Mid summer has passed on the calendar, but the autumn tiger is still unbearable for the heat.

Several ice basins are placed in Lezhizhai in the Forbidden City, which makes people feel a little cooler.

Even so, after sitting for a long time, my body feels sticky.

If it weren't for summoning his ministers, Zhu Yunyu would not care about any rules and just wore a sleeveless single garment. However, at this moment, the ministers would not have any rude appearance when they met with him.

Not only him, but the ministers in front of him were also wearing thick official robes, court boots and official hats, and many of them had water stains on their temples.

Today, Zhu Yunyu summoned all the ministers to pay taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Among the central cabinet ministers, Ling Han, Minister of Personnel, Fu Youwen, Minister of Revenue, Wei Anren, Minister of Service, and Ma Jing, the governor of Suzhou, who was specially summoned to the capital, Zhang Shan, and others.

The Basha, I will give you all my dear friends a cold sour plum soup and herbal tea! Zhu Yunxiu sat on the throne and said with a smile. He called you here today to talk about taxes in Jiangnan! As he said that, he took out a memorial from the imperial case. At the beginning of the year, a person named Zheng Yong of the Hanlin Academy, who was from Suzhou, wrote a memorial, complaining about the bad policies of the country and saying that the taxes in Suzhou were too heavy!

As he spoke, he started the memorial and said that the taxes of Suzhou Prefecture were 2.8 million stones alone, which was one million stones more than a province in Zhejiang Provincial Administration, and the people and gentry were suffering.

In fact, not only Suzhou has heavy taxes, but Susong Jiahu four prefectures have heavy taxes. In these places, the textile industry is developed, the economy is prosperous, and wealthy businessmen are everywhere.

Since the first year of Hongwu, taxes have been repeatedly escalated on these places. Not only are they escalated on taxes, but they have also often escorted land for gentry and were filled with official land.

There is a saying that the old man secretly hated the people in Suzhou and other places who missed Zhang Shicheng, so he imposed heavy taxes. After all, when the world was in chaos, Zhang Shicheng's annual grain tax in Suzhou and other places was only one million shi. But when the Ming Dynasty came, there were so many more.

At first, Zhu Yunxiu agreed with this statement. However, as his ability to handle government affairs increased and his vision continued to improve, he found that this statement was a bit too fallacy.

If the Ming Dynasty had not been established, it would be reasonable to pay heavy taxes. But they were all people of the Ming Dynasty, and the old man hoped that the world would rest and recuperate. How could he turn a blind eye to the burden on the people in these places?

Ma Jing, the governor of Suzhou, stood up and bowed to him and said, "Return to Your Highness, the reason why Suzhou's grain tax is heavy is because there are too many official lands. Now, the official land accounts for 60% of the fields in Suzhou Prefecture, totaling more than 61,000 hectares of land."

More than 60,000 hectares of fish and rice, the grain produced every year is astronomical. The so-called official fields are the fields of the official families. The official fields of the Song and Yuan dynasties in the previous dynasty were unparalleled land during the war, the fields snatched from the enemy, the land of those sinners after the founding of the country, etc.

Kunshan, where there are many wealthy people, has 80% of the official land, and more than 70% of the official land in Jiading, Changzhou! The official land is 70% tax per mu! Ma Jing, the governor of Suzhou, was from Shaanxi and was a Jinshi in the 15th year of Hongwu. He was an official and was honest and diligent.

It is precisely because he is not from Jiangsu and Zhejiang that he can serve as the chief official in a world-class government like Suzhou. Although he does not have the name of a prefect, he has the right to be a prefect. It is precisely because he is not from Jiangnan that he will be slightly fair and will not favor local forces.

As the tax on official land is higher, the land of civil land is higher! Ma Jing continued, it seems to be a bit heavy, but my ministers do not agree. Suzhou Prefecture has many workshops, and the cotton silk produced every year is in short supply, and the people's half-working and half-farming life is much better than other places!

After hearing this, Zhu Yunxi smiled. Gu was quite approving of your words in the first half, but in the last sentence, Gu was still a little unsatisfied! As he said, he smiled and said, "You can't collect more taxes just because you have a lot of money! You can't ignore heavy taxes just because the people live a good life!"

If you don’t collect taxes with those who have too much money, can you still collect taxes with those poor places? Ma Jing is honest and upright, and directly confronted Zhu Yunxi, saying, Your Highness, it is normal for Suzhou’s editor to hold on to the injustice of his hometown. But I am in charge of Suzhou, and the people’s lives are better, so I naturally know!

As he said that, he frowned and said, "I am a stupid person and can't say anything good." I also know that it is really good for the people to live a good life. But Suzhou is different from other places and cannot be generalized!"

He spoke in a very tough manner, without any tactful way.

In the hall, Liu Sanwu, the secretary of the Secretariat, spoke, Suzhou Prefecture, in front of the hall, pay attention to his words!

It’s okay! Zhu Yunxi smiled and said to Ma Jing, “Sit down and talk carefully, what’s the difference? Listen with me!

There are too many wealthy businessmen! Ma Jing said seriously, I am from the north and can see clearly than others!

When the Mongol Yuan in the previous dynasty entered the Central Plains, he felt that he had killed too much in the north, so he practiced Huairou in Jiangnan. For a hundred years, the wealthy families in Jiangnan had grown up, the rich were surrounded by ridges and the poor had no place to stand. He racked his brains to evade food taxes, enriching himself and poor country!

Ma Jing's words made Zhu Yunyu nodded secretly. Thinking about the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the people who hated the rebels like the old man the most were the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, and the gentry groups in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. These people organized landlord arming and tried every means to confront the old man.

Now that the grain tax is heavy, the land is not obvious. Once the grain tax is light, these people will hoard land and buy land at a high price! Ma Jing continued.

Nonsense! Behind Liu Sanwu, an official who participated in the parliament said dissatisfied, "Is it better if the price of land is high?" Do you have to have land not worth much?"

Zhu Yunyu recognized this person as a speaker in the Hanlin Academy, Li Shen, also from a great family in Jiangnan.

Even if it is twenty yuan per acre, those wealthy and wealthy families will not blink! Ma Jing replied coldly, but they have sold the fields to sky-high prices, who can afford them? At that time, the land price and grain price are in their hands, and the people will work hard all their lives, but they will make money for them!

When did they have a loss-making business? Even if the land price they collected is high, once the natural disaster year, they will lower the land price and let the people sell land cheaply. If the people lose their land, they can only hire them. If they give them a few dollars, they will be a cattle and a horse!

Then when the natural disasters pass, they will hype up land prices. In this way, the people will suffer! Now, the people can still bear the heavy tax on the grain, but if the tax is light, they will still benefit in the end!

You...Li Shen is speechless.

Although the food tax is high, I think it can curb land annexation, which is more beneficial than disadvantages! Ma Jing continued, I know that if I say this, I will be scolded. It is unfair to the people, but those who rule the country should pay attention to the overall situation!

This Ma Jing can be reused in the future!

Although he was not completely right, his words happened to be one of the reasons why the Ming Empire went to crisis and decline in the future.

The land annexation of such important financial and taxation areas as Jiangnan, the wealthy and wealthy families monopolize the economy, people's livelihood, culture and politics. In the late Ming Dynasty, the power of these people expanded to an unsustainable situation. If the country wants to collect taxes, it depends on their face, how much they give, not how much they should collect.

In addition to land, there is also canal transportation and salt affairs...

The reason why the old man did not add color to the gentry in Jiangnan was heavy taxes. Some of the scholars who even deliberately did not use these places came from this.

Zhu Yunyu's promotion of commercial tax was unimpeded, and it was precisely because of this.
Chapter completed!