After these years, Zhu Yunxi has matured day by day, and he knows very well that the country is actually ruled, and in front of the interests of the country, the interests of the people are very small.
No one can do it, truly putting the people first!
However, we cannot avoid talking about heavy taxes just because of this. If politicians face these shortcomings calmly and turn a blind eye, how dare they dare to be the first in the world.
"Zhang Shan!" Zhu Yunxi said to Zhang Shan who was sitting upright, "Tell me about it!"
"I agree with some of what Magistrate Ma said!" Zhang Shan said slowly, "If the tax is light, the people who benefit in the end may not be the people!"
"But the grain tax is indeed collected from the people!" Zhu Yunxi frowned slightly, "I asked you to come here just to find a way together. It can not only lighten the burden on the people of Jiangnan, but also eliminate various hidden dangers from the root!
"
"Difficult!" Zhang Shan said, "I have been the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang for three years." He said, pointing to his own temples and smiling, "When His Highness selected me as an official, I still had black hair, but now my temples are gray!
"
Zhu Yunxi nodded and said with a smile, "I know it's not easy for you to be an official in Jiangnan!"
These words made the atmosphere in the palace much more relaxed.
"It's not that it's not easy to be an official, it's that it's too difficult to do things!" Zhang Shan continued, "Zhifu Ma said that what he said would be scolded by others, and what I said would offend people even more!"
Having said this, he paused for a moment and continued, "Your Highness has the intention to reduce agricultural taxes. I naturally know that Your Highness cares about the people. But I am stupid and cannot think of a way to get the best of both worlds. What Your Highness means is that after tax reduction,
, although the state’s taxes have been reduced, people’s homes are rich!”
"But after the tax reduction, there are still several disadvantages. The hoarding of land mentioned by Magistrate Ma is one, but what's the second?" He said, then paused, "The world is inherently unequal between rich and poor, and all dynasties have been poor.
Localities should charge less, and rich places should charge more. If it is reduced here, should other poor places also be reduced?"
"They have been exempted from taxes for years, but if they are reduced, wouldn't the national treasury be empty?"
"Going further, except for official land, most of the land is in the hands of the gentry. The gentry is the happiest after the final tax reduction. Although the tax on official land is heavy, the common people have no other burden except paying taxes.
Life is pretty good. But the common people who farm the land for the gentry don’t get any of the benefits!”
"Besides, Your Highness also knows the situation in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places. The wealthy businessmen are just paying the bills. They are still the people. But the rich and famous families have many scholars. They may not be able to collect taxes, but they can benefit the most from tax cuts!"
This is the crux of the matter. This is exactly why the old man suppressed the wealthy landlords in Jiangnan.
Even when later generations of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties entered the country, and successive emperors wielded butcher knives against the scholars in Jiangnan, this was also the reason.
Let’s talk about it later
Strengthening the country and enriching the people are sometimes not equal, but contradictory and even difficult.
Zhu Yunxi nodded, "Don't you all know about the idea of divvying up one person into one mu in Fengyang Zhongdu and Henan?" He said to Wei Renguan, the Minister of Household Affairs, "Tell me, how effective is it?"
Wei Renguan said, "Since Fengyang Imperial Village's land was distributed to the people, the registered population of Fengyang has increased by 30%. After the disaster in Henan, this summer's harvest was 25% more than in previous years. Although His Highness' grace exempted this year's harvest from
If we collect the money and food, the treasury will be at least 40% more than in previous years!"
He is originally from Henan, and he said with a bit of a smile on his face, "In the past, there were several poor places in Henan that had to be subsidized by the court, but now they can be self-sufficient. If the officials and gentry pay the grain together, there will be no levy on farmers."
Taxes. In a few years, those poor places will be able to help the imperial court!"
After saying that, he bowed to Zhu Yunxi and said, "Your Highness is a virtuous government, and I bow to you on behalf of the people!"
The ministers were a little puzzled. They had just been talking about the heavy grain tax burden in Suzhou and other places, but they suddenly jumped to the new policy of sharing the land with every farmer.
"I wanted to wait a little longer, but I couldn't wait any longer. It really complied with what the emperor said, good things in the world are most afraid of waiting!" Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, "Grain taxes in Suzhou and other places will be reduced.
, no matter how the people are left with three to five buckets more, at least they don’t have to worry about hunger and cold!"
"However, in view of the fact that the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has been severely annexed since ancient times, and there are many wealthy and famous families. Therefore, I plan to implement the idea of consolidating the land into an acre, and the officials and gentry will receive the food together!"
"Taxes are collected according to the land. Whoever owns the land pays the tax! No matter whether it is an official, a gentry, or a scholar with a good reputation."
"Your Highness, no!" Before Zhu Yunxi could finish his words, several scholars from prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River, headed by Li Shen, had already knelt down, "Kings and scholar-bureaucrats."
"Shut up!" Zhu Yunxi shouted sharply, "Is Gu being too tolerant to you?" He said, "Pull him out, use the imperial stick of thirty, and beat him hard!"
He was already angry because of the tax cuts. Tax cuts are a good thing, but not only do most people not get benefits, but there are many hidden dangers. He was suffocating in his heart. These people just bumped into his muzzle.
.
"Your Highness" and the officials were stunned. They had no idea why the crown prince, who was usually so kind and tolerant to them, was suddenly furious.
A few of them, led by the bastards, came up, dragged these talkative, crooked officials and walked out.
"Fight farther away!" Zhu Yunxi's anger continued. "After the fight is over, they will all be sent to the land of Shaanxi and Gansu to serve as county magistrates. Let's see what it means to be difficult for people's livelihood, and then think carefully about how to be officials!"
Ling Han, the Minister of Civil Service, smiled and said, "I obey the order!"
He was also from the north, and he couldn't stand these scholars who came from prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River.
"No matter who has land in their home, they must pay taxes!" Zhu Yunxi continued, "Pay as much land as you have! The more land you have, the more you have to pay! In addition, officials at all levels must be vigilant and watch.
Those wealthy families are not allowed to hoard land. They are not allowed to buy or sell more than 20 acres of land. They must pay 70% of the tax value to see how much money they have!"
"If they dare to cheat, break anything into pieces, and sell acres and acres. After verification, they will be punished ten times the total amount, and the rest of the family property and fields will be confiscated!"
"Remember, you are local officials, I only give you the power!"
Zhu Yunxi's tone was stern, completely different from before.
"I know that such a new policy will definitely cause an uproar!" Zhu Yunxi continued, "But I don't care, I don't care about the scolding behind their backs, and I don't care about the infamy. No matter who dares to violate this government affairs, or is careless, or resists,
All will be investigated and dealt with."
"Especially those from wealthy and distinguished families who dare to make small moves, speculate on family status and have no property. It's up to you!" Zhu Yunxi said to Zhang Shan, Ma Jing and others, "If you are not afraid of being called a mean king, don't be afraid of being called a mean king.
Scold the cruel officials!"
"Why don't we collect taxes on them? Why do the people have to bear the taxes? I'm used to it!"
"The Ming Dynasty is not used to their bad habits and wants to continue to be a local emperor like the previous dynasty, Meng Yuan. Then go to the desert and find their Mongolian masters!"
"I obey the order!" everyone replied.
"The burden on the common people must be reduced, and the rich must keep an eye on it. You can decide what to do!" Zhu Yunxi said sarcastically, "I just talked about the agricultural tax. Fu Youwen, tell me about this year's commercial tax!"
“Since the implementation of commercial tax, only Ningbo, Quanzhou, and Fuzhou have recorded cash receipts this year.”
~~~~
"I heard that you were sick a few days ago?"
In the imperial garden, the old man was walking with his hands behind his back. Li Jinglong was holding a docile pony beside him. He nervously held the reins on the horse's back. With the support of the guards, his little face was full of excitement.
After listening to the old man's question, Li Jinglong bowed a little and said, "I feel cold, and I'm fine now!"
"I thought you couldn't afford to be sick and would become an idle prince in the future!" The old man rolled his eyes at him, looked back at his grandson, and said with a smile, "Where did you get this pony?"
"The year before last, the emperor's grandson sent several noble sons to serve in the Yunnan army. They were grateful for Heaven's grace and thinking of His Highness. Hearing that King Wu was getting older, they found such a docile pony and sent it to the capital.
Send him to the palace!" Li Jinglong said with a smile.
"That boy from the Chang family?" the old man asked.
"Your Majesty has learned from thousands of miles away!" Li Jinglong said with a smile. This pony was indeed brought back by someone from the Chang family.
"It's good if you know your future!" The old man nodded, walked, and suddenly stopped.
There were sounds of banging boards and people screaming from the front.
"What's going on?" the old man asked.
Pu Bucheng hurriedly asked people to see it. Later someone reported, "It's His Highness who is guarding some disobedient civil servants!"
"Ha!" The old man was immediately happy, "Our eldest grandson has also started to beat officials now, let's go and have a look!"
This chapter has been completed!