Kangxi never raised taxes. How to raise more than one billion taels of reparations in the late Qing Dynasty?

As we all know, at the end of Qing Dynasty, the Qing government was corrupt and incompetent. In the face of the invasion of foreign powers, many treaties were signed that humiliated the country. For example, the Sino-British treaty of nanking compensated China for 2100000 silver dollars, which is slightly equal to14.7 million silver dollars.

According to the treaty of nanking, the compensation will be paid in seven installments within four years. If it cannot be paid in full on time, the interest rate will be raised by five yuan per hundred yuan every year. . (that is, if it is not paid off, it will be calculated at the annual interest rate of 5%).

This payment method is actually in line with the annual fiscal surplus of the Qing Dynasty (about 45 million Liang). Negotiators of the Qing Dynasty, imperial envoy Jian Ying, Governor of Liangjiang River Niu Jian, Deputy Commander of Zhapu Ilib, and others. The compensation was made in this way, and the pressure of the Qing dynasty was not great. So the Qing government owed this debt 1842? 1845 paid on schedule.

However, these Qing rulers did not expect that after the Opium War, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom followed, and then the Sino-Japanese War. When Japan saw that the Qing Dynasty gave Britain reparations easily, the lion opened his mouth. How much is the compensation? Two hundred million taels of silver! Then came Eight-Nation Alliance. In September of 190 1 (the Year of Ugliness), China and 1 1 China reached the humiliating final protocol to solve the 1900 unrest, namely the Ugly Covenant. According to the treaty, China will pay a tariff of 450 million taels of silver, which will be settled at the exchange rates of currencies of various countries and paid off in 39 years at the annual interest rate of 4%.

Have pity on me. I must pay reparations to suppress the rebellion. How can there be enough money in the national treasury? More sadly, Kangxi, known as the holy father of the Qing Dynasty, left a four-word admonition "Never add Fu". What should Lafayette and the Eight Banners do?

Even in peacetime, the fiscal surplus of the Qing dynasty was only 5 million and 2 million, and at most it was only 10 million and 2 million. Now the silver that needs compensation every year far exceeds the fiscal surplus! What should we do?

In order to raise huge funds to repay foreign debts, the Qing government adopted a two-pronged approach. First, the expenses have been cut, and the extravagant life of Galeries Lafayette and nobles can certainly not be reduced. What should be reduced? Military spending is large, so military spending moves; As for national infrastructure construction, don't count on it; Education investment? Don't expect them to have this vision! This contraction can't save much, and the big head can't be reduced. How much can I reduce my head?

Secondly, "sharing" is the main way to complete compensation. The imperial court apportioned provinces, and it was light to rise well and fall badly. In order to compensate boxer indemnity, the Qing government ordered Shandong, Henan and Shanxi, which were not very rich, to share 902,000 taels of silver, while Jiangsu, which was the richest, shared 2.3 million taels of silver, and Sichuan, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang, respectively, were 1 100000 taels of silver, Hubei, 120 taels of silver and An Wei.

The imperial court saved trouble and the provinces could not afford to pay for it. What should I do if I want to increase so much on the basis of the original tax? Naturally, it is necessary to let go of the hands and feet of provincial officials, raise funds freely, and toss around casually. As long as the money is handed over, the people will not rebel. So the provinces increased their troops, levied old taxes and imposed exorbitant taxes. The so-called thousands of miles for the official is only for money, so hard to raise money, is it just to raise enough money to apportion the amount? It is normal for officials at all levels to get rich from it. Honesty is not the norm, scraping the ground is the norm!

"Never increase taxes" doesn't matter. I give Kangxi face and don't increase taxes, but I can collect additional taxes at any time, so the land tax will be increased, and some will be paid with the grain. 300 yuan is added to every stone in Jiangxi and 140 yuan is added to every stone in Hubei; Some are levied according to Dining Silver, 400 every two in Fujian and 300 every two in Zhejiang; Others are levied per mu, and Shanxi is levied per mu 1 money 5 points.

Surtax alone is not enough to complete the allocation. What should I do? Zhejiang, the hometown of silk, levied "silk compensation" to pay boxer indemnity, 1902 levied one yuan per package of silk, and it was levied annually thereafter, 1904 levied one article per catty and 1907 levied six articles per catty.

What about provinces without silk? People always have to eat salt. Anhui and Guangdong raised 266,000 yuan and 232,000 yuan from boxer indemnity respectively through the price increase of "salt Jin".

I must keep half and then hand in the rest. After calculation, it is still not enough to share. That will only increase the additional tax, so the additional tax will be higher and higher, and eventually it will be higher than the original tax. 1908, the land tax in Xinxiang county, Henan province increased by 300%, and the land tax was 0.054 taels per mu before the increase, and then increased to 0.2 taels16 taels. The land tax in Shanghai County, Jiangsu Province increased by 438%. The additional tax is actually four times that of the ordinary tax. Which is the additional tax?

This is a miscellaneous tax, and then an exorbitant donation: "Those who are filthy and disabled in the industry have donated ashes and feces, and those who are extremely thin have donated firewood, charcoal, soy sauce and vinegar, down to a chicken, a duck, a fish and a shrimp, and all the things that are carried by the eyebrows and used in their usual diet." Simply put, even rice should be donated. As the saying goes, tyranny is fiercer than a tiger!

As a result of exorbitant taxes and levies, the Qing government made a good compensation to foreigners: according to historical statistics, from the signing of the treaty to 1902, to 1939, 65438+ 10, 15, the Ministry of Finance of the National Government issued a notice to stop paying boxer indemnity, which was 37.

Someone asked, isn't the total amount 450 million taels of silver? Why did you lose so much? Comrades, don't forget to compound interest. Even if nearly 620 million yuan has been repaid, it is only less than 60% in terms of quantity.

What about the people who suffered all this?