Having said this, Jia Quan walked behind Huang Qiong's desk. He picked up his statement and pondered it carefully, then picked up the pen and wrote another one according to Huang Qiong's tone. After putting down the pen to dry, Jia Quan took the revised or deleted statement and handed it to Huang Qiong.
After taking the revised clause from Jia Quan, Huang Qiong read it briefly, then shook his head and said, "Sir, it's not like I haven't considered what you mean. It's just that this method will not affect the court's annual income." It also had a great impact. Especially after the clan paid taxes on the excess land, it was quite inappropriate for the court to consider compensating Shiohiki."
"The biggest annual income of our dynasty, besides land tax, is the salt tax. Although your idea is good, it is not intended to cut out flesh to mend sores. And according to the huge appetite these clans have been pampered over the years, how much can the court give? How can we satisfy them with salt? If we give it less, they won’t do it; if we give it too much, the court’s annual income will be affected.”
"Don't think about Yanyin. However, your idea of limiting the number of fields occupied by the clan and levying taxes beyond the amount is worthy of consideration. It's just that we still need to discuss the upper limit of the land area. Twenty thousand acres is a bit large.”
Regarding Huang Qiong's attitude, Jia Quan smiled and said: "The reason why the prince gave him a certain amount of salt is that Quan's real idea is that this matter should not be impatient. These salts are only used to suppress and weaken temporarily. Those clan members are not interested in this matter." Change the dissatisfaction. When all the problems are solved, when Yanyin wants to take it back, isn't it just a matter of a word from the court? "
"Furthermore, it is written in the terms of the right that these salt quotas are not for life, but need to be reissued by the court every year. As long as this right is firmly in the hands of the court, it is not a matter of just one sentence to reduce it? Your Majesty, Only when you are willing to give up some things can you finally gain them. If you don’t give them some benefits, how can they accept the change honestly? "
"As for setting the upper limit for a clan's land occupation, Quan means a house, not a family. In fact, every clan in the world is a family, and it can also be called a house. Of course, all clan heads are He is the emperor of all dynasties. But in every clan, the one with the highest title is the actual clan leader."
"Just like after you become a vassal, your descendants will also regard the direct descendants of Xijue as the actual clan leaders. This mansion may include a prince or prince, several Fengguo generals or Fengguo lieutenants. , or even the likes of Xuande Lang and Chao Qing Lang. There may be dozens or even hundreds of clans among them."
"The total land limit for these clans is 20,000 acres. Your Majesty, this number is already the lowest. No matter how low it is, you have to consider the emperor's mentality and the backlash of these clans. What's more, each of these clans have limbs. You can’t really force them to farm if they work hard and don’t distinguish between grains.”
"Actually, Your Majesty, Quan still has two options that he hasn't said yet. Quan thinks that there are two more options that can be taken next. One is to allow the clan to participate in the imperial examination, and change the current system where the clan can only participate in official selection to be the same as the previous one. Those outside the Tang Dynasty's five uniforms are not members of the clan and can participate in the imperial examination or engage in business."
"Another point is that it involves the prince himself. In fact, the prince can suggest to the emperor that starting from the prince of this dynasty, he should change the prince's national policy of vassalage. All princes are not in the vassal territory. Even if they are vassals, they will not be issued to Yongye. All the original fields have been taken back by the feudal prince Yongye Tian, and all have been changed to the salary system."
"If the prince of this dynasty sets an example for the clans of the world, there will be much less resistance when implementing the New Deal. Your Majesty, it has been more than a hundred years since the founding of the country, and this matter has reached a point where it is difficult to get back. But this matter also involves the clans of the world, and it is a matter of ten thousand people. Don’t be too hasty. Quan thinks that slow cooking over low heat is more suitable for this change. Being too hasty will only be counterproductive.”
"As for your terms and conditions, these two clauses, namely, the sharing of land and the opening of sea bans, it is not that these two rights are not recognized, nor cannot they be implemented. But the problem is that the current maritime trade is in the hands of the Guilin County Prince's Palace. You As soon as this clause was announced, it can be said that the Guilin County Prince's Palace was immediately offended."
"Since the Silk Road disappeared from Tubo in the late Tang Dynasty, the maritime trade route has become almost the only channel for trade between the Central Plains and overseas countries. Coupled with Japan and Silla, this overseas trade can easily earn tens of millions of profits every year. Even if 30% is turned over to the Ministry of Revenue, the remaining 70% is enough to make the Guilin County Prince very rich."
"Furthermore, no one knows how much income the Guilin County Prince's Mansion makes each year. The money they turn in every year is said to be 30%, but who can tell clearly? Your Majesty, the tea gardens of the Guilin Prince's Mansion are spread all over the east and west of Jiangnan, Zhejiang, and Zhejiang. On all roads in Fujian, porcelain is also found on Jiangnan West Road and Fujian Road. Our two most popular exports to the North, tea and porcelain, are almost costless and profitable trades for them."
"As for silk and medicinal materials, although they need to be purchased from outside, how many merchants in Jiangnan dare not give the Guilin County Prince's Palace a low price? How many of them dare to ask the Guilin County Prince's high prices? Not to mention they don't dare to bargain. I have to rush to please the Guilin County Prince."
"Although Quan is not a businessman, Quan has heard a little bit about the affairs of the Guilin County Prince's Palace. The Guilin County Prince's Palace controls almost the entire Daqi sea trade route and acts extremely domineeringly. When purchasing silk, he often deliberately lowers the price. Although the silk merchants all over the south of the Yangtze River are filled with anger, they dare not speak out because their life is in their hands."
"The control of this overseas trade by the Guilin County Prince's Palace can be said to be a hugely profitable business. But looking at the files, it turns out that the amount of money paid to the Ministry of Household Affairs by the Guilin County Prince's Palace has basically not changed since the Taizong period. But now it has been a hundred years since the founding of the People's Republic of China. It has been more than a few years, but do you believe that the annual profits of the Guilin County Prince's Palace are still that high?"
"Opening the sea ban and allowing merchants to trade in ports designated by the imperial court is a good strategy to solve the imperial court's insufficient annual revenue. Merchants in Jiangnan will also strongly support it. But can the Guilin County Prince's Palace, which has been living alone for more than a hundred years, agree to this? ? You must know that until the tax reaches a certain level, the court cannot offend the King of Guilin yet."
"Although the tax paid by the Guilin County Prince every year is a confusing amount, it is still crucial to the current court. Seventy percent of the money and food distributed by the court to the river workers every year comes from the Guilin County Prince's Mansion. This 30% tax . There has always been a saying among the people that if the prince of Guilin County sneezes, the court will catch a cold. If there really is a falling out, I am afraid the court will not be able to bear it. "
"Since the prince of Guilin County is the first hero in the founding of the country, he has considerable influence not only in the court, but even among the people. If the court comes to force, I am afraid that the legitimacy of the court will be questioned first. What's more, Your Majesty, you have forgotten There is one thing that has been resolved, and that is Wuwei Bank."
"Now the imperial court's money circulates, taxes paid on the roads, officials' salaries are paid, and even in addition to the local guards who are allocated from the roads nearby, the border troops in various places and the officers and soldiers of the four major battalions all rely on Wuwei Bank. Only in this way can we avoid the pain of traveling back and forth to be escorted, and it can even be said to be more secure than being escorted by the court itself."
"Furthermore, the interest money that the Ministry of Revenue gets from Wuwei Bank every year can not relieve the imperial government's annual revenue, but it is still a huge amount of money. But in this way, although the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War will save trouble, and The safety of the payment escort is also guaranteed, and you can get an interest every year."
"But the problem is that after decades of accumulation, it can be said that the entire Da Qi Dynasty is tied up in Wuwei Bank in disguise, that is, their Guilin County Prince's Mansion. As long as this Wuwei Bank exists for one day, as long as the Guilin County Prince's Mansion does not openly rebel, Da Qi No emperor in the past dared to touch the palace of the Guilin County Prince. It can be said that even if you submit this proposal, the emperor will not approve it."
"As for dividing the land into acres, it is a good way to solve the problem of not being able to collect the land. But in your plan, you also add that the officials and gentry will pay for the food and serve as errands. You are pushing yourself to be the enemy of the scholars all over the world. .My lord, I have been an official for thousands of miles just for food and clothing, and in three years I have been able to become a magistrate with one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver."
"Without this privilege, who would become an official? Without this privilege, who would be willing to live in poverty for ten years? To be disrespectful, when Emperor Taizu launched an army to rebel, he told the Conglong generals that we should fight The world is really for the common people of the world. After the Tang Dynasty is destroyed, everyone will go back and farm the land where they should, and sell private salt when they should."
"Look at the Qi army at that time. It would be strange if it didn't collapse immediately. The so-called success is all false, only interests are fundamental. According to your terms, you first offended all the clans in the world. Then Guilin Putting the prince's palace in a position of hostility to himself has pushed him to be the enemy of scholars all over the world."
"Your Majesty, you are not just making enemies on all sides. Once this article is announced to the world, you will become the mortal enemy of almost all the dignitaries in the world, as well as those who have achieved fame or have not achieved fame. When the time comes, The royal family, officials, and scholars all over the world, even if the emperor’s will is as strong as iron, he still has to think twice before acting.”
"And even if your memorial is not published by the emperor, it may not be spread. The emperor's private visit incognito is considered confidential, but there is no need to say the result. There will be someone behind the scenes who is adding fuel to the fire, even if you want to stay out of it. It’s totally impossible.”
"Your Majesty, don't forget that no matter what you do, the only person you can rely on is the Emperor. And now the Emperor is blindly seeking stability in political affairs. If your policy comes up, once it arouses the anger of the world, the clan, Guilin, etc. The prince's palace and the scholars have joined forces, can the emperor withstand this pressure for you?"
"The pressure from the royal family and the Guilin County Prince's Palace may not be a big problem to the emperor. These people depend on what the emperor does. As long as the emperor wants to do it, it is not completely impossible to suppress them with force. But all the people in the world can't be suppressed. What about scholars? How will you let the emperor deal with you when the time comes? Can I still support you as always?"
"You must know that although these people have no soldiers and no great power, these scholars have the right to speak in the world. The history pen is like a knife, and these people are much more difficult to deal with than the clan and the princes of Guilin County. You can't If you eat a fat man in one bite, things still have to be done step by step. Solve the clan issue first, and put the rest aside for now."
Jia Quan was so considerate that he even hit the point in every sentence, admonishing Huang Qiong not to act out of temper. Especially the last paragraph, it almost hit the nail on the head of Huang Qiong. If the emperor really can't withstand the pressure, Huang Qiong may really be pushed out as a scapegoat.
