Sky Curtain: With a vermilion mirror, Jing travels through the modern world, shaking all dynasties.

Chapter 127 Teach Old Zhu what the "equalization of land tax and poll tax" means!

Modern times, at Jiangchuan's home.

The night outside the window was as dark as ink, but a floor lamp shone softly in the study.

Lin Xiaoyu sat at her desk with several forms spread out in front of her and the screen of her laptop glowing.

She was pressing the calculator with one hand and writing something on a piece of paper with the other, her brows slightly furrowed.

Zhu Jingjing changed into a cotton nightgown, her hair loose over her shoulders. She leaned closer to Lin Xiaoyu, tilted her head to look at her for a moment, and asked softly, "Xiaoyu, what are you busy with?"

Lin Xiaoyu looked up and rubbed her temples. "I'm checking the company's taxes. We have to file taxes at the end of the month, and there's a ton of invoices to check. It's giving me a headache."

Zhu Jingjing blinked. "Taxes? Is that just paying taxes?"

"Yes, it's about paying taxes." Seeing her interest, Lin Xiaoyu pointed to the numbers on the form and explained, "These are the revenues, these are the costs, and after calculating the profit, it's paid to the government proportionally."

Zhu Jingjing nodded thoughtfully, and was about to ask another question when Jiang Chuan came over from the kitchen with a glass of water. He peeked in and quickly stopped her.

"Jingjing, don't bother your sister Xiaoyu." He placed the water glass next to Lin Xiaoyu, then glanced at the densely packed forms on the table. "She hasn't even gone home yet. It looks like she'll be busy all night. Don't add to her troubles."

Zhu Jingjing nodded obediently and was pulled by Jiang Chuan to sit down on the sofa in the living room.

"What? Are you interested in our tax revenue?" Jiang Chuan asked.

Zhu Jingjing nodded and said earnestly, "Back in the Ming Dynasty, my father often worried about taxes. He would read the memorials submitted by the Ministry of Revenue several times!"

Jiang Chuan put down the remote control, turned around, thought for a moment, and said, "Our place is very different from your Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty mainly collects land taxes, but we have many kinds of taxes here, including personal income tax, value-added tax, and corporate income tax—"

Seeing Zhu Jingjing's bewildered look, he laughed and waved his hand: "Forget it, you wouldn't understand if I explained it in too much detail. Simply put, those who earn more pay more, those who earn less pay less, and those who earn nothing pay nothing."

Zhu Jingjing tilted her head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Brother, are there any aspects of your modern taxation concepts that the Ming Dynasty could learn from?"

Jiang Chuan pondered for a moment, then gently shook his head. "I'm afraid not."

Zhu Jingjing was slightly taken aback, as if she was somewhat surprised.

Jiang Chuan explained, "The situation in modern times is completely different from that in the Ming Dynasty. If we insist on adopting our tax system, all sorts of problems will definitely arise."

He gently straightened the little princess's head and said, "Take personal income tax for example. Here, wages are processed through the bank, so we can easily check them. Where you're from, it's common for silver to be buried in the ground. How can you verify who earned how much? So, every era has its own methods, and you can't just copy them blindly."

Zhu Jingjing listened, lowered her eyes, pursed her lips slightly, and showed a hint of disappointment.

Jiang Chuan looked at her and reached out to rub her head, laughing, "What's wrong? Are you worried about your father?"

""

Zhu Jingjing muttered softly, "I just feel that if Father Emperor could worry less about taxes, he could rest more."

Jiang Chuan was silent for a moment, then his eyes lit up and he said seriously, "However, although your Ming Dynasty cannot learn modern taxation methods, there is a method that we may be able to learn from."

Zhu Jingjing looked up, her eyes lighting up again: "What method?"

"Establish the land tax system!" Jiang Chuan said, emphasizing each word.

"Equalize the poll tax and land tax?" The little princess looked confused. "The so-called 'polonary tax' refers to the poll tax, right? But Father Emperor has already abolished the poll tax. He often says that the poor people are already struggling to survive, how can we ask them for money!"

Jiang Chuan shook his head and patiently explained, "Your father is right, the poll tax shouldn't be levied! But what I'm talking about, 'integrating the poll tax into the land tax,' isn't just about silver."

Seeing Zhu Jingjing's questioning gaze, he continued, "Although your Great Ming Dynasty doesn't have a true poll tax, it has been replaced by corvée labor. The people have to provide labor for the government without pay, such as repairing rivers, building cities, and transporting grain. Isn't this a kind of disguised poll tax? With work assigned per capita, every household has to contribute. Families with fewer able-bodied people are conscripted for corvée labor, and then no one harvests their crops."

Zhu Jingjing frowned slightly, but did not refute.

Jiang Chuan continued, "If the labor service is also distributed according to the amount of land, so that families with land contribute more labor and poor families with little or no land contribute less or none at all, then the burden on the people will be much lighter."

The Great Ming Dynasty, Kunning Palace.

Above the sky, Jiang Chuan and Zhu Jingjing's words, one by one, entered the hall, clear as if they were right next to someone's ear.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at the sky, his expression gradually darkening.

Upon hearing the words "disguised poll tax," he flew into a rage, slammed his fist on the table, and stood up!

"You scoundrel from Jiangchuan!" Zhu Yuanzhang roared, pointing his eyes to the sky. "How dare you accuse me of levying a poll tax! Since I ascended the throne, I have decreed that the poll tax be permanently exempted, and the poor people have never paid a single penny to the court!"

Empress Ma quickly rose, went to his side, and gently patted his back: "Chongba, don't be angry."

Zhu Yuanzhang grew increasingly indignant as he spoke, then flung his sleeves and paced back and forth in the hall: "I have ordered the people to perform labor services out of sheer desperation! Repairing rivers and building dikes, paving roads and transporting grain—where is manpower not needed? My Great Ming Dynasty is in dire need of rebuilding, and there are countless places where manpower is required. If I do not conscript the people, who will repair these things? Who will build these structures?"

He stopped, looked up, and glared angrily at the sky. "How could I not know the suffering of those forced to work? But what can I do? I also want to pay the people their wages! But the national treasury has limited funds. If I pay the wages, where will the funds come from to pay the soldiers on the border? Where will the relief grain come from in years of famine? This brat sits here spouting lofty theories, completely unaware of the difficulties of governing a country!"

"Chongba, please hear me out." Empress Ma waited until he finished speaking before gently advising, "According to Jiang Chuan, it is not that His Majesty should be exempted from all corvée labor. His intention is to redetermine the amount of corvée labor based on the amount of land one owns. Landlords with more land should be assigned more corvée labor, while poor people with less land or no land should be assigned less or exempted from it."

Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang deep in thought, he continued, "Upon careful consideration, this is indeed a good strategy. The current corvée labor is levied per household. Large households own vast tracts of land, and the number of men they contribute is no different from that of tenant farmers, which is truly unfair. If we can make the wealthy contribute more labor, the burden on the poor can be reduced, wouldn't that be a good policy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's anger gradually subsided. He slowly sat down, stroked his beard, and remained silent.

Empress Ma did not urge her, but stood quietly to the side.

After a long silence, Zhu Yuanzhang gave a soft snort and muttered, "This scoundrel is quite cunning, but he does have some merit."

modern.

Jiang Chuan checked the time; it was nearly midnight.

He patted Zhu Jingjing, who was still excited, and said, "Alright, alright, it's time to sleep. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

The little princess pouted and reluctantly went back to her room.

Jiang Chuan turned and walked towards the study, hoping to see if Lin Xiaoyu could offer any help.

I had only taken two steps when I suddenly felt dizzy and the scenery in front of me became blurry.

When the discomfort subsided, he opened his eyes and found himself in that cave again!