Zhu Youtang was really worried, and the appearance of this Buddha statue made him have to be careful. Since the Han Dynasty, there was the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Zhang Jiao claimed to be General Tiangong and swept the world in the name of Taiping Dao, shaking the 400-year-old foundation of the Han Dynasty.
After that, there were Fangla's Mingjiao uprising in the Song Dynasty, and many White Lotus sect uprisings. By the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Mingjiao and White Lotus sects had set off countless wars. How could Zhu Youtang ignore these bloody lessons?
Although today's peace will never reach the level of the late Han Dynasty and the late Yuan Dynasty, this kind of thing must not be taken lightly. Now in Zhu Youtang's heart, what he is thinking about is to first bring these Mingjiao to the world as secretly as possible.
The remaining evildoers were uncovered.
This matter is not only related to the Mingjiao, but also to Prince Ning. Naturally, it cannot be done in a big way. Once word spreads, Prince Ning and the Mingjiao people will be alert, so it is extremely important to keep it secret. The fewer people know about this matter, the more likely it will be.
good.
But on the other hand, Zhu Youtang felt powerless. He could not rely on Dongchang, Jinyiwei, or the cabinet. Who else could be used?
Liu Chengfeng said that he wanted to tell Zhu Youtang a happy event, but Zhu Youtang could not be happy no matter what. He just nodded with a sullen face: "You can tell me."
Liu Chengfeng smiled slightly and said calmly: "The Baihu Office in Yanhua Hutong has been collecting commercial taxes in recent months, and now it has accumulated fifty thousand taels of silver. I dare not claim such a large amount of silver without authorization, please.
Your Majesty will decide whether to deposit it into the national treasury, directly into the inner treasury to report the accounts, or hand it over to the town government secretary for disposal."
"Fifty thousand..." Zhu Youtang couldn't help but take a deep breath and put aside the matter of Mingjiao for the time being. As for what fifty thousand taels of silver meant, Zhu Youtang certainly understood that this was a nearly one-year-old high-class county.
Years of taxes, and the area under the jurisdiction of a hundred households is just a small area, but it only took a few months to save 50,000 taels of silver.
At this time, the annual income of the Ming Dynasty was three million silver. Of course, this did not include grain. The tax collection system of the Ming Dynasty was very strange. For farmers, they levied grain, and then transported it to the capital through canals and ships to support troops and provide disaster relief.
Apart from these, there is only the salt and iron monopoly and the filial piety of the eunuchs guarding various places. It is very rare for three million yuan to be secretly withheld after layers of concealment.
Emperor Taizu also set a commercial tax of thirty to one, which means that for goods worth thirty, one-thirtieth would be used to pay taxes. Zhu Yuanzhang did this because he deeply felt that the people of the Yuan Dynasty
Excessive taxes were imposed, so low taxes were adopted to maintain the flow of goods.
On the other hand, the main institution for collecting taxes in the Ming Dynasty was Chaoguan. The so-called Chaoguan was actually to set up checkpoints along the way to allow passing merchants to pay taxes. Originally, this method was not bad. After all, in order to do business, merchants needed to move around.
Even if you want to evade taxes after passing the banknote customs, you will not be able to do so.
It was only during the reign of Emperor Wen that this so-called business tax existed in name only. Businessmen refused to pay even thirty taxes. The reason lies in another system, that is, tax exemptions for officials. There are three types of people who do not accept business taxes.
One kind of tax collectors are officials, followed by eunuchs, and finally officials and scholars. So the question arises. Officials and eunuchs are not the only ones. After all, there are not many such people. But by the Hongzhi Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty’s scholars and scholars had already
There are hundreds of thousands of them all over the world. Therefore, the scholars can be said to be multi-talented. They not only promote the prosperity and development of the cultural and educational industry, but also display their talents in the field of private shipping. The rewards given to them by the shipowners are also generous.
If a scholar wants to enter the capital, as soon as the news gets out, he will immediately be invited by local businessmen, have wine and food, and may even invite the uncle to go whoring, and then give him a certain amount of money.
The merchants don't have any requirements. They just ask you, old man, to take a ride on your brother's cargo ship or truck when you come to Beijing. Anyway, there will be an unlimited supply of expenses along the way, and all they have to do is to follow the instructions when passing the checkpoint.
Just a face.
This is just a scholar. If he is an official or a Jinshi, not to mention it. Many business houses will simply put their properties in the name of this master, give him some benefits on a monthly basis, and then take the goods with him.
The master's famous thorns and tokens will be able to travel smoothly.
The Ming Dynasty was the worst hit place for tax evasion. That was true in the past. By the time of the Hongzhi Dynasty, the so-called commercial taxes had completely collapsed. For example, last year, the imperial court collected only more than 30,000 taels of cash in commercial taxes.
However, the commercial taxes collected by the Hundred Households are different. What the Hundred Households collect is gray income, and it should not be included in the court's account. However, Liu Chengfeng is very principled in dealing with others. This principle is,
Anyone who dares to take my money will fight you tooth and nail. If it’s not my money, I won’t take it even if it makes him miserable.
After much thought, Liu Chengfeng still felt that it would be better to inform the emperor.
But for Zhu Youtang, it was really a bit of a surprise. A hundred households received 50,000 taels of silver. How could Zhu Youtang not be surprised?
Zhu Youtang asked: "Are merchants already so rich?" He had lived in the palace for a long time, and his knowledge of the outside world came from various data from the Ministry of Household Affairs, so he asked this question.
Liu Chengfeng was confused by Zhu Youtang's words and couldn't help but said: "How can you be a merchant if you are not rich? Your Majesty is joking."
Zhu Youtang was silent for a moment and said: "The imperial court cannot make ends meet every year. If this is the case all over the world, wouldn't it mean that the annual income can reach tens of millions of taels..." He thought for a while, then smiled.
It's just a wishful thinking for him. Not to mention the special jurisdiction of the Fireworks Hutong Baihu Office, if Zhu Youtang dares to do this, it will definitely cause a bloody storm. Who will take away the benefits of this commercial tax? In fact,
No need to think about it, he must be an official or scholar. If Zhu Youtang wants to follow Liu Chengfeng's method, I am afraid that he will definitely attract opposition from the people of the world. This is not fun.
Zhu Youtang is not the kind of person who takes drastic measures. He upholds the principle of governing a big country like cooking small dishes. This kind of drastic reform is something he is never willing to touch.
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Youtang said to Liu Chengfeng: "This money cannot be touched..." He hesitated for a moment and continued: "If it were blatantly sent to the national treasury or the inner treasury, did Liu Aiqing ever think that there would be
How many people want to impeach you?”
After Liu Chengfeng heard this, he was a little confused at first, but then he realized that he had made a mistake in all his calculations. If he reported this business tax into the accounts of the internal treasury or the national treasury, it would be very harmful to the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty.
For scholars, this is treason. Others cannot receive money, but you, a small family of 100, have received so much. Who do you think you are? Do you want to set an example? You want everyone in the world to imitate it.
Are you? There is no official in the court who does not have several trading companies in his name. The tribute paid to them by these trading companies is more than twelve hundred taels every year. It can be said that the official salary of the Ming Dynasty is so low, and they all rely on this nominal fee to support themselves.
Yes, if you jump out now, you will definitely become the target of public criticism. If you take away other people's jobs, they will dare to fight you.
Thinking of this, Liu Chengfeng couldn't help but sweat. He thought he was smart, but he didn't see the key. If it weren't for Zhu Youtang's reminder, he would have made a big mistake, and then a snowflake of memorials would fly into the palace.
, the cabinet is bound to react, and if Qingyi instigates it again, even if Zhu Youtang wants to protect himself, he will definitely die.
You must know that even an outstanding person like Zhang Juzheng never touched the commercial tax when he implemented reforms. The whipping method he implemented was just to collect agricultural taxes under a different name. If Liu Chengfeng made any move, he would definitely die.
Seeing Liu Chengfeng's slightly nervous look, Zhu Youtang couldn't help but smile and said: "You don't have to be nervous. You have such loyalty and are willing to tell me your heart. How can I put you in trouble?"
?So, this money is temporarily sealed, and when I need it urgently, I can move it into the palace under other names."
As he spoke, Zhu Youtang's attitude toward Liu Chengfeng became much better, and he became more relaxed. You must know that even the three bachelors in the cabinet never mentioned business tax to Zhu Youtang.
It's because they have selfish motives and they just don't want to touch this taboo. However, Liu Chengfeng, who has a household of 100 royal guards and has 50,000 business taxes on hand, can use it for his own purposes. However, facing so much money, he is not tempted at all.
For Zhu Youtang, it is the greatest loyalty.
People who are willing to do things, are able to do them, are loyal, and always think about the palace are indeed rare, at least for Zhu Youtang.
Zhu Youtang looked at Liu Chengfeng and felt more and more that although this guy liked to do some tricks, such as tricking Queen Zhang into cheating, he was still a good young man. If he was trained well, he might not become a capable minister in time.
"It's just that it's not the case if it's kept sealed. Although it's only fifty thousand taels now, it will be five hundred thousand in a year. With such a large amount of money, Wei Chen is afraid that someone will take a look at it. Wei Chen is only a hundred thousand after all.
A household holding such a large sum of money is like a child holding a gold ingot in the market..."
"I have an idea." Zhu Youtang interrupted Liu Chengfeng's words, his eyes could not help but light up, and said: "You don't need to put this account into the treasury, but you don't need to seal it up. I have a good idea. How about the remnants of the Ming Cult?"
It's up to you to investigate the matter. You just said you don't have enough manpower, so simply use the money for investigation. Recruit more capable people and train them carefully. Then you can scatter them to various places to investigate. Although you are now
Although your status is humble, I have also heard that wealth can reach the gods. Isn’t this huge sum of money enough for you to spend?"
After listening to Zhu Youtang's words, Liu Chengfeng couldn't help but feel a hint of surprise in his eyes.
The money was left. This money was not left to Liu Chengfeng, but Liu Chengfeng was in charge of the expenses. Moreover, the emperor ordered him to recruit people to investigate the bandits. This was tantamount to allowing Liu Chengfeng to legitimately set up his own
Private soldiers have established their own businesses.