back to ancient times to be emperor

Chapter 709 Xiaozhi's Reason
Lu Chengqi also remained silent, and directly searched for it from the Dragon Case, then pulled out a memorial, and said, "Zhang Qing, read it for yourself."

Zhang Fangping took it over in doubt and looked at it, only to see that it recorded the landlords in several big counties lending money and extorting by force, which made Zhang Fangping suspicious of life.Even in Yingtianfu, his hometown, there were a few rich and unkind big landlords who forced many farmers to go bankrupt and become tenant farmers.

"Your Majesty, this... is this true?"

It wasn't that Zhang Fangping didn't believe it, but that he had never heard of such a thing. "Why have you never heard of such a thing happening at home?"

Lu Chengqi sneered and said: "These country gentry and local tyrants are doing things for the rich and the people. It's already commonplace. Who would go to the Yamen to complain about their grievances? And it's written in black and white that it's only natural to pay off debts. Even the court can't do anything about him. That being the case, this land is their 'legitimate' income. As for those tenants, how can you high-ranking court officials notice such humble ordinary people?"

Zhang Fangping blushed, and argued: "Your Majesty's words are wrong. Under the rule of the minister, there was no such incident. I think those county magistrates deliberately indulged in it..."

Lu Chengqi sneered and didn't speak.Because at the end, it is about the landlords in Yizhou who forced the farmers to go bankrupt.Fortunately, the Royal Bank has established a lending business, otherwise, I don't know how long this tragedy will last.Those country gentry and landowners were too ruthless in lending and collecting rent, and dared to charge 30.00% interest.This is still repaid within the specified time. If the specified time passes, 50.00%, or even double or triple is not a problem.What's even more hateful is that, relying on someone in the court, they actually engaged in the act of "legal tax avoidance".

At the beginning of Dashun's dynasty, it was originally to take care of the poor disciples, so that the officials' families were exempted from taxes.Perseveringly, the Han people were really smart, and they immediately seized the loopholes in the policy, and attributed the tribe's land property to the court official, so that they could directly avoid taxes.In this way, there is no need to pay taxes to the court, but you can also collect rent, which is a huge profit. Who wouldn't do it?Even if no one in the family is an official, you have to spend a lot of effort to train a scholar.This is why Dashun's writing style is at its peak, far superior to that of warriors.

What a warrior can do is to be a big soldier. If you are lucky, you can get a fame immediately, and if you are unlucky, you will die in battle.If you don't serve as a soldier, you should become a ranger, and if you commit a crime, you will be hunted down by the government.Even if you return home as a general, you still have to pay taxes on the permanent land granted by the court.People seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. If there is a choice, why would you choose to learn martial arts instead of literature?
Zhang Fangping spoke forcefully, but when he saw Yizhou written on the back, he stopped talking, looked at the bloody facts with a more serious expression, and said after a long time: "I have heard that 'tyranny is fiercer than a tiger', but I don't know that this loan Can also kill..."

Lu Chengqi sneered and said, "It's not just murder, it's murder! Presumably Zhang Qing also knows about tax avoidance?"

Zhang Fangping was stunned for a moment, before he said cautiously: "Dare to ask Your Majesty, what is tax avoidance?"

"Even if the whole village puts the land property under the name of the officials appointed by the imperial court, there is no way for the imperial court to levy agricultural taxes on these fields." Lu Chengqi carefully observed Zhang Fangping's expression, and as expected, Zhang Fangping's old face showed a look of astonishment.

"Your Majesty, this... this is not an official..." Zhang Fangping couldn't find the words to describe this "privilege" for a while, Lu Chengqi helped him and said: "Yes, it was formulated by the Taizu, and you can enjoy it when you are an official It’s just that Zhang Qing thinks that those clansmen are also officials?”

Zhang Fangping is a typical Han Chinese. For his fathers and villagers, he is reluctant to let him suffer.He is indeed an upright official, but he does have hundreds of acres of land under his name, which is a strange thing.Lu Chengqi didn't need to think about it to know that these were the properties of his clan, and they were listed under his name in order to avoid taxes.

"Your Majesty wants to abolish the imperial edict of the Taizu?" Zhang Fangping is worthy of being an old man in the officialdom. From Lu Chengqi's few words, he understood what the little emperor was going to do.

Lu Cheng started with emotion and reasoned and said: "Zhang Qing must have heard that the national treasury could hardly pay out salary before, but according to the statistics of the Ministry of Households, the land property of the entire Dashun has doubled compared with that of the Taizu. The treasury has quadrupled, but the revenue of the national treasury has been decreasing year by year. If it hadn’t been for the introduction of commercial taxes, the treasury would have been empty. Zhang Qing, tell me, why is this?”

Zhang Fangping didn't say anything, just stared at Lu Chengqi in a daze.Lu Chengqi hit the iron while it was hot: "This is all because someone is taking advantage of the court's loopholes. I sympathize with the people and reduce the agricultural tax to [-]%. But those gentry, who say they are thinking of the country, have they ever paid a penny in taxes? There are not many scholars, and the disadvantages have not yet appeared. Now there are more than [-] Dashun officials, and the land under their names is more than tens of millions of hectares. In addition, the monks and Taoists who issued certificates from the imperial court have more than [-] acres of land under their names. For a long time In the past, Dashun would be dragged down by these so-called upright officials, country gentry, and gentry. Zhang Qing, do you think what I said is the truth?"

Zhang Fangping remained motionless as if in a daze, Lu Chengqi knew that he was in a battle between heaven and man.On the one hand, his own beliefs have collapsed. He thought he was an upright official, but he did not know that he himself was the culprit; fact.

Lu Chengqi shook his head. After talking so much, his mouth was dry. He took a sip from his teacup and thought, "How did the Song Dynasty fall? Wasn't it because of these self-proclaimed loyal ministers fighting each other? Hmph, Want to do something under my nose?"

Just as he was thinking bitterly, there was a sudden "boom", which startled him.Putting down the teacup, it turned out that Zhang Fangping was already kneeling on the ground, nibbling his head respectfully.Lu Chengqi frowned for a while: "Zhang Qing, what are you doing?"

Zhang Fangping slowly took off his official crown, put it on the ground, and said desolately: "Your Majesty, I have committed a crime. I would like to beg for the bones and return to my hometown to be a farmer..."

Lu Chengqi sneered and said: "So what if you're guilty, do you want to quit? How can there be such a good thing in the world! I order you to go to the Ministry of Households as soon as possible, take off the land under your name, and then go to Tanzhou to take office Wouldn't it be cheaper for you to leave like this?"

Zhang Fangping knew that the little emperor's face was cold and his heart was hot. He shook his body and licked his head three more times: "Your Majesty loves you very much, but I have committed a lot of crimes..."

Lu Chengqi said coldly: "You know that you have made a mistake, so you have to atone for your sins through your own actions. How is it different from a coward when you quit your job?"

Zhang Fangping was blocked by his words, so he could only pick up the official crown again and put it on his head.At this time, Lu Chengqi picked up the imperial pen and brushed it away: "You take this and go to the official department to report. As for the household affairs, do you know what to do?"

Zhang Fangping stood up, took the imperial decree respectfully, and left the Chuigong Hall unsteadily.After this blow, Zhang Fangping has completely drained his morale. For the first time, he realized that in this world, you are not a good person if you think you are a good person, and you are a good person if you think you are a clean official. Whether you are a good person or not, It is for the common people to judge, and it is for Qing Shi to settle down!

(End of this chapter)