Chapter 200: A Whip

However, Sun Dan thought of a very serious matter. It's not that you can't do it, it's that you can't do it in a hurry.

He said: "Your Majesty is still too anxious, and this matter will have to wait until the political situation stabilizes." ”

"Well, that's the truth." The emperor looked a little excited: "I've cut some '', so the rectification of the tax system should be implemented immediately, right?" ”

Sun Dan: "This can be implemented immediately, and it can also be effective immediately." ”

"Okay, say it, say it, I can't wait."

I just said so much, and before I knew it, it was already dark.

Yuxi Palace was already empty, and Jiajing was hot and dry because of taking pills for a long time, and he wore extremely thin clothes on weekdays, and the doors and windows of the fine house were wide open. The breeze enters the room, which is certainly cool. But when it was dark and the wind was strong, it blew a little cold.

Although it was the beginning of August and it was the height of summer, Sun Dan still felt a little cold, and he couldn't help but feel excited.

Jiajing saw that he was a little cold, and hurriedly shouted: "Come on, put my Taoist robe on for Sun Qing." ”

Then two eunuchs hurriedly came and came over with a robe.

Sun Dan looked at the robe and smiled bitterly in his heart, but he still thanked him for wearing it on his body. Although he was dressed as a Taoist priest, he didn't want to touch Jiajing's heart. Jiajing is a devout Taoist, not only dressed as a Taoist, but also longs for the Manchu Dynasty to wear the same clothes as him. It was because Xia Yan refused to wear a robe and made sarcastic remarks that he cooperated with Jiajing very unpleasantly, so that he later caused a fatal disaster.

Jiajing's robe was relatively wide, but because it was very new, it was very uncomfortable to wear. It's a strange day, it's cold when you don't wear thick clothes, but it's hot when you put it on. In just a moment, a layer of sweat appeared on Sun Dan's body.

Just as he was about to speak, a eunuch walked up to Jiajing: "Master, it's time to eat." ”

Only then did Jiajing suddenly realize that it was too late: "Yes, yes, it's time to eat." I'm also a person who is afraid of trouble, so I can just go in. There is no need to change places, it is placed here, and I am talking to Sun Qing while eating. ”

As soon as he said this, Sun Dan also felt a little hungry.

Jiajing's food is actually very simple, just one fried beans, one cold bean curd, one plate of fried bean sprouts, and a pot of bean soup. It was easier to eat than ordinary people, which surprised Sun Dan.

Recalling the record in the book, the Qing Dynasty emperor had more than 100 dishes per meal, and this Jiajing Tao was also simple.

Jiajing used chopsticks to clip a chopstick bean sprout for Sun Dan, and said, "I am a vegetarian on weekdays, I didn't know that Sun Qing was coming, and I didn't prepare." ”

Sun Dan hurriedly took the rice bowl and took it: "The minister is also from a poor family, and he doesn't pay much attention to food and clothing." ”

Eating with the emperor was not a pleasant thing, especially since the emperor also liked to be a vegetarian. Sun Dan, who was used to eating meat, only felt that it was difficult to swallow, so he only used chopsticks to pull the rice grains in the bowl and swallowed it like "medicine".

Emperor: "Sun Qing, tell me about your tax reform." ”

Sun Dan was about to put down the bowl, but the emperor waved his hand: "No, talk while eating." ”

Sun Dan could only say with a bitter face: "Actually, it doesn't matter, it's just to convert taxes and forced labor into cash." ”

"I seem to have heard of this, and many places in Jiangnan and Shandong seem to be practicing it."

"Yes, the minister is from Shandong. When Emperor Wuzong used troops in Jiangnan, military expenses were scarce, and he also levied cash. ”

"Okay, you talk about it carefully."

Sun Dan: "In the past, taxes were paid for grain, and forced labor was for labor, and the minister's proposal was to turn these two irrelevant things into silver, that is, into money: tax, don't want grain, you pay silver; I don't want your labor, you pay the money, and I'll hire idle people to do it. Therefore, all silver taels were levied. This tax law is like two straw ropes turning into a whip, so the minister gave it a name, called a whip law. In addition, the minister believed that while implementing this whip law, it was also necessary to transfer a part of the per capita tax to the land, and those who had more land should bear more land tax, so as to gradually reduce the per capita tax. ”

"A whip with a good name." The emperor still didn't understand: "If all the cash is collected, what is the difference between it and the collection of goods, and the total amount of taxes has not changed, so why bother?" Besides, the tax in kind has been implemented for so many years, and now it has been changed like this, isn't it disturbing the people? ”

Sun Dan smiled, after all, the emperor has only been in power for a few days, and he still doesn't understand those local doorways. In fact, not to mention Jiajing, this whip method is also a modern day after reading a lot of materials and pondering for a long time to figure it out.

He put down the bowl with a smile, wanting to take this opportunity to stop eating this unpalatable royal food: "The food tax is relatively simple, if you are farming, you can pay the grain, you have the mountains and forests, pay the wood." If it is really exchanged for cash, it must be sold in advance, and due to the influence of prices and the market, there is also the possibility that the grain will hurt the peasants in a good year. But...... In practice, officials at all levels soon discovered that there were too many loopholes that could exploit loopholes to make money: for example, if you handed over sweet potatoes, he could pick and choose one, saying that this one is small and half of it, and that one has insect eyes and cannot be counted. If you hand over the cotton, he can say that the "color" of the cotton is not good, and if it is half off, you can only go home and pull it again.

This is still light, and the biggest trouble is forced labor. Because the field endowment and the poll tax can still see things to some extent, the county lord can't rely on it, and it's not easy to say about conscription, repairing river embankments, working as errands for post stations, and repairing roads, all of which are conscription, and if the task is completed, even if the conscription is completed. Who will determine if you have completed the task? - The county lord.

This is the so-called weasel watching chickens, when you meet a good conscience, you can still record it truthfully, and if you encounter something not authentic, you have to make some benefits, if you don't have money, he will wave his pen - didn't do it, have an opinion? I'll have the final say in this matter, and if you don't do it, you won't do it, what can you do. ”

Sun Dan was originally born in poverty, and now he is in contact with the superstructure, and his horizons are broad. With a theoretical foundation from a high vantage point and local life experience, it can be said that it is both theoretical and practical.

He smiled, and said a sentence in shock: "Your Majesty, in the opinion of the ministers, except for a small number of officials in the Ming Dynasty who have good conduct, most of the court officials are still not authentic and untrustworthy. There is a saying in the minister's hometown: Don't be a bastard if you are rich.

Therefore, the old tax system was not beneficial to the imperial court, and it was all taken care of by the local government. ”

Jiajing's face suddenly turned white, and he said in shock: "Has the rule really collapsed to such a point?" ”

Sun Dan didn't answer no, but said: "Without a corresponding system, good officials will become bad officials." What Your Majesty should do is not to judge the character of officials and hold them accountable, but to eliminate the soil that can lead to corruption. ”

Ruling is a job that offends people, and Sun Dan didn't want to get involved in it, so he slapped soy sauce, pulled the topic to another aspect, and said: "Your Majesty, in fact, there is a disadvantage to taxes in kind. ”

"Sun Qing, you say." Jiajing calmed the anger in his chest and finally calmed down.

Sun Dan: "The biggest problem with the food tax is that the cost is too large, because all the things are collected, and there are all kinds of patterns, and it is inconvenient to call. For example, a large amount of grain has been harvested in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which cannot be eaten in the capital, and there is no shortage of locals. When you do the math, the price of food is not enough for transportation costs. Then don't toss and feed the rats in the granary. What's even more troublesome is that although a lot of things have been handed over in various places, in addition to food, there are also various local products, Chinese "medicine" and "medicine" materials, etc., but there are not many silver taels, these things are placed in the capital and occupy space, and the warehouse storage fee is a large amount of expenditure every year. ”

Jiajing slammed the rice bowl on the table and said angrily: "Sun Qing doesn't say it, I really don't know that there are so many problems here." In my opinion, a large part of the treasury is consumed on the transfer, storage and mobilization of materials, such an obvious thing, why no one thought of changing it in the past few years. These officials under my command would rather let these things rot in the treasury, or even use them to pay off the officials' money, rather than think about change. They are all a bunch of waste, and the state spends so much money every year to support them, but they refuse to share the worries of the monarch, what use do they want. ”

The rice bowl was broken, and when they heard this loud noise, the eunuchs hurriedly ran over to clean up.

Jiajing stood up anxiously: "Don't eat, don't eat, I'm angry." said a thousand ways and ten thousand, it is fundamentally on the rule of officials. No wonder Yang Tinghe wants me to rectify the rule of officials and eliminate redundant officials. ”

Sun Dan couldn't wait to end this dinner quickly, and said, "Yang Ge Lao's methods are more radical. The minister thought that the inaction of officials had nothing to do with their character and ability, and that there was really a big problem with the current tax system. ”

Finally, the lamp in the house was turned on, and it shone brightly.

After taking the teacup and rinsing his mouth, the emperor said: "The tax reform cannot be rushed, and it will be a problem to implement it too quickly." "Although he was still a fifteen or sixteen-year-old child, he was a scheming and a steady king.

Sun Dan also felt that what the emperor said was right, after all, for the emperor, the top priority was to stabilize the power position, and as for the reform, it would not be talked about until his power was consolidated: "What Your Majesty said is extremely true, but although the new tax law is not implemented now, you can also do some investigation first, and you can make a correct judgment with more information at hand." "Although the whip method was later implemented by Zhang Juzheng, the effect was excellent. But Sun Dan is just hearsay, and he has countless things in his heart when it comes to implementation, and he doesn't dare to say too much.

"yes, let's investigate first." The emperor bowed his head: "Sun Qing, you will investigate in the Shuntian Mansion for me, and I will give you a privilege to consult the archives of the household department and the Shuntian Mansion for many years." You look around, and then draw up a charter for me. As he spoke, he walked to the desk, opened the drawer, took out a large pile of things, and said while tidying up: "Originally, with Sun Qing's merits, I should have given you a background." However, Sun Qing has lofty ambitions, and if he wants to be my cabinet minister in the future, he should follow the right path to enter the office. This royal flag is given to you, and it is also convenient for you to access the relevant documents. ”