Chapter 65: Planting Blessings (V)
On the first day of November, the police suddenly came to Huo Chong's house and asked him to go to the county town to meet the new magistrate. The original magistrate Xu had been transferred.
The new Magistrate Lu spoke with a Jiangxi accent, not the Jiangzhe accent of the previous one. Not only Huo Chong came, but also several people wearing silk and satin. When everyone heard Magistrate Lu talk about taxation, they realized that the others were the tax farmers in charge of taxation in the county.
Being able to pay taxes means having some power in the village. Huo Chong saw that although these people had different expressions, they were all very calm.
Magistrate Lu told everyone in a rather polite tone that he would not collect much in terms of fire consumption, but the tax must not be reduced by a penny. Magistrate Lu would not let anyone who defaulted on the payment off lightly.
After the meeting, Huo Chong and the other tax farmers came out. One of them said with a smile, "Everyone, it's freezing outside. Why don't you come to my house and sit for a while?"
Hearing the elegant words used by this person, Huo Chong felt that he was a scholar. When the others heard this invitation, they all looked at Huo Chong. Huo Chong laughed and said, "Haha, if I can get close to you, of course I want to go."
The person who invited them was Zhang Qixian, a juren. The other tax farmers were either juren or scholars. All of them had achieved academic honors.
Huo Chong felt that this group of scholars probably looked down on him, so he didn't want to hang out with them. But this group of people kept asking Huo Chong, trying to know what the relationship between Huo Chong and the people behind him was. This made Huo Chong even more annoyed. So he made an excuse, "Everyone, I have to go back to the village."
Zhang Qixian asked: "Brother Huo, why don't you buy a house in the county town?"
"Brother Zhang, I've been looking for it for a while, but I really can't find it." Huo Chong replied.
"If Brother Huo doesn't mind, I know of a house for sale. How about I send someone to take Brother Huo there to ask tomorrow?"
Huo Chong felt that Zhang Qixian was using the house to lure him, but at this moment he felt that if he didn't put up with it, he would be at a disadvantage. In the end, he had to agree.
So the group of tax farmers with official titles continued to surround Huo Chong and ask him all kinds of questions. Huo Chong kept his bottom line and did not mention his relationship with the upper class. As they talked, everyone began to feel bored. The topic finally shifted away from Huo Chong and fell on the issue of the land tax.
Huo Chong originally thought that the gentry strongly opposed the policy of paying the territorial tax per mu, but he did not expect that the people in front of him did not care much, and no one opposed it strongly. When it came to paying the territorial tax per mu, these people just thought it made sense, and the court really did not collect the territorial tax when it was implemented. It was still trustworthy.
Could it be that the Shandong landlords have become so conscious? Huo Chong was a little shocked.
When Huo Chong was surprised, he heard someone ask him, "Brother Huo, how do you collect rent for your land?"
"Rent?" Huo Chong didn't understand for a moment. Thinking about it again, he remembered that he was also a landlord, and at least he had thirty acres of contiguous land. So he answered, "Fifty percent."
When saying this, Huo Chong felt a little uneasy. Although it was 50%, Huo Chong actually secretly lowered the rent in order to convince Liu Sijin. It was equivalent to reducing the rent from 50% to 40% through subsidies. Even so, Huo Chong still felt that it was not enough to motivate Liu Sijin.
"Brother Huo, do you want to raise it to 60%?" asked the tax farmer with a meritorious title.
Huo Chong quickly shook his head, "This is the rule, how can I break the rule?"
The tax farmer did not comment on the rules, but just said: "Since the government has implemented the tax-tax system, the rent must be increased."
The other tax collectors nodded in agreement. Huo Chong looked left and right and asked carefully, "How much do you think the tax rate should be raised to?"
"Let's say it increases to 70%." said the one who asked Huo Chong.
Huo Chong was dumbfounded at the time. 70% rent, 70% rent! The landlords are going to raise the rent to 70%!
Just when I was horrified at the exploitation of the landlords, I heard others think that 70% might not be enough. In Fujian, the land rent has already reached 70%, and after the land tax is distributed according to the acreage, the rent may reach 80%.
Hearing the regret in his tone, Huo Chong felt that he was probably seeking everyone's support, but was worried that everyone would not be so radical.
Sure enough, the others did not respond, but instead had a serious discussion about the 70% rent. Some scholars thought that 70% might be a bit scary, and if the unruly people went to the government to say something, the officials might side with the unruly people.
Huo Chong heard that these people were not only full of disdain for the unruly people, but also disapproved of the officials. The only thing missing was to label the officials as "dog officials".
Huo Chong felt that it was not excessive to give the Qing officials the title of "dog officials". However, Huo Chong believed that dog officials were officials who colluded with the rich to oppress the people.
Zhang Qixian said, "Everyone, I think since Magistrate Lu invited us here, he wouldn't just say these things. Taxes will be paid in two months. When should we ask him again?"
Someone immediately said, "Then we'll have to trouble Brother Huo. I heard that General Wang is going to war this time, and he cares about Brother Huo's glass fire. He urges Brother Huo to send the glass fire to the capital every month. When Brother Huo comes to the county again next month, I'll ask Brother Huo to be the host and invite Magistrate Lu to dinner. We'll all be there. Brother Huo, are you willing?"
Seeing that this group of scholars had already made a plan, Huo Chong did not refuse and readily agreed. Everyone was delighted to see Huo Chong willing to help.
The next day, Zhang Qixian took Huo Chong to see the man who wanted to sell the house. The house was quite big, but it was far outside the city wall of the county town, facing the farmland. It was in the urban-rural fringe.
The owner of the house was also a landlord. He had no interest in Huo Chong, the buyer, and just responded politely. He was talking to Zhang Qixian.
Huo Chong said he would go and see the house, and let Zhang Qixian talk to the owner alone. After walking around the house, Huo Chong liked it very much. The house also had a large open space. If it could be properly prepared, it would be no problem to use it as a temporary factory.
After a long walk, Zhang Qixian was still talking to the homeowner. Just as Huo Chong was about to walk around again, Zhang Qixian called Huo Chong over and said, "Brother Huo, do you want to buy land?"
"Will the land in the county be more expensive?" Huo Chong asked.
When the owner of the house heard this question, he sighed, "Brother Huo, I have more than 40 acres of land next to my house, which is indeed more expensive than the ones in the village. But I heard that the court needs to buy tens of thousands of taels of goods from you every year. At five taels of silver per acre, I don't think you will care about it."
"Five taels?" Huo Chong was a little surprised. "Brother, good land in Jiangnan is only five taels per mu."
Hearing Huo Chong's words of appreciation, the homeowner blushed slightly and said in a mumbling voice, "This is good land."
"The land in Jiangnan is also good." Huo Chong became interested in bargaining.
When the homeowner heard this, he sighed and said, "Forget it, I won't sell it."
Zhang Qixian quickly advised: "Brother Huo is also a straightforward person. Since you are here, why do you have to look for another company?"
Then he turned to Huo Chong and said, "Brother Huo, if you sell the land now and tidy it up a bit, you can plant it next year. Since you will have to buy it sooner or later, why not buy it now? Does Brother Huo really care about those few taels of silver?"
Seeing Zhang Qixian and the landlord playing the good cop and the bad cop, Huo Chong felt that they had planned it. However, Huo Chong really liked this piece of land, so he asked, "Five taels is indeed a bit high. This land is not near the river. It is considered a good piece of land, but I think it is just a medium piece of land. Five taels is indeed too high."
"Is four taels and five cents okay?" Zhang Qixian asked the landlord.
The homeowner sighed and nodded, "Any less won't do."
Huo Chong thought that the price could definitely be negotiated, but time was the most important thing at this moment. He continued to ask, "Brother, you are in such a hurry to sell the land. I wonder why this piece of land is more expensive than other lands. Since we want to make a deal, why don't you just say it directly?"
The homeowner thought about it and sighed, "After the land tax is added, this land will be taxed at 6.2%. The previous magistrate Xu did not allow the land rent to be raised, so I really can't continue farming. Besides, I plan to move to Jinan, so I might as well sell it."
Huo Chong calculated that the land tax was 2.6 cents per acre and felt that it was quite a lot.
At present, the yield of wheat in one mu is about 100 jin. According to the information collected by Huo Chong, the current price of wheat in Shandong is 1550 wen per dan of wheat. One dan is 120 jin, which means that one mu of wheat can yield about 120 jin, which is 60% of the yield, about 100 wen.
The landlord himself certainly does not farm. According to the 50% rent, the landlord's family eats 400 kilograms of wheat per person per year. This 40 mu of land, 20 dan of grain, 2400 kilograms. Just enough for 6 people. Add the tax, the landlord actually has no income with 40 mu of land.
But after selling the land, with 200 taels of silver, the landlords and their family of six could live comfortably for more than ten years. If they could use the silver to do some business, they would live much better than farming.
Of course, if the landlords raised the rent to 70% and passed the tax on to the tenants, they would have some surplus.
Looking at Zhang Qixian next to him, Huo Chong somewhat understood why this scholar and the tax farmers were so keen on colluding and trying to increase the rent. As long as they could increase the rent, these people would make money.
Huo Chong stopped bargaining. After so many years of working on the platform, Huo Chong understood that in many cases, man's plans are not as good as God's plans. All profitable projects are temporary, and the platform will never engage in long-term projects. That is something that only the state can do.
For example, the high-speed rail project has indeed boosted the economy, but the platform will never invest in such projects. Because before making money from the huge category of high-speed rail projects, the platform itself will collapse.
"I bought it." Huo Chong replied.
In the Qing Dynasty, buying land required going through government procedures. After going through the government procedures, Huo Chong discovered that the government also charged a handling fee, and the sale of land had to be registered with the government. Registration required money. Huo Chong also paid for this part of the deed tax.
Perhaps this was a land transaction of Huo Chong, a tax farmer. The government handled the matter in a completely impartial manner. There was no corruption or bribery in the process. When the process was completed, Huo Chong suddenly realized that he had become a landlord with nearly 100 acres of land. On the road of becoming a local tyrant, he had unknowingly taken a big step forward.
In a few days, it was time to deliver the goods to Master Fourteen. Master Fourteen was lucky, because he used agar to make solid alcohol, which saved a lot of time. The second batch of 10,000 kilograms of solid alcohol was transported to Zibo County.
Next month, in early December, the third batch will arrive, and the 30,000-kg order will be completed.
The people in the county were unaware of the excitement, but Magistrate Lu did. When the goods were handed over, Magistrate Lu also arrived.
Watching the boxes of solid alcohol being weighed, Magistrate Lu watched with the indifference that is unique to scholars, but he said nothing.
Goshha, who was inspecting the goods, was very serious. He opened every box and checked it. Every few boxes, he would cut off a small piece with a sharp knife and light it. Then he would put it in a box next to him to see how long the solid alcohol could burn.
At this time, County Magistrate Lu came over to watch, with a look of surprise on his face. It seemed that he had no idea how this fuel could be easily ignited and burn for a long time.
Each piece of solid alcohol burned for a long time, until only a small amount of residue was left. County Magistrate Lu looked even more surprised.
But Gosha was not surprised. After inspecting the goods, he didn't say anything. He agreed on the next delivery time with Huo Chong, then shouted to everyone to quickly stack the goods, and set off in a hurry.
A group of civilians transporting goods and officials escorting the goods set off in a mighty procession. Looking at their backs, Huo Chong said to Magistrate Lu who was approaching, "Brother Lu, I'll treat you to a meal today. How about we have a meal together?"
Under the copper pot made in the capital was an iron box. The solid alcohol inside burned steadily, and the soup in the pot was boiling. The scholars picked up the meat slices and ate them. County Magistrate Lu ate while watching. He ate a whole round, and the fire was still burning. County Magistrate Lu finally sighed: "It's really amazing."
Zhang Qixian laughed and said, "Brother Huo presented the recipe to the court, and the court allowed Brother Huo to donate an official position. If this thing could be seen everywhere, how could it catch the attention of the court?"
After listening to this, County Magistrate Lu nodded, but said nothing more, showing the quality of an imperial examination official.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Zhang Qixian toasted Magistrate Lu with a glass of wine and said, "Brother Lu, this time the court is trying to implement the land tax distribution in Shandong, which is a benevolent policy. From now on, everyone will no longer have to worry about hidden households. But the land rent should also be increased."
Huo Chong also looked at County Magistrate Lu. He was a county magistrate instead of a county magistrate, which meant that he was also a member of the imperial examination. It was just unknown whether County Magistrate Lu was a Jinshi or a Tong Jinshi. Anyway, he was definitely not in the first class. If he was the first, second, or third place winner of the first class, it would definitely be brought up by others.
County Magistrate Lu kept silent about areas he didn't understand, showing great self-respect. This was incredible. However, the rent increase was within the county magistrate's jurisdiction, and I wondered if County Magistrate Lu would also remain silent within his own jurisdiction.
Just as I thought of this possibility, I saw Magistrate Lu chuckle. His expression, which was once unfathomable, disappeared, and his demeanor that was superior to everyone else was fully revealed.
Seeing that County Magistrate Lu was about to express his opinion, Zhang Qixian and other scholars all stared at County Magistrate Lu, waiting for the county magistrate to express his opinion.
"Everyone, if there is no rent, where will the taxes come from?" County Magistrate Lu frankly expressed his opinion.
Huo Chong felt a chill in his heart at that time. But seeing that several candidates were smiling, Huo Chong forced himself to breathe a sigh of relief and try to look relaxed.
But several scholars didn't quite understand. I don't know if it was because of their low level of education, or because Magistrate Lu's Jiangxi accent in Mandarin was not so easy for Shandong people to understand.
The candidates, with genuine joy, told the scholars in Shandong dialect, "If there is no rent, where does the tax come from?" The scholars suddenly understood. Some people had already raised their glasses to toast Magistrate Lu.
Seeing Magistrate Lu calmly accepting the toasts from the scholars, scholars and tax farmers, Huo Chong could only try to keep a relaxed expression. In the end, the group of people toasted Magistrate Lu.
The other tax farmers all flattered County Magistrate Lu and praised his wisdom and straightforwardness.
Huo Chong could fully understand the joy of these guys. As a tax farmer, if the rent could be increased, it would be a happy thing. All taxes could be passed on to the tenants, which meant that the profits of the landlords would increase. As for how much tax the court collected, it would not affect the interests of the landlords at all.
But Huo Chong could only maintain a relaxed expression. Huo Chong knew that he had no acting talent and really couldn't laugh.
I used to hear people talk about the evil old society. Huo Chong thought that people in that era were just ignorant. The emperor deliberately used the imperial examination to make scholars ignorant.
However, the reality before us proved Huo Chong wrong. There are indeed many ignorant people in the world, but fools are really rare. None of the officials, scholars, and Jinshi in front of us have studied political economy, let alone systematically studied logic. But "where does the tax come from if there is no rent" is undoubtedly logical. It is completely in line with the logic of the interests of the landlord class.
Are these people stupid? Huo Chong really couldn't tell.
Are these people smart? That's for sure.
Without rent, where would the tax come from? This statement not only speaks the truth, but also points out the reality. Without the rent paid by the tenants, where would the Qing court's tax revenue come from?
The atmosphere of the banquet had reached its peak at this time. The clear soup that had been boiled too thick was poured out and replaced with new soup. This time Huo Chong did not use solid alcohol, but charcoal. The temperature in the room rose significantly, and everyone's enthusiasm also increased a lot.
Everyone ate, drank, and talked about the bright future, expressing their heartfelt appreciation and support for the wise policy of "equalizing the land tax and the land tax".
Zhang Qixian was still a little uneasy. Seeing that County Magistrate Lu was drinking in high spirits, he asked carefully, "Brother Lu, does the court also think the same about the land tax?"
County Magistrate Lu laughed, "Brother Zhang, I have been sitting on the bench in the Hanlin Academy for ten years. The court has discussed the issue of the tax on land for a long time. The tax is said to be several million taels every year, but in fact it is never collected enough. Since it is not collected enough, there are complaints from all over the country. It is better to abolish it. People can hide, but the land will not move away by itself. The tax on land is only a matter of time. The court discussed only how to avoid disturbing the gentry. If there is no rent, where will the tax come from? This is the consensus of the court. Don't worry, brothers, the officials of the court are not confused."
