1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 685
On March 1653, 3, Hanzhou, Jianye City.

"In our country of Qi, everything is good, but one thing is bad, that is, too much tax. When you go to the factory to buy goods, you have to pay commodity tax. On weekdays, you have to pay business tax. After the profit is calculated at the end of the year, you have to pay The government pays income tax. What's even more outrageous is that, selling a barbarian woman, taking a concubine, and paying social maintenance fees. Tsk tsk tsk... I don't understand, how can our own women raise themselves? Became a social support? You have to pay a fee to the government!"

In a large-scale restaurant, several acquaintances were drinking and chatting, exchanging with each other the recent business opportunities in Hanzhou and Nanyang. When the wine was getting familiar, the famous fur merchant Zhu Bingkun took a sip of the wine, with a look on his face. said complainingly.

"What's the matter, want to think about tax resistance?" Xiang Guiquan squinted his eyes and glanced at Zhu Bingkun in front of him, "You have to think clearly, the government and the military are your biggest customers. If tax evasion is known to the tax office, most likely you will Deprive your qualifications of fur suppliers. Besides, Master Zhu’s fur business is worth millions every year, and the gross profit in a year is probably tens of thousands. The tax paid is only a small part of it. That's all."

"How dare I resist the tax!" Zhu Bingkun looked around and said with a bitter face: "Doing business, who doesn't want to earn more. Think about the old Ming Dynasty, when the business tax was low, and the tax was few, that was my generation of merchants." What a blessing! The Emperor Hongwu once stipulated that all business taxes should be one in thirty, and those who exceed it will be regarded as violating the order. Even if we in Qi State can’t achieve one in thirty, we can’t increase the tax burden to ten. One or two. Isn’t this fighting for the interests of the people?”

"It's not enough to compete with the people for profit." Xiang Guiquan said: "When the government collects taxes, it is often said that taxes are taken from the people and used by the people. If it weren't for our country's abundant financial resources, how would we make our soldiers sharp and our boats crisscrossed? , not only can suppress the natives of the native land and the surrounding islands, but also defeat the Dutch people twice, and dominate Nanyang. What's more, it can also move tens of thousands of people from Ming Dynasty every year, strengthening my foundation and strengthening my strength."

"Having said that, it is distressing for the officials to take a large amount of money from the pockets of merchants such as me every year."

"I heard that the government introduced the example of the Dutch, and plans to introduce some stamp duty. In the future, all kinds of documents such as contracts and loan certificates in business affairs can be stamped and certified by the Ministry of Commerce to become legal certificates, and merchants will pay a certain fee for this. In the future, when disputes arise, this kind of certificate guaranteed by the government office will be strictly protected by law. This move may be another way for the government to make money!" Liu Qicheng said with a sigh.

"Is it possible that I will not be protected by the government if I sign a contract with others in private?" Zhu Bingkun complained: "Our Qi State has set up so many tax burdens for business affairs, so we are not afraid of killing chickens for warmth, which will chill the hearts of our merchants... "

"They're all scumbags, all of them are so short-sighted!" Just as they were speaking, suddenly a sarcasm came from the aisle outside the private room, "If you all feel that doing business in our Qi country is difficult, just stop doing it. Why is this so? How restless!"

When Zhu Bingkun and the others heard the words, their faces changed, they were startled and angry, and they all looked out the door.

"Who is slandering, please come in and tell me." Xiang Guiquan stood up and shouted out the door.

The door of the private room opened, and Zhou Yingping walked in with a sneer on his face.

"It turned out to be the shopkeeper Zhou. I'm sorry, I'm sorry." A businessman who knew Zhou Yingping immediately stood up and bowed his hands to Zhou Yingping.

"Treasurer Zhou?" Zhu Bingkun has been doing fur business in Hanzhou, but he doesn't know Zhou Yingping who is doing overseas trade.

"The owner of Pingji Trading Co., Ltd., Zhou Yingping. I heard that he has some relationship with the royal family and Hanzhou Trading Co., and has done a lot of overseas business." Liu Qicheng whispered to Zhu Bingkun beside him.

Zhu Bingkun thumped in his heart, it's too bad, he complained a lot to the government just now, if the shopkeeper Zhou talked about it with a familiar official, wouldn't he have to suffer.

"I have something to do today, so I won't bother you too much." Zhou Yingping bowed his hands to the businessmen present, and said, "But I just passed by and heard a few words that slandered the officials. .However, I have a word here to tell you, as a warning.”

"Please teach Master Zhou."

"I don't dare to teach you. I just want to ask some of you here. No matter what happened in Daming in the past, why did you go to Hanzhou from Guoli Township? The commercial tax of Qi State is higher than that of Daming, but no matter how much the government supports commercial affairs , or creating an internal and external business environment, or even protecting your private property, was it ever weaker than Daming? Mencius said that a virtuous king must be respectful and thrifty, and take from the people's ownership. Well, there is another sentence for you, it is not benevolent for the rich, The way to bring disaster!"

After speaking, Zhou Yingping glanced at the businessmen present, and then left.

"Actually, although our business tax in Qi State is much higher than that of Ming Dynasty, our life is much better than that of Daming Ansheng." After a long silence, Xiang Guiquan said quietly: "At least, we don't have to worry about it." One day, we will be missed by a certain official or subordinate, who will destroy our family and deprive us of the wealth we have accumulated over the years. Private property cannot be deprived of non-crime, which is written in the patent of our Daqi Kingdom. "

When everyone heard the words, they all nodded their heads and said yes, we and the generation of merchants set up factories, work hard to produce, and engage in business affairs, don't we just want to obtain a long-term wealth and pass it on to future generations.In Hanzhou, as long as you operate with peace of mind and abide by the law, every penny you earn will be protected by the government. This completely relieves all honest wealth creators from any worries.

"I just said that I never thought of resisting the government's taxation!" Zhu Bingkun said: "In addition, I provide tens of thousands of leather goods to the military every year, and I also support many workers. Local governments have contributed a lot of tax revenue.”

"Who isn't!" Liu Qicheng said with a smile: "Compared with ordinary people, we businessmen hope that Qi State can continue to grow and develop like this. While opening up more living space for us Han people, we are also waiting for us. The generation of merchants expands more business opportunities and opportunities to make a fortune."
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"Shopkeeper Zhou, why did you come so late?" Seeing Zhou Yingping entering the private room, Li Benchang said with a smile, "I have been waiting so hard that my stomach is already empty and I am so hungry."

"Forgive me, General Li. In the morning, I talked with several Dengzhou elders about some trade and breeding matters, so there was a slight delay." Zhou Yingping cupped his hands and said, "Later, Zhou will punish himself with three cups as an apology."

"Oh, what kind of good business do those elders of Dengzhou take care of you? Why don't you tell me about it? We just have a lot of money in our hands and there is no place to use it!" Li Benchang asked Zhou Yingping with interest business brought about.

Li Benchang is the younger brother of Li Benshen, Marquis of Yong'an in the Denglai court of the Ming Dynasty. Three years ago, in order to prevent things from going wrong in the mainland and want to leave an extra way for himself, Li Benshen ordered him to bring more than [-] family members and relatives to Hanzhou by boat. .

Under the care of the Qi cabinet and the military, Li Benshen's family and relatives bought more than ten acres of land east of Jianye City, and then built a house as a shelter.In the next two years, Li Benshen ordered people to bring back a large amount of gold and silver property to Hanzhou for consumption and enjoyment with his family.

After staying in Hanzhou for a few years, Li Benchang and his elders and brothers from several clans saw the growing strength of Qi State and the prosperity of domestic and foreign trade, so they planned to use part of the money from their families to start some industries or trade, so as not to sit back and eat.

Therefore, Li Benchang found Qi military personnel who had been acquainted with him, and euphemistically expressed his willingness to invest and trade in Hanzhou.The Qi State Navy has cooperated with Li Benshen's Ming Army several times in military operations against the Qing captives in the Shandong and Denglai areas of the Ming Dynasty, which can be regarded as an old relationship.Since his relatives want to find suitable investment opportunities in Hanzhou, they will naturally try their best to support and help them.

Therefore, he introduced Li Benchang to Zhou Yingping, hoping to make some "small fortune" by taking Li Benshen's relatives to do some industrial investment or overseas trade through Zhou Yingping's business resources.

Zhou Yingping didn't dare to neglect this, and after several meetings with Li Benchang, they gradually became acquainted.After careful consideration for a long time, I had some suitable investment suggestions in my mind, so I invited him to this restaurant today to discuss specific cooperation matters.

"General Li, there are indeed a few lucrative businesses here. Let me tell you now. If you are interested, we can carry out some in-depth cooperation. However, these businesses may also have profits and losses. I can't do it here. I promise you." Zhou Yingping took a few mouthfuls of food, then put down his chopsticks, and looked at Li Benchang with a smile.

"Shopkeeper Zhou, please tell me. To tell you the truth, I am a rough person. I used to only know how to kill people with a knife, and I am not good at business. I used to do some business in Shandong. The way of buying and selling is to get some money. Now in Hanzhou, all affairs must be done in order, and business is of course profitable." Li Benchang said.

"General Li is happy!" Zhou Yingping nodded and said, "In the morning, I chatted with a few Dengzhou veterans. They wanted to take me to build plantations on several islands around Xuanhua Island (now Timor Island), and claimed that , this is a long-term business, and you can sign a land lease with the local government for more than 30 years."

"What are you planting?"

"Coffee, tobacco, or sugar cane." Zhou Yingping said, "However, the local government stipulates that a certain percentage of land must be set aside to grow food for the country's needs."

"What is coffee?" Li Benchang asked.He knows and has seen sugar cane and tobacco. There are many counties under the jurisdiction of Jianye Mansion.

"Coffee seems to be a species introduced from the Ottomans. It was first planted and spread in the Arabian area of ​​​​their fetters. After the fruit is ground into powder, soaked in water, it tastes bitter and sweet. It smells bad, but it can also refresh your mind. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce are going to plant it in large quantities and sell it to the barbarians in the West."

"How is this thing worth compared to sugar cane and tobacco?"

"..." Zhou Yingping leaned closer to Li Benchang and said in a low voice, "The king once said that the coffee trade is not as profitable as tobacco, and almost as profitable as tea."

East Asia came into contact with tobacco after the 16th century. The Spaniards first brought the tobacco favored by American Indians to the Philippines, and then spread it to East Asia via Southeast Asia.

There are three ways for tobacco to enter the East Asian mainland: one is from Taiwan to Fujian, and gradually goes north; the other is from Vietnam to Guangdong; the other is from Japan to North Korea, and then to Liaodong.Although tobacco began to be used medicinally, it was soon used only as a recreational product.The most common usage is snuff and pipe smoking.The cultivation and trade of tobacco leaves spread rapidly throughout East Asia, and its commercial value greatly exceeded that of common crops.

During the reign of Chongzhen, the soldiers of the Ming army who fought against Houjin in Liaodong were all "addicted to it as if they were their lives", and they were very addicted to smoking.However, Manchu nobles also like to smoke, and most of them are enshrined in North Korea, which is expensive.Back then, Huang Taiji invaded North Korea, plundered a large number of people, and later allowed North Korea to redeem people with property. One of the most important goods provided by North Korea was tobacco.

In view of the fact that smoking consumes too much money, Huang Taiji once ordered that civilians and officials be prohibited from smoking, but it did not have much effect.From the nobles of the banner people to the common people of the bannermen, there are still many people who smoke, which consumes a lot of wealth.

Over the past few years, with more and more officers and soldiers smoking tobacco in Qi State, this daily consumer product has gradually been brought into Shandong, Denglai, Fujian and Guangdong and other regions.Some officers and soldiers of the Ming army and local officials also imitated the appearance of the officers and soldiers of the Qi State, smoking pipes and blowing smoke rings, becoming the first group of "smokers" in the mainland.

Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo, formerly of the Daxi Army, planted tobacco on a large scale in Yunnan and Guizhou, and then sold it to Qi State in exchange for the artillery, muskets, and a large number of swords, spears, and armor they urgently needed.

"Treasurer Zhou, I heard that the natives on Xuanhua Island are almost exhausted, and they are still sending coolies to Hanzhou and Weiyuan Island. If we get a few thousand acres of land, who will plant the land for us?" ah?"

"Natives are not limited to Xuanhua Island in the Nanyang region." Zhou Yingping smiled, "As long as we have guns and cannons, where can we not catch natives to farm the land? If one group dies, another batch will be caught. There will never be a shortage of labor.”

"With coolies farming, there must be someone to take care of it."

"That's natural." Zhou Yingping said: "The local people are lazy. If no one is watching them, no crops can easily grow in the soil. Therefore, the plantation still needs some powerful fighters. I heard that you Marquis Jiayong'an has tens of thousands of troops under his command, and it will be enough to send hundreds or even thousands of them by boat."

"Why don't you recruit overseers and guards in Hanzhou?"

"General Li, the islands where the plantations are located are all newly opened in the past two years. Who would want to go there? Not to mention that all the newly arrived immigrants will fill up the settlements and factories and mines in various places. We can't recruit them at all. Those who are registered Immigrants, I am afraid that they will not easily give up their assigned fields and follow me to manage and take care of the plantation. So..."

"Grandma, to build a plantation, you have to transport people from the mainland, which is really laborious." Li Benchang smiled bitterly: "Well, there must be many soldiers in the army who are tired of fighting on the battlefield, so they brought them back to me to take care of planting Shopkeeper Zhou, besides the long-term business of plantations, is there any other business that brings in quick money?"

"Yes." Zhou Yingping looked at Li Benchang with a smile, "I heard that Qi State intends to transfer a part of your Marquis of Yong'an to the Zhongzuo Office (now Xiamen) in Zhangzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province, in order to hold Zheng Zhilong hostage and prevent him from reappearing. Repeatedly. In this way, we can cooperate and do business in Fujian. General Li, what do you think?"

(End of this chapter)