In Zhu Jingyuan's view, the Ordnance Department and the Ministry of Industry will be very busy in the next few years, so there is no need to add more burdens to them for the time being.
The craftsmen led by Zhu Jingyuan and Li Rui stayed at the test site for another day and went through all the existing engineering projects.
Tell them all the ideas that may be useful and ask them to write them down and try them back to see if they work.
As Ming Dynasty's scientific and technological frontier research became more and more in-depth, Zhu Jingyuan could directly provide fewer and fewer reference opinions.
When the airplane was invented, Zhu Jingyuan could directly provide design ideas and even draw general drawings.
Most projects now can only provide direction and reference suggestions.
But direction and advice are still important…
Ming's mainstream scientific and technological research direction will not make any big mistakes in the next few decades, which can accept a large amount of resources.
Two days later, Zhu Jingyuan sent away the craftsmen of the Ordnance Department headed by Li Rui and returned to the Forbidden City.
After a short rest for a day, Zhu Jingyuan resumed his original work.
In the past two days, the secretaries arranged by Zhu Jingyuan began to come back one after another.
However, the first people to come back were not the local investigators from the nearest Yingtian Mansion, but the people in charge of Suzhou Mansion.
Zheng Xingyang, who was born in a branch of the Yanping County Duke's family, found Zhu Jingyuan in a little hurry.
First, I handed over a report I wrote and briefly explained:
"Your Highness, the investigation of the students in Suzhou is not completely over yet.
“But the investigation in recent days has produced very important results, and I feel it is necessary to report to you as soon as possible.
“Recently, there was a wedding in Suzhou that made everyone famous.
“The woman’s parent’s name is Liu Yudong, a native of Suzhou, and his family owns a civilian aircraft engine factory.
“The man’s parent’s name is Wang Baoqing, a native of Songjiang Prefecture, and his family owns a small civilian flying machine factory.
“Both families themselves are very famous in the local area.
"There are members of the family who work in the local government, and there are also family members who are officials in the imperial court, and the highest official title is the fourth-grade prefect.
"The two factories and firms are ranked high among similar manufacturers in the two places. They are also new factories in industries that have emerged in the past ten years, so they can indeed be considered a good match.
“But precisely because the two industries are already quite competitive in their respective industries, the competitiveness of both parties will be further enhanced after the combination of the two.
"Officials from the two families will definitely assist each other in the future. If two complementary factories are put together, their industrial scale will be large to a certain extent.
"At the same time, local people also told the students that Wang Baoqing gave a dowry of 10,000 gold notes, and if nothing else happened, Liu Yudong might also give a dowry of similar value...
“Furthermore, according to investigations over the past few days, similar situations have been common in the local area.
"Students believe that the court should step in to make some necessary adjustments."
Zhu Jingyuan turned over Zheng Xingyang's report with a serious expression.
This matter is the marriage of two local families.
They are not yet considered a truly famous family. After all, neither family has a title yet. The highest member of the family is a fourth-rank official, and they are all local prefects.
The family's industries are all related to the aviation industry, which means they have a history of no more than ten years at most.
They are all a new generation of businessmen who have seized opportunities in the new round of industrial revolution.
In recent years, there should be many similar businessmen all over the Ming Dynasty.
Perhaps in the eyes of traditional aristocrats, traditional bureaucratic families, traditional businessmen and landowners, these people can only be regarded as nouveau riche.
However, they must already be quite "powerful" among local private capital.
Local clans, family officials, and local government officials also grabbed the spotlight in the aviation industry.
Especially the betrothal gift and dowry of 10,000 gold coins gave Zhu Jingyuan a different taste.
Ten thousand gold notes is equivalent to fifty million yuan in his previous life.
Fifty million in betrothal gifts, what is the concept?
The largest share of betrothal gifts circulated on the Internet in the previous life seemed to be only ten to twenty million.
Although I don't know what kind of betrothal gift I have seen from a truly wealthy family in my previous life, the price of 10,000 gold coins as a betrothal gift in this world has reached a terrifying level.
As the prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jingyuan himself had an annual salary of only two thousand gold coins.
When his grandfather, the then Ming Emperor Zhu Zhongliang, supported his investment in the aviation industry, he only gave him 10,000 gold notes.
That 10,000 gold notes made his father, the prince, happy. It was equivalent to his salary for five years at that time.
At the same time, according to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty Mansion, the betrothal gift for the Prince of Ming Dynasty to marry his wife and his wife, the princess, only included one hundred taels of gold ingots, which was only one hundred gold coins.
It is equivalent to only half a million yuan in future generations. This is the royal prince of the world's great empire.
This was the result of Emperor Shizu doubling the betrothal gift in his later period.
Before the Chongzhen Dynasty, the prince's "statutory" betrothal gift was only fifty taels of gold, equivalent to 250,000 in later generations.
Of course, the process of marrying a prince of the Ming Dynasty was quite cumbersome, and gold ingots were only part of the total betrothal gift.
If other gifts given directly to the woman's family are added together, the value of the bride price will usually not double.
This is also the rule left by Emperor Shizu.
This is only the amount of betrothal gift provided by the court. The prince himself can basically spend much more than this.
However, the tradition of the feudal dynasty requires etiquette and law, and even if you have money, you cannot overstep it.
At the same time, when the two families in this report get married, the bride price must not be just cash.
Other things may be worth more.
The prince paid 100 gold coins to marry his wife, but ended up paying 10,000 gold coins for this private wedding?
Is it a hundred times the prince’s betrothal gift?
Zhu Jingyuan quickly flipped through the report in his hand, and then asked Zheng Xingyang directly:
"Do you think they are laundering money? Or completing a transaction through bride price and dowry to evade taxes?"
Zheng Xingyang immediately nodded and said:
“Students are not entirely sure because there is no direct evidence yet, so we can only say that it is very likely.
"The students suggested that people be arranged to follow up and investigate immediately. Local people said that similar situations are very common..."
Zhu Jingyuan put down Zheng Xingyang's report and turned to look at Lin Zexu beside him:
"Mr. Lin, I'm not sure personally. Does our Ming Dynasty's civil law stipulate whether the betrothal gift for marrying a wife needs to be taxed?"
Lin Zexu was also a little confused by this question:
"This... students have the impression that there are no special regulations related to betrothal gifts.
“In actual legal enforcement, no one collects taxes on bride price and dowry.
“According to laws related to gifts and inheritance, property that parents directly donate to their children is not subject to tax.
“Under normal circumstances, the bride price and dowry are ultimately given to the newlyweds.
“It is equivalent to two parents in a marriage, each giving a sum of money and assets to their children’s families.
“This provides the most basic foundation for the newlyweds’ future life.
“If the law is strictly followed, there are obvious loopholes.
“The bride price is actually given by the man’s family to the woman’s family before the marriage, when the children of both parties are not married yet.
“Gifts between two people who are not directly related are theoretically taxable.
“It’s just that in the past, there were rarely huge betrothal gifts and dowries.
"Traditional officials and tax collectors also instinctively believe that they should not collect taxes at other people's weddings...
“So there should be no actual implementation.
“Nowadays, industry and commerce are developing rapidly, and private capital is expanding rapidly.
“Coupled with the rapid expansion of the business community, various traditional rules are constantly being broken.
“It cannot be ruled out that emerging businessmen will deliberately take advantage of traditional practices.
“It is true that we must be on guard against using bride prices and dowries to launder money or evade taxes…”
Zhu Jingyuan frowned and thought.
This is a typical example of rapid social development, with new situations constantly emerging in daily life.
The old traditions are beginning to be impacted by the new situation.
Zhu Jingyuan was undecided for a moment as to what role the court should play in this process.
While Zhu Jingyuan was thinking, Zheng Xingyang next to him listened to Lin Zexu's explanation and added:
“Actually, according to student surveys, local tax officials in Suzhou are actually considering collecting bride price and dowry taxes.
“But it encountered collective resistance from locals before it was officially implemented.
"Including businessmen, nobles and many officials, as long as they are prominent figures, they do not want the court to collect this tax.
"After all, everyone's children have to get married. If the betrothal gift is taxed, then sooner or later you will have to pay the tax.
“At the same time, locals have also adapted their methods of delivering bride prices and dowries.
“They began to ask newlyweds to register their marriage first, and then deliver the bride price to the wedding venue on the day of the wedding.
“After the wedding, other belongings will be kept directly by the newlyweds, and the cash will be sent directly to the bank for deposit.
“There is no need to pay tax on the property that parents give to their sons and daughters-in-law.
“This circumvents loopholes caused by gifting assets between families who are not legally related before marriage.
“The local tax officials’ idea of collecting a bride price tax also fell by the wayside.”
Lin Zexu was stunned for a moment and said subconsciously:
"Then there is another question. If both families of the newlywed couple are big businessmen, will they still work in their family's industry after marriage?
“Are all the large amounts of cash and property in their bride-prices and dowries really used for the newlyweds’ lives?
“If the newlyweds did not use the huge amount of cash for family life, nor invest in new factories and businesses in their own names, then where did the money end up?
"If these money and assets are ultimately used to manage the original industries of both parties involved in the marriage, then they are evading taxes or even laundering money..."
Listening to Lin Zexu's analysis, Zheng Xingyang felt a sudden realization:
“Although it cannot be ruled out that the two families who got married were indeed wealthy and both took a large amount of money for the newlyweds to use for living and investment, the possibility of tax evasion through this process is too high.
"It's just that...most businessmen only have a few direct children, and they won't get this opportunity for many years. This may be the reason why the relevant officials did not take the betrothal gift seriously in the end..."
The memories of later generations in Zhu Jingyuan's mind helped him come up with more "advanced" ideas:
“Then have you ever heard that local businessmen transfer assets through marriage?
"Are there any businessmen who have their children repeatedly married and divorced while they were still alive?"
Zheng Xingyang was stunned again:
"It seems...it seems that there is indeed..."
Then he said angrily:
"I just heard it mentioned in the gossip of local people. The people who said it at the time and myself just instinctively felt that there was something wrong with the character of these nouveau riche businessmen...
"Now that His Highness and Mr. Lin have reminded me, I now realize that they may be evading taxes through marriage!
“So Your Highness, let’s start a strict investigation!
"No matter how clean they are on the tax issue, they can't escape the charge of overstepping their bounds."
Zhu Jing touched his one-inch long beard:
“The crime of arrogance is better to be avoided now if possible.
"We really need to be stricter. Nowadays, wealthy businessmen across the country are basically guilty...
“Today’s industry and commerce are developing too fast, and Ming Dynasty is much richer than it was a hundred years ago.
“What was high-standard hundreds of years ago can only be considered ordinary now.
"Let's just talk about houses. The specifications of the Forbidden City's main hall are really not worth mentioning based on the current construction level.
“Using the crime of transgression now will cause a lot of panic among the people, and it will also easily alert the public.
“We still need to find ways to collect enough evidence and use the normal laws that should be taken for granted to convict.
"The wedding of Wang and Liu's family has already passed? Or is it still being prepared?"
Zheng Xingyang immediately continued to introduce what he knew:
"While final preparations are being made, the wedding date has been determined to be the 18th.
“Whether they will evade taxes through marriage or not, as an emerging wealthy family, both of them are really wealthy.
"The person getting married is the legitimate child of both parties. The wedding will definitely be very luxurious and will take a long time to prepare."
Zhu Jingyuan nodded:
"Now that the film industry has developed well, when wealthy private families have major events, have they ever considered hiring professionals to film and record them?"
Zheng Xingyang thought about it:
"I haven't heard of it yet. Currently, movies are mainly used in official education and publicity of court events, and there are very few private applications among the people..."
Zhu Jingyuan shook his head gently:
"It's not enough. It's impossible to spread it quickly if it's only for official use. It still has to go to the private sector.
"Mr. Lin, please make arrangements and contact the film company of the Royal Family Consortium.
“They borrowed people to set up a private film company among the people to promote the business of recording major events in films.
“I don’t think such a nouveau riche family would refuse to record the marriage process.
“Their wedding process was completely recorded, including sound and images.
“Their betrothal gifts and dowries are such a large amount that this nouveau riche family definitely wants to show off.
“Ask them deliberately and let them tell you how much money they have in total and what they will use it for.
“Video the process of delivering the money to the deposit.
“At the same time, I’ll find someone from the bank to track the subsequent fund movements in their deposit account.
“By the way, people who also supervise banks.
"I think since they put the money in the bank, the bank personnel should know clearly whether there are any unreasonable transfers.
“But the bank did not give any reminder or advice to the tax agency.
“Either the money is really just for newlyweds to start their families.
“Either even the people in the bank have become accustomed to it.
"Either you are derelict in your duties..."
(End of chapter)
