"How much taxes have been collected in Tianjin last year?"
Zhu Youxiao asked Hua Yuncheng, the governor of Tianjin.
Hua Yuncheng replied truthfully: "Your Majesty, the taxes collected last year were more than 3.72 million yuan in silver coins."
"So much, it far exceeds the salt tax, and is even more than what Taicang, the imperial court before the Tianqi Dynasty, collected in a year! When did Tianjin become so rich?"
Xiong Tingbi was shocked after hearing this, and began to wonder how much it would cost if it were collected like this in Jiangnan.
Zhu Youxiao smiled slightly: "The implementation of the new tax policy in Tianjin really did not disappoint me!"
Indeed, when Zhu Youxiao asked Bi Ziyan, Hua Yuncheng and others to build a new city in Tianjin and move a large number of manufacturing industries to Tianjin New City to increase employment, he asked Bi Ziyan, Hua Yuncheng and others to try out a new tax policy in Tianjin.
The new tax policy mainly imposes new business taxes.
According to the new tax policy, transactions occurring in Tianjin City are not subject to the old tax rate of 30 to 1 tax, but are taxed to 30 to 1 tax for general sales and 20 to 1 tax for small and micro businesses.
Therefore, commercial taxes in Tianjin are higher than elsewhere.
But because the advanced technologies of the Ming Dynasty are now in the hands of the emperor, and the emperor only placed these manufacturing industries with advanced technologies in Tianjin, and in addition, the current purchasers of Tianjin's industrial products are basically government-owned industries and various government agencies.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao implemented the new tax policy in Tianjin City, and manufacturing workshops in Tianjin and government-owned enterprises and government offices in various places had no choice but to comply.
In fact, it was just equivalent to Emperor Zhu Youxiao allocating part of Tianjin City's industrial profits to the court through taxation for public utilities.
Therefore, the new tax policy piloted in Tianjin is easy to implement without any resistance.
What did not disappoint Zhu Youxiao was that the trial of the new tax policy in Tianjin did bring a lot of tax revenue to the court.
…
"Beat me! Beat me to death! Mother, I told you to run away!"
At this time, Zhu Youxiao, who had just left Tianjin City accompanied by Hua Yuncheng and others, saw a group of people beating several people. Among them, a gentleman wearing a brocade robe with a copper coin pattern was holding a cane and was being beaten. These common people shouted loudly.
In addition to a few young adults, the beaten people also included old people and children. It was obvious that they were a family.
The group of people who were beating them were all dressed in soap-colored shorts. They were obviously the wealthy slaves raised by the gentry. They all used sticks to attack these common people.
Some of the people who were being beaten were already begging: "Spare your life! Spare your life, Master!"
This gentleman did not spare the lives of these people, but continued to yell and curse: "Spare you! Spare you, how can I establish my authority! I will definitely beat you to death today, so that there will be more tenants who want to escape to Tianjin to work." Longer your memory, if you dare to escape from my village, you will die!"
This gentry is called Feng Shengshi, a civil servant in the Tianjin area. His father, Feng Jinglun, once served as the minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing. He is considered to be a relatively prestigious family of officials and gentry in Tianjin Wei.
In the Ming Dynasty, it was commonplace for local officials and gentry to kill their own slaves and tenants without authorization, because they were equivalent to the grassroots local emperors who had no regard for the royal laws of the court and killed and robbed tenants and domestic slaves in their own clans. It even makes its own regulations.
At this time, Feng Shengshi wanted to beat these tenants to death because they wanted to escape from his village.
Zhu Youxiao had already seen a commoner being beaten to death by the powerful slave of the Feng family. At that moment, he ordered with a cold face: "Wei Zhongxian, please have someone stop him and arrest all these people!"
"My slave obeys the order!"
Wei Zhongxian replied.
"Is it common in this area for powerful people to take human lives lightly?"
Then, Zhu Youxiao asked Hua Yuncheng again.
Hua Yuncheng hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. Because in Tianjin City, even the newly recruited refugees' work income is much higher than that of nearby tenants and some low-level domestic slaves of powerful families. Therefore, many tenants and domestic slaves will They took the initiative to flee to Tianjin City and became new residents of Tianjin City, but these powerful clans naturally refused. Whenever tenants or domestic slaves tried to escape from the fields of these powerful clans, they would be maimed and beaten to death by these powerful clans! Some powerful clans have also set up "escapist laws" in rural covenants. People who escape without authorization and are unwilling to be slaves or rent the fields of powerful clans will either be imprisoned in pig cages as if they were committing adultery, or be burned to death or He was beaten to death directly!”
After hearing this, Zhu Youxiao looked at supervisor Feng Shengshi seriously.
In Zhu Youxiao's memory, historically, after the Manchus took control of the Central Plains, they enacted the "Fugitive Law".
Because the Manchu aristocrats occupied a large amount of Han farmland in the Central Plains, and then forced a large number of Han people to become Baoyi and farm their land. However, these Han Baoyi who became Manchu aristocrats were particularly severely exploited, so , many Han people took the initiative to flee elsewhere. In order to prevent Han people from escaping, the Manchu Qing court promulgated the "Fugitive Law" and implemented a harsh joint sitting system. Anyone who escaped would have his whole family killed, and even the family that harbored the fugitive would be punished. The whole family was copied and beheaded.
But now, Zhu Youxiao discovered that because Tianjin City's new production model attracted more labor, the local officials and gentry in this area actually instituted the "Escape Law" like the Manchu Qing Dynasty, forcibly restricting tenants and Domestic slaves are free and become their own domestic slaves forever.
"Can a squire establish his own laws? Whose world is our Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Youxiao asked coldly.
At this time, a group of people from the Jinyi Guards came over to Feng Shengshi who was beating these people.
"stop!"
Gulou, a member of the Jinyiwei family, stopped shouting.
The noble slaves under Feng Shengshi stopped and looked at Feng Shengshi.
Feng Shengshi had also noticed Zhu Youxiao and his party before, but he did not expect that Zhu Youxiao and his party would meddle in this business.
Because Zhu Youxiao and the Jin Yiwei were all wearing casual clothes, Feng Shengshi was not afraid, but shouted loudly: "Keep beating me! Who told you to stop!"
After saying that, Feng Shengshi looked at Gu Lou and others: "What are you meddling in? I want to beat my own tenants to death. What are you doing!"
"Catch him!"
Gu Lou didn't bother to talk to Feng Shengshi, he just waved his hand and gave an order.
Then, the Jin Yiwei beside Gu Lou immediately ran over, drew his sword, and then captured Feng Shengshi and others.
Feng Shengshi felt quite frightened because of this, and couldn't help shouting: "Who are you, and what are you going to do! I beat my own tenant to death, what the hell are you doing!"
At this time, Feng Shengshi had been escorted to Zhu Youxiao.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao said coldly: "Who gave you the courage to beat and kill tenants at will? The Ming Dynasty's laws did not say that employers can beat and kill tenants at will!"
"You're a funny young master, but do you have any fame? My father once served as the minister of the Nanjing Ministry of War, and I was born in Xiaolian. What's wrong with beating a tenant to death? Why do you have to meddle in other people's business!"
Feng Shengshi asked with a sneer.
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao only said to Hua Yuncheng: "Hua Aiqing, you are the governor here. I leave this matter to you. You must handle it as a model. In addition, tell the world and order all the clans in the world to immediately stop establishing independent township laws." If anyone is found to be making a rural covenant privately or escaping from the law, he will be punished as a crime of treason!"
"I obey the decree!"
Hua Yuncheng replied.
When Feng Shengshi heard Zhu Youxiao calling Hua Yuncheng Hua Aiqing, he felt something was wrong and couldn't help but look shocked.
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