Imperial Palace Qianqing Palace, the office of Emperor Hongzhi.
Emperor Hongzhi was smilingly accepting the New Year's greetings from important ministers, including the three cabinet elders, Hubu Shangshu Zhong Zhong, War Ministry Shangshu Liu Daxia, Fifth Army Governor Zhang Mao, as well as the Ministry of Personnel Shangshu Wang Hao, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu Fu Han and others. Emperor Hongzhi named Liu Jin and Prince Zhu Houzhao.
"It has already been fourteen years in the blink of an eye. Thanks to the blessings of our ancestors and the dedication of all of you, our Ming Dynasty is flourishing and prospering. I am so happy and congratulated~"
Emperor Hongzhi also smiled when facing the New Year blessings from his ministers, lamenting that time flies by.
Emperor Hongzhi was eighteen years old and is now thirty-two years old.
The age of thirty-two, if placed in future generations, would have just begun, and many people would still be unmarried children.
But look at Emperor Hongzhi who is sitting on the dragon throne. He looks very old. His whole body is gloomy and his hair is gray, as if he is an old man in his fifties who is about to die.
This is related to the fact that Emperor Hongzhi was frail and sick since he was a child and was in poor health.
Because of the persecution of Concubine Wan Gui when he was a child, even the emperor's son did not dare to appear in everyone's sight. He relied on the protection of the palace maids and eunuchs to survive.
Eating hundreds of meals, wearing hundreds of clothes, eating one meal but not the next, this also leaves the root of the disease in his body.
In addition, after becoming the emperor, he was very diligent and frugal, and his diligence in handling credentials was probably only compared to the comrades of Lao Zhu who founded the country.
The long-term labor of writing documents also caused huge pressure on him. In addition, at the beginning of the Hongzhi Dynasty, all kinds of things were very annoying.
There are prairie people in the north who are eyeing them, the chieftains in the southwest are constantly rebelling, Japanese pirates are rampant in the southeastern coastal areas, the civil servant family is dominant in both the government and the public, the treasury is empty, and nothing can be done.
All these combined made Emperor Hongzhi mentally and physically exhausted, making him look very old even at his young age.
Otherwise, the age of thirty-two should be the peak period of life and the most productive period of life.
Fortunately, in the past few years, Liu Jin traveled through time and the wings of the time traveler flashed, which brought about huge changes.
The situation in the Ming Dynasty continues to improve. The country is peaceful and the people are prosperous. The promotion of ZTE is definitely not just the boast of civil servants, but the real ZTE.
The improvement of the Ming Dynasty's situation also made Emperor Hongzhi have a lot less things to worry about, so his complexion has improved in the past two years.
Historically, Emperor Hongzhi died of illness in the eighteenth year of Hongzhi, that is, four years later. As for now, Liu Jin does not know how long the Emperor Hongzhi in front of him can live.
To be honest, Liu Jin still hopes that he can live longer.
He was a good emperor, with a good temper, a good person, and a good heart. Sometimes, in Liu Jin's opinion, he was not suitable to be an emperor or the king of a country at all.
A good man cannot be an emperor!
But Liu Jin still hopes that he can live longer and work for such an emperor, so that he can feel at ease and not worry that he will be in disaster because of some things.
Moreover, the prince Zhu Houzhao was still too young and very playful. If Emperor Hongzhi could survive for a few more years, Zhu Houzhao would be older and his temperament would be more restrained, it might be much better for the Ming Dynasty.
"Liu Jin?"
Liu Jin was deep in thought, but he didn't hear Emperor Hongzhi calling him by name.
"Oh~Your Majesty~"
Liu Jin came back to his senses and quickly said respectfully.
"Liu Jin, it's a new year, do you have anything to say?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Liu Jin. This Liu Jin was a little strange today, but he didn't think much about it and asked again.
"Your Majesty~"
"Everyone~"
"As the saying goes, a year's plan begins in spring, and a day's plan begins in the morning. The same is true for our Ming Dynasty."
"I think that on the occasion of the next New Year, the imperial court should make a New Year's plan. For example, in the new year, the amount of tax silver in Ming Dynasty should reach 30 million taels of silver. At the same time, it should also work out how to spend it.
Come up with a plan to get rid of these 30 million taels of silver."
"For example, this year, our Ming Dynasty will build cement roads from the capital to Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong, or we, the Ming Dynasty, will immigrate how many people and cultivate how many fields in Liaodong."
"Set a New Year's goal at the beginning of the New Year. In this way, you can continue to work hard according to this goal throughout the year. The king and his ministers will work together to create a more glorious era."
Liu Jin thought for a while and replied.
In fact, this is just like the five-year plan of later generations, but now there is definitely no way to say five years, but one plan for one year is still okay.
The imperial court of this era basically had no plans. Liu Jin felt that management was very loose and he would do things in a targeted manner when encountering problems instead of preparing in advance, which lacked planning.
"Making New Year's resolutions?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. This is good. I always thought it was a bit muddled before. When the emperor hit the clock one day, now that he thinks about it, it seems that he really lacks a goal and plan.
"This Liu Jin..."
As for Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others immediately couldn't help but feel a slight headache, knowing that they couldn't let Liu Jin come. Once he came, he would be able to shake things up.
In the past, when everyone was doing things, there was no plan or goal. What everyone liked most was to do nothing, and what they wanted was not to bother. This is called recuperation, and it was also the favorite state of ministers in all dynasties.
Under such a situation, as long as the weather is good, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and there are no foreign enemies invading, then their lives as courtiers will be very easy, and they can just flatter the emperor every day.
Liu Jin is fine. If you propose a New Year's resolution, aren't you torturing yourself and finding things to do for yourself?
"It's a great idea. I wonder what the tax reform plan you are responsible for will be in the new year?"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded, then thought about it and asked.
"Your Majesty, this is the memorial written by me~"
Liu Jin was naturally prepared.
For more than two months at the end of the year, Liu Jin has been training those who came to report on how to become qualified tax officials. Now it is almost ready to start.
At the beginning of this new year, Liu Jin was ready to send them to various places in the Ming Dynasty to officially implement tax collection.
"oh?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately laughed. This Liu Jin always made people shine when he did things.
Soon, Xiao Jing handed Liu Jin's memorial to Emperor Hongzhi, who opened it and read it carefully.
Liu Jin's memorials are completely different from those of other ministers.
Generally speaking, when ministers want to report something to the emperor, they usually have to go around in a big circle first, quoting scriptures, explaining the truth of the matter, and looking for historical cases to increase their persuasiveness, and only then explain the matter at the end.
come out.
Therefore, a memorial often contains a lot of words, and sometimes even tens of thousands of words are spoken without getting to the core points. They are all showing off one's own writing style and literary talents.
Many times, if you don't have a certain level of knowledge, you won't be able to understand what the memorial is talking about, and it talks about a lot in a convoluted way.
But Liu Jin was different. He had very few memorials, and he always relied on writing memorials. But every time he wrote memorials, he directly discussed things, raised questions, and then gave solutions to the problems.
It is simple and clear, and you can read it in one go, and what you are going to report will be clear.
Liu Jin's memorial is clearly written in it.
In the 14th year of Hongzhi, during the tax reform led by Liu Jin, a complete tax system was to be established. Nearly 200 imperial tax offices directly under the Ministry of Household Affairs were set up in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, in Tianjin, Songhu, Nanjing, and Guangzhou,
, Quanzhou, Ryukyu, Crescent City, Ginzan Prefecture, and Hyogo Tsu set up municipal shipping departments to collect customs taxes.
At the same time, Liu Jin also estimated that the tax revenue target for the entire fourteenth year of Hongzhi was 30 million taels.
"Thirty million taels of silver!"
Emperor Hongzhi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly when he saw this number.
"Liu Jin, the tax of 30 million taels of silver this year is too much. If the tax is too much, the people below may have a difficult life."
Emperor Hongzhi thought for a while and said.
After all, he was still a good emperor, and he was also an emperor deeply influenced by Confucianism. He always felt that if he levied too many taxes, the people would not be able to make a living.
"Thirty million taels of silver~"
When the others heard this, they couldn't help but take a deep breath. Last year, the total taxes and silver collected by the Ming Dynasty's treasury was less than six million taels. This year, 30 million taels of silver will be collected all at once. This is too much.
"Your Majesty, I think the tax revenue of thirty million taels of silver is not much, and is even relatively low."
Liu Jin thought for a while and replied.
How can 30 million taels of silver be too much? Just for these properties under Liu Jin's command, if tax money is paid, it will cost tens of millions of taels of silver. There are more than a dozen properties. On average, one property pays one
One million taels of silver is really a drop in the bucket.
Therefore, the tax collection target of 30 million taels is really not much in Liu Jin's opinion.
"As for whether it will affect people's livelihood, your Majesty, please rest assured, because land tax and population tax are not included in it, but are collected by local governments. This tax will not increase, so it will not affect the lives of the people at the bottom.
.”
"If it really has an impact, it may have an impact on businessmen, factory owners, workshop owners, trading houses, etc., but these are wealthy people, and they should pay taxes after making money."
"Only when our court has money, can our court have more power to protect the interests of our Ming people, and at the same time, it can also play the role of taxation, appropriately adjust the distribution of social wealth, and take into account the people at the bottom."
"For example, if the imperial court is rich, it can exempt the population tax and never increase taxes, etc. This will not only not affect people's livelihood, but also reduce the burden of the people at the bottom."
