Red Mansion: Bastards rule the roost

"Your Highness, this is the news I just found out. What Granny Liu said is all true. Just in the suburbs of Beijing, families with little wealth are happy to sell their land and rent it out to avoid heavy taxes. I think it's the same in all provinces."

Wen Youfang walked into the outer study and respectfully presented a stack of files.

Jia Cong took it with a gloomy face and flipped through it briefly. It recorded the tax collection situation of several counties around Shenjing, such as the total tax collection amount of Wanping, Daxing, Tongzhou, Liangxiang and other counties. The data was obtained by the Jinyiwei after arresting the household officials of various counties and torturing them and checking the account books. It was absolutely fresh and true.

According to the files, Wanping County had a total of more than 45,000 households, more than 200,600 men and women, and more than 1.5 million acres of land. The new law required a tax of 153,000 taels this year, but in just over eight months, more than 700,000 taels had already been collected.

The situation of other counties is almost the same. Changping County, the most outrageous one, should have collected more than 160,000 taels this year, but it has actually collected more than 900,000 taels.

Jia Cong's face was as gloomy as water. He handed the file to Pang Chao and said, "Sir, how could the new law become like this?"

Pang Chao flipped through it and said slowly: "Your Majesty, this situation has existed for a long time and is not a new law.

Whether it is the old law or the new law, the power to levy taxes is always at the county and township level. The emperor is far away, so officials can collect as much as they want. After all, they pay the money they should pay, and the rest is theirs. "

Jia Cong was furious and slammed the table and shouted, "I will kill all these unscrupulous beasts!"

"No." Pang Chao said hurriedly, "Your Highness, please calm down. Exorbitant taxes have existed in every dynasty. It is not possible to solve the problem once and for all by killing a few people. Even if this group is killed, another group will come up and the same thing will happen. Besides, all crows are black. How can we kill them all?"

Jia Cong pondered for a moment, sighed, and said, "Sir, do you have any good ideas?"

Pang Chao said: "The new tax rate is not high, one coin per mu of land, and other miscellaneous taxes have been abolished. The tax revenue that the Ministry of Revenue can receive has indeed increased, but it has never solved the problem of lack of money in the local area.

The local government would keep 30% of the taxes it received and pay 70% to the government. After deducting the money that had to be handed over to the prefecture and the provincial government, take Wanping as an example. For such a large county, what could it do with only 10,000 or 20,000 silver coins a year?
There is not enough food for the people and horses, not to mention the establishment of schools, the repair of bridges and roads, the arrest of thieves and robbers, the establishment of post stations, the support of widows and orphans, and other government affairs. Your Majesty once guarded Liaodong, so he naturally knows it well. "

Jia Cong said: "I know that the government's expenses are huge, but they also collect too much! A county spends millions of silver a year, which is outrageous."

Pang Chao laughed and said, "In addition to the county officials, a county also has legal advisors, clerks, yamen runners, militiamen, local soldiers, porters, shop soldiers, jailers, etc. In the villages, there are also village heads and militias. It costs a lot to support these people alone.

In addition, officials have to pay tribute to the higher-ups, and if they don’t have gifts for festivals, birthdays, and other holidays, how long can they stay in office? Where does the money come from?

It all has to come from the people. One or two million may sound like a lot, but it may not be enough to spend it."

Jia Cong smiled bitterly and said, "How can you take everything you have and use it like dirt? This is the way to ruin a country!"

Pang Chao clapped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this is absolutely true. Therefore, to cure this malpractice, we must rule it by law, not by people.

When people rule, the law is disordered; when the law is disordered, politics is abolished; when politics is abolished, the people suffer, which is contrary to the prince's desire for governance."

"What you said is right, Cong is impulsive." Jia Cong sighed, "I don't know how to cure it."

Pang Chao pondered and said, "This matter is extremely complicated. I need to think about it carefully and report back later."

"Okay, sir, take your time to think about it."

Three days later, Jia Cong went straight to the Grand Council with the proposal written by Pang Chao.

"Oh, I am sorry for not welcoming you, Your Majesty."

"Greetings to the prince."

When everyone saw Jia Cong coming in with a gloomy face, they hurriedly greeted him.

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "Forget it."

Guan Pu saw that he looked strange, and asked hurriedly, "Your Majesty, why are you here today? What instructions do you have?"

Jia Cong glanced at everyone, his eyes stopped at Duan Zhun and Gu Tao, two big men of the New Party, and said calmly: "I came here to ask about the effectiveness of this year's new law."

Gu Tao smiled and said, "Your Highness, this year's summer tax has arrived in Beijing, a full 50 million taels, several times more than in previous years. The benefits of the new law are obvious."

Everyone smiled and nodded.

Jia Cong sneered, "Why would the tax increase so much?"

Jiang Feng said: "It is because under the new law, the gentry are required to serve as officials and pay taxes together. The taxes that were not collected before are now collected, so the increase is due."

"Prime Minister Jiang is right." Everyone quickly echoed.

Jia Cong nodded and said, "Master Zhun, why does the new law require all gentry to serve and pay taxes together?"

Duan Zhun said: "Because in the past, officials and gentry neither paid taxes nor performed corvée labor, all the burdens were placed on the people, who suffered unspeakably, so the new law was implemented."

Jia Cong said: "If I understand correctly, the meaning of the new law is to reduce the burden on the people, right?"

"That's right." Duan Zhun said.

"But why did I hear that the people's taxes not only did not decrease, but became heavier!" Jia Cong said as he took out the file found by the Jinyiwei and slammed it on the table with a "bang".

"What?!" Duan Zhun was shocked and quickly took it to look at it.

Jia Cong sneered, "Wanping County alone collected more than 700,000 taels of tax silver in the first eight months of this year. It is right under the emperor's feet and under your noses. It is so high. You can imagine other places. Is this the new law?"

Everyone was "horrified" and rushed to Duan Zhun to watch.

Brigadier General Duan circulated the file to everyone for review, and said in a deep voice, "This matter is my negligence. I will immediately have someone investigate it thoroughly. I am willing to accept the punishment from the prince."

Gu Tao hurriedly said, "This incident is not the fault of Zhun Gong alone. We are all guilty. Please calm down, Your Majesty. We will investigate and punish them immediately."

Jia Cong waved his hand and said, "I am not here to call you to task today, but to discuss with you how to eradicate this situation. If we just dismiss a few officials and kill a few people, it will be useless! You all know this."

Feng Yuan was most proficient in financial affairs. He pondered and said, "It has been a long time since local officials have privately levied taxes and fees. It has been a chronic problem in all dynasties. If the court collects one cent, they dare to collect one cent. If the superiors collect one cent, they dare to collect one ounce.

Firstly, the government had a lot of expenses and could not make ends meet, so it had to find other sources of income, but the higher-level government often turned a blind eye.

Secondly, the government was in charge of the people on behalf of God and had great authority. The people were docile and could take whatever they wanted, which further fostered the greed of local officials.

If we want to cure it, we should start with these two." "What Feng Zhongtang said is right." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jia Cong said, "That's right. I heard that some people are willing to sell their land and become tenant farmers in order to avoid taxes, and they even enjoy it. Do you think it's shameful for such absurd things to happen?"

"We are aware of our crimes and should feel ashamed before being brave." Seeing Jia Cong's stern expression, everyone bowed and apologized.

Jia Cong said: "I don't want to get involved in government affairs on weekdays. It was only today when I heard about this bastard thing that I couldn't help but come to the palace to talk to you.

You gentlemen are in high positions in government, and your daily remarks are all far-sighted and insightful, but don't forget that the foundation of the country does not lie in the bureaucrats and gentry, but in the hundreds of millions of ordinary people.

If the imperial court allows them to die, how can the country survive?"

"Your Highness is right. We will follow your teachings." Everyone listened attentively. They all knew that Jia Cong was angry and whoever didn't open his eyes would be seeking death.

"In recent days, I have also drafted several countermeasures for this matter. I would like to ask you to review and correct them."

"No, no, please give us some advice, Your Highness. We are all ears." Duan Zhun bowed.

"First, increase the main tax and abolish miscellaneous taxes. Currently, one coin of silver is collected per mu of land, and it will be raised to five coins of silver. The national treasury will receive 60% of the tax, the provincial treasury will receive 20%, the prefecture government will receive 10%, and the county government will receive 10%. This will be an iron rule. From now on, anyone who imposes additional taxes will be killed!"

"Second, they all served the same duties and paid the same taxes. Local tyrants and officials were not afraid of the government, so additional taxes often fell on the poor people.

Now that the regular tax has been raised, the officials and gentry may be unhappy again. In order to pay the taxes, the government may target the people again.

The new law clearly stipulates that officials, gentry and common people must serve and pay taxes together. The word "together" is the most difficult. In the future, those who fail to do this will be dismissed and never reappointed. Those who dare to resist the law will be punished with canonical punishment and their property will be confiscated. "

Jia Cong suddenly smiled and said, "This is also Cong's experience in governing Liaodong. Confiscating property always brings in more money faster than collecting taxes. Do you agree?"

Everyone smiled and said, "Your Highness, that's a good idea."

"Third, strict supervision and severe punishment. The local officials dared to act lawless like this. In the final analysis, the reason is that the emperor is far away and there is no one to supervise them. They can do whatever they want and oppress the people.
Censorate, you many censors and imperial examiners, please stop focusing on trivial matters in the court all day long and forget that there are millions of ordinary people in the world waiting for you to seek justice.

From now on, all the censors will take turns to inspect the country. Only 20% of them will be left in the capital to engage in verbal battles, and the rest will be sent out to visit provinces and counties in disguise to see the sufferings of the people, and then report to the court. This is the political achievement that censors should have. "

Tan Cheng bowed and said, "I will obey your Majesty's order and go back to make arrangements."

Jia Cong said: "All the censors will conduct cross inspections. If the first inspector does not find any problems, but the second inspector finds them, the first inspector will be punished for harboring the criminal, and the second inspector will be promoted one level."

"Yes." Tan Cheng's heart trembled. This meant that the censors were no longer allowed to take bribes and protect the local government. Who would dare to gamble with their future and official positions? How could the people in the rear patrol let you go?
"In addition, I will also order the Jinyiwei in various places to strengthen supervision of people's livelihood and well-being. If the Jinyiwei finds a problem and the censor is unaware of it, all the censors who patrol this area will be held accountable, and vice versa." Jia Cong said.

Everyone praised, "Your Highness is wise." This obviously allowed the Censor and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to supervise each other, so that no one could play tricks.

"In addition, officials who arbitrarily levied additional taxes were subject to severe punishments. The lighter punishment was dismissal from office and never reappointment. The heavier punishment was beheading and confiscation of property. The family was not allowed to take the imperial examination within three generations. Officials who knew about the situation but did not report it were also punished with the same crime.

Those who arbitrarily levy taxes in the county will be beheaded and their homes confiscated. County officials who fail to investigate will be punished with a lower level of punishment. "Jia Cong said coldly.

"Yes." Everyone wrote down what Jia Cong said.

As a result, the county government not only dared not collect taxes randomly, but also had to keep an eye on the villagers and not allow them to collect taxes randomly, otherwise they would suffer the consequences if they were held accountable.

"Fourth, avoid extravagance and keep clear accounts. The ancients said that it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

If we ask how much silver is enough, given the character of the county officials, even if they were given 10 million a year, it would not be enough. As the saying goes, greed is the result of a snake swallowing an elephant. This won't work!
The key to being an official is to be diligent and frugal, to love the people with diligence and to support the people with frugality. Government offices at all levels must spend according to their income and use the people's money where it matters most, rather than lining their own pockets or giving gifts to their superiors.

Speaking of gifts, everyone has received quite a few. Have you ever thought that these gifts are not the private property of the officials below, but public funds?

If you want to give me gifts, I have no objection. But anyone who dares to embezzle public funds for gifts and use the imperial tax money to pave his own career will be executed without mercy." Jia Cong's voice became stern and he glanced at everyone.

Except for Duan Zhun who never accepted gifts, no one dared to look him in the eye and all bowed their heads to receive his orders.

"I have ordered the Ministry of Revenue to send people to regularly check and audit the money and grain accounts of the provinces and prefectures. The rules are the same as those of the Metropolitan Censorate. If they find problems, it is a credit. If they fail to find problems, it is a fault. I want to see where the money of the government office is spent."

Feng Yuan hurriedly said, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will start working on this matter as soon as I get down from here. I will try to establish a regular law to conduct a thorough inspection of all provinces and prefectures in the country every three years."

"The Ministry of Revenue can set up an audit department to specialize in this matter. Speaking of this, I thought of a financial talent." Jia Cong said.

Feng Yuan hurriedly said, "To be favored by the prince, he must be a capable person. Please recommend me."

"The current Lianghuai Salt Bureau chief, Xu Qing, is also a fat man." Jia Cong said with a smile.

Feng Yuan smiled and said, "I remember this man. He did a good job under Lord Ru Hai. I will transfer him to Beijing now."

Jia Cong nodded and said, "The Lianghuai Salt Administration should not be neglected. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue should discuss and send an official."

"Yes."

"Fifth, high salaries are used to maintain integrity. I also know that the salaries of officials at all levels are not high. For example, the seventh-rank county magistrate has an annual salary of 45 taels of silver, which is naturally very high compared to ordinary people, but the county magistrate also has to support a group of servants and entertain guests, which is not enough. What can we do? We can only use public funds."

Everyone smiled and nodded, saying, "Your Majesty is kind and considerate of our difficulties. We are grateful to you."

Jia Cong continued, "Scholars all over the world study hard for many years just to have a wife and children with a good family, and to have fine clothes and delicious food. I understand this clearly.

When the late emperor was alive, he also tried to pay high salaries to maintain integrity, but because the treasury was empty, he dragged his feet over the years, sometimes paying, sometimes stopping, sometimes increasing, sometimes decreasing, there was no fixed number. "

Everyone laughed and said yes.

"Now that the new law is in force throughout the country, the treasury has money. The Grand Council will renegotiate the salary for maintaining integrity according to rank. This will ensure that officials at all levels can live a decent life without putting too much pressure on the treasury. Half of the salary will be paid out each year, and the other half will be paid out after the official retires or dies." Jia Cong said.

"Why is that?" Gu Tao asked curiously. They always took all the Lian Yin at once when they adopted it. How could they take half and keep the other half?

Jia Cong said: "First, it is to reduce the burden on the court. Second, it is also an incentive. If officials break the law and mess up their government while in office, they will not get the money."

So cunning. Everyone couldn't help but curse inwardly, isn't this treating officials like donkeys, hanging a carrot in front of them, but they can see it but can't eat it.

If we really want to investigate, who can guarantee that they have been officials for decades without any faults? (End of this chapter)