Old Guo and His Son Don't Look Like Ordinary People
Ye Jin said that the imperial court did not collect business taxes, but it was actually not accurate.
Why did he say that?
The imperial court did collect business taxes, but most businesses were exempted from taxes."In the past, treacherous officials amassed wealth and taxes, and I was very ashamed. From now on, the marriage and funeral of the army and the people, as well as the silk and cloth of boats and carts, are not subject to tax.」)
Even if there was a small portion of commercial activities that were levied, the tax rate was extremely low. It was actually 30% tax.
It was about a 3% tax rate.
Why did the imperial court exempt most of their commercial activities from taxes?! Even if some business activities were to be levied, it would only be 3%?!
There were two reasons for this. One was the constant wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, which caused the economy of the early Ming Dynasty to suffer a huge blow.
In order to develop the economy, the imperial court had formulated the above regulations.
On the other hand, it was the limitations of the current emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang.
He was born in poverty and could never imagine how much wealth a prosperous business would bring to the country.
Therefore, he despised merchants very much in his heart.
Naturally, they did not care about the little wealth that the merchants had created.
But what he didn't know was that this was actually a mountain of gold that towered into the clouds.
30% tax?
If the merchants of the Song Dynasty knew about this tax rate, they would probably wake up laughing.
Such a low tax rate was reasonable for agricultural production.
Due to the low productivity in ancient times, agricultural output was far inferior to modern times. 30% tax was a very reasonable tax rate.
In addition to the constant wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, it was reasonable for the court to set a lower agricultural tax for the purpose of encouraging agricultural production.
However, business taxes were not agricultural taxes.
Because the production cost of commercial activities was far lower than the cost of agricultural production, the tax rate should be higher.
In addition, most commercial activities were not levied.
Wasn't this turning a blind eye to a mountain of gold?!
Of course, the Ming court had many other tricks up its sleeves. Not collecting business taxes was just one of them.
Therefore, Ye Jin cleared his throat and looked at Old Guo.""Seeing that you're so old and still so eager to learn, then this official will properly spread the knowledge with you.”
Old Guo raised his eyebrows and suppressed his anger.
He thought to himself,'You better make sense of what you say, kid. Otherwise, I'll let you know why flowers are so red later.'”
Ye Jin naturally did not know what the old man was thinking.
After deliberating his words for a moment, he said,"In my opinion, most of the policies of our dynasty are very backward and crude. The most intolerable one is the tax system. There are many reasons for this phenomenon. For example, the rule of the Mengyuan for nearly a hundred years has caused a certain gap in our Chinese civilization. "Another example is that the current Emperor was born into a poor family. Although he was the first person in thousands of years, he also had certain limitations, which led to the system that he led to be very crude…"
"Cough cough…" Guo Biao coughed lightly and interrupted Ye Jin's speech. Then, he said,"Brat, just talk about the matter, you can't casually criticize the ruler.”
Old Guo's face was already darker than the bottom of a pot. He snorted and said,"Let him speak. This old master wants to see what rebellious words he can say.”
Ye Jin cupped his hands slightly at Guo Biao and said with a smile,"Brother Guo's reminder is correct. We are all His Majesty's subjects and cannot speak ill of him behind his back. Moreover, didn't His Majesty change the Rearguard Commandery and the Yiluan Department into the Jinyiwei this year? If these lackeys hear my words, I'll have to go to Caishikou tomorrow.”
Guo Biao's mouth twitched.
Kid, you really dare to say that.
If one day you find out who the person sitting opposite you is, I wonder if you'll be scared out of your wits.
"Then let's talk about the matter at hand. I'll give you an example. You two will know why I say that the tax system of this dynasty is very backward and crude.”
Ye Jin paused and continued,"After the founding of our dynasty, the early tax system directly followed the previous Tang (Tang)'s 'Two-tax Law', which levied taxes on cultivated land and population. In order to restore the social production that had been destroyed by the war, the imperial court implemented a policy of recuperating the people's livelihood and reducing taxes and corvee. It encouraged the reclamation of wasteland and wasteland, and at the same time, opened up commercial development to boost the recovery of the social economy.”
"The original intention is good, and he is very friendly to the people.”
"But it's nonsense to collect taxes in kind.”
"The common people will receive whatever they produce. How much more cost will this increase?!”
"Alright, although this system is very backward, the starting point is good. It is also to protect the people from the losses caused by the fall in prices. However, I don't understand why most commercial activities are not levied taxes, and a small number of commercial activities are only levied with a 3% tax.”
" Because His Majesty was born into poverty, he had little understanding of commercial activities. He only felt that the increase in the wealth of merchants might pose a threat to the rule of the court, so he adopted policies that emphasized agriculture and restrained commerce. For example, the 'ban on the sea', the establishment of inspection departments at passes, traffic arteries, and other places, as well as the establishment of a travel pass system. One of the purposes was to curb the further development of commercial activities.”
"His Majesty often says that 'farming is the foundation of food and clothing,' so you can see how much he values agriculture and despises commerce.”
"But what he doesn't know is that a prosperous business can also make a country prosperous. As long as a reasonable system is established, the wealth of merchants can also be transformed into the wealth of the country.”
"Besides, business has existed since ancient times. It can't be banned just because you want to.”
"During the Song Dynasty's Zhenzong period, the imperial court earned 160 million taels of silver. However, from the first year of Hongwu until today, the annual income of the imperial court was only 30 million taels of silver, less than 20% of the Song Dynasty's. What was even more inconceivable was that the annual agricultural tax revenue accounted for about 80% of our dynasty's income, while the commercial tax was less than 10%.”
"Your Majesty, are you valuing agriculture and suppressing commerce? This was clearly increasing the burden on the people and allowing the merchants to benefit.”
"This official has been collecting business taxes in Shangyuan County for less than half a year. Not only did I feed the entire county government, but I also have the remaining money to repair bridges and roads, open schools, and raise widows and orphans.”
"So what's wrong with me doing so many good deeds that benefit the people?!”
"Could it be that a good official is one who follows the rules and strictly follows the rules and regulations of the imperial court?!”
"Doesn't a good official let the people live well?!”...
Ye Jin gave a long speech, almost denouncing the tax system of this dynasty to nothing.
Old Guo was very angry at first, but after suppressing his anger and patiently listening to Ye Jin, he actually fell into deep thought.
Guo Biao was the same.
Just like that, none of them spoke.
The courtyard fell into a strange silence.
Other than the occasional crackling of charcoal, there was no other sound.
At this time, the sky had completely darkened.
After a while, Old Guo suddenly stood up silently. Without saying anything, he walked toward the entrance of the small courtyard like a dragon and tiger.
Guo Biao immediately stood up and cupped his hands at Ye Jin."Thank you for your hospitality today, Brother Meiyu. If you have time in the future, my father and I will come to the county government to visit.”
Ye Jin quickly said," It's already dark now, and the city gates have long been closed. You can stay in the county government. There are plenty of rooms anyway."”
Guo Biao waved his hand and smiled." Brother Meiyu, you don't have to worry about it. We have old friends in the city. We'll just go and stay there later."”
"Alright, then I won't keep you.”Ye Jin cupped his hands.
After sending this strange father and son out of the county office, Chan Chan, who had already eaten like a little cat, suddenly said,"Young Master, that old uncle was so fierce just now. When he glared at me, I was scared to death…However, they shouldn't be ordinary people, right? Could they be high-ranking officials from the capital?!”
"What does it have to do with me?" Ye Jin said indifferently.! I didn't eat my fill just now. Let's go and eat skewers with Young Master.”
"Alright." Chan Chan smiled sweetly and intimately held Ye Jin's arm as they entered the backyard.
————
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]