The two hundred and seventieth chapters replace agriculture with Shang
The sentence Wei Zheng wrote in the memorial to Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty was borrowed by Shen Ao at this moment. After he said it, it was quite enlightening in the ears of Emperor Qianwen, causing the emperor to whisper that water can carry a boat and capsize it. Boat...water can carry the boat and also capsize it...
"Yes, Duke Zhongguo, now that you have seen the problem, you must have a solution. Tell me about it." After a while, Emperor Qianwen's face changed greatly, and his eyes were shining, and it seemed that he could As if it penetrated directly into Shen Ao's soul, he asked aloud.
An invisible pressure was approaching, and Shen Ao fully felt what it meant to see an emperor become so angry that his corpses were everywhere. But at this time, he was not afraid at all. On the contrary, he was determined. He was afraid that the emperor would not pay attention to this. Problem, so all his solutions may not be adopted. But now that it has attracted attention, the problem will be much easier to solve.
"No. Your Majesty, I have indeed thought of some solutions. No matter how complicated the situation is, as long as the main contradiction can be grasped and solved, the problem will naturally be solved and the dilemma will be solved."
"The same is true in Daliang City now. It seems that there are so many chaotic situations. It seems that with more and more people, food will become a big problem. But in the final analysis, it is just one problem - the problem of developing productivity."
"The issue of productivity. Please explain it carefully." Emperor Qianwen asked extremely seriously.
Naturally, Shen Ao would not be polite, so he recounted his thoughts one by one. Some of them had already been written down in the memorial, but it was not comprehensive.
"Your Majesty, what the people want is actually very simple. As long as they can have enough food to eat and wear warm clothes, it doesn't matter even if it is a little harder. As for the issue of clothing, I have already made the first loom. He has Different from the traditional loom, it is called a horizontal loom. Its production capacity is several times that of an ordinary loom. As long as the raw materials are sufficient, the problem of ready-made garments will be solved naturally. I have already discussed this matter with Bailijia. After that, both parties will adopt a cooperative approach and there will be no problems."
"Okay." After listening to Shen Ao's answer, Emperor Qianwen nodded very happily. This is what a minister should do. He should think of all the problems and even think of ways to solve them. All he needs is a nod from the emperor. If all his ministers were like this, how much time would he save to do other things and how much less worry would he have to worry about? The more such ministers, the better. good.
Now that the problem of clothing can be solved, the main problem of eating has become a huge stone weighing on Emperor Qianwen's heart. He finally couldn't help but ask, "How to solve the food problem? Open up wasteland?"
"Your Majesty is wise." Shen Ao said with clasped fists. "The wasteland must be developed. I have already inspected it. There is still a lot of large land outside Daliang City that has not been utilized. Although the soil quality is not very good, it is It can produce food. Just to encourage the people to farm, please ask your Majesty to reduce or reduce the land rent to encourage and give the people more confidence."
"Free of land rent?" Emperor Qianwen raised his eyebrows slightly, with a hint of displeasure on his face.
Before the Republic of China, the status of merchants in all dynasties was low, and the country was mostly land-based. The main source of taxes was land rent. This supported the continuous survival of one powerful dynasty after another.
But land alone cannot support such a large country. Especially as dynasties pass from generation to generation, more and more special classes appear, and they occupy a large amount of land. At the same time, they do not have to pay land tax. Privilege. As time goes by, the land in the hands of the people becomes less and less. When the development reaches an extreme, the people will naturally be unable to survive, and a new dynasty will take their place.
This seems to have become a dead end, a dead end that cannot be untied and is not easy to solve.
Fortunately, this problem has been solved in later generations, which is to change the main collection of land tax to the main collection of commercial tax. Not only that, while the land will not collect rent, the state will also provide subsidies , in this way, we can ensure that the land will fall into the hands of the real people and that we can ensure that there is enough food to eat. This is a major matter to stabilize the foundation of the country and ensure that it will last long. As long as there is no big fool, the country will not be fatal. danger.
Shen Ao had experienced those times and knew those things. That's why he wanted to persuade the emperor to reduce or reduce land rent. As for subsidizing land, Shen Ao wouldn't talk about it. It was simply not the right time. He said it rashly, just It will just be counterproductive.
"Yes, Your Majesty. It is a reduction or exemption of land rent, not exemption from land rent. For example, newly opened land can enjoy a three-year rent-free policy. After three years, taxes will be collected normally. In this way, even though the Ministry of Household Affairs There is some pressure, but when people have land, they will not have other ideas, and they will not be used by others. On the contrary, if someone is unfavorable to Da Gan, they will actively stand up and help in order to protect their fields. If the Dagang and the Qiang work together to defend against foreign enemies, then why worry that the Dagang will not prosper and why should we fear any other provocations?"
What Shen Ao said was impassioned, and when Emperor Qianwen heard it, his expression changed again and again, and finally he couldn't help but shout "Hello" in his heart.
If everything is true as Shen Ao said, the foundation of Daqian will be unimaginable. If the civil strife is gone, wouldn't it mean that he would be free to solve foreign troubles? Opening up territories was Emperor Qianwen's lifelong dream, wasn't it? ?
The excitement only lasted for a moment. After Emperor Qianwen came to his senses, he considered more issues, "Lord Zhongguo, land tax is the foundation of the dynasty. If it is reduced or reduced, how can the dynasty continue? Where will the ministers have monthly salary? ?”
"Your Majesty, none of this is a problem. If the business tax can be increased, the problem will naturally be solved." Shen Ao already had the answer in his heart, and he would not refuse any question.
"Is it feasible to increase commercial taxes...?" Emperor Qianwen's face was full of doubts.
Originally, Emperor Qianwen wanted to say how much commercial taxes could be compared to land rent. But he believed that since Shen Ao said this, he must have been prepared, so he did not ask, but waited for his answer.
Emperor Qianwen underestimated commercial taxes. This does not mean that he does not understand the importance. It is because the social status of businessmen today is low. Just like what people call scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, aren't businessmen ranked last? It is precisely because of the past dynasties. They all underestimated business ethics, so they didn't pay enough attention to it and didn't carry it forward.
Even if Shen Ao came here, how could he give up such a big piece of fat? At that moment, he continued to clasp his fists and said, "Your Majesty, if the society wants to become prosperous and the country wants to prosper, it is necessary to open up business channels. In fact, regardless of their status, businessmen have far more money than ordinary people who farm. Just like the members of Guochanglongzhong, except for some nobles, everyone else is a businessman, and It still accounts for more than 80% of the total. On the contrary, there are no ordinary people, which is enough to explain everything."
"Well." Emperor Qianwen naturally knew that the merchants were rich. After all, the social status was so low. If they didn't make money, who would be willing to go into business? Would they agree to just increase their taxes? If so. What to do if there is collective opposition?
But this time, before Emperor Qianwen could ask, Shen Ao had already given the answer. "Your Majesty, I am planning to establish a Daqian Chamber of Commerce. However, anyone who joins the Chamber of Commerce must pay taxes to Daqian legally. And once they are found to have committed tax evasion, they will be severely fined and kicked out of the Chamber of Commerce, and will never be allowed to join. Of course, as a benefit, businessmen who join the Chamber of Commerce will have the opportunity to cooperate with Daqian Bank. Opportunities, if you need anything in the future, you can put it in their hands and let them purchase it. This will be a lot of income. I believe these self-proclaimed shrewd businessmen can think it over and know how to choose."
"I am also thinking that after the road is repaired in the future, all merchants from the Chamber of Commerce will be able to enjoy a half discount, while other merchants will have to pay the full amount. In this case, I believe the merchants will make the right choice."
"I also want to ask your majesty to cooperate. As long as businessmen who are not from the chamber of commerce can be asked by various yamen to find trouble for them in Daliang City, they do not have to be punished, but they can be harassed from time to time. If this is done, they will surely be troubled. Businessmen will take the initiative to join the chamber of commerce, and it is reasonable and reasonable to take the initiative to pay taxes."
Shen Ao made several suggestions in succession, which made Emperor Qianwen nod his head. "Okay, okay, since Duke Zhongguo has thought about it and everything is for the sake of Daqian, what about your suggestion?" I will answer all the questions one by one. Well, feel free to do it boldly. Don’t be afraid. If you have any questions, you can report to me at any time. I will fully support you."
It is no exaggeration to say that Shen Ao's remarks are like a reform, exempting land tax and collecting commercial tax. This is equivalent to changing the national policy. It will definitely attract the opposition of many people. If it is not done well, it will not be able to withstand the pressure. , so that if you give up on the journey, you may end up with a life-or-death outcome.
If such a major event did not receive the full support of the emperor, it would obviously be impossible to succeed. Knowing this, Emperor Qianwen gave Shen Ao a kind of verbal guarantee, allowing him to do things without fear of pressure.
"Nuo, in order to be prosperous and to be strong for Your Majesty, I will definitely die with my heart and brains shattered." Shen Ao also answered solemnly. How could he not know the danger involved? Ordinarily, with his current status, he would be a A rich man is more than enough, and there is no need to wade through this troubled water. But even when he comes to this world, he has to do something, especially when he sees those people who are ragged, not well fed and not warm, and who are simple-minded. At that time, he felt that he had to do something, which is why he took the current risky move.
