For Li Shimin, after what happened with Li Xiang a while ago, he really didn't want to chat with Li Xiang in his heart. This guy clearly knew what he meant, but he still wanted to go against him. But after these conversations, Li Shimin felt that he should still keep in touch with Li Xiang frequently, because this guy could often hit the nail on the head with just a few words. If you ignore him, you will be the one who suffers in the future.
"In the past, I always wanted to set an example and respect these great scholars of the time, so that they could speak out for the court. Now, after hearing what you said, I think there should be a limit to respect. We do need their help in governing the world, not to govern the world together with them. You are right."
Li Shimin pondered Li Xiang's two sentences carefully. All emperors have this mentality. Even if it is their sons and grandsons, they cannot be said to own the world together. Only if the father gives it to you can you be in charge of this matter. Otherwise, you are overstepping your bounds, not to mention these great scholars of the time.
"This is an ideological issue. We can proceed slowly, but we must gradually reform the tax system. Otherwise, the court will suffer in the future. We cannot require all officials and gentry to pay taxes now, but we can require a portion of them..."
Li Xiang knew that talking about respecting scholars was vague and there was no need to discuss it in detail at this time. Anyway, nothing had happened yet. However, making officials pay taxes was an urgent matter and needed to be carried out over a long period of time. It was not possible to arouse their hostility in a short period of time. After all, the court's main enemy was still the aristocratic families, not these scholars, especially those from poor families. They were still our helpers.
"Which part is it, then?"
Li Shimin said with some surprise. According to his idea, the scholars and officials in the world are one. It would be bad to touch any part of them. If they were to cause chaos, it would be a huge shock to the court. We have just taken action against the aristocratic families. Once the aristocratic families find an opportunity, the court will have a hard time. They have plenty of ways to make Li Shimin uncomfortable.
"I can't say for now. Let's stick with the same method as before, which is to divide and disintegrate them. For example, the illegitimate sons in the big families are a different kind of existence. If we don't ask them for money, we only want the money from the legitimate sons, of course, only if it exceeds a certain amount. For example, land under 100 mu doesn't have to pay any tax, while land between 100 and 200 mu pays a portion, and between 200 and 300 mu pays another portion..."
Although Li Xiang's words were rather general, it was the personal income tax in modern society. Doing so would only offend the top portion. As for the vast majority of small businessmen and landlords below, they didn't lose much and probably wouldn't follow those above to cause trouble.
"But these big bureaucrats and landlords are the foundation of our rule. If we offend them, our lives will be difficult. Especially since some of them are your brothers and nephews, they are all members of the royal family. If you ask them to pay taxes, they will probably rise up in rebellion."
Li Shimin shook his head, thinking that Li Xiang's idea was inappropriate. How could one collect taxes from one's own people? Li Xiang did not continue to talk about this issue. After all, in the feudal society of more than 2,000 years, collecting taxes from bureaucrats was a topic that had never been mentioned. Yongzheng set a precedent, but soon had his son change it back.
"Since Grandfather thinks it's inappropriate, let's take it slow and guide them. For example, if someone like me voluntarily pays taxes, Grandfather can write a plaque for me, or praise me somewhere else. Who knows, someone might follow my example, or even be willing to spend money for the honor. This can also increase the court's tax revenue. In the short term, there may not be many people following suit, but as long as it becomes a habit, the court's tax revenue will increase significantly."
Li Xiang's statement made Li Shimin's eyes light up. To be honest, although the Tang Dynasty is now strong, the treasury is still empty. Especially after the increase in the number of officials, the annual expenses give Li Shimin a headache. We do not force all bureaucrats and landlords to pay taxes, but if you pay taxes on your own initiative, the emperor will give you some praise at certain times, so some people will pay taxes on their own initiative.
"Your idea is good, and we can also use our brains to promote some officials."
When Li Shimin said this, Li Xiang admired him very much. This era had its limitations. Li Shimin was able to take this into consideration, which was much better than many people. No wonder he was able to be called a man of great talent and strategy.
"Grandfather is right. For example, if two county magistrates are both eligible for promotion, but one pays taxes and the other doesn't, but there's only one position for promotion, then we can let the one who pays taxes go up. The one who doesn't pay taxes won't be punished, but just let him wait. The amount of taxes paid each year can be treated as a score. If both county magistrates pay taxes, then he and his immediate family members have a higher score, so he can be promoted, and the other one will continue to wait."
Li Xiang's words made Li Shimin very happy. Li Shimin had been looking for ways to increase fiscal revenue, but he did not want to change the current laws. If there were too many changes, many people would probably stand up and oppose it. Li Xiang's method was just right. He let these officials and landlords do it themselves and take the initiative to do it.
"It seems this only works for officials. I'm afraid the landlords won't care, right?"
Li Shimin thought of the many landlords in the world who would register their land under the names of officials. Although there were not many such things now, similar things would increase as the dynasty continued.
"This is very simple. Landlords also want to become officials. Many landlords don't want their sons to continue to be landlords, so they will let their sons take the imperial examination. At this time, the score is useful. If two people have the same score, then the one with the higher tax payment score will successfully become a juren."
What Li Xiang said was not uncommon in the Tang Dynasty. Many people understood the four social classes of scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans. Even if you owned a lot of land, if your family didn't have an official, you would likely be targeted in the future. Therefore, these landowners would pay high prices to hire scholars to teach their children, hoping that they would one day be listed on the list...
