"There are no outsiders here, I love you but it doesn't matter!"
Zhu Yunxi said "I love you", and Li Zhigang suddenly became very happy.
But he still controlled it forcefully, with a look of concern for the country and the people on his face.
"Although the imperial court has not issued a direct edict, in fact, the promotion of allotment farming in the north was earlier than in the southern provinces!" Li Zhigang continued, "I think it has been several years! And this time I went to the north to check it carefully.
It’s really effective!”
"The northern provinces have a small population. The abolition of the Ding tax is conducive to the reproduction of the population. The common people dare to have children, and the births do not need to be hidden under the names of wealthy families. The collection of land taxes also enriches the government's treasury, which is more beneficial to the government.
The census of the number of acres, taxes and other matters are clear at a glance!"
"Not only small and medium-sized farmers, but also gentry and large landowners are happy to see this kind of good policy! But the problem lies in the payment of land taxes!"
Zhu Yunxi couldn't help but nod his head as he listened.
While Li Zhigang was speaking, he said to the bastard standing outside, "Bring Li Aiqing a bowl of hot tea!" Then he smiled and said to Li Zhigang, "Don't be in a hurry, speak slowly! Have a sip of tea first, and then we'll finish talking.
Let’s have a meal together!”
Suddenly, Li Zhigang's heart beat wildly.
Dining with the emperor is a treatment that only Li Jinglong, Xu Huizu, Zhu Gaochi and others can ask for. Even the six ordinary ministers can't ask for it.
"I am truly in the Emperor's heart now!" Li Zhigang's heart was filled with enthusiasm and he was overjoyed.
"Ai Qing, do you have any dishes you like to eat? I'll ask the imperial kitchen to prepare them?" Zhu Yunxi smiled again.
Once again, joy fell from the sky, and Li Zhigang was so happy that he was stunned.
When he was having dinner with the emperor, the emperor asked him to order?
"Well, let's do that!" Zhu Yunxi continued with a smile, "If you tell me, I'm afraid you won't tell the truth! It's cold today, so I asked the imperial kitchen to add a dish of pepper pork belly chicken, let's have something hot!"
"The emperor is very kind to me, and I will never forget it!" Li Zhigang stood up and saluted, "How can I be so virtuous and talented that I am so favored by the emperor? I... am ashamed!"
"Get up!" Zhu Yunxi said with help, "You, eat steadily! Say whatever you want. Since I use you, I can trust you!" He said with a smile, "Go on and tell me why the land tax has disadvantages.
Woolen cloth?"
"People have always paid taxes on grain, cotton, linen, silk and other items!" Li Zhigang choked up a few times and said, "But the land tax set by the court is one silver dollar per acre of land."
As he spoke, he spread his hands and said, "We don't have much money, but the crux of the problem is that farmers and people have no money!"
Suddenly, Zhu Yunxi's expression became solemn.
Li Zhigang is right, where does the money come from in the hands of farmers?
At this time, it was still a small-scale peasant economy. Farmers were self-sufficient, and most of them bartered. Eggs were exchanged for salt, and weaving was exchanged for ironware. In addition to the imperial grain, they had to eat food themselves!
Judging from the current agricultural conditions and productivity, the yield per mu is only average. If it can produce three or four shi, it is a good field. It must be a land of plenty.
Assume that even if everyone has such good land at home, it will only be enough to fill their stomachs. People in these days are very good at eating because they have no fat or water in their stomachs, and they are all pot-bellied.
For a family of five, there are three strong working people, not counting women and children. Just these three strong working people can earn at least two or three kilograms of food per person per day.
Calculated in this way, one person weighs almost one thousand kilograms per year, and three strong laborers weigh almost three thousand kilograms.
Even if a family has ten acres of land, can they eat as much as they want? Should women and children eat if the strong laborers eat it? Do they have to pay the royal grain? Do they have to leave some surplus grain?
Moreover, who can have ten acres of good land?
Even if you have a lot of land, your family has dozens of acres, but you still have a lot of extra expenses. You have to hire people during busy farming periods, and you have big animals that eat more than people.
Therefore, no matter how good the life of the people is, it is still very tight!
Food is money to them, but it is not equal to the money required by the court.
"Local officials often want to save trouble and achieve political results. They don't need food but only money. But farmers have no money and have to pay taxes and can only buy food in exchange for money!" Li Zhigang said, his expression suddenly turned sinister, "The problem comes again.
Yes, to whom?"
"There are official warehouses in every state capital. They sell them at high prices in good years and low prices in bad years!" Li Zhigang added, "Speaking of which, I have to talk about official warehouses!"
What he is talking about is the Changpingcang system, which lasted from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Ming Dynasty and even the later Qing Dynasty. It was a state action to avoid famine. In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was modified by Wang Anshi and was called the Qingmiao Law.
In the Qing Dynasty, the Taiping Rebellion caused the Qing Dynasty to be riddled with holes. Changpingcang no longer lived up to its reality and only had a false name.
Zhu Yunxi nodded, "You say it, I'll listen!"
"Official warehouses are the foundation of our Ming Dynasty, but in my opinion, the most unreliable ones are official warehouses!" Li Zhigang said loudly, "On the books, the Changping warehouses in various states are all in full amount. But as long as we go and check,
, there’s no one who doesn’t lack a lot!”
"It is normal to guard and steal. If it is really as clean as water, it would be strange!" Li Zhigang continued, "Furthermore, the country has been in peace for a long time, and the grain harvested in successive years has changed from new to old. Even if no one guards and steals, just this legal cooperation
The loss of the gauge is an astronomical figure!"
"Furthermore, the common people sell grain to the official warehouse. The official warehouse requires large buckets to go in and small buckets to go out. A pound of grain will be paid at most seven taels, and they often deliberately use the good stuff as inferior to bully the people!"
"In order to pay taxes, farmers and people had no choice but to hold their noses and admit it! But even so, the money from selling grains would not fall into their pockets. Once the notes changed hands, they were still given to the government to pay taxes."
"In this way, the government has lost food and money, and the farmers have been busy this year... in vain! If God has good weather, they can have a good life. In the event of a natural disaster, they must rely on the court for relief!"
Speaking of this, Li Zhigang became more and more energetic, but his mouth was also a little dry.
He picked up the tea bowl and drank half a sip, moistened his throat and continued, "This is the disadvantage of official warehouses. I will talk about the other side. Farmers don't sell to official warehouses, but to grain merchants..." As he said that, he paused
After a pause, "When I talked about official warehouses, I missed one thing. I discovered a phenomenon in the northern provinces, that is, some governments do not allow farmers to sell grain to grain merchants at all!"
Zhu Yunxi's face became colder and colder.
The government does not allow grain merchants to buy or farmers to sell, just for the sake of monopoly!
The worse the emperor's face became, the more excited Li Zhigang felt.
He continued, "Selling to grain merchants is actually not much better. There is no business without profiteers! The court's law is to harvest at high prices in good years. But in good years, there is a lot of food, and farmers have to spend money. Those profiteers will just sit down and lower the prices, and in disasters
He must have been hoarding money and raising prices!"
"But compared to official warehouses, grain merchants are easier to manage and check!"
"Actually, it's fair to say that this is how business is done. It's all about charging low prices and selling high prices. Although grain merchants are not good, grain is related to people's livelihood. Wholly-owned merchants traffic it and distribute it, and provide continuous support!"
"Moreover, through the hands of merchants, the fluctuations in grain prices are not necessarily affected by the year, but after all, the court can control it."
"Speaking of this, Rong Chen would like to say something extra. In fact, no matter what the market price of grain is, farmers' lives are miserable. Although it is ruthless, it is a fact. In my opinion, relying on official warehouses is better than selling to grain merchants.
, at least the scale is not fake!”
Zhu Yunxi tapped the table with his slender fingers, thinking in his mind, "Go on!"
Li Zhizheng continued as if he was not tired at all, "There is another shortcoming of the official position, that is, the personnel are too bloated and the actions are too rigid!"
"According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, once there is a local disaster, the official warehouse must put grain. But who will put it? Who will give the order? It is still unclear! The local official reports it to the central government, and the central government reports it to the emperor, and then issues an edict. From then on,
With delay, a small disaster turns into a major one!"
"Furthermore, the official warehouse is stored in the city. Once there is a disaster in the countryside, who dares to let the victims into the city? Those farmers and people in remote places travel to the official warehouse to buy low-priced grains? Not to mention whether they have money in their hands.
Do they have the strength to walk to town?"
Li Zhigang seemed to be talking about a hammer here and there, but he actually expressed it very clearly.
That is, the current grain reserve system is no longer suitable for the current economic situation.
This is the core content of what he wants to express. As for what he said about farmers and common people, even if they have been cultivating the land all their lives, they still have no money. Even if the price of food goes up to the sky, they still have to sell food at a low price. In fact, he doesn't care at all.
From ancient times to the present, no one seems to really care.
This chapter has been completed!