Chapter 760 Emperor Yuanfu cannot be seen
Feng Baoyou was quite helpless sometimes.
The Imperial Institute of Science and Technology has made great progress in science and technology, and to express auspiciousness to His Majesty, it came up with a vague formula. Feng Bao didn't understand it, and Shen Li didn't understand it either. The more conditions that support a certain phenomenon occur, the more conditions that support a certain phenomenon occur. The greater the possibility of this phenomenon being true, it makes my scalp tingle when I hear it.
But His Majesty just applied the arithmetic formula that was like a book of heaven to the tax collection. Now, not to mention Shen Li, even Xiao Huangmen, who had not read the book for a few days, knew what this formula was. Got it.
All I can say is that His Majesty is doing everything he can to make money. He is truly gifted!
What kind of emperor there is, what kind of subordinates there are. Zhang Hong immediately noticed the problem. The Ming Dynasty was developing rapidly. He screened the words with the highest frequency in each case file. The statistical samples here were too long to be accurate for the current situation. , unable to form real guidance, so Zhang Hong proposed to select three years of case files for screening.
The emperor heard that the 'conditions' were screened every three years, and the final result was a more accurate and professional tax tax collector.
"Well, not bad." Zhu Yijun leaned back in his chair and said with satisfaction. The Taxation Institute has finally grown into what he wanted, and Ming Dynasty's tax reform has finally taken an extremely important step.
Feng Bao said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the powerful right-wingers are probably going to scold you. Arithmetic formulas and the like should be used more appropriately in increasing horsepower, miniaturization, weight reduction, and materials science. You can't use everything. Come, use it for tax collection.”
"The cabinet also has some complaints about this matter."
Feng Bao expressed his opinions and the opinions of the cabinet very carefully. Just as Zhu Zaiyu said, the emperor of the Celestial Kingdom spends all his time worrying about money and spending every penny. This is a bit too much. Everything has been done. Head, it will become a big trouble.
No matter how you put it, the powerful and powerful people are also His Majesty's people.
"Feng Banban, I don't like money. You see, I have accumulated 30 million silver in my internal funds. I built the Longchi Road. When I spread it out, did you blink your eyes?" Zhu Yijun was in a very good mood. He looked at Feng Bao said very seriously: "I just like power. Since the Jiajing period, Ming Dynasty has always wanted to be great again."
“But if you don’t have money, you have no power.”
Zhu Yijun picked up the first label and said: "The first of these seven labels is Qianqing. In the 1,700 files, the word Qianqing has appeared 1,400 times, and in the past three years The number of occurrences in the files has decreased.”
"I don't use any means. Are these powerful people who own the means of production willing to pay taxes? No, even if thousands of Tiqi families have been sent to the county, they still refuse."
"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Bao was silent for a moment, feeling that His Majesty was right.
"What will replace it? Sea trade." Zhu Yijun picked up the second tag and said solemnly: "I originally thought that the emerging bourgeoisie created since the opening of the sea in Wanli, as vested interests, would be willing to Pay taxes to ensure the continuation of the policy of opening up the sea. Government is achieved through bribery. Without the navy, there will be no stable business environment. ”
"But the fact is completely contrary to my expectations. The emerging capitalist class is also evading taxes."
As the emperor, Zhu Yijun felt betrayed. For the emperor, betrayal cannot be tolerated and there must be a way to deal with it!
Feng Bao looked at the second label, sighed and said, "Isn't that right? After sorting out the case files, Mr. Lian was silent for a long time. To be reasonable, shouldn't the emerging bourgeoisie be more willing to pay taxes? As a result, on the contrary, They escaped with the largest amount of money.”
"Your Majesty, I am stupid."
If you only look at the files of the past three years, you will find that maritime trade has become the hardest hit area for tax evasion, with the largest number of occurrences and the largest amount of tax evasion. According to the estimation of Da Situ, the Ming Dynasty had a clear understanding of the customs issue, and even Agriculture-related taxes can be directly significantly reduced or even eliminated to stimulate agricultural production.
Feng Bao really doesn’t understand!
It is clear that His Majesty's comprehensive opening of the sea has brought so much money to the maritime merchants on the southeast coast. Even the past 6% tax has to be evaded. I am afraid that this tax increase will have to be evaded again.
Zhu Yijun sat up straight and said: "In the first volume of Class and the second volume of Distribution, Mr. Zhu believed that the contradictions between various classes can be reconciled. As long as the distribution is done well, class contradictions can be adjusted."
"Is this really the case? Since the Wanli Restoration, practice has told us that it is indeed the case. I, my companions, my husband, the cabinet, ministers, and foreign officials have used countless means to achieve better distribution and seem to have adjusted the various The contradiction between classes prevents everyone from destroying each other in the conflict. ”
"I've done a good job, and there are fewer people criticizing you."
"But have you noticed what we were distributing in the past? In terms of increments of distribution, fellow comrades of the Wanli Reform used their best means to ensure fairness in distribution. In fact, what was allocated was increments, not stocks. .”
"To give the simplest example, returning farmland, how difficult is it to execute it? For fourteen years, we only dared to return farmland in Songjiang Prefecture. Returning farmland in Zhejiang is still my punishment. There are only five places where we can return farmland. This is the government office where the shipping department is located, because other places do not have this condition.”
"What are the conditions? The fields can no longer provide a production surplus of sufficient value and have become dispensable means of production. Only then can they be redistributed to poor coolies to farm the fields to support the development of the handicraft industry."
"Is it possible to make money by farming? If you can make money by farming, it won't be farmers' turn to farm."
This is not arithmetic, this is the basic logic of politics. Feng Bao knows nothing about arithmetic, but he is too proficient in government affairs. What His Majesty said is all reality. The Wanli Restoration and making the Ming Dynasty great again seems to be a lie, because even if he is wise Your Majesty, for example, is very taboo about stock allocation.
"The stock cannot be distributed." Feng Bao understood what His Majesty was saying. He sighed and said, "The newly cooked rice can be given to the poor people. The idea of allocating the stock is like expecting It’s as ridiculous as cutting a piece of flesh from a cat and feeding it to a mouse.”
The cat has already eaten the rice and turned it into meat. Could it be that the cat bites a piece of its own meat and gives it to the mouse? This is nothing but a fantasy!
The ruling class controls the political power, the army, technology, the means of production, and the law. However, it is unrealistic for the ruled class to ask the ruling class to cut off its flesh to distribute the stock. In any political framework, struggle without violence cannot be achieved. Arrived.
Zhu Yijun continued: "Sir, this is the reason why I object to the third volume."
“After the third volume of struggle appeared, when discussing struggle, we were surprised to find that in the past we believed that the contradictions between classes could be adjusted. This was a fundamental mistake. Struggle does not change according to people’s will. Irreconcilable and cannot even be concealed through development.”
"There are two reasons."
“Because of the increase in development, even if we as the ruling class try our best to distribute it fairly, it still cannot be absolutely fair, and in many cases absolute fairness is the biggest injustice. Some people contribute more and others contribute less. Those who contribute less will be the same as those who contribute more, then no one will be willing to contribute.”
“Moreover, history has repeatedly told us that no group, including the country and the dynasty, can continue to flourish and bring incremental increases that can meet the needs of distribution. Even the incremental distribution itself has a huge gap and can only meet the needs of distribution. Some people.”
The third natural inference that Zhang Juzheng strongly opposed is the inference that the Ming Dynasty must perish. What Zhu Yijun said is the principle logic. Only increments can be allocated, the unfairness of increments allocation, and the cyclical restrictions on development have all caused class conflicts. The contradictions and struggles between them are irreconcilable, and they eventually destroy each other and are reborn in the ruins.
As a traditional Confucian scholar, Zhang Juzheng felt that the fundamental reason for the periodicity of the dynasty was the concentration and distribution of land. But when he saw the third corollary, he saw the greatest horror. Land is not the root. It's a struggle of interests.
The dynastic cycle is irreversible and a historical necessity. This is the most desperate part.
"Your Majesty, why don't you take back the third volume and burn it..." Feng Bao said sincerely. The third volume makes people a little desperate. Since death is inevitable, what's the use of Your Majesty's troubles? Readers can only see despair from the third volume.
"Look at you, you are in a hurry." Zhu Yijun shook his body and said: "Since conflicts and struggles cannot be reconciled and cannot be covered up, we should face them head-on. If the increase is not enough, we will try every means to increase the increase, plunder, and open up frontiers. Expand the territory to occupy land, minerals, ports, and water sources.”
"I am not afraid of being called an executioner."
"If that's not enough, use violent means to distribute and resolve conflicts. If the contradictions are irreconcilable, use violent means to resolve them! Choose the majority and abandon the minority."
"The more you run away, the sooner the world will fall apart. The more you face it head-on, the later it will be."
Zhu Yijun's answer seems to be wrong, but in fact it completely explains Feng Bao's question, why the emerging bourgeoisie has become the class that evades the most taxes and the most powerful tax evasion, because they want to expand their economic advantages, improve their social status, and obtain a higher political position.
The tax collection institute's more efficient and professional tax collection is the violence of the emperor.
A total of seven labels that appeared most frequently were sent by the emperor to the Fusi Tax Inspection Institute in Beizhen.
Soon, Beiya carried out a pilot based on these seven labels. Within three days, it accurately located three companies with huge tax evasion, and the total amount of tax audited was as high as 123,000 silver.
One of the three families committed the crime for the first time, one committed the crime again, and one of the three committed the crime unintentionally because they did not buy the zodiac tax stamps, and part of the accounts were not settled clearly.
The battle at the Bei Ya Taxation Court can be said to have frightened the powerful right-wingers in the entire Bei Ya. All these powerful right-wingers went to the houses of Shuntian Prefecture. Even if they paid taxes, they were willing to let thousands more tax collectors. We need to audit it carefully to prevent mistakes. The tax stamp quota of the Beizhen Fusi Tax Inspection Institute has been short-sold, so we can only ask the Ministry of Household Affairs for an increase.
The tax inspector's right to avoid death is only available twice. The first time you pay back, the second time you are fined, and the third time you have to confiscate your home! This is also the principle of His Majesty's work. Repeat it again and again and not three times. Once or twice it was not intentional. The third time you said you were not treasonous?
The Tax Inspection Institute will not tell you about benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom, and trust. If you say your home is confiscated, earthworms will split it in half.
Conflicts are irreconcilable and violence is the only way to resolve them. Once conflicts are allowed to spread, it will cause violent social unrest.
Zhu Yijun has a strong political sense of responsibility, and he will not let go of any blame. He violently collects taxes. He does it openly, despite the opposition of the cabinet, and never hides it. He can scold him, but he cannot refuse to pay.
Taxation is the source of national defense, education, technological progress, basic public construction, and major project investment, and is the main means of redistribution between the country and the dynasty.
In the Wenyuan Pavilion, the four cabinet ministers Zhang Juzheng, Wang Chonggu, Shen Li, and Wang Guoguang finally finished handling today's general affairs, posted the floating notes, and sent them to the Supervisor of Ceremonies.
"That old man Wan carries a cage and walks the birds around all day long, but he has a lot of time to hide. I'm older than him, and I'm still working here!" Wang Chonggu said angrily. Wan Shihe became an official and his life is more leisurely. When I came down, I was accompanied by a great medical officer, and my body became healthier. I either went to the Qianmen Tower to listen to the opera, or walked the birds, which really made Wang Chonggu envious.
"Wang Cifu, seventy is the right age to break through!"
"Uncle Wan Zong seems to be in good spirits now. That means he has put down his ordinary duties and doesn't have to work hard. If he really returns to the cabinet, he will fall ill within a few days. Uncle Wan Zong is not as strong as Wang Cifu. ." Shen Li said with a smile.
Wang Chonggu was a Jinshi, but he was also a Jinshi who was able to pick up a sword and killed Japanese pirates and northern captives. He was in good health and used the Seven Star Ring Head Sword very well. Zhang Juzheng said with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, Li Kaifang's formula, isn't it a bit too hasty?"
"The ancestors established the law." Shen Li said calmly.
Shen Li is now the top ruling class of the Ming Dynasty. Even if he is not corrupt and bends the law, just as a cabinet minister, he can be kind to his descendants. For example, Shen Li's hometown has three oil press shops and seven bookstores. No matter how bold the local government is, it can't be easy to use clever names. Don't dare to take it to their house.
The corner of Wang Guoguang's mouth twitched and he said dullly: "Uncle Shen Zong, our ancestors established the law, so you can't talk nonsense."
This Shen Li is better at ancestral law than Wan Shihe. He used the Guo Huan case to solve the legal issues of the Taxation Court from the very beginning, giving the cheap Confucians a hard time. This can still be ancestral law. ?
Shen Li took out a book of true records and said: "This is the sixty-first volume of the true records of Xuanzong. On Wuwu day of the first month of the fifth year of Xuande, the Procuratorate of the Ministry of Punishment impeached the court. When the world came to court, the Chief Secretary, the Chief Secretary, the Fuzhou Xian and other yamen , officials are absent from duty and have to pay more than 80 million dan in taxes and grain. Tens of thousands of people have not finished their official duties. They are all here for pilgrimage. Please pay the judge to punish them. "
"The superior was very angry and said: I have always thought that I was too strict with my subordinates, and I might have lost control. Therefore, I have to forgive everything, but now I am slacking off. How can I forgive my mistakes!"
"Eighty million dan in arrears in taxes!"
Wang Guoguang suddenly became energetic and asked in disbelief: "How much? How much do you owe?!"
"Eighty million stones." Shen Li handed over the record and said in amazement: "In the first year of Hongxi, Emperor Renzong exempted the previous tax arrears. This is the debt saved in the five years from the first year of Xuande to the fifth year of Xuande." Tax, 80 million stones!”
Wang Guoguang took a breath of cold air, which made the weather in Daming Xiaoglacier ease a little. August 15th was still the Mid-Autumn Festival, but Wang Guoguang had already begun to tremble. He immediately said loudly: "Taxes must be collected! Use everything you can to collect taxes." All means must be taxed! No way!”
The taxes owed during the Yongle period were all forgiven by Emperor Renzong in the first year of Hongxi. Emperor Renzong was worthy of his character of benevolence.
Shen Li continued: "If you look back, tax collection began in the fifth year of Xuande. Emperor Xuanzong demanded that all the 80 million stones must be owed, which affected all the yamen of the Thirteenth Division and tens of thousands of officials were dismissed."
Emperor Xuanzong was not gentle and benevolent. His uncle Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, who had made great contributions during the crisis, was beheaded by his entire family, and his staff and three clans were also executed by the clan.
Although the actual record is vague and does not explain how the tax was collected, in the end, most of the 80 million stone debt was recovered. Only the prefects of Suzhou Prefecture and Songjiang Prefecture were beheaded in public and remain in the true record.
Wang Guoguang watched for a long time, saw the result, and then said: "In March of the eighth year of Xuande, it was said: The military expedition has its quota, but the people's strength is complete, and the officials are no more than fifty-sixth of ten years old, and they are of no importance. The name "Lian" actually means that he has lost the general, and it is just a warning."
From the fifth year of Xuande's fifth year to March of the eighth year of Xuande's reign, the three-year-old pending case came to an end. The storm of debt recovery during these three years did not leave much ink in the history books, but one can imagine how big the storm was.
Emperor Xuanzong finally concluded: The taxation has no real meaning. The people have paid it and actually paid the tax. As a result, only five or six tenths of them are in the government offices. It is just a false name for excessive taxation and has not fallen into any reality. It should be cited by future generations. As a warning, don't do such stupid things again.
Of course, later even the tax base shrank, and by the Hongzhi period, half of the land used to collect taxes had been cut down.
Shen Li said very clearly: "Your Majesty has been very kind. He is training tax collectors with excellent professional qualities. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong. On the contrary, I think your Majesty is wise. What does Yuan Fu think?"
"Let me take a look." Zhang Juzheng took the record and flipped through it for a long time before putting it down and saying, "Then there is no need to report the tax collection. Your Majesty's decision is very good."
"I just feel that the Wanli Reform has been going on for fourteen years and the national funds are sufficient. There is no need to be so arrogant about spending money. After all, we are the Kingdom of Heaven. It is my fault that Your Majesty is so arrogant about spending money."
It's a bit embarrassing for an emperor to try his best to scatter silver coins all day long. Your Majesty is the Emperor of Ming Dynasty and is supreme. It's a bit disgraceful to compete with money. If this continues, the Ming Emperor's greed for money will become an international joke.
But it seems that it is more embarrassing and disgraceful to still owe 80 million yuan in taxes and have nothing to do with it, and it is more likely to become an international joke.
Because in March of the eighth year of Xuande, Emperor Xuanzong issued an order to exempt more than 20 million shi in arrears in taxes. Emperor Xuanzong fought with all the ministers for three years and only recovered 60 million. The remaining arrears could not be recovered, so he just fooled around. It's over.
Judging from the results, Emperor Xuanzong lost, because the Ming Dynasty later became increasingly unable to collect taxes.
"Struggle Volume: Any struggle is a matter of life and death. Any compromise based on the illusion of satisfying everyone's needs is digging your own grave." Shen Li further added.
Don't have any unrealistic illusions about compromise. This is the expression of determination in struggle in the struggle volume. The core issue must not be compromised. Compromise cannot be exchanged for tolerance for the country, but can only be exchanged for humiliation and loss.
If you want to talk about the ancestral law, you can't just talk about the ancestral law, but also talk about the present. This is the difference between Shen Li and Wan Shihe. The third volume published by His Majesty Zhu Zhongxing is of great reference value.
Wang Chonggu coughed slightly and said: "Shen Zongbo, in the future, the cabinet should not mention the contents of the third volume. Just use it and don't say it. Emperor Yuanfu cannot read the third volume."
Zhang Juzheng really didn't want to see the third volume of struggle. He always felt that it was a volume of national subjugation. As a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, he didn't want to see it, even in theory.
"Okay." Shen Li smiled, but he didn't really care. Over time, Shen Li also understood Zhang Juzheng's temper. As long as he didn't oppose the Wanli Reform, he was not an enemy.
Opponents are not all enemies, which is very important, because it is unfortunate to be Zhang Juzheng's enemy. This is a fact that has been proven time and again. Zhang Juzheng allows opponents to exist, and they can oppose what they say and what they do.
For example, Hai Rui opposed Zhang Juzheng's distrust of the Metropolitan Procuratorate and his overreaching when the system of the Tax Inspection Yuan was being improved.
Shen Li said solemnly: "Recently, I took over the compilation of the overseas chronicles. The new volume I compiled is about the Kingdom of Venice. Venice, the lighthouse on the sea, fought a maritime war with the Ottomans for nearly a hundred years. In the fifth year of Longqing, , lost all overseas territories, and the largest overseas territory, Cyprus, also fell into the hands of the Ottomans, leaving only the city of Venice."
"I encountered a more difficult problem. There are only 124,000 people in Venice. Correspondingly, the population of Jimo County in Shandong Province, which was close to the sea during the Ming Dynasty, reached 430,000 people last year, which is almost four times that of Venice."
"The problem I encountered is the issue of scale. For the countries in Europe and the West, they are only about the size of a small county in the Ming Dynasty. Can they really be called countries? When compiling overseas chronicles, we really have to treat them as countries. Compilation? ”
"The second question is that the Merchant of Venice was repeatedly mentioned by sailors and merchants in the West. How did they have such a big impact with a population of 100,000?"
This is the problem Shen Li encountered. He was a little confused. There were hundreds of thousands of people. He really didn't deserve the Ming Dynasty to give him a special volume of national annals. It was almost enough to compile a county annals. But what was very counter-intuitive was the status and influence of Venice in Western Europe. , far beyond his scale.
Wang Chonggu said with a smile: "I can actually answer the second question, about the draw points on Wulongchi Road and Suiyuan Chi Road. These draw points have received a lot of scolding, but they still have to draw points, because Chi Road does not just fall from the sky. Those who come down need to organize engineering battalions, build official factories, burn cement, build bridges and pave roads, and conduct field training. This requires a lot of money, so these costs must be recovered. ”
"Even so, repairing Chi Road is a huge investment."
"The sea route falls from the sky. You only need to understand the hydrology and you can set off. Venice, with its tiny size, has exerted an influence that far exceeds its scale. This is because it is a port city and belongs to God. Eat.”
"The construction and operation costs of the port are almost zero when diluted by the huge shipping volume."
Shen Li immediately took out his pen and wrote it down quickly. He thought for a long time before saying: "Thanks to Wang Cifu for his guidance, it means that whoever occupies the ocean can develop quickly and at low cost."
"This also explains why the Russian state is so tit-for-tat with the Baltic countries and the Ottomans. The Baltic countries and the Ottomans have blocked the sea trade route of the Russian state. This is a life-and-death conflict of survival."
Zhang Juzheng thought for a moment and said, "Think about it. After the opening of the sea, if Songjiang Prefecture blocks the outlet of the Yangtze River, prevents goods along the Yangtze River from entering the ocean, and sets up customs on the ground, I am afraid that merchants from all over the country will bring their servants to fight."
Wang Chonggu said with a smile on his face: "The navy should be the first to arrive. The Ming Dynasty is a chess game. Unlike Taixi, Songjiang Mansion dares to do this. It is a rebellion with open fire."
Shen Li still wrote hurriedly: "Then the answer to the first question is that it is worth it. It is worth using a volume of national annals to study what happened to them. How can such a small country in the West Become a crucial part, which has reference significance for Ming Dynasty. ”
"At the very least, it can further prove the importance of sea power."
Working in the Ministry of Rites is like chanting scriptures. After a while, you have to mention the bad things you said before. The past of Venice, a small country, proves that any sea port is extremely precious, no matter how small it is. No matter how small the population is, it is still part of the sea power.
"I also encountered a problem regarding the compilation of tax laws." Wang Chonggu looked around and then said: "Does the clan have to pay taxes? This issue is really important."
"His Majesty's imperial estate must pay taxes! Why shouldn't the clan pay taxes?" Wang Guangguang said immediately. The question is very important and must have a clear answer.
The clans of the Ming Dynasty did not pay taxes. This was an ancestral law and one of the shortcomings of the shrinking tax base of the Ming Dynasty. Even Ling Yunyi, the god of murder, had to invite these clans to the capital first when he went to Henan to clear his father.
Now that the Ming Dynasty has compiled and revised the tax law, this problem that was originally one-sided has become blocked at both ends.
It turns out that the clan does not pay taxes, causing the tax base to continue to dwindle. Now it is asking the clan to pay taxes, which violates the ancestral law. If the clan is not allowed to pay taxes, isn't the clan above the imperial power?
"Okay, let's let the clan pay taxes. The clan must abide by the tax laws. What about the Ming Law? You can't abide by the tax laws and not abide by the Ming Laws." Wang Chonggu asked immediately. Let the clan pay taxes. Not only is the ancestral law blocked, but there is also a The problem of Ming law.
In practice, it is difficult for a prince to commit the same crime as the common people. As a great commander, Wang Chonggu never pursues such unrealistic things.
"Huangzhuang has been taking the initiative to file tax returns since the second year of Wanli. I think it is appropriate for Huangzhuang to stop filing taxes." Wang Chonggu thought that it would be better to take a step back. Blocking two ends is not as good as one. If the tax base is sluggish, it will stagnate. This has been the case in the Ming Dynasty.
You can't really punish the royal family, relatives, and clan!
(End of chapter)