"Minister of Revenue Xun Yu has proposed three new national policies!”
Pavilion Chen said calmly,""First, reduce agricultural taxes and increase commercial taxes!”
"The current agricultural tax is 15%, and it was set during the previous emperor's era. In these years of natural and man-made disasters, it is quite heavy for the commoners. Now that the national treasury is full, His Majesty's intention is to restore the tax of 30%, which was set during the rule of Wen and Jing, to show his kindness!”
"The current business tax is 50 per cent, which was set during Emperor Guangwu's era. Minister Xun Yu's intention was to raise it to 10 per cent!”
"What do you think, Lord Chief?"
"I agree."
The chief officer pondered for a moment and said sadly,""A few years ago, I had been leading troops to fight. I heard that countless people were living in dire straits. If we could reduce agricultural taxes, the people would live better.”
"I agree."
Huangfu Song voiced his support.
In the past few years, the Yellow Turban people had suffered too much. The hearts of the people were wavering. The reduction of agricultural taxes was beneficial to the peace of the country.
"If the country is rich, it's naturally a good thing to be able to collect less taxes. I agree too!”
Grand Secretary Yuan voted in favor and changed the topic.""However, if I suddenly increase the business tax by five times, it will cause a huge price fluctuation in the country. Moreover, the business tax is just a small profit!”
"Merchants are also commoners. It's not worth it for the sake of interests that are as small as sesame seeds!”
Grand Secretary Yang chimed in.
"According to the history of the country, during the reign of Emperor Wu, there was a huge increase in business taxes. In ten years, they obtained over a hundred million silver coins, tens of millions of slaves, hundreds of hectares of land in large counties, hundreds of hectares of land in small counties, and countless houses.”
The chief assistant looked at him with a smile and said playfully,""I didn't expect that in Grand Elder Yuan and Grand Elder Yang's eyes, a hundred million taels of silver is just a small profit?”
Grand Secretary Yuan's face hurt.
Grand Secretary Yang was a little embarrassed.
They deliberately raised the tax because they knew the huge profits brought by trade.
However, he had forgotten that the current chief assistant had the word 'great scholar' among his countless titles. When he quoted classics, it was a slap in the face.
" In the end, Emperor Wu still lowered the business tax…"
"That's because the country implemented official management for salt, iron, wine, and other goods. With other financial resources, Emperor Wu relented under the advice of a few officials with merchant backgrounds.”
The chief assistant launched a de-dimensional attack and mocked,""Ciyang, Wenxian, you've been the three dukes for many years, don't tell me you don't know that the official camp has long existed in name only?”
Selling official posts and titles.
The despotic forces bought officials wantonly and then colluded with officials and merchants. The salt, iron, wine, and so on in the official camp were sold crazily.
In name only.
Of course.
The aristocratic families were definitely involved in the reselling of the country's resources.
Previously, when they were purging the eunuchs and the powerful forces, the aristocratic families had decisively stopped their losses. However, the customers that the aristocratic families had accumulated over the years were enough to ensure the continuation of their trade.
If the business tax was raised, the profits would not be as much. This was also the reason why Yuan and Yang were so resistant.
"If the merchants resist paying taxes..."
"Emperor Wu was able to collect business taxes because he relied on his sharp weapons to make the merchants not dare to pay taxes.”
The chief officer waved his hand and interrupted,""Does Grand Secretary Yuan think that the weapons of the empire are no longer sharp enough to cut off the merchants 'heads?
Benfu wanted to see if the Yellow Turban Army or the merchants were tougher!”
A wave of killing intent swept through the entire cabinet.
Grand Secretary Yuan's breathing stopped. He had just remembered that this man had just pacified a million Yellow Turban soldiers and killed tens of thousands of people. The blood on his hands was still wet.
He couldn't win in a fight.
艹! (A plant)
"Then it must be the chief assistant's blade!”
Grand Secretary Yang wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled bitterly."I have no objections to the two national policies of agricultural tax and commercial tax!”
"I have no objections either!"
Chen Gechen expressed his opinion for the first time. He didn't have any thoughts about the two national policies.
The Chen family of Yingchuan mainly relied on the connections accumulated by their ancestors to be active in the country. They could eat wherever they went, but did they still need to do business?
If he wasn't afraid of offending people, Chen Gechen would have said that he had never touched money and wasn't interested in it.
"I have no objections either!"
Grand Secretary Yuan's heart was bleeding, but he still maintained a smile. He suddenly didn't want to participate in this cabinet meeting.
These personnel appointments and national policies did not seem to target the aristocratic families, but they also seemed to target the aristocratic families in every way.
Most importantly, he had to nod in agreement.
"The second new national policy is to rebuild the official road and develop transportation!”
"After years of disrepair and war, the official roads in various places have been severely damaged. It is very inconvenient for commoners and merchants to pass through!”
"The Ministry of Revenue plans to use Luoyang or the cities around Luoyang as the center to build an official road that connects the north, south, east, and west!”
"Moreover, the Ministry of Revenue has just taken in nearly 900,000 Yellow Turban survivors, about 400,000 of them are young and strong. It is not appropriate to send them back to their hometown or to accept them in the provinces!”
"Minister Xun Yu's intention is to first send the old, young, sick, and disabled back to their hometown. These young and strong people will be sent to repair the roads, take care of their food and accommodation, and pay them according to normal labor!”
"However, these wages are not for the young men, but for the families of the young men who have been sent back!”
"The Ministry of Revenue will distribute the silver to the various provinces and counties. The Jinyiwei and the Ministry of Justice will supervise it. The silver will be distributed directly to the families of the young and strong without going through the local yamen. Anyone who dares to touch it will be killed without mercy!”
"Every year, there is a month of rest time. Young and strong people can return to their hometown to visit their relatives, but they must return on time!”
"After working for five years, the Yellow Turban remnants will be able to regain their freedom. Those who are willing to return to their hometown to live, those who are willing to stay in the road repair team will continue to repair the road, and their wages will be paid!”
Grand Secretary Yuan looked at Chen Qun, who was speaking with confidence, and listened to the national policy presented by Xun Yu. He felt tired, as if a new person was replacing an old one.
The captured remnants of the Yellow Turban were a headache no matter where they were thrown, but in Xun Yu's hands, they became a new force to contribute to the country.
"Xun Wenruo's wisdom is something I can't compare to!”
"This national policy is beneficial to the country and the people. I have no objections!”
"No objections!"
"No objections!"
"No objections!"
The national policy of building roads, passed.
"The Ministry of Revenue has finished speaking. It's time to talk about the Ministry of Rites 'report!”
"There are two main things. Opening the Imperial Library Pavilion and building the Imperial Academy!”
"The people of the country especially love books. Many of the ancient sages and famous masters have their own unique books.”
"Although this protects the books, it also has the suspicion of being a treasure. There are hundreds of thousands of books in the Imperial Library Pavilion, but few people read them.”
"Minister Cheng Yu's intention is to open up the Imperial Library Pavilion and allow everyone in the country to view and copy it. Who knows, it might be able to nurture a few pillars of the country!”
"The Royal Academy is funded by the national treasury and is built in 1,234 counties of the empire. Children of the right age are allowed to enter the academy for free, and teachers are hired by the imperial court to teach them knowledge.”
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