The most arrogant in history

Ye Kun smiled and said, "I sent people out to investigate secretly. The people in the city all said that Your Majesty is the mother of the country and a role model for women in the world. They admire you very much."

Jiang Yourong sighed, "It's useless to admire me. I'm afraid that if this happens, more families will abandon their baby girls. Those parents will think that the court will adopt them anyway, so they will all send their children here."

Jasmine said, "Almost every day, someone secretly abandons a child in front of the orphanage. Otherwise, send people to stand guard and patrol at night. If these parents are caught, they will be severely punished!"

"Absolutely not."

Jiang Yourong shook her head: "In this way, those babies will not be sent to orphanages, but will be directly taken away by their parents... Alas!"

Ye Kun comforted her, "Don't worry, Madam. I will put pressure on the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Justice to solve this problem at the meeting tomorrow."

Jiang Yourong nodded silently.

Ye Kun called Wen Axiu and Wei Caiqin to come up with a draft first and discuss it tomorrow.

At the Nine Departments Council the next day, Ye Kun said:

"China is a country of etiquette, and it places great emphasis on filial piety. It says there are three types of unfilial behavior, and the worst is to have no offspring. However, it values ​​sons over daughters, and pays little attention to daughters. The phenomenon of abandoned babies is becoming more and more serious.

With the advent of the birth boom, our orphanages are increasingly burdened. This problem must be solved, fundamentally. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue must take responsibility for this matter!"

Everyone looked at each other and no one spoke.

Ye Kun frowned: "Why don't you say anything?"

Sang Buyi said: "Not only the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue, but also the Ministry of Rites should be involved. First, the Ministry of Rites should do a good job of propaganda and rectify the customs of the people; the Ministry of Justice should do a good job of legislation and act in accordance with the law; the Ministry of Revenue should do a good job of statistics and registration, and supervise together with the Ministry of Justice.

For this matter, the nine ministries, together with the Women's Affairs Department and the Charity Fund, must form a new working body to specifically handle the implementation."

Wei Caiqin participated in the meeting, stood up and said, "If you adults feel embarrassed, I am willing to take the lead."

Ma Zhao stood up and said, "It's not that it's difficult, but this matter involves the whole country, and even every family. The workload is very heavy, can you persevere?"

He Kangju said: "Since ancient times, the imperial power has not reached the countryside. Does the court have the ability to supervise every household?"

"Why doesn't the imperial power go to the countryside?"

Ye Kun frowned and said, "Except for remote areas and deep mountain areas, the grassroots are completely controlled by our court. Below the county government, there are township governments; below the township governments, there are village heads, militia captains, village doctors, and school teachers.

We have a complete management network, and we can implement relevant policies from top to bottom!"

Yan Ju said: "There are no problems in the Central Plains, Zhuojun, Yizhou and Jingzhou. The main problem is in the Jiangnan mountainous area. Our control over that area is still a little weak."

Everyone talked at once and discussed for a long time.

Wei Caiqin was firm: "We must do this. We can start pilot work in Zhuojun, Shandong and Hebei. After we gain experience, we can promote it to other places."

Ye Kun agreed with Wei Caiqin's opinion.

Sang Buzhi and others read the written proposals of Wei Caiqin and Wen Axiu, discussed it, and finally came up with a draft.

The pilot project will first be carried out in the area east of Chang'an and north of the Yangtze River.

The law stipulates that anyone who abandons a child shall be punished with three years of hard labor, both husband and wife. Anyone who drowns an infant shall be punished with less than ten years of hard labor but more than five years.

File establishment: Each village and township will establish files for pregnant women, provide follow-up services, and conduct follow-up investigations. A registrar will be assigned to each village with 100 households to cooperate with the village midwife.

Accountability: Village head, village doctor, registrar, anyone who knows about the incident but fails to report it will be guilty of the same crime!

The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Culture and Education should do a good job of publicity, and publicize it vigorously!

Wu Qiong remained silent, looking like he was troubled by something.

Ye Kun asked: "Master Wu, why are you silent? Is there something on your mind?"

"Your Majesty, I'm fine."

Wu Qiong sighed and said, "We now have more and more people receiving salaries from the court. If we add fertility managers to each village, we will have to pay tens of thousands more salaries. We can afford it now, but what about in the future?"

Ye Kun smiled and said, "In the past, the imperial power did not extend to the countryside, and there were few grassroots officials. Now there are more township heads, village heads, school principals, and doctors who receive salaries, and the expenses are indeed much higher. But our grain collection has also increased a lot."

In the past, grain collection and other taxes were actually controlled by local gentry.

They are middlemen who deceive their superiors and enrich themselves.

It’s different now. Most areas are under the actual control of the imperial court.

The expenditure is high, but the income is also high, and the control over local areas is strengthened.

Ye Kun felt that it was still a good deal.

Wu Qiong said: "Your Majesty is right. We are now facing a population explosion, and there will be more and more problems. Rural land resources will soon become scarce, and it is necessary to strengthen rural control.

But for the issue of abandoned babies, setting up a special agency and personnel would be very costly. Can a reward system be introduced to replace management and punishment? Perhaps a reward system would cost less and be more effective. "

Ye Kun was in a dilemma: "Why didn't you say anything just now? We have already decided on a decision, and you come up with another idea for a reward."

Wu Qiong grinned and said, "Then just do as agreed. I'll take the money."

"You'd better say it. It's hard not to say it now." Ye Kun also smiled.

Wu Qiong nodded and said, "The reward I mentioned is also very simple. Giving birth to a girl will exempt part of the agricultural tax. The more children you have, the more you will be exempted. For example, if you give birth to a girl, you will be exempted from the grain tax on two mu of land. If you give birth to ten, you will be exempted from twenty mu of land. This will last from the birth of the girl until she gets married."

Guan Bao couldn't help but shook his head and said:

"In this case, we will have to exempt all girls from agricultural taxes in the future. Now there are two to three million newborns each year, and half of them are girls, which means that millions of acres of land will lose tax revenue. Ten years later, tens of millions of acres of land will be tax-free, and the government will definitely not be able to afford it!"

Sang Buyi also felt that he couldn't afford to play this game and shook his head to reject it.

Ye Kun thought about it and said with a smile: "How about finding a small county and doing a pilot project?"

Wu Qiong smiled and said, "Then let's do a pilot project first and see what the situation is in a few years."

The meeting finally ended.

Ye Kun also felt dizzy and was ready to adjourn the meeting.

He Kangju said again: "Your Majesty, the scholars in the bamboo forest talk..."

"Afternoon."

Ye Kun sighed, "Bring them to the Imperial Study at 2pm. Lord Sang Buyi, Lord He Kangju, and Lord Guan Bao, you great scholars, come and have a chat. I'm afraid I can't win over these guys alone."

Everyone laughed and bowed and left.

After lunch, Ye Kun took a short rest and came to the imperial study.

Those sour scholars from the Bamboo Forest have been brought here.

Ye Kun sat upright and looked at the guys in front of him. They were the Seven Freaks of the Bamboo Forest!

The Seven Freaks of the Bamboo Forest also looked at Ye Kun without saying a word.

He Kangju whispered, "Why don't you guys pay your respects to the Emperor?"

Among the seven monsters, five of them saluted Ye Kun and called themselves criminals.

The other two, however, stood proudly and refused to bow.

Ye Kun stood up, returned the greetings to the five people, and said with a smile: "My name is Ye Kun. May I ask your names?"

The five people were flattered and hurriedly gave their names.

Ye Kun nodded, asked the five people to sit down, and then looked at the other two: "What are your names, these two heroes?"

A slovenly man sneered and said, "I am Ruan Xiong, and I have come here to die."

Another fat man laughed and said, "My name is Zhuang Buwen, nicknamed Half Bucket of Water, the one who wrote articles to curse the emperor."

Ye Kun nodded: "I see. You scolded me for writing shallow and tasteless poems, at the level of country jingles, right?"

"I also scolded you for being warmongering and setting up borders and immigrating everywhere." The fat man continued to laugh.

"You are amazing, you have backbone."

Ye Kun was not angry either, and asked, "When Xiahou Chang was in charge of the Central Plains, did you have any conversations in the bamboo forest? Did you ever scold Xiahou Chang?"