The troll article in the academy newspaper only caused a minor stir because it received no response.
When everyone had almost forgotten about this matter, a bombshell news came out.
All major newspapers published the same announcement on the same day.
The main content of the announcement was to first establish the Shaofu Grain Store to stabilize grain prices throughout the country.
Secondly, the Shaofu Grain Store accepted subscriptions from the general public, with the subscription requirement being one share equal to 1,100 mu.
As soon as the news came out, the people were in an uproar.
"One thousand and one hundred acres per share, the price is too high."
"Is the Shaofu trying to rob money?"
"There's no place for common people like us in this matter. We can just watch the fun."
"Does the Shaofu look down on common people like us? One thousand one hundred acres per share, robbing us!"
"Fool, don't you understand? The Shaofu Grain Store is targeting those big landlords. Those big landlords are reluctant to sell their land. If they can exchange it for shares in the Shaofu Grain Store and get dividends every year, many people will definitely respond."
"The court's methods are really one after another. Before the quarrel was over, the scholars said that the court was going to cut off everyone's career. But what happened? When everyone was arguing, the court issued a notice to acquire shares in the Shaofu Grain Bank. Now, who dares to say that the court is cutting off everyone's career?"
"It's all gone, it's all gone. This matter has nothing to do with us ordinary people."
"That's true. Let's just watch the fun."
“That’s boring!”
"I really miss the days when Universal Transport issued shares. Luckily I grabbed five shares and I enjoy dividends every year."
"I grabbed three shares too."
"I grabbed two shares too."
"Why doesn't the court consider us common people and give us a chance to invest in the Shaofu Grain Store?"
"Dream on! I've given you a 10% tax reduction, and you still want to buy shares in the Shaofu Grain Store. You're flattering me."
"Anyone with eyes can see that the Shaofu Grain Store is specifically for the big landlords, and has nothing to do with us."
"Disperse, disperse!"
"Big news, big news. Just got some great news. The first batch of people who subscribed to shares were offered one thousand mu per share, and they were all snapped up by court officials and royal relatives. For the second batch, the price has been raised to 1,100 mu per share. Those who subscribed to the first batch of shares have made a fortune."
"Are you serious?"
"It's absolutely true. My father-in-law's cousin's brother's wife's brother's brother-in-law is serving at the foot of the imperial city. There's absolutely no mistake about it."
"So, the stock price of Shaofu Grain Store will continue to rise."
“By the time the third round of subscriptions comes, the price will definitely go up.”
"Do you think those wealthy landlords are willing to exchange their land for shares?"
"Those wealthy families will probably exchange some of their shares. Those rural tycoons are conservative and hesitant. They might not make up their minds until the second round of subscriptions is finished. When the price goes up again in the third round, they will regret it."
"That's a really clever move!"
“It’s really high!”
"No wonder the academy reported on insider trading while other newspapers remained silent. Apparently, they had gotten the news long ago."
"The Academy Newspaper was right. The first batch was insider trading."
"That's too much. It increased by a hundred acres in one go."
"You don't have 1,100 acres of land, why are you so worried? The big landowners don't think it's too expensive, so why should you be so dissatisfied?"
"That's true."
Big Landlord: Who says I don't mind the price? One share gives me an extra 100 mu, so ten shares gives me an extra 1,000 mu.
This is money grabbing mode!
Oh, oh, oh!
…
Yan Ci was very grateful that he had the audacity to ask for a quota from Huang Qubing and exchanged it for four shares at the price of one thousand acres per share.
Wang Xuecheng was happy for him, "Brother Yan is indeed far-sighted. He earned 400 acres in one go."
"What's the point of making money? I'll pass this little stake on to my descendants and will never transfer it."
Wang Xuecheng chuckled, "If I had a thousand acres of land, I would also exchange it for shares. Unfortunately, I don't have it."
After all his years of work, he had saved up two houses and a hundred or eighty taels of silver. His family of five owned only twenty or thirty mu of land, all in his hometown. This was far from the upper limit of 150 mu for a scholar.
Yan Ci said to him, "I estimate that the price of land will fluctuate after a while. If Brother Wang has some spare money, why not sell a few more acres? Anyway, you are still far from the upper limit."
Wang Xuecheng shook his head and sighed, "I'm a scholar, I can serve three people. My eldest and second brothers came to me separately, hoping that I would give them a spot. My wife at home is arguing with me, saying that if I dare to give up the spot, she will take the child back to her parents' home. I'm so worried now. I'm worried about the spot, and I'm also worried about not having one."
"It's only fifty acres more than the one hundred-acre limit, and they're scrambling to get it?"
“Even if it’s just one acre more than the upper limit, they will rush to ask me for a spot.”
"What are you going to do, brother Wang?"
"I'm worried."
"You three brothers have long since separated. You could have simply rejected your eldest and second brothers' requests and not given them any spots. Brother Wang, I'm not saying this to you, but you're sometimes too soft. You have to think about the children. You have three children, so all three spots are perfect for them."
Yan Ci gave Wang Xuecheng advice.
Wang Xuecheng looked worried and said, "I can't afford to lose face."
Yan Ci clicked his tongue twice, "Respect is not as important as benefits. Brother Wang, please don't do anything that will make your wife and children hate you."
These words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Wang Xuecheng's heart.
He suddenly came to his senses. "Brother Yan is right. The children are still young and have no idea. When they grow up and know what happened, they will definitely hate me."
He drank the wine in his glass in one gulp. "Thank you, Brother Yan, for reminding me. When I get back, I'll write to my eldest and second brothers to reject their offer. Since we've already split up, there's no reason to give them the spot."
"Brother Wang should have done this long ago!"
…
Shanhe Academy.
Sanyuan Gong Yang Yuanqing plays chess with Zhou Shi'an.
Sun Zhuangyuan went solo and became the principal of Zhixing Academy.
However, the small group of three still exists.
Today, Sun Zhuangyuan ran to Shanhe Academy, played chess and drank tea, and had a leisurely time.
Zhou Shian asked him, "Isn't Brother Sun busy?"
"Of course I'm not busy."
Zhou Shian raised his eyebrows slightly, "There's a huge commotion outside. Your Sun family is one of the rare large landowners in the world. How can you not be busy?"
Sun Zhuangyuan said cheerfully, "Your Zhou family is as famous as the Sun family. Why don't you see Brother Zhou busy?"
"The Zhou family is the Zhou family, and I am me. We can't be confused." Zhou Shi'an was unhappy.
He tried hard to break away from his family, but everyone inevitably associated him with his family.
As long as he has the surname Zhou, in the eyes of the world, he is a member of the Zhou family.
Seeing Zhou Shi'an's displeasure, Sanyuan Gong Yang Yuanqing said, "The Empress is a rare Go master in the world. She is very foresighted and has one trick after another. Everyone has fallen for her tricks."
Zhou Shi'an, holding the white piece, stared at the chessboard without looking up. He said, "Everyone out there is talking about the Emperor and the Empress, but when it comes to Brother Yang, it's all the Empress's credit."
Sanyuan Gong repeatedly denied it. "No, no, no, it can't be considered a credit. I can only say that this is a chess game with an eye on the future of the next hundred years. Such a grand move is in line with the Queen's way of doing things. If you don't plan, then nothing happens. If you plan, then you plan for ten years, even a hundred years. Your Majesty's working habits are different from the Queen's. Your Majesty prefers to be straightforward and focus on the present. This kind of roundabout strategy is obviously the Queen's style."
Sun Zhuangyuan nodded repeatedly, agreeing with Sanyuan Gong's statement.
He has had dealings with the Queen Mother and is indeed a difficult person to deal with.
When the new land law was first implemented, everyone thought it would be impossible to succeed and would definitely be criticized by the world and opposed by all the gentry and royal relatives.
If any other emperor were to implement this plan, he would end in failure, without exception.
However, when the matter came into the hands of the Queen, the situation became completely different.
Who would have thought that with a three-year buffer period, the Shaofu Grain Store, and overseas real estate, a series of combined efforts, there would actually be a glimmer of possibility of success.
Zhou Shi'an looked at Sun Zhuangyuan and asked, "Brother Sun, do you agree with the new law?"
Sun Zhuangyuan smiled bitterly and said, "Does it matter whether I agree or disagree? This is the general trend and cannot be violated."
Zhou Shian said, "I don't believe that Brother Sun didn't see the true intention of the new law."
Sun Zhuangyuan remained silent. He certainly saw the true intention of the Queen's series of punches.
Zhou Shi'an didn't wait for Sun Zhuangyuan to answer him and spoke on his own. "The implementation of the new law, coupled with the slave law, is fundamentally intended to limit the size and influence of aristocratic families. I think many people haven't noticed that one of the new laws states that if a family has two meritorious titles, they will be counted as one. The slave law also has a similar clause, counting the number of slaves as one meritorious title. What's the meaning? Isn't this forcing aristocratic families to split up?"
For example, in your Sun family's third branch, there are countless people with honors. If the family remains separate, we can only count them based on their honors, which would only give us a dozen or so people. However, your Sun family's third branch has over two or three hundred people, so a dozen or so spots would definitely not be enough. What should we do?
"To maximize profits and own more land with a tenth of the tax rate, the only way is to split the family. Separate the brothers, sons, and nephews, giving each family a title, and thus maximizing profits. Forcing the aristocratic families to split up is the true intention of the Empress."
Lord Sanyuan nodded repeatedly, "Brother Zhou's words are truly insightful. When the Empress used a trick to force Brother Sun to split from our clan and sever ties with it, I anticipated that there would be even greater turmoil to come.
The Empress never does anything simply for the sake of doing it. Behind every action, there must be a chain reaction. The division of the Sun family was a pathfinder for the Empress. Furthermore, with Yang Ji conquering vast tracts of land in the south and Chen Zhuangshi rising in the north, the Jing Camp was firmly under Her Majesty's control. The imperial family members were also brought under control.
The conditions were in place, and the Empress took advantage of the situation to launch her grand plan to suppress and restrict the aristocratic families. The aristocratic families could either follow the trend and split up to maximize their benefits, or they could only resist to the end and bear the high tax rates.
The Ministry of Revenue is completely overwhelmed by the combined might of the Imperial Household, the Imperial Guard, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Once the Imperial Household is dispatched to survey land and collect grain taxes, we'll see chaos for a while. However, with the second round of subscriptions for the Imperial Household Grain Store, the stock price has skyrocketed by a hundred acres. I suspect the situation won't escalate, at least not to the point of widespread war.
Zhou Shian looked towards Sun Zhuangyuan and asked, "Brother Sun, what do you think?"
Sun Zhuangyuan stroked his beard. "Recently, the students in the academy have been in a state of panic, all discussing the issue of land taxation. In the past, as long as you passed the imperial examination, you could be exempted from taxes and labor service. Now, even if you pass the imperial examination, the land tax cap of 10% has been raised, so you can no longer enjoy the tax exemption.
Most of the students were full of resentment, clamoring that instead of studying, they would rather go home and farm. However, despite their clamor, the new law had been promulgated for a month, and so far not a single student had dropped out.
Sanyuan Gong then said, "No one has dropped out of Shanhe Academy. In fact, many people support the new law, believing that it fundamentally solves people's livelihood problems."
Sun Zhuangyuan continued, "As far as I know, no one has dropped out of the Imperial College, the Military Academy, or even the local academies. This is actually quite telling."
Sanyuan Gong nodded. "Studying is still the best choice. Even if you can't be exempt from taxes, as long as you have a good reputation, you can protect your family and legitimately own more land. If you become an official, you can buy and sell more land. I also received news that the court intends to increase official salaries."
"really?"
Sanyuan Gong chuckled, "It should be true. It's about land taxation, such a big thing, but the court officials didn't make a fuss. Aren't you curious about the reason? I think that just having shares in the Shaofu Grain Store and overseas properties is probably not enough to silence the court officials."
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