Not to mention, during the Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen dynasties, three additional rates were imposed, especially the Liao rate, which became a common practice throughout the three dynasties.
And how much is the Liao salary? Sometimes it’s only nine cents at most.
One tael is equal to ten cents, one cent is equal to ten cents, and one cent is equal to ten cents.
In other words, one tael of silver is equal to one thousand cents.
The biggest concern in the Ming Dynasty was Liao's pay, which was actually only an extra nine cents per mu, which could only be converted into a few kilograms of grain.
But you must know that the whip law of Zhang Juzheng's period had completely merged all taxes and servitudes, and farmers in the country had only one tax.
As for the Liao Dynasty's conscription, the imperial court slapped itself in the face and broke the trust of the people. Naturally, it went wrong from the beginning.
If taxes are collected but corruption is not fought, it will be used by corrupt officials and the people will be preyed upon. Coupled with natural and man-made disasters, it is not surprising that there will be rebellion.
During the shogunate era, new rules were established. The division of upper, middle and lower land was no longer based on acres of land, but on the basis of provinces.
After the capital was moved to Beijing, the Ministry of Household Affairs created new regulations and classified the provinces in the world as third class.
The first class pays three cents per acre, the second class pays two cents, and the third class pays one cent.
The third class only pays ten cents per acre.
Eleven provinces including Huguang and Jiangnan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and Sichuan are the central provinces. They have many plains, so they are ranked first and receive three points of silver (thirty articles).
The second level is medium-sized places, such as Fujian, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and a few places in Shuntian Prefecture, which receive two points of silver.
The third level is the barren provinces, which are Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, and Suiyuan. The greatest hope of the imperial court is that they can be self-sufficient.
Paying one cent or ten cents seems like a big burden.
Compared with the thirty-one tax in the Hongwu period, it was already several times higher.
Although it is a bit too cold-blooded to say that taxation is based only on the status of the recipient regardless of whether the land is fat or thin, but considering the administrative efficiency at this time, the more complicated the procedure, the easier it is for people to take advantage of loopholes.
The fool's approach is most suitable.
In addition to the tax rate, the biggest difference from the previous dynasty is that the Shaowu court completely abandoned the ancestral system.
Without the burden of the ancestral system, we can get rid of our arms and tax all the land.
That's right, Zhu Yuanzhang felt sorry for the heavy taxation of the people, so he stipulated that the national tax quota would remain unchanged, with only about 30 million levied every year.
For example, a certain government stipulated a tax of one million dan, which was borne by 100,000 people at that time. However, more than two hundred years later, the population and land increased several times, and the tax was evenly reduced.
This has resulted in a fiscal crisis. As times change and the situations we face are different, our expenditures will naturally be different.
But now, after the shogunate extended its power to the south of the Yangtze River and then expanded to the north, the imperial court no longer cares about the ancestral system and taxes all the land.
As a result, just like the Manchu Qing Dynasty in history, taxes increased significantly.
A conservative estimate is that if the north and the south paid taxes at the same time, the court would be able to collect 30 million silver coins from land tax alone.
Including commercial taxes, it is just ordinary to exceed 40 million.
This is still the result of being exempted from three wages.
"After Ding and Fu merged into one, they cultivated and rested for three more years. Even if the mother was taken three points, the people could withstand it."
Zhao Shu whispered something that was not quite in line with the rules, but it was the truth.
"As long as the officialdom is rectified, this kind of tax will not be a problem."
"The imperial court is currently at war and it is not appropriate to cause chaos. Let's talk about it later."
The emperor shook his head slightly, showing helplessness.
Before fighting foreign affairs, we must first settle the domestic affairs. There must be no chaos in the country at this time. Having corrupt officials in office is better than having nothing at all.
In the distance, under the scorching sun, countless civilians pushed their carriages and horses forward with difficulty. There were also many wheelbarrows and carts, which also accounted for a large proportion of the team.
Compared with livestock, young and strong animals are the cheapest.
"Have a rest and prepare to eat——"
As soon as meal time arrived, the villagers sat under the shade of the trees on the roadside and accepted the food distributed.
Four fist-sized coarse-grain steamed buns, a large bowl of porridge or pickles, and herbal tea containing salt were also placed in buckets for you to drink at will.
As for the livestock, they grunted endlessly while eating fodder mixed with beans and bean dregs, and drank salt water freely, which made people envious.
Within a quarter of an hour, everything was in their stomachs, and the peasants, who barely had a full meal, started their hard journey without wanting to finish.
"Your Majesty, although there are smooth rivers from Beijing to Tianjin, the weather is dry and water transportation is insufficient, so manpower still accounts for the majority."
“For one stone of grain to reach Tianjin from Beijing, it will cost half a stone on the way.”
"Three hundred thousand people and livestock eat about 700,000 dan in a month, not counting losses and other losses..."
Regarding the loss of money, Zhao Shu can be said to talk about it openly, and he is already familiar with it.
"Spending money is like running water." The emperor sighed: "If it is not a corvee but pure employment, how much money will it cost?"
After sighing, Zhu Yixi remained silent.
For ordinary people, taxes and corvee are inevitable thresholds in life.
If one imposes excessive taxes, sells land, and sells sons and daughters, one can always make do with it for a few years.
And if it was corvée labor, the family would be broken down almost in the blink of an eye.
The hardships of corvee are worse than heavy taxes.
The most obvious example is the large-scale corvee force in the Qin and Sui dynasties. Every time a young man was recruited, a family was destroyed.
At the peak of the Qin Dynasty, the population was about 30 million. In the Epang Palace and the mausoleum, 700,000 people were conscripted to build the Great Wall, open the Ling Canal, build the Chi Road, guard the border fortresses and other military services. Adding together the military corvee, there were 3 million young people in the country at the same time.
Left his hometown to serve.
Excluding the old, weak, sick and disabled, the number of people serving in the military accounts for 50% of the young labor force. Productivity is destroyed and taxes are heavy. How can we not rebel?
And if it was just tax collection, like the Ming Dynasty, from Wanli to Chongzhen, it would be able to last for several decades longer.
"The harm of corvee, and even miscellaneous taxes——"
After murmuring, Zhu Yixi stopped talking, then mounted his horse and left the place.
After all, he couldn't bear it, so he just turned a blind eye!
Since it was during the war, the emperor returned to Beijing in order to better face the complex war situation.
The cabinet implemented the emperor's love for the people and made clear regulations on corvee service:
Any local corvee must be used during the slack time of farming. The county must collect labor for a maximum of twenty days. Food must be taken care of and must not cross the county boundary.
If it reaches the house, it will be reduced by half.
In addition, detailed regulations were also made on the standards for collecting and issuing corvee labor.
In terms of age, it has increased from sixteen to twenty, and the maximum has been reduced from sixty to fifty.
There are three other types of non-service: an only son does not work, a disabled person does not work, and a widower does not work.
If you don't want to, you can also hire qualified young people to serve, but you have to pay a commission fee.
Conditions became more relaxed, which will definitely lead to a sharp reduction in the number of people serving as corvees.
"It's nothing more than a light corvee and a small amount of wealth."
The emperor was slightly pleased with himself: "If there are not enough corvees, the local government can also hire idle workers to save the poor people from trouble."