Chongzhen Daming: Starting from Coal Mountain

Chapter 117 Two Bad Debts
"Yes, where did the extra five million taels go?"

"Have you been corrupted by the princes of the court?"

"Find out these corrupt officials and let them spit out their salaries."

"If such corrupt officials are not killed, the common people will not be angry!"

Many scholars began to denounce loudly in the audience.

Gao Hongtu couldn't bear it anymore, and winked at Zhang Youyu, the left servant of the household department.

Zhang Youyu, as an official of the Ministry of Household Affairs, also participated in today's first court meeting.

After receiving Gao Hongtu's order, Zhang Youyu immediately stood up and refuted it: "It's nonsense, the Liao's payment of one cent and two per mu per mu is just a standard set by the imperial court, not a real number! The actual annual Liao's payment is only more than three million taels However, the three million Liao's salary will be embezzled by various urgent affairs, which will cause the Liao Town to default on the military salary."

"You have never been in the Ministry of Household Affairs to observe politics, and secondly, you have never served as a local official for the people, so you are here to talk hotly about where the five million Liao's extra levies have gone. Isn't it ridiculous!"

Zhang Youyu's second sentence was a personal attack.

This time, he stabbed a hornet's nest and angered all the scholars on the scene.

Scholars in the south of the Yangtze River praised the current affairs and judged the people, and Chongzhen's connivance for the past seven days boosted the courage of the scholars to discuss politics. Now Zhang Youyu actually said that they were arrogant, this is really unbearable.

The scholars who were present at the moment got up and glared at Zhang Youyu one after another, and launched a siege.

"Zuo Situ's words are wrong. Is it true that we don't know the affairs of the world if we have never been in the household department to watch politics?"

"If you have never served as an official close to the people, must you not understand local practice? This statement is absurd! The Master said: Those who are born to know are the best;

"Is Zuo Situ guilty? Is he benefiting from it?"

Seeing the scholars directly attacking personally, Chongzhen shook his head secretly.

The rebuttals of these scholars missed the point, Zhang Youyu actually made a big mistake just now!
Just when Chongzhen was thinking about instructing a certain scholar to refute, Gu Yanwu suddenly shouted: "Everyone, I have a word!"

When the Yilun hall became quieter, Gu Yanwu questioned Zhang Youyu again: "I dare to ask Zuo Situ, the Liao salary standard set by the imperial court is one cent and two cents per mu. According to the Yulin Atlas, our Daming has [-] million mu of arable land, so the Liao salary should be [-] million taels!"

Speaking of this meal, he said again: "Why only more than three million taels?"

"Yes, why only three million taels?" The rest of the scholars also expressed their support.

"This!" Zhang Youyu's expression changed drastically, this time he was really hit by the scholar.

Another scholar asked loudly, "Zuo Situ, may I ask where the other four million tax dollars went?"

Zhang Youyu was thinking about how to cover up the past, but Gu Yanwu just tore open the sore: "The remaining four million tax money was intercepted by the government offices at all levels of the local provinces, prefectures and counties, am I right?"

"Buzz!" The scholars present immediately exploded when they heard this.

Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu and others were also embarrassed.

Gao Hongtu was also angry when he saw that Chongzhen was not in a hurry.

My heart said, Holy Majesty, you let these ignorant scholars mess around and make public the bad habits of the officialdom. Do you want to completely tear yourself apart from the civil officials all over the world?

Are you really not afraid of the repetition of the great ceremony and the struggle for the country?

Zhang Youyu also tried to argue: "The tax bank of the imperial court has always been divided into two parts, one part is sent to the household department of the capital, which is called Qijie, and the other part is left in the government offices at all levels of the provincial capital, prefecture and county, which is called retention. It should be used to distribute salaries to local officials and subordinate staff, oh, and the granary rice of your scholars and students will also be drawn from it.”

In the end, Zhang Youyu was fine if he didn't make an excuse, but when he did, he drew even more intense condemnation.

"It's nonsense, officials' salaries have their own regular taxes, and subordinates' salaries are discounted by corvees."

"In the past, when there was no increase in Liao's salary, I didn't see officials and subordinates get less salary."

"Could it be that after the Liao pay was levied, the officials and subordinates received an extra salary?"

"After the Liao payment, the levies were increased, and after the severance, the levies were added. In this way, the magistrates and subordinates received four salaries? If they are not paid, they will be lost. They must be kept to coax ghosts."

"Shameless, you are simply shameless."

"Three salaries are the silver for the continuation of Ming Dynasty's life, do you dare to let it go?"

Finally, a scholar spoke out about the drift that Chongzhen was looking forward to!finally come!

Zhang Youyu's forehead was already sweating, and he defended himself strongly: "The matter of drifting has existed in ancient times. No matter water transport, sea transport, or land transportation, there are certain risks. In order to avoid delaying state affairs, there is a quota for drifting."

Another scholar in the crowd said loudly: "But I heard that Liao's salary has lost [-]% before leaving the capital! It has lost as much as [-]% by the time it reaches Jizhen, and there is no need to go from the capital to Jizhen by sea. There is no need to take water transportation, the road is not too far away, and there are no bandits at the feet of the emperor, Zuo Situ's statement is really hard to be convincing!"

Zhang Youyu directly broke the defense, this job can't be done, I really don't know.

The financial revenue and expenditure of the Ming Dynasty, from the central government to the local government, had two bad debts.

The tax collection side is a bad account. The nobles, gentry, and wealthy clans evade taxes and evade taxes.

This is really not nonsense, because according to the Yulin Atlas in the Chongzhen period, the country has a total of more than [-] million mu of arable land, and there are civilian fields taxed at three liters, three in five spoons, and official land taxed at five liters, three in and five spoonfuls , There are also clan Huangzhuang that do not pay any taxes, but the total tax rate after the average is roughly maintained at about three liters, three in one, and five spoons.

Then simply calculate, 5.8 million mu × 0.0335 stone/mu = 1943 million stone.

According to the price comparison of one stone and one tael, only land tax and taxation can earn 1943 million taels!

But actually?Since Zhang Juzheng's death, Ming's land tax and taxes have been declining year by year, and by the time of Chongzhen, even ten million taels could not be collected.

This is true of land tax and tax, not to mention Ding tax and corvee discount.

Because a large number of officials and scholars were exempted from military service, and a large number of people fled, these two taxes actually existed in name only during the reign of Chongzhen, and only a few scattered silver taels were collected in a year.

These scattered silver taels are not even enough for the tax-collecting subordinates to run errands.

The last is the three rates. If the full amount can be collected, the Liao rate will be 700 million, the suppression rate will be 280 million, the training rate will be 730 million, and the three rates will add up to 1710 million!
But this is only a theoretical tax figure.

In fact, only half of the three rates can be collected at most.

One is because there are too many people fleeing, and the other is greed for ink.

From the early years of Chongzhen to the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the regular tax, the small tax, the corvee discount and the three rates, all added up, there is no way that even one year can exceed 2000 million taels!

That's why it is said that the tax collection end is a bad debt.

However, the tax collection is bad, and the expenditure is even worse. It is so bad that it can't be worse.

If you really want to reveal two bad books, everyone's face will be ugly, including Chongzhen.

Because Chongzhen's inner court is even worse, civil servants still have [-]% of the tax collection, and the inner court only has [-]%!
Zhang Youyu simply quit, and Gao Hongtu, who was also the secretary of the household department, was directly exposed to the guns of the scholars.

Several scholars have pointed their finger at Gao Hongtu: "Old Gao Ge, Da Situ, why don't you stand up and say something? What's the matter with Liao's salary?"

Gao Hongtu knew that he couldn't understand these scholars at all.

Gao Hongtu could only plead with Chongzhen, "Your Majesty, the time is almost up, and the court discussion should begin."

Chongzhen smiled. So far, his intention has been perfectly achieved. He used the scholar's satirical comments only to beat and warn the cabinet, not really wanting to tear his face.

Chongzhen just wanted the cabinet to understand that both the inner court and the cabinet were shit.

So I want you to wipe my ass clean, that's no problem, but you have to at least pay out the paper money, if you don't say anything, today's court meeting will not be easy.

Immediately, Chongzhen said to Qian Qianyi: "Qian Muzhai, let's do this first."

Qian Qianyi understood it, and immediately went to the stage and said: "Students, the Holy Majesty and the cabinet still have important national affairs to discuss. Today's discussion ends here. After you go back, you can write an article on the taxation, drift and other issues discussed today. I will post some more in-depth insights on various matters, and well-written articles will be posted on the bulletin board for students to comment and discuss."

When Qian Qianyi spoke, Chongzhen got up at the right time and left Yilun Hall surrounded by Shi Kefa and other officials.

Although the scholars felt that they were not satisfied, the Holy Majesty had already left, so they didn't want to waste any more time, and hurried back to the dormitory to write an article while the memory was still in their minds.

If I can write a majestic essay,

Maybe from now on, Jane will be in the emperor's heart.

……

The doctor's hall on the left side of the Imperial College has already been prepared.

As soon as Chongzhen came in, he sat in the middle, and Zhu Cihong and Zhu Cijiong sat on the left and right of Chongzhen.

Seeing that the four of Shi Kefa were all standing, Chongzhen said: "Wang Daban, add four chairs, and invite the four elders to sit down and discuss matters."

Wang Chengen hurriedly took the little eunuch to add four chairs to the hall, Shi Kefa and the four first thanked Chongzhen according to the etiquette, and then took their seats one by one.

Chongzhen raised his hand and said, "Let's begin."

Shi Kefa then turned to Zhang Youyu and said, "Zuo Situ, explain the situation to His Majesty first."

"Yes." Zhang Youyu responded, bowed to Chongzhen again, and stood up, "Qizou Shengshang, due to the fall of the capital, all the account books of the household department have been lost, so the financial expenditure accounts of Chongzhen's sixteen years can no longer be calculated. gone."

"There is no need to mention this matter." Chongzhen said, "Let's let the past go, today we only discuss this year's budget."

"Yes." Zhang Youyu said with a bow, "Beizhi, Shandong, Shanxi, and Shaanxi have all fallen, most of Henan Province, Shanxi Province, and a part of Huguang Province have also fallen into the hands of bandits, and Sichuan Province is suffering from Zhang Xianzhong's persecution. Only Nanzhi, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Yunnan and Guizhou are the only tax sources, and the total acreage is even less than [-] million mu. Therefore, in the [-]th year of Chongzhen, the regular tax, Ding tax, and corvee discount plus three rates, the total budget is only [-] million two."

Chongzhen was not at all surprised by this number.

Because the annual income in the previous few years was less than [-] million.

It's not bad to collect [-] million taels this year.

(End of this chapter)