Chapter 276 What are you thinking about?

"Sir, this." Next to the court where officials hold court, there is a side hall, which is where the cabinet is located.

Shen Qingzhou, Cai Quan, Shen Zhui and other ministers or supervisors of the six ministries were discussing matters, as were the governors of the three provinces, such as the Minister of the Central Secretariat Liu Cheng.

Shen Qingzhou has been working in the cabinet for a quarter, from the previous three ministries to the entire Daliang Kingdom today.

His abilities were also recognized by everyone. Even an old fox like Liu Cheng was full of admiration. He handled many things based on his experience, but Shen Qingzhou could also achieve his goals in various ways, as if he was born to be an official.

From the county magistrate to the prefect, up to now, each yamen has been a small local court, and now it is just a larger county yamen.

"Sir Shen, isn't this a bit too hasty?" The six ministers and several other senior officials were shocked after reading Shen Qingzhou's papers.

"Sir Shen, the performance evaluation system can correct the laziness of officials. Although officials from various continents are not convinced, it can still be implemented reluctantly.

Now, if Lord Shen makes so many reforms, I really don’t know what will happen. "Shen Zhui looked at Shen Qingzhou with a little distance in his eyes.

Before, he was on Shen Qingzhou's side. In his opinion, Shen Qingzhou was a capable person. However, when something happened to him, he could not remain indifferent.

"Lord Shen, this matter is indeed a bit hasty. It cannot be handled in a short time. If it is not handled properly, it will cause a big change." Liu Cheng spoke.

After seeing the document, he had remained silent. Now, his voice also represented the opposition of all officials, dignitaries, and even the scholar class.

The first was to distribute the tax based on the amount of land, which was something Emperor Liang had always wanted to implement. Using the title of Duke of Qing as an excuse, he only managed to prevent some of the land annexation.

But Shen Qingzhou was just better. He wanted to directly investigate the land in the whole country. He had worked in Sanyang County before, but the county magistrate was the king in the local area. However, looking at the whole country, he could not do whatever he wanted.

Which prince or noble, after gaining power, would not want to acquire more land for his family? This would offend the gentry.

Shen Zhui came from a noble family. He was willing to do good things and was also excluded from the Ministry of Revenue, but he was also a noble family.

Then the fire consumption was returned to the public. When collecting taxes before, the common people would deliver them to the government office or county office in person. You would send rice or silver, and there would be all kinds of tricks involved. On the surface, the court had to bear the loss, so it didn't matter.

But the most important point is that this national policy is essentially to legalize the illegal levies by local governments, formulate clear collection ratios, and have all state governments implement unified management under the supervision of the court, make taxation transparent, and let the people know what they only need to pay.

Unlike now, what the government says is the truth and you don’t know whether it is true or not, which offends the government offices in various states.

The most important point is that the gentry have to pay taxes as a whole. Even the honest officials cannot accept this. As long as they have achieved fame and honor, they do not have to pay taxes. However, if Shen Qingzhou wants to break this rule, all the scholars and officials in the world will be dissatisfied.

Moreover, this is a one-time payment. The previous performance evaluation system was to make everyone work harder, but now these things all require everyone to give up the benefits, which is unacceptable to everyone.

"Only great changes can bring about great governance. Although we have vigorously promoted the performance evaluation system, we have only done superficial work, relying on the principle that everyone can be held accountable. Instead of this, it is better to take drastic measures," said Shen Qingzhou.

"Sir Shen, I can't say whether this will succeed or not, but this reform affects the interests of almost everyone. It's good that Sir Shen is wholeheartedly serving the people, but you can take it slow. Otherwise, it will cause a huge backlash." Cai Quan said.

"Of course I know about this, but the change has been decided, so let's just go ahead with the arrangement." Shen Qingzhou said.

"Sir Shen, I wonder if His Majesty knows about this?"

"Your Majesty has entrusted me with the task of reform, and this is also included."

"Lord Shen, do you know that you are shaking the foundation of the country?" The Shangshu Ling, an old man almost pointed at Shen Qingzhou's nose and scolded him.

Shen Qingzhou also knew that this group of people might not all be motivated by their own selfish desires, but he was naturally aware of what his actions would affect.

"Okay, there will be a court meeting tomorrow, and I will discuss matters with the court officials. Everyone, be prepared." This time, Shen Qingzhou did not impress everyone with his abilities like he did in the previous few months. He had already done everything he should do. Once these national policies came out, he would be surrounded by enemies, and no means would be useful.

That night.

Prince Yu visited Mei Changsu at night, looking very excited, as if he had caught something. Xie Yu was still in prison, and he had been consciously forgotten.

Shen Qingzhou wanted to keep him. The Chiyan case, as the main plot, would definitely bring a lot of talent. Emperor Liang also consciously ignored Xie Yu. Xie Yu was Shen Qingzhou's opponent. His resignation was related to Shen Qingzhou. Now, he was actually under house arrest, so he naturally had his own thoughts. Not only him, but also the Minister of Justice and others were now staying together in the Heavenly Prison.

"The fire consumption will be returned to the public, the land tax will be distributed according to the acreage, and taxes will be paid as a whole, and performance evaluation will be carried out." Even though Mei Changsu was a man of great scheming, he was shocked by the national policies proposed by Shen Qingzhou.

But he was shocked and admired at the same time, but he knew that these things were too difficult to do. All the officials and dignitaries in Daliang, even the scholars who were not officials, were Shen Qingzhou's opponents. The only ones who benefited were the common people who had no say.

"Your Highness, this will easily cause trouble. Even if Daliang can suppress it, there is more than just Daliang in this world." Mei Changsu hit the nail on the head. He was afraid that Shen Qingzhou would suppress it too harshly, and someone was deliberately trying to provoke disputes from the outside world.

"That's perfect. My father has only met me twice in the past few months. Every time we met, Prince Huai was there. There must be a reason, isn't it?" Prince Yu said nothing more. He was not a person who just sat there to eat and do nothing. Although Prince Huai didn't do anything, he guessed it.

He really couldn't imagine where Prince Huai got such courage from. Wasn't he afraid of chaos in the world?

He also couldn't imagine how his father was controlled by Prince Huai and even the military order was given away. However, no matter why, the opportunity had come.

It was precisely because the court was controlled by Shen Qingzhou at an incredible speed with the help of Prince Huai's legitimacy, and the military orders of several large armies were in Prince Huai's hands, that he dared not do anything.

But now, Shen Qingzhou is destroying his own Great Wall. He is indeed a good official, but challenging a class has doomed him to failure.

The next day, there was a court meeting.

The Crown Prince and Prince Yu fought for their thrones respectively. The Crown Prince was in a powerful position, but he had completely different ideas from Prince Yu. Instead, he thought it was good that Emperor Liang did not come out, as he had a legitimate identity.

Nowadays, many people have speculated what happened to His Majesty, but the group led by the Crown Prince Yu, or some particularly smart ministers have already discovered that something is wrong.

Shen Qingzhou stood at the front. Now, he was the Prime Minister of the Cabinet. Due to some special reasons, Liu Cheng did not fight with Shen Qingzhou politically, or he could not win against him.

During this period, Shen Qingzhou also showed everyone his abilities beyond just doing things. He resolved many political tactics one by one, and was extremely compliant.

"We absolutely cannot do this. The performance evaluation system has begun to show results. Now we have to collect taxes from officials and scholars. The impact will be too great. It will destroy the previous national system and it is really wrong." The prince said. He wanted to take this opportunity to rebel against Shen Qingzhou and gain the favor of the officials.

As for Prince Huai, he currently has only one ally, Shen Qingzhou. In the beginning, it was because he himself had no ability, but now he just doesn't want to get involved in some things.

"Your Highness is wrong. The new policy treats everyone equally. Many officials and scholars have seized land by relying on their status. This is a flaw in the system."

What followed was a chaos in the court. No one agreed, so Shen Zhui and Cai Quan could only keep their mouths shut.

"Stop arguing. There must be a rule for this matter." Prince Huai said.

"Your Highness, His Majesty has allowed me to handle the reform. I ask for your permission."

"Your Highness, absolutely not."

"Shen Zheng, you know that you will cause chaos in the world if you do this. You only think about your own reputation, but you don't think about how many people will suffer because of you. Can you bear this responsibility?"

"Sir Shen, you absolutely cannot do that."

"Don't worry, everyone. No matter how big the problem is, I, Shen Qingzhou, will shoulder it alone. I will bear the backlash from the world alone." Shen Qingzhou said.

After he said this, many people looked at each other in confusion. Many people were not worried about how much tax they would be taxed. In addition to worrying about their own interests, they were also worried that someone would rebel.

Once Shen Qingzhou's national policy came out, it was a huge suppression for all officials. Many people couldn't understand it. In the past few months, Shen Qingzhou's performance had been seen. Although he was not human, his various abilities, including power struggles, were top-notch.

He has slowly subjugated the court, and the Minister of the Central Secretariat has never said anything. In fact, he is already the number one person in the court. Why should he betray his own class? He can obviously annex land. This is tacitly accepted by everyone. All officials do this. Even if they are removed from office, it will not be used as a reason to take you down in the end. Duke Qing still has a reason to kill people.

But now, you want to target us and reduce the burden on a group of peasants. What are you thinking?

(Just one chapter, I will update you all tomorrow. I am too sleepy and need to get up early tomorrow)
(End of this chapter)