"Guan Jia, are you really going to Shandong to worship Confucius? Don't we in the Song Dynasty now emphasize martial arts over literature? Is this rule really going to change?"
The person who questioned the sincerity of the Confucian Emperor Zhao Kai Zunkong was his most beloved concubine Guo Tiannu.
Guo Tiannu was not the most beautiful in Zhao Kai's harem, she had no children, and she was not young either, already in her thirties. Although he still maintains a good figure, his face is inevitably a bit rough after following Zhao Kai on many expeditions all year round. This appearance is not even comparable to that of Cao Yuniang, Wu Meiniang, and Ren Baolian, who are as beautiful as elves, but even compared to Pan Cailian, who is about the same age, it is not even a little bit worse.
But the fateful love between her and Zhao Kai was incomparable to others? So when she talked to Zhao Kai, she had no worries and could just say whatever she wanted.
And she is not only Zhao Kai's concubine, but also a member of the Heroes Group - she has followed Zhao Kai through life and death for so many years, and she must be a part of any battle that Zhao Kai personally fights.
She is personally responsible for Zhao Kai's safety on the front line, so the credit cannot be denied!
In addition, Guo Tiannu also brought her 500 cavalry to join Zhao Kai's camp. That Dong Jingang was her subordinate! In addition to Dong Jingang, there were dozens of victorious officers and soldiers who followed Guo Tiannu and joined Zhao Kai and were knighted.
With her merits, it would not be too much to grant her the title of Duke. But Zhao Kai considered her status, so he made her a Marquis of Yuquan. The village was located at the foot of Yuquan Mountain outside Shuntianfu City.
Although she is only a female queen, it also means that Guo Tiannu has the status of a hero and can have some private communications with Zhao Kai on behalf of the group of heroes.
The question now is not only a question for Guo Tiannu, but also a question that the group of military heroes want to ask!
If Zhao Kai's current answer cannot satisfy Guo Tiannu, then forget about convincing those heroes and the soldiers below... Although this matter will not cause any big troubles, there will always be estrangement inevitable.
Zhao Kai said with a smile: "Goddess, why do I value martial arts over literature or value literature over martial arts? I just want to distribute taxes and military service to the people of the world in a fair and reasonable way."
"A fair and reasonable apportionment?" Guo Tiannv was a little confused, "Can the official please explain it to me in detail?"
Zhao Kai nodded and said with a smile: "This matter is also related to you. I should naturally tell you that the so-called fair and reasonable apportionment of taxes and military service, to put it more simply, means that those with money should contribute money and those with strength should contribute! I understand. ?"
"I understand..." Guo Tiannv suddenly realized, "The southerners are rich, so let them pay. The northerners are strong, so they serve as soldiers!"
Queen Zhu Fengying interjected: "Officials, hasn't it always been like this in the Song Dynasty? Before the disaster of Xuanhe, wasn't it true that the rich paid taxes and were exempted from military service, and those who had the strength to apply for military service?"
As a queen and the biological mother of the emperor's legitimate son Zhao Ping, Zhu Fengying certainly had the power to ask questions about politics... Theoretically, she could take over the supreme power of the Song Dynasty at any time from the sudden death of Zhao Kai. How can you not understand anything?
None of the courtiers in the dynasty was neither evil nor evil. If the Queen Mother who was in court really didn't understand anything, why would she be bullied into tears by them?
Although Zhao Kai has never officially named Zhao the crown prince, everyone knows that the heir in Zhao Kai's mind is still this very well-behaved and lovable legitimate son. Instead of Zhao Lun, the eldest son of the common concubine who has grown tall and tall, is outstanding in literary and martial arts, and has even completed the study of "New Arithmetic" and "Gewu Xue" written by Zhao Kai himself under the guidance of Wu Meiniang... ...
The reason why Zhao Kai was hesitant to choose the crown prince was because he himself used the prince born as a concubine to overwhelm the prince born as a legitimate prince, reopened the Song Dynasty, and became the master of the world.
So he had to advertise "establishing virtuous people" instead of "establishing direct descendants"... At least before Zhao Huan, the "legitimate son of Zhuangzong", was expelled from the land of China, he couldn't take off the sign of "establishing virtuous people".
But judging from his actions of supporting Zhu Fengying and suppressing Pan Cailian, Zhao Lun has little chance.
But Zhu Fengying’s political wisdom is really not that good... I wonder if it will be passed down to Zhao Ping?
After hearing Zhu Fengying's question, Zhao Kai did not answer immediately, but decided to test the women in his harem, so he smiled and said: "Today we are chatting behind closed doors as a family. There is nothing we can't say. Tell me whatever you think."
"Official family," Pan Cailian said with a smile, "I think my sister is right. The rich pay taxes, and the court will use the money to recruit capable people to serve as soldiers. That means the rich will contribute money and the capable will contribute. "
Zhao Kai smiled. This woman was very scheming and knew her own thoughts, so she kept a low profile and tolerated everything, coaxing Zhu Fengying. Zhu Fengying was confused, so she pretended to be confused too.
"The official family," Wu Meiniang took the question and said with a smile, "how did the two sisters miss the official family? Most of them actually contributed... Although they were officially official members, Only some taxes and corvees are exempted, but how many of the tax collectors dare to be serious?"
Wu Meiniang was a woman who entered the palace from the common people, so she naturally knew how the wealthy gentry and celebrities below used their power to evade taxes.
Officials themselves do not pay taxes but only spend money, so they neither represent the interests of taxpayers nor care about the effects of spending money... What they actually represent are the interests of a group of "privileged people who do not pay taxes."
Not only do they not pay taxes, but they also have to share some profits from the limited tax revenue, leaving less money for recruiting soldiers and fighting wars.
Cao Yuniang and Yu Zangjinnu were not from the Song Dynasty earlier, so they naturally didn't know the pros and cons of the Song Dynasty's tax laws, so they shook their heads and said nothing.
Ren Baolian, who was born as a general in Shaanxi, took over the topic and said with a smile: "Officials don't pay taxes and only spend public money, while soldiers have to sacrifice themselves for a few meals... So these officials are like landowners, and soldiers It’s the customer-sharecroppers.”
Zhao Kai chuckled and said: "And this field is not theirs! And those people who sold their lives for a few small coins may not be really strong! Being strong and being rich is not a matter of choosing one or the other. "
Poor literature and rich martial arts!
In ancient times, those who fought the most fiercely were usually a group of rich peasants and small landowners, good men of the Han Dynasty, government soldiers of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, as well as citizen soldiers and knights from the West, Japanese samurai, etc. None of them are paupers who become soldiers just to earn a living... Even the pitiable-sounding "slave soldiers" and "servants" are only raised by their masters who eat, drink, equip and train them well. Get up.
Zhao Kai had no money to raise "slave soldiers" and "domestic servants", so he chose the route of being a good man, a government soldier, and a citizen soldier. Divide the land in a few roads in the north and let the soldiers collect some rent to subsidize military expenses.
Yelu Yuliyan asked: "In the past during the Song Dynasty, civilian officials were in charge of money and military attachés were in charge of soldiers. So the civilian officials became dongweng, the military attachés were in charge of affairs, and the soldiers became slaves?"
Zhao Kai smiled and nodded, "Soldiers are sometimes worse than slaves... Slaves belong to the family, soldiers belong to the country."
He turned his head and looked at Guo Tiannu again, "Tiannu, do you understand the difference between me giving money and my strength before the disaster of Xuanhe?"
"I understand," Guo Tiannv said with a smile, "Your Majesty means to let those who are rich and powerful serve as soldiers, and let those who are rich and powerless provide the money!"
Zhao Kai smiled and said: "That's right...that's what I think! And only those who have land and ability become soldiers, and those who are rich and weak are willing to pay! Otherwise, these people will find tax evaders sooner or later. A way to make my court pauper."
In most cases, rich people are not willing to give money out of their pockets to others...paying taxes is just what they say it is honorable. So someone has to force them to take the money! And they will try their best to find ways to evade taxes... If it is possible to evade taxes and evade taxes by becoming an official, then all rich people must be literate and want to study and become officials.
If the country has to rely on a group of civil servants with the "power of tax evasion" to support it, then it will definitely become more and more difficult to get rich people to contribute money.
Therefore, if Zhao Kai wants to receive enough taxes, he must have a group of people who are capable and must contribute...if they stand by and watch with knives, the money will be collected!
Why did the Qing Dynasty collect taxes that the Ming Dynasty could not collect?
It’s because of the Eight Banners soldiers! Moreover, the Eight Banners soldiers are not on the same path as those civil servants and scholar-bureaucrats.
Dare you not pay taxes? I'll kill you without any discussion!
As for the two camp fields in Zhao Kai's hands, haven't they been paying taxes honestly for so many years? More than 15 million a year, just a little more.
There is no such thing as tax resistance!
And there were no rebellions... On the contrary, there were always all kinds of troubles in the ten roads under the Southern Song Dynasty. Although it was not difficult to suppress them, they always happened one after another, and there was no peace.
At this time, Guo Tiannu had put on an expression of admiration and said with a smile: "Guan, you are so wise! Tiannu is convinced!"
Zhao Kai laughed heartily, and Guo Tiannu's words spoke happily... She was convinced, and the heroes below would naturally support her.
With their support, this national policy of "paying money if you have money, and giving efforts if you have strength" can be announced to the world and become the ancestral system of the Great Song Dynasty!
That's right, Zhao Kai does not play black box operations on this matter of "who pays and who contributes", but wants to speak out openly.
Both those who contribute and those who contribute money must know why they have to contribute so much and why they have to pay so much tax!
He won't follow Zhu Yuanzhang's stupid line of "my capital raises millions of soldiers without costing the common people a grain of rice"... If the common people don't pay to raise the soldiers, then the soldiers will die at a loss? If the soldiers die, there will be no more millions of soldiers.
So when he went south to Shandong this time, he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to worship Confucius and talk about it with the scholar-bureaucrats from the southeast in order to gain their support... Anyone who doesn't support can go to Japan and become a samurai , Go to Nanyang and become a pirate!
