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Chapter 714: Phantom of Changmen 2
At first, they delayed paying taxes and grain, finding all kinds of excuses. In view of the fact that taxes and grain in Suzhou were too heavy, the court did not pursue them relentlessly. But not urging them does not mean not paying, and they will have to make up for it sooner or later.

The local people had no other choice but to sell their land to the gentry and become tenants. Although they lost their land, the gentry and tycoons had family honors or officials, and enjoyed tax-free land, so they could at least get some food to barely survive.

Or they simply stopped farming and went to work by the canal, spun yarn and wove cloth, or smuggled salt. Anyway, they did whatever they could to make money. It didn't matter whether it was prohibited by the imperial court or not. The Ming Dynasty was not theirs, so what did they care about its prosperity?

As a result, the phenomenon of land annexation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions became more and more serious. Most of the land fell into the hands of gentry and powerful people, and was registered as tax-free land, so they were legitimately exempt from paying taxes.

By the Xuande period, the imperial court had actually collected very little tax grain from Suzhou Prefecture. Zhu Zhanji ordered an investigation, but encountered great resistance. For their own interests, the local government certainly did not want to offend the gentry and powerful, and simply did not tell the truth.

The imperial envoy was sent to rectify the taxation, but he triggered a civil uprising as soon as he arrived in Suzhou. The rioters not only openly resisted the tax, but also gathered together to rob houses. Most of the land was in the name of the gentry and powerful, so it was even more difficult to find out whether it exceeded the standard.

Seeing that no tax could be collected at all, Zhu Zhanji had no choice but to issue an edict to reduce it. During the Wanli period, the tax grain in Suzhou Prefecture was reduced from 277 million dan to 72 dan, but it was still not able to be paid in full.

The local people have formed a habit. They would rather go to great lengths to falsify information and risk being beheaded to resist taxes than to pay taxes easily, no matter how much.

Even Zhang Juzheng, who was known for his iron fist, met with setbacks when he implemented the New Deal in Suzhou Prefecture. He wrote in a letter that the people in Suzhou Prefecture were addicted to demanding grain, and that the villagers were the most shameless, calling it a ghost place.

Even during the Jingyang period when Hong Tao ascended the throne, he did not dare to take direct action against the bureaucratic interest groups in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. He could only indirectly weaken their influence through the appointment and removal of court officials, the blockade of sea routes, and the establishment of new economic centers in Guangdong, Fujian, and Tianjin.

But no matter how they tried to avoid it, the two sides still had two head-on confrontations during their more than ten years in power. The first time was in the fourth year of Jingyang's reign, when many northern provinces were severely hit by famine, and the bureaucratic groups in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, together with some court officials, wanted to kill two birds with one stone by hoarding grain in order to oppose the new disaster relief law.

The second time occurred in Songjiang Prefecture in the tenth year of Jingyang's reign. The Shanxi Merchants Group and the Ningbo Merchants Group instigated civil unrest and actually received secret support from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang bureaucratic groups.

The law does not punish the masses, which is their usual tactic. They used this tactic to deal with several emperors in the past, but they did not expect to suffer a big setback with Emperor Jingyang, and lost almost all the supporters in the court. Since then, there has been no large-scale resistance.

However, the bureaucratic capitalist groups in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions had no intention of submitting to Emperor Jingyang's new policies. They were forced to lie dormant for the time being and wait for the opportunity because they could not fight openly.

If you ask why the bureaucratic capitalist group was so persistent in opposing the emperor and the new policy, this is completely different from opposing the high-tax grain policy.

Zhu Yuanzhang deliberately tortured the people of Suzhou Prefecture out of revenge, and the new policy was not targeted at anyone or anyone, nor did it discriminate against any region. The reason for the current irreconcilable situation is purely because of two words: interests.

The New Deal opened up maritime trade, established customs, and strengthened the suppression of bandits and smuggling at sea. This series of policies revitalized merchants engaged in maritime trade, factories and workshops that exported a large number of products, and industries that imported a large number of raw materials. With the sharp increase in tariffs, both local governments and the central court benefited. Only the bureaucratic capitalists who had relied on their power to dominate maritime smuggling and monopolize imported goods suffered losses. Not only did they lose their monopoly, but they also suffered severe crackdowns from the navy. They lost both their people and their money. It would be strange if they were not furious.

The New Deal liberated the farmers. The taxes for both self-cultivating farmers and tenants decreased year by year. They could also reclaim wasteland and grow new crops to offset taxes, or join farm cooperatives. They had many options and were no longer controlled by the gentry and powerful landlords.

The New Deal also created a new class, the workers. Unlike traditional craftsmen, workers were freer and simpler, and could be replicated in large quantities. At the same time, they were more dependent on the New Deal. Without the existence of a large number of factories, there would be no soil for their survival.

The final result of the new policy was to revitalize the local economy and allow silver to circulate effectively. To give a simple example, most of the shares of Changping Woolen Mill were owned by the six ministries and nine ministers, but it was not them who actually paid the silver, but the gentry and powerful landlords who were dependent on them.

If the money was hidden in the cellar, it would have no effect except oxidation, and there would be no opportunities for lending without the New Deal. But investing it in the woolen mill not only generated dividends every year, but also solved the livelihoods of thousands of workers, giving them a relatively stable meal.

Because of the woolen mill, the herdsmen of the Kharchin and Tumed tribes also had an extra income. If they had a little more similar income, they might not have chosen to invade the south. Who would be willing to fight with a knife when they could have a meal by shearing wool?

In fact, the benefits are far more than that. After the woolen mill's products come out, they need to be transported whether they are going south or north, which is equivalent to supporting the stevedores and boatmen. When they arrive at the place, they have to be sold, so wholesalers and retailers can also make a profit. If they are to be exported, the maritime merchants and customs will have to make another income.

Look, the silver that was originally going to be buried in the cellar and could be lent out at high interest rates at any time, all you need to do is take out tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and build a factory when the opportunity arises. Not only can you make a huge profit yourself, but you can also provide benefits to thousands of people, including the court and the country.

According to Emperor Jingyang, this is called social responsibility. According to ancient sages, this is called helping the world when you are successful. Anyway, no matter who you listen to, it is a good thing that benefits others, yourself, and the country.

Compared with the New Deal, the management style of bureaucratic capital is not so good. They use their power to monopolize the market, and then eat all the food, hoping to eat themselves to death, while also almost starving all social classes to death. They belong to the category of harming others for their own benefit, and the difference is obvious.

But then again, monopoly is really good. Once you have this, nothing else is good. Anyone who wants to break the monopoly is an irreconcilable enemy. It is either you or me. There is no possibility of coexistence.

The new policies implemented by Emperor Jingyang, on the surface, seemed to benefit the people, but in reality they were digging out the roots of bureaucratic monopoly of industries and redistributing interests under the guise of creating new interests.

It's just that he did it in a rather obscure way, using many tricks to hide his true intentions. Not many people might have understood it at the beginning, but the truth will come out sooner or later, and as the new policy gradually took shape, its true colors could no longer be concealed.

Although the imperial power was at its peak at that time and no one could shake it at will, in order to protect their own interests, there were still people who were willing and dared to take risks when they had the chance. The reason was that the benefits were too great.

(End of this chapter)