Chapter 289 Equal Distribution of Rain and Dew
The officials eagerly awaited the arrival of Prime Minister Lin from the palace, but he did not appear that day.
It is said that His Majesty has specially arranged a small courtyard for Prime Minister Lin to live in within the inner palace, and Prime Minister Lin will not leave the palace before the next court assembly.
Everyone knows that His Majesty must be discussing something very important with Prime Minister Lin.
The people in the Prime Minister's residence were also worried. They tried to see Prime Minister Lin under the pretext of delivering something to him, but the eunuchs, who were usually all smiles and welcoming to the people in the Prime Minister's residence, quickly declined.
"No, His Majesty has decreed that Prime Minister Lin should spend the next few days in the palace thinking carefully about how to resolve the land tax issue."
No one is allowed to approach Lin Xiang.
"Shouldn't you at least send a couple of changes of clothes?" someone from the Prime Minister's residence hurriedly said.
"The inner palace is fully equipped; it has everything you could need. The Prime Minister lacks nothing here in the inner palace," the eunuch immediately said.
"Well... my father takes pills regularly, so surely sending two bottles of pills in should be enough!" Lin Xiang's eldest son was still a little unwilling.
"His Majesty has arranged for two imperial physicians to watch over the Prime Minister, so there will definitely be no problem."
"Besides, no matter how good the pills outside the palace are, can they be better than the pills from the Imperial Hospital inside the palace?" the eunuch laughed.
At this point, everyone knew that what His Majesty had asked Prime Minister Lin to do must be something important.
...
Three days later, one evening, a group of eunuchs suddenly came out of the palace and delivered messages to the homes of officials who were qualified to attend court.
"His Majesty has decreed that tomorrow's court assembly will proceed as scheduled! Everyone must attend the assembly and no one may be absent."
Those who are absent will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane!
The officials, who were still thinking about whether they could feign illness to avoid this calamity, had no choice but to go to court in disgrace.
They knew that this court assembly was bound to be a major shock.
...
Ye Yunshu sat upright on the throne, watching the ministers below shout "Long live the Emperor!"
As before, she didn't waste any words and directly ordered Song Zhimian to announce the decree.
"By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: ...The practice of illegally subletting land is rampant... ...Those who hold positions without performing their duties, abuse their power for personal gain... ...Competing with the people for profit, they are despicable..."
Ordinary people are struggling, and farmers are suffering terribly...
For the sake of the nation and its people, for the sake of ordinary citizens...
Land taxes were reduced by 50%, and those with academic titles were exempt from land taxes altogether: ten mu for a Xiucai (successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination), twenty mu for a Juren (successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination), and thirty mu for a Jinshi (successful candidate in the metropolitan-level imperial examination)...
Those who are not members of the clan are not allowed to register under their name; once discovered, their official titles will be revoked.
Those who joined the army also enjoyed the privilege of exemption from land tax. Ordinary soldiers were exempted from five mu of land tax, squad leaders from ten mu, platoon leaders from fifteen mu, and garrison leaders from twenty mu.
Those who sacrificed their lives in Da Yu will be permanently exempt from land taxes for three generations.
Those who serve in the military are exempt from land taxes, but they cannot use affiliations; if discovered, they will be dealt with according to military law.
Effective immediately, the Censorate, together with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel, will conduct a comprehensive investigation into officials' alleged ownership of land. If any such cases exist, they will be corrected; if not, they will be encouraged to continue their efforts.
Effective immediately, anyone found to be unrelated to the scheme and affiliation will be prosecuted for corruption...
So be it…
As soon as the imperial edict was read, the court fell silent.
They had considered that His Majesty should resolve the issue of exempting land taxes for those who registered their affiliation with officials, but everyone believed that this was a major matter, involving the decrees of Emperor Taizu, and that it was something that could be investigated.
Let the officials know what's going on, so they don't go too far.
But now this decree...
Okay, what needs to be investigated needs to be thoroughly investigated, just as everyone thinks.
To appease the people, the land tax was reduced by half, as everyone could imagine. In any case, the commerce of Da Yu is now more developed, and more taxes are collected from commerce.
But why is it that those with official titles can have less land exempted from taxation? From 80 mu for a scholar to only 10 mu now...
The 120 mu of land exempt from land tax for the candidates was reduced to 20 mu...
What's even more outrageous is that those common soldiers, whom scholars looked down upon, were now able to own land with reduced or exempted taxes...
This displeased those scholars who always believed that all other professions were inferior and only studying was superior.
Isn't this a slap in their face...?
“Your Majesty…” A fifth-rank official from the Ministry of Rites immediately stepped forward.
"What? Does Qian Youzhi have something to say?"
I seem to recall that the brother of one of your concubines threatened five candidates and put his family's land under their names, didn't he?
Did you send your concubine's brother to jail?
Hey, you're an official in the Ministry of Rites, you should regard money as dirt and only care about etiquette! Why do you value such a small amount of land tax so much!
"An official should prioritize the people. Qian Youzhi, you've been an official for so many years, don't you understand this principle?" Ye Yunshu asked calmly.
The official in charge of the Ministry of Rites immediately knelt down.
"Your humble servant would not dare!"
"It's best if you don't dare! Get out of here! Deal with your family matters first!" Ye Yunshu didn't even look at the trembling official from the Ministry of Rites.
Upon seeing this, an old official from the Hanlin Academy hurriedly stepped forward, forcing himself to do so.
"Your Majesty, the policy of exempting those with merit from land taxes was originally issued by Emperor Taizu..."
"What? You only remember this one decree? How come you don't remember all of Emperor Taizu's decrees?"
Emperor Taizu also said that the ruler is less important than the people. The Great Yu should take the people as its foundation. Farmers have a hard life and should be taken care of first.
I reduced the land tax by 50% precisely for the sake of the people, didn't I? What? Don't you understand this?
"Or do you only remember the policies that benefit you?" Ye Yunshu continued to ask.
The old master of the Hanlin Academy...
"This old minister dares not, what this old minister says is true..."
"Oh, so what you mean, Your Majesty, is that I shouldn't exempt the families of the garrison troops in Dayu from land taxes?"
Lord Hao, that's not right!
The soldiers of Dayu defended their homeland and paid such a high price for the peace of Dayu, so why can't they enjoy the preferential treatment of exemption from land tax?
"Lord Hao, you should understand that if it weren't for the blood and sweat shed by the soldiers of Dayu, would you still have the leisure to embrace your beautiful wives and concubines, compose poems, and paint every day?" Ye Yunshu said bluntly.
The old master of the Hanlin Academy...
"Your Majesty, I didn't mean it that way!" The old minister of the Hanlin Academy quickly knelt down as well.
As soon as Ye Yunshu finished speaking, the military officers in the court finally realized what was happening.
In particular, the people in the Ministry of War were initially frightened by this decree, never expecting that the good thing of reducing land taxes could also fall on those who joined the army.
They were stunned and didn't know what to say, but Ye Yunshu deliberately steered the conversation in that direction, and they immediately realized what was going on.
Yes, this decree is good. Why should only those pedantic scholars with official titles enjoy the privilege of being exempt from land taxes, while these military men cannot?
"That's right, Lord Hao, do you also think that we roughnecks are unworthy?"
If it weren't for us risking our lives to protect Dayu and guard the border, where would you go to enjoy your life?
"So you think you can get exempted from land taxes just by wielding a pen all day, while those of us who risk our lives don't deserve it?"
"Exactly! His Majesty's decree is excellent; it truly cares for the people. Only you scoundrels with guilty consciences would jump out to oppose it!"
"Heh, these people should be sent to the north or southwest, so they can learn what a battlefield is like..."
The court quickly split into two factions arguing.
...
Ye Yunshu looked with satisfaction at the officials below who were arguing amongst themselves.
Father is right. When things get tricky, he instigates his courtiers to quarrel. It is said that this is one of the Emperor of Dayu's most secretive methods.
After watching for a while, Ye Yunshu noticed that the area below had quieted down again, so she signaled Song Zhimian to continue reading the imperial decree.
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