510 Public Opinion of the Landowners and Gentry 6
"Since Your Majesty is like this, then we won't beat around the bush. Your Majesty should know that during the glory days of the former Song Dynasty, the two-tax system and the simplified tax system allowed us to pay for relief from work and rest." said the representative of the landlords and gentry.
The corvee service in the Ming Dynasty originally consisted of Lijia Zhengfu, Jun corvee and miscellaneous service.
Among them, Lijia was the main body and household was the basic unit. Households were divided into three grades and nine categories according to the amount of small grains, which served as the basis for compiling the corvée collection.
Ding refers to men of the same age between sixteen and sixty years old, and Liang refers to land tax. The amount of grain depends on the acres of land, so the corvee also includes part of the land tax.
The implementation of this corvee system was predicated on the widespread existence of small landownership among farmers and the relative stability of land rights. However, with the changes of time, especially in the late Ming Dynasty, the corvee tax system established in the early Ming Dynasty has been completely destroyed.
The main reason is that with the development of private ownership of land in the Ming Dynasty, land was increasingly capitalized and land annexation gradually intensified. Landlords became powerful, colluded with the government, seized farmers' land, and used all feasible means to evade corresponding taxes.
In addition, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, eunuchs came to power, manipulated government affairs, and the phenomenon of selling officials and seducing people was very serious. In order to cater to the money-loving eunuchs, officials from all over the country desperately searched for people's wealth and anointing. This eroded the tax base to a considerable extent, resulting in a sharp reduction in state tax revenues.
Faced with this situation, under the instructions of Zhang Juzheng, the Ming Dynasty began to implement a one-whip tax policy, that is, merging taxes and levies, merging land taxes and various types of corvee and levying them together, and at the same time spreading part of the burden of Ding labor into acres of land.
The implementation of the One Whip Law increased the government's fiscal revenue, alleviated the economic crisis, eased the political crisis, lightened the people's burden, and also gave a glimmer of hope to the declining Ming Dynasty.
But after Zhang Juzheng died, this law was completely destroyed.
When Zhu Youjian arrived, Zhu Youjian, who knew the importance of taxation, carried out tax reforms in Ming Dynasty after taking control of the army.
However, Qiming merchants provided Zhu Youjian with a large amount of money, and Zhu Youjian was afraid that these powerful landlords would have nothing to do. Afraid that they would cause trouble for themselves.
In addition, Zhu Youjian felt that the small amount of money that could be used to relieve the corvee was a challenge to the dignity of the country.
So the policy of exempting people from corvee by taking money was changed.
This is nothing to ordinary people. After all, the court is in charge of food and gives symbolic money. The people support it with both hands.
But for these landowners and gentry who are used to enjoying themselves, it is different.
The big pot rice on the construction site is not as good as the one cooked by a professional chef at home.
The thatched beds and tents at the construction site are not as comfortable as the houses and luxurious rooms at home.
In addition, the country's work and rest are not just for free rice, but there are work indicators.
Although the indicator is not very high, it is for ordinary people. For those who do not do physical work all year round, it is a fatal job.
If the Ming Dynasty's army was not now firmly in the hands of Zhu Youjian, and the powerful force in these places had long been wasted, and Zhu Youjian reformed all the way, no matter how high or low they were, I don't know how many people were killed.
They won't do it.
Although they want more benefits, we are not fools or blind. After His Majesty returns to the palace, letting those people starve for a few days has already made His Majesty's intention clear.
They are different from officials. Even if His Majesty is powerful and the army is strong, he still needs these civil servants to govern the country.
But they are different, because their local influence is far greater than speculation, so no emperor in the past dynasties really liked them.
If the dynasty didn't need them to strengthen their control over the local area, otherwise, the emperor would never want them to exist.
And if they really angered His Majesty, His Majesty would probably have no qualms about killing them. Junqu Pavilion
Instead of suing for those unreasonable demands, making His Majesty unhappy, and then being scolded by His Majesty, it would be better to hide, endure the Emperor to death, and wait for the new Emperor to show his benevolence. .
510 Public Opinion of the Landowners and Gentry 6
