The prince is more stable

Chapter 927 A Death to Stop It
The quarrel between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager was a secret within the palace, and the news did not spread.

But behind closed doors, the Emperor had already begun taking action against the Empress Dowager.

In the following days, Zhao Xiaoqian spent all his time with Di Ying, ignoring the opposition from the court. While the outside world was in an uproar, the inner palace remained peaceful.

Besides accompanying Di Ying, Zhao Xiaoqian also accompanied Zhao Hao. In the past few days, he took Zhao Hao to wander around everywhere. Zhao Hao's personality became more and more adventurous, and his courage grew.

Later, he even dared to climb the white jade railing outside the Daqing Hall and jump down, almost two stories high. Zheng Chunhe and a group of eunuchs and palace maids following behind were terrified. Fortunately, Zhao Xiaoqian caught him in time.

Unharmed, Zhao Hao continued to grin carefree, while Zheng Chunhe was nearly paralyzed with fear, kneeling on the ground, pale-faced, muttering incessantly about ancestral blessings and divine intervention.

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled by Zhao Hao's dangerous behavior, and then slapped him hard on the buttocks without hesitation, giving him a stern warning not to climb so high, or else he would be slapped hard.

It's unclear whether Zhao Hao understood or not, but after crying and howling a few times, he behaved himself for a few days and didn't do anything dangerous again.

Winter was approaching, and the weather in Bianjing was getting colder and colder. Located in the plains of the Central Plains, the winter was not only dry but also colder than in the south.

Bianjing was not surrounded by mountains, so there was no way to stop the cold air. In those days, cotton and other products were not yet widely available and were very precious luxuries. Therefore, in winter, there were hardly any pedestrians on the streets of Bianjing, as everyone stayed indoors to keep warm.

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, Zhao Xiaoqian sat with his legs crossed, facing Zhang Dun, Su Zhe, Cai Bian, and others. The expressions on everyone's faces were grim, but Zhao Xiaoqian remained calm, showing neither joy nor sorrow.

Before the crowd, Zheng Chaozong, the new head of the government, was holding a lengthy document and reading the terms aloud to the prime ministers.

This is the result of the recent discussions within the new policy department. The lengthy document actually contains very little information and can be described as quite simple.

It contains various data and current situations to demonstrate the necessity of the Song Dynasty's implementation of the Fangtian Equal Taxation Law.

The "Equal Taxation Law for the Fields" was proposed by Wang Anshi and was one of the main contents of the New Policies.

Before Zhao Xiaoqian, the imperial court had implemented similar policies.

Yes, it was once implemented, but only for a short period of time.

As early as the reign of Emperor Renzong, an official named Guo Zi proposed to the court the "equal taxation of land".

Guo Zi was the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review at the time. One of his friends, Yang Xie, was the Transport Commissioner of Hebei Circuit. At that time, he discovered that although Hebei was clearly a land of fish and rice with vast plains and arable land, the taxes collected by the court were pitifully small, which was seriously inconsistent with the actual amount of land in Hebei.

As the transport commissioner, Yang Xie had a KPI to collect local grain taxes. If he failed to collect them, he would be punished. When Yang Xie was worried, his friend Guo Zi offered to help.

After Guo Zi went down to the local area and conducted on-site investigations, he discovered that local powerful landlords colluded with officials to seize land and conceal the actual amount of land they owned in order to evade taxes. The phenomenon was very serious.

Therefore, Guo Zi submitted a memorial to the court, explaining the actual situation to Emperor Renzong. Emperor Renzong immediately issued an edict ordering Guo Zi to investigate and handle the matter.

After arriving in the area, Guo Zi directly mobilized the power of the government, completely ignoring the local government's registration of local land, and went directly to the area to actually measure the land.

The amount of land levied should correspond to the amount of tax levied, regardless of who the landowner was. All land belonging to the imperial court must be taxed to the imperial court.

Guo Zi used this method, starting with Hebei Road, and then spreading it to various parts of Hebei.

The effect was obvious: the amount of grain tax collected in Hebei that year was many times more than in previous years, and the imperial treasury inexplicably made a fortune.

Thus, Guo Zi's proposal of "equal taxation on land" was remembered by the court officials at the time, especially by Wang Anshi.

Later, in the fifth year of Emperor Shenzong's Xining reign, Wang Anshi presided over the reform and included Guo Zi's "equal taxation of land" in the new reform policies.

After the implementation of the equal land tax policy, within just a few years, the imperial court discovered that powerful local landlords in the five circuits surrounding the capital had concealed more than 2.48 million hectares of land.

Remember the unit: "顷" (qǐng), not "亩" (mǔ).

This is only the number of hidden fields discovered in the capital region; if this were extended to the entire country, the number would likely be even more staggering.

Unfortunately, this new policy ultimately failed to be implemented nationwide.

It affected the interests of too many people. After Wang Anshi finished investigating the capital region, he was met with fierce backlash from powerful landlords across the country who swore to oppose it to the death. Finally, the Fangtian Equal Tax Law was abolished by Emperor Shenzong in the eighth year of the Yuanfeng era.

In the years that followed, the "equal taxation of the land area" was abolished and reinstated several times. Even now, after Zhang Dun became prime minister, although the new policies are still nominally being implemented, the equal taxation of the land area, as the most important clause of the new policies, is no longer mentioned or touched by anyone.

At this moment, Zheng Chaozong stood before the Emperor and the prime ministers, holding a manuscript and speaking eloquently.

Zheng Chaozong's analysis of problems was insightful, and he dared to speak the truth.

Although the truth was unpleasant to hear, and the faces of the prime ministers present were as black as if they had been splashed with ink, Zheng Chaozong ignored their ugly expressions and continued to speak slowly and firmly.

"...The so-called 'square field equal tax' method is actually divided into two parts: one is 'square field' and the other is 'equal tax'. 'Square field' refers to measuring and investigating the actual acreage of local land, and 'equal tax' refers to dividing the local land into five grades, with different taxes paid to the court according to the grade."

Ignoring the expressions of the prime ministers, Zheng Chaozong looked up and stared directly at Zhao Xiaoqian.

"Your Majesty, when Mr. Jie Fu presided over the reform, he investigated the land area of ​​the five prefectures and counties in the capital region and found more than 2.48 million hectares of hidden land, which increased the revenue of the imperial treasury several times over. I will not mention this matter for now." "What I want to say is that after the implementation of the land area tax system in the fifth year of Xining, local governments all have documents on file, saying that 'most of the displaced people who lost their land in the five prefectures and counties in the capital region have returned to their hometowns and regained their land to cultivate.'"

"Your Majesty, I believe that the purpose of implementing the new policies is not only to increase the national treasury's annual revenue, but more importantly, to ensure that the people and farmers of the world have land to cultivate and food to eat."

"As you all know, the result of the implementation of the equal land tax policy back then was that a large number of displaced people returned to their hometowns, regained their land, and began to work hard to cultivate it."

"Therefore, the equal taxation of the land is clearly a policy of great benevolence and virtue, which is of great benefit to the Song Dynasty and its people. Why do you gentlemen turn a blind eye to this and deliberately condone the opposition of the court officials to this law? I am young and do not know the answer. I wonder if any of you gentlemen here are willing to enlighten me?"

These words were sharp and pointed. Everyone's expression grew increasingly grim, including Zhang Dun's, with many turning ashen-faced.

Zhao Xiaoqian sat at the head of the political hall, his expression calm and his face as still as water, his sharp eyes occasionally sweeping over the people present.

Presenting facts, reasoning, and data makes the result obvious.

Truth is truth, and it can withstand anyone's questioning and refutation; it remains irrefutable.

The reason why the entire court is now opposed is not because they cannot distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, but because they, their families, and the vast and complex network of interests behind them are deeply entangled in it and cannot extricate themselves.

Inside the Hall of State Affairs, Zheng Chaozong sat down alone after finishing his speech, and the hall was deathly silent.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked around at everyone, his gaze landing on Zhang Dun. He smiled and said, "Mr. Zihou, reason becomes clear through debate. If you have any objections, please feel free to speak them. As the saying goes, 'Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened.' I am more willing to hear different opinions."

Zhang Dun remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "I have nothing to say. If Your Majesty wishes to implement the Equal Taxation Law for Land Survey, I... will not object."

After a pause, Zhang Dun continued, "But I do not object, however, I am outnumbered and powerless, and I simply cannot suppress the opposition of the entire court..."

Zhao Xiaoqian's smile gradually froze and turned cold.

They say they don't oppose it, but in reality, they don't want to support it. They dare not openly oppose it, so they choose inaction.

At this moment, Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but have the idea of ​​resigning as prime minister.

If the prime minister and the emperor cannot be of one mind, what is the point of keeping the prime minister? Is he just causing trouble for himself?

The atmosphere between the emperor and his minister remained tense. Zhang Dun sat beside Zhao Xiaoqian and felt a chill run down his spine. Although there was no wind in the hall, he felt a sense of dread, and the hairs on his arms stood on end.

Unable to resist turning to look at Zhao Xiaoqian, she saw him with his eyes lowered in thought, his face grim, and an unfathomable light gleaming in his eyes.

Zhang Dun shuddered; he now finally understood where that inexplicable chill had come from.

The Emperor is extremely disappointed in him as Prime Minister, and he fears that he himself will lose his position as Prime Minister!

Zhang Dun was anxious and was about to say something to salvage the situation when suddenly hurried footsteps came from outside the hall. A pale-faced eunuch rushed in and bowed to Zhao Xiaoqian.

"Your Majesty, something has happened."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced up and said calmly, "Speak."

"Half an hour ago, Shi Zhongxian, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, knelt and bowed outside the gate of Yanfu Palace for a long time. Taking advantage of the guards' inattention, he suddenly stood up and smashed his head against the palace gate. Shi Zhongxian died on the spot!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone present was shocked. Zhang Dun was so frightened that he stood up abruptly, staring at the eunuch who had brought the news with a livid face.

The others also stood up, letting out cries of alarm, and then looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Vice Minister of Revenue was a third-rank official in the imperial court, a position that could be described as high in rank and with great power.

The fact that a third-rank official could so decisively smash his head against the palace gate and die without saying a word was extremely offensive and a truly shocking event!

Zhao Xiaoqian's eyelids twitched, but he remained seated and said calmly, "Can you find out why Shi Zhongxian rammed his head against the palace gate?"

The eunuch lowered his head, took out a letter from his bosom, and said tremblingly, "This is a letter that the Imperial Guards found on his body. It should be Shi Zhongxian's last will and testament."

Zhao Xiaoqian beckoned: "Let me see."

The letter was handed to Zhao Xiaoqian, who quickly unfolded it and scanned it, his face as gloomy as the sky before a storm.

After reading it, Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly sneered several times and said, "Good, very good! When his memorial to stop me failed, he directly threatened me with his life, good!"

"I really want to know how deep the water is here, and how dirty the heart is, that a third-rank official would risk his life just to tarnish my reputation and force me to compromise!"

"However, the death of one person may not be enough. If they come in droves to ram the palace gates, I might be afraid. Gentlemen, should we quietly persuade the court officials to let a few more die?"

(End of this chapter)