Chapter 105: The Holy Hand of Financial Management

Wang Zhi twisted his beard slightly, and said: "Zhou Chen is a capable minister, this point, not only everyone in the court knows, otherwise he would not be allowed to sit in the position of governor of Jiangnan, for such a year, think about it carefully, but it is Xuande for five years, and after being ordered in danger, he has not moved his position." ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "Ordered in danger? ”

"Exactly." Wang Zhi said with a look of reminiscence in his tone: "The minister remembers that during the Xuande period, there were about 11 million stones of money and grain exempted from Jiangnan. ”

"My dynasty only pays a lot of taxes every year, but more than 20 million stones, but the money and grain everywhere have a place to go, and can balance two or three million stone grains every year, even if it is a good year, in the Yongle years, there is a state of making ends meet, Jiangnan money and grain are the foundation of the imperial court, several times in a row, the collection is not effective, and I have to face the arrears of grain, at that time it can be said that the government and the opposition are shaken."

"Emperor Xuanzong has summoned his ministers many times to discuss how to dispose of the money and grain in Jiangnan."

"At that time, Dongli Gong tried to persuade Emperor Xuanzong to enable Zhou Chen."

After Zhou Chen was ordered, he galloped thousands of miles, and Tsing Yi Gebu was just a donkey. visited Jiangnan all over the country, and as a result, the officialdom counted the time, and they all knew that the new governor was coming, but they didn't know where they were. He himself changed his official robe and came to the door alone, and everyone was shocked, but he didn't know that the new governor had been in place for more than half a month. ”

"Zhou Chen's performance at that time, the minister still remembers one or two, 'There is a heavy burden, there is no truth of levy and loss,'' the heavy burden is the people fleeing, more than half of the households in Suzhou have fled, and the people and land are empty.' ”

"In the face of the situation in Jiangnan, on the one hand, he asked His Majesty to waive money and grain, and on the other hand, he implemented the square meter and the two methods of discounting."

"The so-called square meters, but the increase in consumption is included in the main item, Emperor Taizu and the people rest, the Ming tax is not heavy, even if the Jiangnan is heavy, but the most bitter place for the people in Jiangnan is not to pay grain, but to transport grain, especially after Beijing moved the capital, the grain of Jiangnan was transported thousands of miles to Beijing, which was enough to make the people bankrupt. He discussed with Chen Xuan, the Bo of Pingjiang, to change the people-movement to the official movement, and the people only needed to go to Jiangyin to collect grain, and the consumption on this road was called rice consumption, and added it to the main item. ”

When Zhu Qizhen heard this, he immediately frowned, and said secretly in his heart: "This is not a tax increase, how can the people be happy?" ”

Zhu Qizhen is not a god who does not eat the fireworks of the world, and he also understands what kind of mentality Shengdou Xiaomin has, no matter how good you do, but on the issue of money, as long as you add a millimeter, they can complain.

How is it possible, while raising taxes, let the people praise.

It's simply not possible.

Wang Zhi seemed to see Zhu Qizhen's thoughts, and said: "Your Majesty doesn't know, the people in Jiangnan are suffering from luck, and now that the rice consumption is increased, each family does not need to pay Ding, the people are naturally happy, and Zhou Chen's additional rice consumption is also measured."

。 There is less official land, and more is added to the people's land, and the intention is to give it evenly. ”

Zhu Qizhen frowned slightly and said, "What's the matter?" I remember that the imperial court has hundreds of thousands of hectares of official land in the south of the Yangtze River, is it possible that the taxes on official fields are heavier than those on private land? ”

Zhu Qizhen is still very clear about this, when Emperor Taizu went down to the south of the Yangtze River, he listed the official fields of the former dynasty, that is, the official fields of the Song and Yuan dynasties, and the fields of the Zhang Shicheng family as official fields.

However, there is no difference between the expropriation of official land and private land, except that the imperial court collects an extra cent of land rent, but ordinary people also have to collect land rent when they cultivate other people's fields. It's just a matter of handing over the land rent to the imperial court.

Other than that, there is no more.

Wang Zhi said: "Your Majesty, Jiangnan Guantian has long been not the beginning of the founding of the country, and now I don't know how many times it has changed hands, and the people who tenant the official fields not only have to pay taxes and rents to the government, but also pay molecules to the landlords. It can be said that it is miserable. ”

When Zhu Qizhen heard this, he scolded secretly in his heart: "There was such a thing as a second landlord in ancient times. ”

Originally, at the beginning of the country, it was the people who rented official land directly from the imperial court, but now the official land has long been unclear, but the rent on the official land also exists in name only, and it has become another additional tax on land.

Zhu Qizhen thought with his toes, there must be no know how many transactions there are.

Why did the hundreds of thousands of hectares of official land in the imperial court become like this? Zhu Qizhen originally wanted to ask, but when he saw Wang Zhi, he lowered his head and lowered his eyes, silently pinching his beard, and said nothing.

Zhu Qizhen was stunned in his heart, and said secretly in his heart: "Sure enough, 'Yingchuan and Hongnong can be asked, but Henan and Nanyang can't be asked.'" Now Jiangnan Guantian, you can't ask. ”

Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty sent people to Dutian, and the result was that Henan is Gyeonggi, Nanyang is the emperor's hometown, and all kinds of magnates are intertwined, so naturally it is not impossible to ask.

The same is true of the problem of Jiangnan Guantian today.

The time has passed, and the current situation is not a one-day or two-day situation, and the people involved are not one or two.

You may not be able to find it out, but what if you can find it out? They did not pay a little less money and food, but they only suffered the people.

And some people are already dead, what to do with it? If you really want to wash Jiangnan in blood, you can't do it.

Zhu Qizhen sighed and stopped asking.

Wang Zhi saw that Zhu Qizhen had calmed down, and continued: "And the use of this rice consumption is not in the government, but in the agricultural warehouse, but all the use in the township is taken out of it. Although the people consumed rice, the forced labor was reduced a lot, and they were naturally happy. ”

After Zhu Qizhen heard this, a spark suddenly appeared in his mind, and he said, "What do you mean, this place of rice consumption can be substituted?" ”

Wang Zhi said: "It can't be completely replaced, but the use of rice is mostly in military materials, stagecoaches, and relief in famine years."

, building rivers, etc. ”

Zhu Qizhen sighed secretly for a while: "How difficult it is for people's livelihood. "Why doesn't Zhu Qizhen understand, most of these so-called waits are burdens without name.

To be honest, if it really enters the national tax, it is actually not too much, but I am afraid that the kind of miscellaneous items that are nameless and undivided cannot say why, but it is the money to be paid.

Zhou Chen nominally added a tax, that is, to consume rice. But in fact, it has reduced the untold amount of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes.

Why Zhou Chen was called Qingtian by the people of Jiangnan, Zhu Qizhen also understood.

Wang Zhi continued: "The law of square meters, the tax is in the official, and the consumption is in the people, which can be described as both the government and the people. ”

Zhu Qizhen frowned slightly, and said, "Wait, you said that the people are in the people, who is in charge of this Jinongcang?" ”

Wang Zhi said: "It is the magistrate who is in charge. ”

Zhu Qizhen didn't know what to think about in his heart, so he was slightly stunned for a moment, and said, "Mr. continue to say that it will be accepted." ”

Wang Zhi said: "The matter of discounting, in fact, was not created by Zhou Chen, but it was implemented on a large scale in the hands of Zhou Chen. ”

"But the original intention of Jiangnan rice grain was to supply the hundred officials of the Beijing Division, but after the relocation of the capital, the rice grain was transported from the Jiangnan to the Beijing Division, and the grain consumption was too much, so the method of converting silver was implemented, and the Guantian rice grain was converted into cash silver and sent to the Beijing Division, so that the burden on the people was much reduced. And the Beijing master and the hundred officials can also use silver directly. ”

And what Zhou Chen implemented in Jiangnan is also more than just folding silver, and there is also folding cloth, which can allow the people to pay less money and grain, facilitate transportation, and make public and private conveniences, especially in Songjiang, Songjiang cloth is the world. Among the various discounts, the price of rice discounted by the people is always a little higher than the local rice price. In this way, the people will be much more relaxed. ”

Zhu Qizhen got up and paced, and muttered, "Square meters, fold." ”

These four words made Zhu Qizhen think a lot.

What is it to convert all taxes into silver? It's a whip.

Exemption from forced labor, payment of money and food, what is this? It's a paving into acres.

These are all well-known fiscal policies in later generations, and they even have to be written in history textbooks, but now it seems that Zhou Chen's actions have shown signs of something.

No matter what Zhou Chen thinks. Zhu Qizhen's view of Zhou Chen is completely different. He secretly said in his heart: "But I don't know if Zhou Chen is my Wang Anshi?" ”

Wang Zhi said: "Your Majesty, the minister just said that Zhou Chen's reputation is not good, Your Majesty probably thinks that Lord Zhou has offended Haoqiang?" But if this were the case, the minister would not have said such a thing in front of His Majesty. ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "What did Zhou Chen do this time to make Mr. so unaccustomed? ”