Among them, Liu Hongdao's qualifications, background, identity, and current assignments far surpassed the other party. What's more, for Guo Zhongxun, whether he wanted to consolidate his political foundation in Jiangxi or achieve something in the subsequent Northern Expedition, he would probably need the political resources of the person in front of him.
In fact, this was the fundamental reason why Liu Hongdao came to find Guo Zhongxun. He knew that the other party was under his control and it would be difficult for him to offend him.
Turning back to the present, after a moment of hesitation, Guo Zhongxun did not dare to offend the other party, so he smiled bitterly and tried his best to answer: "If so, if there are any mistakes, please don't laugh at me, Minister Liu."
"Of course." Liu Hongdao nodded slightly, but his attitude was obvious. "Please tell me in detail."
Guo Zhongxun saw the other party acting like this, and knew that if he didn't tell the truth, he might not be able to get away with it today, so he immediately put down the burden and told the whole story:
"On my first day in Hangzhou, I ran into the emperor who was in a rage. It happened in Fujian... It was said that Fujian had dealt with many rural fights, many of which involved the punishment of being shackled and put in public. As a result, the emperor was furious and issued an edict overnight, prohibiting such punishments not only in Fujian but also in other parts of the country... Minister Liu came here from Tokyo, so I'm afraid he just missed the news of this incident."
"Is this true? But why is this so?"
"At first, we were also nervous. Later, when Prime Minister Lu came to ask in person, we found out that the emperor thought that the punishment of being shackled and displayed to the public was too humiliating, especially since some officials did not know the severity of the situation and would sentence the person to be shackled for several days after the execution. As a result, the person being punished could not even stand up or sit down, and could only lie on the ground like a dog or a horse... The emperor's original words were that any hero in the countryside would not be able to endure such humiliation, and they might rebel like Lin Chong because of a shackle."
"I see... This means that the government loves the people like their own children, and it also means a new atmosphere after the Jianyan Restoration... Is there anything else?"
"Also, after I came to Hangzhou, I heard some bad rumors in the local area, which were directed at the government and the cabinet... the so-called 'three hundred strings of cash, become a cabinet member; two thousand stones, and become a magistrate'... It seems that the people still have some opinions about the government using cabinet positions and official positions to collect money and grain."
"It's okay... a few ignorant people who don't know the imperial court's plans... anything else?"
"Also, there was heavy rain at the beginning of summer this year, which is said to have affected the silk production in the southeast. As a result, although the people in Liangzhe received the favorable policies of equalizing the land tax and never increasing taxes, there were not many immediate benefits. The households were more embarrassed than in previous years, and they had more complaints. It is said that even the summer tax was reduced by half compared to last year because several prefectures reported disasters."
"This is a natural disaster. Can we really blame the government? This isn't the Han Dynasty. There's no need to talk about the idea of heaven and man interacting with each other... Besides, the fact that this happened even after a natural disaster actually shows that the government's new policies are beneficial."
"Who says it's not?"
"However, I have always known that the summer taxes in Liangzhe Road are unusual, and there will be all kinds of rumors at the slightest sign of trouble."
"That's exactly what I mean." Guo Zhongxun paused and then said earnestly. "The summer tax collection in Liangzhe Road was caused by the rain, and in Fujian Road by the chaos below. In my opinion, this is the biggest difficulty..."
"Who says it's not true?" Liu Hongdao, still cupping his hands, sighed slightly. "Fujian's summer tax has been reduced by 30%, and Liangzhe's summer tax has only been reduced by 10%, but the benefits are greater than Fujian's 30%... because the summer tax in the south is for silk, and I still remember that before the Jingkang period, there were 22 routes in the world, and the silk collected by Liangzhe accounted for one-fourth of the world's total. It was really one route worth five ordinary routes... Therefore, half of Liangzhe's summer tax is equivalent to 30% of Fujian's."
Guo Zhongxun also shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The silk and silk from Liangzhe Road is more than one-fifth of the summer tax. Even the sea merchants will be affected... The southeastern commercial tax will also lose a lot this year."
"But it's still not right." Liu Hongdao also shook his head, but looked out the dark window, where there was still a sound of dripping water. "Even if the summer tax and commercial tax in Liangzhe Road and Fujian Road are painful, what does it mean in the overall situation of the country? The loss of some silk and silk is just floating wealth. Not to mention whether it can be made up by national debt or something, even if it can't be made up, what does it matter? Why does the government hesitate about the Northern Expedition? You must know that the Northern Expedition is not as simple as the three years of financial preparation... Since the Jingkang period, to this year, the ninth year of Jianyan, not to mention Yuansheng, just the government has been in power and fighting hard, it has been eight years, right?"
Guo Zhongxun also glanced out the window. After a moment of silence, he continued, "If it's not the summer tax, then I think it's the autumn tax... After all, the summer tax is mostly silk, while the autumn tax is grain... And if we have to march north, we will lose hundreds of thousands of pieces of silk, and we won't be able to make up for the national debt. I'm afraid there will be a shortage of grain, and the southeast will suffer a disaster, and we will have to provide assistance."
Liu Hongdao finally nodded heavily, and then said seriously: "So, we all think that if the emperor is hesitant, it must be because of the continuous rain and he is worried about the autumn harvest in Liangzhe?"
Guo Zhongxun also nodded heavily, and with a slight emotion in his heart, he finally asked back: "May I ask Minister Liu, how is the north this year?"
Liu Hongdao finally smiled bitterly: "In fact, there is a bit too much rain in the north this year, but what's interesting is that the north is just like the south. Although it has become a problem, it has not reached the level of a disaster."
"If that's the case, it's normal for the emperor to have some doubts overall." Guo Zhongxun couldn't hold back any longer when the topic got to this point. "And Minister Liu came here because Tokyo noticed some of the emperor's doubts, so he came to ask?"
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