When he first entered Luoyang, Shi Jingtang offered discounts and exemptions on salt tax. In the book, Shi Jingtang denounced the previous dynasty for squeezing the people, "knowing the hardships of the people", so he decided to reduce the price of salt by ten cents per kilogram in accordance with the actual market conditions.
Less than half a year after entering Luoyang, the system was reduced to benefit the people:
——General amnesty for the world, "the sins are not serious and will be released";
——Previous tax arrears and old accounts can be written off;
——Xingyang County, Zhengzhou, is exempt from rent tax. The reason is that Shi Jingtang saw locusts eating crops on the roadside with his own eyes. The drought has affected the growth of mulberry trees and wheat seedlings. The people are suffering too much, so they are exempt from tax;
——Everyone in the world who is over 80 years old will be exempted from the corvee service, and local governments will provide corresponding material subsidies;
——For fugitives and wanted criminals who previously absconded due to fear of war or fear of crime, their crimes will be wiped out and they will be given a two-month deadline to return home and engage in production work. Those who fail to return after the deadline will "return to the crime as before."
Just a month later, another edict was issued:
——This year’s summer tax revenue dropped by 20%, “because of the slight drought.” After witnessing a mild drought near Zhengzhou, Shi Jingtang first exempted Zhengzhou from rent taxes, and then reduced summer taxes by 20% for the entire disaster-stricken area.
During his stay in Zhengzhou, the defense envoy Bai Jingyou offered sacrifice utensils. Shi Jingtang asked with concern: "Aren't you going to use the people's strength?" Are you not exploiting the people?
Bai Jingyou replied: "I am afraid of your Majesty's decrees and dare not violate them. I paid for these with my own salary."
Therefore, Shi Jingtang accepted it.
It can be seen from this short story that Shi Jingtang cared very much about the sufferings of the people and did not want his officials to give him gifts by plundering the people and squeezing their fat and anointing. Moreover, from Bai Jingyou's words, it can be inferred that Shi Jingtang must have issued red-headed documents to promote the central government's spirit of integrity and self-discipline.
In August of the second year of Tianfu (937), Shi Jingtang once again announced a general amnesty. Except for the "heinous" serious criminals in the traditional sense, all other prisoners were released. He also issued an edict to modify some laws, such as allowing "medical parole", stipulating that in the future Any prisoner who falls ill in prison, as long as he is not a serious criminal who is extremely harmful to society, is allowed to go home to recuperate and be paroled for medical treatment; if a prisoner sentenced to caning falls ill, he must wait until he recovers before being tortured.
The next month, another bad habit in society - mourning, was rectified. At that time, on the day of the funeral, there would always be some so-called folk artists who would stop the funeral procession, play, play, and sing, perform various talents, and ask for money from the family. If the money is not given, they will not leave.
There is still this kind of social chaos in some places today. Usually, uncles and aunts gather in groups to block wedding cars and ask for wedding money.
During Shi Jingtang's time, the imperial court had already issued an order to strictly prevent it. Violators would be imprisoned!
During Shi Jingtang's period, "general amnesties" were very frequent. In response, Zhang Yin, a regular servant of Zuo Sanqi, wrote a memorial, "Rebuttal on Pardon", which severely criticized and questioned this practice of "extending kindness". Shi Jingtang highly praised it, handed it over to the historical museum, and ordered it to be recorded in the annals of history.
Even so, a "Refutation of Pardon" failed to change the status quo. After that, Shi Jingtang still often granted amnesty to the world.
Affected by movies, TV dramas and novels, many people have a misunderstanding about the "Amnesty", that is, no matter what crime they commit, they will be acquitted when encountering an amnesty. For example, Cheng Yaojin in the Story of Pingshu, smuggling salt, beating people Two anti-smuggling policemen were killed and released from prison under amnesty...
In fact, the "amnesty" in the feudal period had clear regulations, that is, crimes such as "the ten evils and five evils, setting fire to rob houses, killing people with sticks, collaborating to make poison, and committing stolen goods under official laws" are not included in the amnesty, which is what we often say. Said "heinous crime". Murder, arson, poisoning, etc. have been unpardonable crimes in all dynasties.
Those who can enjoy the benefits of "amnesty" are usually criminals with minor crimes, such as petty theft, or those who are responsible for tax arrears and tax evasion. These people are less harmful to society, especially those who are arrested and imprisoned for tax arrears. Not only are they not hated by others, but they are very sympathetic.
Pardoning these people and releasing them from prison not only pursues the superficial joy of "extending kindness" and universal celebration, but also has a positive significance for production and labor, allowing them to get into work as soon as possible, change their minds and start a new life, while creating wealth for society.
It will be mentioned later that during Shi Jingtang's period, the feudal towns repeatedly conspired to rebel. After each rebellion was suppressed, Shi Jingtang would order the tax reduction or exemption in the area and pardon the people who had been kidnapped. This was also a common operation during the feudal period.
In short, when encountering disasters or wars, there must be amnesty and tax reduction. Shi Jingtang fully understood the suffering of the people and had a very open policy.
However, some sources, such as a certain degree, accuse Shi Jingtang of paying attention to luxury and ostentation, saying that he carried out extensive construction projects and decorated his luxurious palace with gold and jewelry. He also disliked the dilapidation of the palace in Luoyang, so he moved the capital to Bianzhou...
Regarding his move of the capital to Bianzhou, we will mention it later. The reason was not at all because he disliked Luoyang's dilapidation. Is it possible that a generation of emperors moved their capital because they disliked the lack of luxury in their palaces?
Shi Jingtang did order the Luoyang Palace to be renovated. That was because Li Congke committed suicide here. Although Li Chongmei prevented the comprehensive and systematic destruction of the palace, after all, the North City Gate Tower is a "haunted house". No matter what, it must be renovated. Bar?
In June of the third year of Tianfu (938), Gao Xing and Zhou Shangshu suggested renovating the Luoyang palace. Xue Rong, the Zuo Jianyi doctor, dissuaded him, saying that although the palace had suffered a fire, it was still very luxurious compared to Emperor Yao's thatched house. Although the decoration budget was not large, it was still more expensive than the terrace built by Emperor Liu Heng of Han Dynasty. , Besides, the country is currently in financial difficulty and funds are tight. If Your Majesty insists on decoration, it will not be too late to wait until the world is peaceful and prosperous.
Shi Jingtang thought what he said was very reasonable, so he issued an edict to commend him, and the project to rebuild the palace was immediately cancelled.
"Zizhi Tongjian" and "Old History of the Five Dynasties" have recorded this incident. I really don't know what classics are based on those saying that Shi Jingtang built a lot of construction and was extremely luxurious. Groundless.
In June of the fourth year of Tianfu (939), Wang Wu, a citizen of Chen County, accidentally unearthed several gold cakes while working in the fields. When the local officials heard about it, they took them by force and said, "This belongs to the country!" turned over to the treasury. Shi Jingtang said: "The things hidden in the palace are not talismans and cannot be brought into the palace." He ordered local officials to return the gold to the common people Wang Wu.
Shi Jingtang explained the "national treasure". Generally speaking, if the common people discover items such as jade seals handed down from the country and items used by the emperor, they should be handed over to the court. These "cultural relics" are regarded as "talisman treasures" and auspiciousness, and generally people with evil intentions I particularly like it and think it is God's will to usurp power. The people who donated these "talisman treasures" would receive high returns that far exceeded the value of these antique cultural relics. Therefore, at that time, once the people discovered gold seals and other objects, they would hand them over without hesitation.
