The ministers retreated with suspicion, and Prince Liu Yang was left behind. The father and son were alone, and there was no longer the harmony and warmth of a loving father and a filial son. Looking at Liu Yang who was standing in front of him respectfully, Emperor Liu was silent for a long time, and then asked : "Do you know the reason why I am determined to promote tax reform?"
Liu Yang thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "For the long-term peace and stability of the Han Dynasty!"
Hearing this, Emperor Liu raised the corner of his mouth and said mockingly: "It doesn't matter whether Changzhi can do it or not, but I'm afraid chaos is just around the corner!"
Hearing what Emperor Liu said, Liu Yang's face changed slightly and he subconsciously responded: "How could that be?"
"You can't detect the problem?" Emperor Liu looked directly at Liu Yang, as if he wanted to see through him, and said calmly: "What is the reason for your hesitation? You know it in your heart, and I may not know it either. !”
Liu Yang frowned tightly, thought for a while, and said: "Your Majesty is determined, I can only go all out and obey orders!"
"Really?" Emperor Liu looked like he didn't believe it, and said calmly: "I want to kill corrupt officials, but you have such a big reaction and worries, but now you are so decisive in this major matter that involves the national economy and people's livelihood. Could it be that, Do you want to wait until problems are rectified in the reform and then stand up and 'speak out for justice'?"
Emperor Liu spoke more and more without restraint, doing whatever he wanted, regardless of the occasion. He spoke quickly, but the pressure he put on Liu Yang was hard to explain to others.
As soon as Emperor Liu finished speaking, Liu Yang was filled with excitement and said in a sincere tone: "I have no intention of doing this, please be clear to your majesty! I am slow-tempered by nature, but I dare not neglect the overall interests of the people. The tax reform will benefit billions of people in the world." Regarding the affairs of the people, I can only give my full support and help with all my heart, even if it means going through mountains of swords and seas of fire, I will do whatever it takes and I will never give in!"
Seeing Liu Yang's attitude, Emperor Liu let him go, looked away, and said in a calmer tone: "I know in my heart that the implementation of the tax reform will not go smoothly. In your opinion, where will the difficulties appear? "
Feeling the change in Emperor Liu's tone, Liu Yang calmed down a little. After thinking about it, he said solemnly: "As for the tax system, no matter whether it is old or new, some existing problems may still exist in the new system, especially in the implementation of the tax system." During the process, the court must strengthen supervision, which is more important than coming up with a complete local tax system.
Li Xiang and his ministers have already mentioned it just now, so I won’t say more. What they have not mentioned is the biggest difficulty in the reform, which is the huge resistance from the imperial court, government and people! "
At this point, Liu Yang glanced at Emperor Liu and saw that he was listening seriously, so he continued: "Common people, regardless of the tax system, mostly pay taxes according to the law and rarely resist. Even if they do, the local officials, tax collectors, officers and soldiers will not allow it. . What’s more, under the new system, it will be beneficial to the farmers who make a living by farming. Under normal circumstances, they would not object, and would even be happy.
On the contrary, it is those who occupy a large amount of land and own huge property. The more land they own, the more taxes they pay. This is difficult for them to accept. Once the new system is implemented, it will inevitably cause complaints and confrontation! "
"To be more specific, who are they?" Emperor Liu stared at Liu Yang.
Liu Yang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Ordinary landowners and merchants are naturally unable to resist the power of God. Even if they are dissatisfied, as long as the government tries its best, it will surely be subdued. However, the nobles and officials want them to accept it and make the new system To implement it smoothly, I think there are huge obstacles! When Prime Minister Zhao reduced the tax-free land for nobles, it already caused a lot of dissatisfaction. Now that it has gone one step further, I'm afraid the storm will be hard to stop!"
In fact, Zhao Pu's original policy of restricting the nobles only scratched the surface. The restrictions on land annexation and taxation were very loose and only scratched the surface. Under the two-tax system, "apportionment" is the main tax payment method. Although land and property are the basis for tax calculation, they have long been superficial. Seeing that increasing pressure was pouring on the small households and farmers, while nobles, bureaucrats, and merchants clung to the bodies of the big men to suck blood and knock out the marrow, this situation also forced Emperor Liu to go to war.
However, without Liu Yang mentioning it, Emperor Liu also knew that tax reform would inevitably face many obstacles and would not go smoothly. As for the huge and deep-rooted nobility and bureaucratic class of the Han Dynasty, the stronger Emperor Liu's fear became, the more serious his desire for reform became.
After pondering for a moment, Emperor Liu asked again: "How do you think they will fight against the new system?"
Liu Yang frowned and thought for a while, then said: "With His Majesty's majesty, they don't have the guts to confront directly. However, there are still endless ways to use covert and indirect methods, to mess around, and to delay delays! In my opinion, clearing the land will probably be impossible. It won’t go smoothly, maybe they will bribe the officials responsible, maybe they will try their best to hide the land, maybe the officials who implement it will not try their best from the beginning, and the troubles faced by the new system will probably be beyond imagination.”
"You are alarmist!" Listening to Liu Yang describing the situation so seriously, Emperor Liu felt irritated from the bottom of his heart and couldn't help scolding him.
Liu Yang's body stiffened slightly, and then he responded calmly: "I only hope that your majesty will be fully prepared!"
The father and son looked at each other for a while, and Emperor Liu waved his hand and said softly: "What you said makes sense. I gave Li Fang and the others a buffer time, and I also gave myself more time to prepare! But now that I think about it, isn't this a good idea? Those people have more time to cope”
"It is necessary to organize a team of officials with sufficient execution ability and the ability to implement the will of the imperial court!" After a moment of silence, Emperor Liu said seriously: "In order to manage the army, you must first select generals. Do you think Li Fang can take on this important task?"
Emperor Liu's words revealed a sense of distrust, not towards people, but towards things. Liu Yang naturally felt it, but after all, this was his teacher, and he had to protect him to some extent. Liu Yang thought for a while and said: "Prime Minister Li has been loyal to the royal family for thirty years and has always been diligent."
"I didn't ask him if he was loyal or not!" Seeing that Liu Yang didn't answer the question, Emperor Liu was not polite and said directly: "I just asked him if he could!"
In this regard, Liu Yang was silent, hesitated for a few times, and then said: "Those who implement this policy need to be extraordinary people, with great perseverance and determination, not to avoid the powerful, and to act vigorously and resolutely. Although Prime Minister Li is highly virtuous and highly respected, I must be honest and say that when implementing the restructuring, There may be some shortcomings in this matter!"
Liu Yang's evaluation of Li Fang was quite accurate. Liu Yang nodded in approval, and then said leisurely: "Who can be this extraordinary person!"
When Liu Yang heard this, he was thoughtful, thought about it carefully, and then made up his mind and said to Emperor Liu: "I am willing to take over this job!"
Seeing him take the initiative to ask for orders, Emperor Liu was a little surprised. He couldn't help but change his sitting position, leaned forward a little, and said meaningfully: "You know how difficult this is, this is an offending job!"
Facing Emperor Liu's gaze, Liu Yang said with emotion: "Someone has to do it! I think about the government and the public, and there is no one else but the prince who can take the lead in implementing His Majesty's will and executing this policy!"
Seeing Liu Yang's attitude, Emperor Liu was stunned for a while, and couldn't help but smile. He hadn't shown that kind of recognition to Liu Yang for a long time, but he shook his head: "Don't worry about this matter!"
"Your Majesty!" Liu Yang said something deliberately.
Emperor Liu said very resolutely: "There may be difficulties and resistance, but it is not that only you, the prince, can implement it personally. Is there no one in the court?"
"I still remember that farmhouse man in the southeast! I wonder how he has been recuperating in the past few years. Can he still eat food and meat?" Emperor Liu murmured.
Obviously, Emperor Liu thought of Zhao Pu again. Liu Yang also heard who Emperor Liu was referring to, and was a little surprised. He was so straightforward when he drove Zhao Pu out of the court. It has only been a few years, is he thinking of using it again?
While thinking about it, I heard that Emperor Liu said to Liu Yang in a sad tone: "Don't I know the difficulty of this matter? There is no need to ask. As soon as the news comes out, I am afraid that there will be an uproar among the upper-class dignitaries in the capital.
Why do I do this time-consuming and thankless thing to offend those nobles, bureaucrats, and landlords? To be proud of myself, I have already achieved great success in conquering the Han Empire. From the Kaibao Year onwards, even if I do nothing, my reputation will be passed down through the ages.
From now on, even if I do nothing, as long as you descendants don't mess around, follow the old government, and abide by the imperial system, there will be no big problem for the Han Dynasty to enjoy the country for two hundred years.
However, there are some things that only I can do. I am old now, and I don’t have much time. While I still have some energy, I can do something for my descendants, the country, and the people of the world! "
As he spoke, Emperor Liu looked at Liu Yang calmly and confessed to him: "I am confident in my authority, but people's hearts are fickle and desires are hard to satisfy. How effective my authority is now will be tested by this matter!"
The tax reform can also be regarded as my attempt, and it may also be the last feat in my political career. I don’t know how far it can go and what the consequences will be, but if I don’t do it, I will inevitably end up with regrets! "
"Your Majesty." Liu Yang was surprised to hear Emperor Liu describe the matter in a somewhat tragic way, and wanted to comfort him.
But Emperor Liu said in a caring tone: "You can't mess with the right and wrong in this matter, and be your prince properly."
(End of chapter)
