Harem Daily Life

Tao Yanyan pondered for a moment. "Go tell the Xia Kingdom envoys that I'll think about this matter again. If they can't wait, they should go back and not come to the palace gate to look for you more than once a day."

Chang Tai nodded in agreement and went down to do the work immediately.

In the imperial study, several court officials were discussing with the emperor about reopening trade with the Xia Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, it is better to resolve a feud than to create one. The Xia Kingdom has already received severe sanctions, and its national strength will take at least five years to recover. It is better to let them go and reopen the trade. My Great Zhou can also make some money."

"But if we don't take this opportunity to completely crush Xia's arrogance, they'll be restless and harass our borders again in a few years. In my opinion, it's better to put an end to it once and for all and simply bring down Xia, leaving them powerless to compete with our Great Zhou."

"Master Yuan is right. While this tactic of delaying things is a bit underhanded, it's effective. Xia Kingdom can't sell its goods, nor can it exchange them for our cloth and tea. Our losses won't be greater than theirs. Rather than giving them a chance to breathe, it's better to wear them down directly. Then, with the absolute advantage of our Great Zhou's powerful army and horses, we can take down Xia Kingdom in one fell swoop. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Everyone looked towards the Minister of War and saw a smug smile on his face.

He Linzhang knocked on the table and everyone quieted down.

"I did not want war to start and the people to suffer. I launched an attack on Yan because it invaded. It was a passive move. Xia was implicated by Yan and its economy was severely damaged. Now it is seeking peace. I will consider letting them go, but not now. Don't always think that if you can conquer Yan, you can conquer Xia. Yan has been in civil strife for many years and is vulnerable. The people are divided. Although Xia is a small country, it has been developing for more than twenty years and its people are united. The two countries must be treated differently and cannot be lumped together."

The ministers looked at each other, feeling that His Majesty was, after all, His Majesty, and must have thought things through more carefully than they had.

The court officials took their leave. He Linzhang rubbed his brows. Eunuch Zhang immediately stepped forward to give him a shoulder massage. "Your Majesty, would you like to take a nap? You haven't had a good night's sleep in the past few days."

He Linzhang waved his hand: "There are so many memorials on the table waiting for my approval, how can I have time to spare? Oh, being an emperor is such a hard job."

Just as he finished speaking, a young eunuch came in and reported: "Your Majesty, Prince Jin is back."

After the court session, He Jinan went to the military camp to teach Mo Xingzhou martial arts and military tactics. He rushed back at this time to help his father handle government affairs.

He Linzhang raised his eyebrows: "Let him in quickly, he really came just in time."

He Linzhang leaned forward, pretending to be tired. When He Jinan came in, he said, "Jinan is here? If you don't come back soon, I will be unable to bear it."

He Jinan knew that his father and mother had been taking care of the four little ones day and night for the past few days and had not had a good rest. He was extremely anxious at the moment and hurriedly asked, "Is your father feeling unwell? Should we send for the imperial physician to take a look?"

He Linzhang waved his hand: "No need, I'm just overworked, it's no problem. There are just so many memorials to review, I'll take a break for a while and then get up to review them." As he spoke, he struggled to get up. Zhang Fuhai's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly reached out to help him.

He Jinan said helplessly, "Father, please rest more. If you are relieved by these memorials, I will take a look at them and read them to you. I will make a preliminary approval. If you agree, I will write down my opinions."

He Linzhang curled his lips and nodded with satisfaction: "Alright, then I will rest on the side, Jin'an, you can review it. Oh, right, go find the prince and let him sit next to my brother and listen and learn more."

Yu Cheng had just returned from a fun day when he was taken to the imperial study. Seeing his father lying on the couch with his eyes closed, and his second brother sitting at the table reviewing memorials, he didn't even think twice before running to He Linzhang's side. He climbed onto the couch with his hands and knees, hugged He Linzhang's arm, and said in a baby voice, "Father, I'm here to sleep with you."

"Ahem." Before He Linzhang could object, He Jinan coughed twice: "Cheng'er, come here and review the memorials with the emperor."

Yu Cheng: "..."

I can't even read all the characters, and you want me to review that obscure memorial? Are you kidding me?

But He Linzhang didn't say anything. Yu Cheng didn't dare to refute his second brother, so he had to move to He Jinan with his head down, climbed onto the chair and sat upright, looking at him helplessly.

"This one discusses tax reform. The memorial suggests increasing commercial taxes by 20% and adjusting the land tax collection method to a per capita basis in each household in order to increase treasury revenue."

He Jinan read as he looked at it, and Yu Cheng was confused after listening to it.

He Linzhang opened his eyes slightly on the couch and said, "Tell me what you all think."

Yu Cheng shuddered and sat up straight. "My opinion... I've heard from the Master before that the current tax policy is the best policy. If we change it, won't it be worse than the current one? Therefore, I think it shouldn't be changed."

He Linzhang nodded. "Then tell me, what's good about the current policy? And what's bad about the new proposal?"

Yu Cheng pouted and clasped his hands together: "I am still young and don't know how to answer."

He Linzhang smiled and looked at Jinan: "Then Jinan, tell me, Yucheng, listen carefully."

He Jinan patted Yu Cheng's head and said, "I agree with Yu Cheng's statement. I will not make any changes. Although raising commercial taxes can increase fiscal revenue in the short term, it may dampen the enthusiasm of merchants and affect business development. If merchants' enthusiasm is dampened, shop rentals will be affected. Moreover, in order to maintain profits, merchants may raise prices. When prices rise, the purchasing power of the people will decrease. When their income is insufficient to support consumption, they will tighten their belts and live a frugal life. As a result, goods cannot be sold, and merchants cannot make money. Over time, it becomes a vicious cycle."

He Linzhang nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"If the land tax collection method is adjusted, families with more people will be taxed more, and families with fewer people will pay less. This actually doesn't make sense. Farmers rely on the land for their livelihoods, and a large family means a prosperous population. How can this be used as a basis for paying more taxes? I still believe that it is more appropriate to pay land taxes based on the amount of grain income."

He Linzhang praised him approvingly. "You're right. Tax reform affects the entire system, so we can't rush it. The Great Zhou has just emerged from war, and while the treasury needs to be enriched, we must also consider the people's ability to bear it. We must not cause public resentment by imposing taxes."

Yu Cheng listened from the side and seemed to understand some of the principles, but he was still a little confused.

The father and his two sons were in the imperial study, discussing and consulting together, and finally reviewed the memorials on the table.