After Emperor Chongzhen and Liu Weichao exchanged such information with each other, they couldn't help but sigh: "I have seen it today. My last words back then were really correct!"
There was not much information on the various tax evasion and tax-exemption methods used by the officials and gentry. The Li Supervisor did not have much information. Instead, it was Liu Weichao who compiled them based on historical records and told them to Emperor Chongzhen, so that he had some understanding.
And the last words he said were referring to the original history of "the ministers misunderstood me". After understanding what these officials and gentry did, he remembered this sentence and felt that he was really right!
When Emperor Chongzhen said this, he paused and then continued: "I didn't expect that because of Ma Shiying's memorial, so many evil things would be revealed!"
Liu Weichao saw this and nodded, but did not speak.
"What do you think I should do?" Emperor Chongzhen frowned and said worriedly, "This time about Jiangnan, I can follow the method you gave and deal with them in turn. But, I am afraid, so I will
With their various methods, it might start again in a few years! Do you have any good methods that you can teach me?"
As far as the current matter is concerned, it is indeed possible to follow what Liu Weichao said, based on the local tax payment records, and in turn determine how many exemptions and exemptions the officials and gentry have and the land that should pay taxes, and the rest will be returned to the government, and they will make a lot of money.
One stroke.
However, the lack of bottom line of the officials and gentry really hit Emperor Chongzhen a bit. He was afraid that within a few years, the local government would start acting like a monster again and pass taxes on to ordinary people, thus laying the foundation for unrest again.
What did Emperor Chongzhen care most about?
What he cares most about is the country left by his ancestors. The source of the instability of the country has been discovered by him. It is natural that if it is not solved, he will not even think about eating and drinking!
Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's appearance, Liu Weichao said to him: "After the Manchus took over the Central Plains, they soon encountered this problem. Their approach was to directly abolish the exemption of officials and gentry, except that the officials and gentry themselves could be exempted from service.
, everything else is unavoidable, just like ordinary people, you have to pay taxes and serve!"
Emperor Chongzhen was shocked when he heard this and said, "Is this okay?"
For him, or for the people of the Ming Dynasty, the priority between officials and gentry is a deep-rooted idea. After all, it has been like this for hundreds of years, and it is a common sense.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen became a little excited after being surprised. Without waiting for Liu Weichao to speak, he immediately continued: "Since even Jianlu can do this, then so can I!"
After hearing this, Liu Weichao did not agree with a smile, but reminded with a serious expression: "This approach of the Manchus does not include themselves, that is, the banner people are not included in this case! It can even be said that the rights enjoyed by the banner people are greater than
The officials and gentry at this time are even bigger than you!"
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded when he heard this.
He is not stupid, and naturally understands that the foundation of Jianlu's rule over the world is the banner people, so they have the capital to do this. The situation here is completely different from his.
Emperor Chongzhen was in a daze when he heard Liu Weichao continue to say to him: "Moreover, this measure of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was only implemented in Henan Province. After the emperor who proposed this policy died, this measure was abolished.
!”
"..." Emperor Chongzhen heard him speak, and just as he came to his senses, he was stunned again.
The implication of Liu Weichao's words is nothing more than that even when Jianlu relied on bannermen to rule the world, he could not abolish the exemption of officials and gentry!
After being stunned for a long time, Emperor Chongzhen came to his senses and became very frustrated and said: "Is it possible that this is a deadlock that cannot be solved at all?"
Just after he finished speaking, he suddenly came back to his senses. A trace of expectation immediately appeared on his face, and he quickly asked Liu Weichao: "By the way, what did you do at that time? Did you solve it?"
After hearing this, Liu Weichao couldn't help but smile, shook his head and said: "In my era, all land is owned by the state, agricultural taxes have been abolished, and there is no labor. It is all paid for by the state. It is fundamentally different from your time!"
"..." When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was immediately speechless again.
At this time, he remembered that Liu Weichao seemed to have told him before that land tax had been abolished at that time! The development of science and technology and business in later generations have given the country a lot of money.
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen became a little frustrated and said to Liu Weichao in a frustrated tone: "Then what should I do? Is it possible that I will just watch another reincarnation for many years?"
He found the root cause of the problem but was unable to solve it, which made him feel very powerless.
But who knows, after Liu Weichao heard this, he smiled slightly and said: "I have been thinking about this matter for the past two days, and I have come up with a way for you. You can listen to it and see if it is useful or suitable for you.
When to use it?"
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was immediately overjoyed and said to him quickly: "It must be useful, it must be useful. Tell me quickly and I will know that you are the smartest!"
"..." Liu Weichao was speechless. This dog emperor, do you want to flatter him like this? Where is the emperor's dignity?
Although he was thinking this way, he was actually very useful. No, he immediately replied to Emperor Chongzhen: "Didn't Zhang Juzheng implement a whipping method during the Wanli period? Everything can be converted into silver. In this case, I feel that you
Is it possible to do this..."
"How to do it?" Emperor Chongzhen asked quickly with expectation after hearing this.
Liu Weichao felt his urgency and immediately replied: "It means abolishing the preferential exemptions for officials and gentry, but converting them into silver according to the limit before the exemption for officials and gentry, and paying them in the form of salary. In this way, your Ming Dynasty will be
Everyone has to pay taxes and serve in the military, and no one can escape it. However, because the money can be deducted from the tax and labor service, the officials who are within the exemption limit are equivalent to being exempted from it by the imperial court. "
Emperor Chongzhen was very excited after hearing this, but he did not express his position immediately. Instead, he was thinking about the proposal. Obviously, he had passed the stage of saying "Okay, okay, okay" like a yes-man whenever Liu Weichao said anything.
Liu Weichao looked at his appearance and didn't bother him, letting him think for himself. It wasn't until he felt that it was almost done that he added an explanation: "Although it is said that the salary issued by the imperial court will increase a lot at once. However, this part of the increase in salary is actually
It can be understood as the distribution of taxes after they are collected in advance. One of the biggest advantages of doing this is that it can solve the problem of tax evasion and tax avoidance by officials and gentry in addition to the limited exemption limit!"
"For the officials and gentry, the legal preferential treatment given to them by the court has not been reduced, it is just reflected in another situation!"
When Liu Weichao checked the information, he found that many officials had seen the harm in the abuse of exemptions beyond the quota for officials and gentry, and had regulated them or expressed concerns.
One of them, he was a little surprised to see. This person was Shui Tailiang Qian Qianyi.
In a letter to the prefect of Suzhou, he said angrily that the abuse of exemptions resulted in "the mismatch of names and colors, confusion of nobles and nobles", which resulted in "the middle and lower households trudging hard, ruining their families and property, and even their lives."
To compensate for this, the rich and wealthy family should not care about the public needs at the top, but do not care about the poverty at the bottom, enjoy the benefits of the golden caves of Tongshan, and do the evil of breaking the bones and sucking the marrow. From now on, the law of service will be greatly ruined, and the people's livelihood will be ruined from now on, which is extremely unfair.
, the disaster of burning, looting and plundering will also start from now on and break up, don’t be afraid anymore!”
From this we also know that there are still some wise people among the officials and gentry, and if they make innovations within the scope of the law, they can also get support.
While Liu Weichao was thinking about it, Emperor Chongzhen had obviously considered it and said with joy: "I think it will work!"
After he finished speaking, he felt that his words were too short to express his happiness, so he immediately continued: "I just thought about it, if I were one of those black-hearted officials and gentry, what would I do if this national policy were to be implemented?
?After thinking about it for a long time, I can’t think of any other way to take advantage. So, I think this method is very wonderful, very wonderful!”
After a pause, he suddenly added: "It's much better than Jianlu's bullshit method!"
"..." After hearing this, Liu Weichao couldn't help but be speechless for a while. Then, he did not show a satisfied smile, but said seriously to Emperor Chongzhen: "Don't be so exaggerated. Any policy must have good and bad points, especially
There must be some big or small problems in implementing a nationwide policy like yours! There are still many details to be solved!"
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was stunned for a moment when he heard this.
Then, he asked a little unconvinced: "Then tell me what you said!"
After hearing this, Liu Weichao immediately replied: "First, the salary is paid on a monthly basis. How many times a year are taxes and labor services? Then how do you calculate the balance?"
Without waiting for Emperor Chongzhen to answer, he went on to say: "Secondly, I estimate that following this approach will cause everything in the Ming Dynasty to focus on money! You must pay attention to this. This kind of culture will
Corruption among officials and gentry all falls into the eyes of money."
Emperor Chongzhen was dumbfounded. He had not thought of these details.
So, he quickly asked: "Since you have thought of it, have you already thought of a countermeasure?"
Emperor Chongzhen felt that Liu Weichao thought more, so he simply asked directly.
Liu Weichao listened, nodded, smiled and said: "Of course, I am actually just picky. For example, on the first point, you can be more generous. Don't worry about it. It is a kind of high salary to support integrity."
Regarding high salaries to support integrity, he had said before that the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were really too low.
Of course Emperor Chongzhen also agreed, and had already issued a decree saying that he would increase salaries for officials.
After hearing Liu Weichao's words, he nodded and immediately asked: "What about the second question?"