Chapter 188 As long as he is fine, you will be fine too

"They will, I guarantee that!"

Pang Gang's answer made Wei Tongnian frown even more. As a person who has read poetry and received education from Confucius and Mencius since childhood, Pang Gang's idea is very dangerous and goes against their ethics.

concept of etiquette.

"Pang Pang, do you know what you are talking about? You are intimidating the imperial court!" Wei Tongnian's face was very ugly. When he heard Pang Gang's words, his mind immediately thought of "support the troops and respect themselves"

this phrase.

"No, no!" Pang Gang also shook his head and showed off his grace, "It is not the officials who threaten the imperial court, but the well-fed salt merchants. They are like ants clinging to our Ming Dynasty.

Locusts, desperately sucking up the blood and sweat of the Ming Dynasty and the people. They don’t have to pay taxes when farming, and they don’t have to pay taxes when doing business. They ride big horses and can marry dozens of concubines, but they have done a lot for this court and our Ming Dynasty.

What? No, nothing!"

At this point, Pang Gang's voice suddenly raised an octave, "Looking at our Ming Dynasty, those merchants, gentry and officials who only account for less than half of the population of the Ming Dynasty occupy 80% of the land in our Ming Dynasty, but do not have to pay a penny in taxes.

But the burden of paying taxes must be placed on the people who only have 20% of the land. What kind of truth is this?"

The more Pang Gang talked, the angrier he became. He had done research on the financial issues of the Ming Dynasty. Before Emperor Wanli, the finance of the Ming Dynasty was mainly based on agricultural taxes. Zhang Juzheng's reform focused on taxation, and the focus shifted from collecting agricultural taxes to collecting industrial and commercial taxes. This naturally greatly

This touched the industrial and commercial interest groups in Jiangnan. In this context, the Donglin Party began to form.

As soon as Zhang Juzheng died, they thought about abolishing this tax system. It is not that easy to evade taxes! Emperor Wanli knew that continuing to collect meager agricultural taxes would not only be insufficient for the treasury, but also unbearable for the farmers. Therefore, Wanli still tried every means to get money from the capitalists in Jiangnan.

Middle income tax. Since the Ministry of Household Affairs that manages the external treasury does not accept industrial and commercial taxes and only collects agricultural taxes, Wanli transfers the industrial and commercial taxes to the internal treasury. This is the so-called Wanli greed for money. In fact, the money used by Wanli's three major levies

, it is the industrial and commercial tax from the internal treasury.

Through the wonderful performances of the three cases of "Tingqi", "Red Pill" and "Relocation of Palace", the Donglin Party finally took control of the government for the first time after Wanli's death. They immediately forced Taichang to abolish various industrial and commercial taxes. At that time, the Ming Dynasty

The development of various regions is uneven. In the south of the Yangtze River, industry and commerce are developed, and they pay almost no taxes. Farmers in the northern provinces cannot bear the high taxes, and they are even more hungry when encountering natural disasters.

However, the war in Liaodong is tense and the national treasury is empty. What to do!?

It was under this background that Wei Zhongxian appeared. How to do it, of course, was to ask Donglin Party members to pay taxes. After a few years, the national treasury began to become sufficient again. Wei Zhongxian's shrines began to appear in various places. How could the Donglin Party sit still?

Live here! So they poured all kinds of dirty water on Wei Zhongxian. He was domineering and eunuchs were rampant. In short, they put all kinds of crimes on Wei Zhongxian except raping women.

On the head!

Tianqi's death was another good opportunity. The brainwashed Comrade Chongzhen stood firmly on the side of the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party wanted to kill Wei Zhongxian and then quickly, but Chongzhen only dismissed him from his post and ordered him to guard the mausoleum. Wei Zhongxian

He died of sorrow and anger, and was buried generously by Chongzhen.

In this way, the Donglin Party came to power again. Of course, the abolition of industrial and commercial taxes is the first step. As for Liaodong, how can we spend less money to do it? The shortage of pay in Liaodong is getting worse. Coupled with the layer upon layer of exploitation by officers at all levels, the soldiers can get what they want.

There were very few, and morale was extremely low. The generals of the Ming army wrote memorials every day asking for money, and Emperor Chongzhen was helpless. The Donglin Party accused the Liaodong officers of improper command, ineffective combat, and embezzlement of military pay. Reducing expenditures often turned into moral preaching; what can we do if we don't increase revenue?

! Of course, the Donglin Party will not increase industrial and commercial taxes, and the burden will naturally fall on the farmers.

Finally, the poorest peasants in the northwest revolted and invaded Beijing. Chongzhen committed suicide. Wu Sangui led the Qing army into the pass, and the tragedy began. The country was ruined and the family was ruined. People and property were lost. The people of the time were short-sighted and frantically evaded taxes for decades.

I thought I was getting a big advantage, but I didn't know that this was an out-and-out act of suicide, which is very sad.

Historians of later generations have many different views on the reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty, and their opinions are also diverse. However, one thing they agree on is surprisingly consistent, that is, the demise of the Ming Dynasty is directly related to the tax policy of the Ming Dynasty.

It’s not that the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty couldn’t fight, nor that they didn’t know how to fight, but that the court had no money, and the financial collapse also led to the collapse of the regime. In the end, a group of peasants who had no food to eat were brought to the capital, and the country eventually perished.

.

So when Wei Tongnian brought up the Hangzhou salt merchants today, Pang Gang was naturally not interested in those salt merchants, so he told Wei Tongnian clearly that I just looked down on those salt merchants and would let them deal with me if they could.

Well, they have money, they also have money, and they also have soldiers. Let’s see who can beat the other.

At the end of the conversation, the two broke up on bad terms. Wei Tongnian returned to the magistrate's office angrily. When he walked into the small living room in the inner courtyard, Rou Niang and Wei Man Ting, who had been waiting at home, immediately greeted him.

While Rou Niang brought some water for Wei Tongnian to wash his hands, she asked in a low voice: "Master, you are back. How was your talk with Pang Pang today?"

Although Wei Manting didn't say anything, she stared at her father unblinkingly with her beautiful eyes.

Wei Tongnian snorted and said: "This Pang Gang really doesn't know how to praise me. I tried to persuade him, but he insisted that he would not let go. His words also had the meaning of being a soldier and self-respecting. I don't care about his life or death for such an arrogant person."

.I will never care about his affairs again!"

Wei Man Ting and Rou Niang looked at each other. Rou Niang shook her head and said, "I can't help it." However, Wei Man Ting stepped forward and placed a cup of fragrant tea next to Wei Tong Nian and said softly: "Dad, please calm down first.

My daughter will feel distressed if she is so angry. Please talk to your daughter about what is going on."

"Huh, you just want to make your father happy." Wei Tongnian took a few sips of the tea served by his precious daughter, and his mood relaxed a lot, then he said to Wei Manting: "Today I asked him if he would open a salt farm privately.

He acquiesced. Later, I persuaded him to stop the salt field, but he refused to agree to the end. He also said that those salt merchants in the south of the Yangtze River were full of fat but were unwilling to hand over a penny to the court.

It's better to let Qingzhou earn such money, at least it can raise an elite army to defend our country of Han Dynasty! You say it is irritating or not, but if he says this, the court, where does it put the emperor?"

"Then it won't make you, a dignified prefect, so angry, right?" Wei Manting chuckled, "Don't you know the virtues of those salt merchants? I ask you to persuade Pang Da to be careful, isn't it?

I asked you to persuade him to stop."

Wei Tongnian sighed, "It's fine if he doesn't listen to my advice, but do you know what else he said to me today? He actually told me that he would send troops to North Korea to help North Korea resist the Qing army. Knowing this

What does it mean? To launch an army privately is a serious crime of beheading! He...he actually told me so openly and openly, what is he doing? Is he openly demonstrating to me? "

"What, he wants to send troops to North Korea?" Wei Manting's pretty face couldn't help but change color slightly when she heard this. The crime of sending troops privately was considered a serious crime of beheading in any dynasty or generation.

Wei Man Ting's beautiful face wrinkled up as her face suddenly changed. She sat by the coffee table and dragged her chin with her little hand, thinking for a long time before slowly asking: "Dad, do you know how many troops the Pang Da people have now?"

Wei Tongnian on the side said angrily: "Now that he is guarding the defense of the three states and has absorbed a large number of refugees, he should have tens of thousands of soldiers, right?"

"That's right!" Wei Man Ting clapped her little hands and said, "Now that Pang Pang has tens of thousands of elites under his command, my daughter heard that he has many businesses such as saltworks, iron mines, and cement plants. It can be said that he is making money every day.

Would the local generals and the imperial court dare to question him when he has both money and soldiers?"

"boom......"

Wei Man Ting's words were like a bolt of lightning that struck Wei Tongnian. His body couldn't help but tremble, his face suddenly stiffened, and he said word by word: "Man Ting, are you saying that Pang Gang will rebel?"

"Dad, don't talk nonsense!" Wei Man Tingye was startled when she heard the word "rebellion" at first. She scolded: "Don't talk nonsense. If others hear it, it will hurt the people. My daughter just said

Pang Daren's strength is getting stronger and stronger, so the imperial court has to pay more and more attention to him, but I didn't say that he was going to rebel, so don't harm him."

Wei Tongnian couldn't help but smile bitterly and thought to himself: "It seems that girls are really outgoing, now they know how to protect them."

Wei Tongnian was completely speechless about his daughter's emotional problems. His daughter was smart, beautiful, virtuous and capable, so why did she fall in love with that married man? He really couldn't understand that.

What's so good about a daring idiot?

But now is not the time to discuss this issue. What really worries Wei Tongnian is that if the commander, who is more courageous than Xigua, really sends troops to rescue North Korea, the news will definitely not be hidden. It is estimated that the memorials to impeach him will soon be

Chongzhen's desk will be full. How will he protect himself? At this moment, the prefect really has a headache.

As if seeing her father's worries, Wei Manting on the side pursed her lips and smiled to comfort her: "Dad, don't worry too much. As long as Pang Pang is fine, the court will not touch you. My daughter estimates that as long as Pang Pang can be made

People continue to gather the refugees and develop with peace of mind. By this time next year, our Qingzhou will definitely become the leading wealthy place in Shandong. By then, it is time for you, the prefect of Qingzhou, to move up!"

"Hmph, don't talk nonsense!" Wei Tongnian scolded his daughter and fell silent...

!#
Chapter completed!