The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 200 Tax

Chen Jingke had met Zhu Fan and Zhu Di before, but this was the first time they met as brothers-in-law, so he felt a little uncomfortable.

But Zhu Fan was very enthusiastic about him.

As I said before, Zhu Fan has a proud temperament. But once you get his approval, he's very polite.

Undoubtedly, Chen Jingke has gained his approval.

Zhu Di was a little embarrassed. Speaking of which, Chen Jingke had seen a doctor for his wife.

It was just because of what Xu Da said the year before last that he was very dissatisfied with Chen Jingke.

Now I am convinced, but I feel a little uncomfortable.

But they are all grown men. After chatting for a while, he laughed to himself. He was so stingy.

Because they knew that it was Chen Jingke who proposed the kingship system, they also talked about their ideals.

Zhu Fan wanted to penetrate the Western Regions and restore the Ming Dynasty to the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

But now I have another dream, to build my own kingdom in Broken Leaf River.

Suiyechuan is the name of the Tang Dynasty, referring to the Chu River in Central Asia, located in the Fergana Basin.

In the Han Dynasty it was called Dawan.

The Fergana Basin is the most suitable place for human habitation in Guanzhong, Central Asia.

Zhu Fan is planning to put the country here, which shows that he really understands the local situation.

But it’s too difficult to fight here right now.

The Western Region now belongs to the Chagatai Khanate, and the overlord of Central Asia is the newly emerged Timur Khanate.

In other words, he must first eliminate the Chagatai Khanate and then defeat Timur before he has a chance to fulfill his ideal.

All I can say is, keep up the good work.

Zhu Di's ideals are not small, and he is a wolf.

As for the matter of sealing the country, I haven't thought about it yet. It won't be too late to think about it after defeating Bei Yuan.

Chen Jingke couldn't help but wonder in his heart, should he be allowed to sail to the West in the future?

Forget it, let’s talk about it later.

There is a summary at the end of every year, and various departments of the imperial court are also indispensable.

For Daming, overall it is thriving.

But next year is destined to be a busy year.

For example, when Zhu Biao returned to Beijing this time, he came back with a complete tax reform plan.

"It has been eighteen years since the Ming Dynasty was founded...it will be nineteen years in a few days."

"The people have gradually recovered their vitality, but the old method is still used in taxation, which is very unreasonable."

"After more than two years of research, we have developed a new tax package..."

Zhu Biao introduced his plan to everyone in detail.

To sum up, we need to collect business taxes and standardize the business environment.

Various customs taxes are collected together, and in theory, as long as you hold the tax stamp, you can travel all over the world.

Avoid collecting taxes at one location, resulting in the tax being higher than the price of the goods.

There are also vehicle and vessel taxes, business taxes, etc.

"The fishery tax is abolished, and people who raise and catch fish will no longer be taxed."

“Business tax is only levied on fish sold.”

"For food, vegetables, fruits, meat, eggs, etc., which are related to people's livelihood, a light tax system is adopted, with only one tax in thirty."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly and said, "This is good. The tax on grain is too high, which is not conducive to transshipment."

"It will also lead to excessively high food prices, which will ultimately harm the people."

Zhu Biao finally concluded: "Except for the taxes stipulated in the new tax law, all other exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes will be abolished."

"Anyone who collects taxes illegally will be severely punished according to the law once found."

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied: "Okay, okay, we like to hear Biao'er's last words."

"The taxes set by the Yuan Dynasty were not high at that time, but the corrupt officials below used clever excuses to levy various exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes."

"Miscellaneous taxes are several times higher than regular taxes."

"In the end, all the money fell into their own pockets, and Yuan Ting didn't see a penny."

"The corruption of the Yuan Dynasty was largely caused by these corrupt officials."

"Our Ming Dynasty cannot leave such a loophole for corrupt officials and set taxes to death."

"Anyone who dares to invent additional taxes will be put to death."

Empress Ma, Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Fan, and Zhu Di all couldn't help but nod. This new tax law has indeed considered all aspects.

Although it seems like there are many items, it has been simplified many times compared to the previous exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.

Moreover, many types of taxes only target relevant practitioners and have little impact on ordinary people.

Such as vehicle and vessel tax, such as business tax.

If the ship is not running and there is no business, then there is no need to pay.

Chen Jingke couldn't help but admire that this tax law is indeed very appropriate for the current situation.

In particular, the elimination of customs duties is, in his opinion, the biggest improvement of this tax law.

In ancient times, there was one checkpoint for each city and one checkpoint for each place. Goods had to go through dozens of checkpoints from south to north.

The tariffs will exceed the price of the goods several times or even dozens of times.

This is also the reason why people used to like to go to the warehouse of the Monetary Banknote Bureau to exchange goods.

There are even small traders who go there to buy goods.

The reason is that the Monetary Bank of China does not need to pay customs duties, and the prices of products are very cheap.

It can be said that customs duties are one of the biggest obstacles to the development of business.

Although it is not canceled directly, as long as you pay once, you can travel all over the world with the ticket, which is already a great improvement.

It's a great stimulus for business.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang asked habitually: "Jing Ke, what do you think of this tax law?"

Queen Ma, Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiongying also looked at him.

Zhu Fan and Zhu Di were a little surprised. What happened?

Judging from this posture, it seems that if he disagrees, this tax law cannot be implemented, right?

Chen Jingke thought for a moment and said, "There is a small problem. The fishery tax is abolished."

"People no longer pay taxes on aquatic products raised and caught. They only pay taxes when they are sold."

"So raising chickens, sheep, and cows...chickens lay eggs, cows and sheep give birth...do I need to pay taxes?"

Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Fan, Zhu Di and Zhu Biao were all a little confused. Is there any need to ask?

The court didn't say these things were subject to tax.

But Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma immediately thought of the problem.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "Jing Ke raised this question well. If this matter is not explained clearly, some people will dare to ask the people to collect these taxes."

Seeing that the four people didn't believe it, he sighed: "You guys still know too little about the situation below."

"During the Yuan Dynasty, corrupt officials worked hard to create a good name. They had to pay taxes when raising chickens, and they also had to pay taxes when laying eggs..."

"We have paid all these taxes."

"Not to mention the previous dynasty, in some places in the Ming Dynasty, people were collecting these taxes behind the scenes."

Zhu Biao and the other four were a little unbelievable. It was not that they doubted Zhu Yuanzhang's words, but they did not expect that such an outrageous situation would occur in Ming Dynasty.

Chen Jingke said: "The law must be comprehensive, and sometimes even a nonsense sentence must be added."

"When legislators think that this is a truth that everyone understands, why bother to write it into the law?" "As everyone knows, this will leave opportunities for people to take advantage of loopholes."

"Never underestimate the ability of corrupt officials to create clever names."

Zhu Biao looked like he was being taught and said: "I understand, let's add a sentence to the tax law."

"No tax can be levied on things that people produce for their own use. Only those who sell them need to collect commercial taxes."

Chen Jingke asked again: "Do I need to collect tax if I sell an egg to my neighbor?"

"Although it seems like a joke, what if someone wants to compare it to reality?"

"So it is best to stipulate that small private transactions do not need to pay tax."

"How much this small amount will be depends on His Highness setting a standard based on the situation among the people."

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly and said: "I thought this tax law was very complete, but I didn't expect it to be full of loopholes."

Chen Jingke said: "Your Highness's tax law is more complete and more humane than any tax law of the previous dynasty."

"Especially the unification of customs duties and the prohibition of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes are unprecedented good governance."

"It's just that times are changing, and the economic situation facing the country is also changing."

"Tax laws also need to be constantly adjusted to adapt to new situations."

Zhu Biao nodded and said: "After the tax reform, I will ask the Financial and Banknote Bureau, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Taxation Bureau to pay more attention to local conditions and adjust tax laws in a timely manner."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked again: "Are there any loopholes? Why don't you take the tax law home and think about it carefully."

Chen Jingke shook his head quickly and said: "Excellent laws are summarized through practice, not thought up behind closed doors."

"I don't know much about the grassroots situation in Ming Dynasty, so it's difficult to research anything."

"In my opinion, there is no problem in the direction of the tax law enacted by His Highness."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, but still asked a little uneasily:

"Then it will be implemented accordingly?"

Chen Jingke hesitated.

Zhu Yuanzhang pointed at him and said angrily: "I know you must have something on your mind, so just say it directly."

Queen Ma also said: "Don't have any worries, there are no outsiders here."

When Zhu Xiongying saw this familiar posture, he immediately prepared a small bench and grabbed a handful of pine nuts.

Classes have started. Classes have started.

Chen Jingke took a deep breath and said, "It's not that there is something wrong with His Highness's tax law, but I think the two tax laws are outdated."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Queen Ma, and Zhu Biao immediately became excited. Good guys, we are preparing to attack the fundamental tax law directly.

Zhu Xiongying looked like he had expected it.

Zhu Fan and Zhu Di were shocked. Chen Jingke pointed out the flaws of the new tax law before, but they just thought he considered things more comprehensively.

But I didn't expect that he would dare to attack the two tax laws.

From the beginning of the Tang Dynasty to the present, the Two Taxes Law has been the fundamental tax law of the country.

It can be said that the two tax laws are related to the survival of the country.

Do you dare to move this?

And the eldest brother seems to be looking forward to it.

Do you trust him so much?

Chen Jingke did not speak directly, but first thought about how to discuss this topic.

I originally wanted to tell them about the history of tax law changes, but I thought Zhu Biao must have studied this stuff when he wrote the new tax law.

Not to mention Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, who were the founders of the Ming Dynasty system, and must have known about them.

So I decided to briefly mention it, mainly talking about my own thoughts.

"Tax laws are constantly changing, and the history we can find can be mainly divided into three periods."

"The first is the well field system period, when people cultivated the land in the middle of the 'well' for the country as a tax payment."

"Then came the Qin and Han dynasties. The Qin Dynasty officially began to levy Ding tax and local tax. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, a commercial tax was levied on top of the two taxes."

"But during the Qin and Han Dynasties, in addition to these three taxes, there were also many other types of taxes."

"With so many taxes, it is very difficult to collect them."

"Either the collection cannot be collected, or the people are forced to die."

"In the Tang Dynasty, in order to solve this situation, all taxes were classified as Ding tax and local tax, which is the two tax law."

"The Two Tax Law simplifies tax types, reduces the difficulty of tax collection, and also reduces the burden on the people."

"It is very beneficial to the court and the people."

"Although the tax laws of subsequent dynasties have changed, they are still basically the two tax laws, including the Ming Dynasty."

Everyone couldn't help but nod. The two tax laws are already so good. Could you think of a better way?

Chen Jingke continued: "From the perspective of the development of the tax system, it shows three characteristics."

"First, from complexity to simplicity; second, to become more and more comprehensive; third, to reduce the burden on the people."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said: "This is a good summary. Simplifying tax types can reduce the difficulty of tax collection, and it can also prevent corrupt officials from using clever excuses to a certain extent."

“The burden on the people is lightened and they have enough to eat, so they will not rebel.”

Queen Ma and Zhu Biao also nodded in agreement, this is the reason.

Chen Jingke saw that they all understood, so he stopped talking and went directly to the topic:

"But the two tax laws are still not streamlined enough and unfair, and the burden on the people has not been reduced."

Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "Tell us one by one what is the problem."

Chen Jingke explained: "First of all, it is not streamlined enough. This article is aimed at local taxes."

"The land is divided into three, six or nine grades, and the crops grown in each land are also different."

“Those who grow cotton use cotton to pay taxes.”

"Those who grow wheat use wheat to pay taxes..."

"Those who grow millet pay the tax on millet..."

“If you grow the same crops, you will pay different taxes because of the different quality of the land.”

"In the same place, there may be seven or eight types of crops collected."

"If you look at the whole country, I don't know how many there are."

"It's troublesome to collect these things, and it's also troublesome to store them..."

"Besides it's unfair, this is reflected in the small tax and corvee."

"The east family has a family of five and one thousand acres of land. The west family also has a family of five, but only ten acres of land."

"But when the Ding tax is levied, both families have to pay the same amount."

"When the corvee was collected, each of the east and west families would send one person."

"On the surface, this seems fair, but if you think about it carefully, it's too unfair to the Xi family."

"Why is the East family richer and has the same obligations as the West family?"

"And if something happens, the Xi family will be exposed to even greater risks."

Zhu Yuanzhang, Queen Ma, Zhu Biao and others all frowned.

Chen Jingke didn't say that they hadn't thought of it yet, but something was indeed wrong.

But when I think about it more carefully, I think it’s okay.

Both families have a family of five. What’s the problem?

"Click." Zhu Xiongying bit open a pine nut shell and looked at the people in distress leisurely, feeling extremely happy in his heart.

Zhu Biao became furious and shouted: "Put down the pine nuts for me. We are discussing national affairs now. Are you still in the mood to eat pine nuts?"

"Think about this problem carefully for me. What's wrong?"

Zhu Xiongying put down the pine nuts angrily and said:

"What's so difficult about this? If you know what fairness and justice are, you'll know where the problem lies."

(End of this chapter)