The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 439: Taxes and Rights of Free Staters

The scholars paid taxes directly to the agencies dispatched by the royal court, and used the taxes to offset the taxes that should have been paid to the Free State government.

The Free State government levied more taxes on ordinary people to make up for this lost tax revenue.

The parties at the scene immediately understood the logic behind the eldest prince's warnings and reminders, and they all knew clearly what would happen next.

This is entirely in line with the traditional rulers’ approach of shifting costs as a matter of course.

Transfer the losses incurred in areas that you cannot resist to areas that you can still control at will.

If you collect too little from the gentry, then collect more from the people.

However, the three parties present, including nobles, officials and civilian representatives, all vaguely felt that it was inappropriate to use this plan now.

But none of them immediately figured out what was wrong.

The main reason is that I haven’t immediately figured out what impact it will have on me and what specific impact it will have on the group I represent.

There are certainly some issues with this, the main one being that it will form a certain tendency.

This led to ordinary people being more willing to pay taxes to the agencies dispatched by the kingdom. Regardless of whether they could pass the imperial examinations or not, they could still pay the examination fees.

This would in turn lead to a further reduction in the taxes received by the Free State.

The Free State can only continue to collect more taxes from other ordinary people, and once again push ordinary people to go to the kingdom’s dispatched agencies to pay taxes.

For the Free State, it is a vicious cycle with a constant driving force.

Perhaps in the end, all the people of the Free State paid taxes to the kingdom's agencies instead of to the Free State.

Once the kingdom's dispatched agencies receive all the free state's taxes, they will naturally be able to set up complete local administrative agencies corresponding to the free state, and the free state will then lose its function.

In order to stop this trend, the amount of tax paid by ordinary people should be limited, and local taxes should not be converted into central taxes of the kingdom without limit.

The final result may be a direct conflict between the two sides and the outbreak of civil war.

It is also possible that the two sides will sit down and negotiate again to agree on a clear tax sharing ratio between the central and local governments.

By that time, there would be no clear distinction between the Free State and the Province.

Most of the representatives did not immediately understand all the twists and turns, but some of them were people with a transcendent sense of justice.

They believed that they were working for the benefit of all the people of the Free State, rather than simply seeking benefits for themselves or certain groups.

So after a brief silence, before the noble representatives spoke immediately, Jackson, as a civilian representative, carefully raised his opinion:
"Your Highness, this will lead to an increase in the overall tax burden on ordinary people in the Free State..."

This time the fifteenth prince spoke directly:

“This is a necessary burden that someone has to bear, and this kind of supervision is also beneficial to ordinary people.

“Because supervision is conducive to the clean-up of the Free State’s bureaucracy, it can generally reduce the operating costs of the Free State’s official institutions and improve their operating efficiency.

“The key point is that you will definitely take part in the imperial examinations in the future. You are all scholars of the Free State and representatives of public opinion of the Free State.

“If you think the people are bearing extra costs, then you should take the initiative to collect their problems and demands.

“You serve as a bridge between the kingdom’s court and the people, helping them solve their problems.

"The scholars of the Ming Dynasty, the scholars with honors, are supposed to speak up for the people. This is your responsibility as scholars.

“This method is also the lowest-cost grassroots supervision method.

"If you take on the task of conveying public opinion, the Kingdom's dispatched agencies won't have to arrange so many personnel to conduct research, which will naturally save some operating costs.

"The costs you save by helping the royal court are actually reducing the burden on ordinary people."

Jackson and the other three civilian representatives suddenly realized:

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness. We understand our role and we will definitely serve as a bridge between the court and the people."

The prince and the civilian representatives seemed to have a good conversation, and the civilian representatives found their clear position.

However, the nobles and officials of the Free State nearby felt more and more uncomfortable listening to these conversations.

The scholars from the common people serve as a bridge between the court and the people, so what are we?

After such a period of consideration, some people have vaguely realized the major problems with this arrangement itself.

But this problem is not all that may exist.

It is only because of the Free State’s tradition of civil elections that there is a logic of election funding sponsorship.

The Free State nobility instinctively connected the two.

Young Benjamin Franklin brought up the subject again:

“Your Highness, there should be a clear standard and upper limit for the taxes that the Free States people pay to the Kingdom’s dispatched agencies, right?

“After all, it’s just an exam fee and the registration fee for a title.

“If the soldiers of the Free State were estimated to pay all the taxes they should pay to the Royal Agency.

“Moreover, the scholars who were able to take the imperial examinations and those who would take them were originally the middle class of the free state society and the most important source of tax revenue.

"If all the scholars pay their taxes to the agencies dispatched by the Kingdom, the Free State tax agencies will not be able to collect taxes."

After hearing the complaints and concerns, the eldest prince responded and comforted them as a matter of course:
"The agencies dispatched by the Kingdom are responsible for collecting taxes and carrying out supervisory and examination functions in the Free State. This is the approximate amount of money actually required.

“You could call it the Free State Official Institution Supervision Tax and the Imperial Examination Tax.

"It is just to save the cost of tax collection, and it is implemented simultaneously with the registration for the examination and the title. It is not the real examination fee and the registration fee for the title.

“The actual amount collected will be determined based on the actual needs of the dispatching agency.

“The larger the dispatched agency, the greater the amount of tax required, but they can also manage and connect with more people.

“In general, the amount of tax borne by individual scholars will fluctuate slightly within a roughly fixed range.

“The exact amount that each free state’s soldiers will pay will have to wait until the implementation begins, and will be calculated based on the specific circumstances of each free state.

“Of course it is impossible to ask all the scholars to hand over their taxes to the agencies dispatched by the kingdom.

“Even in the ultimate and absolutely ideal situation, which is the ultimate state that cannot be achieved in reality, all the people of the Free State will participate in the imperial examination registration.

"The result is that the Kingdom's dispatched agencies receive a fixed percentage of the tax from the Free State.

“The exact ratio will have to wait until the actual implementation, and will be determined through consultation between the royal court, nobles, and scholars based on the actual situation at that time.

“So you don’t have to worry too much about this matter, it’s not something that can be decided all at once.

“The relevant issues can also be listed in the specific agreement documents, and specific supplements and adjustments can be made in the subsequent new agreement.

“The royal court only wants to solve the Free State’s problems and maintain stability.

“It’s best for us if you don’t change anything.

"If you must change, then you should do it in a way that will change as little as possible..."

The eldest prince said so earnestly, and the noble representatives finally felt relieved. The bureaucratic representatives were inexplicably moved. The princes seemed to have a similar attitude to the bureaucrats, and they also liked stability.

That’s why so many compromises have been made in the hope of resolving civil conflicts while maintaining the status quo as much as possible.

There was silence for a while, and the civilian representative, who was full of justice, thought of something that he was a little concerned about:

“Your Highness, please forgive me. I just thought of another question. Your Highness seemed to have said before that the payment voucher would be used as proof of participation in the exam.

“Then ordinary people in the provinces of Ming Dynasty and the United States should be able to take the exam directly without such a certificate, right?

"So compared to ordinary people in the provinces of the kingdom, compared to ordinary people in the free state, they have certain special rights?"

The eldest prince couldn't help but shake his head when he heard this question. This time the ninth prince spoke up and answered:
“Compared to the people of the Free State, the people of the provinces certainly have more rights when facing agencies sent by the Kingdom’s court.

“Ordinary people in the kingdom’s provinces do not need additional tax payment certificates when taking any imperial examinations.

“Because ordinary people live in the provinces, their daily lives are creating wealth for the kingdom, and all their taxes are paid to the kingdom’s dispatched agencies.

“Don’t you realize that all administrative agencies in the kingdom’s provinces are actually agencies sent by the kingdom’s court?

“However, the regular taxes of the people of the Free State are paid to the Free State administrative agency, rather than to the royal court and its subordinate agencies.

"So for the people of the Free State, it is very reasonable to use tax payment certificates as a condition for participating in the imperial examination organized by the royal court."

The nine representatives from the three parties present at the scene all had different ideas in their minds after hearing the Ninth Prince's explanation.

Representatives of the public and officials thought about it, but they all resisted the urge to speak it out.

Gates, one of the noble representatives, could not help but speak out:

"May I ask, Your Highness, if the people of the Free State immigrate to the Kingdom, wouldn't they be able to take the imperial examinations without having to pay taxes?"

The Ninth Prince answered as a matter of course:
“Not really. The provinces of the kingdom have a household registration system. New immigrants must live in the local area for more than three years before they can take the local imperial examination.

"It's equivalent to new immigrants having to pay taxes for three consecutive years before they can take the imperial examinations in the kingdom's provinces."

Gates immediately asked:

"But your highness, this is a regular tax. This also means that if you immigrate to the kingdom, you don't need to pay taxes specifically for taking the imperial examinations."

The Ninth Prince gave a positive answer this time:

"Yes, this rule is also good for you. It can allow scholars who really don't want to deal with you to voluntarily transfer to the kingdom status."

The eldest prince looked at the three noble representatives at this time:
“After all, the Free State is part of Ming and part of the American Kingdom.

“It is a natural rule that people who do not wish to remain in the Free State go to live in the provinces of the Kingdom.

"There is no need to discuss this issue any further unless you are prepared to leave the kingdom."

The eldest prince's words were both a reminder and a threat.

Before this formal meeting, the eldest prince had a special talk with the noble representatives about allowing the unruly people in the Free State to move to the provinces.

Now I want to bring this matter up again.

And warn them that this matter is not negotiable, and if they do not accept it, then they can rebel.

None of the three noble representatives dared to respond.

There was silence for a long time until the clerk finished writing the document on the new agreement. After reading it, the eldest prince asked everyone present to circulate it.

Let everyone confirm that there are no fundamental problems or errors in the content of the document.

Then the eldest prince spoke again:
“Okay, take a copy with you and go back to contact the other representatives to explain.

"Three days later, another meeting was held in Chengyun Hall to announce the relevant matters and then officially implement them.

“We don’t want to spend too much energy on this matter, so we need to finalize it as soon as possible.

"I hope you can convince other representatives not to discuss unnecessary things at the conference."

The representatives of the three parties did not say anything more, but just nodded and agreed.

The clerk waiting on the scene copied several temporary drafts of the agreement and gave one copy to each of them.

After sending out copies of the temporary manuscript, the eldest prince announced that the meeting was over.

The three representatives quickly took their leave, each returning to their residence with their temporary manuscripts and gathering their companions to read and discuss together.

If the specific terms of these agreements are brought up for discussion directly, it may be a little difficult for the parties to accept them directly.

However, the method of explanation and the logic of compromise have already been discussed clearly at today's internal meeting.

The arrangements in these agreements are conditions acceptable to all parties.

After returning, the representatives of the three parties each persuaded their companions to accept this feasible compromise plan.

The formal meeting was held smoothly three days later, and the eldest prince arranged for the minister of etiquette to read out the cabinet resolution.

Declare that the Kingdom's Cabinet and the Court attach importance to the voices of the people of the Free States.

Then he explained his attitude: the current status of the Free State of America was decided by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty himself, and the Emperor and the princes did not want to change the system of the Free State.

However, Your Majesty is wise and has prepared ways to deal with various new changes within the framework of the Free State.

That is to say, the agreement matters shall be concluded based on the actual situation.

So under the instructions of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and under the auspices of the fifteen princes of the Ming Dynasty.

The royal cabinet adopted the suggestions of the nobles, officials and scholars of the Free State and drafted a new agreement.

Then comes the specific content of the agreement.

Since everything had already been discussed, nothing unusual happened on the scene after the cabinet decision was made.

Instead, a signing ceremony for the new agreement was held directly.

Because the Free State Governor, Chief Justice, and Speaker were all present.

So the documents drafted by the cabinet were taken out directly and asked to be signed on the spot and announced to be effective on the spot.

After the agreement was signed, the eldest prince announced the end of the meeting and asked all representatives to go home and prepare to cooperate in the implementation of the agreement.

However, a group of representatives were specially named and left behind to hold a small meeting in the palace again the next day to make some arrangements for the implementation of the agreement.

For example, the framework and jurisdiction distribution of the Prefectural Government discussed by the princes mainly clarified the rule that the Prefectural Government does not directly correspond to the jurisdiction of the Free State.

The reasons are already clear. In the early days, the size of the prefectural governments should be small, and their number should be as small as possible, and they should be implemented in an experimental form.

Therefore, one prefectural government managed multiple free states, and under the prefectural government there were several to a dozen branch offices, each of which governed one or more counties under the free state.

This is in line with the principles discussed previously and the relevant representatives have no objections.

(End of this chapter)