During the Ming Dynasty, what land was exempt from land tax?

One is the land of the vassal kings, and the other is the land granted by the emperor (land obtained by asking the emperor is also considered a grant).

In addition, all land was required to pay taxes, including private land owned by nobles.

As for the vassal kings.

As early as the second year of the Hongzhi reign, there was a regulation that royal palaces were not allowed to purchase land or occupy private property.

That is to say, starting from the second year of Hongzhi, the only legal source of land for princes was to have it granted by the emperor, except to ask for it from the emperor.

All other land properties are illegal.

However, due to the power of the princes and nobles, local officials did not dare to report it, let alone collect taxes from them.

During the Hongwu period, the problems of nobles owning private land and refusing to pay taxes together with the people had already appeared.

Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to first write it on the iron list of dukes and marquises, then asked the Ministry of Rites to compile it into the "Jizhilu", and finally he had to add a clause in the "Da Gao" that all private property of dukes and marquises must pay taxes together with the people.

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the law was lax and tax evasion was prevalent among the powerful.

Of course, Zhang Shize’s British Mansion was not spared.

Not only did they evade taxes, they evaded a lot of them.

Just when Zhang Shize was stunned, Li Ruolian turned the page of the account book in his hand.

After just one look, Duke of England Zhang Shize's legs went weak and he fell to his knees on the ground.

The contents of the account book are very simple, with only three numbers.

The first number is the total amount of land granted to Duke of Yingzhou by successive emperors since the sixth year of Yongle when Zhang Fu was conferred the title of Duke of Yingzhou to the seventeenth year of Chongzhen: five hundred and twenty-four hectares!

The second number is that as of the end of June in the 17th year of Chongzhen, the total amount of land actually owned by the Duke of Yingzhou was: 1,644 hectares.

The third number is the total amount of land tax paid by the Duke of Yingzhou from the first year of Chongzhen to the seventeenth year of Chongzhen: zero!

That is to say.

The British public evaded taxes on as much as 1,120 hectares of land, and the length of time for which they evaded taxes is unknown.

(The number of public manor fields in Britain was not found, but the number of public manor fields in Qian State was found. The "Research on the Manor Fields of the Duke of Qian State in the Ming Dynasty" proved that the Mu Palace in Yunnan owned 8,842 hectares of land. Considering the comparability between Yunnan and the capital, the number of 1,644 hectares was made up.)

"Your Majesty...your servant...your servant..." Duke Yingguo Zhang Shize was suddenly thrown into disarray.

He wanted to say something, but his head was so confused that he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Because these are facts, indisputable facts!

"Li Ruolian, according to the Great Edict, how should tax evasion be dealt with?"

Li Ruolian closed the account book in his hand and pretended to think about it.

It took more than a month to check these things, and except for the Duke of England, all other nobles have basically been checked.

He knew by heart all the information relating to taxes.

Your Majesty, the most basic principle in investigating taxes this time is to follow the law. Only in this way can the officials and nobles not object.

Chongzhen certainly knew this truth. The basic rule of the political game is that you can punish someone, but it must be justified!

He asked Li Ruolian to dig out the "Jizhilu" and "Dagao" which were used to admonish dukes and princes for this purpose.

Li Ruo Lian pretended to think and said, "According to the law, those who evade taxes will be punished with fifteen strokes of the cane or whipping, or beheaded and thrown into the streets."

Zhang Shize was shocked.

Judging from the amount of taxes evaded by the British government, the punishment must be severe!

Zhang Shize had inherited the title of Duke of England after all, and he quickly regained his senses after the panic.

He knelt on the ground and thought carefully before saying, "I beg Your Majesty to retain my title for the sake of my ancestors' meritorious service. Otherwise, I will not be able to face my ancestors after my death."

"I am willing to pay the back taxes and bear any other penalties. I beg Your Majesty to grant my request."

After saying that.

Zhang Shize knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily.

Chongzhen said calmly: "You still dare to negotiate with me? It seems that you don't take me seriously at all!"

"I dare not!" Zhang Shize was sweating profusely. "I know the law is broken, and I will leave it to your majesty to decide!"

The atmosphere in the hall was a bit cold.

Li Ruo Lian saw that the time was almost right, so he knelt down and pleaded, "Your Majesty, Duke Ying only inherited the title in the 16th year of our dynasty, which is less than a year ago. The previous incident had nothing to do with him, I beg Your Majesty to be lenient with him."

Chongzhen glanced at him: "Why? Are you asking for mercy because you have a personal relationship with him?"

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was the emperor’s personal armed force, the emperor’s sword, and according to convention they were not allowed to make friends with others.

"I dare not! I am just stating the facts and have no other intention!" Li Ruolian was neither humble nor arrogant.

Chongzhen paused for a moment, then softened his tone a little: "Starting tomorrow, let the news go out that half of the rent for the tenants will be exempted."

"Don't do anything else for now."

Zhang Shize raised his head, somewhat unable to believe his ears.

No more?

It seems like no punishment was given!

This punishment is too light!

Fearing that Zhang Shize would misunderstand his meaning, Chongzhen added: "The taxes that should be paid must not be reduced by a penny."

"I didn't ask you to make up the payment because the timing is not right."

"I obey your order and thank Your Majesty for your grace." Zhang Shize knelt on the ground and kowtowed again.

"Please step back for now. Every word I said today must not be leaked, otherwise the law will be ruthless."

"I'll take my leave!"

Zhang Shize struggled to stand up, forced himself to support his numb legs, and limped out of the hall.

When he arrived outside the hall, he felt as if he was in another world.

Just now, he was so nervous that he was almost soaked. It was from that moment that he realized what it meant to be with the emperor like being with a tiger!

It's too dangerous.

After taking a few deep breaths, Zhang Shize wiped the sweat from his forehead and hurriedly left the palace.

Shortly after Zhang Shize left, four members of the cabinet walked into the palace of Qianqing Palace.

After the salute, the rest of the people stood still.

Li Banghua sat in the seat given to him as usual, with a frown on his face.

It was obvious that he and the cabinet already knew the contents of the report.

"Everyone, tell me what you think!"

Seeing the emperor giving orders, the Minister of Revenue Fang Yuegong was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I think that regardless of whether Duoduo enters the pass again, our army should deploy in advance."

"We will deploy heavy troops to defend the areas of Qiangziling, Miyun, Xifengkou, Zunhua, and Qingshanguan."

Fan Jingwen sneered: "Nonsense! Where are the heavy troops?"

"Wu Sangui guarded Shanhaiguan, Tang Tong guarded Juyongguan, and Liu Wenyao, Wang Yongji, and Bakeyong had only 20,000 soldiers in total. They were no match for the Jiannu."

"Besides, even if we deploy a large number of troops, what will happen? Once the enemy breaks through the pass, they can march straight into the Central Plains and threaten the capital."

"It is better to defend the capital than to defend the pass."