Chapter 432: Holy Lord
Luo Sheng put his hands behind his back and watched Han Lin leave Luo Mansion.
Han Lin, Marquis of Anyang, looked at the mansion behind him with a bit of despair. He came to the Luo Mansion because he was worried that the emperor's large-scale inspection of commercial taxes would hit too many people and cause chaos, so he wanted to inquire about the Luo family's attitude.
After all, the Luo family has always supported the development of commerce. Agriculture-based and giving equal importance to agriculture and commerce are the core ideas of King Luo Wen's administration. This is also one of the reasons for disparaging the Legalist farming and warfare system.
But thinking back to what Luo Sheng had said to him.
"It is the power of the court to collect taxes. If you want to be a loyal minister, then do your best to implement it. If you are worried about chaos in the world, then you should consider the degree of it. What's the point of worrying here?
A thousand years ago, Sheng's ancestor, Duke Wen of Luo, was still able to sort out the yin and yang of the world when the emperor was defeated in the southern expedition and the royal capital was in chaos.
The current situation of the Han Dynasty is much better than that of the Zhou Dynasty in the past, so what is there to worry about?"
This is typical reasonable nonsense, which fully reflects Luo Sheng's attitude. He does not pay attention to the internal affairs of the Han Dynasty.
This made Han Lin a little confused.
…
Changle Palace.
The methods of collecting commercial taxes still needed to be discussed. Liu Dan was quite violent and said directly: "Kanto has always been a business-oriented country, especially Qi. We should start with Qi."
Everyone was shocked when they heard this and glanced at the emperor secretly. Are they really going to check the commercial taxes?
The King of Jiaodong is in the county of Qi, and he is also the elder brother of the current emperor. What should we do if the investigation leads to the King of Jiaodong?
Or is this the emperor's purpose?
Sang Hongyang asked solemnly: "Your Majesty, I am very worried. What should I do if I encounter a noble family member during the investigation?
Since ancient times, I have never heard of anyone who could succeed in rebelling against his superiors. The princes of Qi are entrenched, and I dare not offend them. "
Liu Dan said with emotion: "Sang Qing, what you said makes sense, but if it is beneficial to the country, can we not do it?
Of Emperor Gao’s brothers and descendants, how many are left in the kingdom today?
The kings of the Han Dynasty were mostly descendants of Emperor Xiaowen and Emperor Xiaowu. Was it simply that the imperial court did not want them to enjoy wealth and honor forever?
This is because they did not consider the hardships their ancestors went through in starting their businesses, and thus made huge mistakes, leading to the current situation.
I witnessed with my own eyes how the late emperor abolished my fifth brother’s kingdom. I know that the late emperor was unwilling to do so, but he had to do so if he wanted to correct the hearts of the people in the world.
Now also, the law is there, and, in all honesty, it is not harsh, is it right not to enforce it?
I want to be a wise ruler like Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu. I have the ambition to overcome all difficulties. I ask Lord Sang and the Grand Minister of Commerce to bring my sword and go to Qi to investigate the commercial taxes. No matter whether they are princes or marquises, you will be responsible for their disposal.
I will be waiting for your good news in Chang'an."
Liu Dan’s words shocked Sang Hongyang. The emperor’s determination was greater than he had imagined, which made him very excited.
The students of Legalism have plenty of abilities, but what they fear most is that the monarch does not have strong enough support.
As long as the monarch agrees, he will let those Confucian scholars who hold high positions but can only talk big see what it means to govern a country and what it means to make a country strong.
Let the people of the world know why the Legalists were able to end hundreds of years of chaos and why they were able to hang up and beat the Confucian scholars.
"Your Majesty, I will never let you down!"
Liu Dan said calmly, "Sang Qing, you must bring the Imperial Guards with you when you go to Guandong. The people of Guandong are not easy to mess with. They are a group of desperate criminals who will do anything for their own benefit. If they cause harm to the senior officials of the imperial court, it will be bad."
Liu Dan said this because he was like this when he was a vassal king. He knew very well what these princes were thinking, and when he attacked the princes, he would hit them accurately.
Sang Hongyang was startled when he heard this, and looked up at the emperor. He keenly noticed a cold look in the emperor's eyes, which frightened Sang Hongyang. He didn't know what the emperor wanted to do.
Or rather, Sang Hongyang was a little too afraid to think about it.
But just because he didn't dare to think about it, it didn't mean that others didn't dare to think about it. The emperor wanted to start the investigation from Qi. Although Qi was the most important place for business, many people believed that he was targeting the King of Jiaodong.
The late emperor had previously hesitated between him and the King of Jiaodong, and this must be a thorn in the heart of the current emperor.
This scene reminded everyone of the time when Emperor Xiaowu was in power. After the King of Jiujiang Li committed suicide, there was a folk song that said, "A foot of cloth can still be sewn; a bushel of millet can still be pounded. The two brothers cannot get along."
This song may be more suitable for the relationship between His Majesty and the King of Jiaodong, because even the King of Jiujiang Li had his death, and the King of Jiaodong really suffered an unprovoked disaster.
Under the attention of countless people all over the world, the imperial delegation traveled all the way to Qi, thousands of miles away. The entire Qi was in panic. This was because there were indeed many people in Qi who had not paid commercial taxes. Basically all the merchants were looking for their masters to see how they could successfully pass this inspection.
After Sang Hongyang arrived in Qi, he went directly to Beihai County. There was naturally a reason for choosing this place. Beihai County was the one with the strongest court power among the old Qi counties and kingdoms. It was guarded by only Shouguang Hou. To the east were the Jiaodong Kingdom and the Lu Hou Kingdom, and to the west were Zibo County and the Qi Gong Kingdom. Once there was any change in the Lu family, it would be very convenient to go east or west.
After arriving in Beihai County, Sang Hongyang did not delay at all and started to check the merchants here. After the check, even he was shocked by the huge amount of embezzlement and the large number of people involved, it was simply insane.
"With so much tax not collected, how did the Han Dynasty's finances last for so long?"
Sang Hongyang was completely confused. Even an economic master like him couldn't understand it. It was actually very simple. The tax rate in the Han court was low, so private business activities naturally flourished. In modern society, many countries will implement tax reduction policies to stimulate the economy. This is the reason.
Sang Hongyang lived in the imperial envoy's headquarters and had no intention of leaving because he was worried that someone would assassinate him. Guandong has always been known for its chivalrous spirit, which is actually a group of unemployed vagrants who do not obey the law.
Sang Hongyang had countless ideals to realize and countless wealth and glory to enjoy, and he was simply unwilling to put himself in danger.
"Shangshang, the cloth merchant Wang has embezzled a large amount of money. He seems to have colluded with officials from Beihai County, and other wealthy families from Beihai County are also involved. He has never paid taxes to the court. He is the most outrageous among those found."
The subordinates quickly found the most ostentatious Wang family. Upon hearing this, Sang Hongyang immediately said, "Are there officials from the prefectures and counties involved? Great! Investigate thoroughly! One official can lead to a group of merchants who cheat and evade taxes.
Also, send someone to search his house and count his property. Since he is unwilling to pay taxes to the court, he will not have to pay taxes in the future. I believe this is what he wants."
As a result, before the order was issued, another person came hurriedly and said, "Shangshang, the head of the Wang family committed suicide!"
Sang Hongyang was stunned when he heard this. He didn't even bother to think about whether he committed suicide or was killed. He immediately said, "If we die, we die. If we don't die, we will be exiled. Let's count all the property first. It's all the court's money. Don't let His Majesty think that we are not doing a good job. Don't let the Grand Minister of Commerce outdo us. If we do well this time, there may be no Grand Minister of Commerce in the future."
The officials of the Ministry of Agriculture were quite excited when they heard this. The powerful families that they had not dared to offend in the past were now trembling in fear under their hands. This was also a kind of pleasure.
"Grand Minister of Agriculture, we have found the caravan working for the King of Jiaodong."
It's finally here!
Sang Hongyang took a deep breath and said, "Summon the King of Jiaodong to Beihai County. I want to question him."
He has a sword bestowed by the emperor himself, ranks above the princes, and even has the power of life and death. This is what the emperor wants him to do.
…
Jiaodong Kingdom.
Facing Sang Hongyang's summons, the Prince of Jiaodong was extremely frightened and kept pacing, saying, "What should I do? What should I do?
I have said before that we should not accept those merchants who evade the imperial court's taxes, but you insisted on accepting them. What should we do now?
I heard that Sang Hongyang was from the Legalist school. They are all crazy people. They will definitely step on me to climb up. And your majesty, will your majesty want to kill me?"
The Queen of Jiaodong heard this and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, please be calm. Those were all done by merchants. What does it have to do with the palace?
At most, it's just a case of not being strict with subordinates.
As long as there are businessmen in this world, there will be theft and leakage. As long as we still accept the help of businessmen, such things will definitely happen to us.
Wanting benefits but not willing to pay, is there such a good thing in this world?
I'm afraid it's not our Jiaodong Palace's turn yet.
I will accompany you to meet this imperial envoy, and see what he has to say!"
After the Queen of Jiaodong said this, everyone in the palace felt that they had a backbone, so the people of Jiaodong Kingdom rushed to Beihai County in a mighty manner.
————
In the first year of Yuanzheng, Hongyang followed the imperial order and went to Beihai. Within ten months, hundreds of people went bankrupt and more than a thousand died, all of them were wealthy merchants. People at that time were resentful. Hongyang said: "People die for money, birds die for food. The greed has blinded their minds to this extent. They deserve to die!"
People at that time said: "Those who perform rituals will surely kill themselves." - "Book of Han: Biography of Sang Hongyang"
————
In ancient dynasties, as the dynasty's national power increased, in order to maintain its rule, the emperor would definitely start border wars, build canals, construct palaces, and build cities. These complicated matters would definitely cause huge financial pressure on the dynasty. Therefore, in order to obtain more financial resources, more taxes must be increased. However, history has proven that unless there is a supreme god watching over everything, any tax increase will eventually be imposed on the poorest and most destitute people. This is not even differentiated by civilization type, national structure, or social process, but is a common problem of mankind. When the author wrote this paragraph, he had to admit that the decline of the Han Dynasty had begun. ——"The Rise and Fall of the Han Dynasty"
(End of this chapter)
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