Introduction: Speaking of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, we are not strangers, he is a rare famous emperor, he has been on the throne at the age of 16, he is a famous politician, strategist. But he was keen on fighting wars, and he started wars frequently, and we all know that fighting wars is very thick. With human and financial resources, according to the way Emperor Wu of Han played, it is estimated that the national treasury has been hollowed out, so where did he get the money to support the huge military expenditure?
Businessmen bear the brunt
We have all learned in the history books, scholars, farmers, industrialists and merchants. In ancient times, the status of merchants was very low, because the agrarian economy and political system at that time determined that merchants were very humble. The general meaning is that businessmen have no status except to earn a few stinky money. Emperor Wu of Han also thought so, he felt that although the merchants were rich, they were not benevolent to the rich and never used the money to contribute to the country.
And if we follow the ancient small-scale peasant economy, the stability of the peasants and the land can make the rule very stable, but the emergence of merchants has caused a relatively large flow of people and money, which can affect the rule. Therefore, Emperor Wudi of han certainly did not like merchants, and merchants were very rich, so he harvested the wealth of merchants.
Selling knighthoods, having status
In fact, this policy is still aimed at merchants, because the status of ancient merchants was low, although they had money, but their status was low, and their lives were not happy. Then you can buy a knighthood, after you have a knighthood, not only can you be exempted from some military service, but you can even become an official, which makes the merchants how can they not be impressed?
After Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty promulgated this policy, it can be said that it was very popular with the merchants, and for a while, the state collected a lot of money and earned a lot of money. To say that this policy can also be regarded as killing two birds with one stone, the country has money, and the merchants have status. However, there are still drawbacks. The money came too easily, so it was not cherished. Emperor Wudi of han spent a lot of money, and this money still couldn't carry it for long.
The treasury is empty? Tax increase!
Seeing that the money was about to be spent and the treasury was empty, Emperor Wudi of Han began to use his brain again. He began to get businessmen to consciously report the value of their family property, and then raised the tax rate from 1.3 to six percent, which can be said to have increased by four or five times. Emperor Wu of Han also specifically stressed that the government would not go to investigate, and everyone could just consciously report it.
The merchants were so clever, and no one wanted to pay more taxes, so many merchants lied about their family property, but they didn't expect that this was exactly in the arms of Emperor Wu of Han.
Then some people have to guess, did Emperor Wu of Han later let the government check it out? In fact, Emperor Wudi of han's approach is more witty than we think, and the government will certainly not check it, which is equivalent to breaking his word. However, Emperor Wu of Han issued an edict saying that any merchant who concealed his property or lied about his family property could be reported by those who knew about it. If this is the case, the government raids the house and distributes the merchant's property in half to the informant.
I have to say that this method is really wonderful, first to attract thieves into the urn, and then promulgated policies, both do not renege on words and achieve the purpose, and the people who report businessmen are very proactive. Many businessmen have suffered this loss, who makes them want to exploit the loopholes in the law.
Therefore, if you want to be a good emperor, your wit and strategy can really not be less, and to say that the economic acumen of Emperor Wu of Han is really not worse than that of a businessman. However, these methods of converging wealth are a bit quick and profitable, similar to killing chickens and taking eggs, which is a bit too desperate.