"What's wrong?"

Seeing no one answer, Zhao Jun wondered, "No one knows?"

Still no one responded.

Because it concerns their own interests, what they say will undoubtedly make them traitors to their class. Besides, they are not qualified to discuss these core issues here, so they all shut up wisely.

Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice, "Teacher Zhao, you speak."

"Well, it's not that productivity has declined, but that social wealth has been plundered by a few people."

Zhao Jun shrugged and said, "During the Han Dynasty, land annexation was severe. The manor system became the mainstream farming method. Aristocratic families divided up a large amount of land, and the number of ordinary farmers decreased, resulting in a serious shortage of tax revenue. Coupled with border instability and frequent natural disasters, civil unrest broke out and the country collapsed."

Zhao Zhen was puzzled. "I've read very few historical books on the Han Dynasty, and I don't really understand the inner workings of the books. So I'd like to ask, Mr. Zhao, why was there such a severe tax shortage during the Han Dynasty?"

“That’s a good question.”

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "It's because the aristocratic families' concealment of their households, property, and land has become a means of evading the imperial court's taxes. The imperial court can't collect taxes, can't afford to support the army, and the local people can't survive, so naturally they can only gather together to rebel."

"Similar situations also occurred during the Ming and Qing dynasties. During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, this problem was temporarily resolved through reforms, but it was only a temporary solution before the prodigal Emperor Qianlong abolished all the policies."

"On the contrary, the Tang and Song dynasties were better able to collect taxes. The Tang dynasty had a relatively complete taxation system and very healthy fiscal revenue, so it was able to barely maintain the overall situation after the An-Shi Rebellion."

"But the problem of the Jiedushi had become too big to be solved. They were like feudal lords in a feudal system, each with the power to recruit troops and tax within their own territories. This ultimately led to the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period."

"The early Song Dynasty strengthened centralization of power and, while inheriting the Tang Dynasty's tax system, further improved it. Agricultural and commercial taxes were equally collectable, objectively maintaining the Song Dynasty's rule."

The Song Dynasty's fiscal revenue has always been the highest among all dynasties, so it is also known as the richest dynasty.

Unfortunately, it had money but did nothing to earnestly do its job, and became one of the most cowardly and aggrieved dynasties, and was known as one of the three most shameful dynasties together with the Jin and Qing dynasties. It was because of its wealth that it could survive, otherwise its national power would not have lasted long.

Yan Shu pondered, "So the lack of tax revenue led to the rebellion of the Green Forest, Red Eyebrows, and Yellow Turbans during the Han Dynasty?"

"Well, this is what I mean by scrambling for the total value of social wealth. Productivity is limited, and the landlord class has divided up a large portion of the pie, leaving very little for the emperor and the people. This is the so-called 80/20 rule: 2% of the people own 80% of the wealth. The more landless peasants there are, the more unstable the regime becomes."

Zhao Jun nodded. "Wang Mang wanted to change this situation, but he acted too hastily. Not only did he fail to curb land annexation, he exacerbated internal friction, offending the powerful landlord class and making life even more difficult for the people. Faced with increasingly acute social contradictions, the Green Forest and Red Eyebrows naturally rose up in rebellion. However, during the Han Dynasty, the powerful landlord class was still too powerful, so the peasant uprisings did not seize the country."

"Why did this happen?"

Zhao Zhen asked.

"Because the landlord class still controls social wealth, this was the case even in the Sui and Tang dynasties. Liu Xiu relied on the support of the powerful landlord class in Nanyang. Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Cao Cao and others all came from wealthy families, and Li Shimin was even more of a representative of the Guanlong clique."

Zhao Jun spoke eloquently, "These individuals possessed vast wealth and resources, and could use this capital to recruit troops and join the fight for supremacy. This includes the military governors of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when local warlords and powerful forces competed for supremacy. Therefore, from the Han Dynasty all the way to the Song Dynasty, those in power were representatives of aristocratic families, including Zhao Kuangyin."

Zhao Kuangyin wasn't born into a commoner family. Among all the emperors in history, only one came from the humblest background: Zhu Yuanzhang. Liu Bang was at least a village headman, and Liu Xiu barely held the title of a member of the imperial clan. Most of the others came from aristocratic families. Zhao Kuangyin's family, for example, had been a long line of officials, and by the time of his father, he had already commanded the imperial guards of the Later Zhou Dynasty.

Therefore, from the establishment of the vast empire of the Western Han Dynasty until the Ming Dynasty, the ruling class of each orthodox dynasty was invariably aristocratic families. They possessed far more social resources and wealth than the peasant uprising army. When the country was in chaos and warlords fought for supremacy, this group of people were the first to benefit and the easiest to profit.

"If that's the case, then there weren't any large-scale peasant uprisings during the Song Dynasty. If it were just about taxation, the Tang Dynasty could have collected enough, but the peasant uprisings were massive."

Wang Zeng asked the key question, which is also the question that everyone wants to know.

Zhao Jun had said this before. Although peasant uprisings had occurred frequently since the Song Dynasty, they had not shaken the foundation of the country. The largest uprising, the Fang La uprising, was put down in just one year, so everyone was very curious.

Zhao Jun laughed and said, "This is the Song Dynasty's unique and fortunate aspect. The Song Dynasty did not suppress land annexation, and the pie was almost completely divided up by the beginning of the Song Dynasty. Under normal circumstances, such a dynasty would definitely lead to large-scale uprisings. For example, Wang Xiaobo's uprising in the early Song Dynasty did not cause too much unrest. The reason for this is that the productivity of the Song Dynasty had increased, and the people could barely make a living."

"You mean the agricultural revolution sparked by Champa rice?"

Yan Shu quickly remembered what Zhao Jun had said before. Champa rice was introduced as early as the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. Now the south transports a large amount of grain to the north every year through the canal because Champa rice has taken root in the south, nearly doubling the rice production in the south.

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