Chapter 112 - 110: The Unemotional Emperor
In the past life, the reason for the rapid fall of the Hong Dynasty was not only due to his decision-making errors but also because of the decline in the dynasty’s national strength.
The Hong Dynasty had been established for one hundred and fifty years, experiencing a cycle from ruin to prosperity and then to the current decline. Although the Capital City was bustling, disasters continued to plague various regions over the years, and the National Treasury was not full. Coupled with the exploitation by officials at every level, the money and grain that reached the hands of the disaster victims were simply not enough to sustain them, leading to the sale of their land and themselves into servitude.
As a result, tax revenue shrank, creating a vicious cycle where the number of serfs increased, landlords grew richer, and the National Treasury became increasingly empty. Reform was imperative.
Ye Qiu drafted the main content of the land reform: First, encourage the reclamation of wasteland, exempt taxes for the first three years, and reduce taxes by half for five years; second, landlords cannot hold more than fifty acres of land, and tenant farmers cannot exceed twenty households; third, besides migrations and the inability to afford burials, land cannot be traded at will; fourth, encourage widows to remarry, allow the establishment of female-headed households, who shall be taxed the same as male-headed households; fifth, Monks, Taoists, and nuns shall be taxed the same as farmers.
At the same time, Ye Qiu also regulated the Permanent Farmland and public land owned by the nobility and officials. Nobles with titles, from Princes to Dukes, Marquises, and Lords, would have their allotted Permanent Farmland decrease from one hundred acres to five, and officials from First-rank to Ninth-rank, from sixty acres to two. Permanent Farmland cannot be traded, and in addition, public land will be used to supplement the salaries of local officials and be returned to state ownership.
Ye Qiu had only outlined the plan; the specific implementation details still needed to be discussed with Prime Minister Xiao and the officials from the Six Ministries, and the power of implementation was entrusted to Xiao Bairen.
Xiao Bairen, having received the imperial decree, was thoroughly caught in a dilemma. Land reform was undoubtedly a huge shock to the nobles and bureaucrats, and implementing it would surely face multiple obstructions. Yet, if he chose not to proceed, he would lose Ye Qiu’s trust and could no longer serve as Prime Minister.
The real beneficiaries of the land reform were only the state and the farmers. Nobles, bureaucrats, and landlords were all targets of impact. By setting limits on land ownership, it meant they would have to sell off their properties in a short time, but with everyone selling and fewer buyers, prices would not rise, so they naturally resisted the reform.