Chapter 277: Zhu Yuanzhangs Royal Chamber of Commerce
Chapter 277 Zhu Yuanzhang’s Royal Chamber of Commerce
Early the next morning, Lan Yu went from the Governor's Mansion to the Wucheng Military and Horse Division.
The current General Department of Public Security of the Ming Dynasty has been established institutionally, but there is no new yamen. Now the Wucheng Military and Horse Department has been merged into the General Department of Public Security of the Ming Dynasty, which means that the Zhongcheng Military and Horse Department will serve as the General Department of Public Security of the Ming Dynasty.
yamen.
From the Central Military Governor's Mansion to the Military and Horse Department in Zhongcheng, Lan Yu looked at the somewhat ordinary gate in front of her with mixed feelings in her heart.
Compared to the Dudu Mansion, the Five Cities Military and Horse Division is naturally extremely low-end.
In particular, the Wucheng Military and Horse Division has been dealing with the people for a long time, so the environment in the yamen is naturally worse on weekdays.
Lan Yu, who had just arrived here, was stopped by the commotion inside.
This yamen is very busy.
As he slowly walked over, he was so busy that even the government officials didn't notice Lan Yu.
Lan Yu listened to these voices.
Either this family lost a chicken, that family lost a duck, or there was a conflict between neighbors.
In Lan Yu's view, these are mostly trivial matters.
But this is the duty of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division.
Suddenly, Lan Yu felt like she was being cheated.
It was correct to agree that His Highness Chang Sun would be the Director-General of Public Security of the Ming Dynasty.
"My subordinate Zhang Yi, the commander of the Zhongcheng Army and Horse Department, paid homage to Duke Liang. He did not come far to welcome him. I would like to ask Duke Liang to forgive me."
Zhang Yi, the commander of the troops and horses in Zhongcheng, knelt on one knee and said.
Cold sweat had broken out on his forehead.
Zhang Yike was not feeling well these days. He had been worried since he was reprimanded by His Highness Changsun last time.
Whatever you do, you have to be careful, for fear of being reminded of His Highness Changsun.
In the end, I really had no other choice, so I went to get twenty sticks myself, and I spanked my butt until it blossomed, and I felt a little relieved.
A few days after I recovered from my injury, I heard that the Military and Horse Department had separated from the Ministry of War and was directly merged into the General Department of Public Security under His Highness Chang Sun.
This time, Zhang Yi was so frightened that he never had a good night's sleep.
The day before yesterday, a document came down, saying that the newly appointed Governor of the General Department of Public Security of the Ming Dynasty is His Highness Changsun, Imperial Prince Liang Guogong.
Good guy, Zhang Yi almost didn't die on the spot.
Originally, he was still waiting for the notification from Duke Liang, but he did not expect that he had just received a report from his subordinates that Duke Liang had already appeared in the yamen.
Then why are you hesitating? Just run over and say goodbye.
Lan Yu just turned her head slightly to look at Zhang Yi, without saying anything, and walked directly towards the lobby inside.
Zhang Yi panicked immediately and did not dare to speak, so he could only silently follow Duke Liang.
In the lobby, Zhang Yi did not dare to sit, so he could only stand with a bow.
"I'm sending you an order to expel all the people in the Yamen. This place has been requisitioned by the Ming Dynasty Public Security Bureau, and they are told to go elsewhere to deal with whatever they have to do."
Lan Yu didn't hesitate and spoke directly.
"this"
When Zhang Yi heard this, he immediately didn't know how to answer.
You must know that these people are not ordinary people. It can be said that almost all the people who can live in the capital are wealthy households.
And the relationship behind it is also very complicated.
He, Zhang Yi, is only a sixth-grade official, but he has square eyes and the entire capital is worthless.
Once these people complained to the Yingtianfu Yamen, they would not be able to live without food.
"Why, are you deaf? Can't you understand what my father-in-law just said?"
Lan Yu frowned and scolded directly.
Feeling the unkind tone of Duke Liang, Zhang Yi dared not offend him and said quickly: "My subordinates will go immediately."
"Don't worry, I still have a few things to explain." Lan Yu continued, which made Zhang Yi stop.
Looking at Zhang Yi who looked like he was listening attentively, Lan Yu continued: "In compliance with the decree of Emperor Changsun, the Military and Horse Department of the Five Cities has been merged into the Public Security Department. In addition to the existing five major yamen, a separate Public Security Department has been established."
"The Public Security Department has a regular establishment of twenty people. They are established in every street in the capital. They are responsible for all matters in the area and handle things according to their previous responsibilities."
"Then you go and inform all the commanders and deputy commanders to come here to the council tomorrow morning. I will personally announce the establishment of the Public Security Department by His Highness Changsun personally."
After Zhang Yi heard this, he did not dare to be negligent and said hurriedly: "I will obey the order."
Lan Yu nodded and finally said: "Have someone clean up the room where I work. I will come back tomorrow."
Zhang Yi breathed a sigh of relief, bowed and said, "Dong Liang, go slowly."
Watching Duke Liang Guo leave, Zhang Yi only felt a feeling that the storm was about to come.
Not because of himself, but because of the entire capital.
Governing a big country is like cooking a small one. Some things, if carried out radically, will have bad effects.
Regarding these, Zhu Ying was very clear. Not all systems in later generations could be immediately transferred to the Ming Dynasty. Most of them would just be acclimatized.
The source of all this is first of all the control of the grassroots people.
There is also a talent training system that is loyal to itself.
In today's Ming Dynasty, under Zhu Yuanzhang's personal prestige, everything seems to be extremely stable.
But if he disobeys, there will be no need to eat and the whole family will be buried.
In the entire court, there was only one voice, Zhu Yuanzhang's. Regardless of right or wrong, anyone who resisted would die.
In the words of Zhu Yuanzhang, if it is not easy to kill you today, I will definitely kill you tomorrow.
If he is disobedient, what shall he do?
Recently, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a very good mood because of his eldest grandson's return, but this does not mean that he will be soft-hearted towards corrupt officials.
Kill them one by one without fail.
In this regard, Zhu Ying will naturally not say much.
As for corrupt officials, just kill them, just to make room for them.
In the Qianqing Palace,
It was noon, and Zhu Yuanzhang, who had just returned from Huagai Palace, was only interested in watering the seedlings.
In the front yard of Qianqing Palace, many flowers and plants were removed and three open spaces were cleared.
These three open fields are planted with corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes respectively.
Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang did all this by himself, including cultivating, loosening the soil, and sowing seeds.
Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to crops that could feed most of the people in the Ming Dynasty, so he planted a batch in the front yard for observation.
Not long after, Zhu Ying came over.
Kunning Palace has left and right sides, and the front yard is connected to Qianqing Palace.
You can bypass the Qianqing Palace and enter through the side door, but Zhu Ying rarely does this and will go through the Qianqing Palace every time.
"Dasun, we have heard that the business in the entire capital has been booming several times recently. You have made a lot of money here. Let's talk to us about what we plan to do next."
"Let us also learn from you and gain experience in business."
Zhu Yuanzhang saw his eldest grandson coming and asked him to sit on the pavilion next to him, and then asked with a smile.
Zhu Ying replied: "Grandpa, don't say that. My grandson only understands it a little bit. Now the business in the capital is gradually developing. In my opinion, the collection of commercial taxes can also be strengthened."
"Nowadays, the commercial taxes in the capital are too low. My grandson received hundreds of thousands of treasure notes that day, but up to now, he has not paid a single copper in commercial taxes. From such a prosperous business, our Ming Dynasty treasury can't get any benefit at all."
Zhu Yuanzhang did not think much after hearing this, and said with a smile: "This world belongs to both of us. It doesn't matter whether we make friends with each other or not. It's just that things go out from the left bag and go in from the right bag."
Zhu Ying smiled bitterly after hearing this.
He knew that the old man thought he had used some tricks to evade the tax.
However, this is not the case.
So he explained: "Grandpa misunderstood. My grandson did not give an order not to pay taxes. Instead, he calculated that he really does not need to pay taxes."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's smile suddenly stopped, and he asked with some confusion: "What do you mean by your grandson's words?"
Zhu Ying replied: "According to the current method of tax collection in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the field of commercial tax, you only need a certain number of talented people, and you can easily be exempted from taxes."
"It's said to be 30 yuan per tax, but no one has checked the account at all. In addition to the amount that can be deducted, even if hundreds of thousands of gold coins are recorded, there is no need to pay tax."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's face began to become serious.
He knew there must be something fishy in it, but he didn't expect it to be so outrageous, it was simply appalling.
There is no tax on income of hundreds of thousands, but it is in compliance with Ming law. This only shows that there is a big loophole in Ming law.
However, after thinking deeply, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that he had no idea where to start.
He could only turn around and ask: "According to Da Sun, how should this law be restricted?"
Zhu Ying pondered for a moment and then said: "In the area of commercial taxation, the tax-free privileges should be abolished and a separate commercial department should be established to strengthen the jurisdiction of all parties' tax implementation."
"As for the tax issue, my grandson thinks it should be cancelled."
In fact, the Ming Dynasty's commercial tax system was extremely sound. It stands to reason that even a tax of thirty to one should be a considerable sum.
Even if it is not as high as the agricultural tax, it is not necessarily much lower. It is still possible to fight against the tax.
The problem now is that, considering the current proportion of the Ministry of Household’s entire annual income, the commercial tax is really pitifully small.
But do businesses receive less tax?
In fact, it is still a lot, but this money has not been included in the annual revenue of the national treasury.
At present, the Ming Dynasty has residence tax, overdue tax, official store tax, and shop gate bills.
This means that everyone who opens a shop, passes by, stays with goods, or stays in a hotel needs to pay tax.
Where there are stalls selling groceries in the space in front of the street shops in the city, they will be taken back in the evening and laid out in the early morning. Some officials want to make profits from trade, so they should pay official money, which is called gate stall tax.
It can be said that as long as you go out to do business, you have to pay taxes.
It’s just that these big-ticket taxes have been exempted, and the taxes collected are instead the taxes of ordinary people.
The method of exemption is actually very simple, it is nothing more than a name.
For example, Zhu Ying's Ping'an Tea House has always been named after King Yan Zhu Di. From the opening to the present, Baochao has made a lot of money and has not paid a penny in taxes.
The capital has a Propaganda Department, and prefectures, prefectures, and counties have general education departments.
The Propaganda Department, with the ambassador in charge of its tax revenue, is called the Ambassador of the Propaganda Department, from the ninth rank.
Could it be that a tax collector from the ninth rank, collecting taxes from His Highness King Yan, was knocked on the head in the middle of the night?
The capital is all like this, not to mention the general affairs departments of prefectures, prefectures, and counties.
Especially in the county seat, similar to these taxes, basically no reports are reported to the court. The money received is basically used by the local area, which is similar to the form of local tax.
The reason why Zhu Ying proposed to cancel the overtax was because it was too heavy for businessmen.
Paying taxes does not end when you pay it in one place.
But every time you go to a place, you have to pay it.
For example, when goods are transported from Suzhou to the capital, there is no back-end relationship.
All the checkpoints that the goods passed through required him to pay a tax. When the goods were parked, there was also a residence tax to be paid. Finally, when they started selling in the capital, they also had to pay a door stall tax.
If this happens, small and medium-sized businessmen will be killed directly. Those who can run business are all big businessmen with profound backgrounds.
If you say hello on a business road, taxes are basically exempted. Of course, they also give benefits to all officials on this business road.
It's just that compared to business tax, it's not worth mentioning.
In this case, there is no comparison between small businessmen and large businessmen, and they cannot form competitiveness, which leads to an increasingly serious monopoly and the concentration of wealth in a few people, which can be called huge profits.
"We originally thought that in order to increase the commercial taxes of the Ming Dynasty treasury, we should strengthen collection. But now it seems that we should reduce the categories of collection in order to increase the annual revenue of the treasury."
"As for the commercial tax, let's leave it all to Da Sun to reform it. Anyway, our Ming Dynasty's commercial tax is not that high. If it is less, Da Sun, you can make up for it with money from your own pocket."
"Also, in recent times, due to the financial allocation problem of the Ministry of Household Affairs, most of the expenses related to the Gunpowder Department, Xuanjia Guards, and various universities have come from our internal funds."
"We looked at the accounts yesterday. Our internal funds are a bit clean now. You have burned so many treasures, so please help me replenish the internal funds."
Zhu Yuanzhang sighed at first, and then said to his eldest grandson with a smile.
Hearing this, Zhu Ying was speechless.
The treasure notes he burned were all broken or damaged.
Because the Ming Dynasty's treasure banknote lift system did not use this function, Zhu Ying did this.
It seems that the old man misunderstood me.
After thinking for a while, Zhu Ying simply said straightforwardly: "Grandpa, this is a bit troublesome. Why don't my grandson directly put the Qunying Chamber of Commerce into the internal funds?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised when he heard this, and couldn't help asking: "Are you willing to give up your grandson?"
Zhu Ying smiled and said: "There is nothing to be reluctant to part with. Just like what grandpa said, this Ming Dynasty belongs to both our grandson and grandson. What is the relationship between grandson's and grandpa's?"
"Besides, the expenses in the palace are quite large now. Instead of having to fight with the Ministry of Revenue all the time, our own chamber of commerce will be responsible for earning the expenses in the palace."
"Those businessmen may have made these money, and they may do evil things and hoard goods. If we make money, we can help wherever there are difficulties."
"So my grandson thinks it's better to let our old Zhu family directly become the largest chamber of commerce in the Ming Dynasty."
Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about reputation, he just didn't understand how businessmen made money.
From beggar to emperor, he never did business.
What he is doing now is exactly what he wants.
Besides, in this big world, which chamber of commerce can dare to compare with the Royal Chamber of Commerce?