As soon as these words were spoken.
Zhang Zhengming's expression changed slightly, and then he frowned.
Because of this incident, the other party once mentioned it in "The Great Wei's National Security Policy".
The so-called "officials and gentry paying taxes together" means that officials and gentry also need to pay taxes.
In short, it can be understood as abolishing the tax exemption rights of officials, landlords, and scholars!
It should be noted that the Wei Dynasty continued the system of the previous dynasty.
In terms of taxation, officials and gentry had privileges, that is, as long as someone in their family passed the imperial examination or became an official, they could, to a certain extent, avoid paying taxes.
Therefore, the court's taxes were basically collected from the people.
Even though the tax is small, the base of the people is very large, so the tax revenue each year is not small.
However, as time went on, the gentry and landlords annexed more and more land, so the taxes paid by the people became less and less.
Therefore, the land tax was divided into different levels, which, to put it bluntly, was to reduce the burden on the people.
But there is also a problem here, that is, even if the reform is successful, the objects of taxation have not changed.
Although the wealthy and officials also suffered some losses as a result.
But in fact, it is not a serious injury.
After all, the taxes were not collected from them.
However, once the system of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together was implemented, things became completely different.
It is almost equivalent to universal taxation.
Just imagine.
Once this is accomplished, the court's tax revenue will definitely increase significantly.
It can be said that this reform measure is better than the land-based tax system and goes a step further!
However, this also brings up a problem.
It is equivalent to standing completely in opposition to all officials, gentry, landlords, and gentry.
If the implementation of the land-based tax system affected the interests of these people, then requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together was directly snatching food from their bowls.
In the former case, if the imperial court was stronger, the aristocratic officials would choose to compromise.
But the latter will cause these people to resist vigorously.
If there is a quarrel.
It will definitely be more fierce!
It is for this reason that Zhang Zhengming appears very serious.
It's too difficult. This almost means standing in opposition to everyone except the common people.
He took a deep breath and continued, "I know this must be done, but isn't it a little early now? The equalization of land tax has already displeased the gentry. If we implement the same tax system for both officials and gentry, I'm afraid those colleagues who usually treat you with such kindness will take direct action against you."
Previously, Zhang Zhengming had also considered similar reform measures, but ultimately felt that they were a bit radical.
If this move gets out of hand, it will be almost impossible to resolve.
It will directly shake the foundation of the country.
This is not a joke.
Let’s not talk about the officials, let’s just take the candidates as an example.
How many people really want to be officials and really want to serve the country?
I'm afraid only a small part of it.
Most people do it for the privilege of not having to pay taxes.
Now, the imperial court wants to abolish it. If the officials and gentry don’t make trouble, the candidates all over the country will do so first.
"Teacher, I know this reform is even more difficult than the land-based tax system, but I feel it must be implemented no matter what." Song Gongwen pondered for a moment and said, "I've been managing the Ministry of Revenue these days and have noticed that tax revenue has been decreasing year by year, especially with the recent war in the northern border and Gaoyang. It's even difficult to get silver."
"The Gaoyang War ended quickly, which reduced a lot of pressure on the Ministry of Revenue. But the problem is, what if there is another major war in the future?"
"That's right, Lord Sun is already preparing for border trade, but until it's fully operational, that little bit of silver is a drop in the bucket for the court. Furthermore, the court needs silver for all aspects of its operations, and the pressure on the treasury is too great."
At this point, he continued, "Especially last time, you also said that a hegemon had appeared in the grasslands. I suspect that this crisis in the northern border was caused by this person, and he was trying to test me."
"What if the eighteen tribes of the grasslands truly unite? The imperial court will have to mobilize even more troops, but where will the money come from? It can only come from taxes."
Song Gongwen’s meaning was very simple, which was to increase taxes and fill the national treasury in order to deal with more crises.
Furthermore, he was very clear that in addition to the northern border, the southern border had also been making moves in recent days.
Not only that, there are pirates in the coastal areas.
and the southwestern Us border, which was also disputed and chaotic.
You can say that.
If Wei was not strong enough.
If the opponents are just from these directions, we will not be able to cope with them.
What is the best way to solve these problems? Of course, the Wei Dynasty has always maintained a strong army, so that it can rest assured.
But what is the foundation of maintaining a strong army? It's money.
Without money, almost nothing can be done.
so.
Song Gongwen felt.
We must find ways to get the money.
As for whether or not he would offend anyone, he didn't really care.
Because he had already attracted the hostility of all the nobles in the world, it didn't matter if more people came.
As for why Song Gongwen used this method before to solve the problem of insufficient silver in the northern border and Liaozhen, it was not only because the timing was not ripe, but also because this move would require a lot of time and he simply could not wait.
Today, the implementation of the land-based tax system is going smoothly, which has laid a solid foundation.
It's time to prepare.
"I understand what you mean."
Zhang Zhengming pondered for a moment and continued, "But this matter requires careful planning. As you said, we have to wait until the land-based tax system is fully implemented. Otherwise, if the gentry, candidates, and officials become dissatisfied and unite, it will be difficult to deal with."
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