The story of the role of ancient taxation tells the story of good taxation, what projects have been built, and what benefits are there for the country.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, seven countries in China stood side by side. At that time, there was a Zhao State in Handan, Hebei. There are not only stories of "making peace", "Khufu riding and shooting" and the legend of "learning to walk in Handan" in history, but also a tax official who enforced the law impartially-Zhao She.

It is said that one day more than 2,000 years ago, Zhao She took people to Ping Yuanjun's house to collect taxes. Ping Yuanjun is the "prime minister" of Zhao, and the "prime minister" is an official who commands officials. At that time, Ping Yuanjun's home was "Guo Xiang Building". Since it is "Guo Xiang Mansion", it must be a deep mansion with a family like a forest. Sure enough, as soon as Zhao arrived at the door, a group of assume stopped him. Zhao she explained her purpose and showed relevant documents, but Wei still refused to let him in. As the saying goes, "There are seven officials under the Prime Minister", and no one in Ping Yuanjun Palace noticed Zhao She. After a while, a "housekeeper" came out of the door. This "housekeeper" is more arrogant. Relying on Ping Yuanjun's power, he not only refused to pay taxes, but also made rude remarks.

Zhao she pays taxes according to law, and naturally she is not afraid of the arrogance of these lawless people. He said calmly and majestically, "Paying taxes is a national law, and refusing to pay taxes will be severely punished. Ping Yuanjun is the maker of the law, and the Ping Yuanjun family should actively pay taxes, otherwise they will be severely punished by the law! "

But the "steward" is used to bullying others. Perhaps he doesn't know the law, or he thinks he can be above the law, so he doesn't listen to Zhao She's warning at all and beckons out nine big men to beat Zhao She and his party. When Zhao She's "persuasion" failed, all the tax collectors were executed on the spot according to Zhao's laws at that time.

Before long, it reached the ears of Ping Yuanjun. Ping Yuanjun was very angry. Yang Yan had to dismiss Zhao She for investigation and even demanded his death. Some kind-hearted people advised Zhao She to "make 36 plans, walking is the best policy" and run for his life. But Zhao was resolutely rejected by her. He thought that justice had failed. What's the crime! Why did you run away! Not only don't run away, but also talk about right and wrong. So, he went to Ping Yuanjun and confidently said, "As a prime minister, you let your men despise and destroy the laws and regulations of the country. Have you thought about the consequences? If all the military attaché s in Manchuria, like you, ignore the laws and regulations of the country, it will arouse public anger and the country will decline. Once a war breaks out, no one will contribute to the country because of the support of the people, and there will be no money to pay for the army because of the deficit of the national treasury. In this way, Zhao is in danger of extinction. Can you still enjoy the treatment of the prime minister here? "

Ping Yuanjun knew he was wrong, but he argued, "Why didn't you ask me in advance when you punished the troublemakers?"

Zhao She replied: "It was my authority to deal with this matter. Do you still need to ask for law enforcement? "

After listening to Zhao She's words, Ping Yuanjun admired him very much and found that he was a very talented person, so he was recommended to participate in politics in court. Later, together with Lian Po and Lin Xiangru, Zhao She became an important minister of Zhao.

Ming Shenzong is a greedy and bad king. He pursued a happy life, endlessly collected gold, silver and jewels, and squandered all the treasury, so he tried his best to search from the people.

During this period, agricultural production and handicrafts gradually developed, and the commerce in the southeast coastal areas flourished. In Suzhou, the silk industry is particularly developed, and rich mechanics start to set up workshops and hire mechanics. There are thousands of mechanics in this city.

The prosperity of this commercial city made the Ming rulers think it was profitable. In order to extract more money, Ming Shenzong sent a group of eunuchs to those cities to collect taxes. Such eunuchs are called tax inspectors. The tax inspector not only exacted exorbitant taxes, but also extorted money from the people, causing them great suffering.

In 65438, Ming Shenzong sent tax inspector Sun Long to Suzhou to collect taxes. As soon as Sun Long arrived in Suzhou, he colluded with local ruffians and sticks and set up checkpoints all over the city. All silks and satins were subject to heavy taxes. Vendors can't afford to pay taxes and dare not go to town to do business. It has been raining for two consecutive months this year. Suzhou was flooded, mulberry fields were flooded, and machine operators stopped working. Sun Long and his gang will also collect taxes from the owner, stipulating that every loom should levy silver and San Qian; Every silk horse has to pay a tax of five cents, which forces many machine operators to close down and technicians to lose their jobs.

One day, the weaver girl Ge Xian (also known as Ge Cheng) passed by Fenmen and saw some tax sticks under Sun Long, beating a farmer selling melons. As soon as Ge Xian inquired, he knew that the melon farmer picked melons and went to town, and the tax stick forced him to pay taxes. If he couldn't pay them, he would grab his melons. When the melon farmer sold melons and bought rice out of the city, the tax stick took away his rice top tax silver. When the melon farmer refused, he was beaten by a tax stick.

Ge Xian is full of anger at the oppression and exploitation of tax inspectors on weekdays. Seeing this situation, he couldn't help it any longer. He waved a banana fan and shouted to hit the bad guys. All the people on the roadside responded and flooded into the tax card that closed the door like a flood. It's too late for tax stick Huang Jianjie to escape. The crowd surrounded him, picked up stones and tiles and threw them at Huang Jianjie. The evil villain was stoned to death.

At this time, the more people gather, the more rebellious they become. Seeing that everyone killed Huang Jianjie, Ge Xian knew that things were getting more and more serious, so he went to the mysterious temple to have a meeting with the masses to discuss. If you don't do it, you'll be in a hurry. You'll elect more than 20 people, including Gexian, as the leader and settle accounts with Sun Long, the tax supervisor.

Ge xian and others found the home of twelve tax sticks by diversion, lit a fire and burned all their homes; On the other hand, the masses came to Suzhou tax supervision yamen to arrest Sun Long. At that time, crying loudly, Sun Long was so scared that he climbed out of the back wall and fled to Hangzhou.

After Sun Long escaped from Suzhou, the Suzhou magistrate ordered the arrest of those involved in the riots. Ge xian got the news and ran to the yamen of Suzhou government and said, "I am the only one who takes the lead." If you want to kill someone, I'll take the lead. Don't involve others.

The sheriff is worried that the leader will not be caught in this situation. He saw Ge Xian come forward and turn himself in, so he put him in prison.

On the day Ge Xian entered the prison, thousands of Suzhou citizens saw him off with tears. Ge Xian was imprisoned, and thousands of people came to offer their condolences with wine, rice and clothes. Ge Xian refused to accept it again and again, but everyone still refused to take it back. Ge Xian distributed all the food and drinks that everyone expressed their condolences to the prisoners in prison.

Seeing this, the rulers of the Ming Dynasty dared not kill Ge Xian. Ge Xian spent two years in prison and was finally released.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Wei experienced the defeat of Chibi and Zhuge Liang made five northern expeditions, but his position as a powerful country did not waver. This is directly related to Wei's powerful economic strength, and Cao Cao's tax reform in Wei laid its solid economic foundation.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, due to years of war, the population dropped sharply and the land was barren. Cao Cao has a keen insight into the situation in the world, and regards "serving the sons of heaven to make the princes and cultivating them with livestock and military resources" (Wei Zhi in the Three Kingdoms) as the political and economic policy to accomplish the great cause of reunification.

In the first year of Cao Cao's Jian 'an (A.D. 196), he issued a land purchase order and began to cultivate land on a large scale. Carry out "those who hold the official cow, the official gets six points, and the people get four points;" Those who raise cattle privately and become officials must share with the officials. "Although the burden of land rent is heavy, the relatively stable production and life can still be accepted by the people at that time." In a few years, the granaries will be full wherever millet is accumulated. "After solving the problem of rations, Cao Cao began to reform the tax system in order to ensure the long-term mobilization of farmers' enthusiasm for production. In the ninth year of Jian 'an (AD 204), Cao Cao promulgated the famous Land Rent Order, which stipulated that "the land rent is four liters per mu, and the household produces two ounces of silk, only two kilograms". This reform has achieved two breakthroughs, namely, changing the fixed-rate land tax in Han Dynasty into fixed-rate land tax and changing the poll tax into household tax. In the Han Dynasty, the land tax was "thirty taxes and one tax", and more than 5 liters of grain was required per mu. Cao Cao's reform, regardless of output, only paid 4 liters per mu, and the land tax was not linked to the output, and the increase in production did not increase taxes, which improved the enthusiasm of farmers for farming. Refugees have returned to the fields and agricultural production has resumed.

The "poll tax" was calculated in the Han Dynasty, and the customs tax was paid according to the head. People want to sell their products to make money and pay taxes. They are often exploited by businessmen. Cao Cao changed the poll tax to "household adjustment". No matter how many people there are in a family, he only pays 2 silks and 2 Jin cotton, which avoids the burden of increasing taxes due to the growth of family population.

Cao Cao also stipulated that generally powerful landlords should pay land tax and household registration in addition to the taxes paid by the people. At the same time, pay attention to strengthen management, in addition to actively paying taxes, it is stipulated that "(it) he shall not prosper."

Cao's tax reform made the people of Wei submit, and the army became the most powerful country among the three countries.

During the Daoguang period in the late Qing Dynasty, the feudal system had developed to a very declining stage. At that time, the official management can be summarized by a popular saying: "Officials take bribes and use money to get away with it." In other words, the income of officials mainly comes from accepting bribes; Kings break the law, as long as they have money, they don't have to be guilty with the common people. The decay of the imperial court made the people miserable; After years of serious natural disasters, the people not only failed to get the support and tolerance of the court, but also increased taxes in various names, which made the people uncomfortable.

In order to overthrow the declining feudal system, in June of 185 1, Hong Xiuquan rose up in Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi, and launched the largest and longest peasant armed uprising in China's modern history, which lasted 14 years. 1853, the rebels conquered Nanjing, which was called Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in history and renamed Tianjing with Nanjing as its capital, and successively promulgated the policy platform of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom-China land tenure system and regulations for the people. Among these administrative schemes, the slogan that attracts people's attention and excites them most is "no money, no food". In the early days of the Taiping Rebellion, it was really "food and clothing", and the people were jubilant and joined the ranks of the Taiping Rebellion.

With the establishment and consolidation of the peasant regime in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, state institutions have grown from scratch, from few to many. The ranks of peasant rebels are growing day by day, and the number of officers and men is increasing day by day. The financial problems of maintaining the operation of political power are increasingly apparent: there is no money to cast weapons, training can not be guaranteed, and even the Taiping Army can hardly supply food and clothing. The serious financial crisis has shaken the morale of the army to a certain extent and endangered the political power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Faced with the increasingly severe situation, in 1854, three generals of Taiping Army, Yang, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, jointly wrote a letter to Hong Xiuquan, "This Chapter on Calling on Quasi-citizens to Pay Grain and Pay Taxes as usual", in which they said: "The capital is a heavenly capital, and there are many soldiers, so it is advisable to accumulate rice and grain extensively to enrich Qiang Bing. After careful consideration, Anhui and Jiangxi are rich in rice, so it is advisable to instruct the garrison commander to instruct the good people to pay the grain and pay taxes as usual that night. " In this regard, Hong Xiuquan attached great importance to it and made in-depth practical research. He felt it necessary to solve the problem of paying grain tax and immediately wrote down the instructions: "Zhao Yu: The same is true of Cell's suggestion, that is, sending leftists to implement it."

Hong Xiuquan had a fierce ideological struggle when he approved the resumption of tax payment in the ruling area. At the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion, Hong Xiuquan made a wish and took "no money, no food" as one of jintian uprising's slogans. Everywhere the Taiping Army went, the common people all rejoiced and shouted long live. Now the voice just fell, it is necessary to mail order "an imperial envoy to Zhao" and ask the people to "pay food and pay taxes as usual". Isn't it against the official program of the China government and their words?

With the establishment of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan had a new understanding of the problem of grain requisition: to consolidate the political power of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, we must constantly expand the army; In order to work for the people and make them live and work in peace and contentment, it is necessary to establish the necessary local political power. These must be guaranteed by sufficient sources of funds, and the money and grain paid by farmland can not be consumed for a long time. The Taiping Army's long-term supply of money and food is only a stopgap measure. At this point, Hong Xiuquan realized that it is more important to fight for money and food and consolidate the world. Without enough money and food, it will be difficult to consolidate the political power, and it will be difficult for the army, the central and local governments to exercise their functions. It is necessary to tax people to pay for food.

So, how can we persuade people to pay food tax? Hong Xiuquan won the people's permission with clever tricks.

/kloc-just after the Spring Festival in 0/855, Hong Xiuquan urgently summoned Yang, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai and asked them to divide their troops into Zhao, Anhui, Huguang and Jiangxi. Before the temple fair on March 3, two or three influential temples were selected by all localities to buy off fortune tellers, and when people went to see the photos, they must add something, such as paying food and paying taxes. Another example is to give people "guidance" when saying that someone may encounter disasters and chaos: "Aren't you paying taxes? If not, hurry back, this can't be defaulted, otherwise it is likely to be a disaster! " Since the day of the temple fair, all fortune tellers in these local temples have been told to pay food and pay taxes. At that time, the people were superstitious and believed what Mr. Zhu Gua said in these influential temples. As a result, the news spread from one place to another. In a few days, people in these three places knew that they had to pay food and pay taxes. In addition, the Taiping Army sent people to various places to organize grain collection and tax payment, and the people were ashamed to pursue Hong Xiuquan's promise, and tax payment to China was acquiesced.

From the early days of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, when the slogan of "no money, no food" was used to call for the people's uprising to "pay the food tax as usual" when consolidating the political power, it actually reflected that after the establishment of any state power, it was inseparable from taxation, and taxation was the guarantee for the operation of the state machine. Hong Xiuquan's opposition to tax donation and tax reconstruction actually reflects the inseparable internal relationship between tax and government. A regime needs and cannot do without the "wet nurse" of taxation. At the same time, Hong Xiuquan borrowed people's superstitions and used legendary methods to clear the ideological obstacles of his grain taxpayers, which showed that people actually understood the basic truth that a country must have taxes, which also showed that as early as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, people understood the essential relationship between taxes and the country.