Chongzhen: I am the king of prosperous times

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, there are frequent disasters in Zhili, Shandong, Shanshan and other places, and the rebellion in various places is uncertain. There are many disputes between the court and China over these matters."

Sun Chuanting looked serious, bowed and saluted and said: "However, the treasury's silver deposits are insufficient, if we just blindly rely on internal funds to support the government, and the country does not try to increase revenue, it may not be a long-term solution to solve the treasury's troubles.

And the minister also heard that there was a serious drift in Shandong.

The Chongwenmen tax customs that I previously managed have achieved great results since the implementation of the tax reform. According to the current taxation bank account, it is not difficult to collect millions of dollars a year.

When the minister was in charge of the resettlement, he had been thinking in his heart whether the power of the banknote customs could be returned to the imperial court, and the special office of the household department should be set up to take charge of it, and the Chongwenmen tax customs should be reformed, so as to standardize the banknote tax items and open up a new way for the treasury. financial resources. "

Emperor Chongzhen sat firmly on the dragon chair, listening to what Sun Chuanting said, his eyes were shining brightly, yes, he forgot about it in such a hurry.

Really busy dizzy.

The reform of Chongwenmen's tax customs made the tax items that should be collected clear, and the detailed rules of the tax reform were implemented, which made the tax revenue of the place tenfold.

Previously, with Han Yu and the others, it was clear that the guarding eunuchs would be permanently abolished and the mining tax would be collected, but they also took the opportunity to discuss the reform of the commercial tax.

It's just that there were too many things that happened later, so that Emperor Chongzhen was so busy that he forgot to deal with these things, and set up a new main government office under the Ministry of Households to take care of these things.

"Sun Qing is right."

Emperor Chongzhen smiled and said: "It is I who overlooked this point, but it may not be an easy task to achieve this.

After all, there are many things involved in the banknote pass, and it also involves localities. If I want to clarify this matter, if I raise it, I am afraid that there will be great opposition from the court and China. "

"Your Majesty, this minister's visit to the palace is for this purpose."

Sun Chuanting made a bow and said: "Your Majesty must pay attention to the tax collection by the state, and many local governments use this as an excuse to impose exorbitant taxes.

Especially the issue of banknotes.

The tax collected by the imperial court for this item was mostly 10,000+ taels. During the Tianqi period, it was a little more, more than 50 taels. This was affected by the Liaodong rebellion, so the revenue increased a lot.

In the past, the minister thought that the scope of the tax money collected by this banknote customs was just like this, but after acting as the agent of Chongwenmen tax customs to plan reforms, it was discovered that most of the silver was not collected by the court, but it was privately owned by some people. library.

This is still the case at the feet of the emperor.

The situation in that place is probably even worse.

The minister calculated an account.

If the current field of water transportation is determined by the seven customs established, and the Chongwenmen tax customs are followed to make changes, then the imperial court can at least increase the customs duty by more than 300 million taels of silver. "

Hearing what Sun Chuanting said, Emperor Chongzhen was not surprised. After all, there were big problems in Ming's financial system.

The privileged faction headed by the officials and gentry is serious about tax evasion and tax evasion. In some places, they simply evade taxes directly and cheat the local people by changing the law.

Daming's finances are a big problem. He is like a powder keg, followed by a powder keg, connected in a series. If you touch this, it is likely to form a chain explosion effect.

'Da Ming has never been short of silver. '

Emperor Chongzhen narrowed his eyes slightly, and secretly said in his heart: "Silk, tea, porcelain and other luxury goods sold overseas have caused a large amount of silver to flow into Daming, which is worth hundreds of millions."

Especially under the rule of the Jiangnan provinces, those officials, gentry, merchants and other class groups have the largest proportion of silver hoarding under their names, and it is precisely they who are also the most greedy.

The amount of silver in circulation on the surface continues to shrink.

The silver hoarded in secret kept increasing.

This not only made Daming's financial problems increasingly severe, but also exacerbated private land annexation, especially when disasters occurred frequently, and this momentum became even more serious.

In response to the Jianlu rebellion and the rogue rebellion, the court often has unfavorable situations, which will intensify this panic and make the problem more difficult.

However, the matter of taxation must be treated with caution. The most important thing is to cultivate a group of professional taxation talents, clarify the various tax items of Ming Dynasty, and gradually implement them. '

Daming's finances are a very troublesome matter.

Under the current situation, Sun Chuanting took the initiative to enter the palace to speak out about this matter, and wanted to share the worries of the society, which is enough to show his loyalty.

Treating such a loyal and virtuous official who is willing to do practical things, Emperor Chongzhen must protect him well, and he cannot be caught in the vortex of party struggle.

"Sun Qing, I am very pleased that you are willing to share the worries of the country and me."

Emperor Chongzhen thought for a while and said, "However, if you really want to fully implement what you are thinking, there may be many difficulties.

After all, there are too many levels involved, and many people involved.

Even because of changes in the current situation, this good policy will eventually become bad. I have thought about this before, and I have written down these thoughts.

Sun Qing, you can take a look first, and if you want to understand what I think, I will submit a memorial to the Secretary of General Administration in your name, and our monarchs and ministers will gradually seek to correct this matter. "

As he said that, Emperor Chongzhen took out an official letter from the pile of memorials for the Dragon Case. After the showdown with Han Yu and the others, Emperor Chongzhen conceived of this matter.

It's just that there were too many things later, and I forgot about it.

After receiving the official letter from Wang Chengen, the National Tax Office written on the cover made Sun Chuanting open his eyes slightly, I am afraid that what the emperor thinks is far more comprehensive than what he thinks.

"About this national tax office, I have been thinking about it for a long time."

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said with a smile to Sun Chuanting: "In the future, Ming's customs duties, commercial taxes, mining taxes, salt taxes, etc. will all be collected through this place.

Some functions and powers of the Ministry of Households and other administrative departments have to be gradually redefined. There are big problems and loopholes in the taxes collected by the Ming Dynasty every year.

But there is a saying.

This meal has to be eaten bite by bite, and the road has to be walked step by step.

Sun Qing is very clear about the tax situation in Ming Dynasty, and I am also very clear in my heart, including the issue of the administration of officials in Ming Dynasty, which can be said to be a mess.

It's just that I didn't mention it before.

If these good ideas are really carried out all at once, I am afraid that under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, there will be a reappearance of the emperor's grandfather and his old man, who sent guarding eunuchs before, and the mining tax trend was born.

Even in some places, there will be rebellions.

Therefore, I thought about implementing tax reform in some places first, and then gradually implemented it in various places after the places matured and the experience was summed up. "

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Sun Chuanting bowed when he heard the words.

Some of what the emperor said was beyond his expectation. For example, the issue of banknotes should be fully implemented from the beginning. I am afraid that the final situation will not progress as he thought. After all, the local manpower he sent Insufficient, it will be limited by the local government after all.