I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 210 The gentry pay taxes together and the land tax is integrated into the poll tax system.
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"The sun shines on you, but not on me!"

If others had said this, such as Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan, or Yelü Yanxi, Zhao Yu would have simply smiled dismissively.

However, since it was Li Qianshun who said this, Zhao Yu dared not be so arrogant.

A powerful enemy is worthy of respect. The stronger he is, the stronger you will be when you defeat him.

Li Qianshun, a historical figure, ascended the throne at the age of three and took personal control of the government at the age of sixteen after overthrowing the Liang clan. Under his diligent rule, the Western Xia state became powerful, politically stable, and its social economy developed well.

During the reign of Li Qianshun in Western Xia, the period encompassed the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty. At the same time, the Liao Dynasty also fell, and the Jin Dynasty dominated the entire north.

At that time, the Western Xia was not powerful, and it almost got conquered by the Northern Song Dynasty.

However, Li Qianshun managed to weather the most dangerous period by skillfully maneuvering and forming alliances, allowing the Western Xia to continue. He also seized a large amount of territory from the Northern Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, developing the weak Western Xia into its most prosperous period. By maintaining close ties with the Southern Song Dynasty, he deterred the greedy, cunning, and cruel Jurchens, thus securing a long period of peace and development for the Western Xia.

Subsequently, Li Qianshun gradually severed ties with the Southern Song Dynasty.

Crucially, during that period, the Western Xia and the Jin Dynasty did not have a defined border in the Shaanxi region. Although the Jin Dynasty repeatedly broke its promises to them regarding some territories, which greatly angered the Western Xia people, under Li Qianshun's strong strategic resolve, the Western Xia managed to survive the Jin Dynasty's most powerful period and passed on a relatively stable, relatively powerful Western Xia with a favorable external political environment to his son.

Li Qianshun was undoubtedly an outstanding monarch and a top-notch politician of Western Xia.

Even Zhang Chun gave Li Qianshun the evaluation of "wise and intelligent, cautious in handling affairs, and a good ruler who can maintain the status quo".

If Li Ganshun hadn't encountered the overpowered Zhao Yu, things would have been much better.

Moreover, Li Qianshun inherited the Western Xia, a nation whose strength had been almost exhausted by the machinations of the two Liang empresses, especially the younger one.

While the Zhao Song dynasty inherited by Zhao Yu also had many problems, it must be said that Zhao Xu and his ministers had indeed driven the Western Xia into a corner.

Li Qianshun's ally was Yelü Yanxi, one of the most notorious tyrants in history.

Zhao Yu should not have been able to defeat Li Qianshun and destroy Western Xia so easily.

Therefore, it is understandable that Li Qianshun would say something like, "The sun shines on you but not on me," which clearly shows his unwillingness to admit defeat.

Unexpectedly, while Zhao Yu could understand Li Ganshun, all the civil and military officials in the court stepped forward to refute him:
"Summer insects talk about ice. The Li family were originally Song officials, but Li Jiqian was fickle and betrayed the Song, surrendering to the Liao and harassing the borders. He used his power for personal gain, instigating wars that caused immense suffering to the people. Li Yuanhao was cruel and ambitious, and in his later years, he indulged in wine and women, deposing his empress and killing his son, leading to palace strife. After assuming power, Li Liangzuo became unrestrained, having affairs with the wives of ministers and engaging in reckless military campaigns. The Da Liang clan monopolized power, excluding dissidents and engaging in reckless military campaigns, causing tension between Western Xia and our Great Song and damaging the country's strength. The Xiao Liang clan followed their aunt's example, controlling the court and frequently launching wars against our Great Song, plunging Western Xia into a predicament of internal and external troubles. The rise and fall of Western Xia was not solely determined by fate, but was truly a product of human actions!"

"As the ancient saying goes, 'Those who follow the will of Heaven prosper, and those who defy it perish.' The Li family's perverse actions, attempting to resist our great celestial dynasty with a mere border region, are utterly absurd. If it weren't for its remote location, strategic terrain, and the support of the Liao Kingdom, our Great Song Dynasty would have already annihilated it."

"The Li family's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and the continuation of their dynasty was merely a matter of chance, not their own ability. Moreover, our Great Song Dynasty has been under the wise leadership of His Majesty, who has rectified the court, worked diligently to govern, and gradually increased the national treasury, strengthened the army, and ensured that the people live in peace and prosperity. As facts have proven, the recovery of Western Xia is just a matter of His Majesty's time. How could Li Qianshun, a defeated general, possibly not be convinced? His statement, 'The sun shines on you but not on me,' is nothing but a desperate struggle, an attempt to use the idea of ​​divine mandate to cover up his incompetence."

"..."

The court officials, one after another, expressed their contempt for the Western Xia, their confidence in the Song Dynasty, and their praise for Zhao Yu.

Gradually, more and more people began to sing praises to Zhao Yu.

Moreover, many ministers genuinely praised Zhao Yu from the bottom of their hearts.

In fact, the praise and adulation of Zhao Yu is not a recent phenomenon. From the moment Zhao Yu led his army in triumph, the entire Song Dynasty, from top to bottom, sang his praises and even engaged in a large-scale personality cult.

This made Zhao Yu realize why so many rulers were keen on launching wars, and even preferred to personally lead them into battle.

Indeed, the power of any ruler in history is not only granted by bloodline and status, but also by the prestige accumulated in reality, and the fastest way to accumulate prestige is to establish military merit.

The reason why Qin Shi Huang became the first emperor of all time in Chinese history is that he unified the six kingdoms and established the Qin Empire.

During the war to overthrow the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang was always the main force in leading the army. In the process of conquering Chu, although Han Xin was more capable, Liu Bang was still the absolute main force. After the establishment of the Han Empire, Liu Bang personally led the troops in every war to quell rebellions. It is not difficult to see that Liu Bang's empire was also built by his own hands.

Then there's Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che. His life has always been full of controversy, but it is precisely because he built the most powerful Han Dynasty, forged the backbone of the Chinese people, and created the great Han Empire and the Han people, which is said to be "a nation that is usually destroyed by weakness, but only the Han Dynasty perished because of strength," that he has always been one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history.

Li Shimin needs no introduction. During Li Yuan's uprising in Taiyuan and his campaign towards Chang'an, Li Shimin was a key figure, sweeping across the Wei River region. After establishing the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin successively eliminated warlords such as Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and Liu Heita. In fact, more than half of the Tang Empire's territory was conquered by Li Shimin. This is the foundation upon which Li Shimin was able to launch the Xuanwu Gate Incident and become Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Compared to the unified dynasties before it, the Song Dynasty really didn't have any outstanding emperors. Even its founding emperor, Zhao Kuangyin, simply seized the throne from a widow and her orphan.

Finally, it was Zhao Yu's turn. He recovered the Western Xia, which had been lost for nearly a century, eliminating the biggest obstacle to the Song Dynasty. He also personally led an expedition, defeating the Liao Dynasty, which had always been divided between the north and south of the Song Dynasty. Not only did he recover the annual tribute that the Liao Dynasty had extorted for over a century, but he also recovered eleven of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, which previous Song emperors had failed to reclaim. Even so, Zhao Yu was still prudent, not wanting to drag the Song Dynasty into the abyss of war, and wanting to proceed gradually. Otherwise, it is possible that Zhao Yu would have recovered all sixteen prefectures of Yan and Yun in one fell swoop, and then also captured Pingluan Camp, thus completing the unification of the country.

Without a doubt, Zhao Yu was the most militarily accomplished emperor of the Song Dynasty, and the one most likely to become a great emperor in history, comparable to or even surpassing Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang.

It's no wonder that Zhao Yu's prestige is at its zenith, reaching for the heavens. Everyone in the court and the countryside admires his bravery and wisdom, praises his military prowess, and even the common people talk about how Zhao Yu deploys troops, appoints capable people, and strategizes to win battles from afar.

Such a Zhao Yu could naturally ignore Li Ganshun's dissatisfaction, especially since Li Ganshun had already been defeated and had no chance of making a comeback.

So Zhao Yu sat on the dragon throne, watched the commotion with a deep gaze for a while, and then gestured for Zhao Yu to put down his hand.

In an instant, the hall fell silent.

Zhao Yu glanced at Li Ganshun, who remained silent, seemingly too lazy to argue with the ministers for the sake of his monarchy, and also seemed to be waiting for his death. He said casually, "I have changed my mind. Given the many evils of your Li family, to punish them with the axe would be to condone their wickedness. Hmm... Your entire Li family should be imprisoned until there is no one left in the clan. This will both atone for their crimes and demonstrate the might of Heaven, serving as a warning to others."

Death is easy; even the most severe form of torture only causes a few days of suffering before eternal release.

Imprisonment, however, is a long and cruel form of torture. It deprives people of their freedom, causing them to exhaust their lives in endless waiting and despair, especially for Li Qianshun and the Li clan of Western Xia, who had once enjoyed a life of high status and wealth. This fall from grace, imprisoned in a dark and hopeless cell, waiting day after day, year after year, for their own death and the extinction of their family bloodline, is undoubtedly a punishment more cruel than death itself.

Some ministers felt sorry for Li Qianshun and the Li family of Western Xia and wanted to ask Zhao Yu to give them a quick death. However, when they thought about what the Li family of Western Xia had done, they could understand why Zhao Yu would make them suffer a fate worse than death.

Other ministers felt that Zhao Yu was too merciful and lenient, not only not to execute Li Qianshun and the Li family of Western Xia, but also to spend money to support them.

Whether they thought Zhao Yu was too cruel or too lenient, no one stood up to oppose him on this trivial matter.

The Song Dynasty has now completely conquered Western Xia. Moreover, the Song Dynasty has used swift and even ruthless methods to eliminate almost all of Western Xia's high-ranking officials, nobles, wealthy families, and powerful merchants. They have also freed all of Western Xia's slaves. This has left the Li family of Western Xia without a foundation for rule. Even if they were to escape back to Western Xia, they would not be able to cause much trouble.

Therefore, whether Li Qianshun and the Li family of Western Xia are alive or dead is no longer important.

Of course, this only applies to the ministers of the Zhao Song Dynasty.

For Li Qianshun, who still fantasized about becoming King Goujian of Yue, as long as he could live, there was hope, even if that hope was as small as a firefly's light flickering in the endless darkness, he would never give up.

Li Qianshun immediately changed his previous defiance, knelt down before Zhao Yu with a thud, and bowed three times and nine times, saying, "Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty. This sinful subject and his entire clan are deeply grateful to Your Majesty!"

Zhao Yu disliked hearing lies. He knew perfectly well that Li Qianshun was trying to emulate King Goujian of Yue, enduring hardship and biding his time to turn the tide. Furthermore, he was acutely aware that despite Li Qianshun's sweet words, he secretly wished he could be torn to pieces.

"I don't care if you want to be Goujian, but don't expect me to be Fuchai. I'm not killing you all, but only because if I did, the women in your families would have no one to hold them back, and then I wouldn't be able to get my hands on these fiery women, like Yelü Nanxian who dared to starve herself to death..."

Zhao Yu waved his hand dismissively, ordering someone to take Li Qianshun away.

After Li Qianshun left, Zhao Yu glanced subtly at a young remonstrating official at the very end of the remonstrance procession, a man who looked to be in his early twenties.

When the young remonstrating official saw Zhao Yu looking at him without any reaction, he suddenly stepped forward and said in a deep voice when the eunuch shouted, "If you have something to say, speak now; if not, leave the court."

Chen Gongfu, a historical figure, entered officialdom after winning first place in the Shangshe examination (at that time, the Northern Song Dynasty once adopted the "three-stage" examination system, with "Shangshe" being the highest level examination, and the first place winner being equivalent to the Zhuangyuan in the Jinshi examination; the "Zhuangyuan Pond" next to his former residence was named after this).

Soon, Chen Gongfu became an official in the Censorate. He was upright and outspoken, and he did not give face to many high-ranking officials and even prime ministers who were favored by the emperor, such as Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Zhu Mian, Li Bangyan, Wu Min, Li Gang, and Zhao Ding. He even dared to criticize Wang Anshi when the New Party was in power. He can definitely be described as someone who upholds integrity, speaks frankly and honestly, and does not act according to others' opinions.

Zhao Yu thought to himself, 'This minister is truly a minister. He's only in his early twenties, yet so composed. Excellent, excellent. Only someone like him could accomplish such great things.'

Zhao Yu put aside his distracting thoughts and asked, "What do you wish to report?"

Chen Gongfu said loudly: "Your subject Chen Gongfu is truly humbled and respectfully submits this memorial requesting the reform of the tax system and the equalization of taxes and corvée labor:

The Book of Documents states, "The people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is firm, the state is at peace." However, the current abuses of land tax are alarming. Seven-tenths of the land in the empire belongs to nobles and gentry, who, either through patronage or force, hoard fertile land and conceal their ownership, resulting in landowners being exempt from taxes and landless people paying taxes. The taxable land recorded in the county and prefectural registers is only two or three-tenths of the total. The imperial court's annual revenue has drastically decreased, while the common people suffer from heavy levies. This is truly a grave threat to the nation!
Your Majesty, I humbly propose the implementation of a policy of "equal taxation for all officials and gentry": all members of the imperial family, nobles, and gentry shall pay taxes on their land according to the same regulations as ordinary households, without any preferential treatment or exemptions; a special department shall be established to verify the acreage, using a fish-scale map as the basis, to prevent the concealment of land and tax evasion. In this way, taxes will be equitable, the court's finances will be sufficient, and the people's burden will be light, truly a way to strengthen the foundation of the nation and nourish its people.

Even worse, the current poll tax system is riddled with problems. The poll tax is levied per household, making having children a burden for poor families, leading to infanticide, abandonment, or even family exodus, resulting in population decline and a growing number of migrants. Furthermore, wealthy households can buy offspring, while the poor have no offspring to sell, exacerbating the unequal distribution of taxes. This system not only fails to replenish the national treasury but has become a sharp blade harming the people's livelihood!
Therefore, I earnestly request the implementation of the "equalization of poll tax and land tax": the poll tax will be incorporated into the land tax collection, regardless of the number of poll households, and tax will be calculated solely based on the amount of land owned. In this way, the burden on landless poor people will be relieved, while wealthy households with more land will be taxed more heavily. This aligns with the principle of "taxation according to ability to pay," and also encourages land reclamation and stabilizes displaced people. Furthermore, the simplified tax collection process will prevent corrupt officials from extorting money, allowing the people to live and work in peace and contentment, naturally enriching the national treasury.

"Your Majesty is now wise and powerful. If you can resolutely implement reforms, you will surely achieve fair taxation, win the hearts of the people, and restore the prosperous era..."

……

(End of this chapter)