"Your Majesty, I sincerely request your Majesty's permission to increase the tax rate in Huguang, and implement the method of paying grain to both officials and gentry together and sharing the land with farmers..."

In the Xiangyang Imperial City, in the Chengyun Hall, Zhu Yiming led six vassal kings from the Huguang area including King Zhu Ciyan of Jing, King Zhu Youmei of Ji, King Rong Zhu Cizheng, King Hui Zhu Changrun, King Zhu Changhui of Gui, and King Min Zhu Qi?, and they all proposed the concession in unison.

Zhu Youjian on the throne made a very emotional plea.

Please charge them more taxes!

I beg the officials and gentry to pay for their food as one!

Please help me spread my land!

This kind of thing actually happened... Let alone Zhu Youjian, even if Zhu Yuanzhang came alive to see him, he would definitely be moved.

Zhu Youjian looked at these seven princes and thought: They are indeed the princes of the Ming Dynasty! They all really love the Ming Dynasty more than money. If the Ming Dynasty has princes like them, they will not have to worry about it in the future.

Zhu Youjian sighed again: The reason why he was asking for money one by one in his previous life was because he, the emperor, did not know how to beg for food... The craftsmanship of his ancestors cannot be lost!

Zhu Youjian showed an approving smile and said warmly: "Okay, okay, you are all good princes of my Ming Dynasty!"

We turned out to be good princes... Several princes were relieved at the same time - it feels better to be a good person! Don't worry about being wiped out by Long Live Lord!

And it feels good to pay taxes! Paying taxes is glorious...really!

Now even if the fake King of Chu wants to pay taxes, it is impossible. Several princes are well-informed people, and they have all received the news. The fake King of Chu has confessed! He is indeed a fake... I don’t know how he did it.

You know? Do you remember what happened when you were born?

Since he confessed, his whole family would have to die, which is pitiful to think about!

"but......"

Why can't it be better?

The seven princes are worried again. Are we not allowed to pay taxes? There is no one like you who can be a relative!

Zhu Youjian paused for a moment, then continued: "But I can't stay in Huguang forever! If I leave Huguang, will anyone still want to pay taxes, want the government and gentry to pay the grain together, and want to share the land?"

Think about it!

We all dream of...you go!

Several princes nodded their heads desperately, but Zhu Youjian didn't believe them... This young king who seemed to be in his twenties on the surface was actually an old fox of more than a hundred years old in his heart.

, what a cunning old man!

"I also know that you, as well as the gentry in Huguang, love me, the Ming Dynasty, more than my brother (Brother Kong Fang)." Zhu Youjian laughed, "But I can't be greedy, and there must be a limit to tax collection.

....You want to pay too much, and I won’t agree to it!”

"No, no, long live the Lord, we are willing to make more friends!"

"Yes, our money is Ming Dynasty's money. Now that there is a natural disaster in the north of Ming Dynasty, we should get more money..."

"Your Majesty, I don't like money, so I just want to pay more taxes!"

"Money is an external thing. If you don't bring it with you in life, you won't take it with you in death. It's useless for us to have so much. We should just give it to those in need!"

These princes are really patriotic!

If they had been so patriotic in their previous life, how could the Ming Dynasty still be in trouble? However, patriotism is in no particular order. Even if you didn’t love your country in your previous life and started to love it in this life, you are still a good prince of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youjian nodded happily: "I'm just afraid that you guys love me too much, Ming Dynasty... You have paid taxes on your money, so you are frugal and lose the dignity of the Ming Dynasty prince. How can I bear it?

"

When several princes heard this, they were all moved - it really moved the Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Youjian said: "In addition, you are the princes of my Ming Dynasty, and Ming Dynasty is your home... When you pay taxes to the Ming Dynasty, it is equivalent to taking money for your family. Of course, the more the better!

But there are so many gentry and common people here in Huguang, and they all have their own families. If you take the lead in paying more taxes and heavy taxes, what will they do? Do they also pay the same? Can they afford it?

So it is not possible to collect taxes this way... It is good for you to take the lead in paying taxes, but the appropriate amount to pay must be carefully discussed. I do not agree that more is better."

The following princes were a little bit dumbfounded when they listened to the nonsense that Zhu Youjian said seriously... Is this king clear or comatose?

Zhu Youjian coughed and asked, "But how to discuss the tax payment?"

How to negotiate?

Several princes also felt strange - is there still any discussion on this matter? If it can be discussed, it will definitely not be received.

Zhu Youjian smiled and said: "Yes, this matter is still subject to discussion!

And I also thought of a good way...that is to separate tax negotiation and tax collection! Let the governors of each province have the power to negotiate taxes, and they should go to the tax negotiators elected by the clans and gentry in the province.

Negotiate the annual tax quota, including the province’s quota and the quotas of the following prefectures.”

"Long live Lord, do you really want to discuss tax collection?"

"Can this matter be discussed? No one is willing to pay more taxes...except us!"

"Yes, we are willing to pay more taxes!"

Several princes raised objections. They all felt that they were the only ones in the world who truly loved Ming Dynasty.

Everyone else loves Daming’s money!

Zhu Youjian nodded, "You are right...but I also have a way to solve it. First of all, the tax discussion meeting is hosted by the governor! And the governor is an official sent by the court, representing the emperor...

...If the governor really can't negotiate, then I will personally come forward to discuss it!

Secondly, I will link the amount of tax paid by each province and prefecture (state) to the amount of Jinshi and Jinshi. The more taxes paid and the amount of Jinshi, the higher the amount of Jinshi.

If a certain prefecture is unable to pay taxes due to various reasons...even if it suffers from a natural disaster, then the next exam and competition will have nothing to do with the students of that prefecture.

Third, if there is too little tax discussion in any province, then I will have to go there to beg for food!"

The emperor begged for food... and the people suffered! Now what happened in Xiangyang Mansion has spread throughout Huguang, but no one takes Zhu Youjian's begging for food as a joke anymore.

Zhu Youjian said in a calmer tone: "Of course, no matter how much we discuss it, it cannot be changed that the officials and gentry will pay the grain together and share the land with the peasants. This is a non-discussable issue!"

The government and gentry's unified payment of grain and the sharing of grain and land is actually a matter of equal sharing of the tax burden.

As long as the taxes of the Ming Dynasty can be shared evenly, it won't be too much... There are more than 1 billion acres of land in total, but the regular tax of 26 million plus a few million Liao wages will only be more than 3,000 even if it is collected in full

Ten thousand.

How can it be a heavy tax when only three liters are charged per acre? But once 80 or 90% of the land does not pay taxes, it will be terrible. The tax burden on the taxed land will increase several times or even ten times, and there are

Many apportionments and bad regulations will also be imposed, making life difficult for ordinary people.

Zhu Youjian could not be satisfied with the tax of a few liters per mu, so he had to implement the grain payment by the officials and the gentry as well as the sharing of grain into the mu - these two purposes of "good governance" were actually to collect more taxes rather than less.

Tax... no emperor is willing to implement it in order to collect less tax. How can the emperor hate money if he is not stupid?

Zhu Youjian added: "The specific ones responsible for collection are the magistrates below and the magistrates of Zhili Prefecture... In order for these magistrates and magistrates to collect sufficient money and grain, they can also maintain the local area.

peace on.

I will also delegate power to them...Give them certain military power, allow them to recruit subordinates within a certain range, allow them to recommend officers and soldiers to serve as officials, and grant them royal orders and flags.

At the same time, the powers of the governor and the three divisions must be reduced accordingly. The powers and responsibilities of the three divisions must be transferred to the state capital as much as possible. In the future, the taxes negotiated by the governor and tax negotiators will be collected by the prefect, and no penny shall be collected.

, otherwise only the prefect will ask!"

Zhu Youjian's method is to make a false province of Shizhou (Zhili Prefecture). In the future, the governor's responsibilities will be much smaller, and the prefect will become a real big government, with power comparable to some small military envoys in the Tang Dynasty!

The advantage of doing this is that the responsibility is assigned to the person, and it is very clear - if the task cannot be completed, go to the prefect, and if anything goes wrong, it will be the prefect's fault. There is no need to push it up the mountain or to the left or right.
Chapter completed!