Chapter 61: The land tax is distributed according to the acreage, and the dispute over Jizhou breaks out!
The first quarter of the Mao hour, which is around five in the morning.

Emperor Liu Bian of Han was already ready for battle, and soon the army marched towards the southern suburbs in a mighty manner.

Among them, Wang Fang led the five schools of the Northern Army, and Liu Bei led the three thousand soldiers of the Western Liang Army who had just been recruited to join the accompanying team.

After arriving in the southern suburbs, the group gradually felt the power of natural disasters.

This time, the earthquake struck the southern suburbs of the capital, and the epicenter was in Gaoshi County in the southeast, more than 20 miles away from the capital. However, the impact of the earthquake, such as landslides, ground subsidence, and ground fissures, could already be seen. It was shocking and beyond human control!
On the way to the disaster area, there were villages affected by the disaster, and local officials and the army were organizing personnel to provide rescue.

What Liu Bian saw were people either sitting numbly on the ridges of the fields or wailing over the bodies of their relatives and friends. The bodies were thrown randomly on the road, and the officials were frantically digging to rescue survivors.

Liu Bian was a little uncomfortable with this unorganized and undecorated truth. He thought that local officials would disguise the funeral as a happy event for the sake of political achievements and face.

Liu Bian still remembers a sentence from the principal when he was in school: "Tomorrow the superiors will come to inspect, all classes should actively clean up and clean every corner!"

Chinese style inspection!
Because he was afraid that the officials were disguising themselves too much, Liu Bian made a special tour as soon as possible to see the true appearance of the disaster area after the earthquake, but what did he see?
Broken walls and ruins! Tragedy!
The people are only numb and desperate!

These people are all suffering from long-term malnutrition, with pale faces and thin bodies, and their resistance to disease is reduced. When they encounter such natural disasters, their bodies and minds are hit hard, and they can easily become seriously ill and die suddenly.

The corpses were not processed and buried, and the germs were spread by mosquitoes and flies, infecting those with weak resistance. The vicious cycle continued and the plague broke out.

Seeing that Liu Bian looked unhappy, the huge team fell silent.

An accompanying official went to summon local officials.

The head of the village came to see the emperor with great trepidation.

In the Han Dynasty, the rural areas implemented the township system, stipulating that 100 households constituted a township. Of course, it was not absolute, and there would be fluctuations.

Liu Bian inquired about the situation carefully and found out that in this "Xiaosang Village", there were more than 80 households and more than 500 people affected. The casualties have not been counted yet, but it is definitely more than half.

The village head stammered in response.

The reason why they did not "cope with the inspection" was because they had not received the news of His Majesty's tour - their top-to-top leader, the Yin of Henan, was still in the Heavenly Prison after he banged the door and cried with Yang Biao.

Liu Bian went on a tour, but only a few people knew about it!

Therefore, the county magistrate, village chief, and other officials under the jurisdiction of Henan Yin did not receive any intelligence at all, and naturally had no time to disguise themselves.

If the Yin of Henan was not in the Tianlao, Liu Bian would have received the news yesterday when he made preparations for his tour.

After the order was issued, these officials had to "whitewash the situation" and "falsify facts" overnight. How could Liu Bian see the true picture?
“We must make every effort to carry out search and rescue, promptly treat the injured, minimize casualties, and prevent secondary disasters.

We must quickly organize the allocation of emergency relief supplies, repair damaged transportation, properly resettle the affected people, ensure their basic living needs, and comfort the families of the victims..."

Liu Bian personally gave instructions, not only to the head of the small Sang Village, but also issued the highest orders to the disaster areas affected by the earthquake. This needed to be announced to the world.

The village head felt bitter!

The common people had no surplus food at home, and the village head could not ask the county government for help. The autumn harvest season was about to arrive, and after half a year of hard work, there was a harvest, but who knew that the earthquake would hit and everything was destroyed!
But the head of the village did not dare to complain, and stammered as he accepted the imperial edict and expressed his gratitude!

Looking at his expression, Liu Bian knew that Xiaosang Village probably didn't have much surplus food, so he drew food from the army, provided porridge to the people, and ordered the army to participate in the rescue work. With sufficient manpower, more and more people were rescued.

This immediately made the people of Xiaosang Village feel as if they were blessed by the emperor. They were grateful and burst into tears, and they were grateful to Liu Bian as if he were their second parent!
Why did Liu Bian know this?

Because the "luck value" fed back by the "Emperor's Luck Technique" is increasing little by little!

Every point represents the people’s support for Liu Bian!
But at this moment, Liu Bian had no joy at all, he just felt a little ironic. All the people wanted was a wise ruler who could make them live and work in peace and contentment.

Such a simple request, but few people can do it!
Were all the emperors of the Han Dynasty too incompetent?
Do not!
It is that more and more vested interests are encroaching on the interests of the nation, it is that the power of the huge aristocratic families has already rivaled the imperial power, and it is that these carnivores are insatiable.

The people were left with nowhere to go and their livelihood was in dire straits. The country had no tax revenue to provide relief to the victims, and fell into a vicious cycle.

This earthquake was a natural disaster, but Liu Bian saw a man-made disaster in it!

These people are pale and thin, malnourished, this is the result of long-term effects. As villages around Gyeonggi, they live in such a tight situation, let alone people in other places? !
According to the village head, an earthquake occurred last night and they rescued nearly a hundred people overnight, among whom more than fifty died for various reasons.

Liu Bian guessed.

It is because of malnutrition and weak resistance that when they encounter natural disasters, even if they are rescued, the double blow to their body and mind, or even excessive despair and sadness due to the deaths and injuries of their family members, can cause them to die of illness directly.

After a short stay in Xiaosang Village, Liu Bian left nearly a thousand soldiers to join the rescue and continued to move towards the disaster area.

Along the way, whenever he came across a village, Liu Bian would do the same to provide relief to the victims and provide porridge.

This allowed Liu Bian to gain "luck points" little by little, which made him believe in the "Emperor's Luck Technique" that "people's hearts are luck", and that luck can be accumulated into a lot.

Natural disasters such as climate change and crustal movement that began in the late Eastern Han Dynasty can be suppressed through "national destiny"!

But where does the people’s support come from?

Providing relief to disaster victims and relieving the world requires money and grain. Where does this money and grain come from?

Liu Bian finally thought about it and decided that he could only fight the local tyrants and share their food and supplies!

This local tyrant can only be from an aristocratic family!

Originally, he was afraid of overdoing it, overcorrecting. After all, "governing a big country is like cooking a small fish", but Liu Bian suddenly figured it out!
He has the Gou Di system, what is there to be afraid of? !
As the number of draws increases, his power grows larger and larger, and he can now show his power to the world!

"Da da da--"

When Liu Bian's army went to the earthquake-hit Goushi County, the relevant military and political affairs would be passed on by the messengers. At this time, another messenger brought new intelligence information -

"Your Majesty, last night, in addition to the southern suburbs of the capital, there were earthquakes in the surrounding thirteen counties. In the farthest place, Qingzhou, there was an earthquake, the sea overflowed, and the water in the Yellow River became clear!"

The earthquake caused the seawater to flood and the turbid Yellow River water became clear. This is obviously the result of crustal movement, which caused the rock layer of the underground riverbed to change.

Considering that the Han capital and more than 20 counties and kingdoms have been experiencing drought for several months, the impact of this climate change may even have weakened the movement of sunspots.

No wonder a powerful nation like the Han Dynasty fell apart. Faced with such a natural disaster, if coupled with the annexation of land and plunder by powerful families, its demise was only a matter of time. It was not until the Sui and Tang dynasties that China was unified again.

Four hundred years of division!!!
Liu Bian now understood that relying solely on disaster relief and distributing porridge and grain could only affect a small area. When would he be able to accumulate enough luck to suppress the fate of the Han Dynasty? !
In that case, why not have a big one!
Liu Bian did not continue to go to Gaoshi County, but returned to the capital halfway. On the way, he said to Liu Bei who was accompanying him:
"Xuan De, Qingzhou has also been affected by the earthquake. As the governor of Qingzhou, it is time for you to take up your post!"

"I understand!"

Liu Bei accompanied the emperor all the way and saw the people affected by the earthquake being displaced, their families broken up, and the natural disasters of the earthquake such as landslides and ground fissures. Even the city walls were reduced to ruins, which made him feel that the way of heaven was cruel!
But, there is love in the world!
Your Majesty's generosity and kindness, and your concern for the country and the people, cannot be faked or concealed.

After Liu Bei expressed his gratitude to Emperors Huan and Ling, the Han Dynasty finally welcomed a wise ruler, and he couldn't wait to serve the country.

Your Majesty's words of advice gave Liu Bei the opportunity to take his leave and lead his troops out of the capital and head towards Qingzhou.

On the way back to Beijing, Liu Bian saw the devastation of the country and the destruction of the people. Under the influence of the earthquake, the wheat ears that were supposed to be harvested in the autumn were buried under the cracks.

Many people wailed and sobbed as they tried to rescue him, but it was of no avail.

"The capital and its surrounding counties have been affected by the earthquake, and the autumn harvest is bound to be affected. The capital is already short of food. Now that the six seals of the emperor and the imperial seal have been found, immediately issue an imperial decree to requisition food and fodder."

Liu Bian said in a deep voice: "Wen Ruo, which state do you think has the most abundant food and grass in the current Han Dynasty?"

Xun Yu said without hesitation: "Jizhou, located in the North China Plain, is the best!"

"Has Jizhou been affected by the earthquake?" Liu Bian asked.

Xun Yu said: "The sea water in Qingzhou is flooding, and the water in the Yellow River is clear. There should be some impact on the Yellow River coast of Jizhou. But overall it will not be a big deal. You can order Jizhou Mu Han Fu to increase or decrease taxes according to the situation."

"Fertile land increases, barren land decreases!"

"That's how it should be." Liu Bian nodded.

He did not intend to increase Jizhou's taxes, but to temporarily requisition grain and fodder to relieve the capital's urgent needs, or in other words, to allow Jizhou's tax grain to be delivered to the capital in advance. With Jizhou's wealth, there must be surplus grain for emergency use.

I still remember that when the princes responded to the imperial edict to purge the emperor's side, Jizhou Mu Han Fu was stationed in the rear, allocating food and supplies!
After discussing government affairs along the way, Liu Bian returned to the capital and issued two instructions:

"Now that the capital is in need of soldiers and generals due to the earthquake, the hundreds of officials who cried and banged the door with Yang Biao should be interrogated. The main culprit should be severely punished, the accomplices should be punished, and the ignorant people who were deceived can be rewarded with meritorious service."

Because of the low literacy rate, senior officials must be involved in disaster relief. And even those officials who were crying and knocking on the door by Yang Biao should be tried.

"promise!!!"

The Jinyiwei immediately received the order. Of course, the so-called chief culprit, accomplice, and deceived person of Liu Bian still need to be judged by loyalty points!
Officials with high loyalty may have selfish motives, but at least they are loyal to the emperor and patriotic. However, officials with low loyalty must have selfish motives and are not loyal to the emperor and patriotic!

In the second order, Liu Bian said: "The rebellion in the capital has been resolved, the seal has been found, I have decided to offer sacrifices to the gods, report to the ancestral temple, and grant amnesty to the world."

"Your Majesty, the day of offering sacrifices to heaven has not yet arrived..." an official asked hesitantly.

A country's worship of heaven and ancestors has strict dates.

The ancestor worship system of the Han Dynasty was roughly as follows: in August of each year, the emperor personally presided over the ancestral worship ceremony in the ancestral temple, with wine that had been brewed many times and cattle, sheep, and pigs as tribute. The ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven was usually held on the winter solstice.

It is now the sixth day of September!
"Recently, Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Guangwu appeared in my dreams and expressed their deep concern about the current turmoil in the Han Dynasty. I think it is time to offer sacrifices to our ancestors and comfort them." Liu Bian replied in a deep voice, leaving the official speechless.

There are set times for offering sacrifices to ancestors and heaven, but if an emperor misses his ancestors, can they still argue and refute? You must know that Yang Biao and other officials are still in the prison awaiting trial!

"I obey my orders!!!"

There were corresponding officials in charge of the sacrifices to heaven and ancestors, and the Taifu was one of the officials in charge of such rituals. After Liu Bian returned to Deyang Palace, Lu Zhi went into the palace to discuss the specific itinerary.

Liu Bian said: "Sacrifice to the heavens, report to the ancestors, grant amnesty to the whole country, and change the reign to Chuping!"

"..."

Although Lu Zhi felt that the timing was not right, it was the time when the Xiliang army was deposed and Yuan Wei's rebellion was suppressed. He could indeed show the emperor's grace by granting amnesty to the whole country, so he asked:
"Your Majesty, is there a limit to the amnesty for the whole world?"

"Amnesty will be granted based on the household registration of all citizens. Families with less than 40,000 coins in assets, such as carriages, horses, fields, and houses, will be exempted from taxes owed in previous years..."

Liu Bian's pardon was directed at the Yellow Turban bandits, or the people who were held hostage by the Yellow Turban bandits, or those who were forced to leave their homes and become refugees due to exorbitant taxes.

The arrears of taxes for those people could be exempted, and they could be allowed to return to their hometowns to farm and live. In addition, they could be pardoned according to their household registration, and slaves hidden by the noble families could be lured.

As for the range below 40,000 coins, it sounds wealthy, but in fact, this was considered a "small family" in the Eastern Han Dynasty and was a family exempt from property tax.

Moreover, in the Eastern Han Dynasty, a slave was worth 10,000 to 20,000 coins, a cow was worth about 8,000 coins, and a low-quality house was about 5,000 coins.

This means that the ones who benefit are the vast majority of ordinary people.

"Your Majesty is kind and benevolent. Once this decree is issued, the Yellow Turban bandits will surely be grateful for your grace and immediately disarm and return to farming."

After hearing this, Lu Zhi nodded slightly.

However, Liu Bian chuckled:
"But Master, the reason why those people became bandits is mainly because they have no land or property. Even if they retire, they have no property to cultivate.

Therefore, during the general amnesty, I will also measure the land, clear the hidden land, and distribute the tax according to the land!"

"Your Majesty, what is the tax rate?"

Lu Zhi shuddered. Measuring the fields and clearing up the hidden land had already made him feel a sense of crisis, so what about the land tax distribution?
"The earth and Ding are one, and Ding rises wherever there is land!"

Liu Bian briefly explained that this was equivalent to abolishing the "head tax".

The two heaviest mountains weighing on the people of the Han Dynasty, or the feudal dynasty, were the land tax and the poll tax!
Many rulers would reduce taxes and levies, but the poll tax was still suffocating for the people.

For example, in the Han Dynasty, adults and children had to pay taxes. If they encountered natural disasters or man-made disasters, or if they were forced to serve in the military or forced labor, and their fields did not produce much harvest, they could only owe taxes. If they owed too much, they could only become refugees.

This also requires praying that there are not too many corrupt officials in the local area, and that there are no local tyrants and evil gentry who collude with corrupt officials.

But this is impossible!
Therefore, abolishing the head tax can reduce the burden on landless or land-poor farmers, and the phenomenon of hidden population will also be reduced, which is beneficial to the development of social production and the virtuous cycle of national taxation.

Of course, correspondingly, those big landowners with many pieces of land will suffer!
Lu Zhi was horrified: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely not possible!!!"

"Master, I have made up my mind. You don't need to persuade me anymore!"

Liu Bian remained unmoved:
"I know what the Grand Tutor is worried about, but it doesn't matter. I just want to let the people of the world know that I am a king who cares about the people!"

The Han Dynasty had a population of more than 60 million, 98% of whom were ordinary people, and the few remaining were small landlords, big landlords, and powerful families. This small population controlled the land wealth of the world and held the right to speak.

But the problem is that in the eyes of the "Emperor's Fortune Technique", all beings are equal.

No matter whether you are a king, a general, a minister, a noble, or a commoner, or a rogue whose life is worthless, you only have one luck value!
In this case, isn't it clear what Liu Bian's choice will be? !
No matter how hard Lu Zhi tried to persuade him, Liu Bian insisted on having his own way!
Xun Yu, Xun You, Cao Cao and others also wanted to persuade him again after hearing this. In fact, His Majesty had mentioned "dividing the land tax into acreage" in private not long ago, but he temporarily shelved it under the persuasion of the three men.

It seems that they are intending to implement tax reforms such as the "household registration tax" mentioned by Cao Cao!

But now, for some reason, because of the earthquake in the capital and after Your Majesty visited the disaster area, Your Majesty has put "equalizing the land tax" on the agenda again.

But this time, even though Xun Yu and others advised him, Liu Bian did not listen!

This made Cao Cao and others sigh in their hearts!
Tax reform is a good thing, it can ease the current social contradictions in the Han Dynasty. But the problem is that the tax burden is obviously a big step!

This is an overreaction and an overcorrection!

If there was no "Emperor's Luck Skill", Liu Bian would not be so anxious and would put it aside for the time being. But with "Emperor's Luck Skill", what is Liu Bian worried about? !

As for the most important premise of allocating taxes to land:

Measure the land and check for hidden fields!
Liu Bian was also planning his plans for the whole country, with Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou, Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, and Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou...

These relatives of the Han royal family constitute the current military layout of the Han Dynasty!

Of course, Liu Bian knew that regarding the tax reform of equalizing the land tax to the land, it was estimated that only Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, and Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou, would follow Liu Bian's ideas without reservation and unwaveringly!

As for the others, they can only wait and see for now!
But that's enough!
Reform cannot be achieved overnight, so Liu Bian decided to use Jizhou as an experiment!

Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, had already established a firm foothold, and his benevolent administration won him the hearts of the people and his reputation was extremely high.

While he is suppressing Youzhou, he can set his sights on Jizhou.

With Liu Bei's ability, as long as he was appointed to Qingzhou, he would surely be able to quell the war and restore people's livelihood. Moreover, after Qingzhou was devastated by the war, most of the aristocratic families had fled, so it was entirely possible to directly implement the land tax system.

Moreover, Liu Bei was stationed in Qingzhou and could confront Jizhou.

There was also Liu Dai of Yanzhou, as well as the troops of the capital stationed at Henei and Hulao and Sishui passes, forming a strategic encirclement of Jizhou.

Whether Jizhou Mu Han Fu was biased towards Yuan Shao or had other ambitions, it would not have much impact on Liu Bian's reforms.

Of course, sometimes plans cannot keep up with changes!

Just when the earthquake occurred in the capital and its surrounding counties and states, Yuan Shao, who had fled back to Jizhou from Suanzao, also began to plot to seize Jizhou.

Although Han Fu, the governor of Jizhou, was a student and former official of the Yuan family, he also had his own ambitions and had even been targeting Yuan Shao. Naturally, he was unwilling to be controlled by Yuan Shao and had been trying his best to restrict Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was a descendant of three generations of high officials, and his family status was extraordinary.

Although Yuan Wei's arbitrary dethronement and enthronement affected the reputation of the Yuan family, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the military power was transferred to the imperial court, and the warlords were divided and only obeyed the imperial court's orders.

Yuan's disciples and former officials were spread all over the country, and he had many allies and followers. The imperial court had no control over the local areas, and there were many people who pretended to obey the orders but actually disobeyed them.

Therefore, Yuan Wei's arbitrary dethronement and attempt to undermine the imperial power did not cause much impact.

Even more, what Yuan Wei did may have been secretly instructed by many noble families. They were all people who were in collusion with each other, and they supported Yuan Shao openly or secretly.

Jizhou is a fertile and productive area with naturally more aristocratic families. These people supported Yuan Shao, which made Han Fu even more afraid and he kept trying to resist.

But at this time, Yufuluo, the right wise king of the Southern Xiongnu, led his people to revolt in Shangdang County of Bingzhou. Yufuluo did not spread the rebellion to Taiyuan and other counties. Instead, he harassed Wei County of Jizhou many times through the "Eight Passes of Taihang" in Taihang Mountains.

Although Han Fu was the governor of Jizhou, the only place he truly controlled and where the provincial capital was located was Wei County in Jizhou!
Han Fu became even more worried!

House seemingly endless rain!

Han Fu's subordinate Qu Yi rebelled. Qu Yi had an elite force under his command - the Xiandeng Death Squad. In the original history, they even defeated Gongsun Zan's Baima Yicong.

Defeat cavalry with infantry!

This shows the elite troops of Qu Yi and his vanguard death squad!
Han Fu led his army to fight against Qu Yi, and as expected, he was defeated!

……

(End of this chapter)