My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 436: Contempt of Officials

Upon hearing this proposal, Liu Rong nodded secretly without even looking at who made the suggestion, and preliminarily agreed to the plan.

——What is the difference between the agricultural tax on winter wheat and the agricultural tax on millet?
Comparing them with something in the new era, the two are actually like the purchase tax on fuel vehicles and new energy electric vehicles.

The purchase tax on fuel vehicles has a 'long history' and is naturally to be collected;
However, in order to accelerate the promotion and popularization of new energy electric vehicles, the purchase tax can only be exempted for a certain number of years.

But this situation obviously cannot last long.

Otherwise, everyone will buy electric cars, no one will buy gasoline cars, and there will be no purchase tax to collect.

Therefore, after the new energy electric vehicles are exempted from purchase tax for up to three to five years in the early stage, they will be subject to "half purchase tax";
In another three to five years, we will eventually have to restore the full purchase tax.

The same is true for winter wheat and millet.

In the initial stage of promotion, winter wheat can and must be exempted from all agricultural taxes to mobilize the enthusiasm of the people to sow winter wheat.

After the promotion period is over and the people have accepted this new thing, the half tax will naturally be restored.

Right now, the promotion of winter wheat in the Han Dynasty is nearing completion, and it is time to restore the "half tax" for winter wheat.

In the foreseeable future, it is inevitable that the agricultural tax on winter wheat will return to full tax.

At present, the agricultural tax on millet is theoretically 1/15, but in practice it is 1/30.

The agricultural tax on winter wheat is set at one in thirty in theory, and one in sixty in practice - exactly half of that on millet, which is undoubtedly very appropriate.

In addition, the number "one taken from thirty" also has a very special meaning for the people of the Han Dynasty.

——In this era where at least ninety-nine out of every hundred people are illiterate, the popularity of mathematics and arithmetic is no wider than the popularity of writing and knowledge.

Therefore, for the vast majority of ordinary farmers who cannot do arithmetic and can only understand the results, the experience of the past few decades has told them that one out of thirty is equivalent to halving the agricultural tax.

Some people may not even understand what the four words "one out of thirty" mean;
But life experience and the teachings of their ancestors told them that one tax on thirty means that the agricultural tax is reduced by half.

On this basis, the tax rate is reduced by half to 60%. For these ignorant farmers, it is almost the same as no tax at all.

In fact, this is indeed the case.

If one hundred acres of land is planted with winter wheat, the peak yield will not exceed four hundred shi at most.

Even if there was an output of 420 shi, which was an almost impossible high output, with a tax rate of 1% to 60, it would only be 7 shi.

If we calculate based on the average output of 300 dan, and the tax rate is 1% of 60%, it is only 5 dan...

"What do you think?"

"Is it possible to temporarily set the tax rate for wheat farmers at 1% of 30 and reduce the tax rate at the same time as millet?"

After a brief thought, Liu Rong tactfully told everyone in the hall: I think it's okay.

If everyone thinks it's good, then let's make it so.

If anyone has different opinions, please raise them now, and don't wait until the matter is settled to annoy others.

After asking the question, Liu Rong realized belatedly that the atmosphere in the hall was inexplicably filled with an eerie silence.

——It’s not that everyone has any objection to this matter.

In fact, collecting agricultural taxes on winter wheat, with the tax rate still being lower than that on millet, has become an increasingly unanimous consensus in the court in recent years.

At this moment, the reason why the Xuanshi store was silent and the officials in the hall had different expressions was because everyone's eyes were focused on this place.

No one knows the person who came forward to make this suggestion!

Not only did people not recognize him, but even the official robes and seals on his body, which symbolized a rank of 400 dan, left everyone confused.

what's the situation?
During the New Moon and Full Moon Period of the Han Dynasty, when will the small fighters with only 400 stones level be allowed to participate?

Not only did he participate, he also took the initiative to speak!

Not only did he speak, but Liu Rong didn't even realize that there was anything wrong!
For a moment, everyone in the hall had their thoughts racing, and countless speculations came to their mind.

But no matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem right.

Isn’t it just an agricultural tax of 1% in thirty or 1% in sixty on winter wheat?

For such a trivial matter, does Liu Rong need to arrange someone to help him?
Even if it was necessary, there would be no need to arrange a 400-stone-level agent...

"I forgot to introduce myself to you gentlemen."

"Um……"

"Then let the Minister of Chancellery personally pay his respects to you gentlemen."

Realizing where the problem lay, Liu Rong did not hesitate and immediately gave a solution.

Then, the sixty-year-old man in the robe of an official with an official salary of four hundred stones was seen walking forward slowly under the gazes of hundreds of people in the hall, and bowed to the officials, ministers, meritorious officials and nobles on both sides of the hall.

"I am Gongsun Hong from Zichuan. Nice to meet you all."

...

Quiet.

The silence lasted for five full breaths, so Gongsun Hong had to force a smile and continued, "In the first year of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen's reign, I was trusted by Emperor Taizong and appointed Doctor of Poetry."

"In the second year, he was promoted to Taizhong Daifu, with a rank of 2,000 stones..."

"In the third year of Emperor Taizong's reign, I felt that I was not good enough in my studies, so I resigned and returned to my hometown to study the Gongyang Spring and Autumn Annals with Hu Wusheng, the Huzi Du Hu Gong."

"I will enter the court this year and take the imperial examination."

"With my humble talents, I have gained your Majesty's trust and have been appointed as the Minister of Chancellery..."

After such a detailed introduction, the faces of the hundreds of people in the hall gradually began to show expressions of "Oh, I remember now".

You can’t blame everyone for being forgetful.

Firstly, it was indeed too long a time interval—more than 30 years;
The officials in the court, the nobles and the relatives of the emperor, if not a whole new generation, at least most of them are no longer the same people as before.

Even if there were a few who had been prominent in the court more than 30 years ago, they were basically meritorious nobles who were idle at home.

It is somewhat difficult for these second-generation rich people who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths and who spend their days thinking about where to have fun to reminisce about a young doctor who came of age more than 30 years ago.

Furthermore, Jia Yi at that time was really too brilliant.

Even those who were overshadowed by Jia Yi's brilliance were basically famous figures.

——Chao Cuo, Doctor of "Shangshu"!
——Zhang Shizhi, the founder of Han law!

——Yuan Ang, the socialite of Wenjing!

Any one of them is much more famous than Gongsun Hong, an invisible person.

Especially in the past thirty years, whether it was Jia Yi who died young and depressed, or Chao Cuo who had great ambitions but was sacrificed by the previous emperor;

Whether it is the first judge in Chinese history, or Yuan Ang, an evergreen in the political arena with friends all over the world - as long as these people are still alive, they are basically still active in the political arena, or even directly active in the court of Chang'an.

Jia Yi did not say that every day of his life, he was the focus of public opinion inside and outside the Han Dynasty court;
Chao Cuo was similar—he wrote the “Strategy for Reducing the Power of the Feudal States”, which showed that he would be remembered in history regardless of success or failure. Yuan Ang was not as good, but he was still active in politics for 30 years, so it is hard to forget him.

Gongsun Hong, on the other hand, served as a doctor in Chang'an for a full 25 years, from the first year of Emperor Taizong's reign to the third year of Emperor Taizong's reign (i.e., the 24th year of Emperor Taizong's reign).
Twenty-five years!

How many twenty-five years can we have in our life?

In this era, many people don’t even live to be twenty-five!

As a result, Gongsun Hong did not find any influence or presence in Chang'an during these twenty-five years.

Even at this moment, most of the officials, nobles, and relatives who showed an expression of "Oh, I remember, there was such a doctor in the past" were actually pretending.

They didn't remember it at all.

To be precise, they simply did not remember and did not know that in the first year of Emperor Taizong's reign, there was a young man named Gongsun Hong who became a doctor together with Jia Yi.

At this moment, he pretended to be suddenly enlightened, just to give some respect to Gongsun Hong and Liu Rong on the imperial bed.

Can Gongsun Hong be blamed for this?
Hard to comment.

If there is anything to blame, it is that the Han Dynasty completely hollowed out the position of doctor, which meant that the doctor had no right to participate in or discuss politics, making this statement somewhat unfair to Gongsun Hong.

But if you say it’s not to be blamed - what would Jia Yi say?
What did Chao Cuo say?
They are all doctors, and they are all doctors of one of the Six Confucian Classics.

Jia Yi, the master of Spring and Autumn Annals, could become the peerless Jia Changsha;
Regardless of whether Chao Cuo, the Doctor of the Book of Documents, was right or wrong, he at least played a big trick and left a unique and colorful mark of his own in the history books.

How come it is that you, Gongsun Hong, a doctor of poetry, have been doing nothing and achieving nothing for more than 20 years, and finally had to return home in disgrace?
To put it bluntly, none of the ministers in the court bought into Gongsun Hong's statement that he "felt that he was not proficient in his skills, so he returned home to improve himself."

——That sounds nice!
——Isn’t it just that he was frustrated and finally ran back to his hometown in shame!

Look at it, look at it;

He was once a Doctor of Poetry with a rank of 2,000 shi, a Taizhong Doctor with a rank of 2,000 shi, but now he has come to Chang'an to take the imperial examination without any hesitation, wearing a 400-shi official robe, and appeared in the Xuanshi New Moon and Full Moon Court.
Isn’t this enough to prove that he returned to his hometown from Chang’an in disgrace?

In fact, all the officials, ministers, nobles and relatives in the court not only despised Gongsun Hong for "serving as a doctor for 25 years without doing anything, but now he comes to take part in the imperial examination."

Even now, Gongsun Hong seems to have been appointed as the Minister of the Chancellery, which also makes everyone feel a little disgusted.

——Shangshu is one of the six Shangs of Shaofu: Shangyi, Shangshi, Shangguan, Shangxi, Shangmu and Shangshu.

It is not difficult to find out from the names of these six official positions: Shaofu Liushang are six departments in charge of different categories and responsible for the private life of the emperor.

However, in most of the time in Chinese history, the emperor's private life was often not the responsibility of serious officials.

For example, in the current Han Dynasty, among the six Shangs of the Shaofu, the four of Shangyi, Shangshi, Shangxi and Shangmu are all female officials without exception.

And it is customary to assume that it must be a female official.

The remaining ones are Shangguan and Shangshu - the former are mostly eunuchs, and occasionally there are Langguan concurrently;

The latter may be a temple servant or a minister...

At this point, the complicated looks everyone gave Gongsun Hong were understandable.

——Minister of the Chancellery, Gongsun Hong, don’t you despise a eunuch holding the position?

After all, he was an old official who had served as a 2,000-stone doctor and a true 2,000-stone Taichō doctor...

How can you be so shameless...

Therefore, the painting style in the Xuanshi Hall became even stranger as Gongsun Hong introduced himself.

If before, everyone didn't know Gongsun Hong's background and didn't understand why this sixty-year-old man with a salary of 400 dan could speak on his own initiative at the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month;
Now, everyone is despising this so-called "former Doctor of Poetry" who has fallen into depravity and will do anything to gain an official position.

As for Gongsun Hong, he was originally just embarrassed because "no one knew me";
At this moment, because of everyone's strange looks, I couldn't help but smile bitterly.

No one knows better than Gongsun Hong how difficult it is to be a doctor of Han.

They have no right to participate in politics, no right to discuss politics, and even no right to take the initiative to ask for an audience with the emperor!
Unless the emperor summons her, Dr. Han will be a chastity arch erected for the whole world to see!

yes;
Jia Yi was a man of extraordinary talent;

Chao Cuo's name goes down in history.

But the key point is: they all got an audience with Emperor Taizong!

And it was not just once, but repeated and continuous meetings!

Being able to see the emperor every other day and to pursue his ambitions without any scruples - Gongsun Hong really wanted to say: I can do that too!
It's a pity that God did not fulfill his wish.

Gongsun Hong was a Doctor of Poetry. The only time he was summoned by Emperor Taizong was when he entered the palace together with Jia Yi.

As a result, after entering the palace, Emperor Taizong was so astonished after listening to Jia Yi's policy proposal that he ignored everything else and immediately asked Jia Yi to stay and talk with him by candlelight at night!

Poor Gongsun Hong, from the time he was summoned into the palace to the time he walked out of the palace in desolation, the Manchus only said three sentences.

——Gongsun Hong of Zhichuan pays homage to Your Majesty.

——Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern. I am deeply grateful.

——I will take my leave...

Can you bear this?

Who else, after being ignored and neglected like this, could fight back and reverse the trend?
Especially after this, Emperor Taizong never summoned Gongsun Hong again.

The ministers and officials in the court, the nobles and relatives, and even friends asked: What did Your Majesty say when you summoned the envoy?
Gongsun Hong had no idea how to answer.

——Your Majesty never even looked at me?
Or is it that Your Majesty is like a pervert who has never had sex in his entire life, being controlled by Jia Yi's succubus right from the start at 0 frames, without giving me even a single chance to show my abilities?
Gongsun Hong had no way of answering and could only smile.

Therefore, everyone tacitly agreed that Gongsun Hong had performed so poorly in front of Emperor Taizong that he himself was too embarrassed to speak out.

Over time, everyone has come to the conclusion that Gongsun Hong, the Doctor of Poetry, is simply a fake whose fame is greater than his ability.

Even though Gongsun Hong had no fame at all at that time, it did not affect the evaluation of Gongsun Hong inside and outside the court.

Coupled with the reference group of Jia Yi, Chao Cuo and others, Gongsun Hong's failure when he first entered the court was inevitable.

Now, Gongsun Hong is back.

No longer a mascot-like doctor;

However, in the eyes of all officials, he was the Shangshu Ling who associated with eunuchs.

If it had happened more than 30 years ago, Gongsun Hong might have just laughed it off.

But at this moment, Gongsun Hong only felt that the grievances accumulated over the past few decades had turned into his motivation to strive for progress.

——I have decided to be the Shangshu Ling!

Not only do it, but also do it well, better than ever before!

Let all of you idiots who believe everything they hear and make up stories with random thoughts take a good look: Gongsun Hong of Zhichuan is in no way inferior to Jia Yi and Jia Changsha!

(End of this chapter)