Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

The reform had only just begun, yet it had already caused such a huge commotion, completely exceeding Ye Fan's expectations.

Under these circumstances, Zhao Huan had no choice but to convene a meeting of his ministers.

Inside the Hall of Reception, looking at the composed officials sitting on the throne, Ye Fan suppressed the urge to tear them apart, tried to calm his anger, and asked calmly, "Speak, why are the farmers outside the capital causing trouble?"

However, none of the ministers spoke; some yawned, as if complaining about how uncomfortable it was not to have a midday rest.

Some stared intently at the teacups on their tables, seemingly studying how the patterns on the teacups were fired.

Anyway, no one answered Ye Fan's question.

"Speak up! What exactly happened?!"

Ye Fan could no longer bear it and raised his voice several decibels when he spoke again.

The newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Jiang Yuhan, was the first to speak: "Why is this happening? You should ask Imperial Censor Ye himself."

The reforms were your proposal, and we all cooperated to the best of our ability. Now that this has happened, isn't this the responsibility of you, Censor Ye?

Why does it sound to me like it's all the responsibility of my colleagues in the palace?

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow and stared intently at Jiang Yuhan: "Minister Jiang, you are in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Do you dare to say that you can stand idly by after such a thing happened?"

Jiang Yuhan calmly replied, "What do you mean by that, Imperial Censor Ye? I've only been in office for three months, and all the taxes and levies collected before are in good condition."

Who knew the reforms would cause such a huge uproar? Everything was done according to your wishes, so why are you blaming me? It's utterly baffling.

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan's chest heaved with anger: "Minister Jiang, you don't need to act so detached. You and I should both know exactly what went wrong."

"What a joke." Jiang Yuhan put down the teacup she had just picked up, chuckled, and replied, "What could I possibly know perfectly well?"

"Imperial Censor Ye, if you have something to say, just say it openly. There's no need to be so secretive before His Majesty."

"Alright, since that's the case, then please explain, Minister Jiang, why the fertile land of those wealthy families was inexplicably distributed among the ordinary villagers?"

"The original 10% tax rate is being forcibly increased to 30%. Isn't this leaving ordinary people with no way to make a living?"

Jiang Yuhan smiled: "According to the laws of our Great Song Dynasty, the principle of equal distribution of wealth is an inherent right of the gentry."

Since the imperial court is going to collect taxes from the aristocratic families, these families will naturally want to use the power granted to them by the founding emperor. What's wrong with that?

Ye Fan's pupils shrank: "This can also be considered part of the reform. The purpose of the reform is to ensure that the court has money and grain, not to add burden to the people!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lai Ba, the Minister of Rites, slammed his hand on the table, stood up, pointed at Ye Fan, and said, "Imperial Censor Ye, you've really gone too far!"

"You proposed the reforms, and we complied with them. Now you're looking down on us. What exactly do you want?"

Ye Fan: "Is the original intention of the reform to distribute the taxes that should have been paid by farmers to ordinary farmers?"

Lai Ba raised his voice: "Minister Jiang made it very clear before that the equal distribution of land taxes was a power granted to aristocratic families by the Taizu Emperor."

Over the years, we have been considerate of the hardships faced by ordinary people and have therefore refrained from activating this power.

Now that the case is closed, we also need to pay taxes. So what's wrong with using this power reasonably?

"Do you think the name 'Ye Fan' carries more weight than the founding emperor of this dynasty?"

Ye Fan: "This is utter nonsense! The gentry should pay taxes according to the amount of land they own..."

Lai Ba interrupted directly, saying, "It's about paying grain according to the amount of land you own. Do you think we've underpaid? Censor Ye, you should act according to your conscience."

We've all supported you so much, why are you still causing trouble? We'd willingly pay our taxes if you asked us to.

"Even after all this, what more do you want from us? You keep saying you're doing this for the people, but aren't we citizens of the Song Dynasty too?"

Ye Fan's face turned purple with anger: "But if the cost is spread evenly, won't the lives of ordinary people be even more miserable?"

Lai Ba shrugged: "But we've already paid taxes according to your rule that the gentry and commoners should pay taxes together. What more do you want from us?"

"you……"

Ye Fan trembled with anger at such a shameless statement.

Meanwhile, officials like Jiang Yuhan were looking at Ye Fan with pity, as if to say, "Kid, you're still too green to fight us."

Unable to bear it any longer, Ye Fan turned around and bowed to Zhao Huan, saying, "Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty abolish the privileges of the aristocratic families so that the reforms can be implemented smoothly."

Just as Zhao Huan was about to speak, another loud shout rang out in the hall: "Imperial Censor Ye! Are you trying to shake the foundations of the nation?"

You dare to abolish the rules set by Emperor Taizu without authorization? I ask you, do you still have any respect for Emperor Taizu, or for the Song Dynasty?

Ye Fan turned around and saw that Xue Congli, the Minister of War, was glaring angrily at him.

"Since you decided to implement the reforms, our aristocratic families have had many reservations, but for the sake of the Song Dynasty, we have decided to compromise and do everything possible to help you."

But now you've gone this far! Because your reforms were flawed and caused widespread discontent, you've started targeting ancestral rules. What are you thinking?!

Ye Fan sneered: "Minister Xue, you don't need to make it sound so high and mighty."

If you hadn't distributed all the land taxes that your family should have paid to ordinary people,

Why would the people be so resentful?

Xue Congli: "The method of equal distribution is a rule established by Emperor Taizu. Everything else can be changed, but Emperor Taizu's rule cannot be changed."

This is the foundation of our Great Song Dynasty. Anyone who dares to raise objections to the laws of the founding emperor is guilty of treason. Ye Fan, can you bear the consequences?

Ye Fan felt a wave of dizziness and almost collapsed inside the hall.

Only now did he realize how treacherous the officialdom was, and that there really were people who could say one thing to your face and another behind your back, and who would try to trip him up.

"How did Shen Lang manage to make the reforms in Chu successful, and how did he manage to get those powerful families, even the Ye family, to willingly obey his orders?"

Now, all he can think about is what Shen Lang has done.

Why was he able to succeed while I encountered such a big setback as I was just getting started?

Zhao Huan's current situation is similar to that of the Empress, both facing internal and external troubles. So why is Shen Lang able to achieve success in such a short time?

Little did people know that Shen Lang had no intention of implementing any reforms. Instead, he adopted a principle of exchanging benefits, gradually transferring land from the gentry to the common people.

Apart from the salt tax case involving the gentry of Jiangnan, Shen Lang's methods in other periods were very mild, and he had basically passed through the most intense phase of the conflict peacefully.

Of course, Ye Fan had no idea why this was the case.

Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, Jiang Yuhan stood up and said to Zhao Huan, "Your Majesty, the tax reforms have caused widespread discontent among the people. If this were to spread throughout the entire Song Dynasty, it might incite numerous popular uprisings."

Your Majesty, I believe that the land tax reform proposed by Censor Ye is not suitable for the current situation of our Great Song Dynasty. It is better to study it carefully before making a decision, which will also appease public opinion in the meantime.

Zhao Huan nervously glanced at Ye Fan.

Seeing Ye Fan's dejected and lost appearance, after hesitating for a long time, he nodded vigorously: "Very well, this matter is also due to my failure to understand the people's will."

"As Minister Jiang suggested, the land tax reform should be temporarily suspended to appease the people first."

"Your Majesty is holy."

After Jiang Yuhan finished bowing, she glanced at Ye Fan, her lips twitching slightly, and then walked up to Lai Ba: "Minister Lai, we still need your help in pacifying the people outside the capital."

Lai Ba: "This is my duty, and I will do my best."

Ye Fan felt like a clown, standing in the hall being wantonly played with and bullied.

But he quickly cheered up.

It doesn't matter if the land tax reform fails, but the imperial examination system must be implemented.

As long as the imperial examination system is established, my reputation in the Song Dynasty will surely be enhanced.