“I know,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I have thought seriously about this matter. My vision is that in the future, I will give those with great merit a certain quota of tax exemption—one hundred acres, one thousand acres—but this measure cannot extend to ordinary officials and noble families.”
Zhao Hanzhang continued, “Once they make mistakes and are stripped of their official positions and titles, these will also be reclaimed. Anything exceeding this quota will also require field taxes.”
Just from listening, Zhao Ming knew there wouldn’t be many such meritorious subjects.
Zhao Ming was especially curious: “Your family’s land taxes have always been exempt. You’ve always been generous in other matters, so why do you keep struggling with taxes? You’re being far too stingy.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled and thought carefully before saying, “This is my long-term plan. Uncle Ming, you tell me—the vast Han dynasty, why did it fall?”
The Han dynasty wasn’t very far from them—its fall was less than a century ago. Looking back now…
Zhao Ming was silent for a moment before saying, “The Great Han fell because of young emperors and imperial relatives, leading to eunuch monopolization of power.”
Ji Yuan and Ming Yu couldn’t help but nod, though they added a point: “Also heavy taxation, making life unbearable for the people.”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “Correct. But in my view, the Great Han truly fell during the Yellow Turban Rebellion.”
The three didn’t refute this view, because they also felt that the Great Han had already died during the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The following decades were just lingering on.
“The Yellow Turban Rebellion occurred because taxes were heavy—ninety percent of the world’s farmland belonged to ten percent of the people, while the remaining ninety percent of people divided ten percent of the farmland, yet had to bear ninety percent of the nation’s taxes, corvée labor, and military service. When the common people of the world were too cold to dare wear clothes and too hungry to dare eat, Uncle Ming, when even crawling like a house dog won’t keep one alive, even commoners will risk their lives for a chance.”
“And facts have proven that commoners, noble families, imperial relatives, and the imperial house all have only one life. There isn’t much difference between them. Commoners can also pierce the heavens,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “At its root, it was still because land annexation was severe and taxes were heavy.”
“So first, I limit the amount of land noble families can purchase and distribute land to all the people of the world, equalizing the fields. Second, not only commoners, but noble families, great clans, imperial relatives, and all the meritorious subjects of the world must pay taxes. Except for special tax-exempt quotas, all portions exceeding that must pay taxes.”
Zhao Hanzhang continued, “In the future, I will also set a maximum limit and a maximum number of tax-exempt people. It may seem harsh, but I hope that chaotic times like the late Han or like now can be delayed a bit longer.”
Zhao Ming pressed his lips and said, “But the Great Han could exist for many years precisely because civil and military officials protected it. If you’re stingy with honors and titles, where will they find motivation to serve you effectively?”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “There are many kinds of rewards, and honor can take many forms. I can generously reward them with gold and silver treasures, and I can give them high official positions. I’m just reducing tax-exempt quotas.”
She also didn’t avoid the issue, saying bluntly, “Uncle Ming, when it comes to undermining the state, our Zhao clan has done plenty of that. Calculate carefully—if the Zhao clan paid taxes according to regulations, how much more tax revenue could Runan Commandery collect each year?”
Zhao Ming said expressionlessly, “Don’t forget, your family was the first. Most of the clan’s farmland is registered under your family’s name, and tax avoidance also goes through your family. Since you became county magistrate of Xiping, the taxes the clan pays each year have increased year by year.”
Zhao Hanzhang lightly slapped the table and said, “Exactly! You see, even someone as upright as my grandfather couldn’t resist the clan members’ requests and registered their land under his name to avoid court taxes. If we don’t establish strict laws and regulations, one day the territory we’ve conquered will also quickly head toward the same end as the Great Han.”
In fact, after the Han, no regime could last over four hundred years like the Han. Every dynasty ended due to increasingly corrupt politics, massive land annexation, and ever-heavier taxation.
Of course, she couldn’t plan that far ahead. What she could envision was that from the Three Kingdoms period until the establishment of the Sui, over three hundred years saw the existence of more than thirty large and small regimes. Each regime had people proclaiming themselves king or emperor, but none lasted long.
On average, each regime existed for less than ten years.
Even the Liu Yuan regime that Great Jin currently feared lasted only twenty-five years—from when he proclaimed himself emperor to the dynasty’s fall, merely twenty-five years.
Why?
It was because they didn’t care about the common people, only endless expansion, conflict, and luxurious indulgence.
To expand territory, they could push commoners to the limit, fighting merely for the sake of fighting. How many regimes fell because of this?
It wasn’t until the Sui was established that things gradually stabilized.
Zhao Hanzhang could naturally fight everywhere like Liu Cong and others, disregarding the people’s lives, conquering territory after territory. But what then?
Supporting war with war?
But all battlefields had once been Han territory—equivalent to filling them with commoners’ lives. She was unwilling to do such things. So if the enemy didn’t move, she didn’t move. Whenever she had time, she immersed herself in infrastructure construction and agricultural-industrial production, as well as establishing systems.
Since she wanted to pacify the world and end the chaos, she needed to think about the future and put the common people first.
Of course, she knew about the future chaos, Fu Tinghan knew, but Zhao Ming and others didn’t know.
So she couldn’t use this as a reason to convince them. Instead, she directly asked Zhao Ming and the other two, “Setting aside the western Tufan, the current general situation of the world can be roughly divided into three parts: in the north is Liu Yuan’s Han state, our Jin state, and the Xianbei to the northeast. Uncle Ming, Master Ji, Master Ming—how long do you think they can exist?”
Zhao Ming tightened his grip on his wine cup, feeling his niece was finally no longer hiding. She was openly revealing her ambitions.
Ji Yuan and Ming Yu had long been prepared to pierce the heavens together with Zhao Hanzhang, so they didn’t speak up, first looking toward Zhao Ming.
Zhao Ming pressed his lips together but still said, “The Xianbei aren’t to be feared. Though their cavalry is formidable, their territory is insufficient. They’re not skilled at attacking cities, not skilled at defending cities, and not skilled at farming. The Xianbei people are also few. Even if they’re temporarily powerful, they can’t last long. With just a bit of provocation, they can be defeated.”
Ji Yuan and Ming Yu also nodded.
Ji Yuan pondered and said, “The Han state is indeed a great enemy, but that’s from Great Jin’s perspective. Even if they could destroy the Jin state, they also cannot last long.”
He continued, “Liu Yuan wants Han governance, but those under his command are foolish and don’t follow orders. Each tribe is powerful, each governing itself. The more he has relied on those tribes over the years, the more he is now constrained. The tail wags the dog—changing it is already impossible.”
“Now while he’s alive, he can barely maintain balance. Once he passes away, Shi Le will be the first to lose control.”
Zhao Hanzhang also nodded, showing a smile: “Liu Cong is cruel and narrow-minded. The Xiongnu look down on Han people and also look down on the Jie barbarians. Shi Le came from slavery, and the great generals under Liu Yuan mostly despise him. Right now Shi Le can pretend not to see it, but once Liu Yuan is gone, his descendants definitely cannot control him. The Han state’s collapse is just a matter of time.”
Ming Yu’s heart stirred: “Jin is even more of an empty shell. Whether Jin or the Han state, the people’s hearts don’t belong to them. Is the young lady thinking of winning with popular support?”