"What a beautiful idea you have!" Just as several people were discussing happily, a man whose clothes were of good style and quality but had several patches walked over. One of them almost took up his wide, long-sleeved shirt.
One third said, "How can there be such a cheap thing in the world!"
This patched-up "gentleman" was called Mr. Na by everyone. The ancestors of Mr. Na were originally from a wealthy family. However, in his generation, he had a dispute over taxes and was dismissed by the rich and powerful.
After being framed in the lawsuit, he fell into ruin and became a penniless "man in clothes." In his early years, when his family was rich, he also had the title of "supervisor". Although he was dismissed because of the lawsuit, everyone knows that he was
He was unjustly accused, so I still called him "Sir".
The gentleman was a good man and a good fighter, and he had a little reputation in the local area. Everyone listened to him and invited him to talk about the "summer tax of the Song Dynasty".
"Since ancient times, how can anyone not pay the royal rations?" The big man read the notice seven or eight times. He understood the matter of sharing the land with the peasants. It was similar to the whip that Old Xianggong Zhang had in the past, but the whip only used to control the miscellaneous people.
When taxes are integrated, it is not a concept of paying taxes based on the quantity of land.
Although the older gentleman was poor, he had read a lot of miscellaneous books. He quickly figured out that the biggest advantage of sharing the land into acres was that it could clearly identify the population.
There is no need for each household to conceal its true population.
The total number of registered households in the Ming Dynasty has continued to decrease since Yongle. This is a very abnormal thing, because since Yongle, the Ming Dynasty has been generally considered "stable" and can be called a "peaceful and prosperous age" by low standards. As a result, this
In the peaceful and prosperous times, the population did not increase but decreased significantly. Obviously, there were a large number of fugitive households and illegal households.
There are also many "black households" without household registration in Qiongzhou Prefecture and fugitive households who have fled from the mainland. The purpose of the Australians coming here is probably to further find out the population of Qiongzhou Prefecture.
Coupled with the large-scale "population census" in Lingao, Mr. Na suddenly felt that he had understood the intentions of the Australians.
"This is not the summer tax of the Song Dynasty at all," the gentleman was full of sarcasm and showed off from the beginning. He first quoted various historical books about the tax system of the Song Dynasty to prove that "the Song Dynasty did not pay taxes."
When I saw the impatient expressions on the faces of all the mud turtles around me, I couldn't help but secretly sigh: "Playing the piano to a cow!"
So he pulled back and said: "...In short, this is not the system of the Song Dynasty, but a new trick created by the Kun... Australians themselves!"
A young man asked: "Sir, is it a trick from the Song Dynasty or an Australian trick? We country people can't figure it out, so we say that the method of paying summer taxes is as stated in the notice. The more fields you have, the more fields you pay."
It’s so rare that you won’t pay anything less than twenty acres?”
"That's what the notice says indeed." The gentleman waved a broken fan, "But since the day the imperial court came into existence, it has been a matter of course for the people to pay food and work as errands. So what can you say if you don't? You can say that you have little land.
I think those who pay too little or not are just talking about it." He was originally very dissatisfied with the government, and was dissatisfied with all government agencies. In his opinion, whether it was the Ming Dynasty, Song Dynasty or Australia, they were all the same.
Without exploiting the common people, how can we make every one of the officials well-dressed and well-fed, with their husbands and wives honored?
The old man Youshuo spoke: "Sir! I heard that Australians always keep their word, and they will accept whatever they say..."
The gentleman snorted, "Since ancient times, the words of an official have never been reliable. It was said that Wang Taizun in the past, when he was studying in Linpan, said that nature governs people's hearts. He said that it was his own turn to make the world a mess, and he could not destroy others.
Not only did they make a lot of money in one go, but they also used various methods to seduce women. They can obey whatever the emperor says..."
The old man looked around in fear and shouted quickly: "That sir! That sir!"
"It doesn't matter!" The gentleman said with a nonchalant look on his face: "The Australians have no time to deal with me, a poor person! They really have to take money from the pockets of the rich - the common people have suffered, so where can they get money and food?"
According to Mr. Na's knowledge, the local big-name households also have a similar consciousness. The small households are divided into acres, and the system is progressive. It seems that the Australians are preparing to "eat the big households". The big households in each family became nervous. After some communication, Liu Xiang originally
The expected strong backlash did not appear. Instead, a group of large households dressed in rags came to the county office to "petition". Each one cried and told how many crops they had lost this year and how they really could not pay the summer tax. Liu Xiang
He smiled happily and chatted, rambling here and there, but his teeth were clenched and he wouldn't let go.
When everyone was disappointed, they went to ask Hai Shuzu for advice. Hai Shuzu himself was not under much pressure. He gave all the land to the Tiandi Hui for "all-inclusive". Even the taxes were handed over to the Tiandi Hui to take care of them. He didn't care much about paying taxes. But he was forced to do so.
Everyone's hope is that we have to go out again. Lao Hai!" Liu Xiang said affectionately, "I know your reason for coming!" Then he said: "Sit on the chair a little firmer, don't be so restrained!"
"It's etiquette, don't dare to be presumptuous." Hai Shuzu moved his body slightly to show that he respected the superior's order, but still sat very strictly. To be honest, he didn't like the "old x" and "little x" of the "chiefs" very much.
"x", although he knew that it was a term of endearment, but he was not used to it.
"If you come here, it's just because that group of rich people want you to come to my place to complain about your poverty and ask for a tax reduction, right?"
"The chief is right." Hai Shuzu nodded, "Students are also entrusted by others." He felt that this answer was a bit inappropriate, and quickly added: "Although each big family has a lot of land at home, they are not all the same.
The family has a lot of money, but it was hit by wind and floods, and life is not easy. Please pay attention to it, sir."
Liu Xiang nodded: "Of course, but I'm afraid most of the people in the family are wealthy. Besides, although life is difficult, it's still not to the point where they don't have enough to eat and have to sell their children, daughters and wives."
He stood up and took a few steps, "It's the common people who can't live any longer..."
Hai Shuzu said: "Yes. What the chief said is true. However, since ancient times, owners and scholars have been the foundation of the imperial court. Please show some dignity to the chief." He stopped and thought for a while, "I would like to ask the chief to think again." Hai Shuzu said
After hesitating for a moment, he added: "Now that the leaders have decided on the overall situation, they still have to take stability as the best policy. The Jin gentleman's direction must be kept in mind..."
Liu Xiang thought to himself that this group of wealthy people had a really strong sense of superiority. If Qiongshan was not a poor place and not a place where literature flourished, the backlash would have been very violent. But the following sentence clearly meant that Hai Shuzu had regarded himself as a
Only a member of the "New Dynasty" would be so frank.
After Liu Xiang heard what he said, he said: "Lao Hai, since you trust us so much, let me make it clear. What we need now is food. The people didn't have much of this food to begin with, and now they have suffered another disaster.
It’s definitely impossible to get it out, don’t you think? If you want to find food, only the big families can get it.”
Hai Shuzu nodded.
"If I want to make it simple and effortless, I'll invite all the big families, and then each big family will give out hundreds or thousands of dan. Anyone who refuses to take it out will be taken out and beheaded. Do you think you can get it?"
food?"
Hai Shuzu smiled bitterly and said: "This is an act of thieves, not a gentleman. The leaders all have great ambitions..."
Liu Xiang said: "Even if you are right, this is too bandit. I still have things here that are not bandits." He pointed to a pile of account books on the table. "This is the tax arrears list of Qiongshan County over the years and
The amount." He smiled, "I didn't expect that those who owe the most taxes are not ordinary people, but the foundations of the imperial court."
Hai Shuzu's face turned red and he didn't know what to say.
"I'm going to use this account book to talk about it. I want this group of big people who owe taxes to pay all the taxes they owe and the interest over the years. Even the emperor of the Ming Dynasty can't say that I did it wrong, right? Do you think they should?
pay?"
"It should be paid." Hai Shuzu didn't expect that Chief Liu had such a skill. It was common practice in all parts of the Ming Dynasty for large-scale gentry households to default on paying taxes. It was not surprising. In the Jiangnan area, there were even owners who had owed taxes for decades. The imperial court
I never expected to be able to collect all these tax arrears.
Hai Shuzu got nothing when he returned, and Liu Xiang refused to give in at all on the summer tax - even though the wealthy family scolded him bloody, but the sword was stronger than the words, not to mention the security war and the clearing of the land.
I have given them enough experience and lessons.
Know better than to try and antagonize the Aussies…
With the tax training personnel trained by Chen Ce in place, the first batch of tax notices began to be distributed by dedicated personnel.
There are two types of notices. The first is a notice, which is widely posted in the markets and villages of the capital based on the unit of "city". Using the head of the household as the unit, how much land each household actually has is equivalent to the "standard acres"
, which bracket it belongs to, how much should be paid, how much is exempted, and what are the conditions for exemption, are all listed one by one on the so-called "public notice". If you have any objections, you can appeal to the tax bureau.
The second type is called the "situation household" notice. It is delivered to the door by a special person. The target is large households with more than 500 acres of land. Because they are rich people and large tax households, they enjoy special notices. The content
The items and notices are the same. However, each notice to the household must have a receipt stamped and signed by the recipient.
Liu Xiang stipulates that if it cannot be delivered after more than 45 days because there is no one to sign for it, the household will be deemed to be a non-"status household" and all registered land will be confiscated.
Under this strong regulation, the delivery rate of household notices reached 100% within half a month.