Chapter 1222: The Fragility of the Feudal Era

As Liu Bei's generals gradually departed to their respective defensive zones, many of the soldiers and officers stationed in Ye City also began to leave one after another. In the end, even the civil officials started following the troops, leaving the once bustling, militarized city of Ye feeling much quieter.

However, despite the military's departure, the city's prosperity only grew. The withdrawal of numerous military camps and soldiers ended the martial law imposed on the city. Once a place dulled by the shadow of war, Ye began to regain its former vibrancy.

As one of the most prosperous cities in the north, Ye's revival was aided by a steady supply of grain and the introduction of more favorable trade policies, which in turn boosted the city’s commercial activity.

Still, Ye could never match the economic prominence of Fenggao. From the beginning, their purposes had been different. Fenggao was established as the commercial hub of the empire, while Ye was designed as a strategic military stronghold in the north.

In the feudal era, where manpower couldn’t be fully separated from the land, it was impossible for too many cities to mirror Fenggao's level of commercial development. The imperial policy of prioritizing agriculture over commerce made sense for this time.

If the basic needs of food and clothing couldn’t be met, commercial exchanges would falter, and basic resources would become scarce. For this reason, Chen Xi wasn’t pushing for the establishment of another national trade center, no matter how many people clamored for it.

"Who proposed adjusting the commercial tax in Ye City this time?" Chen Xi squinted at Jia Xu. Last time he let the matter go without demanding an explanation, but this time, he wanted answers.

"This is the demand of the merchants in Ye. Also, we've been using more and more Jizhou scholars lately, and they’ve been advocating for this as well. After all, the tax reforms in Taishan significantly boosted our revenues," Jia Xu cautiously explained, not daring to dodge Chen Xi's inquiry this time.

"Oh, so it’s not just Jizhou, but Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou making similar demands?" Chen Xi raised an eyebrow. Jizhou merchants' demands? What a joke. If he agreed to this, the other provinces would soon jump on the bandwagon and claim they had the same need.

"Indeed," Jia Xu nodded silently in agreement.

These demands were indeed coming from multiple provinces. While the trade tax was beneficial to small merchants, it was even more advantageous for wealthy merchants backed by banks.

But the core issue was that these merchants would rather transport their goods to Fenggao if it meant avoiding burdensome taxes elsewhere. The problem was, only Fenggao enjoyed these favorable commercial tax policies, while other provinces did not.

This was essentially a conflict between local and central economies. Chen Xi’s priority had always been to strengthen the central government first before enhancing local powers, and to use political and economic tools to keep control over the regions.

He had no desire to let local powers grow too strong, potentially becoming like the governors of the late Han Dynasty, whose authority rivaled that of the central government. The governance and military power must remain firmly in the hands of the central authority for the country to stay unified.

If each region possessed independent military and political power, even if they nominally supported central leadership, it wouldn’t truly be a unified empire. The difference between a federation and an empire lies in whether the central authority can overwhelm the combined strength of the regions.

"If you know all this, why are these issues being brought to me?" Chen Xi asked, clearly displeased with Jia Xu. Jia Xu was usually the one he could rely on to smooth things over, but now even he was creating headaches.

"Because I think they have a point," Jia Xu replied, staring directly at Chen Xi. "The tax revenue from Taishan alone now rivals that of Jizhou, the most prosperous province. Money is critical for us."

"In our current situation, only about one-tenth of the population is fully detached from the land," Chen Xi sighed, realizing that even someone as wise as Jia Xu was still bound by the constraints of history. There was no quick fix for this.

"Indeed, about one in ten people in our territory are not involved in direct production," Jia Xu nodded. They had run the calculations themselves—nine out of every ten people were still farming.

"Of those detached from agriculture, excluding the merchants serving the aristocratic families, around seventy percent of them still rely on us," Chen Xi explained, feeling the need to clarify things for Jia Xu. Nothing was solved in a single step, and if applying trade taxes everywhere could fix the problem, he would’ve done so long ago.

Jia Xu thought for a moment and nodded again, agreeing with the figures.

"Among those, about fifty percent are our own people. Whether they’re veteran soldiers, low-ranking officials, or the conscripted farming soldiers, they should all be counted in that group," Chen Xi added with a sigh.

"The remaining twenty percent are skilled artisans capable of supporting themselves. That’s why I’ve refrained from expanding our army or pushing for more commercial tax policies," Chen Xi shrugged. Ninety percent of the population was still tied to the land—commerce had already reached its peak for now.

"So, to maximize our tax revenues, the best course of action would be to reduce the number of people each farmer has to support, from nine to eight, or even fewer," Jia Xu frowned, trying to grasp Chen Xi’s logic.

"Before, it took around fifteen or sixteen farmers to support one person detached from agriculture, which is why I’ve always stressed the importance of Qu Qi," Chen Xi sighed. This era was a difficult one, with harsh realities. What else could be done?

If you force too many people away from farming, the result will be widespread hardship. A lack of able-bodied workers would cause serious problems. In an era where food was already scarce, how could you push for more commerce and higher taxes? Ensuring the population was fed was the first priority.

"According to my estimates, even if we fully promote new farming techniques across the empire and increase the number of people detached from agriculture, we could still only support two more trade hubs," Chen Xi said, clearly having thought this through carefully.

He didn’t want an overabundance of merchants that would lead to resource shortages. It was better to limit commercial activity early and ensure enough resources while maintaining a stable number of large-scale traders. While this approach might not be the best for commercial growth, it made governance much easier.

Even in future times, certain trades would never be fully opened to individuals. As for now, the number of large-scale traders hadn’t even reached the upper limit.

"I see," Jia Xu said, finally understanding Chen Xi's reasoning. "I hadn't considered it from that perspective. But where do you plan to establish these two additional trade hubs?"

"One will be in Luoyang. As for the other, I haven't decided whether it should be in Jiangling, Xiangyang, or Wancheng," Chen Xi admitted, still uncertain. "If we manage to expand into the central plains, I’d like to establish a trade hub there as well."

Jia Xu silently noted these locations, especially the overseas one. He planned to prepare and claim land there, knowing it was a golden opportunity for future wealth.

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