If you are not a saint, how can you have no desires? Either seeking profit, seeking fame, or seeking peace of mind.
However, whether you are seeking profit, fame, or peace of mind, there is no conflict at all when facing "eternal emperors" and "eternal famous ministers". It can even be said that no matter what you seek, in fact, "eternal emperors", "Famous ministers throughout the ages" can be satisfied!
This is not only a good reputation for eternity, it is also beneficial and can even bring peace of mind.
A good reputation is never limited to the good name itself, it can bring huge benefits. Moreover, this benefit can be explicit or implicit, as long as you are willing.
Confucius's "Teacher for All Ages" created the "Shenggong Yan" who would never be absent in all dynasties with Confucianism as the "state religion". This is the power of a good reputation; during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the No. 1 scholar of Qin paid homage to Yue Fei's tomb and wrote: "Since the Song Dynasty, people have been ashamed to be named Hui, and when I go to the grave, I am ashamed to be named Qin." This is the impact of bad reputation.
A name is never just a name. Especially under the special social and cultural system of Chinese civilization, no one can accurately measure the power it possesses, but no one dares to underestimate it.
As for peace of mind... The five pavilion elders have studied Confucianism all their lives. Who doesn't have the lofty ideal of "establishing a heart for the heaven and earth, establishing a destiny for the people, inheriting the unique knowledge for the saints, and creating peace for all generations"?
Whether you can do it or not is another matter, but at least you must agree with this ideal in your heart. Especially when he doesn't have to pay a huge price, who wouldn't want to prove that he is also such a Confucian?
"Within! North Korea must be included!" Wang Jiaping suddenly took a deep breath, spread out his beard and hair, knelt on his knees, kowtowed and played loudly: "I am crying and playing this, no matter how difficult and dangerous the road ahead is, the imperial court must overcome all difficulties , to ensure the smooth completion of North Korea’s annexation! Anyone who dares to express dissent in the whole court will be killed!"
"You can kill him!"
The cabinet elders were like birds in the forest, singing in unison. As Wang Jiaping expressed his firm support for North Korea, they all expressed their support, especially the three words "killable", which were said with such determination and murderous intent that they seemed to be facing the possibility of death. Together we will take revenge on the enemies of heaven.
Zhu Yijun was extremely satisfied, raised his chin, and said proudly: "Now that my great Mingde is known to the world and is powerful in all directions, it is natural for me to accept the annexation of North Korea. I will accept your request."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, stretched out his right hand, opened his palm and grasped it suddenly, and said slowly: "God has given me this gift, how dare I refuse it!"
"My Holy Emperor!" The five pavilion elders prostrated themselves on the ground and chanted in unison.
"All my dear friends, please be free." Zhu Yijun waved his hand, smiled, returned to the throne and sat down, and said with satisfaction: "Originally, Nissin also has an attachment, talking about the future direction of North Korea's economic development. However, That appendix is much longer than this one, so I won’t show it to you all to read it one by one. Later, I will ask the Supervisor of Ceremonies to send a copy to the cabinet, and I hope you will review it carefully."
Wang Jiaping said happily: "When it comes to economic issues, I am convinced by the Nanning Marquis. Since it is the work of the Nanning Marquis, there must be no major omissions. The veteran can only say that he will try his best to fill in the gaps and strive to make it better. As good as it gets.”
The results of the highly pragmatic reforms over the years have been obvious to all. As long as they are not blind or deaf, they really have nothing to say on the issue of economic development, so they all express their opinions modestly.
But then, Shen Yiguan, who was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang, "had to" stand up and plead for the "people in Jiangnan".
"Your Majesty, the matters surrounding Korea are very important. It would be inappropriate not to have a large army stationed there. However, I heard that the Marquis of Nanning still intends to continue to conquer the Japanese mainland... In this case, I have to express my opposition."
Zhu Yijun raised his eyebrows: "Oh? Mr. Shen, what do you think?"
"Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty has been resurrected since Longwan. Although the country is now at its peak, wars have been going on for the past ten years. Your Majesty, please think carefully. In these years, there were first the wars of cutting down the plains, which consumed nearly ten years of savings; and then Bozhou, North Korea, The three regions south of the Yangtze River used troops at the same time. Although the rebellion in the south of the Yangtze River was stopped due to the reputation of the imperial guards, it still cost more than 300,000 taels.
The cost of the Battle of Boshu was about five million taels, not counting the post-war peace expenses. It is said that there were another million taels, that is, six million taels.
In the Korean War, from the time of Renchen's initial rebellion to the end of the war and the canonization, the cost was about 4.6 million taels; from the time of Xinyou's rebellion to the present, although the specific expenditure needs to be calculated by the Ministry of Household Affairs, according to the official estimate, it may have exceeded 6 million taels. .
Taken together, the imperial court's expenditure for the Korean War alone exceeded tens of millions. Even with Nanning Hou's ability in managing finances, he had to impose additional business taxes in the five provinces south of the Yangtze River. However, if the taxes are high, the people will be in decline and the people will be miserable..."
"Wait a minute." Seeing that Shen Yiguan started talking about the decline of the people again, Liang Menglong couldn't help repeating what he said in the cabinet again, saying: "The business tax of Nanning Marquis is levied on wealthy businessmen, and it does not add a penny to ordinary people. This is The matter has already been discussed in the cabinet, so why does Mr. Shen Ge trouble the Sacred Heart again?"
"Otherwise." Shen Yiguan looked indifferent and said: "The Nanning Hou tax is certainly levied on the wealthy gentry, but since ancient times, the wealthy gentry and wealthy people have always been able to pass on the taxes, right?
Although this money seems to come from the wealthy gentry, in fact, the wealthy gentry will inevitably use it as an excuse to reduce the salary of their employees, or to force the employees to extend their working hours under the pretext of the imperial war. People will arrive before the rooster crows, and the sun has set and they cannot Return. "
Liang Menglong said: "These situations may indeed occur, but the root cause is not taxation, but governance. If there are no deficiencies in local governance, why would anyone dare to do such an illegal or immoral act? This matter should be convened by the Cabinet of the Ministry of Revenue and the Three The Justice Department discusses regulations rather than blaming it on additional taxes.”
*** *** Shen: "The imperial court issuing a regulation to restrict it is certainly the right principle for governing the country, but it cannot be achieved in a short period of time. So how can the people's resentment in Jiangnan be relieved now?"
Liang Menglong frowned and said: "Shen Ge always talks about the decline of people's livelihood, but keeps silent about the boiling public resentment. Where is the evidence? The emperor and we both know that this increase in taxes to aid the DPRK is just a three-part tax collection tax, banknote tax and customs tax. The tax has been increased, and this stall tax is also exempted for small stalls within a radius of five feet. Is it really as harmful as Mr. Shen Ge said? I don't think it is."
Here we need to briefly introduce the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty. Although the mainstream statement in later generations has always said that the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty was almost non-existent, this statement is still too much. There must be some, and even in terms of types, it is not particularly small. However, the tax rate is relatively low and the tax exemption scope is wide.
In the early Ming Dynasty, policies were implemented to encourage the development of industry and commerce, so the commercial tax system was simple. Commercial tax collection agencies are local taxation bureaus. Although the state stipulates quotas for taxation bureaus, it does not seek to increase the amount.
The tax collection methods vary depending on the objects of the tax. For various handicrafts sold by merchants and merchants, the value of the goods is generally estimated and levied on an ad valorem basis; for bamboo, wood, firewood, etc., points are drawn; for products produced in rivers and lakes , levy fish lessons.
There are various methods of tax collection, and some are different. Generally, payment is made in banknotes or money. The tax rate is generally one-thirtieth, and the tax-free scope is extremely broad.
How wide is this "extremely wide"? A few simple examples: all wedding and funeral offerings, self-woven fabrics, farm equipment, food and taxable items (used for paying taxes), items transported by one's own vehicles and ships, as well as fish, vegetables, and fruits as long as they are not Anything sold is tax-free. Only the purchase and sale of land, houses and livestock are subject to tax, and the deed paper requires payment of the cost of production.
In addition, Ming Dynasty also eliminated and merged tax agencies many times. In order to prevent the intrusion of tax officials, it is also stipulated that a store calendar (i.e. register) should be set up in the place where commercial tax is collected to record the names, number of merchants, dates of travel and other contents for verification; at the same time, the names of goods to be levied with commercial tax should be clearly stated. All goods that are not marked as subject to tax are exempt from tax.
However, there were also new commercial tax items in the Ming Dynasty, the main ones being the following: banknotes at shop gates, banknote duties, industrial duties, and deed taxes. As for the customs tax, this item was only introduced after Longqing opened the sea. It started from Gaogong and was determined from Gaogong to Gao pragmatism. Here we only introduce the three temporary increases that Gao Pragmatic has made this time, and we will not mention the industrial tax and deed tax for the time being.
The so-called shop door stall money is what Liang Menglong just mentioned as the "door stall tax", which is a tax levied on urban and rural shops and shops based on their turnover. It was also called "household money" in the Ming Dynasty.
The specific method of collecting this tax is that "Business Houses" pay monthly to the local "Metropolitan Tax Propaganda Department" or "Tax Department Bureau", and then the government "grants you a license every month." After a one-time inspection, those who violate the deadline and fail to pay, or who conceal and fail to report, will be punished and fined one thousand guan."
Therefore, this is also a fixed tax, but its tax rate is not fixed. It often increases or decreases depending on the time and place. It is generally "levied based on the value of the goods" and often depends on the nature of the store. Varies depending on the goods sold.
The reason why Gao Pragmatic chose to temporarily increase the stall tax in the five Jiangnan provinces is precisely because this tax item has a "tradition" of variable tax rates. If he does this, as long as the rate of tax increase is not particularly high, there won't be a big reaction from the public.
The so-called banknote tariff is one of the new commercial tax items in the fourth year of Xuande (1429 AD). At that time, the imperial court set up tax checkpoints at important places along the rivers and canals, and "those who were hired to load boats would collect banknotes based on the amount of materials they carried and the distance they traveled." The banknotes or silver collected were called banknote tariffs.
The purpose of establishing banknote tariffs is actually to popularize banknote laws. When the banknote tariff was first implemented, it was only levied on passing ships hired to load goods. The tax amount was calculated based on the number of beam seats and the length of the hull. This tax was called "shipping materials" or "shipping currency." Ship tax generally does not tax goods, only ships.
The reason why high pragmatism will increase banknote tariffs this time is mainly because the cost of water transport trade is lower than that of land transport trade, and the profit is relatively high. A slight increase of "130" will not bear much pressure.
Another little calculation is that Gao Pragmatic hopes that through this small-amount collection, the circulation range and volume of small-amount banknotes in the Federal Reserve Bank of China will be increased, which will be helpful for the full spread of banknotes.
The credibility of paper money actually has a kind of "path dependence", which means that the more you use it, the more you will get used to it. When later generations of Americans overthrew the Bretton Woods system and the petrodollar system was not yet fully established, the U.S. dollar's global currency share did not fall significantly. This was because people had become accustomed to using it in the previous decades, forming path dependence.
Gao Wuchen also wants to play this trick now, so that people will get used to banknotes in a subtle way. After waiting for a long time, they will find that the value of the small-denomination silver notes of the Ming Dynasty Federal Reserve has always been strong, and they will no longer consider its anchors (gold, How much silver reserves do you have? Anyway, just spend it.
Finally, there is the customs tax. This tax was first created by Gao Gong (discussed in Volume 1 of this book). It was initially divided into two categories: inbound and outbound. Many years later, Gao Jingjing standardized it during the reform of the Ministry of Large Households and clearly defined it as a customs tax (also mentioned above) mentioned).
Since sea trade is extremely profitable, and sea-going ships are often much larger than inland waterway ships, customs duties, even on a single basis, far exceed banknote duties. In other words, even if a ship owner who can engage in sea trade only owns one ship, he must be a wealthy businessman.
Since he is a wealthy businessman and his sea trade profits are high, imposing a "130" tax rate is obviously not a problem.
But, in fact, the reason why Shen Yiguan came out to oppose was not because of the stall tax and banknote tariff, but because of the customs tax.
Those previous statements were just Shen's inconvenience to speak out, and he was just trying to back him up. Now that all the truths have been refuted by Liang Menglong, he has no choice but to clarify his words.
Shen Yiguan was silent for a moment, and finally said: "As we all know, the number one maritime merchant in the world is none other than the Marquis of Nanning himself. And the number one maritime merchant alliance in the world is also the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance. However, this increase in customs duties has However, the northern provinces were not added, and only the five provinces south of the Yangtze River were added. What is the reason for this?"
His question is, to some extent, very fatal. After all, as the old saying goes: Don't worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality. Why should the five provinces south of the Yangtze River levy additional customs duties, while the provinces north of the Yangtze River can get away with nothing? Is there any royal law?
Even after Shen Yiguan asked this question, even Zhu Yijun seemed to feel something was wrong and looked at Liang Menglong with a slight frown.
Fortunately, Liang Menglong received pragmatic advice on this matter, so he acted very calmly and said with a slight smile: "The trading areas of the Jiangbei provinces, or the Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance, are limited to the East, and the East is currently It is a war zone, and trade has already shrunk significantly. Is there any reason to impose additional taxes at this time?
This is not the case for maritime merchants from the five provinces south of the Yangtze River. Although they also run routes to the East, their bulk is always in the Nanyang area, and Nanyang is the main source of their profits. Even if North Korea and Japan are at war, it will not affect the Nanyang trade of the five provinces south of the Yangtze River. After weighing the balance, it is natural to impose additional taxes. "
It should be added here that after the Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance sent troops to Luzon, the trade in the Philippine Islands area was also pragmatically assigned to the Beiyang Sea Trade Alliance. However, Luzon did not belong to Nanyang but to the East in the Ming Dynasty's customary cognition. Therefore, the explanation given by Liang Menglong, the pragmatic leader of the Ming Dynasty, was actually taking advantage of a loophole to some extent.
Fortunately, Shen Yiguan himself was not familiar with business-related issues. He only represented Jiangnan Shipping to express his grievances. Now that Liang Menglong was blocking him, he was speechless for a moment.
Zhu Yijun listened for a long time, but the result turned out to be a compromise made by Gao Pragmatic based on the actual situation. He couldn't help but feel a little bored with Shen Yiguan and the Jiangnan maritime merchants behind him, so he couldn't help but waved his hands and said: "Okay, okay, let's get together." But I added a hundred and three, and it’s not an economic method, so I will naturally withdraw when the battle is over.”
Shen Yiguan couldn't help but remind: "But Your Majesty, if you still want to conquer the Japanese country..."
"So what!" Zhu Yijun seemed to be getting angry, his tone was obviously more serious, and his voice was also louder: "It is a small country with a small land, so why is it difficult to get it? I think it will take a few months at a quick time, and more than a year at a slow time. It will happen soon. But after all, Jiangnan has been prosperous since ancient times, so why can’t we wait even this little time?”
Shen Yiguan had not been in the cabinet for a long time, and had little qualifications and poor political achievements. When he saw that the master of the Ming Dynasty and the Zhongxing Dynasty in front of him was already showing signs of anger, he couldn't help but retreat. He hurriedly bowed and said: "I don't know how to deal with this." No such intention, just a warning..."
"I understand."
After all, Shen Yiguan had served as a Japanese lecturer. Seeing that he had surrendered, Zhu Yijun didn't care much and waved his hand and said: "This matter will not be changed for the time being. We will discuss it after Rixin returns to the court."
"The Romance of Fairy Wood"
"Yes, I obey your order."
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "soviet2003", "malyvu", "Cao Mianzi", "First Login", "", and "Heaven huwz" for their monthly support, thank you!
PS: I forgot to mention that it was 6K+ yesterday and I no longer owe the debt.
