The first performance of the cultural troupe was perfect.
Especially the final chorus of hundreds of people singing and dancing under the moon spreads the prayer of "May we live long and share the beauty of the moon thousands of miles away" to all people.
The emergence of the art of cantata amazed everyone in the capital. This refreshing method deeply shocked everyone, even Ma Enhui was amazed.
The art troupe has been famous in the capital since the Lantern Festival.
Xie Jin was still unsatisfied. After the performance, he asked the art troupe in front of the emperor to perform at Xie's house to relieve his old father's boredom.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Murong Jing'er, and then said to Xie Jin: "There is no problem with the performance, but the art troupe needs to eat..."
Xie Jin was a little confused. If he hired the palace's cultural troupe, would he still need to pay for the work himself?
Just before Xie Jin turned the corner, Xu Huizu was already discussing the performance price with Murong Jing'er.
"One hundred taels of silver!"
Xu Huizu made a bid simply.
Murong Jing'er was shocked. Could it be that if you go to Xu's house to perform once, you can earn one hundred taels of silver?
Is the money coming in too quickly?
Seeing that Murong Jing'er refused, Xu Huizu increased the price: "Miss Jing'er, how about two hundred taels?"
Liu Changge came over and said with a cold face: "Five hundred taels."
Xu Huizu gritted his teeth and asked Liu Changge: "Your father and mother are gone, why would you spend five hundred taels of silver to invite him back? Go and cool off!"
Liu Changge was depressed, as if your Xu Huizu's parents were still alive, but he didn't dare to say it. He was the Duke of the country and couldn't be offended, but the mission assigned by the emperor had to be completed.
"Five hundred taels."
Liu Changge continued with a straight face.
Xu Huizu saw that Liu Changge's expression was unnatural, and after thinking for a moment, he understood the reason.
Needless to say, the Liu Mutou in front of him was a price-raiser.
An ordinary entrustment, Xu Huizu kicked him out, and all problems were solved, but the entrustment in front of him belonged to the emperor...
"Okay, five hundred taels!"
Xu Huizu had no choice but to grit his teeth and shout.
Murong Jing'er replaced the art troupe and thanked Wei Guogong.
When Xie Jin came over, he had no choice but to queue up. Hearing that the asking price was 500 taels, he almost fainted. His annual salary was only 500 taels...
Xie Jin backed down and didn't plan to spend the unjust money.
Zhu Yunwen came over and saw that Jin wanted to leave. He sighed and said, "Xie Aiqing, your old father is bored and worried... As a cabinet minister of the current dynasty, he should be filial and serve the elderly well..."
Jie Jin wanted to cry. Your Majesty, you don't do robberies like this, right?
The sixteenth day of the first lunar month, early morning.
Zhu Yunwen officially issued an edict, announcing to the world that the world's land would be cleared, and the "one-whip method" agricultural tax system would be implemented, which would integrate land taxes, corvees and other miscellaneous taxes, levies and miscellaneous errands with various names into one, and levy land taxes based on acres or grains. silver.
The system of grain chiefs was abolished, and official positions were closed.
Taking into account the different fertile land and different grain yields, Zhu Yunwen adopted the cabinet's suggestion and implemented the policy of counting acres or counting grain and collecting money. If the local land is fertile, silver will be levied per mu; if the land is barren, silver will be levied based on grain.
Under the Ministry of Household Affairs, there are two departments, one is the General Department of Agricultural Taxation, which is responsible to the Ministry of Household Affairs; the other is the General Department of Inspection, which is responsible to the emperor and the cabinet.
The General Department of Agricultural Taxation is responsible for the overall administration of agricultural taxation matters across the country. The Department of Propaganda and Taxation, the Department of Taxation, and the Department of Metropolitan Taxation are reorganized into the Provincial Department of Agricultural Taxation, the Prefectural Department of Agricultural Taxation, and the County Department of Agricultural Taxation.
The thirteen chief envoys work together with the Provincial Department of Agricultural Taxation to complete the provincial agricultural tax work. The chief envoys have been adjusted from their initial status as tax supervisors to the status of cooperation, supervision and distribution.
Cooperation means providing help to the problems encountered by agricultural tax departments at all levels.
Supervision means supervising the implementation of the one-whip law by agricultural tax departments at all levels.
Distribution means that the agricultural tax departments at all levels have the right to distribute tax money, which is the standard given by the court:
Three points for the local government and seven points for the central government.
Zhu Yunwen made it clear in the edict: three-thirds of the tax money, excluding the expenses of the provinces and counties, if there is any surplus, can be distributed in descending order according to the official rank, so as to optimize the daily life of officials.
At the same time, an article was added: The annual balance exceeds one million, the official commented: Next.
Zhu Yunwen's meaning is very clear. The central government allows local governments to take away three thirds of a province's tax money. The money taken away is your local operating funds. If there is any surplus, you can share it with officials at all levels to improve their performance. Life.
However, the central government will never allow local governments to have annual balances exceeding one million taels.
Otherwise, you will receive a bad review when the Ministry of Civil Affairs evaluates you.
Zhu Yunwen considered three points for this restriction:
First, local governments can reserve part of their finances, but they should avoid having excessive financial resources and threatening the central government;
Secondly, if there is any surplus in the local area, it can be shared. When officials have money, they will not hide it under the bed. They need to take it out and spend it, which will help promote commerce and lay the foundation for subsequent commercial development.
If officials have no money and no basic purchasing power, how can business develop?
Third, mobilize the enthusiasm of local governments at all levels.
The bigger the local fiscal pie is, the more local income will be.
Directly linking finance to the living standards of officials will help promote the development of local agriculture and mulberry farming.
In order to solve problems such as local duplication of taxes and the high value of silver and the low value of grain, agricultural departments at all levels have set up special grain-silver exchange points, and arranged for people from the Agriculture Department, Inspection Department, and Chief Envoy Department to jointly supervise.
For those who come to pay taxes, the Department of Agriculture is responsible for explaining and informing farmers that taxes are only collected once a year and will not be collected repeatedly. If someone kicks in your door and asks you to pay more taxes, you should come to the Department of Agriculture, There will be people in the Inspection Department, Chief Envoy Department, any yamen who will stand up for you.
The implementation of the one-whip law protected the interests of the middle and lower peasants, but it also touched the interests of the rich peasants and landlords. The amount of land that the middle and lower peasants had was as big as the sky, but it was only a few dozen acres. Counting acres or calculating grain and collecting money would not work. Can't pay much.
But for rich farmers and landowners big and small, there is so much land!
With a few hundred acres, one can only be called a rich farmer!
Real landlords and wealthy gentry who don’t have thousands of acres of land in their hands will be embarrassed if they tell anyone about it. Some large households may have tens of thousands of acres of land, but hundreds of thousands or millions of acres of land!
If taxes were levied on a per-acre basis or on a per-grain basis, the landowner would have to pay more tax money.
Huzhou Prefecture, Changxing County.
Grain chief Zhou Bunong, with seven or eight followers, walked arrogantly on the street. When he saw villagers selling, whether it was steamed buns or bamboo baskets, he took them away without hesitation, and cursed at the end, so that the villagers did not dare to resist.
A familiar figure on the street caught Zhou Bunong's attention and shouted: "Wang Erniu, stop running!"
When Wang Erniu heard the sound, he looked back, turned pale with fright, and ran away.
Zhou Bunong led his men to chase him all the way to Wang Erniu's dilapidated yard. Wang Erniu barged in the door and hid in his room, shouting: "Mr. Zhou Liang, just do it. I, Erniu, have already paid the autumn tax." Yeah, why don’t you let me go!”
"Nonsense, you only paid five dou of brown rice, how is that enough? Do you think you can be spared if you hide? If you don't pay in full today, ten acres of your land will be confiscated!"
Zhou Bunong shouted loudly.
Wang Erniu stood by the window and shouted in pain: "I clearly paid three stones of brown rice!"
"Among the three stones, I still have it! You are still two stones and five buckets short of the three stones autumn tax stipulated by the imperial court. As the grain chief, you are responsible for collecting and transporting grain! If you don't pay, I will go to Nanjing and see you. Your Majesty, I will definitely kill your whole family!"
Zhou Bunong threatened.
With a sad face, Wang Erniu opened the door and was beaten and kicked by Zhou Bunong's followers. Wang Erniu's wife and children also ran over, but how could they withstand these thugs? After a few blows, they fell to the ground. , burst into tears.
"Search for me!"
Zhou Bunong directed his men to search the room and brought out some rice bags and rice jars.
"Lord Liang Chang, only about three fights once is not enough!"
"Not enough, haha, not easy enough to say."
Zhou Bunong leaned over and looked at Wang Erniu, who was covered with injuries, and said coldly: "Either be beheaded by the court, or sell your ten acres of land to me for five shi of rice, or, haha, your daughter can also pay off the debt. of."
PS:
The landlord land data in the article is not an exaggeration.
In the mid-Ming Dynasty, some princes occupied millions of acres of land. Of course, the prince is a big landowner, but he is a landowner who does not pay taxes.
