Chapter 419: Tax Increase
The third year of Chongzhen's reign (1630 AD), Imperial Study, Beijing.
The Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Youjian, was poring over memorials.
A memorial from Shanxi caught his eye: "Since the beginning of the Tianqi reign, Shanxi soil has known no year without disaster, and the past year was particularly severe..."
This was the very memorial that Tie Niaofei had shown Xing Honglang not long ago. Tie Niaofei had indeed only copied it; he hadn't truly intercepted it, which was why it still reached Zhu Youjian's hands.
Zhu Youjian's mood plummeted as if on a freefall ride.
"Money. Again, they're asking Me for money. That last line, 'To rid Shanxi of bandits, first placate its impoverished people,' they just want Me to shell out money, don't they?"
The Grand Eunuch, Cao Huachun, whispered, "They are all eyeing Your Majesty's privy purse."
"Hmph!" Zhu Youjian scoffed. "Where am I supposed to get so much from My privy purse for them? What is the duty of these officials? Isn't it to manage their localities well for Me? Now that their localities are in chaos, instead of doing their part, they come to Me for money? Dream on!"
He flung the Shanxi memorial carelessly into a corner, adopting an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude.
Zhu Youjian smiled. "See, now this makes sense. Asking Me to increase taxes. However, increasing taxes is not an easy matter. The common folk are all My innocent children. Now that they are all impoverished, I cannot possibly increase taxes further."
These words were heard by Liang Tingdong, the Minister of War, who had just entered the Imperial Study. Liang Tingdong immediately interjected, "The people's poverty stems from corrupt officials. Once the tide of corruption recedes, and then we levy additional land taxes, the people will surely agree."
Zhu Youjian asked, "Oh? Then, does Minister Liang believe that since My ascension, corrupt officials have been completely swept away?"
Liang Tingdong hastily replied, "After Your Majesty ascended the throne, You purged the eunuch faction, sweeping away all corrupt officials. Now that the bureaucracy is clear and upright, it is indeed an opportune moment to increase taxes."
Zhu Youjian's spirits soared as if on a jet plane.
He personally endorsed the memorial: "Given the precarious situation in the east, and the incremental increase in land taxes that have known no end, My heart has long been troubled. Yet, the border threats persist, and military expenses grow ever more urgent. The Ministry of Revenue has repeatedly advised and petitioned, requesting an additional levy of three fen of silver per mu of land, beyond the existing nine fen, totaling one fen and two li of silver. However, the six prefectures of Northern Zhili, Bao, and He, which were previously exempted, shall now be moderately levied an additional six fen per mu. The aforementioned sums shall be designated as the Liaodong tax and shall cease once peace is restored. As the court has concurred, I reluctantly grant this approval. All My people, you share a common enemy; how can you not uphold righteousness?"
And so, the tax increase was decided!
No sooner had this imperial decree been dispatched than Zhou Shipu, the Vice Minister of Revenue overseeing new levies, arrived. Despite repeated urging, various regional taxes had still not been delivered to the ministry.
Zhu Youjian picked up his brush again and wrote, "The Ministry of Revenue is hereby ordered to set a deadline for all governors and censors to investigate the root causes of arrears, name and impeach each responsible party for punishment; should they fail to impeach within the deadline, they shall be punished equally severely."
After writing, Zhu Youjian felt a little pleased. 'My governance is quite capable indeed! Once this tax increase is implemented, millions of taels of silver will easily come in, and the Liaodong war will be secured. Hahahahaha!'
At lunchtime, Li Daoxuan was enjoying Rongchang braised goose. The goose wings were incredibly chewy, leaving his hands greasy.
The diorama box's view was paused over an empty patch of land east of Baishui County. Four dragon heads were spraying mist and rain into the box.
Last time, when the field of view expansion reached the Yellow River, half of Baishui County was already within his sight. However, he had been busy developing the Qichuan Ferry and hadn't had time to manage Baishui County. Now that Qichuan Ferry was sorted, he began subtly bringing rain to Baishui County, then sent people to sell books and so on, initiating a full campaign of winning hearts and minds.
Just then, the words "Gao Family Village" on the box suddenly lit up, indicating that someone in Gao Family Village was ringing the bell to summon him again.
This was quite uncommon.
The people of Gao Family Village were always afraid to disturb the Heavenly Lord, so they worked diligently to be self-sufficient, rarely calling upon him. Li Daoxuan knew it must be important, so he quickly wiped the goose grease from his hands with a napkin and tapped on "Gao Family Village."
The view instantly snapped back to directly above the watchtower.
Gao Yiye was ringing the bell, while Liang Shixian, the Magistrate of Chengcheng County, and Feng Jun, the Magistrate of Heyang County, both stood behind her, waiting anxiously.
Li Daoxuan's switch in perspective was so sudden that he forgot to retract the four dragon heads spraying rain. As a result, the view returned to Gao Family Village with the four dragon heads still spraying rain over it.
The villagers of Gao Family Village laughed, "It's raining!" and quickly scurried under the eaves.
Gao Yiye giggled, then went back inside to grab a paper umbrella, opening it over her head. She knew the Heavenly Lord wouldn't mind her using an umbrella.
However, Liang Shixian and Feng Jun were there to seek an audience with the Heavenly Lord. Now that the Heavenly Lord had arrived, how could they immediately hide? Such an action would be disrespectful. The two men could only stand rigidly, letting the light rain fall upon them.
Liang Shixian was fine; he showed no reaction, simply enduring the rain.
Feng Jun's expression was respectful, but his eyes darted about, clearly thinking of a way to shield himself from the rain.
From this small detail, Li Daoxuan could tell that Liang Shixian was quite stubborn, while Feng Jun was more flexible in his approach to things.
He casually retracted the dragon heads, and the rain stopped. "What is the urgent matter?"
Gao Yiye lowered her umbrella. "The Heavenly Lord is speaking to you."
Liang Shixian and Feng Jun exchanged glances, their spirits lifting. Liang Shixian spoke first, cupping his hands. "Reporting to the Heavenly Lord, the imperial court has begun acting deplorably. In this year of great disaster, they have actually increased the Liaodong tax, adding three fen of silver per mu of land on top of the existing tax."
Li Daoxuan almost swore, 'Good heavens!', but then remembered Gao Yiye was listening below. He didn't want the young girl to learn too many curses, so he forcefully held it back.
Liang Shixian continued, "Just as it seemed Shaanxi could finally catch its breath with the rebels having gone to Shanxi, we never imagined the people above would act so recklessly. This time, I fear... sigh..."
Feng Jun interjected, "Although our Chengcheng and Heyang counties have already passed through the disaster year with the Heavenly Lord's rain, the other counties will now face extreme hardship."
Li Daoxuan thought, 'Alright! More people are going to turn bandit now. But this shouldn't directly affect these two magistrates, right? Chengcheng and Heyang haven't been paying taxes at all; they're probably defaulting. Why would they be afraid of a tax increase?'
As he thought this, Liang Shixian said, "Our Chengcheng County has arrears of tax silver for three years, and Heyang County for two. Now, the Ministry of Revenue has set a deadline for all governors and censors to investigate the root causes of arrears, name and impeach each responsible party for punishment; should they fail to impeach within the deadline, they shall be punished equally severely."
He then looked embarrassed. "The Governor has sent people to ask why our Chengcheng and Heyang counties' taxes have been delayed repeatedly. If we can't provide a plausible reason, we will be punished."
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