At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty

"There are many ways to prevent the subjugation of the country, but Ah Jin, the most troublesome thing in the world, is called Zhiping, which seems to be prosperous on the surface, but is actually in danger.

What's even more frightening is that everyone is content with the status quo and is unwilling to change. Subconsciously, the symptoms are already deep, and it is too late to change, but if you want to change, you must risk the risk of being smashed to pieces.

Since ancient times, few people who have changed have come to a good end. Forcibly dragging them out of the gentle village has to pay a price, and few people can afford this price. "

Chapter 899 Nine hundred and nine

What Guo Peng said made Guo Jin feel a little bit emotional.

"Born in sorrow, died in peace, is that what it means..."

"Yes, dynamic balance, only dynamic balance can achieve balance. A country cannot be static. It is true that peace will be peaceful for a long time, but in the peace, there are hidden signs of national subjugation. The country must move, it must move, the emperor must move, and the officials must move. , Li Shu also wants to move.

The emperor is the one who can't stop. He must establish laws internally and find actionable targets for the country externally. The emperor must deter and restrain his subordinates, and he must also find a direction for his subordinates to continue to work hard so that they can continue to work hard. let's move. "

Guo Peng pointed to the south: "Although the four southern states have largely settled down, there are still many people who listen to the tune and don't listen to the propaganda, and there are still many barbarians. For a period of time, there will be no fewer wars in the south, and there will be more Continuing, this can be exploited.

The Gongsun family of Liaodong has been wiped out, but Fuyu and Koguryo are still there, and they also need to be eliminated, so the war in Liaodong is not over, and they can also be used. These are two wars that are close at hand, and at least five time of year. "

"At least five years..."

Guo Jin nodded silently: "Has father thought of a solution? A way to avoid the subjugation of the country?"

"..."

Guo Peng was silent for a while: "Thousands of things, complicated affairs, a little carelessness, and broken bones, but this matter is not done by the father, including you, all the kings of later generations will not be able to do it.

Ah Jin, only being a father can do it. No one can do it except being a father. If you can't even be a father...then there is no need to do it anymore. Be the Son of Taiping with peace of mind, and you too, future generations So did the kings, and then, after waiting 200 years, they died. "

"Father!"

Guo Jin held Guo Peng's hand tightly with both hands: "Father has already walked the road of unifying the world. Do you want to give up at this time? Although my son is not talented, I am willing to follow in my father's footsteps until death."

Guo Peng looked at Guo Jin, looked at his shining eyes.

There is a light called hope in the eyes.

Then Guo Peng laughed.

"Ajin, I have you, I haven't lost yet, you just watch it, you didn't have time to see the bloody battle for your father in the early years, but you won't miss the bloody battle in the court, first of all, you have to remember, No matter what you have to do, money is the most important thing.

Whether it is administration, or war, or disaster relief, or development, money is essential, and force is very important, right?But without money, what do you use to maintain force? "

"The son understands that the financial power must be controlled no matter what, so the father established the inner court and inner officials."

"Yes, money must be controlled no matter what. If you have it, you need to have more, so that you can do things without being constrained. So I set up an internal treasury for my father to prepare for this, but there are more and more things to do. There are also times when the money on the Internet is stretched, and the current situation cannot reduce expenditure, so we must increase revenue.”

"Open source..."

Guo Jin frowned: "In this situation where everything is waiting to be done, how does father plan to increase income? Does father want to increase taxes? Increase taxes for private households?"

Guo Peng shook his head.

"In order to support the war, the taxes of the households in the village are already very high. Not only can they not be increased, but they must be gradually reduced to give Li Shu vitality. Therefore, for Li Shu, the tax cannot be increased right now."

"Then what should we do? External plunder?"

"That's for a moment, not for a lifetime."

Guo Peng still shook his head.

Guo Jin had no choice.

"The son doesn't know what to do, so he asks his father to enlighten him."

Guo Peng smiled.

"Forgot what my father told you? There is only one king and hundreds of thousands of people. If you want to fight against the people, you have to unite with Li Shu. You can't take the premise of harming Li Shu's interests. Moreover, the people are far richer than Li Shu. Isn't the wealth at their disposal the best source of finance?"

Guo Jin was a little surprised.

"Father, do you want to forcefully raise taxes on the scholars? The resistance is too great. The former Han Dynasty almost turned a blind eye to the scholars. Even if we push it hard now, I am afraid that some people will take advantage of the loopholes and make trouble. If we try our best to obstruct it, I am afraid that it will be difficult to solve the real problem, but it will cause even greater contradictions."

Guo Peng nodded.

"That's right, you have thought very carefully, and you know that attacking them directly will inevitably cause chaos. Although their power has been weakened, they are more than helpless. This is the lesson of Emperor Guangwu's failure in Dutian. We must pay attention to it." , However, the father did not say that he would directly attack them."

Guo Peng's smile made Guo Jin very puzzled.

"Then what to do? If there is no tax..."

"Does it have to be so direct to get money from them? Jin, there are some things that you can't do directly, but if you attack in a roundabout way, you can get miraculous results."

"A roundabout attack..."

Guo Jin frowned and thought hard.

Guo Peng didn't continue to make things difficult for Guo Jin, and said with a smile: "Don't raise taxes on them, you can raise taxes on those wealthy businessmen under them."

"This... this seems to be quite straightforward. The commercial tax... My son remembers that some officials in the DPRK proposed to increase the commercial tax, but there were many people who opposed it, and the controversy was extremely high. Although some people supported it, I am afraid that it would not be possible to pass it. easy."

"Yes, it's not easy, but it may not be that difficult to grab some money from these wealthy scholars."

Guo Peng held Guo Jin's hand and said in a low voice: "People generally regard money as important as their parents. If you cut off people's wealth, it is tantamount to killing their parents. precedent, so we can't do it blatantly.

However, administrative affairs pay attention to methods and methods. To achieve a goal, there may not be only one way to go. Our ultimate goal is to collect taxes, to get more taxes, but it is not necessary to do it in the name of taxes. "

"Father, if you don't do it in the name of taxation, don't you have a righteous name?"

Guo Jin was a little strange.

Guo Peng shook his head.

"Jun, it is righteousness itself, Jin, I ask you for my father, the target of our tax collection is the powerful and powerful scholars, how many ways do they earn money?"

"This... depends on land. Occupying a large amount of land and collecting quite a lot of rent is one of the main sources. The second is commercial roads. My father builds roads extensively. But any big family with enough money and energy will organize a caravan Traveling all over the world to do business to make a profit, the third...is mutual gifts, no, the exchange of benefits."

Guo Jin summed it up a bit.

Guo Peng nodded.

"Well, I would like to ask you, father, which of the three ways for scholars to make profits is the most convenient for us to collect taxes?"

"Naturally, it is commercial tax."

Guo Jin said: "Land is the foundation. Increasing taxes on the land is equivalent to Emperor Guangwu saving the land. It will definitely cause widespread controversy. There is still a war to be carried out right now. The world is unstable. It is not the right time to save the land. As for mutual Taking bribes in exchange for benefits, it is even more impossible to be taxed, the only choice is commercial tax, but father, commercial tax..."

"Change the name, toll."

Guo Peng interrupted Guo Jin's words.

"Pay... the toll?"

Guo Jin was surprised.

"Ajin, why do you think that as a father, you are so keen on building roads? Why is road building the most important thing every time you get a place? Why do you need so many people to build roads?"

"Isn't it for war? To facilitate the advancement of the army and the transfer of materials, and reduce the logistical burden."

Guo Jin didn't quite understand it yet, and didn't expect that layer.

Guo Peng showed a sly smile.

"I've been thinking about this day for my father for a long time, and ten years of work is today."

"Ten years of work?"

Guo Jin was even more puzzled.

"Business travelers, many will not choose to do business locally. Large business travelers will choose to do business in other places and import things that are not available locally. The longer the road, the higher the price, the higher the profit, and the greater the risk. , Shu brocade trade is like this.

Ah Jin, do you know that before taking Yizhou for my father, the price of this brocade in Sichuan has more than tripled from the local purchase to the sale in Luoyang. If you go to Hebei or Kanto, the price will continue to increase. Rare is more expensive, the farther the place of origin and sale is, the rarer it is, the more expensive it is. "

Guo Peng pointed to the gowns made of Sichuan brocade that he and Guo Jin were wearing, and said, "The more expensive, the higher the profit. Naturally, the more businessmen are willing to manage it. Businessmen are after profits. For higher profits, They don't hesitate their lives. When there were no roads in the past, they still spared their lives to travel to and from various places, let alone now.

After ten years of building roads for my father, the Central Plains and Hebei are well connected in all directions, and the rest of the country has also prioritized the construction of main roads. Apart from the army, there are more business travelers, small and large merchants on the road. Relying on the roads built for my father, they can travel faster. Everywhere, reducing costs and increasing profits, so our business is becoming more and more prosperous. "

"So... Father wants to collect tolls? This..."

Guo Jin didn't seem to understand what Guo Peng meant.

"The toll fee will not be very expensive, at least it is a drop in the bucket for the profits they get from a round trip, but for them, this road is equivalent to safety. In the past, there was no safe road. They travel long distances for business, not only to worry about The distance is long, and safety is even more important.

I don’t know where there will be a group of robbers suddenly, I don’t know where there will be a group of man-eating beasts, or they will fall to their deaths on difficult roads, or they will die from exhaustion or die of illness without anyone knowing. Don't care about your own life?

And choosing to take the official road we built is different. There are people coming and going, safety, road patrols, and post stations for rest. It is definitely the best choice. For them, it will not be because of a little toll And take the risk of choosing mountain trails. "

"That's why, so even if we levy road tax, they will never give up the official way."

Guo Jin understood a little bit.

"That's right, we can set up toll collection stations along the official road, and send special tax collectors there to collect tolls, how much per person, how much livestock to transport, how many carts, in principle, the more the quantity, the better the toll collection." many.

Make as many sites as possible, more and less, so that they won't feel so resistant, so distressed, of course, it can't exceed a degree, more than a degree they are willing to bear, even if they take risks, they will not choose to go to the official position Say, we won't get road tax. "

Guo Peng explained in detail.

Guo Jin nodded repeatedly.

"The tax money so obtained can be returned to the national treasury and used for great things."

"Yes, the tax collection should be cleverly named, because the traffic of people and vehicles will cause road damage, and the annual cost of repairing the damaged road is indeed not a small sum of money. This part of the tax revenue does need to be dedicated to road maintenance.

The rest can not only do big things, but also give some of them to the local government to solve the local financial difficulties. The taxes received can be used to do more things, such as building water conservancy projects, repairing cities, and so on. With one tax, you can do more things. "

Guo Jin was very happy.

"In this way, you can indeed get a lot of tax revenue."

"Yes, not only that, this tax basically comes from merchants, from the powerful scholars behind them, they are big families, but anyone who can go to the official road and stay away from the local area is not poor, so this tax is actually In fact, it is taxing the tyrants."

Guo Peng narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice: "They don't want to pay the tax directly, but I have to collect this tax no matter what. If you can't collect the tax directly from their profits, then collect money from other channels. The wool comes from the sheep, so are you afraid that you won’t get the money?”

"Then what if someone still raises doubts? Father, there will probably be such people."

Guo Jin frowned: "With the greed of those people, they will never take out the money honestly."

"Yes, there will naturally be such people, there will definitely be resistance, and it is impossible to pass it naturally."

Guo Peng nodded.

"Then... what is father going to do?"

"Ajin, ever since Emperor Guangwu suppressed the Gongyang School, Confucian scholars have become more and more conservative. The most radical of Confucianism is Gongyang Confucianism, and the most conservative is Lu Ru. From the greatness at the beginning to the decline today, can't you see the virtues of those scholars?"

Guo Peng's words made Guo Jin a little surprised.

"Father means that Confucian scholars are becoming more conservative and not as sharp as before?"

"Gongyang Confucianism was so sharp that it wanted to change the emperor. It would be strange if it was not suppressed. That is to say, the scholars abandoned Gongyangology in time, so it can develop to this day. Otherwise, whether this Confucianism can continue to be respected depends It's a problem."

Guo Peng sneered, and said: "When I was a father, I once taught Gongyang, and I deeply felt that the sharpness of Gongyang is a double-edged sword. It can hurt the enemy, but it can also hurt yourself. After Emperor Wu's reign, the power of the Xiongnu was defeated so that no one killed the ram, but how many people are still treating the ram now?

And even if they don't take the initiative to change, they won't get any benefits from being a father. Now they are self-sufficient, which is the best. After losing the sharpness of the ram, the remaining Confucian scholars will become more conservative. Being pedantic, conforming to the old ways, and unwilling to change the old system is the problem, but it is also the opportunity. "

"What does father mean by opportunity?"

Guo Jin looked at Guo Peng curiously.

"Opportunity is to use their conservative psychology to achieve our goals. Jin, if you are in a room with this kind of person, you feel that the room is stuffy, and you want to open the window to get some air. You can't say that you want to open the window, you Say you decide to take the roof off.

At this time, they will definitely stop you at all costs and try their best to hold you back. When the stalemate is reached, you take a step back and say, just open a window and forget it, then they will agree, and think that you are calm, It can be of great use, and I think I have won the victory. "

The smile on Guo Peng's face was somewhat cunning.

Guo Jin was also taken aback when he heard this passage.

"This……"

"Your original purpose was to open the window, but you didn't say that you wanted to open the window, you said that I was going to lift the roof, first set the goal high, and hide the real purpose.

When they are panic-stricken, you pretend to take a step back. In this way, they will be grateful to you and will willingly open the window for you. "

Guo Peng patted Guo Jing on the shoulder: "Government management is a skill. Politics is not war. Although the result is crueler than war, the process must be softer than war. It's the same life and death, but it must be covered with a fig leaf. Perfect politics must be achieved under the fig leaf."

Guo Jin frowned tightly and remained silent.

"Of course, the prerequisite for achieving all of this, Jin, you have to remember that the prerequisite for you to achieve your goal is that you really have the power to overturn the roof. Everyone knows that you can really overturn the roof, so , they will cooperate with you to open the window."

Guo Peng said: "If you can't knock down the roof, then they will seal your windows together, Ah Jin, remember, you are fighting a group of smart, cunning, ruthless hungry wolves, and this group of hungry wolves. The most important thing in fighting wolves is never, never revealing your true purpose."

Guo Peng embraced Guo Jin's shoulders, pressed his forehead against Guo Jin's, and stared closely at his eyes.