Volume 1, Chapter 67: The Power of the Broad Masses of the People Is Great!

"Regarding the exact tax rate, I do not have a specific figure in mind. I will leave that for Your Majesty and Your Highness to decide. I only have one suggestion..."

"That is, the tax rate can be set in different tiers according to the specific income of the merchants; the more they earn, the more tax they pay."

Jiang Lin's words caused the father and son, Old Zhu and Zhu Biao, to furrow their brows. They naturally understood that this method was sound, but it was far too idealistic and difficult to implement.

Let alone collecting high taxes, even under the current remarkably low tax rates, some merchants still resorted to various means to pay less or even evade taxes altogether.

Old Zhu was well aware of these circumstances, but he currently needed to utilize this group of merchants to revive the national economy, fearing that any heavy-handed action would panic the merchant community.

Consequently, he could only turn a blind eye and pretend to be ignorant.

Seeing the deep frowns on the faces of the two men before him, Jiang Lin instantly understood the concerns weighing on their minds.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, you have no need to worry. Since I dare to make such a proposal, I naturally have a way to deal with it."

As soon as these words were spoken, Old Zhu and Zhu Biao were instantly piqued with curiosity, eagerly anticipating a feasible solution from Jiang Lin.

After all, the imperial treasury of the Great Ming was currently severely depleted.

Once this method was successfully implemented throughout the realm of the Great Ming, the imperial treasury would never lack funds again, and from then on, no undertaking would ever be constrained or hesitant due to a lack of money.

Whether it was resisting the Mongols, conquering Wa, or upgrading firearms, these were all major expenditures.

However!

Once this problem was solved, none of these would remain problems, and everything would be effortlessly resolved!

Jiang Lin began to explain: "The method I am about to present will work in tandem with the Bureau of Price Control we just discussed."

"The imperial court shall establish another institution across the land, to be named the Bureau of Taxation, which will register all merchants throughout the Great Ming."

"Merchants may only engage in trade once they hold a commercial license issued by the Bureau of Taxation. Those without a license are forbidden to trade; otherwise, they will be in violation of the law, and in severe cases, their family property may be directly confiscated."

"Then, with the Bureau of Taxation and the Bureau of Price Control working together, the merchants can be kept firmly within our grasp."

"By knowing what goods merchants are buying and selling in various regions, we can also ascertain the income of every single merchant."

"Once the income of every merchant is known, we can naturally levy taxes in different tiers according to their circumstances."

"If anyone dares to evade taxes, it shall be considered a violation of the law. As for how to deal with them, that will be entirely up to Your Majesty and Your Highness."

"Hahaha, brilliant! Simply brilliant!" Old Zhu exclaimed, a look of pleasant surprise washing over his face as he applauded. "These two institutions—the Bureau of Taxation and the previously mentioned Bureau of Price Control—are simply ingenious."

Beside him, Zhu Biao also nodded in full appreciation.

The cooperation between these two institutions would allow the court to bring the merchants of the entire empire completely under its jurisdiction without them even realizing it.

By the time the merchants reacted, it would already be too late, and by then they would have no other choice except to obediently follow the court's commands.

Once all the merchants across the country were under the court's control, this wing supporting the civil official faction would naturally be successfully uprooted.

This move was nothing short of genius—a masterstroke that achieved two hawks with one arrow!

Aside from this, the others looked at Jiang Lin with deep admiration.

At the same time, Jiang Lin also stirred feelings of genuine adoration in the hearts of the sisters Zhu Yourong and Xu Miaoqing.

For a young man who was not only handsome but also resourceful, it was hard not to set a young maiden's heart aflutter.

Just as everyone was immersed in immense joy, Jiang Lin poured a bucket of cold water over them.

"By the way, these two institutions require one major prerequisite: the officials must be fair and impartial."

"Brother Jiang is right. We absolutely must not allow any collusion between officials and merchants; otherwise, everything will be done in vain, and the two institutions will become mere shells, utterly useless."

Hearing this, Zhu Biao nodded, expressing his agreement with Jiang Lin's statement.

Beside him, Old Zhu gnashed his teeth, a fierce and murderous intent flashing in his gaze.

"Hmph! If they dare to have the guts to do such a thing, We will execute their entire clan and leave them without a burial place!"

Zhu Biao, however, shook his head and let out a helpless sigh: "Imperial Father, as the saying goes, the heavens are high and the emperor is far away."

"You may know what happens in the capital and its surroundings, but whether there are corrupt officials in those remote regions remains unknown."

"There is some truth to that. Then what ought We to do?" Old Zhu nodded, falling into deep thought.

Jiang Lin smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, you have secret guards tasked with monitoring officials; why not expand them comprehensively and use them to keep watch over officials throughout the country?"

"When there are too many people, they become difficult to control, and furthermore, it would place immense pressure on the court's finances," Old Zhu frowned and rejected the idea.

Jiang Lin smiled and continued: "No, we don't need too many secret guards; just one or two in each locality will suffice."

"One or two? There are at least dozens of officials in every locality. How could they possibly monitor all of them?" Old Zhu questioned.

Jiang Lin took a deep breath, fixed a serious gaze on Old Zhu and Zhu Biao, and slowly spoke:

"Fully mobilize the common people, trust the people, and rely on the people. The eyes of the people are discerning. If an official is a good official who works for the welfare of the people, the people naturally hope to see him do better and better."

"Conversely, towards a corrupt official, the people naturally harbor bitter hatred and will certainly report him to the inspectorate for a thorough and detailed investigation!"

"Please believe that the power of the broad masses of the people is truly magnificent!"

As he spoke these words, a proud light shone in Jiang Lin's eyes.

Old Zhu nodded repeatedly: "Good, good, good! What a brilliant concept of relying on the power of the vast populace!"

Seeing that these matters had all been resolved, Zhu Di immediately hurried over to Jiang Lin and asked with a hint of curiosity:

"Brother Jiang, what happens next? Do continue. After this Emperor Chongzhen failed to collect taxes, what methods did he use to solve the problem of the empty imperial treasury?"