Chapter 19 Tax Reform: Notices and Compensation Orders

If we say that the monopoly of salt and iron and the two laws of equal loss and equalization allowed the state to effectively control the important industrial economy, then the tax reform implemented by Emperor Wu bankrupted all the middle class in the country. In 119 BC, the Han army and the main force of the Xiongnu fought again. At the same time, a major flood occurred in Shandong (east of Taihang Mountain), and more than 700,000 hungry people could not survive.Under the double pressure of military spending and emergency disaster relief, Sang Hongyang and Zhang Tang proposed to Emperor Wu that property taxes should be levied on property owners across the country for the purpose of "reckoning".According to the promulgated "Calculation Order", all industrial and commercial owners, usurers, hoarders, etc., regardless of whether they have "city registration" or not, must truthfully report their property figures to the government. Thousands of dollars) and one calculation (two hundred coins), that is, a one-time collection of 10% property tax.For ordinary small handicraftsmen, one will be drawn every four coins.

After the promulgation of the "Encountering Order", most property owners were unwilling to take the initiative to declare, and a scene of "the rich are all fighting to hide their wealth" appeared.Therefore, Emperor Wu resorted to the toughest trick, promulgating the "Reporting Order" two years later to encourage reporting. Anyone who dares to report will be rewarded by the government with half of the confiscated property. This "reporting order" is equivalent to launching a "struggle among the people" to "provoke the masses to report on the masses". As soon as this order came out, almost all families above the middle class were reported, and social order suddenly fell into chaos.There was a lot of criticism of this decree within the imperial court. Emperor Wu did not hesitate to use killing methods to deal with all opponents. Yi Zong, the then chief executive of Chang'an (You Nei Shi), was unwilling to strictly implement the "reporting order", and those who reported under the pretext It was a rioter who wanted to be searched and arrested. Emperor Wu was furious and sentenced him to death.Yan Yi, then the Da Nong Ling, also held different opinions on this policy, and was finally executed for "defaming the abdomen".Emperor Wu appointed Zhang Tang, Yang Ke, Du Shi and other cruel officials to strictly implement the "reporting order".

After this reporting campaign was carried out for three years, "reports spread all over the world." Shanglin Garden is also full of confiscated property.