Chapter 610, the place where my Daming people go is the country
Qianqing Palace, the study room of Emperor Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi, the three elders of the cabinet, the British Duke Zhang Mao, the Minister of Household Affairs Zhong Zhong, the Minister of War Liu Daxia and other six ministers each held a copy of the tax reform plan formulated by Liu Jin in their hands, and they all read it carefully.
Some people have expressionless faces, some have deep frowns, and still others have a slight smile on their faces.
"The plan is very good, very detailed, and very feasible."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded with satisfaction after reading it.
Liu Jin is very efficient in his work and is always able to satisfy himself. He is talented and responsible, and he has a belief in truly benefiting the people of the world.
This is the reason why Emperor Hongzhi liked Liu Jin.
Although Liu Jin did not open his mouth to serve the country, the country, and the people, everything Liu Jin did was sincerely benefiting the people, doing practical things for this country, this nation, and the Ming Dynasty. Good thing.
On the other hand, the other ministers, although they all kept their mouths open, talked about whether they were doing light corvee and receiving little tax, competing for profits with the people, or doing it for the sake of the country and the country.
But they often just sit there and eat nothing, not wanting to make progress, being immersed in the fantasy of Confucian country governance and unable to extricate themselves, unable to make plans or take practical actions.
Among them, Zhou Jing and Ji Zhong are the most typical representatives.
To say that they have no ability, it is because those who have the ability can climb to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. How can it be possible if they have no ability.
To say that they are capable, as the ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, when they were in charge of the national treasury, they could starve to death even if the treasury was empty, and the court could not do anything they wanted to do. Emperor Hongzhi, who complained that he had no money, was smoking.
I stare at my own money every day, wishing I could plunder every penny of it, but when I ask them to collect taxes, they all say that they are competing with the people for profit, and they even feel ashamed.
civil?
What is the people?
Liu Jin said it well, the gentry are the people, the businessmen are also the people, and the farmers are even more the people. In the eyes of these civil servants, only the gentry and the businessmen are the people, so they must not be taxed, otherwise these "people" will not be able to make a living. .
For civil servants like Zhou Jing and Zhong Zhong, they wished that the treasury would be empty, so that the court would have no money and the emperor would have no money. Naturally, there would be nothing to do, and it would be much easier for them as officials.
As for the rampant Japanese pirates, foreign invasions, raging famines, etc., these must be the emperor's failure to do well, or even the emperor's moral character has been damaged, so God will bring these disasters to remind the emperor to cherish his people. We should be diligent and frugal, we should take corvee lightly and pay less in gifts, we should stay close to virtuous ministers and stay away from villains, etc.
With the comparison, Emperor Hongzhi felt more and more that many ministers, apart from being rice bugs, had no role at all in the country and the country.
Of course, Emperor Hongzhi did not realize that this was actually the inevitability of Confucian education.
Confucianism has developed to this point and has become completely solidified. It restricts ideas and resists new things. This is doomed to lead it to decay and decline.
Officials who come out of such a system may be knowledgeable about the past and present, may be able to speak eloquently, and may be able to write beautiful words, but they can always only make breakthroughs and achieve new developments within the framework that has been defined by their predecessors.
Ideological confinement is the most terrifying thing, and only ideological breakthroughs can create new brilliance.
"Liu Jin, there is no problem in setting up the Municipal Shipping Department, but is it appropriate for us to tax places like Hyogo Tsu and Crescent City?"
After reading it, Li Dongyang thought for a while and asked: "These places have not been our Ming Dynasty since ancient times. Ryukyu is okay. Hyogo-jin is only rented by us from Japan. As for Crescent City, it was originally owned by Luzon."
Manila."
"Of course it is appropriate. These places did not belong to our Ming Dynasty before, but they will belong to our Ming Dynasty in the future. Since they are the land of our Ming Dynasty, they naturally need to pay taxes to our Ming Dynasty."
"Not only Hyogozu and Crescent City, wherever our Ming Dynasty expands in the future, the land and people will have to pay taxes to our Ming Dynasty."
"Li Gong, the times are constantly changing. The world outside the Ming Dynasty is very big. There are too many unclaimed lands. This is a good era for our people of the Ming Dynasty to forge ahead."
"Everywhere my people of the Ming Dynasty go shall be the land of my Ming Dynasty!"
"Anyone who is willing to be loyal to my Ming Dynasty, to my Ming Dynasty, and to learn from my Chinese style, is a citizen of my Ming Dynasty, and also needs to pay taxes to my Ming Dynasty."
Liu Jin nodded very solemnly.
This is very critical. If overseas places do not pay taxes, how can the imperial court have the motivation to continue to expand.
What's more, only by receiving more taxes can Ming Dynasty build a stronger army, build more warships and ships to seize more land.
"Well said~"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard Liu Jin's domineering words, he immediately burst into laughter and exclaimed.
Yes, that's how it should be.
Although the Ming Dynasty is big, the world is even bigger. The world outside the Ming Dynasty is very vast, with endless fertile land and countless gold and silver.
The people of the Ming Dynasty should continue to expand outwards and seize more and wider land, instead of always being limited to this three-thirds of an acre.
Everyone else also nodded. After these few years of publicity, everyone has a deeper understanding of the world outside the Ming Dynasty, and they all know the richness and vastness of overseas countries.
There are many people investing in Golden Continent, Nanyang, and Ryukyu. These big guys present have invested in some trading houses and fleets, and some have established plantations of their own trading companies in Nanyang.
Now Liu Jin has clearly put forward a concept.
That is, although these places did not belong to the Ming Dynasty before, they will belong to the Ming Dynasty in the future, because there are people of the Ming Dynasty here, and the people here are loyal to the Ming Dynasty and the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
This means that these places will be no different from the Ming Dynasty's two capitals and thirteen provinces in the traditional sense. It also means that if something happens here in the future, the Ming Dynasty will have to send troops to protect it.
This is tantamount to safeguarding everyone's interests.
In the final analysis, it is still a question of interests.
Because the big guys have invested in Ryukyu, and the plantations here in Nanyang have also invested in fleets heading to the Golden Continent to hunt for treasures, so a wonderful change has naturally taken place.
In the past, there would have been many corrupt officials who would have jumped out and shouted about benevolence, justice and morality, and that a great country should convince people with virtue.
There is no such thing now, because it ranges from the three elders of the cabinet, to the officials of all sizes above the imperial court, and even to the officials below.
Everyone has more or less invested in trading companies and fleets. If you invest real money in it, you can't lose your own money.
"Liu Jin is right~"
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, I believe that the imperial court has issued a law to regulate all this."
"Wherever my people of the Ming Dynasty go, it is the land of my Ming Dynasty~"
"Anyone who is loyal to me, the Ming Dynasty, is loyal to the Emperor of Ming Dynasty, and is willing to learn my Chinese style, he is the people of my Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Mao thought for a while and stood up to make suggestions.
The Ming Dynasty is now expanding very fast. On the northern grasslands, grassland towns are constantly being built north and west. It is said that the furthest ones are almost reaching Beihai, where Su Wu Muyang lives.
To the south, on the Nanyang side, with Crescent City as the center, and on Luzon Island, large and small plantations bloomed everywhere. At the same time, Taiping Marquis Du Mingen also established many strongholds along the way to the west.
Some of these strongholds were leased, and some were simply given to the Ming Dynasty by the kings of these places. There was no other way, as the Ming Dynasty had a high prestige in this place.
To the east, the Japanese country occupied Yinshan County, rented Hyogo Tsu, and established a stronghold in Yuxi. On the Huanggangzhou side, there were also 100,000 people passing there. By then, along the west coast of Huanggangzhou, there would definitely be
Many strongholds can be established.
As Liu Jin said, this was an era of rapid expansion, and the Ming Dynasty's territory was constantly expanding.
However, the Ming Dynasty was still far from keeping up with the management of these overseas places.
Ryukyu City is still managed by Ryukyu City, and there is no government or government office. The same is true for Crescent City in Nanyang. The strongholds in these places are still operated by Tianjin Ocean Trading Company.
That is to say, there are officials dispatched from the Japanese side, Ginshan County and Hyogo-no-tsu, but there are no government offices set up by the Ming Dynasty government in Yuxi and Huanghuangzhou to the north.
It was okay for a short period of time, but problems would arise over time. The Ming court was like a slow-moving old man, unable to keep up with this era of rapid change and expansion.
"Your Majesty, I agree with what Mr. Zhang said~"
"We should legislate as soon as possible, and at the same time set up provinces in overseas places, appoint officials, establish government offices, and officially declare that these places are the land of our Ming Dynasty, and the people in these places are the people of our Ming Dynasty."
Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, also stood up and expressed his stance.
"I second the proposal~"
Xie Qian, Li Dongyang, Zhong Zhong, Liu Daxia and others also nodded.
Some things are like this. First of all, it must be justified. First, this place should be included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Like the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, it should be set up as a province, set up government offices, appoint floating officials, and also dispatch garrison troops.
Only in this way can everyone know that these places are the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and the people here are the people of the Ming Dynasty.
If there is any conflict in the future, Ming Dynasty can legitimately send troops to protect its land and people.
Does it matter whether other countries and people recognize it or not?
What does it matter?
Anyway, this is how Ming Dynasty does things. If you are not convinced, you can try my Ming Dynasty’s powerful ships and cannons.
"...Sure enough, it is the butt that determines the head. I did the right thing in the past. From now on, I will not only help the generals and nobles to make a fortune, but also the civil servants, gentry, and big families."
Liu Jin was slightly dumbfounded. They were originally discussing taxation, but now it was brought to this topic, and he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.