Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

These reports look simple, but they are not that easy to prepare, otherwise it would not have taken Du He long to come up with them.

With these reports, the income and expenditure of each state and county department will become clearer.

For the imperial court, it can be more convenient to supervise local officials.

Du He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I present this method to the court and do not ask for any reward!"

"I hope Your Majesty will publish the financial statements and not reveal my name."

"After all, I am used to doing good things without leaving my name behind. I hope Your Majesty will grant me this!"

Although producing financial statements is beneficial to the court's audit, it seriously damages the interests of local county officials.

If the officials knew that this method came from him, he would become the target of criticism from all the officials in the world, and it would affect his descendants a hundred years later.

"No reward?"

Li Shimin raised his eyebrows slightly, and he quickly understood what Du He was worried about.

"Hahaha~" Li Shimin laughed heartily, then pointed at Du He and said, "You, a fearless brat, are you worried about being targeted by the officials?"

Who is not worried?

There is not much benefit in producing financial statements except for leaving a name in history, and it will also offend officials.

For Du He, who has no shortage of fame, there is no need to take credit for this.

Du He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am actually very timid..."

Seeing that Du He started talking nonsense again, Li Shimin ignored him and turned his attention back to the various forms on the desk.

After a long time.

Li Shimin said solemnly, "Du He, since you don't want this title, I won't force you."

"But I will not give you less of the reward you deserve."

"I grant Du Mingyuan the title of founding county man. What do you think?"

Du Mingyuan is his and Princess Chengyang's third son. He was born in June this year and is only two months old.

The process of granting titles in the Tang Dynasty was very simple. It was to grant titles to legitimate sons first, and then to illegitimate sons.

However, most of the illegitimate sons in the Tang Dynasty were unable to obtain a title.

Du He smiled and replied, "I, your Majesty, thank you for your grace!"

A few months old boy from Kaiguo County, this should be unprecedented, right?

Judging from the speed at which he was making achievements, once those rebellious sons grew up, they might all be able to obtain the fourth-rank title of Duke of a County.

"Ok!"

Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and changed the subject.

"Du He, what are your thoughts on taxation?"

"Currently, there are tax chaos, tax injustice, and excessive taxation. We must come up with an effective tax standard!"

The Tang Dynasty implemented the equal-field system, distributing land equally according to population, and taxes were also levied based on the allocated land and population.

This tax system worked fine at the beginning, but it became unsuitable after a dozen years.

For example, many people who were allocated land were forced to sell their land in order to survive due to drought or floods.

But these people who have no land still have to pay the land tax.

Also because of this tax system, many people who could not make a living became monks or servants of tax-exempt aristocratic families.

"Tax rate?"

Du He murmured softly, then frowned and thought.

On the imperial platform.

Li Shimin saw Du He was in deep thought, and he did not say anything to disturb Du He. Instead, he carefully looked at the various forms in his hand again.

The servants guarding the hall changed the tea again and again.

It's close to noon.

Du He raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, why not abolish the poll tax and adopt a tax system based on the amount of land used?"

Divide a small family into an acre?

Hearing this novel word, Li Shimin, who was originally lying on his side on a Hu chair, suddenly sat up straight with excitement.

He said with anticipation: "Du He, tell me in detail!"

This bastard!

What a clever brain!

Du He stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Tang Dynasty currently has serious problems with land annexation and population concealment and tax evasion, resulting in unclear land tax collection."

"Because meritorious nobles and members of powerful families have the right to be tax-exempt, they can hide the household registration of the common people they depend on, thus evading the imperial court's taxes."

"In cases like this, the Ministry of Revenue and the Three Departments are basically unable to investigate."

After hearing Du He's analysis, Li Shimin nodded slightly.

He had previously discussed this drawback with the heads of the three provinces and six ministries, but had not found a suitable solution.

Du He continued, "The levy of ding ru mu means that people only pay taxes based on the amount of land they own, and no other miscellaneous taxes are required."

"No matter how many more people are added to a family, as long as the number of fields remains the same, the tax revenue will remain the same."

"This method can circumvent the difficult problem of household registration management. The Ministry of Household Registration only needs to find out the land owned by each household and then collect taxes."

As Du He finished speaking, the hall fell into silence.

On the imperial platform.

Li Shimin carefully thought about the method mentioned by Du He, his face full of surprise.

If the Tang Dynasty collected taxes based on the land it owned in the future, it would not only be possible to identify the land it owned, but also prevent powerful families from paying less taxes.

OK!

The method of distributing the tax according to the land area is great!

"Bang~"

Li Shimin slammed his fist on the table and pointed at Du He happily.

"Du He, you are such a genius!"

"The policy you proposed, namely, to distribute the tax burden according to the amount of land, can completely solve the problem of underpayment of taxes!"

There was a pause.

Li Shimin continued, "I will remember this great achievement for you. When the year-end evaluation comes, I will reward you all at once!"

"Stay with me for lunch at noon, and we'll discuss the policy of allocating land tax to each acre!"

Talking about government affairs while having a meal?

Du He bowed and replied, "I thank your Majesty for your grace!"

Under Li Shimin's order, a group of officials from the Shangshi Bureau quickly brought up delicious dishes.

For more than an hour, the two men ate while discussing the details of the land tax distribution.

After the meal, Li Shimin took Du He aside and asked him questions continuously until he understood everything thoroughly before letting Du He leave Cuiwei Palace.

Li Shimin sat in his seat and thought for a long time before drafting a handwritten edict.

"Lai Ji, give this handwritten letter to the prince."

"After the court meeting tomorrow, you will invite Li Ji, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Ma Zhou,...Xu Jingzong, and Xiao Yu to Cuiwei Palace to discuss matters."

Whether it is the implementation of financial statements or the implementation of the land-based tax system, it is necessary to discuss with these important officials.

Only when it is confirmed that there is no risk will it be issued and implemented.

"promise!"

Lai Ji took the letter and responded respectfully.

Before Lai Ji could turn around and leave, the Minister of War Zhang Shigui strode in and reported with an excited look on his face.

"Your Majesty, what good news!"

"Generals Xue Wanche and Niu Jinda have already wiped out the remaining Eastern Turks. Now the Eastern Turks have been completely defeated!"

what!

Was the Eastern Turkestan defeated?

Upon hearing this belated good news, Li Shimin's face immediately showed a happy smile.

Now all that’s missing is the Western Turks!

After Li Shimin calmed down, Zhang Shigui hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, there was a little accident in the Western Turkic War!"

"Hou Junji led his main force deep into the heart of the Western Turkic region, but was ambushed by their main force, resulting in the loss of several thousand soldiers."