My Wife is Unbeatable in the Whole World, Touch Me If You Dare!
Chapter 554 - 357: Phoenix's Reminder

After leaving the Jade Sound Pavilion, Li Nuo hummed a song and walked into the Secretariat.

The other six Scheeren of the Secretariat had specific duties, but Li Nuo was relatively free. He didn't have any task to review memorials nor was he specifically responsible for any department. Any ideas or thoughts he had, he could directly communicate with the Left Prime Minister.

The recent reforms he had been pushing forward, such as healthcare reform, had already been completed on a small scale. The reform of the Law had also been implemented in the prefectures and counties.

However, this was just the first step.

In Chang'an and the few surrounding prefectures, right under the court's nose, they dared not disobey.

But beyond the Capital, how much would actually be implemented was beyond his control.

The court's control over the grassroots was indeed too weak.

If all the officials of Daxia had Vast Qi, and whole-heartedly devoted themselves to the country and its people, there wouldn't be such troubles.

Of course, this was merely an unrealistic fantasy of Li Nuo's.

Everyone has selfish desires, and it's not easy to cultivate a Confucian official, but to destroy them is all too easy.

What Daxia currently needs is not versatile talents skilled in the Six Arts, nor are they looking for outstanding pillars with exceptional governance abilities.

What the court needs are Confucian officials who do not engage in collusion with the scholarly family, who genuinely wish to work for the people with impartiality.

Within the government office, the Left Prime Minister considered for a long time and then said softly, "Candidates possessing Vast Qi, admitted directly without the Imperial Examination?"

Li Nuo added, "Not only can they bypass the Imperial Examination, but officials with Vast Qi should also be given priority when being promoted. Every time they advance a level, they should be elevated two official ranks, but if their cultivation decreases, they should also be demoted or even dismissed..."

Due to the special nature of Vast Qi, this seemingly fantastical model could be realized in this world.

The Left Prime Minister didn't ponder for long before shaking his head, saying, "This method cannot be implemented."

Turning all the court officials into Confucian disciples would indeed be a scene the Confucians dream of.

They wouldn't be corrupt, wouldn't indulge in bribery, and would wholly serve the people.

But apart from the Confucians and the commoners, no one else wishes to see this scenario.

The famous families do not want to see it, and neither does the Emperor.

What the Confucians desire is a fair and just nation where everyone is equal, no one stands above others, nor is anyone born inferior to others. Even the Emperor must be subject to the Law.

On the surface, the Emperor greatly values the Confucian scholars, as both Prime Ministers are Confucian officials.

However, the reality is quite the opposite. The Confucian officials in the court are all placed in relatively unimportant positions, such as the Imperial Censorate and the Hongwen Academy.

Once there are too many Confucian officials in the court, the Emperor's power would be significantly restricted.

No Emperor wishes for their power to be constrained by their ministers.

Li Nuo's proposal was rejected by the Left Prime Minister just after being raised.

As Confucian officials, when formulating policies, they cannot show favoritism towards the Confucians.

The Imperial Examination must be absolutely fair and just, with no special treatment whatsoever.

Opening the door for one particular group would completely undermine the examination's credibility.

Although Li Nuo's intentions were good, they could not be achieved in this manner, as history has already proven.

Li Nuo did not continue this topic, and the two discussed something else for a while.

Compared to the reforms of the Imperial Examination, tax reform was more urgent.

The tax silver collected by the National Treasury had been decreasing year by year, and with the recent reforms, the court was becoming nearly bankrupt.

The situation in Daxia was such that both ends were poor while the middle was rich.

The commoners were poor, the court was poor, and the wealthy were the scholarly families.

At the founding of the dynasty, the famous families had reached an agreement with the court. They would obey the court's rule, provided that they did not have to pay taxes.

At that time, they owned very little land, and the court could collect a significant amount of tax revenue.

But after hundreds of years, as they continued to annex land, the amount of land under their name increased, and the land from which the court could collect taxes decreased.

Additionally, the lands under the names of Daxia's officials and nobles were also tax-exempt.

Some local influential families, to avoid taxes, attached more land to their names. The final result was that the scholarly families became increasingly wealthy, and the court became increasingly impoverished.

These methods were all legal, and the court couldn't forcibly collect taxes from them.

Previously, the court had revised the tax law multiple times, yet either the reform proposals were rejected by the nobles, or it was difficult to implement once decrees reached the localities. The local officials were their people and would engage in data falsification, conceal tax amounts, and use various means to obstruct reforms, resulting in minimal effectiveness from each tax reform.

Eventually, the extra silver collected barely covered the administrative costs of tax collection, and repeated reforms ended in failure.

The Left Prime Minister sighed and said, "The court has attempted many methods, but none has been successful. Do you have any good ideas?"

Li Nuo smiled slightly and said, "Of course, I do."

The Left Prime Minister looked at him.

Li Nuo made a gentle gesture of slashing his neck.

Not long after, Li Nuo walked out of the Secretariat.

His solution had again been rejected by the Left Prime Minister.

Those willing to pay taxes would pay; those who weren't should be executed, and all their assets confiscated. This was the quickest way to fill the National Treasury, but no matter what, the Left Prime Minister said that the court couldn't act like bandits—at least not every time...

Diplomacy had failed, and so had force. Li Nuo had no solution left.

When he returned to the Jade Sound Pavilion, the Phoenix had already packed up.

After bidding farewell to the nightingale and Yuan Yang, the two of them returned to Ningxin Garden together.

At the entrance of Ningxin Garden, as Li Nuo and the Phoenix walked in hand in hand, two other figures walked out side by side.

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