Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 86 One day, a knife in hand! [Please subscribe]

"who are you?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Li Chengqian couldn't help but ask.

The person who spoke smiled a little embarrassedly and said, "Don't tease me, Prince. I am Ma Zhou!"

"Ma Zhou?"

Cen Wenben was surprised for a moment, and couldn't help but sigh: "I almost didn't recognize you after you took off your clothes!"

"Uh,"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, thinking to himself that he was indeed a scholar, and his words were really ignorant.

However, after Ma Zhou washed up, he seemed like a completely different person.

If he hadn't admitted that he was Ma Zhou, Li Chengqian would have almost mistaken him for the king who "can't stop loving you".

No wonder His Majesty Li II said: When I don’t see Ma Zhou for a while, I miss him.

With this appearance, Li Chengqian felt that the blood in his body was about to awaken.

"Cough cough."

Li Chengqian coughed twice to break the awkwardness, then looked at Ma Zhou curiously and asked, "Do you have any opinions on land matters?"

"Your Highness, after I left Bozhou, I traveled to several places and have a deep understanding of the people's situation. Therefore, I have some superficial insights on this. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, Your Highness!" Ma Zhou said with a bow.

"No, no, no, don't laugh, just keep talking!"

Li Chengqian waved his hands repeatedly, then signaled Lai Fu to bring a cushion to Ma Zhou.

Li Yuan glanced at Ma Zhou and then at Li Chengqian. Somehow, he felt that he was experiencing an extremely important event.

This event may be something that no one has figured out for thousands of years. It is a curse that has not been broken for a few decades or even two or three hundred years since the Han Dynasty.

Ma Zhou then said thoughtfully, "As the prince said, at the end of the dynasty, the people had no land, but at the beginning of the dynasty, the people had land."

"But the common people are just small families after all. They have very little ability to resist natural disasters and man-made disasters!"

"So, generally when they encounter natural disasters or man-made disasters that they cannot resist, they will sell the land they have. For example, if a family member is seriously ill or encounters some major change."

"And no matter what time, almost all the dignitaries and wealthy families will buy their land."

"This"

Li Yuan and Li Chengqian looked at each other and couldn't help but look at Ma Zhou with admiration.

Cen Wenben seemed to have realized what was happening at this moment, with a serious expression on his face.

Because what Ma Zhou said was not unfamiliar to him, because his family in Jiangnan did the same thing.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, high-ranking officials and wealthy families were indeed constantly acquiring land.

But he didn't understand what this had to do with the decline of the dynasty?
Such things have happened in every dynasty. Even in prosperous times, there were land transactions.

If land transactions can lead to the destruction of a country, why have they not been banned by dynasties?
As if seeing through Cen Wenben's thoughts, Li Chengqian smiled and said:
"Land annexation is certainly not a new thing throughout the dynasties. Moreover, emperors of all dynasties have also banned land annexation. But why does it still happen?"

"The reason is simple: huge profits!"

"That's right. Lu Buwei, the merchant prime minister of the Qin Dynasty, once said that business can bring three times the profit and land can bring ten times the profit. With such huge profits, how could it not attract those dignitaries and wealthy families to flock to it?" Ma Zhou echoed.

"If the skin is gone, how will the hair be attached?"

Li Yuan's face darkened. "Don't they know the harm this is doing to the world? They enjoy everything the court has given them, yet they do things that harm it. This is simply outrageous!"

"hehe."

Li Chengqian and Ma Zhou smiled at each other.

The so-called family, country and the world. In the hearts of those dignitaries and aristocratic families, who doesn’t put family first and country second?

They only care about the interests of their own family, so how could they care about the interests of the country?

Anyway, in their hearts, there are only thousand-year-old families, but no thousand-year-old countries!
Seeing that Li Yuan's anger had subsided a little, Li Chengqian continued, "Grandpa, whether they know it or not, they will do this. Because the benefits are too great, so great that they have no scruples."

"Also, people tend to have a sense of luck, always thinking they are the luckiest and least likely to be discovered."

"It's like the snow outside the Great Wall. They know very well that if it snows heavily, people will freeze to death, but when they really face it, they always think that they are not the ones who freeze to death. Instead, they appreciate the snow scene with great interest and think it is beautiful."

"This"

Li Yuan was speechless, but he understood the reasoning. He couldn't help but mutter, "Is there really no way to solve this problem?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said:
"Given the current situation in the Tang Dynasty, there really isn't a good solution. The tenfold profit is simply too great. It's enough to make anyone trample on any harsh laws."

"Besides, the law has far less effect on the nobles and aristocratic families who are able to do this than it does on ordinary people."

"For example, the Five Surnames and Seven Families I mentioned to Grandpa earlier, they wield immense influence in the local area. Even if the law limits how much land they can own, they'll find ways to take more."

"Or they could take advantage of their large population and distribute the land to every member of the clan, managing it uniformly. Or they could trade interests with the people, allowing them to nominally own the land while they actually use it."

How crazy was land annexation in the late Tang Dynasty?
For example, Guo Ziyi, a famous general in the Tang Dynasty, had land in western Shaanxi, covering an area of ​​more than 100 miles from Huangfengling to Hechi Pass.

In addition, a large number of imperial farms, government farms, private farms and temple farms appeared in the late Tang Dynasty, spread all over the country.

This created a situation where "the rich had fields stretching for miles, while the poor had no place to stand."

It can be said that the Tang Dynasty fell in just over two hundred years, and apart from the An Lushan Rebellion, the rapid pace of land annexation was also closely related. Li Yuan was shocked when he heard this.

Although he is no longer the ruling emperor, he was the one who founded the Tang Dynasty.

Just like his children.

How could he watch his child perish?

Although he attached importance to land when he was in power, he never thought deeply about the issue of land annexation and what consequences it would bring to the Tang Dynasty.

He also believed that even the current ruling emperor Li Shimin had not considered this issue.

Because as Li Chengqian said before, a dynasty will flourish in the first few decades after its founding. As for what will happen decades later, it is difficult for an emperor to think so far ahead.

Therefore, Li Yuan couldn't help but wonder at this time, if Li Shimin knew that the consequences of land annexation were so serious, would he still casually reward his group of Xuanwu Gate heroes with land?

Fortunately, Li Yuan was no longer the ruling emperor at this time, so he could calmly discuss the serious consequences of land annexation with Li Chengqian and others.

"Since there's no good way, there must be a way, right?"

"Uh,"

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, "Old Li's angle is quite tricky!" No wonder Empress Zhangsun said that the Old Li family always likes to take unconventional paths.

"There is a way, but we don't have the power to do it now!"

"Let's not worry about the power issue for now, just tell me the solution!"

"Ok."

Li Chengqian curled his lips helplessly, then glanced at Ma Zhou and Cen Wenben, who were looking at him curiously, and said, "I have two ideas. One is to decisively choose to expand the territory when the population reaches a certain level. As long as there is enough land and the people have land to farm, there will naturally be no problem."

"what?"

Li Yuan exclaimed lightly, his face filled with joy. "That's a good idea!"

"Although the idea is good, expanding the territory will inevitably lead to wars, and many people will die. With so many deaths, won't the land be empty? Why bother expanding the territory?" Cen Wenben shook his head disapprovingly.

Ma Zhou said thoughtfully, "If we can exchange a small amount for long-term benefits, I think this is a good idea."

"After all, it's easy to increase population, but difficult to expand territory."

"Ah!"

Li Chengqian laughed: "Your angle is quite tricky."

"but."

Then he changed the subject and continued, "There is another way, and that is land reform. Only by seeking change and not standing still can the problem be solved."

"How to change?"

Li Yuan immediately became interested. Compared with warmongering, he felt that this was obviously more reliable.

After all, war not only costs manpower but also money, which is really not cost-effective.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment, then said:
"First, adopt the Two Tax System, combining all taxes and collecting them twice a year, in spring and autumn."

"Second, adopt the policy of allocating capitation taxes to land taxes, change the capitation tax to a land tax, and survey all the land in the country."

"There are two tax systems, and the advantages and disadvantages of choosing one are also obvious."

"The poll tax was completely abolished, and the land tax became the sole basis for taxation. The Two-Tax System, on the other hand, levied taxes based on asset level and the amount of land, and also levied taxes on merchants, thus increasing the source of tax revenue."

"But I prefer to divide the tax rate into acreages, because it can prevent serious land annexation."

Having said this, he seemed to remember something and added:
"Oh, yes, there's something even more ruthless: officials and gentry should all serve and pay taxes together, increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and avoid intensifying national conflicts. A short pain is worse than a long one."

"hiss"

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan and the other two couldn't help but take a deep breath.

If we carry out reforms in this way and fail to achieve the desired results, our country will be destroyed and our families will be ruined!
But then Li Chengqian said:
"I understand very well that reform will undoubtedly harm the interests of officials and gentry, and therefore face great resistance and be extremely difficult. However, if implemented this way, it is definitely a long-term strategy!"

"It's a pity that we don't have the power to implement this long-term strategy."

Hearing this, Ma Zhou and the others looked at each other in surprise.

I really feel that if he had a sword in his hand one day, he would definitely change the Tang Dynasty.

However, they could only think about this dangerous idea in their hearts.

But the retired emperor Li Yuan was very worried.

A wise ruler of the Tang Dynasty.

The future of the Tang Dynasty.

It didn't seem difficult for him to make the choice.

so.
"Erlang, a foolish ruler destroys a country, while a wise ruler revitalizes it. It doesn't matter much. With or without you, the Tang Dynasty will still thrive!"

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(End of this chapter)