Chapter 77 Both are dead ends, one is longer and the other is shorter
When he learned that his son had won a great victory and was promoted to the prefect of Huangzhou by the emperor himself, Shen Tingyang felt dizzy.
When he returned to his residence in the capital that night, his wife, concubines, and maids came to wait on him, and he was still a little distracted.
"Master, what's wrong with you? Don't scare us." His wife, Mrs. Xu, asked worriedly.
"Lin'er won a great victory in Huangzhou. His Majesty was overjoyed and promoted him to the post of magistrate of Huangzhou. The order has been sent to the cabinet to be drafted and will be issued after the court meeting the next day."
Shen Tingyang's chest was rubbed for a long time before he gasped and said,
"Place the wine! Let's set up ten tables and eight tables! I want to entertain my colleagues from the household department! Humph, those guys who originally wanted to propose marriage to my family at the beginning of the year, but later saw Lin'er going to be an official in a place where thieves were rampant, and were too busy to back down. , I regret it now.
He has become a fifth-grade prefect in his early twenties, and his future prospects are limitless. Heroes emerge from troubled times, and this is all earned through blood. Promotion is fast."
Mrs. Xu and her concubines were overjoyed after hearing this. Although Shen Shuren was not born to Mrs. Xu, she was just her stepmother, but it was always good for her family to be successful and they did not worry about competing for this little family property.
Mrs. Xu couldn't help but said: "What a great joy. Master, you have to have a good rest these days. Leave the rest to your servants to worry about. But you mentioned Lin'er's marriage, right? It's time for an urgent discussion.
At first, your colleagues were afraid that he was in danger and wanted to wait and see. We, too, do not remember the faults of villains. Now that Huangzhou has been completely pacified this time and the local area is safe, I believe that even the granddaughter of Chaozhong Pavilion will not Are you trying to prevent her from getting married with our family?"
Mrs. Xu didn't know much about national affairs, so she could only worry about gossip. When she heard her husband talk about her son's marriage, she immediately became excited, as if all the ladies in the world could pick and choose whatever she wanted like selling vegetables. of.
Shen Tingyang was relatively calm, but also felt that his wife was a bit too arrogant, so he coughed lightly:
"Don't get carried away. There are many fifth-grade magistrates in the world who have never married. Let's do our duty and don't climb too high. Those who can climb one and a half levels are enough.
Speaking of this matter, I remembered that when Mr. Jiang cross-examined me the day before yesterday, he asked me if my family had any close relationship with Fang Kongzhen's family, the governor of Huguang. He also suspected that Governor Fang had secretly discussed with my family to become in-laws. Otherwise, Governor Fang refused in order to cover up for Lin'er. Complaints by Zuo Liangyu and Yuan Jixian.
Alas, it would be great if this was true. The Fang family in Tongcheng could be regarded as a scholarly and famous family in the literary world. The three sisters and cousins of Governor Fang at that time were all known for their talents, learning, integrity, and purity of heart even after their husbands were widowed. Widowhood.
I heard that Huangyan's nephew married Governor Fang's niece, the daughter of his widowed cousin, and they were very peaceful and harmonious. I think Governor Fang's daughter would have better tutoring.
Later, he asked someone to prepare a heavy gift. After visiting Lin'er in Huguang, he sent it to Jingzhou Prefecture to have a chat with Governor Fang. He said that he was grateful for his justice. Lin'er was the same age as Fang Yizhi and had such a gift. We have a good friendship, maybe Governor Fang will consider it."
Mrs. Xu listened to her husband talking leisurely and fascinated, and she felt the same way at first. But later when her husband mentioned Governor Fang's three sisters and cousins, she became a little unhappy and vaguely jealous.
After all, these were people of the same generation as them, and her husband's words revealed his reluctance to "come from a wealthy businessman family and want to marry a leading literary family", which made her quite unhappy.
She thought for a while and tried her best to dissuade her and said:
"What's wrong with a woman who is talented and righteous? Peace and security are the blessings! Then the three sisters of the previous generation of the Fang family are all widowed. Maybe even the women of the Fang family are living in poverty! No matter what scholarly family background you have, you can't marry. This kind of thing! Our family still lacks a chastity memorial memorial!"
Shen Tingyang was a little frightened by such a rebuke, so he temporarily gave up the idea.
In the next few days, the Shen family held a banquet for guests, and Shen Tingyang also received a lot of compliments from his colleagues.
Many officials from the capital also handed over olive branches again and stuffed a bunch of birth dates of their daughters. Shen Tingyang all returned the gift, but they would not give the correct letter. He kept the birth dates first and slowly picked them up.
On the first day of December, after the regular court meeting, the cabinet voting process was completed and the promotion documents were officially issued.
Shen Tingyang also wrote a letter home for his son, and planned to send it to his family going south in a few days. It also mentioned the matter of proposing a marriage for him, and secretly attached some descriptive information, which was a little bit for his son. The right to choose.
Normal marriages in the Ming Dynasty were, of course, dictated by parents and matchmakers, and it was not up to the young people to make their own decisions.
Shen Shuren was promoted too quickly due to meritorious service, and his official rank was almost the same as that of his father. Shen Tingyang had no choice but to pamper him a little. He was given a range to choose from, but his parents still had to check the "shortlist of candidates" first.
…
After finishing this work, it was already the twelfth lunar month, and Shen Tingyang thought he would have some leisure time.
But on the second day of the twelfth lunar month, he was summoned again by Chongzhen on a whim, and he also asked Jiang Dejing to report to him.
Shen Tingyang murmured in his heart, and only after arriving at the place did he realize that it turned out that Chongzhen had thought carefully about it after he returned, and was very interested in the "Lijin Reform" he mentioned that day, and wanted to talk in detail.
Shen Tingyang complained slightly in his heart, knowing that the policy mentioned in his son's family letter was not yet ripe for implementation and would encounter a lot of resistance and backlash, but as of now, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.
That day, he was just asking for directions and finding an excuse to ask to see the emperor, so he took the risk to propose it in advance. He had no hope of being approved by the emperor.
After meeting the king again, Chongzhen briefly asked, "How much money can be made if this new policy is implemented?"
Chen Shuren could only answer truthfully: "Your Majesty, this measure of lijin is nominally only to provide escort and interrogation for business travelers from prefectures bordering the bandits or Tatars, and then it can be levied.
If it is rashly levied as a general commercial tax, it has no basis in the ancestral law and will be resisted by the gentry and bureaucrats all over the world. The annual commercial tax in our dynasty is only a small amount. The reason why it cannot be increased is because most of the businessmen have a gentry background. .
His Majesty's previous increase in three rates was mainly borne by farmers and poor people. These people had no one to complain to them in the court, so there was little resistance at the official level to implement the three rates.
Your Majesty wants to estimate how much money can be collected after the implementation of the Lijin method. I can only estimate the figure based on the waterway shipping and travel in the Yangtze River Basin and the northern border -
After the implementation of lijin in these two areas, based on the volume of goods passing through the border in previous years, an inspection fee of 1% (one percent) will be charged for each province passing through, which will yield approximately... three to four million taels per year. If the tax rate continues to increase, Or if the government, navy, and navy provide escort, and the fees are increased accordingly, the income can increase several times, but military costs will also skyrocket."
The number Shen Tingyang mentioned was basically not what he thought of himself, but was roughly calculated by Shen Shuren when he had a chat with his family friend.
Historically, it was not until the late Qing Dynasty that Zeng Guofan came up with this financial resource to organize and train the Hunan Army and the Huai Army in order to deal with the Taiping Army in the late Qing Dynasty. In the end, he did rely on this money to kill the Taiping Army.
Therefore, purely from the perspective of "not offending the peasants and ensuring that sufficient military expenditures are raised to deal with the peasant army", Lijin can indeed extend the life of a dynasty, but the side effects are also obvious.
After the Qing Dynasty implemented Lijin, and in the later stage of the counterattack against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the total income of Lijin reached more than 20 million taels a year, which was almost the same as the total of three rates in the late Ming Dynasty. Lijin exploited businessmen, while Sanrate exploited farmers. The Qing Dynasty succeeded in extending its life. It will not be continued tomorrow.
However, the population in the late Qing Dynasty was already more than 300 million, which is three times that of the Ming Dynasty today, and the number was only achieved after the lijin tax rate was increased many times. Now that the lijin tax is levied, dividing it by one-third and then cutting it in half is almost enough. Therefore, the new commercial tax in the Yangtze River Basin is only three to four million taels.
After hearing this number, Chongzhen was not too happy.
After all, the training rates levied last year amounted to seven to eight million taels, which is equivalent to twice the Lijin. Unless the Lijin increases the tax rate, it cannot replace the three rates.
As for the original business tax of the Ming Dynasty... the amount of large banknotes ranged from tens of thousands taels to hundreds of thousands taels every year, and the total amount was less than one million. It could only be regarded as pocket money. The Ming Dynasty did not rely on business at all. Tax work.
After thinking over and over again, Chongzhen sighed: "Then let's talk about the possible disadvantages once Lijin is implemented - let me guess, the first one to bear the brunt will be the same as the mine supervisors and tax supervisors. Are you going to boycott it and cause chaos in the south of the Yangtze River?"
Chongzhen had witnessed the rebellion against the tax supervisor Wei Zhongxian in Suzhou in the south of his brother's last years, and had also read the "Tombstones of Five Persons" written by Zhang Pu.
Although after he ascended the throne, he cleared those who resisted the tax supervisors by attacking Wei Zhongxian. But after more than ten years as emperor, he had actually been shaken in his heart many times. He understood many problems and missed those tax supervisors. , the benefits of mine supervision.
It was just because of the emperor's face that Qingliu held him hostage on the moral principle that "the emperor should not compete with the people for profit", so he could not step down.
However, Shen Tingyang's answer surprised him a little:
"Your Majesty...if it is implemented well and the scope of the pilot is properly controlled, the resistance Lijin will encounter may be much smaller than when the mine supervisors and tax supervisors were sent out during the Tianqi years. However, that will cause other harm to Lijin, and it must not be Don’t worry.”
Chongzhen raised his eyebrows: "Oh? How can we make Lijin suffer less resistance? What are the other dangers?"
Shen Tingyang gritted his teeth and picked out a few details he had discussed with his son when he wrote home:
"During the Tianqi years, the southern gentry resisted the mine supervisors and tax supervisors. On the one hand, the eunuchs were indeed plundering excessively and without any rules. Although they also expanded the financial resources of the court, at least sixty-seven out of ten fell into the hands of treacherous eunuchs and their henchmen.
Moreover, the collection of commercial taxes has always been coordinated by the imperial court. At that time, there was no rebellion in the south, and the common people and gentry felt that they were using their own money to subsidize the northerners, so they were resentful.
Today's situation is much more critical than during the Tianqi years. There is also rebellion in the south. Lin Chengcheng's tribe is close to Anqing and Luzhou, which is the boundary of southern Zhili. It is the six tribes of Nanjing and the wealthy gentry of Suzhou and Hangzhou. I feel like my home is being threatened.
If your Majesty imposes a new commercial tax and can earmark the money to suppress the bandits in the south, and use the three dollars saved to fight the war in the north, then the resistance of the southern gentry will naturally be reduced. After all, the money is used to defend them. My own home is no longer so contradictory.
However, the disadvantages of this measure are also obvious. Since the Song Dynasty, the imperial court has required local military and financial separation to prevent the separatist rule of vassal towns in the Tang Dynasty.
Although our dynasty has three local envoys, and the military garrison and financial power are in the hands of different frontier officials, when the war is really critical, I am afraid that strong men will appear and act arbitrarily. The interests and risks involved must not be careless. "
These words were analyzed by Shen Shuren and his father, and are based on his correct understanding of history——
After the Qing Dynasty used Lijin, they were not killed by the peasant army, but Zeng Guofan, Li Hongzhang, and Zuo Zongtang were unable to lose power after that, and became the mutual guarantee of the southeast. In the end, the southern region formed its own independent consciousness, and after sixty years of delay, the Qing Dynasty was still buried.
Once the Lijin strategy came out, it would definitely benefit the warlords who suppressed thieves in the south. In the future, there will definitely be "Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang" who protect and support the Ming Dynasty in Huguang.
But after the Ming Dynasty was saved, it was hard to say whether he would still listen to Chongzhen.
However, Shen Tingyang spoke so honestly and did not hide it at all. Chongzhen could not blame him for harboring evil intentions.
"This matter... let's discuss it again. For now, we can only acquiesce to Huangzhou to continue doing it. I won't praise it and I won't blame it. As for whether Huguang can implement it, let's see what the situation is like next year."
After struggling again and again, Chongzhen finally closed his eyes in pain and temporarily chose the drag formula.
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