"I have been thinking about it recently. The reason for the troubles caused by bandits nowadays is nothing more than the people's resentment. However, at the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, the six kingdoms were pacified, and there were laws suppressing them. The thieves were severely punished and rewarded, and the old nobles of the six kingdoms were barely able to survive, so they could not express it. , if the eviction order is forcibly implemented, cutting off the livelihood of the nobles, and taking the opportunity to cause trouble, it will cause a bigger chaos than Lord Changping's rebellion against Qin." Li Si put down his chopsticks with a sad face, his face full of thought.
In the past, he looked at the country from the old path of the Shang Lord. While maintaining the stability of the nobles, he placed exploitation on the common people, and used criminal laws to strengthen the army to frighten the nobles. Naturally, he could not see the crisis of the situation.
But now that he has begun to set foot on a new path that no one has ever walked before, he can clearly see what kind of situation Da Qin is in now.
Zhao Si is right, this is a time of great contention.
It seems that the war has stopped and the smoke has dissipated, but a terrifying haze has enveloped the entire Qin Dynasty, and a greater disaster is brewing.
The nobles are famous, powerful, and wealthy, but the common people have resentments, anger, and hatred!
If there is a slight mistake and the two are connected together, it will lead to huge disasters.
"The old nobles of the six countries don't even need to do anything. They just need to tell Li Shu to restore them to the previous tax... I'm afraid Li Shu will win the food and the king." Li Si said seriously.
It’s no joke that Qin’s taxes are twenty times higher than in ancient times.
Two to one add to five, and the Qin State is half planted and half handed over.
Looking at taxes in other countries, there is no precedent for taxes exceeding 30%.
Of course, this is only on the surface. The advantage of the Qin Dynasty is that it has strict laws and clear administration. If I say I charge you 50%, it will be 50%. I will not charge less, but I will not charge more, and there are no other inexplicable complications. Pay miscellaneous taxes, let alone name them cleverly. Whatever is written in the law is what it is.
On the surface, the taxes of the Six Kingdoms are not high, but when it comes to the local areas, they are not much better. In some places, the officials and nobles are colluding. On the surface, the taxes are only 10% to 20%, but they can drive the common people to death.
"In the past, the laws of the Qin Dynasty were strict, and the officials governed the Ming Dynasty. The area they governed was not within the pass, and Qin officials were enough. However, now that the world has been established, there is a serious shortage of officials. Originally, the 50% tax was paid, and the people could barely survive. Now I am afraid that the local area has already been destroyed. The situation is in dire straits, and I am afraid that the old nobles of the Six Kingdoms, under the guise of Great Qin, will harm the interests of Great Qin, which will only bring infamy to Your Majesty. The people's anger and resentment will eventually fall on Great Qin..."
"Nowadays, the promotion of military honors can be barely maintained. I am afraid that local officials have long been corrupted. If we only rely on cultivating officials to govern without reducing taxes and corvees, and want to quell people's anger and resentment, it will take a hundred years to wait until the officials are governed by the Qingming Dynasty." Li Si said seriously. to excuse Zhao Si.
"Well..." The First Emperor just nodded.
This is not the first time that Zhao Si has proposed reducing taxes and corvees. The First Emperor's attitude is still not clear, but he just continues to work without comment.
"This is my dereliction of duty..." Li Si lowered his hands and sighed...
The First Emperor did not answer, but Li Si lowered his head and frowned.
If you want to achieve extraordinary achievements, you must do extraordinary things.
If we proceed steadily step by step and rely on the old methods of training officials and improving official governance to govern the Qin Dynasty, it will be a matter of time. As long as the decrees are consistent and one or two wise kings come after the First Emperor, it may not be impossible to quell the people's resentment and anger.
50% tax and a large amount of corvee, as long as the officials can ensure clean governance, the people will not be unable to survive. This is something that Lord Shang has already verified, and this is something that Great Qin has already verified.
But Li Si obviously didn't want to wait that long.
There is really no risk in following this step by step. He only needs to do what he should do well, but at the same time, he will never have the chance to surpass Shang Yang, and he will never have the chance to see all this in his lifetime.
Moreover, if there is some trouble in the future generations of Great Qin, I am afraid that this time will be extended indefinitely.
The glory of Great Qin in the past covered up all this.
The wise kings of the Six Dynasties of the Qin Dynasty, not to mention how capable they were, at least they were able to maintain basic national policies and implement administrative decrees, at least the laws and orders were consistent, and they did not cause trouble to the country. At the very least, the Great Qin Dynasty was always on the upswing.
Take the First Emperor with you, and you will be the seventh generation hero.
Old experiences even formed a fixed mindset, making Li Si and even the First Emperor subconsciously believe that Great Qin would proceed step by step.
They only need to make a good initial plan, and then people will continue to implement it unswervingly.
But Zhao Si ruthlessly exposed all this...
Li Si buried his head in thought. He had to deal with this problem deeply, but it was not easy even for Li Si to persuade the First Emperor to relax the corvee and reduce taxes.
The title of saint and son deeply tempted Li Si, but after the relationship with the First Emperor had eased, Li Si still had the idea of repaying his kindness with his life.
With such an arduous task, the First Emperor finally handed it over to Li Si without any hesitation, and Li Si also said that he must be my minister without any hesitation.
After more than ten years, those barriers were put aside, and the tacit understanding and trust between the monarch and his ministers seemed to have been buried, but never lost.
Faced with the generosity of the First Emperor, Li Si also had reasons to do all this well.
The First Emperor really had reasons and charisma that made people worthy of dying.
It was so heavy that Li Si couldn't even eat. Of course, the bigger reason was that the food was really unpalatable and difficult to swallow.
At present, Li Si has long been self-taught. He eats less in the palace and cooks a small stove at home. He has already communicated with Zhao Si about his experience in this area.
It's a pity...the excuse of being worried about national affairs and not in the mood to eat is not very useful.
After the First Emperor finished eating, he looked at the food that Zhao Si had cleaned up and the food that only two chopsticks were piled in front of Li Si. He twitched the corners of his mouth slightly and pointed at Li Si's desk.
"The food is not delicious?" the First Emperor said softly.
"I am worried about the affairs of the country. I have failed in the past and made many mistakes. I am not in the mood to have a meal..." Li Si spoke without telling a lie.
He is indeed reflecting on himself and whether some of his past actions are accurate. He is opening up a new path. Every day he examines himself from the previous day to check for omissions and fill in the gaps to lay the foundation for the next brand-new path. It's true that I don't want to eat.
It's just that this art of speaking didn't work for the First Emperor. The First Emperor just nodded slightly and then a smile appeared on his face.
"Do not waste!"
After all, Li Si couldn't fool him, so he could only empty his head and empty the food.
Zhao Si was holding back his joy. He had long been familiar with some of the little evil things in the life of the First Emperor.
The First Emperor always liked to show his bad taste in trivial matters. He seemed to always be able to understand people's hearts. Zhao Si had long stopped playing tricks in front of the First Emperor.
Seeing that Li Si was exhausted and the little interaction was over, Zhao Si happily took the lunch box and sent it away.
It's hard to endure hardship. It's hard to endure hardship by being alone with the First Emperor. After having Li Si, the left prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, accompanying him, Zhao Si felt much more comfortable. He didn't even feel that the weight loss meal was so unpalatable.
Zhao Si turned his back and strode out, but did not notice that Li Si could not help but smile a little on his face, which was facing the case.
Li Si... and the First Emperor were once a couple who were compatible with each other. They had countless duels before the Emperor, just when the First Emperor was in high spirits.
How could he not understand the little evil tastes of the First Emperor?
The food is really not delicious, but the hidden things in Li Si's heart are already ready to come out...
"Taxes...corvees..."
The First Emperor, who lowered his head, also fell into deep thought.
The current treasury of the Great Qin Dynasty is really empty... The construction of the Hetao area requires money, the paving of Chidao requires money, the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang requires money, the construction of Afang Palace requires money, and the construction of the Baiyue area requires money. If it were not supported by high taxes, Therefore, Da Qin simply cannot carry out so many measures at the same time.
In the same way, there is still a fight with the Xiongnu over there in Longxi, and the 300,000 men may not be able to withdraw for a while. The construction of Qin Shihuang's Mausoleum also required a large number of manpower. Needless to say, the construction of Afang Palace, the immigration construction of Baiyue, the construction of cities, and road communication could not stop.
These projects cannot be abandoned halfway...
Especially in Longxi and Baiyue, where there are millions of people in total and a large amount of grain and grass investment, once it is stopped or repeated slightly, it may lead to a catastrophe and all the previous efforts will be wasted.
Da Qin really didn't have much room to reduce taxes and corvee.
There is no turning back when the bow is fired. We can't withdraw our troops from Longxi Baiyue now and stop construction, right?
Lower taxes and stop corvee labor, this is an untouchable slide.
Anyone who dares to speak out in the court will be eaten alive in an instant. Longxi and Baiyue are the only areas in the Qin Dynasty that are still conquering and can continue to gain military exploits, involving two-thirds of the nobles with military merit in the Qin Dynasty.
Li Si only excused Zhao Si, and he did not dare to openly raise these two matters in the court.
"So...where do the taxes come from? Where do the corvees come from? Where does the money come from?"
There was not much room for choice left to the First Emperor.
Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang...and Afang Palace...
Road communication in various places cannot be stopped, nor can the construction of channels in various places...
For the current Great Qin, the only things that would not have a particularly big impact if he stopped were his mausoleum and palace...
So for the First Emperor, wasn't Zhao Si's proposal to reduce taxes and corvees an offense?
This is also the reason why Zhao Si has repeatedly pointed out that the First Emperor has not expressed his position so far.
The two people in the room had different thoughts, but Zhao Si outside strode in.
Then he naturally sat in front of the table. Of course, Zhao Si didn't think clearly about the twists and turns. What troubled him was that the First Emperor never made a clear stance.
If taxes and corvees are not reduced, everything will be stripped blind. In the final analysis, it depends on whether the First Emperor has this idea.
Li Si actually raised his head and glanced at Zhao Si, who was full of liveliness, and felt a little emotional in his heart.
"It's great to be young..."
"It's just too young..."
(End of chapter)
