The Fourth Prince slept soundly through the night at the Yuanmingyuan Garden without any dreams. When he woke up in the morning, Lanqin was still asleep. The Fourth Prince carefully avoided disturbing Lanqin and quietly got up, specifically instructing the palace maids not to disturb Consort Xi.
After Fourth Master finished dressing and left, Lanqin did not open her eyes.
As soon as the Fourth Prince left, Lanqin sat up with a sly smile. Baoqin was taken aback: "Your Majesty... The Emperor... The Emperor just left... He said not to let us wake you, and instructed the kitchen to stew eight-treasure porridge for you..."
Lanqin smiled shyly and stretched out her hand. She laughed and said, "I know, I deliberately didn't get up, so that Fourth Prince wouldn't be reluctant to go back to the palace. Then someone would put some strange names on me, which would be a huge loss... This way it's good, I can still enjoy everything that Fourth Prince has prepared for me..." Baoqin chuckled, admiring Lanqin's idea.
When the Fourth Prince returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he saw Su Peisheng pacing anxiously back and forth, carrying the Fourth Prince's court robes. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince, Su Peisheng rushed over. The Fourth Prince's heart tightened; he put on his robes as he walked, hearing Su Peisheng say, "Your Majesty has returned! It's getting late, and the ministers are all waiting… Yesterday…"
The Fourth Prince straightened his clothes, his steps never faltering, and turned his head to ask, "What happened yesterday?"
Su Peisheng's expression was grave as he sighed, "Last night, the Imperial Laundry Department caught fire... His Majesty was not present, and someone came to report it. This servant didn't know what to do, so I made an excuse to avoid it..."
The Fourth Prince's heart sank. Without asking any further questions, he hurried off to the morning court session.
This morning's court session was a crucial moment that the Fourth Prince had been preparing for. Li Wei, under the Fourth Prince's instructions, was the first to step forward and report: "Your Majesty, I have traveled to various provinces by imperial decree and have found the livelihoods of the people to be quite worrisome. The common people rely on farming for their livelihood, and during good harvests, the powerful and wealthy receive much, while the poor receive very little. In years of famine, those without land or property suffer from hunger and cold, the strong are forced to flee, and the old and weak perish in ditches. I am deeply saddened and therefore believe that the 'land tax reform' implemented by the late Emperor might improve this situation. I humbly request Your Majesty's consideration..."
The moment these words were spoken, there was much discussion within the court. The Fourth Prince had already anticipated this situation and did not react much.
He gestured for Li Wei to continue: "The immediate problem is that only a few people own land, while the majority are landless. Land consolidation not only causes a large-scale population movement, but also leads to many people gathering and then fleeing. The population is drastically reduced, and previously the imperial court collected taxes, which was relatively difficult to enforce. However, if the 'pollination into land tax' policy is implemented, the poll tax will be incorporated into the land tax, abolishing the previous 'head tax.' Thus, landless farmers and other laborers will be freed from the burden of poll tax that has existed for thousands of years; the tax burden on landlords will increase, which will also limit or alleviate land consolidation to some extent; and the burden on farmers with little land will be relatively reduced."
“No…” Eighth Prince was the first to stand up and object. Fourth Prince’s face darkened, and he was very displeased. But Eighth Prince still said, “Lord Li is indeed right to care about the common people. But is it too hasty to overturn the previous dynasty’s tax policy for the sake of temporary difficulties? Besides, the late emperor had considered the idea of ‘integrating land tax into poll tax’ before. The reason why it was not implemented was that this method could not stabilize people’s hearts in the long run.”
The Nian family members exchanged glances and stepped forward, saying to the Fourth Prince, "The Eighth Prince's words make sense. The 'equalization of land tax and poll tax' might temporarily solve the plight of the surrounding disaster victims, but it would also impose a heavier tax burden on wealthy households who own large amounts of land. I am worried that this will lead to their rebellion, which would put the court in a difficult position."
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