Chapter VI How to Collect Commercial Tax?

No matter what you say, it seems to be everyone's instinct to chase profits.

Zhu Qizhen just came out of a gap in the Ming system, but in just a few years, countless businessmen have walked out of the way.

And what is the guiding ideology of the Ming Center?

Is the Fifth Say? Is it the new ram?

No, it's still Zhu Xi's science.

When people become adults, it is difficult to be indoctrinated with new ideas, and perhaps after a few decades, and now that this group of people is dead, the ideas of the new ram, and even other ideas, can be deeply believed in the bone marrow.

But now, no matter if it is suppressed by Zhu Qizhen, science is still a doctrine that many people really believe in in their hearts.

Science is inherently extremely conservative.

After all, although the ministers have such and such dissatisfaction and concerns about this law and that law proposed by Zhu Qizhen, they can still understand the original intention of Zhu Qizhen in their hearts.

However, the situation of these nouveau riche merchants in Jiangnan makes them unable to see it to the extreme, and it can even be called the collapse of etiquette.

The blow to them from such a situation is more dazzling than Zhu Qizhen's many changes.

Therefore, in the face of the financial crisis of the Ming Dynasty, it is reasonable to propose commercial taxes.

However, it was Zhu Qizhen who kept delaying.

Zhu Qizhen has several concerns about the expropriation merchants.

Although there has not been much improvement in recent years from the perspective of imperial taxation, if there is a data on GDP in this era.

Zhu Qizhen is sure that this figure must be a very high increase.

It is certainly a problem that the State does not receive its fair share of social development. However, this problem should not interrupt the trend of the country's economic development.

The merchant tax is to be collected.

But the question is how?

It's a very skillful thing. If it is really as many people in the imperial court have put forward, there will be many problems.

In fact, today, the development of Jiangnan in recent years is not only the fastest growing area in the Ming Dynasty, but also the area with the most problems.

First of all, after the reform of the officials, the yamen has become much clearer, and many public affairs have been handled. But in the face of the ferocious development of Jiangnan. A lot of things are still lagging behind.

The most typical is Suzhou.

Which is the largest city in the Ming Dynasty?

Not Beijing, not Nanjing, but Suzhou.

Especially in the past few years.

Zhu Qizhen has been running Beijing for decades, and Beijing's development is flourishing day by day, and it seems that it can catch up with Suzhou's posture, but in the past few years, Suzhou's development has been even more open.

This is mainly manifested in these several things.

Several prefects of Suzhou, there is one thing to do every year, that is, to play the imperial court and increase Su

The number of officials in the state, so much so that the number of officials in Suzhou has exceeded that of Shuntianfu.

At the beginning, every prefect of Suzhou wanted to build the city wall and accommodate the markets outside Suzhou in the city wall.

It's just that every time I didn't start work, I gave up.

Because he had just planned the city wall, the city wall had not yet been repaired, and there were houses outside the city wall that were quickly turned into houses. So much so that in the past few years, there has been no such voice.

Because, according to the calculations of the later Suzhou prefect, if you want to wrap Suzhou City, the city wall will be nearly 100 miles, and the cost of silver will be hundreds of thousands of taels, or even as much as a million taels.

They immediately gave up.

Suzhou's local finances are relatively wealthy. Not to mention the other annual fines are a lot of money. However, such a large financial expenditure cannot be taken out in one go.

Unless the imperial court approves.

But in the current situation of the imperial court, Hubu Shangshu is afraid that he is a fool, so he will allocate hundreds of thousands of dollars to Suzhou and let them repair the city wall.

At the same time, the city of Suzhou was particularly prosperous, and even the commercial struggle became a fight between the two sides.

After all, in the countryside of Daming, this situation is also very normal.

For the sake of water, for the sake of the land, for the interests of one kind or another. Fight each other desperately. This situation is also accompanied by many people entering the city. And thus brought it to the city.

In other words, before that, there were no cities in the Ming Dynasty, and most of the prefectures and counties were just a big rural area.

The situation is extremely complex.

A situation of savage growth.

Zhu Qizhen was worried that if he cut it off, it would ruin the current situation.

At this moment, in the face of the opinions of the ministers, Zhu Qizhen also had to back down. At the same time, the current situation made Zhu Qizhen realize the seriousness of the situation.

The continuous blood loss of the Ming Dynasty is very serious and must be replenished immediately.

And Zhu Qizhen also had a problem.

That is, most of the ministers in the court today are still unaccustomed to businessmen, but after a long time, this situation will definitely change.

The combination of power and money is inevitable.

If Zhu Qizhen didn't do this thing now, it would not be easy to do it in the future.

Zhu Qizhen said: "What you said is very true, but how to collect this tax is a problem? The imperial court must not spoil the livelihood of the small people, but also collect enough commercial taxes to meet the urgent needs of the imperial court, where to start? ”

Han Yong already had a draft in his heart, and said: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the ministers, the monopoly system should be implemented. ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "Qing said it carefully. ”

Han Yong said: "And today, bulk commodities are nothing more than food, clothing, housing and transportation. Cloth, iron, tea, horses, gold and silver, wood, porcelain, sugar, silk and other more than a dozen goods, all over the world. ”

"The imperial court ordered that these dozen goods be sold exclusively. Every goods must be paid to attract money, and the yamen in various places have the right to check

If there is no citation, it can be confiscated. ”

"In this way, the minister thought that the imperial court could increase its income by tens of millions of taels."

Zhu Qizhen listened, and pondered silently in his heart.

In fact, this is a relatively mature system, and this system does not come from the Ming Dynasty, it existed in the Tang and Song dynasties.

However, Han Yong expanded this system.

It's just that there are different citations, and the specifics are also different.

Han Yong's opinion is like this, after these more than a dozen types of bulk goods are produced, if they are sold on the spot, they are not taxed, but if they are to be transported out of the county, they must go to the county to pay money and get a lead, and with this lead, they can be sold outside.

When transporting in various places, all prefectures and counties have the right to check.

Once it is found, there is no citation, or the quotation is not the same as the quantity of the goods, and so on. can be confiscated.

In addition, a considerable part of the finances of local governments today are supported by dirty money in fines, so you can imagine the enthusiasm of local governments for this kind of inspection.

In fact, this system is the system of tea introduction

Zhu Qizhen asked: "Listening to Qing's words, it seems that tea is also included." ”

Han Yong said: "The minister is to take the tea as a model, retreat from this government, and in the opinion of the minister, so that there is no need to set up a separate tea and horse division, and it can be incorporated into the local yamen." ”

"It's good to reduce some redundancy."

In fact, Han Yong even incorporated the salt tax into this commercial tax, but after thinking about it, it was absolutely not.

Because the amount of the salt tax is too large.

Half of the country, which supports the finances of the Ming Dynasty, once something goes wrong, it will have too much impact on the imperial court.

The reason why this is the case is that Han Yong has also felt a lot of pressure recently, and he is actually trying his best to reduce some officials, such as the Tea Transport Division, and Han Yong's current decision is to abolish the entire Tea Transport Division.

So as to save some personnel costs.

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a while and said, "This matter is fundamental to the imperial court, and it should not be acted rashly. It is necessary to think in the long run, and although the imperial court is in financial difficulties, there is no problem for a while. It's okay to be prepared, but don't do it right away. ”

"It's better to send someone to Jiangnan to see if this method will work or not."

In fact, if there were fewer natural disasters, the Ming Dynasty's finances would be able to maintain its operation, but the two wounds of natural disasters and the war in the Western Regions had formed the chronic blood loss of the Ming Dynasty for many years.

Otherwise, the internal treasury subsidy, plus the family foundation is still relatively thick. And this morning I can't hold on. But even then, it didn't fall in a year or two.

Don't say anything else, it's really urgent. Zhu Qizhen will not use the Son of Heaven Nanku.

Although it is the Xian family, it is actually the prince's, although it is the prince's, but it is also the emperor's, this is the truth of the great tomorrow.

It's just that Zhu Qizhen doesn't want to.