I will never be Renzong

Chapter 48

Zhao Zhen's words fell behind, and Lu Yijian, a political adviser, said: "Officials, if the sticking method is implemented, the annual tea tax of the imperial court is about 50 guan. If the salaries of officials from various places are excluded, it will be about 30 guan!"

There were many profit-making industries in ancient times, and tea was one of them. As a result, the estimated tax revenue was only 30 guan after the imperial court fiddled with it. Zhao Zhen was obviously dissatisfied.

"In my opinion, neither the entry system during Taizong's period nor the sticking method that will be implemented now can fundamentally solve the problem of tea tax reduction."

The company Zhao Zhen worked in in his previous life mainly produced and sold two products, one was high-end wine, and the other was high-end tea, so he knew very well how much profit tea could bring.

Whether it is the middle system or the sticking method, it is only a supplement to the tea official discussion, and it cannot solve the problem from the root.

Zhao Zhen said again: "Tea is not a special material like salt and iron. If the imperial court intervenes too much, it will inevitably lead to a lack of vitality in the market. In short, the location of the transaction and the price of the transaction are determined by the imperial court. It is bound to discourage the enthusiasm of the businessmen. The businessmen will not sell tea when they see no profit. The tea farmers will not grow tea when they see that growing tea is not profitable. In this way, the tea tax of the imperial court is bound to be reduced. Therefore, I think it is better to solve the tea problem from the root, that is, to abolish the tea official discussion and change it to trade."

After Zhao Zhen's words fell, the ministers below were quickly calculating the gains and losses in their minds. The Empress Dowager Liu E did not expect Zhao Zhen's proposal to be so bold. After all, the tea official discussion is a system left by the ancestors.

Feng Zheng said: "Officials! On the one hand, the imperial court established the Tea Official Discussion to ensure the court's tea tax. Is it inappropriate to cancel it hastily, after all, the law of the ancestors should not be changed lightly unless it is absolutely necessary!"

"Of course, the law of the ancestors cannot be easily changed, but right now the role of tea officials is decreasing day by day, and the expenditure is quite large, and the tea tax of the imperial court is also decreasing year by year. Turn a blind eye to the facts!"

Zhao Zhen has seen it right now. Those ignorant and conservative ministers who saw it in TV dramas in his previous life left a statement about ancestral rules and another statement about ancestral family law.

Even Wang Zeng, who had a good impression on Zhao Zhen, also said: "Officials! It's really not appropriate to abolish tea officials lightly. I hope the officials think twice!"

"I hope the officials think twice!"

The civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty obviously did not agree with Zhao Zhen's proposal, and they all agreed.

Seeing that Zhao Zhen was a bit reluctant to step down, Liu E said: "After all, the official family is young, and it is indeed inappropriate to consider the matter. If the Ai family thinks otherwise, just follow the method discussed by several ministers!"

"Ma'am! Forgive me for not agreeing!"

Once something like Huangwei is lost, it will be difficult to restore it, especially for Zhao Zhen who is not yet in power. If his proposal today is ignored by the ministers, the consequences will be a bit unacceptable, so He had to find a way to persuade these veterans in the court.

"Since this is the case, if the officials still have different opinions, let's speak out at the court! The Ai family and all the ministers are all ears!"

Liu E originally had good intentions, so as to give Zhao Zhen a step down. After all, she was raised by herself, so she lost her majesty in front of a group of ministers, and her face was also dull, but she didn't expect that Zhao Zhen would not Appreciating it, he simply let Zhao Zhen persist.

Zhao Zhen's brain was spinning rapidly, and after a little thought, he said: "It has to be said that the tea official discussion has obvious advantages for the imperial court. The imperial court monopolizes the pricing power and management power, and can obtain most of the tea. profits, thereby increasing the fiscal revenue of the imperial court, but accumulating for a long time will form a huge disadvantage!"

The Eighth King Zhao Yuanyan said: "If you dare to ask the officials, I don't know what is wrong with it? The law of the ancestors is customized to allow the government to run smoothly. If there are major drawbacks, it means that the law of the ancestors has been exhausted. It's time for a change!"

After Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi's nine sons came to Zhao Zhen's throne, only two were still alive, one was Zhao Yuanzuo, the king of Chu, and the other was Zhao Yuanyan, the eighth king. He was very majestic in the court. Well what more to say.

Zhao Zhen glanced at the Eighth King's uncle very gratefully. You must know that the Eighth King's loyalty is as high as 99 points, and he is obviously worthy of the title of a virtuous king.

Zhao Zhen calmed down his mood, and continued to follow the persuasion: "There are three main disadvantages brought about by tea officials. First, if the tenants fail to meet the government's quota, the tea interest will still be paid. Some garden households cannot make ends meet, so they can only sell their houses on the land to make up for it, which undoubtedly increases the risk for the common people to engage in tea plantation. The Taizu once issued repeated orders not to compete with the people for profit, and the court’s move obviously violated this ancestral system!"

Did Song Taizu ever say this?Of course, there is no record in history. Yes, Zhao Zhen made it up in order to increase persuasiveness. Besides, no one will take this sentence seriously, after all, this sentence sounds so noble.

"Secondly, the tea merchants are obviously in a weak position when they do business with the government, and most of the officials in the tea bureau use old tea as new tea to perfuse the tea merchants, and most of them are taken away by the court. Their profits were quite small, and the number of merchants engaged in tea trading gradually decreased, and the tea market was not prosperous, so it is impossible for the imperial court to increase the tea tax.”

Seeing that the ministers below were all deep in thought, Zhao Zhen knew that they had listened to what he said, and then said: "In the end, although the court seems to be making a steady profit without losing money, and the profits are still big, you might as well think about it." Excluding the management costs of the six affairs and thirteen fields, transportation costs, storage costs, loss costs, and law enforcement costs for combating smuggling, it is not a small expense after careful calculation. If the market is not prosperous, tea will naturally backlog, and tea They were all purchased by the government first, which undoubtedly increased the risk cost for the government.

To sum up, I believe that tea official discussion has many disadvantages for officials, merchants, and people. It is obviously a three-lose situation, so this is the main reason why I propose to abolish tea official discussion. "

The ministers present were all well-educated people. Zhao Zhen's words were well-founded and they almost all understood them. However, the tea official system did have great disadvantages. But who could abolish the tea official system and replace it with trade? After that, the court Will the tea tax increase again?

In their fixed thinking mode, they all handle government affairs according to past practices. When encountering problems, they usually find ways to remedy them, and few people will try to solve the problem from the root cause, because if it succeeds, it is a great achievement. One thing can make a mark in history, but if it fails, it is very likely that they will lose their official position and be dismissed. Therefore, in the face of risks, they will often weigh the pros and cons and choose the method with the least risk. After all, the best policy is to be wise and protect one's body.

Firework Ruoshang: Thank you for the reward from the golden finger boss. The little brother has nothing to repay, but hard work to repay.

Ask for collection, recommendation, investment.

This afternoon, the network cable was installed, and I can write with peace of mind, but the computer screen flickered a little, and it took a long time to get better. I don’t know how many changes I can make today. I will try my best to write.

(End of this chapter)