Ming Dynasty man

Chapter 258 Amazing Production
If all merchants pay taxes according to Li Jing's standard, it will be easy to collect taxes of several million taels of silver every year.

If the land tax is also collected according to Li Jing's standard, how rich will the treasury be?
But Wang Chengen knew that most of the land was in the hands of the gentry, that is to say, it was the gentry who collected more land from Li Jing. How could these people obediently pay taxes to Li Jing?
Wang Chengen uttered his doubts, and Li Jing smiled and said to Zhou Hengchen: "Prefect Zhou, you come and tell Wang Gonggong about this."

Knowing that this was an opportunity for Li Jing to show his face, Zhou Hengchen saluted Li Jing, bowed his hands to Wang Chengen, and said with a smile, "In Pingyang Mansion, no one dares not to pay taxes, let alone evade taxes."

Wang Chengen wondered, "How did you do it?"

Zhou Hengchen said with a smile: "All the land and properties within the jurisdiction of Pingyang Mansion have statistics. When it comes to the autumn harvest season, the tax officials will collect taxes according to the records. Those who do not pay taxes will be fined ten times and sentenced to prison terms. If you dare to resist violently, Kill without mercy."

Wang Chengen wondered: "Don't you treat those gentry equally? Why didn't the imperial court hear anyone from Pingyang Mansion complain?"

"Appeal? What is the appeal? There is no big... Without General Li leading the troops to drive the rogues from Pingyang Mansion, it is hard to say whether they can save their lives. It is only natural to pay for soldiers. If you don't pay taxes, you have no money to raise soldiers, right? Do you want the rogues to fight back?" Zhou Hengchen sneered.

After a pause, Zhou Hengchen continued: "What's more, General Li introduced new food crops from all over the south, and the output is several times that of the original. Even if they pay [-]% of the tax, they will have much more left than if they don't pay the tax. General's seed, why don't you pay taxes!"

Then Zhang Li, the magistrate of Xiezhou, said with a smile: "The crops introduced by General Li not only have high yields, but also are resistant to drought and waterlogging. Especially the corn, it rained so much last year, and the corn was fine. It reached about five hundred catties."

Wang Chengen was startled. The yield per mu was more than [-] catties, which was more than twice that of local crops.

Wang Chengen knew that the worst-hit area last year was the central part of Henan Province, but the area around Pingyang Mansion also had a lot of rain. With such a heavy rain, the fields would inevitably be waterlogged, but he didn’t want to still be able to reach an output of more than [-] jin. Probably even higher.

It is because of these high-yield crops that Li Jing was able to bring a large amount of grain to Henan for disaster relief. Otherwise, relying on the grain production in Pingyang Prefecture alone would not be able to treat so many victims.

Wang Chengen was in amazement, but Zhang Li sighed and said, "It's a pity that last year's rain was too heavy, and the yield of sweet potatoes was not satisfactory. The yield per mu was only more than 500 catties. Otherwise, the grain storage in Pingyang Mansion would at least double this year." .”

Zhou Hengchen smiled and said, "Just be content with it. If the potatoes hadn't been harvested early, the production of that piece would have to be reduced by half. Now the granaries in Xiezhou are probably several times more than before, right?"

Zhang Li smiled at Zhou Hengchen: "Master Zhou said that the food storage in Xiezhou is more than ten times higher than in previous years, and the state warehouse can no longer be stored. The next few days, the official is thinking about waiting for the slack time to build it again." Several granaries."

"Wait, Mr. Zhang, how much food is stored in Xiezhou in previous years?" Wang Chengen asked.

Zhang Li said with a smile: "Generally, state warehouses must store at least [-] shi of grain in case of emergencies. However, the grain has not been harvested in the past few years, and it is considered good to be able to store [-] shi."

Wang Chengen was surprised: "Then how much grain is stored in the granary in Jiezhou now? Fifty thousand shi or one hundred thousand shi?"

"About 12 shi! The exact number can only be known by asking the history of the classics." Zhang Li laughed.

"Store 12 shi of grain, and we need to build another granary. How much grain are you going to store?" Wang Chengen asked in surprise.

Zhang Li said with a smile: "Last year, those big households harvested too much grain. The officials are going to buy all their surplus grain at a low price. I reckon that at least one hundred thousand shi can be saved."

Wang Chengen wondered: "How can they sell grain at a low price?"

Zhang Li said with a smile: "If they don't sell it to the government, they will have to rot in their hands. General Li strictly ordered that individuals are not allowed to sell grain privately without the government's permission. Violators will be punished by disrupting the price of grain. Then the punishment will be severe. , those big grain producers would never dare to take this risk.”

"What? You need government approval to sell grain?" Wang Chengen said in surprise.

Zhang Li said with a smile: "That's natural. Selling food privately is equal to tax evasion. What General Li hates most is not paying taxes and evading taxes. As long as he is caught, he will be punished tenfold."

Wang Chengen turned his head to look at Li Jing and asked doubtfully, "General Li, why is the punishment so severe?"

Li Jing said solemnly: "The country needs to raise soldiers, build roads, repair water conservancy, and provide disaster relief. All of them cost money. Where does the money come from? Also, local officials work hard and work hard for the local area. Don't you want a salary?" No rewards? The money has to come from taxes. Of course, we don’t just ask for money. For taxpayers, especially large taxpayers, the government still has preferential policies for them, such as giving priority to repairing their residences. Roads, so that it is much more convenient for them to transport grain and supplies, give them priority in providing them with mules and horses for farming, and give them priority in water supply during the irrigation season, etc. "

"Wait, when it comes to irrigation, why is the government supplying water? Didn't they lead the canals into the fields themselves?" Wang Chengen wondered.

Zhang Li smiled and continued: "In the past, those big households led canals into the fields by themselves, and even blocked the water source to prevent the river from flowing out. But since General Li came, they have started to develop water conservancy and built reservoirs in many places. All the blocked dams were dug up, and the grain fields were only left in the canals for water drainage. During the irrigation season, the reservoirs were opened to release water, so that everyone’s fields could be irrigated, and when irrigation was not needed, the reservoirs were closed to store water. General Li said In this way, drought can be prevented, and it can also prevent those big households from controlling the water source and bullying the small households."

Wang Chengen nodded, glanced at Li Jing, and thought to himself, this Li Jing is really talented.

However, Wang Chengen knew that the Pingyang Mansion was able to achieve its present situation because Li Jing used the army and money to open the way and used strong means to achieve it.

The officials in Pingyang Mansion were all promoted and promoted by Li Jing. These people belonged to those with vested interests and naturally supported Li Jing’s policies. The gentry below did not have the support of local officials, so naturally they could not fight against Li Jing and could only obey obediently. Li Jing's order.But then these people felt that these decrees did not have any impact on them, and some even tasted the sweetness. At this time, they felt that there was nothing wrong with Li Jing's doing so, and soon became Li Jing's fans.

But Zhu Youjian may not be able to do these things at all.

What Zhu Youjian was facing was a huge interest group, and Zhu Youjian did not dare to offend this interest group to push for a decree like Li Jing.

Unless Zhu Youjian can be like Li Jing, who wants money and people.

But Zhu Youjian can't do this at all. Although Zhu Youjian is the emperor, he has no money at all. In addition, although Daming has millions of troops on the surface, in fact, there may be ten soldiers who can really investigate and use. Nothing.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Hou Jinjin pushed the capital, and Zhu Youjian's imperial guards in the capital did not dare to fight at all, so he had to issue an edict to the Qin kings everywhere.Compared with the tens of millions of troops dispatched at every turn during Taizu Chengzu's period, Zhu Youjian's available troops are far behind.

Without the strong backing of the army and the lack of money, how could Zhu Youjian have the courage to confront that huge interest group.

But Wang Chengen knew that if Da Ming wanted to rejuvenate, he had to break the original pattern of interests, and there is an example of Pingyang Mansion here. If Zhu Youjian really wants to do it, it is not that no one supports it. With the support of Li Jing.

As long as Li Jing makes a move, with Li Jing's strong skills, I am afraid that there is a way to deal with those stubborn people.

But can Zhu Youjian reuse Li Jing?Li Jing made such a great contribution, Zhu Youjian even found such a lame excuse not to be promoted and reused, isn't it just to guard against Li Jing?
Once Li Jing's position is promoted and the power in his hands is expanded, Zhu Youjian may have trouble sleeping and eating, right?

Suddenly, Wang Chengen realized that his train of thought seemed to be a little wrong. What was his purpose for coming to Pingyang Mansion this time?
He came to Li Jing to ask for money, why did Li Jing lead him to change the country?

Li Jing let himself forget the purpose of this trip without making a sound. His speaking skills and ingenious handling are really too high.

But Wang Chengen immediately smiled wryly, how could Li Jing be so stupid, even if he forgot the purpose of this trip for a while, would he never remember it? purpose of the line.

Li Jing did this in a clever way to inform him of his political ideas, and hoped to tell the emperor through him.

Thinking of this, Wang Chengen shook his head lightly. It seems that Li Jing also knew that the emperor was too suspicious of him, and that if he played by himself, Zhu Youjian would definitely be suspicious of his intentions.

It is much more tactful to say it through yourself, and it is easier for Zhu Youjian to accept it through this unintentional way of speaking.

With a wry smile, Wang Chengen thought, what's the use of being tactful?As long as Zhu Youjian is suspicious of someone, he will never change his mind.

After pondering for a while, Wang Chengen felt that although Zhu Youjian would not accept Li Jing's political ideas, he would still accept many practical things. For example, the introduction of new crops could be promoted.

Why did the bandits rebel?Isn't it because they can't eat anymore? With such a high-yield crop, it only needs to be promoted for a few years to solve the food problem of most ordinary people. Naturally, ordinary people who can eat enough will not rebel, so the number of rogues will increase. Less and less, in a few years, the rogues will die without disappearing.

Of course, this still requires the imperial court to promulgate some policies to benefit the people, and the local government also needs to cooperate. If the people feel that they have food in their hands, they can continue to exploit, then the people will eventually be forced to rebel.

Thinking that there is a way to solve the problem of rebellion by bandits, Wang Chengen was overjoyed, and felt that even if he didn't get the money from Li Jing, it was a worthwhile trip.

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(End of this chapter)