High-quality peace cannot be separated from the oath of force.

Wu Zheng is very clear about this principle and is unforgettable!

But many things cannot be fully accomplished with all their passion.

For example, the First Army's North Transfer not only did not curb the Qing court's control over northern resources, but instead prompted the Qing court to begin to increase its restrictions.

But Wu Zheng could not immediately order the Northern Expedition because he could not afford to fight.

Yet, the firearms of the military workshop are becoming more and more advanced, but no matter how advanced it is, they cannot be separated from the manufacturing and supplement of military ordnance, and even more so, the large amount of projectiles and gunpowder are not inseparable from the expansion of the military workshop. After the need for 200,000 troops to fight a decisive battle.

Yes, the influence of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce can almost control commercial trade north of the Yellow River. To put it bluntly, if the Chamber of Commerce suddenly stops, the people in Shuntian Prefecture can enter into chaos in livelihoods within one or two months. However, the greatest influence cannot stop the butcher knife in the hands of the enemy.

This is a contradiction and opposition, which requires great strategic determination and wisdom to resolve.

However, Wu Zheng's attention is not on one thing. If something cannot be solved for the time being, let time solve it. This is Wu Zheng's strategic determination. If you identify a direction, you will never waver!

At this time, Wu Zheng's attention was on another matter.

Five years ago, Wu Zheng, who was then the Duke of Zhenguo, issued a new tax order in Hangzhou Prefecture. The agricultural taxes of various prefectures and counties under his jurisdiction were reduced and exempted after three stages, and finally achieved complete tax exemption.

At that time, this decree was opposed and dissuaded by many people, including Qian Sule, Chen Zilong, and countless famous families.

This is a redistribution of interests, equivalent to a revolution.

Finance taxes are fixed, no matter who they are levied, they must be levied.

If there is less agricultural tax revenue, we naturally have to pay more from commercial tax.

If you don’t tax the poor, you will naturally have to tax the rich.

This is the concept of zero sum, either black or white.

At that time, there were several riots in Jiangnan. If it weren’t for Wu Zheng’s “Food Price Battle” and with the help of Mo Zhinian, the big households and merchants in Hangzhou City would have been wiped out in one fell swoop.

The riots were quelled at that time, but doubts have always existed, including Mo Zhinian, who also retained his opinions.

Until today, the new tax order has been cut by halving the agricultural tax, and 20% reduction. Compared with before the reform, the agricultural tax has only remained as much as 30%.

Today is the scheduled implementation date for the third phase.

In other words, if Wu Zheng nodded, then Jiangnan Agricultural Taxation may enter history from tomorrow.

Facts have proved that Wu Zheng’s idea is correct.

With the influx of Jiangnan workshops, more and more farmers have begun to transform into hiring workers.

In the yellow book of registered population, the total number of businessmen and employees is close to 30% of the total population, which is a very large proportion.

The number of farmers has dropped to less than 50%.

Judging from the life experience and experience of Mo Nian, Xiong Rulin, Zhang Guowei and others, this is quite dangerous.

In other words, the grain produced by a farmer in a year needs to be supported by two and a half people, including himself.

In terms of current grain output, it is definitely quite dangerous.

Fortunately, with the prosperity of Jiangnan business, merchants were very interested in purchasing low-priced grain from Huguang, Fujian and Guangdong, which made the grain supply in various prefectures and counties in Jiangnan relaxed.

But now the problem arises. If the agricultural tax is completely reduced and exempted, the chain reaction will be caused by Wu Zheng's original unpredictable.

The population of the local population is basically a fixed value, and the labor needs of all walks of life are like a variable. With more farmers, there are naturally fewer people doing business.

The reduction and exemption of agricultural tax attracts farmers to repatriate, and after two reductions in agricultural tax, the attraction effect has been greatly reduced.

In other words, even if the agricultural tax is completely exempted at this time, the attraction effect will not be significant.

But this is not the key. The key is that, except for farmers, all walks of life oppose the complete exemption of agricultural taxes.

Just like at this time, Mo Zheng tried hard to persuade Wu Zheng to take back his life, "...even if the tax exemption is expected, it will attract a large number of people to return to the fields. Have you ever thought that Jiangnan today is no longer the Jiangnan five years ago. The workshops with many governments will face difficulties due to the lack of employment... Because the workshops cannot find enough employees, they can only increase their daily rewards, which will significantly reduce profits and even have to go bankrupt... A large number of people suddenly lose their jobs will also cause chaos in the market. On the contrary, these employers who have lost their land will lose their livelihoods because they cannot obtain land..."

"Let's go." Wu Zheng frowned, "Why did the employer who lost his land? Is it lost? I have no memory... The General's Mansion obviously has not issued a decree that employers need to recover their land, right?"

Don't be obsessed with being shocked.

On the one hand, Zhang Guowei explained: "Prince may... I don't know that with the opening of the General's Mansion and the construction of Songjiang New City, and with the railways that have been built now, the land price of the second place has increased several times, or even dozens of times... I'm afraid no one can resist this temptation."

Wu Zheng understood, and suddenly realized that it was no wonder that no one was wrong.

It is normal for human beings to seek profit and avoid harm.

When a wealth that could not be obtained for several lifetimes was placed in front of you, who could not be moved?

Wu Zheng understood this principle. When the new tax order was issued, Wu Zheng chose not to zero sum, but to make the pie of interests bigger, and to improve the interests of the poor without harming the big and businessmen.

For example, the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce and the bank's predecessor's money house were grouped together to compete for the share and market of northern merchants, and use high tariffs to supplement the annual income of the Finance Department and the interests of merchants.

This method is very effective, and it is also the real reason why Jiangnan merchants no longer regard Wu Zheng as an "enemy", but instead regard it as a convergence of interests.

But now, it's different.

As this pie with an end to its limit of interest reaches its expansion, the poor and the rich, the merchants and employers, farmers and handicraftsmen, etc., conflicts in all aspects gradually emerged and became increasingly serious.

This is indeed no one to blame. Every decree, whether it is "good government" or "evil government", is ultimately what makes one group of people successful and deprives another group of people. The fundamental difference between the two is just the number of people who have achieved it.

Farmers who were originally unwilling to sell land, because the Jiangnan workshops were everywhere, were jealous of the daily wages of hired workers, and sold the land and learned to open a workshop.

They are not proletarians, but on the contrary, they have land-selling wealth that ordinary people cannot reach.

However, these people have the worst resistance because they have nothing to do. No, they only have farming, not business.

So, under the trend of opening workshops, they can indeed survive, but when they are in adversity, they are the ones who die first.

This is even more unreasonable for the General's Mansion and the "initiator" Wu Zheng.
Chapter completed!