The School of Physics is very wealthy. It not only accepts donations from society, but also has shares in machine manufacturing plants.
Steam coin machines, steam spinning machines, steam looms, steam wool spinning machines, these four can make a lot of money every day.
The minting machine requires official documents from the imperial court and must be ordered by the official, and is not allowed to be manufactured privately.
The other three machines are sold to merchants, accounting for 99% of the market share. The remaining 1% of the market share is produced by imitations from Guangdong, and the performance of the machines is relatively lagging behind.
In today's machine manufacturing factory, Wang Yuan, as the main investor, holds 55% of the shares. The other 30% of the shares are invested by students involved in machine research and development for scientific research and technology. The last 15% of the shares belong to the School of Physics, and the profits obtained belong to the school.
Collectively owned.
Students who have graduated from the School of Physics and are working as local officials can apply for travel expenses at the college, and assistance will be provided depending on the distance of the post. While receiving travel expenses, the student must swear an oath that he will not be corrupt as an official in the future and must
Have a heart of benevolence and love for the people.
Weng Wanda applied for travel expenses. He went all the way south to Huizhou and had plenty of money.
The further south we went, the more Weng Wanda felt something was wrong. After passing Zhenjiang, there were dry fields everywhere.
Along the way, he asked merchants from the south and learned that droughts were serious in several provinces south of the Yangtze River. He immediately wrote to Wang Yuan, asking the imperial court to order the governor and censor to quickly inspect the Changping granaries in various places. The empty granaries were quickly replenished, and at the same time, the grain was prevented from being stolen and sold.
We must suppress the upcoming soaring food prices.
In fact, the court had already received the news without Weng Wanda writing a letter.
Wenyuan Pavilion.
Because his clan members were involved in the Lianghuai salt smuggling case, Yang Yiqing was not allowed to resign. He has been staying at home for a while, claiming to be ill.
Mao Ji said anxiously: "Since the beginning of summer, there has been a severe drought in several provinces in the south of the Yangtze River. Various places have asked for spring grain tax exemptions. This year's spring grain production in the south of the Yangtze River may be reduced by more than 60%. Recently, governors in various places have begun to clear the summer grain. Due to the serious drought, summer grain production
It is difficult to sow, and the summer grain harvest in some prefectures and counties may be impossible. A total of eight provinces, including Nanzhili, Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou, are experiencing widespread drought! There are signs of locust plagues in Jiangxi and Zhejiang."
Everyone was speechless and didn't know how to respond.
Most of the country's major grain-producing areas are suffering from drought. Where will the food come from to provide relief?
"This year's grain harvest may not be fully transported to the capital," Yang Tinghe said to Wang Yuan. "Wang Shangshu, please urge Jinyi Haiwei to transport more grain from Nanyang to Beijing."
I am afraid that this is the purpose of specially inviting Wang Yuan to the cabinet to discuss affairs. Wang Yuan did not dare to vouch for it, so he could only say: "Try your best."
Wang Qiong said: "The eight provinces suffering from drought should not only exempt spring grain from tax, but also exempt summer grain from taxes. Even the prefectures and counties without drought should also be exempted from the tax. This will allow the localities to retain more grain, and perhaps alleviate the situation a little.
Food prices.”
Jiang Mian worriedly said: "There are only two capitals and thirteen provinces in the Ming Dynasty, and eight provinces are exempted from summer grain. How can the imperial court support it?"
Wang Yuan said: "There were no border troubles last year, and there was no major war after the Guangxi rebellion was settled. There is probably still a lot of grain left in the Taicang store. Everyone is frugal, and there are no ceremonies and sacrifices. Monks and Taoist priests are not allowed to give their annual rice.
, can always survive this year.”
When Zhu Houzhao was young, he sometimes believed in Buddhism, sometimes Taoism, and sometimes Green religion. Not only did he recruit a large number of monks, but he also built temples for them. These temples had no temple fields (on the surface, there were none), and they were all supported by the central government's finances.
Jiang Mian said: "Countless fertile fields in the suburbs of Beijing have been occupied by eunuchs. We can take the opportunity to take them all back."
Yang Tinghe said: "This matter should be handled quickly."
Wang Yuan said: "All the temples in Beijing built in the past twenty years can be destroyed! If the temples in Xiyuan are not given a grain of food, they will leave if they are starving to death."
Wang Qiong added: "If anyone seizes civilian land as temple land, the land will be taken back, the grain will be confiscated, and he will be ordered to return to secular life!"
The grain cannot be transported in full, and eight provinces have to be exempted from summer grain. The central government must ensure the grain supply in the Gyeonggi region.
When Gu Dayong left Beijing, he simply left. His fields, properties, and shops were either donated or sold, and all his relatives were brought back to his hometown. However, because of Zhang Yong's serious illness, his younger brother and nephew were disobedient, and there are still a lot of Gyeonggi industries that have not been touched.
.
If all the relatives of Zhang Yong who stayed in Beijing were confiscated and held accountable, a large amount of money and food would surely be obtained.
There are also two uncles of the emperor who have been out of favor for more than ten years. They would definitely not dare to raid their homes, but they can confiscate the farm and get a lot of food.
Monks, Taoist priests, green sects... these monks recruited by the emperor, plus their disciples and descendants, totaled tens of thousands. They were all ordered to return to secular life, and their grain and temple fields were confiscated, which also saved countless grains.
There is also a temple near the Leopard Room, and it is built within the imperial city. Wang Yuan dare not touch it for the time being, but he has the right to stop the monks' monthly rations (these rations are provided by Guanglu Temple). Well, it is not considered a suspension, it is just a arrears.
.After all, the country is in difficulty, and monks are compassionate and should make contributions to the country and the people.
Yang Tinghe said: "Your Majesty, you should go ventilate first."
"I'll take care of this." Wang Yuan took over the job.
Yang Tinghe, Mao Ji, Jiang Mian, and Wang Qiong all handed over their hands: "I'll trouble Wang Shangshu."
The drought in eight provinces is a serious matter.
If it is not handled properly, it may lead to civil unrest, not only starvation and death everywhere.
Faced with such a situation, the cabinet first became harmonious. Yang Tinghe and Wang Yuan also temporarily put aside their conflicts and worked together to overcome the difficulties first.
Why didn't Wang Yuan catch Yang Tinghe and fight him to death about the Sichuan salt smuggling case?
With Zhu Houzhao's current thoughts, he just wants to live a stable life for a few more years, and it is impossible to let Yang Tinghe return home. If Wang Yuan cannot kill him with a fatal blow, the political conflict is likely to escalate into a party struggle, and it will be difficult to handle national affairs normally.
Yang Tinghe knew that Wang Yuan kept three points when doing things, and they had already reached a tacit understanding.
Therefore, when encountering the major event of drought in eight provinces, the two sides could cooperate closely. This was impossible in the Jiajing Dynasty. The political struggle was too fierce, leaving no way for the other party to survive, and holding each other back. In the end, the unlucky people were the people.
Wang Yuan suddenly said: "We just take this opportunity to promote tax reform."
Yang Tinghe frowned: "Even if we want to reform, we should wait until next year. Now we must stabilize the place."
Wang Yuan explained: "I am not trying to make a general statement, but to change the taxation in kind to the collection of money. At present, silver coins and copper coins have been circulated in various provinces, but only part of the tax is paid in silver money, and the rest is still mainly taxation in kind. It is better to borrow
Taking advantage of the drought in eight provinces, starting next year, all local taxes will be converted into new money (silver dollars, new copper coins), so that local governments can have more breathing room."
Jiang Mian asked: "If all taxes on grain are changed to levy money, where will the grain come from every year?"
Wang Yuan said: "Retain the original collection of canals, along the Yangtze River, and some grain-producing areas. The grain collection in these places is enough to support 4 million stone grains per year."
The four cabinet ministers were silent for the time being, all thinking carefully about the pros and cons.
If we only retain the physical tax revenue from both sides of the Yangtze River and the canal, and some grain-producing areas, it will definitely save countless transportation costs, which will be a good thing for the country and the people, but it will hurt the interests of water transportation officials and soldiers.
Mao Ji asked: "Once the reform is completed, there will be at least 200,000 vacant canal soldiers and canal workers. How will the livelihood of these people be arranged?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "I'm afraid most of the canal soldiers and canal workers will have a better life."
Everyone was silent.
The truth is exactly as Wang Yuan said. It seems that the canal soldiers and canal workers have an iron job, but their life is very difficult. Even when there are no transportation tasks, they will be used by the water transport attachés to do private work. They work hard all year round but receive no wages.
, can only live on meager rations. It is a good thing not to transport rice. They can work and make money by themselves, which is a kind of liberation of human resources.
But what if you can’t find a job?
Moreover, before looking for a job, they must resolve their household registration issues. The household registrations of Caobing and Caogong are registered separately.
This is the key point, and it is also the original intention of officials when they say that "the food and clothing of millions of laborers depends on it."
Wang Yuan continued: "In areas where grain has been converted into money, a small number of cavalry soldiers and water workers will continue to be used for transportation tax money, and the rest will be converted into private households!"
"No," Jiang Mian reminded, "for Wang Shangshu, turning them all into civilian households is just a matter of one sentence. But for those Cao soldiers and Cao workers, they only have household registration, but they cannot be allocated land.
They will all become refugees. Suddenly there are two hundred thousand more refugees. What if Xiaoxiao raises his arms and does what Chen Sheng and Wu Guang did?"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "As long as the government no longer controls household registration, refugees will naturally become homeless."
"Nonsense," Yang Tinghe firmly objected. "If household registration is no longer restricted, how will the world's grain be collected?"
Wang Yuan said: "The most reasonable method should be to 'divide the grain into the mu'. But it is definitely impossible to implement the method of dividing the grain into the mu, so let's leave it alone for the time being. How to collect the grain grain, the local officials will figure it out by themselves. You just keep an eye on the household registration.
Is it easy to collect food?"
Yang Tinghe was speechless.
Dingliang is the head tax.
Kangxi said, "In prosperous times, wealth will grow, and taxes will never be increased." This does not mean that the country will not raise taxes, but that if a certain year is used as a quota, the new population in the future will no longer have to pay a head tax.
These eight words are pure nonsense. Even if the country wants to impose a poll tax, it will be difficult to do so. Local officials will not allow this to happen. The higher the statutory poll tax, the harder it will be for local officials to complete their tasks, so they take the initiative to conceal it.
It is always difficult to increase the number of people listed in the household registration register.
Yongzheng instituted a policy of "divide a person into an acre", which resulted in the cancellation of the head tax, and the country's population suddenly exploded. This does not mean that the real population is rolling upwards, but that the people and officials are willing to truthfully register the population.
.
There are three main types of head taxes in the Ming Dynasty, namely: Lijia silver, Junyao silver and Yanchao silver (there are other types of taxes, but they can be ignored).
Salt banknotes levy salt consumption tax based on population size, and this money needs to be handed over to the central government.
Wang Yuan's new salt law actually abolished the salt banknotes and calculated the consumption tax directly into the salt price. As a result, the retail salt price dropped. The difference was previously pocketed by private salt interest groups.
Lijia silver and Junyao silver do not need to be handed over to the central government. They are local fiscal revenue and are also an important source of gray income for the officials.
In order to avoid the head tax, a large number of illegal households were created across the country. The population of the Ming Dynasty did not increase much compared to the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Local officials and Lijia chiefs all apportioned randomly and did not act according to household registration. Yang Tinghe's worries were purely unnecessary.
Hundreds of years later, a scholar named Ma Boyong discovered a strange case from historical materials, which perfectly showed how confusing the Ming Dynasty's head tax was.
But he said that there was a man named Shuai Jiamo who worked as an accountant in Huizhou Prefecture. He discovered that the people in six counties of Huizhou were all counted as the people of She County, and the remaining five counties had not paid for two hundred years.
Pass.
Shuai Jiamo immediately went to court and reported the matter to the Metropolitan Procuratorate. After the news was leaked, Shuai Jiamo was hunted down and managed to escape back to his hometown.
A few years later, Shuai Jiamo returned to Huizhou to serve as an official again, and his official position became larger. Of course, he wanted to avenge his previous humiliation. The gentry and common people in the five counties united to resist taxes and surrounded the Huizhou government office. The matter continued to the central government. The court was
They were forced to reduce taxes and let the six counties share the tax equally. In order to alleviate the grievances of the five counties, Shuai Jiamo, who had provoked the incident, was dismissed from office and sent to the army.
If the local government levies a poll tax like this, no matter how well-established the household registration is, it will be of no use!
Wang Yuan continued: "Let's not ask about local states and counties, just take the city of Beijing as an example, how many illegal households are homeless? It would be better to relax the household registration restrictions, allow homeless people to exist, and let the locality of their household registration compile a homeless register. Within the province, homeless documents
, can be used as a road guide. And as long as the household registration is correct, the descendants of homeless people can also participate in the imperial examination."
Due to the social and economic development of the Ming Dynasty, a large number of farmers poured into the cities. This kind of people were called blind immigrants in the early days of New China, and later they were called migrant workers. In the Ming Dynasty, they were called "refugees" and "wanderers".
The homeless have no legal status. Even if they rent a house in the city, the landlord can exploit them at will. The homeless do not dare to report to the government because they are illegal households. Even if they register a legal household registration in the countryside, they will still be classified as illegal households in the city.
Yang Tinghe asked: "If a homeless person is registered, to whom will the grain be given?"
Wang Yuan replied: "You must have a valid household registration in the place where your household registration is located before you can be registered as a legal vagrant."
"That's okay," Yang Tinghe said, "You can establish a homeless register, but you can't force it, otherwise good governance will turn into bad governance."
Wang Yuan said with a smile: "Of course, reform must be carried out slowly, how can we achieve success in one step? But in this tax reform, some soldiers and workers have been converted into civilian households. The local government must formulate a vagrant register for them to ensure that they will
Legal livelihood, otherwise they will have no land and cannot go to the city to work, and there will definitely be a lot of trouble."
Wang Qiong suddenly reminded: "In the four provinces of South Zhili, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, silver is cheap and (copper) is expensive; in the three provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, (copper) is cheap and silver is expensive. If taxes are collected, it will be counted.
With new money, how can we stabilize the taxes payable in various places? Local officials will inevitably levy taxes on the most expensive, for fear of harming the people!"
This issue is very critical. One of the purposes of taxing and levying money is to reduce the burden on the people. However, the price of silver and copper varies from place to place, so trouble is bound to occur.
For example, in Zhejiang, where silver is cheap and copper is expensive, officials only want copper coins. Instead, people are not allowed to use silver dollars to pay taxes, causing silver dollars to be excluded from the tax payment currency.
Wang Yuan said: "The chief secretaries, governors, governors, and censors of each province will jointly agree on the discount. According to the market price situation, they will discuss it every three years and inform the whole province. State and county officials are not allowed to arbitrarily stipulate that people must pay silver or money.
"
"It's a solution." Wang Qiong nodded.
There is no need to mention "fire consumption is returned to the public", because when people pay taxes, they pay directly silver dollars or copper coins, which are official legal tenders. There is no fire consumption without melting silver.