Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 254: Reform the tax policy, corrupt officials complain and feel frustrated!
On this day, as the snow stopped, the sky was clear and the roads were bright.

Commoner Chen Shougui pulled a cart of firewood and prepared to go to Tianjin to sell it.

When he went to Tianjin, he had to pass through Tongzhou, and he had to pay the bamboo and wood tax at the Tongzhou Taxation Bureau.

Chen Shougui couldn't help but sigh when he thought about paying the bamboo and wood draw.

Because he knew that every time he passed the branch office, he would be blackmailed and forced to pay silver dollars before they would let him pass.

Fortunately, his second son earned some silver dollars from the construction project of the outer city of the capital.

Therefore, he did not have to go to a wealthy family to borrow money as he had done before before he could pass the test of the branch office.

But even so, for Chen Shougui, the value of the silver dollars he paid every time he went to the branch office was already equivalent to most of the profit from buying firewood.

He couldn't earn much from a trip to Tianjin.

of course.

He can spread this cost into the price of firewood.

But the common people in Tianjin didn't have much money. If he raised the price too much, many people would rather freeze in the winter than buy his firewood, and he would not make any money at all.

Therefore, Chen Shougui could only bear the costs from the branch office alone.

However, because the profit was too thin, Chen Shougui had already planned to stop doing this business after his eldest son, who was a small flag officer in Tianjin, got married, and focus on taking care of the household for his eldest son.

After all, as a small flag officer in Tianjin, the gray income his youngest son earned from patrolling the streets was equivalent to the income he earned from running back and forth selling firewood several times.

Not long after Chen Shougui sighed, he heard his second brother Chen Shoukui, who was escorting the car, say, "Brother, we're at the police station!"

After hearing this, Chen Shougui reached into his clothes and took out a hard object wrapped in cloth. He then peeled off the cloth layer by layer, took out some silver dollars and handed them to Chen Shoukui:
"Go pay it! It will save us from being beaten up when they come to collect the money! We will have to pay more fines when the time comes."

Chen Shoukui hurriedly took the silver dollar and was about to turn around to hand in the bamboo and wood for the draw when he heard a gong sound.

Boom!
then.

Chen Shoukui saw an official with a ceremonial procession approaching.

Then, there was the sound of suona, which made them feel confused.

Chen Shougui quickly put the silver dollars in his pocket, pulled the cart aside, and knelt down.

Chen Shoukui also hurriedly put the silver dollar into his sleeve and knelt down.

They did not stand up from the snow until the soldiers, beating gongs, blowing suonas, holding flags and holding swords and guns, left with the official sedan chair.

Boom!
But then there was another gong.

Then, the sound of suona followed.

The two of them had no choice but to kneel down again.

But just as the two men stood up again, they heard another gong sound.

The two had no choice but to kneel down again.

When the third wave of officials passed by, the two men simply did not rush to get up, and prepared to wait until all the officials had passed before making any further remarks. At the same time, they were also puzzled in their hearts, not understanding why so many officials left the drawing branch today.

Out of curiosity, Chen Shougui raised his eyes slightly and looked around. Then he saw many tax clerks from the tax collection bureau whom he had seen before leaving with large and small bags on their backs. They all looked depressed, no longer as arrogant as before, and many of them even hung their heads.

This surprised Chen Shougui so much that he stood up and stopped a calligrapher with the same surname who he had known as a relative: "Uncle San, why are you all leaving? Isn't it time to collect bamboo and wood and draw points now?"

"No more!"

"The emperor has issued an order that there will be no more lottery bureaus in the future."

"We will just go back to the ministry and the government offices! Those who are not on the list of the Ministry of Personnel will go home directly!"

"Your good day has come!"

"But our good days are over. If you have the chance, you can help me do business."

Uncle Chen waved back with a look of frustration.

After hearing this, Chen Shougui was surprised and happy, and hurried to the police station with his second brother, carrying charcoal.

soon.

He saw that the gate of the tax collection office was indeed sealed and the checkpoints had indeed been removed. The tax collectors who usually showed off their power with whips and spears were nowhere to be seen. A notice was still posted in the four-corner pavilion at the checkpoint, and people from the government office were there announcing the contents of the notice.

Chen Shougui went to listen carefully. After listening, he could not help but come back with tears in his eyes and said to his second brother who was watching the car and the firewood on the car: "It's true, it's true!"

After Chen Shougui said this, his second brother Chen Shoukui also smiled and really believed that the court had abolished the bamboo and wood draw and would no longer collect bamboo and wood draws from people like them.

"That's great. Without the bamboo and wood points, we can make more money!"

Chen Shoukui said something about this, and sighed to his brother Chen Shougui: "Brother, the current emperor is so good!"

Chen Shougui naturally agreed with this statement, and couldn't help but think of his second son's wealth accumulated by building the outer city, so he said: "We are really in a good time! We must continue to work next year while the year is good. After all, who knows if the emperor will change his mind and resume the lottery."

"Brother is right!"

The two of them then went to Tianjin with a cart of firewood, smiling all over their faces, and were even happier after selling all the firewood.

Like them, many merchants who made a living by selling bamboo and wood were very happy about this.

The craftsmen were also very happy because they no longer had to pay craftsman's fees this year.

Li, the blacksmith from the capital, returned home happily because Shuntian Prefecture no longer collected his salary. He also bought an extra piece of meat and a basket of coal.

Seeing this, the blacksmith's wife, Lou, was very surprised and asked, "Didn't you go to pay the blacksmith? Why are you buying meat and charcoal?"

"No need to pay!"

"So I used the money to buy meat and charcoal. You can eat better and produce more milk. It can also keep our child warm, so that he won't be like his older brother who froze to death last year because it was so cold and we couldn't afford charcoal."

Blacksmith Li smiled and said, but his expression became a little gloomy. He then walked to the couch, held his newborn son's hand, rubbed it and said, "You are luckier than your brother. You met a good emperor who exempted us from the salary."

After Lou received the meat and coal, she heard what Li the blacksmith said and asked, "How many years will it be exempted?"

"It's not that you don't have to pay for a few years, it's that you don't have to pay at all in the future."

Blacksmith Li put down his son's hand, picked up the axe and started to hit the coal, then began to speak.

"Really?"

Lou was overjoyed when she heard this, and then she clasped her hands together and said, "Amitabha, God has a good eye, and we are really in a good year."

……

……

"What the hell is this year!"

"The currency tariff will increase the tax on commercial goods that are difficult to tax by 60-70%, while small businesses and vendors selling goods below 10 yuan will be exempted from the tax. We are also required to pay 40% more tax than before. Isn't this making things difficult for us?"

"Who dares to impose taxes on those who sell silk and cotton? They are collecting 60% to 70% more than before! If I collect a penny from them, I will worry about whether I can keep my official hat!"

"Sure enough, what the court said is right. Once Wang Jinxi enters the cabinet, no one will have a good life!"

"And Zhang Yongjia, why is there no need to reform the tax policy? Once he opens his mouth, he gets a reputation for caring for the people, but he makes things difficult for those of us who work under him!"

Meanwhile, at the Chongwenmen Chaoguan Xuankesi, Xu Song, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, had his hands tucked into his sleeves. When the Chongwenmen was opened, he looked at the large number of merchant caravans that were about to enter and complained.

At this time, Xiong Jia, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, also came over and heard his complaint, and shouted:
"If you don't want to do it, get out!"

"It's a rare occasion that a sage king is in power and wise ministers are in charge of the country. Small officials like you and me should be happy, but instead we complain. It's really a waste of our reading of sage books and receiving the grace of the country!"

After Xiong Jia said this, Xu Song hurriedly apologized: "Please calm down, I made a mistake, please be merciful and don't accuse me!"

"I don't have the heart to complain to you right now!"

"Unless you want to defy the imperial court's orders!"

Xiong Jia asked loudly, "Has the tax inspector arrived?"

The tax inspector Wei Changgui came over and said, "I'm here!"

"Have your men put on their armor and prepare fire. Today is the first day of the new tax policy. Anyone who resists the tax will obey my command and I will suppress them by force to serve as a warning to others!"

Xiong Jia said.

"Yes!"

After Xiong Jia finished speaking, a convoy loaded with silk and satin came.

Xu Song hurriedly led people to stop the convoy.

A large man in luxurious clothes came over from the convoy, holding two shiny iron balls in his hands: "We are from Funing Marquis Mansion, how dare you stop us?"

"I am Xiong Jia, the deputy secretary of the Ministry of Revenue. I have been ordered to supervise the tax collection at Chongwen Gate. Please cooperate with the Funing Marquis' Mansion!"

Xiong Jia also came over and said at this time.

"So you are Xiong Jia!"

The big man said as he grasped the two iron balls in his palms, rolled up his sleeves, and suddenly cursed at Xiong Jia:
"Xiong Jia! I'll fuck your mother!"

"You are a seventh-rank censor, following Zhang Yongjia like a dog and wagging its tail to the emperor. How dare you collect taxes from my Funing Marquis's Mansion? When my master was guarding Guangdong and Guangxi, you didn't even have the qualifications to wag his tail!"

"I'm not afraid of you reporting me. When the time comes, who knows who will be in trouble first and who will be fine!"

(End of this chapter)