Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 607, The Role of Taxes
Liu Jin is nursing the baby at home.

Um, in fact, the milk baby is secondary, after all, the weather is so cold, the wife and children are hot on the kang.

In this snowy day, staying at home is naturally doing something you like to do.

This was suddenly declared into the palace by Emperor Hongzhi. One can imagine Liu Jin's mood at this moment, and he was extremely upset.

In ancient times, there was really no one~~~ Quan, the emperor dared to do whatever he wanted, and he was a courtier, and he was exhausted.

Now that the official has been promoted to the third rank, and he has been granted the title of Marquis of Liaodong, Liu Jin has already regretted his death every morning and morning. It is still not Zhaojin Palace.

"In the future, we must fool Zhu Houzhao into changing the government system. Who can bear to wake up at three or four every morning."

"No matter what, it is more appropriate to change it to morning court at eight or nine o'clock."

"There is also the morning court every day, nothing to worry about, a lot of trivial matters, so many people's time wasted, from now on, the morning court should be changed to a few times a month, and it is enough to discuss important matters."

While rushing to the palace, Liu Jin was thinking about changing the early dynasty system.

In the hands of Emperor Hongzhi, it must be useless, so don't even think about it.

Emperor Hongzhi was a workaholic. He went to the morning court every day, and held small meetings with important ministers after the morning court, and sometimes held the evening court in the afternoon.

Simply inhuman.

The ministers actually complained a lot, but there was nothing they could do. Facing such a diligent emperor, they could only give Emperor Hongzhi some high hats of being diligent and caring for the people.

Emperor Hongzhi was a typical one. He didn't have any means or talent for governing the country. He could only rely on holding meetings and meetings to listen to how the following ministers were doing things, showing that he was very diligent and valued.

How many truly powerful emperors in history were so tired every day?

A smart emperor knows to focus on important things, and learn to delegate other insignificant things to the lower levels, so that he will not be tired and can truly govern the country well.

The emperor who has to grasp everything is often exhausted and half dead.

Daming is too big, even if it is Haiqingheyan, Guotai Minan, it still has countless things to deal with every day, and a person's energy is limited after all.

Well, Liu Jin has decided that he will definitely fool Zhu Houzhao in the future, he will definitely be an emperor who knows how to combine work and rest.

When I came to Emperor Hongzhi's Qianqing Palace, I immediately felt extremely comfortable.

"Your Majesty~"

When he came to Emperor Hongzhi's study, Liu Jin looked at the faces of Emperor Hongzhi and the big bosses. The two sides seemed to be arguing non-stop just now, and Liu Jin kept guessing in his heart what happened.

"No~ Sit down."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly and asked someone to bring a stool.

"Liu Jin, do you think that taxation by the court will definitely make people miserable?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Liu Jin for a while and asked.

Just talking about the transfer of Liu Jin to the Ministry of Household Affairs, Emperor Hongzhi argued with several ministers, and the debate came to whether or not to levy business taxes.

Emperor Hongzhi naturally wanted to levy business taxes. The court had no money, and nothing could be done. How could we do without taxation? We can’t use our own money to subsidize the national treasury in the future.

As for Xie Qian, Liu Jian, and Li Dongyang, they are relatively opposed to the taxation of merchants, and believe that national governance should be based on light corvee and light taxation, and persuasion of farming and mulberry.

This tax increase, no matter what kind of tax it is, will eventually fall on the people's heads, causing the people to live in poverty, breeding all kinds of exorbitant taxes, and ultimately shaking the country and the country.

Hearing what Emperor Hongzhi said, Liu Jin was taken aback for a moment, and then felt that his head was a little big.

This kind of thing involving business tax is simply life-threatening.

The merchants of Ming Dynasty are already in a state of exhaustion.

When I had just crossed over, these merchants in Ming Dynasty dared to plot against the emperor, so they barely had the military power in their hands to rebel.

That is, in the past two years, Emperor Hongzhi continued to suppress Jiangnan Shilin, severely destroying their strength, otherwise, who would dare to provoke these businessmen in Ming Dynasty.

From the princes and nobles of the court to the local officials, their people are everywhere, and they can drown you with saliva.

Hearing what Emperor Hongzhi said, the others also looked at Liu Jin, wanting to see Liu Jin's opinion.

"Your Majesty, if you want to clarify this issue, you must first understand what is the people?"

"Secondly, what is the tax to be levied?"

Liu Jin looked at Emperor Hongzhi, thinking quickly in his mind.

Emperor Hongzhi called himself over and asked about this matter again, so it must have been aimless, there must be something to do by himself.

I have no doubt that I want to stand on the side of Emperor Hongzhi. Emperor Hongzhi means to levy taxes, so I have to support taxation.

"Oh~ Then what do you mean by people?"

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately smiled and said.

"Your Majesty, gentlemen~"

"The farmers are the people, the businessman is also the people, and the gentry is also the people, but in the traditional sense, the people are the people at the bottom."

"The people at the bottom often have very little land, and most of them don't even have any land, but they not only have to bear the taxes and corvees of the imperial court, but also have to bear the exploitation of the landlords and gentry. "

"If we tax them more, they will definitely suffer."

"In the past dynasties, whenever the dynasty changed, the land was often concentrated in the hands of a few landlords and gentry, while the peasants without land borne most of the taxes."

"Imposing taxes on these farmers at this time will inevitably force these farmers who are already struggling to survive to be forced to rebel."

"That's where the so-called people's livelihood comes from."

Liu Jin thought for a while and opened his mouth slowly.

Hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone nodded slightly.

In the past, civil officials opposed taxation, basically using this matter as an example. Emperor Hongzhi also knew the hardships of the people at the bottom, so every time when discussing the collection of commercial taxes, he would be persuaded by this in the end.

He was afraid that the tax would eventually be transferred to the common people, which would make life even more difficult for the common people of Ming Dynasty.

"It seems that Liu Jin is also against taxation~"

"That's right, with so many properties under his command, if he wants to collect taxes seriously, how much money will he have to pay?"

Xie Qian laughed immediately, and Liu Jin objected to taxation.

It doesn't matter where he works. At first, he was worried that Liu Jin would start collecting taxes after he went to the Ministry of Household Affairs.

"However, if the court wants to operate and the country wants to develop, it will definitely not be able to do without money."

"Only when the imperial court has money and food in its hands can it maintain the stability and development of the entire country, have the strength to develop a powerful army to defend the country, and have the strength to relieve victims of disasters."

"Taxes collected from the people are also used for the people, and ultimately serve the people of the entire Ming Dynasty."

Then Liu Jin changed the subject and also talked about the importance of taxation.

"Well said~"

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately said happily.

That's what he meant. If the court doesn't have money, nothing can be done. Of course it won't work.

He, Emperor Hongzhi, also collected taxes for Daming, for the court, not for his own enjoyment.

"In addition, taxation is also to promote social balance~"

"The peasants at the bottom of the Ming Dynasty, they have no land but have to bear a lot of taxes and suffer from exploitation."

"The landlords, gentry, and businessmen, who possess a lot of wealth and world, often don't need to pay taxes, and there is nothing to do in a short time."

"But over time, the entire country will lack balance, and the final result is that once there are natural and man-made disasters, there will be flames of war everywhere."

"In the end, it's not just the common people at the bottom who will be hurt. Once the flames of war break out, landlords, businessmen, and gentry will also be implicated."

"Thus through taxation, we can collect more taxes on the rich and those with land, and less on those without land and the poor, so as to achieve a balance between the country and society."

Liu Jin continued to talk about balance, which is actually fair in later generations, but naturally there is no fairness in this era, so it is more appropriate to talk about balance.

"Ridiculous~"

"All dynasties have given preferential treatment to scholar-bureaucrats, and gentry are exempted from taxes. This is the tradition of all dynasties."

Hearing Liu Jin's words, Xie Qian immediately stood up and objected, saying that Liu Jin was going to attack the gentry because of his feelings. Who doesn't have thousands of acres of land in the ruling and opposition parties?

Juren can be exempted from taxes, and if you pass the exam, you don’t know how many fields you donate. What’s more, it’s normal for them to salvage from the court, each of them has a wealth of wealth, and thousands of hectares of fertile land.

"Hmm~"

The others also nodded one after another, how could this tax collection be collected on their own heads.

The salary of the imperial court is so low that people will starve to death if they count on the salary. If the family does not have some land property to support them, everyone's life will be difficult.

"Gentlemen are exempt from taxes, but merchants and landlords can always be taxed."

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin smiled and said.

Hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone suddenly had nothing to say. The imperial court gave preferential treatment to scholars, so merchants and landlords are not considered.

"Promote balance~"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly. Balance is a good word.

Those who have land and money do not pay taxes, but those who have no land and no money pay more taxes. This is obviously unreasonable, and it will definitely cause problems in the long run.

"Well said, to promote social balance, well said~"

Emperor Hongzhi praised with a smile on his face.

Being an emperor is often a game of balance. Only when the power is balanced can the emperor be able to sit firmly. Liu Jin's words won the heart of Emperor Hongzhi.

"Taxation also plays a very important role, that is, it can promote the development of all walks of life and regulate the development of the country's industry and economy."

Liu Jin smiled and continued to talk about another role of taxation.

　It’s a bit nonsense, but it’s still necessary to talk~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)