pappabearbooks Chapter 50: Establish the Tax Supervisory Commission; Those Who Resist Taxes Will Die!
Chapter 50: Establish the Tax Supervisory Commission; Those Who Resist Taxes Will Die!
"Grand Secretary Zhou, please rise."
Zhu Houzhao personally reached out and helped Zhou Jing, who was kneeling on the ground, to his feet.
Seeing Zhou Jing's excited expression, Zhu Houzhao was also quite moved.
If he were to tell Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Li Dongyang, Ma Wensheng, Qin Hong, and others about his tax reform, their reaction would definitely be to immediately kneel down and dissuade him from recklessly altering ancestral rules.
They are the beneficiaries of the current tax system, and they will do everything in their power to protect their interests, no matter what.
But Zhou Jing not only did not stop him, but was so moved that tears streamed down his face, and he called him a wise and sage ruler.
In this light, Zhou Jing was indeed a good official who cared for the people.
After Zhou Jing sat down, Zhu Houzhao shared his views on tax reform with him.
Zhou Jing nodded repeatedly as he listened, but at the end, a troubled look appeared on his face.
"Your Majesty, this reform method is good in itself, but it affects the interests of too many people."
"I'm afraid there will be a lot of resistance if we implement this..."
Zhu Houzhao sneered: "Great resistance?"
"Since I ascended the throne, what matter what I do, when has there ever been a period without significant resistance?"
"What I'm most afraid of when I want to accomplish something is facing strong resistance!"
"Anyone who tries to stop me from doing what I'm doing will have their entire family killed!"
"Kill until no one dares to utter a single word of dissent before me!"
When Zhu Houzhao said these words, his whole body was filled with murderous intent.
When the emperor is enraged, millions will die!
Zhou Jing stared in shock, realizing at that moment that Zhu Houzhao was truly determined to reform the tax system.
That was the kind of resolute determination that said, "Even if there are millions of people, I will go!"
It seems that His Majesty is already prepared for many deaths for this reform!
After dealing with the agricultural tax issue, Zhu Houzhao asked, "What about the commercial tax?"
"What are the various types of commercial taxes in the Ming Dynasty? What are the tax rates? How much tax can be collected annually?"
Mentioning commercial taxes only made Zhou Jing frown more, his face clouded with worry.
"Your Majesty, the commercial taxes of the Ming Dynasty are generally divided into customs duties, market stall taxes, maritime trade taxes, salt and tea taxes, and other miscellaneous taxes."
"The tax rate is roughly one-thirtieth, and these miscellaneous commercial taxes can bring in about 1.5 million taels of silver each year."
"What?! Only 1.5 million taels of silver?!"
Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhou Jing in disbelief, his brows furrowing deeply.
Only by being in the Ming Dynasty can one know how prosperous its trade was.
The amount of silver circulating in the market every day is probably no less than 100,000 taels of silver.
Although the commercial tax in the Ming Dynasty was very low, only one-thirtieth, it was impossible for it to only collect 1.5 million taels of silver every year!
"Grand Secretary Zhou, what's going on here? Tell me the truth!"
Zhu Houzhao's expression was serious; something was very wrong with the Ming Dynasty's commercial tax!
Zhu Houzhao didn't even need to think to know that it must have been those wealthy merchants who did this!
When Zhou Jing talked about this issue, he also looked very troubled.
"Since the founding of the dynasty by our great ancestor, Emperor Gao, the policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce has been implemented. From the very beginning, there has never been a complete system for collecting commercial taxes."
"Therefore, the imperial court has never actually had a position specifically for collecting commercial taxes, nor has it supervised commercial activities in various regions. It has no idea how much turnover, commodity value, and profit there are in local shops."
"So to this day, the imperial court still uses a tax farming system to collect commercial taxes, giving the power to collect commercial taxes to local powerful families, who then pay a fixed annual amount to the imperial court."
"The corruption involved is, in my opinion, quite alarming."
"What?! Is that how it is?!"
Zhu Houzhao slammed his fist on the table in anger, feeling both hatred and regret.
For so many years, the Ming Dynasty has actually handed over the power to collect commercial taxes to other people.
This is like having a mountain of gold right in front of you and not digging for it, but insisting on digging for food in the ground!
No, he absolutely couldn't allow things to continue like this.
He had to put the money that originally belonged to him into his own pocket!
Zhu Houzhao closed his eyes and pondered for a while before finally making up his mind.
"Abolish the tax farming system; from now on, the imperial court will collect all commercial taxes!"
"The collection of commercial taxes will be included in the year-end performance evaluation of local officials. Local officials who fail to meet the annual commercial tax collection standards will be severely punished!"
"Those who fail for three years will be demoted! Those who fail for five years will be dismissed!"
"Abolish the quota system and set the commercial tax at 30% of the annual profits of shops in each region!"
"Furthermore, no one but me can enjoy the privilege of tax exemption! Not even a single tael of silver can be exempted!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Zhou Jing accepted the order, but still had questions in his mind.
"But Your Majesty, who will the court send to collect the commercial taxes?"
"And how could the imperial court possibly know the exact annual profit of the shops?"
"I am aware of these matters. Go and carry out these orders."
"Yes, Your Majesty. This humble subject takes his leave."
Despite his doubts, Zhou Jing could only cup his hands in greeting and leave the Qianqing Palace.
After Zhou Jing left, Zhu Houzhao immediately sent Liu Jin to deliver a message, summoning Yu Huatian and Cao Zhengchun.
"Your humble servant, this old slave, greets Your Majesty!"
Yu Huatian and Cao Zhengchun came before Zhu Houzhao and knelt down respectfully to pay their respects.
Zhu Houzhao sat on the soft couch, his face stern as he swept his gaze over the two men, and gave a stern order.
"Yu Huatian, heed my command!"
Yu Huatian's pupils contracted, and he immediately bowed respectfully: "Your subject Yu Huatian humbly obeys Your Majesty's decree!"
"Notify the eunuchs stationed in various regions that, in addition to overseeing finances and provisions, they are also responsible for monitoring local commercial activities, especially in areas where commerce is thriving. They must be fully aware of these matters!"
"It is Your Majesty! Yu Huatian receives the decree!"
"Cao Zhengchun, heed the imperial decree!"
Cao Zhengchun then knelt before Zhu Houzhao: "This old servant, Cao Zhengchun, humbly obeys Your Majesty's decree!"
"From this moment forward, select personnel to form a tax bureau. Its role is to supervise commercial activities in various regions and collect the corresponding commercial taxes."
"Anyone who resists, evades, or avoids taxes will be strictly investigated and dealt with. In urgent situations, expedient measures may be taken as appropriate!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Go on, hurry up."
"Yes, Your Majesty. This old servant takes his leave!"
Having left the Qianqing Palace, Cao Zhengchun, who could no longer contain his joy, laughed heartily at Yu Huatian.
"You didn't expect this, did you, Yu Huatian? His Majesty has entrusted me with such an important task as establishing the Tax Bureau!"
"The revenue that the Inspector of Taxes brings to His Majesty each year is absolutely astronomical!"
"It seems that in His Majesty's heart, my status is probably above yours!"
Previously, Zhu Houzhao had appointed Yu Huatian to manage the eunuchs in charge of the empire and to manage the imperial treasury, which made Cao Zhengchun extremely envious.
Now that he has finally gotten his chance to show off in front of Yu Huatian, he has no choice but to flaunt it to him!
"snort!"
Yu Huatian merely snorted coldly and quickly left.
Watching Yu Huatian's retreating figure, Cao Zhengchun's smile widened, but the chill in his eyes grew even colder!
Cao Zhengchun wanted to let His Majesty know that the Eastern Depot was His Majesty's most capable henchman!