Emperor Zhengde

Chapter 352: Cabinet Deputy Minister Xu Jin was left out

Of course, Xu Jin had to obey the emperor's wishes and start discussing business, so he took the initiative to say: "Your Majesty, I also second the proposal. For now, we should focus on discussing business. I think the decline in tariff increase is not due to rampant smuggling, but because the court's taxes are heavy, merchants' profit margins are reduced, and their enthusiasm for going to sea is not high!"

Although Xu Jin and other officials representing the merchant class were not interested in discussing tariffs and smuggling, since the emperor wanted to discuss the matter, they could only put forward their own views. So all the problems could be attributed to one point, that is, the taxes were too high. The key point was that the commercial taxes were too high!

Another reduction in business taxes!
Zhu Houzhao discovered that many civil servants headed by Xu Jin, in addition to attacking court officials and engaging in internal political struggles, all insisted on reducing or exempting commercial taxes when talking about the court's affairs.

The gap between the rich and the poor between the east and the west is too large, and commercial taxes must be reduced!
Spain has repeatedly harassed the people of the Ming Dynasty, so we must reduce or exempt commercial taxes!
The conflict between the chieftains and the Han people has intensified, and commercial taxes must be reduced or exempted!
The current decline in tariff growth is still due to the increase in commercial taxes, so commercial taxes must be reduced!
Zhu Houzhao had to admit that Xu Jin and other civil servants did not have any clear and detailed proposals at this time. Their most consistent proposal was to reduce taxes. They did not have the consciousness of establishing a group, nor did they have the intention of completely controlling the ruling power, nor did they have a clear goal.

This is different from his own Zhongjun Society. The Zhongjun Society has everything it should have except that it does not have the goal of rebellion.

Coming back to the topic, Zhu Houzhao knew that the civil servants who came from the merchant class really wanted the court to reduce taxes.

However, Zhu Houzhao knew that this tax could not be reduced.

Because the Ming Dynasty had already abolished corvée labor throughout the country and reduced agricultural taxes a lot, even outside the Great Wall, considering the impact of the Little Ice Age climate on northern agriculture, not only did it not levy agricultural taxes, but it also gave subsidies to some farmers.

Therefore, if the Ming Dynasty wanted to maintain a sufficient financial situation for the central court, continue to increase investment in infrastructure, maintain a strong army, and invest in scientific research, it could only rely on tax revenue from commercial trade.

In fact, the commercial tax in the Ming Dynasty was not that heavy. It was just a little higher than the previous rate of 1 in 30.

But for the gentry in the empire who had transformed from landlords into capitalists, they were accustomed to lower agricultural taxes and could even avoid taxes at will, but they were still not used to paying large amounts of taxes to the court every year.

But these gentry paid a lot every year, but they also earned a lot.

Therefore, it would be a lie to say that these gentry are not selfish.

But they always played the role of being selfless, just and upright in the court, and a large group of children from wealthy bureaucratic families vied to agree with them.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao sometimes had to admit that sometimes the class that benefited the most from the court was the least willing to pay for the court. This is called taking advantage of others and still being ungrateful.

Back to the topic, at this time, as soon as Xu Jin finished speaking, the Audit Office's Shangshu Cong Lan stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think the decline in the increase in tariffs is not caused by heavy taxes, because the commercial taxes implemented by the Ming Dynasty are not heavy. The Audit Office has clear statistical data. Even the worst-performing merchants can make four or five times the profit. The taxes paid are not enough to make them unwilling to go out to sea for business.
Therefore, I believe that the decline in tariff growth is still caused by rampant smuggling, which also confirms what Jinyiwei reported, that there has been a proliferation of pirates at sea and a sharp increase in Japanese pirates recently! "

Zhang Kui also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I think what you said is biased. Even if it is caused by rampant smuggling, it is because the court's commercial taxes are too high, forcing merchants to become thieves."

"Tariff revenue is related to the revenue of the Ming Dynasty's treasury. The current commercial tax is not high. If it is reduced further, it will only make the treasury short of money and grain, and the balance of money and grain will be unbalanced. The reason why merchants evade taxes and smuggle is not because of the heavy taxes, but because of selfishness. Or they rely on the support of local forces and ignore the royal law. Therefore, I think we should crack down on it! To rectify the national law! To protect the revenue of the treasury!"

The Minister of Revenue Zhu Zaile also stood up. He had learned a lot from the people about the rampant smuggling. He knew that many officials and gentry along the coast were protecting certain smuggling pirates.

But now, some civil servants in the court were still determined to cover up the increasingly rampant smuggling, which made him a little unbearable, so he hurriedly took over the conversation.

"Your Majesty! I think what my brother said is inappropriate. When governing a country, we must avoid tyranny and should practice benevolence. Merchants who smuggle and steal should not be severely punished, otherwise it may cause civil unrest. Therefore, I think that a decrease in the increase in tariffs is inevitable, and the court should go with the flow. Instead of depriving merchants of their profits, it is better to increase revenue."

The second prince Zhu Zaituo also stood up and said that he knew that his royal brother Zhu Zailei's political views would definitely not please most of the civil servants and gentry, so he just echoed the inner thoughts of most of these civil servants and gentry in order to gain their support.

When Xu Jin and others first saw Zhu Zailei demanding a severe crackdown on smuggling, they were indeed very unhappy. After all, they, the wealthy southern aristocratic families, were all smugglers. If the crackdown was really severe, how would they survive?

The second prince's words made them very satisfied. It would undoubtedly be beneficial to them not to crack down on smuggling with tyranny.

Min Xian, the Right Assistant Minister of the National Taxation Bureau, also stood up and echoed:

"Your Majesty, I think what the Second Prince said is very true. Rather than depriving merchants of their profits and banning smuggling, which would lead to civil unrest, it is better to give the profits to the people and increase the source of income. After all, merchants are also your Majesty's people. Nowadays, there are more and more workers and their income is increasing day by day, but they only enjoy the insurance and welfare benefits provided by the court and merchants, and pay a small amount of taxes.
Therefore, I think these workers should also bear a certain amount of tax, that is, personal income tax should be raised, such as levying overtime tax, to curb the phenomenon of people competing for processing. This is also for their health. Otherwise, if these people continue to work hard for a long time, the physical quality of the people of the empire may decline, and it will also cause family disharmony! "

Zhu Houzhao wanted to laugh. The workers in the Ming Dynasty now work an eight-hour day. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty requires factory owners to pay workers higher wages if they need them to work overtime beyond the eight hours. In addition, the basic principle of the Ming Dynasty's workers' remuneration is that the more you do, the more you get. This is because the Ming Dynasty's workers' salary system originally came from the court and Zhu Houzhao's principle of paying by volume rather than by day.

Therefore, most workers now work overtime desperately in order to earn more.

Factory owners are also happy with this. They naturally hope that workers will work overtime, but they don't want workers to get too many benefits. Some people even call for an overtime tax to curb workers' overtime work and make them healthier.

However, Zhu Houzhao did not expect that there would actually be civil servants in the court today who proposed to levy an overtime tax.

"Protecting the interests of workers and farmers is the basic principle of Zhongjun Society. What are you doing? Collecting overtime tax? You've come up with this idea!"

Xia Yan could not help but loudly rebuke, and then reported to Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, migrant workers are the common people in the cities and towns who have no land or even houses. They cannot have a stable place to live when they are alive, and they cannot have a grave to return to their roots when they die. They rely on their own hard work to have food and clothing. If we impose overtime tax on them now, it will undoubtedly reduce their income and make it difficult for them to have a place to live and raise their children. It will also reduce their desire to consume. The commerce of the Ming Dynasty will be greatly reduced. I am afraid that the treasury revenue will not increase due to the imposition of overtime tax, but will decrease due to the reduction of commercial tax revenue!"

"Common people have enough food and clothing. When governing a country, we should avoid extravagance and live frugally. Why do we need to have beautiful houses? It is a blessing for common people's children to be able to read and study. Why do we need to invite famous teachers to famous schools to seek talents? If we try to compete with the rich in everything, how can we be happy? Therefore, I believe that if overtime tax is levied, it will not affect the income of common people, but can promote frugality among common people!"

At this time, Xu Jin refuted Xia Yan. He didn't like Xia Yan's theory of putting workers and farmers first, but he couldn't refute it directly. After all, this was the public opinion. He could only use the so-called virtue of advocating frugality as the theoretical basis for expressing his own views.

Zhu Houzhao did not expect that the discussion of tariffs and smuggling would end up discussing whether or not to impose an overtime tax. He could not help but say:

"Okay! I have heard what you said, my dear ministers. This is an internal affair and should naturally be decided by the cabinet. My dear minister Xia, your cabinet should organize and integrate the remarks made by you in the court today, and then compile them into a final resolution and submit it to me." After saying this, Zhu Houzhao ordered the court to be adjourned.

Is it over?

Min Xian, Zhang Wei and others could not help but complain in their hearts in astonishment, thinking that they were just about to argue a few more words and explain why the court should attach importance to commerce, but why didn't the emperor want to listen?

But now, apart from understanding the opinions of his ministers, Zhu Houzhao did not intend to make decisions personally, but continued to let the cabinet make decisions on his internal affairs.

then.

Min Xian, Zhang Wei and others had no choice but to look at Xu Jin: "Lord Xu, please uphold justice for the merchants and civilians of the world!"

Xu Jin nodded. He knew it without them telling him.

Xia Yan and Yan Song had already gone to the cabinet duty room. On the way, Xia Yan couldn't help but said to Yan Song: "Mr. Yan, you should understand that you started your career by helping farmers all over the world. In many cases, in the Ming Dynasty, farmers and craftsmen are not distinguished. Those who return to their hometowns are farmers, and those who go to the city are craftsmen. Therefore, the cabinet's decision on rectifying maritime trade, combating smuggling, and promoting tariffs will be decided by you. I believe you will consider the farmers all over the world."

"I understand. Please rest assured, I will have someone draft it and show it to you," Yan Song said.

When the Cabinet Secretary saw Xia Yan and Yan Song coming, he bowed respectfully, but Xia Yan ignored Ni Yuanlin because he knew that Ni Yuanlin always obeyed Xu Jin's orders. Yan Song just smiled.

Ni Yuanlin already knew what happened in the front hall, so he hurried over and asked Xia Yan: "Your Excellency, what should I propose for today's court meeting?"

Xia Yan still ignored him.

Ni Yuanlin was upset that Xu Jin did not come, so he had to look to Yan Song.

Yan Song waited for a long while before saying, "You take a rest, let Su Qing come."

Then, the Cabinet Secretary Gao Gong hurried over and said, "Please give me your instructions, Mr. Cabinet."

Xu Jin also came over at this time, and seeing that Ni Yuanlin acted as if nothing had happened, he knew that Ni Yuanlin must have been ignored, and he felt the same way. He could guess that even though he was the second assistant minister of the cabinet, after Xia Yan and Yan Song formed an alliance among the three cabinet ministers, his position as the second assistant minister of the cabinet was meaningless, and he could not even fight for the interests of the businessmen.

Ni Yuanlin was also full of dissatisfaction. As a cabinet secretary, he should have been very powerful, after all, he was working at the core of the empire. But now, not only did he have no chance of promotion because of his father's fall, but he was also excluded by the first and third assistants because he was close to Xu Jin.

Seeing that Xu Jin, the second assistant, was also left out, he could not help but complain. After paying his respects to Xu Jin, he said:
"Secretary Minister, I really don't understand. Since you are both cabinet ministers, why don't you discuss and make decisions together? What's more, you are the Second Minister, and Gao Gong has only been in the cabinet as a secretary for a few days, and you let him draft the decision memorial! This official is really aggrieved!"

Xu Jin ignored Ni Yuanlin and went straight into his duty room. He knew that Ni Yuanlin was dissatisfied with Xia Yan, but in fact he was not only dissatisfied with Xia Yan, but also with the emperor.

He knew that Xia Yan's ability to remain so proud was closely related to the emperor's support for him.

Of course, Xu Jin did not dare to have any thoughts or motives of regicide, but he knew that the real reason why the emperor could always play with his civil servants at his will was not because he had running dogs like Xia Yan, but because the emperor had been using the Western Factory to monitor his civil servants.

"Your Majesty must abolish the Western Factory! Even if the Western Factory cannot be abolished, the people in the Western Factory must not dare to be so presumptuous!"

Xu Jin thought so.

Therefore, he no longer insisted on reducing commercial taxes, but wrote an article about the pros and cons of the Western Factory. He did not directly say that the Western Factory should not exist, but analyzed the pros and cons. He believed that the civil servants would understand what he meant and intensified the publicity of the drawbacks of the Western Factory.

Xu Jin did not bring up Xia Yan but brought up the Western Factory, which was undoubtedly a good way to fight back.

Because, whether it is the East Factory or the current West Factory, people from all walks of life, both civil officials and military generals, are quite dissatisfied with it. This is because they discriminate against the eunuchs who are in charge of the West Factory, and also because they do not want to be monitored all the time.

Therefore, many people in the society began to speak out against the Western Factory, began to disclose its various malpractices, and even directly denounced the crimes of Gao Zhong of the Western Factory, and directly demanded that His Majesty the Emperor should abolish the Western Factory.

Zhu Houzhao would naturally not agree to these people's wishes. The Western Factory was now one of his means of monitoring the people. Without the Western Factory, he would undoubtedly be missing a pair of eyes in the deep palace. Therefore, Zhu Houzhao would naturally not agree to the people's request and abolish the Western Factory.

Xu Jin also knew that the emperor would not abolish the Western Factory, but he would still secretly instigate people to continue attacking the Western Factory. His only purpose was to scare the people in charge of the Western Factory.

The governor of the Western Factory, Gao Zhong, was indeed very annoyed. What annoyed him was that there were more and more negative comments about him, as if he was a big thief of the country.

But in fact, he didn't arrest many people, and the people who were arrested were actually the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Gao Zhong knew that someone was plotting behind the scenes, but he was also worried that over time, His Majesty would really believe these rumors, or would have to take action against him because of public opinion.

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(End of this chapter)