how so?

Because the land in the world is divided into two types: official land and private land, and the court's income mainly comes from taxes on official land and private land.

Among them, the tax on official land is several times heavier than that on private land.

The reason why taxes in Suzhou and Songjiang were heavier than those in other regions of the country was not because of discriminatory taxation by the imperial court, but because at the beginning of the country, after the defeat of Zhang Shicheng, who had occupied Suzhou and Songjiang, the lands of him and his subordinates were all taken over as official lands.

The proportion of official farmland in Suzhou and Songjiang is far higher than the national average, so the tax rate is naturally also far higher than the national average.

How heavy was the tax on government land at the beginning of the country?

Even if the weather was good, the common people who rented government land would work hard for a year, and after paying the rent and taxes, they would only have enough food for half a year.

Although the imperial court had been continuously reducing taxes on official fields since the Xuande period, the burden was still too heavy.

Ordinary people could not survive even if they sold their children, so they naturally fled and abandoned the land. This is how hundreds of thousands of acres of abandoned land in Kunshan County came about.

Since the government farmland was abandoned, the imperial court naturally had no tax revenue.

On the other side, the situation in Mintian is not optimistic either.

Although the tax on civilian land was only one tenth, the burden was much lighter. However, it had been completely annexed by the big families, and the big families had countless ways to evade taxes, such as making donations, false mail, flying, moving hills, changing sections, and changing registers, so the government still could not collect taxes.

As a result, Suzhou and Songjiang had the name of heavy taxation but not the reality.

The rest of the prefectures and provinces followed suit, and the court's income dropped sharply, which naturally led to a serious financial crisis.

The reform of "officials and civilians are united, and land and grain are equally distributed" promoted by Lin Run can be said to be the right remedy for the disease.

First, the "equal distribution of land" leveled the tax gap between official land and private land, greatly reducing the burden on official land and allowing the people who had fled to return and continue farming. In this way, the court could both restore tax revenue and reduce the number of refugees.

Secondly, the "equal distribution of grain" policy distributed all the taxes and levies of the people according to the amount of land they owned, so that those with more land would pay more taxes, those with less land would pay less taxes, and those with no land would pay no taxes.

The so-called "haoxian" refers to the loss and transportation costs incurred by the government in the process of delivering tax grain to the people. This is a heavy burden, and it can even be as high as seven or eight dou of "haoxian" for one dan of tax grain.

Previously, the tax was levied on a household basis, which naturally benefited large households with large fields, but brought a heavy burden to those with small fields.

By spreading the taxes on land, the wealthy and powerful can bear the taxes they have evaded, reduce the burden on the common people, and greatly curb the phenomenon of migration.

But the prerequisite for equal distribution of land and grain is to measure the land.

Because the Ming Dynasty was founded 200 years ago, the records in the national yellow book have become extremely chaotic and cannot be used as a basis at all. It is necessary to re-measure in order to clarify the tax rules and make them fair and reasonable.

Therefore, after Lin Run took office, he has been pushing for this matter. Now the nine prefectures have been cleared, and the only problem left is Songjiang.

~~

In the back hall.

Lin Run glanced at Zhao Hao and said in a deep voice: "This is because our court is asking the Xu family to cooperate in returning the land on the pretext of dredging the Wusong River. If they agree, then fine. If they don't agree, our court will force them to clear the land!"

When Zhao Hao saw the murderous and decisive look on that handsome face, he thought to himself that he was indeed a Langmie.

But what does this have to do with me?

"The chancellor really has good intentions." Young Master Zhao said with a bitter smile, "But such a confidential matter should not be known to a little kid like me, right? Aren't you afraid that the news will leak out and put the situation in a passive position?"

"Don't be afraid." Lin Run said with a playful smile: "Since this hospital has told you, it means that you are one of our own."

"The chancellor has chosen me for the wrong thing. I am deeply terrified." Young Master Zhao was flattered, but he declined, saying, "But I am too young, and I am not a proper official. I am afraid I can't help the chancellor."

"No, the success or failure of this court depends on you." Lin Run looked at Zhao Hao steadily, and suddenly said in a deep voice: "Zhao Hao, accept the order!"

"Ah?" Young Master Zhao looked confused. "What?"

"Accept the order." Lin Run rolled his eyes helplessly, stood up, and took out a roll of yellow silk from his sleeve.

Zhao Hao thought to himself, what is going on?

He had no choice but to kneel on the ground and said in a muffled voice: "Your Highness Zhao Hao accepts your order."

"Imperial edict: Zhao Hao, a doctor of the Five Classics in the Hanlin Academy, is appointed as the Imperial Reviewer and is under the command of Lin Run, the governor of Yingtian. No mistakes can be made. Those who violate the edict will be punished for disobeying the imperial order. This is my decree."

"Ah?" Zhao Hao raised his head, his head buzzing.

"What? Why don't you thank me?" Lin Run looked at Zhao Hao enviously and said, "A scholar must study hard for three years and pass the examination before he can be appointed as a Hanlin Reviewer. You are only fifteen years old and have received this noble position without taking the imperial examination. This shows the great love of His Majesty."

"Thank you." Zhao Hao was speechless and asked the heaven, what the hell was going on?

Before leaving Beijing, he went to the palace to meet Emperor Longqing once, and paid a handsome fee in exchange for a plaque with the words "Extremely Fresh" inscribed by the emperor himself.

That time, Longqing talked to him about this and that for a long time, but he never mentioned that he wanted to be under Lin Run's management.

Seeing that Zhao Hao was confused, Lin Run did not correct him and said that "thank you" was wrong, and handed him the yellow silk and said:

"Take a look, it's absolutely genuine. If you really don't believe it, you can write to His Majesty and ask."

As he spoke, he handed a square silver seal to Zhao Hao and said:

"This is from His Majesty. Stamp this seal on the wax and the express delivery company will rush it to the capital at a speed of 800 miles. The Ministry of Public Administration is not allowed to open it and read it. It must be delivered directly to the emperor intact."

Zhao Hao took over the heavy seal, looked at the seal script inscribed with "Ren Gui Ju Miu" (to correct wrongdoings), and suddenly the words "Silver Seal Secret Report" emerged in his mind.

This is the right of the emperor to submit secret documents to the emperor's trusted ministers, which is usually only available to high-ranking officials above the third rank.

Zhao Hao is still a long way from reaching the third level.

But he did not feel honored at all, instead he felt extremely hot.

Looking at the yellow silk and seal in his hand, Zhao Hao finally realized that while he was making careful arrangements, he had already become someone else's pawn...

~~

After the two of them sat down again, Zhao Hao smiled bitterly and said, "What on earth is going on? Please explain it to me, Minister."

"If I tell you, I'm not sure either. Do you believe me?" Lin Run also smiled bitterly.

"I received this decree and this seal not long ago."

As he said this he smiled and said, "Of course, our hospital already has one."

Zhao Hao glanced at him and thought, isn't this nonsense? You are the number one governor in the world, it would be strange if you don't have it.

But you also gave me a green-robed official position, what does that mean?

Is this what Hum Hum meant, or is this Bu Gu’s idea?

"In fact, our hospital had no intention of contacting you so early. We were planning to observe you for a while. It was only after I had a conversation with Mr. Hai when I returned to Nanjing last time that I decided to ask you for help."

Then Lin Run threw out another trump card.

Zhao Hao was completely dumbfounded. How did the Sea Warrior show up? Why was he meddling in this?

He didn't tell me anything at all when we met last time.

"Lord Hai, like me, was sent by His Majesty to Jiangnan to perform tasks. The only difference is that he is in the dark and I am in the light, and we have different divisions of labor." Lin Run explained.

Zhao Hao now understood everything...

ps. This is the fourth update. I will write another one! Please give me a monthly ticket!