Chapter 237 Commercial tax is feasible
Tan Wenhua was scolded by Huang Shijing and suddenly felt like an idiot. Doesn't it make it clear that he is just a puppet in Qingpu?
If this continues, Chen Cao may have to change the magistrate of Qingpu.
"Eunuch Wei, I remember that you have been collecting business taxes since the fourth year of Tianqi. I wonder how you are doing?"
Wei Zhongxian bowed: "Back to my lord, the commercial tax collection in North Zhili and the north is still good. The southern areas, especially Zhejiang and southern Zhili, are the most difficult. Businessmen pay the least tax. Last year's anti-tax riots in Suzhou were also It remains unresolved, if the master wants to set up commercial taxation in Nanzhili, I think I will use some iron-fisted measures."
Chen Cao looked at Xin Zhao: "Have you investigated clearly what I asked you to investigate?"
Xin Zhao turned around and said, "Go back to my father-in-law. I have found out that the Suzhou anti-tax riot was caused by a young man named Zhang Pu. A group of them organized a literary society in Suzhou called Fushe, which specialized in commenting on the current affairs of the imperial court. This guy also Some means, he is a scholar and has good literary talent. The Zhang family is the general magistrate of Taicang Prefecture, Suzhou Prefecture, which has some power. The Zhang family also has a high status in Taicang Prefecture;
By the way, Mr. Gu Bingqian submitted one hundred thousand taels of silver to atone for his sin, and was expelled from the court and returned to his hometown of Kunshan. "
Wei Zhongxian's number one adviser, the former government secretary Gu Bingqian, Wei Zhongxian was moved when he heard this, but Chen Cao nodded thoughtfully: "The commercial tax starts from Songjiang Prefecture, and will be extended to Suzhou Prefecture after it is successfully implemented. Go, since this Fushe has such a big name, we must know ourselves and our enemies, lest another anti-tax riot happen again, and I think it will be a waste of muskets and bullets."
Chen Cao's meaning couldn't be more obvious. Extending to Songjiang Mansion, if anyone disobeys, all they'll be waiting for is a cordial greeting from the musket.
"I am willing to obey my father-in-law's orders. Please give me your instructions..."
"Hey..." Chen Cao smiled in surprise: "How come the situation in Tanzhi County has changed so quickly? Are you not afraid of being questioned by the court?"
"I'm just following orders..."
"Um..."
Chen Cao touched his chin. After so many years, he still had no beard. "It's good under Huating. With Mr. Huang in charge, I believe we can speed up the investigation of these fields. In addition, Songjiang Mansion's Regarding commercial tax, let’s start with Shanghai County. After all, Shanghai is full of fishermen, so it won’t be a big problem. After I complete the arrangements for Shanghai County, Huating will start implementing it. The Songjiang Prefecture’s Yamen must fully cooperate.”
Chen Cao said and looked at Tan Wenhua: "Tan Zhixian, when you go back, don't make a big fuss. Just conduct a private investigation. Don't alert others, lest when my army arrives, it will be murderous... "
Tan Wenhua let out a long breath: "My lord, please put it down. I will handle this with caution."
..
Shanghai County Governor's Office
"Eunuch Wei is directly responsible for the tax recovery, and Xia Yunyi is responsible for assisting. Of course, the Songjiang Commercial Taxation Bureau will be established immediately, starting with Shanghai..."
As Chen Cao spoke, he waved for Zhao Xin to approach: "Go and call all the reputable people in Shanghai County."
Shanghai County is dominated by fishermen, and the prominent gentry are just from fishing families. Zhao Xin is not stupid. When he sensed something was wrong, he summoned two to three thousand people from Shanghai County and gathered them all outside the governor's office.
The Dingwu Army is responsible for public security, and these people are still very honest.
"The refugees and untouchables who contribute the most to the new construction in Shanghai are the refugees and untouchables. Even now, they are still building in full swing..."
Chen Cao held an earthen trumpet in his hand and shouted: "I know that you are the landlords and gentry in Shanghai County. You are accustomed to the tradition of not paying taxes and not paying food. However, this tradition has not come from me. It started in Songjiang and then completely disappeared.”
The local landlords and gentry in Shanghai County near the Yamen Gate were immediately anxious. What does this mean? Although Shanghai County has not produced a few successful candidates, there are more than a dozen of them, and their land is basically under the names of these scholars.
"Mr. Liang, please forgive the rudeness of the common people. In the three hundred years of our dynasty, the nobles have never competed with the people for profit..."
This sentence is a disguised reminder of Chen Cao's preferential treatment for scholars.
It was impossible for Chen Cao not to know this, so he immediately replied: "I know what you mean. All of you present should listen carefully to these next words. I announce the decree of the Songjiang Governor's Yamen;
From now on, Shanghai County will clear out the land and re-create household registers. The number of people and households in each household must be carefully reported. In addition, after the land is measured clearly, Shanghai County will begin to implement the policy of equalizing the land..."
Oops...
This is a big deal, and it coincides with Zhang Juzheng's purpose of implementing the one-whip method. The ultimate goal is to equalize the land.
"Everyone present, please listen carefully. This is an administrative order issued by me in my capacity as the Duke of Liang and the Governor of Songjiang. You will think it over carefully after the wealthy gentry and wealthy households return home. In addition, the common people present are more or less fishermen and tenants. When you return, After that, the fishermen can go ashore to register and register. After counting the number of households, the governor's office will distribute the land in Shanghai County;
The tenants will take the initiative to report to the governor's office. If anyone is unwilling to implement or shirks the responsibility, don't blame me for falling out with you..."
The collection of commercial taxes in Shanghai County is completely legitimate, because there are too few merchants in the old Shanghai County. After the capital brought by the Daming Foreign Trade Group under Chen Cao's name and the Taixi Mission settled in, businessmen from all over the coast came to invest one after another. , Huizhou merchants are the majority, and it is very simple to collect business taxes from scratch.
In addition, due to the new construction of Shanghai County, the commercial tax established by Chen Cao changed from the current popular tax rate of 50 to 15 taxes.
Not doing business?
Okay, if you don't do it, wouldn't it be better if Liang Guogong's family is the only one?
If Chen Cao hadn't wanted to diversify the introduction of capital, he would not have expended so much effort to attract investment.
"Tax stamp?"
Wei Zhongxian curiously held a document stamped with the seal of the Shanghai County Commercial and Taxation Bureau, and then looked at Xia Yunyi: "Master Xia, do you think this document is feasible?"
Xia Yunyi nodded: "Don't worry, Eunuch Wei. This is what I taught you. Anyone who has paid taxes will be issued a tax receipt. With this document, you can do business normally in Shanghai County. If there are young gangsters who come to collect the so-called protection fees, , based on this bill, the county government must provide fair protection. Once it is found that people are bending the law for personal gain, they will be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law..."
Wei Zhongxian knew very well that Chen Cao thought highly of him and asked him to be the official of the Commercial and Taxation Bureau because he liked his ability to make money.
.
There is no need to worry about commercial and tax matters in Shanghai County. The most important thing is the equalization of land at the beginning. Although Shanghai County is mostly fishermen, the few landlords and gentry still control the fields in Shanghai County. In addition, during the Wanli period, there was another After a few scholars sent in their treacherous mails, there was no longer official land or private land in Shanghai County.
"My lord, several gentry and landowners told the tenants that taxes would go up after the land was equalized by the imperial court. After the common people heard this, no one came to report it, but the fishermen all came. Since they wanted land, I also want to go to sea.”
Zhao Xin said and showed the registered household register to Chen Cao: "There were originally thousands of people, but now there are only more than a thousand people left."
"Didn't I say no to the tax exemption yet?"
Zhao Xin was stunned for a moment, and then said: "My lord, if you say that the land is equalized and taxes are exempted, the imperial army will come over, and those wealthy gentry will become a thorn in the eyes of the people..."
In the Ming Dynasty, taxes and taxes were two separate matters. Taxes were paid to the Ministry of Household Affairs and belonged to the state, while taxes were paid to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and belonged to the emperor's private internal funds.
If Chen Cao said on behalf of the court that he would not pay the emperor, wouldn't that mean that he would not pay the emperor in disguise? At the very least, this is an act of transgression; at the most serious level, you are just shouting for rebellion.
"Xin Zhao, what do you think would be their reaction if I shouted the slogan of equalizing land and exempting taxes from taxes in Shanghai County?"
Xin Zhao thought for a while: "Judging from the number of wealthy gentry and wealthy households in Shanghai County, they probably won't be able to resist."
"Then what if we look at it from the entire Songjiang Mansion?"
Xin Zhao touched his chin: "If the wealthy gentry and landlords tried to stop him, they would probably be beaten to death by the common people. But in this case, those scholars who accepted the gifts would lose their source of livelihood. My subordinates thought that they would join forces to rebel;
But what they caused was the rebellion of the father-in-law. They wrote to the court and asked the court to deal with it. "
"Is it feasible?"
"Big...very big..."
Zhao Xin was confused: "In this way, the people will definitely be grateful to the father-in-law and treat him as their reborn parents...
But sir, the common people are like ants in the eyes of the wealthy gentry and wealthy households, how can they achieve anything? "
"You don't understand," Chen Cao said with a serious look on his face: "They always say that the people are like water, and the court is like a boat. It can capsize a boat, but in a matter of seconds, the people's emotions are surging, let alone being beaten to death. A few Jin Yiwei can do whatever it takes to destroy the opponent's whole family;
Besides, taking the people as our foundation is our fundamentals..."
There were too many new words that Xin Zhao couldn't digest, so he simply didn't respond.
Chen Cao walked around the room as he spoke: "This matter is quite feasible. When the time comes, the two roads will be closed, and the Dingwu Army will press the border. Hey, no matter whether it is Huating or Qingpu, they will have to be honest. If you can't help me, Songjiang Mansion, I still have the final say."
"Master, shall we pay the taxes to the court or not?"
"Pay..."
Chen Cao looked horrified: "Why don't you pay? I'm not a rebellious minister. I am the largest taxpayer in the country. Why don't I give money to the court and the emperor?"
Besides, I just said that Songjiang Prefecture's taxes would be exempted. Their taxes were just paid by me. "
Xin Zhao's eyelids twitched: "Master, if we continue to pay like this, how much tax will we have to pay each year?"
"Hahaha..."
Chen Cao raised his head and laughed: "You idiot, in the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Tianqi, the autumn grain payment in Southern Zhili was only 2.3 million taels. The entire Southern Zhili only increased by 400,000 taels in seven years. Not to mention, I, the Songjiang Prefecture, will pay the court the summer closing price of one million taels. I would like to see if the court has any excuses to say that I, Chen Cao, am not good;
If so, then I'm sorry, you just forced me to rebel, so I will rebel and show him a bunch of idiots. "
