The dispute in Gyeonggi Province finally came to an end with the visit of Prime Minister Zhao Kuangyi to Yingchang City. After some mediation, the dispute between the two envoys finally came to an end. In the lobby of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, Zhao Kuangyi delivered an impassioned speech on behalf of the court, personally conveying the court's will to the Gyeonggi bureaucrats, explaining the significance of tax reform, and expressing the court's firm determination.
After Zhao Kuangyi’s speech, a series of overt and covert fights in Gyeonggi officialdom surrounding the tax reform were forcibly put to rest. The next focus of work was to focus on the implementation of the new tax system. Zhao Kuangyi expressed it very well clear.
Regarding Pan and Li, who had previously caused a political dispute, Zhao Kuangyi gave him fifty points each and reprimanded him on behalf of the court. However, at the end of his speech, the chief envoy Pan You had a clear smile on his lips, which made some He looked even more disgusting, but Pan You naturally didn't care. In this dispute, he was obviously the winner.
As for the bias in Zhao Kuangyi's words and some vague warnings, Pan You didn't care even more. He was not a political faction, and he couldn't pee in a pot at all.
Although Zhao Kuangyi was good at power and strategy, he was very literate and liked the kind of refined and virtuous ministers. Although Pan You was a civil servant, he had no literary character, was withdrawn, and had an ugly face, which Zhao Kuangyi didn't like.
However, Zhao Kuangyi's likes and dislikes are of no concern to Pan You. Although you are a noble queen, a prime minister, and high in the political hall, you still don't have much control over Pan You.
The biggest role of Zhao Kuangyi and Yingchang's party was to achieve a short-term unity in the reform ideas of the upper echelons of Gyeonggi Province. No matter how different their thoughts were, they did enough to save face. Moreover, a red line was drawn for them, that is, struggles that affected the reform process were not allowed by the court. Anyone who violated this would be punished by the court.
Of course, it is difficult to tell the truth from what is presented on the surface. In private, Zhao Kuangyi called Li Shouyuan and gave him a warning. The relationship between the Zhao and Li families was there, and Zhao Kuangyi was not polite to Li Shouyuan at all, but spoke frankly about the matter.
The princes of the imperial court were well aware of the little tricks and clever tricks you made in Gyeonggi Province, and they did not punish them harshly just because they did not go too far.
However, if you don't know how to restrain yourself and insist on going your own way, the court will never tolerate it. When it comes to tax reform, the imperial court does not care about its merits. As long as it causes substantial obstacles to the reform, it is a sin.
Therefore, continuing to confront Pan You in Gyeonggi Province will never end well and is not worth it. Zhao Kuangyi's stern reprimand was like a bucket of cold water poured on Li Shouyuan's head, and it also completely shattered the hidden hope in his heart. Apart from being disappointed, he had to sincerely admit his mistakes and show that he had learned a lesson.
In the final analysis, the most fundamental conflict between Pan You and Li Shouyuan is the struggle for power. After all, Li Shouyuan once regarded himself as the next chief official of Gyeonggi Province. And choosing to use tax reform as a weapon in political battles to make a fuss about it is even suspected of intensifying conflicts. This is naturally difficult for the higher authorities to tolerate.
As for the impact of the tax reform on the existing rentier class, it is certainly there, but for noble families like Zhao and Li, it is not as big as imagined. After all, the nobles of the Han Dynasty now have many sources of interest. Although land output is important, there are many other industries as supplements.
The tax reform carried out by the court is just to increase taxes. It does not deprive land ownership and does not touch the fundamentals, so there is room for compromise. What's more, most nobles have a certain amount of "tax-free". This is a reward from the court and is not deprived of them. Even if there is a loss, it is an excess of land. These are additional benefits in themselves.
Therefore, those who reacted most violently to the tax reform of the Han Dynasty were by no means these upper-class dignitaries, but the middle- and lower-class landlords. They were the main targets of the court, and the distribution and balancing function of the new tax system was also targeted at these people.
Of course, not everyone, even among the upper echelons of power, has a clear mind and an accurate understanding of tax reform. Harming their interests is like cutting off their flesh, and doing stupid things will not surprise anyone. But at least the princely families like Zhao and Li are obviously not as obsessed with the land interests as ordinary people.
After a thorough discussion, Zhao Kuangyi gave Li Shouyuan two choices. One was to put away all his petty thoughts, stay in Gyeonggi Province, actively cooperate with Pan You in his administration, and complete the tax reform tasks assigned by the court. The second is simple, transfer him out of Gyeonggi Province and take up a post elsewhere. Of course, there is a third way, which is to continue the current approach, and the result will not be what Li Shouyuan can bear.
Li Shouyuan didn't hesitate much and chose the first path with all his heart. After all, the second and third items, the losses are too great. As for the first one, you need to overcome a psychological difficulty, because that is tantamount to surrendering to Pan You, and it will have a certain impact on Li Shouyuan's personal prestige.
However, a man should know how to advance and retreat, and be able to bend and stretch. For noble elites like Li Shouyuan, making such a choice is not difficult. In addition, we can't offend Zhao Kuangyi, who is now the core figure in their political group.
As for his decision, Zhao Kuangyi was quite satisfied. If this person was stubborn and ineffective, he really didn't have much effective way to deal with him for the time being. On the other hand, Gyeonggi Province is an important place and still needs its own people.
In the end, Zhao Kuangyi revealed some secrets to Li Shouyuan, asking them to take a longer-term view and look forward. He even bluntly said that Pan You, the chief minister, was a knife used to remove obstacles to reform. Before the tax reform was completed, whoever touched it would only end up with a bloody head.
And once the tax reform is over, no matter whether it is a success or a failure, he will definitely not stay in his position for a long time. When the time comes, the opportunity will naturally come, and there is no need to tangle with him at such a sensitive time that attracts everyone's attention.
With Zhao Kuangyi's teachings, Li Shouyuan felt relieved. He even surrendered so thoroughly that he went to Pan You in person and apologized to him against his will. After Zhao Kuangyi's speech, he stated that he would firmly believe in and unswervingly implement the new system and live up to the entrustment of the court. If anyone dares If you don't do your best in reform, or even act against it, you are making an enemy of Vice Envoy Li. The flexibility of this change of position is really amazing.
Through Zhao Kuangyi Yingchang and his party, Gyeonggi Province's tax reform work has made a breakthrough and the process has been greatly accelerated. After all, the representative of the largest force in the upper class of the Province has adopted a compromise choice to temporarily avoid the edge.
Against this background, in the autumn and winter of the 24th year of Kaibao, the entire Gyeonggi Province government at all levels carried out a general mobilization under the order of Pan You, and everyone from top to bottom was invested in the study and education of the new system, as well as the core land clearing work. middle.
At the end of this autumn, while ensuring the smooth work of collecting old taxes, Daosi mobilized a large number of manpower and devoted themselves to clearing the land under its jurisdiction. From north to south, one after another "good news" continued to spread to Yingchang.
The results of this land inventory are much more complete than the previous unification before the Mid-Autumn Festival. After all, there is more time and greater pressure.
This result also made Pan You realize again the ability of his bureaucrats to fool their superiors. You should know that the number of newly reported land registers has doubled compared to the one before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
By the end of the winter of the 24th year of Kaibao, most of the land clearing in various states under the jurisdiction of Gyeonggi Province had been completed. But the tail left behind is still a hard bone for Pan You.
Over there, the land situation of the powerful people under their control has not been a focus in previous work. With the tacit approval of Daosi, officials at all levels have also consciously avoided it and adopted the strategy of making things easier first and then making things more difficult.
However, after the land owned by small and medium-sized landowners was registered, Pan You had to turn his attention to those wealthy families. This difficulty was inevitable.
When Pan You officially ordered the clearing of the land of the powerful, it also meant that the tax system reform in Gyeonggi Province entered a deeper level.
