Late Tang Dynasty: I

Chapter 298 The Snake Catcher Says
If there is a vacancy, the observation envoy can appoint a person, which is decided by everyone, while the picket department will correct the illegal affairs of the fifth and sixth ranks.

The Kaogong Division and the Picket Division are not only under the jurisdiction of the Observation Envoy, but also supervised by the Ministry of Officials and the Yushitai. Such checks and balances have never been seen before.

His Majesty the Emperor tried to add a Sima to the Observation Institute, who was in charge of the context, and the school that had trained officials, of course, mainly focused on political ideology.

Li Ye is very good at this.

The emperor issued an imperial edict requesting officials from all over the fake Henan Province to study Liu Zongyuan's "Snake Man's Theory" carefully, and talk about his views on "tyranny is fiercer than tiger", and how to avoid it. , All government schools should organize learning and report ideas.

Those above the fifth rank of the imperial court also followed suit.

Zhong Tingyou, Sima Zhong Tingyou of the False Henan Road Observation Institute, received the emperor's edict and ran to Sun Wo, the official office of the Observation Envoy.

"Mr. Sun, Your Majesty issued an edict to learn from Liu Gong's "The Snake Catcher" in Daozhou County. How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Sun Wo frowned slightly, and said: "It's all for the minister to obey the order. I have also read Liu Gong's "The Snake Catcher". The words are like knives, and the knife sees blood!"

On that day in the Daoya lobby, Sun Wo, the observer, Dugushang, the deployment envoy, Zhong Tingyou, Sima Zhong Tingyou of the Observation Academy, Sun Dawei, the officer of the examination department, Xiong Fuyuan, the officer of the picket, and the officials of various departments of the Buzhengyuan came.

Just like going to court.

This posture has been experienced a long time ago. Yan Xueyun, the director of the Observatory, sat next to Sun Wo, took a pen to write, and recorded what everyone said. After the meeting, everyone had to sign on it.

This is to be presented to His Majesty the Emperor, and everyone cheers up.

"Sun Gong, Dugu Gong, colleagues, you must have read Liu Gong's "The Snake Catcher". Let me read it again today."

"There are different snakes in the wild in Yongzhou: they are black and white, and they will die when they touch the grass and trees; they will bite people and have no defense... The more they hear about it, the more sad they become. Confucius said: "A tyrannical government is fiercer than a tiger! "I doubt it at first, but now I look at it from Jiang's perspective, and I still believe it. Woohoo! Who knows that the poison of Fu Lian is really a snake!..."

After Zhong Tingyou finished reading, he stepped back, and Sun Wo said, "Everyone, let's discuss, what do you think of this article?"

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

Dugushang looked at Ye Boping, the secretary of agriculture, and his meaning was very clear. No matter at any time, in the officialdom, the rules are always followed, either from the youngest or the most respected.

"All the superiors and colleagues, Ye Mou shared some of his experience and talked about it, throwing bricks to attract jade."

Ye Boping stepped forward and said, seeing the chief bookkeeper Yan Xueyun writing, he quickly settled down, although it is a question, but it also leads directly to the heaven, if a word or two can reach the emperor's ears, it is not impossible to get lucky!
"The full text uses the tragic situation of three generations of snake catchers to describe the common people's lifelessness under the harsh government. Taizong said: the king, the boat, the people, the water, the water can carry the boat, and it can also overturn the boat. If the people have no shape, the world will be in chaos. This is the reason why the country cannot prosper. As a king, he is sympathetic to the people, and he is a minister. He should abide by the principles of his ministers, and not add to the people with selfish desires. Only when he is an official, does he benefit one side. This is some experience of the lower officials. Please correct me !"

Ma Maojin, the household official, shook his head, talking big and empty, as if he didn't say anything. He has experienced things, and he has also worked from the grassroots. He has served as a county boss. In fact, he has seen many dirty things at the bottom. .

"The agricultural tax of the imperial court is one tenth, and even if the military increases the tax, it is only three tenths. In the past, it was four tenths in the states, and ten tenths in the counties, and ten tenths. Tax six, if the tenant is a tenant, the owner will still receive [-]% of the income. After a year of hard work, only [-]% will be received. As the saying goes, it will be sweet for whomever works hard. If there is a disaster year, not only [-]% will be lost. You will also owe the government and the master's family food, and those who starve to death, don't know how much?"

Sun Wo nodded and said: "Ma Sihu's words are reasonable. The imperial court has repeatedly issued edicts, and private donations are not allowed. Now all the government officials and miscellaneous servants are eating public food. There is no need for the chief official to send donations. If there is a public party, no donations will be made, and those who violate it will be strictly investigated!"

All the bureaucrats are silent, the imperial court is good at everything, but it has too much control, the government spends on the surface, but secretly, that little salary is not enough.

Besides, there are so many unowned fields now, and these people all have thousands of acres of land, but it is so difficult to recruit tenants now, and those that are not unoccupied are still unused.

Sun Wo shook his head, they still didn't see the point.

Why did His Majesty the Emperor let them all read "The Snake Man's Talk"?
When His Majesty first succeeded to the throne, officials from Chang'an, Xungui, colluded with officials from various counties to assign this unclaimed land piece by piece to his own name.

There are tens of thousands of acres, and some people even seized hundreds of thousands of acres of land.

But what was the result?

A progressive tax system will drive these people directly to the bottom of the cliff. Per capita tax is one ten for less than [-] mu, two for ten for more than [-] mu, three for ten for more than [-] mu, and five for ten for more than [-] mu.

If the per capita exceeds [-] mu, all output will be handed over.

But this policy was limited to Guanzhong, Liangchuan, and Hanzhong, and it was not implemented in other places.

But now, it is shocking, facing so many unclaimed lands, the bureaucrats of various provinces, states, and counties are working one by one to quickly carve up all these lands.

The imperial court ordered to appease the refugees, divide the fields for farming, and divide the land when they came.

But what about now?
Tens of thousands of hectares of fertile land in Bozhou and Songzhou seemed to have owners overnight. What's even more hateful was that the refugees who had painstakingly recruited suddenly became their tenants.

Therefore, the court's laws and regulations are quite criticized by these bureaucrats!

"Everyone check for yourself, whether there is a tax increase in each state and county, how is the land checked, how is the household compiled, and whether the land tax is collected in secret! Tyranny is fiercer than a tiger. What is tyranny? I think there are officials in it. ah!

This official is located in Henan Province, and the administration of officials is also included in this official position. Now, the most important thing is to supervise the land registration of the fields and acres! "

"promise!"

"Trasty, harsh governance! Very good!" Sun Wo thought in his heart.

Zhong Tingyou said: "Everyone, Your Majesty said that this article should be related to reality. There is also the chaos of Huangchao, the disaster of the feudal town, the criticism of the current situation, and the policy of peace!"

"promise!"

After the officials left, Dugushang stayed behind and said to Sun Wo, "Grandpa Sun, why don't you send the picket to take care of it?"

Sun Wo shook his head and said: "Xuanwu has been in continuous wars, Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan have plundered several times, the original land deeds may have been destroyed long ago, and the official account books can't be found. How can I find out whether the original owners of these lands are dead or not?" I don't even know."

"Yes, they say the land is theirs, but who can prove it's not theirs, this matter is difficult!"

(End of this chapter)