After a year of administrative rectification, the second round of the new policy officially began.
There was still not much opposition this time.
The reason is simple.
Do farmers and landlords welcome the reduction of taxes and corvee labor?
Of course you are welcome.
So the farmers and landlords will definitely agree.
Will businessmen welcome the reform of business and the abolition of the original tax system?
Of course you are welcome.
So the businessmen will agree.
Will local authorities agree to changes in local and national taxes?
I fully agree.
In the past, if officials wanted to get something done and achieve political achievements, such as building bridges and roads, or constructing water conservancy facilities, there were only two ways.
One is to ask the court for money.
The second is to find local gentry and landlords to raise funds.
Now, a proportion of national taxes will be retained by local governments as local taxes. As a result, local governments have public funds to use and can naturally achieve some political achievements.
Moreover, clerks originally did not receive a salary, but after intercepting the land tax, officials could pay the clerks a salary, thereby promoting the separation of clerks from local landlords and gentry and preventing corruption from occurring.
Although it is impossible to completely eradicate it, as long as it is drastically reduced, it will be a policy that has more benefits than disadvantages, and it can also greatly improve the previous situation where whoever pays more money wins when filing a complaint with the government.
Therefore, the second round of new policies can be said to have made all social classes the beneficiaries, so naturally there is no large-scale opposition.
What is slightly controversial is the implementation of the new clan law in the north, which will obviously make many feudal clans dissatisfied.
But the power of the northern clans is too weak, which is completely different from that of the south, and the main force of dissatisfaction is the clan's legitimate sons.
The clan leader may not object.
Because this method is actually a bit similar to the Enfeoffment Order, most clan leaders prefer young and beautiful concubines and whisper in their wives' minds. Besides, illegitimate sons are also sons, and they are all flesh and blood, so naturally they also hope to give some property to illegitimate sons and concubines.
Moreover, the imperial decree did not require equal distribution. In the new inheritance law, the legitimate son would still inherit the main property, while the illegitimate son would receive much less, in order to quell this dissatisfaction.
Therefore, the clan leader did not strongly oppose this decree.
So in this situation, although this clan law still caused some waves, the opposition was not loud, and it was barely passed smoothly.
The only one hurt was the imperial court.
This year's fiscal revenue is expected to be nearly half less than last year. In the first half of last year, the fiscal revenue was more than 60 million strings of cash, but this year it was only 37 million strings of cash, which made Lu Yijian and others worried.
So upon hearing Zhao Jun's words, Lü Yijian said unhappily, "But if this continues for a long time, the court will ultimately suffer losses. If the Liao Kingdom and the Western Xia take advantage of this opportunity to attack us, we will have no money to support the war."
"Curing illnesses and saving lives is the same as governing a country. Old Lu, you are too focused on immediate interests and ignore long-term development."
Zhao Jun sighed, then stood up and looked around. "Let me tell you something. I want to ask you what the Song Dynasty was like before. Come on, Lao Lu, I'll give you this opportunity to talk about it. What was the Song Dynasty like before?"
"Our Song Dynasty has wise officials and the blessings of our ancestors, so it is naturally strong!"
Lu Yijian shamelessly bowed to Zhao Zhen. He had learned now that although he was in the Constitutional Court, as long as he did not break the law, he basically did not have to worry about being dismissed from his position.
But sometimes, flattery never wears out. It is never a bad thing to flatter Zhao Zhen more.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Zhao Jun rolled his eyes and said, "You've been the Prime Minister in the Constitutional Court for so many years. Do you want me to retrieve the old documents for you?"
Li Di echoed, "Indeed, the Song Dynasty was plagued by constant chaos. In the fourth year of Jingyou alone, there were as many as twenty-seven rebellions. Externally, there were invasions by the Liao and Western Xia, while internally, officials were corrupt and incompetent. The people suffered greatly, and the country was perpetually impoverished and weak, plagued by instability."
Lu Yijian smiled awkwardly.
"I like people like Fugu Gong who love to tell the truth."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "Actually, everyone knows this. The Song Dynasty was once impoverished and weak, plagued by internal and external troubles. It's like a seriously ill person. In such a situation, gentle methods must be used to treat it. If drastic measures are used, the patient will probably die immediately."
"Is this a moderate approach? If this continues, the court will have no money left."
Lu Yijian shook his head.
Yan Shu pondered for a moment, then looked at Zhao Jun and said, "Hanlong, do you have any other ideas?"
"There's no other way."
Zhao Jun smiled and said, "It's just a painful period now, but it will get better as it gets back on track."
Zhao Zhen asked, "Grandson, tell me."
“It’s very simple.”
Zhao Jun looked around and said, "The Song Dynasty has been impoverished and weak for too long. In the past, the localities provided financial support to the central government, which resulted in local poverty and the prosperity of the imperial court. Now it is time for the imperial court to provide financial support to the localities and allow them to slowly recover."
"Under the new agricultural law reforms, a large number of exorbitant taxes and levies were eliminated, causing agricultural taxes to plummet by half. Of this, around 30% was retained by local governments as land taxes. Therefore, last year we collected over 20 million guan in summer taxes, but this year it's only over 8 million guan."
He continued, "This will make the finances of farmers and local governments in various counties a little more comfortable. Many people have gone from the brink of starvation to the brink of bankruptcy. In the past, during years of famine or harvest failure, people would have starved to death. Now, they can barely get by with a little surplus. In times of famine, if the imperial court didn't provide timely relief, they might have to sell their land and become landless refugees."
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