Chapter 1150: Observing Governance at Liangshan

Climbing the mountain to enjoy the scenery, wading into the water to catch fish, and spending the night at a farmhouse — Emperor Liu enjoyed a taste of pastoral life at Liangshan. Though pleasant, it was ultimately but a fleeting diversion. It was the children following him who had the most fun, rarely having the chance to laugh aloud and run wild without the constraints of court etiquette.

Of course, even amid the play, Emperor Liu's attention could not help but be drawn to the living conditions of the common folk at the bottom. The results of his inspection left him fairly satisfied.

At Liangshan, he visited three villages and one hamlet, and the feedback he received was that the local people were quite content with their current lives. They had basically achieved the standard of having fields to till, homes to dwell in, and no shortage of food or clothing.

As a ruler close to the people who had come up through the war years, Liu Chengyou knew all too well the dire straits the people of the Great Han had been in back then — it could almost be said that across the entire nation, hunger showed on every face. Although this place, backed by green mountains and clear waters with abundant produce, could not represent the whole realm, such a scene was enough to gladden his heart.

The most important feedback gleaned from the mouths of the local villagers was that the Kaibao New Policies, after several years of implementation, had already achieved good results, and the burdens on the common people had indeed been lightened.

And the policies most welcomed by the people were only two. The first was the reduction of the poll tax, which was now the lowest in any dynasty. By now, every household in the Liangshan region had at least six members, and population growth had been especially pronounced in these past few years.

The second was the reduction of taxes. Under the two-tax system, each circuit and prefecture levied taxes according to quotas assigned by the court. The people near Liangshan Marsh counted as relatively well-off; even though the Ministry of Finance, following the court's wishes, placed somewhat heavier burdens on prosperous regions when setting tax amounts, because the population base was large, when spread out, the amount per household was not much.

However, for some impoverished regions, the court's preferential policies had in fact not achieved very good results. The greatest drawback of the two-tax system was its difficulty in achieving fairness — the idea that the poor should pay less and the rich should pay more had not been realized.

In fact, Emperor Liu was well aware of the problems with the tax system, but he had never made any major moves. There were two main reasons. First, at present, the two-tax law still conformed to the development of the times; it was a mature system that had been in practice for a long time and was accepted by all levels, both inside and outside the court — it should not be casually overturned.

Second, although the drawbacks existed, for the Great Han at present, society was in a phase of rapid development — political stability, clean officialdom, an economic explosion — and all social contradictions were being concealed beneath this advancing tide of the era.

As a sovereign, maintaining rule was the first priority. Before problems erupted, why actively poke at them and stir up turmoil both within and without?

Every dynastic reform has its specific historical conditions and environment. Just like the various reform measures Liu Chengyou implemented after his ascension, those too came when the situation had developed to a certain point, when the foundation and conditions for reform existed. Conforming to the tide of the times, Liu Chengyou was a pusher who rode the wave.

The same went for the tax system. Though he had foresight, though he could see the flaws and inadequacies of the tax system, the good outweighed the bad — as long as it could reasonably satisfy the current needs of governance, Emperor Liu would not easily change it. Small adjustments could be made, but major reforms required caution. Unbeknownst to himself, Emperor Liu had transformed from a keen reformer into a maintainer of the status quo.

Based on Emperor Liu's knowledge, the tax system that might achieve relative fairness would have to be the merger of poll tax into land tax, levying taxes according to the amount of land one held. However, given the Great Han's current population situation, was there any need to implement it hastily?

Moreover, would the so-called merger of poll tax into land tax really solve everything once and for all? Clearly not. No matter how good a system, in the end it still requires people to implement and maintain it. As long as people go wrong, it all comes to nothing in the end. Having governed the state for so many years, Emperor Liu could see many problems with great clarity.

On the last night at Liangshan, they did not stay at a farmhouse again. The local people had built a Mountain God Temple at the foot of the mountain. As a deity of the present age, spending a night in the temple of a minor mountain god was naturally no problem at all.

Though it was already late spring, about to enter summer, when night fell it was still somewhat cold — especially so close to the marsh, where the trees were dense and the moisture heavy.

The Mountain God Temple had clearly been built with feng shui in mind — excellent location, superb view. However, Emperor Liu's entourage also filled the temple with a great deal of worldly bustle.

Several tents stood tall, guards accompanying the party kept strict watch all around, and palace eunuchs and maids attended to everything. Facing the lake, a campfire burned high, and on the grill roasted the plump fish he had personally caught that day.

The eldest princess, Liu Jia, having played all day, was already drowsy, leaning against Emperor Liu with her eyes half-closed. Seeing this, Emperor Liu gestured to the younger Lady Fu: "If you're sleepy, go rest first!"

The younger Lady Fu naturally would not. It was rare to have this chance to attend the Emperor alone — during these days at Liangshan, with no other consorts, no other princes or princesses, she truly felt like "a family." Therefore, even though she was somewhat tired, she still insisted on staying to accompany Emperor Liu.

Emperor Liu did not press her. But Liu Jia truly could not hold on any longer, and after excusing herself, went back to her own small tent to sleep. The ninth prince, Liu Shu, was already eleven years old, with handsome, delicate features. Among all the sons, aside from the fifth son, Liu Yun, he was the most mischievous.

As they gradually grew up, the personalities of Emperor Liu's sons had all revealed themselves. In terms of family background, Liu Shu was relatively prominent, but this lad liked everything except studying. For instance, on this trip out of the palace, catching fish, playing in the water, cutting bamboo to weave boats — he was having the time of his life.

At this moment, he was still staring with bright eyes at the fish on the grill. Seeing his greedy expression, Emperor Liu could not help but laugh: "In the palace, what delicacies haven't you eaten? How did this grilled fish manage to hook your craving?"

When staying at the farmhouse, Liu Shu had been extremely picky about the villagers' food, finding it unpalatable and wailing for fine cuisine. Had he not been unable to bear the hunger, he truly would never have tried those simple, coarse meals.

Now, facing his imperial father's question, Liu Shu could not help but shrink his neck, as if recalling the scene two days earlier when he had been scolded by Emperor Liu for being a picky eater.

Pointing at one of the fish that had already been roasted to a golden brown, Liu Shu replied: "This is a fish I netted with my own hands, so of course I must taste it!"

Emperor Liu smiled, and his gaze drifted once more to the distant Liangshan Marsh. Under the cover of night, the crisscrossing waterways seemed even more mysterious and tranquil, and amid the deep gloom, a few lights flickered faintly.

"This is a place of strategic beauty. I think Liangshan here could be established as a market town!" Emperor Liu said. "That way, the people at the foot of the mountain won't have to take boats to go to the market town for fairs!"

"Yes!" Zhang Quhua, waiting nearby, hurriedly noted this down.

Emperor Liu also surveyed the terrain of Liangshan, and even with his not particularly outstanding military eye, he could tell that this was indeed an excellent place for bandits to gather in the greenwoods.

Now that he had spoken, one could well imagine that a new market town would rise at the foot of Liangshan.

"There's one more matter — note this down as well!" Emperor Liu's thoughts continued without pause: "With the poll tax reduced, all rejoice, and the common folk are bearing many new children. My intention is this: take the household registers recorded in the fifth year of Kaibao as the basis. Henceforth, the poll tax shall be collected according to those registers. Those added after the fifth year of Kaibao shall not fall within the scope of taxation, and from now on, the poll tax shall never be increased!"

"Your Majesty, once this edict is issued, I fear there will be objections at court!" Zhang Quhua could not help saying. "Twenty years from now, the court will lose a large amount of tax revenue!"

"You yourself said it — that's a matter for twenty years from now!" Emperor Liu waved his hand. "It can be sent back to the Eastern Capital for the Hall of State Affairs to discuss, but my intention is still to see it carried out!"

"Yes! If this edict is implemented, one can imagine that all the people under heaven will be grateful for Your Majesty's grace!" Zhang Quhua was a clever man and understood Emperor Liu's intent.

That was right — what Emperor Liu was playing at was the "never increase levies" game. For the Great Han, the annual poll tax of forty wen per person was not much to begin with, so at present, the cost of this was not high. It would only be after the population exploded that, under a massive base, it would become a considerable source of revenue. But if an empire reached the point where a head tax could affect the national finances, then that empire was absolutely in trouble.

Moreover, while the poll tax would not increase, the regular taxes and various corvée labor could be adjusted at any time. As a sovereign, Emperor Liu knew all too well what the much-vaunted "never increase levies" was really about.

But regardless, Emperor Liu could foresee that after the fifth year of Kaibao, the people's motivation to bear and raise children would be even stronger, and the population of the Great Han would continue to explode.