Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 616

Here I want to emphasize that from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there was never preferential treatment for gentry, but only preferential exemption for corvee.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, except for the vassal princes of Lao Zhu's family, no one was exempt from taxation.

Sima Guang once said: "There are those who die because of service, but there are no people who die because of endowment."

For the common people, taxation is heavy at most, and the family is ruined, but corvee is heavy, and the family is ruined.

In the early Ming Dynasty, seeing this situation, Zhu Yuanzhang put forward the preferential exemption regulations. Many officials were far away from their homeland, and it was impossible for them to undertake the miscellaneous tasks such as carrying sedan chairs, road repairs, and shifts assigned to them by Lijia in their hometown.

Secondly, it is impossible to be a high-ranking official of the imperial court today and tell the emperor that I will resign and go back to carry the sedan chair tomorrow.

Therefore, from the year of Hongwu to Jiajing and Wanli, the preferential exemption for corvee has been taking shape, and later became a rule in the 24th year of Jiajing.

That is: the first-rank premium exempt rations for Beijing officials are [-] shi, and the rations are [-] dong, and the following are reduced to [-] shi, and the rations are [-] dong; foreign officials are halved; Shi and Ding two people; Zhishiyou exempts seven tenths of this product.

Many people took it for granted, thinking that the money and food were preferentially exempted, but in essence, during the Ming Dynasty, the scope of preferential exemption was always strictly limited to labor and labor, and never expanded to the field of taxation.

The so-called "thirty stones of grain" and "[-] mu of land" refer to the preferential exemption from labor attached to the "thirty stones of grain" and "[-] mu of land", not the exemption from taxes.

Taxes should be paid or have to be paid, but labor costs can reduce the part of handymen.

In a popular explanation, the tenants of the officials and gentry are basically exempt from corvee.

To this point alone, let the wind of contribution rise.

However, the policy is a good policy, but as soon as the decree comes out of the Forbidden City, but at the specific implementation level at the county level, the gentry will use various means to collude with the county magistrate, refuse to serve or pay taxes...

"That is to say, it was originally only an exemption for corvee, but when it spread to the people, it became an exemption from taxes in the counties."

Even though he had expected it, Zhu Yixi couldn't help being angry when he knew this from Zhao Shu and others.

Before being among the people, or before crossing over, he hated the gentry's privileges and exemptions in the Ming Dynasty, which severely damaged Ming's fiscal revenue.

(Actually, about 7 million stones can still be collected each year, which is about the same as the [-] stones in Hongwu Year, but the expenditure has increased...)
Who would have thought that if they really understood the matter, they would understand that the demographic dividends and land dividends that the Ming Dynasty had increased for hundreds of years were basically stolen by the gentry.

The so-called preferential treatment is not in compliance with the rules. As the imperial court's control power declines, it becomes more and more rampant.

It's like the Song Dynasty's patriarchal system not to kill scholar-bureaucrats, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Guangyi's brothers killed more than anyone else, and even the emperor believed it after a long time of fooling around.

"Officials and officials protect each other!" Even a rentier like Zhang Shenyan couldn't help sighing: "In the early years of Wanli, Hai Zhongjie (Hai Rui) defied power and investigated the family of Xu Wenzhen (Xu Jie) who was at home. "

"It's a pity that Xu Wenjie is not strict in teaching his children. Although he is known as a clean and honest man, his family has accumulated hundreds of thousands of acres of land, thinking that Songjiang Mansion is a big harm—"

It is rumored on the Internet that Hai Rui is an upright official and is not beneficial to the country, so it is really ulterior motives to conclude that an upright official is useless.

In the past, Hai Rui cleaned up the powerful, dredged the Wusong River, suppressed land mergers, and widely tried lawsuits. These were the real benefits for ordinary people.

"So, it is also simple for the imperial court. Now that taxes and duties are unified, the preferential exemption for the gentry is useless. It is time to abolish the preferential exemption regulations and collect taxes as a whole."

The emperor said excitedly.

The one whip method back then was to combine land taxes, corvees, and other miscellaneous levies into one, and pay silver on time, but it was the same when it was changed to pay grain later.

"Your Majesty, preferential treatment of gentry is a national policy..."

Seeing that something was wrong with the emperor, Zhao Shu immediately persuaded him.

You have been emperor for several years, why are you still so childish?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yixi's smile immediately froze, and she fell into deep thought.

As the saying goes, existence is reasonable.

Could it be that over the past 300 years of the Ming Dynasty, more than a dozen emperors have been deaf and dumb, and they don't know the so-called preferential treatment?
No, they sure do.

From the moment the preferential exemption regulations were officially promulgated, it meant that the imperial court had no choice but to limit the scope and restrain the unscrupulous behavior of the gentry.

But the clever Jiajing only wanted to cultivate immortals, and Wanli, who was capable enough, only wanted to live in the harem, so he could only compromise.

Seeing that the emperor was still struggling, Zhang Shenyan on the side could only say softly: "The foundation of the imperial court lies in the gentry."

This sentence clarifies the fundamentals.

In fact, it can also be understood in reverse. Only gentry and scholars can overthrow the imperial court.

China is too big, and the finances cannot support most of the officials. In the final analysis, it depends on local self-government.

If you want the horse to run, you have to buy it and win it over.

The nine-rank Zhongzheng system in the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the selection of officials by the powerful in the Sui and Tang dynasties, the lack of restraint in land annexation in the Song Dynasty, and the preferential treatment of money and food in the Ming and Qing dynasties, these are all the court's bribes of scholars.

Later, in order not to be controlled by others, the Celestial Dynasty did not choose to buy, but just replaced.

The Chinese government popularized night schools on a large scale and carried out literacy eradication for the purpose of making farmers and workers educated.

But can Zhu Yixi do this?can't do it.

He doesn't have the ability to make the village move.

Even if Zhu Yixi was in Beijing, he opened his mouth, the cabinet drafted documents, and even publicized it in the Ming Dynasty Communiqué, abolishing the so-called unspoken rules and preferential treatment for gentry.

But as soon as they reach the county, nine out of ten will ignore it.

One is naturally the ass decides the head, and the other is to offend the gentry, and it is difficult to extend power.

For example, during the Yongzheng period, officials and gentry were on errands and paid food, but it was abandoned in the Qianlong period.

If Zhu Yixi changes, then his son, or grandson, will definitely change back.

Ancestral system?What is easy to use is the ancestral system.

"Then, what do you mean?"

Zhu Yixi thought about it for more than ten years in Yongzheng, and finally paid for it, and couldn't help but feel a little chilled, there are too many unfilial sons.

"Your Majesty, when you were in Nanjing, you were exempted from the three rates. Now that you have moved to Beijing, you should reiterate the whip and exempt all additional taxes except the regular one."

Unexpectedly, Zhao Shu lowered his head and said something to gain fame.

"That's right." Zhu Yixi nodded: "One whip can bring all the tax and miscellaneous servants into one. After the Liao pay and other new levies, if the court doesn't believe what it says, it will naturally lose the hearts of the people."

"What about corvée?" A whip method includes corvée.

"Your Majesty can depose the world's miscellaneous Fu first, and then carry out Hongwu's old affairs."

"I understand."

Suddenly, the emperor smiled, and he suddenly realized.

In fact, although the gentry are twitchy about paying the emperor's grain, it is common sense and inertia in society, and they don't take it seriously.

Since the imperial court wanted money and food, it had to grant another privilege.

After all, the gentry lost their right to preferential treatment with one whip, and everyone paid taxes together. How could you make them feel superior?

Scholars are like mud legs, isn't my reading this book for nothing?

Therefore, equality in taxation means inequality in corvee.

(End of this chapter)