On June 6, the eleventh year of Ankang in the Ming Dynasty, the special train of Emperor Zhu Jianyan of the Ming Dynasty arrived at Yingtian Mansion.
Prince Zhu Jingyuan of Dashi, the chief envoy of Jianghuai Province, led the main officials of Jianghuai Province to greet him at the royal station.
After a simple ceremony, Zhu Jianyan, accompanied by Zhu Jingyuan, entered the Forbidden City of Yingtian Mansion.
If the emperor comes to Yingtian Mansion normally, he will live directly in Qianqing Palace.
The Supreme Emperor Zhu Zhongliang was also here, and Zhu Jianyan also came with something to do, so he went directly to see the Supreme Emperor.
After a simple greeting, Zhu Jianyan asked his entourage to put the information he brought on the table, then dismissed the other entourage, and the three of them started an internal meeting of the royal family.
Zhu Jianyan complained directly to Zhu Zhongliang:
"You have such a big heart, kid! You can really think of anything!"
After complaining for a few words, Zhu Jianyan looked at his father again:
"You are always spoiling him, and you still want to do such big things, and you are always adding fuel to the flames..."
Zhu Zhongliang blew his beard:
"Aren't you quite cooperative? The momentum has already been built up.
“Rich families all over the world know that the emperor is going to build a new palace, which has caused the prices of construction workers and building materials to rise.
"Stop talking about this, let me see what those people from the Ministry of Construction have designed..."
Zhu Zhongliang went directly to the things that Zhu Jianyan had brought.
Zhu Jingyuan stayed silent while smiling, and his eyes were mainly on those things.
The grandfather and grandson discovered that the pile of documents on the top was the draft review of the latest tax reform.
The draft has been basically finalized. If the emperor has no other suggestions for revision, Zhu Pi will seal it and ask the Ministry of Punishment to issue it, and it will take effect.
These two tax reforms are indeed more important than building a new palace.
The grandfather and grandson immediately took a copy and looked through it.
Zhu Jianyan was asked by his father, but he stopped talking and drank tea from his own cup.
Seeing the two of them looking through the information, Zhu Jianyan casually mentioned:
"Father, Jingyuan, you two should also take a look. If you have no objection, I will sign it."
Zhu Zhongliang read through it roughly and said:
“If you want to ask me for advice, it would be to increase the investigation and punishment of tax evasion and tax evasion.
“It can be led by Dongchang to establish a special special service agency with executive powers to investigate and deal with tax evasion.
“Furthermore, the universal basic tax-free zone is given on the basis of no crime or tax evasion within a certain period of time.
“Then it should be taken back when something similar happens, rather than just because it was not discovered at the time.
“For example, before a person inherits a family business, he is not found to have committed tax evasion and obtains tax-free status.
“But if tax evasion is discovered after that, whether it was before or after the inheritance took place, the tax should be recovered.
“We cannot let the parties involved have the mentality that everything will be fine if they escape.
“The ten-year period should not only be maintained before the inheritance, but also after the inheritance.
“There must be no new tax evasion behavior for at least ten years in order to be completely immune from recovery.
“What I’m talking about here is the actual time of occurrence.
“As long as it is tax evasion, it occurs within ten years before or after the time of inheritance.
“No matter when it is discovered, it will be recovered retroactively.
"That means there is an unlimited period of prosecution."
Zhu Jianyan nodded slowly as he listened:
"Father, you have considered it carefully. I will ask them to add it when I get back. Jingyuan, do you have any opinions?"
Zhu Jingyuan also thought about it for a while, and the things he considered in his mind were slightly different from those of his father and grandfather.
Zhu Jingyuan is concerned about, first, the changes in the review draft of this new tax system compared to the original plan.
The tax-free point has been moved downwards, and the tax-free conditions have been relaxed.
The second is the conditions for special exemptions.
Taking the highest level of tax brackets above five million banknotes as an example, the default tax rate is 40%, which is very high.
However, according to the basic reduction and exemption conditions, if the party concerned has no criminal or tax evasion record within ten years, he can directly reduce the amount by half.
The tax rate directly becomes 20%. This condition is very clear and there is nothing to say.
On top of this, there are also special exemptions and exemptions.
After review by the Chief Envoy and the Ministry of Rites, further reductions and refunds can be made based on the amount and proportion, and with the approval of the Minister of Rites, Zong Bo, and the emperor.
There is no big problem with the setup itself.
However, the conditions for review by the Ministry of Rites and the conditions for approval are very vague.
There is a lot of room for "humanized" treatment.
To put it bluntly, it is easy to breed corruption.
At the same time, in the society of the Ming Dynasty, the more wealthy a family was, the more likely it was that they had better political connections.
The highest-ranking clan clans could directly meet and request the emperor.
In other words, the richer a family is, the more they can use this "humanized" planning to reduce and reduce taxes for themselves.
These people should all feel that they have the opportunity to completely eliminate this last part of the tax.
This should be the reason why the current version of the tax law can be approved by the court ministers, clans, and nobles.
This natural logic, and the previous adjustment to lower the tax-free point, actually move the subject of taxation downwards from the richest class.
It has been adjusted from the most affluent class as the heaviest to the middle and upper class as the heaviest.
The wealthiest groups have a high probability of getting completely tax-free opportunities through connections and connections.
Traditional aristocrats, traditional multi-party clans, basically have a network of relationships that suits their status.
On the contrary, new types of business families, especially those "nouveau riche" who are getting rich quickly, may not be able to keep up.
The wealth far exceeds the tax threshold, and there are not enough connections to complete further tax exemption applications.
They may be the actual major payers of estate and gift taxes.
It is also a key group that triggers corruption.
If there are no existing relationships, then you have to spend money to build relationships and build relationships with traditional bureaucrats.
This incident can be said to be very typical, showing the "tradition" of Ming Dynasty's traditional society.
The main body of the Ming Dynasty's ruling group was composed of aristocrats and professional bureaucrats.
Therefore, the tax laws they enact must be beneficial to them.
Their instinctive joint target is still the emerging pure business family.
Many of them can also do business, which is one of their starting points for targeting pure businessmen.
If implemented according to the current plan, this tax law reform will have the opposite effect on UK inheritance tax and asset tax.
That was a way for the British bourgeois government to get money from the traditional aristocracy.
Zhu Jingyuan thought about it and put forward several ideas of his own:
“Father, I believe that we should focus on supervising the integrity of officials responsible for approving special tax exemptions.
“Corruption can easily occur here, and special personnel should be assigned to supervise it.
"At the same time, no matter what level the examiner is, as long as it is a special tax exemption approval, the most important thing should be reviewed by the emperor.
“You must obtain permission from your father Zhu Pi before you can go through the tax refund procedures.
"If your father doesn't approve, then you can't retreat.
“At the same time, my father can ask Dongchang to set up a special agency to launch a comprehensive investigation of tax evasion and criminal behavior against all families who submit applications for additional tax refunds.
“Making special tax rebate applications less easy to get through.
"It's almost impossible to even get through."
Zhu Jianyan was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly:
"What Jingyuan said makes sense, the emperor should indeed have the most important power of approval.
"But this is a tax law handled by my organization. Of course I will approve some of them after strict review is completed.
"As for whether future generations are willing to review and approve according to my standards, then I can't control it..."
Zhu Zhongliang laughed directly when he heard this:
"Jian Yan, you are a bad boy too..."
Zhu Jingyuan's idea was actually to put the most important review and approval of additional applications in the hands of the emperor.
At the same time, extremely strict review of additional tax refunds is used, and even rogue methods are used to keep the tax refund in place, making the additional tax refund exist in name only.
His father understood this purpose, but said that he would work towards this goal, but would not completely refuse approval.
At the same time, let the emperor behind him pretend that he does not like the new law established by his father.
So I don’t want to implement it honestly, and I even deliberately stumble.
Let the additional tax-free quota exist in name only.
This transformation process is very reasonable. As long as the subsequent emperor is tougher, it should be realized relatively smoothly.
Only by directly cutting off the extra tax exemption can we use a rigid unified progressive tax rate to really extract money from the richest class.
Of course, emerging pure industrial and commercial families also have to pay taxes.
When the additional tax refunds specifically applied for are in name only, it will also reduce the possibility of them engaging in corruption specifically.
After Zhu Jingyuan thought it through, he smiled and handed over to his father:
"Father, Holy Ming!"
Zhu Jianyan waved his hands with a smile:
"That's it for the new tax law. When I get back, I'll have my father and Jingyuan's suggestions written down that can be made public.
"This matter should be over, and the next step will be those big projects you mentioned, Jingyuan.
“Let’s first take a look at the design plans for the new palace and the new central government office building.
“The Ministry of Construction has put out a lot of plans, and I’m a little undecided, and none of them are completely satisfactory.
"Father, Jingyuan, you two should also come and give us some advice..."
Zhu Zhongliang put down the documents of the new tax law and looked at the pile of design drawings below.
Zhu Jingyuan also squeezed in beside his grandfather, and the two of them looked at the various drawings together.
Zhu Jianyan sat on the other side and gave the most basic introduction to the grandfather and grandson here.
Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jingyuan, the two grandsons, were a little confused by the most radical design plan as soon as they came up.
Zhu Zhongliang doubted his ears:
"Boss, what are you talking about? It starts at 400 meters? How high is the old mountain in Jiangbei? It's only 400 meters, right?"
Zhu Jianyan was very satisfied with this reaction. He was so surprised at first:
"Yes, the people from the Ministry of Construction said that they can ensure a height of 400 meters.
“We already have corresponding technical accumulation, and we have also arranged for craftsmen to participate in the construction of new high-rise buildings in various countries in Thailand and Spain.
“The biggest problem is that to construct and effectively utilize such a tall building, the traditional palace layout must be changed.
“The most important question is whether it is acceptable to stack the functions of palaces such as the Ancestral Temple, Fengtian Hall, and Wenhua Hall on top of each other.
"On this issue, I would like to ask my father's opinion..."
After all, Zhu Zhongliang was an old emperor who had experienced strong winds and waves, and he quickly absorbed the impact of the 400-meter-high building:
“If a four-hundred-meter-tall building is not used to house people, it will not be used for daily office work.
“It is really difficult to use it effectively by simply holding various ceremonies, and they are official ceremonies without considering commercialization.
“When stacked four hundred meters apart, the space inside is too big…
"Jingyuan, what do you think?"
Zhu Jingyuan's surprise was actually different from Zhu Zhongliang's.
Zhu Zhongliang was surprised that a 400-meter-tall building could be built, and Zhu Jingyuan was surprised that such a tall building could be built.
Zhu Jingyuan had seen taller buildings in his previous life.
Speaking of which, the Empire State Building, completed in 1931, was already 380 meters tall.
If you think about it this way, there is actually no problem at all for Ming Dynasty to build 400-meter-tall buildings.
When craftsmen faced the emperor, in order to avoid failing to realize what they said, they might still make conservative estimates.
If we ask them to build a 500-meter building, they should be able to build it.
Zhu Jingyuan recovered faster than Zhu Zhongliang, and then listening to the conversation between Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan, another issue came to mind.
My grandfather and father, who have experienced very practical education and training, are really a bit "stingy":
“My thought is, what is the concept of effective utilization?
“The taller hall I want to build exists as a symbol of the empire’s authority.
“If we can achieve this purpose, it should be considered an effective use.
"Grandpa, father, are you still planning to make money from this building?
"The current Fengtian Temple can be used several times a year, so it cannot be said that it is not used effectively, right?
"In fact, our family's several palaces and palaces around the world are idle most of the time."
When the two men next to them heard this, they immediately turned around.
Then I was a little speechless.
After a few seconds of silence, Zhu Zhongliang couldn't help but say:
"Even so, it's still a bit of a waste to put such a huge space...
“It’s four hundred meters high, the interior needs to be wide enough, and there needs to be a larger platform of over a hundred meters. How much does it cost?
"The cost of building this building is probably enough to build an independent palace..."
Zhu Jianyan also nodded:
"I also feel that way……"
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
"Then don't go so high. Wasn't our original plan two hundred meters..."
As a result, Zhu Zhongliang immediately said again:
"That's too low...
“Since we can build buildings of 400 meters, the Thai people will definitely be able to build buildings of more than 200 meters or even more than 300 meters soon.
"In this way, the tall buildings of the Taixi people will soon exceed our main hall."
Zhu Jingyuan immediately continued to persuade:
"The Thai churches are much taller than our cathedral...
“Intellectuals in Europe and the West are reflecting on whether spending so much money on building churches is really worth it.
"Would it be more in line with His divine will if it is used to develop industry and commerce, or even directly for agricultural development...
“In Thailand and the West, buildings that are too tall are often criticized as having poor aesthetics.
"Multiple floors similar to the Ming Dynasty are the best artistic sense and the most comfortable to live in and use..."
Zhu Zhongliang still seemed very confused after hearing these words:
"Let's... read the design draft first, see what the craftsmen think, and then talk about it after reading it..."
So the three of them continued to review the design plan.
After looking through it in general, Zhu Zhongliang was still hesitant, so he looked at Zhu Jingyuan:
"Jingyuan, what do you think? Do you have any ideas?"
Zhu Jingyuan looked at his father because he wanted to follow up on some of the ideas his father had introduced before:
“I think it would be feasible to make the platform under the palace as large as possible, pour it with reinforced concrete and create a hollow design.
“It would be too wasteful to pour concrete into a solid platform with an area of several square kilometers and a height of hundreds of meters.
“Even if more than half of the space is left inside, it will not affect the structural strength.
“But this internal space should not be used as an office building for the central government office. It is really a bit like an underground palace.
“It’s a kind of mental torture for civil and military officials to work in a place similar to an underground palace.
“I think it should be used as a symbolic space to store certain special items.
“For example, different types of soil and water, staple food seeds and specimens of agricultural plants from around the world.
“And the most important tools and machinery, from rakes and spinning wheels to combustion engines and electric motors, as well as tractors and generators.
“Plus a variety of typical vehicles, from horse-drawn carriages and bicycles to cars and airplanes, and typical ships from various eras.
“As well as various types of weapons and equipment, from swords, guns, swords and halberds to cannons and aircraft, we can also put a model of an atomic bomb in the future.
“Coupled with various typical books from ancient times to the present, from collections of classics and history to science and technology, including drawings of various important inventions.
“There are also various musical instruments, calligraphy and paintings, as well as daily necessities that are widely circulated among the people.
“In the future, new and landmark new things and technologies should be stored and displayed in it.
“Generally similar to a museum, but not the most typical museum.
“It is a symbolic display and preservation, and it is not usually open to the public.
“Specific groups of people are allowed to visit and worship only when certain ceremonies are held.
“The symbolism of this design is that our civilization is built on these things.
“They are the foundation and record of our people and dynasty that continue to this day.
“Even, there can be another idea.
"Even if everything outside is destroyed, as long as there are still people around, opening this underground palace-like warehouse can re-establish our civilization based on the information inside."
When the two emperors Zhu Zhongliang and Zhu Jianyan heard this, they couldn't help but nodded lightly.
Zhu Zhongliang directly and clearly supported:
"Okay, this is actually another form of Shejitan, a more modern design.
“In other words, based on the needs of the new era, the functions that should be added to the community are once again improved.
“Putting the most important function of the Sheji Altar below the main hall eliminates the need to build a high-rise building on the original Sheji Altar.
"It would be better if the place where the Shejitan should be planned should still be mainly displayed with soil and fields."
(End of chapter)
