New Shun 1730

What the emperor is determined to do can definitely be implemented openly.

A halfway emperor like Chongzhen killed his ministers just like killing a dog, but when it came to Li Gan, it was impossible to use such drastic measures unless it was a last resort.

The people in Tianyou Hall are similar to those in the cabinet of the previous dynasty, that is, they are the emperor's secretaries. The emperor also serves as the prime minister. Unless the emperor hides in the palace and does nothing, these people in the Tianyou Palace are also the secretaries of the real prime minister.

Implementation on the surface does not mean that it can be implemented at the grassroots level. There are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom.

Now seeing that the emperor is determined to carry out reforms such as dividing the land between households and farmers, Li Zhiyuan also explained the disadvantages, and the only thing left is to discuss the follow-up policies.

The British Duke Zhang Muzhi, who had been silent, was not a Confucian scholar, and he did not have the sadness of being trapped in a dead end. Seeing that something was wrong with the atmosphere in the Tianyou Hall, he brought the topic back to specific policies.

"Your Majesty, I think it is okay to try it out in Wendeng Prefecture. But if it is to be effective in the future and be promoted nationwide, this needs to be carefully considered. It is not just the problems that Mr. Li mentioned."

"For example, in Jiaoliao, the population in Jiaodong is different from that in southern Liaoning. For example, in Wendeng, assuming there are 100,000 people and one million acres of land, the tax of these 100,000 people is added to the million acres of land, and the average is 10 acres. The land only adds a small tax per person."

"For example, in southern Liaoning, there may be only 50,000 people and one million acres of land. On average, 20 acres of land only adds a small tax per person."

"If this is the case in Jiao-Liao Province, then isn't the difference between Henan and Yunnan, and between Huguang and Shaanxi and Gansu, not even greater? So, when the land is divided into acres, we still need to consider how to spread it."

"Should it be based on state and county distribution? Or is it the province-wide average? Or is it the national average? If it's a national average, we also need to consider the difference between one crop a year, three crops every two years, and two crops a year in the north and south, and a national census must be conducted. ”

"If the entire province is divided evenly, the differences in population and land acres among various states and counties must also be taken into consideration. If it is not applied across the board, some places will benefit and some places will lose. It will definitely not work."

His meaning is very clear. The population and land area are unbalanced, and the tax standards of each province are fixed values.

Or, delegate power to local governments and allow them to adjust measures to local conditions.

Or, centralize power and let the court in the capital issue a policy that is fair across the country.

Compared with what Li Zhiyuan said, the British public felt that since it must be implemented, one should not consider whether it is good or bad, but should consider how to implement it.

Centralization of power is a very difficult task for a regime.

Especially when it comes to things like dividing people into acres, as far as the organizational capabilities of the Dashun court are concerned, a better choice is to delegate power and let local governors adapt to local conditions and make adjustments within the province on a provincial basis.

Or... just as Liu Yu said, train a group of young people directly under the emperor to serve as airborne subordinates and conduct a nationwide land inventory.

Li Gan deliberately avoided this question. Seeing the situation in Wendeng Prefecture, he already knew what was going on, so he avoided it and only said: "You are right, Tianyou Palace will consider these things."

Later, the specific issues were quietly transformed into broad and general content.

"What I am thinking is, is it benevolent government to divide a small family into an equal amount? Of course it is not a benevolent government."

"As it is said, most of the tax per mu is levied on those who have no land to rent. If we talk about benefits, it is only for those farmers, craftsmen, businessmen, and hired workers who have some land. Rich households do not benefit, and tenants do not benefit. It’s not profitable either.”

"Besides, the majority of tax payments come from rich households. If tenants don't pay rent, how can rich households pay taxes? The rent must include the head tax. What Li Qing said does make sense."

"But the imperial court can add several million taels of tax money a year. With more tax money, we can raise troops and provide disaster relief. The imperial court cannot be without silver."

"If we have to talk about benevolent government, we can only say that it is a benevolent government for farmers, industry and commerce. At least craftsmen and merchants do not have to pay dingyin. In this world, there is no benevolent government that can be praised by people from all over the world. It can only be partly benevolent and partly evil. "

"According to what I see, let's not consider the inventory of acres for now. First, we should summarize the tax bank, land bank, and land bank in each province, and then consider it on this basis."

"Tianyou Palace will consider it all these days. Should it be based on local conditions? Or should it be distributed equally across the country? Or should the total amount of taxes and funds in each state and county remain unchanged and be distributed directly?"

Since he admitted that dividing the land between farmers and farmers was not a benevolent policy towards the tenants, who accounted for the vast majority of the population, the debate between benevolence and violence was no longer discussed. The emperor himself admitted that this was not a benevolent policy, so it would be useless to use this as an argument. It makes no sense anymore. If the emperor goes rogue, who can stop him?

The term "benevolent government" has changed its meaning a few days ago.

A month ago, Jiangsu weavers and craftsmen broke out in the "Let's go together and call for a break" movement.

"Xie", in Wu language, means to stop or not to do anything. Together, it’s the entire industry. The meaning is already clear.

On the one hand, this proves that as Dashun pursued a switch trade policy, the germination of capitalism in Jiangnan developed further.

Lighting a candle always casts a shadow.

Germination cannot be just about wealth without resistance. A large-scale worker movement to fight for interests such as Qixing Jie Xie is bound to appear.

The weavers and craftsmen put forward demands for increased wages, piece-rate wages, and increased work rights.

If you don’t agree, you won’t resume work.

The means of struggle have obviously improved a lot. They took advantage of the opportunity when Western merchants were making large-scale purchases and were about to deliver goods.

A leadership group was also organized to suppress weavers who were disobedient and insisted on going to work; and to help workers who had difficulty in food and clothing because they called for a break.

This incident was so sensational that the local government had to report it to the court.

During the court discussion, Li Gan dug a big hole and asked all the ministers, "If you agree to the craftsmen's request, wouldn't it be benevolent government?"

However, during the court meeting, a Jiangnan minister told the emperor sternly: The court did not exist in the name of benevolent government.

Now that the generals are fighting against each other, they say that it is not benevolent policy at all, but just to make money. It will be very interesting to think about it during the court meeting.

In the Tianyou Hall, even if everyone has their own thoughts and the emperor has said so, they can only obey orders and consider formulating a specific policy.

As for opposition, that is a characteristic of the imperial court, not the Tianyou Palace.

…………

In Weihai, Liu Yu and his eight confidant naval cadets were preparing for this trip to Japan to do something big.

Bai Yunhang didn't know that Liu Yu was going to Japan, but he heard that Liu Yu was leaving Weihai for a while, so he waited for Liu Yu in Weihai early, blocking the only way Liu Yu had to go.

Looking at the houses being built in Weihai, the hungry people who were recruited were willing to work without being paid every month after they were fed.

It seems that this kind of life-saving kindness can be maintained for one or two years without paying any money.

The strange building complex called "Northern Industrial Chamber of Commerce" has grown to a certain scale and is now capable of producing some simple woodware. Bai Yunhang doesn't know what it will produce in the future.

Large oak trees from the Liaohe River, Yalu River and other places, as well as from the deep mountains and old forests in the Northeast, have also begun to be transported, piled and dried here. It looked like they were going to build a ship.

He didn't understand either, he was just waiting for Liu Yu.

After stopping Liu Yu, Bai Yunhang said directly: "Mr. Liu, if this time the sharing of land between households and households can be implemented, you will get great benefits. At the very least, the workers under you will not have to pay the capitation tax. ”

Liu Yu dismounted, smiled and cupped his hands at Baiyun Hanggong, and then motioned to the following Mantou and others to disperse first.

"What, Mr. Bai, are you here to see me off? Or are you here to take credit?"

"Hey, Mr. Liu is joking. I'm neither here to see you off nor to ask for credit. I'm just telling the truth. Mr. Liu doesn't have any land, but he runs workshops and does business. This small farm is of great benefit to Mr. Liu. Isn’t it?”

Liu Yu smiled and thought to himself that this method of spreading people's income into their own land was just a temporary solution, not a direct attack on the landlord class.

What Bai Yunhang said is indeed correct. For himself, the biggest benefit is to help the development of industry and commerce.

If nothing else, I just calculated it based on my conscience. If there is a dingyin head tax, then I have to pay more for the head tax when paying wages.

It is indeed true that with the reduction of poll tax, labor costs will be reduced.

Bai Yunhang is a smart man. He probably saw that he had recruited more than 10,000 people to bake bricks and dig soil to build houses here, so he thought about how much money these more than 10,000 people would get if they had to pay the Ding tax. They are all young and strong.

"Master Bai, let's not beat around the bush. Please speak directly, Master Bai. We are not talking about being like grasshoppers on the same rope now, but I hope to achieve this policy of sharing the same family. If anything happens to you, , but that’s it.”

Bai Yunhang took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll tell you the truth. Mr. Liu is smart and knowledgeable. He should know that if the tax policy is changed, he will definitely be able to collect more money. But if this is the case, It’s a benevolent government, but that’s not necessarily true.”

"I have something else to ask Mr. Liu for help. As soon as this policy comes out, even if I have a reputation for disaster relief and the people love me, there will definitely be people who incite dissatisfaction. For example, someone will definitely increase the land rent and then say that I have bad governance. , they also have to increase the rent, and the blame and dissatisfaction will all fall on me. "

"That's why... I would like to ask Mr. Liu for help in this matter, so that I can do it beautifully. Otherwise, all the previous efforts will be wasted. It doesn't matter to me, but Mr. Liu wants to develop industry and commerce. If the workers in industry and commerce have to pay dingyin, this will be very bad. ”

Liu Yu laughed loudly, shook his head and thought that this guy's shameless appearance was quite interesting. But this person is indeed a capable official. If he can think of this step, his ability is beyond doubt.

"Since Mr. Bai has said so, what else can I say? Whatever you think, just say it."

"Yes, I am originally from Gannan..."

Bai Yunhang expressed his thoughts, which were not shocking.

Upon closer inspection, what Bai Yunhang is about to say is also closely related to the nationwide uprising in the late Ming Dynasty more than 80 years ago.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Jiangnan seemed to be prosperous, but in fact it was extremely corrupt. The Ming Dynasty allowed the existence of slaves, so that the big landowners in Jiangnan and other places came up with new tricks.

[The slaves have no food on their belly, no skirt on their knees and ankles, and no skin on their buttocks and back. 】

[If a slave girl is not married to a son-in-law, her melons will be broken early; if a woman is not married to a son, her melons will be cut first]

[The name of the tenant must not be the same as that of the deceased owner, this is a taboo]

[The tenant wanted to marry a daughter, so he gave money to the landowner first, named "Heli\