On February 25, the 11th year of Ankang, Zheng Xingyang returned to Yingtianfu from Suzhou again.
This time Zheng Xingyang brought back a box of video films and a stack of specially compiled investigation reports.
Zhu Jingyuan dismissed the others and invited Lin Zexu alone to listen to Zheng Xingyang's report.
Zheng Xingyang handed the documents he prepared to Zhu Jingyuan and began to explain the general situation:
"Your Highness's guess is absolutely correct. Liu Yudong from Suzhou and Wang Baoqing from Songjiang are both nouveau riche. They are very flamboyant in everything and like to show off.
"I heard that you can use film equipment to record the wedding scene, which is equivalent to recording the most showy process. I didn't hesitate at all and agreed directly.
"I asked the audio-visual craftsmen I recruited to follow the Liu and Wang families to record the entire process. I went to Daming Bank to check the files, and also asked the locals if there had been similar situations before.
"Then I was completely convinced that the combination of Liu and Wang was very typical and had become a local practice.
"Two business families have established a deep cooperative relationship through marriage.
“Our film perfectly records this process as evidence and example.
"I will now take the wedding of Liu and Wang as an example to explain what this typical process is like.
"Actually, whether it's Wang Baoqing or Liu Yudong, although both families can be considered wealthy, they can't come up with working capital of 10,000 gold notes at once.
"The total assets of the two companies are of course more than ten thousand gold coins.
“This cash of ten thousand gold notes is actually a loan.
"Wang Baoqing himself borrowed 10,000 gold notes from the bank using the shares and assets of the factory under his name as collateral, and the bank funds were directly deposited into Wang Baoqing's account.
"Wang Baoqing took out the money and took the cash to the wedding venue to give to his son, and asked his son to transfer it to his daughter-in-law.
"Wang Baoqing's daughter-in-law is also Liu Yudong's daughter. She then gave the money to her biological father Liu Yudong...
“A father does not need to pay tax when giving money to his son, a husband does not need to pay tax when giving money to his wife, and a daughter does not need to pay tax when giving money to her father.
“At the same time, the entire process was transferred directly with cash, which was passed through the hands of four people at the wedding venue, so there was no transfer fee.
“Only when I made the initial withdrawal, I received a very limited handling fee...
“When the funds fell into Liu Yudong’s hands, Liu Yudong’s dowry for his daughter was also delivered to his daughter’s and son-in-law’s homes.
"The dowry given by Liu Yudong is part of the equity of his factory..."
Zheng Xingyang's process is basically finished, but there are obviously many things to explain later.
However, when Zhu Jingyuan heard this, he couldn't bear it and asked directly:
"What do people in banks do for a living? The loans can't be given in the name of betrothal gifts and marriages, right?
“If it wasn’t for production and operation, why would the bank dare to give Wang Baoqing a personal loan of 10,000 gold notes?
“If a business loan was used as a betrothal gift, and it was done so openly, wouldn’t the bank recover the loan?
"This is blatant tax evasion. This is Wang Baoqing's intention to buy a stake in Liu Yudong's factory!"
When Zheng Xingyang heard this, he said with some embarrassment:
"Wang Baoqing did apply for a loan in the name of his son's marriage.
“The reason is that the dowry gifts for girls from local families of this level are of this amount, which is impossible for normal people to afford, so they all have to take out loans.
"This kind of loan issued by the bank can also recover the interest normally, so this type of loan is specially issued..."
Zhu Jingyuan's eyes widened when he heard this:
"This businessman clearly wants to evade taxes, but the bank still wants to cooperate? Are the people in this bank crazy?
"Old Lin, in the name of , write a report to my father, explain the situation, and request the headquarters of Daming Bank to handle it.
"It is recommended that the person who proposes and implements this so-called betrothal gift loan be sent to the interior of Mozhou to open up wasteland!
"Relevant persons in charge of the Suzhou and Jianghuai areas of the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty who are responsible for supervision have also been sent to the inland of Mozhou to open up wasteland!"
Zhu Jingyuan rarely gets angry.
But this time I really couldn't help it.
These businessmen are really treacherous, and there is definitely something wrong with the people in the bank.
Does the bank grant a loan just because it expects to recover the interest?
Did the tax department just let things go as they faced collective opposition from local governments?
In Zhu Jingyuan's opinion, this is the reef hidden under the tide when the tide comes.
These are all big issues that must be dealt with.
But Zhu Jingyuan was also very restrained. Although what this group of people did was obviously harmful to the interests of the Ming Dynasty, it seems that they were all taking advantage of loopholes and did not directly violate the law.
Therefore, I can only request that the company management deal with it and throw the relevant personnel to the place with the worst environment.
Lin Zexu also felt that these businessmen and banks were going too far, so he subconsciously agreed and was going to take a pen to write a telegram.
But next to him, Zheng Xingyang quickly reminded:
"Wait a minute, Your Highness, the one that issued this kind of loan is not Daming Bank, but Gusu Bank, a local private bank in Suzhou."
Zhu Jingyuan and Lin Zexu were immediately stunned.
"How can this be a private bank? The key is whether it is 10,000 gold notes or a betrothal gift loan..."
"Can private banks issue loans worth tens of thousands of dollars at will?"
Zheng Xingyang carefully explained:
“The Suzhou Bank in Suzhou can indeed provide such a large amount of loans.
"Suzhou... is currently recognized as the number one city in the world. From the court to the people, it is the richest place in the Ming Dynasty.
“Gusu Bank is the largest private bank in Suzhou, and many local commercial banks and factory owners in Suzhou have investments and loans.
"By the way, Liu Yudong also has shares in Gusu Bank, although not much...
“At the same time, Wang Baoqing and Liu Yudong are operating in the aviation industry, which is the hottest industry in recent years, with very high profit margins and investment recovery rates.
"Wang Baoqing directly mortgaged his factory assets and equity, and Gusu Bank really had no reason to refuse.
“Because the probability that Gusu Bank can recover the loan normally is very high.
"In addition, Liu Yudong, who collects the money, is also a shareholder, so he can contact and coordinate to complete the process..."
When Zhu Jingyuan heard this, he sighed with a straight face and said:
"What a great mansion in the world..."
“The buyer and seller completed the transaction, the bank issued the loan and the yield was very good.
“But—the court didn’t receive a penny of taxes!
“The key is that, for now, it all appears to be completely legal!
"The Chongzhen Dynasty gave Li Zicheng and Jiannu the opportunity to become bigger because they could not collect taxes!
“So this kind of tax evasion loophole must be blocked no matter what!
"My Mr. Lin, please come and give me some advice. What should we do now?"
Due to Emperor Shizu's personal practice for decades, there has been long-term reflection and rebuke within the court and royal family.
In the end, the correct idea that taxes must be collected was established in both the royal family and the court.
Any official who suggested that the court should not collect taxes would be kicked out of the court by the emperor.
If the emperor were serious, he could even use conspiracy to subvert the name of the Ming Dynasty and be thrown into prison for treason.
It is completely natural for Zhu Jingyuan to be angry about this.
Lin Zexu thought for a while:
“Students think it’s not too late to make amends.
“The students suggested convening the Jianghuai Chief Envoy’s Department of Taxation, the Ming Dynasty Royal Bank, the Inspector’s Department, and the Inspector’s Censor to discuss and come up with a response plan, submit it to the Ministry of Punishment for review, and establish corresponding laws.
"New laws will be used to supervise and restrict similar situations in the future."
Zhu Jingyuan waved his hand directly and said:
"Mr. Lin is right when he says that it is not too late to remedy the situation before it is too late.
“The fundamental reason why things like this happen is that the laws are not perfect enough, which allows these overly clever businessmen to take advantage of the loopholes.
“What we have to do now is to fill this seemingly large gap.
"Just do as sir said and notify the relevant personnel immediately to hold a meeting."
Lin Zexu immediately agreed and wrote Zhu Jingyuan's order.
At the same time, Zhu Jingyuan walked back and forth twice in the room and flipped through Zheng Xingyang's report.
Then he muttered to himself:
“Because these two companies are engaged in the aviation industry, so the expected profits are very good, so they can get loans?
“To work in the aviation industry in Daming, you basically have to join the Aviation Industry Association and obtain relevant patent authorizations in the aviation industry.
“The Aviation Industry Association is a semi-official organization, and I am also the honorary president.
"The main basic patents in the world's aviation industry are basically in the hands of my Daming Airlines, the Royal Flying Machinery Company, and the Ordnance Department..."
Zhu Jingyuan stopped when he said this...
When Zheng Xingyang heard this, he asked:
"Your Highness, then we can contact the Aviation Industry Association and Daming Airlines to kick Wang and Liu out of the Aviation Industry Association and directly terminate the patent authorization.
"Their behavior seems to be legal before Mingqian. As patent holders, it is also reasonable and legal for you and Daming Airlines to refuse to license a certain company in your personal capacity!"
Lin Zexu, who was writing the order, heard these words and subconsciously listened, wondering what Zhu Jingyuan would decide.
When Zhu Jingyuan thought of this, similar thoughts did pop up in his mind, but he gave up quickly.
Facing Zheng Xingyang's suggestion, Zhu Jingyuan sighed helplessly and waved his hand:
“I am a prince, even if I do things in my own name, I actually represent the royal family and the Ming Dynasty.
"The people below have grievances, and when they curse me personally in their hearts, they will probably blame my father and the imperial court.
“When facing my own people and subjects, I cannot do whatever I want with Western barbarians and foreigners.
“The imperial court has not clearly stated what cannot be done before, and the key is that it does not violate traditional public order and good customs.
"I can't punish the people with personal emotions just because they did this kind of thing.
“To punish someone without teaching is called cruelty, and to punish someone without discipline is called violence.
“First set the rules, give reminders and warnings, and then deal with the violators according to the rules, and only then can you gain something.
“To a certain extent, this is also based on trust.
“Although we are losing some money now, we can maintain and strengthen the credibility of the royal family and the court.
"This is conducive to the implementation and implementation of the court's subsequent policies."
When Lin Zexu and Zheng Xingyang heard what Zhu Jingyuan said, they both instinctively sighed in their hearts. This was indeed the choice that the Prince of Dashi they followed would make.
Lin Zexu continued to finish writing the telegram.
Zheng Xingyang couldn't help but said with a bit of injustice:
"His Highness has a kind heart, but the student feels that those opportunistic businessmen may not be grateful to His Highness.
“You might even think you’re smart, seizing the opportunity to avoid paying taxes.
“If Your Highness doesn’t think of a way to punish them, then they will definitely take advantage of the loopholes even more in the future.
“Laws are fixed, but society, industry and commerce are constantly developing, and there will always be various new situations.
"Those smart businessmen will definitely find loopholes of this kind in the future.
"Not punishing businessmen who take advantage of loopholes at all is, to a certain extent, encouraging them to find loopholes!"
When Zhu Jingyuan heard this, he smiled and waved his hand and said:
"Xingyang doesn't need to be so aggrieved. Although I won't punish them directly because of the undetermined law, I won't just let them go.
“The so-called “preparing for past mistakes and avoiding future ones” is also the duty of a ruler.
"Draft a draft and write an application to my father in my name.
“Requesting the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Punishment, the Ministry of Taxation, Dongchang, Jinyiwei and other relevant departments to arrange personnel to organize an investigation and rectification team for tax evasion and money laundering.
"Temporary governance and warning regulations are issued to issue warnings to all tax bureaus and banks.
“All banks are no longer allowed to operate bride price, dowry, and marriage-related loan business, otherwise they will be punished for tax evasion and money laundering.
“At the same time, a comprehensive review of large private loans and capital flows over the past three years has begun.
"The court will not directly punish tax avoidance behavior that occurred before today and does not violate existing laws.
“However, after any form of tax evasion is confirmed, no matter what industry the manufacturer or individual involved belongs to, they will no longer enjoy any tax relief in the next three years.
“All government-owned and private banks will no longer be allowed to issue loans to themselves and controlled manufacturers in the next three years.
“Unless the parties and manufacturers take the initiative to make up for all the taxes evaded in the past three years.
“If it involves industry associations and patent authorization, the relevant industry associations will no longer refund patent authorization fees in the next three years.
“From now on, banks that grant loans and accept deposits knowing that the loans are being used for tax avoidance are prohibited.
“It has been confirmed that the other party did not use the loan for the agreed purpose, but the bank did not recover the loan.
“All operations will be suspended for rectification until the loans are recovered, assistance is collected in the collection of corresponding taxes, and sufficient fines are paid.
"At the same time, please ask the Ministry of Rites to come forward to investigate the arrogance among the people on the issues of marriage, raising children, and supporting the elderly."
Although Zhu Jingyuan is willing to "establish trust", he will not pursue extreme procedural justice like the Westerners in later legends.
China’s cultural tradition is to pursue substantive justice or objective justice.
Extreme procedural justice, in traditional Chinese philosophy, can be regarded as incomplete justice in most cases.
Procedural justice can be compared to "absolute fairness", which requires the same treatment regardless of the target status.
The goal of China's philosophy is to give appropriate treatment based on the target situation, which is "justice."
The people Zhu Jingyuan has to face are all traditional Ming Dynasty people, and they will not pursue extreme procedural justice.
Both parties have a common understanding and know that the core goal of Ming law is justice.
They all know that it is wrong to take advantage of the law, and their actions are poaching the Ming Dynasty.
It is impossible for Zhu Jingyuan to encourage this kind of behavior, and these businessmen also know that this kind of behavior will not be encouraged.
Even if the emperor does not step outside the legal framework and punish the crime directly, it can be regarded as mercy.
Both parties do not believe in the postmodern utopian logic of "taking advantage of loopholes in the law to improve the law."
Zhu Jingyuan's final choice was also based on "justice."
Because the court did not explicitly prohibit related behaviors before, it will not directly punish the behaviors now.
But it will reduce the benefits and care they might otherwise receive.
If tax exemptions, operating loans, and patent returns are all gone, it will be very difficult to operate in the next three years.
In normal times, a variety of benefits that are not rigid targets are maintained and rewarded to the managed targets.
When the other party's behavior does harm the collective interests, but it is difficult to find an accurate crime to deal with.
Issue a formal warning and cut these semi-certain benefits.
At the same time, new rules were formulated in response to the problems encountered this time.
It is still legal and compliant, can also improve regulations, and can also serve as a warning to targets.
This is also a typical Chinese traditional management logic.
On this basis, Zhu Jingyuan gave them a chance to confess.
If you take the initiative to confess and make up part of the evaded taxes, you can continue to receive semi-certain benefits in the future.
You can actually get another hidden reward.
Manufacturers who are willing to cooperate with the court in paying taxes will definitely be given priority in obtaining more public business opportunities.
If you know your mistakes and can correct them, there is no greater good.
(End of chapter)
