When Zhou Shang heard Sha Shiqing's words, he couldn't help but wonder: "What happened to the tax money?"
Sha Shiqing thought for a while and replied: "Sha is a rough man. The meaning here is so profound that I can't explain it at the moment... There is still one person who has not arrived for today's banquet. When he comes, let him
Tell you."
Zhou Shang was curious, but didn't ask too many questions.
After three rounds of drinking, a voice came from the door, saying that Mr. Lu was here.
Zhou Shang turned his head and looked towards the door, and found that the person who came was actually Lu Ensheng.
Zhou Shang was overjoyed and stood up to greet him.
Compared to a few years ago, Lu Ensheng now has a beard, his face is no longer childish, and he looks much older.
He cupped his hands towards Zhou Shang, gesturing to come in and talk.
After entering the small courtyard, Lu Ensheng lowered his voice and said to Sha Shiqing and other representatives: "The Ministry of Household Affairs has submitted this year's tax and tribute plan."
Sha Shiqing asked: "Your Majesty saw it? How did you say it?"
Lu Ensheng: "I saw it but didn't say anything. Maybe I approved it."
Sha Shiqing and other representatives looked at each other with anxiety on their faces: "If that plan is passed, all the commercial banks in the Tang Dynasty will be overwhelmed."
Zhou Shang was confused as he listened: "What plan? What's going on?"
Lu Ensheng looked at Zhou Shang and said slowly: "As for the taxes and tributes of the Tang Dynasty, His Majesty decided to allocate the ding tax to the land and abolished the corvee. So the ding tax and the corvee were gone, and the land tax and commercial tax became the Tang Dynasty tax.
The two most important pieces of tribute.”
"Let's talk about the land tax first. His Majesty decided to separate the ownership and use rights of the land. People in the world can use the land, but they can no longer occupy the land. This move was originally intended to reduce the burden on farmers, so that cultivators can have their own land, and at the same time, it eliminated
Land annexation. However, after several years of implementation, another problem arose."
Zhou Shang: "Another question?"
Lu Ensheng: "The ministers of the DPRK and the Xian clan colluded with each other. Since they could not occupy the land, they found other ways to privately recruit farmers, tied the people to the land, and exploited the farmers with exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes."
Zhou Shang: "Farmers can completely leave their land and work in cities."
Lu Ensheng shook his head and said: "It's not easy. The Ministry of Household Affairs is in charge of people's household registration, and the Ministry of Punishment is in charge of the crime records in various places. In addition, the large Xian family members themselves have the right to speak in the local area. Farmers want to leave the land and work in merchant houses or workshops.
There is no way to find a way out, and there is no way to register."
Hearing this, Sha Shiqing couldn't help but said: "Sha's Changxingfang wanted to hire farmers from various places who were familiar with the mountain roads. The monthly payment was sixty taels, but they still couldn't hire anyone. The local prominent clan refused to let the tenants go.
, Not only did the government not help the merchants, but they also turned to those big families, alas..."
Zhou Shang was astonished and said: "Your Majesty once issued a decree to abolish low-income households and allow free employment of labor. This move by local states and counties is a disobedience to the decree!"
Lu Ensheng: "Officials in prefectures and counties are inextricably linked with the big families in those places. For example, teachers and students, marriages, relatives, etc... Zhou Shaoyin asked himself, back in Puzhou, if you married the daughter of a local big family,
, will you also favor your wife’s family when you act?”
Zhou Shang was stunned for a moment, then frowned and fell into deep thought.
Lu Ensheng: "In the current officialdom, the imperial court uses imperial examinations to select talents. Rich families have financial resources and connections, and they can pave the official career for their children and nephews. Even if there are children from poor families who are talented and come out on top, the ministers and dignitaries of the court will
The clan will also try their best to draw him into their camp."
Zhou Shang sighed: "According to you, the imperial examination has become the source of harm to the country. The officialdom is dark and ordinary people have no chance to get ahead?"
Lu Ensheng: "There is nothing wrong with selecting talents through the imperial examination. What is wrong is that officials use the imperial examination to win over others, form interest relationships, and seek personal gain. This is like holding a competition. Officials are not only responsible for formulating the rules of the competition, but also go out to participate in the competition themselves. In this way
, and how can we ensure fairness and justice?”
Sha Shiqing reminded from the side: "Shilang Lu, we just talked about the tax and tribute plan."
Lu Ensheng patted his forehead: "Yes, that's too far off... Nowadays, the imperial court's taxes and tributes mainly consist of field taxes and commercial taxes. Field taxes are closely related to officials in the DPRK and local prominent families. They naturally hope that the lower the better. Once the field tax is
If there is less tax collected, in order to complete the task of collecting tax and tribute, officials and noble families must make up for it from commercial tax. In other words, they must use the method of increasing commercial tax to fill the gap in tax and tribute, so as to please His Majesty."
After hearing this, Zhou Shang finally understood what the big trouble Sha Shiqing said was going on.
Lu Ensheng: "At the beginning of this year, the Shangshu Province formulated the rules for the court's use of money. Now that it is almost the end of the year, the Ministry of Household Affairs has come up with a new tax and tribute plan, forcing commercial banks in various places to make up for the shortfall. This matter
Now that the commotion has been raging, Speaker Sha took the representatives to protest many times, and they just had to fight against it."
Zhou Shang thought for a while and asked: "Whose hand did the tax and tribute plan of the Ministry of Revenue come from?"
Lu Ensheng: "The current Minister of Household Affairs, Yu Zhongyuan, is old and mediocre in talent. He lets his subordinates do everything for him. The new tax and tribute plan was written by Luo Yingcai, the Minister of Household Affairs."
Zhou Shang: "Luo Yingcai? This name sounds familiar."
Lu Ensheng: "Luo Yingcai is the second son of the Luo family in Gyeonggi Province. His eldest brother is the Supreme Guard Luo Anyuan, and Luo Anyuan's daughter is the current crown princess."
Zhou Shang was stunned after hearing this. It turns out there are so many connections between them.
Lu Ensheng: "When the Anlushan rebels invaded Chang'an, it was Luo Anyuan who led the soldiers to rescue His Majesty's family and escorted them to Liangcheng in the north. Therefore, with this merit and the relationship with the prince, the Luo family was in Chang'an
It can be said that you can call upon the wind and rain. As the Shaoyin of Chang'an, you should be more careful in everything you do."
Zhou Shang nodded in agreement.
Sha Shiqing: "Forget about the Luo family, let's quickly discuss how to deal with the tax and tribute plan of the Ministry of Revenue. If His Majesty really agrees to the plan, all trading companies will suffer heavy losses!"
Lu Ensheng pondered for a moment and said: "Since His Majesty allows the people to listen to the discussion and allows you to go to court after the meeting, why not try again?"
Sha Shiqing: "Strive for? Fight for what?"
Lu Ensheng: "Strive for His Majesty to allow civilian representatives to participate in the DPRK discussions."
When Sha Shiqing heard this, he was startled: "Let us people come to the court to discuss politics? Can your Majesty agree?!"
Lu Ensheng: "Old Sha, just think about it this way. There are so many merchants in the Tang Dynasty, and the taxes and tribute they pay every year account for more than half of the entire country. It's not too much to join the DPRK as a council member, right?"
Sha Shiqing first nodded subconsciously, and then shook his head, always feeling that something was wrong.
Lu Ensheng: "The most important thing at the moment is how to explain to His Majesty that the participation of elected representatives in political affairs is conducive to the development of the Tang Dynasty."
Sha Shiqing: "How to explain? Who will explain?"
Lu Ensheng turned his attention to Zhou Shang: "It depends on the newly appointed Shaoyin of Jingzhao Mansion."