Nan Yongliang rolled his eyes in disdain, a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth, his eyes were full of contempt and disdain, and he said in a mocking tone: "So what? In Yunzhou, it is not a family empire? Don't be so evasive!"
In the Eight Immortals Building, hundreds of guests focused their attention on Nan Yongliang.
Nan Yongliang was extremely excited, especially when he saw the man with the "Yunzhou Weekly" sign on his body entering the Eight Immortals Building. He instantly knew that the time had come to make a name for himself!
The matter had become so serious that even if his words were outrageous, Duke Yun would not dare to punish him for them. He might even appoint him as an official to show his magnanimity and appreciation for talent.
Even if Duke Yun does not confer the title on me, my remarks will surely satisfy the young emperor if they are heard in Kyoto!
Don't offend anyone anyway.
Nan Yongliang secretly praised his performance in his heart and raised his head high, like a fighting cock.
Xia Lezhi looked at Nan Yongliang coldly. He couldn't guess the purpose of this, but it didn't matter. It was enough for Xia Lezhi to know that he was trampling on the reputation of Duke Yun!
The crowded crowd made way for Xia Lezhi.
Xia Lezhi walked step by step to Nan Yongliang amid gazes that were either worried, encouraging, or looking forward to the show.
Nan Yongliang stood on the stage, the orange candlelight cast a halo around him. He looked down at Xia Lezhi, his expression as if to say, "Come on, you brat."
Xia Lezhi straightened his sleeves and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "In that case, I will have a good debate with you. You said that Emperor Wen of Han created the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing. Do you still remember that there is a record in the "Records of the Grand Historian" that if you work hard to become rich in agriculture, or become rich in business, and become rich by seeking power..."
After the reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, the country was in a state where the rich dominated a prefecture, the middle-rich dominated a county, and the poor dominated a township. There were countless examples of this. Every prefecture and county had its own landlords and tyrants.
Nan Yongliang sneered: "So what do you want to say?"
They are just landlords and powerful people. Even in the Great Zhou, there are many of them.
Wei Xiaozhi, who was listening attentively to the debate between the two, shook his head slightly.
Although Nan Yongliang was a Jinshi, his poor career was not the fault of the court. If such a person could be reused, it would truly prove that the Great Zhou court was in a desperate state and beyond cure.
Xia Lezhi didn't expect that Nan Yongliang could actually follow his own debate rhythm. Why should he be polite? !
"This led to one of Emperor Wen's benevolent policies, which was to reduce taxes for the people. The court collected 1%, but the people actually paid half. The money in the middle naturally went to the local tyrants."
In order to strengthen the credibility of his words, Xia Lezhi added: "There is a clear record in Volume 8 of the Former Han Dynasty."
He is not making this up.
Nan Yongliang had never read the "Han Chronicles", but seeing Xia Lezhi's confident look, he was sure that he would not lie about this matter: "This is a crime committed by a local tyrant. What does it have to do with Emperor Wen of Han?"
Xia Lezhi almost laughed out loud: "As the monarch of a country, Emperor Wen of Han cannot make his policies go smoothly. How can he be called a wise monarch? You said yesterday that you hope Duke Yun will follow the example of Emperor Wen of Han and rule by doing nothing. This is the end of ruling by doing nothing!"
"Human nature is evil. Not everyone can be honest and work hard on the land. It is human nature to work less and get more, to gain without working, and to eat more and take more. Being in a position but not doing one's job will only allow some people to take advantage of it."
Nan Yongliang's face turned pale and blue. Why did he let Duke Yun rule by doing nothing? It was all out of selfish motives.
Wei Xiaozhi looked at Xia Lezhi with surprise in his eyes. This young man was really smart.
Xia Lezhi continued, "At that time, wealthy families would use various methods to annex land, causing farmers to flee. Even though the law said that agriculture should be emphasized and commerce should be suppressed, in reality, merchants became rich and farmers became poor. The establishment of laws to enrich the country became empty talk. This is also recorded in the Book of Han."
So don’t talk about loving the people like one’s own children and the rule of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing.
All of this was just empty talk, and it was never put into practice. The reign of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing was the reign of the powerful, the reign of the nobles and the emperor. What did it have to do with the common people?
Nan Yongliang could not accept being defeated by a brat, so he insisted: "Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty exempted the land tax!"
Xia Lezhi said calmly: "Mr. Nan, do you only read one sentence of a book? You don't even read what is said afterwards? In the next thirteen years, the people will be required to pay half of their land rent."
It’s just that year’s tax exemption, what’s there to brag about?
Nan Yongliang: "You, Duke Yun, have never been exempted once!"
I knock!
Xia Lezhi was about to get angry: "The bulk of the taxes in the Han Dynasty were head taxes, tax and corvée! How much did the land tax account for? The burden of ordinary people has never been land taxes, but endless corvée and various miscellaneous taxes! This has been the case since ancient times. Nan Langjun, do you really not know this, or are you asking knowingly?"
Duke Yun was different. He seldom imposed corvée labor. Whenever he wanted to carry out construction, he would recruit workers and distribute food and money.
As for the various miscellaneous taxes levied?
Stop it!
"Yunzhou Weekly" specially published an exclusive interview to specifically interpret Yunzhou's tax policy.
Who dares to make random levies under the nose of Duke Yun?
This is also one of the reasons why people in places like Yunzhou still have to pay land taxes, but their lives are getting better day by day.
Wouldn't life be better with less burden?
A thin layer of cold sweat broke out on Nan Yongliang's forehead. His body was stiff, he was terrified, and his mind went blank. He had no idea how to refute.
"Oh no, Brother Yongliang's old illness has come back!" Nan Yongliang's companions thought to themselves that something was wrong.
Nan Yongliang has an arrogant personality, but his psychological quality is worrying. He can only play in a favorable situation, but not in an unfavorable situation.
After being refuted repeatedly by this brat, he began to feel timid!
The companions looked at each other, regardless of their manners, and attacked Xia Lezhi together.
"Emperor Wen of Han abolished the tyranny of the Qin Dynasty and his corporal punishments. He can certainly be considered lenient and loving to his people!"
The early Han Dynasty followed the laws of the Qin Dynasty, which were harsh. Emperor Wen of Han abolished the collective responsibility system and corporal punishment (such as tattooing and cutting off the nose) left over from the Qin Dynasty.
Xia Lezhi was not at all flustered by the siege, and said calmly, "In the Han Dynasty, there were three types of sentencing: light, medium, and heavy. The heavy penalty was death penalty, and the medium penalty was corporal punishment. Corporal punishment was abolished, but the medium penalty was not supplemented. The prisoners who originally only needed the medium penalty can only be sentenced to the heavy penalty."
Xia Lezhi said sarcastically: "I think these prisoners who were sentenced to heavy punishment will be very grateful to Emperor Hanwen for his generosity and love for the people."
Is this true or false?
I don't know! The masters all praised it like this. Who would study the "Book of Han" so seriously? It's not a list of books for imperial examinations!
Seeing how confident this guy is, maybe there is really a historical record?
Nan Yongliang's companions were involved in a lawsuit.
This kid has a sharp tongue and it's hard to defeat him if you take the right path.
Since there is no way to break through head-on, then attack her on her personal morality: "Duke Yun is disrespectful to her mother-in-law and her husband. She has poor personal morality and cannot be a role model for the world."
Xia Lezhi was too lazy to argue with these sour scholars about morality, so he simply used magic to defeat magic: "Emperor Wen of Han was a real man. In order to seize the throne, he killed his original wife and five legitimate sons! What a great morality! It is said that his original wife protected him many times during the reign of Empress Lü."
Shut up!
You know too much! (End of this chapter)
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