The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 728 No hesitation!
Zhong Hui has indeed been very busy these two days.

Ever since Cao Mao told him about the head tax, Zhong Hui has become restless.

Zhong Hui's greatest ambition was to assist the sage king and create a prosperous era.

Zhong Hui believed that he had worked hard enough, and the emperor could not be said to be unwise, and his various policies were quite appropriate.

But even so, it would take at least fifty years to create a truly prosperous era that could rival or even surpass the peak of the Han Dynasty.

Zhong Hui felt that he might not even live to see that time.

The reason why it takes so long is because of the issue of "hard power", which is the most important part of a prosperous era, population.

Without sufficient population, everything is in vain.

Just as Guanqiu Jian was able to conquer the entire Goguryeo, and the land there was suitable for farming and cultivation, but what was the use?
Nowadays, even the Central Plains is sparsely populated. Except for the big city of Luoyang, the population in other states and counties is very scarce. How can the court have the power to occupy Goguryeo?

No matter what you do, you need people. Although too many people will cause burden and pressure on the temple, Zhong Hui believes that he can complete a virtuous circle.

The easiest way to increase the population is to abolish the poll tax.

Without the head tax, the people, who had almost no entertainment activities, could only keep having babies.

Historically, during the Sima Yan period, people were troubled by the population issue. In order to increase the population, the government even ordered that girls aged seventeen must get married!

If she did not marry on her own, the marriage would be arranged by the imperial court.

In fact, this behavior was not unique to Sima Anshi, because in the early days of the Wei Dynasty, when the military farming was being promoted, forced marriages were practiced. How outrageous was it? While the husband was still in the frontier military settlement, the wife might have been forcibly arranged by the government to someone else.

The husband will not be idle either, the government will also find a woman for him locally
This is mandatory, no resistance is allowed, anyone who resists will lose their head.

The State of Wei used such methods to increase its population and enhance its national strength. These policies were abolished during the reign of Cao Pi.

During the Sima Yan period, because the territory was too large and the population was too small, he had to propose this policy again to urge the people to have more children.

Such compulsory measures are actually of little use. Although they can increase the number of registered residents, due to the head tax, even if a child is born, people may not necessarily raise him.
How could Zhong Hui give up easily when he found a way to achieve his ambitions faster?
But there are also many hidden dangers in this matter.

Over the years, Cao Wei's treasury has been under high pressure, and it is teetering on the edge of a cliff.

The expenditure was too high, and the poll tax was one of the important sources of national treasury.

If the head tax is abolished without any consequences, the national treasury will not be able to bear the burden, and the temporary increase in taxes will harm the people.

In addition, what Lu Kang said also makes sense.

The Wu clans had extensive experience in fighting against the imperial court.

As Lu Kang came from a super powerful family in Wu, he seemed to know quite a bit about how to distort the government's decrees.

If the government wants to shift the head tax onto the big landowners, they will definitely find a way to shift the pressure onto the poor people.

This must not be ignored.

During these days, Zhong Hui had serious discussions with the two of them about the specific implementation methods.

They checked each other's work and made considerable progress.

Zhong Hui even let go of his prejudices.

It’s not that Zhong Hui lacks confidence in himself. He believes that he can accomplish this task on his own without the help of others.

However, if someone comes to help him, it means that it can be implemented earlier. The sooner such a policy is implemented, the better. The sooner it is completed, the sooner the prosperous era he wants to create will come.

Before this ambition, Zhong Hui didn't care whether the person who came to help him was a villain.

In Zhang Hua's house, the three people were surrounded by piles of papers.

They said they were discussing together, but in reality, Zhong would express his own ideas, and the other two would be responsible for besieging him.

Constantly finding fault with his thoughts.

Then Zhong will find ways to improve it!
Zhong Hui fought against two opponents alone, and as the proposer, he was not at a disadvantage.

Although Zhang Hua and Lu Kang did not say it explicitly, they both admired Zhong Hui's talents in their hearts.

You may be annoying, but you are really talented!!

Just as the two men were besieging Zhong Hui, Liu Yuan was also standing at the door, listening to their debate.

Liu Yuan glanced at Zhang Gui beside him.

But he found that this guy was also looking at him.

Zhang Gui smiled and nodded at him, showing his closeness.

In response, Liu Yuan rolled his eyes.

He doesn't bother to pay attention to such a guy.

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside, interrupting the conversation inside. Liu Yuan frowned when he heard the noise outside. He quickly looked at Zhang Gui and said, "Our teacher is discussing important matters here, and someone dared to barge in. Go and scold them away!"

Zhang Gui was stunned and had to turn around and walk out.

Seeing Zhang Gui leaving, Liu Yuan's mouth corners slowly rose.

When these three people are discussing important matters in the house, do you dare to harass anyone who makes noise outside?
He couldn't help but look up at the person above him, only to find that Zhong Hui, who was talking to two people on his left and right, also glanced at him.

The master and the disciple looked at each other, and both seemed to have an inexplicable smile on their faces.

Obviously, Zhong Hui saw what Liu Yuan had just done and was very happy about it.

Armored soldiers stood in many positions inside and outside the mansion, fully armed. Then, Cao Mao, surrounded by several close ministers, walked quickly into the courtyard.

Just as they reached the door, they saw a doll rush out and block their way. "My teacher doesn't see guests!"

Cao Mao lowered his head and looked at Zhang Gui in front of him.

After Zhang Gui finished speaking, he saw the Zhang family servants kneeling in the distance, as well as the many armored soldiers on both sides.

At this moment, he realized something was wrong.

Cao Mao smiled and asked, "You are Zhang Wen's son, and you are quite filial."

Zhang Gui's eyes widened and he quickly bowed to greet him.

"His Majesty!!"

"I didn't know it was His Majesty who came."

"Hahaha, no problem!"

Cao Mao walked quickly past him and went straight into the house.

As soon as he walked into the house, everyone inside hurriedly stood up and bowed to him.

Cao Mao walked forward with a smile, and Zhong Hui took the initiative to give up the upper seat. Cao Mao sat down, and Zhong Hui squeezed out Lu Kang's seat and stood on Cao Mao's left.

Cao Mao motioned for them to sit down.

"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you guys these past two days. Turns out you were all gathered here. It was so lively, why didn't you invite me?"

Zhong Hui smiled and replied, "Your Majesty, I did not come to see you because we had not yet reached an agreement."

"Are you discussing taxes?"

Zhong Hui nodded.

Cao Mao chuckled, "Since this is a discussion of important matters, how can I not listen in?"

"You guys keep talking, I'm listening right here!"

Zhong Hui was not restrained and started discussing important matters directly.

Zhang Hua believed that if the head tax was abolished, even if it was transferred to land tax, the national treasury would still not be able to bear it.

Zhong Hui had something to say about this.

Zhong Hui believed that after forcing so many wealthy families to hand over their privately hoarded farmland and slaves that did not pay taxes, the increase in land taxes would make the national treasury even richer.

Moreover, the largest expenditure of the national treasury nowadays is work-for-relief, but construction in various places can promote agricultural production, and this problem will gradually disappear.

Zhong Hui cited this year as an example. In the entire Sili area, there were originally more than 60,000 people who went to Ji County one after another. By this year, there were only more than 30,000 people left.

The rest of the people found other ways to make a living or owned arable land, and no longer needed to work for the temple to maintain basic survival.

Zhong Hui estimated that the number of people who needed to work for the government to make a living would decrease, because the government allowed these people to legally own their own farmland. If the head tax was abolished, there would be even fewer such people.

Because they have reduced a very important burden, they can do other things to support themselves.

Only then did Cao Mao realize that this was not a negotiation, but simply a debate between Zhong Hui and two other people.

But their debates are different from those of famous scholars.

Their purpose is not to debate, but to find out the shortcomings and potential risks in the debate and then debate them.

Lu Kang also used the methods of the big families as examples, and several times he even almost stumped Zhong Hui with his questions.

It was the first time that Cao Mao had seen such a debate, and he watched it with great interest.

Zhong Hui kept recording these contents, and finally, even Cao Mao couldn't help but join in their debate.

The men talked like this for an unknown amount of time. When it was almost dark, Zhong Hui suddenly said, "Your Majesty, I think it is time to proceed."

"The faster this is done, the greater the benefits!"

Cao Mao was stunned, then looked at the other two.

Zhang Hua also spoke at this moment: "Your Majesty, I believe it can be carried out. During these days, Minister Zhong will check for any deficiencies and fill in the gaps, so there shouldn't be too much risk. If there are any flaws after implementation, there are ways to remedy them."

Both men agreed.

Lu Kang was a little hesitant. It wasn't that he disagreed with abolishing the head tax, but he felt that the two people in front of him were a little hasty.

Is it true that a policy with such an impact should be implemented after only a few days of discussion?

The people of Wei treat governing the country like child's play!
Cao Mao spoke up, "Well, if we hesitate about everything, how can we create a prosperous era? If anything goes wrong, we can fix it later, Shi Ji!"

"Chen is here!"

"It's up to you to do this, and get it done as soon as possible!"

"If anything goes wrong, you'll be responsible!"

What Cao Mao said was very unpleasant, but Zhong Hui was not displeased at all. On the contrary, he was very happy.

He quickly saluted again, "Your Majesty, I will definitely accomplish this and will never let Your Majesty down!"

Lu Kang was completely speechless now.

Everyone says they are no longer afraid of hidden dangers, so what else can I say?

Then let’s do it!

(End of this chapter)