#37 - There are exactly two
Within the grand "Hall of Listening to Heaven" in the Martial Kingdom's Imperial Capital.
Apart from the Martial Emperor, who had yet to arrive, the assembled officials stood quietly in their respective positions.
Each official occasionally glanced at the tall and upright figure standing at the forefront.
The man stood motionless with his eyes closed, holding a court tablet in his hands, like a pine tree rooted in the imperial court.
Xiao Mochi, a currently influential figure, was also someone who was both feared and attacked by many officials.
“The Emperor has arrived—”
With a eunuch's high-pitched voice, the Martial Emperor, adorned in a dragon robe, walked out.
“Your subjects, pay respects to Your Majesty,” the officials shouted in unison, bowing in unison.
Martial Kingdom officials never knelt before the Emperor, only offering a bow at most.
“Esteemed officials, please rise,” the Martial Emperor said, extending a hand in a gentle gesture.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” the officials replied, straightening their bodies.
“Do any of you, esteemed officials, have matters to report?” the Martial Emperor asked with a smile, appearing amiable, but no one truly believed he was easy to talk to.
“I, your subject, have a matter to report,” Xiao Mochi stepped forward, his voice echoing throughout the entire court.
“Xiao, my esteemed official,” The Martial Emperor looked at Xiao Mochi, his gentle expression concealing a hint of gravity.
“Your Majesty, I request a change in the law,” Xiao Mochi's direct words sent a jolt through most of the officials.
Everyone looked at Xiao Mochi, then at the Prime Minister standing at the forefront.
The Martial Emperor also glanced at the Prime Minister, the smiling expression on his face instantly turning serious: “Xiao, my esteemed official, do you know what it is you are about to speak of?”
“I know.”
Xiao Mochi took a deep breath.
“The Two-Tax System currently implemented in the Martial Dynasty did increase fiscal revenue in the early stages, and also alleviated the burden on the people to a certain extent.
However, today, the Two-Tax System has completely changed.
Greedy officials are extorting and blackmailing under various pretexts beyond the fixed Two-Tax quota, such as the 'Building Tax' and 'Removal Fee,' causing the people to suffer unspeakably.
In addition, many officials, in order to be promoted, are imposing excessive taxes beyond the regular taxes.
Heavy taxes and levies have plunged the people into a miserable state of living worse than death.
If it is not amended, and continues for a long time, the consequences will be unimaginable!”
“Absurd, it is precisely because of the Two-Tax System that our Martial Dynasty has been so strong, how can it become so unbearable in the eyes of the Lord Zhongshu?” an official stood up.
Soon, another official stood up:
“The Two-Tax System does have certain drawbacks, but may I ask, what kind of tax system is perfect?
The rent, corvée, and all miscellaneous donations and taxes are all abolished.
The Two-Tax System levies money according to household rank, and levies rice and millet according to the amount of cultivated land, with the amount of cultivated land in the Martial Dynasty for one hundred years as the standard for equal collection.
Merchants without fixed residences are levied one-thirtieth of their income by the state and county where they are located.
Are these all useless?”
“Your Majesty! The rules of our ancestors must not be abandoned!”
One official after another stood up, refuting Xiao Mochi.
Xiao Mochi remained calm, as if he hadn't heard anything.
“Silence.” With the Martial Emperor's shout, the officials all closed their mouths and lowered their heads.
The Martial Emperor looked at Xiao Mochi: “Xiao, my esteemed official, you say you want to reform the law, then do you have a reform plan?”
Xiao Mochi raised his head: “I have some ideas.
First, merge the levy of taxes and corvée, combining the land tax, corvée, and other miscellaneous levies of various states and counties into one, and uniformly collect silver, converted and paid per mu.
Abolish physical labor, and change the corvée to the government hiring people to perform the labor, and the farmers only need to hand over silver.
Simplify the collection items. Convert all the summer tax, autumn grain, Lijia, Jun Yao, miscellaneous services, and additional tributes levied on various states and counties in the past into silver, and combine them into a total amount.
→
The collection and transportation of taxes and corvée will be changed from the past system of people collecting and transporting to the government collecting and transporting.
The main purpose of this method is to simplify the tax system, facilitate the collection of taxes, and at the same time make it difficult for local officials to cheat, thereby increasing fiscal revenue.”
Hearing Xiao Mochi's words, many people could no longer sit still, their faces turning pale.
This Xiao Mochi has never been idle since he entered the court two years ago.
If it's not military reform, it's about cutting the power of the vassal states.
Xiao Mochi also said before that “regardless of background, anyone can participate in the imperial examination”.
Has he forgotten the palace coup one hundred and fifty years ago?!
Now, Xiao Mochi wants to propose reforms to the tax law.
Xiao Mochi is undoubtedly infringing on their interests by doing so.
Which of their families doesn't have thousands upon thousands of mu of land, openly or secretly?
If this tax law is implemented, how much tax will they have to pay?
Sure enough, after Xiao Mochi finished speaking, one official after another stood up to attack Xiao Mochi.
However, Xiao Mochi was not without supporters.
The younger generation of officials, who had entered the officialdom not long ago, retorted one after another.
For a time, the court was in chaos, and many people had already rolled up their sleeves to prepare for a fight.
The military officials in the court were happy to watch.
In the past, it was them who had to fight with the civil officials.
But now, the civil officials themselves were about to fight.
Since Xiao Mochi entered the court, they had been enjoying the show for the past two years.
But then again, watching the show is one thing.
This Xiao Mochi is really a man.
As expected of a scholar from Bailu Academy, he is different from those bookworms in the court.
It's just that... he's a little too young and lacks experience.
Just as the crowd was arguing more and more fiercely, the Martial Emperor glanced at the Prime Minister again.
But the Prime Minister remained silent, looking like he was in a daze.
“Alright, alright, stop arguing.” The Martial Emperor retracted his gaze and waved his hand, seemingly with a headache, “Xiao, my esteemed official, this matter you speak of is of great importance, I need to consider it carefully, this matter will be put on hold for now and discussed later, you first write a specific charter and present it.”
“Yes.” Xiao Mochi nodded.
“...” Many officials showed embarrassment, secretly thinking that things were bad.
It was estimated that His Majesty had known about Xiao Mochi's reform for a long time, but he only let him propose it today to test the reactions of himself and others.
“Are there any other matters, please report them all.” The Martial Emperor continued.
The officials' reports that followed were no different from usual, except that the Minister of Rites stepped forward and reported: “Your Majesty, the Qi Kingdom's delegation will arrive in our Martial Kingdom in a month, the selection of our Martial Kingdom's diplomatic mission should be decided.”
“Indeed.” The Martial Emperor thought for a moment, “Then let Xiao, my esteemed official, be responsible for this matter, Xiao, my esteemed official, you go and select people, the matter of welcoming the Qi Kingdom's delegation will be entrusted to you.”
“Yes.” Xiao Mochi replied with his head bowed.
The officials wanted to say something but stopped, wanting to refute, but they found that they really couldn't refute this time.
He was a scholar from Bailu Academy, they were really not qualified.
“Reporting to Your Majesty.” Xiao Mochi thought for a moment and reported, “I heard that the Qi Kingdom will bring two young children with outstanding literary talent, our Martial Kingdom must also have equal specifications, I think it is also necessary to bring two young friends.”
“Oh?” The Martial Emperor smiled, “Does my esteemed official have any candidates?”
Xiao Mochi nodded and said: “It just so happens that I have two.”
