The oil lamp had burned down, and pale morning light filtered in.
Emperor Liu Xie, Empress Fu Shou, and a few trusted eunuchs were poring over something in the Jiaofang Palace. After a night of toil, everyone’s spirits were flagging.
Emperor Liu Xie remained seated upright, his focus unwavering. Empress Fu Shou, however, being a woman, could no longer endure. Her head had quietly tilted to the side, her face etched with sleepiness.
Leng Shouguang, among the eunuchs, though propping his forehead and diligently reading, could not help but cover his mouth and stifle a yawn. He fought off sleep and picked up another bamboo slip, wrapped in white silk. The content of the slip was related to the Han dynasty’s taxation.
This was… the tax decrees of the Han dynasty across various periods.
Suddenly, Leng Shouguang saw the words "Abolish Commercial Tax" written on the layers of white silk wound around the bamboo slip. His spirits lifted slightly. He untied the ribbon and examined it carefully. His expression shifted from disbelief to shock, then to exhilaration, his hands trembling as he held the bamboo slip.
The sky had begun to brighten. He deliberately moved the lamp closer. The lamp oil burned his hand, but he didn't bother to wipe it, merely shaking his hand, his eyes still fixed on the bamboo slip.
Leng Shouguang’s unusual excitement drew the attention of the other eunuchs. They gazed at him. However, Leng Shouguang had no time to explain. He immediately picked up the bamboo slip and handed it to Emperor Liu Xie.
"Your Majesty, look at this. The commercial tax was indeed abolished during the reign of Emperor Wu. It lasted for only ten years. Since the abolition of the commercial tax, many commoners sold themselves to become slaves, and it was from that time that aristocratic families and powerful clans began to rise."
Leng Shouguang’s expression and tone surprised Emperor Liu Xie. He took the bamboo slip and read it. "So that's how it is! So that's how it is!" he said in fury.
"What has Your Majesty discerned?" Empress Fu Shou had also woken up. Seeing Liu Xie's peculiar expression, she quickly asked.
"Summon the Imperial Censor Lu Ziyu!" Emperor Liu Xie did not answer, but immediately gave the order. His tone was exceptionally urgent.
"Your Majesty, it's not yet Chen Shi (7-9 AM)!" Empress Fu Shou hastily reminded him. Summoning an external minister to the palace at this hour was highly impolite and disrupted the established order.
"So the rise of clans originated from our Han dynasty’s taxation. I cannot wait another moment. Today, we shall adjourn court early. I intend to go out of the palace in disguise, to the Marquis of Baima’s residence!"
This… Empress Fu Shou was stunned, but Emperor Liu Xie’s tone was exceptionally resolute. A eunuch was already preparing plain clothes. Empress Fu Shou bit her lip, her heart involuntarily filled with a complex emotion. She had a premonition that something momentous was about to happen.
…
…
There was no morning court today, and the Chongde Hall was unusually empty. Instead, in a side hall of the Marquis of Baima’s residence, Emperor Liu Xie and Empress Fu Shou were kneeling with Lu Yu and Cai Zhaoji. Guards from the Longxiao Camp and the Imperial Guard stood outside, ensuring no one could approach within thirty paces. Even the serving maids were sent far away. A pot of tea was warming in the room. After Cai Zhaoji personally poured tea for Liu Xie and Lu Yu, she took Empress Fu Shou to Princess Wannian Liu Xue’s chambers.
Now, only Lu Yu and Liu Xie remained.
"Your Majesty has adjourned court early to seek me out; it must be for urgent matters, right?"
"There are some matters!" Liu Xie nodded, his gaze shifting to the documents on the table. The Imperial Guard had already gathered all the tax decrees of the Han dynasty collected last night and laid them out.
"Your Majesty? What is this?" Lu Yu inquired.
"Imperial Censor Lu, please take a look…" Liu Xie gestured. As Lu Yu unrolled the document, Liu Xie continued, "The Han dynasty’s taxation is unreasonable. After the abolition of commercial tax during Emperor Wu's reign, the court's revenue has been primarily based on the head tax!"
As Liu Xie stated, the Han dynasty’s taxes were mainly divided into three categories: agricultural tax, head tax, and commercial tax. In the economy of the Han Empire, agricultural tax was used to pay the stipends of officials at all levels, the head tax was used to cover defense expenditures, and the commercial tax was for the expenses of nobles and the emperor at all levels.
And precisely… during Emperor Wu's reign, the commercial tax was abolished for unknown reasons. As for the agricultural tax, it was in the tenth year of Yanxi, or the first year of Yongkang, the year Emperor Ling ascended the throne, that the powerful families led by the imperial in-laws, the Dou clan, and the powerful minister Chen Fan jointly abolished the agricultural tax!
This meant that from that time onwards, all expenditures of the empire, whether for official stipends or defense, or the expenses of nobles and the emperor, had to be drawn from the head tax. This also caused the tax amount of the head tax to increase year by year, leading to increasingly tight military finances! It forced Emperor Ling to be powerless in the face of drought, locust plagues, ice disasters, and floods. Foreign tribes raided the borders for two years, yet military funds were slow to be released!
Yet, on the other hand… the wealth of the common people had been completely plundered. So… an interesting question arises? Where did the money of the Han Empire go? It was precisely this point that Liu Xie had thought of, prompting him to eagerly seek out Lu Yu to explore solutions.
"Besides taxation, the military service system also has obvious loopholes!" Liu Xie continued. "While commoners pay the head tax, they are also subjected to arduous 'military service' and 'corvée labor'! These burdens… should not be entirely imposed upon the common people!"
As previously explained… in the Han dynasty, male military service was a mandatory national duty, from which no one could escape. Military service was divided into three types: the first was for two years, serving in the Han court's northern and southern armies; the second was to garrison border regions; the third was to serve in distant areas. In addition to military service, commoners also had to perform "corvée labor," which meant contributing one month of unpaid labor for the empire each year, and even covering their own travel and other expenses!
Simply put… a man from the age of twenty-three to fifty-six, each year, spent nearly half a year in military service or corvée labor! And the expenses and carriage costs during service also had to be borne by themselves. Then… every year, they had to pay the increasingly heavy head tax.
One might ask? Do they have time to farm?
Yet, on the other hand… those nobles and powerful families who owned thousands of acres of fertile land and profited immensely from commercial activities could avoid paying agricultural and commercial taxes. This led to their wealth growing ever larger, and the gap between rich and poor widening. Even intermarriages among powerful families and nobles made their connections increasingly intertwined, leading to mutual recommendations for "Filial and Incorrupt" candidates, thereby monopolizing official positions and manipulating the court!
In the final analysis… the money that should be paid, the labor that should be contributed, was all borne by the common people! These powerful clans and aristocratic families, on the other hand, washed their hands of it, needing to pay nothing, growing richer, accumulating more tenant farmers and slaves, even forming manors and becoming self-sufficient, essentially becoming local emperors.
—As long as I'm happy, who cares if the world is in chaos!
Although this statement might be exaggerated, the reality was indeed so. Because of Cai Zhaoji’s reminder earlier, Liu Xie and Fu Shou had thoroughly investigated the aristocratic clans. The more they learned, the more they realized the terrifying extent of these powerful families, even just from the taxation and military service systems… it was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Due to the heavy head tax and military service! Small-scale peasant economy had almost ceased to exist in the Han dynasty. Farmers burdened by heavy military service who could not pay the head tax had only two paths to survive: either be made government slaves and serve as laborers in various government offices! Of course, this was even more miserable. Not only was the treatment poor, but even as slaves, they had to pay the head tax, and pay it at a super-increased rate!
Compared to this, many people preferred to sell themselves as slaves to powerful clans and aristocratic families! This was because, becoming a slave to a clan not only exempted them from paying the head tax themselves, but also, the lives of private slaves were considerably better than those of ordinary citizens.
In this way… a manor could house thousands of people, and in times of chaos, they could even rise up in rebellion and become regional warlords, which was entirely logical!
"Lu Yu is very surprised that Your Majesty can think of this," Lu Yu looked at Liu Xie, his tone carrying a hint of surprise.
"I finally understand why my Imperial Father was willing to bear the eternal infamy and sell official posts…" Liu Xie's words were soft, but his tone carried great pathos, as if he could already understand Emperor Ling's helplessness. "Such a vast empire, with countless fertile lands, yet in the end, the court cannot make ends meet. How truly pathetic, how lamentable!"
"Indeed!" Lu Yu nodded in agreement. "Although aristocratic families that kept large numbers of slaves had to pay double the head tax for these slaves, they saved a large amount of money on hiring labor. They not only used their own slaves to reclaim wasteland."
"Many powerful officials also used these slaves for activities such as charcoal burning in the mountains and mining. The profits these economic activities brought to the landowners far exceeded the head tax they paid. The surplus money could also be used to improve the lives of the slaves, attracting more people to serve them!"
At this point, Lu Yu paused. "If it were a time of peace, without disasters or wars, perhaps the common people could eke out a living. But with continuous natural disasters and foreign tribes repeatedly raiding the borders, those desperate commoners had no choice. Compared to being a slave, they should be more concerned with how to survive!"
"It is for this reason that these aristocratic clans have accumulated more and more land and more and more slaves, to the point where they eventually become prominent families… daring to challenge the court!"
This… Lu Yu’s words were like sharp blades, piercing Liu Xie’s heart one by one. It wasn't that it was particularly painful, but rather that it was suffocating. Of course, he did not know why the Three Kingdoms War was contested by Wei, Shu, and Wu, but Jin ultimately emerged victorious! Jin was a clan dynasty headed by the "Sima" family! In fact, in the final analysis, in this era, powerful clans were the "rich and beautiful," while Wei, Shu, and Wu, no matter how powerful, were seen as "poor, short, and ugly" in the eyes of these clans!
As long as land, taxes, and money and grain remained in the hands of these powerful clans, then… it was too easy to influence the fate and allegiance of a dynasty. Countless vivid examples in history could attest to this. No one would believe that a single event like the Gaopingling Incident would allow Sima Yi to seize power, would they?
"What a pity…" Lu Yu suddenly sighed.
"A pity about what?" Liu Xie quickly asked.
"A pity about the late Emperor!" Lu Yu narrowed his eyes. "Your Majesty's Imperial Father was by no means the decadent and foolish ruler that the world describes. He was supported by the imperial in-laws and powerful clans to ascend the throne, becoming a puppet emperor. Yet, he used eunuchs in the name of the 'Proscription of Factions' to purge officials like Dou Wu and Chen Fan, regaining power into his own hands!"
"He understood clans too well. It was for this reason that he deposed Empress Song, who was from a noble family, and established Empress He, who had no background, completely cutting off the path for imperial in-laws to hold power! He heavily relied on eunuchs precisely to suppress the clans… and gradually reform the original taxation and military service systems, to snatch money and grain from the pockets of the clans. However…"
At this point, Lu Yu’s voice carried a hint of melancholy! Of course… Emperor Ling of Han was an emperor who had been vilified for a thousand years. When mentioned, people often thought of his actions like setting up commercial streets, establishing public bathing pools, making palace maids wear split-crotch pants, and bestowing official hats upon dogs, a series of sensational moves.
However… apart from that, he established the Stone Tablets of Xiping and the Hongdu Gate School, all to break the rigid class structure! He established the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden, holding firm control over the northern and southern armies, which was to strengthen the military! He sold official posts, seeking to obtain funds from aristocratic families to alleviate the urgent military expenses… In him, Lu Yu actually saw much resistance!
It was just that this resistance was like having the heart to kill the enemy but lacking the strength to return to heaven!
"However…" Lu Yu’s words continued. "If it weren't for the damn natural and man-made disasters, forcing the late Emperor to compromise, to use all his strength to prop up the Han heavens, he might have been able to do more! To change more!"
"It is a pity that history is often written by the victors. In the eyes of these so-called 'victors,' the late Emperor infringed upon the rights of these clans, so he was destined to bear this undeserved infamy!"
At this point… Lu Yu thought of this Little Ice Age! Throughout history, climate change often played a role in dynastic changes. Because of the climate… natural disasters were constant, and because of the climate, foreign tribes, facing continuous natural disasters, had no choice but to move south and raid the borders. All activities were essentially for survival! Emperor Ling of Han, Liu Hong, was a person who dared to resist, but his only failure was being born in the wrong era, which was somewhat similar to Chongzhen!
However, Chongzhen was more patient than him. Emperor Ling of Han was different. He succumbed to self-abandonment… realizing that he could not turn the tide, he could only use wine, women, and gardens to numb himself and alleviate the immense pressure on his shoulders!
How difficult… how difficult it was to be an emperor in the late Han!
Suddenly, Emperor Liu Xie stood up abruptly. "I intend to abolish the head tax and reintroduce the 'commercial tax' and 'agricultural tax' to shake the foundations of these aristocratic families. Imperial Censor Lu has always been skilled at discerning people's hearts. Can you help me?"
Huo… Abolish the head tax and reintroduce the commercial and agricultural taxes! As Liu Xie’s words escaped his lips, Lu Yu was utterly stunned… He never imagined that this "puppet" emperor would possess such courage…
One must know that the so-called head tax included the "Koufu" and "Suanfu." Koufu was the head tax levied on minors, also known as the child tax, while Suanfu was the head tax levied on adults.
The "Han Yizhu" states, "From the age of seven to fourteen, people paid Koufu money, twenty-three per person, twenty cash to feed the Son of Heaven. Three cash of this were added by Emperor Wu as horse-feeding money!" Simply put, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, a child had to pay twenty-three cash as a child tax. However, as Emperor Wu of Han's expenditures on foreign wars increased and the treasury became strained, it was regrettably changed to starting from the age of three.
The saying goes, "When a person gives birth to a child at three years old, they pay Koufu money." This situation continued until the reign of Emperor Yuan of Han. However, during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, due to the abolition of the agricultural tax, the imperial treasury became even more depleted, and the court lowered the age for collecting Koufu to one year old, and the tax money increased tenfold!
It was precisely because of this that the common people throughout the land reached a point where "many people did not raise their children." As for Suanfu! —"From fifteen years of age to fifty-six, people paid Fu money for the treasury, soldiers, chariots, and horses!" Ordinary people had to pay one hundred and twenty cash annually. In the late Han period, it had more than quadrupled. Even more exaggeratedly, if a woman remained unmarried after the age of fifteen, she had to pay five times the head tax annually!
It can be said that this "head tax" decree had continued from Emperor Wu's reign to the present day and had a profound impact, but it was not something that could be abolished at will. What’s more, abolishing it would offend not just the interests of a single aristocratic family, but the interests of all aristocratic families… stirring up trouble with every move.
This… Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and advised, "Your Majesty, this matter cannot be rushed!"
"Rushed? Heh heh…" Liu Xie gave a wry smile. "These aristocratic families with their thousands of acres of fertile land, while outwardly loyal to the emperor, are the ones shaking the very foundations of the Han. Heh heh…" With another cold laugh, Liu Xie's tone became incredibly resolute.
"Imperial Censor Lu, I understand your concerns!"
"But if the status quo is to be changed, there will inevitably be sacrifices. I am a 'puppet,' so why not let me bear the hatred of all aristocratic families?" At this point, Liu Xie paused, his tone growing even more somber.
"Brother-in-law, often… I also want to do something for the world, for my Imperial Father. How can I let those families who harmed me, and harmed the Han, remain at ease?"
"On this matter… brother-in-law, you must help me!" By the end, Emperor Liu Xie's tone was word for word, each syllable ringing with power… It was difficult to imagine what despairing state of mind he had experienced to gain such an awakening! Not hesitating to bear all the hatred himself!
Hoo… Lu Yu’s eyes also sharpened. He exhaled. After a moment of contemplation, he opened his eyes.
"Does Your Majesty truly intend to take this step?"
"If Your Majesty takes this step, you will no longer be the emperor supported by those aristocratic families. They will use the most ruthless means to deal with Your Majesty."
"Haha…" Liu Xie laughed. He slowly walked to the window and looked up at the sky. "In my life, I was first abducted by Dong Zhuo, then by Li Jue and Guo Si, and now under Cao Cao, I am still merely a puppet!"
"For a puppet, what fear is there, even if the most ruthless means are used against me? What more can I lose? Similarly, Imperial Censor Lu, do you know what a puppet's only wish is?"
Uh… Hearing this, Lu Yu paused.
"What is it?"
"Hope!" Liu Xie's eyes were fixed. "If I cannot see hope, then I will leave this hope for future monarchs! And let all the people of the world see a glimmer of dawn before the light!" At this point… Liu Xie turned around and placed his hand heavily on Lu Yu's shoulder.
"Brother-in-law!"
"Brother-in-law!"
These two consecutive calls of "brother-in-law" were deeply meaningful!
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