In Majiazhuang, the horse galloped to the west gate on Shangguan Road for a quarter of an hour.
It was exactly morning, half an hour, or one hour from the west gate to the palace.
It only took two and a quarter of hours to run from the palace to the Taiqian Palace, but it needed to be reported. The imperial guards were looking for the eunuchs, the eunuchs were looking for the internal affairs supervisors, and the internal affairs supervisors were looking for the civil and military officials. The time was mainly wasted on this.
The closest Jingwei force to the west of the city is the Archer Cavalry Battalion. The captains all mounted their horses and entered the city. They were almost arriving at the palace. Lu Baichuan had just entered the palace.
At this time, the emperor and his ministers had just left the court, and Boss Zhou was sitting in the Jingzhi Hall with several veterans, wanting to talk about business tax reform.
The imperial court has not paid much attention to business taxes for two reasons. First, it believes that merchants are divided into two types, one is wealthy merchants and the other is hawkers.
Hawkers don't have much money, but wealthy businessmen are backed by aristocratic families.
There is no point in collecting the former, and there is no way to collect the latter even if you want to.
Secondly, the tax revenue of various places is a mess, including tax revenue, corn, hemp, etc., which are also divided into small accounts, corvee labor, and the actual situation of each state and government. If there is a natural disaster or man-made disaster, it must be "tax-free", and various loopholes can be exploited. , Commercial taxes don’t account for a large part, and they can’t even collect serious taxes, let alone commercial taxes.
Han You collected business taxes in Beijing, which really shocked the monarchs and ministers, but the most shocked was Boss Zhou. The other ministers were like a mirror, knowing how much money merchants made and how many loopholes they could take advantage of.
In any case, Boss Zhou felt that it was time to study the commercial tax, so after going down to court, he called the Prime Minister Shen Tu Gang, the Minister of Household Affairs Sun Shouting, and the Minister of Industry Zhou Zhenghuai to the Jingzhi Hall.
Calling Shen Tugang and Sun Shouting were their professional counterparts. As for calling Zhou Zhenghuai, Minister of Industry, they were mainly asking about another matter.
"My dear friends, the business tax issue has been bothering me for the past few days."
This is not the first time we have talked about this matter. Boss Zhou got straight to the point: "My great Zhou Dynasty tax system follows the tax system of the previous dynasty. Commercial tax has never been paid attention to. Han You also opened my eyes. It's just a tax bank in Beijing. The merchants concealed so much and collected so much."
Shen Tugang knew what Boss Zhou meant, nodded in agreement, and agreed: "Most of the taxes are concealed, so it would be wrong to do something drastic. It's better to start with the commercial taxes."
After finishing speaking, the two of them looked at Sun Shouting, the Minister of Household Affairs.
"In the past few days, I have also been thinking about this matter. If the tax reform is carried out first and only the commercial tax is revised, it will definitely lead to complaints from various merchants. I think it is better to thoroughly investigate the tax affairs, starting from the capital."
"This tax needs to be investigated. Is there anyone in Sun Aiqing's household department who can take on this important task?"
"this…"
Sun Shouting shook his head and smiled bitterly, indicating that there was no one to choose.
It can be said that after Zhou Ke ascended the throne, one prime minister assisted three ministers, and the four elders were the first to express their unwavering loyalty to Boss Zhou. It can also be said that they are of the same mind as the emperor at this stage. Sun Shouting, the minister of household affairs, is the fourth. One of the people, in addition to the three people present, was Li Daozhi, Minister of the Ministry of War.
Sun Shouting, who smiled wryly, did not mince words and said bluntly: "A thorough investigation of the tax bank in Beijing will definitely cause a lot of backlash. Those who take on this important task must be brave, resourceful, and thoughtful. In addition, they cannot compete with others." The various aristocratic families in Beijing have close contacts, and there is no such person in my household."
Boss Zhou was not surprised. He had already understood the situation and smiled slightly: "Then I have a candidate. My dear friends, how about Han You?"
The three elders had different expressions, and they seemed to disagree.
Shen Tugang was too embarrassed to say anything. Han You was currently focused on quarreling with the Ma family. What was he doing with this guy?
Zhou Zhenghuai opened his mouth, but hesitated. The construction of the summer resort has not yet been completed. The materials, repairs, modifications, and he also said that he wanted to study road construction. He might be the person responsible for the performance of our Ministry of Industry this quarter. Let him be honest. Wouldn't it be nice to actually build a house?
Sun Shouting shook his head: "Your Majesty, I know that Han You is quite talented, but he is still young. Anyone who takes on this important task must be able to serve the public. Officials in the Ministry of Household Affairs can be at their disposal, so I will speak frankly. In time, if Han You becomes an official in the court, he will be able to stand alone, but now... he still needs to practice and practice."
Zhou Ke looked hesitant, but Sun Shouting's evaluation was quite objective.
The water in Beijing is very deep, and the commercial tax is a commercial tax. Those wealthy merchants and the aristocratic families behind them are more or less giving face to Prince You's Palace and his emperor Zhou Ke. Even so, there are many twists and turns.
Business tax is only a part of the tax bank. Even if it is collected in full, it would be unpleasant to say that a small amount leaks out from the fingers of those aristocratic families. However, if the tax bank is thoroughly investigated or even the tax system is reformed, the foundation of these aristocratic families will be touched, and the process will be determined. It is extremely dangerous.
"Yes." Boss Zhou sighed silently: "The beautiful jade still needs to be carved. Han You is capable and smart, but he has not experienced any big things yet and is not stable enough, and it is difficult to convince the public."
Several veterans nodded in agreement, without any personal emotions mixed in. It was just that, young, too young, lacking training and experience, such important tasks, such important matters, such government affairs related to the country, not to mention Even the veterans of the DPRK dare not say that they are qualified for the "child" Han You, and the scale is even more difficult to grasp.
For a moment, Boss Zhou also felt a little regretful. If he had known that Han You was so capable and could make money and trouble people, why would he let him mess with the Ma family?
Working in the horse family is a grinding job. You do it bit by bit, and you don’t know that it will last until the Year of the Monkey and the Month of the Horse. If you had known this, it would have been better to let Han You do more smooth and fast things. The speed is fast and the rewards are good. The result is now Just drag this matter to the Ma family.
In fact, it’s not that Boss Zhou has no one available. He is the emperor after all. There are too many people who want to be loyal dogs. The problem is that Boss Zhou doesn’t like them. He doesn’t like people who rush to kneel down and lick them, but he likes Han You. This kind of tempered one is comfortable, reassuring and relaxing to use.
The monarch and his ministers were relatively speechless. Taxation was a top priority. When taxes were collected, there would be money in the treasury. With money, everything could be done easily.
"You gentlemen, please think of someone for me to choose."
Boss Zhou took a sip of tea and said, "This matter cannot be delayed any longer. The Ministry of Household Affairs must also draft a charter as soon as possible."
Sun Shouting had a bitter look on his face. He could do anything with the Ministry of Husbandry. In the previous dynasty, he had basically established the position of the Ministry of Husbandry as the leader. The ministers on the left and right and the subordinate officials below were all obedient, at least on the surface. The problem was No one can take the lead on this.
After thinking about it, Sun Shouting suggested: "Your Majesty, if there is really no candidate, I think Han You can be allowed to join the Ministry of Household Affairs to observe the government for a while. After getting acquainted with the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he will not be the leader, but a supplementary one, and work with other officials. Officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs will handle this matter."
Boss Zhou is a little unhappy. My confidant is doing hard work for you, thanks to your uncle. I don't even dare to wrong Han You so much. Why did you think of saying this?
Seeing Boss Zhou seemed unhappy, Sun Shouting said with a smile: "Han Youbi is still young. As your Majesty said, he always needs some experience."
At this moment, a figure rushed in. It was Lu Baichuan who was galloping all the way from the west of the city. His clothes were soaked with sweat and he was extremely panicked.
