The first month of the nineteenth year of Jian'an. In the early morning, the sun rises.
"The gifts that have been sent to my door these days, I have to find someone to return them today."
Huo Jun, who was about to set out, told the trainer, "My husband holds a high position, and I am now ordered by the king to participate in the military affairs of the Hanchang Kingdom. No one in the family should make it public."
Trainer Bu adjusted Huo Jun's collar, revealing a golden phoenix ring on his white fingers, and said, "In that case, I will keep my home simple so that no one will comment."
Huo Jun smiled, held Trainer Bu's hand, and said, "Wealth and honor are mostly given by the King, so I have a clear conscience. If Trainer is dressed simply, wouldn't it make people laugh?"
"Nowadays, the reason why people withdraw gifts is mostly because my husband is in the military council, and the generals are seeking official positions and have no choice but to give gifts. If you accept them at this time, you may be controlled by others."
Huo Jun also has his own account of which gifts should be accepted and which gifts should not be accepted. Gifts like those given by Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Mi Fang, Mi Zhu, and Zhang Fei that were purely for building closer relationships should be accepted. Huo Jun could not accept the gifts given by generals seeking promotion.
After all, Huo Jun's family is really not short of money. Since the Battle of Chrysostom, Fengyi and Shiyi have long made the Huo family worry-free about food and clothing.
As for the salt field given to Liu Bei after the founding of the country, Huo Jun was flattered. Whether it is an agricultural society or an industrial society, there is no doubt about the importance of salt. When Liu Bei gave Huo Jun a salt farm, he undoubtedly gave him a golden rice bowl, ensuring the Huo family's wealth for generations.
As for how rich Huo Jun is now?
If the trainer is willing, the ring on her finger can be different throughout the year. The attire of the big and small Qiaos in and out is comparable to that of the main wife of an ordinary high-ranking official.
There are as many as two to three hundred servants in the house, and there are fifteen acres of land under Huo Jun's name. This is the product of Huo Jun's conscious control. If Huo Jun indulges, the number may be much higher than this.
Of course, Huo Jun's servants and landowners are not outrageous. For example, the Mi brothers have thousands of servants and maids. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu each support hundreds of servants. Sun Qian and Jian Yong have slightly fewer servants, but they still have dozens of servants. , hundreds of people.
"Master, it's time to set off!" the attendant shouted.
Seeing that it was almost time to attend the morning meeting, Huo Jun said, "I have put Huo Chen in charge of the salt field given by the king, so you don't have to worry, madam."
"good!"
Trainer Bu nodded slightly, watched Huo Jun go away, and said: "Husband, go slowly, I am waiting for you at home!"
Huo Jun left the house, got into his car and drove to the Hanchang Palace.
Since Liu Bei founded the country and became king, normally Huo Jun would have to return to Jianghuai to take charge. However, Liu Bei wanted to integrate his troops and reform the Chinese military system, so he kept Huo Jun to help him build an army system. This is also the core reason why the generals rushed to give gifts to Huo Jun first.
Wuhan was once E County, a small remote county. But with the arrival of Liu Bei and the massive infrastructure construction, things have changed a lot. Not only was the palace moved to the northwest suburbs of the county, but also the residences of a large number of high-ranking civil and military officials were moved near the palace.
With the surge in population, it is difficult for the old E County to meet the current population needs. With Liu Bei's approval, a large-scale construction project was carried out to build Wuhan New City in the northwest of E County, with Hanchang Palace as the core.
Along the way, it can be seen that the people responsible for building the new city have gotten up early and are carrying out large-scale construction under the supervision of officials.
Soon, Huo Jun and all the ministers, civil and military officials, arrived almost at the same time. After greeting each other, everyone entered the palace together.
Huo Jun took off his clothes and unloaded his sword, handed it to his attendants, and walked into the hall with everyone, ranking among the top military commanders. Among the four generals, Guan Yu went to Jiangling to take charge, and Zhang Fei stationed troops in Jiangzhou. Therefore, the one sitting behind Huo Jun was Huang Zhong.
After Huang Zhong, there were military attachés and generals such as Gan Ning, Zhao Yun, and Chen Dao.
After a while, Liu Bei was seen entering the hall wearing royal robes, yawning, and seemed to be quite exhausted.
Seeing Liu Bei's spirit, Huo Jun couldn't help but maliciously speculate, wondering whether it was because the Du family and Wu family that he accepted were so beautiful that Liu Bei fell in love with them for a while.
If Liu Bei has made a crime of defamation, Huo Jun will be punished for this crime!
"Excuse me, gentlemen!"
Liu Bei raised his hands slightly to signal everyone to abstain from courtesy.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Huo Jun knelt and sat on the banquet, opposite Zhuge Liang, Zhang Zhao and other civil servants. All the civil servants knew the etiquette and sat down on their knees, but one person was quite rude and stood out by sitting cross-legged on the mat.
Only Jian Yong dared to sit cross-legged in front of Liu Bei!
Zhang Zhao caught a glimpse of Jian Yong's sitting posture with a look of disgust on his face.
Zhang Zhao bowed his hand to Liu Bei and said: "Your Highness, the world is in chaos, etiquette has collapsed, and many ministers have forgotten the etiquette. Now that Your Highness has become king, you should not be the same as before, and you must strictly observe the etiquette of monarchs and ministers."
Although Zhang Zhao's words did not specify who was violating the etiquette, everyone present knew that Zhang Zhao was criticizing Jian Yong. However, under the gaze of everyone, Jian Yong turned a blind eye and still went his own way.
Jian Yong didn't take it seriously and said calmly: "Respecting the master lies in the heart, not outside. Cao Cao behaved like a minister, but he caused trouble to the Han Dynasty. He cannot be said to be loyal."
"You~"
Zhang Zhao's face darkened and he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Liu Bei.
"cough!"
Liu Bei coughed and said: "What Xianhe said is reasonable. The way to be a minister lies in loyalty. Now that Cao Cao is in chaos in the Central Plains, all your ministers should put important things first."
"promise!"
Zhang Zhao saw Liu Bei standing on Jian Yong's side. Although his expression was dissatisfied, he could only ignore the matter.
Huo Jun was not surprised that Liu Bei was so protective. Liu Bei, who was a knight-errant, was heroic, protective of his brothers, and didn't pay much attention to etiquette.
This is not the first time that Jian Yong sits like that. For decades, Liu Bei and I have been sitting like that. Even Jian Yong sometimes occupied the bed alone, with his head on his neck and talking to others. Even if others were dissatisfied, he didn't care.
Changing the topic, Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang and said: "Kong Ming, since the 16th year of Jian'an, there have been no wars and no expeditions every year. The people have been in decline and rebellions have occurred frequently. Now the treasury is empty. Kong Ming has been discussing with the ministers for a long time. I don't know. Do you have the wisdom to teach an orphan?"
The battle to capture Shu established the pattern of north-south confrontation between Liu Bei and Cao Cao. However, the harm caused to the people of Wu and Chu was considerable, leading to rebellion. In order to support the Hanzhong War, they even squeezed the food and grass of the people in Bazhong.
During the war, Li Yan, the governor of Jianwei, provided a batch of 50,000 shi of rations for the army, and was appreciated and rewarded by Liu Bei for this.
After conquering Chengdu, Liu Bei also granted rewards to various Shu armies. At present, there is not much food available in Wuhan's treasury. At the moment, Liu Bei needs to allow local production to resume and stabilize the situation in the southern states to avoid further disturbances.
Zhuge Liang pondered for a while, then cupped his hands and said: "The world is in chaos, and Cao's thieves are often invading. In order to ward off the thieves, they have to mobilize thousands of miles from east to west. The soldiers of Wu and Chu have not been fighting for a long time. As a result, the fields cannot be cultivated, the people have no permanent residence, and the people have withered."
"Now that the north-south trend has been decided, Bashu has returned to rule. Liang believes that we should pay more attention to taxation, verify Bashu household registration, encourage farmers to work, implement the method of rice and wheat rotation, clear water canals, recuperate, and store grain in preparation for the Northern Expedition. ."
"Please be careful!"
Zhuge Liang sorted out his thoughts and said: "Since the Duke of Wu and Chu, in order to speed up the peace of the two states, taxes have been allocated for military use. Liang inherited the old taxes on grain, exchanged grain for money, and collected more grain to fill the treasury. However, Now, we can reform the tax laws, encourage people to work, and cultivate wasteland."
There were many types of taxes during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The central government often collected taxes such as land rent, cull draft tax, oral money, and calculation of taxes. Land rent and taxes on drafts collected in kind, while oral money and tax calculations collected money, which could be converted into each other.
In the Han Dynasty, land rents were low, while taxes on oral money and taxes were high. These two taxes were charged based on the number of people. After the Eastern Han Dynasty court lost control of the grassroots, it became difficult to collect the head tax, and the tax was nominally collected on a per-household basis.
However, the existence of these types of central taxes in the Eastern Han Dynasty does not mean that there are no local private taxes. From the time of Emperor Huan, local governors and prefects often set up tax items privately to line their own pockets.
Since the chaos of the late Han Dynasty, the five-baht coin has depreciated and the commodity economy has been in decline. After Liu Bei took over Wu Chu, under the auspices of Zhuge Liang, he converted the money and taxes into grain and cloth and handed it over to the central government.
However, years of fighting and the increase of hidden households are not conducive to the performance of the old tax. Now that things have stabilized, the reform of the tax system will have to change.
"Liang believes that miscellaneous taxes in various places should be abolished now, and only land rent and household tax should be collected. The old system should be lightened on land rent and heavy on household tax. Renting and adjusting people's tax can encourage people to work, open up farmland and produce more heirs. He thinks Population multiplies.”
Zhuge Liang paced in the hall and said: "In addition, we should collect the salt, iron, gold, copper and other treasures from the mountains and seas in the four states, and set up the posts of Jin, Salt, etc. to implement the policies of the mountains and seas. Shi Liang heard that Chengdu Jin , named Shu Brocade, is worth thousands of gold, and the nobles in the world are very happy about it. The official can make Shu Brocade and sell it to the world to strengthen the army."
The world is in chaos, and agricultural taxes alone are certainly not enough to support military expenditures. Only by using the government-run economy and including the sale of people's necessities into income can we support the wartime economy.
Liu Bei stroked his beard and said: "According to what Kong Ming said, the new tax law is not like Cao Cao's taxation. The land rent is four liters per mu, and each household produces two pieces of silk and two pounds of cotton."
"Exactly!"
Zhuge Liang bowed and said: "Although Cao Cao is evil, his tax system is quite commendable. The income per mu is fixed, and the tax is collected per household, regardless of the number of people, and the tax is calculated based on the number of households. The tax rate remains unchanged, and the people under the rule are encouraged. People who cultivate more acres of land will have more children.”
Cao Cao is commendable for both his military and political abilities. The Xuyong modulation in the Sui and Tang Dynasties can be traced back to the household modulation reformed by Cao Cao.
Cao Cao's innovation in household modulation was purely driven by helplessness. As the war progressed and the people were displaced, it was difficult to collect the head tax. The only way to start was based on the number of household registrations.
The household tax remains unchanged and the land rent is low. Such a tax system is conducive to the people to reclaim wasteland in large quantities. After all, if the money and grain collected remains unchanged, it can encourage the people to actively cultivate and have more children.
"Liang believes that the method of 'equalizing the income' can be used under the Lord's rule. According to the wealth and poverty of the households, the number of acres of land will be unified, and the harvest per mu will be one dou, and then the household tax will be adjusted."
Zhuge Liang handed over to Liu Bei and said: "Practice the method of equalizing taxes. The rich will pay more, and the poor will pay less. If we apply strict laws, the people will get something, and the powerful will not dare to break the law. If we implement the policy of officials, mountains and seas, more taxes will be paid, and the government will The treasury can be replenished to provide military supplies."
Flat income is the key to the household adjustment system. That is to check the assets of the people, and divide the family assets of the lower, middle and upper people according to the gap between the rich and the poor. The rich will receive more and the poor will receive less, so as to crack down on the powerful.
Of course, the tenant system is only part of Zhuge Liang's tax system. Zhuge Liang's methods of curbing powerful people and noble families are more sophisticated, such as the Shu brocade that Zhuge Liang emphasized before.
Shu brocade was a luxury item during the Three Kingdoms period, and ordinary people could not afford it. Only military nobles such as Huo Jun, Mi Zhu, and Guan Yu, or local tycoons and wealthy businessmen, could afford it.
The official operation of Shu Brocade means that powerful people buy luxury Shu Brocade, which means they pay high taxes to Wuhan in a different direction without harming ordinary people.
This is the biggest difference between Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao, and it can also be said to be the difference in the political philosophies of Qi Legalists and Qin Legalists.
The Legalists of Qi were moderate and used economic means to gain profits for the country, such as Guan Zhong opening a brothel and Zhuge Liang nationalizing Shu Brocade.
The Legalists of Qin were brutal and used administrative power to favor agriculture and suppress business, forcing people to pay taxes or split household registrations.
Of course, Zhuge Liang's nationalization of Shu brocade is destined to offend the nobles and powerful people in Shu. But these are all small things, there are gains and losses, additions and losses, this is the law of nature.
(End of chapter)
