After Wen Tiren saluted, Emperor Chongzhen let him see Zuo Yingxuan's recital, and then asked: "Wen Qing, because of famines, wars, etc., there should be a lot of borderless lands in my Ming Dynasty, right?" ”

This terra nullius is, of course, a field that can be cultivated. When Wen Tiren heard this, he immediately replied: "Your Majesty clearly sees that there are still some fields, because the production is not much, and even the taxes are not enough, the landlords often abandon this part of the land. ”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he frowned and said, "There is still such a thing?" Daming's Tian Fu is not very high! ”

"Back to Your Majesty, Zhengfu is indeed not high." Wen Tiren obviously knew a lot about this area, so he could answer immediately, "But because all kinds of miscellaneous taxes in my Ming Dynasty are based on the field, and labor is also distributed on the field. These are far more than the regular tax and laborious, so the peasants who abandoned their fields are mostly because of these! ”

The original Emperor Chongzhen didn't know much about these. And Hu Guang, who came through the soul, didn't know much about these ancient taxes. Therefore, this piece of content is a bit blank.

The reason why Emperor Chongzhen summoned Wen Tiren to come was not because of this, he was based on another idea. Knowing at this time, he frowned and asked, "The ins and outs of this tax are hungry, and tell me about it." ”

"Your Majesty, this matter should be traced back to the beginning of Taizu's founding of the country." Wen Tiren naturally agreed to preach to him, "Taizu is very kind to the peasants because of his background, and he hates corrupt officials and corrupt officials, so he ......."

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen heard the beginning, he couldn't help but be speechless, it seems that this pot is going to be carried by Ming Taizu again. But it is true that some of the good systems he thought were actually pitfalls, and now they finally can't be stopped. Others say that he is a pit father, he is a pit descendant, and he is speechless!

"Taizu stipulates that the field endowment is about one-tenth, which is very low. It stands to reason that this bit of Tian Fu is not enough for me to use normally. However, Taizu had another method: to make my Ming army self-sufficient, the imperial power would not go to the countryside, and the villages and forts would be autonomous. In addition, during the Hongwu period, the imperial court used the Ming treasure banknotes to meet various expenses. And my Ming officials are the least in the past, and they hire more officials to do things. ”

Wen Tiren almost already knew what kind of attitude Emperor Chongzhen was in front of him, so he knew that this kind of thing was straightforward and simple, and it didn't matter if it was not in line with etiquette in some places. When he said this, he peeked at Emperor Chongzhen's face, knowing that he had guessed correctly, the emperor was listening carefully, and then continued: "The minister has estimated, and now I have about 20,000 and 400 officials in the Ming Dynasty, and about 51,000 officials. There are only more than 70,000 officials, but they have to govern the whole world of my Ming Dynasty. Although it saves money, you can do things ...... It's a bit overwhelming! ”

Or in order to prove that what he said was not alarmist, Wen Tiren added: "Of the more than 50,000 officials, most of whom are also serving in the army, only about 15,000 of them work in the state capitals and county offices. And I have a total of 1,138 counties in the Ming Dynasty. This means that there will not be more than 30 positions in the largest county of my Ming Dynasty. ”

Emperor Chongzhen also knew about this matter, but he was a little surprised as soon as this number really came out. You must know that even the largest county, with a maximum of 30 positions, is to manage all the local administrative affairs of a county, including taxation, trial of cases, maintenance of law and order, management of transportation, education, public works and social relief, etc., these are all things that require a lot of energy, and they are by no means something that can be done by a single person.

Although the population of a county in ancient times was not large, far from being comparable with later generations, the number of officials under this administration was too small to catch up with any government unit now. In ancient times, inconvenient transportation, inconvenient communication, etc., also increased the difficulty of management.

Thinking like this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but have a little headache. There are so many things that the Ming Dynasty wants to reform!

At the same time, Wen Tiren continued to introduce: "The tax system set by Taizu has not been changed, but the court and the local government have no money and food, so they can't do anything. There were all kinds of additions and servitude, and later it was also possible to use silver for two folds. For these, there is no customization, and because of this, the imperial court ...... If the court and the local government have no money, they will make additional distributions. And if there is something to do, it is also to let the people serve. ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen knew that the labor of the Ming Dynasty was unpaid, and he had to bring his own tools and rations, which did cost the government money at a minimum.

In fact, Wen Tiren paused for a moment just now, hesitated a little, and finally didn't say it. For example, this kind of additional faction, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty also took the lead, and the additional faction was approved by the emperor. Even if the local government imposes some additional expenses on its own, it is thought that there are examples to be examined, and the imperial court allows it by default.

These are actually the so-called harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes, and the things in this are very complicated, if you want to spread them all out, I'm afraid that even Wen Tiren can't explain them all.

"Your Majesty should know that the prefect's annual salary is about sixty-two taels, and the annual income of a prefect is about twenty-seven taels. There are even fewer officials under them, and this kind of money does save a lot of expenses for the imperial court. But when they don't have enough money, they will increase their own distribution, and it is logical to make all kinds of profits. And these are basically the expenses of the landowners. ”

When Wen Tiren said this, he bowed deeply and said, "Your Majesty knows this, and there will be innovations. The stakes are very high, far more than the harm caused by some people abandoning their fields and fleeing, but also asking Your Majesty to make up your mind, and the ministers will do their best! ”

Emperor Chongzhen nodded when he heard this, the pit left by this Taizu must be filled. The best solution is, of course, to exempt the agricultural tax, but for this period, the land endowment is the most important source of national tax revenue, and it should be exempted, hehe, it is only at night when you dream.

But there is one thing, it can be done. Emperor Chongzhen thought so, so he said solemnly: "Wen Qing, the matter of commercial tax collection must be accelerated. What I mean is that in the future, the taxes of the imperial court must be transferred from the fields, otherwise the heavy taxes will hurt the peasants and the Ming Dynasty will be unstable! ”

"Your Majesty has a high opinion that agriculture is the foundation of a country. Zhongxing Daming, to promote overseas, must also have a solid foundation. Wen Tiren immediately echoed, and even nodded to the emperor's dream, and then took out a piece of music from his sleeve and said, "Your Majesty, this is a piece of music received by the cabinet, which is contrary to the mainstream all along. However, what the minister thought was said in this recital was exactly what His Majesty had just said. ”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked the chamberlain to present the chapter.