Before hanging himself, Chongzhen lifted the table

Chapter 67 I don’t care if my house is ransacked again

Liao rates, suppression rates and Lian rates are collectively called the three rates. They were added to the original land tax in the late Ming Dynasty. In theory, they were earmarked funds.Liao's pay is used to suppress the Jianqi captives, Suppression's pay is used to exterminate the rebels, and Training's pay is used to train the frontier troops.This kind of bonus is temporary and will be canceled after the task is completed.

Among them, the Liao tax collection was started in the 46th year of Wanli and was planned to end in the 48th year. The average levy for each mu of land across the country, except for a few areas such as Guizhou, was nine cents.The original intention was to raise more levies and resolve the Liaodong war within two years, and then stop levying them.

As a result, the Liaodong battlefield was completely defeated, and the Jianlu army was getting bigger and bigger, and the Liao army could not stop at all.

Then there were natural and man-made disasters. Starting from the Tianqi period, the She'an Rebellion broke out, the situation in the southwest was corrupted, and gangsters rose on a large scale. With all this, Yang Sichang proposed to impose additional payment levies. Originally it was only a temporary levy for one year, but it could not be stopped at all. Come down.

In addition, based on the opinions of Yang Sichang and Zhang Bojing, the Governor's Minister of Pay, the army was recruited and trained again to rebuild the Ming Dynasty's frontier army.

These three rates could not be stopped due to the corruption of the situation, and the additional levy of three rates made the situation even more corrupt. Even until the fall of the Ming Dynasty, this temporary additional land tax was not canceled as promised.

What’s even more funny is that after the Qing Dynasty entered the customs, in order to win people’s hearts, Dorgon announced in the first year of Shunzhi, the year of entry into the customs, that the three wages would harm the people and be cancelled.But in fact, the Manchu Qing Dynasty re-levied three rates in the third year of Shunzhi.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict and announced to the world that these three rates would no longer be levied. If they were still levied in the future, it would be like slapping himself in the mouth.Announcing it in this way basically means that the three rates will no longer be levied, which eliminates the possibility of levying three rates in the future.

Therefore, when Fan Jingwen heard this decree, he was a little surprised and quickly said: "Your Majesty, if the three salaries are canceled together, where will the expenses for everything come from?"

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately sneered and said: "Do you think it will be useful to continue to increase the levy? Will [-]% of the additional levy be implemented in practice? If nothing else, let's just talk about the training rate. After the increase, we will Will the officers and soldiers not be in arrears with their military pay?"

At this point, he paused and then said sternly: "Also, if we impose an additional nine cents, are the people of the land really only paying nine cents? I, the Emperor Taizu, have made this point. How can I not know about local affairs? "

Not to mention that when local officials levied an additional three rates, they took the opportunity to show off their cards and gain firepower. Most of the additional three rates that originally belonged to the landowners and nobles would be transferred to the landowners, resulting in Farmers' families were destroyed, or they abandoned their grain fields and fled.

In the late Ming Dynasty, when officialdom was very corrupt, officials at all levels in the court and local government were all involved, and any demands made from the people would be magnified many times.An official who is less greedy and has a sense of proportion will be an upright official.

Fan Jingwen was speechless after hearing this, but he was also helpless. There was really no money in the treasury!

The emperor's attitude was resolute. He could only bow down and accept the order and said: "I obey the order!"

Seeing him like this, Emperor Chongzhen thought of something else and said again: "The great chaos in the world is caused by poor governance, which has led to the hardship of people's livelihood. Furthermore, every household with a grain field of less than [-] acres will be exempted from land tax for one year. He also ordered the officials and gentry at all levels to work together during the difficult times and help the people around them. I will use this to judge the merits and demerits." "Ah?" Fan Jingwen did not expect that the emperor not only canceled the additional three rates, but also treated them differently, and treated each household with less than [-] acres of grain land. He was still tax-free for one year, and he was suddenly surprised and said quickly, "Your Majesty, if you have more grain fields, I am afraid that there are more tax-free fields. If you only levy more than a hundred acres, I am afraid that the court will not receive any money. What should I do?"

Fang Yuegong, who was standing next to him, also followed suit and said, "Your Majesty, what the First Assistant said is absolutely true. The imperial court really won't be able to receive any money like this."

After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen sneered and said: "Do you think you can receive the money otherwise? When did the treasury have money? I can support the imperial court with what I have earned in these two days. If necessary , report it to the prince and the queen, and they will appropriate it. But if anyone dares to reach out and embezzle the money, I don’t mind another house raid!"

If Ningwuguan cannot be saved and Li Zicheng cannot be stopped, the Ming Dynasty will be gone. Why does it still care so much?
The harvest of nearly [-] million taels in these two days is enough for just one year, not to mention how many years it will last.As for a year later, if the situation is stabilized and the money is gone, the knife is in hand anyway, so just look for corrupt officials!
In the decree just now, he also left an ambush. If he goes to a place in the future and finds that the local officials have a bad reputation, don't blame him because he has already issued the decree. He will not be lenient if he should chop or kill.

At this time, Fan Jingwen, Fang Yuegong and others felt the murderous intent in the emperor's words, and thought that it was Emperor Taizu who made the point, not other emperors. He was the master who would be skinned and stuffed with grass after 60 taels, so they did not dare to say anything. , and quickly drafted an edict according to Emperor Chongzhen's wishes.

After coming out of the cabinet, Emperor Chongzhen summoned Taikang Bo Zhang Guoji again in the Wenhua Palace to inquire about the bank affairs.This is related to the issue of whether the soldiers going out for the expedition, or the soldiers newly formed in the Beijing camp, can feel at ease.He was very concerned about the military.

Zhang Guoji also felt the emperor's attention, and immediately responded in detail. Finally, he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "I have never done anything like this before, but I know that the matter is very important, so I don't dare to be careless, so I just keep an eye on those people." The bank originally had people wearing shackles to handle the matter, but the time was so tight that it might take two days to complete the deposit of the military pay for the more than [-] cavalry officers."

This kind of thing like wearing a cannon to do things only happened in the Hongwu period. I didn't expect that he would also encounter it in the Chongzhen period.At that time, when he saw the people in Qianzhuang wearing shackles, he felt very emotional for a while.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned after hearing this, a little dissatisfied. Two days was really too long.He turned to look at the sky outside, and then said to Zhang Guoji: "Keep everything simple. If we don't have enough manpower, ask the queen for help. Try to finish it today."

Having said this, he thought for a moment and then added: "The soldiers' silver has just been issued. There is no need to verify the quality. The registration must be completed as soon as possible. As long as you can write, it will be enough. More manpower will be needed to complete this matter."

"I obey the order!" Zhang Guoji responded immediately after hearing this.

Emperor Chongzhen looked at him and said solemnly: "You are far-sighted, that's why I leave the bank matter to you. You must take care of it for me. No one is allowed to reach out to the bank to move this money. Wait until later. , this bank will still be of great use. If you keep doing it well, you may leave your name in history!"

He really didn't lie. After all, he was the first real bank president in the Ming Dynasty. No matter what, he will definitely be recorded in history.However, at this time, he did not elaborate. Whether the bank could eventually be opened would at least have to wait until he stabilized the situation and made a triumphant return.

In the evening, a horse rushed to Datong Military Town: "The great victory of Daizhou..."

(End of this chapter)