Top Scholar

Chapter 513 An Easier Way to Make Money (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Su Tai wiped the dirt off his face with his sleeve and slowly opened his eyes.

"How did you know I was going to kick your mid lane?" Jiang Bin asked loudly, still unwilling to give up, as he lay on the ground. "Why weren't you flustered at all?"

Su Tai raised an eyebrow and snorted, "I just knew it."

"You..." Jiang Bin was speechless with anger, almost making his nose crooked.

"Awoooooo!" The other martial arts candidates could no longer contain their joy and rushed forward with cheers, lifting Su Tai up and tossing him high into the air.

The shouts of "Martial Arts Champion! Martial Arts Champion!" were deafening.

Su Lu couldn't help but secretly admire them; indeed, it was the martial arts graduates who truly excelled. Last year, when his second brother passed the martial arts examination with top honors, his group of civil officials had also tried to do the same, but they couldn't lift him up, so they ended up having to resort to a human pyramid...

At this moment, a eunuch came to summon the martial arts champion to the stage, and the other candidates then gently put him down on the ground.

Su Tai dusted himself off and quickly followed the imperial eunuch up the steps to the emperor's throne, where he respectfully bowed four times to express his gratitude for the emperor's grace.

Zhu Houzhao bestowed upon him the plaque inscribed with the words "Martial Arts Champion" by his own hand, and praised him with great delight: "Your strength can uproot mountains and your spirit can cover the world; your mind is clever and resourceful! You truly deserve to be the Martial Arts Champion appointed by me. From now on, you must serve the country well and bring honor to all martial artists in the world!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Su Tai kowtowed heavily.

Watching this scene from below the stage, Su Lu noticed how naturally and effortlessly the emperor interacted with the military men; no wonder he didn't like civil officials...

After offering a few more words of encouragement to the group of military scholars, the emperor returned to the Leopard Chamber.

The martial arts candidates excitedly surrounded Su Tai, some carrying him on their own initiative, others holding up the plaque that read "Martial Arts Champion," cheering and shouting all the way into the capital, where they paraded through the streets in a grand procession.

He even took a special walk along East Chang'an Street, which could be considered as giving the martial arts champion a "public acclaim on the imperial street".

Seeing that the martial arts candidates were going to drink until they dropped, Su Man, Su Lu, and others, including You Jin, You Cai, You Xi, and You Li, returned to Mule and Horse Market Street first.

Zhu Shou was already waiting at the door...

"Why are you so late? I've been waiting for half an hour." Zhu Shou said irritably, "You smashed the door and it still looks messy. Can you not lock the door next time?"

"No," Su Lu said with a smile. "Let's wait until His Majesty governs the Ming Dynasty to the point where no one picks up lost items on the road and doors are left unlocked at night."

"That's a bit difficult," Zhu Shou said sheepishly.

Su Youcai opened the door. He, Su Tai, Su Man, and the others had always treated Zhu Shou as if he didn't exist... It wasn't that they were arrogant, but that Zhu Shou required everyone except Su Lu to pretend that he didn't exist.

Su Lu went inside and washed his face, then asked Zhu Shou, the little tail, "Have you eaten?"

"What do you think?" Zhu Shou said with a smile.

"What's there to guess? We're not kids anymore," Su Lu said.

"Why are you asking? Are you treating me to dinner?" Zhu Shou said.

"Of course, please." Su Lu laughed. "Let's go to Fuxing Restaurant for a good meal to celebrate my brother becoming the top scholar!"

“That’s right, that’s right. You brothers are both top scholars, and your family has three top scholars. Shouldn’t you thank me properly?” Zhu Shou said, trying to take credit.

"I should thank the Emperor, what does it have to do with you, Zhu Shou?" Su Lu said with a smile.

"Uh..." Zhu Shou was speechless for a moment. What he said made a lot of sense.

"Alright, let's go. There's no need for such formalities between friends," Su Lu said.

"No, why does what you said sound so awkward to me?" Zhu Shou muttered as he followed closely behind him, the two bickering as they left the Su family courtyard.

Only after that young master had walked away did the Su family breathe a sigh of relief.

"Let's go out to eat," Su Youjin called out loudly. "Let's celebrate, our family has produced another top scholar."

"Hahaha!" Su Youcai finally couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

~~
Inside the "Number One in the Heavenly Division" private room at Fuxinglou Restaurant.

Su Lu ordered the most expensive dishes and wine to entertain Zhu Shou. Braised bear paw, stewed shark fin, steamed shad, sea cucumber and fish maw... all were served, which was very different from his usual stingy style.

"Hmm, that's more like it." Zhu Shou, his mouth glistening with oil, laughed happily, "At least you have some conscience."

Zhu Shou was so excited at the drill ground in the western suburbs that he didn't eat properly all day. While enjoying the delicacies on the table, he said with great enthusiasm: "I've lived for almost twenty years, and only today have I realized that what I like most is the feeling of being in the army. From now on, I will personally supervise the battalions!"

Su Lu smiled faintly and said, "Alright, who told the Emperor to favor you the most?"

“But right now, the biggest worry is still the lack of money!” Zhu Shou said with a bitter face. “I had Zhang Yong calculate that 200,000 taels of silver is only enough for the expenses of 10,000 elite soldiers for half a year… And that’s just when they are stationed and not fighting. Maintaining an army is really burning money like water!”

Su Lu picked up a piece of deer tendon with his chopsticks and chewed it slowly, saying:

"What do you think? The Ming Dynasty's tax revenue has long been exhausted. The reason why the civil officials have been able to hold on until today is because they have been desperately cutting military spending, haven't they?"

"Yeah, I thought they were so capable." Zhu Shou spat, "A bunch of idiots who can't increase revenue, only know how to cut costs! All they do is cut costs, they're practically going to have to have limbs amputated!"

"Hehe, that's quite a vivid description..." Su Lu nodded with a smile.

"I've been thinking about this over and over again these past two days, and the best we can do right now is to make money!" Zhu Shou said urgently, which was the reason he rushed to find Su Lu.

"Think about it, once trouble breaks out, whether it's relief or suppression, it will cost a fortune. But disaster-stricken areas are exempt from taxes, making the Emperor's finances even tighter. It's a dead end!" Zhu Shou was extremely worried.

"But what you're talking about—land surveying, unifying taxes and corvée labor, and abolishing preferential treatment for gentry—is all incredibly difficult. And it's a chicken-and-egg problem... The prerequisite for the Emperor to collect taxes is having a strong army. But how can the Emperor build a strong army if he can't collect taxes?"

“That’s right. Land tax has always been a tough nut to crack; if you don’t handle it well, you’ll end up with a bloody mouthful,” Su Lu nodded.

"Then tell me, is there any easier way to make money?" Zhu Shou leaned forward, his eyes full of expectation, "Like mining, or customs duties?"

"Of course I have." Su Lu nodded slowly. Actually, he had wanted to tell Zhu Shou about it on the night of April 8th. But firstly, he had talked too much that night, and secondly, the guy was not focused and wouldn't remember what he said.

So Su Lu patiently waited for him to figure it out himself. Only by explaining it to him could he remember it more clearly.

Su Lu put down his chopsticks, took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, and said, "Actually, among all taxes, land tax is the most difficult to collect, the least efficient, and has the biggest side effects."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Shou blinked his wise eyes.

“The Ming Dynasty is so poor that it goes without saying that it is ‘the most difficult to collect taxes’,” Su Lu said calmly. “The reason why the court is poor is because it relies too much on farming for a living.”

“I admit that, but tell me why it’s the least efficient?” Zhu Shou asked.

“Land tax is mainly for grain, so we have to overcome the two hurdles of ‘collecting grain’ and ‘transporting grain’,” Su Lu replied.

"There are extra charges for grain collection, and even those charges that are explicitly permitted by the imperial court are shockingly high. In the grain-producing areas of Jiangnan, an extra four to six dou of rice must be paid for each shi of grain, supposedly to compensate for transportation losses. In remote areas like Huguang and Jiangxi, the extra charges are even higher, reaching seven or eight dou, almost matching the regular grain amount. This doesn't even include the 'pointed rice' and 'reed mat rice' that local officials add privately. With each layer of charges, the people actually have to pay two shi of grain for every shi of tax they pay."

"What's even worse is the grain transport. Even with the reform of the exchange system now in effect, when the government troops go directly to Jiangnan to load grain, the losses are still as high as 80% - this includes natural losses, such as spillage, mold, insects and rats; and also human trickery, where the transport troops would falsely report losses in order to embezzle, and even steal the grain and then destroy the ship to report it as sunk."

"..." Zhu Shou's face turned green upon hearing this: "How come there are parasites everywhere? That's all imperial grain, how dare they?"

"And yet, all the land under heaven belongs to the emperor?" Su Lu chuckled. "An emperor who doesn't pay blood taxes is just like that."

"Hmph, don't look down on me." Zhu Shou snorted unhappily.

Su Lu then steered the conversation back to the main point: "So of all the taxes and grain paid by the common people, less than half actually ends up in the national treasury. You tell me, isn't this land tax inefficient?"

"And what about the biggest negative impact?" Zhu Shou asked again.

"Land tax seems to be levied on landlords, but they have plenty of ways to pass it on... They either raise rents, shifting the tax burden onto tenant farmers; or they simply surrender their land and don't pay taxes, ultimately leaving the poorest people to suffer. When the people can't survive, they have no choice but to rise up in rebellion—which peasant uprising in history didn't start for this reason?" Su Lu concluded.
"To put it bluntly, land tax is a very useless tax. People probably only rely on it to make a living because they have no other choice."

"Then tell me a tax that's easy to collect, efficient, and has minimal negative impacts," Zhu Shou said, pursing his lips.

“A personal tax is better than a land tax, for example, a commercial tax,” Su Lu said emphatically. “In the Northern Song Dynasty, commercial taxes were on par with land taxes, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, commercial taxes far exceeded land taxes. The Southern Song Dynasty was able to survive for a hundred years in a small area precisely because of commercial taxes.”

"Is the industrial and commercial tax really that miraculous?" Zhu Shou asked. "What makes it so easy to collect?"

"Because the land tax is levied on the entire population, while the industrial and commercial tax is levied only on business owners, whose numbers are less than one percent of the former. Moreover, shops, workshops, canal wharves, salt fields, and teahouses are all fixed locations; itinerant merchants and settled traders all have registered residences, and they also have brokers and guild halls as guarantors, so it's impossible to hide it," Su Lu said in a deep voice.
"The government could focus on sending officials to investigate, register, and collect taxes based on the size of the shop and the amount of transactions, or on fixed quotas for salt and tea certificates. This would be ten times easier than chasing farmers for grain!"

"That seems to make sense." Zhu Shou scratched his head.

"Furthermore, efficiency is even easier to understand. Commercial and industrial taxes are collected in money. Money can be transported from Nanjing to Beijing without any loss. If the court promotes silver coins in the future, there won't even be any fire loss," Su Lu laughed. "Isn't collecting money much more efficient than collecting grain?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That makes perfect sense." Zhu Shou nodded vigorously.

"The most crucial point is that the side effects are minimal." Su Lu concluded solemnly, "The burden of land tax will be entirely passed on to farmers by landlords, but commercial tax is different. If merchants want to pass it on, they can at most raise prices, but ordinary people can buy if they want, and they can still make a living even if they don't buy, especially self-sufficient farmers, who will basically not be affected."

"Moreover, the landlords resisted the land tax because it would cut into their flesh; but the commercial and industrial tax targets merchants and doesn't touch the core interests of the gentry and nobles, so it naturally faces less resistance. We don't need to survey the land or engage in a battle of wits with the officials and gentry. As long as we regulate the existing salt tax, tea tax, maritime trade tax, and shop tax, and plug the loopholes for tax evasion, the silver will flow in. This will not only avoid oppressing the people but also enrich the national treasury and promote the prosperity of industry and commerce. Isn't this much better than cutting into the land tax?"

P.S. This is a post I'll edit later. Please vote with your monthly tickets!
(End of this chapter)