PNB Chapter 311 Not Competing with the People for Profit
Chapter 311 Not Competing with the People for Profit
"Long live your Majesty!"
Today is the Grand Court Assembly, and Shen Lian is following the established customs of previous dynasties. The Grand Court Assembly is held on the first and fifteenth of each month. All officials of the sixth rank and above in the capital are required to attend.
"My esteemed ministers! Censor Sun Zhicai's memorial, which requests the court to reduce commercial taxes and refrain from competing with the people for profits, has been circulated to all ministries for discussion. What are your opinions now?" Shen Lian said with a smile, holding a copy of the memorial.
When Shen Lian called his name, Sun Zhicai stepped forward. He was rather thin and looked to be in his forties.
"Your Majesty, we have just established our dynasty, and this is the time to appease the people. Lowering commercial taxes will reduce commodity prices and benefit the people!" A sixth-rank official stepped forward and seconded the proposal.
"I second that proposal!" "I also second that proposal!" Five or six officials stepped forward at once, all of them minor officials of the fifth or sixth rank.
“Very good!” Shen Lian nodded.
"Imperial Censor Sun, do you know where the money for the salaries of court officials, military expenditures, and daily expenses comes from?" Shen Lian asked calmly.
“Naturally, it comes from land tax and commercial tax!” Sun Zhicai cupped his hands in greeting.
"Very well! Minister of Revenue, tell them how much land tax they expect to collect this year?"
"Your Majesty! Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, Your Majesty has been mindful of the people's suffering and has repeatedly reduced or exempted land taxes. The Ministry of Revenue expects to collect over 35 million taels this year!"
"So how much are our officials' salaries expected to be paid per year?"
"About twenty-three million taels!" The Minister of Revenue was clearly prepared, answering immediately.
"Prime Minister, how much do we expect to spend on military operations this year?" Shen Lian turned to look at Wang Kaiyun.
"Your Majesty, the court has already raised 50 million taels for military expenses, which are almost all spent. Although the war is progressing smoothly, it is estimated that at least another 30 million taels will be needed," Wang Kaiyun said, stepping forward.
Upon hearing that military expenditures had reached 80 million taels of silver, all the officials were shocked. If they weren't in the imperial court, they probably would have already started discussing it amongst themselves.
Shen Lian's new army has high pay and good equipment. It's all built with money, so of course it's much more expensive than the military expenditures during the Qing Dynasty.
"Let's not talk about anything else, just the salaries plus military expenses alone amount to over a hundred million taels. Censor Sun, tell me, if we don't levy commercial taxes, where will this shortfall come from?" Shen Lian sneered.
"Your Majesty, it's not that we don't want to levy taxes! I just hope we can lower the price a bit!" Sun Zhicai's face was pale; he already sensed something was wrong.
"Alright! Let's calculate it according to the tax rate of the Qing Dynasty. I have some data here. In 1905, the Qing government's annual revenue, including customs duties and various other taxes, was about 50 million taels."
"If we calculate it this way, the imperial court will still have a shortfall of nearly 20 million taels a year. I haven't even considered the possible disaster relief needed for floods and droughts, or the subsidies for students in various places! What should we do? Should we just stop paying the officials' salaries?" Shen Lian suddenly said with a stern face.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Sun Zhicai swayed, unsure of what to say.
"Minister Chen, tell everyone about our commercial tax revenue!" Shen Lian ignored him and turned to ask the Minister of Revenue.
"Your Majesty! In the first three months of this year, the imperial court has collected nearly 50 million taels of silver from customs and local commercial taxes, and it is expected to exceed 200 million taels for the whole year!" The Minister of Revenue said with great excitement.
Good heavens, he's been working in the Ministry of Revenue for decades. When has the Ministry of Revenue ever been so well-off?
The other officials were equally incredulous, never expecting commercial tax revenue to be so high. It seems everyone's lives are about to get much better!
"Minister Chen, please don't get agitated. There are still tens of millions of taels of silver owed to the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China! Besides, the national treasury shouldn't have too much money sitting around; money needs to be spent to have a greater impact. Overspending is acceptable!"
Shen Lian shook his head. No matter when, it seemed that every Minister of Revenue was a notoriously stingy person.
"Can any of you tell me, with so much commercial tax being levied now, have domestic prices skyrocketed? Are ordinary people struggling to make ends meet?"
"Your Majesty," Wang Kaiyun said, bowing, "since the establishment of our new dynasty, the people's lives have become increasingly prosperous, although prices have risen slightly. This is not due to commercial taxes, but rather because the people have more money in their hands and are buying more things."
There's an increase in the amount of silver in the market, which suggests some inflation. However, a slight inflation is a good thing, indicating that the market is more active!
"My esteemed ministers, what do you think was the biggest reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty?" Shen Lian suddenly changed the subject.
The officials tensed; His Majesty must have a deeper meaning in saying this. They all fell silent, not daring to utter a sound, lest they incur misfortune.
"I know even if you don't say it! What you're thinking about are natural disasters, man-made calamities, droughts, peasant rebellions, and the Manchu invasion. Of course, you're also sure that Emperor Chongzhen was incompetent at governing the country, right!"
"In my opinion, the culprit behind the fall of the Ming Dynasty is these five words: 'Do not compete with the people for profit'!" Shen Lian slammed Sun Zhicai's memorial onto the floor of the hall.
Startled, Sun Zhicai knelt down with a thud. Several officials who had just sided with him also knelt down.
"How much was the annual fiscal revenue of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign? Five million taels!" Shen Lian held up a hand and waved it.
"This is the result of the Donglin Party's annual petitions against competing with the people for profit! The emperor, a dignified man, couldn't bear to wear a new robe for several years, and wore a patched dragon robe to court. The empress even had to weave cloth to supplement the family income! They couldn't bear to eat a single meat dish at every meal."
"An emperor living worse than an ordinary merchant's family! What a ridiculous joke!"
"Emperor Chongzhen was good enough to merchants and gentry! He didn't compete with the people for profit! But did anyone reciprocate?"
"Li Zicheng's army is about to enter the capital! The emperor himself has to swallow his pride and borrow money from everyone, and he can't even borrow a few hundred thousand taels for military expenses! It's an utter disgrace!" Shen Lian said sternly.
"And what happened? The peasant army entered the city and plundered 70 million taels of silver from the capital! 70 million taels! Even if they had given just one-tenth of that, the peasant army wouldn't have been able to break in so easily!" Shen Lian sighed and shook his head.
"Why should I settle scores with the descendants of the eight great imperial merchants of Shanxi! They made huge profits, not only refusing to pay taxes, but also colluding with the enemy and betraying the country! Are such merchants even human?!" Shen Lian roared.
The officials below looked grave, and Sun Zhicai and the others trembled with fear! Shen Lian had never lost his temper like this before at a grand court assembly.
“The Donglin Party’s stronghold in Jiangnan receives tens of millions of taels of silver annually from maritime trade. The gentry own vast tracts of land, yet they do not pay a single tael of tax.”
“Anguo County is the largest medicinal herb trading market in the country, with an annual transaction volume of tens of millions of taels of silver. Do you know how much tax silver this county paid in a year during the Chongzhen era?”
"Forty taels! This is the Donglin Party's policy of not competing with the people for profit!" Shen Lian laughed in extreme anger!