The weather was gradually getting hotter. After Liu Ke finally returned to Beijing from Nanzhili, he didn't bother to pay attention to anyone who asked him to go out for a walk.
Deck chairs were set up under the shade of the trees, and the incense burners burned incense to get rid of mosquitoes. The Thirteenth Master was swaying happily, and his little girl Liu Xuan lay on his swollen belly and fell asleep...
"father……"
Liu Chong, who had been busy for several days, came over with a pair of dark circles under his eyes and a stack of paper. He just called dad and yawned.
Liu Ke gently patted his daughter's back, coaxing the baby to sleep, and glanced at his sleepy son: "Is it sorted out?"
"Back to my father, my son has roughly calculated the changes in land taxes over the years since the founding of the country, the approximate amount of tax exemptions for officials and gentry, as well as the approximate amounts of land tax and business tax exemptions for clan members, royal relatives, military honors and nobles."
Prince Zhongshun, who had always been steady and gentle, showed a rare look of uneasiness. If these things in his hands were made public, his fourth uncle, the emperor, might pick up the sword again.
Because the land tax of the dynasty not only did not increase as the land reclamation area continued to increase, but also gradually decreased.
In the third year of Yuanyou, the land tax of the state decreased by nearly 50%. If it were not for the supplement of special taxes such as commercial tax and salt tax, it is estimated that the annual income of the Ministry of Household Affairs would not be enough to support the orderly operation of the state.
Liu Chong only made a brief report on these, and the Thirteenth Master frowned.
No wonder Xu Jin wants to attack the officials, this is so damn scary. If this continues, the Great Xia court will really be depleted by these officials and gentry.
But, it seems a bit out of reach to only treat the gentry and the nobles. If I, the thirteenth, want to do it, I have to do it with big votes.
"Chong'er, write a note and send it to the General Affairs Department, saying that I, seeing the unsustainability of the country's tax system, have been unable to sleep and lamenting all night. Now I submit to your majesty to reorganize the country's tax system and abolish the imperial family of the great master, the nobles of martial arts and nobles. The tax-free policy for relatives, officials, gentry, and their sons and daughters. The officials and gentry should pay the grain as one, and collect money according to the per-acre calculation, and implement... uh, um, what, the one-whip method that Jia Xiaosan said. "
"Dad! You really have to be so stupid..."
Wow wow wow wow...
Perhaps Liu Chong's exclamation was too loud, which frightened the little princess who was sleeping on Liu Ke's belly.
Liu Ke glared at his son, stood up and hugged his daughter, comforting her with gentle words and making faces, finally coaxing the little girl from crying.
Then he glanced at Liu Chong: "What are you making all this fuss about? You scared your sister. Just do it, write it, stamp it and send it to the General Affairs Department. Your father and I have discussed it with Xu Qingteng, as long as this time The matter is settled. As long as our loyal and shun Prince does not rebel from now on, you can be just like your father and I. You can beat whoever you want and sleep with whomever you want...cough cough cough cough... Madam, listen. Let me explain..."
"My son pays his respects to his mother and concubine."
Princess Cui snatched her daughter from her husband's arms and gave it to her son: "Chong'er, go and do your work. I have something to tell your father."
On the early morning of the first day of June, Jia Cong was sitting on the carriage shaft, holding a piece of sesame cake the size of a plate and happily munching on it. Suddenly someone snatched the cake away from his hand.
Click!
The cake was divided into two halves. The panda-eyed Liu Ke sat directly next to Jia Cong without any princely manners. His eyes were filled with resentment as he fiercely competed with the half of the sesame cake in his hand.
Tons tons tons...
I saw him snatching away the teapot that Jia Cong had just picked up and drinking it directly into his mouth.
"Master Thirteen..."
Hiccup~
"Jia Xiaosan, lend me eighteen thousand taels of silver."
ah?
"Master Thirteen is short of money? Could it be that...I heard...that what...I heard someone said that the princess kicked you out of the house. It can't be true."
This matter caused a stir in the capital. It is said that Princess Cui was jealous and did not allow King Zhongshun to bring a certain oiran back to the palace.
Of course, Jia Cong would not believe such royal gossip. Liu Ke seemed to be extremely ridiculous. He ran to Qin Lou Chu Pavilion when he had nothing to do, and even caused a romantic affair like a good man.
But he is actually a weirdo in the royal family. He is extremely loyal to Princess Cui. For this reason, he is often scolded by the Supreme Emperor as useless.
Liu Ke looked at the civil and military officials not far away who were looking at him gloomily, and smiled coldly.
He whispered in Jia Cong's ear: "If I don't do this, my princess will be annoyed to death by those women?"
Jia Cong instantly understood what this man was doing. He just poked a hornet's nest and got stung himself. He didn't want to involve his family.
He cupped his hands and said, "Master Thirteen is worthy of being a real man, I admire you."
Liu Ke waved his hand indifferently: "It doesn't matter if you admire me or not, just do the whole show and lend me 18,000 taels of silver. I can only live outside during this period."
Jia Cong hummed, "I understand, I'll arrange for someone to go home and collect the money."
Boom, boom, boom...
The Jingyang bell rang and the palace door slowly opened.
Everyone lined up to enter the palace and went to Fengtian Hall to line up and wait to see them.
There were still a lot of trivial matters in the court meeting, but when the sun was about three o'clock, we finally got down to business.
First, the emperor announced the potato issue in court and ordered civil and military officials of the seventh rank and above in the capital to come to Jiajiazhuangzi in the west of the city on the fifth day of June to witness the harvesting ceremony of the fairy grain potatoes.
This matter is no longer a secret in the capital. The people have been eagerly waiting for the new grain with an output of forty stones per mu.
In addition to lamenting the good fortune of Ning Rong's Jia family, everyone was more curious about how the emperor would reward Jia Cong for offering immortal food.
Of course, for the civil and military officials, this incident was a shock. It had nothing to do with their own immediate interests. Many people just shouted "long live" a few times and waited for the emperor to give new food a taste.
But the second major issue discussed in court today is different. Someone wants to cut their flesh!
"If there is something going on, go ahead and leave if there is nothing going on!"
"I, Liu Ke, have sent me a report. I sent a report to Your Majesty a few days ago, please change the tax system of the country..."
"Huang Dai has something to report about the matter!"
As soon as Liu Ke walked out of the class train, a green-robed official stood up and interrupted Liu Ke's words as if he were in a ring.
Um? Dare to challenge me~
Bang!
Who is this king? The thirteenth son of Emperor Zhaowu and now his younger brother, have been asking around the capital, who dares to offend me?
With one kick, Huang Dai flew out and hit a pillar in the hall, causing him to faint.
The memorial in his hand was also scattered on the ground, and fell in front of another green-robed official who was just about to make a move.
With just one look from Liu Ke, the man shrank his neck and looked at his nose, mouth, and mouth.
Ah……
The veins on the emperor's forehead throbbed, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he quickly spoke to suppress the boiling things that had just started in the palace.
"The King of Loyalty and Submission, Liu Ke, is without authority in the palace and will be fined one year's salary!"
"Huang Dai was demoted to the position of Prime Minister of Anping County, Taiping Prefecture due to the misconduct of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He will set off southward on the same day. There must be no mistake."
hiss!
This pull is off-center.
One is a dispensable salary, and the other is directly demoted from the seventh rank to the county magistrate in Guangxi.
Without giving the ministers a chance to react, the Han general dragged the unconscious Huang Dai out of the hall.
The emperor glanced around the palace and gestured: "Thirteen, continue talking."
Liu Ke gritted his teeth, took out the memorial he had prepared long ago from his sleeve, and started reading loudly.
"My brother obeys the order! A few days ago, my brother accidentally discovered the changes in the land tax of our dynasty since the founding of the People's Republic of China, as well as the tax exemption data recorded by the Ministry of Households of the clan, royal relatives, military honors, and officials and gentry. I don't know this. It’s really scary to see.”
"According to the records of the Ministry of Household Affairs, at the beginning of the founding of the country by Taizu, there were 8,877,600 hectares of land that should be paid taxes. Taizu also had a decree at the beginning that all people who open up wasteland would be exempted from land tax for five years. Encourage the people to open up wasteland and cultivate fields."
"According to common sense, in the past hundred years, the amount of land that can pay taxes should have increased, and the land tax sent to the Ministry of Household Affairs should also be more and more. However, the amount of land recorded in the Ministry of Household Affairs and the amount of land tax collected every year have become less and less. . In the third year of Yuanyou, the amount recorded by the Ministry of Household Affairs has been reduced to 4,228,000 hectares."
boom!
None of the ministers in the Data Palace paid much attention to them. Only Wen Tongxuan, Lin Ruhai and other officials from the Ministry of Revenue looked solemn.
Ding ding ding~
The bells and chimes rang several times before the noise in Fengtian Hall was stopped.
Just listen to Liu Ke continue to say: "Not only that, the land tax submitted to the Ministry of Household Affairs in various places has been reduced by nearly 50%, and the number of people exempted from tax has increased sharply."
"Your Majesty, ministers and ministers, do you know who are exempted from tax?"
"According to the ancestral system, in addition to the tax exemption and exemption from taxes and levies for the land obtained from the enfeoffment of royal family members, noble relatives, elders and important ministers, only those with a reputation of scholar or above can be exempted from the servitude. But how come this king heard that as long as there is a scholar in the family, his family can be exempted from paying land tax? And there are people who donate land to avoid court taxes."
"In addition, the properties and shops owned by the royal family members, military nobles, ministers and ministers are not required to pay the imperial grain and national tax."
"There are even people who use the name of a certain clan relative to avoid taxes of tens of thousands of taels of silver every year. Don't look at it, I am talking about your family!"
Um?
Good guy, are you helping me?
Jia Cong looked surprised and opened his mouth.
"Thirteenth Master, does my family still have to pay land tax and business tax?"
Liu Ke flipped through the memorial in his hand, glanced at the markings inside, and shook his head: "In addition to the land grant, your family will have to pay land tax on the land they bought, and those shops and businesses will also have to pay commercial tax."
ah?
Jia Cong patted his head and bowed to the emperor: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I don't know this. When I go back, I will just sell the iron. I will pay the taxes owed over the years to the Ministry of Household Affairs as soon as possible."
All the officials in the palace were immediately provoked by Jia Cong, but they couldn't say that Jia Cong did something wrong. They couldn't compete with a child...
The emperor's mouth twitched twice, and he suppressed a smile and said: "Don't say it's you, even I don't know these things. I thought that the country really had laws and regulations, and exempted from taxes. The Ministry of Household..."
Wen Tongxuan came out of class and said, "I'm here!"
"Is what Old Thirteen said true or false?"
"Your Majesty, what King Zhongshun said is true. In fact, King Zhongshun did not make it clear. According to the calculations of the veteran, at most a hundred years, the dynasty may not even be able to provide the salary of the royal family."
Unlike the others, Wen Tongxuan wanted to hold Liu Ke and kiss him fiercely.
He took the opportunity to reveal the increase or decrease in the number of royal relatives, taxes and expenditures that he had calculated earlier. The emperor stood up in shock.
"Ai Qing, you mean that my Liu family members have become blood-sucking leechworms lying on the court of Daxia?"
"Well, although it doesn't sound good, your Majesty's understanding is absolutely correct."
As soon as Wen Tongxuan said this, the royal family members who were at the forefront of the noble family exploded.
Some people even looked at Wen Tongxuan and Liu Ke with unkind eyes. They had known that Old Thirteen was going to stab the uncles and brothers, but they didn't want the stab to be so cruel.
The emperor fell into silence, and several senior officials in the cabinet have not yet come forward to express their opinions. The ministers quarreled in an uproar. There were many people who opposed Liu Ke's advice, but there were also many people who supported the tax reform.
After all, a smart person who can stand in the Fengtian Temple knows the difference between a full meal and a full meal.
If Wen Tongxuan and Liu Ke's calculations were true, if Daxia could not collect taxes, wouldn't it mean that the country would be unstable and the country would not survive?
Aren't they the ones who are already in the powerful circles who will be unlucky then?
There was a quarrel in the Fengtian Palace. The emperor looked on with cold eyes, sitting on the dragon chair and tapping the armrest of the dragon chair with his fingers.
He was very satisfied with the performance of Liu Ke and Jia Cong today. The big one and the small one cooperated with each other and perfectly exposed the hidden rules in the dark. In one fell swoop, the tax system of the country was exposed. the biggest issue.
"Ding ding ding~"
The imperial censor rang the bell again, and the civil and military officials who were about to start a fight finally fell silent.
The emperor glanced at the ministers, saw their expressions, and sneered in his heart
Again and again.
If, as Xu Qingteng said, his own interests are involved, the words of saints in the past will simply be thrown away.
"This matter is of great importance. Please go back and think about it carefully. Each of you will write a report and submit it. The Cabinet and the Sixth Department will be busy these days. They will recalculate the data presented by Lao Shisan and then conduct deductions. Let’s take a look and see if it’s really what Wen Aiqing and Lao Shisan said..."
"The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household, the harvest ceremony in five days must be held well. This matter is related to whether the people of the world can fill their stomachs, so we must not be careless."
"The cabinet, household department, and Somasaji remain, and retreat from the court!"
Jia Cong didn't stop after leaving the palace. He boarded the carriage and quickly returned to Rongguo Mansion.
King Zhongshun was so interesting that he singled out the Rongguo Mansion and treated him like a child, making the Jia family the "victims" of Lao Shisan's sword.
"Have you sent the banknote?"
Jia Shi nodded: "The silver note was handed over to the Thirteenth Master's personal commander, but..."
Um?
"Prince Chong said that the Thirteenth Master was hanged on a tree in Longshou Palace by a saint, and he won't be able to use the money for a while."
"This is what we did for outsiders to see. If the saints are like this, whoever comes to trouble Master Thirteenth will have to try Habayashiro's sword."
Jia Cong knew the temperament of the old Dragon King very well. Even though he hung Lao Shisan on the tree just because he was fine, in fact the old man doted on his son very much.
The news from the palace soon reached the old lady's ears, and she immediately sent someone to find Jia Cong.
Before Jia Cong could persuade the old lady to give up the temporary loss and send the owed taxes to the Ministry of Household Affairs, she asked Yuanyang to bring a wooden box. When she opened it, there was a thick stack of silver notes inside.
"This is fifty thousand taels of silver. Please send it to the Ministry of Accounts immediately. Our family must stand by His Majesty in this matter. We must not imitate those foolish people who only care about immediate interests..."
Sure enough, the old lady was admirably shrewd. These words fully demonstrated Mrs. Guo’s long-term vision.
As the old lady said, it is true that money is a good thing, but compared to Ning Rongjia's family's future divorce with the country, just giving up some money, the future wealth must not be lost.
?Monthly ticket??Recommended ticket?
