One thousand three hundred and forty-eight chapters twice
Han Du quickly said: "When I was in Liyang this time, I found that gentry like Jiang Yiru, who did not need to pay for food, accepted donations from the people in Liyang County."
"Wait a minute? What is dedication?" Lao Zhu heard Han Du's words and quickly waved his hand to interrupt.
Han Du opened his mouth and explained: "Don't the officials and gentry not have to pay taxes? In order to avoid taxes, the people will take the initiative to name their land to the officials and gentry. These people also gave such a move a nice name, vote
offer."
When Lao Zhu heard this, he became angry and shouted loudly: "I only charge four liters of tax per acre of civilian land. They are not willing to pay even this small amount, so why bother to donate it?"
It has to be said that after giving officials the lowest salaries in history, Lao Zhu also did a good thing, that is, he established the lowest taxes in history.
"The emperor indeed only charges four liters, but when we get to the county, we charge more than four liters." Han Du shook his head and said: "According to what I learned in Liyang County, take Liyang County as an example. Because the county government and officials are both
There was no money, so they enacted a lot of various taxes, such as land tax, head tax, water tax, etc. According to the people of Liyang, one acre of land would have to pay a tax of almost one stone and five buckets.
If the land is dedicated to the gentry's name, but they don't have to hand it over at all, it is still very tempting."
When Lao Zhu heard this, he was trembling with anger. He didn't expect that he gave extremely low taxes to the people and extremely low salaries to the officials. Unexpectedly, the officials finally forcibly levied the missing money on these people.
On the head, even more.
"How dare they? How dare they! I will issue an edict prohibiting officials from all over the world from privately raising taxes on the people."
Han Du couldn't help but nod secretly after hearing this. He had to admit that Lao Zhu did react very quickly, but his method was too simple and crude. It felt like treating a headache with a head or a foot with a foot.
However, Han Du did not say this, but spread his hands and said: "Isn't it because the salary is too low? The salary can't even guarantee basic expenses. Officials can't just watch and trap themselves to death, right?
And even if the emperor issued a decree prohibiting officials from all over the world from increasing taxes on the people, then they would have no choice but to reach out to the landlords and gentry."
Han Du's words were not stated clearly, but Lao Zhu understood it clearly. If we continue to maintain the current salary and prohibit officials from raising taxes on the people, then we are simply forcing officials to engage in corruption and bribery. Apart from accepting bribes from landlords and gentry, officials have no other choice but to accept bribes from landlords and gentry.
There is no other way.
One cannot suffocate to death. If it really reaches that situation, corruption will be like a scourge that cannot be stopped.
When Lao Zhu thought that all the officials in the world were greedy for money, even he couldn't help but a flash of horror in his eyes. When it came to that situation, Lao Zhu himself didn't know what to do. Maybe there was only one way, and that was to kill
! Sixty taels of greedy ink are peeled off and stuffed as grass. The worst is, they will continue to be killed...
But even Lao Zhu doesn't think that this can kill all the corrupt officials in the world. If this can completely kill all the corrupt officials in the world, then he won't wait until Lao Zhu comes to kill them. In the past,
The emperor has long since killed all the corrupt officials in the world.
Han Du continued: "In order to avoid taxes, the common people would choose to donate their fields to the names of the officials and gentry. When the officials and gentry hold the land in their hands, it is like holding the lifeblood of the people. From then on, they can only deal with it.
The officials and gentry obey their advice and can only endure the pain silently. How dare they report on the officials and gentry? Because once the officials and gentry are reported, even if the officials and gentry will be punished, no one can guarantee that their land can be regained.
return."
What losing land means to the people, Lao Zhu knows better than anyone else that land is the lifeblood of the people. As Han Du said, the people will not take the risk of losing their land.
"What if I decreed that the people of the world are not allowed to contribute land?" Lao Zhu's anger had completely disappeared, and he was able to ask Han Du calmly. Because Lao Zhu understood that Han Du was just telling the truth. This is the fact.
, even if he doesn't want to, he has to face it.
Han Du shook his head and said word by word: "As long as the officials and gentry in heaven do not need to pay for food, it is impossible to prohibit the people from donating."
Lao Zhu was silent for a moment, and after a moment's thought, he understood. Even issuing an edict was useless. As long as the people and the officials and gentry colluded, there was no way to find out whether the field was dedicated.
After seeing Lao Zhu start to think seriously, Han Du said: "I'm not exaggerating when I say that officials and gentry will not pay for their food and will cause endless disasters. Your Majesty, you can imagine that there will be examinations every three years, and there will be 600 Jinshi each time. After the Ming Dynasty,
There will only be more and more officials and gentry in the Ming Dynasty. As a result, the people will have more and more objects to contribute to, and there will be more and more fields that cannot be taxed. And the Ming Dynasty will have more and more fields that can collect taxes.
If it is less, then it will inevitably lead to a decrease in the imperial court’s annual income.”
"The imperial court does not have enough money. What does the emperor think the imperial court will do at this time to maintain the annual income?"
Lao Zhu paused for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Increase taxes..."
"Exactly." Han Du clapped his hands and said: "As taxes increase, people will be more enthusiastic about donating. And the more people donate, the less land in the world that can be taxed. This will form a vicious cycle, otherwise
How long will it take before there will be no more land in the world that can be taxed? By then, even if the Ming Dynasty owns all the land in the world, there will not be an inch of land that can collect taxes."
Lao Zhu was shocked, his face finally showed a look of horror, and he looked at Han Du speechless for a long time. But it was Lao Zhu who ordered the officials and gentry not to pay the grain, and if he changed it, it would be like letting him break his promise and get fat. If Lao Zhu is
For ordinary people, that's not a big problem. It's great to be spoken to a few times, but he is an emperor who sticks to his word. How easy is it to change his words and repent?
Zhu Biao was also frightened by Han Du's words, and he had even made up his mind in his heart. Even if his father did not take back his orders and let the officials and gentry pay for the food together, he would have to do it no matter what after he came to the throne.
He would never allow such a huge disaster to be left to future generations.
Han Du glanced at the two of them and said: "So I think it is necessary to increase the salary of officials. We can take this opportunity to withdraw the rule that officials and gentry do not pay food."
Zhu Biao nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then looked at his father. Now he is waiting for his father to nod. If his father really nods, then this matter will be very promising.
Han Du's words made Lao Zhu feel better. After all, it would make sense to withdraw the decree of the officials and gentry not to pay food on the condition of increasing their salary. In this way, it would mean that it was not Lao Zhu who went back on his word, but an exchange.
Lao Zhu thought for a moment and asked Handu: "Then how much salary increase do you think should be appropriate?"
Han Du held out two fingers.
Lao Zhu immediately nodded slightly and said with a smile: "I think it is more appropriate to add two annual salary to the salary."
Before Lao Zhu was happy for a long time, Han Du shook his head and said: "It's not two passes, it's twice!"
"Are you crazy? You want to add so much?" Lao Zhu suddenly yelled, as if someone was cutting his flesh.
Even Zhu Biao secretly sweated for Han Du. I dare to say it. Although Zhu Biao submitted a petition to increase the salary of all officials, he only hoped to increase the salary by three guans per month. Because the man Zhu Biao met
For an official, the monthly cost of renting a house is three guan. He thought that if he could add more money to rent a house for the official, then the official would be able to live on.
I never expected that Han Du would double the amount!
Seeing that Lao Zhu was angry, Han Du had to retract his finger and patiently explained: "Money is a hero's courage, and officials are the face of the court. I think it is not just about allowing officials to survive. It is about making officials' lives better."
, cannot be lower than the local gentry.”
It cannot be lower than that of the gentry. This requirement is too high. Especially now that official salaries are generally low, it is even more difficult to achieve.
Even if we directly increase the salary of hundreds of officials by twice as much as Han Du said, I'm afraid it won't be possible.
Han Du explained again: "Although everyone hates the smell of copper, everyone likes the smell of copper in their hearts. If you have money in your pocket, you have to be more arrogant even when you look at people. On the contrary, if you have money in your pocket,
If you don’t have money, you will inevitably feel weak when facing others.”
"If officials are impoverished, they will not only lose the face of the court. Even the majesty of the emperor will be damaged invisibly. And once the gentry loses awe of officials and the court, what can they do?
?This time I went to Liyang as an imperial envoy, and Jiang Yiru and others actually dared to threaten him outright. It can be seen that if things continue like this, the prestige of the imperial court will definitely be lost in the hearts of the gentry."
Lao Zhu can tolerate the common people, but he will never tolerate the gentry. If officials are made to feel inferior to the gentry, what happened to Han Du in Liyang will soon spread to the entire Ming Dynasty. At that time, will officials still be officials? Ming Dynasty
Is the world's surname Zhu or the gentry?
The two powers harmed each other, which was the lesser. Although it would cost more than a million taels of silver every year to increase the salaries of officials, it was just a drop in the bucket compared with the country and state of the Ming Dynasty.
Besides, it's not that the imperial court can't come up with the money now. Now it's just waiting for Lao Zhu's decree, and the Ministry of Revenue can directly distribute the money.
After pondering for a long time, Lao Zhu nodded and said: "This matter is important, I have to think about it carefully. You all should step aside first."
Han Du and Zhu Biao looked at each other, bowed together and said: