Chapter 314 The First Inheritance Tax
When Li Shu said this, everyone in the Li clan was very excited. Even some members of the Li clan began to break into the late family leader Li Qing's mansion to grab things, including a stool, a chair, and a broom. Let it go.
The food from Li Qing's house was also taken out and poured into the pot for cooking, and the pigs and sheep were also killed, waiting to be put into the pot.
More and more tribesmen and neighbors came over. It was as joyful as a grand holiday banquet.
Only the funeral hall was deserted, and Li Qing's only daughter Li Dai was at a loss.
At this time, in a side room, Li Qing's wife Zhao was forced to hang herself by two women from the clan.
A white silk ribbon fell down, and the women Li Zhu and Li Wang from the Li Shu tribe were watching.
Facing death, Ms. Zhao was still very afraid, but she also knew that she was being devoured and knew that she was bound to die, but she did not even dare to scold her. She was afraid that the Li clan would be angry with her because of her scolding. On the only daughter.
Ms. Zhao knew that all she could do now was cry, cry until her heart was broken, and cry until someone's conscience found out.
"Ms. Zhao, stop crying and get on your way! We're still rushing to eat your food!" the woman Li Zhushi urged impatiently.
Mrs. Li Wang even punched Mr. Zhao on the rickety back: "Why are you crying! Hang yourself!"
Naturally, Mrs. Zhao felt even more aggrieved and cried even harder, but she still stepped on the stool obediently and put her neck on the white silk.
Just as Mrs. Zhao was about to kick off her stool, a gong sounded outside: "Master Xiong has come to Li Mansion to express his condolences!"
Zhao was stunned. She could guess that an official had come to her home. Although she didn't know why Mr. Xiong came to mourn her deceased husband, she still ignited the hope of living. As long as she was an official Yes, he must be a big shot, and he may be able to make decisions for himself.
Therefore, Mrs. Zhao did not kick off the stool, but retracted her head from the white silk. Then, before the two women from her Li clan could react, Ms. Zhao ran directly out: "Qingtian Da. Master, Master Qingtian!”
……
Li Shu, who was proudly preparing to divide Li's fifth-fang property, did not expect that Xiong Zhuo would suddenly come to express condolences to his fifth-fang Li Qing.
Li Shu was a little shocked, wondering if his fifth cousin Li Qing knew Xiong Bin?
Xiong Yan came here after receiving a report from the IRS tax collector. Naturally, he came here for inheritance tax matters.
Xiong Bin's current official position is the right minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, and he is also in charge of the Jiangnan State Taxation Bureau. Naturally, he is considered a high-ranking official. Li Shu and the Li family members had to come out to greet him.
"The Li family, old and young, respectfully welcome Minister Xiong!"
Li Shu and others all bowed their hands to Xiong Ban, and they were all secretly surprised in their hearts. They thought that Li Qing actually knew a minister before his death. Does this mean that Li Qing had more wealth during his lifetime?
Xiong Yan came here for the inheritance tax, and he was the first person to propose the levy of inheritance tax. Naturally, he ignored these Li clan members when he arrived. Instead, he went straight to the mourning hall and saluted the deceased Li Qing. Then, he asked everyone: "Li Qing is deceased, where is his wife Zhao, and where is his daughter Li Dai?"
Li Shu didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Xiong's gourd, and he wanted to get close to Xiong. However, because Xiong was always very serious, he had no choice but to hand it over and reply: "My lord, Mrs. Zhao is temporarily in the inner room because she is too sad." Rest, Li Dai is still young and is a daughter, so she is asked to stay in the boudoir. If you have any orders, please come to us. "
Li Shu knew that he said in front of the official Xiong Bin that he was going to let the Zhao family hang himself. It would definitely not work to sell Li Dai, who had no significance in carrying on the family line, so he only made up a few reasons in an attempt to deceive Xiong Bin.
After hearing what Li Shu said, Xiong Ban nodded and said: "In that case, I will come to you. Li Qing still owes Jiangnan Taxation Bureau more than 200,000 tax dollars, but now that Li Qing has passed away, since you are his My clan members, please pay back the more than 200,000 yuan in taxes! Who among you is the clan leader?”
Before Li Shu could stand up, the Li clan members below were the first to explode. They didn't expect that Li Qing would owe so much tax money before his death. They all secretly complained and said that the money Li Qing owed should be paid to Li Shu. It doesn't matter to you. If you want to find her, just go to Li Qing's wife and daughter.
It’s tax money again!
Li Shu was angry when he heard the word "tax money" now, but he still couldn't help but said: "Sir, the property Li Qing left behind is naturally the family property now. Naturally, tax money should not be paid with the property left by Li Qing. Sir, if If we want to recover the tax money, we should naturally go to Li Qing’s wife and daughter.”
Xiong Ban smiled lightly after hearing this: "In that case, bring Li Qing's wife and daughter here!"
Li Shu also smiled slightly, thinking that if Xiong Bin wanted to see Mrs. Zhao at this time, he was afraid that Mrs. Zhao would have hanged himself long ago. No matter what Xiong Bin's intentions were, let him see with his own eyes a chaste and martyr woman appear in his Li gate. , see if he can refuse to fight for a chastity arch for his Limen!
……
"Master Qingtian! Master Qingtian!"
However, at this time, Mrs. Zhao's shouts and the scoldings of several women came from inside: "Mrs. Zhao, why are you running away? Don't think that if an official appears, you can escape from hanging. An extinct household means an extinct household. As an extinct household, you must have the consciousness of being eaten. Who will let you feel dissatisfied and not give birth to a son? ”
Xiong Yan was hearing these sounds and saw Ms. Zhao being dragged in by two strong women as she was running out. He shouted hurriedly: "Bastard! What are you doing in broad daylight? Come on, save Ms. Zhao!"
Five of the tax collectors brought by Xiong Bin rushed over, pushed away the two strong women who were holding Zhao, and then led Zhao directly to Xiong Bin's place.
When Li Shu saw Mrs. Zhao appearing, he was so angry that he frowned and cursed in his heart: "Why hasn't this prostitute been hanged yet?"
Li Shu really didn't expect that Mrs. Zhao would survive. At that moment, she knew that it was impossible to let Xiong Yan see a chaste and virtuous woman appear in his Li family. He could only wait for Xiong Yan to leave before forcing Mr. Zhao to hang himself.
Mrs. Zhao was brought to Xiong Bin. She didn't care so much. Seeing that Xiong Bin was an official, she knelt down directly in front of him: "Master Qingtian, you have to make decisions for the women of the people! Master (Li Shu)" They want to deprive the women of their families, force them to hang themselves, and accuse them of committing adultery. Please ask Mr. Qingtian to make the decision for the women, woo woo!”
Although Xiong Yan had expected this to happen, he was still very moved when he saw Mrs. Zhao crying so sadly. He couldn't help but hurriedly ordered someone to help Mrs. Zhao up and comforted him: "Mrs. Zhao, don't be anxious. If something happens, take your time." Say, you said someone forced you to hang yourself. Who forced you? Is there any evidence? And you said someone accused you of committing adultery. Who did you accuse? ”
"Woo! It was Li Shu, the eldest master, who said that I had committed adultery. It was a man named Yuan Yi who slandered me for adultery. Woo!"
Ms. Zhao started to cry.
When Li Shu saw this, he was completely angry and immediately roared: "Ms. Zhao, don't talk nonsense. Someone, please pull Ms. Zhao down. She must be too sad because of the death of her fifth brother. Find a doctor to give her a good look." ! ”
Li Shu didn't expect Zhao to run out, nor did he expect Xiong Yan to appear here, but in any case, he could only get rid of Zhao first to prevent Zhao from telling more things within the clan.
At the same time, Li Shu also saluted Xiong Bao and said: "Master Xiong, please forgive me. Mrs. Zhao was already insane. Now that her husband has passed away suddenly, it is inevitable that she will be confused. As for the so-called suicide by Ms. Zhao, it is false." thing, As for the alleged accusation of adultery, Li is not allowed to speculate on it. He just heard someone reported it! But in the end, this is still an internal matter within the Li family, and I still hope that you will not interfere."
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Xiong Yan just smiled faintly and did not comment on Li Shu's words. He only said: "Wait a minute, I don't seem to be mad, otherwise I would not be able to tell that I am an official and bring Zhao here. ”
Although the Li clan members had started dragging the Zhao family into the inner room in accordance with Li Shu's instructions, when the tax collectors came over, it was difficult for these Li clan members to compete with the government officials, so the Zhao family was rearranged by the tax collectors. Brought to Xiong Yan.
Xiong Yan couldn't help but smile and asked Ms. Zhao: "Ms. Zhao, after listening to your statement just now, I feel that it is difficult to confirm immediately whether you were slandered for adultery and whether you were forced to hang yourself. You can collect evidence, but what you said is unclear. According to my understanding, the matter of extermination of the household should be related to inheritance disputes. However, I am not an official in charge of criminal law. You You can file a lawsuit with your county law bureau and ask the government to protect your inheritance rights, so that you and your daughter can successfully obtain your late husband’s inheritance, and it will be protected by the government and no one will dare to take it away. Are you willing to go? Report to the police? If you like, I will take you to the Legal Affairs Bureau for the sake of your late husband.”
When Ms. Zhao heard that Xiong Fen said that there was a government official willing to help her make the decision, she naturally nodded quickly: "A civilian woman is willing!"
then.
Xiong Yan took Mrs. Zhao and his daughter Li Dai to the county government office, and also asked Mrs. Zhao for the household registration certificate.
Li Shu didn't expect that Xiong Ban would take away Mrs. Zhao and Li Dai like this. He was stunned for a moment, thinking that once Mr. Zhao was taken away by the government, his Li family would have to think of a chaste woman who would hang herself and die as a martyr. It's impossible, and besides, it seems that he can't get and sell Li Dai.
In addition, when Li Shu heard that Xiong Ban said that the Zhao family should ask the government to intervene in the inheritance dispute, it was obvious that he wanted to prevent his own tribe from being exterminated, and he became even more angry and nervous for a while.
At this time, Mr. Lun came to Li Shu and asked: "Master, do we still want to divide the property of these five houses? Do we really need the government to divide it?"
"If the government divides it, what should the government divide? My Li family has not been divided to begin with. Since Li Qing, the fifth-brother, has disappeared, his family property should naturally be divided among the clan members. It is naturally decided by the clan leader, so there is no need for the government to intervene! Take it! As soon as the pen and ink comes, I will write a note and give it to the Nanjing Engineering Department! The property of Wufang will be delivered now, and all the shops and workshops will be distributed!”
Li Shu was also a little worried about the long nights and dreams, so he simply didn't care about Li Qing's death and decided to divide and occupy Li Qing's family property first.
……
Because the official system has been changed in the Jiangnan area, there is an agency in the county-level government that specializes in handling judicial proceedings. It is temporarily called the Legal Affairs Bureau. According to the new policy, the chief official of the Legal Affairs Bureau is equivalent to the chief clerk, so he is also a chief clerk at this moment. Book met Xiong Fen, Mrs. Zhao and their daughter Li Dai.
The name of the chief clerk was Gao Zhou. Gao Zhou did not expect that the dignified Nanjing Ministry of Revenue's right minister Xiong Zhuo would bring a civilian woman and a girl to report the case, and it also involved a dispute over the inheritance of the Li family, a bureaucratic and gentry family.
Let's not talk about the gentry involved, let's talk about the so-called inheritance disputes. Gao Zhou felt that he, a chief clerk who was promoted from the pian, could not handle such matters, so he had to ask the county magistrate Ding Jianyuan for advice. Ding Jianyuan only asked Gao Zhou to cooperate with Xiong Ban to deal with it.
then. Under Xiong Ban's instruction, Gao Zhou first asked Mrs. Zhao: "Mrs. Zhao, I will explain to you the rules of the court first, in case you don't understand. According to the newly enacted laws of the court, the court has laws to protect the inheritance of inheritance, and even It also stipulates the order of inheritance confirmed by the court, but once the court is involved in an inheritance dispute, the heir must agree to pay inheritance tax!”
"I have found out that among the first heirs stipulated by the court, you and your daughter are the only ones who can legally inherit your husband Li Qing's property. And your daughter is still young, so naturally you make the decision. I want to ask you, do you Are you willing to pay money to the court when you inherit the inheritance? As for the inheritance tax, as long as you are willing, I can stand up for you and ensure that you successfully inherit your husband's property, and no one can take it away at will, not to mention the big boss, not even this official or the minister can take it away! ”
After Gao Zhou asked, Ms. Zhao nodded and agreed without thinking: "A civilian woman is willing to pay inheritance tax!"
For Zhao, if there was no government intervention, not to mention not getting half of the inheritance, her life would be taken away by her clan members, and she would even be charged with adultery within the clan.
Now, the government only requires her to pay inheritance tax. Although she doesn't know what the inheritance tax is and how much to pay, she can understand that the government means that she will get some inheritance and will not let herself die. This is very important to her. As far as she is concerned, she is already very content and she is naturally willing to pay the inheritance tax.
Gao Zhou nodded as he spoke: "In that case, I will file a case for you to intervene in your husband's inheritance dispute case."
Therefore, Gao Zhou took a group of people from his Legal Bureau, Zhao and Li Dai back to Li Qing's home.
Li Shu had just finished dividing up Li Qing's family property, and even Li Qing's yard began to be repopulated with clan members from other houses of the Li family. Even the maids and servants hired by Li Qing were distributed by Li Shu.
"Masters, there are people from the county. They are the Chief Registrar of the Legal Affairs Bureau, and the Minister Xiong who came just now is also here, as well as Mrs. Zhao and Li Dai!"
When people from the Li family came to report the news, Li Shu became extremely angry after hearing this: "This evil woman, why didn't the fifth brother kill her at that time! It was for her own good to let her hang herself, but she didn't expect that she really thought she had found her. She couldn’t have been a savior! If I had known earlier, I should have beaten her into a slut and let her dip into a pig cage!”
……
No matter how angry Li Shu was, Xiong Pai, Gao Zhou and other court officials still came here. Seeing that the Li clan was still occupying Li Qing and Zhao's home, Gao Zhou didn't say anything. He just wanted to force his way in with his people, and Said:
"Now, the Legal Affairs Bureau has officially intervened in the case of Li Qing's inheritance dispute. It has been made clear that Li Qing has no will, and Li Qing's parents are deceased. Zhao and Li Dai can be the first heirs, so all the property left by Li Qing They all belong to Zhao and Li Dai! Those of you who illegally occupy Zhao and Li Dai's property are asked to leave within half an hour and return Li Qing's property immediately, otherwise you will be punished by the government! Severe punishment!”
Li Shu and other Li clan members were a little shocked and angry when they heard this: "What do you mean it belongs to Zhao and Li Dai? This is the property of our Li family, why should she be given the surname Zhao!"
"Yes, why give her the surname Zhao!"
The Li clan members all shouted.
At this time, Xiong Yan replied coldly: "Just because Mrs. Zhao is the wife of Li Qing Fuzheng's successor, the existing Fuzheng documents are here!"
Li Shu looked at Xiong Ban coldly. He hated Xiong Ban very much. He didn't understand why Xiong Ban would interfere with the affairs of his Li clan. This was unacceptable to him, so he slapped the table and roared: "Xiong Ban ! Don’t go too far! Although you are the Minister of the Imperial Court, I am also the Councilor of the Nanjing General Affairs Department, so you are not a fool!”
"Master Li, you are so deceitful! I am an orphan and a widower, and my father and husband have just died. You can't wait to lead your people to seize his family property. Do you have any conscience at all!"
Xiong Yan sneered and retorted, and added: "I am not a Fengxian official or an official of the Ministry of Personnel, so I naturally have no right to care about your moral issues, but now it is the people from your county's Legal Affairs Bureau who should handle Zhao's complaint. Regarding the inheritance case, don’t say you are a cousin across the room, you are a brother. Brother, you are not qualified to occupy the property of an orphan or a widowed mother! Master Gao, I hope you can be a good and selfless official! Punish some evil thieves, and I will tell the superiors when the time comes to let them know that there is something wrong in Jiangpu County. You are such a good official.”
Gao Zhou was naturally more motivated after hearing what Xiong Yan said. He waved his hand quickly: "Half an hour is up. Immediately clear out all those who have seized the property of Zhao and his daughter Li Dai!"
then.
A group of officers and soldiers from the Legal Affairs Bureau came over. Just as a soldier from the Legal Affairs Bureau was trying to pull away the Li clan members who were occupying the west wing of Li Qing and were transporting their coal stocks, a Li clan member was knocked down on the spot by a soldier with a stick. He shouted: "Who dares! This is the property that the great master has allocated to me. If you dare not let me take it, I will beat him to death!"
Snap!
Gao Zhou fired a shot!
The Li clan member was beaten to death on the spot!
Everyone in the Li clan present was shocked, and they did not expect that the government would directly kill people.
Gao Zhou said at this time: "Violent resistance to the law will result in execution on the spot! This is the law of the imperial court! Drag this thief out!"
Li Shu and his tribe were naturally completely angered. They gathered together and glared at Gao Zhou and others.
Li Shu even shouted: "Gao Zhou, do you really dare to kill my Li clan members indiscriminately?!"
"No matter what tribe you belong to, anyone who violently resists the law can be executed on the spot!"
Gao Zhou ordered everyone in the Legal Affairs Bureau to raise their guns.
Seeing this, the Li clan members did not dare to violently resist the law, but they also refused to move.
Gao Zhou had to order people to forcibly drag these Li clan members out of Li Qing's house and shop, and even Li Shu was dragged out.
Li Shu was so angry that he couldn't help shouting: "This is the property of our Li family. Why should we give her the surname Zhao? Why should we give her a daughter who is destined to get married!"
Gao Zhou ignored them and only recovered the inheritance for Zhao and Li Dai.
Zhao also paid the inheritance tax, turned all the remaining inheritance into cash and deposited it in the bank, and then left Jiangpu County with her daughter.
Here, Li Shu naturally couldn't bear the fact that all the numerous properties left by his cousin Li Qing were given to his wife and daughter, and his temper became increasingly violent.
However, at this time, people from the Dongchang Inspectorate also came to him: "Li Shu, Councilor of the Nanjing General Affairs Department, you are suspected of illegally raising funds and conspiring to organize a strike in an attempt to bring trouble to the world. Please come with us now!"
When Li Shu heard this, he immediately became cold and fell to the ground.
A few months later, Li Shu was beheaded and abandoned.
……
Zhao's inheritance case was the first time that the Ming government intervened in a private inheritance dispute, and the inheritance tax paid by Zhao became the first inheritance tax levied by the Jiangnan State Taxation Bureau of the Ming Dynasty.
Under the court's deliberate propaganda, more and more disadvantaged groups in the clan began to seek help from the government to avoid losing their inheritance to powerful clan groups. As a result, the amount of inheritance tax levied by the court also began to gradually increase.
It is worth mentioning that after Li Shu was taken away, Ji Xuan was also taken away shortly after.
Zhu Houzhao had already entered Shandong at this time. He was quite surprised after learning about Ji Xuan's confession. He did not expect that there was the power of the vassal king behind him. It turned out that these clans had always been unwilling to be lonely.
As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao called Wang Shouren to come in and ordered: "Draw up a decree for me, and all the clans above the general of the auxiliary country will come to Beijing by the end of next year. I will hold a royal meeting!"
Royal meeting?
Wang Shouren didn't know what the royal meeting was, but he realized that the emperor seemed to be starting to take further measures against the vassal forces.
What Wang Shouren had to admit was that although the current Ming vassal kings had little military power, they were becoming increasingly arrogant and causing harm to the local area. There were many complaints, and the key was that there were more and more clan members in the Ming Dynasty. Although the Ming Dynasty's central financial resources were relatively strong, expenditures It is also very large. As time goes by, even if the treasury revenue is increased ten times, it will sooner or later be consumed by these more and more clan members.
As Wang Shouren, a member of a large family and a bachelor of the cabinet, he is naturally very aware of the drain on the family from the increasing number of family members.
Zhu Houzhao naturally knew it, but he also knew that he was an emperor, not a peasant rebel, and he could not execute all these vassal kings. In this life, he was the head of their family, and he was related by blood to them, so he was destined to not be able to execute them. Use too strong methods unless these feudal kings rebel.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao sometimes wished that these feudal kings would rebel.
But in any case, what Zhu Houzhao can do now is to summon these clans to Beijing first, so as not to put them in the local area and harm the local people.
At present, for Zhu Houzhao, the most important issues are mining taxes and mining bans.
Now that Jiangnan's system and taxation have been successfully reformed, the issues of mining taxes and mining bans are just waiting to be resolved, so that the imperial court can completely solve the development problems in the north.
Just when Zhu Houzhao was thinking about the mining problem, Zhu Houzhao saw Guo Rong and reported: "Your Majesty, Zhang Cong is also here!"
Many thanks to the book friend for the reward of 100 starting coins per pound of sugar. Many thanks to the book friend Hongjian for the reward of 100 starting coins
(End of chapter)