At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Hongwu unified China and regarded farmers as the foundation of the world. He made it a national policy to place emphasis on agriculture and suppress commerce. All the children of merchants were not allowed to participate in the imperial examination. Merchants could only wear coarse clothes and were not allowed to wear silk, brocade, and gorgeous clothes. However, it had been more than 200 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, and this rule had long been in name only. Merchants, especially the rich merchants in Jiangnan, all lived in luxurious mansions, wore silk, and had beautiful concubines. They lived extravagantly.
As for taking the imperial examinations, it was even simpler. Merchants either opened schools or visited the countryside. When they met talented young farmers, they would either provide financial aid or hire famous scholars to teach them. After they became famous, these new officials would use their authority to provide various conveniences for these merchants.
To put it simply, the merchants invested money and educational resources into these rural students. It was a long-term investment. Once these students passed the exam, they could collude with the government and merchants to recover the investment costs. They could even create ten times, a hundred times, or even a thousand times the profit!
The shrewdness of a businessman was evident!
In the imperial court, many people relied on merchants to complete their studies and obtain official titles. Yang Lian of the Donglin Party was the most typical example.
The Jade Cloud Tower was bustling with people. The wealthy merchants walked up to the private rooms on the second floor one by one and greeted each other, waiting for the arrival of His Highness Prince Xin.
But after waiting and waiting, His Highness Prince Xin still did not arrive.
"Master…"
Just as everyone was getting impatient, the shop assistant of the city's largest silk trading company, Fuyuan Trading Company, hurriedly walked forward and took out a roll of paper from his sleeve.
Boss Qian opened the roll of paper and glanced at it carefully. When he saw the contents on the paper, he could not help but exclaim!
"What exactly happened?" The other merchants and celebrities in the hall also gathered. When they saw the bright words, their heads could not help but buzz!
" The Regulations on the Collection of Business Taxes in Jiangnan Provinces…"
" Abolish all agricultural taxes and officially levy commercial taxes. All business travelers must pay business taxes, resource taxes, property taxes, import and export taxes, and other taxes. Each prefecture will set up a tax bureau and tax bailiffs to collect taxes from the industrial, commercial, mining, and other industries according to the proportions agreed upon in the regulations. If there is any tax evasion, once it is confirmed, it will be dealt with according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the Great Gao, and the criminal laws agreed upon in the regulations. If it is serious, it can be arrested and imprisoned..."
"From today onwards, all taxes on farmers, fishermen, craftsmen, military households, and other small people in Bianjing and all counties, villages, and villages under its jurisdiction will be abolished. All corvee during the four seasons will be abolished. Instead, the government will pay for the employment of civilian workers…The yellow book will be reorganized according to the population…"
" Public schools must be set up in densely populated urban and rural areas. Tuition fees will be waived, and all school expenses will be borne by the government. All school-age children, regardless of gender, will be forced to attend school... Rectify local county schools and open courses in natural science, craftsman skills, chemistry, physics, geography, history, national education, and so on. We also plan to set up Jiangnan Navy Academy in Bianjing to train shipbuilding and navigation talents..."
"Set up a salary system and implement a five-day, eight-hour workday. If there is a violation, the employer's family property will be confiscated, the business qualification will be revoked, and the employer will not be allowed to work for life.”
" All the 'Tongshan Association' organized by the local squires will be taken over by the government. All donated materials will be uniformly allocated by the government. The welfare institutions such as the Sanatorium, the Leaky Marsh Garden, and the Huimin Pharmacy will be repaired. Abandoned baby girls and the poor and weak elderly will be taken in and supported by the government with a fixed amount of tax.”
There were no less than hundreds of them. Everyone wiped their cold sweat as they looked at them. His Highness was clearly going to turn the entire Bianjing upside down!
"Shopkeeper, look!" A servant opened the window and was surprised to find a similar notice pasted on the wall of the tailor shop opposite.
Not only the tailor shop, but almost every shop in the city received a copy of the " Regulations on the Collection of Business Taxes in the Provinces of Jiangnan ". A special person announced it on the spot, calculated the turnover of the shop, and set the tax collection standard.
"Your Highness Prince Xin is forcing us onto a dead end!”Boss Qian grabbed the notice and tore it into pieces in anger. The rest of the people were also indignant." This is clearly a forced levy and a fight with the people for profit. I thought that he had eliminated the corrupt Wang Qia as soon as he took office and that he was a good official who was diligent and loved the people. It turns out that he was jackals of the same feather as Wang Qia!”
"Yes, we definitely can't agree!”With his encouragement, these merchants and celebrities became agitated and clamored to seek an explanation from Prince Xin.
At this moment, a loud shout came from downstairs. Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Great Ming's Jiangsu and Zhejiang overseer, Prince Xin, finally appeared in front of everyone!
"I heard your discussion just now. This decree was approved by the various lords of the court. If you have any objections, you can go to the capital and complain, but…"
He changed the topic and waved his hand behind him. Hundreds of soldiers of the capital government armed with muskets immediately rushed out from the stairwell and aimed at the merchants in the room.
"Collecting business taxes is the national policy of my Ming Dynasty. Not only will it be implemented in Jiangnan, but it will also be implemented throughout the country in the future. If anyone dares to obstruct this king from implementing the national policy and test the law, today, this Emerald Cloud Brothel will be your burial place!”
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