Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 244 Combination Boxing

Property tax, stamp duty, and income tax are all easy to understand, but "turnover tax" is rather abstract.

However, the court officials present were all seasoned veterans who had risen through the ranks through the imperial examinations and had served in the court for many years. Although what Zhang Chengdao said was relatively unfamiliar, they were able to understand it after careful consideration.

While people understand the situation, they still harbor doubts about the "revenue" from these taxes.

Oh, actually it's a lack of trust.

The society, which has operated primarily on agricultural taxes for thousands of years, is so familiar to everyone that it is extremely well known. However, the tax system that Zhang Chengdao speaks of is so unfamiliar that it is difficult for people to trust it.

Humans are inherently lazy; otherwise, whenever political reforms occur throughout history, there would always be a bunch of people spouting rhetoric like "since ancient times" or "ancestral laws." Besides the fact that their own interests are at risk, it also reflects their dependence on the status quo, their unwillingness to change, and their even greater unwillingness to let impending changes affect them.

"How about this,"

While Zhang Chengdao could certainly persist in reforms, forcing those above and below to obey him could easily lead to unforeseen complications due to a lack of communication between the government and officials. It would be best to let the court officials see the benefits in the end.

Therefore, he rarely compromised, saying, "After the tax system is designed, we will start by piloting it in Chang'an and the Guanzhong region. If it works well, we will then extend it to other regions."

When you want to lift the roof and everyone is against it, if you suggest opening the windows, everyone will agree.

Zhang Chengdao's words immediately put the court officials at ease.

Many court officials opposed the program not because they felt their interests would be harmed, but simply because they were afraid of the unknown and lacked understanding. Therefore, they agreed to the "pilot program" as soon as it was proposed.

Seeing that no one else was vehemently opposing the reforms, Zhang Chengdao offered another incentive, saying, "Besides the tax system, Minister Wei, you, along with the Grand Secretary and Attendant-in-Ordinary Zhao, should work together to design a 'retirement' system that allows all officials in the court to receive a monthly stipend even after retiring to their hometowns. This would supplement their household expenses and be called 'retirement allowance.' In this way, we can fundamentally curb the corrupt practices."

The concept of "retirement pension" is not a modern invention.

In another time and space, as early as the Han Dynasty, there was the concept of "retirement".

This means that some high-ranking officials can "retire" after the age of 70, which is equivalent to "retirement," and can receive a certain percentage of their original salary. Those with outstanding achievements may even be granted permission to receive their full salary.

Moreover, upon retirement, the imperial court would bestow a one-time reward, often consisting of gold, grain, houses, carriages, and so on.

For example, during the reign of Emperor Zhang of Han, after retiring from office, Fifth Lun was granted "a salary of two thousand shi for the rest of his life," as well as 50 coins and a public residence.

However, these benefits were not only limited to high-ranking officials, but also to those high-ranking officials who were valued by the emperor.

Whether one could receive the corresponding preferential treatment depended not only on luck but also on the emperor's preferences. These were all "policies" that were tied to the ruler alone and were not the norm.

This is why these treatments and conventions were basically abolished during the Tang and Song dynasties.

In the Tang Dynasty, at most, some land was provided for retirement. In the Song Dynasty, after retirement, people could only receive a meager salary, which made it difficult for court officials to retire.

The Ming Dynasty was better, stipulating that officials could receive half their salary after retiring at age 60, and impoverished officials could apply for a monthly allowance of two shi of rice. The Qing Dynasty was similar.

However, in this era, a dynasty that is similar to the social development of the Southern Song and Liao-Jin periods, these benefits were not available. They only continued the practice from the Former Zhou Dynasty, which granted retired high-ranking officials a certain amount of land for their retirement.

As for the specific amount given, although there are certain conventions, it still depends on the emperor's mood and is very unreliable.

This instability indirectly led many officials to desperately try to amass wealth while in office—although not the main reason, it was one of the reasons.

Zhang Chengdao proposed that the imperial court should formally stipulate the "retirement salary" for officials after they retire, in order to set a standard and serve as a warning to officials to increase the cost of corruption.

If you retire through the proper channels, your old age will be provided by the government, and you will also enjoy free medical care.

However, if you continue to engage in petty corruption and are caught, you will lose your official position and all these benefits. In the past, people who made money were not only genuinely greedy but also worried about their livelihood after retirement. But with the government providing a safety net, this worry is eliminated, which can, to some extent, curb corruption.

The jujube was so big and sweet that it left the court officials dizzy and disoriented, and for a moment no one could react.

Finally, Minister Wei of the Ministry of Revenue opened his mouth and said insincerely, "Your Majesty, in this way, the national treasury will likely become even more strained! If this continues, we fear we will be unable to make ends meet..."

The quick-witted Minister of Personnel was the first to change the subject: "If the new tax law is truly better than the old one, then the officials' 'retirement salaries' will surely not be a problem!"

Then someone else suggested, "Or we could take officials of the fourth or fifth rank, or those of the fifth rank or higher, and that would save some money."

Neither the Grand Secretary nor Zhao Shizhong spoke. However, Zhao Shizhong, who had recently stopped pretending to be asleep, raised his eyelids, glanced at the Vice Minister who had spoken, and then lowered his eyes again, seemingly lost in thought.

Wang Yanqing, who had always been a participant and had no stance on important political matters, was very enthusiastic. He had long since figured out the sect leader's thoughts and immediately snorted: "You wish! The sect leader's move is to show compassion for minor officials with limited resources. How can it be divided into ranks?"

Zhang Chengdao looked at this very useful lackey with satisfaction and said, "What you say is very true, Chief Minister Wang. Regardless of whether they are from the inner circle or the outer circle, or from the first rank to the ninth rank, everyone should be treated equally and receive the same amount of money and rations. As for the specific calculation method, you will have to discuss it carefully."

As he spoke, he glanced at the Minister of Revenue, who wanted to object based on his understanding of the national treasury but was reluctant to object because the offer was too tempting, and added the premise for everyone to accept the offer: "However, this money cannot be drawn entirely from the national treasury. Instead, a separate 'pension stipend' treasury will be established on the basis of the new tax system. The taxes of officials will be deducted from the treasury each month, and the proceeds will be deposited into the treasury to balance the income and expenditure."

This is Zhang Chengdao's preparation for promoting comprehensive social security in the future.

But as soon as these words were spoken, everyone's expression changed again.

"This……"

Minister Wei's first reaction was the same as everyone else's: he thought that the sect leader wanted to use this as an excuse to make money and reduce the salaries of officials. However, after thinking about the sect leader's usual behavior, he felt that something was not right, so he only said one word and then stopped.

One of the courtiers, caught up in the moment, blurted out, "What does Your Majesty mean by this? Does he mean that officials in the court should pay taxes in the same way as ordinary people?"

Many ministers became anxious upon hearing this.

"This...this isn't appropriate, is it?"

"Yes, yes, we have studied hard for many years, how can we be the same as the common people?"

Some even said indignantly, "If officials can't even get these privileges they deserve, they might as well become merchants!"

Upon hearing such remarks, Wang Yanqing, Zhang Chengdao's number one lackey, immediately took the lead in the attack. He rolled his eyes and said, "Then you should resign and go back to be a merchant!"

These words calmed many people down. Some of the wiser ministers stopped being led by the nose by Zhang Chengdao like fools and instead sat quietly at their desks, watching Zhang Chengdao expectantly.

As expected, Zhang Chengdao quickly unleashed his "big move": "Of course, in order to avoid any sense of disappointment among the people, and to prevent the already impoverished minor officials from having an even harder time, the salaries of all officials will be increased accordingly during the trial implementation of the new tax system, so that the money received by the lower-level officials will be higher than before."

Upon hearing this, the court officials finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only Minister Wei of the Ministry of Revenue had a bitter face. He opened his mouth, but dared not refute when everyone agreed. He could only sigh repeatedly and ultimately dared not say anything.

The new tax system, pensions, increased taxes on officials, and higher salaries—this interconnected set of measures made the court officials feel as if they had swallowed a bittersweet treat.

It was sweet, but upon closer inspection, it was also a bit bitter. Even with the bitterness, they couldn't bear to part with the sweetness. After this internal struggle, no one dared to object to Zhang Chengdao's "combination punch."

"The Emperor's policy is excellent. It not only alleviates the pressure on the national treasury, but also allows those lowly officials who are short of money to enjoy their old age. It is truly a benevolent and virtuous policy!"

Unexpectedly, Wang Yanqing was the first to fawn over him again.

(End of this chapter)