After Jia Quan's words fell, Huang Qiong couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Why don't I know what the gentleman said? Otherwise, I wouldn't have tried so hard to shirk it in the Wende Hall, thinking that the prince would be more suitable to do this. Some. But the old man insists on leaving this job to me, and I really have no way to refuse."
"And this matter is not just a matter of satisfying anyone. At least in the emperor's view, not only the emperor must be satisfied, but the people must also be satisfied. The clans in the world cannot rebound too much. They have to please three aspects. From another aspect "These three aspects are also key to whether this article can be passed and implemented."
"It's just that for me, if I want to sell well on both sides, I guess I won't get good on both sides in the end. And based on my life experience, even if I sell well to those clans, they may not pay attention to me. So. First of all, there is no need for me to ask for trouble. Instead of thinking about playing both ends and selling well on both sides, it is better to concentrate on doing my own thing well. "
"At least, we must satisfy the people of the world. As for whether the emperor is satisfied or not, we can only wait and see. Other things really can't be considered. In this way, sir, take Song Gongliang to assist me in filing these files. Sort it out. As for how to present this article, you and I are discussing it. During this period of time, sir, I will focus on this."
"There are too many files. If I were to do it myself, I would probably not be able to finish it in even half a year. My father was very stingy and only gave me two months. Although I am not a prince, I am not Why do you care so much? But if it is not completed within the specified time, I cannot afford to lose that person."
After Huang Qiong said this, Jia Quan couldn't help but feel a headache when he looked at the ten boxes of files. He casually took out a volume, opened it and read it, then said to Huang Qiong: "Your Majesty, doesn't your Majesty see everything clearly? How come these things have been delayed until now and there is still no solution?"
"Look at the date on which this file was signed. It was the third year after the emperor regained power and changed his reign to Mingde. This shows that the emperor was not ignorant of what the clan was doing. On the contrary, the emperor saw it It’s very clear. It’s very clear. Now that it has been delayed for so many years, the accumulated abuses will only become deeper and deeper, and it will become more and more difficult to deal with it.”
"Right now, it has even seriously affected the imperial court's annual income. This dynasty's annual income has always been mainly based on land tax. The less land available for collecting money and grain, the less the imperial court's annual income. If the imperial court's annual income cannot be collected, it can provide disaster relief and river construction. , Raising troops requires money and food everywhere, and the unlucky ones are the common people of the world."
"For the current situation, Quan has only one sentence to describe it, that is, it is a vicious circle and it is difficult to get back. With the wisdom of the people, this is not invisible. But Quan really doesn't understand why the emperor has delayed it until today. At a time when it is difficult to cure even with strong drugs, why do you think of a way to cure this?"
In response to Jia Quan's doubts, Huang Qiong could only shake his head and smile bitterly: "The reason why the old man threw the rat weapon is very simple. The old man always seeks stability in governing the country. He also believes that the clan is the foundation of the world. If it touches the interests of the clan, it will easily cause the so-called fundamentals in his mind." We are shaken, so we focus more on stability.”
"For so many years, the old man cannot say that he has never thought about how to deal with this matter, otherwise he would not have put so much effort into monitoring the clan's actions and formed a file. It's just that the old man has never found it. What he thought was the appropriate way to handle the matter."
"He doesn't trust the ministers and thinks that this matter is a family matter rather than a state matter. He doesn't want to leave the matter to the courtiers and always wants to use his own family to handle the matter. It's a pity that my brothers are willing to get involved in this matter. I guess not, so I postponed it. It has been delayed until now, and the result is that it will be difficult to get back."
"Sir, you are right. If it had been dealt with back then, it would have been dealt with. At least it was changed from the fief system to the salary system. Although the pressure on the court was greater, it was at least much easier to deal with than now. It is a pity that the old man missed this because of the need to stabilize the throne. Opportunity. From the scabies epidemic back then, it has almost reached the point of being out of control now."
"Actually, it is not a problem whether the clan gives Yongye land or implements the salary system. The problem is that there is no limit on the number of acres occupied by the clan. No matter how much land the clan occupies, it has the privilege of not having to pay money and grain. These people are not popular. Annexing land would be really weird."
"This is almost a hugely profitable business, and it doesn't require any brainpower, let alone any risks. Just sit at home and wait, as long as there is no drought or flood, you will have the money and food. Is there anything in the world that can be more worry-free than this? These clans are backed by the imperial court and local officials, so which tenant dares to rely on them?"
"That's why the clan has taken over the land by any means, and the common people can only do what happened to the refugees. Originally, this matter could have been handled safely, but now it is almost impossible to do so without resorting to war. Let those people give up their interests, then Wouldn’t it cost them their lives? But if we don’t change, we have reached an unsustainable point.”
"The main source of income for this dynasty has always been land tax. The clan does not need to pay taxes on the land they occupy. The more they occupy, the less the court's income will be. This has almost become a vicious cycle, with the clan desperately trying to occupy the land. But relying on their own privileges, they don’t have to pay taxes. The land of the common people is getting less and less, but the taxes cannot be less."
"And the collection of money and grain is an important evaluation of local officials. It is related to whether these local officials can be promoted or even secure their positions. The land is occupied by the clan, and these people do not pay money and grain. In addition, those Families who have gained fame can also be exempted from paying for food and money. How much land do you think is left that can be collected for money and food?"
"I'm afraid that in order to meet the amount of money and food collected every year, the local officials can only distribute the taxes equally to ordinary families. But few of the common people can afford it. This causes the rich to get richer and the poor to become more and more poor. Poor. And the imperial court's income is getting less and less."
"I guess the old man finally made up his mind to deal with this matter. I am afraid that the Ministry of Revenue may have been unable to make ends meet. In fact, he does not understand that the people who are desperately trying to dig up the foundation of this dynasty are what he thinks are the foundations of the dynasty. This matter If we don't see the point, no matter what strategies we come up with to solve this problem, I'm afraid it will only do twice the result with half the result, or even make things worse."
"Actually, the way to solve this problem is very simple, which is to limit the number of acres occupied by the clan. For the excess land, the amount of grain will be levied according to the court's customization, or even double the original amount. The clan has no interest, and There is no interest in annexing land anymore.”
Regarding Huang Qiong's view, Jia Quan shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, if it is really that simple, it won't be your turn to deal with this matter. Quan's idea is to take a long-term approach. At least, we Let’s read these files first and have a general understanding of the situation.”
Huang Qiong nodded in agreement with Jia Quan's words. He walked to the door of the study, looked at the tall and tall trees in the yard, and remained silent for a long time before saying: "If you want to do this well, you must be prepared to be a lonely minister. No one is willing to give up such a large amount of benefits."
"Not only must I be mentally prepared for this, my husband must also be mentally prepared. Although the Emperor will keep us secrets, the higher some things reach the top, the more secrets they can keep. Is there anything in this world that can't be kept secret? A ventilated wall? Being a lonely minister is not that easy."
Jia Quan thought about Huang Qiong's words for a moment and then said: "Your Majesty, there is nothing to worry about Quan himself. Even if those people know about it, they probably won't take Quan seriously. The key is that, Your Majesty, You'd better be more careful. Who can guarantee that this matter will really cause clans all over the world to attack, and that the emperor will not push you out as a scapegoat?"
"The emperor arranged for you to do this errand that should have been done by the prince. His thoughts may not be as good as we imagined. God's power is unpredictable, so you'd better be more careful. Jun Wuxi said, if anyone really believes this, I’m afraid I don’t even know how I died.”
Huang Qiong smiled at Jia Quan's reminder and said, "Mr. Youlao reminded me. But please rest assured, sir, if the emperor really wants to use me as a scapegoat, it depends on whether he has a good mouth." One thing, I had already made preparations when I took over this job."
"Sir, don't go back to your residence these days. Just rest in this study. From now on, this study will be used by sir. Except for you and me, and Song Zhihuan, the rest of the study room No one is allowed to enter. Let’s sort out the files first and then talk about other things.”
Jia Quan could only smile bitterly at Huang Qiong's arrangement. He picked up the dossier from the box and read it carefully one by one. Naturally, Huang Qiong would not let Jia Quan read it by himself, so he also picked up a file and started reading it. It was just the things in the file that made Huang Qiong more and more frightened.
It turns out that all the emperors of the Da Qi Dynasty had conferred high-ranking clan titles, not only on the prince level, but also on the county king and county prince levels. They had basically been killed by his own grandfather. On the other hand, for the Yuanzhi clan who had already left the fifth server and whose title had been lowered to the level of general, his grandfather might have felt that they were not a big threat, but he was not really involved.
Most people were simply deprived of their property and imprisoned. Not too many people died under his grandfather's knife. However, Huang Qiong also knew that once his grandfather really seized the throne, it would be difficult for these Yuanzhi clan members to escape death. It is a truth that has been understood by all dynasties throughout the ages.
But no matter what, when my grandfather tried to purge the clans of the Yuanzhi clan, such as Lieutenants of Fengguo and Lieutenants of Fuguo, more of them survived compared to the princes and princes who were almost completely killed. . At most, he suffered some sins.
Because the ancestors of these people were enfeoffed relatively early, not only had their titles been reduced to a very low level, but Yongye Field had also been taken back. It is precisely because their titles are relatively low that officials don't pay much attention to them. Therefore, there are not too many misbehaviors among these Yuanzhi clan members.
Although there are cases of land annexation, the situation is far less serious than that of clans with high titles and high energy. At present, the princes and princes in the clan were basically appointed by the emperor after his grandfather passed away and after he regained power. In other words, most people only have more than ten years to ascend the throne.
But these people, using their own emperor, I don't know what kind of compensation or connivance they have, to annex land in the fiefdom in order to accumulate wealth. In more than ten years, these princes and princes even owned 50% to 60% of the land in a prefecture or state where the vassal was located.
