Chapter 1041 Setting the Tone and Expectations
On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, the discussion in Bixiao Palace had basically come to an end.
In the Guangcheng Palace Hot Spring, Shao Xun got the news and decided to go out.
The water vapor was so thick that it was almost impossible to see his face. He casually pulled a big white buttocks, no matter whose it was, and after releasing it to his heart's content, he stood up and took off his clothes outside.
"Hunjun!" Wang Huifeng finally couldn't bear it anymore and whispered.
"Huifeng, you have to correct me." Shao Xun said with a smile.
"These beauties are much prettier than me." Wang Huifeng put down the manuscript in his hand, gently arranged Shao Xun's robe, and said: "You pestered me in the first place because of the Langya Wang family——"
Shao Xun smiled and said nothing.
"Is it because I am the Crown Princess?"
Shao Xun's face froze.
"You..." Wang Huifeng was a little helpless and said, "You have ruined the chastity of Sima Jin and Liu Han's palace ladies."
"The day you were pregnant with Sang Yu, I was ecstatic." Shao Xun said.
"Are you proud of getting the Crown Princess pregnant?" Wang Huifeng rolled his eyes at him and said, "It's time to go to the meeting."
Shao Xun had already put on his royal robe and said, "Let's go. Once this matter is over, the voices urging me to go south to capture Jiangdong will become louder."
"Isn't Xiangyang difficult to fight?" Wang Huifeng asked worriedly.
"Become a court lady for me." Shao Xun said, "This will save you the trouble of having no one come in to deliver messages when you are in the Tangchi."
"Hunjun." Wang Huifeng sighed and said, "I will be forty-two after the New Year. Don't you want to exercise some restraint? Without you in this world, I don't know how we would fight against each other."
"Why is this so?" Shao Xun shook his head and said: "If I were still the general of the Jin Dynasty, the world might be in chaos. Now I am the emperor of Daliang. If I am stable for a few more years, people will gradually become more attached to me."
"You also know this truth." Wang Huifeng said: "It has only been a few years since the founding of the country, how stable can the people's hearts be?"
"Huifeng is really a good wife." Shao Xun said with emotion. Suddenly, he turned around, looked at Wang Huifeng, and said: "Actually, when I had not yet married, someone said that you were a widow at home and asked me to marry you. Wife.”
"Then I won't make you mad to death." Wang Huifeng said with a smile: "And if I get married, I will really correct you and prevent you from being a fool."
"Perhaps I am really controlled by you." Shao Xun said.
Wang Huifeng chuckled and said, "Go ahead, I'm waiting for you."
The royal chariot left quickly.
Wang Huifeng stood in the corridor for a while, then looked back at the "sex cave" of the hot spring, and ordered the palace servants: "Prepare the chariot to go to the queen."
******
"Greetings to Your Majesty." In the Bixiao Hall of Suyu Palace, the scholars and wealthy businessmen from various states bowed down one after another and were sincerely convinced.
After Prime Minister Wang Yan stood up, he stepped aside and gave up the main seat.
"The prime minister is an elder, why should he be like this?" Shao Xun asked someone to move the throne and put it next to Wang Yan's bed.
Wang Yan asked people to move the bed to the bottom, and then sat down.
Those who have been to Jianye heard that Sima Rui and Wang Dao were sitting on the throne together. They seemed to be indifferent. Then look at the more famous Wang Yan. Comparing the two, we can know the situation in the world.
Shao Xun looked at everyone first.
Since the Han Dynasty, Cao Wei, Sima Jin, and Shaoliang have had their own national conditions.
The national situation is very complicated, but the clearest context is the existence of aristocratic families.
Foreign campaigns, national economy and people's livelihood are almost inseparable from their presence. Even in business, they are the main force.
In the past, Gongsun Zan became brothers with the diviner Liu Weitai, the merchant Li Yizi, and the Jiaren Le Hedang (the three of them were "all billionaires"). Later, Liu Bei became in-laws with the wealthy businessman Mi.
However, at that time, wealthy businessmen had limited military power, and they mainly invested in warlords.
During the Cao Wei Dynasty, the gentry went directly to do business, which was different from the previous situation and seemed to be more "shameless". During the Han Dynasty, the reason why gentry became gentry was more because of their noble cultural attributes.
No matter what, now that things have come to this, we must face reality and guide and transform it under actual circumstances.
Moreover, everything has advantages and disadvantages and must be viewed dialectically.
At least, it is easier for aristocratic families to get political protection in the initial stage when business power is fragile.
Mercantilism, Physiocrats, Capitalism, etc. are just tools, and the ultimate goal is to develop productive forces. "You are all great talents." Shao Xun said: "I don't understand the trade of goods. You and others are everyone. I don't want to compete with the people for profit. After all, this is the benefit to compensate you and others, but there is one thing. You must buy and sell in the city and pay taxes according to regulations.”
"There is no tax for long-distance trafficking of goods, and there is no tax when passing through the customs. There is a city tax when entering the city. Temporarily, there is a twenty-one tax. If you buy and sell privately outside the city, the amount of more than 10,000 yuan will be severely punished."
This sentence means that the commercial tax is currently only "municipal tax", with a tax rate of 5%, and no customs duties or other miscellaneous taxes.
As for whether to accept it in the future, we have to wait and see.
Generally speaking, this tax rate is not heavy, and merchants are now very happy to trade in the market, and you are not willing to drive them out to do business.
It is also very easy for the court to collect market taxes. Just look through the account books and it will be clear at a glance.
This income may not be great at first, but once things get on track, it will be amazing.
I think back then, Sang Hongyang made money for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and he didn't know how much profit he made from industry and commerce.
In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the first great commercial boom in Chinese history, revenue from commercial taxes, salt and wine once accounted for more than 40%, or even close to half, of the Tang court's fiscal revenue.
This is a huge source of wealth and a gift left by Shao Xun to future generations.
Please...you...collect 6...9...books...!
However, commercial tax revenue has fluctuated greatly in the past dynasties. There was a lot in the Western Han Dynasty, but very little in the Eastern Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties. It increased sharply in the middle and late Tang and Song Dynasties, and then dropped sharply in the Ming Dynasty. Whether you are able to eat this cake also requires Judging from the abilities of his descendants, Shao Xun couldn't control them.
"This year, Xiangcheng and other nineteen counties have a lot more land than last year. There are more than 31,300 households and more than 1,470,500 people." Shao Xun continued: "Three The rough land reclamation in the nineteen counties has been completed, and changes in the North are becoming increasingly apparent. In five or ten years, you will find the benefits.”
"You can take this money away, but I hope that when you are doing business, everyone in the world will benefit. I heard that there are She fields in Guanxi, Huainan and other places, and the people are cultivating slash-and-burn farming and are extremely hardworking. If you want to To sell farm tools and cattle, they have to change their farming methods.”
"Twenty years ago, my ladies would search everywhere in the capital for a Ge shirt. Nowadays, there are more and more of them, but they are still expensive and cannot be bought by ordinary people. However, there are many such things in Huainan and Jiangnan, and they can be found everywhere in the mountains and forests. It can be seen that Wu Nu cuts a batch of kudzu vines every year. Later, because there was no profit, they would no longer cut and sell this product. If you can let Wu Nu pursue profit, you will not be afraid of scratching your palms, go to the mountains to cut vines and weave cloth, and export it to the north in multiples or even tenfold. If the land is empty, ordinary people can also enjoy the coolness in summer.”
"This is the wealth of the country, and this is what I want to see."
Of course, there is a loophole in Shao Xun's words, which is a problem that occurred in colonial trade: farmers did not control the pricing power of cash crops. Due to market fluctuations, prices plummeted, so in order to make up for the gains, there was an opportunity to plant more cash crops. Impulsive, and then further suppress the price, the so-called the poorer you are, the more you plant, the more you plant, the poorer you become.
But this is all for the future, and at this stage, it is far from the case. Because cash crops such as kudzu are basically wild in Huainan and Jiangnan, no one specially cultivates them. The Wu girls go into the mountains to cut a batch during the slack season. If it is really unprofitable, they will not do it, and they will not do it. If I don’t expect this to survive, my main job is still farming.
Of course, if you're running a slave plantation with kudzu, that's a different story.
But then again, this thing shouldn't appear in this era... right?
"To travel far and wide by boat, you still need roads." Shao Xun added: "After conquering the south of the Yangtze River, the ditches and waterways since the Qin, Han and Three Kingdoms periods still need to be dredged and smooth to facilitate the colonization of goods. This matter is important and I will find a way later. . For your sake, I have been thinking hard these days, so don’t let me down in the future.”
"If you have anything to say, you can just ask directly. Now you can say whatever you want."
"Your Majesty, when will we attack Jiangdong?" Someone couldn't help but ask.
Shao Xun glanced at Wang Yan quietly. Lao Deng was still reliable in his work, and said: "The military is a major matter for the country. Now that the fields in the north are in full swing, I am worried that someone will cause chaos."
"Why are you worried, Your Majesty? The north is lost and the south is being replenished." Chenggong Yao said with emotion: "Your Majesty has finished the matter of the cultivation of goods. If you still don't appreciate it, I don't know what to say. Such crazy people, it is expected that There is no one to support it, and it can be destroyed in an instant.”
Shao Xun looked at the others and encouraged them to speak.
"Your Majesty, if we attack the south of the Yangtze River, I am willing to donate 50,000 hu of dendrobium." Someone else said.
Wang Yan nodded imperceptibly.
Shao Xun understood that this was also a favor, so he said: "How can I take your money and food for nothing? It's inappropriate."
"Your Majesty, you are so loyal and ardent that it is difficult to refuse." Wang Yan twirled his beard and said, "Why don't you make a note for the time being and choose a good land in Kuaiji in the future and give it to your family."
"Well, it's still Yifu who is old enough to seek the country." Shao Xun said with a smile: "I will handle it accordingly."
When other people heard this, they thought: Damn it, can you go to a good place like Kuaiji by donating food?
What if I offer money, silk, livestock, or human beings?
Sure enough, Jiangnan is so big, and there are rules for who goes where and who cannot go where.
Someone whose family is relatively well-off already has some ideas and is going to inquire about it privately.
Danyang and Kuaiji are considered to be the best places in Jiangdong. I heard that many people in Sima Rui's court are buying properties in Kuaiji, so it must be no different.
"Everyone." Shao Xun stood up, glanced around, and said: "Now that we know about the elegant politics of the new dynasty, we should make it known widely. After you return to your hometown, you can inform your clan and relatives and discuss it together. Under the general trend, Jiangdong will surely No matter how lucky you are, you are all rich and noble, which will be passed down to future generations.”
After saying that, he added: "I will hold a banquet in the main hall of Suyu Palace tomorrow. If you have any young nephews, you can accompany them to the banquet."
Everyone's expressions were shocked after hearing this, and they all pointed with their eyes, saying nothing.
Even Wang Yan paused, sighing secretly that the few disciples in the clan were not very capable. Jiangnan was praised by others when he was young, but that had nothing to do with him.
(I have to go out for something. I will update another chapter when I come back in the evening.)
(End of chapter)