"Your Majesty, I believe that in order to prevent farmers from going bankrupt due to the suppression of grain prices by powerful landlords and tycoons, the tax system should be improved."
In addition to strengthening the control of grain prices, the method should be changed to collection in kind!
Following last autumn's harvest, including poll tax and land tax, only one shi of grain should be collected per mu of land!
"Grand Tutor's words make sense. After all, collecting taxes from farmers doesn't yield much money. We can use the collected grain and silk to exchange for cattle, sheep, and horses from the grasslands at a high price!"
"Yes, the farmers only pay about a thousand coins in taxes per mu of land, but a shi of grain can fetch at least thirty thousand coins on the grasslands according to this year's trade prices."
If used for brewing wine, it would fetch ten thousand coins domestically, and could be exchanged for a young, able-bodied slave abroad! No matter how you look at it, it's far more profitable than simply collecting money!
"Yes, yes, yes! This way, not only can we prevent the common people from being oppressed by those powerful clans and landlords, but we can also maximize their interests and generate more revenue for the imperial court!"
"That's right! Moreover, simply collecting grain can allow the people to have more grain left over, and at the same time, it can quickly replenish the official granaries in various places to balance grain prices and maximize the ability of the court and the people to withstand risks!"
Immediately, officials offered their opinions, outlining the various benefits of receiving gifts in kind.
"What you all say is very good, let's do it this way!"
Liu Hong nodded in satisfaction. A group of enlightened capitalist bureaucrats indeed had different ways of thinking and ideas. They were concerned with interests in everything they did, yet they also left room for the people in everything they did.
After discussion, a new Grain Bureau was established, specifically responsible for purchasing grain and monitoring the balance of grain prices.
In order to increase farmers' willingness to pay taxes, officials also discussed and formulated two subsidy laws.
Self-cultivating farmers would receive a subsidy of one hundred coins for every shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain they paid, as long as they paid the prescribed amount.
Farmers who reclaimed wasteland were not only exempt from taxes for two years, but the imperial government also provided seeds and farming tools free of charge for each acre for two years.
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