Thief Emperor

Chapter 594 How to divide!
Because he had no experience in rebellion and only had a theoretical basis, Li Yun was somewhat timid at first.

He always felt that he was not ready yet.

But during this trip to Fan Yang, he changed his mind.

Part of the reason was the rapid rise of the Khitans, which meant that Li Yun did not have enough time to develop and farm bit by bit.

The more important reason is that Li Yun has basically proven his own quality.

Since Li Yun started his career, he first fought against the bandits in Xuanzhou, then the local army in the east of Jiangnan, and later the Pinglu Army and the Wuchang Army in Ezhou and Yuezhou.

However, he has never come into contact with the world's top military and top combat power.

So I have never felt very confident in my heart.

But now, he has been exposed.

The fighting power of the Khitans was absolutely powerful, otherwise the Fanyang Army would not have been beaten so hard by them. However, during Li Yun's fight with the Khitans this time, he had already sensed the quality of the Khitans.

As for cavalry, Li Yun does not have any real cavalry now, so there is no way to compare. Li Yun's infantry also finds it difficult to fight against the cavalry in the wild.

But if we only talk about infantry, Li Yun's Jiangdong Army is no less inferior to those Khitans, and they can definitely fight each other, even with Li Yun personally on the battlefield and the morale boosted.

The Jiangdong army has the upper hand here!
This incident gave Li Yun great confidence, which meant that the Jiangdong soldiers under his command were at least not inferior to the Fanyang Army or even the Shuofang Army.

At least the quality of the army is not inferior, at most it lacks combat experience.

Under this premise, there is no need to be timid or to hide anything.

Otherwise it will only slow down your progress and dampen your enthusiasm.

Not to mention waiting for more than ten or twenty years, even if it is delayed for three to five years, some of the Jiangdong soldiers may be rotated, and those newly promoted officers may lose their fighting spirit after serving as officials for three to five years!

Now, all that’s left is to finish a few important projects in Jiangdong, and then Li Yun can officially launch the new project of “external expansion”.

When they heard that the poll tax would be included in the land tax, the expressions of the three scholars present changed slightly except Xu Ang who remained calm.

Although Yao Zhong was born in a poor family, his family owned some land and could be considered a small landlord. Not to mention Du Qian, who was from the Jingzhao Du family. His family was not only a noble family, but also a large landlord.

After a long silence, Li Yun looked at the expressions of the three people and said slowly: "It seems that the three of you don't agree with this major policy."

Du Qian looked at Li Yun and asked, "Do officials have to pay taxes when they are in power?"

Tax exemption for officials and gentry in another world was formally established in the Ming Dynasty and was considered a benefit for winners of imperial examinations.

In this era, the scientific examination system had not yet been perfected, so this system naturally had not yet been formed.

In the early days of the Zhou Dynasty, the tax system was basically rent, labor and tribute, with population tax as the main tax. At this time, it had been changed to the two-tax system, which mainly collected land tax and household tax, which were paid in summer and autumn.

In other words, in the middle and late Zhou Dynasty, the main subject of taxation had become land tax.

At this time, it was not difficult to distribute the tax based on the amount of land, or the resistance was not particularly great, because at this time, taxes were levied based on household taxes, rather than per capita taxes.

At most, the household tax can be included in the land tax.

The question Du Qian asked hit the nail on the head.

Should officials and gentry, who are likely to occupy a large amount of land resources in the future, pay land taxes?
Li Yun did not express his opinion directly, but asked: "What do you think?"

Without further ado, Xu Ang said, "Of course we have to collect it. If it is related to officials, no land tax will be collected. In thirty or forty years at most, nine out of ten farmlands in the world will fall into the hands of officials and gentry."

Yao Zhong lowered his head and did not express his opinion.

After Du Qian seriously considered it, he said, "I think we should not make this clear for now. We can make it clear after we have established our dynasty in the future."

"That way, we won't become the public enemy of the world."

Li Yun glanced at the three people and said with a smile: "Land and taxation systems are very sensitive and important systems. The three of you will naturally be officials and nobles in the future, so you will naturally pay attention to these things. But I will tell you a secret."

"Whether we can establish a great cause or not, at least under my rule, land and property will no longer be as important as before, and you don't have to be so nervous."

As a soul from another world, Li will definitely start to transform this world in the future. Even if his abilities are limited, he will transform this world within the scope of his own capabilities.

His current Jinling Literary Society is already testing agricultural affairs, and in the future he will also establish a government office specifically responsible for agricultural affairs to increase agricultural output.

As long as there is enough food and strict control is exercised, its importance will be relatively weakened.

Moreover, this era is almost entirely composed of small peasant economy. Li Yun's Jinling workshop has been built for a long time, and in the future he plans to bring some industry to this world.

Even if it's just handicrafts.

In addition, there is also business to be done.

In the future, part of the tax revenue will be transferred from agricultural taxes to handicrafts and commerce.

Therefore, the land system at this time must be more fundamental in order to lay a solid foundation for future reform plans.

All three of them were smart, but they didn't quite understand what Li Yun said. However, they all believed in Li Yun and quickly finalized the rules according to Li Yun's wishes. At noon, Li Yun had lunch with three of them. In the afternoon, Xu Ang and Yao Zhong left and went about their business. Only Li Yun and Du Qian were left in the public house.

Du Qian hesitated for a while, but still looked at Li Yun and asked, "Master, I have a few questions to ask."

These two really need to talk.

If the previous four-person meeting was to determine specific policies, then this two-person meeting between Li Yun and Du Qian was to establish the direction for the Jiangdong Group.

Li Yun moved a stool and sat face to face with Du Qian. He smiled and said, "Brother Du, if you have anything to say, feel free to ask."

"If you don't argue, you won't understand."

"There are mainly a few questions."

Du Qian sorted out his thoughts and said, "The superior just said that land and property may become unimportant in the future. What does this mean?"

"For thousands of years, land and property have been the foundation of the world and the foundation of stability."

"The collapse of dynasties in history was mostly caused by fields. As for the rise to power, I really don't understand."

Li Yun looked at Du Qian, thought for a moment, and then said, "Brother Du, do you believe that in a certain country, the imperial court does not collect any taxes from farmers, nor does it require farmers to perform corvée labor. In fact, as long as farmers cultivate the land, the imperial court will give them some money for every acre of land."

Du Qian frowned and shook his head, "That's impossible."

"Most of the imperial court's money and grain comes from this. If we cut off the land tax, how can the imperial court survive?"

Li Yun smiled and said: "Agriculture is indeed the foundation, but as long as productivity is strong enough, the country can get rid of its dependence on land tax."

At this point, he shook his head slightly and said, "But I'm afraid we won't be able to see it in our lifetime."

"Brother Du, don't worry. I am a pragmatic person. I won't do anything blindly. Everything we do will be based on the actual situation."

"There is one thing I can promise you, Brother Du. If I and you can govern this country, I will be able to show you some clues in ten years at most."

Rationally, it was impossible for Du Qian to believe Li Yun's words, but when he looked at Li Yun's expression, for some reason, he felt that Li Yun was not lying to him.

After all, the "boss" in front of him had never lied to him.

"There's another problem."

Du Qian thought for a moment and continued, "The superiors want to move westward and compete for the Central Plains, but we have no reason or excuse."

“It’s easy to find a reason.”

Mr. Li said softly, "There is a man named Liang Wen in the Central Plains, who is a subordinate of Wang Junping. He has now occupied many states in Henan Province. Luoyang was also taken by him not long ago. By now, I'm afraid he has gathered 40,000 to 50,000 people."

"He is a man who does evil things everywhere. Even if he is doing it in the name of acting on behalf of heaven, we can go to Henan Province to punish him."

"Moreover, he is an old subordinate of Wang Junping. This alone is a reason to attack him."

Li Yun told him a lot about the situation in the Central Plains, then took out a map and pointed his finger at the Shannan East Road.

"In the second half of this year, I will take Jingxiang, and then we can march into the Central Plains immediately!"

The two spent the entire afternoon in the public housing discussing the future direction of the entire group and specific strategies.

By the evening, Du Qian was already a little exhausted. He rubbed his temples and said to Li Yun with a wry smile: "Erlang, I'm a little tired. Let's talk another day."

Li Yun stood up, patted Du Qian's shoulder gently, and said with a smile: "I have benefited a lot from talking to Brother Du this afternoon. I will come to visit Brother Du after I finish the things at hand in the next few days."

After that, he stood up and left. Du Qian sent him to the gate of the government office, then bowed and said, "Your Excellency, please go back first. I will take a rest and then go to Li Garden to congratulate you."

Li Yun nodded and walked back to Li Garden. As soon as he entered Li Garden, he was stopped by Dong'er. Dong'er held Li Yun's arm and said, "Master, General Li and General Su are here and want to see you in the backyard."

"How did they get here?"

Li Yun was stunned at first, then he came to the backyard, and sure enough, he saw Su Sheng and Zhao Cheng waiting in the backyard.

Mr. Li was very surprised. He looked at the two people and said with a smile, "Aren't you two in your respective armies? My daughter was born, and it's not the full moon or the first birthday celebration. Why did you two rush here?"

The two generals looked at each other, and finally Su Sheng squeezed Zhao Cheng. Zhao Cheng coughed, clasped his fists towards Li Yun and said, "Sir, I met Meng Qing and General Li in Jiangbei."

Su Sheng said with a smile: "My Lord, I was in the army and received a letter from my brother. I learned about your great achievements in Fanyang."

Li Yun looked at the two people, suddenly thoughtful, and asked cautiously: "What news have you heard?"

The two looked at each other, then bowed their heads to Li Yun and said with a smile: “We heard that the superior got 3,000 war horses!”

They looked at Li Yun with burning eyes.

"Sir, how do you divide these horses?"

(End of this chapter)