Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Xinshun Steel Century

Volume 4 Leviathan 104 Tax Increase

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    Because Emperor Taizu, the founding emperor of this dynasty, came from a rough background and had experienced the sufferings of the common people, he deeply hated the officials and gentry, but was very kind to the common people. Therefore, in the late Ming Dynasty, there was even a saying in eastern Henan that "eat his mother, wear his mother, and open up."  This can be seen from the popular folk song "When King Chuang comes, he will not receive food."  Although later emperors Taizong and Shizu decided to determine the acres of land and set donations and pay grain, these two people were also people who had experienced wars and experienced firsthand the misery of the common people under the oppression of heavy taxes in the late Ming Dynasty, so the amount of taxes they set was very high.  It is light, and it also establishes laws to prohibit future generations from adding gifts.  But just like many "ancestral laws" in ancient Chinese dynasties, this system of "prohibition of taxation" was broken by the time of Emperor Mu Zong, who completely defeated the Moxi Oirat Mongols, established the Anxi Protectorate, and expanded  Due to insufficient military expenditures, the emperor, who had thousands of miles of territory, increased taxes on salt tax, commercial tax, tea tax, etc., and even nationalized many profitable businesses as monopolies to obtain military expenditures.  There was opposition from the scholar-bureaucrats and business class.  It is precisely for this reason that this emperor, who was originally very successful, only received the not-so-good posthumous title of "Mu" after his death, because Emperor Mu Zong's two sons both died within a year after succeeding to the throne.  , so it was inherited from the side branches.  Perhaps for this reason, after the death of his two sons, the Queen Mother, who was in charge of the affairs from behind the curtain, abolished most of the original methods of making money.  There are even rumors among the people that it was because Emperor Mu Zong made too much money and went to Tianhe that he cut off his descendants.  Although no one in the palace dared to mention this rumor, it was undoubtedly a big taboo among the Dashun royal family.  But with the deepening of modernization and the success of foreign trade, a large amount of silver poured into China starting from the second half of the 16th century. Therefore, starting from the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the actual purchasing power of silver in China at that time continued to decline.  However, Dashun was actually a silver-based country. Both the court's salary and taxes were denominated in silver, which actually reduced the court's tax revenue.  However, in the process of modernization, whether it is the number of bureaucracies, the construction of new factories, or the level of equipment and personnel training required by the army, they are constantly improving, and all of this requires a lot of money to support.  This huge contradiction began to appear in the first half of the 19th century, and became particularly prominent in Dashun at the end of the 19th century.  The government's annual tax revenue is only enough for normal conditions. If there is a slight flood, drought, or foreign war, the government will be unable to make ends meet.  However, the government has no good way to increase taxes to make up for this gap, so it has no choice but to borrow money to quench its thirst. As a result, the government becomes more and more difficult, and in some cases is even unable to defeat enemy countries that are far weaker than itself.  "Mr. Hu, it's better to be cautious about this. After all, the Zhu Ming family in the previous dynasty did not care about the people and only levied 'mine tax' and 'two wages' to cause trouble in the world. Emperor Sizong finally went to Meishan. The issue of tax increase is still  Let¡¯s take a long-term view!¡± Queen Mother Deng¡¯s voice came from behind the curtain.  "Your Majesty, the Zhu Ming family in the previous dynasty didn't know that the people were suffering from taxes. But at that time, the Eastern captives jumped Liang and the Japanese invaded. How could they let the soldiers fight with their bellies tied? Nowadays, it is not that the people have no money. For example, there are many wealthy families in Shanghai who are as rich as the enemy.  The country is short of money!" "Hu Gong!" Qi Zhiti interrupted: "If you want to increase taxes, it's fine if you really impose them on the rich households, but you're afraid that the subordinate officials below will do this and pass it on to the common people.  , Exploiting and profiting from it will actually harm the country's affairs!" "That's right!" Wang Qinian also said: "Everything in the world often starts out with good intentions, but the result is often bad. Mr. Hu, raising taxes is very likely to happen.  The court did not get much money, but it harmed the people. It is better to be cautious." The words of Wang Qinian and Qi Zhiti moved the Queen Mother Deng behind the curtain. She said solemnly: "Mr. Hu, what we are discussing today is Mr. Zao's deal.  Let¡¯s put the tax increase aside and discuss it again at the next court meeting!¡± ¡°Old minister, your Majesty the Queen Mother!¡± ¡°If everyone has no objections, let¡¯s approve the list of guarantees, and allow him to act on his own initiative.  Let the forts at the mouth of the Yangtze River be on alert!" "Empress Dowager Shengming!" In Wenyuan Pavilion, Jiang Qingyue and Lin Wanqing looked serious. They had just finished the Yanying Hall meeting and saw something from Zao Guoquan's excerpts.  Something that the Queen Mother and the ministers did not see.  Counting from the time they joined Chengzhi as assistants at the age of sixteen, they have served in the imperial center of Bingbi Chengzhi for almost twenty years. In terms of their understanding of the secrets of the center and their experience in government affairs, they even surpass the cabinet.  The ministers.  The reason is very simple. Because the power of the Prime Minister in Dashun is extremely heavy, generally speaking, unless it is very necessary, the Emperor of Dashun will not let a certain important minister stay in the position of Pingzhangjun and state affairs for too long.  The difference is that these specially selected orphan girls are nominally the wives and concubines of the emperor, but in fact they are the emperor's secretaries.  Without relatives or children, they were lifted up from the bottom of the mud by a supreme hand and placed on the luxurious carpet of the palace, and theyDue to their gender, they were unable to leave the palace and have close contact with officials from outside the court, and naturally they were unable to cultivate their own power.  In a sense, they are like planets revolving around a star. They look radiant, but all the light and heat come from the imperial sun. Therefore, their husbands and masters repay these poor women.  Amazing trust, because if they betrayed this trust, a few feet of white silk and a glass of poisonous wine would be enough to clean things up, and the officials in the outer court would never say a word about it.  Jiang Qingyue frowned, carefully considering the words and asked: "Ms. Lin, do you think there is some discrepancy between the truth about Keelung and what Mr. Zao wrote in the book?" "Yes!" Lin Wanqing nodded: "You do the same.  You think? Why do you think so? " "It's very simple. According to the booklet, the British invested a large number of marine troops to capture Keelung Port. But judging from the impression of dealing with the British over the years,  The purpose of the British war was to do business with Dashun, not to seize territory. It is true that Keelung is a port with a very good location, but unless the British want to annex the entire Taiwan, they will not be able to retain this spoil for a long time, but from the existing situation.  Judging from the situation, the British situation does not look like it is going to annex Taiwan! " "But there are coal mines near Keelung. For the British, it is very beneficial to have an additional coal filling station in East Asia!" "Yes, but this!  It¡¯s not worth it. Don¡¯t forget that they have just signed a very tight agreement with the Japanese. The Japanese will not refuse the British request to add coal to their ports!¡± ¡°What do you think is going on?¡± Lin Wanqing?  nodded.  "It should be that Mr. Zao is hiding something in the book. He wants to confuse something." Jiang Qingyue's beautiful eyes flashed: "The British should just set the sea near Ryukyu as a demilitarized zone and secretly help Japan.  They annexed Ryukyu in order to use them to contain Dashun. However, this was in conflict with the attack on Keelung Port. Mr. Zao said in the book that almost all the warships were lost. This cannot be lied. The British only need to send a detachment.  It is enough for the fleet to patrol the ocean near Keelung. There is no need to attack Keelung Port. What's going on? "To be fair, Jiang Qingyue's guess is very close to reality, but after all, she is not a sage who predicts the future.  There was no way of knowing that Colonel Jefferson, who was eager for promotion, over-enthusiastically completed the tasks assigned by his superiors, took the risk to attack Keelung Port, and destroyed Dashun's expedition fleet to Ryukyu.  "You're right. Mr. Zao must be hiding something, or the amount of loss, or something else!" Lin Wanqing nodded. No matter how many problems this woman had with Jiang Qingyue in private, after the discussion,  During major military and national events, she was still able to make objective evaluations: "But this is normal. Many foreign officials will more or less cover up or misinterpret the facts in order to obtain rewards or avoid punishment. As a person who upholds the pen and  Purpose, our mission is to dig out the truth behind and report it to Your Majesty. Jiang Bingbi, why didn¡¯t you tell Her Majesty the Queen Mother all this in Jiying Palace just now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the same reason why you didn¡¯t do this.  Advantageous!" Jiang Qingyue replied coldly: "Don't tell me you haven't seen this. Apart from Lord Gao, there is no one more suitable to handle the Ryukyu incident in Dashun now, but Lord Gao is inseparable now.  Yes. If all this is exposed, the Queen Mother will have to leave her job soon, which will be detrimental to Dashun now!" "You are right, Jiang Bingbi!" Lin Wanqing laughed!  : "But we can't let Mr. Zao think that we have a plan. If possible, you should remind him a little that not all blind people in the court are blind!" London, Admiralty.  This gorgeous four-storey arched building is located on the tree-lined road in front of Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace, and is the heart of the British Royal Navy across the seven seas.  However, most British people believe that the real heart of the Royal Navy is not so much in this building decorated with gorgeous Namibian marble columns and relief-filled arches, but in two other adjacent buildings a few kilometers away.  Inside - the London Stock Exchange and the Bank of England.  Arthur.  Balfour jumped down from the carriage quickly, touched the brim of his top hat lightly with his cane, and responded to the two Marines standing by the gate who raised their Liefeld rifles and saluted him.  With the brisk pace typical of a sportsman, he rushed up the front steps of the Admiralty Building and rushed straight to the office of the First Lord of the Admiralty on the top floor. He didn't even wait for the announcement from the secretary outside before pushing open the door.  Went into the office.
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report