Volume One, The Hatchling Opens Its Eyes Chapter 137: Taxation in the City of Beijing

Chapter 137: Taxation in the Capital of Beijing

Although Zhu Qizhen knew that Yang Shiqi was politely declining his request, he had no alternative.

This was because Zhu Qizhen knew that Yang Shiqi’s reasoning was entirely sound.

Precisely because it was sound, there was nothing to be done. Although the imperial court had some reserves, local officials everywhere were eager to spend money. If a precedent were set here, it would be difficult to handle matters in the provinces.

Therefore, this difficult problem had to be handed over to Yu Qian.

Yu Qian stated, "This minister has four strategies to resolve this urgent matter."

Overjoyed, Zhu Qizhen said, "Please enlighten us, Master Yu."

Yu Qian explained, "First are the housing taxes and deed taxes." He then detailed the methods involved, adding, "In this way, we can collect at least tens of thousands of taels annually, and up to several tens of thousands, which will be sufficient to support the minor officials."

"Second is the capital city gate tax. This minister actually drew inspiration for this from Jiao Jing."

"Third is the market stall tax."

Yu Qian continued, "During the reign of Emperor Renzong, because the paper currency remained stable, the market stall tax was collected in paper currency. In Beijing for a single year, the stall tax amounted to roughly over ten thousand taels."

"However, previously, the imperial court lacked sufficient personnel, and the tax was mostly collected as a fixed quota rather than based on actual assessments."

"This minister has walked through every street and alley of Beijing and found that many people fail to pay this tax. Now that our numbers are greater, and this minister will lead minor officials to collect it in person, the yield will definitely increase significantly. As for by how much, this minister does not yet know."

"Aside from the ten-thousand-tael quota turned over to the Ministry of Revenue, there should roughly be several thousand taels of fine silver remaining."

"Fourth is the incense tax."

"Within the capital, there are numerous Buddhist temples and Daoist shrines with flourishing incense offerings, yet many enjoy the protection of powerful nobles, leading to unpaid incense taxes. By enforcing strict laws, this minister can extract several thousand taels more than usual."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qizhen made a quick mental calculation and asked, "In this way, Daxing County alone can generate at least thirty to fifty thousand taels annually, which will be enough to sustain the expenses of the various petty officials?"

Yu Qian replied, "Your Majesty, this is by no means an exemplary governance policy. It can be applied in the capital, but absolutely must not be extended to other prefectures and counties. Otherwise, the common people across the realm will surely suffer. This minister proposes this merely as an expedient measure."

Zhu Qizhen naturally understood this.

The Great Ming was a standard agrarian society.

The vast majority of taxes supporting the imperial court's expenditures came from agricultural taxes.

In this regard, it differed from later eras.

The taxes that could be levied within urban areas were not particularly numerous. At most, they were limited to commercial taxes, market stall taxes, gate taxes, and deed taxes.

Even housing taxes had not existed previously.

These were things created by Yu Qian.

However, this was the capital—a metropolis with a population exceeding one million.

Many taxes that could be levied in Beijing, Nanjing, and Suzhou would be a waste of manpower and money elsewhere, and the taxes collected might not even cover the collection costs.

Yet, while the early Ming Dynasty was like this, the late Ming Dynasty was not. The commercial society of the Ming Dynasty was extremely developed, and just how much silver circulated through commerce remains unclear even to later generations, with some estimating it at seven or eight hundred million taels. But one thing was certain: the Ming imperial court did not reap the slightest benefit from it.

Therefore, although Zhu Qizhen had not originally intended to overhaul urban taxation, Yu Qian had already done so, and Zhu Qizhen naturally wished to carry it forward and expand upon it.

However, he could not express these thoughts to Yu Qian.

Yu Qian might not yet realize the profound significance of this.

Zhu Qizhen said, "Naturally, I understand. However, the remaining tax revenue should still have a surplus after maintaining the officials, correct?"

Yu Qian replied, "This minister has already found a use for the surplus revenue." He then detailed the intended uses of these funds one by one, focusing primarily on the construction of drainage systems.

It seemed that the recent waterlogging within Beijing had taught Yu Qian a profound lesson.

Zhu Qizhen sighed inwardly, thinking to himself, "It seems everyone is afraid of me spending money recklessly. Am I really that kind of person?"

Whether it was the Grand Empress Dowager, Yang Shiqi, or even Yu Qian, they all seemed to think this way.

If the Grand Empress Dowager had not felt overwhelmed, the more than thirty million taels of silver in the inner treasury would never have been handed over to Zhu Qizhen. Yang Shiqi was the same, desperately compressing any out-of-plan expenditures Zhu Qizhen desired.

They acted just like old stewards with the words "diligent and thrifty household management" branded across their foreheads.

Even Yu Qian was no exception.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "Is there anything else right now that requires my assistance?"

Yu Qian answered, "Borrowing Your Majesty's imperial might, everything is proceeding smoothly."

Heaven knows how many hidden struggles lay behind what Yu Qian described as "everything proceeding smoothly."

Had it not been for the Duke of Ying, Zhang Fu, taking the lead and paying his family's housing tax, it would be a miracle if the lesser nobles behaved obediently. This was also why Yu Qian kept the housing tax moderate and dared not levy too much.

This was a form of compromise; after all, for the housing tax, properties with an estimated value below twenty taels were exempted, matching the standard for deed taxes.

Not to mention the incense tax.

One must realize that the bigwigs behind the capital's temples were none other than the eunuchs within Beijing.

These eunuchs lacked descendants and pinned all their hopes on the afterlife, mostly devoting themselves sincerely to Buddhism. Even among the eunuch elite, Wang Zhen did not dare to act presumptuously in front of Zhu Qizhen.

However, there were certain people whom even Zhu Qizhen could do nothing about.

They were none other than the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager in the inner palace.

The so-called incense tax involved taxing the incense offering funds of various temples. Regarding this matter, the Grand Empress Dowager was broad-minded and remained unmoved.

Empress Dowager Sun, however, felt that the emperor had gone too far.

Yet, Empress Dowager Sun was, after all, not the Grand Empress Dowager. She merely muttered a few words of complaint to Zhu Qizhen, and after Zhu Qizhen lowered his head and admitted his fault, the matter passed.

As a mother who doted on her son, she would likely donate a bit more sesame oil money to the temples to redeem herself before the Buddha, but she would not completely undermine her own son's dignity.

Without Zhu Qizhen propping him up from behind, Yu Qian would have long since been demoted and sent to the provinces.

However, after hesitating slightly for a moment, Yu Qian said, "Your Majesty, there is only one matter that requires Your Majesty's attention. With these changes, Daxing and Wanping counties have seen their powers greatly increased. Unlike ordinary counties, we need capable personnel to take charge and maintain control."

Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen nodded in agreement.

Of course he knew that amidst all these reforms, Yu Qian had essentially sidelined the magistrates of both counties.

Yet, those two magistrates had never possessed much real power anyway.

There is an old saying: "Three lifetimes of misfortune, to be a magistrate where the prefecture seat is attached; three lifetimes of evil, to be a magistrate where the provincial capital is attached; sins overflowing to the heavens, to be a magistrate where the imperial capital is attached." For those magistrates whose sins overflowed to the heavens, Shuntian Prefecture under Yu Qian found them extremely difficult to deal with.

Had it not been for this massive flood, Zhu Qizhen would not have found an excuse to grant Yu Qian expanded powers. Yu Qian would have felt stifled just staying in Beijing, let alone those two magistrates.

Taking a stroll through the streets of Beijing, nearly everyone you met was a superior official. Aside from the two counties attached to the capital seat, Yu Qian had many other counties and prefectures under his jurisdiction outside the city; but these two magistrates could never stretch their hands beyond Beijing.

Consequently, upon taking office, these two magistrates simply ignored everything—well, there was nothing much for them to manage anyway. Their sole, unwavering desire was to accomplish one thing:

To be transferred away from here.

Therefore, when Yu Qian went about his work, he simply bypassed the two yamen entirely.

However, this could not be the permanent state of affairs.

After all, as the Prefect of Shuntian, Yu Qian had many other tasks to attend to. For instance, the project to tame the Lugou River was about to begin.

Water conservancy was the most proper of state affairs, which was why Zhu Qizhen had persuaded Yang Shiqi, and Yang Shiqi no longer obstructed Zhu Qizhen on this matter.

He agreed to the Ministry of Revenue's budget allocation, the conscription of corvée laborers from Shuntian Prefecture, and even the deployment of garrison troops.

However, resolving the problem of the Lugou River once and for all remained a daunting challenge.

The difficulty lay in the fact that the troubles of the Lugou River had accumulated over many days, and the imperial court itself lacked a comprehensive solution. For a long time, the strategy had simply been to reinforce the dikes of the Beijing section of the Lugou River, ensuring that if it breached, it would breach downstream and not affect Beijing.

In this major undertaking, even though it was overseen by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works, since it lay within the territory of Shuntian Prefecture, Yu Qian could not possibly remain uninvolved.

"Very well," Zhu Qizhen said. "Let Liu Dingzhi be transferred to serve as the Magistrate of Daxing County. He rendered meritorious service in horse breeding in the northwest. As for Wanping County, leave that to Senior Grand Secretary Yang. Senior Grand Secretary Yang will surely select a capable official."

Yu Qian replied, "This minister understands."

As Zhu Qizhen dismissed Liu Dingzhi, he suddenly recalled how, several years prior, Liu Dingzhi had journeyed far to the northwest to serve with the army. Much of the intelligence regarding the northwest wars had been dispatched back by Liu Dingzhi, and he had also exposed numerous malpractices within the horse-breeding administration.

Consequently, Zhu Qizhen had assigned Liu Dingzhi to the Imperial Stud Farm to breed horses in the northwest.

Liu Dingzhi had remained there for several years. He possessed genuine administrative talent, and his annual evaluations for several years running were rated as excellent. He had climbed all the way from a junior seventh-rank official in the stud farm to the Assistant Director of the Shaanxi Imperial Stud Court, a proper sixth-rank official, gaining a comprehensive mastery of Shaanxi's equine administration.

The Magistrate of Daxing County was also a proper sixth-rank post. Regardless, serving as the Daxing Magistrate meant becoming a capital official, which constituted a promotion.