Chapter 29
The Sinful Tax Farming System
"Tax-inclusive system?"
This unfamiliar term left everyone, except those who lived through the late Yuan Dynasty, feeling bewildered.
What kind of system is this?
Why could this become a motive for the civil service group to betray a dynasty?
The Fengtian Hall in the eleventh year of the Hongwu reign (1386).
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes suddenly turned incredibly cold.
He knew that word all too well!
Back when he was still a beggar and herding cattle for landlords, those "officials" and landlords who wore Yuan Dynasty official robes but spoke Mandarin used this method to drive the people of his hometown to the brink of despair!
The deaths of his parents and his brother and sister-in-law are all inextricably linked to this evil system!
original……
This is the means by which the "Khazar" infiltrated and controlled the Central Plains!
Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice, like a prosecutor reading out charges in court, was cold and clear.
"The so-called tax farming system, simply put, is when the government packages and sells the right to collect taxes in a certain area to merchants or local powerful families!"
"For example, the annual tax revenue of a county was set at 100,000 taels of silver by the imperial court."
"Alright, a certain big landowner took out 100,000 taels of silver and handed it over to the government to buy the right to collect taxes in this county for a year."
"Next, he can take his servants and guards and go door-to-door collecting taxes!"
"Will he only accept 100,000 taels?"
Judy Jun let out a sneer.
"No! He'll take two hundred thousand taels! Three hundred thousand taels! Or even more!"
"The extra money all went into his own pocket! And the government, to save trouble, turned a blind eye!"
"Family members, do you understand now?"
"This isn't the government collecting taxes; it's the officials selling the people off to wolves and tigers!"
"And these jackals and tigers are those who, during the early Yuan dynasty, transformed themselves from landlords and gentry into 'tax farmers,' the so-called 'Confucian merchants' and 'local worthies'!"
boom!
All time and spacetime understood!
The Great Tang Dynasty, Taiji Palace.
Li Shimin slammed his fist on the dragon throne and roared, "Damn it! This is not a national policy, but a policy of traitors! It is handing over the foundation of the nation to unscrupulous merchants and powerful families! How can the Yuan dynasty not perish!"
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance, both looking horrified.
The land rent, labor service, and tax system they established was intended to equalize land distribution, stabilize small farmers, and allow wealth to accumulate among the people.
This tax system, however, goes against the grain; it's like draining the pond to catch all the fish, like sucking the marrow from the bone!
The Great Han Dynasty, Weiyang Palace.
Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, even drew his sword from his waist, exuding a murderous aura.
"The salt and iron industries are state-run, and taxes are being collected. I'm doing everything I can to squeeze money out of merchants to fill the national treasury and launch a northern attack on the Xiongnu!"
"The Yuan Dynasty was really something else; they sold off even the power to collect money! It was practically a case of pigs ruling the country!"
"No!" Wei Qing said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, this is not foolishness, but malice! This is tantamount to raising countless 'minor lords' in the provinces who are not under the control of the court! They are rich and powerful, and even have private armies. Once the country is in turmoil, these people will be the biggest source of chaos!"
Wei Qing's words startled all the emperors!
They instantly understood the deeper, sinister intentions behind this system!
Modern live streaming room.
The comments section was absolutely buzzing!
"Holy crap! Isn't this just an officially licensed triad?!"
"No wonder the Yuan Dynasty only lasted a little over ninety years. With things like this, how could ordinary people possibly survive?"
"I understand! These landlords and gentry had it too good as tax farmers during the Yuan Dynasty, but then Zhu Yuanzhang came along and wanted to 'expel the barbarians and restore China,' so he wanted to nationalize the right to collect taxes. This was tantamount to taking their lives!"
"Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents! Now, it's no wonder they'll fight Zhu Yuanzhang to the death!"
Zhu Dijun looked at the barrage of comments that instantly flooded the screen and nodded in satisfaction.
"My family is right!"
Historically, when Emperor Taizu Gaozu launched his northern expedition, the fiercest and most stubborn resistance did not come from the Mongol cavalry!
"But rather, they were 'local armed forces' composed of Han Chinese landlords and powerful families!"
"They are the biggest beneficiaries of the tax farming system!"
"When Zhu Yuanzhang's royal army attacked, they did not welcome the royal army with food and drink."
"They held the city to the death, resisting stubbornly! Because they knew that with the arrival of the Ming Dynasty, their good days of making money while lying down and acting arrogantly were coming to an end!"
"Therefore, when the Ming Dynasty was established, some of them, although they outwardly submitted to the new dynasty, put on Ming official robes, and constantly quoted 'Confucius said' and 'The Book of Poetry said'."
"But deep down, they still yearn for the 'Great Yuan' that allowed them to do whatever they wanted!"
"They are the most dangerous 'remnants of the previous dynasty' lurking within the Ming Dynasty court!"
"And when the ghosts of the Khazars extended an olive branch to them, the two sides immediately agreed!"
"The Khazars need them to dismantle this nascent Chinese dynasty from within."
"And they, too, need the power of the Khazars to destroy Zhu Yuanzhang's rule and usher in the 'good times' they've always dreamed of!"
Zhu Dijun's voice grew increasingly cold.
"Now, I'll ask you again!"
"Such a group of civil officials who hate Emperor Taizu to the bone, have no loyalty to the Ming Dynasty, and only think about restoring the evil system!"
"What will they think when they discover that Crown Prince Zhu Biao, a kind-hearted man who always listens to his 'teachers,' is about to inherit the throne?"
"They'll be ecstatic!"
"Because in their eyes, Zhu Biao's benevolence is weakness! It's being seen as a puppet that they can manipulate and control at will!"
"but!"
"If they discover that Emperor Taizu Gao seems to be dissatisfied with Crown Prince Zhu Biao's 'benevolence'."
"If they discover that the Emperor Taizu's gaze is increasingly turning towards that other vassal king who has distinguished himself in battle, whose personality is very similar to his own, and who is ruthless towards the civil service..."
"What will they think?"
Zhu Dijun's gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, fixing firmly on the faces of every Ming Dynasty civil official.
"They will be...terrified!"
"They will stop at nothing to prevent this from happening!"
"Therefore, let Crown Prince Zhu Biao die 'naturally' before Emperor Taizu changes his mind, and then support a younger and weaker grandson, Zhu Yunwen, to ascend the throne..."
"That became... their only option!"