Gentle and elegant in the face of interests, the courtiers argued endlessly under the banner of thinking for the sake of the country, and two quarters of an hour passed, and the ministers were still quoting scriptures and scriptures, and showing in a roundabout way that the wine and tea monopoly could not be implemented.

Duan Cizong was a little helpless, how many major events in the world needed to be dealt with urgently, looking at the Son of Heaven on the throne not speaking, Duan Cizong understood that the biggest obstacle to the wine and tea franchise was actually the Son of Heaven, as soon as the world's famous wine came out of the Shi family and the Wang family, after the franchise, the Son of Heaven and the Queen Mother's family would inevitably be damaged, and the ears of the Son of Heaven would be difficult to clean.

There are some things that others don't say, he wants to say, Duan Cizong arched his hand and said: "The court is in urgent need of money, since the wine and tea franchise can increase the tax by eight million taels, the minister thinks it is feasible, please make a decision." ”

Shi Chongwei knows the truth that the skin does not have hair, and any of the financial management strategies offered by Tong Kuang must touch the interests of some people, as the Son of Heaven, he should take the lead in setting an example, as for the damage to the interests of the Shi family and the Wang family, find a way to make up for it afterwards. Shi Chongwei said: "What Duan Xiang said is extremely true, the wine and tea franchise can increase the wealth of the country, and it is imperative. ”

The Son of Heaven spoke, and everyone knew that it was a foregone conclusion, so they had to give up their hands to "obey the order". Seeing that many people had a stupid look on their faces, Kong Xing decided to pick a good decision to discuss it first, and said with a smile: "Long live, Pan Langzhong's strategy of renting the people from the official land is excellent, not only can make money for the country but also appease the people. ”

Naturally, the sycophants of the Son of Heaven could not be left behind, and for a while, the voice of the saints in the hall was loud, Shi Chongwei laughed proudly, and said: "Pan He Yicai has learned from others and lives up to my expectations." The previous time I went to Huazhou to clean up the official field, the results were remarkable, this time it is recommended that the official field be rented and planted, and the foresight is far-sighted, and such talents need to be used exceptionally. passed the decree and promoted Pan Heyi to be the head of the household. ”

Pan Heyi's current Qingtian Lang is from the fifth grade, and the household servant is the fourth grade, and he has risen to the fifth rank all of a sudden, and he is a high-ranking official of the court when he enters the fourth grade.

There are two waiters in the household department, Yu Guanghui on the left, and He Ziying on the right, He Ziying is a person from the East Palace, so naturally he will not be left behind. Shi Chongwei said: "Zuo Shilang Yu Guanghui is old, and he ordered him to send him back to the Ministry of Rites." He Ziying took over as the left waiter, Pan Heyi was the right waiter in charge of the renting of official fields, and his Qingtian Division was appointed as the messenger to clean up the world's official fields. ”

Yu Guanghui in the court class is full of bitterness, this is really a disaster from the sky, he still has two years to get to the sixtieth year, there are many people in this court class who are older than themselves, how can they be old, the Son of Heaven wants to give Pan Heyi an empty position, can he let himself go to other official positions, he can work for the country and the society for another ten years.

After being praised by the ministers, Shi Chongwei's spirit was greatly lifted, and he said with a smile: "Next, we will discuss the increase in commercial taxes, when my father was alive, he told me more than once that he wanted to adjust the commercial tax, and the court also adjusted the taxes on certain goods, but it only involved the skin. Huazhou tax has been seen by all the secretaries, from less than one million in the past to more than four million taels now, what Jiang Anyi relies on, that is, the border city collects commercial taxes. I heard that the merchants made several times more profits from trafficking than goods, and the sugarcane transported from Qianzhou to the capital was a hundred yuan, but it was only one penny in the local area. Even if he collected 30 yuan in tax and deducted 20 yuan for the journey, the merchant still got 50 times the profit. ”

Shi Chongwei talked eloquently on the throne, and the courtiers below rolled their eyes vigorously, how could the Son of Heaven calculate profits like this, most of these people have caravans, and they know that although the profits from trafficking goods are large, they work hard all the way, and the distance is far from the price of goods, and there are many robbers on the road, and only seventy percent of the goods can be obtained, deducting taxes, customs money, and eating and living on the road can double the profit, of course, there are many people who can stand in the Zichen Hall have a way to obtain scarce materials, evade taxes, or simply fill a protective net to obtain profits.

“…… I think it is feasible to register the assets of merchants and collect taxes on property, vehicles and ships, etc., without major losses to the business, and great benefits to the state. Shi Chongwei glanced at the ministers, unquestionably.

The ministers echoed one after another, and no one objected, some to Shi Chongwei's surprise, he knew that there was no way for these ministers to buy a Chinese house in Beijing to raise beautiful maids, spend all day and wine, not to mention that the family has a special person to do business, who does not have a hundred hectares of fertile land and a few shops, and only Duan Cizong, He Ziying and a few others are really poor.

In fact, the ministers knew in their hearts that the Son of Heaven imposed a commercial tax, which was aimed at the merchants, and could not be levied on their heads, and their own shops were hung in the names of their families and slaves, and the assets were transferred to the master's family, and the property that the government could register was pitiful. Could it be that those little officials who registered their property still dare to find their heads along the vine, and if they are really unsympathetic, there are tall people when the sky falls, and there are so many heavenly families, princes, families, princes and nobles, which is their turn.

Kong Province secretly sighed that this policy of increasing commercial taxes was only aimed at those businessmen who had no money and no power, and these people were born by relying on diligence and thrift, and they brought huge taxes to the country while becoming rich, and the commercial taxes supported half of the national treasury. The imposition of property tax and vehicle and vessel tax is a waste of money, which can amass a large amount of wealth in a short period of time, but the damage to the entire country is immeasurable.

"Long live, this policy needs to be cautious", without waiting for the opposition of Confucius Province, Duan Cizong played first: "Shinong industry and commerce are the foundation of the country, the first emperor vigorously encouraged business, and the treasury gradually increased. There are millions of businessmen in the world, and the real rich ones are afraid that they are a minority, and most of them are just small businessmen and hawkers, who abandon their families and children all the year round and run the road, and their hard-earned income is only a slight surplus to support their families. ”

Kong Province said: "What Duan Xiang said is the truth, most of the businessmen's family property is less than 100 taels, and they can only worry about food and clothing. The minister thought that he could order the government to register the property of the merchants, and that he could impose additional taxes on the merchants whose property was more than 1,000 taels. ”

"Not only businessmen, but also landlords with more than 10 acres of land can also levy land taxes, land annexation is serious, the world has lost more and more people, and the ministers have heard that the rebels of the heavenly army have absorbed the people to farm on the grounds of not paying grain, and there are hundreds of thousands of followers, long live must be investigated." Imperial Doctor Wei Youcheng played.

Shi Chongwei frowned, these disadvantages have existed in all dynasties, and the longer the dynasty is established, the heavier the disadvantages will be, and only by changing the dynasty can it be temporarily alleviated. The reason is nothing more than the loss of land caused by the official seizure of the people's interests, coupled with natural disasters and wars, the dynasty is about to perish, and there seem to be such signs now.

Shi Chongwei was shocked into a cold sweat, he never thought that he was the king of the dead country, he also wanted to complete his father's unfinished business, pacify the Northern Desert and conquer the Western Regions, and become a wise monarch like Emperor Wu of Wei. But after he ascended the throne, the world was in turmoil, could it be that he really did something wrong? Could it be that the brother-in-law's secret advice is true, the people of the world are miserable, those state assassins said in the recital that the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the Longwei Secret Guard and the Guanfeng Envoy said that although the people in the world have a little difficulty, they are still peaceful, and their lives are better than when my father was in power, so who should I listen to?

Shi Chongwei's heart was so confused that he didn't even notice that the courtiers had stopped arguing, and Zhang Jin reminded softly on the side: "Long live, your lordships are waiting for Your Majesty to make a decision." ”

"Oh", Shi Chongwei regained his senses, he didn't hear what everyone said just now, so he had to say according to what he thought in his heart: "The matter of increasing the commercial tax and the land tax on the landlord is suspended, and the decision will be made after the state registers and reports to the household department." ”

Shi Chongwei was tired, and asked directly: "The Ministry of Household ordered Shi Yan to say that it would be donated to the treasury, what do you think?" ”

"The minister thinks it is impossible", Cheng Mingdao, who has been promoted to the secretary of the ministry, took the lead and said: "Although there are stories of donating officials in previous dynasties, but in the long run, donating is more harmful than beneficial to officials. These donors and officials are shallow in their knowledge, and they are afraid that if they govern the country, they will be corrupt and inefficient. ”

"The minister seconded the proposal" and "the minister also seconded the proposal", it was rare for the court to second. Kong Xing knew in his heart that these ministers seemed to be open-minded, but in fact they also had their own calculations. It seems fair to open a branch to take a scholar, but the children of the poor family are forced to make a living How can they study with peace of mind, most of the Jinshi in each subject are official eunuchs, these families have paid attention to the cultivation of children and grandchildren since childhood, and there are books and teachers at home, one step ahead of others. The position of officialdom is limited, and donating to officials has reduced their share.

Taiwei Zhu said simply: "Long live, when the Yuan Tianjiao rebellion, Emperor Zhao allowed the disciples of the sect to donate as officials, and quickly raised money and food for the soldiers, and the children of the generals are mostly family roots, and they have repeatedly made meritorious contributions to the battlefield to kill the enemy. ”

Da Zheng Liguo nearly two hundred years, the disciples of the sect do not know how many, in addition to the eldest son of the long house, there are many branches in the sixteen guards, the quality of these people is better than ordinary soldiers, if they can be used to the front line to kill the enemy is good, Shi Chongwei immediately said: "The disciples of the sect are donated as officials, according to the story of Emperor Zhao." ”

Zhu Zipu retreated to the court, he was criticized by the generals, this time he found a way out for the children of the generals, and he will definitely be grateful to the generals, and he will not be said to be a dry meal.

Shi Chongwei had a lot of consideration for donations, the court was in urgent need of money, and it was imperative to donate, so he immediately issued an edict: "Tongsheng is allowed to donate 200 taels for Xiucai, Xiucai can donate 500 taels to enter the Guozijian, raise people to donate 2,000 taels of officials to elect officials, Jinshi can donate 2,000 taels to give priority to the selection of officials, ordinary soldiers and civilians who donate more than 1,000 taels can be awarded false titles, and they are not allowed to pay for the court, and they can be exempted from miscellaneous labor but not from field tax, and local governments should treat each other with corresponding courtesy......

Next, no one objected to the confiscation of the corrupt official's property, and if anyone objected, wouldn't he say that he was a corrupt official; The establishment of a wide range of checkpoints and the use of money to atone for sins were denied. Soon, the decree was issued to the world, and the wine and tea monopoly, the official land was rented, and the official was donated, and the local government was ordered to register the merchant's assets, landlords' land and so on.

In the summer of the fifth year of Changqing, a storm of change blew across the land of Zhengguo.