"Therefore, I have proposed that the regulations for the selection of the Xiang army should be re-established."
"Every old, weak, and cowardly person should be spared, spared."
"Of course, when a sergeant is guarding a place, even if he has no merit, he still has work to do. Anyone who is spared should be treated kindly."
"In accordance with the story of the previous dynasty, those who were released from prison and returned home were allowed to reclaim wasteland and newly cultivated land. For the first three years, they would be exempted from summer and autumn taxes, and for the next five years, they would enjoy half the summer and autumn taxes."
"Of course, tax-free areas should be limited."
"Take a family of five as an example. A person eats one liter of rice per day and one bolt of silk for clothing. A family of five eats about twenty stones of rice and five bolts of silk per year."
"The acres of land in the world are divided into three categories: upper, middle, and lower. The middle field yields about one stone per acre. Taking this as an example, a family of five will need at least 20 acres of middle field."
"However, if you add in field taxes, personal income, miscellaneous taxes, rations, grain seeds, etc., twenty acres of middle land can barely reach the mouth of the lake."
Land tax, that is, summer and autumn taxes. In addition to the two taxes, ordinary people in the Song Dynasty also had to pay additional personal expenses, miscellaneous taxes, etc.
Such as salt money, farm tool money, cowhide money, wine money, etc.
In fact, compared with the two taxes, these additional expenditures on personal property and miscellaneous taxes place a heavier burden on the people.
"After comprehensive consideration, I believe that the tax-free land should be limited to fifty acres per person!"
Ding Wei did not say this number casually, but carefully calculated it.
Ding said that although he had never led an army, human nature was common. Most of the Xiang soldiers who were about to be released had served for more than ten years.
These people have long been accustomed to being supported by the state, and some who have served for longer have even forgotten how to farm.
Therefore, if you want them to accept the exemption calmly, you must induce them to benefit.
Three years of tax exemption and five years of half tax, this profit is big enough!
If there are no restrictions on acres of land, this good governance is likely to become a source of unrest.
Each person was limited to fifty acres, which was the answer Ding Wei handed over.
Fifty acres of land, with an annual output of fifty shi, and a tax holiday for the first three years, after deducting food rations, personal income, etc., a family of five can have a balance of at least 30 shi each year.
The price of one stone of grain is about three hundred yuan, and thirty stone is nine thousand yuan.
Nine thousand dollars is a lot!
Not long ago, during the construction of the Yongding Mausoleum, the late emperor occupied eighteen hectares of civilian land. According to local land prices, the estimated value of the eighteen hectares of land was 700,000 yuan (700 guan), and the average price per mu of land was about 400 yuan.
Although the government gave a million yuan (1,000 yuan) and the average land price was as high as 550 yuan, this was in the nature of a reward.
The real land price is about 400 yuan per acre.
If we use this data as a calculation, the balance of 9,000 yuan will be enough to buy more than 20 acres of middle land every year, which is 60 acres in three years.
60 acres plus 50 acres of reclaimed land is enough for a hectare of land. Whether in the countryside or in a town, a hectare of land is enough for a family of five to live a decent life.
Of course, this is an ideal situation. If the veterans who return home live a arrogant and ignorant life, even fifty hectares of land, not to mention fifty acres, will not be enough.
On stage.
After listening to Ding Wei's speech, Li Jie quickly did the math in his mind and came up with a figure.
Fifty acres of land is indeed a suitable number, which is attractive but not overwhelming.
The fundamental purpose of disarmament is to reduce military expenditures.
If the policy of exempting people from returning home is too favorable and exceeds the income from military service, then the elimination will not be passive but active.
Although the Song Dynasty implemented a recruitment system, and many sergeants actively joined the army, there were many who passively enlisted, and there were quite a few of them.
If the benefits are too generous, the morale of the army will definitely be shaken.
On the other side, Cao Wei also quickly calculated, but he was not very sensitive to these numbers.
In other words, he's not very good at arithmetic.
However, even if he is not good at this, he still agrees with the fifty-acre quota limit.
Fifty acres of land, concentrated on management, is definitely more than enough to support a family of five.
However, planning is one thing and execution is another.
He doesn't understand financial management, but he understands the officers below.
There is a stipulation of fifty acres, and those who are exempted may not be able to get the full amount.
Never underestimate people's greed.
Of course, there are those in the Forbidden Army who drink the blood of soldiers, but the Forbidden Army is an army that defends the capital. Under the emperor's feet, the officers in the Forbidden Army certainly do not dare to go too far.
But the Xiang army in the prefectures and counties is different. The sky is high and the emperor is far away. Their courage is far greater than expected, and much greater.
"What do you think of Prime Minister Ding's plan?"
Seeing that Ding Wei had finished speaking and no one else responded, Li Jie couldn't help but speak again.
"I second the proposal!"
At this time, Wang Zeng stood up. He rarely denied Ding Wei's statement.
Although he and Ding Wei belong to different camps, the difference between him and Ding Wei is that if the policy is beneficial to the country, he will not mindlessly oppose it.
Disarmament can indeed reduce expenditures.
At the end of Tianxi, the salary of the Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army alone amounted to more than 12 million yuan a year.
And this was the result of the late emperor's "disarmament".
During the Xianping period, there were more than 530,000 forbidden troops in the world. By the end of Tianxi, in more than ten years, the late emperor gradually disbanded nearly 100,000 forbidden troops.
It is precisely because of the layoff of nearly 100,000 people that military expenditures have been reduced by nearly 2 million yuan.
Saving two million yuan is equivalent to a reduction of one-sixth.
As we all know, the Song Dynasty was in short supply of good horses. The price of purchasing a qualified war horse from a nomadic area was about 30 guan.
Two million dollars is enough to buy more than 60,000 qualified war horses.
Although it is not easy to buy war horses if you have money, but even if you can't buy 60,000 horses, you still have the money left after purchasing.
What's the wrong use of this money?
Therefore, Wang Zeng was a hundred supporters of the issue of disarmament.
"Of course, I have 11 prefectures, 253 prefectures, 48 armies, 5 prisons, and 1 pass. It's so big. If we do it in a hurry, mistakes will inevitably be made.
"The issue of disarmament has a wide range of implications. I believe that we should take care of it slowly."
"To see the effect, it is advisable to try it out first in Kaifeng Fujie, Jingdong Road, and Jingxi Road."
"In addition, Hebei and Shaanxi states are located in border areas, so they should not be included in the selection."
Hearing these words, Ding Wei on the side couldn't help but feel a little proud.
Wang Zeng's reaction was all within his expectation.
It is a recognized fact that 'disarmament' is beneficial to the country. People like Wang Zeng will certainly not object to it, considering Wang Zeng's 'steady' style.
It is inevitable to pilot first and then promote.
As the two prime ministers expressed their approval one after another, there will basically be no major setbacks in the disarmament issue.
After all the ministers finished expressing their opinions, Li Jie made a decision that made the ministers very happy.
"Being in charge of politics, one should not focus on recruiting talents, and selecting scholars should be better than taking the imperial examination. Now that the country has been enjoying peace for a long time, it is time to promote culture and education!"
"Instruct the Third Chief of Staff to use whatever is left over from disarmament to build schools."
