The great man will live forever

Chapter 159 The Terror of Emperor Wu

The next day, the sky was bright and clear, and the Huifeng was warm.

"Dang!" The servant of Lanlinghou Mansion knocked on the door of Sima Qian's mansion. The person who opened the door this time was an old woman, Sima Qian's servant. He was an official, so he still had servants. There was also a little maid next to him. In total, There are two people, one is responsible for cooking and the other is responsible for taking care of Sima Li.

The reason why Liu Han didn't see them when he came yesterday was because they happened to go shopping for groceries.

Knowing that he was from the Lanling Marquis Mansion, Sima Qian personally greeted him, "This is the money our Marquis asked to send."

Several people carried boxes of money and pulled two large carriages.

"Too many, too many!" Sima Qian was surprised and wanted to stop him, but the people in the Lanling Hou Mansion ignored him. Only after the transportation was completed, did one of them speak, "The Marquis asked me to bring you a message, Mr. Marquis." Said: 'I don't like to be rejected, so I can use it as I wish. I am immobile as a mountain, and as mobile as a thunderbolt. I am looking forward to your historical records.'"

Sima Qian had no choice but to accept it and bowed solemnly: "Thank you Lord Marquis for your kindness. Sima Qian will definitely live up to Lord Marquis's expectations. Mountains and rivers are not important, but meeting a confidant is more important."

When everyone in Lanlinghou Mansion had left, his daughter Sima Li almost jumped up and said, "Aweng, it's a lot of money, it's a lot of money. You can buy a lot of chestnuts, plums, apricots, pears, plums, oranges... and also bean sprouts." Cake, and honey..."

There were stars in the child's eyes. Where was the money? It was all food. She was drooling just thinking about it.

Sima Qian had no choice but to knock her on the head twice, "I just want to eat every day. Copy "Spring and Autumn" for me three times."

The little girl pouted, pulled Liu Qianniang's sleeves with her little hands, and shook her from side to side.

"This is what the Marquis specially gave to you, Aweng, to write historical records. It's not here to eat. Go ahead and copy it four times."

"what?"

She thought her mother would put in a good word for her, but she didn't expect that the punishment would be aggravated.

"How can you be like this, more cruel than Aweng, and don't like Li'er?" She burst into tears.

"Twice, finish writing Aweng and buy you oranges." Sima Qian touched her head and said softly, "I still have some spare money, which cannot be touched, but I can still have the money to buy you oranges. .”

"Aweng is the best, the best in the world."

Sima Li burst into tears and laughed, jumping up and down to copy "Spring and Autumn".

"My husband knows how to pamper her." Liu Qianniang smiled helplessly, and then touched her belly, "I blame me for not living up to expectations and not giving birth to a son for you, husband. The sage has a saying, there are three types of unfilial piety, and having no offspring is the greatest, otherwise you Will you take another concubine?"

"I love my daughter equally. How can I have so much time to write historical records? If this can be written, I will die with no regrets. It doesn't matter whether I have descendants or not."

"But..." Liu Qianniang wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Sima Qian.

"Twenty years ago, when I was traveling to various places, I heard a folk song, "Shangxie, I want to know you, and I will live forever. There are no mountains and mausoleums, and rivers are exhausted. Winter thunders tremble, and summer rains and snows. Heaven and earth are united, I dare to break up with you... There is a saying in Zhuo Wenjun's "Baitou Yin" that if you want to find the person you love, you will never be apart until you grow old. If a woman is like this, a man should be like this!"

"Husband." Liu Qianniang's heart moved slightly, tears rolling in her eyes, "If you don't abandon me, I will never leave you."

The two care about each other, and there is no need to say anything else. They have been inseparable from each other for more than ten years...

In the Weiyang Palace, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty listened to the latest report from the embroidered messenger and the Tingwei Department.

"Fudohou?"

"Haha, such a name is appropriate enough. It is as motionless as a mountain and as moving as thunder. It sounds much better to me than Marquis Lanling."

"Two big car dollars, why does he care about his reputation in future generations at such a young age? Do you want Sima Qian to write better for him and praise him more?"

Su Wenqian smiled and said, "I don't know about that."

Emperor Wu suddenly sighed, "It seems that our Grand Sima Hussar General is also a very rich man."

"Those are all rewards from His Majesty, otherwise..."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty waved his hand, "Oh, forget it, am I a person who plunders by force? Most of his Xiongnu blood was dedicated to me. He also took the initiative to donate many times during the war. He donated more. Only then He is a loyal minister. If the country is in danger, I think he will offer his money without me asking, right?"

Su Wen said quickly: "What your Majesty said is absolutely true. Everything Lanling Marquis received was given by your Majesty."

"It's also due to his own efforts. For more than ten years, he can be worthy of the title of the Great Han God of War."

"Your Majesty is still discerning. The Great Sima General Chang Pinghou, the later Champion Marquis, and the current Lanling Marquis. Which one is not your Majesty's good judgment?"

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was very interested in this. Liu Han didn't know it yet, but he was almost targeted.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty can be said to be the emperor who was the most proficient in amassing wealth in ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, and set the tone for more than 2000 years of exploitation in later generations. He was the only one who could do as much as he did without the country being destroyed.

If you are not fighting, you are on the way to fight. If you are not seeking immortality, you are on the way of seeking immortality. If you are not building a palace, you are on the way of building a palace...

The methods used by all later emperors or those in power to amass wealth were basically slightly modified from those of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had been on the throne for many years, and he almost never rested. He kicked the Xiongnu out of Monan, opened up the Hexi Corridor, defeated the Xiongnu in a decisive battle in Mobei, opened up the western region for peace, conquered Korea in the east, conquered Guangxi and Guangxi in the south, and pacified the barbarians in the south. …

Such great martial arts must be justified by money. It is indeed the so-called thirty-one tax, but the people clearly cannot afford to live under such a low agricultural tax.

To use the question of Mazi, a classic character in later movies: "Didn't you miss?"

To use the master's answer: "If you don't take action, the only thing you have to fight for is to keep your brain from bleeding."

Not only did he go crazy, but the country was not subjugated at all. The wars that the feudal dynasty could not bear gave birth to a series of clever tricks and plunders that all appeared on the stage during Emperor Wu's reign.

If Qin Shihuang is the ancestor of all emperors, then Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the founder of the subsequent state machine No. 2000. In the following [-] years, various subsequent models of state machine appeared.

They may each have different characteristics, but they are all additions or subtractions to the Emperor Wu model, and generally no one has changed.

He went to great lengths to subjugate his country, making millions of people obediently pay the bill, and it has been passed down through the ages. Since ancient times, there has been no shortage of great hardships like that of Emperor Wu, but there are only two people who have not subjugated the country. It can even be said that those who have not subjugated their country like Emperor Wu through military means are said to be. is the only one.

As the saying goes, you can just watch the goose feathers being plucked out, but these silly geese just don't crow. This is the level of an emperor through the ages.

Emperor Wu did this mostly for the purpose of fighting, especially against the Xiongnu. How did the word "武" come from? It was all typed.

This war is not just about the firing of cannons and thousands of gold. Apart from the war, there are also many painful things. The soldiers are victorious. Do you get a reward?Do you need pensions for the family members of those who died in battle?You have to consolidate the land you captured during the war, right?

Each of these is asking you for money. If you don’t have money, why talk?

For example, in the sixth year of Yuanshuo, when the good news of Wei Qing's victory reached the capital, the Da Nong Order reported that the national inventory was no longer enough to meet the huge military expenditures.

It was too expensive to raise cavalry and support the cavalry in fighting. The wealth left by Wenjing's rule was almost exhausted in less than 15 years.

Therefore, in order to make up for the financial gap, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty initially adopted the old method of selling nobility, which was to drink poison to quench thirst.

When his grandfather, Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, was fighting against the Huns, he adopted Chao Cuo's suggestion and followed the Qin Dynasty's twenty-rank nobility system, which stipulated that those who transported grain to the border would be awarded a title, and those with higher titles enjoyed the privilege of exemption from taxes and servitude.

Mr. Qian Mu once said that the nature of the imperial court's sale of nobles is slightly similar to the issuance of public bonds by countries in modern times, which is equivalent to national debt.

But when my grandfather was riding a bicycle, he felt that the speed was very fast. When he came to his grandson, he wished that he could not even look down on flying. Emperor Wu picked up this good method again, and found that this method generally did not quench his thirst.

During the reign of Emperor Wen, selling an official position was just an honorary title, exempting some symbolic poll taxes and the like. It was a bit similar to spending money to buy beautiful clothes and wear a crown in later online games. It looked very cool, but it didn't have the same personality. What practical significance.

Although it still has a certain effect now, the money from selling an official position is not enough for Emperor Wu to see.

At that time, his grandfather thought that this was already a huge sum of money. Now his grandson doesn't even have enough pocket money. But after the master brings you in, practice depends on you. The ancestors will show you the way. It's up to you to choose the way to go.

When he arrived at Emperor Wu, he began to use his creativity. He first learned from the twenty-level Dukes of Wu in the Qin Dynasty and established the Han version of the eleven-level duchy system, which was also aimed at the common people, but the way to obtain it was changed.

People in the Qin Dynasty had to achieve military merit if they wanted to obtain a title. When it came to Emperor Wu, money became the only criterion for testing titles. Don't rush to scold Emperor Wu and say how scientific Shang Yang was.

In fact, if Shang Yang's tactics were used by Emperor Wu, they would not be able to help at all.Because, in Emperor Wu's era, the goals of war were different, and all the supporting methods surrounding war had also undergone tremendous changes.

The Qin State was founded on military merit. All the people of Qin united and looked at their heads. The enemy's head was their military merit. When Qin destroyed the six kingdoms, infantry was the main force. What they fought for was the ability to mobilize the population and the fierce willingness to fight.

Whoever mobilizes hundreds of thousands of battlefield pinkeye patients in a short period of time will win.For example, in the later stages of the Battle of Changping, the number of people was very important. If King Qin Zhao had not arrived at the battlefield in time and mobilized the men in Hedong and Hanoi to surround Zhao Kuo, Bai Qi might not have been able to survive the day when Zhao Jun surrendered.

In that era, wars were fought on a scale, and the land dividends you gained from the war could fulfill your military title promise, so that was no problem, but in reality, the wheel could roll to Emperor Wu, and the gameplay changed.

Since the war was aimed at the Huns, the arms were upgraded from infantry to cavalry, and the rewards and needs also changed.

As powerful as Qin Shihuang, he could only build the Great Wall in the face of the Xiongnu. Only Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty actually fought.

At this time, the number of people is not the most important. Even if you go out with an army of 100 million, but you have two legs and they have four hooves, you will not even have a chance to fight with them.

The reason why Liu Bang couldn't win back then was that there were too few cavalry. If they couldn't win, they would just run away. They could harass you at any time, cut off your food routes, and outflank you with roundabouts, and you were basically done.

At this time, cultivating professional cavalry troops became an urgent need. In the series of wars against the Xiongnu, whether it was Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, or Liu Han, the cavalry brought out could only be [-] at most.

The decisive battle in Mobei is the pinnacle of the battle. There are only [-] cavalry, which seems small. That's because there are only so many cavalry if they can survive.

The equipment of the cavalry is much more complicated than that of the infantry, not to mention that if each cavalry wants to fulfill the harsh conditions of Emperor Wu, one horse is not enough. The average person needs at least three horses, and this does not include the horse's rations. .

During the expedition in early spring every year, Han horses had to eat food for training. Ten soldiers could not keep up with the appetite of one horse. What was even more despicable was that the horse had to eat endlessly at night, and it was still full of guts. It ate and pooped at the same time. .

Therefore, raising horses is more expensive than raising cows and sheep, but there is no way. You can't ride a cow to the battlefield. Big cows not only run slowly, but also may not have a good temper.

Do you think there are no problems just by raising horses?
There are also logistics support. The entire cavalry service chain is very long, including those who are responsible for raising horses, those who treat horses, and logistics soldiers who directly serve the cavalry, etc.

Cavalry costs money, and the cost of training these [-] cavalry is similar to the cost of training [-] pilots in our later generations, the cavalry regiment of a unified dynasty, which is a huge hole in the national finance.

On the contrary, this kind of cavalry regiment is easier to maintain in troubled times, because during the unification, the cavalry regiment could not be snatched. Now you can only rely on Emperor Wu to support you, and don't expect to go to the Huns to support you in the war. He is almost impoverished. I don’t have any pants, otherwise I wouldn’t have come to rob you.

After the war with the Huns became the main theme, the country no longer needed more and more people to join the war. Instead, it needed to serve these trained cavalry elites and find ways to reduce their attrition.

We also need to have a direction to continue training new cavalry in batches, which requires money. Therefore, Emperor Wu's military merit system has evolved with the times and became a matter of money...

When it comes to money, Emperor Wu was much smarter than his grandfather. His grandfather's sale of titles was to sell complete cars, such as selling a Mercedes-Benz for 100 million, but Emperor Wu understood that selling complete cars was not cost-effective. You had to dismantle the Mercedes-Benz into parts and sell them. , so a 100 million Mercedes Benz was sold for 300 million. Does it sound familiar?
Emperor Wu divided the Martial Arts Lordship into eleven levels. You have to pay for each level you go up.

This small change increased the profit from selling titles several times. After the Battle of Monan, Emperor Wu's income from selling titles reached more than [-] gold.

However, after Emperor Wu artificially extended the title to eleven levels, he was bound to add some fee-paying projects. Those who spend money are not unjust. No matter how beautiful you are, you can still get something real.

In addition to tax exemption and exemption from military service, Emperor Wu also added immunity from the criminal law. Misdemeanors could be reduced, and serious crimes could be reduced. Punishment could be reduced. The gang like Li Guang, Yang Pu, and Gongsun Ao should be executed according to law after they defeated the war.

But in fact, they all paid the fine, and the fines were exorbitant. Later, Sima Qian was castrated because he could not afford to pay.

Being able to afford it also shows that the heroes like Li Guang usually live a shabby life, but social conflicts have begun to appear.

When the price is not clearly marked, the unfairness of Han law has actually amplified the disharmony in society. This is like knowing that you can get away with money, but you still have to shout out that the prince is guilty of breaking the law and the common people are the same.

See through, but not tell, the people will not suffer from the imbalance of the population.Now that you have clearly marked the price, social conflicts have begun to rise sharply, but this is still within the controllable range. This issue of fairness is not a big deal, after all, only a small number of people buy offices.

The top management always cares about the situation. As long as it is a minority, it is easy to talk about. However, later, Emperor Wu added a service that must not be added here. The impact of this was huge.

If the legal immunity of a big man is like rat droppings that spoil a pot of soup, then value-added services like this are often throwing dead rats into the soup. You can become an official by paying money. This is terrible. Officials have rights in their hands. As long as rights are involved , the impact was immediately wide, and it was never a small matter.

Of course, at the beginning, Emperor Wu had a good idea. He knew that the appointment of officials was not a trivial matter, and not everyone with money could get it. He understood that a bunch of idiots could not govern the country well.Therefore, his initial limitation was to be an official. There is a big difference between officials and officials.In the bureaucratic system of ancient my country, officials and officials have always been two systems. Officials are the personnel responsible for policy formulation, formulation and local affairs, which are equivalent to senior officials, similar to today's cadres at division level and above.

Officials are those who work at the grassroots level, similar to those below the department level.

In ancient times, many officials, no matter how capable they were, would never reach the official level even if they worked until death. There were ways for them to be promoted, but they were extremely limited, and they were all given through the back door.

Therefore, Emperor Wu's initial thought was that the people working underneath him could not care about their quality because of their wealth, but senior officials still had to work according to their abilities.

But the subsequent development was uncontrolled. These wealthy people first became Langguan, and then gradually became official officials.

In fact, no matter whether it is a clerk or an official, once power can be bought with money, the wool comes from the sheep, which is a problem that can never be circumvented.

As more and more Master Tang entered the bureaucracy, the atmosphere and efficiency of the officialdom began to deteriorate rapidly. This was the first devil released by Emperor Wu. This first devil was the amplifier of all the clever names that followed.

He set a terrible example for future generations, that is, he told future emperors and bureaucrats that there is a way to make money by killing the goose that lays the eggs, which is called selling titles and conferring official titles.

It was true that a lot of money could be made at that time, but it was completely a waste of money, and the entire bureaucracy would quickly rot. Although Emperor Wu did not expect this to be the case, this is the way the world is.

Once you start in the wrong direction, you can never stop it. The evolution of the situation will far exceed people's imagination.

Emperor Wu also released many demons like this. As early as after the Battle of Mayi, Emperor Wu regained control and had canceled commercial taxes for decades.

When it first started to recover, the tax system was still relatively crude. The government only set up checkpoints and levied taxes on vehicles transporting goods, which was called corvee vehicles.

However, Emperor Wu later felt that just inspecting large vehicles was not enough, as the money was still low, and property taxes had to be collected to expand the scope.

If you are speculating on my land, I must collect taxes. Emperor Wu began to refine the tax policy, focusing on collecting business taxes, and began a nationwide money-grabbing campaign. For every asset worth two thousand yuan, you must pay The tax is 120 yuan, which means the tax rate is [-]%.

The handicraft industry was slightly better off, with a tax rate of [-]%, which sounded bearable, but it soon became a policy that harmed the world.

Today, when property rights laws are so complete, various lawsuits and disputes involving property still emerge in endlessly. Property evaluation and disputes are an extremely difficult job at any time. It is an industry where spit and blood are everywhere.

When Emperor Wu levied property taxes, he only recognized money, but there was great ambiguity in the operation.You said our home is worth two thousand dollars, and I said it was only worth two hundred dollars. I only have a curtain left, but you insist on saying it is a big flag.

Any time the law is incomplete or unclear, the person who implements it will automatically become a code saint.

Stop talking nonsense, whatever I say is what I say. Emperor Wu later issued relevant rules, but the regulations were still rough. For goods that were difficult to price, he stipulated that goods should be calculated on a per-car basis, and citizens would have to pay a fee if they owned a car. Tax,

For ships over five feet long, people have to pay a calculated tax. In the end, the tax of [-]% is tolerable, but in some actual operations, it turns into dozens of percent.

The door curtain of Gou Xian depends entirely on that mouth. I only have two thousand dollars of property, but you insist that I want twenty thousand dollars.

My toy car has turned into a big truck in your mouth, coupled with the motivation of a bunch of officials who spent money to get back their money under the introduction of the absolute system, it is the hardware combination of the law.

As a result, the devil of violent conquest was completely released. This was the second devil released by Emperor Wu, although it was still far from his original intention...

The impact of the disaster didn't end there. Because the people couldn't bear the disturbance, they began to hide a lot of wealth, and they all dressed up like beggars. Who said that his family had money, it would be more outrageous than killing him.

However, this still did not trouble Emperor Wu. He invented a very impressive policy, the big denunciation.

Before the Battle of Mobei, due to the huge military needs, Emperor Wu issued an order to inform the people. The specific expression of the law was to encourage each other to report others' property. If someone else's property was discovered and someone hid the property and failed to report it, the government would be forcibly confiscated and the informer would be divided equally.

Good guy, this enthusiasm was aroused all of a sudden, and a wave of informants soon started among the people, and more and more people had their homes confiscated and their property confiscated.

Don't forget that Emperor Wu only shared half of the money for the whistleblower, but all the anger was digested among the people.

When the person who was accused later went to seek revenge, he would only seek revenge on the person who informed him. Once you experience Emperor Wu's informing method, it is extremely powerful.

For example, Wu Zetian also used the meat-rotten-in-a-pot method before the Tang Dynasty, and it was clear early on that the rules for informing people to become officials were clear.

Later, after Li Jingye rebelled, she even started to use the method of governing the country: "He is strong and I am stronger, the storm sweeps over the mountains, he is violent and I am more violent, and the dog shines on the river."

As long as there is an informant, all departments are not allowed to interfere. They must provide post horses, treat them as a fifth-rank official, eat and drink well, and serve them all the way to the divine capital.

If there is no problem with the whistleblower, he will be punished under special circumstances, and there will be no blame for those who talk nonsense.

In short, it is better to kill the wrong person than let it go. Under the guidance of Wu Zetian, irresponsible whistleblowing is equivalent to the food and accommodation treatment of a fifth-grade official, plus the opportunity to be recruited into the bureaucratic establishment.

Anyone who doesn't go to inform is a fool. If not, go and eat and drink. Suddenly, people from all directions go to Luoyang to inform, and the nationwide terror of Wu Zetian has begun.

The original text of Zizhi Tongjian says: "Not long after, his family turned against the enemy and sued the Bao family for making weapons for Jingye. They killed and wounded many officers and soldiers, so they were executed.

Since Xu Jingye's rebellion, the Queen Mother suspected that there were too many people in the world for her own benefit.

Since he has been devoted to state affairs for a long time and his internal behavior is not correct, he knows that the ministers of the clan are resentful and dissatisfied, and he wants to kill him to show his power.

It opens the door to informing.If there are any informants, the ministers are not allowed to ask questions, and they are all given to the post horses and five-grade food to keep them safe.

Even farmers and woodcutters were summoned and stayed in guest houses.If something is said or stated as a purpose, then the official will not be dismissed, and if there is no truth, no questions will be asked.

As a result, informers from all directions swarmed up, and everyone held their breath. "

In the end, this kind of hostility was digested among the people. The reason why Yang Guang finally made the 72 people in the world rebel against the king was because he fully authorized the bureaucracy to squeeze the people, and finally twisted the opposite sides into a rope without thinking of diverting the contradiction. Not to mention the successful cases of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the country perished.

The famous Battle of Mobei became a huge milestone in Chinese history. In addition to Wei Qing, Huo Qu, and Liu Han completely crippling the Xiongnu, it was also because in order to finance this battle, Emperor Wu made Three great ways to make money across the centuries,
The accusation just now is childish. After wiping out the country's rich and middle class, money still can't plug the ever-increasing money-burning holes.

Emperor Wu soon discovered that such a speed of money was no longer enough for him, and he needed a faster and more violent way to make money.

He set his sights directly on copper coins and carried out drastic economic reforms.

First, the "White Deer Skin Coin" and "Platinum Coin" were launched. The leather coin was mainly aimed at the economic plunder of princes, while the "Platinum Coin" was aimed at the private market.

The common people are not stupid, they use counterfeit platinum coins to defraud the government and other people's legal currency and materials.

The hoarding merchants were unable to get out, the practice of counterfeiting was repeatedly banned, the market was in chaos, and platinum coins suddenly lost credibility and could no longer be sustained after only 5 years.

In the second year of Yuanding (115 BC), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had no choice but to order the abolition of platinum coins and pardoned hundreds of thousands of death row prisoners who had committed the crime of stealing coins.

He felt that the robbery was no longer possible, so he acted like a rogue and successively introduced three-baht coins, five-baht coins for counties and five-baht coins, and five-baht coins for red and flat coins. He replaced good coins with bad coins, which was to impose inflation taxes and keep printing money.

Among them, when the red and flat five bahts were in circulation, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty had returned the issuance rights of this currency to the central government, stipulating that it could only be minted in the capital, and identified with a red copper edge. One red and flat five baht was equivalent to five counties and five bahts. baht.

The people of the Han Dynasty were too wild. After seeing that the red flat five baht devalued other currencies by five times, they all imitated the red flat five baht, making currency circulation even more chaotic.The red and flat five baht was only used for two years before being withdrawn from the market.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt that it was not okay. It is okay for me to act like a hooligan, but it is not okay for you to act like a hooligan too.

With an order, he immediately pushed it back and started over, prohibiting all counties and private individuals from minting money, and destroying all the previously minted money.

At the same time, the state monopolized the ownership of copper mines and the right to mint coins. All coins in the world were minted by Shanglinyuan. Zhongguan, Biantong, and Junshu, who belonged to Shuiheng Duwei, were ordered to be responsible. It was known in history as "Shanglin Three Officials and Five Baht" .

Since then, the five-baht coin has become the longest-used copper coin in Chinese history. It was not abolished until the early Tang Dynasty and replaced by Kaiyuan Tongbao, which lasted for more than 700 years.

He also told later emperors that the forging of money must be in the hands of the emperor himself, and when necessary, he could directly draw money from the bottom of the cauldron.

The official monopoly currency also has another direct way to obtain fiscal revenue. When Shanglin Sanguan and Wu baht were first circulated, they were of sufficient quantity and high quality. From the first year of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to Emperor Ping of the Han Dynasty, a total of 280 billion coins were minted in the Western Han Dynasty.

In the later stage, it is inevitable that the government will cut corners and cut corners, which can be said to be fraud in the name of the country.

Imagine that if the emperor mixed the coins with half the counterfeit, he could mint twice as much money.These currencies can buy twice as many supplies. Bad currency drives out good currency. In the end, the currency depreciates by half. The government is equivalent to charging 5% more inflation tax.

When the people discovered the "conspiracy" of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was too late, and they only had worthless and bad coins in their hands.

He was probably the first person to discover inflation and use this invisible tax to plunder people's wealth. Everything in later generations has only slightly changed on his basis, but the essence is the same.

People will increasingly feel that money is worthless. This has been the case since ancient times because it has been monopolized. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was the first person to monopolize it.

Even so, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty felt that the money was not enough. While monopolizing the right to mint money, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also extended the nationalization reform to the major manufacturing industries with the most lucrative profits at the time - salt, iron, and wine, thereby controlling the lifeline of the country's economy. .

People always need to eat salt and use iron, but not much. A kitchen knife lasts for a few years, and just add a little salt every day. If you grit your teeth about this price increase, you feel that you can still bear it.

As a result, salt became more and more expensive, as did kitchen knives and hoes, and the quality was getting worse and worse, but you could only grit your teeth and sell it, because only Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sold it.

This was the Han enterprise established by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, which became the cornerstone of the rule of all subsequent emperors. They all understood that the emperor had to monopolize salt, iron, wine, and sometimes even grain.

It is equivalent to using salt and iron to collect invisible taxes. For example, the salt tax can be hidden behind many commodities. Most people will not realize that they have bought a salted fish and the government has already taxed it through salt.

Especially when their prices increase, you feel sad but still accept it. A kitchen knife can be used for many years, so if it is more expensive, be more expensive.

Iron and salt, because of their natural rigid demand and easy monopoly, have an inconspicuous taxing effect.

These have become the greatest tricks in the hands of emperors in the future. In the future, the income from salt and iron will account for at least half of the national income. As long as they seize this, half of the country will basically be stable.

Heavy taxes on business, mass denunciations, inflation, monopolizing Han enterprises, and selling off officials and titles were the methods of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

More than 2000 years ago, Emperor Wu demonstrated in detail to all subsequent emperors how to turn the people of the world into cash machines of his own desires, and they were all very clever.

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty put it very nicely. He said that the agricultural tax was not very high, only about [-]%. This has been sung in the history books for generations.

But in fact, people are quite smart. After all the costs of salt, iron, land, rent, etc. are calculated, every common person has worked hard year after year, and the longer they live, the poorer they are. At the end of the year, the common people who have worked hard for a year will look, "Oh my God. No, this is a good harvest year, and the land rent is not high. Where has the harvest gone? Are there no thieves?"

Agricultural taxes must be low, as people value food, and direct conflicts must be avoided.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stripped the duck's feathers naked. The duck didn't know who did it, so it could only scream helplessly.

This is one of the reasons why Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was so troubled and the country was not destroyed yet.

It was he who lifted up the soul of the nation and opened up frontiers by strengthening the Han Dynasty, and it was he who set the eternal tone of the oppression template.

A historical figure of his level cannot be said to be good or bad at all, let alone a holy lord or a faint king.

All the general terms in the world seem too pale to them, and they are no longer human beings.

This level of Eternal Emperor is so complex that it is difficult to describe with words. Only God knows many things in the end.

Liu Han had personal experience with this. He even thought about it for several years before discovering the horror of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, he had been waiting for the opportunity, waiting for him to be stupid, and waiting for the opportunity for him to fight with his son for power.

In Lanlinghou Mansion, Liu Han looked at the sky, it was so blue.

"Tomorrow, send most of the money in the house to the palace."

"Ah, why? That is what the Marquis has saved so hard." Xiong Er was puzzled.

"There is not much reason. Your Majesty wants to build the Jianzhang Palace. I guess the money is not enough. I will give you some. It is a nephew who respects his uncle, and a minister who is loyal to your Majesty. I am grateful to your Majesty. Without you, how would I have everything? People should be grateful! "

Liu Han knows deeply that you can have no money, but you cannot have less power. Power can generate money, but money cannot generate power!

　The following part of this chapter is about Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s method of amassing money. Most of them came to Bohai to serve as petty officials. I watched the short video of Fenglang Juxu over and over again three or four times. I liked it quite a lot. Although it was very long, I wrote it unconsciously. Currently I have been actively contacting him. If he is unhappy later, I will contact the editor to delete it voluntarily. I also recommend everyone to follow him. I feel that his videos are quite good.

　　


(End of this chapter)