Cutting 1719

Chapter 552 Tax Sharing System Reform

"Brother Sheng, I've come all this way, and I'm really amazed. I didn't expect that Shanghai today has become so prosperous!"

In the yamen of the prefect of Shanghai, Wu Jingzi was sitting opposite Sheng Qi, the prefect of Shanghai, with a look of emotion on his face. It was obvious that the development of Shanghai had impressed him somewhat.

The bustling Shanghai wharf, the endless factory buildings, and the Shanghai Stock Exchange built with cement and steel bars are almost breathtaking, and these series of changes are almost all in the past three years. What happened was also the result of Sheng Qi's hard work.

With a slightly cautious look on Sheng Qi's face, he said softly: "Your Majesty's kindness is as great as a mountain, and Sheng has to be cautious and never dare to disappoint His Majesty's kindness. This time Brother Wu came to Shanghai on business, and Sheng also will fully cooperate.”

Wu Jingzi quickly nodded with a smile, glanced at the white hair on Sheng Qi's forehead, and felt a little sigh in his heart. This Mr. Sheng is only in his forties now, but he already looks a bit vicissitudes. It seems that the days of the prefect of Shanghai seem to be Not so good either.

In fact, this time, Wu Jingzi was appointed by the cabinet to conduct a comprehensive investigation in his capacity as the deputy director of the company of the Executive Yuan. The purpose is to promote the development model of Shanghai to the whole country and speed up the development of various regions. , and can effectively achieve economic growth.

Now everyone knows that national reunification is basically a foregone conclusion, and wars are gradually turning into local wars. Therefore, economic development has become the primary assessment goal. If you want to get promoted and get rich, you must vigorously develop the local economy, especially This year, the emperor and the cabinet also intend to promote the tax sharing system. In the future, local taxation will need to rely more on local hematopoiesis.

When Wu Jingzi thought of this, he sighed a little: "Actually, to tell you the truth, Mr. Shan, the reason why the Metropolitan Procuratorate impeached you this year is to a large extent because although the fiscal revenue has increased this year, the fiscal expenditure has doubled even more. Not to mention anything else, in order to integrate the north and the south, the imperial court has already reached 800 million silver dollars in administrative expenditures alone, so in this case, the relationship between the central and local finances naturally needs to be reorganized."

Sheng Qi was not surprised. In fact, he understood the relationship better, and could not help sighing softly: "This year's large increase in administrative expenditure is not only due to the integration of northern provinces, but also a large number of officials in counties and townships. In the past, officials were included in the financial plan to strictly prevent large-scale corruption at the grassroots level, so that the imagination of a greatly increased administrative expenditure will naturally appear."

China has a vast land, rich resources and a large population, which is naturally a manifestation of national strength, but at the same time, there is also a big problem. The larger the country, the larger the population, the higher the requirements for governance, and when the quality of personnel is generally low. , can only be achieved through a large number of grassroots officials, which will increase the burden on the court.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there was a saying that the imperial power should not go to the countryside, which reflected this problem, because the country did not have so much money to support those low-level officials, so it could only choose to transfer the low-level power to those who were not in the establishment. The officials and the gentry behind them are the so-called co-government by the gentry.

Of course, after throwing the burden of the grassroots to the gentry class, the imperial court seems to have lightened a lot of burdens, but in essence, there are many disadvantages, such as the inability to truly mobilize people's power, and the inability to truly establish an efficient political system. After that, warlords and even separatist forces will be bred from the gentry, which is always a manifestation of the weakening of the imperial court.

Especially under the background of large-scale implementation of the New Deal in Ningchu and the attack on the power of the gentry, it is even more impossible to transfer grassroots administrative power to the gentry, so the only choice is to reform the imperial examination system, expand the bureaucratic group, and further disintegrate the gentry class. Expand the scope and strength of the imperial court's rule.

In addition, in order to ensure that officials will not easily engage in corruption, Ning Chu cannot set the salaries of officials too low. Zhu Ming's method of being too harsh on officials will often only backfire. After the salary level was raised to the normal amount, a "clean-keeping bank" was added, which caused the expenditure of the entire bureaucratic group to become very huge.

At this point, the biggest problem appeared, that is, lack of money.

You know, Ning Chu spent 400 million silver dollars to support these officials this year, but this figure is not too much, because there are still many remote areas that have not been fully brought under Ning Chu's direct rule. , after completely digesting the areas below the county and township level, Ningchu's administrative expenses may reach a scale of 6000 million silver dollars to 8000 million silver dollars.

This year, under the premise of a large-scale increase in industrial and commercial taxes, Ningchu's annual income has just reached 300 million silver dollars, and this figure has nearly doubled that of the Qing court. It was previously estimated that in five years, Ning Chu's financial revenue can only grow to around 2000 million, which means that at least half of the money will be used to support officials across the country. If the military expenses are deducted, there will be nothing left.

This is a very dangerous signal, so both Sheng Qi and Wu Jingzi can feel the danger hidden in it.

As an official who has served in the central government for many years, Wu Jingzi has strong political acumen and a deep understanding of finance. He whispered: "Brother Sheng, before leaving Beijing, my younger brother and the Ministry of Finance Director Wang is a good friend of the same year, and we had a brief chat together, and I heard that the tax-sharing system will be carried out next year at the latest."

"Oh? Is it so fast?" Sheng Qi said with a little worry on his face, "The economic development of different regions in my big Chu provinces is different, but they all need to be equipped with certain officials. For example, Shanghai's local taxation is relatively high. Naturally, they can afford it, but the inland regions, especially the southwest and northwest regions, have a weak local financial foundation, so it may be difficult to cope with it.”

Sheng Qi's words are naturally from the heart. He is not worried that the implementation of the tax-sharing system will affect Shanghai, because under the tax-sharing system, places like Shanghai will only be richer in theory, especially when he is alone this year. It was through the land transfer and auction system that a large sum of money was obtained, and this was also the reason why Emperor Ning Yu appreciated it.

Don't engage in clean and corrupt officials, as long as he is an official who can make money and is good at making money, if the process of making money does not cause any trouble, then he is a first-class good official in the world.

Wu Jingzi then said in a low voice: "Your Majesty thinks that the tax system must be further refined because of the national economy and the people's livelihood. Especially after the financial reform is fully completed, the tax sharing system will have a certain foundation. At that time, it will be organized by the cabinet together with the Ministry of Finance. A special tax-sharing system reform team, after conducting basic research, will select pilot counties in all provinces across the country, and then make adjustments based on the pilot results.”

When Sheng Qi heard this, he sighed softly, "That's good, that's good, don't be too hasty, there is room for things to turn around."

"Brother Sheng Qisheng, aren't you known as a quick-tempered man? I heard that you took the lead in Shanghai's economic restructuring, so that other colleagues in Shanghai said, don't ask you, Brother Sheng, to be quick!"

Wu Jingzi didn't know where he heard the joke, but he started talking and laughing in a serious manner.

Sheng Qi chuckled, and said meaningfully: "Some things can be urgent, and some things can't be rushed!" Speaking of this, the western clock on the main hall began to make a sound, so the two of them had already chatted unconsciously afternoon.

Sheng Qi hurriedly stood up with an apologetic face, cupped his hands and said: "If you continue to keep the guests here, it will be my fault. Please also ask Brother Wu to go back home with me. My old wife is good at cooking Hangzhou dishes. Please taste a taste or two, you old foodie."

In the city of Nanjing, Wu Jingzi has always been known for his love of food and his appreciation of delicacies from all over the world. His colleagues often joke that he is a gourmet, but he does not think that this reputation has already spread to Shanghai.

Wu Jingzi smiled dumbly at the moment, clasped his fists and said: "In that case, thank you Brother Sheng for your generosity, I still have a lot of things to ask Brother Sheng today!"

In the Hall of Mental Cultivation, dozens of ministers stood in the hall in an orderly manner. Everyone had a look of anticipation on their faces, as if they were waiting for something, but it seemed that it was a little different from waiting for the emperor in the past. nervous.

After a while, there was finally a sound of footsteps from outside the hall. It was Ning Yu, His Majesty of Great Chu, who walked slowly into the hall with a smile on his face, and behind him was Followed by many female officers.

"I have seen His Majesty, I have seen His Royal Highness the First Prince."

When the ministers saw the emperor arrived, they hurriedly bowed their hands and saluted, and from time to time they secretly looked at the children standing on the ground.

Everyone knows that the eldest son of the current emperor, Ning Chengze, was born according to the destiny, especially when he was just born, he tried the cowpox method with the noble blood of the Tian family, and then this method spread all over the world. It can be said that countless children have been saved, so In today's folk, apart from being grateful, many people think that the eldest son of the emperor, Ning Chengze, will inherit the heir of the great Chu clan and become the monarch of the world in the future.

But now the vaccinia law has been implemented for more than four years, and the eldest son of the emperor, Ning Chengze, has also reached the age of five years old. Although he rarely appears in front of the world, he is said to be very intelligent, and he received enlightenment education in the palace early on. So this time when he appeared in front of the courtiers, it was obvious that he was going to find a real teacher for him.

You must know that Ning Chengze is very likely to become the crown prince in the future, and even the candidate for the emperor. After all, Ning Yu has not many heirs at the moment. Apart from Ning Chengze, there are Ning Chengyi, the son of Concubine Chen, and the newly born son. Daughter Ning Xuan, of course the emperor is still young, ten or eight may be born in the future, but after all they cannot be compared with Ning Chengze, so Ning Chengze is already far ahead in the current battle for the heir apparent.

Under such circumstances, if you become Ning Chengze's teacher first, you may become the prince's teacher in the future, so you can enter the prince's hidden residence. Wouldn't it be a matter of course to join the cabinet in the future?
Although based on Ning Yu's current age, it will take at least four or fifty years for Ning Chengze to succeed to the throne. They will not be able to enjoy the taste of being an emperor's teacher at all, but their disciples are young. If they can get the emperor's attention, they will be a Very nice opportunity.

Seeing that the ministers looked at Ning Chengze more and more intensely, Ning Yu smiled slightly and said, "It is true that part of the reason for calling you here today is for Chengze—but it's not to find a teacher for him."

What?Not looking for a teacher?

The ministers were a little strange at once, but Cui Wancai, the chief assistant, knew the emperor quite well, and immediately asked, "Your Majesty, if you dare to ask the eldest prince, do you want to study?"

Ning Yu nodded lightly, and said: "That's right, the eldest prince is preparing to go to school, but he is not learning old learning, but learning new learning. I decided to open a royal public school for the children of meritorious officials. School."

Everyone looked at each other. Since Ningchu's education reform, it has been divided into two parts in terms of education. One part is naturally the old school, which is called the old school, and the post-education reform is called the new school. , is in the stage of thriving - both parties are naturally in a life-and-death relationship, and have been fighting each other for a long time.

Many people mistakenly think that there is no struggle among literati. In fact, this is also a wrong idea. In fact, since the education reform and the imperial examination reform, the old-school students have launched a rebellious behavior with excuses, and they were later severely punished by Ning Yu. The method was resolved, and although the disputes on the surface disappeared, they still strangled each other secretly.

Of course, although the new learning has just started, after all, there is strong support from the emperor, so the current situation is not bad. Many honorable families will arrange for their children to learn the new learning and take the imperial examinations. New learning is in a state of blooming everywhere.

However, the previous development of the new school was still aimed at the public after all, but now the Huangcheng public school that Ning Yu said is really eyeing the heirs of the empire and even the noble class of the empire, which makes the ministers who support the old school a little worried ——If things go on for a long time, won't the old learning be completely suppressed?

Lin Haiyan, the right servant of the Ministry of Education, stood up, with a look of anxiety on his face, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, this action seems to be inconsistent with the old practice. The way of sage's education should be taught according to his aptitude. The eldest prince is very talented. , it is even more important to select great sages to educate them, if they are put into schools, I am afraid that they will be lost to everyone."

After hearing this, the ministers immediately nodded their heads. What they said was orderly. After all, how could the prince's education be casual?Not to mention that the eldest prince might be the future prince, so he should teach students according to their aptitude. If he mixed with other people, could he teach him to be a good emperor?
Seeing that everyone expressed their agreement, Ning Yu glanced at them and couldn't help but snorted coldly.

"Pedantry, your methods are already outdated!"

(End of this chapter)