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Volume 1: Fierce Battle in Changsha Chapter 304: Another Trouble

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    "Detailed Tax Regulations of the Province of Suffolk", "Regulations of the Heavenly Kingdom of the Province of Suffolk", "Detailed Regulations of the Imperial Examination of the Province of Suffolk", "Regulations on the Industry and Commerce of the Province of Suffolk", "Regulations on the Armed Forces of the Province of Suffolk", "Regulations on the Agriculture, Forestry and Tea Silk of the Province of Suffolk"  Constitution", "Regulations on Saving the Crisis and Supporting the Weak in Suffolk Province", "Regulations on New Learning in Suffolk Province", "Characters of the Salt and Iron Liquor Industry in Suffolk Province", "Regulations on Doctrine of Suffolk Province" and more than ten new laws,  The charter aroused heated discussions among department, county and county officials.  These detailed rules and regulations were drawn up by the six ministries according to their respective scope of duties. For example, the Ministry of Household Affairs was relatively familiar with the "Sufu Province Taxation Detailed Regulations", but it was not clear about the "Sufu Province Tianguo Xingtong" drafted by the Ministry of Punishments.  After receiving these laws and regulations, officials in various ministries, counties, and counties began to examine these regulations from an outsider's perspective.

    Although doing so may cause outsiders to watch the excitement, Xiao Yungui knows that these laws and regulations still need to be improved through brainstorming.  Although he and Hong Yun'er added a lot of things from later generations when reviewing these copywriting, neither of them could decide whether it was suitable for use now.

    For example, in the "Sofia Province Tax Regulations", a large number of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes have been abolished, and even sub-export taxes on imported goods have also been abolished.  This sub-export tax was an old system of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties. After foreign goods were imported and transferred to other places, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties also levied the sub-export tax every time they passed through the customs. This hindered the circulation of goods in disguise.  Although the sub-export tax hinders the circulation of foreign goods, it protects some local handicraft industries to a certain extent. If cheap foreign goods penetrate deep into the interior, the impact on local private handicraft industries will be huge.  The most obvious of these foreign goods is the textile industry. The foreign cloths, yarns and other textiles woven by machines by the great powers had a huge impact on the textile industry in Jiangnan. When the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were still levying the sub-kou tax, Suzhou's folk weaving industry  Countless handicraft workshops went bankrupt, and a large number of textile workers were unable to make ends meet.

    "However, the sub-export tax must be abolished sooner or later. Impeding the circulation of goods will hinder the emergence of capital markets. Without capital markets, it will be difficult to prosper industry and commerce."  It would be difficult to break the feudal small-scale peasant economy left by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.  Xiao Yungui did not want his New Deal to end up as a feudal reform reform without fundamentally changing the feudal economic form. In the end, China would still be a backward agricultural country and would not be able to become an emerging industrial country catching up with the great powers.

    But Hong Yun'er is worried that once the sub-kou tax is abolished, the changes will be too rapid and the number of unemployed people will increase, which will lead to social instability.  In the end, it was Xiao Yungui who convinced Hong Yun'er that there was never a stable reform in the world. If you wanted to get rid of the old backward system, you had to pay a price, so the sub-kou tax was abolished.

    When hundreds of officials were discussing the "Sufu Province Tax Regulations".  In addition to the controversial commercial taxes such as the Zikou tax, measures such as the abolition of many exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes and the payment of taxes by acres regardless of officials or gentry were unanimously recognized by the officials.  At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the land tax in Jiangnan was very heavy. By the end of the Ming Dynasty, Liao rates, training rates and suppression rates were increased.  The world is in an uproar.  The Qing Dynasty inherited the Ming Dynasty system and has not changed since then.  Although there were several discussions on tax reduction during the Kang and Yong periods.  But the reduction is only symbolic, and the actual land tax is still increasing.  According to common sense, land tax should be paid by the landowner. If there is more land, it is reasonable to pay more. If there is no land or less land, it should be paid less or less.  But in the Qing Dynasty, since the Qianlong and Jia Dynasties, officials have governed the country.  It actually turned things upside down.  The wealthy gentry and other large households with tens of millions of acres of land did not pay the land tax, or they cleverly avoided it.  Although the government also "pays attention to slowing down" the reduction of income, the heavy burden of land tax is mostly passed on to small households, self-cultivators and poor peasants. The hypocrisy and disadvantages of this are very surprising.

    Moreover, this unfairness will also lead to land annexation. Looking at southern Jiangsu, the large gentry households here rely on their power to "short payment" of grain and tax. The shortfall "will have to be compensated by the honest small households in Xiangqu."  To make up for the shortcomings."  However, the poor people in small households could not bear to be exploited, so they often deceived the names of large households to transfer their grains. Over time, their limited land was occupied and usurped by large households.

    The abolition of other exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes is another measure to equalize the wealth and the poor in the West Palace. Since the taxation in the Qing Dynasty, since the Kangxi period, the land tax only included two items: land grain and land.  The transportation of grain from fields in southern Jiangsu, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the capital is called "caoli".  Grain is transported thousands of miles, and the freight is paid by the households who pay the grain. Therefore, "floating harvest" has become a common practice among local corrupt officials.  In addition, when grain is collected from the Cao River every year, it is often paid with a discount, which is called "zhese".  However, regardless of whether the grain was converted into silver or the land was converted into silver, the conversion was always twice the local silver price, which was called "le discount".  The ups and downs have been going on since the early Qing Dynasty. On the eve of the Taiping Rebellion, the people were desperate.  There are many names and methods of exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes: one is to pay large amounts of dendrobium inside the amount; the other is to use "30% off" on the pretext of insufficient quality; the third is to "kick the dendrobium with its tip"; and the other is to throw the dendrobium outside.  Four; there is a fee for water footing, a fee for inspecting rice, a fee for gray sealing, a fee for sifting rice, and these are the fifth. In addition, there are warehouse fees and door fees when grain is put into the warehouse;  Freight charges, up and down "cattle regulations" fees,  There are many names and various tricks.  As the saying goes, "Even the gods cannot fathom the fascinating figures in this!" The ones who benefit the most from such a large excess are the officials at all levels, as well as the subordinate servants and "unruly supervisors" below.  Private pocket.

      The new tax rules of the West Palace Suzhou Province completely stipulate that in addition to the tax items specified in the "Suzhou Province Tax Detailed Regulations", no local government or government office may collect any other money or food under any name.  The excessive levies and miscellaneous taxes of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were "up to ten thousand** thousand", which was ten times the regular amount. I believe that the introduction of the new tax law can greatly reduce the pressure on the people.

    Compared with the tax law, the most controversial thing is the "Sofia Heavenly Penal Code".  "Sufu Province Tianguo Xingtong" was created by Ji Wenyuan and others based on "Taiping Xinglu", and was subsequently deleted and revised by Xiao Yungui, Zuo Zongtang, Wang Kaiyun and others.  Zuo Zongtang and others made modifications based on the laws of the Ming and Qing dynasties, etc., while Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er made modifications based on the laws of later generations, which were somewhat biased towards Western laws.  After a few tinkerings, a somewhat different "Sufu Province Heavenly Kingdom Punishment System" was released.

    After the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom established its capital in Tianjing, it promulgated the "Taiping Criminal Code" based on the "Ten Articles of Heaven" and the "Taiping Regulations".  The "Taiping Penal Code" regards the feudal bureaucracy, tyrants and bullies headed by the Qing court as 'demon', and pursues the policy of 'eliminating the demon as soon as they encounter it', and imposes the most severe sanctions on those who internally rebel, rebel, and collaborate with the enemy; those who disrupt social order  Those who commit corruption, steal, read demonic books, and smoke opium will also be severely punished.  The punishments stipulated in the "Taiping Penal Code" are simple and cruel. Although they play a role in safeguarding the emerging regime to a certain extent, they expand the scope of the so-called demons and sometimes fail to be accurate.  Clear over there.  Therefore, the so-called demons were first deleted from the "Sufu Province Heavenly Penal Code". Xiao Yungui introduced the concepts of war criminals and political prisoners. Although it had the meaning of a code for later generations, it wasted a lot of words before Zuo Zongtang  These people understand the meaning of these words.

    Therefore, the "Sufu Province Tianguo Xingtong" was widely criticized by various officials, and more than a thousand revision suggestions were put forward.  Confucian scholars such as Li Shourong and Xu Naizhao had strong opinions on the foundation of this code. They believed that etiquette should be given priority and education should be given priority. Etiquette comes from customs. The draft copied the Western model and unrealistic teachings of Taiping, ignoring China's national conditions.  .  Moreover, this criminal law betrays the ethics and has no protection for the Confucian Three Cardinal Principles and Five Constant Rules. It turns a blind eye to some "criminal acts" that clearly violate the ethical principles, such as disobedience to one's father and adultery. Other criminal laws are too harsh, and are more like those of the Legalists of the Qin Dynasty.  Got it.

    Zuo Zongtang, Ji Wenyuan and others believed that the "Sufu Province Tianguo Xingtong" abolished tortures such as Lingchi and Xiaoshou, and the punishment was too light to deter criminals. At the same time, it used too many new words and the semantics were difficult to understand.

    "Your Highness, heavy codes are used to govern troubled times, and punishments are too lenient to deter young people. Although the words of Li Shourong and others are reasonable, matters of etiquette can be left to matters of peace and prosperity. The Three Cardinal Principles and the Five Constant Rules are the root of the code and cannot be used in one fell swoop.  Overthrow it, otherwise the hearts of the world will be hard to control. I believe that the punishment system should be overhauled, internally to stabilize people's hearts, and externally to achieve fame, and to forgive the world before it can be changed after our heavenly kingdom has unified the world"

    In the main hall, Xiao Yungui and Hong Yun'er patiently listened to Zuo Zongtang and others' words. They looked at each other and smiled bitterly for a while. It seemed that the punishment system was going to be overhauled. Maybe their ideas were too much.  It was ahead of its time.

    At that time, Xiao Yungui asked the Ministry of Punishment to re-examine the criminal system, and all officials claimed to praise the wise king of the West.

    Next, we will continue to discuss the "Detailed Rules of the Imperial Examination of Suffolk Province", "Regulations on Industry and Commerce of Suffolk Province", "Regulations on Armed Forces of Suffolk Province", "Regulations on Agriculture, Forestry, Tea and Silk of Suffolk Province", and "Regulations of Suffolk Province on Saving the Crisis and Supporting the Weak".  ", "New Learning Charter of the Province of Suffolk", "Rules of the Salt and Iron Liquor Industry of the Province of Suffolk", "Regulations of the Doctrine of the Province of Suffolk" and other charters.

    The most impactful item in the "Sufu Province Imperial Examination Rules" is to expand the details of the imperial examination. The opening of agriculture, industry, commerce, medicine and other subjects means that in the future, people who are not scholars can take the imperial examination.  Officials with Confucian origins such as Li Shourong and Xu Naizhao strongly opposed it. They believed that if these figures from all religions and professions could take the imperial examination and become officials, it would hurt the hearts of scholars all over the world.

    This attracted opposition from many generals in the hall who were not scholars. For example, many of the old brothers in the West Palace were not scholars. Most of them were farmers, miners, and some were wealthy businessmen.

    The two sides started arguing, and at first they were friendly, but later Ji Wenyuan and others began to curse Li Shourong, Xu Naizhao and others as remnants of Confucianism.

    Xiao Yungui was furious and shouted loudly before suppressing both sides. However, he also saw a very serious problem, which was whether the West Palace should respect Confucianism as the foundation of the country.  Although the Taiping Army had been weakening the influence of God Worship Cult before, after all, the Taiping Army relied on this doctrine to raise their troops. Even if he and Hong Yun'er weakened it further, this doctrine could not be removed.  There had been a war before, and the military scholars and other scholars and the old brothers who believed in the God-worshiping religion were all working hard for the war, so this contradiction was suppressed.  But now when it comes to governing the country, conflicts between the two sides will naturally arise.

    It was only at this time that Xiao Yungui realized that he had forgotten this big issue. When he saw two groups of peopleThey all became hostile to each other, which made things difficult.

    Hong Yun'er stood up in a hurry and said: "The Prime Minister of the Left, the heads of the six ministries, the county guards, and the chief officers of the Shanghai and Ningbo Military and Political Departments are staying, while the rest will temporarily retreat to the side hall to rest!"

    Xiao Yungui added loudly: "No one can mention the words of the dispute just now. We are all ministers of the same palace. Anyone who disturbs people's hearts with nonsense words will be punished as a rebel!" (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, novels are better.  Update faster!
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