Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 140 Encouragement of Industry and Commerce
The next day, Danchu called the gentry to discuss matters. Many people had attended the village banquet yesterday and thought that today's meeting must be to get the gentry to donate to build Yongan University.

The lack of financial autonomy in local prefectures and counties was a major malpractice of the Ming Dynasty. The main tax in prefectures and counties was land tax, which was not much. Most of it was paid to the court, and a small part was retained by the local government as the salary of officials at all levels. Local prefectures and counties also had to bear the tasks of public security, grain transportation, river defense, road construction, post stations, etc., so they could only assign corvée labor and make plans for corvée fees and silver for redeeming stolen goods.

If officials wanted to organize the establishment of Confucianism, water conservancy and other public projects, they had no way to get the funds, so they could only apportion the funds to their subordinates, which easily gave them a reputation of exploiting the people and being tyrannical. Since the middle and late Ming Dynasty, officials generally did not dare to take up their posts and just muddled through, which had a lot to do with this.

Dan established a university for good governance, and according to the old rules, it should levy money on the gentry and wealthy families. Yesterday, at the village drinking ceremony, the guests and hosts were happy, and the gentry expressed their support for the Zhaoyong Army.

The gentry had to contribute to the establishment of the university. In the lobby of the general's mansion, twenty or thirty gentry arrived early and were already discussing the university's funding.

As soon as Dan Chu showed up, the gentry returned to their seats one after another.

"Everyone, I've been waiting for a long time."

Mo Xunshi stood up and said on behalf of the gentry: "The commander mentioned the matter of running a school yesterday. We just gathered and thought that this matter should be done quickly. I am not talented, but I am willing to donate 500 gold to help the students. The rest of you have donated, totaling 1,400 taels of silver."

One thousand four hundred taels of silver is not a small amount. With some additional subsidies from the General's Office, Yong'an University will have funding.

"Very good, very good. Everyone is so enthusiastic about donating to support education. This should be recorded on stone and passed down to future generations." Dan Chu paused and continued, "However, I invited everyone today not to run a school, but for another reason."

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. When the superior summoned the gentry, it was often because there were difficult matters or difficult funds to deal with, and they needed the gentry's strong support.

In this day and age, military men acted arbitrarily. Although Cen Danchu was young, he was very experienced and decisive. He often issued notices without informing his subordinates.

Establishing a university will benefit the state and the people, and the gentry have the financial resources to help. But if the tenants are ordered to pay taxes, everyone's income will drop sharply. If there are other major events, and I still want everyone to donate money and silver, I'm afraid it won't be possible.

The gentry all turned their eyes to Mo Xunshi, hoping that he could speak a fair word. The Mo family had given their all to support Cen Danchu, spending no less than tens of thousands of gold. But now, the Mo family was almost emptied out, and this time they could only donate 500 taels of silver to the school.

Mo Xunshi did not say anything and waited for Danchu to speak.

"I know that you are all gentry in Yong'an Prefecture, and your families have a lot of good land. After the taxation, your rent and tax income has dropped sharply. This time, you have donated a lot to build a university. It is really not easy, and your heart is touching. Today, I called you all together to discuss matters, not to distribute taxes and grain, but to help you increase your income."

Is there such a good thing? The gentry couldn't believe it and looked at Cen Danchu, but he was serious and didn't seem to be joking. Looking at Mo Xunshi, he was also shocked, wondering what Danchu was up to.

Yu Houji, the left assistant, was Danchu's first assistant. His knowledge was not as good as Fang Yizhi, the right assistant, but he had a strong understanding. He could quickly understand Danchu's ideas and had a strong execution ability. He would do everything he could to complete anything Danchu asked him to do.

At this moment, Yu Houji echoed: "The Marshal is wise and intelligent, knows everything, and can do everything. Since he said he would help everyone, he will never break his promise."

There were many legends about Cen Danchu, which were talked about by the townspeople with great relish, and the gentry naturally knew about them. However, most of them were skeptical.

Mo Xunshi said: "The Marshal has the Midas touch, and we have a chance to become rich."

Danchu smiled and said solemnly: "I can't turn stones into gold, but I do want to help everyone get rich. Since ancient times, our country has emphasized agriculture and suppressed commerce, and merchants are ranked after scholars, farmers, and workers. The gentry have surplus wealth and often buy good farmland, and are not interested in business. Over time, the fields have become more and more concentrated, the number of tenants has increased, and even refugees have emerged, and the dynasty has collapsed. "My dynasty did not attach importance to commercial taxes, but it also promoted the prosperity of industry and commerce invisibly. After the opening of the port in Longqing, foreign trade has developed by leaps and bounds. The output value of handicrafts and commerce is not small, especially in Jiangnan, which should be close to agriculture. Yong'an is located in the inland of Guangxi, and there is no shortage of handicrafts nearby, such as the iron mine in Jinxiu and the saltpeter mine in Wutunso.

"In the future, I will strongly encourage everyone to engage in industry and commerce. The income lost in land rent can be compensated in industry and commerce. The Zhaoyong Army will also collect business taxes to subsidize military expenses. This is a mutually beneficial and win-win situation."

The Ming Dynasty had a very developed industry and commerce, and had a long-term trade surplus, with a large amount of silver injected from overseas. China originally had few silver mines, but silver became the de facto currency in circulation. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the coastal provinces also had the sprouts of capitalist economy, and the conditions for the development of industry and commerce were ripe.

During the Wanli period, Emperor Shenzong sent eunuchs to various places to serve as mining envoys, but they were suppressed by local gentry, especially the Donglin Party in Jiangnan, which resisted the most strongly.

During the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court failed to collect taxes from industry and commerce, and was stretched to the limit in the later period. It had to make changes to the land tax, which forced refugees to flee everywhere. This was a major mistake.

It was reasonable for Danchu to encourage gentry to engage in industry and commerce. If the measures were taken properly, it would indeed be a win-win situation.

The gentry were still hesitant and dared not speak. Mo Xunshi naturally took the lead in supporting Danchu, and asked: "May I ask, Marshal, how much is the industrial and commercial tax?"

"In principle, the tax is set at 10% of the value, and there will be separate regulations for individual cases. For example, tobacco and alcohol, we do not promote tobacco and alcohol, so the tax on tobacco and alcohol will be greater than 10%. Another example is salt, which is necessary for people's livelihood, so the tax on salt will be less than 10%."

"Will the Marshal also allow private salt trading?" a gentleman asked bravely.

Salt tax has been an important component of fiscal revenue in all dynasties. In the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, salt tax accounted for more than half of the total fiscal revenue. As the saying goes, "half of the country's taxes come from salt." In the late Southern Song Dynasty, salt tax even accounted for 80% of the national treasury revenue.

The Ming Dynasty's fiscal system had major drawbacks, but it did not impose heavy taxes on salt, and it also had innovations such as salt permits. In the late Ming Dynasty, the Ming court even publicly issued an edict to allow private salt trading. During the Ming Dynasty, the people did not suffer from salt as in the previous dynasties, which can be regarded as a great good policy.

During the Southern Ming Dynasty, Guangxi people generally ate raw salt from Guangdong, which was cheaper than cooked salt. However, warlords such as Chen Bangfu valued the profits from salt and restored the salt monopoly, raising the price of Guangxi salt.

"The imperial court has long issued a decree to allow private salt trading. Duke Qing was greedy for salt profits and raised the price of salt, which has caused the people of Guangxi to suffer for a long time. We will allow private salt trading, and we will lower the salt tax and control the salt price, so that the people can afford salt and merchants will have an incentive to sell salt."

Salt and rice are two necessities of life. Yong'an can still produce rice on its own, but salt can only be transported by merchants. Before it is strong enough, Danchu dare not rashly implement a salt monopoly.

The gentry present were greatly encouraged and were able to engage in private salt trading. It was clear that the commander-in-chief was sincere in encouraging industry and commerce.

"The Zhaoyong Army invested in the Ironware Bureau in Jinxiu and the Military Equipment Bureau in Wutunso. The muskets and iron pots produced by the Ironware Bureau are of good quality and low price, and I believe everyone has heard of them. You can help the Ironware Bureau to open up sales channels, even if you want to buy the fine iron produced by the Ironware Bureau and make farm tools and iron pots yourself, we welcome you.

"In addition, Yong'an Prefecture produces silk, honey, medicinal herbs, and tea. You can invest in the production of these products. You can also import goods from other places and sell them to the Zhaoyong Army and the people of Yong'an. For example, the Tusi territory in southwest Guangxi produces rattan armor, and Jiaozhi produces Jiaozhi bows..."

Investing in land only collects 10% of the rent each year, but 40% is paid to the government. Investing in industry and commerce only pays 10% to the government, and the rest of the profit belongs to oneself. Everyone can do the math. Although investing in industry and commerce is more risky, in the current environment, investing in industry and commerce is obviously much more cost-effective than investing in land.

(End of this chapter)