I am engaged in construction in Datang

"There are tens of thousands of people 'protected' by the temple. People rent their fields, provide them with incense, candles, paper money, and various... Buddhist peripherals as my sister-in-law calls them."

"Most of these things, especially those so-called consecrated items, are purchased by wealthy families."

From a certain perspective, this is using the money of the rich to feed the poor.

If Buddhism is destroyed, the people who make a living by giving out free porridge, providing free medical consultations, and selling incense sticks will surely oppose it fiercely.

There are also countless farmers who rent land.

Under the protection of Buddhism, they only need to give some money as "worship to Buddha".

But if Buddhism falls, the fields that belong to them will inevitably be swallowed up by the landlords, and they will be displaced again. Who wouldn't be afraid of this?

"Peaceful evolution." Li Yin took a sip of tea.

"Brother, the root of everything lies in land and poverty."

Han people have never had any particularly crazy beliefs, except when engaging in pyramid schemes. Nowadays, people believe in Buddhism only because it is good for them.

Everyone is having a hard time, so we need to find psychological comfort.

If Buddhism can satisfy my hunger, then I will be its most loyal believer.

If some people start to feel that life is the same whether they believe in you or not, then those who believe in you will have to spend a lot of money to support you.

After a few years, those who didn't believe in you have saved up money to buy a big house, while those who believed in you have only left countless incense sticks, and then 90% of ordinary people will change their minds.

"I heard that some villagers donated their permanent farmland to the temple in order to pray for a smooth life. What do you think, brother?"

Li Shimin was aware of such behavior and had seen many examples.

He said as a matter of course: "Madness."

"Brother, this is wrong."

Li Yin smiled and said, "If I were forced by a wealthy family to hand over my family's permanent farmland, I would be robbed if I didn't hand it over."

"It just so happens that there is a temple nearby, and the monk there said to me, 'Donate the land to Buddhism. With the Buddha's blessing, there will be no taxes and no one will dare to covet this fertile land. You can farm it without worry, and when the wheat seedlings are mature, you only need to donate a little money for incense.' Brother, are you willing to donate the land?"

Li Shimin frowned and said, "If I donate it, the land will not be mine anymore."

"If you don't donate it, the land is no longer yours. It belongs to a wealthy family, and they may not even let you cultivate it."

"If you meet someone of high status, it's OK. You don't have to pay taxes, just high rent. But if you meet a newly-started landlord, you have to pay a lot more."

Before Xiaolizhuang became a female village, as a large landlord, it paid very little tax and did not have to strictly follow the rent and labor system. After all, no large landlord would personally do the labor.

The village had always paid the required amount of grain and cloth, and even added some money.

Now that she wants to break the tax exemption policy of the powerful class, she must not leave any evidence.

Therefore, Nuzhuang took the initiative to pay a lot more taxes.

With her unique existence, Li Shimin unconsciously became a little dissatisfied with the group of people who did not have to pay taxes...

"Brother, can you calculate how much good farmland that can generate tax revenue is lost every year? Will there still be farmland to generate tax revenue in another 10 or 20 years?"

The household registration has not been fully counted. There were 900 million households in the Sui Dynasty, but now there are only 300 million households left. This is a joke!

There are more hidden people than those on the rolls.

Together with the dignitaries who were already exempt from tax, nearly 40% of the population did not have to pay taxes to the national treasury. In other words, those who owned large amounts of land took away 40% of the country's taxes.

On the surface, it is to reduce the pressure on the people, but the treasury has no money, so it can only think of other ways to exploit the people.

For example, the money-catching envoy who is very unreliable.

The annual tax revenue of 30 million guan is just a fig leaf. Who knows where it comes from? Maybe the noble families feel sorry for Old Li...

As things stand, it is no wonder that the aristocratic landlords have more and more land in their hands.

Li Shimin sighed and rubbed his temples.

Having learned from the lessons of the previous dynasty, he was always afraid to collect too much tax. His intentions were good, but unfortunately, things went wrong when it came to practice.

Li Shimin was somewhat depressed. After analyzing everything one by one, it seemed that his Tang Dynasty would perish in the second generation just like the Qin Dynasty!

Li Yin smiled and said, "Brother, don't worry. Governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Everything will get better."

The red line policy for arable land has been released, and all that is left is to increase grain production.

The winter wheat and rice planted in the village last year will be ready for harvest in a month. They are growing well and the yield is expected to increase.

In this way, the promotion of grain varieties can begin.

If the food problem is not solved, everything else is just empty talk.

As mentioned before, the capital is not suitable for growing rice and it is difficult to transport grain, so the price of grain cannot be cheap.

Li Zhi went south to Luoyang several times and tried to move the capital because there was not enough food.

Who are the so-called low grain prices recorded in history books benefiting? After all, the people are self-sufficient and do not need to buy grain...

It is an eternal truth that low grain prices hurt farmers.

[System, do you know why I admire Lao Li? ]

【? 】

[He listened to the advice]

【…】

"Sister, I am confused. This seems to be an unsolvable problem."

Empress Changsun held Li Shimin's hand to comfort him, saying that Erlang had been very busy recently and had not had a good sleep for several days.

"Brother, why don't you think about it carefully? I have already given you a solution."

"Sister-in-law, has the grain production on the farm increased again?" Empress Changsun was smart and reacted immediately.

"It's growing very well now and will be ready for harvest soon. The yield will definitely increase."

Li Yin smiled and said, "The previous red line policy for cultivated land did not exclude Buddhism. It refers to all the land in the world!"

“How can the people not support it?”

When this policy came out, the big landlords were confused, but the common people felt at ease.

As long as the land was cultivated, they would have food to eat.

"With the increase in food production, fewer people are needed to farm, and many people are starting to work full-time in factories."

"It's okay for the people who have land. They just grit their teeth and plant the land."

"But when the people who rent land to grow crops see this, they realize that working hard to grow crops is not as good as working in a factory. What should they choose? And because of the red line policy for cultivated land, the landlords dare not stop growing crops."

"In this way, there is enough food to eat, so what is there to be afraid of? So the people who rented land stopped renting and all went to work in the factories!"

Li Yin lowered her eyes and said, "Brother, the red line policy for cultivated land is unanimously agreed upon by the court, and there is no reason to regret it."

"We are standing on the righteous side this time. If anyone disobeys..."

All the people in the world abandoned it.

"What a great red line for cultivated land." Li Shimin clapped his hands in admiration. He had not been able to appreciate the beauty of it before, but now he could see it clearly.

Li Yin smiled faintly. Who can see the severity of the red line on cultivated land nowadays?

To her, these four simple words were like mountains and dangerous seas, crushing generations of people.

But now, with a population of only tens of millions, this mountain of pressure no longer weighs down the common people, but rather the aristocratic families and Buddhist gentry.

"If anyone cannot hold out, then let him 'sell' the land to the court."

After saying that, Li Yin took a sip of tea.