The autumn is clear and cool.

The annual two-tax autumn tax has also begun.

Now the regular tax in the court is still a two-tax system. The tax is levied in summer and autumn. Both seasons are levied in money and no physical goods are levied. Every summer and autumn harvest is the time when the imperial grain agency and grain merchants go to the countryside to collect grain.

After the people leave enough food, they sell the surplus grains, exchange them for money, and then pay taxes.

The two taxes have now officially abolished the household tax. For farmers, taxes are fully imposed on land acres. For workers and merchants, taxes of twenty-one taxes are levied on their income.

The imperial court canceled the household tax and no longer divided the main household customers. They were all registered in the prefectures and counties, and taxes were collected based on the land, shops, etc.

In the past, some people used the household registration loophole to evade taxes. People were registered in this county, but they went to the county to buy farmland industries, etc. Now, no matter where the household registration is, they are taxed according to the industry. There are several taxes that are collected.

Rent and mediocre donations, all miscellaneous taxes were abolished, and the amount of quotas was abolished, and the amount of quotas was uniformly distributed to the acres.

Officials and gentry pay taxes together.

After the household tax is cancelled, taxes are still levied twice a year in summer and autumn. The summer tax is limited to six months before and autumn tax is paid before eleven months.

"This autumn is another bumper year, and grain purchases are about to begin in various places. In recent years, there have been abundant commodities and abundant grain, and grain prices have been continuing to fall. This was a good thing in the past, but now it is not all good. Low grains hurt farmers."

In recent years, various industries and commerce have flourished, including mulberry, hemp, cotton, sugarcane, medicinal materials, spices, tea, beans, rapeseed, etc., which have had a good economic effect. On the contrary, the price of grain has always been low.

If the land tax had not been reduced over the years, it would have been unpaid for growing grain.

"Binwang, I think the court should pay attention to these grain farmers. The purchase price of autumn grain this year should be increased a little."

In grain-producing areas such as the southeast, the purchase price of grain is very low, and the rice is only 5 cents. The freshly dried new rice is cheaper, and the prices of wheat, millet are also very low. Even if it is transported, processed, and transported to a big city like Hanjing and Chang'an, the rice is only about 20 cents, and it is still a top-notch rice.

The continuous low grain prices have already caused more and more people to reduce the area of ​​grain planting. People will also settle the accounts. If they don’t make money in growing grain, why are they still working so hard?

Many of the benefits are even higher when growing cotton, sugarcane, tea, mulberry, hemp, and even rapeseed, soybean, peanuts.

But for the imperial court, grain output must be guaranteed. This is the most basic strategic material of the country, and food security is above everything else.

Zhang Chao remembered that when he was a child, his grandmother's family was in the countryside. At that time, the government purchased and sold food, and even stipulated the area of ​​grain planting. At that time, the price of grain was low, and some people wanted to plant other crops, but as a result, people came from above to directly remove the planted food and destroyed it, and forced the planting of food again.

Later, the same is true for growing tobacco. Each household must plant a few acres, and if the area does not reach it, it will be fined, etc.

This forced administrative order actually attracted the disgust and disgust of the people, and also caused many conflicts and conflicts.

Zhang Chao must ensure the area of ​​grain planting, but he cannot use this method.

The only feasible solution is the court's macro-control.

By using the imperial court's regulatory measures to increase the purchase price of grain, the people will naturally be willing to have more food.

Ma Zhou also knew that low grains hurt farmers.

"But in recent years, the grain output in the imperial court has been very high. Over the years, the number of agricultural technology has been greatly improved, new agricultural tools, fertilizers, and oxen and horses have increased, and the large-scale construction of water conservancy facilities has not only reduced drought and flood disasters, but also ensured irrigation. In addition, the imperial court has developed land reclamation and immigration. Now, whether it is the arable land area, farming technology, farming tools, and water conservancy facilities, we have been comprehensively improved, and the grain output has been increased steadily."

Why is the food price in Wudechu still high?

After all, one is the shortage of grain production, the second is the large amount of land, the third is the insufficient transportation regulation, and the other is the insufficient technology.

The market is short of food, coupled with lack of management, and hoarding of merchants, which leads to a general shortage of food in various places, so the prices of grain will naturally remain high.

After Zhenguan, the situation improved, both in terms of management, arable land area, and per mu yield were comprehensively improved. In addition, the court did a good job in grain regulation, and basically the supply of grain was quite sufficient, which led to the continuous decline in grain prices.

The current food price in the market is actually a real market reaction.

The court was indeed able to increase the acquisition price, but this kind of behavior of interfering in the market was actually not wise.

"Your Majesty, the food reserves are very sufficient now. If the food price is raised at this time, I am afraid that someone will take the opportunity to resell the food to the court and cause losses to the court."

Zhang Chao doesn't think so.

"As long as the management is done well, there will be no problem. For example, we need to increase the purchase price of grain, but we also have to set up restrictions. For example, the price of new grain that is only purchased from the people this fall will be increased."

"Of course, on the other hand, local governments should also adapt to local conditions. While ensuring local food security, they should not just plant food. They should appropriately carry out some special plantings and other economic crops based on local conditions to increase the income of the people."

Whether it is planting fruit trees, cotton and linen mulberry trees, or oil-pressed crops such as soybean rape and peanuts, you must pay attention to their benefits.

"Now we have new crops such as corn and potatoes. In some areas that are not suitable for growing rice and wheat, we should also promote these high-yield crops. In this way, people can have the remaining fields to plant other profitable crops while ensuring their own grain output."

"The grain purchased by the imperial court must also be regulated. Especially for big cities with a population of more than 100,000, there must be enough granaries to store enough grain. Not to mention too much, three to five years of grain is necessary, and we must even work hard to save grain for nine years."

I have food in my hand, but I don’t understand it in my heart.

For example, big cities such as Hanjing, Guangzhou, Yangzhou, and Dengzhou, with a population of millions consume more than 5,000 or 6,000 stones of grain every day, and the demand for food is huge.

If there are any disasters such as floods, earthquakes, rainstorms, etc. that lead to insufficient transportation, then the people in the big cities who rely entirely on buying food will be very panicked.

The big city has stored food for several years, which not only stabilizes the food security of the big city, but also ensures that the food can be quickly transferred and transported when disasters and other situations occur around the country.

Since the construction of the canal in the Sui Dynasty, many huge warehouses of grain that can store more than tens of millions of stones have been built along the canal, as a strategic transfer center for grain.

Zhang Chao's requirements are even higher. Big cities with more than 100,000 people must ensure that there are more than three years of grain storage. On the east and west canals, the Yangtze River, Huaihe River, Yellow River and coastal front lines, a series of granaries must be built on these transportation trunk lines, so as to ensure that no matter where disasters or other situations are encountered, the grain can be transferred quickly.

Even the once-in-a-century drought and locust plagues like the Zhenguanchu, which happened once in a century, and the southern floods like Zhenguan, can also be rescued quickly and will minimize the damage.

During a major disaster, many people often starve to death. The most important reason is not the real shortage of food, but the fact that there is food but cannot be transported.

"We also have to encourage local social warehouses and charity warehouses. Every township must have social warehouses and every county must have social warehouses. The people collect their own grain, and the court sends people to assist in supervision. The food in social warehouses is responsible for disaster relief and famine preparation, and also provides relief to local orphans and widows and disabilities."

The grain in the granary is updated every year. New grain is stored in the warehouse, and the oldest old grain is released. While ensuring grain reserves, it also makes good use of the old grain and does not waste every grain of grain.

Old grain can be sold to the princes in the border areas, to those food processing plants, to those wineries and the like.

"When we have nine years of accumulation and the people have nine years of accumulation, then we will truly enter the prosperous era."

All major cities and towns in the Central Plains must store enough food, while all military fortresses and fortresses in the border areas must also store enough food.

"Some regulations must be reiterated, such as making wine, and the use of mixed grains and fruits is encouraged to make wine. If you want to make wine with grain, you must only buy grain from the Food Department of the court, buy aged grain to make wine, and it is prohibited to make wine with new grain."

In the past, the imperial court also engaged in unified purchase and sales, but later it was still relaxed and allowed the market to trade freely. However, the imperial court has always been the largest supplier of grain procurement and processing.

"There is another thing. When the imperial court purchases grain, it should try its best to provide convenience to the grain farmers. If conditions permit, go to the countryside to collect grain to avoid the difficulty of transportation. Secondly, no fire consumption should be done when buying grain. I know that fire consumption will definitely be a bit, but it is considered a commercial cost. It cannot be added to the people. It will reduce the amount of money, and it will not be possible to charge fire consumption."

"There is another thing, while purchasing grain, you must pay money in time. You cannot owe the people, and you cannot directly deduct taxes first. Buying grain and paying taxes are two different things, and you must separate them."

"I know that in some places, the grain stations in some places obey the orders of local governments, withhold the people's grain funds, make white slips, and use these grain funds for other purposes. This is a matter that is unavoidable. The cabinet should order local governments to investigate and actively clear the debts and repay the white slips they repay the people's hands."

The old saying goes well, whether the world is chaotic is actually the people who have the final say.

Although the people's power is small, they can accumulate small amounts of people. If it causes public resentment, it will not be impossible for someone to rise up and rebel. Although ordinary civil unrest cannot make a big splash, the destructive power is amazing.

A thousand-day construction may not be as good as the destruction caused by a civil unrest.

"Stability is the prerequisite for development. The soldiers of the empire fought outside and the princes of the empire explored colonization on all sides, so our Central Plains will not be in chaos."

The basic national policy pursued by Zhang Chao is actually the Central Plains system.

Whether it is conquering the outside world or the princes enfeoffing the four sides, it is actually to ensure that the Central Plains region has a stable environment and can develop and build with all its might.

Zhang Chao ignored the princes on all sides and developed and built them with their own development. His eyes were still in the Central Plains.
Chapter completed!