My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 246 How much tax revenue did the Ming Dynasty generate annually afterward? Answer: Eighty million taels of silver!

Emperor Chongzhen was startled, instantly realizing what was happening. He stared intently at Zhu Cilang, his face filled with disbelief, and said:
"Wait a minute. What about the missing 80 million taels of silver and 7 million taels of gold?"

Before Chongzhen could finish speaking, Zhu Cilang nodded slightly and said calmly:
"That's right, I secretly moved this money to the East Palace."

"Your subject thought that this matter was done secretly and without anyone noticing, but I did not expect that Ni Yuanlu would find out so quickly."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was speechless for a moment and didn't know what to say.

The anger that had been building up earlier dissipated at that moment, replaced by silence and embarrassment.

He never imagined that such a thing was hidden behind the scenes.

At the same time, he probably understood why Ni Yuanlu was confronting Zhu Cilang so directly in court.

Since ancient times, taxation has been a top priority for the country, being the most basic and important element for maintaining its operation.

But now that the Crown Prince Zhu Cilang is tampering with the national tax revenue, how can he, as the Minister of Revenue, not be angry?

This is why the Ming Dynasty adopted the primogeniture system.

If this were any other method of succession, Zhu Cilang's position as crown prince would likely have been lost due to this single factor.

In other words, Zhu Cilang actually used 170 million taels of silver and 8 million taels of gold to silence Ni Yuanlu!
Ni Yuanlu is a very smart person, so he accepted the hush money!
In this covert contest with the Ministry of Revenue, Zhu Cilang undoubtedly lost, or even admitted defeat.

However, Zhu Cilang did not mind this.

It was because he knew in his heart that Ni Yuanlu was not one of those treacherous and mediocre officials, but a loyal and devoted minister who was wholeheartedly devoted to the country.

Faced with matters of great importance concerning the rise and fall of the nation, bowing to such a loyal minister was not an unacceptable thing for Zhu Cilang.

Suddenly at that moment, Chongzhen spoke again:

“Even so, you shouldn’t have handed over such a huge amount of silver and gold to the Ministry of Revenue. At the very least, a portion should have been allocated to the Imperial Treasury.”

Zhu Cilang smiled faintly, then said with an indifferent expression:

"Father, what difference does it make whether this silver is kept in the Imperial Treasury or the Ministry of Revenue?"

“As long as it’s a reasonable expenditure, why would the Ministry of Revenue disagree? Even if they really disagree, then we’ll just find a new Minister of Revenue who will agree.”

"Furthermore, the current amount of silver in the imperial treasury, plus the eighty million taels that I previously withheld, has already exceeded twenty million taels of silver alone."

"In addition, the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty has also started a deposit business, and many people have come to deposit money now."

"To be honest, the imperial treasury is so full of money these days that it can hardly hold any more."

Upon hearing Zhu Cilang's words, Emperor Chongzhen was stunned and stood there speechless.

It should be noted that the national treasury currently holds only a little over 200 million taels of silver, yet the imperial treasury has unexpectedly reached such a large amount.

In this way, the amount of silver in the imperial treasury and the national treasury became almost equal.

Normally, the Ministry of Revenue is responsible for all national expenditures, while the Imperial Treasury is the emperor's private treasury. Under normal circumstances, as long as the Ministry of Revenue still has money, the Imperial Treasury will never be used.

Thinking of this, the last trace of unease and dissatisfaction in Chongzhen's heart instantly dissipated.

He knew that this was the most appropriate arrangement at the moment.

After receiving a satisfactory answer, Chongzhen looked up at Zhu Cilang with satisfaction in his eyes.

Then he said:

"Alright, let's leave it at that! I have nothing else to do here, you may go back."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang respectfully responded and then got up to leave.

Just as Zhu Cilang was about to leave, Chongzhen seemed to suddenly remember something important, a barely perceptible blush flashed across his face, and he added:

"By the way, if you don't have anything important to do these days, please don't bother me. I plan to devote myself to cultivation."

As he spoke, Chongzhen's voice unconsciously lowered, his old face grew increasingly hot, and the blush almost spread to his ears.

Zhu Cilang was incredibly intelligent, and he immediately understood the meaning behind those words.

Emperor Chongzhen's actions were clearly not about diligently cultivating Taoism, but rather about engaging in dual cultivation!
But as a son, he couldn't say anything about such a private matter, and could only sigh helplessly in his heart.

He remained respectful on the surface, then softly offered his words of comfort:
"Father, I hope you will take care of your health and not overwork yourself."

"Furthermore, I currently have no intention of ascending the throne, so I will need you to remain on the throne for a few more years!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's old face turned even redder, and he glared at Zhu Cilang as if feigning anger.

"You unfilial son! You dare to say anything!"

Zhu Cilang did not reply and hurriedly left.

In the blink of an eye, the figure had disappeared at the end of the palace road in the distance.

Emperor Chongzhen looked in the direction Zhu Cilang had left, shook his head helplessly, but a smile appeared on his face.

Then he turned and walked with slightly lighter steps toward Empress Zhou's palace.

Judging from this situation, Zhu Cilang may soon welcome a younger brother or sister.

It is worth noting that since Emperor Chongzhen decided to no longer concern himself with state affairs, his life seemed to suddenly become simple and pure, and "having children" became his main pursuit in life.

After all, as an emperor, he must have something to do to pass the time, right?

And "making babies" is the best way to pass the time!
Meanwhile, on the other side.

After leaving court, Ni Yuanlu returned home, ate a few bites of food, and lay down on the bed exhaustedly without even taking off his clothes.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on his wrinkled face and making him look even more haggard.

Just past noon, the seventy-something-year-old Minister suddenly sat up in bed, rubbed his sleepy eyes, hurriedly straightened his official robes, gulped down a few mouthfuls of strong tea, and rushed to the Ministry of Revenue to begin his busy day.

Some people may wonder why Ni Yuanlu, who is over seventy years old, is still working so hard.
Does the Ministry of Revenue cease to function without him?
actually not!

Under normal circumstances, Ni Yuanlu would never work this hard, but clearly, the current situation is not normal.

Because the Ministry of Revenue has a crucial task at hand that needs to be verified and statistically analyzed immediately, and it cannot afford to delay even for a moment.

This matter concerns the reform of land taxation across the land!
As tax arrears from various regions were successively brought to the capital, along with them came detailed information on the total amount of farmland across the entire country.

Previously, when the imperial court was collecting taxes owed from all over the country, it also took the opportunity to remeasure all the land in the country. This measurement was quite significant, as the newly calculated amount of land was far greater than that recorded in the old fish-scale register, and the data was much more detailed.

For the Ministry of Revenue, this data on land area was truly invaluable, as it would directly determine the amount of tax revenue the Ming Dynasty would generate each year.

Moreover, the new policy of merging the poll tax into the land tax and requiring gentry to pay taxes together was about to be implemented, necessitating the formulation of new tax regulations. As the Minister of Revenue, Ni Yuanlu had no time to spare.

After two full days and nights of intense statistical work, Ni Yuanlu and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue finally completed the tallying of the total amount of land in the country.

The total area is approximately 735.32 million mu, however, due to the ongoing war and turbulent situation in Henan and Liaodong, detailed statistics are not possible.

Therefore, these two locations are not currently included in the statistics.

Even so, this figure is still 200 million mu more than the number of acres of land recorded in the tenth year of Chongzhen's reign!
As for why there was such a significant increase?

In fact, the reason is very simple.

The main reason is that the imperial court's methods this time are tough enough. Anyone who does not cooperate in paying back taxes or measuring land will be punished for disobeying the imperial order, and their family will be confiscated and their clan exterminated!
Under such swift and decisive measures, the gentry and wealthy merchants who were used to hiding their land holdings were so frightened that they dared not even breathe loudly, let alone conceal anything.

In fact, this is not all of the Ming Dynasty's land holdings. Border areas and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities have not yet been included in the statistics due to various objective factors.

Furthermore, in the north, barren land is often calculated by equating two to three mu to one mu, and some newly reclaimed farmland is not included in the calculation.

If all these regions were included in the statistics, the total cultivated land area of ​​the Ming Dynasty would probably far exceed 800 million mu.

However, for now, we can only formulate a new land tax based on 700 million mu.

The variety of grain varieties grown in different regions, the varying degrees of soil fertility, and the resulting uneven yields make it impossible to apply a single method of taxation.

Such a complex situation was far beyond what Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Revenue, could decide on his own.

After all, this concerns the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue for the next ten, twenty, or even hundreds of years.

According to Zhu Cilang's previous plan, once the tax standards were determined after this land survey, they would not be easily changed.

Such an important matter did not warrant Ni Yuanlu's decision. So, in the following days, Ni Yuanlu would come to the cabinet every day to discuss the matter with the other cabinet ministers.

Because the data involved was extremely large and complex, they discussed it for several days without reaching a conclusion.

Knowing the gravity of the matter, Emperor Chongzhen made a rare exception to leave the inner palace and participated in this important meeting that lasted for several days.

Even Zhu Cilang was no exception.

Everyone was engaged in heated discussions from morning till night, arguing fiercely until their faces were red with anger.

Some people feel that too much taxation will increase the burden on ordinary people.

Some felt that the tax revenue was too low, which would lead to insufficient national tax revenue and make it impossible to maintain the normal operation of the court.

They argued like that for several more days.

But in the end, they came up with a tax amount that satisfied everyone.

Taking into account the actual conditions of grain varieties and acreage in various places, the tax payment methods varied, but on average, the tax revenue per acre was about 0.2 taels of silver.

This is an average value that includes all privately owned farmland, government-owned farmland, and military farmland.

Based on current grain price conversions, it is roughly equivalent to paying 60 jin of rice per mu in the south and about 30 jin of wheat per mu in the north.

Of course, this is just an average figure; the actual tax amount will vary depending on the specific region. Based on 700 million mu of land, the annual land tax would be approximately 140 million taels of silver.

Compared to the Chongzhen era, tax revenue has increased sevenfold, and even compared to the tax revenue after the reforms during the Yongzheng era, it has increased fourfold.

It should be noted that the annual tax revenue during the Yongzheng era was only 35 million taels of silver.

At first glance, this number is truly astonishing; it's so high it's terrifying.

However, the truth is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

During the Chongzhen and Yongzheng reigns, the taxes stipulated by the imperial court were the final amount of silver that the court was expected to receive.

However, in the actual collection process, considering the losses during transportation, the cost of laborers, and various unavoidable depreciation, the amount actually collected from the people was at least four or five times more than the tax amount stipulated by the imperial court.

For example, if Emperor Chongzhen stipulated that the tax revenue this year should be 20 million taels of silver, after layers of additional taxes, the tax revenue that reached the people might have to pay 100 million taels of silver in order to ensure that the 20 million taels of silver were successfully transported to the capital.

After all, a large number of laborers were needed to carry the grain on their shoulders and backs during transportation, and there would be losses during loading, unloading, and storage. These were all real consumptions.

Zhu Cilang's new policies were different; they stipulated that the taxes of 60 catties of rice and 30 catties of wheat per mu (unit of land area) would be collected directly from the land.

The common people only needed to hand over grain as required, and all other issues such as transportation costs and losses were borne by the imperial court.

Of course, in actual collection, the grain would most likely be converted into silver for payment.

After the 140 million taels of silver were collected, part of it was used for transportation costs and to make up for losses, while the rest was left in the local county government and the national treasury of each province to pay the salaries of local officials and to replenish the reserves of local granaries.

In this way, the amount that could eventually be transported to the capital would be around 40 million taels of silver.

It also included a portion of grain and various other goods, in order to ensure sufficient supplies and stability in the capital.

Moreover, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the army's food and military pay were all procured and allocated by the imperial court.

In other words, at least 20 million taels of the 40 million taels of silver must be used for military expenses.

Therefore, the amount of silver that could ultimately enter the Ministry of Revenue and be used for the daily expenses of the palace and the salaries of officials was probably less than ten million taels.

At first glance, this amount seems rather small, but in reality, it does not include commercial taxes.

If commercial taxes are included, the imperial court's revenue would be quite substantial.

The current commercial tax rate in the Ming Dynasty is arguably the highest in history, with an estimated annual revenue of 40 million taels of silver, of which salt tax accounts for nearly half.

This means that as long as the Ming Dynasty does not suffer from large-scale natural disasters or man-made calamities in the future, land tax can basically cover all the country's expenditures, while commercial tax is almost pure profit.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the combined land tax and commercial tax would provide the imperial court with a stable tax revenue of approximately 80 million taels of silver annually.

This result was derived by officials of the Cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue after several days of rigorous calculations.

The Ming Dynasty had been established for nearly three hundred years, and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue were very familiar with these tax matters, so their conclusions were naturally accurate.

When the specific amount was presented to everyone, Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Revenue, stared wide-eyed in shock, seemingly never expecting that the annual tax revenue would be so high.

Even the well-informed cabinet ministers couldn't help but gasp in surprise.

Both Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Zhu Cilang were astonished by this number, and their faces immediately showed surprise.

After all, that number is indeed a bit exaggerated.

More importantly, while the total tax revenue increased fourfold, the burden on ordinary people was genuinely reduced.

The main reason for this is that most of the new tax revenue fell on the shoulders of the gentry and powerful.

These gentry and powerful families occupied more than half of the cultivated land in the Ming Dynasty, but in the past they were mostly exempt from paying taxes. Now that the new policy is in effect, they must also pay taxes according to the law.

In other words, it was no longer ordinary people who suffered, but the gentry and powerful who used to live carefree lives.

Although the Ming Dynasty previously implemented a policy of one-thirtieth of the taxes, the actual amount collected was often as high as five-thirtieth, which was roughly the same as the new tax rate.

On the surface, this new policy does not seem to have reduced the burden on ordinary people?

But that's not actually the case, because it includes poll tax, land tax, equal corvée silver, and all sorts of other strange taxes.

In particular, the poll tax has existed since ancient times. Although the imperial court generally stipulates that it will be collected after adulthood, in local areas it is basically collected at birth.

On average, each person earns only one tael of silver a year, which is almost equivalent to half a year's tax revenue from one acre of land!

It must be said that although the Qing Dynasty was a despicable dynasty, Emperor Yongzheng's national policy was genuinely for the benefit of ordinary people.

Many of the ministers in the imperial court owned vast amounts of land and were well aware of the various shady practices involved in taxation.

Even so, they still find it hard to believe the new tax data and policies.

Emperor Chongzhen was so excited that he unconsciously tugged at his beard, pulling out a large clump at once.

This is a tax revenue of a full 80 million taels of silver!

He had never even dreamed of having so much silver before!
Back then, the country's total annual tax revenue was less than 20 million taels, which would be almost entirely spent by the end of the year.

As a result, he often couldn't afford to pay the army's salaries or the salaries of his officials, which nearly drove him crazy.

But now, thanks to this series of reforms, there are such huge tax revenues every year, and it doesn't increase the burden on the people. This is like a dream for Chongzhen.

But the facts were right in front of him, leaving him no choice but to believe them.

After the final decision was discussed, the cabinet fell silent instantly. Everyone held their breath and turned their gazes toward Chongzhen, as if waiting for him to make the final decision.

Since the matter was of great importance, the cabinet and the Ministry of Revenue could only begin their next steps after the emperor gave his personal approval.

Emperor Chongzhen was slightly taken aback at first, but he quickly regained his composure, and his face, which had been flushed with excitement, gradually returned to calm.

He took a deep breath, trying to suppress the surging emotions within him, and then said in a calm tone:
"If that's the case, let's settle on this."

"The Cabinet shall immediately draft an imperial edict to announce the new national tax policy to the world."

"In addition, the entire content of the Da Ming Daily in the past half month has been focused on this matter, making sure that all the people in the world know about the many benefits of the land tax system and the gentry paying taxes together."

The cabinet ministers and Ni Yuanlu quickly rose and bowed respectfully:

"I obey!"

However, just when everyone thought the matter was over, Ni Yuanlu suddenly frowned and spoke again with a worried expression:

"Your Majesty, I have something else to say, but I'm unsure whether I should."

Emperor Chongzhen was in a very good mood at the moment, and upon hearing this, he immediately said:

"Speak freely, my dear minister!"

Hearing this, the others also looked at Ni Yuanlu with curiosity, seemingly wondering what he was going to say next.

Immediately afterwards, everyone heard Ni Yuanlu say:
"Despite the great efforts the imperial court has made to promote the integration of land tax and poll tax and the gentry's tax payment system, the situation that the common people have no land to cultivate does not seem to have been substantially changed."

"Land is still mostly concentrated in the hands of gentry and powerful families, and they have all the necessary deeds and documents. As long as they pay taxes on time, the court cannot forcibly take back the land."

"As a result, most ordinary people still have no land to cultivate. What should be done then?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's relaxed brows furrowed instantly, and his face was filled with worry.

Because he really hadn't thought of that!

The other cabinet ministers present also looked rather grim.

Because they also own a lot of land, ranging from several thousand acres to tens of thousands of acres, and they have already paid the taxes owed.

Legally speaking, the imperial court indeed cannot do anything to them.

However, the question raised by Ni Yuanlu instantly hit their sore spot and revealed what everyone was most worried about!
That is, in order to solve the problem of people having no land to cultivate, will the imperial court directly seize the land in their hands by force?
If that's the case, they'll be cursing.
Emperor Chongzhen also realized the thorny nature of the problem. He was a man who valued his reputation and face. Since the other party had already paid taxes according to the law, how could he openly seize the land?

If that were the case, the Ming Dynasty would likely descend into chaos in an instant.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen subconsciously turned his gaze to Zhu Cilang, hoping to get a solution from him.

Seeing that Chongzhen suddenly looked at Zhu Cilang, the other ministers also turned their gazes to Zhu Cilang, seemingly waiting for his answer.

In fact, Zhu Cilang had already considered this problem and come up with a solution.

Cough
Zhu Cilang first cleared his throat with a few light coughs, and then slowly said:
"Regarding this matter, I have already considered it thoroughly."

"The solution is not complicated; we can approach it from two aspects."

"Firstly, the imperial court would purchase the legally held land from the gentry and powerful, and then resell this land to ordinary people."

"Of course, I also know that ordinary people are short of money and may not have enough to buy land."

"But that's alright, because the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty can lend them money to help them complete the land purchase."

"As for interest, it will be determined on a case-by-case basis. If necessary, interest may be waived, and the public will only need to repay the principal."

"For example, if the price of one mu of land is ten taels of silver, a commoner who wants to buy ten mu of land will need a total of one hundred taels of silver."

"Then the Royal Bank of the Ming Dynasty can lend this commoner one hundred taels of silver to purchase land, and this commoner can repay the silver in ten or even twenty years."

"If a year of great disaster occurs, then the silver during that period will be waived."

In short, even if the imperial court loses money, it must never harm the interests of the people in the slightest.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, their faces full of smiles, and they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, buying their land is much better than taking it from them!

(End of this chapter)