Chapter 690 Exchange of Interests
Shen Qingqian frowned when she heard him say this.
Northern Hubei now has to develop armaments, build canals, and form caravans. In addition, there is a group of people building border fortifications. Money is really needed everywhere.
"What is the current tax situation in northern Hubei?" After thinking for a long time, Shen Qingqian asked.
Sheng Ze did not hide anything and gave a number, "After Lord Zhang came to northern Hubei, he sorted out the books of the past years. He had already handed them all to us. I asked someone to check and there is no problem."
"So little?" Shen Qingqian was surprised when she heard the number.
There are at least 300,000 ordinary people in northern Hubei. How can there be only so much tax money?
Sheng Ze sighed helplessly, "Last year, only the portion of tax grain that belonged to the Hubei Northern Army was retained. The rest was all turned over to the court. The same goes for tax silver. A good amount was retained. It's not tax collection time this year yet. If it weren't for Shan Mancheng's 500,000 taels last year, the Hubei Northern Army might have been in a much harder situation."
The tax grain of the Jin Dynasty was submitted after the autumn harvest every year. The tax silver from merchants and the city entry tax collected from the people entering the city were counted and submitted to the treasury every quarter.
Liang Cheng and Zhang Zhiyao should be using this money to support the normal operation of the entire northern Hubei.
"Have you ever thought about fundraising?" Shen Qingqian thought for a moment and asked Sheng Ze.
Shengze was puzzled, "Does fundraising require people to donate silver?"
Who would donate money for no reason?
Shen Qingqian curled the corners of her lips and said, "In essence, it is indeed asking people to donate money, but we can't let people give money for free, right?"
"For example..." Sheng Ze looked at her cunning eyes like a little fox, and his mood became cheerful.
Shen Qingqian smiled. "Isn't the Hubei Northern Army building fortifications? We need people, right? Shouldn't the children of the rich and powerful be conscripted like the common people? If they don't want their own people to build the city walls, shouldn't they pay something?"
This was not aimed at wealthy families. Ordinary families were required to send people to the court to do things that benefit the country and the people. This was a form of corvee labor.
In ancient times, corvee labor was a kind of unpaid labor that the ruling class forced the people to participate in, including forced labor, miscellaneous labor, military service, etc.
The common people have no way out when they are oppressed, but the rich can solve the problem with money. However, sometimes such things are not informed to the powerful class at all, and over time, they become a convention.
Shen Qingqian didn’t know what other dynasties were like, but this was the attitude of the Jin Dynasty towards this matter.
"What you mean is..." Sheng Ze also remembered this and began to think about how this matter should work.
Shen Qingqian blinked and said, "According to the rules, paying for labor service with silver is only the first step. Our goal is a win-win situation. For example, if we need to provide tools and materials to build a canal or a sentry post or city wall, then we can let the corresponding merchants or noble families contract them out."
Now all the weapons used by the Hubei North Army are produced by the Military Equipment Inspectorate. Shen Qingqian has long felt that this model is not feasible. If Shengze can figure out the key, perhaps he can take advantage of this opportunity to form a good market environment for military-civilian cooperation.
"I understand." Sheng Ze combined what he saw in his dream with the current situation in northern Hubei, and he already had a preliminary idea in his mind.
Seeing the worry disappear from his brow, Shen Qingqian stopped talking and only reminded him, "Merchants are actually ordinary people. As long as they pay taxes according to the rules, they should have the rights of ordinary people. Even if you want the money in their pockets, you have to exchange it for similar benefits."
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