Guo Chong on the other side also looked at Zhu Biao with a smile, and then began to try to recall whether he had said anything wrong that day, and whether he would leave a good impression on His Highness.

The rest of the scholars are also looking at the prince with burning eyes, after all, according to the laws of officialdom, most of them must go to the place first, it would be good to be able to serve in Beijing for more than ten or twenty years, and then maybe it will be loyal to His Royal Highness today, if he can stand out in this section, he will be remembered by His Royal Highness the Prince...

Zhu Biao naturally knows what the scholars are thinking, it stands to reason that the prince should not contact new subject candidates, but who calls him special?

Zhu Biao's mentality is also calm now, these people are also the best wave of talents in the Ming Dynasty at present, and good training is the backbone of the future imperial court, which is still very useful to Zhu Biao.

After the scene quieted down, Li Shanchang and Song Lian stepped back a little, and Zhu Biao took a step forward and said: "You are all my Ming masters, all of whom have studied hard through the cold window, and today's grace is vast, and the imperial court is specially open to Enke, just hoping to pull out the right person from among you to assist the Ming Dynasty. ”

The mighty scholars bowed in unison and saluted: "Students, please thank Your Highness." ”

After the salute, every ten people were taken away by an officer, and according to the pre-distributed number plates, they went to their own hall to start the examination, and no one dared to make trouble here, everything was in order.

Half an hour later, the formal distribution of test papers began, the number room is compact, it can be seen that many scholars are a little changed mentality, after all, it is a very tense exam, but the environmental pressure is still very great.

Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang began to patrol the corridor of the number house at random, and there were many errand officers staring at the candidates in charge of them along the way.

Li Shanchang said on the side: "The so-called heavenly generals will descend on the people, and they must first work hard and work their muscles and bones, and if they can survive this pass, they will be carp jumping over the dragon gate." ”

Zhu Biao nodded, exemption from taxes and forced labor is a very affordable benefit, but this policy is actually not much of a problem, Zhu Biao originally thought that after being admitted to the Jinshi, their acres of land will not have to pay grain, so there will be so many people in the later stage to donate their fields.

Zhu Biao took a trip to the household department to know that how could the imperial court leave such a big gap, strictly speaking, the Ming Dynasty was the official also paid grain, and the gentry also paid grain, but the officials were exempted from preferential treatment, and the imperial court stipulated that after obtaining the meritorious name, they began to enjoy the preferential treatment of the state.

This preferential exemption includes the preferential exemption of land tax, not all, but a certain number of acres, so if this meritorious student or official, who has not been exempted from the part of the land, still has to pay taxes, and has to pay imperial grain.

And according to Zhu Yuanzhang's character, how can it be possible to give large-scale land tax exemption, if this policy can be effectively implemented, then the gentry will not get many benefits, but it is enough to feel the sincerity of the imperial court.

Therefore, the policies issued by the central government are rarely wrong, but they are limited by the fact that the imperial power does not go to the countryside, and the local officials collude with each other, which magnifies the preferential policies of these countries infinitely. For example, the acres of preferential exemption have increased indefinitely, and even the acres of relatives have been changed to their own names to achieve the purpose of preferential exemption, which is called "donation".

If the local families want to get more tax exemptions, they will send some land to the officials in charge, and then let the officials report to the court that the land has suffered a disaster, or that the yield of the acres of land has been reduced, and if the tax revenue of the year is not completed, a part of it will be paid first, and the promise will make up for it in the coming year.

In the second year, the tax reduction is still obtained in a similar way, and the original debt is still owed, and now the debt is also owed, so that if there is a natural or man-made disaster nearby, the imperial court orders tax exemption or a happy event such as the new emperor's accession to the throne, the emperor orders the whole world to celebrate, amnesty and the like, and all the previous debts will be waived. In this way, whether it is an official or a gentleman, over time, it has become a habit to follow each other.

Therefore, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang only stipulated that officials were exempted from forced labor, and the tax exemption for those who had meritorious service in the imperial examination was originally used as a temporary policy to encourage study. However, through the efforts of generations of readers, this policy has changed from temporary to permanent, and the tax exemption amount has been continuously expanded, and it has been carried out beyond recognition in the later period.

However, this matter is not too urgent, although it is critical, but in the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, these gentry can't afford to make waves, and they don't have the courage to engage in large-scale land annexation, after all, this is a problem that will only appear in the later period of the dynasty, and now the problem of the Ming Dynasty is not land annexation, but that there is too much land that no one cultivates.

Zhu Biao planned to implement the practice of apportioning the land into the mu, and evenly distribute the tax and silver into the field tax, and levy it according to the mu of the field, pay more for the land, and pay less for the land, so as to balance the tax burden, after all, compared with the tax, stimulating the substantial growth of the population is what Zhu Biao needs most, and without the restriction of the tax per person, the people will naturally let go of the birth, and one more child will have one more laborer, so why not.

Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang made a round, although there were thousands of people taking the exam, but it was also very good to supervise in the number room, Zhu Biao happened to see Wu Bozong struggling to write, Zhu Biao stopped and looked at it for a while.

Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said: "The appearance is dignified and the bearing is extraordinary, it seems that he is a child of a family, and it is difficult to produce a noble son from a poor family." ”

The two of them walked to the resting room, sat down to rest, Liu Jin poured tea for them, Li Shanchang politely took a sip, looked at the thoughtful Zhu Biao and asked, "Your Highness, if you have any doubts, maybe the old minister can help a little." ”

Zhu Biao heard the words and said: "The palace is thinking about whether to cancel the tax on people, so as to encourage the people to reproduce and cultivate. ”

Li Shanchang was silent for a while and said: "Your Highness can know that the land tax and the per capita tax are positive taxes, and they are also the biggest source of my Ming taxes. ”

Zhu Biao is not surprised, after all, at this time, the imperial court is relying on that little tax support, although the Ming Dynasty is now not fighting big wars, small wars are continuous, and taxes are being consumed all the time.

Commerce has not yet developed, and Zhu Biao is not ready to raise commercial taxes now, after all, it is necessary to encourage commerce, and it is unrealistic to maintain a huge empire by paying taxes on agriculture.

Zhu Biao slowly said the specific method of spreading the ding into the mu, and Li Shanchang also began to ponder after listening, the benefits of this method can be seen at a glance, but as the prime minister, he must also consider the pros and cons of this matter.

This kind of big policy is not something that Zhu Biao wants to do, he is now telling Li Shanchang just to let him take it to the court for discussion, if there is no accident, this matter should be decided, but it will definitely take time to implement it.

Agricultural taxation is the foundation of the country, no one can joke about it, and it is impossible to implement it without careful consideration, and Zhu Biao believes that the elites of these countries will make the best choice.

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