Qin Chuan picked up the tea that the Empress hadn't finished, took a sip, and coldly spoke:
"The imperial court is nothing more than a few palaces and a few government offices. From now on, it's better to eat separately!"
The Empress blinked her phoenix eyes, still not understanding.
The palace maid Wan Chun replaced the tea with fresh tea and placed it in front of the two masters.
Qin Chuan glanced at the pile of memorials on the table and said calmly, "Local officials always want to embezzle state funds, so why not let the localities earn their own living? I think that from now on, the localities should hand over 60% of their tax revenue and keep 40% for their own use. The state will then no longer allocate any funds. If the state wants to do something, it can bypass the localities and do it directly."
The Empress's phoenix eyes suddenly lit up, and the force in her hand suddenly increased: "Husband, this is a good idea! From now on, will we no longer need to pay salaries to local officials? Let them earn their own living, and then we can control all the money in the national treasury!"
"Ouch! My lady, Your Majesty's wife, could you please not be so rough..." Qin Chuan cried out in pain.
The Empress chuckled and snorted, then rubbed her breasts against him. "Alright, alright, does that feel good?"
"Stop messing around, we're talking about serious matters..."
Qin Chuan was aroused by her and quickly suppressed his desire, continuing, "Officials' salaries will still be paid, but the salaries of clerks, runners, and yamen runners, as well as various expenses of the yamen, such as the construction of new government offices, will be handled by the local authorities from now on."
The Empress smiled and said, "Great! This will save the national treasury a lot of money!"
"From now on, the major fiscal expenditures will be divided into three levels: central government, provincial government, and county government. The county will hand over 60% of its tax revenue to the province and keep 40% as development funds for the county, such as road construction, water conservancy projects, and disaster relief. The province will then transfer 60% to the national treasury. In this way, although the national treasury will have less revenue, it will also have less expenditure. As long as it does not overspend or run a deficit, it will still have the capacity to do things..."
At this point, Qin Chuan stood up, put his hands behind his back, and paced back and forth, continuing:
"In this way, stimulated by the anti-corruption allowance system, county officials will do their best to improve the county's affairs in order to achieve political achievements. In order to get promoted, they will strive to be at the top. Moreover, with a certain amount of fiscal revenue, they can independently develop the county's unique characteristics, which is also beneficial to the people..."
The Empress gazed at Qin Chuan's retreating figure with phoenix eyes, revealing an expression of adoration.
She felt increasingly unable to understand her husband; his knowledge and insights seemed to far exceed her imagination...
After regaining her senses, the Empress asked the question that had been bothering her: "Why is it level three? What about the prefecture level?"
Qin Chuan chuckled and said, "That's a good question. Let me ask Your Majesty's wife, if we include the prefectures and counties, and make the finances into four or even five levels, with each level taking 40%, then... how much money would ultimately flow into the national treasury?"
The Empress took out a golden abacus, her slender fingers moving the golden beads, and quickly calculated the answer: "If we take one hundred taels as an example, the third-level fiscal authority still has thirty-six taels reaching the national treasury; the fourth level only has twenty taels; and the fifth level only has less than thirteen taels..."
Qin Chuan laughed and said, "Isn't that it? The three-tiered fiscal system is just right. The national treasury, the province, and the county all have money, and no one is at a disadvantage. This way of sharing the burden is fair and also benefits the people. If the state government gets involved, the food will become unpalatable, and sooner or later someone will overturn the table!"
The Empress nodded as if she understood, then asked, "What about the prefecture? If the prefecture doesn't have money, should it ask the province or the county?"
Qin Chuan then wore a solemn expression and slowly said, "A prefecture and a state are actually at the same level. A prefecture governs a dozen or so counties, while a state governs several counties. But in reality, the seat of a prefecture or state is originally a county town. Whether it's a prefecture, state, or province, they are all composed of county-level units of varying sizes. Therefore, there was originally no need for prefectures and states to exist..."
The Empress opened her mouth, her beautiful face showing surprise, "My husband means... to abolish the prefectures?"
“That’s not what I meant,” Qin Chuan quickly shook his head and said, “If we do that, it will take away the livelihoods of many officials and gentry, and it might cause unrest. We won’t abolish the prefectures, but we will reduce their functions so that the people realize that the counties, provinces, and the imperial court are enough. Let future emperors, whoever has the ability and courage, abolish them then…”
At this point, he thought to himself that reforms and new policies can only be implemented gradually, step by step. If they are taken too far, they will only backfire and people will not even know how they died.
Wang Mang in history is an example.
If he dared to abolish the state-level administrative division, the consequences would be unimaginable. Although it was for the benefit of the people, reducing redundant officials and unnecessary expenditures, and allowing more money to be invested in public welfare, the people might not accept it...
This is something that cannot be done.
This is even more difficult than abolishing the imperial examination system; only Qin Shi Huang could have accomplished it.
Thinking of this, Qin Chuan looked at the Empress and said, "The state government's salary will continue to be paid, and its authority will remain unchanged for the time being. However, it will not have the power to collect taxes, and it will only have the power to supervise the county's finances and tax revenue, not the power to directly manage them."
At this point, I thought to myself, once the power of the prefecture is gradually diminished, this level of administrative division can be abolished directly, and a large number of redundant officials and staff can be laid off...
The Empress understood his meaning and nodded: "Yes, good, I will issue the decree immediately."
After the imperial edict was issued, the Office of Transmission immediately relayed it to all provinces, prefectures, and counties...
...
Jiangzhou, Jiangling County.
Li Qi, inside the county government's signing room, looked at the new imperial edict with excitement in his eyes. He couldn't help but slam his hand on the table and exclaim, "Excellent! The Prince of Yan's new policies are truly impressive!"
County Magistrate Wu Xinzong couldn't help but lean over and ask, "Does Prince Yan have a new policy?"
Li Qi nodded and said, "In the future, the tax system will be divided into three levels. The county can keep 40% of its tax revenue and only need to pay 60% to the province. The province will then pay another 60% to the national treasury. Great! In the future, we will have money to do things for the people."
“Sir, what about the prefectural government? This policy is obviously unreasonable. It would be more reasonable for the county to hand over to the prefectural government, and then for the prefectural government to hand over to the province,” Wu Xinzong said.
Li Qi chuckled and stroked his beard, saying, "It's not unreasonable at all, it's perfectly reasonable! The Prince of Yan is truly wise!"
Wu Xinzong didn't quite understand what he meant. Seeing that he didn't intend to explain, he didn't press further, but he still felt that the policy was extremely unreasonable.
The day after receiving the edict on the new tax system, a large number of officials, including several prefects and governors from neighboring prefectures, gathered in Su Zhiqi's office in Jiangzhou.
A group of officials surrounded Su Zhiqi, crying and shouting, "Lord Su, the Prince of Yan can't do this! He's your son-in-law! Please persuade him to withdraw the decree!"
Su Zhi Qiu pondered for a moment, thinking of how Qin Chuan, after becoming the Prince of Yan and marrying the Empress, had abandoned Ru Yan and hadn't even sent a single letter back. Feeling a little resentful, she said to the group of officials:
"I will write to the Prince of Yan, but whether the decree can be withdrawn is beyond my control."
The officials egged him on, urging him to write quickly, each expressing their own opinions, chattering away for quite a while before the meeting ended.
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