The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 496 Zhu Yuanzhang: We have never paid taxes! I know what an empty seal is!
On the canopy.

An official twirled his elaborate moustache.

He chatted casually with the bearded official who was standing in front of the household registration office.

"How much did you lose?"

The bearded man fanned himself and replied casually:

"I lost 900 kilograms on the way due to drought. How about you?"

The mustache official sighed:

"Hey, it was a smooth journey, and three chickens died."

The bearded man looked sympathetic.

"Did you bring it?"

The man with a mustache rolled his eyes and took out a stack of white paper from his arms.

He swept the white paper loudly.

The red ink on the edge of the paper is clearly visible.

"How can I not bring this? We are from Yunnan!"

"Three chickens, can you afford to toss them?"

Just as the bearded man was about to say something, he heard a creak and the door of the Ministry of Revenue slowly opened.

"Filling out the forms! Take the booklet to the west room!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the officials outside the door rushed to the west.

……

【The essence of the empty seal case is the imperfection of the tax system.】

【The first is the way to pay taxes. 】

[Originally, during the Southern Song Dynasty, farmers began to pay taxes directly in silver. ]

【But Zhu Yuanzhang did not want silver, he wanted real objects.】

[Those who grow rice pay rice, and those who grow wheat pay wheat]

[This method of paying taxes is called "tax in kind" and is one of the oldest taxes in the world]

[It is also a typical manifestation of the underdeveloped commodity economy. ]

……

The emperors before the Southern Song Dynasty felt deeply offended.

What? Is it our fault that we don't have money?
……

Southern Song Dynasty Xiaozong period
Zhao Shen didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment.

"So... the advantage of our Song Dynasty is that our tax collection method is very advanced?"

"This is really..."

Dumbfounding.

……

Jin Dynasty - King Sejong
Wanyan Yong thought that this man must be very poor and hungry.

If you have food in your hands, you won’t be worried.

"What kind of idea is this..."

……

【But it’s nothing if it’s just like that. 】

[The problem is that the way taxes are collected is very torturous.]

[According to the financial system of the Ming Dynasty, each provincial government and its subordinate prefectures, states and counties had to send auditing officials to the Ministry of Revenue in the capital every year.]

【To check the money, grain and military supplies that his office paid to the central government.】

[During the audit process, the Ministry of Finance often finds discrepancies between the two parties’ accounts.]

[Once this happens, the original register must be rejected, and the local accountant must be ordered to fill out a new report, stamp it with the original government seal, and submit it again for approval.]

……

The period of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty
“Isn’t this simply sick?”

Liu Qi found it hard to understand how such a system that was obviously a scam was established.

Little Liu Che understood it all.

"Besides the long journey on the road, there is another big problem."

“Can you guarantee that if you revise it once, everything will be corrected?”

"I'm afraid no one can guarantee this."

"If there's a mistake somewhere after I make the revision, I have to go back again."

"Who can bear this back and forth? Who can afford it?"

Liu Qi frowned and put down his pen.

I thought that an emperor like Gaozu would have some constructive systems that could be used as a reference.

Now take a look...

What kind of later Qin Dynasty is this!

“Why is it that people’s livelihood is still good?”

What a strange thing!

……

[However, most places are far away from the capital, some are six or seven thousand miles away, and some are three or four hundred miles away.]

[Based on the traffic conditions at the time, this round trip would have delayed the trip by more than ten days, dozens of days, or even several months.]

[In order to avoid unnecessary running around and wasting time, accountants in various places all carried blank pages with official seals.]

[If rejected by the Ministry of Revenue, re-submit immediately according to the amount of the Ministry of Revenue. ]

[This is a method figured out by Yuan Dynasty officials.]

……

Datang.

Li Yuan watched and suddenly sighed.

"Now I understand the virtue of Emperor Gaozu of Han."

Being able to "go against" the Qin Dynasty was Liu Bang's greatest virtue.

If it were the same as Zhu Yuanzhang, the Han Dynasty would probably not last 400 years.

……

Dayuan.

Kublai Khan was not sure whether this was his own doing.

He thought it was not the case. He knew a little about taxes.

I shouldn't be the one doing such a stupid thing...right?

……

[After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, it inherited many of the Yuan Dynasty’s systems, as well as this set of methods of exploiting loopholes.]

[Strictly speaking, this is illegal fraud, but whether it is the Yuan Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, the court is very clear about this. ]

[Even the Ministry of Revenue officials who were particularly harsh and ruthless knew the difficulties faced by the staff working under them.]

【So we all turned a blind eye to this kind of behavior. 】

【But Zhu Yuanzhang knew about it. 】

[What kind of behavior is this? This is a vile act of officials at all levels engaging in corruption and deceiving their superiors and subordinates! ]

【Zhu Yuanzhang particularly hated being cheated by others, especially officials.】

[He was suspicious to begin with, and the case of the empty seal further confirmed his view of officials.]

【Even more, Empress Ma showed leniency before her death, which made him feel that his true love was misplaced.】

[Then he flew into a rage: "How dare the officials deceive me like this? The head of the Ministry of Revenue concealed the truth, so the provinces naturally became bold and reckless."]

[He ordered the execution of the Minister of Revenue and the chief seal officers of the provincial government offices in various places, and the assistant officials were given 100 strokes of the cane and exiled to the border areas.]

[Hundreds of people were executed in the "Empty Seal Case" and thousands were beaten and exiled, shocking the world.]

……

{It's not that I don't have empathy...it's just that what's so earth-shattering about this thing?}
{To be honest, although leaving the seal blank is against the rules, it is also a last resort for grassroots staff? }
{In the final analysis, it is the problems of the imperial court system. The rules are too harsh, forcing people to resort to this desperate measure.}
{What's more, whether it's the local or central government, the treasury or the Ministry of Revenue, everyone hopes to complete the tax collection work as soon as possible.}
{Making people run around all the time, but in the end no one can complete the task. Why bother? What's the point?}

{Official seal, that is a symbol of power.}
｛Even today, we still have to travel back and forth to get a big red seal, sometimes running thousands of kilometers just to ask someone to stamp it.｝
{Whether transferring household registration, transferring files, buying a house, paying stamp duty, buying a car, getting married, or connecting to electricity, water, or gas, the big red seal is indispensable.}
{Why did they strengthen seal management and still use it today? It’s because the case of the empty seal was so shocking.}
……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Liu Che felt it was necessary.

The official seal is equivalent to the power granted by the emperor and is more important than the official’s life and property.

How dare you just stamp such an important thing on a blank paper.

And took it to the capital openly?

It was filled out right at the entrance of the National Treasury and the Ministry of Revenue!

This is a blatant contempt for imperial power!

If we use blank stamp documents like this, can we fill in as much as we want?

How much can you embezzle?

Isn't this corruption?
This is favoritism, fraud and embezzlement of tax grain!
Is this okay?

"He is lawless and breaks the law knowingly. He deserves to be killed!"

"It's just an official. Three-legged frogs are hard to find, but there are plenty of two-legged officials!"

Wei Zifu felt that he should get along well with Zhu Yuanzhang.

...Except for the matter of treating his first wife...

I cried myself!

He actually yawned!

Heartless!

……

Ming dynasty.

Empress Ma glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Just punish the main culprit."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face changed and then he became angry and embarrassed!
"They know the tax process very well! But we don't know anything about it!"

"We have never paid taxes in our lives!"

"I had parents in my early years, and later became a monk for a short period of time and a beggar for a long time!"

"A tax official must be crazy to ask a beggar to pay taxes!"

"We are not even qualified to pay taxes!"

"Where can I find out the tax collection process?"

"After we start the war, we will have money and no one to pay taxes to!"

"When I become emperor, everyone in the world will pay taxes to me!"

"We don't know it's not normal!"

Queen Ma nodded.

"Roar at me."

Zhu Yuanzhang, with a face full of resentment, paused.

It’s over.

……

[At this point, all the officials were no longer in the harem to mediate. ]

[He lived a hopeless life where the Imperial Guards arranged his last words as soon as they arrived.]

[However, compared with the Guo Huan corruption case that occurred in the 1385th year of Hongwu ()]

[The empty seal case can be said to be just a small appetizer. ]

……

Tang Dynasty and Gaozong period
"When the sharp sword is unsheathed, it hurts the enemy and yourself."

Li Zhi put down his pen and recalled the past.

After A Niang passed away, A Ye also had a period of mental instability.

That's right.

Li Zhi believed that Zhu Yuanzhang was actually half crazy.

From his past actions, it can be seen that this person always feels that someone is trying to harm him.

But Empress Ma is an anchor, she is Emperor Daoguang.

It can freeze him and illuminate him.

As soon as Empress Ma died, he sank into darkness.

Do not……

Li Zhi took a slight breath.

It should be said that he has always been in darkness.

Just went back again.

……

(End of this chapter)