The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 729 When you have ambition
May, the second year of Ganlu.

Cao Wei issued a second important decree that was no less important than the Land Rewarding Decree, namely the Land Tax Equalization Law.

Zhong Hui first determined the amount of head tax this year. He used the oral calculation of the second year of Ganlu as a fixed value, and then spread this fixed value evenly over the land tax, which was calculated based on the area of arable land owned.

The government officially announced the abolition of the head tax.

This immediately caused an uproar in the world.

This is the first time someone has wanted to break this rule since Emperor Xiaowu of the Western Han Dynasty began to levy a head tax on the people.

There was a lot of discussion within the court and the country.

Everyone believes that this policy is unsustainable.

There were also many discussions about this matter in the Imperial College.

After all, this moment is different from later generations, and the situation at this moment is different from any other time. The powerful people in the Wei and Jin Dynasties are actually not very strong, because there is someone who is more ruthless than them.

These powerful people are the gentry and landlords in later generations.

Those aristocratic families would basically be great nobles in later generations, such as dukes and princes, and they were different from gentry.

The relationship between the powerful and the aristocratic families is also very delicate.

The powerful must bow to the aristocratic families before they can bully the common people, and the aristocratic families will come out from time to time to attack the powerful. In the eyes of the aristocratic families, those local powerful people are actually no different from ordinary people, they are just bigger bugs.

A large amount of arable land in the world is concentrated in the hands of the aristocratic families, and even the powerful cannot escape the fate of being exploited by the aristocratic families.

According to this system, after the losses were shared equally, the biggest losers were the big families, followed by the powerful.

But the aristocratic families no longer had any objections to this.

After the government took action against the powerful families several times in a row, the powerful families in the world have become very obedient.

Just as Liu Yi said, Cao Mao relied entirely on his personal power to force these things forward.

The big families were all afraid of Cao Mao. Even if Cao Mao started to mobilize troops to slaughter the big families one by one, these people would basically have no power to fight back.

In the face of feudal imperial power, everything is nothing.

There have been emperors who were even crazier than this, and some even had a good end.

Especially as the founding emperor of a unified country, no one would dare to stand up and cry out even if everyone was slaughtered.

What they have to consider now is not how to go against the emperor, but how to avoid attracting the emperor's attention.

If a powerful official wants to deal with a powerful family, he has to abide by the rules. However, if the emperor wants to take action, he can break the rules. At most, he can say that he killed the wrong person after killing him. So what?

For the emperor, even his right-hand man and minister who had made great achievements could be taken out and killed at any time without causing any rebellion.

The emperor has never been a player under the rules, he is the referee, no, he is the one who makes the rules.

The big families did not dare to resist, and as for those small landlords, that is, the powerful ones, there is no need to say more. They just have to protect themselves from the anger of the families first.

At this moment, Cao Mao was sitting in the East Hall with a smile on his face, playing chess with Sima Yan.

Sima Yan liked playing chess, and Cao Mao also liked playing chess.

The two of them often sat together and played.

The advantage of having many capable ministers under your command is that you don't have to do everything yourself.

At first, Cao Mao's workload was very heavy and he had no time to rest all day long.

But after adding many outstanding talents, Cao Mao's life finally became much more relaxed.

The memorials and memorials were handled by many officials of the Shizhongtai. The powerful system of eunuchs could greatly reduce the pressure and workload of the king.

Sima Yan was very curious about the new decree at this moment.

While playing chess, he started chatting with Cao Mao.

"There will be no more poll tax from now on?"

“Yes, it’s no longer levied.”

"But this poll tax accounts for more than half of the national revenue. If it is abolished, can the national treasury still survive?"

Sima Yan looked very curious.

Cao Mao laughed. "It's enough, it's enough. In fact, there's plenty of arable land in the world. Even during the wars, there was still plenty of arable land. It was always insufficient because there were too many insects."

Cao Mao, playing chess, said without looking up, "I can't say we've eliminated the insects, but we've made sure they don't dare suck blood openly."

"Besides, if the national treasury really can't bear it, then we can just confiscate the property. Look at Shu, the national treasury can double its value with just one confiscation. If it were in the Central Plains, I wouldn't even dare to think about it."

Sima Yan's hands trembled as he played chess.

He looked at Cao Mao in astonishment and couldn't help asking, "But these people in the Central Plains are all the minister's family members, and they are all our acquaintances. How could we have the heart to attack them?"

Only then did Cao Mao look up at him.

"You treat them as acquaintances and relatives, but what about them?"

"I am not only their king, I am also the king of all people in the world." "If I forgive them just because they are related to me, what about the people they have bullied? Can I bear to watch them being persecuted?"

Sima Yan hesitated for a long time before saying, "I'm afraid you'll be angry if I tell you this, but I've been to the local area and seen that the tenants of the wealthy families live better than the farmers. When the wealthy families wanted to drive the tenants away, they were very reluctant to leave and cried and begged to stay."

"The people who objected most to your land reward order were the tenants who were released."

Cao Mao nodded. "Of course. They were suddenly forced to work, and they still had to pay the head tax and support their families. It would be strange if they didn't object."

"As for you saying they're living better, it's because the big clans didn't let them starve or freeze to death, right?"

"The powerful families keep their tenants like livestock. In their eyes, these people are not their own kind, but pigs and dogs. If the current system continues just because they haven't starved to death, the powerful families will turn everyone into pigs and dogs."

"Until one day, the pigs and dogs couldn't bear it any longer and started to fight back, devouring these so-called masters completely, leaving not even a bone or scrap behind."

Sima Yan shuddered as he imagined the scene.

"Now, by turning them into farmers with their own land, the powerful families will be curbed. Their current lives may not be as secure as when they were tenants, but in the future, their families may have the opportunity to change their fate and not be killed at will. They can accumulate wealth, and when the world prospers, they can also benefit from it."

Cao Mao looked at Sima Yan again, "What do you think?"

Sima Yan just shook his head, "I don't know."

"Yes, you don't know, my reputation now is probably that of a tyrant outside. What did they say when I exempted the head tax this time?"

Sima Yan glanced at him and said, "They say you are greedy for fame. Previously, you engaged in wars and campaigns everywhere to show your prestige. Now, you are recklessly abolishing the poll tax to show your benevolence, but this has shaken the foundation of the country. They say you are a king like the First Emperor."

Cao Mao burst into laughter. "That's pretty much what I thought."

"In the Imperial College?"

"No, in a new tavern."

"As soon as they finished saying this, people from the Censorate came over and took them away."

"They are all acquaintances, sons of ministers. One of them is the eldest son of the He Sikong family. He was previously dismissed from office for excessive extravagance and violation of the law."

Cao Mao glared at Sima Yan and said, "Then you'll just listen to them scolding me, right?"

Sima Yan was very confused, "They are also acquaintances."

This is why Sima Yan could not be a good emperor. He was indeed a generous person, and it must have been a very comfortable thing to be his minister or relative, but it was hard to say to be his common people.

At the end of the game, Sima Yan lost to Cao Mao again.

As his attendants were clearing away the chessboard, Sima Yan suddenly said, "I've signed up for this year's imperial examination."

"what???"

Cao Mao raised his head.

This was the second unbelievable news he had heard in the past few days.

The news that Zhong Hui and Zhang Hua will discuss countermeasures together is almost here.

"You want to take the imperial examination?"

Sima Yan said seriously, "Because of my father's incident, I was stripped of my official title and am now a commoner. It is only because of your majesty's favor that I am allowed to enter and leave the palace. Over the years, I have read a lot of books in the palace, and I think I have a good understanding of the classics."

"So I want to participate in this imperial examination to prove my ability!"

"I want to be an official on my own!"

Sima Yan said this with a solemn oath.

Cao Mao rubbed his forehead and said, "If you can pass, it will be fine. If you fail, you will be humiliated."

Sima Yan, who had been solemn just now, suddenly collapsed. He said bitterly, "Yes, Zhuge Liang failed to pass and was almost beaten to death by his father. I regretted it after signing up this time and don't want to go, but I have already told everyone in the world that I will participate."

"What do you think of my sudden illness?"

"not so good!"

"Anshi, your clan has made grave mistakes in the past. If you truly wish to make amends and prove that not all of your clan members are evil, then do not be afraid!"

"Study hard, then take the test. If you don't pass, wait until the next time!"

"Those in the court who govern the country are not afraid of failure and setbacks and dare to act directly. Why are you so hesitant when taking the imperial examination?"

"Don't play chess with me anymore. Go back and read your book!"

"In the next assessment, I will absolutely not help you, nor will I allow anyone to show favoritism. It all depends on your own ability. If you can reach the position of candidate official, I will personally appoint you as an official. Don't you also have the ambition to be like Zhuge Liang, assisting the Holy King and building great achievements?"

"Isn't this your best chance? You're still young. Hua Yi started his career at almost 40, and now he's already the Minister of State! Why are you hesitating?!"

Cao Mao's words seemed to give Sima Yan a shot of adrenaline.

Sima Yan stood up suddenly and said, "I must rely on my own abilities to achieve great things!"

ps: I recommend two friends' books. The first one is "Three Kingdoms: Starting from the Breakthrough of Jieting". The title is obvious. Friends who want to see the revival of Shu Han should not miss it. The other one is "The Era of High Martial Arts", an old author with tens of thousands of subscriptions. The author is an urban high-martial arts genius. Friends who like this book can go and have a look.

I wrote too much this month and my hands started to hurt again. I'll apply some medicine first. Don't worry, I'll keep updating this month.

(End of this chapter)