After farming, I opened a family tree

Chapter 205

After paying homage to the ancestors, Liu officially acknowledged the relationship.

The Shen and Liu families became increasingly close.

Although Shen Tang did not participate in the court affairs regarding trade, the news was still brought to Shen Tang's mansion.

Several ministers looked at Shen Tang drinking his tea leisurely and could only sigh again at Shen Tang's determination.

"Nowadays, every family wants to arrange personnel to participate in the trade. The emperor has already started the joint implementation of this matter by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue. I think this matter was proposed by you, Marquis Ning'an. I would like to hear your specific thoughts."

The Minister of Rites also spoke:

"My Lord, you may not know this yet, but a few days ago, the Prince of Beidi even proposed that he wanted to stay in Daqi to study permanently, and he even wanted to have the young people of Beidi come to Daqi to learn the culture and etiquette of Beidi.

The entire court is now in an uproar over this matter, and there is still no result.

Especially the military commanders, after hearing this, were surprisingly unanimous in their opposition."

Shen Tang had also heard Liu Wendong mention this matter, but since Shen Tang had already told Emperor Jing, he did not ask about it.

"Then the Prince of Beidi wants to stay in Daqi. According to your Excellency's opinion, is this a good idea or a bad idea?"

"In my opinion, it is feasible."

Shen Tang nodded. The civilization of Da Qi was incomparable to other surrounding countries.

Prince Beidi's proposal to stay in Da Qi was probably not a spur-of-the-moment idea. During this period, it was heard that Koda and his men frequently appeared in the market of Da Qi.

Shen Tang was not surprised at all by Keda's idea. After all, she had heard about the historical stories of various nations coming to pay tribute when she was in school. It was just that now it was the Northern Di who came to visit.

If Beidi is willing to send their younger generation to study, that would be the best thing. They can learn the style of the great Confucian scholars of Daqi and their etiquette education, which will subtly influence the next generation of Beidi and make them willing to get close to Daqi.

If the education is done properly, it can even fundamentally prevent the war between Da Qi and Bei Di from happening for a period of time.

Therefore, Shen Tang supported Beidi coming to Da Qi to study.

"It's okay to come to Da Qi to study, but there should be a time limit."

The impact of a short period of time is definitely not as great as that of a long period of time.

When the Minister of Rites met Shen Tang's gaze, he instantly understood what the other party meant.

"But I still want to say something kindly to you, sir. The Ministry of Revenue can deduct anything, but it cannot deduct military pay."

Shen Tang spoke to the Minister of Revenue.

"The more lenient Da Qi is towards the Northern Di, the more we must not fall behind in military affairs. If we allow the young people of the Northern Di to come to Da Qi to study, then we must let the Northern Di know our military strength. Only then can the Northern Di people have the intention but not the courage to commit crimes, or even have the courage but not the strength to commit crimes!"

The Minister of Revenue was also stunned when Shen Tang suddenly mentioned military pay.

"In previous years, a portion of the military pay was withheld because the treasury was truly empty."

"Since the treasury is empty, why not increase commercial taxes?"

Shen Tang had brought up this matter before, but no one mentioned it again. Now that Shen Tang brought up the old matter again, the Minister of Revenue's face became a little solemn.

National taxes cannot be raised at will.

Seeing that the other party stopped talking, Shen Tang stopped talking and just asked someone to get a booklet.

"These are what Shen Tang came up with during his free time a few days ago. You may take them back and have a look. If I can help you, it would be my honor."

The Minister of Revenue took the book, turned over a page, glanced at a line of words, and then suddenly closed the book.

Then he stared at Shen Tang, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Shen Tang is simply a monster! His intelligence is almost demonic!

The booklet in the hands of the Minister of Revenue contained information about Shen Tang’s professional background in his previous life.

Based on what he knew about the laws and policies of the Great Qi Dynasty and the regulations on related taxes, Shen Tang integrated the commercial tax laws of later generations and rewrote a new tax policy.

There were other suggestions. The Minister of Revenue was the person who knew the tax laws of the Great Qi best, so he was shocked when he saw the contents of the booklet.

After returning home, the Minister of Revenue went straight to the study.

Shen Tang's booklet was read over and over again by the Shangshu Lord, and almost no mistakes could be found.

How can one write something so precise and detailed?

Shen Tang: I’m sorry, modern laws are also gradually improved layer by layer.

However, some of the content in the booklet is too harsh.

After much consideration, the Minister of Revenue submitted the booklet to Emperor Jing.

The first page of the booklet describes the distribution of land tax.

The tax on land is also known as the tax on land or the tax on land.

The tax is distributed according to the land area, and the amount of tax is determined according to the amount of land.

Those with more land pay more, those with less land pay less, and those with no land pay nothing.

This was implemented during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty, but it was brought to Da Qi by Shen Tang in advance.

After the poll tax was implemented, landless farmers no longer had to bear the poll tax.

In the case of the small number of farmers, since they are the largest in number when conscription is carried out on a per capita basis, and they are often burdened by landlords and other powerful people, their burden far exceeds the proportion they should bear based on their land and property.

After the land tax was equalized, the tax was evenly distributed according to the amount of land or land tax. Since these farmers had less land, their burden was naturally lighter than before. After the land tax was equalized, the gentry's exemption rights were abolished, and their land was also taxed, thus increasing the amount of land that was taxed, which also made the burden on farmers relatively lighter.

The equalization of the tax rate based on the amount of land per mu reduced the economic burden on landless and land-poor farmers and promoted population growth. The simplification of tax rules reduced the possibility of arbitrary tax increases by the government.

Moreover, according to what Shen Tang had learned before, the implementation of the land-based tax system directly led to the explosive growth of China's population. From Qianlong to Daoguang, the national population exceeded 4 million, accounting for more than 40% of the world's population at that time, laying the foundation for China to become a populous country.

It makes sense for Shen Tang to put the land tax distribution at the forefront.

This tax is the most difficult to implement among all taxes, but once implemented, it will definitely bring the greatest benefits.

When Emperor Jing saw Shen Tang's booklet, he was much more shocked than the Minister of Revenue.

After all, once this policy was implemented, Emperor Jing did not dare to imagine how much tax the entire Da Qi would collect, but at the same time, he did not dare to imagine how much of a shock the Da Qi's government would cause.

"Don't spread this matter out."

Emperor Jing instructed the Minister of Revenue, who nodded.

After the Minister of Revenue left the Imperial Study, Emperor Jing was left alone.

What Shen Tang didn't know was that Emperor Jing had copied this booklet himself, and the original manuscript was kept in his private library.

First, they proposed mutual trade, and now they have proposed a tax system based on the amount of land they have to live in.

He was already extraordinary, and now he seems even more unfathomable.

Shen Tang, ah Shen Tang, how many surprises do you have in store for me that I don’t know about.