The Sage of Confucianism and Taoism

Chapter 2489 Crying for poverty

The former has the Palace of Punishment and is well-known as a teacher, but it imposes commercial taxes without the name of justice, so it will inevitably face many difficulties.

Commercial tax reform is far more difficult than judicial reform.

Because business taxes take food from the mouths of various families and even aristocratic families in Jingguo.

With the current taxation methods and financial situation of Jingguo, if there is no commercial tax reform, it will not survive for five years.

However, if commercial tax reform is implemented improperly, it is likely that it will not last three years.

Before Fang Yun, neither the reform of the bureaucracy nor the reform of the judiciary touched the fundamental interests of the various forces, but the commercial and tax reform was different. It was poking out the hearts and minds of the major forces.

Without sufficient exchange of interests, the major forces will inevitably not give up.

In Shengyuan Continent, the real big businessmen are all scholars. Either these big businessmen themselves are big families, or they have promising, wealthy or aristocratic families behind them.

Increasing taxes actually means taking money out of the pockets of Jingguo’s scholars.

This is far more difficult than emptying imperial power.

After all, the Saints Family is among them.

Therefore, this time Fang Yun did not push forward forcefully like reforming the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the judiciary. Instead, he first established the General Department of Taxation and completed the structure and system of this department before doing anything else.

The establishment of the General Administration of Taxation did not attract much attention, because on the surface it only clarified taxation, increased tax personnel, and ensured smooth tax collection. This did not touch the core interests of any force.

During the construction of the General Administration of Taxation, Fang Yun held a summer cultural party and invited all the aristocratic families, wealthy families and powerful forces in Jingguo to participate.

Fang Yun also has the status of a scholar, so this kind of literary meeting is not taboo, but the people invited are too special, and they immediately become the focus of the whole country.

Fang Yun specially invited the heads of the major families in Jingguo.

Fang Yun is a virtual saint of the human race, the left prime minister of a country, and his status has long surpassed that of ordinary family heads. Therefore, all the families in Jingguo attach great importance to him. Except for a few family heads who cannot be present, all the family heads bring their family elites with them. Some families specially select the most beautiful girls from their own families to participate in the cultural gathering.

Fang Yun invited Chen Mingding, the head of the Chen family, to host this literary gathering. Moreover, this literary gathering was not much different from an ordinary literary gathering. It was nothing more than reciting poems, composing poems, and playing with pots.

Many people were a little disappointed. They thought Fang Yun would announce some big event. Later they speculated that this was Fang Yun's use of the Wenhui to communicate with various forces in Jingguo. It had no far-reaching significance and was just an expression of Fang Yun's attitude.

Zuo Xiang is willing to share the world with scholars.

Near the end, Fang Yun finally came to the forefront.

Fang Yun's first words made everyone confused.

Fang Yun let out a long sigh and said, "Oh, it's really hard to be the left prime minister!"

Everyone looked at Fang Yun dumbfounded, especially some of the beautifully dressed women, and they were even full of disappointment. They did not expect that Fang Yun would bring up such a topic at the cultural meeting.

Fang Yun ignored everyone and continued to complain.

"Look at this spring garden. When I came back last time, the grass and trees were only green, but now they are extremely lush and the lotus flowers are blooming. Only then did I realize that I have not returned for several months. The position of the left prime minister looks beautiful, In fact It's difficult to move. There is the Holy Court above, the Palace of Punishment is suppressing it, and the Hall of Ceremonies is restraining it. There is the Queen Mother in charge, and there are hundreds of officials below. Even if I have all kinds of strength, I can't move. However, I am very happy about one thing. !”

Fang Yongyong glanced at everyone present with sincere eyes and said: "Most of our scholars outside the court support me."

Some young scholars did not expect that Fang's luck would be so difficult.

"Fang Xusheng, don't worry, we will always support you!"

"You are the pillar of Jingguo, how can we object!"

"Fang Xusheng, please relax, even if everyone in the world opposes, we will stand firmly by your side."

The young people's blood surged, but the older scholars just looked at Fang Yun quietly, and some even frowned, feeling bad.

When the young scholars had finished talking, Fang Yun said with a smile: "Thank you all, if you are here, then Fang will be more at ease. However, Jing's country is troubled by foreign troubles and there are many crises. My colleagues in the DPRK and I have worked hard and dare not To say that it is perfect, as long as it can make Jingguo stable and make progress, I will be satisfied. I didn't want to say these words at the cultural conference. Unfortunately, I just learned today that the national treasury cannot make ends meet, and the imperial court's finances may encounter some difficulties. ”

The whole place was silent.

Now even young scholars with little experience realize that Fang Yun is crying about poverty and must have a deeper meaning.

Fang Yun seemed to not care about what others thought, and continued: "What should I do if the treasury is empty? A man named Dong Yueqian said that he would collect more land taxes. I was angry at the time and almost slapped him. The farmers of Jingguo worked hard. How much grain can be harvested in a year? How much money can we make if we impose additional land taxes? How many families will be killed? Is this what our officials should do?

There were many guests at this cultural banquet, so Fang Yun called people from the cabinet, including Li Zhixiao, Xu Changgeng and Dong Yueqian.

All the cabinet officials looked at Dong Yueqian.

Dong Yueqian's face turned red from holding back, but he honestly couldn't say a word. He never said such words at all, but he didn't dare to oppose Fang Yun in public. He was like a mute eating coptis, unable to express his sufferings.

Li Zhixiao was a gentleman, so he was confused and felt that this was not what Dong Yueqian said.

Xu Changgeng was the smartest one. He vaguely realized something and laughed secretly. Then he patted Dong Yueqian and whispered: "Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing."

Dong Yueqian felt aggrieved, but did not dare to say anything.

Fang Yun continued: "I thought at that time that if the country is in trouble, all parties will support it, but we cannot exploit the working people, right?"

Less than half nodded.

The older family heads were as motionless as wooden sculptures.

"So, there is a proposal by Xu Changgeng. Whoever is the richest in Jingguo will be taxed more." Fang Yun said.

Xu Changgeng, who was putting his hand on Dong Yueqian's shoulder, was stunned, with a blank look on his face. What was going on? He had never said this, so why did the prime minister talk so blindly?

Li Zhixiao saw Xu Changgeng's expression and immediately guessed the cause of the matter. He almost laughed out loud, lowered his head and suppressed his laughter.

Xu Changgeng is a popular figure in officialdom nowadays. He is extremely popular because of his luck. Almost everyone present knows him, so inexplicable glances swept over him.

Xu Changgeng knocked down his teeth and swallowed without saying a word.

Li Zhixiao patted him on the shoulder unkindly and said, "Don't get me wrong, this is a good thing."

Fang Yun said again: "I scolded Xu Changgeng at that time. What happened to the rich? The money of the rich does not come from the strong wind. It is earned through hard work and wisdom. Why do you raise taxes just because you say they will?" ? Xu Changgeng still argued with me, Zhen It is plausibly said that there are differences among the rich, and not all rich people should be taxed. I thought about it carefully, and this is the truth, so I considered whether we should reduce some taxes so that some people with low incomes do not have to. Pay taxes?”