"How's the tax going this year?"

In the Hall of Xiande, Li Shimin asked without raising his head.

Many people want to be this emperor, but if it is a diligent emperor, it is really not easier than ninety-nine-six.

"Back to Your Majesty, this year's agricultural tax is almost forty percent lower than last year, but this is because of the locust plague, all localities have issued tax reduction and exemption policies."

Dai Guan, the secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, said that now that Arabic numerals and new calculation methods have been implemented, their household department is at least much faster in this part of the statistics.

Li Shimin nodded, and then said: "Yesterday, Xihelou applied through the Ministry of Civil Affairs to pay a month's commercial tax, what do you think?" ”

"Pay the commercial tax?"

"Xihelou applied for it himself?"

There were a few people among the ministers who exchanged words with each other, and you must know that in this era, there was no so-called commercial tax, only city tax and customs duties.

Therefore, Xi Helou took the initiative to apply for commercial tax, which is undoubtedly very unusual.

"I don't know how they plan to pay the business tax of Xihelou?" Fang Xuanling asked.

Li Shimin didn't answer, but just nodded with the pen and nodded to the Minbu Shangshu Dai Guan, motioned for him to answer, and then continued to write at the desk.

"Fang Xiang, ladies and gentlemen, Xihelou handed over an account book, which showed that their gross profit from last month's revenue was more than 1,800 yuan, and they proposed that they could pay 30 taxes and one."

"Shhh...... Is the gross profit of a restaurant 1,800 yuan a month? ”

"Sixty times a day, according to Xihelou's business and vegetable prices, it should be about the same."

"Yes, the old man had a guest from Luoyang the day before yesterday, indicating that he was going to Xihelou, and he spent a lot of money on one meal."

"What kind of food did you order? So expensive? I usually eat with three or five people, and it's not consistent. ”

Hearing the Maori of Xihelou, these ministers began to chatter again, and began to crook the building as they spoke.

"Ahem, ahem!" Fang Xuanling coughed a few times and reminded them not to go too far, before continuing: "Thirty taxes one, that is, you have to pay sixty yuan of commercial tax, do you think this tax is high or low?" ”

In the Hall of Virtue, almost all the ministers have understood.

Today, the emperor first asked about this year's agricultural tax, you must know that this agricultural tax has been counted in various places for two days, how can Your Majesty not know about this?

Then I took out the matter of Xihelou to pay commercial taxes and discussed, when did it take the turn of a restaurant in Chang'an City to discuss it in Xiande Palace?

Also take the initiative to ask for business tax?

I am afraid that all this has been discussed by His Majesty and the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Minister of Housing a few people a long time ago, and the purpose is to start collecting this commercial tax.

If you think about it, you can understand that although Xihelou is the most popular restaurant in Chang'an, even if other restaurants are not as good as Xihelou, there are always half, one-third, one-fifth, and one-tenth of him, right?

On average, a restaurant can pay six guan according to one-tenth, so hundreds of large and small restaurants in Chang'an can pay several thousand.

What about the entire restaurant in Datang?

What about shops other than restaurants? Garment shops, grain shops, blacksmith shops, etc., if each of these shops pays a commercial tax, then it will naturally be an incomparably large tax revenue.

Your Majesty is tempted by this.

"The minister is against!"

"The minister is also against it, this move must not be!"

Some people are silent, and of course there are people who oppose it.

When Li Shimin heard the opposition below, he still didn't raise his head, dealing with his own affairs, but said lightly: "Tell me the reasons for the opposition." ”

So that the ministers below couldn't hear his joy and anger, and several people who opposed it glanced at each other, and then a member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs stood up and said: "Your Majesty, this is not in line with the ancestral system, from the Great Sui ......"

Before he could speak, he saw Li Shimin raise his head for the first time, looking at him with a pair of eyes that seemed to be smiling, making his words stop abruptly.

"Hehe, Wang Yuanwailang is seventy this year, right? It's rare to remember the law of the Great Sui......"

Li Shimin paused, and then asked slowly: "Then according to the ancestral system of the Great Sui, is it not my turn to be the emperor?" ”

The king's legs were so frightened that his legs weakened, and he knelt down directly: "Your Majesty...... Your Majesty, Your Minister...... That's not what the minister meant! ”

"Get up!" Li Shimin shook his head, no longer looked at him, and continued to bow his head and criticize things: "Wang Yuanwailang is so old, sometimes what he thinks and does will inevitably be a little omission, why don't you go home and recuperate?" ”

The king stood up tremblingly, bowed his head and said, "Weichen has the order." ”

"Okay, who else is against it, tell me why?" Li Shimin's majestic voice echoed in the Hall of Virtue.

"Wechen...... Weichen felt that this move would inevitably increase the burden on the people, and they all said that the family of Lu was only a food family, and they did not compete with the people, and then the profits could be evenly distributed, and the people could have enough families. This is the principle of heaven, and it is also the ancient way. ”

"Well, it makes sense!" Li Shimin looked up at the person who spoke: "Zheng Shilang of the Ministry of Rites, Xingyang Zheng has the most people in the imperial examination, and this book is indeed a good memory." ”

"If I'm not mistaken, Xingyang should be rich in persimmons, right?"

"Back to Your Majesty, but there is a unique saying that persimmon frost cakes are unique to Xingyang."

"Well, but I also heard that as long as it is in Xingyang, persimmons can be sold in Zheng's shop, but the people can't do it, I don't know if there is such a thing? I don't know if this counts as competing with the people? ”

The sweat of Zheng Shilang of the Ministry of Rites flowed down at once, and he said hesitantly: "That...... That ......"

I didn't think of a statement for a long time, after all, His Majesty said so, and most of the evidence in his hand was there.

This time, those who stood up this time were people from the Taiyuan Wang family, and those from the Zheng family in Xingyang were people in the back.

The reason why they stopped Li Shimin was also very simple, this family accumulated money, could it be that those peasants were able to rely on those peasants to dig food in the field?

On the one hand, they looked down on the merchants, and divided the social class into the peasants and the merchants, with the merchants being the last.

However, on the other hand, they relied on extremely low tariffs and municipal taxes to engage in commercial activities and accumulate wealth.

Now that the imperial court wants to collect taxes, it is the same as scraping flesh on them, how can this be agreed?

"Your Majesty, it is said that the wool comes from the sheep, which collects taxes from the merchants, and the merchants raise prices, which are bound to be passed on to the ordinary people, and don't they invisibly increase the burden on the people?"

Li Shimin looked at the doctor who was speaking, if I remember correctly, this person should be Fan Yang Lu.

However, he had already prepared for these big families to jump out, smiled and said, "Finally, someone said something useful." ”

"You are right, this world is always the world of the people, Wei Xuancheng said to me: Jun, Zhou also; People, water too. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize a boat. ”

"So we really can't increase the burden on the people!"

Doctor Zuo smiled slightly, this advice has to come by himself.