Chapter 742: Grain and Wine Act
Three offices.
"Shi Zheng, what do you think?"
Wang Anshi asked Xue Xiang.
Xue Xiang said: "I strongly agree with this tax currency plan. In fact, I have always been very concerned about the financial situation of Hezhong Prefecture. I found that one of the key reasons for the financial growth of Hezhong Prefecture is the tax commissioner, and the other key reason is the salt currency.
The reason why the salt notes were successful in Hezhong Prefecture was not because of the salt in the salt pond, but because the salt notes could be used to pay taxes. Therefore, the value of the salt notes in Hezhong Prefecture has not changed much, even during the salt debt crisis some time ago.
As long as the salt notes can be used to pay taxes, there will be no depreciation.
The widespread use of salt notes not only promoted business growth, but also reduced the loss of the court. After I took office, I have been checking the accounts in this regard and found that since the people of Hezhong Prefecture got used to using salt notes, the loss of the government has dropped by as much as 50%.
In the past, when collecting taxes, people paid either grain or silk, which required transportation, storage, management, and more manpower. Now, the officials of Hezhong Prefecture directly use the salt notes to buy grain in the market, and the money earned by the people is used to pay taxes, which saves a lot of losses.
So I suggest that we issue tax coins that are valid for three years, and take this opportunity to slowly get people used to using tax coins.”
...
...
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "You think the same as I do. I'll leave this plan to you. It's also your first move as a new official. Don't worry, I will definitely approve it."
Xue Xiang bowed and said, "I obey your command."
As they were talking, Deng Wan suddenly came. Deng Wan was now also the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Before Lu Huiqing came back, he was temporarily in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.
"Prime Minister Wang, the Third Envoy, we just received news from the Ministry of War that they are already arranging personnel to go to the Huainan West Road."
"I see."
Wang Anshi nodded.
Deng Wan said, "Mr. Wang, I heard that the police sent people there to target our new policy."
Wang Anshi waved his hand and said, "Tell those people to rest assured. The police station is only sending people there to deal with the disaster and execute my orders. They won't be involved in too many things."
"yes."
Deng Wan nodded and said, "Also, nowadays everyone is discussing the bill of the procuratorate, and not many people are discussing our policies."
Wang Anshi frowned when he heard this, "Really?"
Deng Wan nodded, "The people seem to trust the public security, procuratorate and courts more than they do!"
Wang Anshi reacted immediately and knew the reason. He was of course MMP in his heart, but he said, "It's okay. When the time comes, they will know who they rely on to get through this difficult time."
Just as Zhang Fei said, after he and Wang Anshi sold their two newspapers, all the concepts of "three insufficiencies" and "natural law" became entertainment for the scholars.
People inside and outside the capital were discussing the contents of these two newspapers.
Especially this newspaper from the Procuratorate.
Because after several years of development, the authority of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. In the minds of the people, the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs can really solve problems.
In comparison, the people don't really have much hope for this policy. They just hope the court won't take advantage of the situation.
After all, there are cases in the past.
However, the powerful and landlords are also very concerned about this.
Changing the tax law at this time also involves highly profitable industries such as grain tax and liquor tax. It is obvious that there is something fishy going on. Based on Zhang Fei's previous operations, the landlords are very panicked!
Prevent!
This must be stopped!
Throughout the entire article, they were all very confused about one point, which is what does it mean for the procuratorate to submit a bill?
Isn't the prosecutor's office's duty to prosecute government offices? Why can they submit bills?
Not only the landlords did not understand this point, but even the court officials did not understand it.
Legislative Yuan.
The predecessor of this government office was the Court of Criminal Justice. Before that, the Legislative Council was only a temporary institution. The President of the Legislative Council, Fu Bi, worked in the Government Affairs Hall. The first Legislative Council was also held in Xiangguo Temple.
But now the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs must break away from the system of the Political Affairs Hall and achieve true separation of politics and law, so a permanent chairman of the Legislative Council must be established, and the Legislative Yuan naturally also needs an office.
Zhao Xu changed the Court of Criminal Justice into the Legislative Yuan, which was actually a kind of favor to Fu Bi.
You should know that the office of the Court of Justice is relatively close to the imperial palace.
On the day the newspaper was released, a group of conservative officials went to Fu Bi to ask questions.
Facing the questions raised by officials such as Liu Shu, Fu Bi thought carefully and replied: "This should be possible."
Liu Shu immediately asked: "Why?"
Wen Yanbo couldn't help but look at Fu Bi with confusion.
Fu Bi said: "In fact, the rules of the Legislative Council have already explained this point, because the President of the Legislative Council only presides over the meeting, which is very different from the Political Affairs Hall. The Prime Minister is the policy maker, but the rules of the Legislative Council are that judicial officials from all regions raise questions or propose their own bills according to the circumstances, and then submit them to the Legislative Council. If passed by the Legislative Council, it will become a written law.
The Procuratorate, and now they are the Supreme Procuratorate, is certainly qualified to submit bills.”
The officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
Is there such a rule?
Most officials do not know much about the Legislative Council because its presence is extremely low. After all, it is just a temporary institution that only holds meetings every three years. Who can remember that?
Wen Yanbo suddenly asked, "But the Legislative Council is held every three years, and the next Legislative Council should not start until the end of next year."
“That’s the convention.”
Fu Bi said: “But if you read the rules of the Legislative Council carefully, you will find that there are temporary meetings, the purpose of which is to solve some difficult and urgent problems.
Regarding this provision, there are also examples to prove that if there is a policy that may touch upon the law but can solve some urgent problems, then an ad hoc meeting should be held. "
Liu Shu felt that it sounded like something that was made up on the spot, so he asked, "Who made these rules?"
Fu Bi looked at Sima Guang who was silent beside him.
Everyone also looked at Sima Guang.
Sima Guang said awkwardly: "Most of the rules here were thought up by Zhang San."
Everyone suddenly understood.
Too.
These rules were all thought up by Zhang San. Could he make such a mistake himself?
Of course not!
Sima Guang added: "Don't think too much. The procuratorate has made it very clear in the newspapers that the reason for submitting this bill is due to some unfair problems faced when collecting taxes last year. It may not have much to do with the disaster. Even if it does, it must be to protect the people."
Wen Yanbo laughed and said, "Junshi! Don't deceive yourself. These two newspapers were published one after the other. If you say that this was not discussed with Wang Jiefu, no one will believe it!"
Seeing that Sima Guang was caught in the middle again, Fu Bi hurried out to smooth things over, "Let's wait until the procuratorate submits the bill. It's not easy to pass the Legislative Council."
Having said that, a group of officials felt that something was not right, because Zhang Fei was the founder and the right of interpretation was in his hands!
At this time, an official came into the room and said to everyone, "The Ministry of War just sent a message that it will send Chief Inspector Ma and Chief Secretary Fu to the Huainan West Road area to build a police station."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at Sima Guang again.
Sima Guang immediately said: "I also learned about this news before I came here. Everyone, please don't forget that I am now the Minister of Justice, but the police station has been put under the Ministry of War."
Even in the past, the police station was not under Sima Guang's jurisdiction and had always been directly under the jurisdiction of the emperor.
The court was in chaos, and so was the people.
Charitable foundation.
Businessmen who donated to charity foundations, and even lay disciples sent by Xiangguo Temple, gathered around a long table.
"Old Chen, Brother Fan, you are usually close to Sanlang, do you know what this bill is?"
"Sanlang won't force us to sell grain at a low price, right?"
"Or do you want to raise the liquor tax so that we can't use grain to make liquor?"
Fan Yong and Chen Maoqian looked at each other helplessly.
Chen Maoqian said, "To be honest, we both didn't know anything about this. After all, this is a government matter. How could Sanlang tell us in advance?"
Fan Yong comforted them, "But please rest assured, Sanlang will definitely not make things difficult for us. Since Sanlang became an official, our business has been getting better and better. The laws he promulgated have always been beneficial to us merchants."
"That's true, but...but this time it's disaster relief, so we have to pay for it."
"If we really need to spend money, we can just donate some from our charity foundation."
"If charitable foundations can donate, does Saburo need to amend the tax law?"
Chen Maoqian and Fan Yong didn't know what to say.
They can't guarantee this.
Even a fool knows that this will definitely cost money.
Many businessmen are in a panic now.
In the past, whenever the imperial court issued a policy, there would be a countermeasure at the lower levels. However, when the public security, procuratorial and judicial departments wanted to implement a bill, they could not find any countermeasures for the time being.
Southern suburbs.
"Why do you let Xiao Ma and Xiao Chun go but not me? Are you looking down on us?"
Cao Dongdong said with a look of grief and anger on his face.
Fu Shichun said: "Yes! Why doesn't the yamen go? Let me go, then I will go back to the capital to rest.
How long do I have to wait for it to be raised? Why do you want me to go to Huainan West Road again? And it’s during this natural disaster.”
Ma Xiaoyi looked left and right, not knowing what to say.
He would be happy to go.
Business trips are the happiest moments.
Zhang Fei glanced at the three of them and said, "Wei, why are you looking at me? I am here to see you off, not to assign tasks. This is none of my business. This is arranged by the higher-ups."
After that, he glanced at Cao Dongdong and said, "And you, Yanei, if you go too, who will take care of the capital? Your father is the Minister of War now, and he is not in the capital at the moment, so many affairs will have to be handed over to you to handle."
Cao Dongdong said excitedly: "When I am away from home, I rely on my brothers. You sent both of my brothers away, so what should I do?"
Zhang Fei said: "You don't consider me a brother!"
Cao Dongdong snorted, "We are brothers, but you still take my money."
"Ahem, brothers are brothers, and business is business."
Having said that, Zhang Fei quickly changed the subject and said to Fu Shichun and Ma Xiaoyi, "Xiao Ma, you must be careful when you go there. After all, the Imperial Court and the Procuratorate have not been built yet. If you go there, don't worry about it in advance. Just focus on the new laws and regulations and don't let those evil officials force the people to pay back the money. This will also win the favor of the people for the police station. As for the rest of the powers, you should wait until you go to the Imperial Court and the Procuratorate."
"Don't worry, Third Brother. I've memorized it all. I did the same thing in Hezhong Prefecture. I have experience."
Ma Xiaoyi was already a little impatient, "If there is nothing else, we will leave first."
Cao Dongdong said depressedly: "Xiao Ma, can you bear to leave your brother?"
Ma Xiaoyi said: "Don't worry, brother. I'll be back soon."
Cao Dongdong said: "Brother doesn't understand you yet. If I don't call you back, you will definitely not come back. But don't worry, brother will call you back as soon as possible."
"???"
"Yanei, don't forget about me, your brother!"
Fu Shichun said hurriedly.
Cao Dongdong snorted, "Just stay there peacefully."
Zhang Fei rolled his eyes and interrupted their quarrel, "Alright, alright, hurry up and get on with your journey."
Cao Dongdong said reluctantly: "I will go and see them off for a while."
After the group left, Zhang Fei was about to return to the city when he saw an old face suddenly flash before his eyes.
"Mr. Sima."
The person who came was Sima Guang. He glanced at Ma Xiaoyi and the others and couldn't help saying, "In the beginning, we established the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs to check and balance the new policies. Now it seems that they are used to deal with Wang Jiefu's aftermath."
There is a sense of resentment in the voice!
If there were no public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, judging from the political situation there, Wang Anshi would definitely be dragged into trouble.
Debt and natural disasters will force many people to lose their families.
As a result, it was resolved by the moves he created.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "This just proves that Sima Xueshi is dedicated to the public and is not trying to exclude dissidents."
"Now that you mention it, I dare not even say a word of complaint!" Sima Guang snorted.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I am just speaking from the facts. I can't say that Sima Xueshi is a selfish villain. Isn't that just lying with open eyes?"
"You have such a big mouth!"
Sima Guang pointed at Zhang Fei fiercely and said, "By the way, your bill was prepared in collusion with Wang Jiefu, right?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest with Scholar Sima, the reason I submitted this bill at this time must be related to the disaster. I did discuss it with Scholar Wang, but even if there was no disaster, I would have submitted it, but probably not so soon. Scholar Sima should know that in Hezhong Prefecture, our reform of the liquor tax was very successful."
Sima Guang asked, "Are you imitating the liquor tax reform of Hezhong Prefecture?"
"It's somewhat similar, but not exactly the same. After all, the situation in Hezhong Prefecture is quite different from that in the capital."
Zhang Fei said: "But please rest assured, Mr. Sima, my bill will not harm anyone's interests, and it will protect the interests of the monarch, the country, and the people."
Sima Guang was surprised when he heard this and asked, "Is it really that powerful?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "If I am not absolutely sure, I would not dare to report it directly. After all, Lord Fu will not let my bill pass for my sake.
If Mr. Sima wants to know, I am willing to tell you. "
"Stop being so hypocritical here."
Sima Guang said, "You said that because you know I won't ask."
In fact, it was not against the rules for him to ask, but he knew very well that Zhang Fei's bill would be controversial and very innovative, so he would definitely raise questions. As long as he raised questions, he would be interfering with the affairs of the procuratorate, which would result in breaking the rules.
As for this bill, the procuratorate kept it strictly confidential and not a single word of it leaked out.
It makes everyone feel itchy.
Now everyone, from top to bottom, is keeping an eye on the Procuratorate.
Putting everything aside, tax laws are definitely more powerful than any relief policy!
Fortunately, the disaster situation was urgent and Zhang Fei did not dare to keep people in suspense. On the second day after Ma Xiaoyi and his team left, the Procuratorate formally submitted the bill to the Legislative Yuan.
A group of officials came upon hearing the news.
"Warehouse tax?"
When everyone saw the bill, they were stunned.
It was completely beyond their expectations and they didn't even touch it.
Fu Bi nodded and said, "I am also surprised. This bill of the procuratorate is mainly aimed at levying taxes on the grain stored in the warehouse."
After saying that, he handed the bill to Wen Yanbo who was impatient.
Liu Shu was stunned and asked, "How can we conquer this?"
Fu Bi said: "From the beginning of autumn, each household with 500 dan of grain will be taxed, divided into three levels: 500 to 1,000 dan will be taxed 10%, 1,000 to 2,000 dan will be taxed 30%, and more than 2,000 dan will be taxed 50%.
Suppose that at the beginning of autumn, you still have 3,000 dan of grain in your warehouse. Of that, 500 dan will be taxed at 10%, or 50 dan; of that, 1,000 dan will be taxed at 30%, or 300 dan; and of the remaining 1,000 dan, 50%, or 500 dan, for a total of 900 dan of grain.
All the officials gasped.
This is equivalent to a tax of one-third, and is infinitely close to fifty percent.
There has never been such a heavy grain tax since ancient times.
"Why does he do this?" an official asked excitedly.
Fu Bi said: "But at the same time, the commercial tax on the sale of grain will be exempted. In other words, no matter how much grain the grain shop sells in the future, it will not be taxed."
"All free?"
"Yes, all for free."
Everyone looked at each other again.
This is a case of hitting someone with a stick and then giving them a date!
Liu Shu asked, "What about agricultural taxes?"
Fu Bi said: "The agricultural tax remains unchanged."
Lu Gongzhu suddenly said, "He hopes to use this law to force the landlords to put their grain in the market instead of storing it in the warehouse."
Fu Bi nodded and said, "That's right. As long as you sell the grain, you don't have to pay taxes. But if you store the grain in the warehouse, you will face very high taxes."
Know how to play!
This kid really knows how to have fun!
I actually came up with such a solution.
It really makes people feel miserable!
If you say he is raising taxes, you have sold everything and don't have to pay a penny. If you say he is reducing taxes, you just have to put the grain in the warehouse, then you can just prepare to cry.
Sima Guang asked, "What does Mr. Fu think?"
Fu Bi said: "I think his bill makes sense, and the purpose is very simple, just to prevent some people from hoarding food. If you don't have bad intentions, for you, it is a tax cut, not a tax increase.
In this bill, the procuratorate also wrote it very clearly, because some people complained that grain had to pay agricultural taxes and commercial taxes, which was too unfair. "
Sima Guang nodded, thinking that there was nothing wrong with it. It was just encouraging landlords to sell grain. As long as you sold the grain, you would get more than before. But it was also good for the court and the people.
It can be seen that Zhang Fei did not lie to him at that time.
Another official asked, "What about the grain that is tax-free?"
Fu Bi said: "It doesn't clearly state that there are tax-free grains, but I don't think it includes tax exemptions, because general tax exemptions are for land, not grains."
It's really the most poisonous pen!
One of the officials felt heart pain when thinking about the mountains of grain in his warehouse. It was really heart pain!
It’s so annoying!
Wen Yanbo said: "But if this bill is passed, it will definitely cause a big commotion."
Many officials nodded repeatedly.
It was too targeted. Only the powerful, officials, and landlords could store thousands of stones of grain in their home warehouses!
Fu Bi stroked his beard a little, "Whether it is passed or not is not up to me, but this bill is indeed based on the complaints of landlords and merchants, the rising prices in the capital, and the unreasonableness of the new tax law and the old tax system. I plan to hold a meeting, and whether it will be passed depends on everyone's opinions."
Liu Shu then asked: "What about the liquor tax?"
Wen Yanbo said: "In terms of liquor tax, the situation is somewhat similar to that of Hezhong Prefecture, which also advocates full liberalization and designs
.
Floating tax.”
"Floating tax?"
"The liquor tax is designed based on the amount of grain in stock each year. If grain is abundant, the liquor tax is reduced. If grain is scarce, the liquor tax is increased to encourage people to make wine."
"How do you calculate this? Can they do it?"
"If it was in the past, I probably wouldn't be able to do it, but now..."
Lu Gong said: "Now that we have the tax commissioner, this is not impossible. It is said that there were wine merchants in Hezhong Prefecture who secretly brewed wine and lied about taxes, but they were all found out by the tax commissioner.
Because there are so many materials needed for brewing wine, including firewood, grain, koji, stoves, etc., the tax commissioner can investigate every aspect.
In fact, this warehouse tax is also based on the means of the tax commissioner. If it were normal, it would definitely be difficult to collect it. "
The reformists and conservatives had similar reactions to the warehouse tax, as both sides had wealthy and powerful people and literati.
This warehouse tax is aimed entirely at them.
"It has nothing to do with me."
Wang Anshi said to the officials: "Yes, I know that the procuratorate will submit a bill, but I don't know the specific content. If I could lead the procuratorate, there wouldn't be so much trouble."
"I wonder if Mr. Wang will support it?"
"Of course I support this. Look at those grain merchants. They are so despicable. Before the government gave me this task, grain prices were only rising. Now they have driven grain prices up to such an extent. They are deliberately going against me. They deserve it."
After hearing this, no one knew what to say.
Because from Wang Anshi's point of view, there was no reason for him not to support it.
In fact, as a reformist, I should also support it.
This also includes the core theoretical dispute between reformists and conservatives, namely the ancestral law.
If we go back to our ancestral ways, then the new policies will have to be thrown into the trash!
And some of the upstarts among them may also be driven out of the court.
This is a fight to the death, a fight with one's back against the wall!
Any store.
"This is too much! This Erbi is really too much!"
Liu Ping pounded his fist on the table.
"Yeah! Why doesn't he just go and rob the 50% warehouse tax?"
"What should we do now? He is forcing us to sell our food!"
"Don't worry, it still needs to be passed by the Legislative Council. Many officials in the court are very opposed to this bill, so it may not be passed."
"Even if it's approved, we have to fight them to the end. Now it's still half a year before the beginning of autumn. We just won't sell it. Let's see who dies first."
It would be horrible if this bill passed.
You have to try your best!
Baifan Building.
Needless to say, there was also a lot of criticism.
Those who could afford to eat in Baifan Building had at least tens of thousands of shi of grain stored in their warehouses.
This warehouse tax really hits their sore spot.
What do you mean by exempting commercial taxes? The commercial taxes are so low, but they directly collect 50% of them. It's really a death sentence.
We did complain before, but we didn’t ask you to do this!
Third floor.
Chen Maoqian must have woken up laughing after hearing this."
Fan Yong hurriedly asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Chen Maoqian said: "This will bring many benefits to your Baifanlou. It will liberalize winemaking, exempt commercial taxes on grain, and encourage landlords to put grain on the market. Your restaurant will benefit the most."
Fan Yong said embarrassedly: "It's too early to talk about this before we even start."
My heart was filled with joy.
His son Fan Zheng had been in Hezhong Prefecture. He knew how much profit the relaxation of liquor tax would bring to restaurants, and he had already written to him to tell him about these things.
I have been looking forward to Baifan Tower.
Now there is finally some hope.
Not only Fan Yong, most businessmen were happy because they could avoid commercial taxes, break the landlords' monopoly on grain, and liberalize the right to brew wine. These two commodities had a huge impact on all transactions.
For businessmen who don’t have much land, this is definitely a great thing!
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