Da Ming started to ascend the throne

Chapter 105 Beginning to Reform

Land reform
Because of the Dongyao invasion, burning, killing and looting, a huge amount of military pay was needed to resist the Dongyao invasion, and the corruption of the ministers in the court and the central government was serious.

Gentlemen and dignitaries occupy fertile land and evade or fail to pay taxes. The common people have almost no land to grow and bear heavy taxes.

As a result, a severe famine was caused, and refugees were flooded, which not only caused peasants from all over the country to revolt against the imperial court, but also caused plague, which again caused a large number of people to die.

The peasant uprising not only burned, killed and looted, but also killed a large number of noble gentry and court officials, which greatly impacted the stability of the country. As a result, no one was farming and caused even greater famine.

Some time ago, Li Zicheng led the rogues to besiege the capital, which almost destroyed my nearly 300-year-old foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, land reform is imminent, otherwise the foundation of Ming Dynasty will be unstable, and the building will collapse at any time. Those gentry and nobles who are eating the imperial salary and exploiting our Ming people.

Don't think that you are safe and comfortable now, that there are eggs under the nest, once the Ming Dynasty is overthrown, all the gentry and honorable officials will slaughter them all.

If you do not cooperate with the land reform and resolutely improve people's livelihood, the tragic end of Luoyang Fuwang being boiled into Fulu soup by the bandits will befall you sooner or later.

I have decided to re-measure the allocated land from the time the notice is issued.

Counting from the Hongwu period, all families, including all vassal kings, could not keep any more than their original land.

The extra land will be distributed according to the existing local population, forming village groups with an average of one mu of land per person.

Because there are fewer people and more fields now, and there will be many more fields after distribution, the imperial court decided to set up a large farm.

People who are unwilling to accept the allocation of land, or families with abundant labor, can enter the farm to work, and the farm will distribute rations or wages to them on a daily basis.

After the establishment of the farm, the main workers of the farm can be diversified, not only can accept the local people, but also can have local garrisons stationed on the farm.

Of course, in wartime, soldiers mainly fight. In peacetime, soldiers have to work on the farm, and the farm will pay extra money.

This does not include border garrisons, but mainly refers to reserve soldiers, who can farm for two days and train for three days. Farming and training are both inappropriate.

In this way, soldiers will have two incomes, one is military pay, and the other is wages paid by the farm. This income can completely subsidize the family.

Relevant personnel in various fields must vigorously support the new land policy and strive to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people of the whole country within two years.

third
Questions about taxation
In the disaster-stricken areas in the north, the imperial court will exempt the agricultural tax for five years, and the tax will be levied after five years, and the tax will be levied at [-]% of the annual income.

That is to say, the annual income is 1000 catties of grain, and the court collects 100 catties of taxes, but the wages of family members working on the farm are exempted from taxation.

This tax exemption system does not include the northern gentry, noble officials, vassals, and their taxes are still collected correctly.

The farm is directly under the jurisdiction of the household department of the imperial court, and the management personnel are directly appointed by the household department.

Farm management personnel must be both moral and loyal to the imperial court. They must not be corrupt and pervert the law, and must not oppress workers.

If anyone who violates the law and discipline is found, the imperial court will deal with it strictly, and the three-level joint liability system will be administered.

That is to say, directly appointing them and recommending the officials who manage them, the imperial court will demote them and deal with them without favoritism.

Wealthy areas in the south are not covered by the five-year tax exemption, and the agricultural tax is still levied at 1000 catties per 100 catties of grain, without any additional burdens.

All gentry, nobles, officials in the court, and vassals from all over the country, their families or fields under their names, all collect taxes according to the standard.

This land reform requires strong support and cooperation from all aspects, and no one is allowed to violate the regulations.

If any non-executors are found, the imperial court will take back all his land, remove all his official positions, and exile the whole family in the northern desert.

If there are extreme rebels, such as rebellion, or the killing of executive officials, the imperial court will impose the most severe sanctions, ransacking the family and destroying the three clans.

Whether you are a gentry official of a vassal king or an ordinary citizen, as long as you dare to violate the above regulations, you will be treated equally and severely punished.

fourth
levy business tax
The imperial court will cancel the sea ban and encourage business. No matter what their status is, they can do business after applying for a business license.

However, the imperial court will levy commercial tax, and the commercial tax collection ratio for all industries is the same as the agricultural tax. If you feel pressure, you can apply to the Ministry of Households to adjust the tax.

After the investigation, the Ministry of Household Affairs must seek truth from facts according to the law and adjust the levy ratio according to the operating income of each industry.

Of course, the Ministry of Finance cannot cover the sky with one hand and act arbitrarily.

For the supervision of the household department, the imperial court will set up industrial, commercial and agricultural associations, and members of the association can elect representatives from various industries, and they will supervise the household department.

If you find a problem, you can directly make representations to the Ministry of Household Affairs. If the Ministry of Household Affairs does not act, you can immediately report it to the Ming cabinet, and the cabinet must strictly investigate and deal with it.

fifth
All mines are state-owned assets, and individual industrial and commercial households are not allowed to engage in the operation and production in this area, and it is strictly forbidden to sell commodities that are harmful to the country to hostile forces.

Such as gunpowder, iron ore, copper ore, weapons, etc., as well as all military supplies, these are not for sale, and private trading by individual businesses is strictly prohibited.

sixth
sea ​​salt
Sea salt is also a state-owned asset. The production must be done by the relevant government departments. Individual businesses can sell it, but they must have a normal business license.

The imperial court will set up wholesale and retail outlets in various places. Sea salt must be bought and sold at normal prices, and any department or individual is prohibited from hyping up the price of sea salt.

The imperial court wanted to make cheap sea salt available to all citizens of Ming Dynasty, and to make sea salt affordable to all families.

Coastal fishermen can go out to sea to fish freely, and they are exempted from taxation if they satisfy their own food and clothing and do not buy or sell.

There is a shortage of food in the north. If coastal fishermen transport their catch to the northern market for sale, the imperial court will give them tax-free encouragement.

……

"thump"

"thump"

……

"Your Majesty, this... this may not work!"

The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty suppressed their inner fear and read the manuscript tremblingly. Many officials sat on the ground with their faces full of doubt.

It's not that they can't implement it, but that they all involve their own interests.

Especially those Jiangnan civil officials headed by the Donglin Party, none of their families has ten thousand or even hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land.

Except for the fertile land at home, many people have countless shops and have never paid a penny of tax. Now they not only have to collect taxes, but also collect a lot of fertile land.

These officials feel like they are about to collapse.

"Your Majesty, I don't think it's feasible. Those vassal kings are all lands left by their ancestors. If they do this, I'm afraid it will cause turmoil."

A Jiangnan official knelt up in front of Zhu Youjian and began to cry, as if he was worried about the future of Daming.

Under his leadership, other officials knelt in front of Zhu Youjian one after another, and gave examples to illustrate that this policy was not feasible.

Zhu Youjian had inquired a long time ago that there are still 25 vassal kings in power. They, court officials and gentry occupy more than half of the fertile land in Ming Dynasty.

That is to say, most of the fertile land does not pay any taxes, and a small part of the land needs to feed most of the Ming's population.

These people are really the moths of the Ming Dynasty. If they are not dealt with, the persistent diseases of the Ming Dynasty will never be eradicated.

(End of this chapter)