In the mansion of Ruan Dacheng, the Minister of Rites, there are several cups of Huangshan Usnea tea, exuding the delicate and ever-changing aroma. Ruan Dacheng, who has returned to the Donglin Gentleman camp long ago, is dressed in a Taoist robe, sitting leisurely on the couch, shaking a paper fan, and talking to him for many years

Ma Shiying, an old friend whom I haven't seen before, was reminiscing about old times and chatting, looking a bit romantic.

Historically, he was a notorious eunuch, and he caused Ma Shiying to become an eunuch, and later he fell into trouble and became a traitor. But with Zhu Cixiang, a wise emperor who could educate traitors into loyal ministers, Ruan Dacheng also had the fate of being a "loyal minister and gentleman".

No one thinks he is a eunuch anymore

Moreover, now the main line of party struggle in the Ming Dynasty is the "North and South Party", and no one cares about the eunuch party or Donglin anymore. For example, the two "big Donglin" Shi Kefa and Hou Xun and Qian Qianyi, the leader of Donglin, are not one party.

.As for Ruan Dacheng, Minister of Rites, a former eunuch, he was very close to Qian Qianyi because he was from Tongcheng. Both of them were leaders of the Southern Party.

Ma Shiying, who is from Guizhou, and Zeng Ying, who is from Sichuan, were originally isolated from the North-South party struggle because the North-South party struggle mainly revolved around tax collection. The Northerners controlled most of the army and wanted to seize the land in the north through the Northern Expedition.

Of course, the scholar-bureaucrats and businessmen from Fujian and Guangdong in the four rivers, two lakes, and other places must be squeezed.

The Southern People's Party represents the landowners and businessmen from Fujian and Guangdong in the four rivers, two lakes and Fujian, and of course they don't want to pay more taxes.

Because the occupied areas in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan were too large, there was no tax to collect. Therefore, the exiled Sichuan gentry and bureaucrats did not object to the imperial government squeezing the four rivers, two lakes, Fujian and Guangdong, as long as the Sichuan-Guizhou army they controlled could get a little profit from it.

However, the Ministry of War, the Military Advisor's Office, and the Household Affairs Bureau controlled by the Northerners Party have always been stuck in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, and are not very willing to pay.

And Zhu Cixiang is an "atypical wise king" who runs the country like a company. He is not willing to spend 100 million to pacify Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, and then collects more than 1 million per year to maintain a garrison of 100,000 people in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan.

It’s not even enough! To maintain a garrison of 100,000 troops, at least more than 2 million a year

It is equivalent to asking Emperor Zhu to spend 100 million to buy a company that loses 1 million a year!

Of course, Emperor Zhu would sometimes do this kind of loss-making business. For example, his investment in the northwest would not be profitable. And if he planned to spend 200 million to secure the Qing Dynasty, there would not be a high return.

After all, this is the Little Ice Age, and it is not an era of industrialization. The coal and iron resources in the north are not of great value, and the natural economy is subject to the climate. Loss or small profit is normal.

But the situation in Sichuan is really different!

Although there was a fiscal deficit in Sichuan and Chongqing in later generations, it was only due to the central and local tax sharing. The central government had already taken the bulk of the tax revenue. In the Ming Dynasty, Sichuan handed over more than one million yuan, which was the total tax revenue!

The northwest is losing money and the north is making a small profit, and Zhu Cixiang also admits it. Sichuan, the land of abundance, is going to suffer losses, can Zhu Cixiang still be worthy of being the emperor?

Therefore, the war to regain Sichuan has not yet begun. Ma Shiying and Zeng Ying have become "comrades-in-arms" with the Southern People's Party. Today, Ma Shiying and Zeng Ying came to visit, just to find out the imperial court's trump cards from their old friend Ruan Dacheng.

After Ruan Dacheng and Ma Shiying finished their pleasantries, they finally started talking about business. They saw Ruan Dacheng with a serious face: "Brother Yaocao, the rogue bandits are killing at least 15 million taels a year in Sichuan, and the people can still live comfortably.

If not, just go with this number!"

Fifteen million plus tax increased tenfold!

"Too many!" Ma Shiying shook his head, "It's really too much."

"Is it a lot?" Ruan Dacheng shook his head, "Yao Cao, when you take over the job of the governor of Jiangnan, you will know what it means to be too much. Now the money that Jiangnan turns over every year is as much as 20 million yuan in silver, and Jiangnan Province does not include it.

Yingtian Mansion! Sichuan is so big, is fifteen million too much?"

"Mr. Yuan Hai doesn't know something," Zeng Ying, the governor of Sichuan and Guizhou Province, shook his head repeatedly. "The foundation of the Sichuan Army is the regiment training of the Sichuan gentry. They have been fighting to the death for so many years. In the end, they raised taxes tenfold. This, this, this"

Ruan Dacheng spread his hands: "But you can't beat the bandits!"

"But we didn't let the bandits come out!" Zeng Ying said, "If we hadn't been in the west these years, the bandits would have been killed long ago. The court cannot forget the merits and hard work of our Sichuan Army!"

"How come you forgot?" Ruan Dacheng was stunned, "A lot of Sichuan Army officers and soldiers have been promoted and made a fortune, right? The imperial court also paid less for the Sichuan Army!"

Ma Shiying said: "Your Majesty said that the land shared by the rogue bandits can no longer be returned to the original owners, the Sichuan gentry and meritorious soldiers. In the future, the land can only be taken from the military fields of the rogue bandits."

"I see." Ruan Dacheng thought for a while, "Then how much land can be allocated?"

Zeng Ying did not answer, but glanced at Ma Shiying, who said: "About 15 million acres."

Ruan Dacheng asked again: "How much is left?"

"At least 35 million acres." Ma Shiying said.

"The total amount is fifty million acres. One acre of rice is equivalent to three taels of silver, which is ten million million taels. The current price of rice is two or three dou," Ruan Dacheng said, "There is still salt in Sichuan.

The tax is three million, right? After deducting the salt tax, it is thirteen million taels. Two buckets of rice per mu is enough.

About 20% of it was used for local tax collection and expenditure, and the actual payment was only 100,000,000 dan."

Nowadays, the Ming Dynasty's land tax and land rent (military farmland) can be either grain or silver, and do not include fire consumption. People only need to pay it at the county, and the transportation cost is not high.

After the government gets the grain or silver, it will dispose of it depending on the situation, either escorting it to the warehouse or selling it and discounting it for cash. Depending on the roads and water transportation conditions in the area, there will be different fire consumption standards. It can be up to 30%, and it can be less.

Half percent and 20 percent are just averages. If the local government or the army is good at management, they can make a lot of money from it. This is legal income, and there is no need to worry about the censor looking for trouble.

Ruan Dacheng added: "In addition, now that Sichuan's industry and commerce are in decline, the imperial court will not ask for any commercial tax sharing, and this revenue will also be given to the local area. Sichuan area can also have two to three million a year. Sichuan area,

There can be millions of profits in a year! Governor Zeng, think about it carefully, can this deal be done?"

"Business?" Ma Shiying smiled bitterly, "Why does this become a trade?"

Ruan Dacheng shook his head, "Brother Yaocao has been in Guizhou for a long time. I don't know that our emperor runs the country as a business, so the officials below must also be able to run it!"

"Here, how do you manage this?" Zeng Ying looked embarrassed. Although he had served as the governor of Eastern Sichuan, he was not good at management. Ma Shiying had always been doing the logistics for him.

Ruan Dacheng smiled: "This matter is easy to handle. Let's first calculate how much capital we have, and then think of a solution."

"Capital?" Zeng Ying didn't quite understand.

Ma Shiying didn't quite understand, so he said to his good friend: "Ji Zhi, stop being so secretive and talk about it quickly."

"Okay," Ruan Dacheng said, clasping his fingers, "First of all, the land! There are 15 million acres that can be divided. Is this capital?

Next is salt. Now the salt in Sichuan is operated by the bandits themselves. After recovery, it will definitely be contracted to commercial operators. This is another cost.

Thirdly, it’s about official positions! Let’s not talk about the prefecture and prefecture levels, but just talk about counties and prefectures. How many counties and prefectures are there in Sichuan?”

Zeng Ying was shocked when he heard this and said, "Wait a minute, Minister Ruan, what do you mean by counties and prefectures?"

"Official positions are also capital!" Ruan Dacheng said with a smile, "This dynasty does not prohibit local officials from being appointed. There are still fewer local officials in provincial and state capitals. Local officials in counties and prefectures are all over Sichuan and it is a war zone. The situation is even more special.

It is natural for local magnates to serve as officials. Governor Zeng might as well discuss with Governor Li and Admiral Yang and draw up a charter to use these official positions to raise merit and compensate for the losses of the powerful gentry."

"Using state and county official positions to raise military merits to compensate the wealthy gentry?" Zeng Ying always felt that something was wrong. "Isn't the court afraid that they will be corrupt and accept bribes, and amass money to harm the people?"
Chapter completed!