My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 189 Su Zilin, a Favorite in the Ministry of Revenue

Inside the Jieyong Hall.

There is a main seat in the hall, which should be Zhang Juzheng's seat.

There is a seat to the left of the head of the table, which is the seat of Zhang Shouzhi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

On both sides of the Hall of Frugality, there are thirteen seats, which are the seats for the chief officials of the Thirteen Offices of Clerkship.

There were a few tables in the corner, where the officials from the photo studio sat to take meeting minutes.

In a sense, this monthly meeting was the one that decided the Ming Dynasty's fiscal policy.

Su Ze arrived at the Jieyong Hall, greeted his colleagues, and did not immediately return to his seat.

Half an hour before the meeting was scheduled to begin, the head of the Bureau of Civil Affairs arrived at the Hall of Expeditions ahead of time to use this time to communicate and handle some work.

For example, just after Su Ze had exchanged pleasantries with everyone, Qiu Nong, the chief official of the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Civil Affairs, approached him.

“Su Sidu, after the last Lingji Palace conference, Grand Secretary Zhang submitted a memorial to levy a commercial tax at the port, and this task fell to our Fujian Qingli Division.”

Qiu Nong said resentfully, "The department has been discussing for a long time, but all the proposed regulations have been rejected by Grand Secretary Zhang. Could Director Su offer some guidance?"

The Fujian Provincial Administration Commission was in charge of Fujian's finances and also oversaw the affairs of the Maritime Trade Office and the tribute affairs of various vassal states. Therefore, after Su Ze proposed levying commercial taxes at the Lingji Palace Conference, Zhang Juzheng handed over the customs duties to the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission.

Qiu Nongren lived up to his name, being honest and simple like an old farmer. He was very cautious in his official duties and had a good reputation in the Ministry of Revenue.

Qiu Nong must have really run out of options. Several of his proposed solutions were rejected by Zhang Juzheng, so he had no choice but to turn to Su Ze for help.

It seemed this whole thing really did start because of him. Su Ze scratched his head and asked:
"Chief Qiu, did the Fujian Division submit several proposals to Grand Secretary Zhang?"

Qiu Nong said:

"Our company submitted a proposal, which proposed levying departure taxes on both large and small ships. However, Minister Zhang rejected it, believing that our method was too crude."

Isn't this still the same old method of selling boats by size?
No wonder Zhang Juzheng felt that the Fujian Division's proposal was perfunctory.

Su Ze said:

"Or should we calculate it based on the ship's weight?"

"According to the materials?"

Su Ze nodded and said:

"How about determining a tariff item based on the category of goods, and then multiplying it by the amount of ship cargo?"

Material is a unit of measurement for ships.

One batch is roughly one cubic meter.

For example, Zheng He's treasure ships on his voyages to the Western Ocean were super-large ships with a capacity of two thousand liao.

It is said that there were super-large ships with a capacity of 5,000 liao during the Song Dynasty.

After listening, Qiu Nong also thought Su Ze's idea was good, and he asked again:

"If the ship is carrying more than one type of cargo, how should we calculate it?"

Su Ze thought for a moment and said:
"How about we use cabins as the unit?"

"cabin?"

Su Ze thought for a moment and said:
"Generally speaking, the goods in a container are all of the same type, right? First determine the value of the goods in a container, and then collect taxes on them cumulatively."

"The standard cabin size is one cabin of a 400-ton Fujian ship, and other ships can be calculated accordingly."

Su Ze only learned about the current structure of Ming Dynasty merchant ships after communicating with the Ministry of Works and Li Wenquan.

The cabin was the basic unit of ships in the Ming Dynasty. The hull was divided into several independent compartments by transverse bulkheads. Fujian ships were typically equipped with 12-15 cabins, while large seagoing ships with a load capacity of over 800 tons could have up to 23 cabins.

Warehouses are also categorized to store goods. For example, Zheng He's treasure ships were divided into "silk cabins" and "porcelain cabins" to store different types of goods.

After hearing Su Ze's method, Qiu Nong's eyes lit up, and he thanked Su Ze repeatedly.

The specific tax rate for which goods is applicable is the business of the Fujian branch, and Su Ze could only help him this far.

Qiu Nong left happily, just as Xia Chun, the head of the Shanxi Division, approached him again.

Xia, the chief officer, asked Su Ze:

"Su Sidu, I also have a question to ask you."

In addition to managing the finances of Shanxi, the Shanxi Provincial Administration Commission was also in charge of the land reclamation affairs of the nine border regions and the salaries of the military garrisons in the nine border regions.

Xia Chun discussed with Su Ze the military settlements in Datong Garrison and the issue of Qi Jiguang's rations and pay. At the same time, he also discussed with Su Ze the yield of the new crop, potatoes, and the conversion of them into staple food.

The accounts of the Ministry of Revenue in the Ming Dynasty were complex, but there still needed to be a standard calculation method for grain.

Different regions grow different staple crops; wheat is grown in the north and rice in the south. The yields of various grain crops vary, so a standard must be established for easy statistics.

To facilitate statistics, the Ministry of Revenue generally used the "converted grain" method to calculate grain taxes in various regions.

As a new crop, how to tax potatoes, how to convert the collected potatoes into cash, and how to convert them into millet were all technical problems that troubled Xia Chun.

Xia Chun then asked, "Su Sidu, I've heard that potatoes don't keep for long and will sprout and become inedible if not stored properly. How should the potatoes collected by the government be stored?"

Su Ze thought for a moment and said:
"The government does not collect potatoes directly, but collects dried potatoes directly."

“People also need to pay for drying potatoes, and they can use the cost of drying potatoes to offset taxes, which will encourage them to plant potatoes more actively.”

Dried potatoes became a method of preserving potatoes in many places in later generations. The government directly stipulated the collection of dried potatoes, but the cost of making dried potatoes had to be deducted from the taxes paid by the people.

This policy also encourages farmers to grow potatoes. If the tax on dried potatoes is lower than that on rice and wheat, then there will be even more incentive to grow them.

Of course, whether the actual collection can alleviate the burden on the people depends on the local officials.

Now that Shanxi has Wang Yongji, the people should be able to truly enjoy the tax reduction policy in recent years.

Once potato cultivation reaches a certain scale, people will naturally see the benefits of growing potatoes.

Xia Chun expressed his gratitude to Su Ze.

At this moment, Xie Xu, the chief official of the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Personnel, came up again.

Xie Xu was an elderly official. He was a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations) and had worked his way up to the position of Langzhong (a junior official) in the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Personnel, which was considered the highest position for someone who had passed the imperial examinations.

Although Xie Xu was the oldest among the thirteen chief officials of the Bureau of Civil Affairs, he was the most supportive of fiscal reform and had the most radical views.

Xie Xu usually enjoys researching new things. Upon seeing Su Ze, he crossed his arms and said:
“Su Sidu, I heard that you presented the Crown Prince with a new method of tea making that can preserve tea for a long time without spoiling.”

Su Ze then realized why Xie Xu had been looking for him.

The Sichuan Provincial Administration Commission, which concurrently managed the tea-horse trade, marked the beginning of the tea-horse trade in the Ming Dynasty.

The tea-horse trade involved trading tea, salt, and ceramics with caravans and Tibetans in exchange for horses from Yunnan and Tibet. This trade was an important source of horses for the Ming Dynasty.

The tea-horse trade also faced the problem of tea getting damp.

Su Ze immediately said, “Thank you, Master Xie. I have already presented the method of making black tea to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is benevolent. I will now request that the Crown Prince bestow the method of making black tea upon the tea people of Sichuan and Yunnan.”

Su Ze had almost forgotten that the two branches of tea that can be stored for a long time in later generations are Fujian black tea and Yunnan Pu'er tea.

Pu'er tea was originally a border-trade tea, and like black tea, its fermentation process was developed for long-term transportation and preservation.

Su Ze didn't remember the production process of Pu'er tea, but there was also Yunnan black tea in later generations. Anyway, as long as it could be stored for a long time, it would be fine.

Xie Xu thanked Su Ze profusely. Just as the two finished their conversation, and another official from the Bureau of Civil Affairs was about to approach Su Ze to speak, a constable outside the door called out:
"Master Zhang is here!"

Upon hearing this, the Chief of the Bureau of Civil Affairs, who was originally about to come up and talk to Su Ze, returned to his original position. Then, led by Xie Xu, the most senior official, he lined up in the Hall of Thrift to welcome Zhang Juzheng.

Zhang Juzheng, dressed in a brand-new official robe, strode into the Hall of Thrift and Expenses. Behind him followed Zhang Shouzhi, the Vice Minister of Revenue, and behind them were the officials in charge of recording in the Observatory.

Everyone bowed to Zhang Juzheng, and after Zhang Juzheng returned the bow, he sat down directly in the main seat of the Hall of Frugality.

Zhang Juzheng disliked formalities, so after everyone sat down, he went straight to the point.

"Today, the thirteen departments are holding a meeting to discuss the matter of the stamp duty of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commandery, at His Majesty's behest."

All eyes turned to Su Ze again; this was all Su Ze's doing.

Zhang Juzheng continued:

"Su Ze has already explained clearly in his memorial how to collect the stamp duty, and the Zhenfu Division has no objections."

"This money, like the gold and silver, will go directly into His Majesty's private treasury. This is something that the cabinet has all agreed upon."

For the cabinet, if they can get rid of the historical burden of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they naturally wouldn't mind increasing the tax base of the imperial treasury.

In any case, whether it's real estate and land transactions or large-scale private loans, these don't go to the poor, and the cabinet doesn't feel any moral pressure.

This also aligns with Zhang Juzheng's fiscal philosophy of "increasing revenue." The country is not short of money; as long as taxes are not levied on the poor, it will benefit the court.

For both parties in the transaction, a red deed is equivalent to having the government's endorsement, which makes it much easier to use in lawsuits in the future. Even if they have to pay more taxes, it's better than getting into disputes over property rights later.

Zhang Juzheng then said:
"The key issue now is whether the money for the Embroidered Uniform Guard should be handled by the Ministry of Revenue."

When this issue was raised, everyone became serious.

Su Ze understood that this was a matter of fiscal discipline.

The gold and silver treasury also went directly into the emperor's private treasury, but it had to go through the Ministry of Revenue. In other words, the Ministry of Revenue kept accounts of the collection and transfer of the gold and silver treasury.

Although the Ministry of Revenue could not control the emperor's private treasury, it could roughly know the balance of the gold and silver.

The outer court kept accounts of the gold and silver.

The advantage of this was that when the emperor complained of poverty to the outer court, the outer court could also know the emperor's accounts and offer him financial advice.

Furthermore, the gold and silver taels were collected through the Ministry of Revenue, which is the system of the Outer Court.

The annual collection quotas were distributed from the Ministry of Revenue to various local offices, and then to various prefectures and counties. Each prefecture and county would complete the collection and then report back to the Ministry of Revenue.

The tax collection process was handled by proper officials.

The conduct of Ming Dynasty officials varied, but the outer court had a system in place, with assessments, censors, and provincial judicial commissioners working at each level, so arbitrary taxation was definitely not allowed.

Sure enough, after this issue was discussed, Ding Jingxuan, the chief official of the Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Personnel who was also in charge of collecting the "Golden Flower Silver" tax, immediately said:

"Your Excellency, I believe that the stamp duty should follow the old practice of the gold and silver stamp duty, and be paid from the Ministry of Revenue's public account. After collection, it should be sent to the Inner Treasury. We must not repeat the mistake of diverting funds from the Imperial Treasury!"

The Jieshenku was a national treasury established by the Jiajing Emperor under the Ministry of Works to rebuild the three main halls after the palace fire.

It was originally a "timber tax" levied by the emperor from the people to build the imperial palace, and it was earmarked for this purpose.

However, the Jieshenku (节慎库) had broken free from the control of the Ministry of Revenue, and the Vice Minister of Works at that time was Yan Shifan.

Yan Dang used the name of the Jieshen Treasury to levy exorbitant taxes in the local area. Because the Jieshen Treasury's accounts were not transparent, he manipulated them and embezzled a large amount of silver.

Later, when Yan Shifan's case came to light, one of the major crimes impeaching him was the misappropriation of the Jieshen Treasury.

After Yan Song and his son fell from power, the imperial court finally abolished the Jieshenku (节慎库).

Ding Jingxuan's words naturally won everyone's approval, and Su Ze also nodded.

The mining tax during the Wanli era in history was also like this.

The eunuchs sent out by the palace to collect mining taxes were responsible for garrisoning the area. These eunuchs would recruit local ruffians and scoundrels and use the tax farming system to forcibly collect mining taxes, causing enormous damage to the local area.

If the Embroidered Uniform Guard were directly allowed to collect the stamp tax, they might resort to forced collection in order to increase revenue or to curry favor with the emperor.

A bureaucratic system is still a system, because a system has some rules, whether explicit or implicit, and at least has a system for correcting errors and for supervision.

Although everyone agreed with Ding Jingxuan, how could they persuade the emperor to put the Ministry of Revenue in control of the collection of gold coins?

All eyes turned to Su Ze.

Doing this would definitely offend the emperor, and everyone present was shrewd; no one wanted to gamble with their political future.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Su Ze remained completely composed.

Zhang Juzheng also appreciated Su Ze's attitude, and he asked:
"Su Ze, you were the one who proposed this stamp duty. How do you think it should be spent?"

Su Ze said neither humbly nor arrogantly:
“Grand Secretary Zhang, Director Ding’s words are wise and insightful for governing the country. I second that opinion.”

Hearing that Su Ze seconded the motion, Ding Jingxuan breathed a sigh of relief.

His eyes darted around, and he said to Su Ze:

"It is better not to trouble two people with one matter. This stamp tax was first proposed by Su Sidu, so please ask Su Sidu to submit another memorial requesting His Majesty to have the Ministry of Revenue collect this stamp tax."

Su Ze looked at Ding Jingxuan, and naturally understood his little scheme.

The proposal to have the stamp duty revenue transferred to the Ministry of Revenue's accounts aligned with Zhang Juzheng's policy of strictly enforcing fiscal discipline.

But he also encouraged Su Ze to submit a memorial, while he himself stayed in the rear to avoid offending the emperor.

Su Ze chuckled inwardly; there were far too many seasoned officials like him in both his past and present lives.

They weren't exactly malicious, but they were extremely disgusting.

Take advantage of any benefits, shirk responsibility for any disadvantages; always strive for a non-stick pan.

As expected, Ding Jingxuan's actions also drew criticism from some. Xie Xu, the chief official of the Sichuan Provincial Bureau of Personnel, stepped forward and said:

"Su Sidu was the first to propose the stamp money, which solved the problem of the excessive increase in the salaries of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. He did such a big thing as soon as he took office at the Ministry of Revenue."

"Your Majesty, please have the revenue and expenditure of the stamp duty collected and paid into the Ministry of Revenue. This is a matter that benefits the country and the people. Why should only Su Sidu submit this petition? This matter should be jointly signed by the Ministry of Revenue!"

Su Ze looked at Xie Xu with gratitude. Ding Jingxuan's little scheme was exposed in public, but he had excellent composure and remained calmly seated, without responding to Xie Xu's words.

However, Qiu Nong, the chief of the Fujian Provincial Bureau of Personnel, and Xia Chun, the chief of the Shanxi Provincial Bureau of Personnel, also stood up and wanted to sign their names along with Xie Xu.

Just then, Su Ze continued, "Grand Secretary Zhang, I have a memorial concerning the Changying Treasury of the Court of Imperial Stud and the Guanglu Treasury under the jurisdiction of the Zhejiang Provincial Administration Commission."

(End of this chapter)