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Qin Mu went out of the city to hunt for several days, and his hunting range was not limited to the Qinling Mountains. Whenever he arrived at a place, he would always go to the homes of ordinary people in plain clothes to sit and listen to their voices and understand their sentiments.
History has repeatedly proved that some people do very well at first, but once they move into the deep palace and become separated from the ordinary people, the policies they formulate tend to be out of touch with reality.
Qin Mu believed that all top-level designs needed a public opinion basis, otherwise it would be difficult to implement them. Therefore, in this winter, he once again went on a secret visit under the guise of hunting.
In addition to the livelihood issues in the past, Qin Mu also focused on understanding the actual situation of the logging ban in the northwest. From what he personally learned from the visits, Nong Dianzhang had done a good job in implementing the ban on indiscriminate logging. All counties quickly established forestry inspection offices, inspected and counted the forests in the county, and publicity work was also being carried out in an all-round way.
However, the people were still somewhat resistant to this decree. Qin Mu learned from the people that many people would collect firewood and sell it in the city during the slack season to supplement their family income. They were worried that the tax increase would affect them.
In the carriage, Li Xiangjun could not help but say, "Your Majesty, as the saying goes, the seven necessities of life are firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. People cannot live without them. Since the people are opposed to it, why not just tax the wood used for construction, and don't increase the tax on firewood."
The reason why Li Xiangjun said this is because there is no tax increase on firewood yet. The mining and transportation of coal mines takes time. When the supply of honeycomb coal cannot keep up, it is naturally impossible to increase taxes on firewood immediately. This requires a process.
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "Now that every family has been allocated land, even if we immediately ban firewood collection, it will not have a big impact on the livelihoods of the rural people. Instead, the people who will be most affected are the families in the city who consume firewood."
"However, some people rely on collecting firewood to supplement their family income. If they can no longer collect firewood, it will have a significant impact on these people."
"It does have an impact, but changing orders every day is unacceptable. Although the logging ban has closed one door for these people, it will open another one for them. They don't have to rely on collecting firewood to supplement their household income."
The imperial court's ban this time was not a total ban on logging, but a ban on indiscriminate logging. For example, you couldn't cut down all the trees in a forest. You had to cut them down in batches, and plant three trees for every tree you cut down. This was included in the performance evaluation of local officials.
In fact, the above are only temporary solutions. What really works is to increase the tax rate on timber and use taxation to regulate people's consumption preferences for timber.
The same is true for firewood. After the tax is increased on firewood entering the city, the cost of consumption for the people in the city will increase. Once more affordable honeycomb coal is available, the people in the city will no longer buy firewood. Without buying and selling, there will be no cutting.
In ancient times, taxation was often relatively simple and rarely changed throughout the dynasty, which was actually undesirable.
In later times, the role of taxation is not just to maintain national income, but also to guide consumption through taxation and coordinate policy regulation.
To put it bluntly, if you want to support an industry, you can reduce its tax rate. Otherwise, you can increase its tax rate. Flexible tax policy is an indispensable means of macroeconomic regulation. It is often more effective than any ban.
Li Xiangjun snuggled into Qin Mu's arms, raised her delicate face and asked, "Your Majesty, what kind of door are you going to open for the people?"
"I have taken a look. Years of war in the northwest have left many places barren and farmland irrigation has been abandoned. We should temporarily repair the irrigation in the next two years and do it in sections. This will be beneficial for farming next year, and ordinary people can also get wages to supplement their family income. The long-term strategy is to develop people's livelihood and encourage industry and commerce, so that people can easily find a job during the slack season and don't have to rely on collecting firewood to supplement their family income."
"Your Majesty is wise."
"Haha, how smart?" Qin Mu hugged her petite body, just like hugging a Persian cat. Next to him was Li Zhiyin's pair of soft pears pressing against his arms, warm and fragrant.
"How can I describe your majesty's wisdom?" Li Xiangjun lay gracefully on her husband's lap, her smile as beautiful as a flower, and her faint fragrance intoxicating everyone.
Qin Mu gently pulled open her heart-shaped silk dress, lowered his head and rubbed his body in her arms. Her lotus buds were like upside-down jade bowls, just big enough to hold, soft and fragrant. Qin Mu held the small bump on the top of her buds through her white middle dress and said vaguely, "I only want to be a tyrant around all these beauties."
“Your Majesty…” Li Xiangjun called out softly and gracefully with a slight tremor in her voice, her fragrant face flushed as if she was drunk.
After returning to Chang'an City, Qin Mu immediately summoned all his ministers to arrange for the construction of water conservancy projects during the winter. Unlike the previous dynasties' conscription of labor, the Qin Dynasty had abolished labor. Laborers had to be paid for the construction of water conservancy projects. Although the amount was not much, it was enough for ordinary people to subsidize their family expenses.
Sima Kai, who was instructed by Qin Mu, immediately submitted a memorial on the presumption of innocence. It contained thousands of words, in which he severely criticized the harm of the presumption of guilt and explained in detail the benefits of the presumption of innocence.
Qin Mu was even more outrageous, and immediately ordered the publication of this memorial in the court gazette.
After being encouraged by Qin Mu, Sima Kai actually risked his life. However, Prime Minister Sima An secretly complained that his son had been pushed to the forefront of public opinion, but the matter was done, and there was nothing he could do except to criticize his son severely in private.
Although the previous discussion on the presumption of innocence was getting louder and louder, it was all private behavior. Now that Sima Kai's memorial has been submitted, it is different. This is compared to officially raising the matter to the level of the court. The court has to have an attitude on what to do.
During the three consecutive days of regular court sessions, the ministers engaged in heated discussions on this issue. Qin Mu sat high above them, listening quietly and rarely speaking.
However, after hearing the end, Qin Mu felt something was wrong. The ministers who opposed the presumption of innocence did not seem to be really worried about a drop in the crime-solving rate. This was somewhat different from his original estimate.
The court meeting was dispersed again. Qin Mu walked back to the back court with his hands behind his back, thinking about what the ministers were really worried about. If he couldn't find the evidence, he wouldn't be able to prescribe the right medicine.
In this winter, the pavilions and towers in the rear court were somewhat elegant. Several graceful palace maids were fighting with grass by the pond, and a string of sweet laughter could be heard from time to time.
There is no distinction between beautiful and ugly women in this palace, only the difference between beautiful and more beautiful. Looking at them is always pleasing to the eye.
Qin Mu stopped at the gallery with his hands behind his back, and quietly watched the palace maids playing the grass fight through a clump of banana trees. If they were placed on the streets of later generations, these girls would be walking around in beautiful short skirts, and each of them would be beautiful enough to attract 100% of the attention.
But now, they are just ordinary palace maids who can take whatever they want, and they even look forward to the emperor's favor. Emperors of all dynasties are like this. When they see a palace maid who pleases them, it is common for them to push her down on impulse.
In fact, this is not only the case in the imperial palace, but also in the backyards of high-ranking officials and dignitaries. Power and hierarchy are fully demonstrated here.
Qin Mu suddenly understood what the officials in the court who opposed the presumption of innocence were really worried about.
They are actually not so worried that the implementation of the presumption of innocence will lead to a decrease in the crime clearance rate. What they are worried about is that this move may break the old order of superiors and subordinates.
Since ancient times, it has been believed that Chinese society is divided according to superiors and subordinates, and that a balance is maintained by moral principles and ethics.
Specifically in the court, officials and gentry do not have to kneel, and officials cannot torture people at will. This is a privilege.
The common people did not have this privilege. As long as they went to court, they had to kneel down first, and officials could use torture at will. The hierarchy of status and the order of rank were most obvious in court.
Once the presumption of innocence is implemented, officials can no longer arbitrarily punish ordinary people. This is actually equivalent to raising the status of ordinary people in disguise, allowing them to enjoy treatment that was originally only enjoyed by gentry.
Perhaps this is the real underlying reason why officials oppose the presumption of innocence.
Now that the crux of the problem has been found, what is the right remedy
This is such a difficult problem!
********************************(To be continued...)
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