Chapter 4740: Serving as an Official

However, while I was shocked, I also had to admire that using Buddhism and Taoism as a pilot for tax reform is really a genius idea, and it is very feasible...

Ma Zhou's eyes sparkled, and he was eager to try: "Your Majesty, I beg you to take the lead in trying out the tax reform in Jingzhao Prefecture!"

Although the national treasury was well-off and the internal revenue was abundant in the past two years, the huge amount of money consumed by the vigorous infrastructure construction was still stretched to the limit. Ma Zhou, the prefect of Jingzhao, often woke up from convulsions in the middle of the night and was heartbroken as he watched the people under his rule bear heavy taxes while temples and Taoist temples owned vast tracts of land and paid little or even no taxes.

Now that we have such a highly feasible policy, we naturally should strive to implement it under our governance.

As for the fact that the initiator would certainly be attacked, slandered and even counterattacked by both the Buddhist and Taoist sects, he didn't care at all.

He served the people and brought benefits to them. He was selected by Emperor Taizong from a poor family and was trusted by the current Majesty. He rose step by step to the position of the most powerful official in the world. He no longer cared about his future and power. He only wanted to do things that were beneficial to the country and the people. No matter how difficult and frustrating he encountered, he could just laugh it off without any worries.

"Dare to be the first in the world", what is there to be afraid of? !
Even Liu Li, who had always been involved in factional disputes, had to admire Ma Zhou's persistence and courage. Since someone was willing to take on this "thunder", he was naturally happy to see it happen: "Your Majesty, I think this matter must be led by a smart, capable, calm and steady person, and Ma Fuyin is the right person."

Li Ji thought for a moment and said, "I second the motion."

"I second the proposal."

All the ministers present expressed their opinions one by one. Whether they admired Ma Zhou's willingness to make this happen, or were unwilling to step forward and be the first to do so, they were all unanimous in their opinions.

As an emperor, Li Chengqian naturally preferred to see his subjects bravely and courageously move forward to do something beneficial to the country. Seeing that everyone agreed, he nodded and said, "Then go ahead and do it, my dear minister. I have only one request, please do not cause a big uproar and unrest in the world. The rest of the specific details of how to implement it can be decided by you, my dear minister."

Although he was not as talented as Emperor Taizong, he understood the simplest truth after being trained as the crown prince of the empire for so many years: since you have asked your subjects to do things, don't give them too many restrictions. As the saying goes, trust your employees. Subjects like Ma Zhou who rose from obscurity to become pillars of the empire all have unparalleled talents. Just letting them do it will definitely be more effective than keeping an eye on them all the time.

Of course, if I don't get involved, I can have room to maneuver if the situation is not ideal. A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. The emperor should also know how to stay out of it and get himself out of it first...

*****
Ma Zhou was a man of decisive character. After leaving the Wude Hall, he followed Fang Jun directly to the official residence of the Shangshu Province, entered Fang Jun's duty room, drove the clerk away, and then took out the tea leaves that Fang Jun had hidden on the bookshelf, boiled water and made a pot of tea.

"Although I have requested to conduct the tax reform pilot, I have some ideas in mind, but since you were the first to bring this up, I believe the plans of all parties are more reasonable. I would like to hear what strategies Erlang has, and I hope you will be generous in giving me some advice."

Fang Jun neither hid his own interests nor shirked his responsibility. After all, this was a good thing that would truly benefit the country and the people. After considering it for a while, he said, "The most important thing is to determine an appropriate tax rate to accurately target the psychological bottom line of the Buddhist and Taoist sects. This will not only collect a large amount of taxes, but will also not cause the two major sects to resist. I cannot give you any advice on this. You need to discuss this with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and start with the land occupied by the Buddhist and Taoist sects, their population, their respective income methods, and their financial conditions."

Setting tax rates is an extremely complicated and profound subject. Fang Jun asked himself if he had any advantage over current professionals in this regard. However, this is the most important core to the success or failure of tax reform.

If the tax rate is too high, the Buddhist and Taoist sects may put aside their sectarian disputes and unite to resist the court. If the tax rate is too low, it will not serve the purpose of curbing the rapid expansion of the two sects.

Ma Zhou nodded in approval.

Fang Jun continued, "You must be firm in your attitude. When negotiating with both parties, you cannot use a negotiating tone. Instead, you must insist that Your Majesty has made a decision and the court has determined the policy. It is better to lower the tax rate in the end than to give up halfway. Otherwise, the blow to the prestige of the court will be too great, and these two factions may be unstoppable in the future."

He didn't know whether there had been a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism in the original history, but he knew that any collision between religious sects in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, would inevitably be vigorous and far-reaching. This process might take several years, more than ten years or even hundreds of years, but no matter which side wins in the end, it will deprive the power to spread the doctrine on this land, and its power will expand unprecedentedly.

If even the imperial court fails to suppress it, the consequences will be extremely serious.

Ma Zhou understood the danger and responded with a serious expression.

"There is nothing special about the rest. Whether you continue to collect taxes from Buddhism and Taoism with grain, cloth, silk and corvée as in the rent and regulation system, or just collect money to offset the taxes as in the commercial tax system, it is up to you to discuss in detail with the Ministry of Civil Affairs and decide. I don't have too many suggestions in this regard."

After a pause, Fang Jun looked at Ma Zhou and asked, "You don't have to be the first to step forward in this matter. This is a great achievement but it also contains huge dangers. Someone will jump out because they can't help it."

Whoever takes the lead in implementing the tax reform of Buddhism and Taoism will face great danger, but if no one steps forward, Liu Li must take the initiative to undertake this task. The civil servant leader cannot just hide behind the scenes and stir up party disputes. At critical moments, he must also have the responsibility and courage to seek the welfare of all civil servants.

But now that Ma Zhou has stepped forward, Liu Li has avoided possible danger, which is equivalent to picking up an advantage.

Ma Zhou smiled and shook his head. He took a sip of tea and said nonchalantly, "The courts since ancient times have been similar. Some are busy being officials, and some are willing to do things. I am the one who is willing to do things, and I don't really care about the size of my official position. If I don't step forward, the Secretary of State will have no excuse for this matter, but those people will definitely consider compromise and exchange too much in the process of implementation, and will eventually mess it up. I don't care whether they fight for power or whether I will be used as a sacrifice. I just want to make this happen, which will benefit the present and future generations. That's enough."

To this day, Buddhism and Taoism have already developed into giants, almost occupying the top of the sects in the Tang Dynasty. The other messy sects cannot compare with them. If they continue to develop according to this trend, no matter how the dynasties change, these two sects will only become more and more prosperous.

The more prosperous Buddhism and Taoism became, the more land they occupied and the more people they attracted. Too much of the world's wealth was sucked up by these two major sects, and the common people suffered.

He was willing to be a pioneer to cut off the tentacles of these two major sects that were sucking the blood of the world, to seize more money and food for the people of the world, and to allow more people to survive.

In order to achieve such a goal, he would rather rush into thorns, be covered in bruises or even die, than let those "corrupt officials" ruin the big things for the sake of fighting for interests.

Fang Jun couldn't be so selfless, so he admired you even more and sighed, "It's very stressful to be friends with you."

"Haha, Erlang, don't be modest. Not only did you lead the army to conquer and expand the territory, you also made outstanding achievements in people's livelihood. Nowadays, who doesn't praise Lishan Farm? You settled half of the barren mountain land and tens of thousands of refugees here, and led them to work hard and get rich. You even restored the collective operation method of the Three Emperors' rule. You are worthy of the words "prime minister" that Emperor Taizong said about you. You are good friends and like-minded. You should forge ahead and work hand in hand to seek the welfare of all people in the world."

After seeing off Ma Zhou who had hurried to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to look for Tang Jian, Fang Jun drank a sip of tea alone, shook his head and sighed.

At any time, there will always be some passionate and idealistic people who do not seek wealth, glory, or luxury, nor do they hesitate for official positions, power, or a bright future, but are willing to risk everything to do something noble for the country and the people.

It is precisely this kind of sentiment of "family, country and the world" that has allowed this nation to be reborn from the darkness time and time again.

Li Ji walked in without reporting, wearing an official robe and looking gaunt, and sat opposite Fang Jun.

Fang Jun came to his senses and quickly took a clean teacup and poured tea.

Li Ji took a sip of tea, expressionless: "I dug a big pit for Liu Ji, but Ma Zhou jumped into it. Are you frustrated? In the government, people value uprightness. Dirty and private means can only make people laugh. You are far from that."

Fang Jun poured tea for the other party respectfully and said, "Yes, my nephew is dull and unpresentable, and he has not learned how to protect himself. I need to ask you for more advice in this regard. As long as you are willing to give me guidance, I will learn with an open mind."

"Haha, Fang Xuanling would never say such sarcastic words. It is said that family learning comes from a long lineage. It seems that Fang Xuanling did not teach you to respect the elderly."

Fang Jun smiled and said, "My father always said, 'Old people should be bold and aggressive, while young people should be steady.' When you are young, being too aggressive can easily hurt yourself, so you should learn the steadiness of the elderly. When you are old, your enterprising spirit disappears and you become languid. Instead, you should learn the boldness and aggressiveness of the young to be full of vigor and vitality. Mr. Ying is old now, and no longer as heroic as he was in the past, so you should also treat yourself as a young person, instead of being languid and relying on your age to bully others."

"Bang!" Li Ji slammed the coffee table and said angrily, "Are you accusing me of taking advantage of my age?"

Fang Jun smiled sincerely, "My nephew has explained everything clearly, but you still want to ask for confirmation. It seems that you are really old and your hearing is not very good... If that's the case, why bother to retire to Your Majesty? You can go back to your mansion to enjoy your old age and play with your grandchildren, and you can also make room for us young people. It's inevitable that young people will feel resentful if you always stand in our way."

Li Ji's anger subsided, and he frowned as he looked at Fang Jun, who was grinning, "Did His Majesty ask you to say this?"

Fang Jun said respectfully, "It doesn't matter who said it. What matters is what Lord Ying thinks. Since you don't want to get involved in the affairs of the court, why bother to stay in this position? I know what you think. I will take Jingye to the academy to take care of him. Now that you have no worries, shouldn't you change your mind?"

Li Ji remained silent.

He somewhat regretted not having insisted on his own opinion and refused Emperor Taizong's appointment. It was precisely because he sat in this position that his subordinates, who had been submissive and humble in the past, began to have more ambitions for power, and as a result, today they have put him on a high pedestal and unable to get down from it.