Han Shizu

The various struggles within the imperial court almost never stopped, including between the monarch and his ministers, between ministers, and between nobles and common people. And the grand festival on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival seemed to be just a break, allowing all parties to recharge their batteries and look for opportunities to plan in preparation for the next confrontation.

No, just three days after the Mid-Autumn Festival, the smoke of fireworks in the air of Luoyang has not completely dissipated, and the lanterns and colorful silks everywhere are still bright. More than ten memorials were presented to the emperor Liu Yang's case.

These are some chapters that Liu Yang had to pay attention to. Among them, there are memorials, admonitions, impeachments, and secret reports. No matter what form they are submitted in, they are all related to the tax reform of the Han Dynasty that is still in progress.

Counting from the time when Zhao Pufu paid homage to the prime minister, presided over state affairs, and formally promoted tax reform, it is already the seventh year.

For any reform, under the strong promotion of the central court, seven years is enough to produce some results, whether they are good or bad.

It can be said with certainty that by the autumn of the first year of Yongxi's reign, the tax reform of the Han Dynasty had been completely rolled out, and the results of land clearing and measurement were the most obvious sign. Even Bian Biru Gaochangdao reported the latest land clearing data. Of course, this was just symbolic to show respect for the authority of the central government.

For Gaochang Road, which is vast and sparsely populated, land and pasture data are of little significance. For a long time, population has been the core issue of its governance, including finance and taxation.

Different from the Daozhou in the Han Dynasty, after two or three years of exploration before the tax reform, the imperial court also made timely adjustments to the tax policies of the northern Daozhou states, abandoning the original practice of using grassland division as the basis for tax payment. After practice, that This approach is completely unreliable and almost unfeasible.

Therefore, for border areas, especially the nomadic tribes, the court finally decided to collect taxes on a per-capita basis. Even the taken-for-granted policy of completely destroying the tribal system and "dividing land into households" has been adjusted.

By the 27th year of Kaibao's reign, the imperial court's taxes on Gaochang, Hexi, Yulin, Shanyang, and Yanbei basically returned to levying cattle, sheep, horses and camels based on tribal population. Of course, new tribes and tribes were reorganized and formed under the imperial household registration system. At least the tribal form that was completely maintained by clans in the early years was transformed into the mixed gatherings today.

This is the conclusion drawn by the imperial court. For the Hu and Han subjects engaged in nomadic production, it is still necessary to maintain a certain organizational scale and set up ministers and chiefs to manage, organize production, and pay taxes. This is also convenient for the imperial government to rule and manage. .

The north adapts measures to local conditions, and the same applies to the south, especially in the vast southwestern region. Not to mention, the specialness of the toast system means that the tax system should be targeted.

Fortunately, because the court has been keeping a steady pace on tax reform matters, it made timely adjustments before it had time to expand in the southwest.

For the southwestern Daozhou, the court's plan was simpler. It directly collected a certain amount of tribute from the chieftains from various places. As for how the chieftains managed and exploited the mountain people and barbarians under their rule, that was their own responsibility. Something happened.

They are not afraid of causing trouble. The power of the imperial court is enough to suppress the disobedient rebels and barbarians. This is a balance that has been developed over the past 30 to [-] years after the chieftain system was popularized in the southwestern region.

And if the imperial court wants to implement tax reform and land clearing in the chieftains' territories, then big trouble will occur. Special circumstances require special treatment, but similarly, whether in the north or southwest, there are also Han people engaged in traditional farming in Bizhou and counties, and there are also bureaucrats and landlords occupying land. For these situations, it is natural to follow the new system and be unified into local taxes. .

So the question is, first of all, how to distinguish landlords from chieftains? This is almost unsolvable. It has been less than three years since the tax reform in the southwestern provinces was implemented, but since its inception, there have been constant riots.

Chieftains rioted, landlords complained, and the two even united to resist the imperial taxation, and some bureaucrats also deliberately muddied the waters. As a person with vested interests, it is normal for him to take any action in order to safeguard his own interests.

As a result, in a short period of time, riots continued and conflicts occurred in the southwest, and even tax officials dispatched by the imperial court died. Those who are ultimately affected are, of course, local security and the authority of the court, as well as those ordinary people who just accept the exploitation in peace.
In view of the depressing situation in the southwest, the imperial court was also furious, especially at the inaction of local officials. For this reason, Liu Yang, who was still the prince at the time, personally issued an order to replace, dismiss and even take down the officials on a daily basis. Many officials from Jiannan, Qianzhong, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Annan provinces ordered the Taoist priests to suppress the riots.

It was not easy for local governments to resist the pressure exerted by the imperial court. After all, the authority of the central government was still very strong, and the local forces of various factions began to restrain themselves. However, within one month, the riots stopped. However, the big chaos stopped, and the small chaos continued. Amidst the constant involvement and confrontation, the process of tax reform was naturally delayed.

Even if the Central Committee is not fully aware of the troubles that have occurred in the southwest, they are somewhat aware of them. How to break the situation is embarrassing. It's not that I don't have enough strength to do it, it's just not worth it.

Therefore, at Zhao Pu's suggestion, the imperial court's secret envoys went to the southwest to blow the wind, especially in those places where Han and barbarians were mixed and where clan landlords had strong influence.

Tax reform is a major policy of the imperial court, and the attitude is firm and consistent. There is no possibility of compromise. Each state must complete the land clearing, and the imperial court will use this to collect taxes.
Although there is a huge disparity in power, what is happening in the southwest is still a game between the local government and the central government. The "rural sages" do not dare to really mess with the court, and the central government still has to give some face.

Therefore, after about a year, the southwest prefectures successively reported the results of land clearing to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Then, through the suggestion of Han Hui, the financial envoy at the time, the tax was calculated by increasing the reported amount by [-]%.

Of course, the princes of the political affairs hall also understand that even if this is the case, there is still water in it, but this can be regarded as a compromise reached between the imperial court and Southwest Daozhou. Similarly, similar operations are carried out in the north. After all, as a border area, in order to maintain stability, there are some special policies, which are also normal operations.

Of course, the fundamental reason is that neither the north nor the southwest is the focus of the imperial court's tax reform. In those places, whether it is the results or the negative consequences, it is difficult for the Han Dynasty to shake it.

If we look at the first two years of tax reform, Gyeonggi, Honam Province and other places that were just pilot areas were in constant turmoil and resistance, causing many fights, which was eye-catching.

So looking back seven years later in the first year of Yongxi's reign, after entering the deep water zone of reform, the situation will be like a chaos of demons and chaos.