This page looks best with JavaScript enabled
Chapter 112 Test Site
"Why does the emperor value Changlong Guan's taxes so much?" It was Huo Youjuan who asked the question.
When Qin Nuo was talking with He Ci, she retreated to the back of the palace, but she also heard a little bit and was full of surprise.
"Because I am short of money!" Qin Nuo stretched out, sat on the soft couch, picked up a red cherry, and threw it into his mouth.
After a tiring day, we should relax too.
Huo Youjuan was puzzled, how could the emperor be short of money, Qin Nuo's small treasury, others don't know, she knows it. Neiku has an endless supply of silver, and even continues to increase. It will probably break the ten million mark next year. Income continues to increase, and expenses are almost negligible. How can you be short of money?
"The emperor thinks it will cost a lot of money to attack Nanchen?" Huo Youjuan only thought of this possibility.
"No." Qin Nuo did not continue to appetite, and said frankly: "Because I want to reform the world's tax system."
In Huo Youjuan's surprised gaze, he continued: "I want to reduce taxes this year. The land tax law will be reduced to the share at the beginning of the country."
"Reducing taxes and frivolous corvee is a moral government. It is conducive to the rest of the people. I guess you won't be too opposed to it." Qin Nuo smiled.
At the beginning of the founding of the country, the land tax was 15 tax per unit. Later Emperor Jingyao increased it to 10 tax per unit in the early years. But don’t think that people only need to pay one-tenth of their income. The tax system, what kind of head tax, water conservancy tax, etc., and the corvee that spreads over the head. If you don’t want to take on such a tiring labor, you need to pay money instead.
On the whole, today's people, about 40 to 50% of their income every year are used to pay taxes. This is a time of peace, and occasional wars, especially large-scale wars, may also temporarily increase taxes.
Under such a burden, the lives of the people are extremely difficult. Although they will not starve to death, it is also quite difficult.
Tax reduction is indeed a government of virtue, but before the imperial court did not have anything to do to increase taxes after eating enough.
The reason for the increase in taxes is because the court money is not enough to spend!
In recent years, the imperial court conquered Nanchen to fight against Beishuo, which was a costly project. In addition, there are fewer acres that can be taxed, so taxes have to be increased.
The imperial court money is not enough to spend. In addition to the war too expensive, the most important reason is that the area of fertile land that can be paid taxes is gradually decreasing. This is a very tragic issue. The war will still have a day to stop, but if there is less fertile land, there will only be fewer and fewer, faster and faster.
Why is fertile land reduced? Because they were all annexed by the rich family. The rich family do not have to pay taxes.
This created a vicious circle. The land available for taxation became less and less. In order to maintain expenditures, the court had to increase taxes again. The increase in taxes made it impossible for the people to survive. They could only choose bankruptcy. The land was merged by powerful forces and sold by itself. As a slave.
The property that was annexed by the powerful is not taxed, and the servants are not required to perform corvee. The court once again fell into the abyss of poverty.
Analyzing the demise of a dynasty, it is often ruleless kings and treacherous ministers that harm the country. In fact, very few people have destroyed the country for this reason. Most of them are social and economic contradictions that have accumulated to a flashpoint. There is no way out except for a revolution and killing and the redistribution of the means of production.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, how cruel was the land annexation? There are countless wealthy farms, and even all the farms in a few counties are extreme phenomena that are owned by one family. And all the people in the field are the servants of the powerful tenants.
When the county magistrate appointed by the imperial court arrived in the county, only one household was ruled, or even one-nth of a household. Haha, how would you let such imperial court and officials govern the place?
The same was true in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, when aristocratic families occupied a large amount of land. In particular, officials who are enrolled in imperial examinations are tax-exempt. The burden of paying taxes is on fewer and fewer civilians. The Three Rates Plus faction is even more angry and angry, so people will rise up.
It has been nearly a hundred years since the Great Zhou was founded, and it is sliding towards this inescapable historical cycle. But it is not yet irreversible.
But how to save it? Prohibition of buying and selling land? Even ordered the rich family to vacate the land and release the slaves? Haha, I'm sorry, Qin Nuo felt that his life was still very precious, and he didn't want to throw it away.
Someone really did this in history, Wang Mang! The results of it? Not only did his reforms fail to ease local conflicts, but instead caused chaos in the entire country. To destroy itself, but also to leave behind forever infamy.
To solve this problem, in fact, the best way is to pay the grain of the official and the gentleman in the Yongzheng period. However, the current imperial power is declining, Qin Nuo dared to guarantee that if he proposed such a tax rate reform, he would definitely offend all the nobles and would only end up being overthrown.
Thinking left and right, he only found this way.
Lower taxes, lower taxes, and people can live, so who will sell land and sell themselves? After all, people do not want to be slaves when they are alive.
The vacancies created by tax cuts can be filled by commercial taxes, or their own internal treasury business will do.
Commercial tax is not so easy to levy. If commercial tax is levied nationwide, it will easily evolve into a draconian law for local officials to search for the people.
Qin Nuo never overestimated the morality of officials in this era. During the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi’s Young Miao Law was originally a good way for the government to lend to the people and prevent the people from going bankrupt because of poverty. But in the process of implementation, it changed. It became a cool method for local officials to exploit the people.
In ancient times, because of the backward transportation and communication congestion, the local officials were unable to know in time how the local officials were doing. The people were wronged and there was nowhere to speak. Therefore, the comprehensive collection of commercial taxes is almost certain to become a new burden for the people, even Extremely a little bit, will make the folk trading behavior become the primitive state of bartering.
So Qin Nuo's final decision was implemented in several locations. In ancient times, commerce and trade mainly used water conservancy to implement new commercial tax laws in several hub cities, and not in the form of tax laws, but with the help of "banks", which assisted in transactions, to collect taxes in a more relaxed way.
Changlong Guan is his test site, which is of great importance.
Huo Youjuan listened, with a shocked expression in her eyes.
"The emperor..." She was thinking for a long time, but she didn't know how to evaluate the matter.
She loves Qin Nuo and feels that the person she loves is gentle, amiable, and intelligent, but she has never thought that he has such grand ambitions and fierce methods.
"It has been very relaxed," Qin Nuo said with a smile. This is the way he finally decides after careful consideration. It is definitely the most gentle of all methods. Even Huo Youjuan will be evaluated as intense.
Perhaps in the eyes of people in this era, any reform that violates the ancestral system is a drastic act.
It turned out that he didn't just want to be a defensive king of benevolence, but also a hegemon who reformed the world.
Huo Youjuan used this look to examine Qin Nuo for the first time.
"What's the matter?" Qin Nuo couldn't help asking because her heart felt frizzy.
"No, the emperor's plan is very appropriate, and there should be no more meticulous methods." Huo Youjuan nodded vigorously, then she stared at him and said solemnly: "No matter what the emperor chooses, the young silk will follow to the end."
"It's not that serious, it's just a small change, and it won't cause much change." Qin Nuo comforted. He wants to be a reformer, but first of all he has to think about his life and status.
Business is a profit-making move, and its profits often fluctuate up and down. The difference between a profit of 2,800 and a profit of 2,600 is not obvious. Unlike land, changing from a 10% tax to a 20% tax can make people feel that there is a huge difference, which can easily arouse resistance.
Relying on the existence of banks, most of the fraudulent transactions are eliminated, and the abuses of profiteers such as shoddy goods are eliminated. When these merchants get used to it, they will find that although they have paid a small amount of money, the transaction is safer, more reliable and more convenient.
I just think I paid for the service. So it won't be so resistant.
People in this era have not realized that commerce and trade are the fastest to get money.
Changlong Guan is just one of them. In the future, Qin Nuo will open the sea market, and the sea trade should be more productive. This may further reduce the local burden. In Dazhou, some family members have started maritime trade, but only in the surrounding areas, they have not formed a large scale. And because of the backwardness of shipbuilding technology in this era, the risk of walking on the sea is too great. Once you encounter a storm, you will lose your money and even get your life in. Greatly hindered the enthusiasm of merchants to conduct maritime trade.
Speaking of this shipbuilding technology, we still have to count on Nanchen!
Nanchen’s shipbuilding technology is advanced, and the navy is unparalleled in the world. It is much stronger than Dazhou and Beishuo. After the country’s death that year, the navy did not die along with the navy admiral Bai Feiheng. Most of it remained in the hands of the little court of Nan Chen.
I hope that the next conquest will have a satisfactory result.
After thinking about it, Huo Youjuan realized: "The emperor has long decided to use He Ci?"
Qin Nuo laughed and said nothing. He Ci has a very big advantage, which is his family's birth, the northern border business, the He family accounted for a large share, when the Changlong Guan exchange market opened, as the governor, he can always lead by example Right! Even He's family has gone through the bank account, so don't other merchants still pay taxes?
"I will contact my father and let Huo Family's business manager follow suit." Huo Youjuan said.
"You don't have to be too reluctant." Qin Nuo smiled.
Huo Youjuan is still angry with the Huo Family. Although Huo Family often takes the initiative to show favor these days, Huo Youjuan doesn't say anything about it most of the time. At this time, when made a request to Huo Family, bowed head and made peace.
"Don't force it, after all, the emperor did it for me..."
Huo Youjuan did not go on.
Since Qin Nuo is determined to use He Ci, in fact, taking the He family's daughter into the palace and making her concubine is the best way to reassure the He family, and it can even be separated from the Pei family's chariot.
But Qin Nuo didn't choose this shortcut in order to promise her, and she was moved.
"Don't think so." Qin Nuo smiled and stretched out her hand and nodded her lips, "I am from my heart, for the sake of purity around me."