The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 105: Make the people suffer more?
Don’t let the loyal and dedicated people become discouraged…

Liu Xie's words once again touched Dong Min. He felt that Liu Xie seemed to be different from those mean and ungrateful Liu emperors in history books.

But Dong Min still forced himself not to think about it.

It is really foolish to leave your destiny to others!
Dong Min just didn't believe that Liu Xie could get the innocent court to raise such a large sum of money this time, and he had already made plans to take part in the battle himself later.

Liu Xie was indeed just as Dong Min had expected. From the time he left the palace until he arrived at the Secretariat, he had never figured out a way to raise such a large sum of money.

Jia Xu, Zhong Yao, and Xun You looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard about such a huge deficit suddenly appearing.

"Your Majesty, this money... is it true that the Grand Tutor cannot pay?"

Zhong Yao still hoped to fleece Dong Zhuo.

"Forget it."

Liu Xie had not yet thought of a way to raise money, but he had thought the matter through.

"The soldiers risked their lives to fight the enemy. Was it for the Han Dynasty or for the Grand Master?"

"Even if some of the Xiliang generals really think that they are fighting for the Grand Tutor, the court cannot admit it and must give them all the rewards they deserve."

Everyone knows the truth.

But no one knows what to do about money.

Three top-notch civil officials, plus a divine emperor... Even when the coalition forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui attacked Guanzhong, they came up with many clever plans, but they were hindered by a mere money.

"Your Majesty, the court is really out of money!"

Zhong Yao is now familiar with the government affairs of the Secretariat and knows the current strength of the imperial court.

There are only a few things in the treasury.

No one can perform magic tricks. One peck of rice cannot become two pecks of rice, and one piece of cloth cannot become two pieces of cloth.

Dong Zhuo threw this burden to the imperial court, which was like asking a skilled cook to cook without rice.

"Your Majesty, can't you persuade the Grand Tutor again?"

"How can I persuade you? Even the Duke of Zhou did not use his own property to subsidize the court. Do you want to rob the house of the Grand Tutor?"

……

Zhong Yao tried again and again, but found that Dong Zhuo's path was really not feasible, so he could only sigh: "In this case, we can only increase taxes this year."

Let the people suffer even more!
It is the simplest and most effective way for the government to extort money.

"If we raise the tax rate in Guanzhong from 30% to 20% this year... the money we can squeeze out will be almost enough."

Zhong Yao's words made Liu Xie shake his head unconsciously.

The tax rate in the Later Han Dynasty was only one in thirty.

Doesn't it sound very conscientious? Such a tax rate is even much lower than the 15% tax rate during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. It can be said to be a great good policy!

But this is not the case.

The taxation system of the Later Han Dynasty consisted of three parts: land rent, tax on land, tax on people, and corvee labor.

The so-called thirty percent tax is just the land rent.

Converted to the market price during the Taiping period, one mu was about 20 cents.

But the calculated and oral fu of the Later Han Dynasty were so high that they were outrageous!
First of all, every household had to pay a "household tax" of 200 coins every year.

Adult men, regardless of whether they are disabled or not, have to pay a "gengfu" of 300 coins every year.

Underage boys and girls had to pay a "mouth tax" of 23 cents per year.

After that, adult men and women would have to pay a "suanfu" of 120 coins per year.

If a woman does not get married, her taxes will increase as she gets older.

In addition, there are annual "tribute taxes", "bridge repair taxes", "water conservancy taxes" and other miscellaneous taxes. At least each person has to pay 300 coins a year, or even more.

in other words.

A family of five had to pay 2803 Wuzhu coins a year just for the tax and the head tax.

But what is the price of food?

A stone of corn costs only a little over 220 coins.

On average, one acre of land can only yield two stones of corn.

To collect the required tax and personal tax of 2803 coins, the people had to work hard for a year and lose seven acres of farmland before they could even harvest the crops.

Let’s assume that each household has fifty acres of land.

Even if the tax rate is one in thirty, that would still be 1000 coins in rent for the land.

1000 coins for land rent, 2800 coins for tax and head tax.

Add to that the clothing and dry food needed for corvée labor, as well as the food rations for the people to survive, and the loss when converting them into money and food, how much will they have left?
Therefore, even though the taxes in the Later Han Dynasty were lower than those during the time of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, the money actually collected was much more than that during the time of Emperor Gaozu!
At this time, even though changing the tax rate from "30% tax to 1% tax" may not seem very serious, it may be the last straw that breaks the camel's back for the people.

Now, there are disasters in Guanzhong...

Don’t just resolve the external threat, only to have Guanzhong explode internally!
Neither the imperial court nor Liu Xie could afford such consequences!
"Yuan Chang, we can't raise taxes."

"Then add more tax!"

"What's the difference?"

"What else can we do?"

Jia Xu, who knew the lives of the lower-class people best, knew clearly that once the people who begged for mercy were forced into a state of no way to survive, they would really become cannibals!
They will eat their own people...but before eating their own people, they will definitely tear the meat eaters into pieces first!
"Jia Lingjun, if you have to choose between the soldiers and the common people, who would you choose?"

After all, Zhong Yao came from a noble family and always considered himself to be the absolute superior.

"Collecting more taxes will only make life harder for the people. At worst, the court can find a solution later!" "But once the soldiers become disloyal, the court will lose its foothold! If two more ambitious people take the opportunity to instigate, the Han Dynasty will be finished!"

Zhong Yao is really capable, as he dares to speak to Jia Xu like this.

This was not Zhong Yao challenging Jia Xu's authority.

But Zhong Yao really wanted to do something practical.

He had said long ago that he would just be a "pure minister".

As long as he can resolve the crisis in the court, he will take the blame!

……

“Taxes cannot be increased.”

It was Liu Xie who stepped forward and ended this meaningless quarrel.

"Your Majesty! Now is not the time to consider the greater good!"

Liu Xie was the emperor and he wanted to protect his reputation, which Zhong Yao could understand.

But this matter is before us and it must be resolved eventually.

If everyone is just talking and not willing to dirty their hands, who will do the work?

Just drag it on? Endure it?

Wait until a savior comes from the sky?

Then why are these officials still ruling the country? Wouldn't it be better for them to just abdicate and let others take over?

"It's not like there's no other way..."

At this moment, Jia Xu spoke slowly, attracting the attention of Liu Xie and Zhong Yao.

"Wenhe, tell me now, don't hide it!"

"Your Majesty can order the troops to attack and use war to support war."

?

The two of them withdrew their hopeful gazes at the same time.

What a bad idea!

What does it mean to support war by fighting?

Just grab whatever you can get!

If we were to march our troops to Nanyang now and directly rob this most affluent county, the wealth we obtain would surely be enough to support this reward.

But if that happens, will the people of Nanyang still have their support? Will the reputation of the imperial court still be lost?
Jia Xu's plan can indeed solve the urgent problem, but the consequences will inevitably deviate in an uncontrollable direction! Therefore, Jia Xu's plan must not be adopted unless it is absolutely necessary!

"Gongda, do you have any good ideas?"

Liu Xie placed his last hope on Xun You, the "strategist of Wei Wu".

Xun You: "I would like to give advice to Your Majesty, but I have only just joined the Shangshutai, and I don't even know how many households there are in Guanzhong. How can I explain the detailed payment of money and grain?"

However, Xun You still tried his best and asked Jia Xu: "Hedong is a well-known and wealthy county. Is it possible that there will be no gain from this attack?"

When mentioning Hedong, even Jia Xu showed a miserable expression.

"Hedong has been almost completely ruined by the Baibo Army and the Southern Xiongnu... How can it still be the richest county in the world? Even if we use the phrase 'nine out of ten houses are empty', I'm afraid we are too optimistic about the situation in Hedong! This time, the Grand Tutor wanted the court to reward the soldiers, perhaps because the harvest in Hedong was very small."

"The Hedong Salt Lake is well-known. Isn't there any income there?"

"The bandits only know how to plunder, not production. The order of the salt pond has long been destroyed. It will take more than a day or two to restore it. Even if the order is restored, the salt administration needs to be steady and long-term. It is impossible to collect such a huge amount of money in a short period of time."

……

I thought Hedong could let Guanzhong suck some blood, but according to Jia Xu, Hedong is probably even more depleted than Guanzhong now!
Even if there is an industry like Yanchi that makes a lot of money quickly, it still requires enough time and energy to operate, which is difficult to solve the current urgent need...

"Your Majesty, the only option is to increase taxes."

All possible income was discussed by several people.

If the imperial court wants to come up with this money, it may only be able to make the people suffer further and squeeze some "protection fees" from them.

Liu Xie tapped his legs with his fingers at an increasingly faster frequency, and it was obvious that he was extremely annoyed!

Before, I was so immersed in the joy of winning the battle that I never thought about rewarding the soldiers.

Now that we really start to pay attention to this issue, Liu Xie can feel the tremendous pressure!
The army is, of course, the foundation of the imperial court today.

But if the situation is not handled properly, the army may put the court into an irretrievable situation!

"Add more taxes, add more taxes, add more taxes..."

Liu Xie kept repeating these words.

Damn!

The previous imperial court really left no leeway for future generations!
Their various exploitations have almost squeezed the people to the extreme!

If Liu Xie added a little more pressure, the people of the Han Dynasty would instantly rebel and bury the Han Dynasty and him, the emperor, in the ground!
"Taxes, rewards..."

"Taxes, rewards..."

"Taxes, rewards..."

Taxes and rewards!
Liu Xie seemed to have thought of something and suddenly slapped his thigh!
My ancestors clearly wrote the answer right in front of me, but I had never noticed it before!
Fu and tax are two completely different things!

Rewards and money can be two completely different things!
Liu Xie let out a long sigh of relief, letting go of all the pressure -

"I know how to reward those soldiers!"

(End of this chapter)