Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1064 Taxation
Sakhalin is very large and has many resources.

But the disadvantage is also obvious, the ground is too biased.

I am afraid that it will not be developed until the industrial age.

Today's Sakhalin Island's greatest resource is nothing more than many salmon and wild animals, and oil and gold are only buried deep in the ground.

In terms of resources, how can there be so many from Nanyang, and it is easy to come?
Zhu Yixi has divided the vassal state.

Only by occupying a good place and keeping it can we make plans for the future.

Sakhalin Island is so big, and the Heilongjiang Governor's Mansion has not even developed a tenth of the inland area. How can it take into account the bitter cold of Upper Sakhalin Island.

It would be cost-effective to use half of Sakhalin Island as compensation to Vietnam to help it develop, preferably a large number of immigrants.

The king of Yue is very happy, and the emperor still cares about me.

Zhu Yixi asked about the Yue Kingdom again.

The king of Yue talked about the transaction with Japan, especially when it involved war horses, he was even more careful.

The emperor didn't care about this: "The Japanese shogunate ruled the land. They were called kings, but they were really just co-lords. The most important thing for them to form cavalry was to suppress the vassal states and disorderly people, so they should not be threatened by them."

It's like the great powers selling weapons to the Manchus in the future, so they are not afraid of the Manchus rebelling against them.

Japan's population of 3000 to [-] million looks huge, but it is subdivided into three to four hundred small feudal states, which can be described as loosely organized.

The carriage of the Tokugawa shogunate has been plagued by financial shortages since the fourth shogun Tsunayoshi Tokugawa.

Because the shogunate's finances basically depend on the Tokugawa family's 400 million stone collar and mine support.

However, the outflow of gold and silver and the depletion of mines led to the continuous reduction of fiscal revenue, while the number of samurai classes continued to grow, so that the expenses continued to increase.

The strange thing is that Edo has a big fire almost every few years, and the repair of Edo Castle is the most important expenditure of the Tokugawa shogunate in the middle and late period.

Just like the Ming Dynasty, it was constrained by financial problems and became a lame giant.

It can be said that as long as the current Tokugawa shogunate's closed-door policy is maintained, the country of Yue will be fine within one to two hundred years.

"You are in Yue, with Heilongjiang on the top, North Korea on the left, and Japan on the south. It is natural to have resources on both sides, but you must know that agriculture is the foundation."

Zhu Yixi said earnestly: "If there is not enough arable land, then build pastures and raise cattle and sheep. Without food, we will not be stable!"

"My son knows." King Yue nodded.

"I heard that your country is bitterly cold, how long can you keep warm when logging?"

Zhu Yixi said casually: "Look for more coal mines, and the heating problem will be solved. Are you afraid that there will be no immigrants by then?"

"Besides, your second brother can find gold mines and copper mines, but you can't find them? When the time comes to be self-sufficient, what are you afraid of?"

"My son understands." King Yue's eyes lit up.

He had been trapped by the coastal plain all along, and he was terrified of the mountains, so he never thought of looking for ore.

With a gold mine, how much money does it take to do business?Still frightened.

Immediately, King Yue talked about the lack of people.

This is a rehash, and Zhu Yixi said angrily: "Which feudal country has no shortage of people? Your second brother is about to get angry, and this matter has to be taken slowly."

"Have I imprisoned you to move the people? As long as you are willing to divide the fields, there will be plenty of poor people in the world. It depends on whether you have the courage to eat them."

King Yue bowed his head and remained silent.

An immigrant family needs to be supported by the court for nearly a year, with food and clothing, and an average of ten silver dollars per year.

The relocation of 10 households is [-] yuan.

The remaining housing costs and land reclamation costs are even more enormous.

If the wasteland is allocated, it will take another year to raise it.

It's not necessarily that some people are willing to come, after all, a broken family is worth a lot, and it's hard to be accepted by people who leave their hometown.

Only the poor who have nothing to do with the famine are willing.

Difficult!

……

Autumn harvest and winter storage, in the harvest season, not only the common people are busy, but the local government offices are also busy.

Winter wheat in the north is planted in September and harvested at the end of May of the following year. It takes up to eight months. It is the main crop north of the Yellow River and south of the Great Wall.

Henan, Weihui Mansion, Qi County, where the ancient Chaoge is located.

The land of Henan was in the last years of Chongzhen, and the three prefectures located north of the Yellow River were the ones with the most vitality: Weihui, Huaiqing, and Zhangde.

The same is true, as soon as Shaowu came, the three prefectures quickly resumed production, and then migrated to the hinterland of Henan.

The same is true, coupled with the immigrants from Hubei, the nine prefectures in Henan (which have always been subordinate to prefectures) quickly recovered.

In the early years of Shaowu, there were only 300 million people in He Province, but now it has reached 900 million, which is extremely exaggerated.

Ranked fourth among the provinces of Ming Dynasty, Shandong ranked first with 200 million people, Jiangsu with 100 million people, and Jiangxi with 1000 million people.

In the case of no tax, the common people did not hide it anymore, and reported the real figures one after another. The same is true of the population explosion in the Qing Dynasty.

If the court no longer collects land taxes, it can be expected that the number of acres of land will at least double.

"Master, are you still going to the countryside today?"

The woman was wearing a skirt and a silver hairpin. She was bending over and counting in the shoe cabinet. Her buttocks outlined an arc, which was very attractive.

Zhang Zhu was not interested, he put on his soap clothes slowly, and said casually: "That's right."

"Isn't the wheat harvested once in June?"

The woman put down her walking boots and found a pair of pigskin boots with wooden soles, which are very resistant to dirt.

"Corn, or sorghum."

Knowing that his wife is a woman in the house, Zhang Zhu said casually, "Winter wheat is sown in September and harvested in May. Farmers have to plant another crop of corn, which has a higher yield."

"Don't be idle!"

Sighing, he was dressed in a soap suit, red and black, which looked very majestic.

Different from other yamen servants, there is a large tax word written on the white patch on his chest.

He is a tax collector in Qi county.

Walking out of Sanjin's mansion, he got into the carriage, arrived at the Tongju Yamen in a hurry, and walked in with a knife in his hand.

On the way, many petty officials who also wore the same clothes saluted respectfully, just because they didn't have the word tax on their chests, and they were just one of hundreds of white servants in Qi County.

The Tongpan Yamen is slightly smaller than the County Yamen, and it is also in the model of the front Yamen and the back hall, covering an area of ​​about [-] acres and [-] houses.

The huge yamen is not exclusive to Tongsan, but is actually divided into four parts.

The largest is the case hall, as the name suggests, it is used for trial cases, including the master's bedroom.

The second is the Tuiguan, known as the second master, who is responsible for the trial of the case. As long as it is not a murder case, he will judge it.

Third, it is naturally a prison, which covers an area of ​​more than ten acres.

Among them, there are "prisons" for serious criminals, "jail shops" for minor criminals, and "posts" for debt-paying hostages and witnesses. There is a three-tiered prison system.

Finally, there is the Chamber of Commerce and Taxation.

The Commercial and Taxation Bureau was renamed from the former County Government Taxation Bureau, which is responsible for collecting merchants, butchers, miscellaneous markets, tax deeds for buying and selling land and houses, and today's agricultural tax.

In other words, they robbed the power of the county government and households, and took charge of all taxes in the county.

The Commercial and Taxation Bureau is managed by the General Judgment.

The responsibilities of adjudicating cases, custody, tax collection, and general judgment are not small.

When Zhang Zhu arrived at the yamen, nearly 60 people had already gathered in the compound of the Commercial and Taxation Bureau.

There are only five serious officials like him, and nine times as many white servants, second only to the third class of police officers in the county government.

Official officials have an establishment and money from the imperial court, while white servants are fed by the county government. Once the county government runs out of money in a certain year, they will default on their arrears and will be abolished at any time.

The biggest difference between tax collectors and ordinary yamen servants is that they can carry knives, and even horse mules are always kept in the yamen, which is extremely deterrent and mobile.

Sometimes when encountering troublesome people, the county government has to send tax collectors.

The officials of the Commercial and Taxation Bureau came here wearing eight-rank green robes and black gauze hats, with big bellies.

He didn't talk too much, sat down on the chair on the steps, narrowed his eyes and said:
"It's time for us to be busy. You all know the rules. It's better to charge more than to miss it. If you charge too much, you won't be able to keep it. If you miss it, you will use your family wealth to make up for it. The whole family will be exiled—"

The group of tax collectors below bowed their heads and remained silent, their faces calm.

After the agricultural tax and the commercial tax were unified, the collection of taxes was no longer controlled by the local government. Although the commercial tax bureau was supervised by the general judge, it was actually under the direct leadership of the Ministry of Finance.

Every secretary, although the Ministry of Finance cannot be selected, can remove important tasks.

This kind of dual jurisdiction puts a curse on the Commercial and Taxation Department.

Like the former Ming Dynasty and other dynasties, the practice of collecting miscellaneous taxes at will and opening new miscellaneous taxes to make up for the expenses will not work at all.

Xinming focuses on control.

"Okay, there are exactly ten townships in the whole county, and there are two people for one person. The tax must be paid within seven days, and it will be shipped to Fucheng at the end of October. There is no delay."

The officials then allocated quotas.

There are rich and poor in each township, and under normal circumstances, one is rich and the other is poor. If the relationship with the officials is not good, then the two are poor, and if the relationship is good, the two are rich.

The rich are in the plains, and the poor are in the mountains.

Obviously, Zhang Zhu is neither good nor bad, one is poor and the other is rich, Zhaojia Town, Zuohoubao.

In the stable, he brought a mule and two donkeys, and led ten white servants out of the city.

Only Zhang Zhu rode the mule alone, and the other two donkeys walked empty.

The group of people was mighty, attracting the attention of passers-by, who dared not speak much.

"Go to Zhaojiazhuang." When Bai Yan asked, Zhang Zhu said casually.

Zhaojiazhuang is located next to the official road, the transportation is convenient, there are many plains, it can be rich, and the Zuohou Fort is from the guard, it is located in an important place, but it is poor.

When the group arrived in the town, the elders of the village had already greeted them by the roadside.

After exchanging greetings for a while, I waited in the restaurant.

They were full of wine and food, and before everyone could react, some local specialties from the village were stuffed into the waists of the white servants.

No more, no less, ten silver dollars.

But when it came to Zhang Zhu, there were two silver bills of one hundred silver dollars.

"This is Tianxia Qianzhuang's ticket, you can cash it at any time."

Holding the bank note, Zhang Zhu was noncommittal, squinting his eyes: "This is not in compliance with the rules!"

It was one hundred silver dollars in previous years, but now it has doubled, which is surprising.

He just looked at the mayor directly, without any scruples about etiquette.

The village elders and police officers on the side wanted to speak, but were stopped by the village chief.

He was wearing a satin robe, and there was still a smile on his square face:

"In recent years, the village has grown corn, mostly on the mountains. This is not to make the tolerance travel less..."

Regarding this, Zhang Zhu laughed lightly: "As far as I know, Er Township has [-] mu of land, nearly [-] mu of paddy fields, [-] mu of dry land, and [-] mu of mountain land."

"Last year it was about [-] mu, how many mu are planted with corn now?"

"1 mu." The village chief said in one breath.

"Don't think I don't know. Most of your township has grown corn, at least [-]% of it, that's [-] mu!"

As he said that, he stood up immediately: "Henan is a central province, and the mu tax is two points, that is, [-] Wen, and [-] mu is..."

"Two two get four, two three get six, that's 46 Wen, or 460 silver dollars."

"I'm still short, only 700%, if it's [-]%, then it's terrible, it's [-] yuan!"

This does not include the land that has not been counted in the yellow book.

Over the years, the big families had enough energy to cultivate, and the small households gritted their teeth and used their savings to cultivate, at least six or seven thousand mu of land was concealed.

If it's all counted, a thousand silver dollars will be levied less.

It is normal to conceal the report, and no one wants to collect more royal rations.

Similarly, the imperial court did not spare any effort to find the concealed land.

For Zhang Zhu, a dozen or so people, to fight against the whole village, they have to find out the ground, which is more difficult than heaven.

If you are not careful, you are very vulnerable to wild animal attacks, and your life is in danger.

"Then how much do you think?"

The mayor asked softly.

"200 yuan is not enough, 300 yuan is needed. In addition, the quantity must be reported to [-] mu."

Zhang Zhu said calmly, "The elder master (the magistrate) wants political achievements, and our second master (general judge) also wants political achievements."

This cutting of flesh made Sanlao very painful.

The mayor gritted his teeth and said, "It can only be [-] mu."

It is uncomfortable to give up three thousand acres.

"Row!"

Zhang Zhu also knew how to measure, and responded with a smile.

Seeing the ugly face of the three elders, he continued: "Although the money is in my hands, I can't put all of it into my pocket. There are officials on top, and the master judge on top. It would be good if I can get three melons and two dates. "

"Although the money is in my hands, it is doing your business!"

These words made the faces of the three elders relax a little.

As for the commercial tax, it is collected by the merchants in the town and the elders, and it is also an important source of money for the elders.

Dozens of shops and restaurants, as well as vegetable shops, meat shops, and grass markets scattered in various villages, go to the market.

According to the old rules, he paid the commercial tax of July, August, and September, totaling 150 silver dollars.

This Zhang Zhu couldn't tell what his business was like, so he could only follow the old rules and not increase or decrease.

After all, the banquet is over.

Immediately, 300 mu of land was taxed, that is, [-] silver dollars were collected.

The white servants carried eggs or chickens and ducks, while Zhang Zhu's two donkeys carried a large number of local products, which can be called a bumper harvest.

The Baiyue month is only half a piece of silver, half a stone grain, and barely food and clothing. These extra money are the foundation of their nourishment.

The village even sent out people to help transfer the money into the county.

The three elders breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately entertained 25 village chiefs:
"I tried my best, and the tax bureau didn't go to the countryside to investigate the matter of Na Yintian, but this time I collected nearly 500 yuan, and each village will share 20 yuan."

Hearing the number five hundred, the village chiefs immediately became fussy.

"Isn't it three hundred in previous years? Why is it two hundred more?"

The township boss is a local, relying on the elections of the villages, he is embarrassed.

The township head remained silent, only the township police came forward: "Isn't there too much corn growing? They are not blind, why don't they harvest too much?"

"Each village collects [-]% of the land."

That's all for the village chiefs, and they reluctantly handed over the money.

Then there is the land tax.

Compared with the tax collectors, the three elders are much more relaxed, allowing the villages to send them before the end of the month to maintain the local feelings of relatives and friends, and the expressions of the village chiefs are relieved.

When the village head returned to the village, he said: "The whole village has to pay taxes, and Yintian only pays half of it..."

The people are happy to pay half of the tax to protect the hidden fields, improve their lives, save more to survive the famine, and other disasters.

And this hidden land is the benefit of the village, township, and county.

Due to financial pressure, the imperial power could not go to the countryside and had to compromise.

On the contrary, it is a commercial tax. The shops that sit on the tax are fixed, and the tariff is a pass, and there is no way to escape.

ps: Many people say that the agricultural tax is low, but two cents, twenty coins is really a lot, cold knowledge, against the common people’s three rates, the total is only one cent and two cents, and the Liao rate was only three and a half cents at the beginning.

In the early Qing Dynasty, the three rates were combined, and one to three points per mu was collected, so there were six to seven thousand taels.

(End of this chapter)