I'm only seven years old, Lao Zhu, you let me supervise the country?

Chapter 156: The best of both worlds!
Zhu Yunxuan looked at him lightly and said nothing.

As the magistrate of Suzhou, Liu Hanmo pleaded for the people of Suzhou, which is justified.

But he is the grandson of the emperor of Ming Dynasty and the supervisor of the country.

There is more than just Suzhou to consider.

Suzhou's taxation involves the national policy of the Ming Dynasty. How can it be changed casually?

anyway.

It’s not like Zhu Yunxuan never thought about changing the current tax system of the Ming Dynasty.

For example, Zhang Juzheng promoted a whip method, and even Qing Dynasty Yongzheng's tax system was better than Ming Dynasty's current tax system.

But he also knows better that nothing can be taken for granted.

Just the increase in business tax has caused such an uproar.

From the struggle in the court to the Japanese pirates occupying Songjiang Mansion, it can be said that it all started from this.

Although the Japanese Rebellion is over now, there are quite a few people in Songjiang who lost their lives and lost their families because of this.

It is conceivable that there will be great resistance to reforming the land tax.

After Zhang Juzheng's death, his tomb was dug up. Although it was barely implemented, the gentry and the gentry were all in charge of the errands and paid for the food. It was abolished in the Qianlong period.

If he has already succeeded to the throne, he is not afraid of anything, and can carry out drastic reforms.

Zhu Yunxi was sure to face even his enormous resistance.

But he is still the crown prince, can Lao Zhu agree with him to do this?

Obstruction by vested interests is a very real problem.

Even in the era of modern civilization before he traveled through time, any reform that touched those with vested interests would face difficulties.

Looking at Liu Hanmo who was kneeling on the ground, Zhu Yunxi sighed and said, "How much tax and food has Lanyu paid during this time?"

Liu Hanmo said hurriedly: "The estimated grain is 320 per stone, and the silver is 520, two taels and three coins."

You don't even need to search the book, do you remember it so clearly?
Zhu Yunxi was slightly surprised.

I have a good impression of Liu Hanmo, the prefect of Suzhou in front of me.

As for Suzhou’s dilemma.

He remembered the matter of Songjiang Demon City, and he already had an idea in his mind.

"Taxes that have already been recovered cannot be refunded."

The imperial court collects taxes as a matter of course, and it cannot be said that Lan Yu is wrong in pursuing the tax arrears.

Taxes in Suzhou cannot always be owed and not paid.

However, Lan Yu chased him too quickly.

How can the people afford to collect all the taxes owed over the years in a short period of time?

When Liu Hanmo heard this, his eyes immediately showed disappointment.

What he wanted in this request was that Zhu Yunxi could return the grain and money collected to the people.

After all, the reason why Lan Yu vigorously pursued taxes was to collect food for the army to fight.

Now that the Japanese riots in Songjiang have been put down, there is no need for the army to come.

Then these grains will no longer be used and can be returned to the people.

It never occurred to her that His Royal Highness would veto this item as soon as she opened her mouth.

He was downcast and unwilling.

"His Royal Highness, the people of Suzhou have gone bankrupt in order to pay back the taxes and food owed, and there is no food left in the family. If they don't return it and don't give relief, they will starve to death!"

"Don't worry, I won't let people starve to death in Suzhou." Zhu Yunzhen changed the topic and said: "There is no need to escort this money and food to the court."

Liu Hanmo looked up, confused.

Zhu Yunxi smiled and said, "All the grain and money collected will be sent to Songjiang Mansion for the construction of the new city of Demon City."

The construction of the new city is a very huge expenditure.

He was worrying about where to raise money.

The money and food collected from Suzhou can be used just right.

As for helping the people of Suzhou.

"Prefect Liu, please post a notice and tell the people of Suzhou that if you have no food at home and want to survive, you can go to Songjiang Prefecture to work and participate in the construction of the new city."

He paused, and then said: "If there are people who are imprisoned by the government because of urging the payment of taxes and rations, they will all be released. Let them go to Songjiang to work and convert the taxes and rations."

"If you have idle labor at home, you can also work in Songjiang Prefecture to earn money and food."

"Those who have accumulated tax, money and food arrears are also allowed to use this method to convert their wages based on daily work and offset the arrears of taxes, money and food."

"The Guhui wrote to Zheng He that Songjiang would charge as many people as they went to Suzhou. In addition to taking care of food and housing, they would also calculate wages on a daily basis."

Relief with work.

This is Zhu Yunxuan's solution.

The construction of the magic capital requires a lot of money and manpower.

The people in Suzhou have no food and no food to eat, so they all go to build a magical city.

Not only can you have a full stomach, but you can also settle the taxes, money and food owed over the years.

For him, it solved the urgent funding problem for the construction of the Magic City.

He generally knows the income and expenditure of the Ming Dynasty Household Department.

There is really not much money that can be squeezed out of the treasury.

The war in the north required money, and he ran the new army, the shipyard, the technology research and manufacturing bureau, and even the compilation of the Hongwu Canon...it all cost money!

Although the increase in commercial taxes slightly improved Ming Dynasty Yan's income.

But the expenditure has also expanded a lot!
Everything he has to do is a bottomless golden hole.

There are many types of taxes in Ming Dynasty.

In addition to the food tax to be paid, there is another very important item, which is corvee.

That is to say, ordinary people are conscripted to work, but they are not paid, and even the people have to solve their own meals.

In the Ming Dynasty, the tax was not heavy, but the corvee was very heavy, and the people couldn't bear it.

For the construction of the new city of Shanghai, it would be a huge tragedy if the people were expropriated on a large scale and their corvees were aggravated.

Similar examples are common in many major construction projects in history.

Such as the Grand Canal, such as the Great Wall...even the construction of the Yellow River embankment at the end of the Yuan Dynasty...

But Zhu Yunxuan had long been determined to get rid of this shortcoming.

The construction of the new city in the Magic City was all based on hiring labor, providing food and paying wages.

This is also to lay the foundation for the commodity economy of Shanghai in the future.

Set an example for future development.

The tax arrears in Suzhou fell into his hands.

Anyway, the tax was already in arrears. If it is confiscated, the Ministry of Revenue will not lose anything.

It is used to build the new city of Magic City, which is considered to be the best use.

Not only the silver taels collected, but also the arrears over the years.

Those are just numbers on the government's account books, but they can't actually be collected.

Lan Yu's aggressive pursuit in Suzhou only recovered part of it.

The rest is basically hopeless.

But it is not useful to let them work instead of paying taxes.

This is different from the nature of corvee service. They don't need to bring their own food, and they don't have to worry about running out of food, but it can be converted into wages.

Although the money was used to offset the taxes owed to the court.

But most people still hope to pay it back.

This also prevents the government from calling for payment every year, or even coming to arrest people at every turn.

In this way, the people of Suzhou survived, and the capital and manpower problems needed for the construction of the magic capital were also solved.

The best of both worlds.

Liu Hanmo was overjoyed: "On behalf of the millions of people in Suzhou, I would like to thank His Highness Taisun for your kindness."

Zhu Yunxuan smiled lightly and said: "The people of Suzhou are also the people of the Ming Dynasty. As a prince alone, you should love the people like your sons."

"What you said today about the heavy burden of taxes in Suzhou, you have your own calculations in your own mind, but the time is not yet ripe."

"However, I can grant you a temporary solution."

When Liu Hanmo heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Although Zhu Yunzhen solved Suzhou's temporary difficulties by using work-for-relief methods.

However, the problem of taxation is puzzling, and the future of Suzhou is still worrying.

"Please express it clearly to His Majesty the Grand Sun." Liu Hanmo bowed his hands.

Zhu Yunxi stood up, walked around, and said: "How much tax does the court collect from Suzhou every year, the total amount must not be reduced."

"Gu decided to open the sea ban, set up tax certificates, and allow people to do business without being restricted by household registration, all in order to stimulate business development."

"Suzhou is the commercial center of the southeast, and has always had a strong business culture."

"I can promise you, as long as you can make Suzhou's commerce more prosperous, and the tax collected from commerce can be greatly increased, then Suzhou's land tax can be reduced accordingly."

"If the commercial tax levied in Suzhou can exceed the land tax, then all the fields in Suzhou will be tax-free."

Zhu Yunzhen's voice fell.

Liu Hanmo raised his head, his eyes filled with disbelief.

(End of this chapter)