Next to Fenglin Town, not far from Xiangyang, a group of people gathered together, and a scholar in the middle read the content on the list.

Halfway through, a man who looked like an old farmer said, "Oh, you have to pay three measures of official grain per acre of land. How could there be such a heavy tax in the past dynasties?"

The other one nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I haven't heard of it for thousands of years! The harvest is only one or two liters per acre, no matter how high it is, it's only a few liters! If we collect grain like this now, we don't have to increase taxes tenfold at once! I'm scared to death!"

"

The people around them all agreed. Some people said: "You landowners are complaining about heavy taxes. Wouldn't it mean that we, the customers, have no way of living? Not only do we have to pay these three buckets of food, but we also have to share it with the host's family!"

The academic in front said: "Don't you understand? Now all the exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, including education and purchase, will be suspended! From now on, for farming, you will have to pay three measures of grain per acre of land per year, and you will not have to pay anything else!

"

Someone said: "So what? Which tax increase didn't mean that there will no longer be excessive and miscellaneous taxes? And which time will it be less?"

The scholar said: "This is clearly stated above. In the future, all taxes will be collected using the Shengdou issued by the government. Dendrobium noodles, additional levies and other precedents will not be allowed in the future. Not only that, in the future, all farmers farming in the countryside will not have to pay taxes.

In other words, when farming in the countryside, you only harvest this grain! Oh, you stupid people! How much grain do you have to pay to the government every year?"

The old farmer next to him shook his head: "I only know how to farm, and I can't even calculate how much food we get in a year. I just know that my family has more than 20 acres of land and has paid money and food from the government, but my family of five has been hungry for half the year."

The scholar asked: "You always know how much food an acre produces."

The old farmer thought for a while and said: "Last year's harvest was pretty good. One acre of land cost two dan of grain. If it is paddy field, it will be even more."

The scholar said: "As mentioned above, originally the acres of land were divided into three categories: upper, middle and lower. Three dou per acre means that all the land is used for farming. Now that the world is difficult, all the fields are temporarily classified as low-level farmland.

Your family has 20 acres of land, and the real estate is two dan per acre, which is 40 dan a year. The official grain is three dou per acre, so you only need to pay six dan, and you still have thirty-four dan left! There are five people in your family.

, they are all big-bellied men, and they cannot eat so much food!"

After hearing this, the old farmer looked a little embarrassed. He whispered: "After handing over the grain, you still have to collect this kind of money, that kind of money, countless names! How much can the remaining grain be sold for? In the end, it is still food and clothing.

Asanga!"

After speaking, the old farmer sighed and shook his head.

The academic said: "Now is different from before. The list clearly states that those who farm will only pay grain. And it is written clearly that Xiangyang Prefecture only harvests rice, wheat, and beans, and no deductions are allowed. Other than that,

, the government does not accept any food or money. Do you understand?"

Seeing that most of the people still looked confused, the scholar couldn't help but sigh: "It can be seen that Wang Kuan, who has newly occupied Xiangyang, knows that you people are ignorant and will be deceived if there are too many tax names. So now the tax collectors

The provisions are reduced to the point of reduction, and cannot be reduced any further. Let me tell you, the list says that anyone who has any amount of grain can report it. As long as you know, you will only have to pay three bushels per mu for farming in the future."

After finishing speaking, he continued to read the list. He said to everyone: "Nowadays, the government only collects two things from farming. One is three bushels of rice per mu, and the other is a labor force of fifty workers per year. In the past, labor labor was also

Without a number, our people were miserable. Now it's better, the number has been fixed, fifty jobs a year."

After finishing speaking, he turned around and looked at everyone and said, "Do you understand? From now on, the government will only charge two things from those who farm in the countryside. One is land tax, three dou per acre of land. The other is labor service, which is fifty wages per year.

Anyone who exceeds this number will be informed!"

Although what the scholar said was simple and clear, most of the onlookers still couldn't understand whether the tax was too much or too little, and there was a lot of discussion there. The scholar looked at it and could only shake his head. Rural people can't explain many things clearly.

.

In the state office, Wang Xiaolie and several of his subordinates were sitting around, also discussing the recent reforms.

Chen Yuyi said: "I heard people say that after the unveiling of the list, the people talked a lot. Many people said that in the past, officials in the past dynasties only collected a few liters per acre. From the thirty tax per acre in the Han Dynasty, to now,

It’s only a tax of 10 per acre. Now we charge three dou per acre of land. Even if we charge 2 shi, it’s still more than 10%. We haven’t seen such a heavy tax in thousands of years.”

Wang Xiaolie laughed after hearing this: "Country people, many people can't even count to ten or more. It's normal for them to be unable to understand in a short time. But there are always scholars in every village, and there are always people with clear minds. It only takes a few days.

, they can explain the matter clearly to the people. In the final analysis, no matter what name it is used for collecting taxes, the people are asking the people to hand over money or things to the government. The people do not know how much they have to pay in a year.

They always understand things. So the key to this matter is not what the people think in the short term, but that the government should really get things done."

Having said this, Wang Xiaolie looked at the other generals and said seriously: "The government has increased taxes, but the burden on the people has been lightened. Let me ask you, where does this extra money and food come from?"

Cao Zhiyan said: "It's nothing more than coming from Li Zheng, rural clerks and other tax collectors."

Wang Xiaolie shook his head: "Li Zheng has always been a heavy labor. I don't know how many families were originally very wealthy, but after working as Li Zheng for a few years, their families were ruined. The extra money actually came from the local tyrants, or from powerful households.

It has always been said that exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes force the people to survive, and harsh government is more fierce than tigers. But in fact, when the people are burdened heavily and cannot survive, the government receives less money. Where does the money go? Of course it goes to powerful people.

It’s gone. This is a big problem and should not be underestimated!”

Shao Ling said: "Why is this a big problem? The people have to pay less money, so everyone should celebrate!"

Wang Xiaolie sighed: "How can it be so simple? If we do this, ordinary people will be better off, but it will also cut off many ways for powerful people to make money. Why are these people called powerful people? Because they are powerful in the local area.

! Some families have people who are officials or officials, some families have a large population and no one can beat them, and some families have money passed down from their ancestors, all kinds of things. But in the past, most local affairs were in the hands of these people. Cutting off their financial paths,

Do you think it will be peaceful? In other words, in the past dynasties, no one could think of doing this like us? Of course not! They didn't do it before because they couldn't do it!"

Seeing that everyone still didn't understand, Wang Xiaolie said: "In the past, these people were in charge of the local area. They were powerful and powerful in exchange for making the place peaceful and peaceful. No matter how the government wanted to treat the people well, it was up to them.

Do it. Even if there are no taxes, as long as these people are here, the people will still have no food and clothing. Just like Jinghu South Road, there are many wild mountains, where are the taxes? How are the people there? Without these people, if the government cannot go down

Management will inevitably cause trouble. Therefore, if we want to cut off the money of these powerful people, we must send people to take charge. Do you think it is easy for the government to send people? In the past, we always said that there are too many officials and too many officials.

How can it be easy for officials?"

Having said this, Wang Xiaolie looked at the sky. After a while, he said: "The list has been revealed. Now there are two things. The first is to prevent the powerful people from rebelling and causing trouble. Our army, especially those in the army,

The officers have nothing to do with the local area. But every state and every county must be prepared to quell these troublemakers at any time. We must be ruthless and don't be frightened by the chaos everywhere. If anyone is in trouble, we will arrest it! There is one more thing

The key is to prepare to send a large number of people to the countryside. The government itself taking charge of the countryside is the fundamental way to cut off local tyrants!"

Chen Yuyi was dumbfounded. Hearing this, he couldn't help but said: "How many officials are needed to manage all the villages? How much food do such officials need? Where do the money and food come from?"

Wang Xiaolie said: "Of course there are many officials in need, maybe even more than the previous officials even if you think about it. Giving them money and food is certainly not a small amount. There are two ways to pay for the money and food needed. One is to collect it from the people.

The second is to earn it yourself.”

Having said this, Wang Xiaolie looked at the dumbfounded people and felt a little helpless. Indeed, without the memory of the previous life, it is really difficult to think about this aspect. As a ruler, of course, he hopes that the fewer political affairs, the better, and the people who directly manage him as well.

The less the better. But how will that work? The country’s administrative capacity and the people’s happy life will be swallowed up by this simplicity. This is not transferred by human will. As long as this is done for a long enough time, the country will slowly

Decay, and eventually out of control.

When people come together to form a society, they need to be managed. If the government does not manage, the people will produce managers themselves. Generally speaking, the more directly managed by the government, the lower the cost of management. The less involved the government is, the higher the cost of management.

The higher. In special circumstances, the government can be replaced by religion. In most cases, the manager should be the government.

It is not easy to realize this. As human society develops and becomes more mature, it becomes clearer and clearer.

Human society is not naturally dominated by the state. From the beginning, families and tribes formed alliances to form countries. From the beginning of the federal state, step by step, it became a unified country. Unification is the basis of humankind.

Most of the relationships are integrated into the national level.

Confucianism talks about self-cultivation, ordering the family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world. To put it this way, it is like stepping on a ladder, and there is a way to follow. From people to families, from families to countries, from countries to the world, level by level.

Extraordinarily clear. In fact, this makes no sense.

It is your own business to cultivate your moral character and speak well. What should you do to harmonize your family? How can you not only make the family harmonious and happy, but also let everyone in the family grow up healthily and have a good life of their own? Frankly speaking, it is actually impossible to do.

If you want to do it, you have to go to Xunzi's long rituals and laws. Those so-called aristocratic families, the so-called generations of parents are virtuous, are actually training robots. In the past, there were big families, family property, and their own

The Qi family could still become a basis for governing the country. In the Song Dynasty, it was actually impossible.

If the family cannot be harmonized, how can the country be governed on the basis of the family? It is said to be the way of Confucius and Mencius, but in fact it has gradually drifted away from the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, and finally fell into the evaluation of Confucianism and Dharma.

As for a peaceful world, human civilization has been around for nearly ten thousand years and is still far away.

Chinese society developed into the Song Dynasty and had different characteristics from before. With the decline of the aristocratic clans, the role of clans was not big, and the civil society was mainly based on small families. Management should be based on small families, and then the country should be governed.

From the small family to the governance of the country, all kinds of powerful and powerful people in the middle are redundant. Only by clearing out the middle class can society become clear.

In human society, some people are poor and some are rich, some live colorful lives, and some live in poverty. This is a normal phenomenon. With the development of human society, society will take on various colors. We cannot force everyone to live the same life.

It seems that we cannot force everyone to live the same life.

Why is this? In the final analysis, it is still a question of how a ruler understands people. Are people the same? What should human nature be like? What kind of life is suitable for human nature? Social issues, especially political issues,

It's basically a question of understanding people.

Xunzi believed that human nature is evil, and Mencius believed that human nature is good. By the Song Dynasty, they basically agreed with Mencius's view. The understanding of human nature is the foundation of politics. If you do not understand this, it is not enough to talk about politics.

In fact, not only the Song Dynasty, but also later political theories are basically like this. Politics basically starts with people. Human nature is evil, human nature is good, and human nature is simple. Each will bring about different political theories. Monism and dualism in understanding people.

Various forms of capitalism, socialism, and other isms will develop in later generations.

This issue will be discussed at length. But there is one point: no matter what doctrine you believe in, if you cannot realize that this doctrine starts from the understanding of people, you can only have blind faith.

Wang Xiaolie's understanding comes from the saying in his previous life that the people are the masters of the country. The understanding of people is not good and evil, nor is it based on the monistic dualism of Western culture, but the Tao follows nature. People are like that, understand them

People form their own understanding of human society. The core of it is that the people are the masters of the country. The expression of this sentence is ever-changing, but it never changes away from its traces.

Tao follows nature. These four simple words contain countless contents.

There were famous scholars in the pre-Qin Dynasty who asked two famous questions. One is that a white horse is not a horse, and the other is whether a white horse can be separated. When scholars of later generations explain these two questions, they will say what kind of thought is simplicity, and which celebrity from which country?

The method has long been solved. This is a common problem in later generations. Scholars feel that they have learned both Chinese and Western knowledge. These ancient thoughts are as simple as children's problems to them.

Is it really that simple? Of course not. Most of the people who explain it are actually not worthy of leaving their names in history. This person who is simple and reasonable and explains it is not worthy of making this conclusion.

Can solid white be separated? In fact, human society has developed for more than two thousand years, but we still cannot make a definite judgment. If solid white is inseparable, how do we understand the world? Just four words, Tao follows nature.

In other words, theories and methods that believe that hard and white are inseparable are techniques. Only theories and methods developed from thinking that hard and white are inseparable can be called Tao. The same is true for human theories.

What are people like? What is human nature? Answering and developing theories can only be called skills. People are people, and people are what they are. The original form of people has both good and evil, both good and evil.

Human beings are human beings, and it is neither monism, dualism, nor pluralism. Don’t ask what people are like or what they should be like, people are just people.

This is Wang Xiaolie’s understanding of his life and his way. One of the core of this principle is the people. There are thousands of people, and you can’t see them clearly even if you want to, but the people are very clear. As long as you recognize the people clearly, you can do what you want.
Chapter completed!