Chapter 283 Who among you is innocent?
The court officials were speechless, their hands trembling as they held the memorials in their hands.
Ye Yunshu leaned back on the throne, looking at the expressions of the officials below, and couldn't help but laugh.
Where has your righteous indignation gone? Where has your noble spirit of pleading for the people gone? And where has your unwavering resolve to defend the justice of the laws of Chongqing to the death gone...?
Those things are far less important than the boomerang hitting you!
"Read it!" Ye Yunshu uttered softly.
Song Zhimian immediately stepped forward with the folded document in her hand.
"Hu Xiaozong, the former educational commissioner of Jiangnan, owned 4,800 mu of land, but paid less than 200 mu of land taxes."
All other land was registered under the names of students who had achieved academic success, under the guise of supporting the students.
Among them were twelve scholars who passed the county-level imperial examination and twenty-two candidates who passed the provincial-level imperial examination.
Xia Yuanheng, a merchant from Yangzhou, used the pretext of supporting students to register a total of 1,078 mu of land on behalf of Hu Xiaozong for many students.
After those students became affiliated with the local government, they maintained close contact with Hu Xiaozong.
Zhou Yichang, the current education commissioner of Jiangnan, also used the same method to register 1,300 mu of land under the names of students.
"Among them, there are five scholars who passed the county-level imperial examination, eight who passed the provincial-level imperial examination, and one who passed the provincial-level imperial examination in death." Song Zhimian read it out word by word.
The hall was completely silent.
No one could believe what they were hearing: a former educational commissioner of Jiangnan had managed to acquire so much land that didn't require paying land taxes...
"Your Majesty..." The Minister of Rites stepped forward with a stiff upper lip.
But Ye Yunshu didn't give him a chance to speak at all.
"My dear minister, please be patient. I haven't finished speaking yet! Lady Song, continue reading!" Ye Yunshu gestured for the Minister of Rites to step back.
Song Zhimian continued reading the numbers on the document.
"Last year, the Ministry of Revenue of Dayu received a total of 31.2 million taels of various taxes, of which 26 million taels were commercial taxes."
Two years ago, the Ministry of Revenue of Dayu received a total of 30.7 million taels of various taxes, of which 23 million taels were commercial taxes.
The year before that, the Ministry of Revenue of Dayu received a total of 28.4 million taels of various taxes, of which 20.12 million taels were commercial taxes.
Besides commercial taxes, the main sources of revenue for the Ministry of Revenue in Dayu were poll taxes and land taxes.
Three years ago, the retired emperor abolished the poll tax and only levied land tax.
The territory of Dayu is growing larger and larger, but the income from land tax is decreasing year by year.
In recent years, Chongqing has enjoyed favorable weather and abundant harvests, but why has the land tax been decreasing year by year?
Furthermore, many of those who have been affiliated with other land entities have been affiliating with them for over fifty years.
This means that even after those with official titles were imprisoned, the land under their names was exempt from land taxes.
If this continues, the amount of land tax received by Dayu will decrease.
As more and more people acquire official titles, the amount of land they can register under will also increase. If this continues, the Great Yu region might one day find itself without any land to pay taxes.
After Song Zhimian finished speaking, the court officials immediately began to discuss it.
Every family has experienced this to some extent; which family hasn't been affiliated with a land agency?
If land taxes were paid according to regulations, no family could possibly keep so much land in their hands!
"Your Majesty... this matter is of great importance. With the decree of the founding emperor in place, this matter needs to be carefully considered!" Prime Minister Lin had not expected things to develop to this point.
Ye Yunshu smiled.
"What Lin Xiang said makes sense! When the Great Ancestor issued such a decree, it was for the sake of the people of Dayu, hoping that Dayu would become stronger and more prosperous."
If Emperor Taizu had seen that his decree had become a tool for those unscrupulous people to amass wealth, would he have regretted issuing such a decree?
Lin Xiang, you two should discuss how to resolve this matter.
If this situation continues, then I might as well exempt all land taxes in the land.
This is to prevent the common people from becoming dissatisfied because they have to pay land taxes and cannot enjoy the same treatment as those noble families.
"That way, some people won't abandon their dignity for such a small amount of profit," Ye Yunshu said with a smile.
Ye Yunshu laughed, but the officials below turned pale with fright.
Permanent exemption from land taxes...
Haha, no emperor in any dynasty would do that!
If land taxes are abolished, wouldn't the saying "all land under heaven belongs to the emperor" be a joke...?
"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Prime Minister Lin quickly led the officials to apologize.
Ye Yunshu snorted, then pulled Xiao Jingjue up and left the main hall.
The court officials looked at each other in bewilderment.
Now look what happened! They were initially indignant and wanted to show their righteousness, but now they've lost everything and made a fool of themselves.
If we investigate them one by one, they will all be punished.
...
"Minister Lin, this matter... this is an imperial decree from the founding emperor, and we haven't violated the laws of Dayu, have we?"
As soon as he stepped out of the main hall, the officials immediately surrounded Prime Minister Lin.
"That's right! We haven't violated the laws of Dayu, so... wouldn't it be a bit much for His Majesty to punish us for this..."
"Alright, you all stop talking."
If you're not upright yourself, you won't have the confidence to speak. So don't bother arguing over such trivial matters.
The problem is very serious. If this continues, and you keep causing trouble, Dayu will really have no land left to pay land taxes.
In the long run, will people still be willing to farm? Will there still be land to farm?
Haven't all the lands ended up in the hands of nobles?
"Go back quickly and think about how to solve this problem." After saying this, Prime Minister Lin turned and left.
The remaining court officials looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
"Let's go back first and think about how to solve this problem."
"Yes, let's think of a solution first! If we don't, His Majesty will definitely be furious, and if we anger His Majesty..."
This emperor has no intention of ignoring the law and punishing the masses.
She'd love for us all to leave the court so she could place more women in positions of power there…
"Yes, yes, yes! We need to go back and think of a solution!"
...
Everyone scattered and went home to think of their own solutions.
Ye Yunshu, however, seized the opportunity to teach Xiao Jingjue.
"Never try to solve things by following the ideas of the courtiers. The more they want to solve something, the less you should pay attention to them."
Then, we'll catch them completely off guard, understand?
Xiao Jingjue nodded frantically.
"I understand! Aunt, what solutions will they come up with to solve this problem?" Xiao Jingjue asked.
"They can think whatever they want, but Auntie won't use their methods."
Let them go back and think about it, just let them think about how what they did was an insult to their ancestors.
Alright, it's time for you to listen to the Master's lecture. First, have breakfast with me, and after breakfast...
"Ugh..." Ye Yunshu clutched her chest for no apparent reason.
Song Zhimian, who had been following behind, suddenly widened her eyes.
What's going on...?
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