Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

As he said that, his expression became more and more solemn.

"So, in such a serious situation, if you don't try to change in order to continue the national destiny and keep the Great Xia, you will be truly unfilial!"

After the words fell, the Empress suddenly frowned and became thoughtful.

For a while, she didn't speak again, obviously weighing something.

Although he was extremely intelligent at a young age, and the city was quite deep, after all, he had struggled under the eyes of the Queen Mother for many years, and every day he had to exhaust his mind and energy just to deal with that extremely suspicious and cautious woman.

Now that she has just taken power, she doesn't know much about many aspects of governing the country, and she doesn't have a deep understanding of the hundreds of years of abuses in Daxia.

She needs to digest Lu Chen's words carefully.

Lu Chen didn't make a sound to disturb, but gently picked up the brush and kept writing on the white paper.

After a while, he slowly let go.

"Your Majesty, please see."

Hearing this, the empress immediately put away her thoughts, and leaned over to look, a certain overdeveloped place was lightly resting on Lu Chen's shoulder.

A gust of fragrant wind blew past, and a strand of black hair brushed past Lu Chen's cheek, making him feel numb.

Very comfortable.

But Lu Chen wrote on the white paper——

The annual salary of the prince is 12000 shi, the county king 3000 shi, the general of the town 2000 shi, the general of the auxiliary country 1200 shi, the general of the Fengguo 800 shi, the lieutenant of the town 600 shi, the lieutenant of the Fuguo 400 shi, and the lieutenant of the Fengguo 200 shi.

In the previous year, the central tax revenue was converted into a total of 220 million guan, and the total expenditure for supporting the clan was converted into a total of 150 million guan.

Suizhou's annual income converted into silver money totaled [-] guan, and the annual expenditure for supporting the Sui king and his clan was [-] guan.

......

Looking at the pieces of data above, the empress' heart gradually sank.

"More than [-]% of the local annual revenue is used to support the clan, and then part of it must be kept in the treasury for contingencies, and part of it must be handed over to the central government. In this way, there is still money and food for bridges and roads, flood control, and the benefit of the people?"

"The people are poorly clothed, hungry, and the people's livelihood is poor. The court's taxation will become more and more difficult."

"The imperial court's annual revenue is gradually decreasing, while the expenditure for supporting the clan is increasing year by year. In this way, how can the national treasury not be in a deficit?"

Lu Chen put down his pen, suddenly thought of something, and his voice gradually turned cold.

"During my tenure as the governor of the two states, besides assisting Xiao Shangshu in water control, I sorted out the government affairs in various places and consulted various files. I also got a general understanding of some local conditions and the so-called official rules. I knew how the so-called parental officials representing the imperial court dealt with problems when there was a problem with the treasury."

"You can know the autumn by looking at the fallen leaves. Your Majesty, if the national treasury is short-lived, what will those people do in order to keep or obtain a higher position?"

Looking at Lu Chen's cold eyes, the Empress couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart.

"how?"

Lu Chen didn't make a fool of himself, and said bluntly: "The treasury has always been short-lived. Either the people's ideas or the businessmen's ideas are taken, just like when the demon queen took power. If the change is imminent, it will be plundered by the merchants."

click...

The little hand under the queen's dragon robe tightened suddenly.

In his mind, the people's livelihood situation that he investigated while sending Xuanjiwei to the three provinces to collect evidence gradually emerged.

The picture in the picture talisman that Xuanjiwei sent back to the capital seemed to flash before his eyes, and gradually merged with the tragic scene revealed in Lu Chen's short sentence.

Nowadays, the Daxia clan has more than [-]...

Continuously multiply on this base...

Just thinking about it makes one's scalp tingle.

Although it is not all the cause of the clan's disaster that the people's life is so miserable, it must be one of the main reasons.

"Although the land of the two states cannot represent the entire Great Xia, I believe that there will never be only one King Yu and King Sui in Great Xia."

Lu Chen stared at the white paper in front of him, and his voice became heavier.

"Yuzhou and his party made this minister aware of an extremely cruel fact."

"The clan doesn't pay taxes, and the officials don't pay taxes. All the burdens of the court are placed on the common people. They endure the hardest labor and pay the heaviest taxes, but they are still plundered by corrupt officials, oppressed by clan relatives, and those who are given everything they support are treated like pigs and dogs."

"What's the reason? Is there a more cruel reason in the world?"

When he said this, the distracting thoughts in Lu Chen's heart almost completely dissipated, and his mind was instantly filled with the tragedies in the world he saw with his own eyes during his trip to Yuzhou.

"The people are the foundation of the Great Xia, and they are the only ones who entrust everything to the imperial court. As long as the common people live and work in peace and contentment, they will naturally turn to the imperial court. Under the prosperity of the Great Xia, how can there be any danger of overthrow? Why should the clans all over the world become the backhand when the country is overthrown?"

"On the contrary, if this extremely unreasonable status quo does not change, Daxia will die!"

The loud voice fell, and the entire Zichen Palace kept echoing.

Like bursts of incomparably thick bells, it constantly shook the empress' heart.

"Lu Qing...what you said makes sense."

After a long time, the empress took a deep breath, and the moment her eyes met Lu Chen's, a serious expression quickly appeared on her face.

"If we don't solve this millennium-old evil, no matter how hard I try to fix it and create a prosperous world, it will be nothing but a flower in a mirror, a moon in the water, meaningless."

Hearing this, Lu Chen's eyes relaxed slightly.

"Your Majesty, Great Xia is now at a juncture. Either get rid of the old evils, take a new look at the court, and move towards an unprecedented heyday, or sink completely in the old ways, and then count on a new round of chaos and change."

"I understand."

The empress straightened up slowly, and said to Lu Chen seriously:

"Lu Qing, please help me to restore Daxia, which is already showing a declining trend."

Lu Chen got up at the same time, bowed slightly to the empress, and said solemnly: "This is the righteousness that a humble minister should have. It is said that the king's salary bears the king's worries. The humble minister has received the grace of the country and has the trust of His Majesty. I should be loyal to the king's affairs, and I will do my best for Great Xia and Your Majesty!"

The empress nodded slightly, and her faith in Lu Chen became stronger.

Needless to say, Lu Chen's loyalty and character.

Now showing such talent again.

This is the real combination of ability and political integrity!

How could she not love such a peerless and virtuous minister who is so loyal, brave, and talented? As the Great Xia Emperor?

"Lu Qing, what do you think about the national policy of supporting the clan and the various disadvantages you just mentioned?"

Speaking of this, Lu Chen immediately regained his spirits.

He thought for a while, sorted out his thoughts, organized his language, and then said: "Your Majesty, when I was in Yuzhou, I realized the harm of the system of clan support and the system of non-taxation by clan and gentry to Great Xia. I have been thinking hard about how to fundamentally eliminate these disadvantages. After many days of thinking, I came up with some solutions."

Hearing this, the empress did not ask immediately, but frowned slightly, and said softly:

"Lu Qing, this matter must involve the fundamental interests of the clan, gentry and other behemoths, and it is very likely to arouse their resentment. Therefore, we should be cautious in everything, and we should first protect ourselves and then take it slowly. We must not act too hastily."

Regarding the empress' kind reminder, Lu Chen shook his head.

"What Your Majesty said, I don't agree with this humble official. As the saying goes, it is not a pity to do great things. If you shrink back, you will definitely not be able to do anything in the end. This matter is related to the fate of the Great Xia. If you don't have the consciousness of death, how can you push back the thousand-year-old dark clouds that have accumulated over Great Xia and return the people to a prosperous age of panic?"

Hearing this and feeling the determination in the words, the Empress was immediately moved, and looked at Lu Chen with a strange look.

The little hands under the dragon robe were tightly clenched, and the nails were sunk into the flesh without realizing it.

At this moment, she only had one thought in her mind——

Such a loyal unparalleled national soldier, even if I risk everything, I will keep him!

After a while, her little hand slowly loosened, determination flashed across her eyes, and her complexion was no longer entangled.

"Well, such a big event requires great wisdom and courage. I really shouldn't hesitate."

She walked slowly towards the dragon chair not far away.

"Lu Qing, tell me your thoughts. I want to know where you plan to start."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Lu Chen solemnly responded, and then sat down slowly.

"The harm of the clan has accumulated to this day, and its root lies in the ancestral system established by Emperor Taizu Hongwu when he founded the country. All future generations of emperors must strictly follow the clan treatment formulated by his old man, and pay a fixed salary according to his title."

"Of course, I don't intend to let His Majesty cancel this national policy and completely abolish the ancestral system, but want to work hard on the amount."

Hearing this, the empress narrowed her eyes immediately.

"Lu Qing plans to write a letter to reduce the treatment of the clan?"

"Do not."

Lu Chen shook his head.

"Simply cutting the salary is too straightforward. It will not only attract dissatisfaction from all the clans in the world, but even fierce resistance, which will damage His Majesty's name. How can a humble official do something that will make His Majesty fall into injustice?"

Simply offending the clan is definitely not enough.

These people have no real power, and although they are united and powerful, they may not be able to win him who was saved by the empress.

Another wave of sent people has to be dragged into the water.

The Empress couldn't help being even more curious.

"Then what are you going to do, Qing Lu?"

"We can't let them lose all hope at once, we have to give them hope."

"How to do it?"

Lu Chen took a deep breath, and then said slowly:

"Wei Chen intends to change the original fixed salary distribution system to link the treatment of the clan with the tax revenue of the local government and the people's livelihood."

Chapter 149 Tax Reform

As the imperial place where the emperor used to summon important ministers and work, the Zichen Palace in the middle of the night is still resplendent and bright, with lights on all the time.

Usually at this time, the Empress had already gone back to Ziwei Palace to take a bath and rest, even when the Holy King Cangming entered the palace to assist the emperor in handling official duties.

But now, there are still voices in the Zichen Palace, and the empress in a red dragon robe is discussing something with Lu Chen seriously.

"Lu Qing, what do you mean...from now on, the clan's salary will no longer be a fixed amount, but will be changed to half of the annual income of the local government in the fiefdom without increasing the tax items?"

Lu Chen nodded and said, "Yes, Wei Chen plans to link their income to the income of the local people, instead of like before, no matter how the people live, it will not affect their salary."