Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 311 The bustling capital city

History seems to be repeating itself again, and the capital has once again ushered in the moment of price reduction and house sale.

“Luxury house is on sale urgently with [-]% off!”

"My boss resigns and returns home, sincerely selling the house at [-]% off!"

"The owner's business failed, so we have a tearful sale at [-]% off!"

……

As if overnight, the owners of houses in the capital were in trouble one after another, and they were all eager to sell their mansions. There were various reasons, and they just wanted to get cash quickly.

In any era, there is actually no shortage of speculators. As early as the Warring States Period, there was Lu Buwei, a businessman with rare goods, and there are also a group of real estate speculators in the capital today.

At the end of last year, news came out that the imperial court planned to build an outer city of Beijing, which made the houses in Beijing have alternatives, so the prices of houses in the capital fell in response.

It’s just that everyone knows the subsequent development of the plot. Because the chief minister of the cabinet, Wan An, revealed that he was speculating on houses, the imperial court finally decided to shelve the plan to build the outer city of Beijing, causing the price of houses in the capital to rise accordingly.

Subsequently, regulating the Yellow River and recovering Jianzhou became the two biggest tasks for the imperial court, and both of these tasks required a large amount of money to support.

This is exactly the case. In the interpretation of real estate speculators, not to mention that the imperial court has publicly decided to abandon the plan to build the outer city of Beijing, and it is impossible to have the budget to build the outer city of Beijing due to the current financial situation.

Without the expectation of being in the outer city of Beijing, then the houses in Beijing are naturally considered to be "rare and valuable".

Behind the real estate speculators in Beijing are the powerful elites. In addition, their financial lending industry has been cracked down by the imperial court, so they have a large amount of funds in their hands.

As a result, these funds continued to flow into the real estate market in Beijing, causing house prices in Beijing not only to return to the level at the end of last year, but also to go up, allowing these real estate speculators to obtain very considerable book profits.

"Damn it, who had the idea?"

"Dong Shan, the right servant of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, is a man who can kill with a thousand swords!"

"What's the use of complaining now, let's sell the house quickly!"

……

There is no airtight wall in the world. As the contents of the Supreme Meeting came out, almost the entire elite class in the capital became panicked.

This luxury tax targets the basic necessities, food, housing and transportation of the wealthy class. Although the tax on "travel" is the highest, the biggest impact is actually on housing.

The houses in prime locations in the capital have long exceeded the reasonable range, and there are many houses that cost more than a thousand taels.For a house that has been decorated in Jiangnan style, even if it costs 1 taels, you are not even qualified to see the house. The price is already outrageously high.

Once the court levies a luxury real estate tax, not to mention that the real estate bubble in Beijing may be burst, and the houses in their hands will need to pay a luxury real estate tax of [-]% or even higher.

That's why the best thing to do now is to sell the house in your hand as soon as possible to stop profits and losses before the news of the luxury tax spreads completely in the capital.

In the last few days of the Spring Festival, houses in Beijing are on sale at reduced prices, which also provides people in the capital with something to talk about after dinner.

"What's going on? Come again?"

"Does the imperial court really want to build the outer city of Beijing?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I heard that the imperial court doesn't have enough money to govern and develop the state!"

……

When the people in the capital saw a similar situation happening again, they couldn't help but think of the scene at the end of last year, but many people knew that it was unlikely that the imperial court would build the outer city of Beijing.

In fact, the outer city of Beijing did not reach the point where it was necessary to repair it. In addition to highlighting the emperor's achievements, it also benefited the powerful people who owned land on the outskirts of the city.

It's just that ordinary people have limited sources of information, so they don't know the real reason for the sudden plunge in Beijing's city houses, and they even get a lot of wrong information.

zizi...

A dozen women walked out of the slums through the snow, each holding one or two pieces of white cotton in their hands, leaving a line of footprints in the snow.

"I heard that the imperial court is going to collect a poll tax!"

"This is ridiculous. Do you have to pay tax when you go to a restaurant?"

"Not only that, we will all have to pay taxes when we walk from now on!"

"I heard that anyone who owns a house must pay taxes, otherwise the family will not be allowed to live in it!"

"Anyway, in the future, the imperial court will collect taxes on everything related to food, clothing, housing and transportation. If you don't pay, everyone will be slapped with a board and locked up."

……

This group of women naturally likes to hear some gossip. Everyone seems to have a unique source of information, and they chatter all the way.

No matter what era, people are particularly sensitive to taxes, and "tyranny is more fierce than a tiger" is not just a saying. Many people are forced to lose their families because of taxes.

Fortunately, Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang established the lowest tax of thirty to one in the feudal dynasty. Although the officials below would inevitably make money from it, they could still live on the whole.

However, with the help of thoughtful people, the luxury tax was interpreted as "the court levied taxes on ordinary people through four aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation", even if they went to a restaurant, they were taxed.

Due to the lack of authoritative media reports, this kind of thing is spreading more and more now, which naturally makes some people believe that this taxation thing is true, and the court is indeed preparing to squeeze them crazily.

Liu Ying held two pieces of white cotton in her hands, frowning tightly, and did not participate in the discussion of this topic from beginning to end.

"District Chief Liu, what will we do next?"

"What do you mean?"

"What will we do with our lives when the imperial court imposes taxes like this?"

"Don't listen to the wind. The court will definitely not act like this!"

"District Chief Liu, people have made it very clear that now the court has no money, so taxes must be collected!"

"These are all hearsay, so don't take it seriously. Let's exchange the cotton cloth for money and spend the New Year in peace and contentment!"

……

Liu Ying has jumped from the team leader to the district leader of a district. Because she is usually very enthusiastic and very capable, she has a high prestige in this group.

It's just that the topic was suppressed, but several women seemed to be in a low mood. After all, no one wanted the fruits of their labor from working early to late to end up being given to the court.

As the New Year is approaching, there are obviously more people on the street, and there are even people who are hurried home with New Year's goods.

Royal cloth line, this is in a prosperous area.

Liu Ying and his party entered the store and came to the counter in a familiar manner, but they were slightly stunned.Shopkeeper Sun was not at the counter, nor was he in the sales area personally greeting customers.Since they often come here, they know that shopkeeper Sun must be attracting important guests in the tearoom inside, or perhaps the dignified father-in-law in charge.

After just standing for a moment, Wei Juan, wearing a bullfight suit, walked out, followed by shopkeeper Qian with a smile on his face.

“It’s all clear when it’s time to raise the price!”

"Please don't worry, father-in-law, the little one has already remembered it clearly!"

Wei Juan is now fully responsible for the royal cloth industry, and has even opened a local royal weaving branch.Due to the appreciation of the emperor, his status has been greatly improved, and he has become the eunuch of the imperial horse eunuch Bingbi.

This time I came here to check the accounts and look at the store's recent harvest.

Because the cloth produced is of high quality and low price, and the scale effect has been produced, the cost of dyeing and printing has been greatly reduced, so the royal cotton cloth has no rivals in the entire capital.

Wei Juan was about to leave when he saw a group of women standing in front of the counter holding white cotton cloths. Finally, his eyes fell on Liu Ying and said, "Are you Liu Ying?"

"It's just a nickname for a common woman!" Liu Ying knew that the eunuch in front of her was a big shot and responded hurriedly.

Wei Juan is not the kind of person who thinks too high, but he smiled slightly and said: "Don't belittle yourself so much. The cloth you weaved even entered the palace, and His Majesty said it was very good!"

what?
Liu Ying was stunned and stunned, but she had no idea that the cloth she knitted would be sent to the palace and praised by the emperor.

The other female weavers were also shocked. They were suspicious at first, but they knew that this was a high eunuch, but they had to believe it.

Wei Juan saw Liu Ying's shock in his eyes, turned to look at the Weaver Girl present and said with a smile: "You guys work hard, the Royal Cloth Store will not treat you badly!"

As soon as these words came out, the female employees present were not too excited, with a wry smile on their faces.

If the imperial court imposes taxes on their food, clothing, housing and transportation, no matter how hard they try, they will never have enough money to pay taxes. How can they talk about a good life?
"Eunuch Wei, I heard that the imperial court will collect taxes after the new year. I wonder if this is true?" Liu Ying gritted her teeth and asked immediately.

The female weavers present immediately cheered up and turned to look at Wei Juan. This eunuch from the palace must know something inside.

Wei Juan was slightly stunned at first, and then said in a funny tone: "You are quite well informed. The imperial court will indeed impose taxes at the beginning of the new year, but..."

what?
The female employees present felt a chill in their hearts when they heard that the imperial court was really going to collect taxes at the beginning of the new year.

"Eunuch Wei, but what?" Liu Ying also felt that her good life was cast a shadow, and she immediately asked nervously.

Wei Juan saw everyone's reaction in his eyes, but smiled slightly and said: "If you want to pay taxes, I'm afraid you have to work ten times harder to have a chance!"

"Why?" Before Liu Ying could ask, a woman next to him asked doubtfully.

The female workers present were also very puzzled. Didn't this tax always target the lower class?When will a threshold be required for taxation?

Wei Juan vaguely guessed their worries and said jokingly: "Do you know what this tax is called?"

"Eunuch Wei, we just heard that food, clothing, housing and transportation are all taxed!" Liu Ying exchanged glances with the others and responded honestly.

Wei Juan knew that this was the result of information asymmetry, so he revealed: "You only know one thing. The court does have to tax food, clothing and shelter, but this tax is called a luxury tax! What is luxury? I don't need to explain it. ?”

extravagant?

After Liu Ying heard this word, she suddenly felt enlightened.

Wei Juan looked at everyone present, glanced at their clothes, and shook his head slightly: "As for you, even if you work ten times harder, you can't afford to wear silk and satin and live in a house worth a thousand taels, right? This luxury tax, It’s not something you can just hand over if you want to.”

"Lingluo Silk and Qianliang Zhaizi?" The female employees present looked at their worn shoes silently, with a self-deprecating wry smile on their faces.

"Eunuch Wei, so this is actually a tax on the rich?" Liu Ying said, seemingly enlightened.

Wei Juan couldn't help but look at Liu Ying and nodded seriously: "You are right, in fact, this is the rich tax! Originally, Zhou Jing, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, proposed to impose an additional tax on the people of the world, but the emperor said that as long as he reigns for one day , we will never raise taxes on the people! Now I have heard some people talking nonsense about the extravagant tax. In fact, you just need to listen and don’t take some words seriously. This tax will never be borne by you. Your Majesty is indeed He is a good emperor who loves his people like his own son!"

"Thank you, Eunuch Wei, for clarifying my doubts!" ​​Liu Ying and other female employees suddenly felt ashamed and thanked them seriously.

Wei Juan knew that someone must have deliberately created rumors about this, and even hoped to use the people's opposition to stop the luxury tax. However, he did not need to pay too much attention to this kind of clown.

Today's court is not what it used to be. Even if you step out in an upright manner, it is impossible to stop the emperor's will, let alone this kind of heresy.

No matter how those people fan the flames, the beginning of the new year is about to be a scene of sharpening knives against pigs and sheep, and this extravagant tax may bring surprises to the emperor.

Putting aside everything else, the luxury tax on this house in the capital is at least a very considerable amount.

“It turns out that the food, clothing, housing and transportation tax is fake!”

"I can't say it's fake, but it's a tax on the rich!"

"I have long been our emperor and a good emperor, but you still believe those rumors!"

"That's right, you really just follow the wind and rain. The emperor loves his people like a son, but you actually miss him so much!"

……

The female employees present watched Wei Li leave. When Wei Juan walked away, they started talking again, and even criticized the women who had brought wrong news earlier.

Liu Ying was not involved. When handing the cotton cloth to Shopkeeper Qian, she smiled and said, "Shopkeeper Sun, it's still the same as before, just change it into cloth tickets!"

Although there are various voices, she always firmly believes in the credibility of the court, and she also understands that the royal cloth shop has given her a new life, so now she has cloth tickets in her hands, which can be regarded as a kind of support for the Hongzhi Dynasty.

As time goes by, more and more people know the truth.

Although there are many false statements spread in the capital, the court's various measures have now accumulated a high reputation, and the true news will eventually reach the ears of ordinary people.

"This extravagant tax is beautifully collected, long live the emperor!"

"Haha... I wonder why those people are jumping up and down. It turns out that the court is going to levy a tax on the rich!"

"If they really taxed us poor people, Shuntian Prefecture would have already imposed more taxes, but what I see is that everyone is making money growing cotton!"

"Other emperors don't know, but you can't forget that our emperor is willing to bear the name of a tyrant in order to accommodate millions of victims!"

……

After learning the true situation, the people at the bottom immediately rejoiced in the misfortune, and greatly welcomed the extravagant tax that the imperial court would introduce after the new year.

In particular, many people set off firecrackers in advance just to celebrate the good news.

As for the houses in the capital that are eager to be put up for sale, due to last year's experience and the fact that they are not ordinary people who can afford to buy a thousand taels of houses, there has not been an excessively high transaction volume.

Faced with the upcoming luxury tax, the one most affected will be the real estate speculators in Beijing, a mysterious organization with huge power.

(End of this chapter)