After rebirth, I joined forces with my mortal enemy to seek revenge.

Pei Jiaoran pursed her lips when she heard this. She thought Emperor Wei should know about this. However, how can the suffering of people's livelihood be compared with the benefits that people gain through suffering?

"What if the imperial court implements a new policy?" Pei Jiaoran slowly put down the tea cup, "For example, if the money for young crops is stopped and all donations are stopped. Or if the number of troops is reduced, will your life be easier?"

When Old Liu Tou heard this, he didn't look at her and picked his teeth with his fingers, "It's not that easy. Can your Majesty ensure that all the new decrees are implemented?"

"Why do you say that?" Pei Jiaoran asked.

"Hehe, the lady is from a wealthy family. It's normal not to know the relationship." Old Liu raised his head, revealing a face that was tanned by the sun, grinning, "My lady, if the court says that it wants to cancel all kinds of Miscellaneous taxes, and the county magistrate said that various miscellaneous taxes will not be abolished this year, who do you think you should believe?"

Glancing at Old Liu, Pei Jiaoran raised his eyebrows. If the sky is high and the emperor is far away, government orders will naturally not be effective. In addition, many people are illiterate and will not read the notices posted by the county government. Naturally, whatever the county magistrate says is what it is.

"We are not very literate, so we can only listen to the county magistrate. We pay the taxes how he says. How can we dare to question it? Even if someone questions that the tax should not be collected this year, they will be punished by the county government for violating the law. Arrest them in the name of others. For their own exams, the taxes they lack this year can only be collected from us."

"As for those gentry and wealthy families, they are either naturalized or have good relations with the government. The common people have paid taxes, but these people do not have to pay taxes. Sometimes the government has to find ways to maintain relations with them. Give it to them. How much tax can we receive from coming and going? Well, how do you think we can live our lives?"

Looking at the scale adhering to the wall of the bowl, Pei Jiaoran asked for advice seriously, "According to your statement, the imperial court had many drawbacks in collecting taxes? But I remember, doesn't the Shence Army have its own camp?"

Old Liu Tou smiled when he heard this, "Girl, you can't expect those Shence troops to plow the land with peace of mind. I heard that the Shence troops in some places directly invaded the cultivated fields of the households. They were relieved and labor-saving, but they suffered a lot. Us. No matter how wrong this tax is, it’s not us who has the final say. Last year, my family paid the space tax. In order to live, don’t we still have to pay it?”

Pei Jiaoran nodded, "It's my lack of knowledge that makes you laugh, Uncle Liu."

"It's nothing." Old Liu Tou waved his hand, "Young lady, you look like the wife of a wealthy family. It's not surprising that you don't understand these principles. But let me tell you, even His Majesty probably doesn't understand how hard we are. Ah, I'll go take a look at Zhuojing. You guys can sit here for a while."

Watching Old Liu Tou leave, Pei Jiaoran turned his head to look at Li Xiujing, who was sullen and silent, and smiled, "What do you think Xuan Yin?"

"When there is an advantage, there is also a disadvantage. I didn't expect that he could talk about so many problems as a farmer." Li Xiujing seemed to have remembered something, and smiled, "I finally understand why the court will The candidates for election were placed in each county. As the ruler, the emperor usually had no way of knowing the real situation, and it was possible that Daozhou and counties were shielding each other, making it impossible to implement the decree. The only way to solve the problem was to send people Go down to the grassroots and tell the superiors about the shortcomings and difficulties you see. This will put an end to false reporting and underreporting."

"The former Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty issued a new order allowing land to be granted to maids, but the official positions were different, and the number of maids was also different. The slaves were given twenty acres of permanent land, and the official land was eighty acres. If the slaves died, they could only keep twenty acres of permanent land. Ye Tian. Xuanyin, what do you think of this move?" Pei Jiaoran asked with a smile.

Li Xiujing raised his eyes to look at her and said: "There is great chaos. In the former Sui Dynasty, the clans were rampant and they all had knowledge. I remember what was recorded in the "Book of Sui" that in order to embezzle wealth, some clans sent people to suppress them in the name of government orders. Register the hermit households in the mountains and their private fields. Turn the hermit households into slaves, and then embezzle their long fields after their death. In the same way, the court also has to allocate new official fields to them."

"According to the records in the book, when Emperor Yang of the former Sui Dynasty was in power, there were a total of 5,550 hectares of land. Emperor Yang and his son once asked the officials why I have given you so many rewards, but why can't the money in the treasury be spent? Is it over? This fictitious land has to be levied on the actual acres of land, and the money will naturally fall on the people." Pei Jiaoran tapped the table with his fingers, "Many people saw the clues at that time , but no one reported it to Emperor Yang and his son. Obviously, imposing excessive taxes is of no benefit, and even for the clan, it is just a reshuffling of the cards. Therefore, it has never been easy to implement the decree. "

Pei Jiaoran sighed. Whether it is yourself or any ruler in history, it is inevitable that there will be limitations in formulating policies.

After all, any policy comes from high-ranking officials, and they often consider everything from an overall perspective. For them, the most important thing in the process of governing is the highest strategic feasibility and whether the political goals of the decree are correct. Their vision will not only focus on the sharp contradictions that arise from the alternation of old and new policy reforms.

The imperial court knew that if it wanted to raise taxes, it couldn't just focus on the two taxes. After all, the people could be exploited completely. In order to increase the court's tax revenue, various miscellaneous taxes must be continuously collected. Although these taxes would also appear on the gentry and powerful people, they were still exploitative for the common people. Because the gentry are powerful, they always have their own ways to avoid disaster.

Looking at Pei Jiaoran, Li Xiujing looked thoughtful. Sure enough, only people like Pei Jiaoran who have served as county magistrates and have rich administrative experience can clearly see the shortcomings of every decree and the price that needs to be paid.

"Don't look at me like that. Even if I have a way to deal with it now, it won't be easy to implement it." Pei Jiaoran whispered.

Without the support of sufficient money and power, any decree implemented may have negative effects. Therefore, in order to ensure that the decree can be implemented perfectly, only those in power know the truth and have both financial and military resources, otherwise everything is just empty talk.

"It seems that you are bound to win the battle." Li Xiujing smiled.

Looking at him, Pei Jiaoran shook his head, "It's not that I am bound to win by reducing the army. It's because the imperial court wants to implement the administrative decree and fill the national treasury. Jia Gonglu and others also need to reduce the army and save money to use it as a military plan to enrich themselves. So they have to Cut down the troops."

Of course there is a risk in reducing the number of troops, but compared with the increasingly empty national treasury, this risk is not worth mentioning at all. According to the several confrontations she had with Emperor Wei, the emperor and his ministers had a lot of conflicts.

She felt that from the perspective of Emperor Wei weighing all parties, it was indeed a good strategy for him to reduce his troops. It just depends on whether Emperor Wei is willing to take the risk of reducing his troops.