Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 745: Grand Court Meeting

"Chen Zhongbiao" was sent from Dan'er County thousands of miles away to Chang'an in Guanzhong. It took more than a month and it was already the eighth year of Jianxing.

When the secretaries received the "Chen Zhongbiao", they quickly reported it to Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang, which then aroused heated discussions among the top leaders. Even because the matter was too outrageous, middle-level officials also heard about it.

In the first month, there is a grand court meeting.

Liu Chan, wearing a crown and robe, sat upright on the imperial couch, looking at the crowded officials in the court, and asked: "Zhuge Fan, the governor of Dan'er County, confessed his hidden truth, saying that he was ordered by Cao Wei to falsely rebel and join the Han Dynasty. Now he has submitted a petition to express his truth, hoping to be pardoned by our court. I wonder what you think, pardon or punishment?"

Dong Yun held the tablet in his hand, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Zhuge Fan was a spy who was ordered to enter the Han Dynasty. His crime should be executed. Now that I have explained my secrets, perhaps you will understand and pardon his death penalty."

"Your Majesty!"

Pan Jun stood up upon hearing the voice, and said in a more serious tone: "Zhuge Fan petitioned because the State of Wei was destroyed, and he was forced to do so. Now the death penalty can be spared, but the punishment for living cannot be avoided, so he can be exiled to Ningzhou as a frontier official."

"Pan Tingwei, this punishment is too severe. I'm afraid it won't convince the public." Jiang Wan said, "Although Zhuge Fan was a spy, he did not commit treason. On the contrary, he made contributions to the control of the border barbarians. We should make a decision based on the circumstances and not punish him harshly."

Seeing his cousin Jiang Wan talking, Pan Jun raised his eyebrows and said sternly: "I abide by the Han law, you manage the official affairs, what does this have to do with you?"

Jiang Wan did not back down. He held the board and said, "Although Zhuge Fan's crime violated the laws of the Han Dynasty, he was still a Han official. I am the Minister of Personnel, so why can't I report it to the emperor?"

"Your Majesty, I think Zhuge Fan may be guilty, but his crime is not serious enough to warrant exile to Ningzhou. I hope Your Majesty and the Prime Minister will investigate this matter."

Under the crown, Liu Chan's expression was difficult to read, and it was obvious that he was also troubled by this matter.

"What do you think of Zhuge Fan's case, Prime Minister?" Liu Chan asked.

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly and said, "Zhuge Fan's memorial is sincere and full of emotion, which shows his true intention. Moreover, Zhuge Fan is dedicated to the public and has outstanding achievements. In his memorial, he deeply talked about the key points of governing the county. He first established Zhulu and wanted to build Dan'er, which shows his ability."

After a pause, Zhuge Liang hesitated and said, "He is only in his twenties, but he has outstanding talents and is a hero of his time. Although he was ordered to join the Han Dynasty to rebel, he did not harm our country's affairs, but instead made contributions to the Han Dynasty. Now, severely punishing him for being a spy is against the style of the holy dynasty."

In just three years, the newly established Dan'er County was able to establish a foothold on Hainan Island, thanks to Zhuge Fan's administration of the county. He made friends with the barbarians, engaged in trade, and educated the barbarians, and the number of registered households increased several times. Judging from the results of his political achievements, it is enough to prove Zhuge Fan's ability.

Not only that, Zhuge Fan is only 25 years old. At such an age and with such ability, it is truly dazzling.

After Zhuge Liang found out about Zhuge Fan's achievements in governing the county, he developed a love for him. If it weren't for his undercover identity, Zhuge Liang would have promoted him to the central government or other border counties in the future to let him serve the country well.

Liu Chan stood up from the imperial bed, walked back and forth on the steps a few times, and an idea came to his mind.

Standing on the jade steps, Liu Chan looked around at his ministers and said, "When I was reading the Historical Records, I heard that Han sent Zheng to Qin to make the Qin people tired and unable to go east to the Central Plains, so they proposed to build a canal. However, before the canal was built, Zheng was discovered by the Qin people."

"At that time, many people proposed to King Zheng of Qin to punish Zheng to correct the power of Qin law. However, the King of Qin was magnanimous and understood the benefits of the canal. Although it would exhaust Qin for several years, it would benefit the world forever. Therefore, he spared Zheng's death and ordered him to repair the canal. After another five hundred years, Zheng was gone, but the canal still existed."

Liu Chan's tone slowed down, and he said, "Zhuge Fan's words are full of deep emotion, and I feel deeply touched when I read them. He has great ambitions, has made contributions to the county, and can correct his mistakes. Why can't you treat him as the State of Zheng?"

"Your Majesty, do you want to pardon Zhuge Fan's crime of being a spy? Or do you want to let him continue to rule Dan'er?" Dong Yun asked seriously.

Liu Chan was usually afraid of Dong Yun's advice, but now he was not afraid. He looked at him and said, "I am not talented and have little virtue. I can rule the world because of your help. Therefore, I know how to respect talents and treat them with courtesy. Now Zhang Fan is talented. What's wrong with me using him to manage border affairs?"

Dong Yun's expression relaxed slightly, he bowed and said, "Your Majesty has a wise heart, what you are doing now is not wrong!"

"Your Majesty, the criminal law cannot be changed without authorization. If Zhang Fan plots treason, wouldn't it put the country in danger?" Pan Jun said.

Liu Chan pointed to the memorial on the table and asked, "Zhang Fan's memorial to Chen Zhong is here. If he wanted to rebel, why would he submit such a memorial?"

After a pause, Liu Chan said in a slow and deep tone: "When a sage governs the country, he should employ the virtuous and dismiss the unvirtuous. Now that a virtuous person is alive, I must speak up."

Pan Jun asked, "I am pardoning Zhang Fan's crimes today. If he rebels in the future, what shall Your Majesty do?"

Liu Chan did not get angry with Pan Jun. He just smiled and said, "I guarantee Zhang Fan. If he rebels, I will bear the responsibility."

"Now that you gentlemen are here, if Zhang Fan rebels in the future, I will issue an edict of self-blame to correct my mistakes. What do you think?" Liu Chan asked in return.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to do this!"

Seeing that the edict of self-criticism was the stakes, Pan Jun smiled bitterly and said submissively: "I only think about the country. Now that Your Majesty can recognize a talented person, it is a happy thing for the country." Zhuge Liang stood up with a hu tablet, eased the atmosphere, and said: "Zhang Fan rebelled and joined the Han Dynasty. Although he had wrong intentions, he knew his mistakes and did good. In terms of his fundamental nature, he should be punished according to the law. However, Your Majesty has sympathized with his talent and retained his post and exempted him from punishment, which should be able to promote the name of the holy dynasty."

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Jiang Wan said: "The world is at peace at the beginning, and people's hearts are not yet united. Now that Your Majesty has mercy on Zhang Fan, not only can we gain a talent, but we can also let the surrendered people know what our dynasty values ​​and what the people's hearts will gradually support you!"

"good!"

Liu Chan smiled and said, "In this case, I will pardon Zhang Fan's crime and let him stay in office to govern the county. I will also grant him the surname Liu. I will issue an edict to tell Zhang Fan that from now on, if he breaks the law, I will not recognize him and I will execute him myself. If he makes meritorious contributions, I will share the glory with him because I know how to use people well."

"promise!"

Huo Yi sat down as ordered and drafted the imperial edict with his attendants.

The officials in the palace appreciated Liu Chan's operation and felt a sense of admiration in their hearts.

It may be difficult to say whether Liu Fan deserves Liu Chan's treatment. But one thing is certain: if Liu Fan really surrendered, he would be deeply grateful for Liu Chan's kindness and would not dare to be unloyal to Liu Chan.

Liu Chan sat back on the imperial couch and said with a smile, "It's the New Year's meeting today. I wonder if the Prime Minister has any report?"

Zhuge Liang stepped out of the line, raised his tablet and said, "Your Majesty, according to the totals of the 20 provincial governors, there are now 2,165,841 households in the country, with 14,289,123 men and women. Because of the exemption of taxes and land rent, the country has collected..."

Last year was the first year for the world's population to be counted after the unification of the country. Although the number is smaller than the total population, it is finally possible to establish a nationwide rule, and when the world is completely peaceful, hidden households will continue to appear, and the registered population will increase year by year.

After reporting on the work, Zhuge Liang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, last year was the beginning of the Han Dynasty's rule over the world. This year, we should lower taxes and order the governors of all counties to persuade the people to become citizens, and use the population and land as the examination. If there is any slackness, the governors and governors of all provinces will be punished."

"I am very relieved that the Prime Minister is governing the country!"

Liu Chan closed the memorial and said with a simple smile: "Now that we have the population, should we implement household tax or calculate the tax?"

Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and said, "In the past, we gave up the tax and levied household tax instead. It was because the people were suffering and often concealed their population. If we implement household tax, it will help the people to reproduce and reduce the number of people they conceal."

"In the past, during the Han Dynasty, due to the head tax and the tax on the amount of money paid, infants often drowned. Now, the household tax is conducive to the reproduction of the people, and they occupy more unowned land. However, since the land is divided according to the number of people, they can also be required to produce rice."

Zhuge Liang then reported, "This year, the land allocation law will be implemented. A man will be required to occupy 70 mu of land, and a woman 30 mu. A male adult will be required to occupy 50 mu of land, a female adult will be required to occupy 20 mu, a male adult of the lower age will be required to occupy half of the land, and a female adult will not be required to occupy the land."

"Each adult male pays two dan of millet, and the southern states pay rice. Each household pays two zhang of silk and three liang of cotton every year. The cloth-producing areas pay two zhang and five chi of cloth and three jin of hemp. Corvée labor is calculated separately. The elderly can pay money to perform corvée labor. Taxes are calculated separately according to the distance, and the taxes of the barbarians are calculated separately, not the same as those of the Han people."

On the issue of how to formulate taxes for Southern Han, Zhuge Liang discussed with the ministers for a long time and also had in-depth exchanges with Huo Jun.

The taxation system of the Han Dynasty was the same, with a heavy head tax and light land rent, which was intended to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland and reduce the pressure of head tax. Therefore, the taxation finance in the early and middle Han Dynasty was able to maintain operation until the increase of refugees in the middle and late period, which caused a sharp increase in financial pressure.

During the implementation process, due to the heavy head tax, people sometimes dared not to have children. And as the arable land in the world decreased, the excessive head tax would lead to people's exile.

Learning from the failure of the taxation in the Han Dynasty, the nobles of the Southern Han Dynasty, under the leadership of Zhuge Liang, reformed the new tax system, taking household tax as the basic base, collecting land tax based on the number of male adults occupying land, and requiring corvee labor.

The Han Dynasty used individuals as the unit of taxation, while the Southern Han Dynasty used household tax as the basic unit, so the main tax collectors were families. This move would reduce the pressure of the head tax, and people would even be eager to have children to help their families share the head tax.

In terms of land tax, the good strategy of the Han Dynasty was still used, that is, paying taxes per adult male, rather than by the number of acres of land, which could still encourage people to work hard. And as the number of adults in a household increased, the amount of taxes paid would increase.

The tax system improved by Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun was close to the rent-labor system of the Tang Dynasty. If the Southern Han Dynasty had problems with finances and taxes in the future, it might be possible to reform based on the above taxes.

The taxes were not limited to this. After Zhuge Liang's reforms, Southern Han also had four state-owned taxes: salt, iron, brocade, and sugar, in order to maintain the current financial operations of Southern Han.

Listening to Zhuge Liang's explanation of taxation, Liu Chan gradually gained something. He smiled and said, "The new tax is quite innovative. Thank you for your memorial to the Shangshutai to explain in detail the sources of various taxes."

"Yes!" Gu Yong accepted the order.

At the end of the court meeting, Jiang Wan submitted a memorial to cut redundant officials, which attracted some criticism. However, with Zhuge Liang's strong promotion and the cooperation of the officials of the Secretariat, it was finally implemented.

After several days of announcements and assessments, the court eliminated 584 redundant officials. Some of them were assigned to local positions, or received five years' salary in one lump sum as severance pay.

(End of this chapter)