Chapter 160: Light Taxation and Low Taxation
"Where is Minister Huang Quan?" Cao Rui's voice continued to come from the hall.
When Jiang Ji stood up and returned to the queue, he inadvertently turned his head and glanced at Huang Quan who was walking out.
Since he had just been appointed as the Governor of Yangzhou, and Yuzhou also had a vacancy at this time.
So, it is Huang Quan's turn to be the governor?
Cao Rui couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Huang Quan walking out of the queue with an obviously hesitant look on his face.
The four attendants have different personalities, and although there are differences in their ranks when compared, different people can always be used in different ways.
Liu Ye was quick-witted and perceptive, but he intended to be loyal.
Xin Pi is upright and honest, but lacks in brilliant ideas.
Chen Jiao was proficient in general affairs, but not good at general planning.
Huang Quan is a simple and generous person, but he is always worried about gains and losses and thinks too much.
"Mr. Huang," Cao Rui smiled and looked at Huang Quan, "During this southern expedition, I have discussed people's livelihood issues with you many times."
"Mr. Huang's opinions always make me agree deeply." Cao Rui said: "In your opinion, what are the priorities for governing Yuzhou now?"
Huang Quan stood in the hall and hesitated for two moments.
Cao Rui was not in a hurry. He sat quietly in the hall and looked at Huang Quan's figure.
Huang Quan lowered his head and glanced around a few times. After raising his head slightly, although he was far away from the emperor and could not see the emperor's face in the hall, Huang Quan could feel the emperor's eyes on him.
I can't take so much into consideration anymore!
Huang Quan gritted his teeth slightly and began to respond to the emperor's questions.
"Your Majesty," Huang Quan said, bowing his hands, "I think there are three things that Yuzhou should do right now. The first is agriculture, the second is farming, and the third is population."
Cao Rui chuckled. It seemed that Huang Quan had basically passed his test.
Although Huang Quan was hesitant, if he was pushed into a corner, this kind of minister would really get things done.
"Huang Qing also has three points? Tell me in detail." Cao Rui said.
"I obey your order." Huang Quan said in a loud voice, straightening his back and speaking loudly in the hall: "I believe that the state affairs should be based on agriculture and sericulture. Yuzhou is adjacent to Yangzhou in the east and Jingzhou in the west, so it is an important place."
"Building water conservancy projects and encouraging agriculture and sericulture are the foundations of Yuzhou's support for Yangzhou and Jingzhou."
Cao Rui nodded slightly but said nothing.
Agriculture and sericulture are fundamental matters. Although they are the most basic political affairs in governing a state, there is no need to talk about them in the court.
"The second is military farming." Huang Quan continued, "Since the first military farming in the Wei Dynasty in the first year of Jian'an, military farming officials have been set up in each state and county to let refugees live on the land and cultivate and store grain. This way, the royal army can conquer all directions without the trouble of transporting grain."
"But the old military farming system now needs to be readjusted according to the new situation."
As soon as Huang Quan finished speaking, the ministers in the hall sensed that something was wrong.
The policy of military farming has been in place for more than 30 years. Which state or county does not have military and civilian farming?
Should it be changed? How to change it? Can the military farming system be changed?
The ministers in the hall either looked at each other, or spoke in a low voice, or questioned Huang Quan's statement.
But when Cao Rui looked from a high place, he only felt that the court was filled with buzzing noise, which did not sound pleasant.
Cao Rui raised his hand. Seeing this, the Grand Commandant Hua Xin walked to the front, looked around at the officials in the hall, and said loudly in a weathered but majestic voice: "Silence!"
Once someone had organized the order, no one was willing to speak up and be the first to speak, and Huang Quan was finally able to continue his statement.
Huang Quan continued, "The refugees who farmed in the military farms have always been burdened with heavy responsibilities. According to the laws of the country, if the military farm households have their own oxen, the annual income will be divided into 50% for officials and 50% for civilians. If the military farm households use government oxen, the grain they earn will be divided into 60% for officials and 40% for civilians."
"In addition to paying grain as taxes, the farmers also had to perform corvée labor. During the Jian'an and Huangchu years, wars were frequent, and the continuous corvée labor had exhausted the people."
"Therefore, I suggest," Huang Quan said loudly, "First, choose a state to reduce the burden of military farming, and reduce the taxes paid by the military farmers by 10%, so as to show the virtue of peace and harmony of the Great Wei."
"For households using private cattle to cultivate land, the ratio of official 5 and civilian 5 was changed to official 4 and civilian 6; for households using government cattle to cultivate land, the ratio of official 6 and civilian 4 was changed to official 5 and civilian 5."
Hua Xin had just stopped the noise in the court, but the discussion continued. Hua Xin turned around and looked at the emperor, but Cao Rui shook his head slightly and asked Hua Xin to wait.
One of the ministers stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, if the tax on military farms is changed from 55% to 46%, the tax revenue of the prefectures and counties will be reduced by more than 10%, which may cause food shortages in various places."
Then another old minister said, "Your Majesty, this is the system from the reign of Emperor Wu. It has become a custom and cannot be changed!"
Cao Rui said, "Mr. Huang, if a minister opposes your opinion, what do you say?"
"Of course I have my own opinion." Huang Qing was also backed into a corner, so he turned around and said, "When the government was five times the civilian population, the grain that many civilian households earned in one year was barely enough to cover their food rations for the next year."
"Now that Your Majesty has won a great victory in Huainan, the rebels in Dongwu have not dared to spy on the border for several years." "Reducing the taxes on military farms and giving the people a proper rest can not only increase people's income and demonstrate the benevolent governance of Taihe, but also accumulate people's strength for future wars."
"I would like to ask you, gentlemen, are you really unwilling to let the people get this little extra food?"
Cao Rui smiled and shook his head in the hall. Huang Quan was actually forced to come up with a quick wit. Human potential is really worth exploring.
Huang Quan's words just now tied the reduction of taxes to "virtuous governance" and "great victory". According to Huang Quan's logic, there are two reasons for reducing taxes.
Firstly, because the Eastern Wu was conquered by Your Majesty, they dared not to provoke border conflicts or invade the Wei Dynasty, so they did not need so much food.
If someone still thinks that a 50-50 grain collection ratio is necessary, then they are questioning whether Your Majesty has not subdued the Eastern Wu? Then how do we calculate this great victory just now?
Secondly, reducing taxes was the first benevolent policy after your majesty changed the era name to "Taihe". Giving the people a rest and reducing taxes and levies are in line with Confucian values.
If you even deny your majesty's "virtuous policies", does that mean you are rebelling?
Taiwei Hua Xin said to Huang Quan: "Minister Huang, there is no need to be so sharp in your words. Just state the facts."
Zhong Yao, the Grand Tutor, could no longer attend court. As the head of the Three Dukes, Hua Xin was responsible for maintaining order in the court.
"I understand." Huang Quan bowed to Hua Xin and continued speaking.
"Your Majesty," Huang Quan continued, "The third point I mentioned is to investigate the hidden population and use the found population for farming."
As soon as Huang Quan said this, the court fell silent. Some people had objected to the previous issue of the military farms, but no one spoke up when faced with the proposal to conduct a population census.
There are almost no fools who can survive in the court of the Wei Dynasty. All of them are smart.
If a minister was able to avoid violating any of the emperor's taboos, then from another perspective, the minister already knew all the points that would anger the emperor.
Since the end of the Han Dynasty, countless prefects and provincial governors who wanted to make a difference have been struggling with the issue of hiding the population.
During the Jian'an period, countless people were killed in countless states and counties for this matter.
What is an aristocratic family? What is a powerful person? Land, farmhands, and tenants are the foundation of a powerful person.
Since Emperor Wu was promoted to King of Wei, the Wei Dynasty had not conducted a population census for many years.
There may be many reasons. Whether it is because of the enemy, the desire to prevent the country from being in turmoil, or to win the hearts of the people and appease the local nobles, the population census has been stagnant in Wei for many years.
The former emperor Cao Pi during the Huangchu period never even mentioned such things.
Now that Huang Quan has brought up this matter again, could it be the emperor’s suggestion... ?
Of course it was the emperor who gave the hint.
Cao Rui's voice came from the palace: "Huang Qing said it well!"
"Reducing taxes and giving the people a rest is the right way to build up national strength." Cao Rui said, "When I was on a tour in the south, I personally went to ask the soldiers from Yuzhou and Yangzhou, and the civilians who were doing corvée labor in various places."
"The households that used government-owned cattle to farm the land had to pay 60% of the tax to the government and 40% to the people. By the end of the year, they had almost no surplus food."
"Officials and civilians are better off, but the food they get is not even enough to buy clothes for the whole family."
"I want to ask you, do you have any five-zhu coins at home?" Cao Rui said slowly, "What I have learned from the people is that among the people in the prefectures and counties and the farmers, the five-zhu coins are almost no longer in circulation!"
"Why is there no money circulating among the people? Isn't it because they are too poor? Taxes are too high and income is too low. What is the need for money? Barter is enough."
Cao Rui shook his head: "Didn't a minister say that I look a bit like Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty? During the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty, the granaries were full of grain, the ropes that strung the copper coins had rotted, and the people were as poor as the people of the Wei Dynasty?"
"The former Yuzhou Governor Jia Kui was sent by me to Wankou to lead the troops. The post of Yuzhou Governor is now vacant."
"Huang Qing." Cao Rui looked at Huang Quan who was standing in the hall.
When the emperor spoke, all the ministers were silent. Huang Quan stood alone in the hall, like a tree standing in the wind and rain. Although he stood upright, he could not hide his trepidation.
Now that the emperor has summoned me, my anxious heart can finally settle down for a moment.
"I'm here." Huang Quan bowed.
Cao Rui nodded and said, "I appoint you as the governor of Yuzhou. From now on, I will use Yuzhou as a pilot to reduce the tax on military farms."
"I will give you three years. The people will have more harvests and the country will be stronger. There is no such thing as exhausting all resources between the country and the people. If you do well, we will promote it to other states."
"Can Huang Qing do it?" Cao Rui did not ask Huang Quan as he asked Jiang Ji, but gave the order directly.
Huang Quan said in a firm tone: "If Your Majesty entrusts me with the responsibility of governing a state, I will definitely do a good job for the Great Wei and Your Majesty within three years."
"Your Majesty, please observe my performance. If I fail to do a good job, I will take the blame."
Cao Rui nodded with satisfaction: "Yuzhou is an important place for the country. If you encounter problems in the implementation of policies, you can naturally ask me for help."
Huang Quan thanked him: "I accept your order."
(End of this chapter)
