Chapter 611 , you can do big things only when you have money
"In this case, the cabinet should first draw up a plan on how to assign officials, station troops, etc. in any province. Just like this tax reform plan, a detailed and specific implementation plan should be made."
Seeing that everyone's opinions were very consistent, Emperor Hongzhi nodded and said.
"Yes~"
Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, nodded quickly when he heard this.
"Okay, let's continue talking about the tax reform. Is there anything else you need to add to this plan?"
Emperor Hongzhi shifted the topic to the tax reform plan proposed by Liu Jin.
As soon as everyone heard this, they immediately understood that Emperor Hongzhi's meaning was very clear. He was very satisfied with the tax reform plan. Everyone could not object, but could only put forward some opinions on specific details.
Emperor Hongzhi's wording is supplementary, which is enough to explain.
"Liu Jin, I don't understand why this special business tax only targets gambling houses and brothels?"
Xie Qian thought for a while and stood up and said.
"Because of the two industries of gambling and brothels, it will seriously affect social stability, especially gambling."
"Since ancient times, countless people have lost their fortunes, divorced their families, and separated their wives and children because of gambling. Moreover, gambling can easily breed laziness, lazy mentality and habits. Therefore, we must try our best to suppress industries like gambling as much as possible.
to reduce the number of gambling dens."
"As for the brothels, they are also very harmful, especially to women, because the huge profits often prompt these brothels to use any means to obtain more women to use as their own money-making tools."
"Since ancient times, I don't know how many women have been devoured cleanly by the man-eating devil's den of the Brothel House. They were fine when they were young, but once their beauty fades with age, their fate is extremely tragic."
"Therefore, high taxes must be levied on gambling houses and brothels to suppress their development and better maintain the morale and stability of the entire society and country."
Liu Jin thought for a while and replied.
This thing is strictly prohibited in later generations, especially the former. The harm of gambling is too great. Too many people have lost their fortunes and families because of gambling. There are also too many, too many people who have committed crimes because of gambling.
The road of no return.
In this era, gambling and brothels are not allowed, especially the latter. Since ancient times, literati and poets often like to hang out in brothels and brothels, leaving some slutty names.
Since it cannot be banned, we must learn from the countries of later generations that allow these industries to exist and impose heavy taxes on such industries.
"Well, yes, it is indeed necessary to impose heavy taxes on gambling houses and brothels."
"I have seen with my own eyes that some people lost their entire fortune due to gambling, and their families were ruined by people from gambling houses."
At this time, Liu Daxia, Minister of the Ministry of War, nodded solemnly and expressed his support.
"The harm caused by gambling houses and brothels is indeed not small, and they should be properly managed."
Liu Jian also nodded and said.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen~"
"Implementing heavy taxes on gambling houses and brothels is one of the three major taxes I call them. It can be used to guide the development of industries that are beneficial to the court and the country, such as the factories and workshops that are now very popular in the Beijing-Tianjin area."
"These industries not only create a large amount of social wealth, but also create a large number of jobs, and their development should be vigorously encouraged."
"Another example is the marine fishing industry. After the Ming Dynasty lifted the sea ban and allowed private fishing, fishermen along the coast of the Ming Dynasty were able to catch hundreds of millions of kilograms of marine fish from the ocean every year. This means that the same huge amount of food alone
Just these caught marine fish can feed millions of people.”
"Moreover, sea fish is high-quality meat, which can greatly strengthen the bodies of my people in the Ming Dynasty."
"For such an industry, we should vigorously support its development and tax it less. If conditions permit, we can even provide them with some tax subsidies to encourage their development."
"Because the development of these industries can create wealth for society, promote employment, and allow the people of Ming Dynasty to live a more prosperous life."
Liu Jin said again very solemnly.
"Well said~"
Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but praise after hearing this.
I had never thought that taxation could have such a role before. Now it seems that taxation is not only about collecting wealth from the people, it can also promote greater social prosperity.
"Not bad, not bad, that's how it should be~"
Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Zhang Mao and others also nodded.
The marine fishing industry is very convincing, because it can be fished in the sea, coupled with advanced trawl fishing technology, the marine fishing industry in the coastal areas of Ming Dynasty has also developed rapidly.
In Tianjin Port alone, more than 100 million kilograms of marine fish are caught every year. With such a huge harvest, it can feed a very large population.
Therefore, in the past two years, whether in the north of the Ming Dynasty or in the south of the Ming Dynasty, food prices have been very stable, and even continue to decline.
One of the very important reasons is that the rise and development of the marine fishing industry has greatly enriched the people's dining tables. Marine fish are very cheap, priced at three to four cents per catty, and the people naturally know how to choose between meat and fish.
The price of food is also falling again and again, and because more and more people are eating marine fish, more and more food is saved, and the price is even lower.
"Liu Jin's tax reform plan does not have any big problems in other aspects, but if it is implemented according to this plan, it will inevitably require a large number of additional officials."
At this time, Wang Hao, the Minister of Personnel, thought for a moment and said.
Liu Jin's tax reform plan required a large number of officials and officials, because it was necessary to establish a municipal shipping department to become a special tax collection office directly under the imperial household department. Once this whole set of teams was established, too many manpower were needed.
"It does require a lot of manpower, because in the future, we will take the initiative to collect taxes, instead of sitting in the yamen drinking tea and waiting for others to take the initiative to pay taxes."
"Without a large number of manpower, this is naturally not possible."
"The increase in manpower is also for the purpose of tax collection."
Liu Jin nodded and did not deny it.
"But this increase in manpower will inevitably increase the court's expenditure. The treasury will already be empty."
Wang Hao thought for a while and said again.
"My lord, precisely because the imperial treasury is empty, we must first carry out tax reform and increase the treasury's fiscal revenue. Only when the treasury is rich can the imperial court be able to do something."
"For example, as mentioned just now, setting up provinces overseas, establishing government offices, appointing floating officials, establishing a specialized navy to destroy pirates and Japanese pirates, and protecting our Ming Dynasty's overseas territories and people, or taking advantage of the current good weather and the court's wealth
If so, we can build water conservancy projects, build cement roads connecting various parts of our country in Ming Dynasty, etc."
"These are all things that are beneficial to our Ming Dynasty. The court has no way to carry out them because there is no money. If the treasury is full, they can all be carried out one by one."
"Concrete is used to build dams on both sides of the Yellow River, so there is no need to worry about flooding when there is a flood."
"Reservoirs are built everywhere to store water during normal times, and then release water for irrigation during dry seasons. They can also store water and release floods during floods."
"Construct a large number of cement roads to facilitate the flow of materials and people from north to south and east to west. When there is a famine in the north, food relief can be quickly transferred from the south. If there is a war in the west, troops and generals can be quickly dispatched from all over the country."
"These are good things that benefit the country and the people, and they are also things that are beneficial to our Ming Dynasty. They are also things that the court wants to do."
"But all of this is based on strong finances. Without money, these are empty words."
Liu Jin thought for a while and replied.
This is very common in later generations. When the country has money, it builds bridges, paves roads everywhere, and engages in infrastructure construction. This not only facilitates transportation, but also greatly promotes the development of the entire country and society.
Such large projects require the power of the state to be carried out. In ancient times, they were usually carried out in the form of corvee labor. Projects such as the opening of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and the construction of city walls also fell into this category.
"Hmm~"
Everyone nodded after hearing this.
Not to mention anything else, everyone knows clearly the benefits of cement roads.
It used to take at least one or two days to go from Beijing to Tianjin. Now that the cement road has been built, it only takes less than two hours.
Marine fish, food, etc. from Tianjin can be transported continuously, which greatly facilitates the travel between Tianjin and the capital.
Some officials at the court also proposed to build cement roads connecting the thirteen provinces of Ming Dynasty and Beijing, but the financial and material resources required were too great. How could the court have the money to do these things?
The mention of the Yellow River raised by Liu Jin is even more worrying for everyone.
Every year during the rainy season, everyone in the imperial court was worried. If it rained less, there would be drought in the northern provinces, which would lead to food shortages and famine in various parts of the north.
If it rains too much, we are afraid that the Yellow River will overflow, and if its banks burst, there will be floods on both sides of the Yellow River, and there will also be famines.
Since the emergence of cement, officials in the coastal areas of the Yellow River have repeatedly written memorials asking the court to allocate funds to build river banks. But where does the court have the money to allocate funds to build river banks?
Emperor Hongzhi and the ministers of the imperial court also knew this. They knew that by building river embankments with cement, the reservoir would not only be very strong, but also durable.
But if the court has no money, what can it do?
Emperor Hongzhi himself also used a lot of money from the internal funds to allocate it to the provinces below to do things, but he couldn't always provide money from the internal funds of Emperor Hongzhi. After all, it was the emperor's private treasury.
"The more people there are, the more people we have. We will set up provinces and government agencies overseas, and appoint officials. We can recruit as many people as we need. Aren't there many giants in our Ming Dynasty who don't have official positions? This time, let's take care of Enke.
.”
Emperor Hongzhi thought about it and decided that as long as he had money, it wouldn't matter if he had more people.
