Han Du quickly said: "When I was in Liyang this time, I found that gentry like Jiang Yiru, who did not need to pay for food, accepted donations from the people in Liyang County."
"Wait? What is dedication?" Lao Zhu heard Han Du's words and quickly waved his hand to interrupt.
Han Du opened his mouth to explain: "Don't officials and gentry not have to pay taxes? In order to avoid taxes, people will take the initiative to name their land to the officials and gentry. These people also gave such a move a nice name, vote offer."
When Lao Zhu heard this, he became angry and shouted loudly: "I only collect four liters of tax per acre of civilian land. They are still unwilling to pay even this little amount, so they are still going to donate it?"
It has to be said that after giving officials the lowest salaries in history, Lao Zhu also did a good thing, that is, he established the lowest taxes in history.
"The emperor indeed only charges four liters, but when he arrives in the county, he will charge more than four liters." Han Du shook his head and said: "According to what I learned in Liyang County, take Liyang County as an example. Because the county government and officials are both There was no money, so they enacted a lot of various taxes, such as land tax, head tax, water tax, etc. According to the people of Liyang, one acre of land would have to pay a tax of almost one stone and five buckets. If the land is dedicated to the gentry's name, but they don't have to hand it over at all, it is still very tempting."
When Lao Zhu heard this, he was trembling with anger. He did not expect that he had given extremely low taxes to the people and extremely low salaries to officials. Unexpectedly, the officials finally forcibly levied the missing money on these people, and even demanded more.
"How dare they? How dare they! I will issue an order to prohibit officials from all over the world from privately increasing taxes on the people."
Han Du couldn't help but nodded secretly after hearing this. He had to admit that Lao Zhu did react very quickly, but his method was too simple and crude. Some people have the smell of treating head pain and treating foot pain.
However, Han Du did not say this, but spread his hands and said: "Isn't it because the salary is too low? The salary can't even guarantee basic expenses. Officials can't just watch and trap themselves to death, right? And even if the emperor issued a decree prohibiting officials from all over the world from increasing taxes on the people, then they would only reach out to the landlords and gentry."
Han Du's words were not stated clearly, but Lao Zhu understood them clearly. If we continue to maintain the current salary and prohibit officials from raising taxes on the people, then we will simply force officials to engage in corruption and bribery. Officials had no choice but to accept bribes from landlords and gentry.
One cannot suffocate to death. If it really comes to that point, corruption will be like a scourge that cannot be stopped.
When Lao Zhu thought that all the officials in the world were greedy for money, even he couldn't help but a flash of horror in his eyes. When it came to that situation, Lao Zhu himself didn't know what to do. Maybe there is only one way, then kill! If you are greedy for ink, you will peel off the skin and fill it with grass. At worst, you will continue to kill...
But even Lao Zhu doesn't think that this can kill all the corrupt officials in the world. If this can completely kill all the corrupt officials in the world, then he won't wait until Lao Zhu comes to kill them. In the past, The emperor had long since killed all the corrupt officials in the world.
Han Du continued: "In order to avoid taxes, people will choose to donate their fields to the names of officials and gentry. When the land is held in the hands of officials and gentry, it is like holding the lifeblood of the people. From then on, they can only deal with it. The gentry obeyed their advice and could only endure the pain silently. How dare they report the gentry? Because once the gentry is reported, even if the gentry will be punished, no one can guarantee that their land will be regained. return."
Lao Zhu knows better than anyone what losing land means to the people. Land is the lifeblood of the people. As Han Du said, people will not take the risk of losing their land.
"What if I decreed that the people of the world are prohibited from donating land?" Lao Zhu's anger had completely disappeared, and he was able to ask Han Du calmly. Because Lao Zhu understood that Han Du was just telling the truth. This is the fact, even if he doesn't want to, he has to face it.
Han Du shook his head and said word for word: "As long as the officials and gentry in the sky do not need to pay for food, it is impossible to prohibit the people from donating."
Lao Zhu was silent for a moment, and he understood after thinking about it for a moment. Even issuing an edict is useless. As long as the people and the officials and gentry are colluding, there is no way to find out whether the field is dedicated.
Seeing that Lao Zhu began to think seriously, Han Du said: "I am not alarmist when I say that officials and gentry will not pay for their food and will cause endless disasters. Your Majesty, you can imagine that there will be examinations every three years, and there will be 600 Jinshi each time. After the Ming Dynasty, There will only be more and more officials and gentry in the Ming Dynasty. As a result, the people will have more and more objects to contribute to, and there will be more and more fields that cannot be taxed. And the Ming Dynasty will have more and more fields that can collect taxes. If it is less, then it will inevitably lead to a decrease in the imperial court’s annual income.”
"The imperial court does not have enough money. What does the emperor think the imperial court will do at this time to maintain the annual income?"
Lao Zhu paused for a moment and said in a deep voice: "Increase taxes..."
"Exactly." Han Du clapped his hands and said: "As taxes increase, people will be more enthusiastic about donating. And the more they donate, the less land in the world that can be taxed. This will form a vicious cycle, otherwise How long will it take before there will be no more land in the world that can be taxed? By then, even if the Ming Dynasty owns all the land in the world, there will not be an inch of land that can collect taxes."
Lao Zhu was shocked, his face finally showed a look of horror, and he looked at Han Du speechless for a long time. But it was Lao Zhu who decreed that the officials and gentry could not pay the grain. If he changed it, it would be like letting him break his promise and get fat. If Lao Zhu was an ordinary person, it wouldn't be a big problem. He would be worthy of being spoken to a few times, but he is an emperor who sticks to his word. How easy is it to get him to change his words and repent?
Zhu Biao was also frightened by Han Du's words, and he had even made up his mind. Even if his father did not take back his order and let the officials and gentry pay for the food together, he would have to do it no matter what after he came to the throne. He would never allow such a huge disaster to be left to future generations.
Han Du glanced at the two of them and said, "So I think it is necessary to increase officials' salaries. We can take this opportunity to withdraw the rule that officials and gentry do not pay food."
Zhu Biao nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then looked at his father. Now we are just waiting for the father to nod. If the father really nods, then this matter will be promising.
Han Du's words made Lao Zhu feel better. After all, it would make sense to withdraw the decree of the officials and gentry not to pay food on the condition of increasing their salary. In this way, it is not that he, Lao Zhu, went back on his word, but an exchange.
Lao Zhu thought for a moment and asked Handu: "Then how much salary increase do you think should be appropriate?"
Han Du held out two fingers.
Lao Zhu immediately nodded slightly and said with a smile: "I think it is more appropriate to add two annual salary to the salary."
Before Lao Zhu was happy for a long time, Han Du shook his head and said: "It's not two passes, it's twice!"
"Are you crazy? You want to add so much?" Lao Zhu suddenly yelled, as if someone was cutting his flesh.
Even Zhu Biao secretly sweated for Han Du, how dare he say it. Although Zhu Biao submitted a memorial to increase the salary of all officials, he only hoped to increase it by three guan per month. Because the official Zhu Biao met, the monthly cost of renting a house was three guan. He then thought that if he could get more money to rent a house for the officials, then the officials would be able to live on.
I never expected that Han Du would double the amount!
Seeing that Lao Zhu was angry, Han Du had to retract his finger and patiently explained: "Money is the courage of a hero, and officials are the face of the court. I believe that it is not just about allowing officials to survive. It is about making officials' lives better." , cannot be lower than the local gentry.”
It cannot be lower than that of a gentry. This requirement is too high. Especially now that official salaries are generally low, it is even more difficult to achieve.
Even if it was like Han Du said, directly increasing the salary of hundreds of officials by twice, I'm afraid it wouldn't be possible.
Han Du explained again: "Although everyone hates the smell of copper, everyone likes the smell of copper in their hearts. If you have money in your pocket, you have to be more arrogant even when you look at people. On the contrary, if you have money in your pocket, If you don’t have money, you will inevitably feel weak when facing others.”
"If officials are impoverished, they will not only lose the face of the court. Even the majesty of the emperor will be damaged invisibly. And once the gentry loses awe of officials and the court, what can they do? ? This time I went to Liyang as an imperial envoy, and Jiang Yiru and others actually dared to threaten him outright. It can be seen that if things continue like this, the prestige of the imperial court will inevitably be lost in the hearts of the gentry. "
Lao Zhu can tolerate the common people, but he will never tolerate the gentry. If officials were made to feel inferior to the gentry, what happened to Han Du in Liyang would soon spread to the entire world. At that time, will the official still be an official? Is Da Ming's surname Zhu or Gentleman's surname?
The two powers harmed each other, whichever was the lesser. Although it would cost more than a million taels of silver every year to increase the salaries of officials, it was just a drop in the bucket compared with the Ming Dynasty.
Besides, it’s not like the court can’t come up with the money now. Now all we have to do is wait for Lao Zhu's decree, and the Ministry of Revenue will be able to distribute the money directly.
After pondering for a long time, Lao Zhu nodded and said: "This matter is important, I have to think about it carefully. You all should step aside first."
Han Du and Zhu Biao looked at each other, bowed together and said:
"My son, please retire..."
"I resign..."
