Chapter 2687
Setting aside an exclusive economic zone in the Port of Busan for self-governance by Haihan residents is Haihan’s solution to the problem. It is simple, crude and leaves no room for bargaining by the local government.
Fu Guoqing was still talking about the map, but Wen Zhihong was a little distracted. As a local official, he really couldn't accept the Haihan people forcibly delimiting an area of their jurisdiction in this way.
Neither the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce signed in 1638 nor the various subsequent supplementary agreements on trade activities between the two countries mentioned the demarcation of the Haihan Exclusive Economic Zone in Busan. The plan now proposed by the Haihan Mission is obviously not in line with the various agreements signed by the two countries in the past, and is purely its unilateral wish.
But Wen Zhihong's objections were ignored without any ripples. Haihan people didn't care whether he was willing to support the plan from the bottom of his heart. They just needed him to cooperate obediently. This situation made him extremely angry. At the same time, I also felt very helpless.
"Master Wen, do you think there are any questions that need to be answered?"
Shi Chengwu's question brought back Wen Zhihong's thoughts. He glanced at Fu Guoqing in confusion. He was standing upright next to the Busan map. It seemed that he had finished introducing the so-called special area plan.
Wen Zhihong realized that he seemed to have missed a very important part, and quickly asked: "Taxation, what about the taxation in this area?"
Shi Chengwu responded: "It seems that Mr. Wen didn't understand it clearly just now. Mr. Fu, please explain it to Mr. Wen in detail."
For a region like Busan, which is famous for its trading port, taxes collected from foreign commercial institutions are a very important source of fiscal revenue for the local government. For this reason, a customs office was established following the example of Haihan to specialize in tax collection for foreign trade activities.
If the delineation of the Haihan area would affect the current tax collection method, it would cause great losses to the local government. Wen Zhihong would not be able to fill such a big hole.
Fu Guoqing said: "For various taxes within the special zone, the collection standards still follow the old system..."
Wen Zhihong felt relieved when he heard this, but before he could remember his happiness, he heard Fu Guoqing continue: "...but all taxes will be collected by the district management committee instead, and part of the taxes collected will be paid to To your country, the other part will be reserved by the special region and used as special funds required for public affairs such as infrastructure, public security, and management in the special region.”
Wen Zhihong was shocked when he heard this. This was equivalent to cutting off part of the local important tax revenue source at once, and the specific proportion was still unknown. Besides, if the Haihan people were responsible for tax collection and settlement, there would be little room for profit-making operations.
Seeing Wen Zhihong's expression, Shi Chengwu and others felt quite proud. This plan can not only solve the security problems that plague Haihan, but also solve the funding issues that the local chamber of commerce has not been able to reach consensus on before.
When Zhang Fengchu organized negotiations with various companies to establish a security team, the main problem was the fund sharing plan. Both large and small merchants were dissatisfied with the proportion of investment, so that in the end they could not reach an agreement, and the security problems faced by the merchants could not be effectively solved. But now the regional autonomy plan proposed by the mission allows them to solve the funding problem of the security force once and for all without having to invest additional money. Naturally, it has received unanimous support from the businessmen.
Wen Zhihong said with a bitter face: "My lords, all other matters are easy to discuss, but the taxation method must also be changed, which will inevitably affect the stability of the local area! My lords, please think twice!"
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Shi Chengwu said seriously: "Master Wen, our merchants pay taxes to your country, and they should enjoy your country's protection of legal trade activities and personal safety, and provide a stable trading environment. But obviously your country only collected the money, but did not Fulfill your due obligations. Since your country is unable to do this, why not let our country do it for you? At least within the region, you don’t have to worry about stability issues in the future.”
Shi Chengwu finally saved some face for Wen Zhihong and did not point his nose at him and scold him for accepting money and not doing anything. However, Shi Chengwu obviously would not be swayed at all by Wen Zhihong's weak protest. As long as this matter can open up the upper-level links in Seoul, there is no need to care about the attitude of the local government.
Wen Zhihong came with high expectations, but when he left, he was disappointed. The Haihan mission had no intention of discussing the feasibility of the plan with him, but instead informed him of what would happen next.
Although Wen Zhihong is a local governor, he seems to be unable to do anything but go home and wait for news. This is tantamount to humiliation for him. Of course, he could also choose to reject Haihan's plan forcefully, but he could not guarantee whether Haihan would use the armed fleet stationed in the port to achieve his goal.
We must know that one of the important reasons why Haihan and the late king Li Zhu reached a cooperation agreement was that Wang Tom led an armed fleet to blockade the river near Seoul to show force. The fleet that blocked the Hanjiang River back then was even far smaller in scale. This fleet was docked at Busan Port at this time. If the Haihan people were determined to use force, Wen Zhihong had no doubt that they could capture the entire Busan Port within a day or two.
The only thing that could give Wen Zhihong some comfort was that Shi Chengwu made it clear that the local Haihan Chamber of Commerce would come forward every year to provide "office funds" to the government in the form of donations. As for how the money is used, it is Wen Zhihong who has the final say. If Wen Zhihong wants to conduct "private cooperation" in other ways, Haihan will also provide corresponding opportunities.
Of course Wen Zhihong understood that this was a slap in the face followed by a candy, but now there were only two choices before him, one was to return empty-handed, and the other was to accept the candy given by the Haihan people.
But if he chooses not to answer, he may be regarded as unwilling to cooperate by the Haihan people. He does not want to become a target for the Haihan people to deal with, so it seems that there are two options left for him, but in fact he has no choice at all. .
At the same time, the Haihan Chamber of Commerce was celebrating this "great victory." In the eyes of the businessmen, the plan of the Haihan Mission was simply perfect. There was no need to turn to the extremely inefficient local government for minor disputes in the future. And the taxes they pay will also be rewarded in a real sense, and they will no longer be like meat buns beating dogs like before.
As for whether the local government is willing to cooperate, businessmen are not too worried about this issue. From their point of view, there is no need to worry at all. The strong ships and guns parked in the port are full of confidence. Will the Koreans challenge the authority of the suzerain country in any way? The answer is obviously no.
(End of chapter)