Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 267 The Tax Commissioner's Three Fires, First Burning Temples and Taoist Temples
Li Chengqian didn't even want to say anything about this matter, so he just left it to his subordinates.

If it wasn't about Changle, there would be many firsts and no precedent.

He might not even intervene personally, and this kind of thing is indeed not high enough to reach the level of Li Chengqian.

Just as Sun Fujia reported.

If a bank discovers a problem, it can contact the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, or the Chang'an government.

Investigate the problem first, and if it cannot be solved, report it and discuss countermeasures.

When something happens, you have to go to the higher-ups and ask the emperor or the prince to intervene. Then what are the people below for?
With so many things to do in a day, how can one sustain enough energy to take care of them all?
The Emperor and the Crown Prince are both human beings. They have so many things to do themselves. How can they possibly take care of every detail?
Sooner or later you will be exhausted to death.

What happened just now was just an episode and it was over quickly.

Just do your job according to Li Shimin's wishes.

Sun Fujia and others returned to their seats and the court meeting continued.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

At this time, Fang Xuanling said: "The matter of the Commissioner of Taxation has been roughly sorted out."

"Officials responsible for collecting taxes from the Ministry of Civil Affairs will be transferred to the Department of Taxation."

"The local tax commissioner is also transferred from the local government officials in charge of taxation."

"In this way, taxation in various places can be established as quickly as three months."

This is the result of discussions among many parties.

Li Chengqian and his men already knew the details, but this time the matter of the Taxation Commissioner was finalized at the court meeting.

"This is great, it saves a lot of hassles."

Li Shimin said: "Let's follow this charter."

There are fewer complicated processes, but for the Ministry of Civil Affairs, just like a bank, all the people and power have been divided out.

Liu Li didn't even think about struggling. He had no room to struggle.

Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, and the central ministers have decided on this, and no matter how reluctant he is, he has no choice but to listen.

"Xu Jingzong!"

Li Shimin nodded.

"Chen is here!"

Xu Jingzong walked out from the court, holding a tablet in both hands, and stood in the hall.

"It is said that a new official starts with three things. Now that the taxation bureau has been set up, where do you plan to start as the new taxation bureau chief?"

Li Shimin smiled and said, "It's a good thing that all the ministers are here. It would be good to listen to your ideas and help you with your advice and fill in the gaps."

"This opportunity doesn't come often."

Everyone couldn't help but laugh too.

Your Majesty said this, but it can also be heard that Your Majesty thinks highly of Xu Jingzong.

It also pays attention to taxation.

Giving Xu Jingzong the opportunity to express his ideas is actually also taking this opportunity to tell the ministers present what the focus of the Commissioner of Taxation's future work will be and what you, Xu Jingzong, will do.

This way everyone has a rough idea.

"Haha."

Li Chengqian also laughed and said, "Xu Silang, it's a bit of a waste of your talent to let you serve in the taxation department, a fifth-rank government office."

"If you have any demands or support, please feel free to speak up."

"As long as it is legitimate and reasonable, I will support you."

Xu Jingzong was a senior official of the fourth rank. He had previously completed the writing of "Wude Shilu" and "Zhenguan Shilu" and was granted the title of Gaoyang County Man.

Asking him to work as Silang in the Department of Taxation, a fifth-rank position, can be considered a low-level position.

Li Chengqian's words also showed his support for him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, Your Highness, for your grace."

Xu Jingzong didn't feel wronged in his heart, he was not stupid.

The Commissioner of Taxation is of the fifth rank, but the Commissioner of Taxation written into the Twenty-One Articles Plan is currently of low rank, but he definitely has a promising future.

The fact that he is in charge of such an important office shows that Your Majesty and the Emperor value him very much.

"I would like to start with the registered population."

Xu Jingzong said: "The main task of the tax commissioner is to find out the illegal households living among the people and the population that has concealed and failed to report."

"The focus should be on temples and Taoist temples to start with, and strictly check whether there are any unreported illegal residents in temples and Taoist temples."

The ministers had some discussions.

This tax commissioner is going to take on a tough task right from the start.

If we want to start with temples and Taoist temples, I don’t know how much commotion it will cause.

Those temples and Taoist temples may seem insignificant at ordinary times, but they are closely connected with many officials.

"Your Majesty, temples and Taoist temples are all quiet, noble and transcendent places. Isn't it a bit offensive to the gods by the tax commissioner's actions..."

An official from the Honglu Temple spoke up immediately.

Even officials in the Ministry of Rites had different opinions.

Xu Jingzong raised his head and asked, "Chaoran?"

"No matter how extraordinary it is, it is still under the rule of the Tang Dynasty and is under the jurisdiction of the imperial court."

"I don't need to elaborate on the phenomenon of temples and Taoist temples hiding people. I believe you all know it well."

"Our dynasty collects taxes based on household registration, but temples and Taoist temples conceal the facts and do not report them, yet they do not pay taxes and do not engage in production."

"The tax department will never tolerate such behavior."

He said calmly: "The tax commissioner is not targeting temples and Taoist temples, but those illegal households."

"Let's not talk about the tax problem. If these illegal immigrants don't have household registration, who would know about the bad things they have done if they were registered?"

"Of course, these are not within the scope of the tax department's duties, but as long as it involves taxation issues, I, the tax department, will take on the responsibility."

"Then we must manage it, investigate it thoroughly, and eradicate it."

Yu Zhining took a sip, but still stood up and said, "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I think we should be more cautious and give them an order first to let them investigate on their own. There is no need to make such a big move."

"After all, our dynasty has many believers." "If we act hastily and cause civil unrest or public indignation, it will be counterproductive."

Xu Jingzong said politely: "Minister Yu, this is too alarmist."

"The tax commissioner was only checking the population, not destroying the Taoist and Buddhist statues. How could the people be angry?"

"There are many believers among the people, but they are also the people of the Tang Dynasty. They know the righteousness, so how can they not distinguish right from wrong?"

"I believe they will understand and even support the tax department's clean-up efforts."

Yu Zhining shook his head slightly and said nothing more. He just wanted to remind him and there was no need to argue with Xu Jingzong.

The official from the Honglu Temple retorted, "May I ask Xu Silang, what if there is public outrage?"

Xu Jingzong said in a deep voice: "That must be due to the bewitching and instigation of the Taoist temples."

"Then such Taoist temples are not quiet and noble places. They dare to defy the imperial court. Shouldn't the Honglu Temple and the Ministry of Rites ban them?"

The official did not back down and continued to ask: "It should be banned, but why are the people so angry about this response?"

Xu Jingzong said: "I am not a tax commissioner who can be frightened."

"The tax bureau has organized and recruited tax soldiers."

"If the tax commissioner is doing something important for the imperial court and someone dares to oppose and stop him, then the tax commissioner will not mind using tax soldiers to maintain his authority."

The ministers' side.

Only then did they suddenly remember that the most exaggerated thing about the Tax Commissioner was that they had their own tax collectors.

There is power to be called upon.

What does it matter in the face of public outrage?
Even if it is a civil uprising.

While the government was still thinking about how to mobilize troops, the tax collectors had already suppressed the rebellion.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Xu Jingzong bowed and said, "I would like to ask you to recruit the tax collectors from the standing army."

"Isn't this too much? A tax commissioner wants standing troops to serve as tax collectors?"

An official in the Ministry of War immediately raised objections.

Li Xiaogong was also unhappy. Damn it, the soldiers of my regular army have to work as tax collectors to help you collect taxes, right?
What are you dreaming about?

You are relying on the favor of His Majesty and the Crown Prince, aren't you too bold?

"I hope Your Majesty will understand that the Taxation Department has tax collectors, which is against common practice. I think the Taxation Department should not have tax collectors."

"yes……."

Many officials stood up to oppose it.

"how?"

Li Shimin said calmly: "I have issued the order of the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty. Do you want me to change my order every day?"

With just one sentence, he shut down the opposing officials.

Just because everyone is against it, Your Majesty has lost all his authority.

How can this be.

Li Chengqian spoke at the right time and said, "There is no need for the regular troops to serve as tax collectors. They should be killing the enemy on the battlefield."

"I do have an idea. There are some veterans in the army, or those who have retired due to injuries."

"They have been to the battlefield and have rich combat experience. The tax commissioner can recruit them as military leaders and then recruit young and strong men to train them."

Xu Jingzong's eyes lit up. He really wanted to recruit tax collectors from the standing army.

However, he also felt that it was unrealistic and just wanted to make a feint to see if it would be possible to get a bigger bargain for the Tax Commissioner.

Unexpectedly, the prince's words gave him an idea.

"Your Highness is wise!"

Xu Jingzong shouted immediately.

"It seems that the prince's method is good."

Li Shimin said: "It can be a good solution for many wounded soldiers."

"Xu Jingzong, just do as the prince says."

Xu Jingzong said loudly: "I thank your majesty for your grace!"

"Three fires, you only have two, where is the other one?"

Li Shimin asked.

"Your Majesty, I haven't made up my mind yet. Let me finish the things ahead first."

"Haha, that's fine."

"Go back."

Xu Jingzong returned to his seat, and the officials nearby looked at him sideways.

An official of the fifth rank actually has military power.

This is too incredible.

They are now considering a question: when the tax collectors and the local government officials meet, who will be stronger and who will be weaker?
The next issue to be discussed was the policy issues of the federal states.

The support policy for the states was also formulated after several months of discussion.

One starts with business taxes.

Compared with normal commercial taxes, the commercial taxes in the states are significantly lower, and some are even directly tax-exempt.

For example, commodities and materials shipped to the municipalities can be taxed at the original rate of one-thirty.

If it is food, timber, etc., all taxes are exempted, and taxes are directly exempted for five years.

Another is the shipbuilding industry. All states that are directly under the central government receive subsidies for shipbuilding, and once they go to sea for shipping, all taxes are exempted for one year as long as it is maritime trade.

There are also policies such as infrastructure.

It can be said that as soon as the imperial court came up with the support policy for the directly-administered states, all the officials became jealous.

This is simply giving money away for free. The governor of a direct-controlled prefecture will receive big gift packages from the court just by sitting there, and his achievements will come to him without any effort.

Just don't do anything naughty and follow the policies.

Because of that great achievement, he was recommended to the central government.

(End of this chapter)