Emperor Zhengde
Chapter 314: 1st Estate Tax
Chapter 314 The First Estate Tax
After Li Shu said this, all the Li family members were very excited. Even some of the Li family's side branches began to break into the house of the late patriarch Li Qing and steal things, not even a stool, a chair, or a broom.
The grain in Li Qing's house was taken out and poured into the pot to cook, and the pigs, sheep, etc. were also slaughtered and waiting to be put into the pot.
More and more tribesmen and neighbors came over, and the atmosphere was as joyous as if a grand festival banquet was being held.
Only the mourning hall was still deserted, and Li Qing's only daughter, Li Dai, was at a loss.
At this time, in a side room, Li Qing's wife Zhao was forced to hang herself by two women from the clan.
A white silk fell down, and the women of the Li Shu tribe, Li Zhu and Li Wang, watched from the side.
Facing death, Zhao was still very afraid, but she also knew that her family was being wiped out and that she was doomed to die. However, she did not even dare to curse out loud, for she was afraid that the Li clan members would vent their anger on her only daughter because of her scolding.
Zhao knew that all she could do now was to cry, to cry until her heart was broken and someone would feel guilty.
"Zhao, stop crying and get on the road quickly! We are in a hurry to have dinner at your house!" The woman Li Zhu urged impatiently.
Li Wangshi even punched Zhao's hunched back: "Why are you crying? Hang yourself!"
Zhao naturally felt even more aggrieved and cried even more miserably, but she still obediently stepped on the stool and placed her neck between the white silk.
Just as Zhao was about to kick off the stool, a gong sounded outside: "Master Xiong has come to the Li Mansion to mourn!"
Zhao was stunned. She could guess that it must be an official who came to her house. Although she didn't know why this Mr. Xiong came to mourn for her deceased husband, she still ignited the hope of living. As long as he was an official, he must be a big shot and might make the decision for her.
Therefore, Zhao did not kick off the stool, but retracted her head from the white silk. Before the two women from the Li clan who were watching her could react, Zhao ran out and said, "Master Qingtian, Master Qingtian!"
……
Li Shu, who was proudly preparing to divide the property of the five branches of the Li family, did not expect that Xiong Jia would suddenly come to his fifth branch, Li Qing, to mourn.
Li Shu was a little shocked and wondered if his cousin Li Qing from the fifth room knew Xiong Jia?
Xiong Jia came here after receiving a report from the IRS. Naturally, he came here for the inheritance tax.
Xiong Jia's current official position is the Right Vice Minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, and he is also in charge of the Jiangnan National Taxation Bureau. Naturally, he is considered a high-ranking official, so Li Shu and the members of the Li clan had to come out to greet him.
"The entire Li clan, young and old, respectfully welcomes Minister Xiong!"
Li Shu and the others all bowed to Xiong Jia, and were secretly surprised, thinking that Li Qing actually knew a minister during his lifetime. Doesn't this mean that Li Qing had even more wealth during his lifetime?
Xiong Jia came here for the inheritance tax, and he was the first person to propose the collection of inheritance tax. Naturally, he did not pay attention to the Li clan members when he arrived here, but went straight to the mourning hall and bowed to the deceased Li Qing. Then, he asked everyone: "Li Qing is dead, where is his wife Zhao, and his daughter Li Dai?"
Li Shu had no idea what Xiong Jia was up to, and wanted to get close to him, but because Xiong Jia was always very serious, he could only bow and reply, "Your Excellency, Zhao is temporarily resting inside because she is too sad, and Li Dai is still young and a girl, so she should stay in the boudoir. If you have any instructions, you can come to us, the clan members."
Li Shu knew that if he told the official Xiong Jia in front of him that he was going to let Zhao hang herself, it would be impossible to sell Li Dai, who had no value in continuing the family line, so he just made up a few excuses in an attempt to fool Xiong Jia.
Hearing what Li Shu said, Xiong Jia nodded and said, "In that case, I will come to you. Li Qing still owes the Jiangnan National Taxation Bureau more than 200,000 tax silvers, but now Li Qing has passed away. Since you are his clansmen, you should pay back the more than 200,000 tax silvers! Who is the clan leader here?"
Before Li Shu stepped forward, the Li clan members below were already in an uproar. They had not expected that Li Qing would owe so much tax before his death. They all began to complain secretly, saying that it was okay for them to give the money Li Qing owed them, and that if they wanted to look for money, they could go to Li Qing's wife and daughter.
Tax silver again!
Li Shu was angry when he heard the word "tax silver", but he couldn't help but say: "Sir, the property left by Li Qing is now the family property, so it is natural that the tax silver should not be paid with the property left by Li Qing. If you want to recover the tax silver, you should naturally look for Li Qing's wife and daughter."
Xiong Jia smiled faintly after hearing this: "In that case, bring Li Qingzhi's wife and daughter here!"
Li Shu also smiled slightly, thinking that if Xiong Jia wanted to see Zhao at this time, Zhao would probably have hanged herself long ago. By then, no matter what Xiong Jia's intention was, let him see with his own eyes a chaste and heroic woman appear in his Li family, and see if he can refuse to fight for a chastity arch for his own Li family!
……
"My Lord! My Lord!"
However, at this time, Zhao's shouting and several women's scolding could be heard from inside: "Zhao, why are you running? Don't think that you can escape being hanged just because an official shows up. A family that has been wiped out is a family that has been wiped out. As a family that has been wiped out, you should be prepared to be eaten. It's your own fault for not giving birth to a son!"
Xiong Jia just heard these voices and saw Zhao, who was running out, being dragged back in by two strong women. He hurriedly shouted, "Assholes! What are you doing in broad daylight? Come, save Zhao!"
Five tax collectors brought by Xiong Jia rushed over, pushed away the two strong women who were holding Zhao, and then brought Zhao directly to Xiong Jia.
When Li Shu saw Zhao appear, he was furious and cursed in his heart: "Why hasn't this whore been hanged yet?"
Li Shu indeed did not expect that Zhao would not be dead. He also knew at the moment that he could not let Xiong Jia see with his own eyes the appearance of a chaste and heroic woman in his Li family. He could only wait for Xiong Jia to leave and then force Zhao to hang herself.
Zhao was brought before Xiong Jia. She didn't care because she saw that Xiong Jia was an official, so she knelt down in front of him and said, "Master, please help me! Master (Li Shu) and his men want to wipe out my family and force me to hang myself. They also slandered me for committing adultery. Please help me, Master, please help me, woooo!"
Although Xiong Jia had expected this to happen, he was still moved to see Zhao crying so sadly. He could not help but hurriedly order someone to help Zhao up and comfort her: "Zhao, please don't be anxious. If you have something to say, please tell me slowly. You said someone forced you to hang yourself. Who forced you? Do you have any evidence? Also, you said someone slandered you for adultery. Who slandered you?"
"Woo woo! It was Master Li Shu who said that I committed adultery. It was a man named Yuan Yi who slandered me for adultery. Woo woo!"
Zhao started to cry.
Li Shu was completely furious when he saw this, and he immediately yelled: "Zhao, stop talking nonsense, come, take Zhao away, she must be too sad because of the death of her fifth brother, find a doctor to take a good look at her!"
Li Shu did not expect Zhao to run out, nor did he expect Xiong Jia to appear here, but no matter what, he could only send Zhao away first to prevent Zhao from revealing more internal affairs of the clan.
At the same time, Li Shu also bowed to Xiong Jia and said, "Please forgive me, Lord Xiong. Zhao was already insane, and now that her husband has suddenly passed away, it is inevitable that she is confused. As for Zhao's so-called suicide, it is also a fabrication. As for the so-called slander of her adultery, I am not in a position to speculate. I just heard someone report this matter! But in the final analysis, this is still an internal matter of my Li family. I still hope that you will not interfere."
Xiong Jia just smiled faintly, without commenting on Li Shu's words, and only ordered: "Wait, this official Zhao doesn't seem to be crazy, otherwise she wouldn't be able to tell that I am an official, bring Zhao here."
Although the Li clan members had begun to drag Zhao into the inner room as ordered by Li Shu, when the tax collectors came over, it was not easy for them to argue with the government officials, so Zhao was brought back to Xiong Jia by the tax collectors.
Xiong Jia couldn't help but smile and asked Zhao: "Zhao, I just listened to your statement and I feel that it is difficult to confirm whether you were slandered for adultery and whether you were forced to hang yourself. You can collect evidence, but the matter of eating up the whole family, according to my understanding, should be related to the inheritance dispute. However, I am not an official in charge of criminal law. You can file a lawsuit with the Law Bureau of your county and ask the government to protect your inheritance rights. In this way, you and your daughter can smoothly obtain your late husband's estate, and you will be protected by the government, and no one dares to take it away! Are you willing to report to the authorities? If you are willing, I will take you to the Law Bureau for the sake of your late husband."
When Zhao heard Xiong Jia say that the government was willing to help her, she nodded immediately and said, "I am willing!"
then.
Xiong Jia took Zhao and her daughter Li Dai to the county government office, and asked Zhao for her household registration certificate.
Li Shu didn't expect that Xiong Jia would take Zhao and Li Dai away like this. He stood there in a daze for a moment, thinking that once Zhao was taken away by the government, it would be impossible for his Li family to produce a chaste and heroic woman who committed suicide. Besides, it seemed that he could not get or sell Li Dai.
In addition, when Li Shu heard Xiong Jia say that he wanted the Zhao family to ask the government to intervene in the inheritance dispute, which was obviously to prevent his own clansmen from becoming extinct, he became even more angry and nervous.
At this time, Lun came to Li Shu and asked, "Master, are we going to divide the property of these five families? Do we really need the government to divide it?"
"The government is here to divide the property. What is it for the government to divide? Our Li family has never been divided. Since the fifth branch of Li Qing has died out, his property should naturally be divided among the clan members. It is naturally decided by the clan leader. There is no need for the government to intervene! Bring me a pen and ink. I will write a letter immediately. You have someone send it to the Nanjing Engineering Department's Secretary Guan! The property of the fifth branch will be handed over now. All shops and workshops will be divided out!"
Li Shu was also a little worried that things might get more complicated, so he simply ignored the fact that Li Qing had just passed away and decided to divide up Li Qing's property first.
……
Because the official system in Jiangnan region has been changed, there is an agency in the county government that specializes in handling judicial litigation, temporarily called the Law Bureau. According to the new policy, the chief official of the Law Bureau is equivalent to the chief clerk, so it was a chief clerk who met Xiong Jia, Zhao and his daughter Li Dai at this moment.
The chief clerk's name was Gao Zhou. Gao Zhou had never expected that Xiong Jia, the right vice-minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Revenue, would bring a commoner woman and a young girl to report a case, and that it was a case involving an inheritance dispute over the Li family, a family of bureaucratic gentry.
Not to mention that it involved gentry, let's just talk about the so-called inheritance dispute. Gao Zhou felt that as a chief clerk promoted from a clerk, he could not handle such a matter, so he had to ask the magistrate Ding Jianyuan for advice. Ding Jianyuan only asked Gao Zhou to cooperate with Xiong Jia to handle it.
So. Under Xiong Jia's instruction, Gao Zhou first asked Zhao: "Zhao, I will explain the court's rules to you first, so that you don't understand. According to the newly enacted laws of the court, the court has laws to protect inheritance, and even stipulates the order of inheritance confirmed by the court. However, once the court intervenes in the inheritance dispute, the heir must agree to pay the inheritance tax!"
"I have found out that among the first heirs stipulated by the court, you and your daughter are the only ones who can legally inherit your husband Li Qing's property. Since your daughter is still young, it is natural for you to make the decision. I would like to ask you if you are willing to pay inheritance tax to the court when you inherit the estate. As long as you are willing, I can stand up for you and ensure that you can smoothly inherit your husband's property, and no one can deprive you of it at will! Not to mention the great master, even I and this minister cannot deprive you of it!"
After Gao Zhou asked, Zhao nodded without thinking and agreed: "I am willing to pay the inheritance tax!"
For Zhao, if the government had not intervened, not only would she not get any inheritance, but her life would also be taken away by her clansmen, and she would even be charged with adultery within the clan.
Now, the government only asked her to pay inheritance tax. Although she didn't know what inheritance tax was and how much she had to pay, she could understand that the government meant that she would get some inheritance and would not die. For her, this was already very satisfying, so she was naturally willing to pay the inheritance tax.
Gao Zhou nodded and said, "In that case, I will file a case for you and intervene in your husband's inheritance dispute."
So Gao Zhou brought a group of people from his Law Department, Zhao and Li Dai back to Li Qing's home.
Li Shu had just divided up Li Qing's property, and even Li Qing's yard began to be occupied by members of the Li family's other branches. Even the maids and servants hired by Li Qing were divided out by Li Shu.
"My lords, someone has arrived from the county. It's Gao Zhubu from the Law Bureau, and the Minister Xiong who just came is here, as well as Zhao and Li Dai!"
When the Li family came to report the news, Li Shu was furious: "Why didn't my fifth brother divorce this evil woman? I let her hang herself for her own good, but she really thought she had found a savior! If I had known, I should have beaten her into a whore and put her in a pig cage!"
……
No matter how angry Li Shu was, Xiong Jia, Gao Zhou and other court officials still came here. Seeing that the Li clan members were still occupying the Li Qing and Zhao families, Gao Zhou did not say anything. He just wanted to force his way in and said:
"Now, the Legal Affairs Bureau has officially intervened in the case of Li Qing's inheritance dispute. It has been made clear that Li Qing did not have a will, and Li Qing's parents have passed away. Zhao and Li Dai can be the first heirs, so all the property left by Li Qing belongs to Zhao and Li Dai! Therefore, those of you who illegally occupy Zhao and Li Dai's property, please leave quickly within half an hour and return Li Qing's property immediately! Otherwise, you will be severely punished by the government according to the law!"
Li Shu and other members of the Li family were all a little stunned and angry when they heard this: "What do you mean by belonging to Zhao and Li Dai? This is our Li family's property. Why should she be given the surname Zhao?"
"Yes, why should she be given the surname Zhao!"
All the members of the Li clan shouted.
At this time, Xiong Jia replied in a cold voice: "Just because Zhao is Li Qing's second wife, and the official document is here!"
Li Shu looked at Xiong Jia coldly. He hated Xiong Jia so much. He didn't understand why Xiong Jia would care about the affairs of his own Li family. He simply couldn't accept this. So he slammed the table and roared: "Xiong Jia! Don't go too far! Although you are the current minister, I am also a councilor of the Nanjing Tongzheng Division of the imperial court. I am not made of clay!"
"Lord Li, you are really going too far! They are an orphan and a widow, their father and husband just died, and you can't wait to take their property with your people. Do you have any conscience?"
Xiong Jia sneered and retorted, and then said: "I am not a Fengxian official or a civil servant, so I naturally have no right to intervene in your moral issues. But now the people from your county's legal affairs bureau are here to deal with Zhao's inheritance case in response to his appeal. Not to mention that you are a cousin from another room, even if you are his biological brother, you are not qualified to occupy the property of an orphan and a widow! Gao Zhubu, I hope you can be a good official who is impartial and selfless! Punish those evil thieves well, and then I will tell the higher-ups to let them know that Jiangpu County has a good official like you."
Gao Zhou naturally became more motivated after hearing what Xiong Jia said. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Half an hour has passed. Immediately clear out all those who have seized the property of Zhao and her daughter Li Dai!"
then.
A team of soldiers from the Law Bureau came over. Just as a soldier from the Law Bureau was about to pull away the Li clan member who was occupying the west wing of Li Qing and was moving the coal in stock, a Li clan member knocked the soldier to the ground with a stick and shouted, "Who dares! This is the property that the master gave me. If anyone dares to stop me from taking it, I will beat him to death!"
Snapped!
Gao Zhou fired a shot!
The Li clan member was beaten to death on the spot!
All the Li clan members present were greatly shocked. They did not expect that the government would directly kill people.
Gao Zhou said at this time: "Those who resist the law violently will be executed on the spot! This is stipulated by the court law! Drag this thief out!"
Li Shu and his people were naturally completely enraged. They quickly gathered together and glared at Gao Zhou and others.
Li Shu even shouted: "Gao Zhou, do you really dare to kill my Li clan members indiscriminately?!"
"No matter what tribe they belong to, anyone who violently resists the law can be executed on the spot!"
Gao Zhou ordered everyone in the Law Department to raise their guns.
Seeing this, the Li clan members no longer dared to resist the law violently, but they were unwilling to move either.
Gao Zhou had no choice but to order his men to forcibly drag these Li clan members out of Li Qing's house and shop, including Li Shu.
Li Shu was so angry that he couldn't help but yell: "This is our Li family's property. Why should we give it to someone with the surname Zhao? Why should we give her a daughter who is destined to be married off?"
Gao Zhou ignored it and only recovered the inheritance for Zhao and Li Dai.
Zhao also paid the inheritance tax, and converted all of his remaining inheritance into cash and deposited it in the bank, then left Jiangpu County with his daughter.
Here, Li Shu naturally could not tolerate the fact that all the countless properties left by his cousin Li Qing were given to his wife and daughter, and his temper became more and more violent.
However, at this time, someone from the East Factory Inspection Office also came to him and said, "Li Shu, the councilor of the Nanjing Tongzheng Office, you are suspected of illegally raising funds and conspiring to organize a strike, attempting to cause chaos in the world. Please come with us now!"
When Li Shu heard this, he was immediately disheartened and fell to the ground.
A few months later, Li Shu was beheaded and thrown into the streets.
……
Zhao's inheritance case was the first time that the Ming government intervened in a civil inheritance dispute, and the inheritance tax paid by Zhao also became the first inheritance tax collected by the Ming Jiangnan National Tax Bureau.
Under the deliberate propaganda of the imperial court, more and more vulnerable groups in the clan began to seek help from the government to avoid having their deserved inheritance taken away by the powerful groups in the clan. As a result, the amount of inheritance tax received by the imperial court began to gradually increase.
It is worth mentioning that after Li Shu was arrested, Ji Xuan was also arrested.
Zhu Houzhao had already entered Shandong at this time. He was quite surprised after learning what Ji Xuan confessed. He thought that he had never expected that there was the power of the vassal kings behind him. It turned out that these royal family members had always been unwilling to be lonely.
Zhu Houzhao summoned Wang Shouren and ordered him, "Draft an edict for me. All members of the imperial family above the rank of general must come to Beijing by the end of next year. I want to hold a royal meeting!"
Royal meeting?
Wang Shouren didn't know what the royal meeting was, but he realized that the emperor seemed to be beginning to consider taking further measures against the power of the vassal kings.
Wang Shouren had to admit that although the princes of the Ming Dynasty had little military power, they were becoming increasingly arrogant and causing trouble to the local people, which was widely complained about. Moreover, the key point was that there were more and more royal family members in the Ming Dynasty. Although the central financial resources of the Ming Dynasty were still strong, the expenditure was also very large. As time went on, even if the treasury income increased tenfold, it would sooner or later be consumed by these increasing number of royal family members.
As the head of a large family and a cabinet minister, Wang Shouren was naturally well aware of the drain on the family by the increasing number of family members.
Zhu Houzhao naturally knew this, but he also knew that he was the emperor, not a peasant rebel, and could not execute all of these princes. In this life, he was the head of their family and had a blood relationship with them, which meant that he could not use too harsh measures unless these princes rebelled.
Therefore, sometimes Zhu Houzhao wished these princes would rebel.
But no matter what, what Zhu Houzhao can do now is to summon these royal family members to Beijing first, so as to avoid leaving them in the local area and harming the local people.
At present, the most important issue for Zhu Houzhao is mining tax and mining ban.
Now that the system and taxation policies in Jiangnan have been successfully reformed, all that remains is to resolve the issues of mining taxes and mining bans. Only in this way can the court completely solve the development problems in the north.
Just when Zhu Houzhao was thinking about the mining industry, he saw Guo Rong coming to report: "Your Majesty, Zhang Cong is also here!"
Thanks to my book friend Yi Jin Bai Tang 100 Qidian coins for the reward. Thank you to my book friend Hong Jian 100 Qidian coins for the reward.
(End of this chapter)
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