People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 470 Civil Servant: Chen Han, this is the only way you can win people’s hearts!

After hearing what the shopkeeper said, the Minister of Rites was so angry that his beard almost fell off.

As the Minister of Rites, I am a third-rank official in the capital.

Who dares to say that I have no knowledge?

Say I am ignorant.

You are a small shopkeeper in a remote area of ​​Peking Prefecture, and you dare to say this to me. You are so bold.

But then the shopkeeper said, "You seem to be from the countryside. You have no idea how much the Duke's reforms have brought to us businessmen.

But from your current state, you can really see that the Duke's reforms have brought about tremendous changes to us businessmen.

So in the past two or three years, there have been tremendous changes. Not to mention you, even we ourselves felt it was too dreamy at the beginning.

But what I didn’t expect was that this was actually happening.

Old man, you have to know that in the past two years, we businessmen would not have such a high status as we do now.

But if you go and ask around now, things are really different.

Nowadays, when we go out, everyone respects us.

We ourselves should also hold our heads high and be human beings.

We can’t say we are complacent, but at least we are better than before.”

The Minister of Rites was stunned for a moment when he heard the shopkeeper's confidence, and even pondered the words before speaking.

“But I heard that you paid a lot of taxes. Are you willing to pay so much tax?
Even if the profit you mentioned is so high, are you willing to pay such high taxes?

You have to know that he is an ordinary citizen, but he doesn’t pay much tax.

You have so many friends like them, can you feel balanced?"

Businessmen do have to pay taxes that are more than ten times higher than before.

Chen Han's reforms were mainly aimed at obtaining more taxes from these businessmen.

He looked down upon the taxes that the common people had to pay for farming, so he exempted them again and again.

Even though most of them are farmers, the taxes they pay in the past two years are actually not as much as those paid by businessmen.

Logically speaking, business people should be very angry.

Why is this happening?

We are all the same people.

They are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty.

But those who grow crops pay only a small amount of tax.

It's unacceptable that we as businessmen have to pay such high taxes.

But after hearing this, the shopkeeper had something to say, "Old man, it's actually wrong for you to think this way.

You have to know that we paid so little tax before, but how much discrimination did we suffer?
Apart from anything else, those officials working in the yamen look down on us.

Even if you ask ordinary people, you will find that there is no one whose child would be told that he would go into business in the future.

When they hear that we are in business, they think we are inferior.

It's a bitch.

Is a lowly household.

But things are different now.

The most important reform of the Duke was to abolish the so-called lowly classes.

Those of us in business can hold our heads high.

We can now live in the inns that were previously open to government officials.

As long as you pay, they will treat you.

As long as we pay the money, they will treat us like guests.

Delicious food and drinks are provided.

When the local people heard that we were doing business, they were willing to let us take a look at their local specialties that could not be sold to other places.

A market has even formed on the edge.

All of this happened because of us.

With all this, do you think we would be unwilling to accept this?
Before, we were looked down upon wherever we went. Before, we were easily treated unfairly wherever we went. Now it is no longer the case.

There are railways and inns on the road, which makes our eating, accommodation and transportation much more convenient.

There is no robbery now. The officials and soldiers of the imperial court are all holding muskets and cannons. When the bandits see us, they turn around and run away. They dare not rob along the way, so we are much safer.

We make a lot of money, we have security and respect, so what does this little tax mean to us?
Don’t you think this is true?”

After hearing what the shopkeeper said, the Minister of Rites was speechless and could not say a word in rebuttal.

He never imagined that these businessmen would actually praise the reform.

Even his eyes were full of respect for Chen Han.

This made him feel very sad.

What he wanted to hear was that these people were full of resentment towards the current reforms.

Especially these businessmen.

He only heard about Chen Han's reforms, which imposed a lot of taxes on these businessmen, increasing them more than ten times.

The Minister of Rites thought that businessmen would definitely have resentment.

But he didn't expect that the other person explained it to him so clearly.

Put everything in front of you.

Whether it is transportation or food, accommodation and travel, there have been tremendous improvements.

Even the bandits along the way turned around and ran away when they saw the imperial court had muskets and cannons, and dared not come out to rob.

This is the most important security guarantee for businessmen.

They have dignity and can make money, so paying such a small amount of tax is nothing to them.

This was something he didn't expect.

The Minister of Rites muttered, "So, you are very much in favor of this reform?"

The shopkeeper slammed the table and said, "Of course. If I had known that the Duke would reform the law, I should have expanded the store earlier, so that my business would be better.

Don’t you see how good our business is now?

Even in a remote area like Beiping Prefecture, there are many merchants coming from all over the place.

My small grocery store can earn more than ten taels of silver every day. Did I ever think of this before? "

The Minister of Rites finally left this small grocery store in disappointment and dejection.

He never imagined that this small grocery store could earn more than ten taels of silver every day.

Their salaries were not so high before.

From this perspective, a small grocery store like this may only earn a few thousand dollars a year.

He didn't believe it at first.

But when he saw the huge flow of people in the market in Beiping Prefecture, he began to believe it.

It was especially great to see that many people from different places were dressed differently, yet they were concentrated in such a small city like Beiping.

He believed that what the shopkeeper said just now was right.

He was muttering to himself.

How could it be so good?

How could it be like this?
Shouldn't these people be resentful?
This is what we should resent.

Paying so much tax doesn't do them any good?
Why should they pay so much?
Why can't we complain?

He muttered to himself and walked to a small stall.

This is a local specialty that ordinary people bring from their homes.

At first glance, they were fresh vegetables just pulled out of the ground, and there were also some pickles. He saw that these common people probably didn't know what the reform was.

So he squatted down and started chatting with others.

At first, when the people saw him, they thought he was here to buy vegetables.

I didn't expect that he came to chat and was indeed a bit impatient.

What I mean is that you are blocking my business.

But after the Minister of Rites bought a few vegetables from him, a smile appeared on the common man's face.

"My friend, I want to ask you something."

The old man looked up. Since he was a customer, the expression on his face was very relaxed. "Ask."

"You said that the imperial court is collecting such high taxes from you now. As a small stall owner, don't you feel resentful?"

The previous shopkeeper had a shop and earned more than ten taels of silver a day, so of course they didn't care about that little tax.

But for street vendors, they only earn a few copper coins a day. If they were to pay so much tax, they would definitely have countless complaints.

But the common people burst into laughter and said, "Who said we have to pay taxes?"

The Minister of Rites was stunned for a moment.

He knew before that in his hometown, even those who set up stalls in the market had to pay taxes.

There were soldiers and patrol officers collecting taxes along the streets.

If Chen Han raised the commercial tax so high, then these ordinary people would have to pay a lot of taxes.

In this case, how can the people not complain?

But I didn't expect that the common people would just raise their heads and say, who said there are taxes.

This made him even more confused.

"Doesn't the court collect taxes from you?"

The fellow villager looked at him and said, "Old man, you don't look like an ignorant person. You don't know that there is a very clear point in the Duke's reform.

People like us who set up stalls on the street and earn less than five taels of silver a day do not need to pay taxes.

How many copper coins can I earn from selling vegetables in a day? The Duke would not even look at this little money. "

The Minister of Rites was even more confused when he heard this.

It is obvious that the money of ordinary people can be collected, but why not?
It is a waste of resources to not use the opportunity to increase your income.

And looking at these ordinary people setting up stalls and selling vegetables here, they can actually make a lot in a day.

Why can't we collect high taxes from them?
But they want to collect taxes from those of us who have made contributions and passed the imperial examinations?

This is simply unfair.

So he was actually very unhappy when he thought about this.

Otherwise, how could it be said that the Minister of Rites had lost his sympathy for the common people long ago after serving as an official for a lifetime?

Even though he was once a passionate young man.

When I was a minor official, I was very concerned about the eating, drinking, defecating and urinating of the common people.

I felt sympathy when I saw the common people wearing tattered clothes.

But now, he always thinks about his own little schemes.

It’s always about eating, drinking, defecating and urinating at home.

This is why, after becoming an official, one loses touch with ordinary people and loses much sympathy for them.

He even hardened his heart and thought that this was how officials were.

It will never be possible to walk with the common people.

Because ordinary people have no way to help themselves.

So I can only contact the people mentioned above.

After having more contact with these upper-class people, they are easily brainwashed by them.

I always feel that these ordinary people have no way to help us.

Then why should we pay so much attention to them?

Just please the superiors and appease the subordinates. If appeasement is really not possible, just suppress them.

This is the best way to deal with ordinary people.

However, although he thought so, he had to admit that the method used by Chen Han was very easy to win the hearts of the people.

The common people no longer have to pay taxes, they don’t have to pay taxes for farming, they don’t have to pay taxes for setting up stalls, so how can the lives of the common people not be good?
Especially since there are so many businessmen concentrated in Beiping Prefecture, even if you let the common people come to buy vegetables, you can still make a little money.

It is precisely because of these reasons that the people here live so well and are so supportive of reforms.

Now he finally understood why the people reacted so violently when they heard that he was coming to investigate whether Prince Yan of Beiping Prefecture had committed any fraud.

He dared to throw rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs at himself at the city gate.

Because in their eyes, the reforms of Chen Han and others are the best for them.

If these civil servants disrupt the reform, their lives will definitely become miserable.

That's why they rose up in resistance like that.

After realizing this, the Minister of Rites clenched his fists even more.

Although those officials told him that he must not disrupt the reform.

The reforms here are very good for the people.

But he saw something else.

He thought he had a very unique vision, so he saw through it at a glance.

It turns out that these people actually have nothing to gain, otherwise they would never be so supportive of reforms.

That’s it, that’s it.

Chen Han, you really know how to win people's hearts.

How long can you keep winning people's hearts like this?

You don't need them to pay taxes now, but if the foreign war doesn't go well and you need more military funds, will you not collect their taxes?
Will you still be so nice to them?
Totally impossible.

You are just drinking poison to quench your thirst.

I can't let you go on like this.

Otherwise, how can we say that some people really have mental problems.

He always felt that there must be a reason why others did this.

Now he finally found the reason.

It turned out that these common people needed Chen Han's help, so they were so afraid that someone would sabotage Chen Han's reforms.

But who am I?

I am a civil servant.

Could he just sit back and do nothing after seeing all these unrests?
He knew that if he sat back and did nothing, the Ming Dynasty would surely decline.

Chen Han’s current reforms are nothing more than a temporary solution to a problem, and this temporary solution cannot last long.

So after he thought about this, he no longer cared about how ordinary people lived.

So after he returned to the inn, he looked at other people with a slightly different look in his eyes.

I even feel like I am the only one awake while all of you are drunk. I am the only one sober while everyone else is drunk.

He always felt that he saw something that others did not see.

But when others looked at him, they felt that this person was definitely up to something bad.

Then the officials came to his room one after another.

Of course, before he even opened his mouth to ask, he heard the Minister of Rites directly say, "You don't need to say anything more. I know how to make the decision. You don't need to follow me. I know that I will go all the way on this road alone until the end."

……

(End of this chapter)