the ministers?

Hearing this, Emperor Cao Rui was very displeased.

But it didn't flare up, let alone let the dissatisfaction creep up on his face, but asked lightly, "What's the explanation for this statement?"

"Returning to Your Majesty, it is kindness from the upper ear."

Xia Houhui replied softly, "Abolishing the farming system and letting the guests return to their citizenship is good governance. This kind of favor is not something that a minister can get."

That's it!

Cao Rui suddenly understood.

In the past, the reform of the scholar family system and the rectification of the accumulated abuses in the villages were all believed to be initiated by Xia Houhui.

If he proposed to abolish the farming system in the future, those scholars and farmers who were released into the civilian population would not think that this was the good government of the court, but would remember their kindness to Xia Houhui.

Therefore, he thought of asking Cao Rui to mention this matter in person, so that Li Shu could recite Cao Rui's kindness.

"Ziquan has a heart."

The emperor Cao Rui gave a grateful praise with feeling.

After finishing the business, the two resumed some gossip, and Xia Houhui left the palace.

The Emperor Cao Rui sat alone in the small pavilion in the middle of the lake, watching the birds playing freely with a blurred gaze.

He remembered the previous dream again.

Also because of Xia Houhui's remonstrance that "gratitude comes from above", he felt that he could pick it out of the "three big trees" in the dream.

Worry about the king's worries, and a person who is determined to benefit the country, why should he be suspicious!
If you don't trust Xia Houhui, should you trust other selfish clan children and Zhu Xiahou?

Moreover, he also began to feel that his previous interpretation of the dream was wrong.

Maybe those two fallen trees refer to the late Cao Xiu and Cao Zhen?

The defeat of Cao Xiu's Shiting was no less traumatic to Wei than the Battle of Chibi in the past, which reversed the offensive and defensive of both Wei and Wu on the Huainan front; and Cao Zhen's defeat of Shu, although the loss of soldiers and the consumption of food and fodder were all in the past. It was within the scope of acceptance, but he made the prestige of the Wei family's clan decline since then!

From the perspective of the king and the country, there is actually not much difference between the two.

Like the two big trees that fell in Cao Rui's dream, they both caused damage to Wei Que.

And the last big tree that thrived from Wei Que should refer to the queen of Wei Wanggong.Because he had already begun to select the children of the nearby clan, and planned to adopt them as heirs and train them as the heirs of the Wei State.

But none of these children came from the branch of Emperor Wen Cao Pi.

It's not that Cao Rui doesn't want to adopt someone with a closer bloodline.

But Emperor Wen Cao Pi had very few surviving heirs and even fewer grandchildren, so he had no choice at all.

In the old days of Wei Duodi, Cao Pi took a lot of effort to win, but when Cao Rui was the next generation, he still failed to keep the throne and had to take the initiative to give up.

In a sense, this can be regarded as "the magpie's nest is occupied by the dove", right?
Ugh!
Cao Rui sighed melancholy looking at the frolicking birds who didn't know the sorrows of the world.

It took a long time before I calmed down and went back to the bedroom.

Along the way, he was also pondering whether to let Xia Houhui stay in Luoyang directly to work, quickly accumulate temple resumes, and become a pawn of the monarchy as soon as possible?
After all, the Huainan front is mainly defensive.

They have already raided the Wancheng Valley, so it seems that it is difficult to have a chance to accumulate meritorious service.
(End of this chapter)