The night was sultry, and the lanterns were bright under the eaves of the Jiguo Palace. The guards held guns and knives, motionless and heavily guarded.
Fan Zhong entered the gate of Duke Ji's Mansion with a heavy heart and was led into the lobby by the guards. Zhao Hong sat at the head of the table, while Zhou Ping and Xu Liang sat at the lower head to accompany them, respectfully.
"My lord, Fan Zhong, bow down to me, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty! Long live, long live, long live!"
The emperor summoned him at his residence and treated him with great respect and favor.
"Fan Zhong, take a seat. There are no outsiders here, you can speak freely. You have served as a local official. In your opinion, how are the people of Song Dynasty living?"
Zhao Hong nodded and looked at the thin, dark and straight official of the Criminal Department.
This man has been an official for many years and is in his early fifties. He has a doctorate in martial arts, a magistrate of Taiping Prefecture, and a magistrate of Huizhou Prefecture. He has been a high official, but he is still penniless. His personal integrity is self-evident.
They say that working hard to become an official is just to make money for yourself. This Fan Zhong can be described as a breeze on both sleeves and a wonderful flower.
As for the two people summoned at the same time, one is his brother-in-law Zhou Ping, and the other is his childhood friend Xu Liang. Both of them are civilians, young and enthusiastic, and can be the backbone of the anti-corruption movement.
In anti-corruption matters, you are not afraid of making mistakes, as long as you have enthusiasm and courage.
"Your Majesty, this..."
Zhao Hong's words made Fan Zhong hesitate for a moment.
To be honest, he was a little confused about the new emperor's methods.
He asked himself these things. If he told the truth, he wouldn't make Long Yan very angry, right?
"Fan Zhong, I heard that you have been an official for many years, but you still can't even afford a small courtyard in Lin'an City, and you are still renting a house in the capital. You are an honest official and love the people like a son. Can't you speak for the people of the world in front of me? Is it true?"
Zhao Hong smiled slightly and inspired Fan Zhong to come.
"Your Majesty, the people's livelihood in the Song Dynasty is so difficult that I am horrified, so I dare not say it openly!"
Sure enough, Fan Zhong blushed and blurted out.
"Fan Zhong, there is no need to hesitate. I want to clarify the officialdom and implement the New Deal. What I want is criticism, not peace. You won't let me down?"
Zhao Hong frowned and his voice was cold and stern.
Isn’t this Fan Zhong just in vain?
"Your Majesty, please listen to me."
Fan Zhongsu bowed and continued.
"Your Majesty, let's not talk about wine, tea, salt, vinegar and other specialties. The tax rate is extremely high, and various places are responsible for heavy tax collection. Dou rice, salary, and scattered vegetables and tomatoes are also included in the tax. The tax amount is more complicated, causing the tax field. It has a bad reputation as a "big and small law field"."
Zhao Hong nodded and said in appreciation:
"go on!"
In the Song Dynasty, commercial taxes accounted for three-quarters, and land taxes were only one-quarter. This was far different from that of previous dynasties. In the final analysis, there were too many monopolies and excessive taxes.
"Common people have to pay taxes when they carry the rice, chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, cloth and local products they grow for sale. Merchants also have to pay taxes when they carry copper coins out of the territory. In addition to the regular taxes, there are also economic money, general money, The people are overwhelmed by miscellaneous taxes such as monthly payment and account payment."
Fan Zhong was talking eloquently, his face turned red and his saliva flew everywhere.
"Your Majesty, if the timber from Huizhou and Yanzhou is trafficked to Lin'an, you must take a three-cent tax. The tax is very heavy. Items such as bamboo, wood, bricks and tiles, one-tenth of which is taken, is called a tax, and the tax rate is The tax rate is 10%, which is already much higher than the tax rate of row 2 and seat 3.”
He bowed solemnly and begged Zhao Hong.
"Your Majesty, tyranny is as fierce as a tiger. I also ask Your Majesty to make a holy judgment, seek the welfare of the people of the world, and show kindness to all people."
Zhou Ping traveled around the world and was well-informed, and then Fan Zhong spoke up.
"Your Majesty, Duke Fan is exaggerating. Due to excessive levies and miscellaneous taxes, the people are overwhelmed, so abandoned babies are common among the people. Many babies are drowned or thrown away after birth. It is really sad!"
Zhou Ping's words made Zhao Hong's heart sink.
"Is it that serious?"
Aren’t they all talking about the splendid and romantic Song Dynasty, the era they most want to travel through, the happiest era? Why do people live in such hardship?
These idiotic pseudo-experts and pseudo-public knowledge!
"Your Majesty, what my uncle said is absolutely true. The ancient method of carving and peeling is all prepared in this dynasty. Just say that this Ding money is as much as three times the summer tax. The people cannot afford Ding Fu, so they can only abandon it. It’s a baby.”
Xu Liang said it immediately.
Dingqian is also called population tax, or Dingqian, which was the main tax in the Song Dynasty. A man becomes a young man at the age of twenty or twenty-one, and is considered old when he is sixty. Households were given money of rice or silk every year, which was collectively called Shen Ding Qian. It is levied on all roads in the south outside Sichuan, and everyone must bear the burden regardless of the main household or customer.
"It is indeed the era that I most want to travel through!"
Zhao Hong sneered.
"Fan Zhong, are you saying that all the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes collected by the local governments go into the imperial treasury?"
Cutting leeks and harvesting wool, all the people's hard-earned money goes into the hands of corrupt officials. This is too ugly.
"Your Majesty, most of it went into the treasury of local officials and government officials. Going up one level at a time, in the end, the Ministry of Revenue received probably less than 30%."
Fan Zhong thought about it and said it.
Sure enough, they are deceiving the superiors and concealing the truth from the subordinates, lining their own pockets, not only increasing the burden on the people, but also making the administration more and more corrupt.
"Dong Songchen, I have drafted a decree to exempt the common people from all taxes on the cloth, grain, fruits, vegetables, bamboo, wood and cattails woven by themselves. As for the body tax, after the implementation of the Jingjie Law, the land tax will be divided into acres and the body tax will be abolished. "
Zhao Hong pondered and said it.
His generous salary and various illegal incomes are not enough for his extravagance, and he has to swallow up the people's wealth and wealth. These blood-sucking bugs are so greedy and disgusting.
"Spreading a small amount into an acre..."
Not only were Zhou Ping and Xu Liang stunned, Fan Zhong also opened his eyes wide.
"Apportioning the land tax to the land is actually very simple to say. That is to abolish the body tax, spread the land tax into the land tax, and distribute the tax evenly according to the acres. As much land as you plant, you will pay the same tax!"
In fact, it was not only during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty that people were apportioned into acres, the Song Dynasty had been trying to apportion people into acres. However, due to various reasons, mainly the obstruction of powerful landowners, it could not be implemented.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"What your Majesty said is true!"
Fan Zhong and others saluted together and complimented Zhao Hong.
If we can really implement the promotion of spreading it among the people, many of the stubborn problems of the Song Dynasty will be easily solved.
"Don't flatter me. I called you here today not only to talk about excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, but mainly to fight against corruption and clarify the administration of officials."
Zhao Hong finally mentioned the theme of anti-corruption.
"Anti-corruption and clarification of officialdom?"
Fan Zhong was stunned for a while, then shook his head gently, with a wry smile on his face.
"Your Majesty, since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the issue of corruption has been unheard of. Working thousands of miles away as an official is just to get promoted and make a fortune. In all the officials in the dynasty, nine out of ten people are corrupt. Officials come and go and collude with each other. How to prevent and control corruption? I'm afraid it's The morning kills and the evening comes, and the evening ends and the morning begins again.”
Judging from Fan Zhong's expression, he seems to be pessimistic about Zhao Hong's anti-corruption campaign.
"Your Majesty, what Mr. Fan said is true. Officials defend each other, and if one is prosperous, both will be prosperous, and if the other is harmed, both will be harmed. I'm afraid that when the time comes, they will become collusive and act like cliques, which will be even more difficult to control."
Xu Liang also shook his head, exactly the same as Fan Zhong's attitude.
"If His Majesty wants to carry out the anti-corruption campaign, I am willing to serve as a front-line soldier and share His Majesty's worries."
Zhou Ping did not comment on the success or failure of the anti-corruption campaign, but just stepped forward to take orders.
Zhao Hong wants to implement the New Deal. As a relative of the emperor and the country, he has the unshirkable responsibility and must stand up.
"If we don't fight corruption and promote integrity, the Song Dynasty will not be able to climb out of the quagmire and will only destroy itself."
Zhao Hong looked at a few people and smiled coldly.
"I still say what I said. In my world, there is only rampage, without retreat or compromise. I called you here not to discuss with you, but to ask you, are you willing to take on this heavy burden? If you feel that you are not capable, To put it bluntly!”
Several people looked at each other, and Xu Liang couldn't wait to speak first.
"I am willing to share your worries for Your Majesty!"
From a commoner to an important member of the imperial court, his snobbish and rude father should no longer abuse and curse him, right?
"I am willing to share your worries for Your Majesty!"
Zhou Ping then spoke. With Zhao Hong blocking him in front, he had nothing to fear.
"I am also willing."
Fan Zhong also spoke.
At this time, can he say no?
It's not that he's afraid of taking on trouble or offending others, he's just worried that the anti-corruption campaign is just a hot-headed move by the emperor and won't last long.
"Zhou Ping, I asked you to find some people with good conduct and rich experience from among the people. How are you doing now?"
Zhao Hong turned his eyes to Zhou Ping.
When he came to the throne, he asked Zhou Ping to take care of this matter. It has been two months, and he already has some clues.
In other words, three-legged toads are hard to find, and two-legged people are everywhere. People who want to do things are everywhere.
"Your Majesty, according to His Majesty's instructions, more than twenty people have been found and can be interviewed at any time."
Everyone suddenly realized that Zhao Hong had prepared these people for the anti-corruption matter in advance.
"More than twenty people are really too few!"
Zhao Hong shook his head and pondered for a moment.
"Zhou Ping, you go to Li Tang and select two hundred people from the Forbidden Army in front of the palace to serve as the execution guards of the Anti-Corruption Department. They will follow you and take office soon. The Forbidden Army is highly skilled in martial arts and can just carry out the tasks of surveillance, investigation and arrest. , and save you a lot of trouble."
The Anti-Corruption Department is not simply a matter of paperwork. It conducts overt and covert investigations, and many things must be carried out by force. Just like there are not many officials in the yamen, there are quite a few civil servants.
It can be said that if the Anti-Corruption Department wants to do its job, force is indispensable.
"In addition, because private employees lack experience in handling cases, several officials from the Dali Temple and the Imperial City Department can be transferred to the Anti-Corruption Department to assist you in handling the case. Remember, they are assisting, and you are the main force. If some officials are ineffective or negligent, If you are slacking off, you can report it directly to me."
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Everyone admired Zhou Ping. Zhao Hong thought carefully and solved their worries for them.
"Zhou Ping, Xu Liang, Fan Zhong, you all have listened carefully. From today on, the Anti-Corruption Department of the Song Dynasty has been officially established. Zhou Ping is the head of the Anti-Corruption Department and is in charge of the anti-corruption affairs of Jiangnan East Road, taking care of all roads in the Song Dynasty. Xu Liang and Fan Zhong are deputy chiefs, in charge of anti-corruption matters on Liangzhe Road and Sichuan Road respectively."
Zhao Hong looked at the few people with great satisfaction and full of expectations.
"The expenses of the Anti-Corruption Department will be paid by the Fengzhuang Treasury for the time being. Once the anti-corruption is on track, it will be paid by the Ministry of Household Affairs."
The Fengzhuang Treasury is the emperor's private treasury. Zhao Hong pays the expenses of the Anti-Corruption Department, which also shows Zhao Hong's confidence in anti-corruption.
He originally wanted to adapt measures to local conditions, deploy elite soldiers and generals from Yushitai, and set up the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan to be in charge of supervision, impeachment and recommendations. But Fan Zhong and Xu Liang's worries made him make an immediate decision.
He still decided to follow the example of the later Bauhinia Independent Commission Against Corruption and establish an Anti-Corruption Department to take charge of anti-corruption matters.
Anyway, there are already many disadvantages, so let’s treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor.
