Daming 1805

Chapter 466

On February 11, 25, Zheng Xingyang returned to Yingtianfu from Suzhou again.

This time Zheng Xingyang brought back a box of video tapes and a stack of specially compiled investigation reports.

Zhu Jingyuan dismissed the others, and invited Lin Zexu alone to listen to Zheng Xingyang's report.

Zheng Xingyang handed the documents he had prepared to Zhu Jingyuan, and at the same time began to explain the general situation:
"His Royal Highness's guess is completely correct. Liu Yudong from Suzhou and Wang Baoqing from Songjiang are both nouveau riche, they are very flamboyant in everything, and they like to show off very much.

"I heard that the wedding scene can be recorded with film equipment, which is equivalent to recording the most ostentatious process, so I agreed without any hesitation.

"I asked the audio-visual craftsmen I recruited to follow Liu and Wang to record audio-visuals. I went to Daming Bank to check the files, and asked the locals if there had been similar situations before.

"Then I am completely sure that the combination of Liu and Wang is very typical and has formed a local practice.

"Two business families have established a deep cooperative relationship through marriage.

"Our film perfectly records this process as evidence and model.

"I will now take the wedding of Liu and Wang as an example to explain what is going on in this typical process.

"Actually, whether it is Wang Baoqing or Liu Yudong, although these two families can be regarded as wealthy households, they can't afford the working capital of [-] gold bills at once.

"Of course the total assets of the two are more than ten thousand gold bills.

"The cash in this ten thousand gold note is actually a loan.

"Wang Baoqing himself borrowed [-] gold notes from the bank with the shares in the factory under his name and the assets he owned as collateral, and the bank allocated the funds directly to Wang Baoqing's own account.

"Wang Baoqing took out the money, took the cash to the wedding venue and gave it to his son, and asked his son to transfer it to his daughter-in-law.

"Wang Baoqing's daughter-in-law is also Liu Yudong's daughter, and she will give the money to her biological father Liu Yudong...

“Fathers don’t pay taxes on money they give to their sons, husbands don’t pay taxes on money they give to their wives, and daughters don’t pay taxes on money they give their fathers.

"At the same time, the whole process was transferred directly in cash, that is, it was passed through the hands of the four people at the wedding scene, so there was no handling fee for the transfer.

"Only when I first withdrew, I got a very limited handling fee...

"When the funds fell into Liu Yudong's hands, Liu Yudong's dowry to his daughter was also sent to his daughter and son-in-law's home.

"The dowry given by Liu Yudong is part of the equity of his factory..."

Zheng Xingyang's process is basically finished, but there are obviously many things to explain later.

However, Zhu Jingyuan couldn't bear it when he heard this, and asked directly:
"What do bank lenders do for food? This loan can't be given in the name of the following dowry and marriage, right?
"If it wasn't for production and management, why would the bank dare to give Wang Baoqing a personal loan of [-] gold bills?

"If the business loan was used as a dowry, and it was done in such an aboveboard way, wouldn't the bank go to recover the loan?
"This is blatant tax evasion. This is the factory where Wang Baoqing wants to buy shares in Liu Yudong!"

Hearing this, Zheng Xingyang said in embarrassment:

"Wang Baoqing did apply for the loan in the name of his son's marriage.
"The reason is that the dowry gifts for girls from families of this level in the local area are all of this amount, which is impossible for normal families to afford, so they all have to take out loans.

"This kind of loan issued by the bank can also recover the interest normally, so this type of loan is specially issued..."

Zhu Jingyuan's eyes widened when he heard this:

"This businessman made it clear that he wanted to evade taxes, but the bank rushed to cooperate? Are the people in this bank crazy?

"Old Lin, in the name of , write a report to my father, explain the situation, and request the headquarters of Daming Bank to deal with it.

"It is recommended that the person who proposes and implements this so-called dowry loan be sent to the inland of Mozhou to open up wasteland!

"Relevant persons in charge of the Daming Royal Bank's Suzhou and Jianghuai regions, who are in charge of supervision, are also sent to the inland of Mozhou to open up wasteland!"

Zhu Jingyuan rarely gets angry.

But this time I really couldn't bear it.

These businessmen are really treacherous, and the people in the bank must have problems.

The bank will give the loan if it can recover the interest?
Did the tax department let it go when it encountered collective opposition from the local government?
From Zhu Jingyuan's point of view, this is the hidden reef hidden under the tide when the tide comes.

These are big issues that cannot be ignored.

But Zhu Jingyuan was also very restrained at the same time. Although what this group of people did was obviously harmful to the interests of the Ming court, it seemed that they were all taking advantage of loopholes and not directly breaking the law.

So I can only ask to be dealt with in the company's management, and throw the relevant personnel to the place with the worst environment.

Lin Zexu also felt that these merchants and banks were going too far, so he subconsciously agreed, and prepared to write a telegram with a pen.

But Zheng Xingyang next to him hastily reminded:
"His Royal Highness, wait a minute, it is not Daming Bank that issued this kind of loan, but Gusu Qianzhuang, a local private bank in Suzhou."

Zhu Jingyuan and Lin Zexu were immediately stunned.

"How could this be a private bank? The key is the [-] gold bill, or the bride price loan..."

"Can private banks casually issue loans of tens of thousands of gold bills?"

Zheng Xingyang carefully explained:
"The Gusu Qianzhuang Bank in Suzhou can indeed take out so many loans.

"Suzhou...is currently recognized as the number one city in the world, from the court to the people, it is the richest place in Ming Dynasty.

"Gusu Bank is the largest private bank in Suzhou, and many commercial banks and factory owners in Suzhou have investments and loans.

"By the way, Liu Yudong also owns shares in Gusu Bank, although not much...

"At the same time, both Wang Baoqing and Liu Yudong operate in the aviation industry, which has been the hottest industry in recent years, with very high profit margins and return on investment.

"Wang Baoqing directly mortgaged his factory assets and equity, and Gusu Bank really had no reason to refuse.

"Because the probability that Gusu Bank can recover the loan normally is very high.

"In addition, Liu Yudong, who received the money, is also a shareholder, so he can contact and coordinate to complete the process..."

Hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan sighed with a straight face and said:

"What a number one mansion in the world...

"The buyer and seller have done the deal, the bank has made the loan and there is a good yield.

"But—the imperial court did not receive a penny in taxes!

"The point is, at the moment, all of this is still perfectly legal!
"Before the Chongzhen Dynasty, it was because they couldn't collect taxes that they gave Li Zicheng and Jiannu the opportunity to grow bigger!
"So this kind of tax evasion must be blocked no matter what!

"My Mr. Lin, come and advise me, what should we do now?"

Due to the decades of personal practice of Emperor Shizu, there has been long-term reflection and reprimand in the court and the royal family.

In the end, both the royal family and the court established the correct idea that taxes must be collected.

Any official who suggested that the court should not collect taxes would be directly expelled from the court by the emperor.

If the emperor is serious, he can even use conspiracy to subvert the name of Daming Jiangshan, and throw him into prison on the charge of treason.

It is completely natural for Zhu Jingyuan to be annoyed by this.

Lin Zexu thought for a while:

“Students think it’s not too late to fix the problem.

"Students suggested that the Jianghuai Chief Commissioner's Department of Taxation, the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty, the Procuratorate's Department, and the Patrolling Censor be called together to discuss and come up with a countermeasure, and report it to the Ministry of Punishment for review and establish corresponding laws.

"Follow-up, new laws will be used to monitor and limit similar situations."

Zhu Jingyuan waved his hand directly and said:

"Mr. Lin is right, it's not too late to make up for it.

"The root cause of such a thing is that the law is not perfect enough, allowing these overly clever businessmen to take advantage of the loopholes.

"What we have to do now is to make up for this seemingly considerable loophole.

"Just do as the gentleman said, and immediately notify the relevant personnel to come to the meeting."

Lin Zexu immediately agreed, and took up a pen to write Zhu Jingyuan's order.

At the same time, Zhu Jingyuan walked around the room twice, and flipped through Zheng Xingyang's report.

Then he muttered to himself:

"Because these two companies are engaged in the aviation industry, they expect good returns, so they can get loans?

"To engage in the aviation industry in Daming, you basically have to join the Aviation Industry Association and obtain relevant patent authorizations in the aviation industry.

"Aviation Industry Association is a semi-official organization, and I am also the honorary president.

"The main basic patents of the aviation industry in the world are basically in the hands of my Daming Airlines, the Royal Flying Machinery Company, and the Ordnance Department..."

Zhu Jingyuan stopped at this point...

When Zheng Xingyang heard this, he asked:

"Your Highness, then we can contact the Aviation Industry Association and Daming Airlines to kick Wang and Liu out of the Aviation Industry Association, and at the same time directly terminate the patent authorization.

"Their behavior seems to be legal before Ming Dynasty. As the patent holders, you and Daming Airlines are also reasonable and legal to refuse to authorize a certain company in your personal capacity!"

When Lin Zexu, who wrote the order, heard these words, he listened subconsciously, wondering how Zhu Jingyuan would decide.

When Zhu Jingyuan thought of this, a similar thought did jump out of his mind, but he quickly gave up.

Facing Zheng Xingyang's suggestion, Zhu Jingyuan sighed helplessly and waved his hands:

"I am the prince, even if I do things in my own name, I actually represent the royal family and the Ming court.

"The people below have grievances, and while scolding me personally in their hearts, most of them will also bring along the father and the court.

"When dealing with my own people and people, I can't do whatever I want with Xiyi and foreigners.

"The imperial court did not clearly state what could not be done before, the key is not to violate the traditional public order and good customs.

"I can't punish people with personal emotions just because they did this kind of thing themselves.

"Punishment without teaching is called abuse, and punishment without abstinence is called violence.

"First establish the rules, give reminders and warnings, and then deal with violators in accordance with the rules, and only then can there be gains.

"To a certain extent, this is also Lixin.

"Although some money is lost now, it can maintain and strengthen the credibility of the royal family and the court.

"This is conducive to the implementation and implementation of the imperial court's follow-up policies."

When Lin Zexu and Zheng Xingyang heard what Zhu Jingyuan said, they instinctively sighed in their hearts. This is indeed the choice that His Royal Highness Prince Dashi would make.

Lin Zexu continued to finish writing the telegram.

On Zheng Xingyang's side, he couldn't help but say with a bit of aggrieved emotion:

"Your Highness has a kind heart, but the students feel that those speculative businessmen may not be grateful to His Highness.

"You might even think you're smart enough to take a chance and get out of your tax dollars.

"If Your Highness doesn't want to punish him, then they will definitely take advantage of the loopholes even more in the future.

"The law is fixed, but society and industry and commerce are constantly developing, and there will always be various new situations.

"Those shrewd businessmen will definitely find such and such loopholes in the future.

"If you don't punish businessmen who exploit loopholes at all, to some extent you are encouraging them to find loopholes!"

Hearing this, Zhu Jingyuan smiled and waved his hands and said:
"Xingyang doesn't need to be so aggrieved, although I won't directly punish them because of the undecided law, but I won't just let them go.

"The so-called learning from the past and avoiding the future is also the duty of a ruler.

"Draft, write an application to Father Emperor in my name.

"I request the Royal Bank of Ming Dynasty, Ministry of Punishment, Ministry of Taxation, Dongchang, Jinyiwei and other relevant departments to arrange personnel to organize a tax evasion and money laundering investigation and rectification team.

"Issuing temporary governance and warning regulations to issue warnings to all tax offices and banks.

"All banks are no longer allowed to engage in dowry, dowry, and marriage-related loan business, otherwise they will be charged with tax evasion and money laundering.

"At the same time, a comprehensive inspection of large private loans and capital flows in the past three years has begun.

"The imperial court will not directly impose penalties on tax avoidance behaviors that did not violate existing laws that occurred before today.

"However, after tax evasion in any form is confirmed, no matter what industry the manufacturer or individual belongs to, they will no longer enjoy any tax relief for the next three years.

"All government-run and private-run banks will no longer be allowed to grant loans to themselves and holding manufacturers within the next three years.

"Unless the parties and manufacturers take the initiative to make up all the tax evasion in the past three years.

"Involving industry associations and patent licensing, the relevant industry associations will no longer return patent licensing fees within the next three years.

"From now on, banks that still make loans and accept deposits knowing that the other party is using the loans to avoid taxation.

"It has been confirmed that the other party did not use the loan for the agreed purpose, but did not recover the loan.

"All businesses will be suspended for rectification until the loan is recovered, the corresponding taxes are assisted, and fines are paid in full.

"At the same time, please ask the Ministry of Rites to come forward to investigate the civil overreach on the issues of marriage, raising children, and providing for the elderly."

Although Zhu Jingyuan is willing to "establish trust", he will not pursue extreme procedural justice like the legendary Westerners in later generations.

The cultural tradition of China is to pursue substantive justice or objective justice.

Extreme procedural justice, placed in traditional Chinese philosophy, can be regarded as incomplete justice in most cases.

Procedural justice can be compared to "absolute fairness", regardless of the target state, it must be treated the same.

The goal of Shenzhou Philosophy is to give appropriate treatment according to the target situation, that is, "fairness".

The people Zhu Jingyuan had to face were all traditional Shenzhou Daming people, and they would not pursue extreme procedural justice.

Both parties have a common understanding, and both know that the core goal of the Ming law is justice.

They all know that it is wrong to take advantage of legal loopholes, and their behavior is to poach the corner of the Ming Dynasty.

It is impossible for Zhu Jingyuan to encourage this kind of behavior, and these businessmen also know that this kind of behavior will not be encouraged.

It can be regarded as kindness for the emperor not to jump out of the legal framework and punish the crime directly.

Both parties do not believe in the post-modern utopian logic of "exploiting loopholes in the law is conducive to the improvement of the law".

Zhu Jingyuan's final choice was also based on "justice".

Because the imperial court did not explicitly prohibit related behaviors before, it will not directly punish behaviors for punishment now.

But it will reduce the benefits and care they may have received.

Without tax breaks, operating loans, patent rebates, if all of these are gone, it will be very difficult to operate in the next three years.

In normal times, a variety of benefits that are not rigid indicators are maintained and rewarded to managed targets.

When the behavior of the other party has indeed harmed the collective interests, but it is difficult to find an accurate punishment for the crime.

Just issue a formal warning and cut this part of the semi-certain benefit.

At the same time, new rules were formulated for the problems encountered this time.

It is still legal and compliant, it can improve the regulations, and it can also serve as a warning to the target.

This is also a typical Chinese traditional management logic.

On this basis, Zhu Jingyuan gave them a chance to confess.

By voluntarily confessing and making up some of the evaded taxes, you can continue to receive semi-certain benefits in the future.

In fact, there is another hidden reward.

Manufacturers who are willing to cooperate with the court to pay taxes will definitely be given priority in obtaining more corporate business opportunities.

Knowing mistakes can be corrected, and doing good things is great.

(End of this chapter)