94. Taxes
"I think Your Highness did the right thing."
"Are we only hiring people to build houses?" Zhou Baihu asked. "If the workshop needs to weave cloth and make clothes, shouldn't we also hire weavers? Besides, there probably isn't anyone in Daliang who knows how to handle cotton, so shouldn't we go to the area outside the Great Wall to look for them?"
Shen Suqin listened attentively, "Commander Zhou is becoming more and more experienced. I really didn't consider this aspect, so I'll have to trouble Commander Zhou to take care of it."
"Madam, you're too kind. It's all part of my job. Besides, recruiting for Shenji is the easiest thing in the world. We offer good benefits and high wages. Once the recruitment information is released, everyone will be eager to come."
"It's also thanks to Zhou Baihu's good management."
Zhou Baihu happily agreed, "I'll escort Madam back."
On the way back, Shen Suqin took a detour and headed towards the southern suburbs.
She didn't move the land here; as far as the eye could see, there were lush green wheat seedlings and busy figures.
Shen Suqin walked a little closer, stepped off the official road, and went to the edge of the field.
The black soil in the field was plowed finely and evenly, as if smoothed out bit by bit by the palm of a hand. The newly sprouted wheat seedlings were also very vigorous, with the distance between each clump as if measured with a ruler.
Looking around, they resemble neatly arranged soldiers, nodding their little heads and dozing off in the gentle spring breeze.
"They really put a lot of effort into planting it," Shen Suqin exclaimed.
Zhou Baihu replied, "That's right. This land used to belong to the wealthy families in the city, and no one could cultivate it even if they wanted to. Now that they have land to cultivate and can fill their stomachs, everyone is working hard."
"Doesn't Madam think that the people of Ningyuan are different from before?"
Shen Suqin looked up and saw that everyone working in the fields was full of energy, some even chatting and laughing. When she first arrived, everyone's eyes were filled with exhaustion and numbness.
“It’s different now,” she said.
“I have a brother in my hometown who told me that when his parents first found out that their family would be allocated dozens of acres of land, they couldn’t believe it at all and insisted that it was a lie. Later, when they were taken to measure the land, they still didn’t believe it and thought that the land would never be in their hands. It wasn’t until spring, when the neighbors came to call his parents to the fields, that they finally dared to believe that their family had land to cultivate.”
"And there are schools. In the past, poor people never dared to dream of such things. Not only could they not find teachers who could teach them, but even if they did, they couldn't afford the tuition. Now, Your Highness is establishing schools throughout the entire territory, and anyone of the right age can go to school. This is an immense blessing, something we never dared to even dream of before."
She knew about the school; the soap workshop paid for the teachers and the school buildings, so the students didn't have to pay anything.
When Shi Ye first proposed setting up a school, everyone below him opposed it. Their biggest concerns were the lack of money and manpower. However, Shen Suqin did not object. In her opinion, education was a serious matter. It was just that they did not have the money at the time. They only started investing after the soap workshop became profitable.
As far as she knows, it's not very large now, and it only exists in a few densely populated counties.
"actually......"
She was about to say something when she was suddenly interrupted by a voice.
"Madam! You're really here!"
Shen Suqin turned around and saw several unfamiliar women, each carrying a basket.
"Are you going to deliver food to your family?" she asked with a smile.
These women, who didn't usually associate with the general's wife, were all a little embarrassed to approach her because she spoke softly and didn't seem like a rough person.
Fortunately, a cheerful person suddenly appeared out of nowhere, squeezed to the front of the crowd, lifted the coarse cloth on his basket to reveal the eggs inside, and said, "I've been saying I'd come to see you for a long time, but I know you're busy and I didn't dare to bother you."
“You rarely go out today, but we caught you, haha,” she shoved the egg basket into Shen Suqin’s arms. “A few days ago, the workshop distributed the profits, and everyone got nearly two taels of silver. We haven’t earned that much money in years. It’s all thanks to you, Madam!”
Shen Suqin listened attentively, occasionally chiming in with a few words.
In the end, she accepted all those things and piled them up in the yard. She picked them out one by one and put them into the kitchen and the main room.
She likes these things.
When Yan Lin came home to cook dinner, he noticed a lot of extra things in the house and asked her, "Did you go out?"
"No, it was a gift from someone."
Who sent it?
"I don't know, it was a gift from a friend."
Yan Lin laughed: "You have friends everywhere, you should thank yourself. Your Guzongfang has supported many people, as has that Juntian Ling."
"I guess so."
Yan Lin sat down and said, "Let's get down to business. I've received several letters these past few days from people who want to come to Jinzhou to do business."
"Hmm? What kind of business do you do?"
"Actually, it's not really about doing business. We just want to move our family's assets to Jinzhou. As you know, taxes are heavy in other parts of Daliang. Before, everyone who could run away had already done so. We even considered running away ourselves. Now, all those who are contacting me want to move their family businesses to Jinzhou."
Shen Suqin became interested: "What kind of businesses do you have?"
"Dyeing workshops, paper mills, ceramics..."
"Wait, ceramics can be moved too? Doesn't it require local clay or something?"
"I don't know, but I guess it happens in every industry. What do you think?"
Shen Suqin hesitated for a long time: "I can't say what's wrong with their coming. On the contrary, if they come, it can boost the income of the people of Jinzhou. After all, they need to hire people to work and buy raw materials. This way, the people will have more spare money. What do you think?"
"I don't think this is so simple; we need to be cautious."
"So they asked you about...?"
"It's like paying respects to the authorities; we're afraid they might come over rashly and we won't be able to accommodate them."
Shen Suqin thought for a moment and said, “You’re right. This matter is a bit complicated. It’s not good for us to get involved for the time being. If we accept it, it would mean openly going against the officials in charge of each county and prefecture. It’s not a good situation.”
"That's what I thought too, so I didn't agree right away."
The news that powerful merchants from various regions wanted to come to Jinzhou in groups quickly spread, and the imperial court and local officials all knew about it.
Local officials are trying their best to prevent this, because if the merchants abscond, who will they collect taxes from? Their pockets will be empty, and they will have a hard time making a living.
Some people even wrote a letter to Shi Ye, asking him to prohibit merchants from migrating north.
Shi Ye slammed the letter on the table and asked Shen Suqin what she thought.
Shen Suqin didn't even bother to look at them, and said directly, "These people are really desperate, but I don't understand why they didn't do this sooner. Now they're thinking of chaining people up, don't they think it's too late?"
"These incompetent parasites only care about immediate gains and don't care about anything else. But to be honest, this has given me a wake-up call. The tax collection in Jinzhou hasn't been sorted out yet."
Shen Suqin thought about it and agreed, but this should be Xiao Pingchuan's concern.
But he probably doesn't care or pay attention to it.
"What do you think, Your Highness?"
Shi Ye took a step back: "The moment you call me Your Highness, I know you're up to something again."
"How could that be? Your Highness is overthinking it. I was just asking for your opinion. After all, if we really start paying taxes, I'll definitely have to spend a lot of money."
"That's not necessarily true. After all, not everyone can afford to spend over a million yuan a year to support the army."
Shen Suqin nodded in agreement.
“But the capable should do more,” Shi Ye changed the subject. “We can discuss it further. I know you’re not the stingy type. Of course, the Black Flag Army can’t rely on you alone, and the equipment will need to be replaced later. You can’t pay for that yourself, so the tax issue needs to be settled as soon as possible.”
"What are your plans?" Shen Suqin asked.
"I'm thinking of following the regulations of the imperial court."
Daliang has many types of taxes, including land tax, poll tax, commercial tax, customs duty, etc. Here we will mainly talk about commercial tax.
Commercial taxes were divided into two stages: circulation and transaction. The Liang dynasty called circulation taxes "transfer taxes" and transaction taxes "resident taxes." Transfer taxes were further divided into gate taxes and customs duties, while resident taxes included deed taxes, market stall taxes, and so on. Initially, the tax rates were not heavy, with transfer taxes at 2% and resident taxes at 3%. However, later, various regions levied exorbitant taxes, creating many new tax categories, such as tea taxes and wine taxes, with the highest rate reaching 10%.
Moreover, the tax rate system varies from place to place. Some merchants would be taxed multiple times when transporting goods through several gates. In the end, they would not make any money but would lose money to pay taxes.
This is precisely why a large number of merchants fled Daliang.
At present, Jinzhou is in dire need of reconstruction. Agriculture and commerce have only just begun to recover since last year, and the issue of taxation has not yet been put on the agenda.
However, things have stabilized this year, so it's time to implement it.
“Following the imperial regulations is certainly the right thing to do, but I’m afraid it might turn into something like what happened in other counties,” Shen Suqin said.
"No, the tax rate is uniform throughout Jinzhou. No one is allowed to create new tax categories without authorization. Special personnel are dispatched to inspect the area every year, and any violations will be severely punished," Shi Ye said.
Shen Suqin listened and nodded.
It took her a while to realize: "You've been planning all this for a long time, haven't you?"
"That's natural."
"You regard Jinzhou as..."
"The training ground before I took office was the closest place to a system of isolated governance. There was no powerful clans, no corrupt officials, and the military and civilians were united. The people lived in peace and prosperity. If the whole of Daliang could be like Jinzhou, then peace and prosperity would not be far away."
Shen Suqin listened with a smile, feeling that he was a bit too idealistic.
Jinzhou is not without problems; in just one year, many issues have surfaced.
For example, was the land distribution truly equal? Some people in power inevitably sought out good land for themselves and distributed more land; did those with large differences in the quality of land not complain or cause trouble?
As for the governance of officials, it's because it's not yet sound and hasn't truly started operating, so naturally, problems can't be discovered.
But Shen Suqin didn't want to discourage him, after all, this was the future of Daliang.
“I think Your Highness did the right thing,” she said.
After the news of the merchants' desire to go north spread, all the counties and prefectures tried their best to suppress this trend, which only made the merchants want to go north even more.
Seeing that Yan Lin wouldn't budge, they turned their attention to Shen Suqin, relentlessly pursuing her and trying to get a straight answer.
Unable to bear the disturbance any longer, Shen Suqin simply finished her work and went to the Shule River alone.
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