Chapter 856: Comparing People to Others Is Infuriating
His attitude was good, he didn't get angry or show any displeasure, but he just didn't get anything done.
"Lord Zheng, what do you think we should do?" Lord Wei from the envoy group said with a frown.
Zheng Changtu put his hands behind his back and said slowly, "Why are you in such a hurry? Didn't Duke Yun refuse openly? Well, when you were in Yingtian Prefecture, you all missed Kyoto every day. It's not easy to return to your hometown, why don't you take a look around?"
"Kyoto is no longer the Kyoto of the past." Lord Wei curled his lips.
First he was beaten up by the chaotic army, and then he was controlled by Gu Nanxi, and no one knew what would happen to him.
Zheng Changtu sighed, "I'm afraid you're going to be slapped in the face again."
Everyone took advantage of this opportunity to stroll around Kyoto.
The walls of all the districts in Kyoto were opened, and all the houses facing the street were converted into shops.
Small vendors were shouting loudly and people were coming and going on the streets.
There are no restrictions on the streets and no curfew.
It seems that the bustle has returned to about 80% of its original state.
Lord Wei didn't believe it, so he walked into a grain shop and asked about the price of grain.
"New rice is one hundred coins."
This price is quite cheap, much cheaper than Da Zhou.
Lord Wei asked about taxes again, and the shopkeeper did not hide the truth: "The two taxes are almost the same, but there are no other additional taxes."
The two-tax system has existed since the previous dynasty.
Summer taxes are levied from May to July, mainly in the form of silk, satin, cloth and money.
Autumn taxes were levied from September to November, mainly on grain.
The Great Zhou Dynasty attached great importance to commercial taxation. It did not levy many secondary taxes, but there were many additional taxes, such as consumption tax (to make up for losses), exchange tax (forced exchange of high-priced goods), and payment tax (forcing farmers to transport goods over long distances).
Lord Wei's eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief: "Not even a single additional tax?"
The shopkeeper nodded firmly: "No."
Lord Wei took a deep breath. This was the real way to reduce the burden on farmers. "What about the commercial tax?"
"Due to the wars in various places, Duke Yun wants to rest and recuperate, so he decided to exempt the transit tax for two years, and only collect 2% of the residence tax."
Oh my goodness.
The transit tax is the tax rate imposed on goods when they pass through the customs, which is usually between 2% and 3%. The tax rate has been raised to 4% in the south, and 5% for goods coming from the north.
Housing tax is a tax levied on the transaction of goods, generally 3%, which is increased to 4% in the south.
With this comparison, merchants would definitely prefer to transport goods to the north for trading.
Lord Wei did not ask any more questions. He retreated back to the team and said worriedly, "We can't raise taxes any more. Last year, our annual revenue was 60 million guan, and more than half came from commercial taxes."
The imperial court went south, but the south contributed the most commercial taxes. Therefore, the fiscal revenue did not fall sharply, but the officials felt that the money was not enough and insisted on increasing commercial taxes.
If the commercial taxes in the north were similar to theirs, it would be fine.
The key is that all taxes in the north are quite low!
"With such little tax, does Duke Yun have so much money to spend?!" Lord Wei cursed.
It's really worrying.
Some people in the court also said that it was nonsense to collect the autumn tax five years later after all the disaster victims had returned to their homelands next year!
This is killing the goose that lays the golden eggs and draining the pond to catch the fish.
In the imperial court, some people who had suffered losses in their personal property when they went south wanted to make up for it through taxation.
Many new items have been established this year, such as poultry tax, road tax, fishery tax, and so on, adding up to dozens of items.
If it weren't for Master Tong's obstruction, these taxes would have been collected this year.
I don't know if the Queen Mother was upset. In previous years, she would not ask for the festival tribute, but this year she took the initiative to bring up this matter.
The queen and Concubine Tong in the harem also followed suit and presented silver as tributes every time they celebrated their birthdays.
As the people were exploited layer by layer, they suffered terribly and countless of them went bankrupt.
Zheng Changtu didn't care about Lord Wei's concern for the country and the people. He understood a truth since he was a child: one should do a job that matches one's ability, and if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.
The ruler of the south is not named Zheng, so why would he care?
"Master Zheng?"
"Mr. Huang?"
Huang Jincheng met the envoys by chance and invited them to dinner at the Eight Immortals Tower.
The group hadn't eaten anything at all in the Yongchang Marquis Mansion, so they were naturally happy to start their second leisure after receiving Huang Jincheng's invitation.
After a few rounds of drinking, everyone started to complain.
"Since we moved south, the government has become even more stingy. Many of the benefits we had are gone! We actually have to buy food and charcoal ourselves."
I feel so wronged.
In the past, even minor clerks in the yamen would be given rice, flour, grain and oil.
"Let's not talk about this. It's very difficult to ask for leave now. I will approve the leave, but my salary will be deducted. Mr. Huang, how is it in Kyoto?"
Huang Jincheng answered honestly: "Work six days a week and rest one day. Work during the Chen hour and work during the You hour. New Year's Eve is a ten-day holiday, and there are also two or three days off for various festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival."
!!!
Everyone was shocked: "Is Duke Yun a Zhou Bapi? There are only ten days off for New Year's Eve!"
Lord Wei counted on his fingers and found that working under Duke Yun, he had less than a hundred days of vacation a year.
What a terrible thing this is.
In this respect, it is far inferior to the Great Zhou.
Although the Great Zhou Dynasty only had a ten-day holiday, there were many other holidays, so almost one-third of the year was spent on holidays.
In some years, there are more than eighty days of holiday holidays alone.
When you think about it this way, it’s not easy to be an official in the north.
Lord Wei felt more balanced: "Haha, the more capable people are, the more work they should do. The officials in the north may be more capable."
Zheng Changtu: "What about the treatment?"
Huang Jincheng: "You will be given housing and your children will go to school for free. You can retire when you turn 60, and the government will provide for your retirement."
Lord Wei's smile froze, and he actually gave him a house: "I guess the house is not big."
Huang Jincheng looked him over and introduced carefully, "It's OK. The craftsmen in Yunzhou recently proposed a new idea, which is to build three-story buildings at a lower price. If it is confirmed to be feasible, many houses in Kyoto will be demolished and rebuilt."
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, three-story buildings were rare.
One reason is that the Great Zhou Dynasty had a height limit order that prohibited houses in the capital from exceeding the height of the imperial palace, and the halls built by common people were not allowed to exceed three rooms and four frames.
The second reason is that "The Book of Houses" emphasizes that [those who live in high houses and narrow land are poor]. Too high a building is regarded as a solitary yang evil, which destroys the family's fortune.
Third, the clan emphasizes four generations living together, which vertically divides the blood relationship space and violates the ethical principle of order of seniority.
Another point is that building a three-story house is expensive.
If there really is someone in Yunzhou who can solve the problem of high construction costs, Duke Yun will really not care about the other three points.
Lord Wei secretly envied the officials in Kyoto. They only needed to work diligently and do their job well, and they could live a stable life.
Comparing yourself with others is really frustrating.
Zheng Changtu's eyes rolled around. The emperor was getting more and more displeased with his brother-in-law. If his brother-in-law fell, he would definitely not be in a good situation.
There are several sons in the family. What is their future?
My dear sons, you are about to ascend the throne and establish your capital.
Think about it, which name should we choose for the country? Yunguo or Ming?
Is the capital Dingjingdu or Yunzhou?
Oh my god, my brain is in a mess, I'm so excited for no reason
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