First Prince of Ming Dynasty

Guo Chong on the other side also looked at Zhu Biao in a daze, and then began to try hard to think about whether he said anything wrong that day and whether he could leave a good impression on His Highness.

The rest of the scholars also looked at the crown prince with burning eyes. After all, according to the rules of the officialdom, most of them must go to the local government first. Now His Royal Highness has pledged allegiance, if he can stand out in this subject, he will be remembered by His Highness the Crown Prince...

Zhu Biao naturally knew what the scholars were thinking. It stands to reason that the crown prince should not have contact with candidates for new subjects, but who called him special.

Zhu Biao's mentality is also calm now, these people are the best wave of talents in Daming at present, well cultivated will be the backbone of the future court, it is still very useful for Zhu Biao.

After the scene quieted down, Li Shanchang and Song Lian stepped back a little, Zhu Biao took a step forward and said: You are all outstanding people in my Ming Dynasty, and you are all students who have studied hard in the cold window. Now the emperor's kindness is great, and the imperial court is very gracious. The purpose of obtaining a scholar is to select suitable people from among you to help the prosperous Ming Dynasty, and I wish you all the best in the gold list, and you will live up to ten years of hard work.

The mighty scholars all bowed and saluted: Students, please thank Your Highness.

After the salute, every ten people will be taken away by an officer, and they will go to their own dormitory to start the exam according to the number plate distributed in advance. No one here dares to make trouble, and everything is in order.

Half an hour later, the official distribution of test papers began. The dormitory was compact, and it could be seen that many scholars had changed their mentality. After all, it was a very stressful exam, but the environment was still under great pressure.

Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang began to casually patrol the aisle of the dormitory. Along the way, there were still many guards staring at the examinees in charge of them.

Li Shanchang said at the side: The so-called heaven will send a great task to the people, and they must first work hard and work hard. If they can survive this test, they will be like a carp jumping over the dragon's gate.

Zhu Biao nodded, exempting tax and corvee is a very practical benefit, but this policy is actually not a big problem. Zhu Biao originally thought that if he was admitted to the Juren Jinshi, their fields would not have to pay food, so there would be so many people in the later stage Raise fields to contribute.

Zhu Biao took a trip to the Ministry of Households to find out how the imperial court could leave such a big vacancy. Strictly speaking, in the Ming Dynasty, officials also paid food, and gentry also paid food, but officials were given preferential treatment. After obtaining fame and fame, they began to enjoy preferential treatment from the state.

This preferential exemption includes the preferential exemption of land tax, not all, but a certain number of acres, so if the famous student or official has not been preferentially exempted, he still has to pay tax and pay the royal grain. .

Moreover, according to Zhu Yuanzhang's character, how could it be possible to give large-scale land tax exemptions? If this policy can be effectively implemented, then the benefits for the officials and gentry will not be much, but it is enough to feel the sincerity of the court.

Therefore, the policies issued by the central government are seldom wrong, but they are restricted by the imperial power not going to the countryside, and local officials collude with each other to infinitely magnify the preferential policies of these countries. For example, the number of acres of preferential treatment can be increased indefinitely, and even the relatives’ fields can be changed to one’s own name to achieve the purpose of preferential treatment. This method is called “contribution”.

If local aristocratic families want to get more tax exemptions, they should give some land to the officials in charge, and then ask the officials to report to the imperial court that the area has suffered a disaster, or the production of the fields has been reduced. together.

In the second year, the tax reduction is still obtained in a similar way. What was owed is still owed, and what is owed is also owed together. After a few years, if there is a natural or man-made disaster nearby, the imperial court orders tax exemption or encounters For happy events such as the new emperor's ascension to the throne, the emperor ordered the whole world to celebrate, and for the amnesty of the world, all the previous debts would be forgiven. In this way, whether it is an official or a gentry, over time, it becomes a habit to follow each other.

Therefore, in the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang only stipulated that officials should be exempted from corvee service, and those who had meritorious titles in the imperial examination should be exempted from taxes. It was originally a temporary policy to encourage reading.

However, through the efforts of generations of scholars, this policy has changed from temporary to permanent, and the tax exemption quota has continued to expand, and it has changed beyond recognition in the later period.

However, this matter is not too urgent. Although it is critical, in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, these gentry are still unable to make waves, and they do not have the courage to engage in large-scale land annexation. After all, this is a problem that will only appear in the middle and late stages of the dynasty. , and now the problem of Ming Dynasty is not land annexation, but too much land left uncultivated.

Instead, Zhu Biao intends to divide the tax into mu, divide the tax and silver equally into the land tax, and collect according to the number of acres of land. If you have more land, you should pay more, and if you have less land, you should pay less, so as to balance the tax burden. After all, compared with that tax, it will stimulate population growth An increase in rate is what Zhu Biao needs most. Without the restriction of the population tax, the common people will naturally let go of their childbirth. One more child means one more labor force. Why not do it.

Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang patrolled around. Although thousands of people took the exam, they were well supervised in the dormitory. Zhu Biao happened to see Wu Bozong writing vigorously, so Zhu Biao stopped and looked at it for a while.

Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said: The appearance is dignified and the bearing is extraordinary. It seems that he is a child of a noble family. It is difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son.

The two went to the resting room and sat down to rest respectively. Liu Jin poured tea for them, Li Shanchang took a sip politely, looked at the thoughtful Zhu Biao and asked: Your Highness, do you have any doubts? The old minister can help a little bit.

Zhu Biao heard the words and said: I am thinking about whether to abolish the population tax, so as to encourage the people to multiply and cultivate.

Li Shanchang was silent for a while and said: Your Highness, you know that the land mu tax and the per capita tax are regular taxes, and they are also the biggest sources of my Ming's tax revenue. If the per capita tax is abolished, my Ming Dynasty may not even be able to afford the salaries of officials.

Zhu Biao was not surprised. After all, the imperial court was supported by that little tax at this time. Although the Ming Dynasty did not fight a big war, it continued to fight small wars, consuming taxes all the time.

Business has not yet developed, and Zhu Biao is not planning to raise business taxes now. After all, it is necessary to encourage business. It is unrealistic to maintain a huge empire with agricultural taxes.

Zhu Biao slowly explained the specific method of sharing the income from the family. Li Shanchang also began to think after listening. The benefits of this method can be seen at a glance, but as a prime minister, he must also carefully consider the pros and cons of this matter.

This kind of big policy is not what Zhu Biao wants to do. He told Li Shanchang now that it is for him to take it to the court for discussion. If there is no accident, this matter should be settled, but it will definitely take time to implement it.

Agricultural taxation is the foundation of the country, no one can joke about it, and it is impossible to directly implement it without serious consideration. Zhu Biao believes that the elites of these countries will make the best choice.

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