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

Chapter 707: Ding Sui Zao - Dividing the Land Tax
Song Shenzong Period
"The gentry will treat the tenants harmoniously, and the tenants will no longer default on their land rent."

“This is definitely a good starting point.”

Wang Anshi, wearing a purple robe and a winged crown, holding a tablet, said to Zhao Xu:
"In the past, our reforms either only looked up and not down, or only looked down and not up."

"But only the combination of the two can open up the path of reform."

"Just like a person walking depends on two feet, if one foot is missing, it will be difficult to walk or run."

"The rights and obligations of the landlord-tenant relationship were clarified in the form of law, the landlords and gentry were prohibited from illegally abusing the people, and the privileges of the gentry were suppressed by the constraints of official titles."

"Cut off the flesh of the nobles and appease the hearts of the people."

Zhao Xu brought Wang Anshi back from the local area, of course, with the intention of carrying out reforms again.

The issue is……

"You really want to have a debate with them?"

He didn't know what Wang Anshi was thinking, and the first thing he did when he returned was to request a grand court meeting.

Wang Anshi raised his head and looked directly at the emperor, saying in a deep voice:
"Zhang Juzheng was in power, but he still took up arms and killed those who resisted the rebellion."

"Why do you think so, Your Majesty?"

Zhao Xu was silent.

Why...of course it’s for the sake of the world.

Wang Anshi lowered his head and looked at the tablet in his hand again.

"I want to see whether the scholars and officials of the Song Dynasty still have the will to save the country."

……

{The only bad thing is that Yongzheng did not do anything about the donation issue.}
{What is donation?}

{Donation, to put it bluntly, is the buying and selling of official positions. It was an important way for the Qing Dynasty to select officials, along with the imperial examination, inheritance, and recommendation.}
{In the past, the gentry relied on their own achievements and reputations to register the land of their relatives and clansmen in their own names, which not only exempted them from paying taxes and levies, but also benefited their relatives and friends.}
{Now, fame and honor have become an agreement signed between the imperial court and the gentry group. If violated, fame and honor become a "fine"}
{On the other hand, for local officials at all levels, this also means that their status has been virtually improved, and the cost for gentry to curry favor or cheat has increased, so they respect officials more.}
{Since being an official is becoming more and more attractive, cunning gentlemen are looking for another shortcut - donations.}
……

Yanhan·Lingdi Period
Liu Hong shuddered!
He jumped up and pointed at the sky:
"Hey, hey, he's buying and selling official positions! Punish him! Punish him!"

Your Highness and all the ministers: ...

There are still some essential differences between you.

Several smart people saw what the Qing emperor was thinking.

In short, it is just like the strategy of encircling three sides and leaving one side missing in the military strategy.

The emperor just wanted to reform the law and had no intention of forcing the gentry to death.

You were different then...

You are a deadly player and you have ruined the game.

……

｛Although the Qing Dynasty formulated various strict management measures to prevent people who donated money to buy official positions from having no real talent or from amassing wealth after becoming officials, and treated these people differently from talents selected through the imperial examinations, this system was still criticized in the end.｝
{The bottom line for donating to become an official is that officials in the Ministry of Personnel cannot donate.}
｛The Ministry of Personnel is responsible for managing officials, and officials cannot be donated. ｝｛Officials in the Ministry of Rites cannot be donated. The Ministry of Rites is responsible for education and the imperial examinations, and officials cannot be donated. ｝
{Official positions such as Shangshu, Shilang, Governor-General, Provincial Governor, and Provincial Government Envoy cannot be donated.}
{This system is like drinking poison to quench thirst. Although it can alleviate the financial shortage temporarily, it will cause endless troubles in the future.}
{And officials who donate money are most likely to be corrupt in their administration.}
{It can only be said that Yongzheng was, after all, the monarch of a feudal dynasty. He promoted the policy of requiring all gentry to serve and pay taxes, but did not prohibit donations. This allowed the gentry, who had great ideas, to cleverly play a trick and become the invisible beneficiaries who avoided the reform.}
……

Ming Dynasty, Hongzhi Period
Zhu Youtang closed his eyes slightly.

If the people are left without food, they will rebel.

But if the gentry were forced to make some sacrifices, they would not take the risk.

Once a person has found the cradle of happiness, he will never give it up easily.

The purpose of implementing reforms is to stabilize the regime, not to deliberately push a certain class to the opposite side.

"Yongzheng... good tactics."

……

Qing Dynasty and Qianlong period
A hint of irony appeared on Qianlong's face.

He has seen a lot of such scholarly words.

“You can always raise a problem, but you can never give a solution.”

"The rabbit bites people when it's anxious."

Donating money to become an official is not just for fun, it is an investment and the goal is to get as much return as possible.

Officialdom is a money world, and getting rich when being an official is the golden rule.

If you don't let them get rich, they will not let you have peace.

……

On the canopy.

The candlelight is still burning like thunder.

He is still the unshakable emperor.

"what……"

Yongzheng yawned with his fist covering his mouth, then put down the memorial, took off his glasses, picked up the handkerchief at hand and wiped the corners of his eyes.

He looked at the pile of secret folders beside the table, turned around and got off the warm bed, stretched his arms, and walked back and forth a few steps.

Then he sat back on the warm bed, put on his glasses, and continued to review memorials.

……

[Since Yongzheng ascended the throne, he has done a lot of practical things, but he always feels that there are more important things waiting ahead, and he feels that "being a king is difficult" every day. 】

[As new policies continue to be implemented, as the emperor, he must of course consider justice for the world.]

【As the saying goes, “The emperor’s virtue is as great as the universe, and his grace is as deep as the rain and dew.”】

[Who among the common people in the world does not want to be nourished by the royal rain and dew, but how difficult is it to truly make the common people feel fairness? ]

【Yongzheng had been well-read since childhood and knew the price people paid for being treated unfairly.】

[So, after solving the grain tax problem, Yongzheng began to tackle another major issue related to the livelihood of the people of the country - corvée.]

……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
“The world does not belong to one person, but to everyone in the world.”

"The harmony of yin and yang does not favor one kind. The timely rain of sweet dew does not favor any one thing. The ruler of all people does not favor one person."

Liu Che let out a long sigh.

This statement was a complete acknowledgement of Emperor Yongzheng.

Why?

Just because he is the leader of the Hu people, his actions are those of the leader of the world.

As for his heart...

Liu Che shook his head.

Why bother with something that is unpredictable?

"We have to solve the tax collection and the corvée service..."

He didn't know what to think for a moment.

I just thought, if the Ming emperor had one-third of his determination...

"Ugh……"

……

[In the early Qing Dynasty, land tax and labor service were levied separately. ]

【Dingyi, then called "dingyao", was a term for men who were "dismissed when they were over 60, and added when they were over 16. The number of Ding increased and the tax increased accordingly. There were urban residents, rural residents, rich people, tenants, and guest people, all of which were called "minding". 】【In addition to the minding, there were also many other names such as "junding, garrison ding, craftsman ding, stove ding, station ding, land worker ding, fisherman, farm ding, and grain ding". 】

[It seems to be divided very finely, but in actual operation, it has already been mixed with "minding". ]

【But since there are various distinctions, it provides an excuse for evading conscription or for officials to accept bribes. 】

[According to the "Kangxi Daqing Huidian", there are many different ways to pay taxes: some people are divided into different levels, some are assigned to different people according to the land, and some are assigned to different people according to the land. Even within a county, there are many different ways to collect taxes.]

[For example, in Zhili, some taxes were levied based on the number of cattle and donkeys, some were levied based on village quotas, and some were levied based on the number of registered households... The collection standards were chaotic.]

[The only thing they have in common is that they all collected silver, and then the government used the silver to hire laborers, collectively known as "dingyi silver" or "yaoli silver", or "dingyin" for short.]

[Kangxi once issued an edict: No additional taxes will be imposed on the population.]

[It stabilized the amount of silver for the capitation tax, relatively reduced the burden on the poor, reduced the number of poor people who could not pay the capitation tax and fled in a short period of time, ensured the country's tax revenue, and took a step forward in the development of taxation.]

[However, although the method adopted by Kangxi was effective for a while, it did not eradicate the root cause in the long run and was a bit like covering one's ears and stealing the bell.]

[Because the number of deaths and births in the population cannot be balanced, in peacetime, the number of births always exceeds the number of deaths, which requires a re-count of the household registration.]

[But it is really troublesome to count the population of the whole country. Even if we spend a lot of effort to count it clearly this time, the population will change soon, and the continuous change requires continuous calculation.]

[For families with an increased population, it is beneficial if the payment is made according to the original number of people. ]

[Under such circumstances, recounting the number of people will not win the support of the people. ]

……

Tang Dynasty and Gaozong period
Li Zhi had a general understanding.

"That is to say, Kangxi's policies actually satisfied the poor, because they did not have to pay more silver for adding more people."

"The rich are satisfied because the gentry do not have to pay taxes, and their income is the same as that of the poor."

“Only the country suffers.”

Changsun Wuji smacked his lips twice and finally uttered a few words.

"No wonder he is known as a wise ruler."

Corvée labor and land taxes have always been the main sources of income for the country, and also reflect the obligations of subjects to the monarch. It is impossible to abolish corvée labor.

Looking at the current situation during Yongzheng's reign, the gentry were evading corvée, which led to uneven distribution of corvée. The common people could not bear the heavy burden and so they evaded corvée.

In this way, the court's corvée labor could not be guaranteed.

If this matter can be handled well, it will benefit the people and the country.

"But how to deal with it?"

Li Zhi glanced at the old fox.

It’s so simple, just allocate according to assets.

Those who have more should pay more, those who have less should pay less, and those who have nothing should not pay at all.

But... it's difficult...

……

[At that time, some ministers proposed that the Ding silver should be collected according to the land area, and Ding silver should be levied at the same time as grain was collected.]

[Those who own land will pay the full amount, and those who do not have land will be exempted from grain tax and capitation silver. ]

[But this policy was attacked by many people, and there were two reasons for opposition: first, it would lead to people without land being idle and unrestrained.]

【Second, the poor and the rich should be treated equally and should all contribute to the country. If the tax is levied according to the amount of land, the poor will be relieved, while the rich will become the ones who pay taxes for them. This is neither fair nor reasonable.】

[And this approach is not practical.]

[Li Guangpo from Fuzhou analyzed: If the tax is paid according to the number of acres, the acres of land in different places will vary, and it will be difficult for each province to achieve an average.]

[If calculated based on grain tax, the burden would also vary from province to province.]

【They are all subjects of the state, and if the distribution is unequal, it will naturally not work. 】

【After several discussions and repeated weighing, no conclusion was reached.】

[Kangxi, who was good at military exploits when he was young, emphasized benevolent governance in his later years, which ultimately delayed the matter and left the problem to Yongzheng.]

……

The period of Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty
Liu Fuling suddenly felt a sense of empathy.

"Yongzheng is also good at cleaning up messes."

Although there are not many pits left by Kangxi, each one is very deep.

Liu Fuling listed all the emperors who had passed away. If any other emperor had faced this situation, he would have been buried long ago.

Those who have the ability don't have the heart to do so.

Those who have the intention do not have the ability.

Those who have the will and the ability to do so do not have such an iron-faced and selfless character.

A strong and impartial person...

Rare.

……

[Yongzheng's character is that if he doesn't do something, he won't do it, but if he does it, he will do it in a pretentious way.]

【When discussing this thorny issue, the ministers continued to argue their own opinions as usual. 】

[Opponents pointed out that the gentry had already been deprived of their privileges by having to serve as officials and pay taxes together. If the policy of forcing the gentry to pay taxes according to the amount of land they owned was implemented, it would cause resistance from them.]

【The Zhili Governor Li Weijun stood up and directly broke the window paper. With the increase in population, the number of landless poor people fleeing to avoid the conscription service continued to increase. If the implementation of the policy of transferring conscription according to local conditions is implemented, those who can afford it will naturally not agree, and the Ministry of Revenue will definitely follow the old rules.】"

【Yongzheng then ordered the Ministry of Revenue to reconsider the matter. The Ministry of Revenue immediately understood the emperor's determination and agreed.】

[Yongzheng ordered Li Weijun to formulate a complete plan in detail, which must be harmless to the national economy, beneficial to the people, and impeccable.]

……

{I compared the data and found that there were three main opinions raised by those who disagreed at the time.}
{First, the land area varies in size, and the allocation is not evenly distributed.}
{This statement is not groundless. The land acreage system of the Qing Dynasty basically followed that of the Ming Dynasty.}
{The Ming History, Food and Goods Records states: "For all fields, the fields near the city are considered the best, the fields farther away are considered the middle and the lower. Five feet is one step, two hundred and forty steps is one mu, and one hundred mu is one hectare."}
{In the 1655th year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (), the Ministry of Revenue issued a decree to cast bows throughout the country: "For every acre of land, five feet is a bow, and two hundred and forty bows are one mu."}
{The "gong" here has the same meaning as the "bu" in the Ming Dynasty, so it is collectively called "bugong"}
{The reality during the Qing Dynasty was that the common mu in the north was generally larger than the official mu.}
｛Since the southern provinces grow rice, the land is very profitable and the yield per mu is high. In order to extract more taxes, the rulers are very strict in calculating the per mu.｝
{For example: "In Wuzhong, six feet is one step", while the imperial court regulation is "five feet is one step" - on the surface, the acreage system in the Jiangnan region is larger than the official acreage system, which is beneficial to the people.}
{Actually not, because the "chi" in the Jiangnan region is the Su chi, and one chi is only eight inches of the Hubu chi. So, six chi is only the standard four feet and eight inches.}
{This is why some people suggest that there are different sizes of acres.}
{Secondly, once the policy of transferring ding silver to different places is implemented, if someone wants to sell land, they will definitely sell the good land first, leaving the inferior land, and it will be difficult to pay the ding silver.}
｛Third, if someone sold a piece of land, but the land was still in his name, he would no longer have the land, but still have to pay the land tax on behalf of the buyer.｝
{What is the solution?}

{Li Weijun proposed to divide the land into three grades: upper, middle and lower, and to apportion the tax according to the grade of land. Although this could not completely solve all the problems, it at least solved most of the problems.}
{Is it that simple?}

{The plan is simple, but implementation is not.}
……

[After receiving the task from Yongzheng, Li Weijun adjusted the opinions he had collected and formulated an appropriate solution.]

【It was implemented in Zhili in the second year of Yongzheng’s reign.】

[It took only half a year from the time Ding Suidizhuan proposed the idea in June of the first year of Yongzheng's reign to the time Yongzheng made up his mind in November.]

[The policy that had been debated and pending for many years during the reign of Emperor Kangxi was finally finalized. It must be said that Emperor Yongzheng had extraordinary courage.]

[In the following two years, Fujian, Shaanxi, Gansu, Jiangxi, Hubei, Jiangsu, Anhui and other provinces successively implemented the policy of transferring the population wherever they live.]

[The only exception was that Shanxi did not implement the policy until the ninth year of Yongzheng's reign (1731).]

[Yongzheng did not blame this either. What he wanted was to implement policies based on actual conditions.]

【The establishment of the system of transferring the land tax according to the location of the person was a major reform in the history of China's taxation system.】

[This system abolished the dual standards of property and population for taxation, making the tax burden more reasonable while ensuring the stability of the source of tax revenue. It is an act that harms the rich, benefits the poor, and benefits the country.]

【The implementation of this system also made it possible for the millennium-old Dingyi system to no longer require individuals to pay a "head tax" just because of their existence. 】

[The human head is no longer a rigid “organ” implicated by the labor service]

【Historically known as: the land tax is distributed according to the acreage. 】

(End of this chapter)