"Your Majesty, I believe that the land reckoning is a good thing. With the recent rise in new crops, farmland production has increased. However, many people have been left with no land to farm, leading to widespread land annexation and investment. Instead of increasing taxes, the court has seen a continuous decrease."
"In my opinion, this is why someone down there is hiding the land. Your Majesty's desire to investigate the land is truly beneficial to the country and the people. I simply want to say, Your Majesty is wise!"
Everyone glanced at Cui Chengxiu, feeling a little disappointed, and then laughed at themselves.
It would be strange if someone like Cui Chengxiu jumped out to oppose it.
This statement is too consistent with his personality. He stood up to flatter others, showing shamelessness and lack of integrity.
Zhu Youxiao looked at Cui Chengxiu and said impatiently, "Are you standing here just to flatter me?"
The people around were immediately delighted.
Is this a case of flattery hitting the horse's hoof?
"Your Majesty, I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart," Cui Chengxiu said quickly. "Besides that, I have one more thing to say. Even if we conduct a land inventory, the same thing happens every year, and it's the same every year. So I think simply conducting a land inventory is useless."
"Then tell me what you have in mind?" Zhu Youxiao seemed interested and asked Cui Chengxiu.
The people around them felt a pang of fear.
This Cui Chengxiu was not a good person to begin with, and he really wanted to get involved. It was better not to listen to his ideas, because this guy didn't have any good ideas.
"Yes, Your Majesty," Cui Chengxiu said quickly. "I believe the Ming Dynasty's current lack of tax revenue and severe land tax burden stem from a single reason: scholars refuse to pay taxes."
"Grandfather Taizu had a good idea back then: to exempt scholars from taxes, so that poor scholars could afford to study and eat. But today, Taizu's good intentions have been completely shattered by them."
The matter was one thing, but the blame for it couldn't be placed on Emperor Taizu, as that had already happened over two hundred years earlier. Furthermore, one couldn't curse someone's ancestors in front of the emperor, so Cui Chengxiu simply placed the blame on the world.
Emperor Taizu had good intentions, but you are so heartless.
Zhu Youxiao nodded and said thoughtfully, "I think what you said makes sense, but I can't abolish this policy of the Grandfather, right? After all, it is a good policy, and many scholars have indeed benefited from it."
"Yes, Your Majesty," Cui Chengxiu said quickly. "This minister also knows this. There are many colleagues in the court whose families are poor. It was only because of the tax exemption policy of the Great Ancestor that they were able to afford education."
"But nowadays, many people are cheating and annexing a lot of land without paying taxes, hiding the land. This is simply a heinous crime! So this thing should be changed."
"Then how do you think it should be changed?" Zhu Youxiao asked again.
"Grandpa Taizu's idea was simply to make it possible for scholars to afford education and to prevent poor scholars from starving to death. Why not replace tax exemptions with grain payments? Those who qualify for tax exemptions will receive grain payments based on the amount of land they own. In this way, all land will be subject to tax, and no one will be exempt. Your family will pay taxes based on the amount of land they own. If you have achieved meritorious service, you can enjoy tax reductions, and the court can return some grain to you. The amount of grain you receive will be determined by your meritorious service, and there's a fixed amount."
"I believe that carrying out this policy together with the land inventory will greatly increase the court's revenue. With more taxes, the court will be able to do more. It will also be impossible for those who want to hide their land."
After saying that, Cui Chengxiu stepped aside.
The people around looked at Cui Chengxiu, no one spoke, and they were all a little shocked.
This idea was thought up by Cui Chengxiu.
It doesn’t really matter who came up with the idea. What matters is how he dared to say it out loud.
You know, this is something that offends people!
Everyone knows that in today's world, the royal family pays taxes, whether it is the emperor or the royal family, nobles and relatives. The only ones who still enjoy this tax-free privilege are scholars.
In fact, it is quite annoying to look at, but no one dares to say anything.
No one expected that Cui Chengxiu would dare to lift the lid on this place and even provide a feasible solution.
This method can shut people up. After all, you are being given money and food, so isn't it the same thing?
Do you want to take advantage of the court's policies to evade taxes and hide land?
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