Chapter 415: Wang Tian and Taxation! The Gentry Are the Root of the Problem!
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"The kings are released, this must be done, and must be carried out unswervingly!"
Prince Han of the Supervisory State looked around at the ministers, and his voice reached everyone's ears clearly.
"Have you ever thought about this question? According to the vassal salary policy formulated by Emperor Taizu Gao, how many years can the imperial court be able to support these clan members?"
"Emperor Taizu Gao had twenty-six sons. Nowadays, there are still fifteen families with enfeoffment and inheritance. Which of these fifteen families is not prosperous? How many county kings, generals who govern the country, and generals who support the country have been born for the Ming Dynasty?"
"This dynasty has only enfeoffed two kings. The prince has seven or eight sons. I now have five or six sons. King Zhao also has many heirs... In the future, the number of clan members that the court will enfeoff will only increase. , what does the imperial court use to support these clan children?"
"Moreover, these children of the clan are not allowed to engage in scholarship, agriculture, industry and commerce, and can only rely on the royal salary for support. Every time a child is born, the court must give corresponding money, grain, and fiefs. The fief taxes of each vassal king are now not enough to support the vassal king and his family. Let alone doing other things!”
Hearing what Prince Han said, the officials immediately fell silent.
After all, it’s not like they didn’t know about the problem of King Daming Zong.
It’s just that few people dare to bring it up, and no one even dares to mention it.
Because of this problem, if you report to His Majesty the Emperor, if you fail to do so, you will be charged with "estrange the clan members."
Therefore, the ministers could only pretend not to see it. After all, the problem of the vassal king was only showing its symptoms now, and the court could still afford it.
As for what happens in the future, they won’t be the ones who have the headache!
Those members of the clan are, to put it nicely, "Tianhuang nobles", but to put it worse, they are a bunch of moths!
If you eat, drink, have fun and create villains all day long, without having to do anything, the population will naturally increase!
But the ministers did not expect that Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu would point out this problem in public, without caring about the face of the clan!
"Self-confessing the vassal king to new lands overseas and giving the vassal king military power will, on the one hand, allow the vassal king to hold on to the vassal for the Ming Dynasty. On the other hand, after the vassal king changes his title, the inland fiefdoms will be returned to the state!"
"These manors and fields that were originally occupied by the kings can add a large amount of tax revenue to the court, and can also increase a lot of population out of thin air. The benefits outweigh the disadvantages for the court, so the national policy of the kings going abroad must be firmly implemented, even if Even if there are difficulties, we must continue to implement it!”
Zhu Gaoxu is not afraid of others and doesn't care.
He was mainly afraid that the three giants, Jin Zhongjian, Yi, Xia Yuanji, faced with the difficulties that gradually emerged in the implementation of the kings' external policy, would shake their determination to continue to implement it!
After all, these three giants are responsible for the work of sending the kings abroad. If even they hesitate, how can this policy be implemented?
So Zhu Gaoxu once again gave the three of them a shot in the arm, especially when he mentioned the fields that had been vacated after the kings were released.
This large amount of ownerless land was a fatal temptation for Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs.
Xia Yuanji was suddenly hit by this huge surprise and looked at Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu in disbelief.
"Ahem, His Highness the King of Han means that the royal fields vacated by the kings will be handed over to the Ministry of Household Management?"
In fact, Lao Xia Tou did not expect that Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu could do such a great job. As soon as the kings were released, he immediately set his sights on the fields in other princes' palaces.
However, as long as he can increase tax revenue for the court, he, the King of Han Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu, is not afraid, so what else do he have to fear?
You must know that the fields owned by these fifteen Ming princes are an astonishing amount!
As the Minister of Household Affairs, Xia Yuanji was particularly concerned about the fields and was very familiar with them.
Take the lineage of the King of Jin as an example. Most of the fields in Taiyuan Prefecture have become fiefs of the line of the King of Jin. If the court wants to maintain the rule of Taiyuan, it has to allocate money and food from elsewhere!
Taiyuan is a famously blessed place, but because of a Jin prince's palace, the imperial court was forced to put money into it. Isn't this unlucky?
Another example is the lineage of Shu kings. On the surface, Shu king Zhu Chun is a person who likes reading and doing knowledge, but secretly he has occupied almost the entire land of Chengdu Prefecture!
How amazing is this data?
According to a private investigation by the Ministry of Household Affairs, in the fertile fields of Chengdu, the Land of Abundance, and the fertile fields of the entire state and county, the Prince of Shu's Palace occupies 70%, the military settlements occupies 20%, and the common people only occupies 10%!
Zhu Chun, the king of Shu, had more than 300 royal villages, and one royal village provided meals every day, which was rotated only once a year. He was extremely rich and extravagant!
The biggest hobbies of these vassal kings are making money and playing with women.
And the best way for them to make money is to occupy fertile farmland, without exception!
However, Emperor Taizu Gao had enfeoffed all the kings and enfeoffed all his sons in the prosperous state capitals of major provinces. Now it has become a big problem for the court to collect taxes!
If Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, really dares to attack the king's fields, then Xia Yuanji will definitely support it with both hands!
Even if he had to risk his life, he would still handle the Wangtian matter properly and ensure the integrity and fairness of the imperial sailors!
Zhu Gaoxu looked at the excited House Secretary Xia Yuanji and showed a meaningful smile.
"Old Xia Tou, it's not impossible to hand over this large amount of Wang Tian to your household department for management."
"However, I would like to ask you, even if I give you the Household Department, are you sure that the Household Department will be able to collect taxes?"
Hearing this, Xia Yuanji's expression changed slightly, and the expressions of many courtiers also changed.
"You must be aware of the matter of land annexation, right?"
"The officials and gentry colluded to seize too much land that should be paid taxes. Originally, farmers and farmers were the owners of these lands. UU Reading www.uukanshu.net couldn't stand the exploitation of subordinate officials, so they had to sell the land to the gentry at a low price to pay taxes. After being paid, I had nothing and became a refugee.”
"And these fields have become the property of the gentry. They rely on their own fame and privileges and do not have to pay taxes, so more and more fields are mysteriously disappearing from the government's yellow books, right?"
Zhu Gaoxu looked at Xia Yuanji with a smile, and cold sweat broke out on the latter's forehead.
All civil and military officials in the court were shocked and lowered their heads subconsciously, not daring to say a word.
After all, when it comes to annexing land, almost everyone present has a hand in it, even military attachés!
"Nowadays, the trend of annexing fields is getting more and more intense, and it has reached the point of being out of control. I also want to hand over these royal fields to your household department, but I am worried that these fields will be divided up by some people in a few years. It’s over!”
Xia Yuanji opened his mouth, wanting to explain something, but finally sighed.
What Han Wang Zhu Gaoxu said was originally the truth. How could Xia Yuanji argue?
After all, the crux of the problem still lies with the gentry!
Not to mention local officials, aren't the princes also members of the gentry?
They are officials in Beijing, and their families are local gentry, and they wantonly occupy and annex fertile land!
Nine out of ten officials in the world are gentry who have annexed land, but there are only a few who are clean and self-sufficient.
"Okay, Old Xia Tou, I will hand over these batches of Wangtian to your household department, but not now!"
Xia Yuanji was startled when he heard this. He didn't quite understand the meaning of King Han's words.
Zhu Gaoxu looked at Chen Qia, the right servant of the Ministry of Personnel, with murderous intent all over his body.
Of course not now, nor can it be now.
At least, after rectifying the officialdom!
Kill a group of gentry to scare the monkeys!
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