Northern Song Dynasty Justice

Chapter 225
"Hiding wealth to the people?"

Zhao Xu couldn't help laughing bitterly: "It's just a nice word."

He really doesn't believe it now.

He even believes that the current situation is caused by the idea of ​​hiding wealth from the people.

The court has no money, and the people have no money.

He is still completely biased towards Wang Anshi's idea of ​​enriching the country and strengthening the army.

Wealth should be controlled in the hands of the state.

Zhang Fei explained: "What I mean is not to promote the idea of ​​Bachelor Sima, but to use this idea to provide them with a legal channel for tax avoidance."

Zhao Xu asked suspiciously, "How do you say that?"

Zhang Fei didn't answer and asked instead: "Your Majesty knows that many wealthy businessmen and scholar-bureaucrats use Xiangguo Temple to avoid taxes."

Zhao Xu nodded: "Of course I know."

Zhang Fei asked again: "Does Your Majesty know that many people choose to ordain or become monks in Xiangguo Temple in order to avoid labor tax?"

Zhao Xu sighed: "The vegetable garden in Xiangguo Temple is cultivated by thousands of people, how can I not know?"

Zhang Fei asked again: "Most of these people are unable to afford the taxes and labor of the court, resulting in bankruptcy and homelessness. If there is no Xiangguo Temple to take them in, I'm afraid they will just starve to death on the street."

Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei said: "If the Xiangguo Temple can play a greater role and benefit the people with the benefits, and these benefits come from those big landlords and wealthy businessmen, isn't it the Sima scholars who are hiding wealth for the people?"

Zhao Xu laughed and said: "You are too naive to think about it. How much of the benefits gained by Xiangguo Temple is used to benefit the people."

Xiangguo Temple is already an open secret, but Zhao Xu has nothing to do about it. For example, the Empress Dowager Cao believes in Buddhism very much, and there are many royal relatives, scholars and bureaucrats who are all loyal followers of Buddhism. The political cost of moving Xiangguo Temple is absolutely Higher than taxes on landowners.

"Your Majesty said it very well."

Zhang Fei said: "I never thought that relying on the benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism and the compassion of Buddhism can make those people willing to spend money to benefit the common people.

However, if the imperial court directly legislates to collect their taxes, I am afraid they will not agree easily, so the imperial court must find an appropriate reason to make them speechless. "

"What reason?"

"charitable."

"charitable?"

"Yes."

Zhang Fei said: "Your Majesty can combine charity and law, and use the law to force them to do charity. In this way, I believe no one will dare to oppose His Majesty."

Zhao Xu didn't seem to understand clearly, "Use the law to force them to do charity? How can this be done? Charity should start with kind thoughts. If you use the law to force it, can it still be called charity? Can they not object? ?”

Zhang Fei said: "Of course the imperial court can't say so clearly, but they can be guided to do so."

Zhao Xu hurriedly asked: "How to guide?"

Zhang Fei said: "May I ask Your Majesty, do you need to pay taxes for charity?"

Zhao Xu said, "Of course not."

Zhang Fei asked again: "If those big landlords donate their fields for charity, do they need to pay taxes?"

Zhao Xu said: "Of course they don't need it, but they won't be willing to donate it!"

Zhang Fei said: "If they are allowed to donate their left hand to their right hand, will they still be unwilling?"

The more Zhao Xu listened, the more confused he became, "What's the point of that?"

Zhang Fei said: "As long as the law is added, all of this can be made meaningful. For example, once the property and fields are donated for charity, it definitely does not belong to me. Who does it belong to?"

Zhao Xu was stunned, "Yes! Who did you donate it to?"

Zhang Fei said: "So before that, they have to set up a charity organization to store their donations, so that the left hand can be donated to the right."

Zhao Xu wondered: "If you do this, don't you still condone their tax evasion?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Your Majesty, who will allow this charity organization to be exempted from tax? This needs to be affirmed by the court legislation, and the court can take the opportunity to intervene with the law. For example, it is stipulated that the donated money belongs to public property and cannot It is private and cannot be misappropriated without authorization.”

Zhao Xu shook his head and said, "How could they agree to that?"

Zhang Fei said: "However, so many properties need people to manage and hire people to cultivate. Normally, this donor is naturally the helm of this charity organization. He can arrange all his descendants into this charity organization. Pay them guys."

Zhao Xu was stunned again, "This is tantamount to allowing them to evade taxes!"

Zhang Fei said: "The imperial court cannot force anyone to do charity. This is purely a personal wish, and the law cannot intervene. But charities are different. The purpose of establishing a charity is to do charity. It uses this obligation in exchange for tax-free privileges." Yes, if you don't do this, it is deception and it is illegal.

The imperial court can stipulate that this charitable organization must spend some of its profits to do charity every year, even if the profits are equivalent to the taxes they have to bear, they will be willing. "

Zhao Xu shook his head and said, "If that's the case, why don't they pay taxes directly?"

Zhang Fei euphemistically explained: "When doing charity, you can follow your own wishes. You can freely choose how to donate and who to donate to. You are forced to pay taxes. Even if you give the same money, they Definitely more inclined to do charity.

Secondly, what they are most afraid of is not paying such a small tax. About this point, Your Majesty should know better than me. "

Zhao Xu glanced at Zhang Fei, "I know it very well, but I didn't expect that you know it too!"

Zhang Fei said embarrassingly: "This is human nature."

Those people are so opposed to the case, are they really reluctant to part with the money?

Not at all.

If they just spend this little money to eliminate disasters, they will definitely be willing.

What they really care about is the court's taxation power.

If we pay the tax so easily today, and the imperial court wants to increase the tax tomorrow, then we have to pay it too.

Those common people are the best example, they can't resist, and the imperial court specially catches them.

The literati and bureaucrats have all read history books and know how this set of rules is played. It is impossible for the court to always collect taxes according to the law.

Therefore, the political cost of taxing them by the court must be raised.

This is why it is very difficult to ask them for a penny more.

Because of this they are safer.

This is actually a power game.

The law is not in it at all.

Zhang Fei continued: "This charitable organization can avoid this, the money is still in their hands, but the imperial court has lost the power to tax them.

At the same time, the imperial court is also standing on the commanding heights of morality. The imperial court has already exempted them from taxation and encouraged them to do charity. As a result, if they fail to fulfill their obligations, the imperial court will punish them. Mostly a complaint. "

Wen Yanbo, Sima Guang and the others store wealth for the people, and there is a very important idea in it, that is, the rise and fall of the world is the responsibility of scholar-officials, not ordinary people.

Because they believed that the emperor ruled the world with the scholar-bureaucrats, not with the common people.

Civilians naturally do not need to bear this responsibility, as long as they do their duty.

These civilians have no education and only want to survive. They don't know the responsibility of the world. If something happens, if you don't catch them, they will definitely run away.

The scholar-bureaucrats were deeply educated by Confucianism, they knew what it means to be loyal to the emperor and serve the country, and they understood the principle that if there is no skin left, Mao will not be attached to them. This wealth is controlled in the hands of the scholar-officials, and they can take on this responsibility.

Of course, at present this is only their idea, and it is the goal they are striving for.

Having said that, the group of civil servants in the Northern Song Dynasty can actually be said to be the last shining point of Confucianism. After that, it is really a mess. Confucianism has completely become a ruling tool and lost its philosophy.

But it has to be said that even so, the reality is still far from the ultimate goal of Confucianism.

In the end, it is no match for human nature.

Human nature still needs laws to restrict.

Therefore, when Zhang Fei introduced the concept of charitable organizations, he actually wanted to bind the Confucian thought of hiding wealth from the people within the law.

You say every day that you can rule the world together, okay, the imperial court will give you tax exemption rights first, and then it will depend on your performance.

If you do not take responsibility, it is an illegal act.

But this is far from Zhao Xu's idea.

What about imperial power?
What about rich countries?
Zhao Xu said very euphemistically: "If they all donate money here, the imperial court will not be able to collect tax money. Now the imperial court's finances have reached an unsustainable level!"

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Didn't I just say that this charity also needs to be operated, this is a business, since it is a business, it needs to be traded with others, and the business tax that should be paid still needs to be paid."

Zhao Xu's eyes lit up when he heard it, yes!This money can be collected from other places.

Zhang Fei added: "This is actually in line with the imperial government's policy of shifting the focus to business, so don't make the mistake of paying agricultural taxes again.

In addition, if all states and counties establish such charitable organizations, they will also be able to provide great help to the imperial court in terms of disaster relief. If everything must be allocated by the imperial court, the loss will be unimaginable. "

On this point, Zhang Fei and Wang Anshi have very different ideas.

Wang Anshi hoped that the central government would control all wealth and then allocate it in a unified manner, but Zhang Fei believed that it is almost impossible for the central government to achieve unified allocation in the current traffic environment. It is best to cultivate the ability of the states and counties to save themselves The court gave assistance.

Zhao Xu very much agrees with Zhang Fei's policy of first doing business and then farming. In terms of agricultural tax, the power that the imperial court can exert is very limited. This game of chess is too complicated. There are constant cutting and chaos. Why not find another way, and asked : "Then how do you get them to give their money to charity?"

Zhang Fei said with a smile: "Didn't I just say that I want to win this lawsuit and force them to seek safer legal tax avoidance."

After thinking about it for a while, Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Okay! I'm willing to give it a try and see if they are really as you said, and they are really willing to spend as much as tax money for charity."

The conversation with Zhang Fei also prompted Zhao Xu to make up his mind to fight this lawsuit.

But when he returned to the palace, Lan Yuanzhen said to Zhao Xu: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager asked the maid beside her how long has it been since Your Majesty went to eat with her old man."

It seems that they are really serious this time, and they even made a fuss with the big lady.Zhao Xu said, "Where is Madam now?"

"Peach Pavilion."

(End of this chapter)