Three Kingdoms: At the beginning, Lu Bu was mistaken for his father-in-law

Chapter 376 Chapter Lu Lin’s son-in-law’s showdown

"Usually when a dynasty is established, the treasury is filled from head taxes rather than land taxes. This is because every time a dynasty changes, there is often a situation where there are more people and less land. If the land tax is levied, the revenue and expenditure of the treasury will be lower. Unbalanced.

Of course, this also means that the biggest tax targets are the common people, not the powerful landlords and wealthy families.

But as the dynasty rises and falls, this contradiction will shift, from more people and less land to more people and less land. My son-in-law has already told his father-in-law about this reason, and his father-in-law himself should be very clear about it. Powerful families continued to annex land, causing many people to become their serfs and successfully avoid taxes.

Then, the gap in tax avoidance can only be filled by the existing people. Tax increases will inevitably occur, and over time, riots will occur among the peasant class. "

In the Taiwei's mansion, Lin Mo and Lu Bu sat opposite each other.

During the recent period, Lin Mo began to teach his old father-in-law.

Even Liu Xie, who was accustomed to being a puppet, was very interested in this kind of knowledge, but that was not the case for his old father-in-law. However, due to Lin Mo's request, he still suppressed his temper and listened.

“The biggest drawback of court taxation is that there is no way to transfer it from poll tax to field tax, because we cannot know exactly how much cultivated land is actually in each county in each state.

Most of them are concentrated in the hands of powerful aristocratic families, but they have many means to avoid statistics, conceal and omit reporting. The main reason for this is also due to the investigation system, which has the interests of the aristocratic families from top to bottom. change.

Therefore, in order to break this shackles, the son-in-law forcibly promoted the implementation of the imperial examination system. Even so, it would take ten or twenty years to replace all the blood.

In other words, for a long period of time in the future, if we do not take some other measures, then the head tax will still be the support of the national treasury, which is a very unstable factor. "

Lin Mo was teaching Lu Bu a lesson, but sometimes it was more like complaining.

Looking at the long history, we can actually adopt tax reforms that are suitable for the background of this era, and it should be regarded as the best choice to spread the tax from one person to another.

But the problem is that even if the method of apportioning land into acres is used, it is based on the premise of clear farmland data. If you cannot calculate this base number or the approximate range, this policy cannot be implemented.

Think about it, it took even a ruthless man like Zhu Yuanzhang more than ten years to roughly calculate the area of ​​cultivated land in the country. How difficult it was.

"The land tax cannot be paid, and the poll tax can easily crush the people. Do you have any other options?" Lu Bu put his chin on his hand, his whole body was in low spirits, and he could tell at a glance that he was a scholar-weary person.

But he was able to ask this question, and Haolai also listened to what he said before.

“My idea is to combine the Zhen family and the Ze family chamber of commerce to monopolize the merchants, and even suppress the powerful business paths of other aristocratic families, so as to ensure that this source of income can greatly relieve the pressure on the national treasury.

To this end, there are two main things we need to do next. The first is to manage water transportation to facilitate trade; the second is to consider whether the curfew should be further relaxed. "

The premise of focusing on agriculture and suppressing business is actually often due to the fact that once a war breaks out, merchants can pack up their clothes and leave immediately, but the common people are different. Their land is here, which is the foundation of their existence, and they cannot escape. Therefore, the status of merchants has always been extremely important. low.

Moreover, although the curfew issue can better ensure security and defense in the city, it will severely suppress business.

In order to liberate productivity, the first step should actually be to encourage trade. First, it can increase tax revenue in this area. Second, it can also greatly solve the labor problem.

Although the land problem has not been completely solved, with the help of plows, chemical fertilizers, and the secret support of banks, people's lives will definitely further improve, and they will gradually gain purchasing power. At the same time, the extra labor force can also be used with merchants. mutual benefit.

"Water transportation, trade, curfew. Hehehe."

Lu Bu smiled and scratched his head, "I think it will be better if you talk to Wenhe and Gongtai about these matters. Oh, by the way, I also made an appointment with Meng Qi to teach martial arts today.

You know, his sister is now with Zilong, so she is half a member of the family. It’s not easy for me to hide my secrets, right? That’s it for today. "

"My father-in-law!"

Lin Mo stopped in front of Lu Bu, frowned and said: "I know you are not interested in these things, but my father-in-law should also know that your Majesty has already plotted to take action. When we put down the rebellion of Jing and Yi, it will be over. When confronting him.

That will be the day when his career as an emperor comes to an end. A country cannot live without a king for a day. If your father-in-law doesn't take advantage of the opportunity to learn about state affairs, is it possible that the people in the court will be like puppets and let their subordinates do what they want? "

Lu Bu sighed sadly, sat down again and looked at Lin Mo helplessly, "Yunwen, let me tell you the truth, I'm really not interested in the 95th position, and I can't do it.

I was born to be a reckless man who fights on the battlefield. Being a general is already my biggest wish. As you said, to become an outstanding emperor, you must not only understand the Dragon Royal Palace, but also understand the way of the emperor and understand the state affairs. These are not my strengths, nor can they be learned in a short time.

When the matter is finally settled, I have no other requirements for you, except that Chuan'er must be the crown prince, and your other heirs can only assist him and cannot pose any threat to him. "

Well, this is my old father-in-law's only idea. I can take the throne, but Chuan'er must take over. Fortunately, I have half of his blood.

Lin Mo glanced at his old father-in-law and said with a smile: "A real man lives between heaven and earth, how can he live in depression for a long time? Now there is a great opportunity for the father-in-law to rise to power, and the son-in-law will also assist him. You really can't do anything about it." Move?"

Lu Bu curled his lips and said with emotion: "Don't talk about being an emperor, even the position of a lieutenant, I have been on pins and needles these days.

I have thought about it. When everything is settled and the new dynasty is stable, I will lead my troops to the outside of the wall to kill him in a circle.

You govern the world in the capital, and I drive out the barbarians in the border areas. Aren't you doing the same thing so that the people can enjoy peace and prosperity? "

It can be seen that the old father-in-law is not uninterested in the affairs of the court, but is simply disgusted.

In fact, it didn't matter to Lin Mo which of the two sons-in-law became the emperor. He just felt that it was not easy for the old father-in-law to get to where he is today, and it would be a pity not to enjoy the supreme position.

However, some people have wind in their blood and are destined to wander by nature, and my old father-in-law is obviously one of them.

With such a character, if he could barely sit on it, he would be more like a puppet than Liu Xie.

Looking at Lin Mo who was in a daze, Lu Bu smiled heartily and said, "Yunwen, they say that there has been no family affection in the royal family since ancient times. I am very happy that you can think of me like this.

Forget it, Wen Yuan said that according to the report submitted by Qingxu, the navy can recruit about 30,000 people, and the water quality is very good. Don't fall behind in terms of warships. "

Lin Mo nodded, "Don't worry, Mr. Yue Zhang. Now the three major shipyards of Jiangxia, Jiangdong Lujia, and Xuzhou Zeshi are supervising the construction of warships. I have given them a fatal task. They must supervise the construction of at least twenty ships before the autumn harvest." The chariots, red horses, cockroaches, and sea swans are also more elite than those of the Jingzhou Army, otherwise why would you give them so much money?"

"I'm more interested in these things."

The old father-in-law grinned when he heard this, "Okay, I'll go find Meng Qi. I hope he can understand his own marksmanship like Zilong before going out."

Warrior, vulgar warrior

His mind is filled with thoughts of being a warrior, and after finishing fighting at home, he still points to going abroad to fight.

Of course, Lin Mo also understood that his father-in-law was so interested in Ma Chao because he hoped to train him more useful generals to stabilize Lu Lin's empire.

He also cares about it, but everyone uses different methods.

Lu Bu's greatest wish in this life is to become a general, and Liu Qi's greatest wish in this life is to inherit Liu Biao's mantle and become the just and powerful governor of Jingzhou.

Liu Bei's broken ship is indeed hopeless. What Wei Yan said makes sense. If it is delayed, it will lead to a dead end. If you still want to survive in this troubled times and truly get back your own Jingzhou governor, you can only use Liu Guanzhang. His head has come to submit his name.

It's a pity that this idea was rejected by Huang Zhong bitterly when he mentioned it to him. "My lord, a real man has some things to do and some things he doesn't do. Although the emperor's uncle has suffered a few losses since he assisted the lord, in the end he has always been loyal to the lord." It's also helpful.

What's more, they didn't do any overstepping. The lord asked them to go to Baqiu, and they went there honestly. They killed them just to survive. My lord, this is the behavior of villains and is absolutely unacceptable. Yes! "

There is no saying that Huang Zhong is loyal. At least when Liu Qi was in the most difficult time, he firmly supported the eldest son.

But this does not mean that he is foolish and loyal. He has his own character and his own ideas.

In fact, except for his connivance with Guan Yu in Anfeng's defeat, Liu Bei's behavior in other matters can be said to be unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness, which Huang Zhong admires quite a lot.

Huang Zhong really couldn't do it if he were to attack Liu Bei without any reason.

"General Huang" Liu Qi hesitated to speak. Without his help, it would be unrealistic to capture Liu Guanzhang. Although, before speaking, I had guessed that Huang Zhong might refuse, but I didn't expect him to be so firm.

"My lord, unless the general refuses to obey my lord's military orders, even if my lord really wants to switch to Lulin, he can send someone to inform Uncle Yu and let him decide where to go on his own, so why bother to kill them all.

What is the difference between this and betraying a friend for glory? I will ask the lord to think twice. "Huang Zhong advised earnestly.

"What General Huang said is true, I will consider it carefully." After saying that, Liu Qi turned and left with some disappointment.

Liu Qi really didn't have any stance or principles. When Huang Zhong said this, he actually thought of letting Liu Bei go.

Of course, the biggest fear is still Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. Huang Zhong is the only one who can fight with them. If he doesn't participate, if there is a head-on conflict, these two people are known to be able to defeat thousands of troops. Liu Qi was worried that his head would be missing before he could take the position of Jingzhou governor.

However, Wei Yan, who was waiting in the council hall, didn't think so, "My lord, there was the Battle of Anfeng earlier, and the incident at Yang'an Mountain caused Huang Taishou to misunderstand the prince quite deeply. However, Huang Taishou was very popular with Lin Sikong, and Sun This is evident from the fact that the entire family was wiped out.

Now, Jia Taichang is determined to help the young master, but if he doesn't show some sincerity, how can the young master ask Jia Taichang to speak to Lin Sikong?

He would even doubt the young master's sincerity.

No matter how brave Liu, Guan, and Zhang are, they are only three of them after all. As long as the young master lures the three of them to come to Hunan, they will get drunk and have hundreds of soldiers on both sides. How can they not kill them?

Use their heads in exchange for the governor of Jingzhou to protect the young master. This is the last chance for the young master. Don't miss it! "

If Liu Guanzhang dies, Liu Qi's contribution will be much greater, and Wei Yan's contribution will also be greater.

The most important thing is that Wei Yan felt that with the troops Liu Qi had on hand, killing Liu Guanzhang was as simple as squeezing a bug to death, and it didn't have to be done by Huang Zhong.

On the contrary, Liu Qi's character is not only wavering, but also lacks courage, making it difficult to achieve great things.

Liu Qi thought about it for a while, and Jia Xu had already made it clear that he wanted Liu Guanzhang's head, but this was a matter within his ability. If he couldn't do it, what would happen even if he surrendered in the end? Easy to say.

"Okay then, I will write a letter and say that I have government affairs to discuss with him. We will wait and see how many people come when the time comes. I will wait for the opportunity."

Liu Qi was a little uneasy. If it was Liu Bei who was coming, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were coming, then he really wouldn't dare to do anything without getting them drunk. The aura of these two people was not something Liu Qi could withstand.

"Then the general will wish the young master success. At that time, Jia Taichang, who is at the court, will only fight for the young master to be the governor of Jingzhou."

Wei Yan took out another piece of silk cloth from his arms and said, "Oh, by the way, this is the emperor's secret edict sent by Mrs. Jia, please see it."

Liu Qi took over the reading, and just as Wei Yan said last time, he just scolded Liu Bei for not being a human son and colluding with Cao Cao, and secretly ordered Liu Qi, the magistrate of Xinye County, to capture and kill him.

With this sealed edict, I am morally defensible.

At the same time, it also confirmed that Jia Xu was not painting a cake for himself, and the panic on Liu Qi's face receded a lot.

"Young Master, if I stay too long, I'm afraid it will arouse unnecessary suspicion. I will go back to Jiangxia to wait for the good news of the Young Master." Wei Yan handed over and turned around to leave.

Looking at Wei Yan's back and then at the secret edict in his hand, Liu Qi had a smile on his face. He felt that he had been coerced into doing things for half his life, and nothing really came out of his heart.

But the matter has come to this, and there is no choice.

"Five hundred people should be enough." After Liu Qi murmured, he took the secret edict into his arms.

Jingzhou, Xiangyang City, Kuai Mansion.

The Kuai brothers all held a reward from the emperor in their hands, with complicated expressions.

"Yidu, how long has it been since you last seen Degui?" Kuai Liang asked.

"For some time, my lord has been worried about the civil and military groups in Jingzhou rebelling against each other. Every time we meet, my lord will show up, so what else is there to see?"

Kuai Yue smiled bitterly, "But when De Gui came out to reprimand Lu Lin, Lin Mo must have understood that it was just a threat from the master.

That's why there is this reward. "

Kuai Liang nodded, deeply convinced, "This reward really comes at the right time, which is equivalent to rekindling De Gui's hope of defecting. After all, he has 80,000 navy men under his command, and the lord can't keep an eye on him." It may be airtight.

What's more, in the entire land of Jingxiang, apart from De Gui, Zhong Ye is the only one who can lead the navy to fight, but Zhong Ye's prestige in the navy is far less than De Gui. I guess this is the reason why the lord does not dare to replace De Gui. "

At first, asking Cai Hao to go to court to accuse Lu Lin seemed to be able to completely cut off Cai Hao's thoughts of surrendering to the enemy. This was indeed the case. After going to court, Cai Hao knew that this road had been completely blocked.

But now the situation has changed again. The reward is very clear. As long as you take this reward and defect, the past will be forgotten.

Moreover, they also believed that Lu Lin was not just talking casually, and that Chen Qun, Du Xi and Du Ji were the best examples.

In the past, they had contributed a lot to Cao Cao, but after arriving in Xuchang, they were all treated as honored guests and their officials were reinstated.

"Brother, what do you mean, we can test De Gui's intentions?" Kuai Yue asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It's not necessary."

Kuai Liang narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "If such a big thing happens, my lord will definitely take action. Whoever takes the lead at this time will become the target of public criticism.

Just wait, in order to stabilize the overall situation, the Lord will even kill chickens to scare monkeys. "

Kuai Yue nodded slowly, "Brother sees things clearly."

"However, we can still keep this reward for now. It may be useful at a critical moment." Kuai Liang did not agree with taking immediate action, but he still had to leave a way out.

While the two were chatting, the housekeeper of the Kuai Mansion ran in hurriedly and said in horror: "Oh no, Master, something big has happened!"

"What happened?" The two of them quickly put away the reward and asked with a frown.

The housekeeper swallowed, "The ancestral grave of the Kuai family outside the city was dug up!"

"What did you say?" Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue stood up suddenly after hearing this.

The ancestral grave has been dug up. In this era of Feng Shui and Dragon Vein theory, this will obviously cut off the incense of the Kuai family.

There is nothing more immoral than this in the world.

"Not only the Kuai family, I heard that the ancestral graves of the Cai family, Huang family and Pang family were also dug up!"

The housekeeper gasped for breath, "Now, the other three families are gathering people to rush over to check. House master, let's take people to check it out quickly!"

"That's unreasonable!"

Kuai Liang shook his clothes and shouted angrily: "Gather the soldiers immediately. I want to see who is determined to be the enemy of our four major families!"

Kuai Yue also held the sword on his waist and said with trembling cheeks: "The purpose of digging into someone's ancestral grave is to exterminate someone. No matter who he is, if he is found out, he will be crushed to ashes!"

(End of this chapter)