Of course, the emergence of cement and toilet is just a small episode, and the main theme is still reform. After all, this reform is related to the fundamental law of the country and also determines the future direction of the Tang Dynasty. Li Zhi did not dare to neglect it. A few days later, he summoned the ministers of the Shu to Liangyi Hall to inquire about the work progress.

Liangyi Hall.

"Why haven't Mr. Lu arrived yet?"

Li Zhi came to Liangyi Hall and found that the Lu Shi Gua had not arrived yet, so he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Wang Xuan said: "Report to Your Majesty, Minister Lu asked the minister to tell Your Majesty that he had some important information to prepare and it would take a while to arrive."

Li Zhi nodded slightly and said to Han Yi first: "I heard that Shangshu Ling has met the great landlords in Guanzhong, but I wonder how the talks are going?"

Han Yi smiled and said, "Report to Your Majesty, they have expressed their willingness to support the court's reforms."

Li Zhi said oh, and said a little surprised: "I wonder how Shangshu Ling convinced them to support him?"

Han Yifeng said calmly: "They are all wise people. The better I explain to them the country, the better they can reason and get their support."

Li Zhi laughed and said, "I'm afraid it's more than that. I know those big landlords better than you."

They are all from Guanlong nobles, can you not understand this?

Han Yi said embarrassedly: "In addition, I told them that if they do not support it, the court will make the price of grain in Chang'an exceeds only four cents. On the contrary, the court allows the price of grain to rise to ten cents."

Li Zhi was stunned at first, then burst into laughter.

Li Hong opened his eyes wide and asked curiously: "Why is this?"

Han Yi said: "Your Highness, they are all big landlords. The most they have is food. The price of food directly affects everything they have."

"I see."

Li Hong lit his little head.

Li Zhi asked again: "Can you really make the price of grain in Chang'an only four cents?"

Han Yi smiled strangely and said, "Please allow me to keep this confidential."

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, and then realized that the most threatening move was not to say it. He smiled and said, "Okay, okay, since you don't want to say it, then I won't force you."

Cui Jierensu suddenly said, "Report to Your Majesty, when we talked about duty-free households last time, we seemed to have missed a very important group of people, namely Taoist temples and Buddhist temples, who are also duty-free households."

Li Zhi frowned when he heard this, pondered for a moment, and said, "I wonder if you all think you should tax the Buddhist temple or Taoist temple?"

Liu Xiang said, "Your Majesty is the descendant of the Taoist Saint. I'm afraid it's inappropriate to collect taxes from Taoist temples! Besides, there have been no taxes from Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in all dynasties."

Li Zhi nodded slightly when he heard this.

Cui Jieren suddenly took out a piece of information from his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, this is the land change in Daxingshan Temple in the past five years. Please check it out."

Zhang Desheng immediately submitted the information to Li Zhi.

After seeing it, Li Zhi said in surprise: "The fields in Daxingshan Temple have increased by six times in five years?"

Cui Jieren nodded and said, "In the past five years, the court has paid more attention to Buddhism, and the status of monks has been greatly improved. Many high-ranking officials and nobles in Chang'an have close contacts with Buddhist temples."

Although he did not say it through, his meaning was already very obvious, that is, the landlord colluded with the Buddhist temple and annexed the land of the people.

After Wu Meiniang took power, she praised Buddhism in various ways. After all, the royal family was born in Taoism, and Taoism was also a legal national religion. At present, she did not dare to promote Buddhism with great fanfare, but even so, the status of Buddhism has been greatly improved.

After hearing this, Li Zhi stared at the slightest brow.

Zhang Wenguan said: "The old ministers have heard a little about this, but the two teachings of Taoism and Buddhism are different from landlords. If they collect taxes from them, they will be afraid of many twists and turns."

Sects are a very sensitive topic in society, because sects have their own characteristics. As long as the sect and the monarch are one-sponsored, it can protect the interests of the monarch.

Han Yi said: "I think even if the court collects taxes, there will be no more troubles. People who practice practice emphasize the purity of their hearts and few desires, and indifferent to fame and fortune. Only those of us will fight for profit. If they want to make trouble, then they are ordinary people. It is natural for ordinary people to pay taxes. We have not let the Taoist Saint Buddha pay taxes. If they are practitioners, they should not care. I think it is more reasonable to collect taxes from Taoist temples than from landlords."

Cui Jieren also said: "I agree with what the Shangshu Ling said, Taoism and Buddhism emphasize practice, preaching the Dharma. If Taoism and monks think about annexing land everywhere and greedy for fame and fortune, the two religions of Taoism and Buddhism will sooner or later be despised by the world. Moreover, if this continues, those monks who truly practice will not be valued, because those who wantonly annexing land and seek wealth and profit will become stronger. In the two religions of Confucianism and Taoism, a bad atmosphere will be formed. The court should give them some warnings, and levying taxes on them is the best warning."

Changsun Yan, Di Renjie and others also nodded one after another.

The monks of the Tang Dynasty were both good at wine and sex, and they would not leave any behind. They needed money to satisfy their desires. Annexing the land was the most convenient and they would not become. Not to mention moral issues, but this was not conducive to the development of business. The pragmatic spirit promoted by Han Yi. Why do you monks eat while lying down? And being monks is so good, who can still work?

Li Zhi was not very concerned about Buddhism, mainly Taoism, and he should know that they claimed to be descendants of Lao Tzu.

Han Yi said: "Your Majesty, this tax must be paid. If the taxes of Taoist temples and Buddhist temples are exempted, then the landlords will definitely collude with them and divide their land into the scope of Taoist temples. In this way, the status of Taoist temples and Buddhist temples will endanger the rule of the court, which must be restricted."

After hearing this, Li Zhi nodded frequently, saying that those are useless. The key is to analyze the interests of the emperor. If stamp duty is imposed and Taoist temples are still tax-free, then the landlords must collude with monks and Taoists, especially Buddhist temples. Then the monks' status will become very high, and those with power and powerful must rely on them. If the landlords in the world collude with monks and the special nature of the sect, they may really be able to compete with the court. Li Zhi weighed the pros and consequently said, "Okay, include Taoism and Buddha in the tax scope."

"Your Majesty's wiseness."

Cui Jieren, Wang Xuandao, Zheng Shanxing and others said in unison.

Changsun Yan said: "Your Majesty, when I am revising the stamp duty, I found many problems. If the equal-land system is abolished, that is, the court will no longer grant land to the people, but the population is always increasing. How to deal with this?"

What a joke, if people still teach the land, then how will my industry and commerce develop? Han Yi said: "I have thought about this. In fact, the key to land is not to grant, but to reclaim. If not, there will be so many fields and the population is always increasing. This is inevitable. The court should promulgate the law to encourage the people to reclaim wasteland, rather than wait for the court to grant the land."

Ren Zhigu said: "It is not a matter of one day or two, but old Confucian women and children have to eat. I think that since the equal land system is abolished, it should no longer be calculated based on each person, but should be calculated based on the family. The same 80 acres of land, this person must be much richer than three people. The court should consider stamp duty more carefully and take into account the environment of the people's families. If there are young children and old mothers at home, the court should reduce taxes."

Cui Jieren, Wang Xuandao and others nodded and expressed their support.

Han Yi said, "If this happens, then the old Confucian women and children will become tax avoidance methods by landlords, which will hurt them and the court. At present, the court must recover quickly and do not have the ability to take care of them. Doing so will only make the court burden heavier, because the court has to count the family situation of the people in large quantities, and the purpose of implementing stamp duty is to calculate taxes based on simplicity and acres. Of course, I am not against this suggestion, I just think that the court should do what it can and wait until the court has the ability to do it."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Shangshu Ling is right. The court must do what it can. If it is not overestimated, it will probably lead to the outbreak of a crisis."

Ren Zhigu, Di Renjie and the others looked at each other and nodded slightly.

They were all born into Confucianism and were benevolent and righteous, but Han Yi was born from capital, so capital could not appear in a benevolent and righteous way. This is contradictory. He finally used the hands of others to turn the people into refugees and provide productivity for merchants. If the court gave some good policies to the countryside, the people might go back to farm again.

Changsun Yan said again: "There is another point. When the Shangshu Ling mentioned stamp duty, he explained it this way. The land deed is a very unique contract. Because the land can grow crops year after year, the land deed should pay stamp duty every year. If there is a natural disaster, there will be no harvest in the field. Does it mean that the stamp duty can be paid? If so, the court should clearly stipulate this to prevent officials from continuing to collect taxes from the people after the natural disaster."

Li Zhi smiled and said to Han Yi: "I didn't expect that your stamp duty would have such a good idea."

Han Yi shook his head and smiled, "This minister didn't expect it."

Li Zhi said: "This is of course. If people are allowed to pay taxes when encountering natural disasters, it is tantamount to killing chickens to get eggs. If the court has the ability, it should provide relief. How can we still ask the people for it?"

Di Renjie said: "Natural disasters may be a catastrophe for ordinary people, but for landlords, the harm is not that great. If taxes are all exempted, the taxes of the government will be greatly weakened. If the landlords still pay taxes, the government will have the ability to provide relief to the people."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "This idea is pretty good."

“But this is also difficult to achieve.”

Han Yi shook his head and said, "Stamp duty is of the spirit of contract. If you want to pay, you will pay it, or you will not pay it."

Di Renjie said: "But I think taxes can be reduced. According to stamp duty, the less land the people are, the less tax they pay. As long as they calculate it more accurately, they can reduce the burden on the people while increasing the government's relief capabilities."

Changsun Yan said: "But the explanation of stamp duty is taxed based on the benefits generated in the contract. Since it has not been generated, it should not be levied unless it is said in another way."

Li Zhi frowned and said, "This is really a dilemma!"

Han Yi said: "Your Majesty, according to my opinion, this matter must be put first. Stamp duty has damaged the interests of landlords and taken care of many people. The tax paid by the people on a regular basis is much less than it is now. It can save a lot of food to help them overcome difficulties. The court is in difficulty at present. It can only wait until the national treasury is full to have more ability to help the people. Moreover, the court encourages the development of business, which is actually helping the people resist natural disasters. Don't forget that in this crisis, who gave those refugees who have no livelihoods a meal is a merchant. Therefore, if any prefectures and counties encounter difficulties, the court can provide generous policies in the local prefectures and counties to attract businessmen to invest."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "Your dear is right. Relying on the taxes of the landlords is a drop in the bucket. The court has to find another way to help the people resist natural disasters. Merchants are one way, but I believe there are other ways, so you have to rely on you to come up with better ways."

Changsun Yan, Di Renjie and the others said at the same time: "Your Majesty is wise, I am willing to do my best."

Just then, someone outside the door reported, saying, "Report to Your Majesty, the Minister of Justice, please see me."

"Please come in."

After a while, Lu Shigua walked in with a thick stack of books. Just as he was about to bow, Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "Okay, this gift will be spared. Why did you come here at this time?"

Lu Shigua breathed slightly and said, "Your Majesty, I have important matters to report to Your Majesty."

"What's up?"

"Two days ago, I accidentally read the national history revised by Xu Jingzong and found that most of the contents were untrue, and even turned black and white. Your Majesty, this is based on history as a mirror, which shows the rise and fall of the rise and fall of our country. At that time, future generations may be misled and ruined the great mountains and rivers of the Tang Dynasty when they see our national history that turns black and white."

"What happened?"

"These are the national history revised by Xu Jingzong. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you can check it out in person."

Li Zhi waved his hand.

Zhang Desheng hurried forward and placed the revised national history at Li Zhi's desk.

Lu Shigua breathed lightly and said: "Your Majesty, the eradication of Goguryeo, Sikong, Shangshuling, and other generals was of great significance. Xu Jingzong made no contribution at all. However, he ranked his contributions above General Xue Rengui and Shangshuling in the history of the country, which was extremely shameless. In addition, he also praised the queen for being so generous. Zhaoyi Academy was not built by the queen alone. Many people have worked hard on it, but he didn't mention it. There was also Tuyuhun!"

Han Yi suddenly stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think Mr. Lu's statement is very reasonable. The history of the country is to leave a precious wealth for future generations. Xu Jingzong turned black and white into a serious crime and was unforgivable. I beg Your Majesty to ask Shangshu Zhang to revise the history of the country."

When Lu Shigua looked at Han Yi, I hadn't finished speaking yet.

Li Zhi looked at Han Yi gratefully, nodded and said, "Shangshu Zhang, I will leave this matter to you."

As soon as Lu Shigua opened his mouth, Han Yi suddenly said: "Your Majesty, I believe that the national history is helpful to future generations, but for the present, it is just a record, and it may not be of much help. If many things are said to be straightforward, it will harm the interests of the country. I believe that the national history should be classified and some records that harm the country should be listed as state secrets until these records no longer harm the interests of the country, and then they will be published."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "This is a good idea, just do it."
Chapter completed!