"To support the people, the most important thing is 'quietness'! In the past, Xiaowen and Xiaojing in the Han Dynasty..."
Xiong Buyou listened patiently for a long time and realized that Liu Jinshi's entire theory was that "the ruler should do nothing and keep everything running in the original order to avoid disturbing the people."
Liu Dalin went on to say: Measuring acres seems reasonable and beneficial to the people, but in fact, it is often taken advantage of by "little people" during its implementation. It was originally a matter that benefits the country and the people, but in the end it turns out to be harmful to the people. He
I very rudely cited the example of Chen Minggang.
"If it weren't for Chen Minggang's husband's land, we wouldn't have thought of this..." Xiong Buyou directly pushed the responsibility on him, "Although he was pretending to be a public servant for personal gain, we don't think it was wrong to clear the taxes on his husband's land.
"
"The purpose of clearing taxes on the land is just to collect more money and grain. The people of this county are already suffering enough!" Liu Dalin became excited. He described the living conditions of the people in Lingao. Although he lived in the county and studied behind closed doors, he still received the support from his family, relatives, and
He knew a lot about the real situation in the countryside, the decline of the rural economy and the suffering of farmers from his teachers, friends, students and his own tenants.
"Mr. Liu's words are all true," Xiong Buyou said, "but since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, it has been almost three hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. In the past three hundred years, the people have become poorer and poorer. What is the reason?"
"There are pirates outside, bandits inside, and natural disasters continue..."
"This is only part of it. Mr. Liu should know that Lingao's household registration is decreasing year by year, right?" Xiong Buyou started with this issue.
Of course Liu Dalin knew.
"In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, there were nearly 60,000 people registered in this county," Xiong Buyou said. "How many are there now?"
Liu Dalin was speechless. He really didn't know how many registered residents there were in this county.
"The registered population is only over 20,000. In the past 270 years, although there have been Li rebellions, pirates, and bandits in Lingao, as my husband said, the overall situation has been relatively peaceful, and the people's livelihood has been rough.
of."
Liu Dalin nodded, this is a good thing. Although Qiongzhou Prefecture is not a paradise, there are far fewer large-scale turbulences than in the mainland. Logically speaking, the registered population in such a place should increase. Now it is getting smaller and smaller, which only shows that fugitives and hermits
There are more and more households. The latter he knows that many villages in the county are hidden households in the whole village, taking shelter in the name of a powerful person in a certain place. There are also a small number of hidden households in his own name.
The root of the problem lies in the tax system of the Ming Dynasty! Xiong Buyou bluntly pointed out its various shortcomings.
He started by talking about the large number of "hidden fields" and "hidden fields". Big landowners used various means to evade taxes, which increased the tax burden on farmers with no land or little land. In addition, large households colluded with the government, bribed subordinates, and violated all kinds of laws.
With no one correcting their behavior, not only are the people unable to pay less, but they are also forced to use various means to add additional burdens.
“The rich occupy tens of thousands of acres but cannot bear a grain of rice and cannot be questioned, while the poor and weak cannot take an inch of grass and pay heavy taxes every year without any control.” Land is concentrated, taxes and servitude are uneven, and farmers either flee or live in other people’s names.”
...During the Hongzhi period, the number of households in the Ming Dynasty was 1.5 million less than that of the Hongwu period, and the number of people was more than 7 million fewer. Now, it is even worse!" Xiong Buyou said eloquently, "After clearing the land, the average tax has been reduced.
It is an urgent matter that has to be done! If we continue to be 'quiet' blindly, the people will end up with the strong acting as bandits and the weak falling into the ditch!" Xiong Buyou changed the subject, "Mr. Liu has many old friends on the mainland.
You can also see. What is the current situation in the world, you always know better than us."
Xiong Buyou's materials are all ready-made. They require facts and data. They are completely different from the traditional scholars' empty talk about "the people are in dire straits" and "people are starving and dying". The social survey after the Spring Festival allowed the Cross-Travel Group to master a large amount of information.
Local data. In order to deal with a situation similar to today, the information department has long summarized all the research materials on the Ming Dynasty tax system in the database and written a long report for the leadership group to read. Now everyone in the leadership group
He can be regarded as half an expert on the Ming Dynasty tax system.
Sure enough, Liu Dalin was left speechless. Although he was quite familiar with the declining rural economy in Lingao, this was only an understanding - his knowledge was not in these economic studies. Xiong Buyou's words,
What he said was reasonable and well-founded, and he quoted scriptures, which made him admire him.
However, this also made him very confused. The Australians claimed to be descendants of the Song people and had lived overseas for hundreds of years. In this case, why were they so clear about the Ming Dynasty? Even the words and deeds of the past court ministers and local officials and the contents of the memorials were known
!
It seems that there must be scholars from this dynasty among the Australians, and the intellectual foundation of these scholars will never be inferior to mine - nine times out of ten, they will be far better than mine. Thinking of this, I can't help but feel wary.
"I've learned a lesson!" Liu Dalin bowed his hands and saluted with a heavy tone, "I didn't expect Australia knew so much about the Ming Dynasty. I'm really ashamed!"
"A little superficial view."
"What Chief Xiong said is correct. But have you ever thought about it?" Liu Dalin did not give up. "Everything in the world can be done rationally or not, and good intentions can turn out to be bad. The list goes on and on! You need to clean things up."
Do you have such certainty about the equalization of taxes on acres of land?"
"We know this." Xiong Buyou said seriously, "Mr. Liu, I once heard Mr. Wang and Mr. Wu say that they have always wanted to do several things for the people of Lingao in the past. I wonder if Mr. Liu knows?"
"I know." Liu Dalin is the top gentry in the county. Major matters involving the county will definitely be discussed with him first, "Suppress bandits, build roads, and establish schools."
"Is it done?"
Liu Dalin understood what he meant: Wu Mingjin had been planning these three things for several years without success, but the Australians had accomplished them all within a year of arriving - no wonder they were so confident and proud.
It seems that the Australians are determined to clear their taxes. If they can really do it, it will be a great good governance. Liu Dalin nodded at this thought and reminded again:
"Your efforts to suppress bandits, build roads, and establish schools are nothing more than having money and strength. There are many things involved in clearing land and taxes, so please be careful." He paused, "Especially when it comes to hiring people, you must be cautious.
.”
"Yes, I'll understand this later." Seeing that his tone was no longer fierce opposition, Xiong Buyou was greatly surprised. Could it be that my words impressed him? In this way, this landlord class member is quite enlightened.
"...Also, since you want to clarify the taxation, it will inevitably involve the large gentry in this county. When the time comes, I would like to ask you to show mercy and save your dignity."
"Easy to say, easy to say." Xiong Buyou said haha.
The news that Kun's thieves wanted to re-enter the land soon spread throughout the city. Huang Hankun went to see Liu Dalin again, but he couldn't get any new ideas from him - Liu Dalin simply claimed to be ill and refused to see anyone.
The wealthy people were completely confused, wondering how the wind in this world could blow. Since Chen Minggang was said to be "nuisance to the people", then Zhang Tian was also disturbing the people. Why did he only arrest Chen Minggang, but Zhang Tian still continued?
Huang Henkun knew that Liu Jinshi had probably hit a soft spot, and the thief had already made up his mind. He and Li Xiaopeng discussed it for a long time, but they couldn't come up with a solution. Li Xiaopeng proposed to mobilize grain farmers to jointly submit complaints, and Huang Henkun
He smiled bitterly and shook his head - he knew this group of big grain farmers very well, they were typical bullies and fearful of the tough. Who would dare to tease the Australians? In the past, Liu Dalin had this flag, but now that he is unwilling to come forward, he has said it all.
Lips may not be of any use. Moreover, since the Australians have already punished Chen Minggang, if they want to cause trouble again, they will be punished with a toast but not a meal.
Liujiazhai.
Liu Youren once again studied the newly delivered grain, which Liu Guangbiao had just brought.
Different from the rough-edged account book paper in the past where words were stamped with wooden stamps and then scrawled with a few calligraphy, this grain report was printed on thick and straight paper. The number of acres of starting farmland in Huangjiazhai was filled in on it.
, how much is the tax per mu, how much rice is consumed per stone, specify the date and month beforehand to the Delong Grain Bank in the county, Dongmen City, Bopu or Nanbao. In addition to brown rice, the grain circulation in Delong
Vouchers can also be exchanged. If payment is not made by the due date, a call will be issued at your doorstep, and a late payment fee of 1% will be levied on a daily basis.
"Who is the grain collector who delivers grain? Please come in and meet." Although Liu Youren is in Calais, he knows everything about what is going on in the county. Now that Chen Minggang and his gang have been eliminated, the newly established "Grain Collection Bureau"
It is also customary to meet up with someone who is a foodie to build a relationship.
"He left as soon as it was delivered. His nephew asked him to stay for dinner, but he refused."
"Have you given me the money for straw sandals?"
"I gave you five hundred coins as a gift, but -" Liu Guangbiao's tone was a bit unbelievable, "he refused to accept it."
"You won't accept it? Isn't it too little?"
"No," Liu Guangbiao said, "the attitude is very firm and not pretentious."
"It's really strange!" Liu Youren thought about the discussion that Australians never accept bribes and do not allow their subordinates to receive any benefits. He originally thought that it was just talk, or that he was like this because the Australians were so careful. But he didn't expect it.
It really can be done.
"What is your name?"
"My nephew doesn't know——"
"What can you do!" Liu Youren scolded dissatisfiedly.
"My nephew asked, but he refused to tell me. He only said that his job number is - yes -" Liu Guangbiao pointed to the source of the food. At the bottom, there was a series of crooked symbols, followed by the delivery person, called Arabic numerals.
"He asked his nephew to tear up a receipt and asked his nephew to stamp it with his fingerprints."
Liu Youren took a look and saw that the lower half of the grain was torn off, and there were numbers on the seams. He had no intention of studying this brand new pattern for a while, and asked:
"It costs three measures of rice for every stone of autumn?"
"It's three liters less than in Chen Minggang's hands." Liu Youren muttered dissatisfiedly, but if he looked carefully, he saw that the starting figure for the grain course was 380 acres - the same as before.