Chapter 686 The secret party is infinitely divisible
The layout of Black Snake Bay is different from other parts of the empire, especially the central, southern and eastern counties. It still retains the pure form of the original wild land. More than 70% of the land is rainforest and swamp.
Almost all the available land and settlements in these three counties are distributed along both sides of the river. There are even a large number of indigenous barbarians in the rainforest swamps near Tiannv City.
Therefore, some secret parties close to the Lilac Corridor can rely on the river to collect the bridge tax through blackmail or even robbery.
However, the reforms demanded by Horn forced them to remove all tax cards, but allowed the Sacred Axis to set up treaty ports, checkpoints, and even garrison troops. This was unacceptable to them.
"It's very simple." At this point, Horn naturally couldn't let Thelomis answer. He stepped onto the main podium, "Because you can get more benefits in this way."
"You made money, and our Black Snake Bay got more benefits? Didn't we lose more?" Under the instigation of his companions, a secret party with a sinister face stood up, "Mr. Horn, are you sure you didn't say Wrong? ”
"Can you represent the entire Black Snake Bay?" motioning Thelomis to sit aside, Horn stared at the secret party member with stern eyes, "Your tax card does make you a profit, but this kind of profit It is short-sighted and limited. Why?
Because the tax rates on the tax cards are different, and as the river goes deeper, the tax rates stack up. This environment makes businessmen unwilling to go deep into Black Snake Bay.
The southern counties can indeed enjoy benefits on these tax cards, but please think about it carefully, what about the central and northern counties? Don’t they count as Black Snake Bay people? ”
After a short silence, the secret party opened his mouth to speak, but was directly interrupted by the sharp-eyed Horn, who continued to narrate: "The merchants in the north and central part could have brought more markets for your spices and brown sugar. and demand, but now you are blocking the door.
In other words, you have blocked your own financial path and the future of the entire Black Snake Bay.
Therefore, I propose to remove the tax cards and set up customs and treaty ports with unified tax collection, so that everyone can do business safely and conveniently, and the entire Black Snake Bay market will prosper. ”
"But, didn't the Sacred Axis earn this money? We originally had a profit, but now it's gone, isn't it a loss?" The secret party still insisted on this point.
In the eyes of those secret gangsters who depend on the river for their livelihood, this is the income they depend on for survival. Horn can take it away, but he must be compensated.
"Did you have the income in the first place, or the income was not yours in the first place, and now it just returns to the original owner?" Horn snorted coldly, "You think you are living on the river and making money on the tax card, but in fact? ?
Your profits are only superficial, because it is the nobles of the Clove Corridor who really control the pricing of spices! They had a monopoly on the spice trade.
Why? It is because of the harsh business environment that external businessmen are simply unwilling to take risks.
If you transport it yourself, you will be exploited by their tax cards at all levels, and you can only sell it to the nobles in Lilac Corridor at the lowest price. If you are unlucky, you will sell it at a loss.
Under this situation, how much profit can those planters who work so hard to grow pepper and sweet branches still make?
Essentially, you are helping the nobles of Lilac Corridor to obtain the income that belongs to them from other wizards who have worked hard to grow it! ”
As soon as these words came out, the wizards who were still fighting against these secret party groups were suddenly stunned. After going through the whole process in their minds, they suddenly realized.
You must know that the plant Sweet Branch is quite unnatural. It is not a herbaceous plant like sugar cane, but a woody plant. To be precise, it is a new bud branch of a woody plant.
So it can be planted once and harvested for many years, reducing the need for repeated farming and sowing, and can even adapt to heavy rains and floods during the rainy season in Black Snake Bay.
There are only more than 130 sweet stick plantations in Black Snake Bay, two-thirds of which are in the southern county, especially two large sweet stick plantations with an area of more than 250 hectares and an annual output of 2,250 tons.
According to the literature data provided by Thelomis and Otadilla, Black Snake Bay can produce about 40,000 tons of brown sugar every year. At least 20,000 tons of brown sugar in the imperial market come from Black Snake Bay.
Even based on the profit of 1 dinar at the price of 2 dinars per pound of brown sugar, this is a trade income of 370,000 gold pounds, not counting the export to the Furnace Plateau and the northern grasslands.
Since spices are cultivated casually, there is no specific data yet, but judging from the number of spice ships, 300 tons of various spices were exported to the empire and royal court last year alone.
Counting the spices for which there are exact data alone, based on the imperial market price, the trade income should be close to 400,000 gold pounds.
So how much did the planters benefit from this? To put it simply, if we don’t smuggle food, we can barely survive without going bankrupt.
I used to think that the nobles in Lilac Corridor were too greedy, but now I see——
No wonder you can't make any money. It turns out that the benefits of the spice and sugar trade are all being kicked back by you old boys who don't do anything!
Some hot-tempered wizards immediately stood up, pointed at the complaining secret party and wizards, and began to curse. Some even got more and more angry as they talked, rolled up their sleeves, climbed over the fence, and ran to shout to the wizards.
"What are you going to do? Go back, do you hear me!"
"Fighting is not allowed in the venue, stop me."
However, under the suppression of the two witches Thelomis and Lulesi, the chaotic situation in the venue calmed down.
However, the wizards and alchemists who ran the plantations still glared at the secret party collecting tolls.
Given the character of the Black Snake Bay people, after this conference, there will definitely be a "small meeting" outside the venue.
With a cough, Horn knocked on the table and brought the topic back to himself: "Well, now, after this war, the situation is different!
As long as we join the customs union of the Sacred Axis, our trade routes will lead to the northern market, and we will control the pricing of spices and sweet branches ourselves.
We can sell spices more expensively and use less money in exchange for more food. With more food, can we free up more land to grow high-value economic products such as medicinal materials and spices? crop? Isn't this better? ”
Even before Horn finished speaking, the wizards who were mainly engaged in the planting industry stood up and applauded, while the secret party of wizards who relied on the river to feed themselves didn't look good.
However, the wizards of these plantation owners still had their own worries. Someone soon asked: "Then who will own our plantation after we take it back?"
The group of circulation wizards immediately responded in a sinister manner: "The plantation that the Salvation Army snatched back, and you want to go back without doing anything, of course it belongs to someone else."
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"Hahaha." Horn smiled and shook his head, "It doesn't belong to me, because I don't know how to run a plantation, so these plantations still return to their original owners, but I have a small request that I hope you can meet. ”
"Just say it!" When they heard that they could get the occupied plantations back, these plantation owners who were profiting from hemp immediately patted their chests and promised.
"First, I hope to get the right of first refusal to purchase these spices, that is, if the bids are the same, you can give priority to selling them to our Holy Sickle Monastery." Horn raised a second finger, "Second, I hope you can allow it. My Holy Father will enter the Southern County.”
Hearing this, even though he had expected it, Thelomis's heart sank.
The wizards present looked at each other: "We can accept the first condition, but this second condition..."
"I know what you are worried about, but the Sacred Axis is built on the shoulders of the Holy Path monks. If you resist it, then everything before will be empty talk."
Horn said slowly to the people present in a deep voice: "I do not require you to regard Myrcella's faith as the state religion. You can regard the Holy Father as one of the many gods in Black Snake Bay.
I can even accept dual beliefs. I am not asking you to accept it, but I am asking you not to resist or even ignore it. What do you think? ”
The planters whispered among themselves, but slowly, through word of mouth, one voice finally coalesced - "Acceptance."
Especially hearing from this holy grandson that he "regards the Holy Father as one of many gods" and "accepts dual beliefs" makes many wizards think that Horn is a slander of the Myrcella Cult.
But they did not say "agree" directly, but unanimously set their sights on Thelomis. After all, she was the most opposed to church preaching.
Sitting in the sight of everyone, Thelomis actually panicked for a moment. She lowered her head in confusion and looked at the toes in her straw sandals.
The fingernails are covered with dust and dried blood. Which is more important, the past or the future?
Before the confused Thelomis could figure it out, he heard a rush of running.
She raised her head and saw an officer trotting over and handed a letter with red feathers to Horn.
After opening the letter and glancing at it twice, Horn smiled and raised the letter in his hand to them: "Everyone, two days ago, the God's Punishment Army made a surprise attack on Dragonfly Bay and cut off the retreat of the French army stranded in the southern county. If not If something unexpected happens, this war will be over!”
(End of chapter)