My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 139: Which is harder, the businessman’s head or the Ming Dynasty tax army’s knife?
After hearing this, Zhu Cilang thought for a moment before answering:
"The Daming Taxation Bureau is in charge of commercial taxes throughout the country. If the time is right in the future, land taxes and rents will also be transferred to the Daming Taxation Bureau."

"The Ming Dynasty Tax Bureau is located under the Six Ministries and has a director, a third-rank official."

"Under the Director, there are Left and Right Assistant Ministers, whose rank is the Fourth Grade. Generally speaking, the official structure is modeled after the Ministry of Revenue."

"The Ministry of Revenue's previous office in charge of commercial taxes has been merged into the Daming Taxation Bureau. The Wucheng Bingma Division's Municipal Office, as well as several other tax-related offices, have all been merged into the Daming Taxation Bureau."

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, he immediately understood. He thought that the Ming Dynasty Tax Bureau was just copying the model of the Ministry of Revenue and then merging other tax-related government offices.

After figuring this out, Ni Yuanlu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

That way he'll know what to do next.

Then he said:

"Don't worry, Your Highness, I know what to do!"

But then, he suddenly looked worried again, and then asked cautiously:
"Your Highness, His Majesty also mentioned earlier that he wanted to establish an army specifically to collect commercial taxes. How would you manage this army?"

"Although Your Majesty stated in the court that this army belongs to the Ministry of Revenue, I am still unsure."

"After all, this matter of military power is of great importance. The slightest carelessness could lead to disaster. This old minister dare not take it lightly."

"Your Highness, please help me solve this doubt!"

Having control over military power seems very impressive, but Ni Yuanlu doesn't want to have anything to do with it.

Because he knew very well that since ancient times, military power had nothing to do with the Ministry of Revenue. Even the Ministry of War, which was in charge of military power, would be doomed if it was not careful.

After all, when Chongzhen appointed Li Banghua as the Minister of War, it was already clear that he wanted to seize military power.

To get involved with military power at this time is simply seeking death, isn't that?

He is already in his sixties and will retire in a few years. He really doesn't want to cause any trouble before retirement and end up with his head and body separated.

So, he really doesn't want to be involved in military power.

Zhu Cilang saw through Ni Yuanlu's thoughts and said bluntly without beating around the bush:
"Although this army is nominally under the command of the Ministry of Revenue, the actual control still lies in the hands of the Emperor, so you don't need to worry about it. Just do your job well."

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said quickly:
"In this case, I know what to do."

After discussing other matters, they began to discuss the real business, which was the issue of commercial taxes.

Before Zhu Cilang could speak, Ni Yuanlu continued:

"May I ask, Your Highness, the reform of commodities should not only target the excise tax, right? Will the court reform other Ming taxation systems in the future?"

"For example, the salt tax, tea tax, mining tax, customs duty, transit tax, business tax, and other commercial taxes?"

"If so, please let Your Highness the Crown Prince know so that I can make the corresponding preparations."

Zhu Cilang looked at Ni Yuanlu and thought to himself that this old man was indeed smart. He knew that the court would go to such great lengths to increase the salaries of officials that it was impossible that it was just targeting one type of commercial tax.

After all, they collected 15 million in commercial taxes with great difficulty, but had to distribute 10 million to civil and military officials, with the court only taking 5 million. Naturally, the court would not do such a loss-making business.

Since you are talking to an intelligent person, there is no need to beat around the bush.

Zhu Cilang then said:
"You guessed right. All the taxes you mentioned will be reformed."

"Regarding the business tax, I have come up with a solution. Let me hear what I think of it."

After saying that, Zhu Cilang informed Ni Yuanlu of the method of collecting business tax that he had previously discussed with Xia Dewu.

After careful consideration, Ni Yuanlu nodded and praised:
"Your Highness is truly wise, having come up with such a plan. If nothing unexpected happens, I estimate that this alone could bring in around five million taels of silver in commercial taxes to the Ming Dynasty each year."

Five million taels of silver?

When Zhu Cilang heard this number, he just felt funny.

Because in his opinion, 10 million taels of silver per year was about right.

However, this was not the time to discuss this matter, so Zhu Cilang continued:
"Now that the business tax issue has been resolved, what are your thoughts on other taxes? Especially the salt tax, mining tax, and tea tax."

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, his expression changed slightly, because these three taxes were important taxes related to the destiny of the Ming Dynasty, especially the salt tax, which was closely related to the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But before Ni Yuanlu could speak, Zhu Cilang spoke first:
"I checked last year's tax revenue a while ago, and guess what? Last year's salt tax only collected less than one million taels of silver!"

"Do you think this is normal?"

"You know, during the reigns of Emperor Taizu and Emperor Chengzu, the imperial court collected tens of millions of yuan in salt taxes every year. Why is it that today, the annual salt tax collected is only one-tenth of that amount?"

"And if I'm not mistaken, the population of the Ming Dynasty today is more than double that of the Taizu era, right?"

"Of course, the number of registered residents may not be much different, but the number of hidden residents today is at least double the official population. Am I wrong?"

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, his face suddenly turned pale.

Although he knew that the prince in front of him was extremely intelligent, he had never expected that he would be so intelligent that even an old minister like him would find it difficult to cope with him.

What's more, what the prince said was all true, and he had no way to refute it!
Ni Yuanlu could only bite the bullet and answer:

"Your Highness is right. This is indeed the case. This is the fault of this old minister."

As Ni Yuanlu said this, he prepared to kneel down and apologize.

But before he could kneel down, Zhu Cilang held him up.

Zhu Cilang first helped Ni Yuanlu back to his chair, and seeing his nervous expression, he comforted him:
"Master Ni, there's no need to be so afraid. I'm here to discuss something with you today, so naturally, I'll tell you what I want to say."

"I'm not blaming you by saying this, I'm just trying to better resolve this matter."

"Besides, it's not your fault that the Ming Dynasty's tax system is what it is today. It's a problem that has accumulated over hundreds of years. No one else is to blame."

After hearing this, Ni Yuanlu breathed a sigh of relief and felt a little more at ease.

Then he asked:
"In that case, I would like to ask Your Highness, how do you plan to reform the salt tax?"

Zhu Cilang did not answer immediately, but fell into thought.

The salt tax system of the Ming Dynasty has changed several times since the time of Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, but the court still finds it difficult to collect enough taxes.

Even though the population is one or two times larger than during the Taizu period, the salt tax collected is only one-tenth of what it was then, or even less.

So where is the problem?
The answer is obvious. The problem lies with officials, salt merchants and some private salt dealers.

At this time in the late Ming Dynasty, although the country was impoverished and various taxes could not be collected, there was even little money to pay the army and the officials.

But that was the most glorious time for the salt merchants. They could no longer be described as wealthy, but as rich enough to rival a country and completely unscrupulous.

Zhu Cilang once saw a joke in later generations.

It is said that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a salt merchant in the south. His family had so much money that he could never spend it all.

It's so much that it can't even fit in the warehouse.

Then he became very distressed because he had too much money and was still making money, but he felt like he had no place to spend it.

At this time, one of his servants came up with an extremely extravagant and absurd idea in order to please him.

They first bought a large amount of gold foil and then transported it to a high mountain.

After reaching the top of the mountain, the servants raised the gold foil with all their might against the wind.

In an instant, the gold foil fluttered in the wind and scattered everywhere, like golden snowflakes scattered between the sky and the earth.

When the salt merchant saw this scene, he felt much better.

Regardless of whether this is a joke or a real event in history, it is enough to show how rich the salt merchants were at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, officials engaged in corruption and the trafficking of illegal salt.

The salt tax these people embezzled every year was at least 10 million taels.

So, to put it simply, the salt tax reform is actually about taking back the salt tax that these people have embezzled from their pockets.

In this case, the previous taxation method will no longer be usable and a new taxation method must be formulated.

Zhu Cilang had already had an idea about this.

The next second, Zhu Cilang looked directly at Ni Yuanlu and said:
"I intend to abolish the salt merchants' hereditary and monopoly rights to salt."

"It will be changed to a system where ordinary merchants willing to engage in the salt business will be issued a tax payment certificate specifically for the salt industry after obtaining government approval and paying taxes."

"Then merchants can take the tax payment certificate and purchase the corresponding amount of salt, and then transport it to the designated place for sale."

"I call this the 'Salt Ticket System'. What do you think of this method?"

The so-called ticket salt system, in simple terms, abolished the previous salt merchant joint venture system and their monopoly on the salt industry, allowing all merchants in the world to participate in the salt selling business.

This method was proposed by an official named Tao Shu during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.

This move completely broke the original monopoly of salt merchants. As long as you want to do salt business and have qualifications recognized by the court, you can pay the corresponding taxes in accordance with the rules and regulations and then sell salt.

In this way, those smugglers who previously risked their lives to sell illegal salt can now engage in the salt business openly.

Although they might have to pay some taxes, they no longer had to be sneaky and no longer had to worry about being caught by the imperial court and beheaded.

As these people flock into this field, it will undoubtedly have a devastating impact on the big salt merchants who once dominated the salt market.

By then, not only will the big salt merchants be helpless, but even the officials behind them will be powerless.

The more merchants engaged in the salt business, the more salt tax the court would receive.

Similarly, a large amount of salt appeared on the market, and ordinary people could buy salt at a really low price.

This method is beneficial to both the court and the people.

It is said that after Tao Shu established a new salt tax system based on this method, the annual salt tax collected was nearly three times higher than the previous regulations. The population of the late Ming Dynasty may not have been as large as that of the Qing Dynasty, but in Zhu Cilang's view, collecting 15 million taels of salt tax annually should still be relatively easy.

After all, Emperor Taizu could collect 10 million taels of salt tax at that time. It is normal for him to collect more than Emperor Taizu after he reformed the salt tax, right?

These 15 million taels were still his lowest estimate, the actual amount should be more than this!
When Ni Yuanlu heard the method Zhu Cilang mentioned, he was completely shocked.

Firstly, this method really surprised him, and secondly, the interest groups involved were too large.

First of all, those salt merchants who have made a living by selling salt for generations will go bankrupt in an instant.

Secondly, the merchants of the Ming Dynasty will be caught in fierce competition.

After all, salt is the most important material besides food. People need to eat both food and salt. The Ming Dynasty consumed a huge amount of salt every year, and the profits contained in it were naturally considerable.

But precisely because the profits are so huge, more people will be involved, including some high-ranking officials and nobles. It will probably be difficult to successfully implement this policy.

Thinking of this, Ni Yuanlu could only say helplessly:

"Your Highness, this method is certainly good and can increase tax revenue for the Ming Dynasty, but if we were to implement it, I'm afraid we would encounter many obstacles."

"Those salt merchants and the officials who profited from it would certainly not allow the court to do this."

“How should we deal with it then?”

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he didn't react much, because he was naturally aware of the situation.

But this is not a problem for a prince who holds military power and has someone to take the blame.

Salt merchants obstructing?

kill!

Obstruction by nobles?

kill!

Official obstruction?

kill!

In short, no matter who wants to obstruct tax reform, just chop him down with a knife, kill him with heads rolling and blood flowing like a river, and keep killing until there is no one left to obstruct tax reform!

But don't get me wrong, these people were definitely killed in the name of Chongzhen!
After all, as the first scapegoat of the Ming Dynasty, this is Chongzhen’s duty!
Thinking about this, Zhu Cilang said:

"I know everything you've said, but don't worry, I'll take care of it."

"What you need to do is to immediately send people to implement the new salt tax system after returning to the Ministry of Revenue."

"I can guarantee that no one can stop the court from implementing the new tax system."

"I just did a rough calculation. After the salt tax reform, the annual salt tax is at least 15 million taels of silver."

At least fifteen million taels?
When Ni Yuanlu heard this, he was shocked again.

I thought that even during the reign of Taizu, the salt tax had never reached 15 million taels.

If there really were so much, the imperial court would never be short of money again.

Coming back to his senses, he hurriedly bowed and said:
"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will start preparing as soon as I return."

Immediately afterwards, the two discussed the reform of other taxes, namely tea tax, mining tax, customs tax, transit tax and other taxes.

Based on what he saw and heard in later generations, Zhu Cilang also carried out new reforms to these taxes and set tax amounts.

Generally speaking, all commercial taxes after the Ming Dynasty added together would be at least more than 40 million silver coins.

You know, last year all the commercial taxes in the Ming Dynasty added up to just over three million taels. Zhu Cilang increased it by more than ten times in one go!
If it were in the past, Ni Yuanlu would definitely think this was a daydream.

But now, he feels that this number is not too much.
The reason was that the methods used by the prince in front of him to deal with commercial taxes were too brilliant. Even he, the Minister of Revenue who was over sixty years old, had never heard of the methods he mentioned.

And without exception, they are all beneficial to the country!

How could the Ming Dynasty not prosper with such a future ruler?

The two chatted for several hours, and by the time Ni Yuanlu was ready to leave, it was almost dark.

It happened to be time for dinner in the Eastern Palace, so Zhu Cilang prepared a meal for the Minister of Revenue.

After finishing the meal, Ni Yuanlu left.

After dinner, Zhu Cilang thought it was still early and couldn't sleep, so he summoned Li Ruolian, Li Guozhen and Li Huren again.

Then he ordered them to select some soldiers each to form the Ming Dynasty tax army.

Zhu Cilang had relevant experience in this matter when he was in Shandong, so he can do it with ease now.

The Ming Dynasty tax troops sent to various parts of the country need to be selected and trained slowly, but the Ming Dynasty tax troops dedicated to collecting taxes in the capital can be organized in a short period of time.

And basically no training is required.

After all, this army was originally stationed in the capital, and they are quite familiar with the capital.

Not to mention that one-third of the Ming Dynasty's tax army are Jinyiwei, who are very familiar with every aspect of the capital, so it is most appropriate to leave the task of collecting taxes to them.

Of course, the reason why the Jinyiwei were also arranged into the Ming Dynasty's tax army was more importantly to ensure that this army maintained strict discipline and would not be greedy for tax revenue.

After all, it is well known that the Jinyiwei is an intelligence organization affiliated with the emperor. Anyone who embezzles taxes in front of them will probably think his life is too long.

So, that very night, a team specifically responsible for collecting taxes in the capital was formed, and they were ready to start the tax collection task the next day.

Originally, Zhu Cilang planned to customize a set of special uniforms for this army and then let them take action.

However, due to time constraints and his eagerness to crack down on those merchants who hoarded grain, the matter of subduing the grain had to be put on hold.

He simply had some wooden signs with the word "tax" engraved on them made overnight and asked the soldiers to use them to collect taxes.

what?
Do you think businesses will resist taxes?
Then you also have to see whether the Ming Dynasty’s tax army agrees!

Then we’ll see whether the merchants’ brains are tougher or the Ming Dynasty tax collectors’ knives are harder!
So, the next morning, teams of people dressed in various clothes and armor, holding wooden signs with the word "tax" on them, appeared in the streets and alleys of the capital and headed towards various shops.

Among them, the focus is on those shops that had previously purchased 5 million shi of grain.

According to Zhu Cilang's plan, they would be charged a tax of 10.2% of the purchase price.

The purchase price of those 5 million dan of grain was 15 million taels of silver, which means that a commercial tax of 3 million taels of silver could be levied on these grains alone.

Although it seems a bit scary, in Zhu Cilang's opinion, these businessmen have evaded taxes for many years and no one knows how much dirty money they have made.

It is only natural that they should pay these taxes now.

At the same time, Yang's Rice Shop.

This is a large rice shop in the capital. When Xia Dewu was selling grain before, this shop bought a full one million shi of rice, which was worth up to three million taels of silver.

This amount of money is undoubtedly an astronomical figure for ordinary merchants.

However, for the big boss behind Yang's Rice Shop, it was nothing.

Because the owner of this rice shop was a salt merchant named Yang from Yangzhou. He made a lot of money by selling salt, so he started to get involved in other industries.

There are dozens of shops in the capital alone, and Yang's Rice Shop is just one of them.

In other words, this salt merchant named Yang will have to pay commercial taxes for dozens of shops soon.

But of course, by the time he found out, it would probably be a long time later. After all, he was not in the capital, and the shops in the capital were all run by his fellow tribesmen.

And if nothing unexpected happens, he should still be hoping for a lucky break, thinking that as the number of disaster victims continues to increase and the food in the capital is gradually exhausted, the court will definitely allow them to raise prices, and they will be able to make a fortune then.

This morning, as usual, Yang Laosan, the owner of Yang's Rice Shop, was instructing his employees to move the grain outside the store.

He planned to use the same trick again and sell only two stone of grain today to create the illusion of food shortage so that he could raise prices in the future.

Yang Laosan took a sip from the purple clay teapot from time to time while directing the busy men.

"You're so stupid! Didn't I tell you you could mix old rice with new rice and sell it together? Why don't you understand?"

"Old rice costs two taels of silver per dan, new rice costs three taels of silver per dan. There's a price difference of one tael of silver between them!"

"We can also take out the old rice in the warehouse that's about to go moldy and mix it with the rice, and sell it at the price of new rice."

“This is all money!”

In Yang Laosan's opinion, it was good enough that he was willing to sell grain to the people these days. What did it matter if he mixed some stale rice or moldy rice in?
It won’t kill anyone anyway!
Although the guys were indignant about Yang Laosan's evil heart, in order to keep their jobs, they did not dare to refute a word and just bowed their heads and did what Yang Laosan told them to do.

But before the people came to buy food, an army holding wooden signs with the word "tax" arrived first.

Seeing this, the clerk who was busy outside was so frightened that he ran back to the store and called out to Yang Lao San:
"Boss, come and see, there's a large group of people coming towards us!"

Yang Laosan thought that the people were rushing to buy food, and said nonchalantly:
"Don't worry about them. No matter how many people come, I will only sell two stone of grain today. No more."

The guy stamped his feet in anxiety.

"Shopkeeper, those people don't look like ordinary people buying grain. They look like soldiers and even the Imperial Guards!"

When Yang Laosan heard this, his heart tightened and he quickly put down the purple clay teapot and ran out.

As soon as he saw it, his eyes widened instantly.

I saw that this team included not only the Jinyiwei, but also soldiers in armor. They all had serious expressions and were aggressive. It was obvious at first glance that they were not people to be trifled with.

What’s even more terrible is that they actually came to their own rice shop!
what is happening?
Yang Laosan was a little confused.

Could it be that the imperial court has run out of food, so these Jinyiwei and soldiers teamed up to buy food?
But then again, what does the sign he’s holding up mean?
There seems to be some other words on it?

(End of this chapter)