Johime Three Kingdoms

Chapter 364 Eight Strategies
Jian Yong opened Bai Tu's crucial letter. After looking at it for a few times, his face quickly turned green.

If it weren't for Bai Tu's serious look, Jian Yong really suspected that Bai Tu was deliberately embarrassing the court - how could he agree?

There are many things on the letterhead, eight in total.

The first one belongs to Bai Tu himself, which means dividing the river to govern - with Jiangling, Shouchun, and Guangling as the boundaries. Bai Tu will not give up the jurisdiction of the General Mansion in the south. This is not only responsible for Bai Tu himself, but also for Bai Tu himself. He is responsible for the military under his command and the wealthy families who rely on him.

Although it is a land-locked territory, in Jian Yong's opinion, this is the most normal and almost the only condition that can be agreed to!
After all, compared to the "bottom line" in this regard, Bai Tu even took the initiative to return Nanyang and northern Jiangxia...

However, starting from the second article, it has become "nonsense"!

The second article can be summed up in two words - imperial examination.

The meaning of "imperial examination" was also written on the letter, and it was even suggested that if the court did not understand it, the General's Mansion could send someone to provide guidance.

But...is this a matter of guidance?
Is it meritocracy to be an official through examinations or exams?In the Eastern Han Dynasty, this was obviously anti-imperial political incorrectness!
The third article is in the same vein as the second article, and can be summed up as - establishing official schools.

That is to say, we should promote county schools and county schools to break the monopoly on knowledge...

Of course, Bai Tu did not say that we would go as far as the Song Dynasty where the imperial examination became almost the only official selection system. He only proposed that the imperial examination and the imperial examination should be carried out in parallel, similar to the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

But compared to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Bai Tu's imperial examinations also mentioned arithmetic, mechanical science, natural science and other categories. It was not just about being an official, but also the germination of "textual research".

After all, transition takes time!
"Mr. Bai's heart can shine like the sun and the moon, but these two or three...are you too hasty?" Jian Yong said in a stiff tone.

"Don't worry, the general's office is doing it now. If the court can't do it well, I can provide guidance." Upon hearing this, Bai Tu's tone was harsher than Jian Yong's.

Obviously, Tang Taizong's long-term strategy of "making all the heroes old" is now seen by Jian Yong, or in the eyes of the imperial court, as a strategy to disrupt the country, which makes Bai Tu helpless.

"Then the ratio between the imperial examination and the imperial examination..." Jian Yong still wanted to struggle to see if Bai Tu had left any room.

"In short, from now on, the General's Mansion will hold imperial examinations every three years, and encourage foreign students to serve, and also encourage local students to travel far away, so as to promote the policies of the General's Mansion." Bai Tu said directly.

Translated, if the court does not attach importance to the imperial examinations, the talents cultivated by your official schools will flow to the general government. On the contrary, if it attaches importance to the imperial examinations and is unwilling to spend money to support the official schools, students from Chu will account for half of the court in the future.

Of course, it is also possible to break the pot and not pay attention to both, but if the imperial court agrees to these, it must be passed on to the world, so that the people can know the news.
Jian Yong moved the corner of his mouth but didn't say anything - after all, he also came from a poor family. Although he felt that Bai Tu was making things difficult for the court, deep down he also expected it.

The fourth article requires the imperial court to support agriculture and allow industry, that is, like the General's Office, promote the essence of Shennong and other measures, and at the same time relax the restrictions on industry and workshops.

As for pure business, Baitu's attitude has always been "don't care". Each place has the responsibility to ensure the peace of trade routes, but commercial taxes have also been rising again and again. Compared with industry, Baitu basically neither restrains nor restrains merchants. No support, just... Being able to ensure that they are not used for slaughtering pigs and to eliminate banditry in the territory has already made the General's Mansion very popular with businessmen under the background of "comrades".

It’s just that this tax is really painful. Compared with agricultural tax and industrial tax, commercial tax is the heaviest.

After all, it was Lu Su and others who had calculated everything in every possible way so that they could make money without getting rich suddenly.

After all, the development dividends of industry and agriculture are created by the ministries of the general government and the people. Businessmen also have the right to enjoy them, but they cannot let middlemen grab the big profits...

At first glance, although it goes against the agricultural-oriented principle, it seems better than the previous two?

However, there was a small note in it that made Jian Yong want to vomit at Bai Tu - a promise to reduce the grain tax to one in ten taxes within five years, and to abolish the grain tax within ten years!

"Mr. Bai, this is too high-minded and reticent. Without grain taxes, how can the court be supported and run?" Jian Yong resisted the urge to spit out his saliva.

"That's why we need to expand the official land. Now that Guanzhong is in decline, I heard that the imperial court is about to restart Guanzhong Water Conservancy? I think this is a great opportunity. I will take advantage of this moment to return the land abandoned by the wealthy family to the government and develop it. Collective farming, coupled with the continued development of agriculture in the future, will greatly increase output. As long as industry develops, industrial and commercial taxes will be enough to give the court enough power to purchase excess grain from farmers to fill the treasury!"

Bai Tu's concern for the court made Jian Yong somewhat unable to say anything to refute, but...the concept of food tax as the basis was deeply rooted in the hearts of the Eastern Han people.

And looking at the fifth and sixth points, Jian Yong feels that the fourth point is not the most embarrassing.

The fifth point is that the independence of the royal family's industry cannot be tampered with, and future generations cannot be granted the title without merit...

The purpose of Bai Tu is very clear, that is, to point out the imperial family's occupation of the imperial court.

After Liu Bang ruled the world, he said to his father, your old man used to say that my eldest brother is hardworking and willing to work, and how much land is in the family, but I am idle...but now the land in the whole world is mine.

However, Bai Tu wanted to tell Liu Xie, don't listen to your ancestors, the world belongs to everyone in the world, not your ancestors, nor you.

In fact, the old Liu family in the Han Dynasty did quite well in this regard. Mainly because after the Seven Kings Rebellion, starting from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the old Liu family was relatively cruel to their own people. Even if you don’t make mistakes, you will automatically cut it from generation to generation.

For example, before Liu Bei launched his army, he was just a straw sandal maker...

Compared with later generations, the Ming and Qing dynasties, the clan in the Han Dynasty did not cause so much trouble, because the clan of the old Liu family could be reduced to common people as their relatives gradually became distant.

In the Ming Dynasty, no matter how the old Zhu family was demoted, they were guaranteed to be sixth-grade generals. Although most of them had no real power, the number of descendants eventually even strained the finances. In the Qing Dynasty, it was even lower, but there was still a guarantee, and not only the clan , and the elders of the Eight Banners.

The old Liu family was actually quite good in this regard. Bai Tu specifically mentioned it just to prevent the slightest glitches. After all, if the Han Dynasty was revived again, it would really leave an "orthodox" impression in the hearts of the Chinese people. Even if it is as difficult as the royal family of a certain island country, it will naturally be more stringent towards the clan members.

According to the rules of Bai Tuhua, the emperor has no right to title his own sons. All rewards that can be given to future generations must be taken from the royal family's own inner treasury.

As for the proportion of tax revenue input into the internal treasury, there cannot be any increase - I believe that as long as this rule is set, future courtiers will spontaneously watch the emperor.

The main thing is to stop granting titles without merit. Otherwise, the emperor would often grant titles to his sons as county kings or county kings. Then wouldn’t the taxes that were originally going to the court be given to the royal family in vain?
It's just that in Jian Yong's opinion, the emperor can't even give his son a title. What you draw according to the rules... will be painted on the emperor's face, right?
The sixth point is the criminal law, which not only abolishes the criminal law, but also abolishes the ransom for serious crimes, but also has a faint meaning of "everyone is equal"!
The seventh point is to abolish life-long contracts and slave status. Regardless of official or private, the maximum is only ten years.

The eighth point is a maddening emphasis that all the above requirements are treated equally by everyone, regardless of age, gender, whether they are slaves or not...

The eight conditions, except for the first one, are not so much about seeking benefits, but setting up rules for the court, which makes Jian Yong not optimistic about these eight policies, but Bai Tu has no intention of negotiating.

(End of this chapter)