Chapter 279 Sharpening the Knife to the Pigs and Sheeps
Xu Fanxue, Ding Guoen and other heads of the twelve major families in Hangzhou were sitting in the small reception hall of the governor's office. The tea was cold, but the governor did not send anyone to summon them.
After sitting for more than an hour, the tea was served once, and it was the cheapest kind of minced tea, not even high foam. As a tea king, Xu Fanxue didn't know that this was the cheapest kind of tea foam, which is the cheapest kind of tea foam in China.
It is sold to the porters on the roadside at the dock for a penny a pot, and there is often some salt added to it, and the pot can even be refilled.
This kind of tea leaves are the last remaining tea dregs from the Xu family's tea business, which can be disposed of cheaply.
The governor actually used it to entertain them.
What's even more annoying is that there is no one to add tea to the pot.
"Do you think the money we gave you is too little?"
Ding Guoen asked.
"Sixty thousand taels of silver is a lot." Xu Fanxue was also a little annoyed. This time, every family had suffered a large loss, and they could still use 60,000 taels of silver as a token of filial piety. This is already a sign of sincerity. Governor
I got fifteen thousand taels alone, what's there to be dissatisfied about?
"I heard that Governor Li used to lead the army, but his style was not very good. He was greedy for money and easy to grab." said Xu Jiazhen of the Xu family in Jindongqiao. The Xu family's main industry is silk weaving, and they own a large number of looms and silk workers. This time too
The biggest loss was that when the Ming army withdrew, their workshop and craftsmen were forcibly removed.
Although they said they would move to the Xujia Silk Weaving Factory in Zhoushan and jointly operate it with the royal family for mutual benefit, Xu Youzhen already regarded it as being taken away, and he did not dare to go to Zhoushan.
Fortunately, the Xu family is also a big business. They have industries not only in Hangzhou, but also in Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiangning and other places. They even bought a lot of land, mines, etc., and ran banks and pawnshops. Otherwise, most people would not
This was a failure.
A horizontal river divides Hangzhou into north and south halves, Qiantang County in the south and Renhe County in the north. Twelve major families are distributed across the river in the north and south.
After the Ming army briefly recaptured Hangzhou, they also implemented the New Deal, which included resetting taxes, apportioning people into acres, levying lijin, and introducing industrial and commercial taxes. After a lot of trouble, basically every family received reminders.
It listed the arrears they had accumulated over the years and required them to pay back huge amounts of unpaid taxes. In addition to land tax, labor service, miscellaneous items, etc., the largest amount was industrial and commercial taxes.
Among them, the Xu family, which runs tea, has to pay a huge amount of tea tax, the Ding family, which runs a cloth shop, etc., and the Xu family, which runs a silk weaving workshop, etc., all owe a lot of money anyway.
Fortunately, they left soon.
"Everyone, the Governor has summoned you, come with me."
A servant of the governor came in and spoke condescendingly to them.
Xu Fanxue also often dealt with these brats. He prepared a lot of scattered silver in advance and directly handed over two silver beans, one tael each.
"Oh, isn't this Xu Yuanwai from the largest family in Hangzhou? Thank you very much for the reward."
The waiter spoke very loudly, and Xu Fanxue cursed in his heart. He was such a greedy guy, so he had no choice but to take out three more silver beans.
The man grabbed five silver beans and tossed them around in his hand. After a while, he said, "Thank you, come with me."
They were led all the way to another hall, where Governor Li Yuchun was sitting. In addition, there were Governor Pan Yinglou, Admiral Zheng Jiwu, the newly appointed Chief Envoy Zhu Guofan, and the original recommendation officer Xu Hua, who was now appointed by Mr. Yan.
There was also an envoy who patrolled Zhejiang, and he was also the former fellow magistrate Wang Bingjian who had accompanied Zhu Guofan to kill Tian Xiong and open the city to surrender.
In the original Ming Dynasty, Zuochunfang Zuozhongyun Chen Zhilin, and Huo Ying, the former censor of Susong, were assigned to guard and patrol in Hangzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou.
Everyone was sitting there, which made Xu Fanxue and others who came in feel very unnatural, and even looked frightened.
"sit!"
"There is a report letter here in the headquarters, saying that someone had previously liaised with the enemy camp, secretly smuggled money, food, equipment, etc. from eastern Zhejiang, and cooperated with outsiders to lead the Ming army into the city..."
"I see all the names of the princes are on it. What's going on?"
Li Yuchun's words shocked Xu Fanxue and others and sent chills down their backs. They had just given away a large sum of money, so why are they still being accused of collaborating with the enemy?
"Your Excellency, you are wronged!"
Governor Pan Yinglou answered at this time, "Whether it is wronged or not, the Governor will naturally send people to check carefully to ensure that a good person will not be wronged and a bad person will not be let go."
"I have another thing to ask you."
"This is a list issued by the Hangzhou government office. It lists in detail the amount of money and food arrears that each of your families should pay but have not yet paid. It is very shocking."
"Now that Hangzhou is newly restored, everything is in ruins, the autumn grain has not been harvested, and the soldiers and civilians are hungry. As the twelve largest noble families in Hangzhou, do you also want to take the lead and pay this money and food to help with temporary emergencies?"
After speaking, Pan Yinglou handed the list to Xu Fanxue and others for review.
Xu Fanxue felt strange and almost fainted after finishing reading.
Isn't this the same mess that the Ming army did after they occupied Hangzhou?
Why is the Qing Dynasty now using this list to ask for food from them?
"Master Futai, please allow the students to report that there is a misunderstanding here. This is a list that those thieves made indiscriminately to blackmail us after they captured the city."
"Really? But why do I think this is justified when I look at it? It lists in detail how many fields you have, how many people you have, and then how much tax you should pay every year, and how much you pay every year.
Isn’t it clear how much is owed and how much is the total?”
"What's wrong?"
Xu Fanxue and others complained endlessly, even saying that they were wronged, saying that it was all a matter of the previous dynasty, and that it was all false. They also said that the taxes in this column were not in line with those collected by the previous dynasty, etc.
Li Yuchun slapped the table.
"In the previous dynasty and the new dynasty, it was only natural and natural to pay back debts. You have not paid the taxes that you should pay. It is also natural and natural to pay now. Please pay the money and food according to the order."
"Who dares to refuse to pay? My knife is not a vegetarian."
"Mr. Governor, there is something wrong with this list."
"I don't care about your sophistry. Now I only know that Zhejiang has no money and no food, and the soldiers and people are hungry. Soon the Manchurians will go south to station in Hangzhou, and they will have to build the whole city by then. How can we supply food without money?"
Li Yuchun did not discuss with them the privileges and exemptions for the gentry, the original tax rates, and this and that. Instead, he took the payment slip issued by the Ming army before they left to collect the taxes of the Qing Dynasty.
Even an additional 30% of the tax amount was added to the tax amount to be used as public expenses for the local military and yamen in Zhejiang.
"Don't forget the three additional taxes. An additional three cents of silver per acre of land is required. This is an additional levy imposed by the imperial court."
The three rates per tael per mu will still be levied at an additional 30% cost.
Originally, the reminder orders issued by the Ming army to Xu Fanxue's families were to check back on the arrears of twenty years, especially the huge amount of unpaid industrial and commercial taxes and land taxes over the years.
Now Li Yuchun, Pan Yinglou and others were short of money and food, and they did not dare to cross the river to rob the Ming army, so they attacked these wealthy families.
Take the tax reminder issued by the Ming Dynasty, and don't forget to add three wages, expenses, etc.
"The land tax must be paid in natural rice, not in silver."
Xu Fanxue and others were dumbfounded.
"Pay it within ten days, otherwise your home will be confiscated and the tax will be deducted!"
Xu Fanxue and others complained endlessly. Where could they get food now? Food in Zhejiang was so expensive, and all the food in western Zhejiang was taken away by the Ming army. They had no rice to cook with, so they all bought high-priced rice on the black market.
But Li Yuchun doesn't care about that. It doesn't matter whether you go to eastern Zhejiang to buy food or to grab food in eastern Zhejiang. You have to hand over the food to me, otherwise your home will be confiscated.
Xu Fanxue's head was buzzing, and even the fake braid on the back of his head was extremely heavy, almost dragging him down. He regretted it now. If he had known now, he would have been so happy to welcome the Qing army to regain Hangzhou.
, what kind of fun is it to collect money as a meeting gift?
