Xinshun 1730

Chapter 1188
Compared with the British's understanding of India's land system and grassroots taxation, people like Niu Er in Dashun actually have a deeper understanding.

The situation in Britain is completely different from that in Dashun, and even different from the situation in the ancient empire region of Asia.

It is easy to go wrong if you apply it mechanically.

The reason why it is said that if Dashun takes the initiative to attack, start aggression and colonization, at least it can see more thoroughly than the British on Asian issues, and the clue can be seen from one incident in history.

In the Bengal famine that began in 1768 in history, the most common scenario was that the tax in a village was fixed, and after someone fled in the village, the land tax was all on the people who did not flee, and in the end the people who did not flee only Can choose to escape.

Dashun, as a regime that experienced the famine at the end of Ming Dynasty and rose from it, is not too familiar with this chain reaction.

In the late Ming Dynasty, in the records of many scholar-bureaucrats, we can see that after the escape, the tax was all on the people who did not escape, and finally led to the festering scene of exiles who fled.

The British didn't understand what the traditional Indian Chamindar was at first.

If you describe the governance and taxation system in Bengal since the Mughal Empire in a minimalist way, it looks like this.

Due to its geographic location and trade, Bangladesh had the conditions to evolve from tax in kind to currency tax relatively early.

Bangladesh no longer imposes taxes in kind and begins to levy monetary taxes.

The last governor, carried out land reform.

Forcibly relocated the local tyrants in Bangladesh to the relatively barren Odisha area; increased the land in Bangladesh controlled by the government, and then sent tax collectors to collect taxes instead of letting the tyrants who control the land pay taxes.This led to a rapid increase in government tax revenue.

Currency taxes replaced taxes in kind.

A class of bankers, usurers, and merchants began to rise.

On behalf of the government, the tax collectors levied taxes in places that expelled the original tyrants, and soon some of these government officials replaced the original tyrants, because after all, there was no stable imperial examination system and a stable central government, and they were established in the localities. root.

The rising tax collectors, merchant class, loan sharks, etc. wanted to fix their own interests, so they united with Siraj's grandfather, the emerging class and military aristocrats to kill the original Jiedushi and take power in a coup.

In order to pay credit, the original status of tax collectors, usurers, officials, etc. was determined, and a new ruling group of the military aristocrats, financial groups, and original tax bureaucrats was established.

Some of the original tax officials have transformed into hereditary local forces.

This kind of thing can be called an oligarch or a new tycoon, it's not much of a thing.They are all a group of people who have gained huge benefits in the reform and chaos.

The previous fiscal revenue of Bangladesh was about 1600 million silver rupees per year.Among them, 15 oligarchs newly emerged in the reform and coup paid 1100 million rupees.

Except for Calcutta, which was entrusted to the British, among the remaining 14 oligarchs, 4 are feudal princes and old local forces in the old era; 6 are original government officials who embezzled land during the reform period and then became hereditary; 1 is The military upstarts, those who fought on their own, were rewarded for their merits; the rest were financiers and businessmen. During the reform and subsequent chaos, they succeeded in ascending to power through lending, mortgages of Chamindar's taxation rights, and land pledges.

These 14 oligarchs bear about 60% of the tax revenue.Their alliance with the military aristocracy was the basis of old Bengal rule.

At the end of the Mughal Empire, among the series of reforms in Bangladesh, the two groups that benefited the most were former government officials and financial capital.

For Dashun, if this kind of problem wants to be avoided, according to the tradition, it is natural to rely on the imperial examination system, clear selection of officials, the system of appointment from different places, and sufficient reserves of recruits and recruits to solve these problems.

Bangladesh does not have this system, and officials can be replaced by the ruler at any time, so these people cooperated with the new military group to overthrow the previous Jiedushi.The price is that Siraj's grandfather has to recognize the legitimacy and hereditary oligarch status of the Chamindar taxation area acquired by these officials.

Because of the war between Aurangzeb and the Marathas, the treasury was insufficient, so the reformist governor was sent to Bangladesh to reform; the direction of reform was to expel local tyrants, replace the old local nobles with bureaucrats, and clear the land; the Mughals blew up, Jiedushi is self-reliant, and the bureaucratic group wants to change "being appointed" into "hereditary", cooperate with the new military forces, overthrow the old Jiedushi, and obtain hereditary oligarch status.

Chai Mingdaer, who was originally a middle and junior high school student, was ruined one after another in this reform and chaos.The big fish eat the small fish, and finally 14 big Chai Mindals were produced.

The reason for this process lies in the fact that the middle and small Chai Mingda has no right to speak, and they do not have the ability to avoid and evade taxes.

And those oligarchy groups have the ability to avoid and evade taxes. The end result is that a large number of farmers choose to move to the capable Dachai Mingda.

It is very simple to do as the Romans do.

If Dashun was only here to collect taxes, it would be really simple.

Even if no reform is carried out, just the tax standard for inheritance reasons, 1600 million rupees a year, a small Bangladesh, is actually a lot.The comparison between the silver content of Kuping and Rupees is about half and half, more than 3 to 8.

Besides, this is only one Bengal.

Moreover, the climate conditions and the amount of cultivated land here are actually much better than most areas in Dashun.Historically, in the 1800s, the standard for poor farmers here was 15 bige, or 60 mu of land; while the standard for comfortable small farmers was 45 bige, or 180 mu.

After all, the arable land area of ​​the Indian subcontinent is much larger than the core area of ​​Dashun, but the population is still far behind Dashun.

It should be said that the degree of squeeze is still very deep.

But Niu Er obviously didn't want to simply do as the Romans did, he just came to collect some taxes.

To some extent, Niu Er is more like some "true Confucian scholars" in Dashun, all looking forward to a bright future.

The only difference is that the scriptures recited by Confucian scholars in Dashun are the Thirteen Classics.The idea of ​​a beautiful world in it is based on the fantasy of the economic foundation of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties.

They tried it in Wang Mang's time, but failed.

As for the group of Niu Er, the future they see and hope for is a future that Liu Yu has subtly instilled in them over the years, a future that is completely different from the Thirteen Classics and adapted to the level of productivity at this time.

As for who the subject of this future is, there are naturally differences.

Is it the people of the whole world?Is it the people of the domestic basic disk?Is it the people of Zhuxia?Is it a farmer?Is it a businessman?Is it capital?or something else...

There are differences among people like them, but most of them have vaguely constructed an abstract concept of "country".

In their understanding of the future, or in their understanding of the "rule of three generations", the appearance of India should be the one that Liu Yu has been instilling in them all these years-providing Dashun with cotton yarn, rice, and jute; At the same time, it provides a market for Dashun's industry and commerce to purchase commodities.

The emperor wanted to collect taxes in India, there was no problem with that.

The question is, is simply collecting taxes in India any closer to the vague future they have been taking shape in their minds?
True Confucian scholars have faith and have been pursuing the rule of three generations; like true missionaries, they also have faith and have been pursuing the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Niu Er also has beliefs. Although he doesn't know what his beliefs are, in fact, they are somewhat similar to the rule of three generations and the kingdom of heaven on earth. They are all beautiful ideas for the future.

And the ground performance of this bright future is closer to Songsu after the reform than to Dashun before the reform.

As for specific systems, decrees, rights, people, imperial power, and landlords, these institutional revolutions and cultural revolutions are vague and unclear in his mind.

But the general, abstract idea like a castle in the air is clear.

For example, let the number of industrial and commercial employees in Dashun continue to increase, let men have other livelihoods besides farming and weaving, such as exchanging Dashun’s cotton cloth for rice... It’s basically a pure industrial revolution and world trade. The idea of ​​colonialism.

Even so, in fact, Niu Er's thinking, from the perspective of the Dashun Empire, can be regarded as a "rebel" potential.

Because the emperor, or the imperial power, is afraid of the idea of ​​"having a better future".

If "a better future" is true and should be done, what if someday in the future someone discovers that it is better without an emperor?

The emperor took these thoughtful people and rushed towards a bright future. Of course, everyone praised their wisdom and martial arts.

But just in case, these thoughtful people think, can the emperor who is so fucked up understand?Wrong way!What should we do then?

Niu Er's vision of the future is different from Liu Yu's.

But he has been influenced by Liu Yu for many years, and he also has his own ideas.

The composition of this set of ideas includes India.

The existence of India should be like this:

A vast source of raw materials provides raw materials for Dashun's industrial and commercial development.

A vast consumer market, Dashun accommodates at least a total population of over ten million people in industrial and commercial families related to it.

A huge tax source, and a large amount of rice and other output, to ensure that the money collected from these taxes can buy rice, cotton cloth and other materials in Dashun.

Then, provide Dashun with about 3000 to [-] million taels of silver every year.

The Dashun court used this silver to build a fleet that "doesn't require armaments, cannons, or decorations, accommodates goods and personnel to the greatest extent, and is cheap."

A fleet of about three to five thousand such thin-skinned and big-bellied sailing ships.

Regardless of trade, profits, etc., using such a large-scale fleet, controlled by the imperial court and paid by the imperial court, 10 people emigrate to the Southern Ocean and North America every year.

So as to solve the increasingly serious contradiction between people and land.

As for the rest, from Niu Er's point of view, they don't need to worry about it at all.If there is a disaster, or the population is too large, or there are too many tenants, they will all be shipped and sent to the Southern Ocean and North America.

Two to thirty million taels of silver a year is enough to support a fleet of three to five thousand ships with big bellies.Of course, the premise is that India should not only be used as a tax collection place, but as a raw material production place to promote the industrial and commercial development of Dashun.

Otherwise, the silver will increase but the production will not increase. This kind of silver is not the concept of "wealth" that Niu Er understood and instilled by Liu Yu.

In Niu Er's view, many contradictions can be alleviated through immigration and development.The imperial court made up their minds, and after conquering India, they immigrated steadily for 50 years. Wouldn't this country be fine?If the common people can eat enough and wear clothes, won't there be no rebellion and refugees forever?
(End of this chapter)