"Don't look at me." Zhao Jiu was speechless when he saw the other party looking up. "When you were showing off your power in Tokyo, your fellow villagers had already sent your words to the public office. Your words in Huaidian were also passed on by Lu Gong to Zhao Xianggong, so that the whole secret office knew about it. But they couldn't scold you in person after reading it, so they had to transfer you here for me to deal with... Otherwise, how do you think I know your words? Do you really think that my Imperial City Department is so powerful that it can collect all the gossip you said in Huaidian?"
Hearing that neither Lu Haowen nor Zhao Ding took Zhu Shengfei's words to heart, Lu Yihao and Xu Jingheng became deflated and decided not to take it to heart anymore.
As for the rest of the people, after hearing this, how could they not understand that this wave of self-righteous last-minute officials coming out to turn the tide was a joke from the very beginning?
At this point, things seemed to be calm, and Emperor Zhao couldn't let all the members of the Southeast Public Office and local officials kneel, so he waved his hand, letting Zhu Shengfei go home to avoid embarrassment, and asked everyone to stand up and continue the banquet.
However, just as Zhu Shengfei was escaping from Phoenix Mountain, and everyone was getting up to return to their seats for his sake, they suddenly discovered that one person, although he had also stood up and straightened his back, did not move at all... It was none other than the former Minister of Personnel Liu Dazhong.
This inevitably surprised everyone, including Emperor Zhao and his two husbands.
After all, Liu Dazhong himself was in Huzhou, and he had remained silent almost throughout the entire process of the martial arts conference. It was obvious that he had either long realized that Emperor Zhao's determination was unshakable, or he had been touched after the martial arts conference, so he chose to submit to Emperor Zhao and stop interfering.
Even this time, it was obvious that he was temporarily dragged in as a shield by the villain Zhu Shengfei.
Well, Zhu Shengfei has already run away, so why should he do that?
"Do you have anything else to say, Mr. Liu?" Zhao Jiu was silent for a moment. Knowing that he had met a tough guy, he asked seriously.
"Your Majesty, I originally had nothing to say, but after you said that if you don't teach, you will be punished, I felt the urge to speak my mind to you." Liu Dazhong bowed calmly, which was in stark contrast to the boiling state of West Lake not far behind him. "Since I resigned from my post and returned to my hometown, I have no intention of complaining, but I still want to discuss the recent issue of the tax-to-land tax system implemented by your government. However, I don't want to stop this policy, but I want you to know my feelings and why I resigned that day. I also want to know what your thoughts are... Please allow me to say a few words about this."
Zhao Jiu was silent again, then nodded: "You go ahead."
"Your Majesty, the issue of the land tax is the same as the green seedling loan that you have promoted before, and the new laws that Wang Shu and Wang Li have introduced. In my eyes, they are all the same." Liu Dazhong stood still under the watchful eyes of everyone, and said calmly. "That is, the method is very good, and it always looks like a good thing, but in fact, once it is used, it will always cause endless harm..."
"Because of improper employment, or harassment by corrupt officials?" Zhao Jiu responded sternly. "Or will there always be new problems in the future, causing new suffering for the people?"
"That's right." Liu Dazhong put his hands aside after hearing this. "This is why I have always opposed the government's haste and haste... I will not talk about the Qingmiao loan and the war with the Jin people, but only about the land tax... The land tax is divided into acres... There are benefits to the land tax, but for this benefit, the government set up the public cabinet to win people's hearts. But I would like to ask, if the literati and the powerful households are included in the public cabinet, and the public cabinet is vacant in the future, will they feel that the government is deceiving them? If the public cabinet has real power, will it harass the local areas in turn and become too powerful to be eliminated? Even coerce the local areas and become a reliance for the powerful households to bully and abuse their power? Moreover, if the power cannot be fairly divided within the public cabinet, how can the clerks and households be bought? And if the power is fairly divided, how can the literati tolerate the clerks and households being above them? These problems can help the government divide and conquer in the short term and implement new policies, but over time they will breed new difficulties."
Zhao Jiu remained silent, but gradually became solemn, while Lu Yihao and Xu Jingheng looked at this former Minister of Personnel with complicated expressions. He was famous in the Baima Shaoxing Rebellion, but had been silent since he resigned from office, and even his relationship with Taoism was gradually severed.
The Minister of Personnel was probably the most powerful official position after the Prime Minister and the Chief Censor. Liu Dazhong had been the most trusted member of Zhao Ding's party when he was in office. However, he resolutely resigned during the White Horse Incident and remained silent until now. Now that he has spoken, no one can underestimate him.
Emperor Zhao remained silent, and neither of the two ministers spoke. Naturally, Liu Dazhong had no scruples:
"Also, after the land tax is distributed, will silk and silk still be collected? If not, silver will be collected instead. In summer and autumn, the common people will gather to sell grain and silk for money. Will unscrupulous merchants lower the price? Will this make the common people more difficult? If silk and silk are still collected, how can the price of silk, grain, and silver be compared? Should the government decide it? If the government decides it, coupled with the new order that taxes will never be increased, will there be inequality between regions, causing some regions to pay more and others to pay less? Moreover, the power and responsibility lies with the government. What if we encounter a corrupt official whose family runs a silk and silk business? What if we encounter a person who is eager for merit and wants to curry favor with the government? Has the government considered this?"
Zhao Jiu nodded and replied: "I, Lu and Xu, and I have already considered this matter. Even if the cabinet is worried, I have already seen the advice."
"So, the government knew that there would be these new problems, but still wanted to push it forward?" Liu Dazhong couldn't ask any more.
"yes."
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