Wanli Xinming

Chapter 419 The Southern Tour (Part [-])

Hearing this, Yang Yikui looked a little embarrassed and took off his short-sighted eyes. He moved closer to the reading board and said, "Yes. In the 15th year of Wanli in Tianjin, the total branch tax paid was 25 taels; of which, the agricultural tax was 800 taels; The business tax is 12 taels, and the industrial tax is 3000 taels."

Zhu Yijun nodded and said: "The industrial and commercial taxes are still low. How about the customs revenue?"

Yang Yikui said: "The customs collected 300 taels last year. But they invested in the expansion of the wharf and military port."

Yu Youding, the Minister of the Du branch, heard this and said: "How can this be reasonable? There are two lines of income and expenditure in the Du branch. How can there be any reason for the local government to spend its own tariffs!"

Yang Yikui hurriedly said: "What Yu Shangshu said is true. How dare a subordinate mess up the Duzhi regulations? I had previously asked the Political Affairs Hall for instructions, and after the hall approved it, the money was used after the Du branch's Customs Department took the account. "

Yu Youding knew that this must be the case. What he said just now was just a secret reminder to the emperor's government office to usurp ministry power, and some eye drops for Liang Menglong.

Liang Menglong's face flashed with green energy. Zhu Yijun seemed unaware and continued to ask: "How much did you charge for crossing the river?"

Yang Yikui secretly thought, why does the emperor only care about military affairs, money and food, is he going to fight another war?He said without hesitation: "Back to the emperor. I think it is not necessary to collect the money to cross the river. Because Tianjin is the gateway to the capital, where hundreds of merchants gather, and the prefectures and counties are not short of money and food. Therefore, to facilitate business, Tianjin does not collect the money to cross the river."

After hearing this, Zhu Yijun was noncommittal, and then asked: "Okay, the idea of ​​facilitating business is a good one! But there are many private conscripts. Are there free conscripts in each county?"

The Ding and local tax payment method implemented by the Great Reform was the "Tie Whip Method". The biggest difference from the "dividing Ding Yin into acres" during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty was that the corvee was changed to collect Ding Yin instead of incorporating the land into the land to collect "Ding Yin". .Ding Yin is similar to the "poll tax" in later generations - after this tax is collected, the government collects corvees and pays wages.

The Tianjin governor's request not to collect river crossing money will inevitably lead to a large reduction in local revenue.Zhu Yijun was worried that for the sake of political performance, counties would roll back the reform on corvee labor, so he asked this question.

Yang Yikui hurriedly replied: "Tianjin has long stopped collecting corvee labor. All construction projects are tendered by the government, and their own contractors will bid. Most of these people are well-known in the countryside. The villagers go to the city to work in their spare time, and the contractors will do the bidding. Hire for money.”

After a pause, he said: "The government is only responsible for inspecting and accepting the construction project. As for whether the standard silver is enough to pay ICBC, it is a matter for the contractor. This is a way to make things easier for the government and the people."

When Zhu Yijun heard the three familiar words "contractor", keywords such as "evil forces", "nouveau riche", "arrears of wages to migrant workers", "scumbag project" seemed to flash before his eyes, but he just smiled. No words were spoken.

After all, the emergence of labor contractors and migrant workers in cities shows that farmers have begun to break away from the basic shackles of the land. For today's historical process, its progressive significance far outweighs its negative effects.

Because he was still a little worried, Zhu Yijun then asked: "How is the situation of the Za sect?"

Yang Yikui responded: "One year after I took office, I have implemented the edict of the political councils at the prefecture and county levels. According to the principle of 'co-governance by the township and the wise', all prefectures and counties in Tianjin have established political councils, and the members are composed of the township and the wise. Served as the county tax collector. No votes can be distributed without the signature of the council members. The disadvantages of miscellaneous factions can be eliminated by this method."

“The reform edict only said that counties can use township wise men to form political assemblies to benefit rural governance—how to select rural wise men in Tianjin?”

The edict of the Political Council was the chapter "Applying for Civil Rights" of the Great Reform Edict, with only one sentence. Since then, the court has not issued any specific management methods.As the general leader of the landlord class, Zhu Yijun not only wanted to think about how to spread the great industry to the eternal world, but also controlled the extension and variation of civil rights, so he just buried his head there.

From the issuance of the imperial edict in August of the fifth year of Wanli to the present day of the 16th year of Wanli, various prefectures and counties have formed various political councils in the past ten years.Some, like Tianjin, control the power of county officials; some are just honorary titles; some are composed of local literary circles gathering famous scholars; some are used as honors for large taxpayers or for charities that repair bridges and roads. s home.

The emperor asked how to select the county magistrates. Yang Yikui did not know that this question contained a profound truth that could change the world, so he simply replied: "Each county in Tianjin has a political assembly of 30 people. It is the responsibility of the county magistrate to select members." When a new official takes office, he must visit the wise elders of his hometown so that he can implement policies in a targeted manner. If a member of parliament elected by his own family only acts as a hindrance, it is considered an incompetent county official. If a member of the assembly blindly caters to the county official, he will inevitably be criticized by the people of his hometown, so he cannot I dare to wish for my hometown."

Zhu Yijun didn't know what he felt after listening to Yang Yikui's replay.After calming down, he asked: "How is the fire consumption?"

Yang Yikui patted the horse and said: "I was promoted to Jinshi in the 44th year of Jiajing's reign and served as a local official. At that time, the common people paid their true price, one stone of regular grain, nine dou of additional consumption, and another one to the tax-paying family. This was still a first-class Aimin County. Officials, even without the addition of miscellaneous factions, taxes have still doubled."

"After the Great Reform, the Holy Father set a fixed amount of fire consumption, and issued an edict to return the fire consumption to the public and raise honest silver. All the subjects in the world are grateful for the emperor's great kindness. Now, Tianjin's fire consumption is increased by three points, which is enough to meet the needs of the office."

It was almost noon when Yang Yikui finished his report, and he only received a banquet from the emperor.According to the previous practice when the emperor inspected and received ministers, the emperor wanted to give Yang Yikui an additional rank to show his honor. If he did not give him a real official, he would at least give him a virtual rank. However, Zhu Yijun did not say anything.

After lunch, the emperor went to take a nap. The political affairs hall and the ministers dealt with the documents sent by the General Affairs Department, and Yang Yikui left the palace.

He felt that he had worked hard in Tianjin for the past three years, and he was conscientious and dedicated to the public. He also achieved perfection in the pick-up business. However, he did not expect that he did not get the usual bonus for pick-up. He couldn't help but feel a little confused and resentful in his heart.

When they returned to the governor's office, their subordinates saw Yang Yikui's face sinking, thinking that there was something wrong with his performance, and they all bit their fingers and kept silent, not daring to offend him.Yang Yikui overcame his emotions, and after listening to the reports on various matters that he had received over the past two days, he returned to the study and called his staff Yang Tao.

Yang Tao is a member of the Yang Yikui tribe. Although he failed in the imperial examination, he is knowledgeable and able to recognize changes, and is highly regarded by Yang Yikui.After entering the door, he greeted his nephew and asked, "Is there anything wrong with my uncle today?"

Yang Yikui had already gone through the details of the meeting repeatedly. When he asked about it, he said with confusion: "There is nothing wrong. Tianyan is very happy. But I don't know why I didn't get the commendation and promotion. I am undecided in my heart."

Yang Tao asked a few more details, then his face turned to a smile and he said: "Emperors in the past dynasties visited local officials and met with local officials, and they only said a few or five sentences. They were just words of praise for hard work. Today, my uncle played like this for more than three hours. But it’s rare.”

Yang Yikui sighed and said, "Fortunately, I was well prepared, otherwise I would have scared people." He showed Yang Tao the tablet with small characters written on it, "Even so, I am still sweating through my heavy clothes."

Yang Tao smiled and asked: "Your Majesty's inspection of Nanjing this time, uncle, does he know how long it will take?"

"This matter is top secret - I only know about this three-day itinerary."

"Uncle, don't worry. My nephew thinks you are just unlucky."

Yang Yikui is in this mountain, and calling Yang Tao here is to let him help him analyze from the perspective of a bystander.Hearing this, he quickly asked: "What do you mean by this?"

A smile appeared on Yang Tao's face and he said: "My nephew analyzed that the Emperor's trip will not be too short. It may take more than half a year or even a year."

Yang Yikui looked at Yang Tao and said, "Why?"

Yang Tao smiled and said: "His Majesty has practiced Zuo at a young age and has worked hard for 15 years. He is recognized by the world as an unparalleled hero. It has been ten years since the reform began, and all kinds of 'contradictions' have deep meaning. This southern tour is for 'investigation and research' It should be the main reason.”

"If we want to carry out a large-scale investigation and research, the emperor will meet with many local officials. That's why I said that uncle is unlucky - you are the first one. If the emperor gives you an official position, hundreds of others will do the same in the future. , Government must be chaotic."

(End of this chapter)