I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 240 The Implementation of Xun Yu’s Strategy
Yuntai Hall.

Liu Bian and Xun Yu sat opposite each other.

After Xun Yu became Minister Youcheng, the opportunities for the two to face each other became much less frequent.

However, many of the memorials handled by Liu Bian may have passed through Xun Yu's hands.

"Zhou Zhong went to Tingwei's prison?" Liu Bian asked.

Xun Yu replied: "Yes, Jia Xiaoshi has also gone."

"Does Wen Ruo think Zhou Hui is related to the Shanyue Rebellion in Danyang?" Liu Bian asked. If there had been no progress in interrogating Zhou Hui, he would not have agreed to the meeting between Zhou Hui and his son at this time.

"I think that with Zhou Hui's style, he is not capable of such a plan."

"Yes, if that's what he did, he would be too stupid to come to Luoyang and throw himself into the trap again." Liu Bian agreed with Xun Yu's statement. There are only two possibilities left - coincidence, or Zhou Hui was stupid and didn't know it, and was just caught. People push the clown to the front.

It depends on whether Zhou Zhong can ask anything.

"Has Wenruo been paying attention to Luoyang's material discussions recently?"

"Wen Ruo has any good ideas?" Liu Bian asked.

Now Sanhe, headed by Henan, has clear politics and is well governed. The population of Sanfu is also gradually increasing, and his plan is being steadily realized.

There are five policies: farming, folk customs, education, armament, and rewards and punishments.

Liu Bian laughed out loud after hearing this. It seemed that Jia Xu and Zhao Yun had arrested fewer people before.

The two natural disasters in Youfufeng had already aroused heated discussions, and then two military disasters in Yangzhou and Jiaozhi were added.

No matter whether it was a fire in the tomb, an earthquake, or a rebellion in the south, in his opinion, nothing could stop the progress of his plan.

Liu Bian is currently implementing the four troubles and five policies proposed by Xun Yu, as well as the subsequent policies, step by step.

Xun Yu was also very dissatisfied. "Sit in charge of Sili and consolidate the foundation to control the world" was the plan he proposed to Liu Bian a long time ago.

Xun Yu said: "According to what I have heard, there is a lot of discussion in Luoyang today. It is said that Shi Chang served in power, farmed the fields and treated the people harshly, and the three public servants were unvirtuous. There are also some unwise tutors, generals, and captains who assist the government, causing disasters."

Xun Yu suggested resolutely: "Your Majesty, I believe that the material discussion in Luoyang can no longer be allowed to go unchecked."

Even Ma Rixi, the Taiwei who recorded the minister's affairs, could not bear the pressure and submitted a letter to resign.

Listening to Xun Yu's murderous suggestion, Liu Bian suddenly thought, those who say that Shi Changshi is a master of power, should they really let Shi Changshi demonstrate in front of them what it means to be a master of power?

After all, the Taiwei is always the first to bear the brunt of military disasters.

"If anyone dares to say that the people are being treated harshly in farming, he should be sent to Sanfu to work in farming with the people."

Xun Yu had already prepared: "The people of Taixue are not unified and can be divided. Officials who discuss the government in private should be severely punished. Those who travel to study and talk nonsense will be sent back to their place of origin and will never be hired!"

Among them, encouraging mulberry farming has been a long-standing national policy, and Liu Bian's farming is its implementation.

"Han Lv Shu Yi" has been published. Although Liu Bian did not include any private goods in it, it provides clear standards for how crimes in various cases should be punished.

The soldiers and armor have been repaired, and although there are rebellions in various places, it is unlikely to cause serious trouble.

It is only slightly weaker in guiding folk customs and education. When bamboo paper and printing become popular, then will be a good opportunity for education. And back to the basics of money and food.

Liu Bian asked again: "If you have ever seen the letter written by Cao Shizhong, he said that this year the average person who loses the law will gain more than 100 million yuan."

Xun Yu nodded and replied: "I heard that "Historical Records" in Pinghuai Shu said that in the past, after Sanghongyang and all the prefectures and counties in the country were defeated, in one year, the warehouses in Taicang and Ganquan were full, and there were still grains left on the sides. The average loss was five million pieces of silk."

"Nowadays, the situation has changed, and it may be difficult to achieve the feats of the past."

Liu Bian was greatly admired when he heard this. Calculated by the cheapest cloth, Sang Hongyangxingjun earned at least a billion yuan a year, not counting food. But he also knew that the situation in the two Han Dynasties was different, and he could not just copy it. Cao Song would have made a big profit if he could get 100 million yuan.

When the government engages in business, making money is only one of the most important things, and the method of losing money also has other uses.

When Liu Bian learned that the equal transfer method used physical goods to replace five baht coins, Liu Bian was keenly aware of its help in reforming the tax law.

What he wants to do in tax law reform is to cut the head tax, which is the bulk of taxes, and transfer it to acres of land, and the output of acres of land is in kind.

Speaking of which, the Tang Dynasty's reform of the Two Taxes Law and the Ming Dynasty's One Whip Law changed the payment of taxes from kind to money. The Han Dynasty's current main tax calculation is to collect five baht, but Liu Bian wants to do the opposite.

I don’t know if this counts as reversing history.

"Wen Ruo thinks there will be an opportunity to reform the tax law within a few years?"

"I intend to save some more money and food. I will first select a few counties to try it out. I will increase the land rent to ten taxes and two taxes. I will exempt the oral tax and reduce the calculated tax. If I have no money, I can use silk to replace it. What should I do?"

Xun Yu did not expect Liu Bian to be so eager to reform the tax law, and immediately admonished him: "Your Majesty, just taking back some public lands that were occupied a few years ago has caused riots. The reason for the rebellion of Danyang Shanyue and Wujun bandits is still unknown. Guanxi The Qiang people have not yet returned to their homeland, and I believe that more efforts need to be made to consolidate their roots."

A rash increase in land rent by 10% would easily lead to overt or covert resistance. Xun Yu saw many memorials and official documents at the Shangshu table. In his opinion, the time was not yet ripe.

Liu Bian followed the good example and did not mention the matter. Of course, even if Xun Yu agreed, he would discuss it with Lu Zhi later.

"I intend to gradually take back the registered public land. What does Wen Ruo think?"

The fake public land at the time of the disaster was now a bad debt. Liu Bian wanted to find the land that still had records and return it to public land.

This time Xun Yu did not object. He just doubted the feasibility of the matter and said, "After I return, I will look for past records and report them to Your Majesty."

Liu Bian nodded.

Nowadays, as the world gradually stabilizes, the governors and prime ministers are all appointed by the imperial court. The county magistrates and county magistrates under them no longer accept the recommendation of the county officials, and the power of appointment and dismissal of the officials has returned to the hands of the court.

But under the county magistrates, the appointment and dismissal of grassroots officials is still a problem - not every place is as close to Luoyang as Sanhe.

In a sense, since Guangwu, the Han Dynasty has released the state management rights of salt and iron and the source of local grassroots officials in exchange for stable annual taxes, and at the same time threatened disobedience with the army.

But this also means that the central government has given up its control over the countryside, and although the wealthy families have become much better-looking due to the influence of Confucian self-cultivation, they are gradually eroding the most basic structure of the country-the responsibility for land rent, taxes, and corvee of yeoman farmers.

The appointment and dismissal of grassroots officials in the county and the county's salt and iron management rights, together with the tax system, were the three big mountains that weighed on Liu Bian.

He wanted to remove it, but he could only do it slowly.

A long way to go.

(End of this chapter)