Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 432 Gentry and commoners paying taxes together? No need!
"During the off-season, young and able-bodied people are gathered together for training."

Having finalized the battle plan and marching route for the westward advance, Lin Dao and Fu Erniang jokingly remarked, "This has been the case since ancient times; I've simply preserved the useful aspects of ancient culture."

What is useful is ancient culture, and what is useless is naturally the dregs of ancient times.

"His Majesty."

After struggling internally, Fu Erniang finally made up her mind to speak out.

"I wish to join Your Majesty in the army and serve you."

Lin Dao is about to set off on an expedition, and this time the Zhou sisters will accompany him.

Watching the two sisters pack their bags, Fu Erniang was so angry she almost ground her teeth to powder.

Lin Dao was slightly surprised, then became serious and asked, "Do you know that Prime Minister Fu is still staying in Bianjing City for this expedition?"

"I know."

How could she not know about her father's affairs?

"I am thousands of miles away. Although we can communicate by telegram, we are still thousands of miles apart."

"Your father's place..." Lin Dao raised his hand to support Fu Erniang's shoulders, his expression grave. "You'll have to keep a close eye on him."

Over the past few decades, there have been countless instances of rebellions by his subordinates.

It has even become a characteristic of this era.

Putting everything else aside, within Bianjing city alone, every few years there would be a massacre that wiped out entire families.

Fu Erniang had also witnessed those tragic scenes firsthand.

Fu Erniang was suddenly startled.

She nodded hastily, "I understand~ I wish Your Majesty great success in military affairs~"

Although Fu Erniang is Fu Yanqing's daughter, she is already married.

If her father rebelled and failed, she would be implicated; even if he succeeded, there would be no benefit for her.

At most, she would go from being an empress to a princess, which would actually be a decline in status.

After all, there can be many princesses, but there can only be one empress.

Although Fu Yanqing has no son now, he may have one in the future, or he may simply adopt a member of the clan.

So what would she, as a princess and the former empress, be then?
It was already a great stroke of luck that they were not given poisoned wine.

Having figured this out, he naturally became willing to stay and help Lin Dao keep an eye on his father.

Once all the people had gathered, the various supplies that Lin Dao had collected in different times and spaces had also arrived.

The massive army, stretching in a long line, set off westward from Bianjing City, heading towards Chang'an City.

The core fighting force of this massive legion consists of over 30,000 Imperial Guards.

Although these squads are called Golden Spear Squad, Golden Arrow Squad, etc., they are actually mixed squads, not pure squads as their names suggest.

In addition, there were approximately 60,000 soldiers from various units of the Palace Guard.

Among them were more than 10,000 new recruits, bringing the total to nearly 20,000.

Many veterans have decided to follow the Emperor's call and retire in new locations, directly entering local government offices.

They brought all their belongings and their families with them.

Because they had so much stuff, every household bought horse-drawn carriages and oxcarts.

Because there were too many vehicles, the journey was extremely slow when passing through Shanzhou and entering Guanzhong, and when crossing the Yixiantian (a narrow passage between two cliffs).

This caused Lin Dao, who had arrived in Chang'an earlier, to wait for a long time.

Besides that, there are nearly 100,000 single men.

These bachelors received basic training, wore military uniforms, and carried weapons. By the previous standards, this was what soldiers were!
The massive army of over 200,000 men gathered in the Guanzhong Plain, creating an awe-inspiring spectacle.

While gathering manpower, Lin Dao also took the opportunity to clean up Guanzhong.

Those lucky individuals who had escaped the previous purges of local powerful families through complex networks of connections and various means were now subjected to a devastating blow personally orchestrated by Lin Dao.

"Feng Dao and his gang have really disappointed me."

Looking at the list, one could see the powerful families who had escaped the previous purges thanks to the cover provided by Feng Dao and others.

Lin Dao also laughed self-deprecatingly, "It's also my fault."

"They harbored unrealistic fantasies that civil officials in chaotic times might be different."

"I never imagined that these people would never change their nature!"

This is actually a very simple thing.

In an era when knowledge was monopolized, those who could become officials were basically from wealthy families.

When they helped the local powerful families, it was as if they were helping their own families.

I picked up my pen and wrote a large "Accept" on the thick list.

Guanzhong has been continuously developed since the Qin and Han dynasties, and it was developed to its fullest extent during the Tang dynasty.

Those who survived numerous periods of chaos and remained powerful figures in the counties of Guanzhong were all ruthless characters.

They tried every possible method.

Some resisted directly with weapons, some tried to bribe them, and some wanted to contact foreign tribes for help.

The most powerful and influential figures even sent their advocates to Lin Dao.

"His Majesty."

The white-bearded Taoist priest bowed to Lin Dao and said, "I was entrusted by someone to come here. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

This Taoist priest is no ordinary person; he is the son of Du Guangting and is now a very famous figure in the Taoist community.

The powerful figures weren't stupid; they knew that Buddhism had no influence in Lindao, so they invited Taoist priests to come out of the mountains.

This trick really works.

At least Lin Dao agreed to meet.

"What is it?" Lin Dao only gave him the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. "Just say it."

"I have been entrusted by someone to come and deliver a message."

"We, the most powerful families, are willing to serve Your Majesty with utmost loyalty and devotion."

"The local people pay grain, taxes, and perform corvée labor, and they are willing to be treated equally."

"We only beg Your Majesty to spare their lives."

Local powerful families were not only strong, but also influential! One manifestation of this influence was that they were exempt from paying imperial taxes and corvée labor.

Or rather, it's about shifting the responsibilities that should be borne by themselves onto ordinary people.

These "leopard cars" from the five outer counties have powerful local networks of connections.

Taxes cannot be levied on them.

But that's no longer possible; Lin Dao, the God of Slaughter from all heavens, has come in person.

The last time I came was for fighting, so I only stayed briefly and the impression I got was that it was nothing special.

This time I came to fight, but my status is different now, so things are naturally different too.

"Should gentry pay taxes as well?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Dao laughed. "How interesting. They're using their own responsibilities as bargaining chips in negotiations with me. Are they too arrogant, or do they think I'm incapable of wielding a knife?"

“Go back and tell them.”

Lin Dao raised his hand and pointed at the Taoist priest. "Here, there are no powerful figures or gentry; here, there are only soldiers and civilians!"

"They themselves, their ancestors for generations, have committed so many evil deeds."

"Indeed, murder and arson were the path to wealth."

"But not now, because I'm here!"

"I want them to pay the price for what they've done!"

To reiterate, Lin Dao is neither a madman nor a psychopath.

He purged local powerful figures because they deserved to die.

Lin Dao didn't mention things like not paying taxes or performing corvée labor.

Let's just talk about the evil deeds of local tyrants.

The first thing they did was forcibly seize land.

They colluded with government officials to frame people, and sent thugs to forcibly seize land from the people.

Then came the enslavement of the people.

The abduction of women is nothing but child's play.

They directly forced entire families to become their tenants, or serfs.

The souls of the innocent people who were killed for resisting during this process are enough to fill the Ten Thousand Souls Banner!

The people living under the rule of powerful clans suffered hardships comparable to those of slaves during the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

Men work non-stop their whole lives, even worse than oxen and horses, which at least get to rest.

Women, on the other hand, were reduced to servants.

When the powerful clansmen got tired of playing with the slaves, they would then reward them to the serfs so that they could breed more slaves to continue serving their families.

Many people who became tenant farmers preferred not to have children so that their descendants would not suffer the same fate as them!
Lin Dao had witnessed far too many of the brutal methods used by powerful and ruthless people, methods that were difficult to describe in words.

In short, it can be described as follows.

Too many to write!

Moreover, their power in the local area is immense, and no one can uphold justice for the people.

Even if dynasties change, as long as enough benefits are offered, they can still be their local tyrants.

A thousand years have passed, and powerful figures may come and go, but the suffering of the common people has remained unchanged.

This is the real reason why the Jurchens, Khitans, and Mongols were able to take turns ravaging and ruling over China.

The people of the Central Plains are living like humans, how could they possibly risk their lives to resist the barbarians!
If no one resists, then naturally they can't win.

If you can't win, it's only natural that your country will perish and your race will be wiped out.

This is the real reason why Lin Dao always kills the local powerful figures wherever he goes.

"Go."

The time was up. Lin Dao waved his hand and said, "Tell them to wash their necks and wait to die."

Veteran soldiers led new recruits in a fierce purge and slaughter.

The bachelors, on the other hand, served as laborers, watching as the glamorous and powerful were completely wiped out.

Their wealth was completely looted, and their magnificent mansion was burned to the ground.

The land was distributed to the enslaved people.

The women were gathered together and married off to former tenant farmers and serfs.

"The number of acres of land allocated to a household is the upper limit."

"Anyone who surpasses the limit, regardless of the method used, shall be treated as a powerful and influential person."

"Families with too many members were all sent to the frontier with the army."

No amount of innovation or reform can be as effective as Lin Dao's direct purge.

Whether it's reform or innovation, it all boils down to discussion.

They discussed having powerful clans distribute their profits to the people, so that the people could serve the country.

Can someone with such high awareness still be considered a powerful figure?

Therefore, most of the reforms and innovations in history ended in failure.

A few say it's a success, but in reality, it's only a partial success.

Lin Dao, with his wealth of available information, is well aware of this.

Therefore, he always takes the simplest approach to solve problems.

"We don't need gentry and powerful families, we only need the army and the people."

"The army expands the territory to fight wars, and the people enrich the land, cultivate the land and produce supplies."

"Only in this way can we continue to expand until the whole world is covered with the flags of Middle-earth."

Sitting atop the city wall of Chang'an, Lin Dao closed his eyes to rest.

"That's all I can do."

Having dealt with the powerful clans in Guanzhong, Lin Dao led his increasingly large army on a large-scale northward march.

The sword's edge points straight at Hengshan!

(End of this chapter)