"From this day forth."
"Proclaim it to the realm."
"Implement Tanding Rumou."
"The Ming Dynasty shall levy taxes based on land. The more land one owns, the more tax one pays. Those without registered land shall not be taxed."
"All taxes shall be levied according to registered acreage. No one may evade taxes."
"As for the tax rate, set it at three out of every ten."
"Wherever the imperial decree is proclaimed, it shall be implemented there."
"Furthermore."
"Half a year from now, land registration shall be permanently finalized. All land under heaven shall belong to the state. The subjects of the Ming Dynasty shall only possess usage rights and may not trade land privately. Anyone who conducts private transactions shall be punished by the authorities."
Zhu Ying stared at the court officials and declared in a commanding voice.
Three weighty national policies had been completely established.
Tanding Rumou.
State ownership of land.
The expressions of the officials varied.
Two out of every ten.
That tax rate was not low.
It was far higher than the original poll tax, yet for the common people throughout the realm, taxes levied directly upon land were actually lower than what they had previously paid.
The reason Zhu Ying had raised the tax rate was to force those nobles and landlords to bleed.
The more land they possessed, the more taxes they would have to pay. That was enough to make them truly feel the pain.
In the past.
Countless commoners throughout the realm had wanted to farm, yet they had needed to pay exorbitant rents and bear no small cost.
But now.
To borrow the words of Emperor Wu of Han, the balance between offense and defense had shifted.
Those commoners without land would no longer be taxed, and the pressure upon them