The main source of finance in the Eastern Han Dynasty has always been taxation, including population tax, commercial tax, and a small amount of land tax and industrial tax, which was commonly known as the Shanze Fish and Salt City Tax at the time.
However, compared with the tens of billions of fiscal taxes each year, even more huge are the annual expenditures and additional costs.
The bulk of this is the salary of officials all over the world, which accounts for half of the fiscal revenue.
Even after several rulers such as Emperor Guangwu, Emperor He of the Han Dynasty, and Empress Dowager Deng reduced their salaries several times, and they "conducted economy, eliminated official posts, and reduced salaries," it was still a huge expense.
Therefore, local officials have to withhold more than half of the annual fiscal revenue, which is the salary reserved for local officials at all levels. The money in Da Sinong's treasury will definitely be more than that of Shaofu and Shui Hengwei. This is because this money is fundamental and can be used as soon as it is used.
The world is in chaos.
But since the death of Empress Dowager Deng, the frugality of the Eastern Han Dynasty has completely disappeared. Emperor An of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty were all famous for being fatuous emperors, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty was also in the same line. They spent money like water and had no sense of moderation.
The rulers were extravagant and extravagant, and domestic and foreign troubles continued. During the Yongchu period of Emperor He of the Han Dynasty, the Longyou Xiqiang rebellion lasted for 11 years, and a full 24 billion and a half baht was spent to quell the rebellion.
In the early years of Emperor Ling, the Eastern Qiang rebelled. The world only saw the glorious achievements of Sanming in Liangzhou, but not the court's military expenditure of 4.4 billion.
Then on the Xianbei side, a powerful leader Tan Shihuai appeared, and he repeatedly went south to invade the border. Then came the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the Xiliang Rebellion, the Liaodong Rebellion, the southeast, northwest, and the Han Dynasty. It never stopped, and the world was full of chaos.
To fight.
Although compared to the original history, today's Eastern Han Dynasty court is much richer due to its wealth, but Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty has returned to his extravagant behavior, spending money everywhere. The finances are getting worse, and the Shaofu and Shui Hengwei's money
It is falling at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Since the emperor decided to send the Northern Army to conquer Xianbei, not to mention the military expenditure, the logistical supply expenditure alone is not a small amount. Coupled with the newly-built Southern Army and the rewards from this grand military parade, it is difficult to see the Qian Si and Shui Heng Wei
The warehouse needs rats.
The next day, Shaofu Fan Ling and Shuiheng Captain Zhao Wu went to Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty to cry out.
"Your Majesty, I really have no money."
In the Yutang Hall, the heating was scorching, and Zhao Wu spoke concisely and to the point.
Fan Ling said with a bitter face: "The Forbidden Money Department only has less than 500 million yuan, and it still needs to support the Northern Army in the campaign against Xianbei."
After hearing what the two said, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty said in astonishment: "Weren't there more than two billion a few days ago?"
Fan Ling and Zhao Wu looked at each other and wondered, "How come you, the emperor, are so amnesiac that you have forgotten the major expenditures of the Northern and Southern armies?"
Although he was slandering in his heart, he did not dare to say it out loud, so Fan Ling could only explain: "The Northern Army is fighting, and the Southern Army is building new buildings, which all require money, plus this military parade..."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty pondered: "How long can we hold on?"
"The daily expenses of the Northern Army are approximately more than 4 million yuan, plus the daily expenses of the royal family and other expenses. In less than three months, the money of the Shaofu will be empty."
"March?"
"At most three months."
This is the result of Fan Ling's careful calculation.
Although the Northern Army only sent 30,000 people, there were still 10,000 people on Dingyuan's side, and there were 40,000 fighting soldiers.
Ancient wars do not mean that you only have 40,000 soldiers. When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty fought against the Xiongnu, the total number of cavalry and infantry was 200,000, but there were more than 500,000 logistics personnel. All of them also had to eat.
Therefore, the Northern Army's infantry, cavalry, and logistics auxiliaries totaled more than 100,000 people, and they had to eat more than 10,000 shi of food every day, which was very expensive.
Da Sinong's money is in charge of the salaries of officials all over the world and the expenditures that need to be used in various places, such as droughts, floods, and earthquakes. Money must be spent to subsidize local people or rebuild disaster areas, and cannot be touched lightly.
Therefore, the money for the war and royal palace expenses had to be paid from the Shaofu and Shui Hengwei.
Last year, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty spent extravagantly and renovated a lot of palaces. He originally collected a lot of taxes and the world was much more stable.
However, they continued to attack Xiliang and Liaodong, and the military expenditure was not small. Now they are attacking Xianbei, and they have generous rewards during the military parade. It's pitiful, and it's not Fan Ling's lie. There really isn't much money left.
When a lazy person spends money, he doesn't worry about where the money comes from. He only panics when he has no money. After hearing what Fan Ling and Zhao Wu said, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty panicked and asked Zhang Rang, Zhao Zhong, Jian Shuo and other regular attendants.
They looked at each other, and after a while they said, "I understand, you go ahead."
"I excuse myself."
Fan Ling and Zhao Wu walked backwards and left with small steps.
After the two of them left, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty looked at Zhang Rang and said, "Have I spent so much recently? How come I only have this little money left over 2 billion."
Zhang Rang was embarrassed to expose Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty. Not to mention the more than one billion to build the palace, but just to talk about the fields and houses he bought in his hometown in Hebei. They were bought for 100,000 acres. The money was spent like water. How could he not only buy it?
What little money is left?
However, as an eunuch, of course he would not slap the emperor in the face, but said: "As the emperor, your majesty is rich all over the world, but in such a big country, there will always be people with ulterior motives who commit rebellion. One spends money to quell the rebellion, and the other spends money."
To support the people, money is needed everywhere, so it is natural to spend money faster."
Zhang Rang helped him find an excuse, and Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Father Rang is right, it turns out that I am not spending money, but the country's normal expenses."
If Chen Mu were here, he would probably scold these two shameless people for being so good at making excuses.
But no matter how many excuses you make, running out of money is still a problem.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty thought for a moment and said, "It's almost the end of the year. How should we determine taxes this year?"
Zhang Rang said: "Zi Gui said that we can only harvest less this year, not more."
"no."
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty shook his head: "In the past years, the world was peaceful and there was no turmoil. This year, we are fighting everywhere and forming new armies. If we don't collect enough, we will be stretched and unable to support it. It's still the same as in previous years, a hundred dollars per mu."
"this......"
Zhang Rang hesitated and said, "Do you want to ask Zigui for his opinion?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty said: "I have asked him a long time ago. He has no way to withdraw money for the time being. He can only collect the tax one last time this year. Since he has to collect it, he will naturally have to collect it."
How can it be the same as in previous years after a big harvest?"
"Oh well."
Zhang Rang bit the bullet and agreed, knowing that he and Shi Chang would probably be blamed for this.
But there is no way, who made them just to take the blame?
In September of the fifth year of Zhongping, the last court meeting was held.
This court meeting caused an uproar, and the whole court was shaken inside and outside.
The Emperor has been collecting taxes for three years, and in the first year the income states were Jingzhou and Yangzhou. Since the other eight states did not pay taxes, he fully supported this policy.
Three to eight, the powerful bureaucratic representatives from Yizhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou could only hold their noses and admit it.
In the second year, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty collected taxes from Jizhou, Yuzhou, and Xuzhou.
Another three to eight.
Yizhou, Jingzhou and Yangzhou are both vested interests this time and victims of last year. Representatives of the powerful landlords and bureaucrats in the three places danced harder than anyone else. As loud as their opposition was last year, they will be louder in support this year.
As a result, in the third year, that is, 187, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty collected the taxes from Liangzhou, Youzhou, and the five states of Qingzhou, and this time it became 4:7, because Qingzhou was Chen Mu's territory and supported this policy.
By this time, no matter how stupid the powerful officials in the world and the officials of the Manchu Dynasty were, they knew that they had been tricked by the emperor. This was to take turns collecting their originally hidden taxes.
By the fifth year of Zhongping this year, that is, 188, since the beginning of the year, voices opposing the collection of land taxes and the restoration of population taxes have been rising one after another, and memorials have been issued every day.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty also asked Chen Mu about this. Chen Mu's suggestion was to collect it one last time, but with a tax reduction, so that it would become 50, 40, and 30 yuan per mu.
It is also said that the top-grade good land yields 50, the average mediocre land yields 40, and the inferior and inferior land yields 30. This is still very average.
In this way, even if the world tax is imposed again, the annual revenue will still be 20 billion, which is about the same as before.
But even so, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty should be satisfied, because it is much better than before when he collected less than 10 billion taxes every year.
You must know that during the Guangwu period, the population was 20 billion per year. Now, after so many years of concealing the population, it has been reduced by half. Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty could not make ends meet, so he tried every means to make money.
Chen Mu's policy is completely normal tax collection and does not harm farmers. It is a typical good policy, but it cannot be applied as a sustainable policy.
It's a pity that Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty knew the taste of food and did not listen to Chen Mu's advice to stop at the right time. The so-called loyal words that are hard on the ears are not like this.
Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, who had calmed down a little and agreed to let go because of Chen Mu's persuasion, decided to get a big one after he found that his money was not enough again. He might as well charge 100 yuan per acre for all the fields in the world.
I don’t believe that those powerful landowners can still turn things upside down.
For this reason, despite the overwhelming opposition from the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty insisted on going his own way. In October of this year, the day of the autumn harvest, he started an annual large tax.
Each county sent eunuchs and Xiyuan troops to force the governors of various places, and the governor urged local tax collection, and strictly investigated whether the local powerful people had concealed their population and fields. Although the population tax was exempted, the servants of the powerful landlords' families were not included in this, and they still
Have to pay money.
A powerful man with a family of 30,000 acres of land and a thousand slaves would have to pay more than five million yuan. If the powerful man had no other income, the five million yuan would be almost one-tenth of his property. It can be said that
It's a heavy tax.
Don’t think that the money of powerful landlords comes from strong winds. Many powerful landlords don’t have that much liquidity in their hands. Most of it is property and land. If you happen to invest all the money in business, you will have to pay taxes at this time.
If so, we can only sell the land in our hands to make up for the shortfall.
It's just that the time for Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty to collect taxes every year was after the autumn harvest. At this time, powerful landowners with a manor economy as their theme had a lot of food in their homes. Food was money at that time, but the eunuchs did not buy it at the current market price, but at the lowest price in previous years.
price acquisition.
As a result, the powerful people will suffer more losses. For this reason, there is a lot of complaints about the tax collection this year. Officials all over the court are going crazy. They are running to the palace in piles. All kinds of memorials are flying to the Chancellor's desk like snowflakes.
At this time, Chen Mu handed in his resignation and prepared to go home without work.