GBP Chapter 340 Even God can't save them, as I, Liu Bowen, have said!
Chapter 340 Even God can't save them, as I, Liu Bowen, have said!
Watching Liu Bowen passionately discuss the progressive tax system in the imperial court, Emperor Zhu suddenly felt a sense of existential unease.
It is said that when we invited Liu Bowen to come out of seclusion, it was in the 20th year of the Zhizheng era. Now, in the 3rd year of the Hongwu era, it has been exactly ten years.
In the past ten years, when have we ever seen Liu Bowen in such a crazy state?
However, Liu Bowen was indeed quite unlucky to have such a troublesome group of fellow villagers from eastern Zhejiang. He cared about his fellow villagers, but they really wanted to send him to the execution ground, along with his entire extended family.
What's even more interesting is that as Xia Yu went to the eastern Zhejiang region to investigate Sun Gupu's rebellion, Liu Bowen's reputation actually became increasingly tarnished.
Well, everyone was praising Liu Bowen like crazy, and there was even a saying that "Zhuge Liang divided the world into three, and Liu Bowen unified the country." Now, however, the situation has completely reversed, and Liu Bowen's reputation is almost catching up with that of Li Linfu and Cai Jing!
Tsk tsk, interesting, really interesting.
After pondering for a moment, Emperor Zhu smiled and replied, "Mr. Qingtian is right. This progressive tax system is indeed related to whether the people of the land can live and work in peace. However, we can't figure out how to implement this progressive tax system in the short term. I wonder if Mr. Qingtian..."
Liu Bowen bowed without hesitation and said, “Your Excellency, many things were previously piloted in Ningyang County, which is directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Secretariat. However, Ningyang County is located in Shandong Province, with a sparse population and few households owning much land, so it was impossible to observe the impact of the progressive tax system on the people.”
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly, and Liu Bowen continued, "Therefore, I believe that the progressive tax system should be piloted first in the Zhejiang East area. Firstly, there are many gentry in Zhejiang East, and secondly, many gentry families own more than 15 mu of land per adult male, which will allow for a better observation of the impact of the progressive tax system on the people."
As Liu Bowen finished speaking, all the civil and military officials present couldn't help but turn their gazes to him.
What Liu Bowen just said was pure nonsense.
Firstly, it is true that there are many gentry in eastern Zhejiang, but there are a large number of gentry throughout the Jiangnan region, and eastern Zhejiang does not have the largest number of gentry.
Secondly, the number of acres of land owned by gentry families has no direct correlation with the impact of the progressive tax system on ordinary people.
Finally, this passage is almost incoherent and even somewhat far-fetched, unlike Liu Bowen's usual clear and logical speeches.
Li Shanchang couldn't help but stroke his beard and smile.
He was anxious.
Brother Qingtian is really anxious this time.
It seems that when it comes to their own extended family, no one can truly remain calm.
Thinking of this, Li Shanchang subtly turned his head to observe again.
Needless to say, the nobles of Huaixi were all waiting to see the Zhejiang East faction make a fool of themselves. If there were some melon seeds or something like that, these bastards would probably be eating them like crazy on the spot.
The officials from Fujian and Jiangxi were all frowning. If they weren't in the imperial court, and if there weren't generals from the Han Dynasty in the court, they probably would have already swarmed Liu Bowen and beaten him into mincemeat.
In contrast to the Fujian and Jiangxi officials who hated Liu Bowen to the core, the Zhejiang officials looked on with a look of utter despair.
If Liu Bowen brought up the maritime ban, the officials of the Zhejiang faction could actually understand it. After all, the messes those fellow Zhejiang natives had made were just too absurd. They were always trying to send Liu Bowen's entire family to the execution ground, so it was normal for them to be targeted and retaliated against by Liu Bowen.
However, Liu Bowen did not bring up the maritime ban; instead, he directly brought up the progressive tax system.
If we take the maritime ban as an example, the Zhejiang East faction was the most affected, while officials from other factions like Huaixi, Fujian, and Jiangxi were not affected much.
Taking the progressive tax system as an example, the gentry in Fujian and Jiangxi were the most affected. Liu Bowen's crazy attack was tantamount to directly provoking the inconspicuous but intricate network of Fujian and Jiangxi officials, successfully creating two formidable enemies for the Zhejiang faction.
No, what the hell is going on here?
So, you, Liu Bowen, are afraid that the gentry of the Zhejiang East faction won't die completely, and you want to kill all the officials of the Zhejiang East faction as well before you're satisfied?
But upon further reflection, the officials of the Zhejiang faction also realized that something was amiss.
Liu Bowen was from the same hometown as those gentry from eastern Zhejiang, but he himself was not.
If Liu Bowen falls from power, what benefits will we all gain?
Judging from the consistent style of those fellow Zhejiang natives, they will most likely pick out another person from among themselves to praise, and then praise him as the next Liu Bowen.
I'm in a big trough!
If I were to become the next Liu Bowen, wouldn't I be just like him, and who knows when my fellow villagers would stab me in the back, directly implicating my entire family?
Upon realizing this, the officials from the Zhejiang faction all changed their expressions.
"Your Majesty, I believe that Vice Minister Liu's words are reasonable. The progressive tax system should first be piloted in the Zhejiang East region."
"Your Majesty, I second your opinion."
"I second the proposal..."
As one official after another from the Zhejiang faction stepped forward to second the motion, the officials from the Fujian and Jiangxi factions were completely dumbfounded.
It's easy to take down Liu Bowen, but to take down all the colleagues in the Zhejiang East faction is pure nonsense.
In other words, the progressive tax system is now a done deal.
Just as the officials from the Fujian, Jiangxi, and other Jiangnan factions were dumbfounded, Li Shanchang quietly stepped forward, bowed to Emperor Zhu, and said, "Your Majesty, I second your motion."
Chang Yuchun glanced at Liu Bowen, then at Li Shanchang, and then secretly observed Emperor Zhu before stepping forward, bowing and saying, "Your subject seconds this proposal."
Emperor Zhu, sitting on the dragon throne, was immediately delighted.
Look, look, it has to be Mr. Shanchang! A simple progressive tax system has torn apart the once monolithic Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi system.
Such an amazing operation, such amazing results, I'm afraid even our good son-in-law couldn't do it. That scoundrel would only offend all the officials from all factions in Jiangnan at the same time.
After muttering a few complaints to himself, Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded, saying, "Since all of you agree to implement a progressive tax system, let's follow Mr. Qingtian's suggestion and first try it out in the Zhejiang East area."
Liu Bowen immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."
Emperor Zhu smiled and said, "Mr. Qingtian, don't rush to praise me. After all, the progressive tax system concerns the fate of the Ming Dynasty and the well-being of all its people. It cannot be taken lightly. This matter was proposed by Mr. Qingtian. Why don't you discuss it further with the Ministry of Revenue and come up with a more comprehensive report?"
Liu Bowen gritted his teeth, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Your subject obeys."
Take it!
I, Liu Bowen, am here to kill the gentry of eastern Zhejiang. Even if the Jade Emperor himself came, he couldn't save them.