It was the first time Zhu Yunwen saw someone so happy after paying taxes.
After walking a few steps, Zhu Yunwen caught up with the farmer and asked, "Husband, this is a lot of taxes. Is the harvest okay this year?"
The farmer turned his head and glanced at Zhu Yunwen for a few times. Without stopping, he said with a smile on his face: "God takes care of me, I'm doing well today."
Zhu Yunwen nodded happily. God was very kind to him this year. Not to mention good weather, at least there were no major droughts or floods, and the summer harvest could be considered a bumper harvest.
As the Ming Dynasty is based on agriculture, it can be said that most of the time it depends on the weather. Fortunately, in key grain-producing areas such as South Zhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi, there are usually no droughts. In addition, there are dense rivers and lakes here, so there are just a few. Heavy rainfall can generally be tolerated.
The area of Suzhou and Hangzhou was the granary of the Ming Dynasty. A good harvest here meant that at least half of the Ming Dynasty could be fed.
If there is food and the people have enough to eat, there will be no peasant uprising.
If the peasants don't revolt, and some vassal kings rebel and force themselves to appear, there won't be any good consequences. Of course, except for the vassal prince who was wearing a bulletproof vest that said, "Don't let me be blamed for killing my uncle."
"How many acres of land do my father-in-law have at home? Will all my descendants be filial?"
Zhu Yunwen asked with a smile.
The farmer slowed down, smiled heartily, and said: "My family has thirty acres of land, and my children and grandchildren are all fine. My grandson is fifteen this year. I have found a good girl with a matchmaker and will get married in two days. Haha, this If you, sir, are free, you can also come and have a wedding drink."
Zhu Yunwen frowned slightly and said, "I remember that the court stipulated that a man can only get married when he is sixteen years old, right?"
The farmer waved his hand and said indifferently: "What difference can there be between fifteen and sixteen? He is already a young man and it is time to get married."
"How old is the woman?"
"Thirteen."
"Beast!"
Zhu Yunwen came as soon as he opened his mouth.
The farmer looked at Zhu Yunwen angrily and snorted: "The beast is not even thirteen years old!"
Zhu Yunwen pointed at the farmer, who waved his arm and left.
"I'm furious!"
Zhu Yunwen was a little angry.
Concubine Ning looked at the angry Zhu Yunwen and said: "Although the court stipulates that men can get married at sixteen and women at fourteen, but it has not been strictly enforced by the people. Thirteen is a little too young, so there is not much problem."
"Why is there no problem!"
Zhu Yunwen was angry.
You are thirteen years old, your body has not yet developed, you have just entered puberty, and you are about to get married? Your sister, do you know that you will be sentenced to severe punishment in future generations?
But Zhu Yunwen also knew that his anger was somewhat unrealistic.
Almost all of ancient China was in the era of "early marriage".
"Zhou Li·Di Guan·Mian Shi" records: "Marry a man when he is thirty, and marry a woman when she is twenty."
Don’t think that in the Zhou Dynasty, you were only allowed to marry when you were thirty. The rules here just say that if you are a man, you are only allowed to be single until you are thirty. If you are a woman, you are only allowed to be single until you are twenty, and you are only allowed to be single until you are twenty. It is a big violation of "etiquette" for people in their thirties and twenty-somethings who still don't have a wife or husband...
In a word, being single for too long is illegal...
Confucius once explained the importance of etiquette: "It is not an exaggeration to say that the husband's etiquette is extremely extreme. A man who is crowned at twenty has the right to be a father; a woman who is married at fifteen has the right way to be a good man. If you go here, you will become a father." Got married."
In other words, during the Zhou Dynasty, men could get married at the age of twenty and women at the age of fifteen.
During the Han Dynasty, the laws were simpler and only stipulated that the legal age for marriage for women was fifteen.
man?
Oh, there are no rules, you just have to figure it out...
The early Tang Dynasty was not bad. The law stipulated that men should be married at the age of twenty and women at the age of fifteen. However, this rule was obviously not implemented thoroughly, because Xiao Wu was only fourteen years old when he became Wu Meiniang...
However, during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty, in order to increase the population, Emperor Xuanzong directly adjusted the lower age limit for marriage to fifteen years old for men and thirteen years old for women... This was already a naked abuse of young people!
The Song Dynasty followed the regulations of the early Tang Dynasty, but added an additional content to urge marriage: "If a woman does not marry at the age of fifteen, her family will sit on her."
In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang attached great importance to population and stipulated that the number of men should be sixteen and the number fourteen for women. Also added: Women under the age of forty are not allowed to be nuns.
It is worth mentioning that Zhu Yuanzhang did not stipulate that men under the age of 40 cannot become monks. This is probably related to his childhood experience...
In Zhu Yunwen's view, at the age of sixteen or fourteen, the flowers have not yet bloomed. Is this about to bear fruit?
In ancient times, the fertility rate was very high, and births were frequent. It was common for a family to have three or five children, but it was not uncommon for a wife or concubine to die due to childbirth.
Is it appropriate to immediately become a father or a mother if my body is not fully developed?
Zhu Yunwen gritted his teeth and said to Xue Xia with a serious face: "Send someone to pass a message to the cabinet. From the day the oral order was delivered, the court revised the law. Men under eighteen and women under... sixteen are not allowed to get married. If If you violate it, it will be considered illegal and your parents will be imprisoned! Also, tell the magistrate of Qiantang that according to Taizu’s regulations, men under the age of sixteen and women under the age of fourteen are not allowed to get married. If he doesn’t want to take care of it, then let someone else take care of it!"
Zhu Yunwen also wanted to say that a girl would be eighteen or twenty, but considering that none of the dynasties above had such regulations, and the general rule was around fifteen, he chose sixteen.
This is the only way I can help these children, although it is extremely limited.
There were many reasons for early marriage in ancient times. Zhu Yunwen was very clear about the short lifespan and having no heirs, and the luxuriant branches and leaves. Too many people died in the war and needed to be replenished. In addition, farming also requires the efforts of children, so make a few as soon as possible. Also a few more laborers and so on.
But these are not enough to make Zhu Yunwen face this reality. Since Zhou Li stipulates that men are twenty and women are fifteen, then if our Ming Dynasty follows Zhou Li and makes men eighteen and sixteen, no one will object, right?
Concubine Ning looked at Zhu Yunwen, a little surprised and a little moved.
As a woman, she knew very well that women aged thirteen or fourteen were not suitable for getting married and having children. However, due to Taizu's regulations and the fact that local governments sat idly by, it was not uncommon for people to get married early.
No one has thought about these ordinary women, including their parents!
Even I once thought that getting married at the age of thirteen or fourteen was a matter of course. Now it seems that I ignored the rules and ignored the lives of ordinary women.
Zhu Yunwen walked to a pavilion by the roadside and sat down to calm down his emotions.
After all, there are too many imprints of future generations imprinted on my soul, and it is difficult to immediately accept some things that are completely contrary to the common sense of future generations, although in this era, they exist and have a certain rationality.
"Let's go to the County Agricultural Tax Bureau."
Zhu Yunwen did not continue to sigh. Since the matter has been decided, let's implement it as such.
The Agricultural Tax County Secretary is a large courtyard. There are many people outside and inside the door. Some come empty-handed, some come with grain and goods, there are elderly people, and there are also women with children. people.
However, there is no woman with a two or three year old child here. It seems that Yu Qian is not here. He is somewhat disappointed. It seems that the opportunity has not yet come.
Paying taxes was a very common thing in Ming Dynasty, and there was no problem of tax evasion among them.
Unlike some people in later generations, tax evasion and tax evasion are based on "shuang" as the unit. They try every means, either by making false accounts or by making yin and yang contracts. There are always ways to avoid paying taxes or paying less.
Ultimately, they are unhappy about paying taxes.
It is also understandable that if you get a stack of money and have one-fifth or even one-third of it taken away suddenly, you will not be happy.
The reason why people in the Ming Dynasty did not evade taxes was not because they were highly conscious, but because the government was too strict and did not give you the possibility of tax evasion or tax evasion. Of course, this was only for the common people...
Speaking of the two-tax system, it itself has a certain rationality.
During the Tang Dezong period after the Anshi Rebellion in Tang Dynasty, the land-equalization system was no longer applicable. Prime Minister Yang Yan suggested the implementation of the two-tax law. There was a vivid metaphor at the time, that is, taxation and finance are people's throats. Chaos, whether it is strong or weak depends on taxation.
The Two Taxes Law changed the standard of rent, integrating household taxes, local taxes and various miscellaneous taxes into two taxes, and advocated that "a household has no owner or guest, and it is based on where you live", that is, no matter where you are from, you are levied at the place of residence. Two taxes.
The core of the two-tax system is that "there is no middle class, and the difference between rich and poor is divided." The tax amount is determined according to the number of acres and assets, how many fields you own, and how much grain you harvest. This is the standard, instead of a fixed rent and sum. Miscellaneous taxes.
To put it simply, the two-tax system is similar to the personal income tax of later generations. Those with few assets will be taxed less, and those with more assets will be taxed more. Although there is no set point for individual taxation, the logic is the same.
The wisdom and insight that future generations are proud of may have been played by our ancestors hundreds of years ago or thousands of years ago.
A shed was set up in the yard of the Agricultural Tax County Secretary, and two subordinate officials in official uniforms were sitting inside. There were two government servants on the side to maintain order, and the people lined up to wait.
"Next person!"
Wang Chang wiped the sweat from his forehead and shouted.
A farmer came forward with empty hands, took out a handkerchief from his arms, unfolded it, took out a palm-sized piece of paper, handed it to Wang Chang, and said, "Taipingli, Yang Shiba, this is mine. Yuko.”
The so-called "Yu Zi" is a type of tax notice issued by the government to the people before the tax payment begins. It is similar to the water and electricity bill in later generations, and it states the amount of tax that should be paid.
Wang Chang raised his head and looked at You Zi, then looked at Yang Shiba and said, "Forty acres of land is a lot, and harvesting grain costs eighty shi, not bad. Fifteen taxes per one, and five stones and three buckets of tax."
Yang Shiba chuckled and said, "I didn't bring any food, I only brought money."
Wang Chang nodded slightly, pointed to the sign on the side, and said: "According to the city price in Hangzhou, one tael of silver, three stones and seven dou, you need to pay five stones and three dou, which is one, two, four, and thirty-two Wen."
Yang Shiba nodded repeatedly, took out his money bag, used new-style banknotes and copper coins to collect one, two, four, and thirty-two Wen, and then waited for Wang Chang to stamp it.
Wang Chang looked at the one, two, four and thirty-two coins on the table, shook his head slightly, and said to Yang Shiba: "This money is not enough..."
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