Chapter 112: Test ground

"Why does the emperor value the taxation of Changlongguan so much?" Huo Youjuan raised the question.
When Qin Nuo talked with He Ci, she retreated to the back of the palace, but she heard a little and was surprised.
"Because I'm short of money!" Qin Nuo stretched himself, sat on the soft couch, picked up a red cherry, and threw it into his mouth.
After a tiring day, it should be relaxed.
Huo Youjuan was puzzled, how could the emperor be short of money, and Qin Nuo's small coffer was unclear to others, she knew it. There is an endless supply of silver in Neiku, and it continues to increase, and it will probably break the 10 million mark next year. With increasing income and negligible expenses, how can you be short of money?
"The Emperor thinks that attacking Nan Chen will cost a lot of money?" Huo Yousil only thought of this possibility.
"No." Qin Nuo did not continue to appetite, frankly: "Because you want to reform the world's tax system."
In Huo Youchan's surprised eyes, he continued: "I want to reduce taxes this year. Reduce the taxation of land and acres to the share at the beginning of the country."
"Reducing taxation and frivolous service is a moral policy. It is conducive to the rest of the people, and presumably adults will not be too opposed to it." Qin Nuo laughed.
At the beginning of the founding of the country, the acre tax was one tax of fifteen. Later, Emperor Jing Yao increased to ten tax one in the first year, but don't think that people only need to pay one tenth of their income. Tax system, what kind of head tax, water conservancy tax and the like, as well as military service spread over the head. If you don't want to take on this tiring service, you also need to pay for it instead.
In summary, today's people probably pay 40% to 50% of their income every year. This is a time of peace, occasional wars, especially large-scale wars, and temporary tax increases.
Under such a burden, people's lives are extremely difficult. Although they do not starve to death, they are also very difficult.
The tax cut is indeed a moral policy, but the imperial court did not have enough food to increase taxes.
The reason for the increase in taxes is because the court money is not enough!
Over the years, the imperial court has expeditioned Nanchen to confront Beishuo, which is a hugely expensive project. Coupled with the reduction of taxable acres, the tax had to be increased.
The court did not spend enough money. In addition to the war spending too much money, the most important reason was that the area of ​​good fields that could pay taxes was gradually reduced. This is a very tragic issue. There is still a day when the war will stop, but if there are fewer good fields, there will only be fewer and fewer and faster.
Why did Liangtian decrease? Because they were merged by the Hao gatekeeper. The Hao gate valves are not taxed.
This created a vicious circle. The taxable land became less and less. In order to maintain expenses, the court could only increase taxes again. The increase in taxes made the people unable to survive, and they had to choose to go bankrupt. Slavery.
The farmland acquired by the mighty powers does not need to pay taxes, and slaves do not need to serve. The court once again plunged into the abyss of poverty.
An analysis of the demise of a dynasty is often the ruleless kings and treacherous nations. In fact, very few nations have been destroyed because of this reason. Most of them are the accumulation of social and economic contradictions to a flashpoint. There is no way out except for a revolution and killing and the redistribution of the means of production.
How terrible was the land merger in the late Eastern Han Dynasty? There are countless fields produced by giants, and even all the fields in several counties have the extreme phenomenon that belongs to one household. And all the people on the field are the powerful household servants.
The county order appointed by the court arrived in the county, and there was only one household under the rule of the people, or even only one-nth of a household. Hehe, how would you let such a court and officials govern the place?
The same was true in the late Ming Dynasty, when the family of gatekeepers occupied a large amount of farmland. Especially for imperial examinations, officials are exempt from taxes. The burden of paying taxes is borne by fewer and fewer civilians. Sanjiajia faction is even more angry and angry, so people will rise.
Da Zhou Liguo has been going for nearly a hundred years and is slipping towards this inevitable historical circle. But it is not irreparable.
But how to recover? Prohibition on buying and selling land? Even ordered the wealthy family to retire from the land and release slaves? Ha ha, sorry, Qin Nuo felt that his small life was still very valuable and didn't want to lose it directly.
Someone really did this in history, it's Wang Mang! The results of it? His reforms not only did not alleviate local contradictions, but made the whole country mess. Destroying itself, but also leaving behind insults.
In order to solve this problem, the best way to solve this problem is to provide the official and gentry together to provide food. But now that the imperial power is declining, Qin Nuo can guarantee that if he proposes such a tax rate reform, he will definitely offend all the nobles, and will only be overthrown and overthrown in the end.
Thinking about it, he only found this way.
Lower taxes and lower taxes, people can survive, so who will sell land, sell themselves? After all, people do not want to be slaves alive.
The vacancy brought by the tax reduction can be made up by the commercial tax or the business of the internal warehouse.
Commercial tax is not collected so well. If it is levied nationwide, it will easily evolve into a vicious law used by local officials to search for common people.
Qin Nuo never overestimated the discipline of officials in this era. In the Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi's reform of the young seedling law was originally presented by the government. It was a good way of lending people to prevent people from going bankrupt because of poverty, but in the implementation process, it changed. It became a cool way for local officials to exploit the people.
In ancient times, because of backward traffic, blocked communications, and the administration of local officials, it was impossible to know in time. People were wronged and there was no place to speak. Therefore, the full collection of commercial taxes will almost certainly become a new burden on the people, and even At the extreme, it will turn folk transactions into a primitive state of barter.
So Qin Nuo's final decision was implemented in several locations. The ancient commerce and trade mainly used water conservancy to implement new commercial tax laws in several hub cities, and not in the form of tax laws, with the help of intermediaries such as "banks" that assisted transactions in a more relaxed manner to collect taxes.
Changlong Guan is his test place, which is of great importance.
Huo Youjuan listened, with a shocked expression in her eyes.
"The emperor ..." For a long time, she wondered how she should evaluate the matter.
She fell in love with Qin Nuo, and she felt that her beloved was gentle and amiable, yet she was clever, but she never thought that he still had such grand ambitions and fierce means.
"It's been very relaxed," Qin Nuo said with a smile. This is the method that he pondered over and over and finally decided. Absolutely the most gentle of all the means. Even Huo Yousil was evaluated as fierce.
Perhaps in the eyes of people in this era, any reform that violates the ancestral system is a drastic act.
It turned out that he didn't just want to be a prince of righteousness, but also a hegemon of reforming the world.
Huo Youchan used this look for the first time to examine Qin Nuo.
"What's wrong?" Qin Nuo couldn't help asking, as she looked at her hair.
"No, the emperor's plan is very appropriate. There should be no more meticulous method." Huo Youchan nodded hard, then she stared at him solemnly, "No matter what the emperor chooses, the young silk must follow the end."
"It's not that serious, it's just a small change that won't cause much change." Qin Nuo comforted. He wants to be a reformer, but first of all, he has to think about his own life and status.
Commerce and trade is originally a profit-making move, and its profits often fluctuate up and down. There is not a significant difference between the profits of 2,800 and 2,600. Unlike land, the change from a 10% tax to a 20% tax will make people feel very different and easily cause resistance.
Relying on the existence of banks, the majority of fraudulent transactions are eliminated, and the disadvantages of treacherous merchants are eliminated. When these merchants gradually get used to it, they will find that although they have paid a small amount of money, the transaction is more secure, more reliable, and more convenient.
I just think I paid for the service. So it wo n’t be so inconsistent.
People in this era have not realized that commerce is the fastest way to get money.
Changlong Temple is just one of them. In the future, Qin Nuo will open a sea city, and sea trade should be more abundant. This may further reduce the local burden. At present, some family gates in Dazhou have started maritime trade, but only in the surrounding areas, they have not formed a large scale. And because of the backwardness of shipbuilding technology in this era, the risk of walking at sea is too great. Once it encounters a storm, it will lose its blood and even take its life together. Greatly hindered the enthusiasm of merchants for sea trade.
Speaking of this shipbuilding technology, we still have to count on Nan Chen!
Nanchen's shipbuilding technology is advanced. The sailor is unparalleled in the world, much better than Dazhou and Beishuo. After the country's death that year, the unparalleled sailor in the world did not follow the sailor to admonish Bai Feiheng. A large part remained in the hands of the small court of Nan Chen.
I hope that the next expedition will have satisfactory results.
After thinking about it, Huo Youchan realized: "The emperor has already decided to use what kind of right?"
Qin Nuo laughed without saying a word. He Ci had a very big advantage. He was born in Hejia, a business in northern Xinjiang. Hejia accounted for a large share. At that time, Changlong Guanhu opened as a consular official. Lead by example! Even He's bank account, so do other businessmen pay taxes?
"I will contact my father and let Huo's business steward follow suit." Huo Youjuan said.
"You don't have to be too reluctant," Qin Nuo laughed.
Huo Youjuan is still angry with Huo's family. Although Huo's family often shows their favors these days, Huo Youjuan does not flirt most of the time. Asking Huo at this time was bowing his head and reconciling.
"Not reluctantly, after all the emperor did it for me ..."
Huo Youjuan did not continue.
Now that Qin Nuo is determined to use He Ci, in fact, it is the best way to reassure He's family, and it can even be separated from Pei's chariot.
But Qin Nuo did not choose this shortcut in order to promise her, which touched her heart.
"Don't think so." Qin Nuo smiled and reached out and nodded her lips. "Yi is from my heart, just to be clean around me."