Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 706: The Power of Science and Public Opinion
As a native of Suzhou, Zhang Pu was more familiar with Suzhou's taxes.

Seeing Cao Wenheng lost in thought, he continued:

"If it was at the beginning of the country, it would be understandable to say that Suzhou was heavily taxed."

"At that time, the official land tax was five or six dou per mu, plus the levy, it was almost one dan, which was really a heavy tax."

"However, since Emperor Xuande reduced taxes and Suzhou Prefecture's official fields and private fields were changed back to official and private fields, the rent and tax on official fields have been greatly reduced and are almost the same as private fields."

"Master Cao, can the taxes in Suzhou Prefecture be considered heavy?"

Cao Wenheng sighed and said:

"Taxes in Suzhou are heavier than in other places. But if they don't even reach the 10th percentile, how can they be called heavy taxes?"

"But this tax issue is far from as simple as it seems."

"Not to mention the original tax, in addition to the regular tax, we also have to levy a tax on consumption."

"Things like throwing gifts, sending them by deception, and throwing them away are even more rampant despite repeated bans."

"The court cannot reduce its tax revenue, so the local government is anxious and can only increase taxes on the common people who pay taxes. So their taxes are increasing, and it is difficult to afford them."

Sighing at the hardships of the people, Cao Wenheng felt that even if the average per-acre yield and taxes were calculated, it would not be of much significance, as it was actually impossible to collect them in this way.

But Zhang Pu felt that this was of great significance. It was also from the emperor that he once again realized the power of science.

The emperor estimated the tax potential of the Ming Dynasty based on the average yield per mu and the number of mu of land. Then, on this basis, he analyzed the factors that prevented the court from collecting so much tax.

Zhang Pu had been dissatisfied with the heavy taxes in Suzhou, but after discussing it with the emperor, he realized that the root cause was not the court. Most of the rent of eight or nine dou or even more than one shi per mu paid by tenants in Suzhou was taken by the landlords.

Thinking about the plan he had discussed with the emperor, he said to Cao Wenheng:
"Things like making offerings and sending letters by deception were difficult to stop in the past, but it will be different in the future."

"The court abolished the preferential exemptions to cut off the root of tax evasion and made all official and civilian lands pay taxes together."

"As long as the government measures the land area and sets taxes based on the fertility of the land, they can collect taxes from all landowners."

"The old yellow book of Suzhou Prefecture recorded 929 million mu of land. Based on this number and the average yield of 2.6 dan per mu, if all the officials and civilians were to collect the 241th tax, the total would be million dan."

"Master Cao, can you explain this number to the court? Will the common people be happy?"

241 million shi is more than the summer tax and autumn grain of Suzhou Prefecture combined. The imperial court can certainly give an explanation.

As for the common people, if they only had to pay two dou and six liters to share the rest of the harvest, they would probably be so happy that they would shout "Blue Sky".

However, Cao Wenheng's face changed several times, because he felt a deep chill from Zhang Pu's words:
When Zhang Pu was making the calculations, he did not consider the landlords at all.

If this was what the emperor meant, it meant that he would just clean out all the wealthy families in Suzhou, and the emperor wouldn't care at all.

No wonder Zhang Pu dared to incite the slaves and didn't even care whether a slave rebellion would occur.

After laughing a few times, Cao Wenheng looked around and said something else:

"In addition to the regular land tax, additional levies such as the levy on embezzlement, white grain, and Liaoyang tax will also be levied."

"Now that the military and civilian households have been added, if they do not want to serve in the military, they will have to pay exemption money."

"The total amount of taxes in Suzhou Prefecture exceeds 250 million dan. 241 million dan is not enough..."

Zhang Pu became impatient and tapped his palm with his fan, saying:

"The tithe tax is the new one-whip law, and it is also the highest limit."

"The emperor has clearly stated that the highest agricultural tax rate in all regions is 11%. After that, no other taxes or levies can be levied."

"All the additional taxes mentioned by Cao Gong are included in the tithe."

"If paying all the tithes is not enough, the court will give you a reduction."

"As a Suzhou native, I will also submit a petition and will never embarrass Lord Cao!"

As he spoke, Zhang Pu stared at Cao Wenheng and said:

"I have said this with all my heart."

"If Cao Gong still can't make up his mind, Zhang will have to do some things himself."

Just as he was about to leave, Cao Wenheng hurriedly grabbed him.

I feel that if this person is allowed to act recklessly, it will probably cause chaos in Suzhou.

If possible, he wanted to arrest Zhang Pu. But thinking of the warning from the eunuchs in Susong, he could only say to Zhang Pu:

"I know what Mr. Ximing said makes sense, but Suzhou Prefecture cannot be in chaos."

"Not to mention that the summer tax is being collected now. If those wealthy families get angry and do something bad, officials throughout Jiangnan will be held responsible."

Zhang Pu scoffed at this and said to him:

"How much is the summer tax in Suzhou Prefecture? Only 53,000 dan."

"After converting to silver, it's less than 20,000 taels, and only 13,000 is needed to ship it."

"Mr. Cao, don't say you don't even have this little bit of silver. I heard that the governor's office gets a share of the tax revenue from the Susong Customs."

"You put up this silver tael as a cushion, and you're still worried that Suzhou Prefecture's summer tax revenue won't be collected?"

(The book uses data from "Compilation and Research on the Ming Dynasty's Wanli Accounting Records", which contains detailed data on summer taxes, autumn grain, shipments, reserves, silver conversion, household registration, and land area)

Cao Wenheng smiled bitterly, knowing that Jiangnan's affairs could not be hidden from Zhang Pu.

Whether it was learned from the emperor or other channels, this newspaper publisher had really great news!

The Jiangnan Governor's Office's share of tax revenue from the Suzhou and Songjiang Customs was authorized by the emperor.

After the implementation of the tax-sharing system, all prefectures in Nanzhili were classified as secondary finances and paid taxes directly to the imperial court.

The expenses of the Nanjing court were allocated by the court from the tax revenue of Nanzhili.

The same should have been done for the Jiangnan Governor's Office, but at Cao Wenheng's request, the emperor allowed him to share some of the income from customs taxes as expenses for the Governor's Office.

This was to allow local agencies in Jiangnan to cooperate in anti-smuggling and to encourage the development of Jiangnan maritime trade. Today, the shares of shipping companies in various parts of Jiangnan are also managed by the governor's office and the garrison.

Therefore, Cao Wenheng, the governor of Jiangnan, was not short of money, and could even be said to be very wealthy.

It was extremely easy to advance more than 10,000 taels of tax.

After Zhang Pu pointed this out, Cao Wenheng could only say:
"The summer tax is not much after converting to silver, but the two million dan of autumn grain is too much."

"Even after converting it into silver, it will still cost one million taels. There is no way the governor's office can afford it."

"The autumn crops have already been planted. We can't delay any longer!"

"What if we miss the farming season? How will we pay taxes in the fall?"

Zhang Pu was full of confidence and said:
"Now that the autumn crops have been planted, there is no need to worry too much."

"As for the autumn tax collection, there is even less need to worry about it."

"Does Cao Gong think that students cannot solve this problem before the provincial examination?"

The purpose of coming back is to take part in the provincial examination and obtain the status of juren or jinshi.

For this reason, Zhang Pu privately refused the emperor's offer to grant him the status of Yuanshi several times, and also refused to take part in the Shuntian County Examination as a Taixue student, but instead returned to Jiangnan.

The purpose is to walk the right path that is recognized by people and make your resume impeccable.

Therefore, it is impossible for him to delay the provincial examination for other things. This matter must be resolved before the provincial examination.

Cao Wenheng knew his situation and looking at his confident eyes, he finally nodded and agreed to cooperate.
-
After obtaining the support of Cao Wenheng, the governor of Jiangnan, Zhang Pu quickly began his performance.

First, officers and soldiers from the governor's office came forward to protect the Wu family.

When the gathered servants were about to be dispersed by the soldiers, Zhang Pu and his disciples stood up and said loudly:
"Sit-in demonstrations are a right given to the people of the world by the emperor."

"Could it be that the Wu family is so powerful that we can't even sit still?"

Cao Wenheng stood behind him and scolded him:

"Zhang Pu, don't gather a crowd to cause chaos."

"The emperor allows sit-ins, but those who sit in are all scholars." "And three months ago, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Imperial Households jointly issued an official document requiring that sit-ins must be reported to the government in advance and must not affect traffic or break into private homes, otherwise they can be dispersed."

"You are now blocking the door of the Wu family, preventing them from even leaving. I can drive you away, and arrest all those who refuse to obey."

The words were stern and well-reasoned. The people of the Wu family cheered loudly, while the servants gathered here retreated.

After all, the person in front of them was the governor, and they were worried that the matter would get out of hand and the governor would arrest them on charges of rioting.

At this time, Zhang Pu showed his ability. He directed everyone to step back a few steps, leaving a four-meter-wide passage, and said to Cao Wenheng:

"Taiwan Governor Cao, is this okay?"

"As for the report, I have already sent someone to inform the governor's office."

"Let's sit quietly in front of the Wu family and ask them to give an explanation."

"This matter will not be over until Zhang Yao is released."

He ordered everyone to sit down, and he and his disciples sat in the front row.

Looking at them, the others also sat down and put their farm tools on the ground.

Cao Wenheng nodded secretly, feeling relieved, knowing that since these people were willing to lay down their weapons, it meant they had no intention of causing trouble.

However, he still gave a stern warning:

"Sit-in demonstrations, no weapons allowed."

"Today, considering that you are unaware, I will not pursue the matter for the time being."

"Choose a few people and take back all the farm tools."

Let these slaves choose a few people they know and take the farm tools back.

Then he asked the yamen runners to hold ropes and pull out a blockade line.

After all the sit-in protesters arrived in line, they still sat in front of the Wu family's door.

The Wu family was now dumbfounded, because they all knew that if they continued like this, the sit-in would become a long-term one.

Are the Wu family going to have to face these people all the time and just let them sit there?

Wu Shirui was so anxious that he walked out of the house and said angrily and anxiously:

"Tai Cao, why don't you arrest them?"

"These people are causing trouble around the Wu family, intending to do something bad."

"The governor must not let them do what they want and allow them to oppress the good people!"

Cao Wenheng glanced at him sternly, flicked his sleeves and scolded him:

"It's you who caused the trouble for me!"

"Tell me, what's going on with Zhang Yao? What are you going to do?"

Wu Shirui was startled when he heard this. He never expected that the governor was not here to rescue the Wu family. This made him look at Zhang Pu outside the door, then at Cao Wenheng, and thought of what Zhang Pu said about reporting to the governor's office.

This made him so angry that he shouted:

"So, so..."

"You guys colluded..."

I was so angry that I almost fell down, and I was terrified.

Because he knew how powerful a governor was. If the governor wanted to touch the Wu family, it would be a disaster for the Wu family.

Not knowing that the Shen family had been disciplined by the governor, Shen Yongmao ran away with his entire family.

That was the Prime Minister's family, far more noble than the Wu family he came from. Only the Wu family's in-laws, the Wang family, could be compared with them.

Thinking of his uncle Wang Shimin, Wu Shirui seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He wrote another letter and sent it out, asking his uncle to come quickly.

When Wang Shimin learned that Zhang Pu and his nephew had clashed, he hurried over.

After returning from the capital, he knew much more about Zhang Pu's influence in the capital than his nephew did.

That was a person that even Wen Tiren had to take seriously. How could his nephew, a young man from the countryside, compare with him?

When he arrived at the gate of the Wu family, he saw Zhang Pu and others sitting quietly behind the cordon set up by the yamen runners. After bowing without receiving a response, Wang Shimin suppressed his anger and asked his nephew who rushed over:

"what happened?"

"How did you get into trouble with him?"

When Wu Shirui saw his uncle coming, he felt like he had found his backbone.

He took him home and told him the whole story of how Zhang Pu had forced Zhang Yao to marry him, adding fuel to the fire.

He also whispered his guess that Governor Cao Wenheng and Zhang Pu were in collusion.

Wang Shimin said unhappily:
"Collusion!"

"Between you and Zhang Pu, everyone knows which one to choose."

"Even if your uncle and I come into conflict with Zhang Pu, we don't have much chance of winning."

"Who do you think Ming Pao belongs to? It's an inner court enterprise!"

"Zhang Pu is now the emperor's mouthpiece and serves the emperor."

Wu Shirui was dumbfounded. He never expected that Zhang Pu was so successful in the capital.

This person is truly all-powerful and has respect in the eyes of the emperor.

This made him panic:
"What should I do?"

"I released Zhang Yao and asked him to go to Zhang Pu?"

"We should return his indenture to him, as well as his parents'..."

He was so frightened that he wanted to resolve the issue by giving in.

Wang Shimin slapped him in the face and scolded him:

"Can giving in now solve the problem?"

"If you let Zhang Yao go, what will you do with the other servants?"

"Release them all and let them become good citizens?"

"Do you still want the servants in your house? You can do the laundry and cooking yourself in the future?"

Wu Shirui was really dumbfounded. He never expected the consequences to be so serious. He could only look at his uncle and ask him what to do?
Wang Shimin didn't know what to do. If he had a choice, he would definitely not let his nephew jump out and become the one who stands out.

But now that things have come to this, he can only say:
"I will write a letter to tell Prime Minister Wen about this."

"Also, contact the families with many slaves and work together with them."

"Just stay at home these few days and don't cause any trouble."

He hurriedly left the Wu family and wrote a letter to Wen Tiren for advice.

He also called a gathering of other major clans to warn them of the consequences if the matter was not handled properly and asked them to work together with him.

Zhang Pu also took this opportunity to expand the circulation of Jiangnan Ming Bao.

Other newspapers also followed suit, and the incident that happened in front of the Wu family quickly spread through the newspapers.

Ming Pao became famous overnight in Jiangnan and attracted everyone's attention.

The sit-in demonstration process described in the book provides a reference for others to express their protest.

Many tenants and slaves who wanted to resist renting held sit-in demonstrations in front of some families’ doors.

There was a turbulent situation in the south of the Yangtze River, and it seemed that a storm was about to come.

(End of this chapter)