Unlike Fan Zhongyan and others, who are in their fifties or sixties and still in their prime, who would go if they don't go?

Therefore, it is indeed impossible to gather the entire Constitutional Council meeting at the moment.

"I plan to let Du Qiruan handle it."

Zhao Jun said.

Everyone entered the conference room and took their seats.

As soon as he sat down, Wang Zeng said, "Tell me, what's going on?"

"How do you deal with this?"

"Negotiation. No matter how many landlords they call out or how chaotic the situation becomes, negotiation should be prioritized."

"Soft handling?"

"Um."

"What if you don't agree?"

"Continue the negotiations."

"What are the specific contents?"

"It's very simple. As long as they agree to the new policies issued by the court and pay taxes honestly, everything will be fine."

"Then things will escalate."

"Then let's use the knife."

"You still don't agree?"

“Increase consultation efforts.”

In fact, Zhao Jun has killed quite a few people over the years.

In the campaign against organized crime, many criminals were killed.

"Isn't this the result you want? Why not just start sooner? Why do you have to keep dawdling?"

No one understood what Zhao Jun meant at first.

At least more than a thousand people were killed and several thousand were exiled.

Adding in the subordinates who stole the goods, the total amount would be at least 60,000 to 70,000 or 80,000 yuan.

The army was investigated and many generals and nobles were killed.

The people who were killed the least were officials.

Because the landlord class in the Song Dynasty was different from that in the Ming Dynasty.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Juren and Jinshi were exempt from taxes, which led to many people putting their land under their names. This process was called "investment".

So now that Zhao Jun started to attack the ground again, no one was surprised.

No one cares whether the landlord lives or dies.

Therefore, the Constitutional Yuan did not actually face much resistance in this matter.

After all, that's what they did before.

So the officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties were all landlords. The imperial court wanted to collect taxes from the landlords, so how could the officials of the Ming and Qing dynasties not object?

It was different in the Song Dynasty. Officials also had to pay taxes, which fundamentally solved the problem.

Do I have to negotiate with them first?

If this drags on, what if word spreads from one person to ten, and then to a hundred, and all the landlords in Zhejiang hear that the court has suddenly become so easy to talk to, won't there be an uproar?

It’s just that no one has thought it through.

Since we want to take action against the landlords, why not just send troops when they make trouble?

So no one understood it.

Since Zhao Jun wants to let things develop first, then just let it go. The government should ignore it for now and wait until the other party gathers to a certain extent before taking action.

The most important thing is that Zhejiang is an important hub of the canal in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the news will spread across the country soon.

If we fail to suppress the situation immediately with drastic measures and make an example of someone, it could lead to nationwide unrest if this continues.

"You don't understand."

Zhao Jun shook his head. "I'm not trying to exterminate all the landlords in the country, but I hope to guide them in a positive way. Killing people is actually a last resort and a very bad strategy."

Why should we go out in person to explain, discuss and negotiate with these landlords?

Where is the majesty of the court?

When everyone heard this, it seemed to make sense.

He had given opportunities to the generals and nobles before, but they insisted on their own way, so it was no wonder that the court took action.

"Why did we kill so many people during our crackdown on organized crime? It was because of the chaotic times that harsh punishments were needed. Severe crackdowns were necessary to maintain public order."

He spread his hands, looked at the crowd, and continued, "Killing corrupt officials is also to establish the court's determination and image in the eyes of the people to rectify the civil service, and at the same time to ensure the smooth implementation of the performance evaluation system. Didn't I want to have a good discussion with the nobles from the beginning? If they don't behave themselves, who can I blame?"

Zhao Jun said frankly: "The size of the Song Dynasty is not to be underestimated. We are currently the most populous country in the world. We may seem to be the richest country, but we are also the poorest country. If we want to truly develop, relying on the court alone is not enough."

"The poorest country again? Why?"

But Lu Yijian was still puzzled, "Haven't you always wanted to resolve the land annexation issue? Why don't you want to wipe out the landlords now?"

"Because it does require a certain amount of capital push."

Zhao Jun said, "The truly wealthy people in the Song Dynasty are the big merchants, big landlords, and high-ranking officials. The common people have nothing to do with them. However, big merchants are often tied to high-ranking officials. Many officials come from wealthy families. I think everyone here is aware of this."

Everyone looks at the nose with their eyes and the nose at their heart.

Everyone was puzzled.

"Although the Song Dynasty is wealthy, its wealth doesn't extend to the common people. In recent years, the people have been dragged back from the brink of life and death to the poverty line. They can't starve to death, but they don't have much money."

"Because they believed that business was extremely risky. Land, on the other hand, was a sure-win business. Therefore, the large landowners were definitely resistant to the Industrial Revolution and were unwilling to participate. They also didn't want to use their land for this purpose. They preferred to keep their money buried in the ground."

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice, "If this continues, it will definitely be detrimental to the development of the country and the economy. We must take back the money and land in the landlords' pockets. The simplest way is to significantly reduce grain prices, directly impacting the fundamental interests of the landlords. Not only will the land they own continue to depreciate, but they will also suffer losses."

"Capital is all about profit. The imperial court's steel mills, cement plants, and textile factories are booming. Sharp-eyed businessmen can see their value in the coming decades, and many are already eager to get involved."

Zhao Jun continued, "But the landlords are conservative by nature. Many don't care how much money the businessmen make. They have only one idea in mind: to make money by exploiting the peasants, and then use the money to buy more land, continue to exploit the peasants, and continue the cycle endlessly, so that they can own countless pieces of land."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!