Lu Zhi was firmly opposed to the shamelessness of some people.
Lu Zhi, who has clear governance experience, is well aware of the country's shortcomings, so he firmly opposes tax increases.
"Public taxation is already very heavy. If we increase taxes, they will have no way to survive and go bankrupt and surrender to the enemy. It is equivalent to increasing the number of soldiers for Qingxu Yellow Turban and Runan Yellow Turban. While increasing the number, they will exterminate them. How long will they continue to fight?"
Liu Yu also supports Lu Zhi’s view and believes that it is unwise to continue to increase taxes.
He also had experience in local governance, especially in post-war pacification. He knew the suffering of the people and how difficult people's livelihood was, so he firmly opposed it.
Yuan Wei spoke at this time.
"Then according to your opinion, all the officials in the court should be deprived of their salaries and food. If the officials of the court cannot have food, who will govern the country? Who will lead the troops to fight? Are the common people more important than the officials? ?”
Liu Yu suddenly felt that this statement was ridiculous.
"With Yuan Situ's family wealth, even if he never receives a salary, will he starve? With Yuan's family wealth, Yuan Situ's payment to the court will not affect his wealth, but ordinary people do not have that much family wealth. , if you are not careful, your whole family will starve to death, has Yuan Situ ever seen that kind of scene?"
"Zongzheng was joking. I have some thin farmland at home. I don't have a salary. I can barely survive starvation by farming the land. But not every official has farmland at home."
Yuan Wei sneered and said: "Does Zongzheng really think that there are really no officials in Luoyang City who can barely survive on this salary? Without salary, who will be responsible if people starve to death? Do you want His Majesty to carry ministers who starve to death? A bad reputation?"
Liu Yu dared to say that at least no one participating in this meeting would starve to death because he could not receive official salary, but other than that...
Hard to say.
Because there are indeed those small officials in Luoyang City who live on meager salaries. Although they are few, it cannot be said that such people do not exist.
Those petty officials who work in the humble government have little power and no one to fawn over. They cling to a salary to live their lives, and they are also scrambling for it.
If they really starve to death, the problem will be huge.
So Liu Yu did not refute Yuan Wei.
Yuan Wei then suggested that Liu Hong increase taxes to inflict hardship on the people, and ordered Liu Hong to bear the blame, and then sent out troops to destroy Qingxu Yellow Turban and Runan Yellow Turban.
It only takes a few months, and the people must be able to accept it. Even if they starve to death, not many people will starve to death.
As a result, Huang Wan stood up again and accused Yuan Wei of raising taxes without knowing the sufferings of the people. By then, before the tax increases were completed, a rebellion would probably break out in the land of Three Rivers.
Then the imperial court fought on two fronts?
Where did the money come from?
Where did the soldiers come from?
Huang Wan firmly disagreed with the tax increase and went against Yuan Wei.
Yuan Wei got angry and quarreled with Huang Wan on the spot. The group of people quarreled so fiercely that no one could completely refute the other.
In the end, the first military meeting yielded no results.
After the meeting, Liu Hong was quite troubled and kept complaining to Zhang Rang, saying that this group of people knew how to cause trouble for him, and compared to Liu Bei who could bring him benefits, they could not even compare to a toe.
"As long as Xuande is here, I don't have to worry about so many things! The gap between people is really so big that it's staggering! Hmph!"
Liu Hong was so angry that he threw things around. It took him a while to calm down, thinking hard about how to solve this problem.
When he was troubled, a person's visit brought him a new way of thinking.
The visitor is Liu Yan, a clan official who holds the position of Taichang.
The purpose of his visit was to provide Liu Hong with strategies to pacify the Qingxu Yellow Turban and Runan Yellow Turban without spending much money.
"The governors and governors bribed and bought officials. They were of low moral character. They only exploited the people, caused rebellion and alienation, and caused a large number of people to resist. It is of course impossible to expect them to suppress the rebels. They will only bring disaster to the court again and again. , making His Majesty feel embarrassed.
Nowadays, chaos is everywhere in the world. Only Liangzhou has been able to stabilize by sending the clan member Liu Bei as the governor of the state. In the past two years, there has been no rebellion. Because of its full military and political power, it can also mobilize manpower in the face of the invasion of the Qiang and Xianbei people. Use material resources to attack it.
Therefore, just appointing generals, governors, and governors to fight against the rebels will not completely solve the problem. It will only postpone the problem. We should follow the example of Liangzhou and select those honest clan and court officials to serve as state pastors. To guard and stabilize the world. "
When Liu Yan saw Liu Hong, he told Liu Hong everything he was thinking, making Liu Hong deep in thought.
To be honest, he is indeed grateful now that he believed in Liu Bei and made that decision.
Liu Bei served as the shepherd of Liangzhou for two years and successfully put down the rebellion in Liangzhou. So far, not only has he not asked for money, but he has also given him money. Liangzhou is stable and stable, and there has been no more trouble. This has prevented him from having a fire in the backyard. .
Among them, Liu Bei, as a state pastor, had full military and political power and was able to mobilize all local resources, which should be one of the important factors for his success.
Moreover, Liu Bei himself is also very capable, whether it is fighting or governing, he can use all his abilities. As a result, there has never been any turmoil in the chaotic Liangzhou. On the contrary, it has made other states and counties look worse than Liangzhou. Confused.
Liu Hong thought about it and was quite hesitant.
"Xuande's role as the shepherd of Liangzhou is unique in stabilizing Liangzhou. Firstly, the population of Liangzhou is sparse, and secondly, the situation in Liangzhou is extremely dangerous. Without the power of being the shepherd of the state, Xuande cannot stabilize Liangzhou. This is a fact. The same cannot be said for the rest of the states.
For example, Qingxu Prefecture and Yuzhou are both densely populated places. If the prefectural pastor is rashly appointed to take full responsibility, there is no guarantee that no one will be disobedient. Xuande is loyal to me, how can anyone else compare with him? What about? "
Liu Yan rolled his eyes without any trace, and then quickly organized his words.
"What you said is certainly reasonable, so I suggest that you arrange for the clan and important officials of the imperial court to serve as state pastors. The clan will naturally be loyal to your majesty and the great Han Dynasty. Important officials of the imperial court are often highly virtuous and respectable, and they will cherish their reputation, and they will not act recklessly and ruin their reputation."
Liu Hong hesitated for a while and seemed a little shaken by Liu Yan's statement.
"What you said...is not unreasonable, but will it really have good results if you appoint a state pastor?"
"With the precedent of Liangzhou, what else can your Majesty have to doubt?"
Liu Yan smiled and said: "The precedent of Liu Liangzhou is enough to prove that appointing a state pastor can reduce the burden on the court, rectify the administration of officials, and punish corrupt officials. Isn't this what the Han Dynasty needs?"
"Let me think about this matter carefully."
Liu Hong gave Liu Yan an ambiguous reply.
But in Liu Yan's view, this matter is already a sure thing, because Liu Hong doesn't have many choices if he doesn't want to spend too much money.
So Liu Yan resigned and did not stay long.
After Liu Yan left, Liu Hong and Zhang Rang discussed the matter.
"I think what Liu Yan said makes sense, but I always feel that these people cannot be compared with Xuande. Xuande is loyal to the emperor and the country, loyal, and extremely capable. What Xuande can do, Can they really do it?"
"Actually, in the final analysis, it's still a matter of money."
Zhang Rang whispered: "These court officials embezzled taxes one by one and made their families rich. So when it was the court's turn to really use the money, there was no money left. And now they are expecting the court to come up with this money. They are sure We will try our best to stop it, and if we want to increase taxes, Lu Zhi and others will also oppose it, so for His Majesty, the strategy Liu Yan mentioned may actually be the best strategy."
