You get Lu Bu as your starting character.

Chapter 255: Limitations of the Times

The internal problems of the Great Zhou are being gradually eliminated.

Whether it's changing the land system or reforming the tax system, both are aimed at addressing the long-standing problems of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

These intractable problems grew like a malignant tumor within the Great Zhou Dynasty, poisoning its various nerves.

Only by completely eliminating this malignant tumor can the Great Zhou Dynasty recover its health and move towards prosperity.

Zhou Chen believed that as long as these internal problems of the Great Zhou were eliminated, the future of the Great Zhou would be smooth sailing.

However, Zhou Chen understood that eliminating these problems within the Great Zhou Dynasty would not be something that could be done in a short time.

These drawbacks of the Great Zhou Dynasty were accumulated over decades, or even centuries.

It takes time to completely remove it and see results.

……

Jinluan Palace.

A new day begins, the morning court session starts.

Zhou Chen sat on the dragon throne.

Below, civil and military officials stood on either side of the main hall.

"When there is something going on, we will start, and when there is nothing going on, we will retreat."

The sharp voice of the eunuchs and guards rang out.

Now, Cao Zhengchun, in cooperation with the Prince of Kao Shan, has left Luoyang to collect the private armies of powerful and wealthy families.

Cao Shaoqin also left Luoyang with Xun Yu to investigate the land grabbing and plundering by local powerful families.

Therefore, only a few eunuchs and guards accompanied Zhou Chen to court.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

No sooner had the eunuchs and guards finished speaking than the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue stepped forward and spoke.

"speak."

Zhou Chen glanced at the Vice Minister of Revenue who had stepped forward and uttered a single word.

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that abolishing tariffs and encouraging commerce is somewhat inappropriate..."

The Vice Minister of Revenue said it very directly.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other civil and military officials all changed.

Some officials were even a little frightened, thinking to themselves: What's wrong with this Vice Minister of Revenue today? How dare he question His Majesty's previous orders so bluntly? Doesn't he want to die?
It should be noted that the abolition of tariffs and the encouragement of commerce were, after all, orders personally issued by His Majesty.

Now, isn't the Vice Minister of Revenue questioning His Majesty's previous orders by saying these things?
Zhou Chen raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing the words of the Vice Minister of Revenue, somewhat surprised.

Since Zhou Chen purged the court, no minister has dared to question the emperor's orders so openly for a long time.

"Your Majesty, customs duties are a very important part of the tax revenue of our Great Zhou."

"Since His Majesty issued the decree to abolish tariffs, in just a few days, the tax revenue of my Ministry of Revenue has dropped by more than half."

"The meager commercial tax revenue is far from enough to make up for the losses from the cancellation of customs duties. If this continues, the tax revenue of our Great Zhou will probably drop to the lowest point."

The Vice Minister of Revenue spoke loudly.

After Xun Yu left Luoyang to investigate the land grabbing and extortion by powerful local families, all matters concerning the Ministry of Revenue were taken over by this Vice Minister of Revenue.

However, since the order to abolish tariffs was issued, the tax revenue collected by the Ministry of Revenue in recent days has been more than half less than before.

This made the Vice Minister of Revenue worry that if things continued this way, the Ministry of Revenue's tax revenue might not even be able to sustain the normal operation of the imperial court.

It should be noted that the land tax in the Great Zhou Dynasty was collected once a year, but other taxes were not.

The daily operation of the imperial court was maintained by taxes from other sources.

If these other tax revenues decline, the government's operations will be disrupted.

Therefore, the Vice Minister of Revenue had no choice but to raise his questions at today's morning court session.

"Furthermore, abolishing tariffs and encouraging commerce is tantamount to letting commerce develop unchecked. Once commerce develops and merchants make more money, the people of our Great Zhou will inevitably abandon agriculture for commerce. At that time, agriculture in our Great Zhou will be abandoned, and the land will face the problem of being abandoned..."

The Vice Minister of Revenue spoke again.

"Your Majesty, the most fundamental basis of our Great Zhou Dynasty is agriculture and food."

"If there is no food, what will my Great Zhou eat and drink? What use is it if commerce is thriving?"

"I urge Your Majesty to reconsider and rescind the decree to abolish the tariffs."

At this point, the Vice Minister of Revenue knelt down on the ground.

The Vice Minister of Revenue understood Zhou Chen's meaning. He knew that Zhou Chen's abolition of tariffs and encouragement of commerce were aimed at developing business.

However, without food, any development is like a rootless plant.

Only when the national treasury has enough grain will the Great Zhou have enough strength and be able to maintain stability.

Otherwise, if people can't even get enough to eat, how can they talk about anything else?

Moreover, in the view of the Vice Minister of Revenue, if the Great Zhou wanted to promote commerce, then these tariffs should not be abolished.

What is the purpose of promoting commerce? Isn't it to increase tax revenue for the Great Zhou?
If tariffs are abolished, what is the point of the Great Zhou's efforts to promote commerce?
The words of the Vice Minister of Revenue shocked all the civil and military officials in the hall.

All the civil and military officials knew that the Vice Minister of Revenue was right. Customs duties were a very important source of revenue for the Great Zhou Dynasty, but as for other commercial taxes, they barely generated any money.

Throughout history, among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants have always held the lowest social status.

How much money could they have?
The true major taxpayers of the Great Zhou Dynasty have always been the land and its people...

I've never been a businessman.

No matter how prosperous commerce is, or how many merchants there are, it cannot compare to the taxes collected from the land and the people.

Furthermore, promoting commerce might lead to an increase in merchants, causing some farmers to abandon their land to pursue business, resulting in abandoned land – a situation where the losses outweigh the gains.

Furthermore, some of the ministers vaguely sensed that Emperor Zhou Chen's reason for abolishing tariffs and encouraging commerce was not only to develop business but also to elevate the status of merchants.

With tariffs eliminated, merchants will naturally earn more money, leading to more people engaging in and developing commerce...

The more merchants there are, the greater their influence will naturally be, and their status will rise accordingly.

However, what these ministers didn't understand was, what was the point of elevating the status of merchants?
"Your Majesty, the Vice Minister of Revenue is right."

"His Majesty has decreed the abolition of tariffs and encouraged commerce; as his subjects, we should obey."

"The abolition of tariffs and the flourishing of commerce will not benefit our Great Zhou much. On the contrary, it will lead to a decrease in our Great Zhou's tax revenue and the abandonment of land..."

"Your Majesty, I have been paying close attention to the situation of commerce in Luoyang these past few days. The abolition of customs duties has indeed led to a significant decrease in the tax revenue of our Great Zhou, and the newly proposed commercial tax is insufficient to compensate for the previous customs duties..."

As soon as the Vice Minister of Revenue spoke, one minister after another stepped forward and spoke.

Previously, under the shadow of Emperor Zhou Chen's power, these officials, despite having some objections, dared not openly question Emperor Zhou Chen's decrees.

After all, Emperor Zhou Chen's methods in court during this period have made the officials tremble with fear.

But now that the Vice Minister of Revenue has taken the lead, those ministers who had objections no longer pretended to be deaf and dumb, and stood up to express their dissent.

Hearing the words of the Vice Minister of Revenue, Zhou Chen, sitting on the dragon throne, glanced at the other ministers who had stood up and spoken, but his expression did not change much.

Although the Vice Minister of Revenue questioned Zhou Chen's previous decree, which displeased Emperor Zhou Chen.

But Zhou Chen knew that the Vice Minister of Revenue was also thinking of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and was one of the few remaining loyal and virtuous old ministers in the Great Zhou court.

"I abolished tariffs to increase the circulation of goods. As for the lost customs duties, they can be made up for by the newly proposed commercial taxes." "At first, you may not see the effect, but I believe that it will not be long before you all see the results."

Zhou Chen rested his right hand on the armrest of the dragon throne and spoke slowly.

Can the newly proposed commercial tax supplement the customs tax?
The Vice Minister of Revenue and the other ministers all looked incredulous.

If the newly proposed commercial tax can make up for the canceled customs duties, then the tax revenue reported by the Ministry of Revenue these days will not have dropped by more than half.

Zhou Chen saw this but didn't offer any further explanation.

Even if Zhou Chen explained it all, the Vice Minister of Revenue and others would probably still find it difficult to understand the benefits of a thriving commercial sector.

In fact, you can't blame them.

This is a limitation of the times.

Not only in the Zhou Dynasty, but throughout history, the status of merchants has never been high.

Even the most brilliant and powerful emperors, and the most intelligent ministers, could not realize just how much potential merchants truly possessed…

But Zhou Chen knew that in his previous life, merchants held an incredibly high status, and the prosperity of commerce was an indirect indicator of a country's strength.

Some top conglomerates are even able to directly interfere in the change of regime and control the lifeline of a country.

It is evident that commerce is the most important and indispensable element for a country's prosperity.

Of course, Zhou Chen couldn't explain these things in detail to the Vice Minister of Revenue and the others.

Zhou Chen believed that Xun Yu and Xiao He, these outstanding figures, probably also had doubts about this!

However, Xun Yu and Xiao He were both outstanding individuals whom Zhou Chen had recruited, and they trusted Zhou Chen completely, which is why they did not question his decree.

In fact, it is true.

Xiao He and Xun Yu also failed to see the prospects and potential for a thriving business.

However, they felt that Emperor Zhou Chen must have his own reasons for doing this.

Therefore, Xiao He and his colleagues did not question Zhou Chen's decree. Instead, they did their best to combine Zhou Chen's ideas with their own suggestions to formulate a new commercial tax system.

"As for the people abandoning farming for commerce..."

Zhou Chen frowned, his eyes flashing.

Zhou Chen hadn't expected this at all.

If it weren't for the Vice Minister of Revenue's memorial reminding him today, Zhou Chen really wouldn't have thought of this.

With tariffs abolished and commerce encouraged, there is no doubt that the commerce of the Great Zhou Dynasty will experience a period of rapid development.

But just as the Vice Minister of Revenue worried, if the merchants made money and their status improved, the peasants would definitely be envious.

At that time, farmers would try to abandon farming and go into business.

If that were the case, a lot of land in the Great Zhou Dynasty might be left uncultivated, and land tax revenue would also be in trouble.

Therefore, it is necessary to impose effective restrictions on farmers who may abandon farming for business.

Otherwise, if all the farmers and common people become merchants, who will cultivate the land of the Great Zhou?

The Vice Minister of Revenue was right when he said that the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty was grain.

We cannot undermine our own strength by increasing commerce and collecting more commercial taxes...

While promoting commerce is important, we cannot neglect land and food production.

However, the degree of this needs to be strictly controlled.

Otherwise, it's like losing the watermelon to pick up a sesame seed.

Thinking of this, Zhou Chen glanced at the kneeling Vice Minister of Revenue and said, "As for the people abandoning farming for commerce and neglecting the land, Vice Minister of Revenue, convey my decree."

"The minister accepts the order."

The Vice Minister of Revenue bowed his head to the ground and spoke loudly.

"Announce to the world that no matter who it is, if any fertile land that has been measured and registered is not cultivated within two years, the fertile land will be confiscated by the imperial court."

As soon as Zhou Chen finished speaking, the eyes of the Vice Minister of Revenue and the civil and military officials lit up, and everything became clear.

Any fertile land that is not cultivated within two years shall belong to the imperial court.

In this way, once commerce flourishes, people may abandon farming and engage in business, thus solving the problem of land abandonment.

Once this decree was issued, even if people wanted to abandon farming and go into business, they would have to consider the consequences of abandoning their land.

Otherwise, the land would be confiscated by the imperial court.

It's important to understand that for most ordinary people, land is their foundation and their livelihood.

They may abandon farming for business, leaving their land to lie fallow for years, but they will never completely relinquish their land and allow the imperial court to reclaim it.

Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule.

If any people truly neglect their land, then the imperial court will reclaim it and redistribute it to those who need to cultivate it. In this way, the land will never be neglected.

The Vice Minister of Revenue was filled with emotion at that moment.

For him, the problem of land potentially becoming barren after the rise of commerce was an unsolvable problem. No matter how hard he racked his brains, he could never come up with a solution that would satisfy both sides.

Only then did the Vice Minister of Revenue present a memorial to Zhou Chen during the morning court session.

But who would have thought that such a difficult problem could be solved with just a single imperial decree in the eyes of the emperor?

This is imperial power!
It can easily solve problems that one person or many people could never solve.

"The minister obeys the order."

The Vice Minister of Revenue bowed his head and accepted the decree.

Now that the issue of the land potentially becoming abandoned has been resolved, the Vice Minister of Revenue can only follow Zhou Chen's advice and wait a while before considering the matter of customs duties.

If the outcome remains the same, then it won't be too late for him to submit his memorial then.

After all, the Ministry of Revenue's treasury is currently very full, and it doesn't need to worry about a little bit of time and a few customs duties.

"Rise, my dear subject!"

Zhou Chen glanced at the Vice Minister of Revenue and said.

Although these veteran officials may not be the most talented, they are still very thorough in their thinking.

If it weren't for the memorial submitted by the Vice Minister of Revenue today, Zhou Chen wouldn't have considered this point.

It seems that in the future, we should listen to the thoughts of these veteran officials more often.

Zhou Chen thought to himself silently.

The Vice Minister of Revenue stood up and stepped aside.

Subsequently, several other ministers also stepped forward to report on other matters, and the morning court session came to a close.

"Retreat."

The morning court session ended with the sharp voices of the eunuchs and guards.

Zhou Chen then got up and left the Golden Palace first.

(End of this chapter)