"Your Majesty, this is the situation reported by the tax bureaus in various places~"
"Tax collection work is very difficult to carry out, and various violent tax resistance incidents have occurred in various places."
“In Nanjing, all the tax offices were set on fire~”
"Some people even beat up the imperial officials unscrupulously and violently resisted strict orders."
"Just today, in Tianjin, Hou Ninghou and Jianchang Bo openly and violently resisted paying taxes and beat the imperial officials. Fifteen officials and officials were killed on the spot. Dozens of tax officials and officials were seriously injured."
Liu Jin handed over the memorial respectfully and said very seriously at the same time.
"What?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he couldn't help but frown.
As for the big guys present, all of them looked unbelievable. Someone actually burned down the tax office and openly beat to death the officials and officials who were collecting taxes. Is this a royal law?
Is there still a court in your eyes?
Even if you are a prince, aristocrat, or a relative of the emperor, you must not be ignorant of the king's laws, let alone beat all the court officials to death. You killed more than a dozen people in one go. You will be exposed today.
When a prince breaks the law, he is as guilty as the common people. The Zhang brothers are really too arrogant.
As for whether this matter is true or false, no one needs to doubt it at all.
The Zhang brothers are definitely people who can do such a thing.
That is to say, in the past few years, if something happened in the past, a large number of officials would impeach the two brothers.
"This is unreasonable, it is simply unreasonable~"
Emperor Hongzhi read Liu Jin's memorial very quickly, and he couldn't help but become angry.
This tax work was something that Emperor Hongzhi was determined to change.
If the tax system is not changed, there will be no money, and the court will have no money, so nothing can be done.
Now Liu Jin's meaning is very simple and he needs your support.
"Your Majesty, Shouninghou, Jianchang Bomu has no royal laws and openly beat to death more than a dozen court officials. I ask your Majesty to uphold justice~"
Liu Jin expressed his attitude very directly.
An official under his command was beaten to death. If he didn't say a word, no one would dare to do anything for him in the future, and how would the world view him?
Therefore, Liu Jin's attitude must be firm on this matter, and he must make the decision for the officials under him and seek justice.
"Your Majesty, I also believe that Shouning Hou and Jianchang Bo should be severely punished. They blatantly appoint officials to the court without regard for royal laws. If they are not severely punished, I am afraid that the people of the world will not be convinced."
Liu Jian, the chief minister of the cabinet, also stood up and expressed his stance.
He also had to express his stance on this matter. The Zhang brothers are too arrogant. Even if you are the emperor's brother-in-law, you cannot absolutely beat to death more than a dozen court officials. Arrogance is arrogance, but you can't cross the bottom line.
In the past, arrogance was arrogance, and domineering was indeed domineering, but it was not that he dared to kill a court official. Most of his arrogance was bullying ordinary people.
Even though everyone wanted to take care of it, they often turned a blind eye. There was no other way, because they were the brothers-in-law of Emperor Hongzhi.
Who asked Emperor Hongzhi to have only one wife? The key is that Emperor Hongzhi loved Empress Zhang very much and indulged the Zhang brothers, otherwise it would be more than that.
"Your Majesty, those who have no regard for the king's laws and kill the imperial officials must be severely punished~"
"Yes, we must be severely punished~"
Others also stood up and expressed their opinions.
Although everyone didn't actually want Liu Jin to collect taxes, if one code was applied to the other, the court officials were beaten to death openly, and the court lost its majesty. Then who among them officials would care about it in the future.
"Pass the message~"
"Immediately summon Shouning Hou and Jianchang Bo back to the capital. I will punish them severely~"
"Arrest all those who beat and kill imperial officials and punish them severely~"
Emperor Hongzhi frowned, thought for a moment and then ordered.
It was definitely impossible to kill Shouning Hou and Jianchang Bo. He didn't want to sleep in separate beds with Queen Zhang, but their men couldn't let them go.
After summoning the two brothers back, Emperor Hongzhi was also prepared to personally come out and teach the two brothers a lesson that would even dare to kill the imperial officials. There was nothing they couldn't do.
"Yes~"
When Xiao Jing heard this, he quickly replied respectfully and nodded slightly to the Xiao Huangmen beside him, who also left to do some work.
"Your Majesty~"
Seeing Emperor Hongzhi express his stance, Liu Jin thought for a while and spoke again.
"Tell me~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly to indicate to Liu Jin what he wanted to say.
"Your Majesty, there have been cases of huge profits and tax resistance all over the Ming Dynasty. What happened in Tianjin today is definitely not a single case, nor will it be the last case."
“According to reports from tax yamen in various places, there are endless cases of profiteering and tax resistance in various places, and local governments are unwilling to cooperate with our tax yamen in collecting taxes, which makes it difficult for our tax yamen to carry out tax collection work.”
"If things go on like this, this tax system reform will become a piece of paper, and it will end up being the same as before. By then, we may not be able to collect a penny in tax money."
Liu Jin thought for a while and slowly posed the question.
"Hmm~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded solemnly after hearing this.
He also read the memorial and found that there were various violent tax resistance incidents in various places. The situation in Tianjin was the most serious and worst, but other places were not much better.
In many places, no one pays attention to the taxation bureaus, and they cannot collect taxes at all. The local yamens also do not cooperate. There is really no solution.
It is useless to rely on words to collect taxes, you must use violence.
Taxation has been mandatory since ancient times.
"It's really not an option to continue like this~"
When the others heard this, they also nodded.
No matter what, tax reform is a national policy of the imperial court. If there are problems, they must be solved.
"Then what solution do you have?"
Emperor Hongzhi thought for a while and asked.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen~"
"Since ancient times, whether it is taxes or corvee, it has been compulsory. Only compulsion can collect it."
"Nowadays, there are violent tax resistance incidents in various places. The important reason is that the local government offices do not cooperate with the tax collection work of the tax office."
"So I believe that special tax agents should be established under tax bureaus in various places and use powerful means to collect taxes. Only in this way can we ensure that the court can collect taxes and investigate and punish those who evade taxes.
"
Liu Jin thought for a while and then slowly spoke.
Regarding taxes, that is to say, in the East, there has always been a emphasis on light corvee and low taxes, but in the West, there has been no such thing as light corvee and low taxes since ancient times.
In their tradition, taxation and death are inevitable in human life.
The tax policemen of later generations were so famous that no matter they were celebrities or gangsters, everyone was afraid of the tax policemen.
No one dares to evade taxes, because once tax evasion is discovered, the consequences will be extremely serious. Once the tax police come to your door, it will be over.
"Tax agent?"
When everyone heard this, they were immediately dumbfounded.
This Liu Jin can really think of everything and come up with any ideas.
"Tell me more about this tax agent~"
Emperor Hongzhi immediately became interested.
"As the name suggests, the tax police force was established specifically for the purpose of collecting taxes. Its main job is to force tax collection and investigate and deal with tax evasion. Apart from tax matters, the tax police force is not responsible for anything else, nor does it have any responsibility.
Any relationship."
"Tax agents do not catch petty thieves, nor do they catch big thieves. They are only responsible for tax matters. They use violent methods to deal with those who violently resist taxes and force them to collect taxes."
Liu Jin thought for a while and further explained the tax agent.
"That's it~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly after hearing this, and then fell into deep thought.
After thinking about it, he said to everyone: "What do you think of this proposal?"
"I believe that special tax agents should be set up. There are too many cases of huge profits and tax resistance in various places. If there is no compulsory taxation, the tax money will not be collected at all."
Liu Jian thought for a while and said: "But the establishment of this tax agency will lead to the phenomenon of excessive taxation."
"Your Majesty, Mr. Liu~"
"The so-called excessive taxation means that the standard of taxation is too high. For example, when farmers farmed in the past, it was more reasonable to collect 30%, but if they received 70%, this is called excessive taxation~"
"The taxation standards of our tax yamen are set by His Majesty and the princes of the DPRK and China. Except for special industries, the tax rate for all other walks of life is only eight hundred and eighty at most. The tax rate can be said to be
It’s quite low.”
"As for worrying about random taxation by local government agencies, there is no need to worry about it, because local government Yamen can also play a supervisory role. Once taxation is random, they can be quickly informed and dealt with."
"The duty of the tax agent is to urge tax payment, not to impose excessive taxes. Reasonable taxation is also for the operation of the court and the country of Ming Dynasty."
Liu Jin thought for a while and explained.
Officials of this era, in the final analysis, do not want to collect taxes, because they always feel that collecting taxes is bad, that it is excessive taxation, and that the people will not be able to make a living, etc., but they do not realize the importance of taxation.
"Hmm~"
After listening to Liu Jin's explanation, Emperor Hongzhi and everyone nodded, saying that he was right.
How to collect and what proportion to collect is the final decision of the emperor and the princes in the court. These officials and officials below are just executors. How can they collect taxes and extortionately? In the end, everything is still at the center.
The emperor and these powerful DPRK bosses.
"Then according to your wishes, set up a special tax agent."
"You can just draw up a charter and work out the relevant rules and regulations in detail."
After thinking about it, Emperor Hongzhi also agreed to Liu Jin's proposal. Since he supported Liu Jin, he would support it to the end.