Well, actually, the milk baby is secondary. After all, no matter how cold the weather is, my wife and children will be hot on the bed.
On this snowy day, I stayed at home and naturally did some things I like to do.
Being suddenly announced to the palace by Emperor Hongzhi, one can imagine Liu Jin's mood at this moment. He was extremely unhappy.
There really was no human power in ancient times. The emperor could do whatever he wanted. As a minister, it was exhausting work.
Now he has been promoted to the third rank, and has been granted the title of Marquis of Liaodong. Liu Jin regrets going to court every day. Now he is still not Zhaojin Palace. This life is not a life for human beings.
"In the future, we must trick Zhu Houzhao into changing the imperial system. Who can bear to get up at three or four o'clock every morning?"
"No matter what, it would be more appropriate to change it to eight or nine o'clock in the morning."
"Also, there is nothing wrong with going to morning court every day. There are a lot of trivial matters that waste so many people's time. From now on, morning court meetings should be changed to just a few times a month, and they will be dedicated to discussing important matters."
While rushing to the palace, Liu Jin was thinking about changing the early dynasty system.
There would definitely be no chance in the hands of Emperor Hongzhi, don't even think about it.
Emperor Hongzhi was a workaholic. He went to the morning court every day. After the morning court, he would have a small meeting with important ministers, and sometimes he would have an evening court in the afternoon.
Simply not human.
In fact, the ministers also complained, but there was no way. Facing such a diligent emperor, they could only put some high hats on Emperor Hongzhi to be diligent and caring for the people.
Emperor Hongzhi was a typical person who had no means or talent in governing the country. He could only rely on constant meetings to listen to the following ministers' work, showing that he was very diligent and took things seriously.
How many of the truly powerful emperors in history were so tired every day?
Smart emperors know how to seize important things and learn to delegate power to other unimportant things, so that they will not be tired and can truly govern the country.
The emperor who had to grasp everything was often exhausted and half-dead.
The Ming Dynasty was so big that even if it was a banquet on the sea and rivers and the country was peaceful and the people were safe, it still had countless things to deal with every day. After all, a person's energy is limited.
Well, Liu Jin has decided that he will definitely deceive Zhu Houzhao in the future. He will definitely be an emperor who knows how to combine work and rest.
When I arrived at the Qianqing Palace of Emperor Hongzhi, I immediately felt extremely comfortable.
"Your Majesty~"
When he came to Emperor Hongzhi's study, Liu Jin looked at the faces of Emperor Hongzhi and the big bosses. The two sides seemed to be arguing non-stop, and Liu Jin kept wondering in his heart what happened.
"No need~ sit down."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly and asked someone to bring a stool.
"Liu Jin, do you think the imperial court's taxation will definitely make the people's livelihood miserable?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Liu Jin and asked after thinking about it.
Just as they talked about transferring Liu Jin to serve in the Ministry of Household Affairs, Emperor Hongzhi and several ministers argued over and over again, and the argument came to the question of whether to levy a business tax.
Emperor Hongzhi naturally wanted to levy commercial taxes. The court had no money and nothing could be done. How could it be done without taxation? We couldn't use our own internal funds to subsidize the state treasury in the future.
As for Xie Qian, Liu Jian, and Li Dongyang, they were relatively opposed to levying commercial taxes and believed that national governance should be based on light corvees and small taxes, and encouraging farmers to cultivate mulberry trees.
This additional tax, no matter what kind of tax it is, will eventually fall on the heads of the common people, causing the common people to live in dire straits, causing all kinds of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and ultimately shaking the country and the country.
Hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words, Liu Jin was slightly startled, and then felt that his head was a little big.
This kind of thing involving business tax is simply killing people.
The businessmen of the Ming Dynasty are already very good at it.
When he had just traveled through time, these merchants from the Ming Dynasty dared to plot against the emperor, but they only had the military power to rebel.
In the past two years, Emperor Hongzhi continued to suppress the Jiangnan Shilin and severely reduced their power. Otherwise, who would dare to offend these businessmen of the Ming Dynasty?
From the princes and nobles of the imperial court to the local officials, their people are everywhere, and they can drown you with their saliva.
After hearing Emperor Hongzhi's words, others also looked at Liu Jin, wanting to know Liu Jin's opinion.
"Your Majesty, if you want to understand this issue, you must first understand what is the people?"
"Secondly, what kind of tax will be levied?"
Liu Jin looked at Emperor Hongzhi and thought quickly in his mind.
Emperor Hongzhi called him over and asked about this matter again. It was certainly not unreasonable. There must be something he wanted to do.
There is no doubt that I want to stand on the side of Emperor Hongzhi. Emperor Hongzhi wants to tax, so I must support the taxation.
"Oh~ Then what do you mean by people?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately smiled and said.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen~"
"Peasants are the people, businessmen are also the people, and gentry are also the people, but in the traditional sense, these people are the lowest common people."
"The common people at the bottom often own very little land, and most of them even don't have any land. However, they not only have to bear the taxes and corvees from the court, but they also have to bear the exploitation of the landlords and gentry.
"
"If we raise taxes on them, they will definitely lose their livelihood."
"Throughout the dynasties, whenever dynasties changed, land was often concentrated in the hands of a few landlords and gentry, while landless farmers bore most of the tax revenue."
"Taxing these farmers at this time will inevitably force these farmers who are already struggling to survive on the road to rebellion."
“That’s why the so-called people are in dire straits.”
Liu Jin thought for a while and spoke slowly.
After hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone nodded slightly.
In the past, when civil servants opposed taxation, they basically used this matter as an example. Emperor Hongzhi also knew the hardships of the people at the bottom below, so every time when the tax collection was discussed, he would be dissuaded by this in the end.
He was afraid that this tax would eventually be transferred to the people, making life even more difficult for the people of the Ming Dynasty.
"It seems that Liu Jin is also opposed to taxation~"
"Yes, he has so many properties under his command. If he wants to tax them seriously, how much money will he have to pay?"
Xie Qian immediately laughed, it was easy for Liu Jin to object to taxation.
It didn't matter where he went to serve. Originally, he was worried that Liu Jin would start collecting taxes after he went to the Ministry of Household Affairs. This worried him a lot. Now that he saw it, it was completely redundant. Liu Jin owned too many properties.
"However, if the imperial court needs to function and the country needs to develop, it will definitely not be possible without money."
"Only when the imperial court has money and food in its hands can it maintain the stability and development of the entire country, have the strength to develop a strong army to defend the country, and also have the strength to provide relief to the victims."
"Taxation is taken from the people and used for the people, and ultimately serves the people of the entire Ming Dynasty."
Then Liu Jin changed the topic and also talked about the importance of taxation.
"Well said~"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately said happily.
That's what he meant. If the court has no money, nothing can be done. Of course it won't work.
Emperor Hongzhi collected taxes for the Ming Dynasty and the court, not for his own enjoyment.
"In addition, taxation is also to promote social balance~"
"The farmers at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty had no land but had to bear a large amount of taxes and were exploited."
"Landlords, gentry, and businessmen, who have a lot of wealth and land, often don't need to pay taxes and have nothing to do in a short period of time."
"But over time, the entire country will lack balance, and the final result will be that once there is a natural or man-made disaster, war will break out."
"In the end, it is not just the people at the bottom who will be harmed. Once war breaks out, landlords, businessmen, and gentry will also be implicated."
"So through taxation, we can levy more taxes on rich people and people with land, and levy less tax on people without land and poor people, so as to achieve a balance between the country and society."
Liu Jin continued and talked about balance. In later generations, it was actually fairness. However, in this era, there is no such thing as fairness. It is more appropriate to say balance.
"Absurd~"
"All dynasties have given preferential treatment to scholar-bureaucrats, and gentry are exempted from taxes. This is the tradition of all dynasties."
After hearing Liu Jin's words, Xie Qian immediately stood up and objected, saying, "Liu Jin is going to attack the gentry. Who in the government and the public does not have thousands of acres of land?"
People can be exempted from taxes. If you pass the examination, you don't know how much land is donated. What's more, these people have salvaged money from the government, and it is normal for them to have huge wealth and vast hectares of fertile land.
"Hmm~"
Others also nodded one after another, wondering how the tax could be borne by themselves.
The salary in the imperial court is so low that people will starve to death if they expect the salary. If the family does not have some land to support it, everyone will not be able to survive.
"The gentry are exempt from taxes, but merchants and landowners can always be taxed."
When Liu Jin heard this, he smiled and said.
After hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone was immediately speechless. The imperial court gave preferential treatment to scholars, and these businessmen and landowners were not included.
"Promote balance~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, the word balance was used well.
Those who have land and money do not pay taxes, but those who have no land and money pay more taxes. This is obviously unreasonable and will definitely cause problems in the long run.
"That's well said. Promoting social balance is well said~"
Emperor Hongzhi praised with a smile on his face.
Being an emperor often means playing a game of balance. Only when the power is balanced can the emperor be able to sit firmly. Liu Jin's words won the heart of Emperor Hongzhi.
"Taxation also plays a very important role, that is, it can promote the development of all walks of life and regulate the development of national industry and economy."
Liu Jin smiled and continued to talk about another function of taxation.