The Empress's No.1 Lackey-Chapter 183 - 162. From one whip technique to the distribution of ding into mu

In the Xiuwen Pavilion, debate and discussion were still ongoing, and the empty room seemed divided into two parts.

At the center’s "meeting table," a number of young scholars were eagerly offering strategies for the new policy before the Empress and Grandmaster Dong, creating an extremely heated atmosphere.

Even Mo Zhaorong, after reading the text on the "meeting record," stood up and walked to the Empress’ side to join the discussion.

Thus, left alone in the corner was only the solitary Zhao Douan.

Alongside a clerk engrossed in typing, diligently transcribing the contents of the scholars’ debate.

It was like in his previous life, many times after work, Zhao Douan would go to a bustling community square near his home.

Elderly people would dance in the square, music blaring from the speakers, while groups of children ran around, laughing, full of the lively air of ordinary life.

And Zhao Douan would sit quietly at the edge of the square, on a park bench, pondering various matters.

Just like now.

"Examination Method."

Zhao Douan stared at the three characters he had written on the paper, as numerous memories surged into his mind, overwhelming him like a breached dam.

Historically, Zhang Juzheng’s reforms were undoubtedly successful.

Though there were also many disadvantages, they managed to rejuvenate the Wanli era, sweeping away the decline without leaving too many problems behind.

Even after his death, while some of his reforms were abolished, others were preserved.

Even after dynastic changes, newer emperors would adopt these strategies, demonstrating their advanced nature.

Most importantly...

It was suitable.

The circumstances faced by the Great Yu Dynasty today bore a remarkable resemblance to the past—not by coincidence, but inevitably so.

Under the feudal dynastic system, the difficulties faced by each dynasty were essentially unchanged in their essence.

Just like in his previous life, on the road of development, the pitfalls stepped into by those who went before were known yet unavoidable for those who came after, with no alternatives.

Zhao Douan sat in his chair, leaning slightly back.

The stack of paper in his hands was thick, enough to use as a notebook.

He simply leaned the thick "notebook" against the edge of the table, and his slender brush continued to write new lines on the paper:

"To govern with rationale, nothing is more urgent than securing the people’s livelihood; to secure the people’s livelihood, the crux lies in scrutinizing the administration."

"Making laws public."

"Administering rewards and punishments, upholding justice…"

He paused there, not because he ran out of ink, but because that wasn’t the key point.

It wasn’t a strategy essay… there was no need to start with a main theme, outlining a structure of main points and sub-points.

It was just a habit.

Zhao Douan turned his wrist and drew a dividing line on the paper, then, recalling the key points of the Examination Method, he only transcribed the most central phrases.

"Establish fixed responsibilities."

"Hold individuals accountable for specific duties."

Yes, this time, it was right—Zhao Douan winced a bit with a toothache.

He suddenly remembered that these two phrases were knowledge points he had encountered in his exam preparation materials in his past life while using test papers for civil service exam preparation.

At that time, he had only focused on scoring points without seeking deep understanding, and later, he thoroughly studied the historical texts for improvement.

To be able to speak seamlessly and flexibly boast accuracy, many key contents were forcefully memorized—this was not difficult and considered a basic skill for the position.

Now changing to a new sheet of paper and dipping his brush in ink again,

After a brief revisitation, he only started writing, and the text flowed out like a gentle stream:

"Set fixed limits, establish administrative records, canceled at the end of each month. For those delayed in inspection, their departments shall raise it; if the departments cover up deception, the Six Ministries shall raise it; if the Six Ministries are unobservant, then the cabinet ministers shall raise it. Audits monthly, reviews annually… errors shall incur penalties…"

His brush writing was not exactly good—certainly not compared to these ancient scholars—but it was neat, and before long, he had written two pages back and front.

"Hah... I always say, when one never forgets, there is always an echo. The hard work I put in before was bound to be useful eventually," Zhao Douan reflected.

Looking up, he noticed that the discussion in the room was still ongoing.

"Chronic issues can’t be resolved in just a few months, I still insist on my original view."

"I disagree, in my opinion, administration ultimately comes down to supervision."

"Expand the official ranks? Send more traveling imperial censors down? But imperial censors can’t stay locally for long, things get covered up beneath them, ultimately wasting resources and exhausting the populace."

"Could we perhaps focus on refining the assessment methods?" someone suggested, "One can only be an official temporarily, permanence can only rely on law."

"Good point, but… how to change? The ancestral system is already complete…"

The chatter of diverse opinions continued but with less intensity.

This indicated that the scholars had fully expressed their views.

Zhao Douan noticed that the Empress and Grandmaster Dong had not yet expressed their stance; the Empress was just listening, seemingly not planning to speak.

Grandmaster Dong occasionally asked a few questions, but most of the time, he was deep in thought.

Seeing that a consensus wasn’t being reached for the moment wasn’t surprising, and after some thought, he said:

"Let’s set aside the issue of administration for now; regarding the empty national treasury, excessive conscription, and financial exhaustion, what counsel do you all have?"

Zhao Douan raised an eyebrow, recalling something Mo Chou mentioned earlier, that the primary aim of the Great Yu Dynasty’s new policies was to tackle the financial issue.

As Grandmaster Dong spoke, the air suddenly quieted down.

Everyone didn’t rush to speak.

Even Wang You, the Minister of Personnel’s son, who had been quite vocal before, shut his mouth, seemingly reluctant to elaborate on this topic.

Seeing this, Grandmaster Dong’s sharp gaze turned to Han Congee, signaling him.

Then he turned to look at the Empress and said:

"Han Congee had previously written a very thorough memorial on the matter of taxation, which he showed to this old minister, perhaps it could be heard."

Xu Zhenguan heard this and nodded slightly, his gaze also shifting towards the other party.

Grandmaster personally recommended... Is this an endorsement?

Zhao Douan also curiously looked over.

He saw Han Congee, known by the elegant nickname "Ban Shan," said to be the "number one talented man of the Capital," rise to his feet with the demeanor of a modest gentleman.

He bowed to the Empress and the Grandmaster before presenting a thick memorial, handing it forward with both hands. He then spoke:

"Your Majesty, in my view, the financial maladies of the Great Yu Dynasty lie not in excessive expenditure but in scant production. At its core, this is due to poverty and weakness among the citizenry. Why? Primarily due to overly burdensome labor levies, and secondarily due to the nobility’s annexing of land!"

"I once traveled the provinces, where a saying goes, ’The rich have land but no grain, the poor bear the brunt of disease...’"

"The nobility conceal their lands, household registers are chaotic, and during disaster years they hoard grain and annex more lands... Hence, private wealth grows, temple wealth wanes, the National Treasury and the people suffer, the ailment truly lies here..."

Inside the room, Han Congee spoke with righteous indignation, each word piercing.

In the midst of this, Zhao Douan crouched in a corner of the room, listening intently, also using this opportunity to understand the fiscal situation.

In the end, it’s still the same few diseases that feudal dynasties cannot escape.

Every year, the court has too many public projects to undertake: irrigation, roads, frontier defense, mining... As such, labor levies always fall upon the citizens, affecting production.

Furthermore, Great Yu’s taxation is diverse, levied per capita.

Nowadays, taxes are often paid in goods, each exchange complicates records further.

Added to this, local nobles annex land to avoid full taxation and conceal the population, resulting in a mess of concealed fields in the records...

Zhao Douan stealthily glanced at those present, noticing that the scholars maintained calm expressions.

Clearly, they were well aware of the analysis above, the key was how the new policies could bring improvement.

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By then, Han Congee reached the main topic, declaring loudly:

"In response, I offer ten strategies."

"First, the Spring-Autumn Taxation—during lean times, government could lend to the populace, with a modest interest of two percent, to be repaid with the Spring and Autumn taxes."

"Second, the Conscription Exemption Law..."

"Third, the Land Redistribution Law..."

This somewhat delicate scholar laid out one strategy after another.

With each one thrown out, the young scholars present showed a slight change of expression.

Guo Jieyuan, proficient in finance and always smiling, straightened his posture, swiftly calculating the interest in his mind.

Wang You, of a noble scholarly family and carrying the demeanor of a noble young master, darkened in expression, yet remained silent, his lips tightly pressed.

The other scholars also showed various expressions.

Some were surprised, some admired, others were pensive, some displayed worry...

Yet, no one noticed.

In the corner, Zhao Douan holding his pen and paper, his expression gradually became odd.

These ten strategies, although with many minor differences, why did they feel so familiar?

Zhao Douan frowned in thought, and slowly, a distant memory began to clear.

Lean times, dividing into two taxes...

Wait!

Zhao Douan’s breath hitched, he remembered!

No wonder it felt so familiar; weren’t these "Spring-Autumn Taxes" just the "Green Sprout Law" under a different name?

And measuring lands and dividing them into three classes... While different, weren’t they also a variant of the Equal Field System?

The more Zhao Douan listened, the more familiar they seemed.

These strategies, several of them, resembled those of Wang Anshi’s reforms during the Song Dynasty.

However, compared to Wang Anshi’s policies, Han Congee’s strategies, though similar in some ways, were much milder in the specifics.

And especially emphasized:

"Must proceed gradually, and employ capable officials."

Clearly, this top scholar also knew well that some of the proposed strategies had drawbacks.

If handled too hastily, or the wrong people employed, even if they successfully reversed Great Yu’s financial crisis, the resulting problems would not be small.

"Sheesh... Playing it so big?" Zhao Douan shook his head lightly.

No one knew the exact outcomes of any policies not yet tested.

Thus, these ten strategies, on paper, indeed had tremendous efficacy in turning around the court’s crisis, likely the reason even Grandmaster Dong had mentioned them.

Han Congee was indeed no ordinary person, to come up with these ten strategies from just a position as a compiler at the Xiuwen Pavilion, demonstrated great wisdom.

Yet, unfortunately... Zhao Douan shook his head lightly, knowing that this set of policies fundamentally meant scraping together the world’s wealth into the National Treasury.

Contradicting objective laws, they were unlikely to succeed.

With the brush in his hand, he wrote down the names of Han Congee’s ten strategies, then marked an ’×’ after "Spring-Autumn Taxes" and "Land Redistribution Law."

He also marked a check after several other strategies like the reform of the examination system, which could be adopted.

Then, he turned a page, no longer wanting to listen.

Instead, he wrote quickly on the paper the words "Single Whip Law," thought about it, then crossed it out.

Having copied them down, might as well finish it all in one go, he wrote "Equal Taxation Per Acre" on a new line.

All while Zhao Douan was recalling related information.

Grandmaster Dong and others were also engaged in heated debate over Han Congee’s ten strategies.

Evidently, this memorial had caused quite a stir.

With it, Han Congee also solidified his position as the top young scholar in Xiuwen Pavilion.

Yet the Empress remained silent throughout, neither nodding nor shaking her head.

Grandmaster Dong also knew that while this method was effective, the drawbacks were not few, and simply let the scholars discuss, working together in consultation.

As time in the discussion passed exceedingly quickly,

Grandmaster Dong glanced at the hourglass, realizing it was nearly noon, lightly tapped the desk, and everyone turned their gazes toward him.