hsntnovel Chapter 2088 Nationalization of Land.
Chapter 2088 Nationalization of Land.
Li Zhi was really pissed off by Li Shen. You, a dandy prince, actually had the audacity to say that you could discuss matters with the emperor and the prince. Why don't you go to heaven?
After hearing this, Li Shen sat up calmly:
“Who told you that I was an idle prince? Do you think I was just an idle position like you?
Let me tell you, I am a fourth-rank official in the court, Shaoqing of the Zongzheng Temple, and I have real power. I am specifically responsible for dealing with the illegal activities of you, the legitimate sons of the royal family.
I have the right to participate in politics, okay? "
"You..." Li Zhi was speechless. He had forgotten Li Shen's identity as a Shaoqing. This guy never went to court or reported for duty.
The Shaoqing of Zongzheng Temple does have real power. To a certain extent, his Shaoqing status means that the royal family members have great power.
Because Li Shen was still a prince, he could manage every member of the royal family.
No matter how high your official position or how high your title is, Li Shen, the Shaoqing, is not afraid of you.
Even the princes of his uncle generation had to be wary of Li Shen.
There is no way. All these royal nobles have made mistakes. As a member of the royal family, you would be unworthy of your noble status if you don't make some mistakes.
Normally, the Zongzheng Temple will not care about you unless you make a serious mistake.
However, if Li Shen took things too far, these nobles would have no choice but to follow the rules and laws.
"Okay, what's there to argue about? Old Ten, what do you think?"
Li Shimin spoke out to stop him. As the emperor, he naturally understood what Li Shen's words meant.
He can control the government, but that doesn't mean his descendants can also control it. If the door is opened, it may be difficult to clean up in the future.
But right now there is really no good way to control the situation in the future.
Li Shen has a lot of clever ideas, so maybe he has some methods.
Li Shen thought for a moment and said:
"Father, I think that the land must be nationalized. All the land must belong to the court."
"Are they all state-owned?" Li Shimin was stunned.
"Tenth brother, I'm afraid your statement is not true. Currently, 70% to 80% of the land in our Tang Dynasty is owned by the government, and the remaining 20% is in the hands of aristocratic families and nobles.
How did it become a state? The lands in the hands of the aristocratic families were inherited for thousands of years, while the lands in the hands of the nobles were awarded as rewards. "
Li Chengqian on the side also spoke up.
"Then find a way to take it back? All land under heaven belongs to the king. The land, mountains, and rivers of the Tang Dynasty must all belong to the court.
Everything on the land must belong to the court. Even an ant on the ground must have the surname Li.
It cannot be named Wang or Cui, or I will crush it to death."
Li Shen waved his arms and said proudly.
"Take it back? I'm afraid that won't be easy." Li Shimin shook his head, "Old Ten, there are many things that are unknown.
When my Li family first came to power, we needed the support of all major forces, and the condition included not touching their wealth.
The lands of the nobles and officials were also granted by the late emperor and me in order to reward them for their contributions to the Tang Dynasty and benefit their descendants.
If we take it back, won't people think that the Tang Dynasty is going back on its word?"
"That's right. You want to take back the land? Do you think the noble families and aristocrats will agree? If you take it back by force, aren't you afraid of unrest in the court?
I think you have bad intentions." Li Zhi also echoed.
Li Shen ignored Li Zhi. He also knew that it was not easy to reclaim state-owned land.
The Li family started an uprising in Taiyuan and gained the support of the aristocratic families and reached an agreement. Otherwise, these prominent families would not support you.
But if we want to put an end to land annexation, nationalization of land is inevitable.
"Aye, we need to think about this. We can first preserve the official land. We can nationalize the permanent land and the land allocated to the households, and prohibit all buying and selling."
Li Shen thought about it and replied.
"But what if someone wants to open up wasteland and cultivate the land? You also said that we have more land and fewer people now. If we can grow one more acre of grain, we can collect more taxes."
Li Shimin asked back.
"Aye, we can lease it with a fixed term. The land still belongs to the court, and we will give them the right to use it.
The same applies to the common people as well. They only have the right to use the land but not the right to buy or sell it, in order to prevent people from purchasing land in large quantities.
And it is required that if someone leases the land, they must cultivate it and not leave it abandoned, otherwise the land will be taken back.
The lease term is set at three or five years, but not too long, otherwise they will think that this is their land.
When the term is up, they can be given limited leasing rights, and if they refuse to rent, the land will be taken back.
Aye, those who can afford to buy land are either rich or noble. Ordinary people can't even cultivate their own permanent fields and household lands, so how can they rent them?
We are targeting nobles, wealthy businessmen, and aristocratic families.
As for how to reclaim private land, we will consider this later.”
After Li Shen finished speaking, he came to the tea table, poured a cup of tea and started drinking it. With his ability, this was the only way he could think of, a way to target rich people.
For a moment, everyone fell into deep thought, and they were thinking about the pros and cons of the method Li Shen proposed.
For Li Zhi and Li Tai, who were aristocrats, this method was not beneficial to them.
This would make it difficult for them to leave a legacy for their descendants, but it was indeed beneficial to the imperial court.
Li Shimin and Li Chengqian both thought that Li Shen's idea was a good one. They were emperors, and it was naturally better to have the land in their own hands than in private hands.
Li Shen's idea was very simple. He didn't care about his lands. Hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land, the annual income was a drop in the bucket for him.
If farming could make money, Li Shen would not have come up with this idea.
He said all this so that the Li family's rule could last longer and the people could plant more land.
Otherwise, he would surely become the largest landlord in the Tang Dynasty. The price of an acre of official land in the Tang Dynasty ranged from a few strings of coins to thirty or forty strings of coins.
If it is good farmland, it will be more expensive, maybe thirty or forty strings of coins, but if it is wasteland, it may only cost a few strings of coins.
But it is definitely difficult for ordinary people to afford this price. Even if they can buy it, it is only one or two acres of land. Basically, only nobles and wealthy businessmen buy it.
Therefore, it will not affect ordinary people, and may even be more beneficial to the people, preventing some powerful people from using any means to annex land.
After a moment, Li Shimin raised his head.
“Alas, this method of the Tenth Master is indeed beneficial to the court, but it is difficult to implement. Once it is presented in the court, it will surely arouse opposition from all the ministers.
This involves their vital interests.”
Li Shimin sighed. He knew the idea was good, but he couldn't implement it.
The royal family, ministers, noble families, and aristocrats are all competing for their own interests. If they can no longer buy and sell land in the future, it will be difficult for them to accept it.
(What is said in the article only represents Li Shen’s personal opinion. I will leave it to you to decide whether it is right or wrong. It has nothing to do with me.
Data shows that in the early Tang Dynasty, the official farmland was priced at 30-40 wen per mu (1 wen = 1000 wen).