Great Xia: At the start, summon the Net of Heaven to suppress the martial arts world.

"With the Great Xia's land tax of one-twentieth of the total tax, why is there such a situation?" Xia Taige asked, puzzled.

The tax rate of one-twentieth was already very low, and Xia Taige simply couldn't believe that such a low land tax would cause the people to be in debt every year.

As soon as Xia Taige said this, all the officials in the court looked at each other, knowing that there was something fishy going on, but no one dared to speak up.

After a moment of silence in the hall, Xia Taige began to grow impatient.

"Jiang Huan!"

"Your subject is here!" Jiang Huan stepped forward and bowed in response.

"Investigate for me, find out the whole story!" Xia Taige commanded sternly.

Based on the current situation, Xia Taige had already guessed that there must be layers of embezzlement and lower-level officials enriching themselves, which led to the people being unable to make ends meet.

Such things were common in every dynasty. Human greed is boundless, so how many honest officials could there be?

"Yes!" Jiang Huan replied.

"Minister Li, please rise. It's not too late to discuss this matter after the Embroidered Uniform Guard has investigated thoroughly," Xia Taige said, admiring Li Xiu's expression.

Of all the officials in the court, only Li Xiu stood up and genuinely worked for the benefit of the people.

The matter of land tax is of great importance, and everyone is thinking of protecting themselves.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Xiu stood up and thanked him as soon as he saw that the matter had been settled.

He knew in his heart that even if this matter were brought up in the morning court, the effect would be minimal.

Even if it only yields the slightest success, Li Xiu is willing to give it a try.

After Li Xiu presented his memorial, the morning court session became lively again, and many matters were brought up once more.

An hour later, the morning court session ended hastily.

After the court session, Xia Taige kept the cabinet members, along with Li Xiu, the Minister of Revenue, Jiang Huan, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and others, in the Imperial Study to discuss the matter.

Xia Taige placed particular importance on land tax matters. Throughout history, countless dynasties have perished due to chaotic land tax practices.

Moreover, the matter of land tax is related to the survival of the people throughout the Great Xia territory. Since Xia Taige has taken control of the divine artifact, he naturally has to ensure that his people have clothes to wear and food to eat.

Inside the imperial study, after the exchange of greetings between the emperor and his subjects, Xia Taige looked at everyone, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"The current land tax system is outdated, and institutional reform is an urgent task."

"Those present here are all pillars of the Great Xia Dynasty. I have a proposal in mind; let's see if it can be implemented in the Great Xia!"

"In my opinion, the current tax system of the Great Xia, which is based on the number of people and the land, is really inappropriate."

“The poor people below rely on the heavens for their livelihood. If there are continuous natural disasters in any year, how will they have the money to pay the poll tax?”

"I believe that, effective immediately, the poll tax system should be abolished, and the original poll tax should be apportioned to the land, with land tax collected based on the land itself!"

"In this way, the pressure on the people below will be greatly reduced."

"Even the problem of land consolidation will be improved!"

"What do you dear ladies think?"

Xia Taige briefly recounted the land tax reform of the Qing Dynasty in his previous life.

Xia Taige believed that the policy of merging the poll tax into the land tax was extremely appropriate and best suited to the current national conditions of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The only problem is that this policy is extremely difficult to implement. The conversion of land tax into poll tax involves the fundamental interests of the gentry and clans of the entire Xia Dynasty, so there will definitely be great resistance.

Even when the Qing Dynasty implemented it in its previous life, it took more than fifty years to be put into practice.

After Xia Taige finished speaking, the entire imperial study fell silent. Everyone carefully recalled what Xia Taige had just said and pondered in their hearts whether this plan was feasible.

After a moment, Liu Bowen spoke first:

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid the gentry of the land will not agree to this move, and the resistance will certainly be enormous!"

Without even needing to think it through, Liu Bowen knew that if land taxes were collected based on the land area, then the person with the most land would inevitably pay more land taxes.

Throughout history, most of the land has been controlled by local gentry and aristocratic families. These people could even be said to control nearly 70% of the land in the Great Xia Dynasty, so the resistance they faced was considerable.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were enemies of the entire gentry, clans, and nobles of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"No problem, there will be resistance, and there will be the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"There's no need to worry about resistance; the Embroidered Uniform Guard will handle that. The only question now is whether this move is feasible!"

Xia Taige never considered these people as an obstacle; they were just a few more corpses, after all!

It must be said that having a group of supervisory bodies completely loyal to him has saved him a lot of trouble.

Having heard Xia Taige's words, Jiang Huan, who was standing to the side, also spoke up and expressed his opinion:

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is not afraid of any resistance and has full confidence in accomplishing this task!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Dongshi pondered for a moment before solemnly speaking:

"Your Majesty, this old minister believes this plan is feasible!"

"I second the proposal!"

Li Xiu, who was standing to the side, also chimed in in agreement.

Li Xiu naturally approved of this policy, which benefited the common people, even though there was great resistance to it.

Fang Xuanling and the others didn't say much, but their bright eyes showed their approval of the matter.

Seeing this, Xia Taige immediately made the decision:

"In that case, after the cabinet leaves, please come up with a detailed plan for me as soon as possible."

"The plan for establishing the academy must also be expedited. After revisions, bring it to my attention immediately."

Xia Taige only knew that this policy existed, but he had no idea how much tax the Qing Dynasty would pay per mu.

The only option is for the cabinet to revise the plan based on the current national conditions of Great Xia!

"Yes!" Lin Dongshi nodded in agreement immediately upon hearing this.

Once this policy is implemented, such a major reform will surely be a monumental achievement that will be remembered for all time, and Lin Dongshi naturally responded positively.

"Effective immediately, Li Xiu is hereby appointed to the Cabinet and concurrently serves as Grand Secretary of the Cabinet!"

With such talent, Xia Taige naturally wouldn't want to let him go.

"Your subject accepts the decree and expresses his gratitude!" Upon hearing this, Li Xiu's eyes lit up, and he bowed to Xia Taige in thanks.

Li Xiu is well aware of the power of the cabinet now.

In recent days, the cabinet has been kicking people out. Now, Xia Taige has personally issued an edict to add him to the cabinet. Although he is only a fourth-rank Grand Secretary, the implications are obvious.

Seeing this, Xia Taige nodded in satisfaction. He was extremely reassured by Li Xiu's loyalty to the people.

Furthermore, even if he were to later turn to corruption, the intelligence network of the Embroidered Uniform Guard would certainly be the first to know.

Xia Taige did not believe that a scholar could hide from the surveillance of the Zhenwu Division's spies.

Currently, apart from Lin Dongshi and Li Xiu, the other four members of the cabinet are all Xia Taige's confidants.

After Lin Dongshi resigned and Liu Bowen took over the cabinet, the cabinet became Xia Taige's personal fiefdom.