Chapter 217 Commercial Tax
Chongzhen was a man who was quite tempted to put the emperor on the shelves. When he was young, Chongzhen had not received an orthodox emperor education, and he himself never thought about becoming an emperor.
However, Zhu Youxiao's death forced Zhu Youjian to take on this responsibility. Zhu Youjian was an ambitious person. Since he became an emperor, he must be a good emperor and turn the Ming Dynasty into a peaceful and prosperous era. This is what he thought and did the same. For the sake of Liaodong and the northwest, he saved money and did not even leave a single piece of silver in the treasury.
Two years ago, I was full of energy and thought that as long as I worked hard, I would definitely be the emperor. But now, Chongzhen was a little confused. He worked so hard and so attentively, but the Ming Dynasty became even more turbulent.
When the emperor was alive, the emperor was not very diligent on the surface, but whenever there was a major disaster, the court could always take out disaster relief silver. Even if there was a timely death, he could get enough money and food. But when he got here, he was obviously much diligent than the emperor, so why couldn't he get the money?
Is the Ming Dynasty really not able to afford money? No, the Ming Dynasty has money, the food from Shandong, the money from Jiangnan and Shanxi.
Chongzhen knew nothing, at least he knew that the Ming Dynasty had money and food. Chongzhen made up his mind that he would have to get money and food tomorrow, otherwise the disaster relief in Shaanxi would be nothing to say.
The next day, there was another emergency court meeting. Civil and military officials gathered in the hall, all of whom were furious, looking worried about national affairs.
Seeing that no one made any suggestions, Chongzhen raised his voice and said, "Now my Ming Dynasty is in trouble with internal and external troubles, but the court has no money and food available. In Shaanxi, I am eager to wait for food. Last night, I thought about it for a long time and came up with a solution. My dear friends might as well listen to it and see if it is feasible."
"I have learned that Jiangnan and Shanxi have developed trade and trade, especially in the Jiangnan area, where wealthy businessmen gather and have a lot of money, but they only need to pay a small amount of tax every year. I think this needs to be changed. In order to cope with the current dilemma, it is better to increase the commercial tax to one in ten taxes and increase the grain tax of Shandong gentry. In this way, a batch of money and grain can be raised in a short time to solve the urgent needs of the court."
Chongzhen came up with this idea, but it was quite difficult. Last night, he specially called the emperor's sister-in-law to talk about commercial taxation. He thought it was feasible, so he took it to the court to discuss it.
He thought he was good, but what Chongzhen didn't expect was that as soon as he said this, Qian Longxi and others who were in the front changed their faces. However, Qian Longxi and others did not say anything, but the people standing behind couldn't wait to stand up.
Cui Wenguan, the Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, shouted with a serious expression: "Your Majesty, this matter must not be done. This action will hurt the national health."
Chongzhen was a little confused. Isn’t it just that the commercial tax and grain tax were charged, so why would it hurt the national health? After being deprived of such a big hat, Chongzhen’s face was naturally a little ugly. He frowned and said unhappy: “Cui Aiqing, where is the mistake?”
It was someone who could hear Chongzhen's tone was not good, but Cui Wenguan was not afraid at all. He replied with his neck in his arms, "I dare to ask Your Majesty, who sets the rules set by thirty taxes?"
"Of course it's Emperor Taizu!"
"Can Your Majesty know why Emperor Taizu set taxes like this back then? This is the praise from Emperor Taizu to the knowledgeable people in our dynasty. Now Your Majesty wants to increase commercial taxes, which is not contrary to Emperor Taizu's original intention? It is not good for the country to not adhere to the ancestral system and change taxes without adhering to the ancestral system. Jiangnan is the foundation of my Ming Dynasty. Half of the taxes and money comes from Jiangnan. If there is chaos in Jiangnan, my Ming Dynasty will never have peace. Please think twice. Did Your Majesty forget the tax resistance of Yan Peiwei and others in Suzhou during the reign of the late emperor? Now the "Five-person Tombstone Record" is still in your ears!"
After Cui Wenguan finished speaking, other officials such as the Ministry of Personnel came out to express their support. Now Chongzhen was a little embarrassed.
Yan Peiwei resisted taxes and was in a big trouble in the Suzhou and Hangzhou area at that time. There were also reasons why Chongzhen hated the eunuch party. Chongzhen felt that what Cui Wenguan said was not necessarily correct, but he didn't know how to refute it.
The ancestors and emperors combined with the ancestral system were enough to make Chongzhen a headache, and Suzhou's tax resistance was raised. If the commercial tax was added, Jiangnan really rioted and resisted taxes, what should we do? Chongzhen didn't expect that the chaos in the northwest would not be suppressed, and Jiangnan had a big chaos again.
"This doesn't work, that doesn't work, then you tell me what to do now?" Chongzhen frowned and looked at the civil and military officials in the hall.
At this time, an official from the Ministry of Revenue came forward and suggested: "Your Majesty, Jiangnan is the foundation of my Ming Dynasty, and it cannot be moved lightly. However, Shanxi merchants have been in Mongolia for many years, and even colluded with the Later Jin Dynasty to make a fortune. At this moment, it was time for them to make efforts. I think that Shaanxi merchants earn a lot of bad money and should pay more taxes. In addition, the Central Plains are rich and there is a surplus of grain. You might as well add more grain taxes to solve the urgent needs of the court."
Chongzhen is not the time to become emperor now, and he can see some things clearly. In the past two years, the gentry in Jiangnan has not made a good fortune, but the Shanxi merchants have been constantly transfusions of blood to the court. Last time, Jizhou made money, if it weren't for the Shanxi merchants' efforts, the court would probably have been having a good life for years.
Later, the Shanxi merchants went to Shaanxi to provide disaster relief, and under the banner of Chongzhen, he earned a lot of face for him. Looking at these, how could Chongzhen have the nerve to impose more taxes on Shanxi merchants?
Chongzhen didn't want to, but the officials of the six cabinet ministries agreed in unison, and Chongzhen was even more embarrassed.
A court meeting ended in an unhappy way, and Chongzhen's head was a little buzzing. He obviously wanted to get more money from the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan, but how did he finally get the tax on the civil and military officials of the court? Chongzhen naturally could not agree, but the leader was the leader, and most of the officials of the six ministries supported it, and this proposal could not be stopped. When he returned to Wenhua Palace, Chongzhen felt more and more sorry for Tiemo.
To this day, Chongzhen also regrets his actions. Sweeping the eunuch party and suppressing Shanxi merchants was simply a stupid move.
But things happened, and it was a foregone conclusion, and they could not make up for them. At this moment, Chongzhen felt that he was a frustrated emperor. He could not do what he wanted to do, and what he didn't want to do, but he happened one by one in front of him.
......
In mid-September of the second year of Chongzhen, just when the war in Shaanxi was in full swing, a fire also burned to northern Shanxi. The imperial court suddenly sent official documents, ordering officials from all over Shanxi to impose commercial and agricultural taxes on local gentry, which was twice as high as in previous years.
The entire land of Sanjin was in a turmoil. Why did the commercial tax double this year? It would be fine if the court treated everyone equally, but when asked someone, the commercial tax in Jiangnan remained unchanged.
Oh, the richest Jiangnan business tax remains unchanged, but the Shanxi businessman, who lives relatively difficult, has to double. Why? I have seen people bullying people, but I have never seen people bullying people like this. Is there anyone in our court that bullies us?
Chapter completed!