Daming, originally wanted to destroy it, but the system came

Chapter 459
In fact, Zhu Zhen has realized before that today's taxation is too complicated and confusing.

Local officials actually have the right to allocate miscellaneous taxes to the people at will?

How is this different from the previous dynasty?

It's a shame that his father didn't realize the seriousness of the problem.

Change, must change.

It's just that he was still the King of Dian at that time and was not qualified to preside over such a thing.

You know, this is the so-called reform. Just for this whipping method, Zhang Juzheng can be said to have offended everyone except the common people.

As a result, when Zhang Juzheng died, those reform systems were abolished.

Regardless of Zhang Juzheng's personal ethics, this whipping method is still good.

Zhu Zhen was powerless before. As a prince, he had to convince the emperor above and face strong resistance from officials below, so he was not in a hurry to do anything.

The apportionment of people into acres means changing the head tax, also known as the head tax, into a land tax. From then on, the head tax will not be counted, and the tax will be paid according to the amount of land owned by each family.

The yellow list of taxes and servitudes classified households into three and nine levels. Anyone who encountered a corvée would be issued a list to check his severity, and he would be assigned to the upper, middle and lower levels according to his classification.

Luring hundreds of officials into the trap with money to raise integrity, and then pulling out a whip method, and then implementing the method of dividing the land into acres and allowing the gentry to pay the grain together.

Needless to say, military service is the forced conscription of strong men. Nowadays, military household registration is also responsible for military service outside the regular army.

If you just choose one out of ten, isn't this forcing the people to rebel?
Zhu Zhen smiled, looked at Li Shuran, and said, "Is it heavy?"

In particular, he mentioned personal income tax.

Corvee service, including labor service, miscellaneous service, military service and other titles.

"Now I finally thought of a way. The common people are not as well-educated as you, and they don't have as much insight as you. The common people only know that if the court levies taxes, they have to pay taxes. How simple and true."

According to records, in the Ming Dynasty, people were assigned to engage in various irregular labor services based on the amount of food and property owned by households.

But his one whip method covers both of these.

It's equivalent to if you can't pay taxes, then go to work and pay taxes with free labor.

For example, how many people a farm family has, how many head taxes they have to pay.

The so-called sharing the land from one person to another was an idea that originated from Kangxi, and was later perfected and promoted by Yongzheng.

To put it simply, the previous taxes were collected based on the poll tax, which was simply a bastard.

Let's put it this way, when the Qin Dynasty built the Great Wall, countless people died, and when the Ming Dynasty built the Great Wall during the Hongwu period, countless people also died.

"I have seen it in my eyes since I was a child, and I am anxious in my heart, but I suffer from being unable to solve my father's problems."

But countless people gasped.

Li Shuran nodded: "It's too heavy."

To be honest, Zhu Ming really has no selfish motives and really does it for the people.

And these people were actually not slaves, but ordinary people. It was precisely because of the corvee system that they were expropriated, and in the end countless people died of exhaustion.

"Let me ask you, what is wrong with this move? In this Jinluan Hall today, even if there is no upright plaque on it, I still want to ask you, do I have any selfish motives? Is this move appropriate?"

"The people in the world are suffering. Even if my father works hard to govern, he can't take care of every single person."

This is already very conscientious.

In other words, corvées were indeed included in miscellaneous taxes.

Very pitiful.

It should be noted that nowadays, even the business tax paid by merchants with so-called humble status is 1/30.

"From now on, everyone in the world will have to pay taxes, and they will pay taxes based on personal income. If you earn ten taels of silver this year, you will pay one tael of silver. Choose one out of ten."

Even he can't add more at will.

But now that he is the king of a country, he said in a determined tone: "I am not discussing with you, but giving an order. This whipping method must be implemented. Otherwise, the people will suffer."

That is a tax rate of 10 percent.

"Today I will completely abolish all miscellaneous taxes, arbitrary taxes, harsh taxes and taxes. From now on, the court will only collect one tax every year, and only one tax will be levied on each person, which is personal income tax."

"However, this is a whipping law, which means that apart from this, the court will not levy any additional taxes. Not to mention miscellaneous taxes and taxes, even corvee and other labor services will be exempted. Is it still heavy?" Zhu Chu threw another heavy bomb.

And the court does not need to pay additional military pay.

Zhu Chu didn't mention a single word about Tan Ding Ru Mu, but every word was consistent with Tan Ding Ru Mu.

Li Shuran looked at Zhu Zhen dumbfounded.

"It's too heavy, Your Majesty," even Li Shuran shook his head.

"According to an individual's annual income level, if there is a good harvest this year, then pay more. If there is a disaster this year, then pay less or not at all. If the disaster is serious, the court will provide disaster relief."

He no longer talked about sharing the land alone and the gentry sharing the grain together.

Once the phenomenon of miscellaneous and arbitrary taxes is completely eliminated, it is conceivable that the people will no longer have to suffer torture and oppression.

"On the contrary, many people, especially those from aristocratic families, occupy land and enjoy the glory and wealth, but they have to avoid the responsibilities they should bear."

The labor and handymen are even more complicated.

This is what serious people should do.

Co-author: Your family is a landowner, farming hundreds of acres of land, but because you only have one son, you only pay one person's tax.

And my family only has one acre of land and has to raise ten people, so I have to pay ten people’s taxes?
Are you being unreasonable?

No wonder it was always said in ancient times that people could only be poor for three generations, and people would simply self-destruct within three generations. The ancients honestly didn’t deceive me.

Zhu Xi's gameplay is even simpler and clearer.

If you make ten cents this year, then pay one cent.

Are you a landowner? You made a lot of money this year, one hundred thousand taels of silver, right? Then just pay ten thousand taels.

Therefore, Zhu Chu had thought before that there was no need to harvest leeks from the common people. If he wanted to harvest them, he would be harvesting them from big landowners and aristocratic families.

"In addition, there is also the return of Huo Huo to the public," Zhu Zhen proposed a new policy.

"Since I have decided to completely put an end to all miscellaneous taxes, arbitrary taxes, and taxes, the loss of tax money, tax money, and tax grain collected on the road to the capital will also be borne by the imperial court."

In the past, when local officials levied money taxes, they would levy more money on the grounds of wastage, which was also called "Huo Hao" or "Huo Hao".

For example, in the Han Dynasty, for every one stone of grain paid, the cost of two dou was increased. During the reign of Emperor Yin of the Later Han Dynasty, the cost of sparrows and mice increased from one stone of grain to two dou of grain to four dou.

Now that Zhu Chu has proposed that Huo Xiao be returned to the public, even this part of the oppression that may be exerted on the people has been put to an end.

Zhu Zhen asked Li Shuran with a smile: "Do you still think this tax is heavy?"

Li Shuran shook his head slowly and took in a breath of cold air. Suddenly he fell to the ground and shouted: "My lord is the Holy Ming, the emperor of the ages."

Zhu Chu's combination of punches will fool hundreds of officials, aristocratic families, landlords, gentry, and all princes and nobles.

But there is only one thing: Zhu Chu is benefiting the people, and Zhu Chu is protecting the rights and interests of the people.

As long as they are not stupid, everyone knows that Zhu Ming is doing a thankless job. He only wants to please the people by offending all classed people in the world.

This is no longer just loving the people like a son, it can even be said to be pleasing the people.

There are many learned people in the court.

Liu Sanwu walked out excitedly and knelt behind Li Shuran.

There are also Yan Shitai, Shen Rong, Zhuo Jing, Qian Gui, Gu Wen and others.

Even Zhu Zhen and many people who could not be called Zhu Zhen knelt down and worshiped, shouting: "My lord is holy."

Not everyone is selfish, and not everyone cares about personal gains and losses.

At least during the Hongwu period in the early Ming Dynasty, those who could stand in this hall were not greedy villains.

But there are also many people who are worried. Some of these people are thinking about their families, and some are worried about other aspects.

Since Zhu Ming came to power, he has made constant big moves, launching wars externally and carrying out internal reforms one after another.

With such frequent actions, aren’t you worried about shaking the country’s stability?

Of course, there is no need to worry. Zhu Ming only has one thought in his mind, that is, the one who wins the hearts of the people wins the world.

As long as he has the support of the people in the world, Zhu Zhen is not afraid of the aristocratic families uniting to fight against him. You can’t fight a war, nor can you support people’s support or reputation. What else do you have?
"Should the land be state-owned?" Zhu Zhen thought. Should he continue to work hard?
But after thinking about it, he shook his head and said, forget it, if you continue, Baiguan will go crazy.

And even the people of the world should not be able to understand it now, right?
Once the land is state-owned, there is no need to worry about land annexation.

Wang Mang wanted to do this at the beginning, but not only the aristocratic family objected, but also the common people complained, which can be said to have offended everyone.

That's because the people don't understand that the country won't compete with the people for profit, and in the end it won't give them land to farm.

This can avoid land annexation and ensure that people have an absolute basis for farming.

But in a short period of time, I'm afraid no one could understand it. They thought he was greedy and wanted to take away the people's land.

But they don’t understand that those aristocratic families, landowners and gentry are the ones who really want to take away their land.

Therefore, it is said that Wang Mang is truly reckless, and Zhu Mang needs to be more restrained most of the time.

Wang Mang, under great pressure, classified the land in the world as Wang Tian, ​​and private individuals were not allowed to buy or sell it.

In addition, Wang Mang also abolished the slavery system and replaced it with an employment system.

The government also controls prices to prevent businessmen from manipulating the market. When the supply of daily necessities exceeds demand, the government purchases it at cost, and vice versa, the government sells it to prevent price increases.

And if a family needs a funeral or memorial service, they can get a loan from the government and only need to return the principal without charging interest. If you borrow money from the government for agricultural or commercial production, the government will charge one-tenth of the net profit as interest.

Not to mention Wang Mang's innovative measures in education, sacrifice, law, music, engraving, architecture, calendar, weights and measures, vehicle production, etc.

Also, Wang Mang’s attitude towards the surrounding countries and ethnic groups during his period is also very interesting.

Wang Mang first changed the equal and friendly relationship established in the Western Han Dynasty since Zhaoxuan, and changed the kings of the countries in the Western Regions to marquises on the grounds that there were no two days in the sky and no two kings in the soil. This caused widespread dissatisfaction among the countries in the Western Regions.

Later, Wang Mang sent Yan You to send troops to conquer Goguryeo and renamed it Xiagouli (Xiaguryo was okay).

And the Huns.

The Xiongnu were nomadic people on the Mongolian plateau in ancient times. They arose in the foothills of the Yinshan Mountains in present-day Inner Mongolia. They were also the masters of the Mongolian grasslands at that time.

Since Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, the relationship between the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu has improved. When Huhanxie Chanyu came to the country in poverty, the Han Dynasty still regarded the Xiongnu as an equal power and issued a seal to the Xiongnu. The text was the Xiongnu Chanyu Xi , the seals of the kings are "King of Han Dynasty" to show that they are treated as guests and not as subjects of the Han Dynasty.

As a result, during Wang Mang's period, he ordered his envoys to collect the "Xiongnu Chanyu Xi" issued in the Western Han Dynasty and replace it with "New Xiongnu Chanyu Zhang". Not only did he add new characters in front of Xiongnu, but he also replaced the seal with Zhang, which showed that Wang Mang was trying to lower the standard. The political status of the Xiongnu Chanyu reduced the Xiongnu's previous equal relationship with the Han emperor to the same status as the kings of Wang Mang's new clan, thus making the Xiongnu a vassal of the new clan.

It can be said that they don't take the Xiongnu seriously at all.

It doesn't matter whether it's arrogant or arrogant.

Wang Mang is really reckless.

No wonder later generations of netizens are fond of talking about it. It is said that Wang Mang is a time traveler.

Because that happened in the years before and after BC, a full two thousand years ago.

Is it okay if you brought the red flag to B.C. (B.C.)?

(Digression: Some readers wanted to hear Wang Mang’s interesting story, so I simply excerpted a short section.)
Who said Wang Mang was not a time traveler? Zhu Mang didn’t agree.

He is stronger than me, you say he is not a time traveler? Then neither am I.

In short, all civil and military officials were still in a daze until the next court.

Your Majesty has made another big move.

At the same time, Zhu Ming sent someone to order the official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty, and asked the two brothers in charge of the official newspaper to polish it, send it out quickly, and then spread it to the world.

This is to seize the opportunity and implement it immediately to avoid long nights and dreams.

When everyone in the world accepts the new policy, we are not afraid of any troubles caused by hundreds of officials and aristocratic families.

As for how the court will implement it in detail, including how to implement the new tax policy, and how to calculate issues such as raising money for integrity and returning fire to the public.

Isn't there Zhu Zhen, the supervisor?

Zhu Zhen: It feels like being on a pirate ship.

Not only Zhu Zhen, but now even Zhu Yuanzhang has become Zhu Zhen's executive deputy.

Zhu Yuanzhang now truly understands what Zhu Ming originally meant by the so-called "big ship of his time".

Even if he hasn't seen the so-called new faces in the world, he has already seen the arrival of a new era.

Each of these policy reforms is quite thrilling.

It has only been a month since Zhu Ming took the throne, but he has already launched several unheard-of policies.

But these are all good policies that benefit the people and the country. Not only did Zhu Yuanzhang not have the slightest concern, but he was extremely supportive of them.

As long as it is for the common people, it will offend all the officials and all the aristocratic families, so what does it matter?

Does he care? Believe it or not, your entire clan was slaughtered? See who is afraid of whom.

This was Emperor Hongwu. It was too late for him to support Zhu Zhen, so how could he be worried?

Therefore, no official dared to come to the Supreme Emperor to plead for mercy to stop the new emperor.

Just kidding, they are the same.

That would be too much to think about, and it would be too much to seek death.

At the same time, because Zhu Zhen understands the importance of information and the influence of public opinion.

Therefore, since Zhu Ming came to power, he has attached great importance to the official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty.

It was obvious that the Ming Dynasty already had its own newspaper, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not take advantage of it.

Zhu Ming also knew that the Ming Dynasty had its own official newspaper, so he never thought of setting up a newspaper privately.

This is not called invention, but plagiarism. What’s more, without official approval, is it still okay to open a tax return privately?

Why, you want to imitate the Yellow Turban uprising, the sky is dead and the Yellow Turban should stand up, right?
Not to mention whether Zhu Ming had those powers before, what he wanted at that time was to develop in a low-key manner and secretly, not so high-profile.

It was all because of that old guy Silunfa, who had to engage in some kind of border battle. Zhu Zhen defeated more than 600,000 enemy troops with hundreds of thousands of people, and then he became famous all of a sudden.

Otherwise, he might still be waiting in Yunnan for the old man to pass away.

Having said that, Zhu Min threw his two brothers, the eleventh brother and the sixteenth brother, who were quite talented in literature, into the official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty in one go. It really suited them both.

Now Zhu Chun and Zhu Tie are in the newspaper office, writing freely and ink every day, and they can finally give full play to their areas of expertise.

It's just that sometimes their writing is a bit too profound, with references to scriptures everywhere. The writing is really literate, but it's also too docile, so aren't you worried about whether the people can understand it?

"My Eleventh Brother and Sixteenth Brother, don't just show off the ink in your belly, think about it for me. This official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty is to be spread throughout the world. How many people do you think can do it when we get to Yunnan? Can you read it? It would be good if you can read it. Edit a piece of vernacular text for me." Zhu Ming came to the newspaper office that day and was dumbfounded when he saw the template of the latest issue of the newspaper.

It's not that he can't understand it, but it still seems to be obscure.

He even doubted whether the two brothers were holding the Four Books and Five Classics there every day, reading and writing at the same time.

"Isn't this very good? This writing style is quite typical of everyone," Liu Sanwu objected.

The official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty was originally in charge of the liberal arts officials of the Imperial Academy, and Liu Sanwu was a bachelor of the Imperial Academy.

Although the official newspaper of the Ming Dynasty was now taken over by the two princes, when he heard that his majesty was coming, he still hurriedly came to greet him.

Zhu Ming looked at the stubborn old man angrily, and saw that he was still shaking his head, criticizing those articles, and said: "I want to let the people of the world know what the court's policy is, and let them understand that we are doing it for their own good. , and let them know that the imperial court is on their side in the future, and even local officials must abide by the imperial court's policies to avoid the recurrence of the Hangzhou prefect's deception and arbitrary taxation. "

"But now let alone whether the people can understand it, even me. No, I'm afraid even the people who read the local newspapers don't understand those allusions, how can we let the people understand the truth? In many cases, it doesn't matter if you have a high level of education. , let others understand what you mean, this is the key.”

Zhu Zhen almost let it slip that he was really not good at reciting poems and composing poems.

Zhu Chun and Zhu Tie looked at each other.

"Then follow His Majesty's arrangements."

The two brothers are easy to talk to.

One is a scholar from Shu, and the other is also a scholar and literati. They seem to be easy to bully.

Uh.

So in accordance with Zhu Ming's request, the two led a group of officials from the Hanlin Academy to translate a piece of vernacular text, and then just waited for it to be printed with movable type before being sent to all parts of the country.

Printing is one of China's four great inventions. In the Northern Song Dynasty, movable type printing was created, several centuries earlier than Germany's lead movable type printing.

Moreover, during the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Wang Zhen of the Yuan Dynasty also created wooden movable type and invented wheel typesetting.

By the Ming Dynasty, copper movable type was now used, at least for typesetting, and it was easy to print booklets in batches.

Nowadays, including Luo Guanzhong's novels, they can be mass-produced by the private sector, not to mention the imperial court printing newspapers.

(PS: I have a day off, so today and tomorrow are both chapters. Think about what holes you still have to fill.)
(End of this chapter)