prosperous age

Chapter 432 Chapter 431

"From Guangde's point of view, according to Taizu's design, the business tax is actually collected through the Yahang, but now the Yahang uses its relationship with the government to exploit the merchants, and most of the profits are not entered into the national treasury. .”

The Ming Dynasty collected commercial taxes, first of all, transportation goods tax and warehouse storage tax.

Industrial tax is the mining industry, shipbuilding industry, military industry, weaving, kiln metallurgy, firing, papermaking and other handicraft industries. When the goods of merchants from all over the place are stored in "collapsed houses", they collect one-thirtieth of the tax money and thirty-third of the intermediary fee. One-thirtieth of the storage fee, that is, one-tenth.

"Collapsed houses" are actually "official teeth" operated by the government, that is, official stores. The storefronts built during Zhu Yuanzhang's period to ensure the circulation of commodities and avoid disorderly stacking were operated by Yaxing.

In addition, there are also private dental offices. They need to pay taxes to the government on time to obtain dental stickers, otherwise they will be operating without a license.

"There are more than [-] dental shops in Tongzhou, and the annual tax payment is more than [-] taels. This is only one place."

Wei Guangde was still talking there, and King Yu also roughly understood what Wei Guangde meant.

If you want to collect business tax, you can start with the dental office and rectify the dental office. If you want to get money quickly, you can set up a port for sea trade.

It will take a long time to rectify the tooth shop, but it can receive a lot of business taxes. After all, commodities need to be circulated, and the tooth shop controls the distribution channels, but the water in this business is very deep.

To put it simply, the only way to increase treasury revenue in the short term is to open the sea, to designate a port for sea trade and collect taxes from it.

"The Guangzhou and Quanzhou you mentioned earlier, if you have to make a choice alone, which one do you think is the best?"

King Yu asked.

Wei Guangde thought that King Yu would choose to start the rectification of the dental practice, which is more beneficial to the long-term interests of Daming, but he did not expect that King Yu still hoped to solve the problem of short-term financial constraints.

He stopped what he said before, and had no choice but to say: "Choose where to do business, it depends on what His Highness wants."

"I remember you said at the beginning that if you give those sea merchants a way to survive, they won't be pirates anymore, causing disasters for the local people, right?"

King Yu asked.

"Yes, most of the Japanese pirates are actually maritime merchants, and most of the people who join the Japanese pirates now are people who can't count on the sea. They can't rely on the sea to eat the sea, so they can only join the Japanese pirates."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Give them a choice, do business instead of being Japanese pirates, will they be willing?"

King Yu asked.

"You can only block those who come after you, and you can only kill those who have fallen into the weeds, leaving no one behind."

Wei Guangde answered very simply, he has become a Japanese pirate, his hands are stained with blood, even if they want to clean up, it will be very difficult.

It is only right and proper to kill people, and they must pay the price if they are Japanese pirates and kill Ming people.

"Good loan, please spend more time on this matter."

King Yu suddenly said, "Your father once went to Zhejiang to fight against Japanese pirates. You and Yu Dayou are acquainted. You might as well ask them more, where are most of those Japanese pirates from?"

"Your Highness means"

"Money needs to be earned, but this is secondary. The main thing is to solve the disaster caused by the Japanese pirates. If a port is released to prevent the sea people from doing the Japanese pirates, it is also a matter of great merit."

For Yu Wang, solving the Japanese problem is indeed more important than solving the silver shortage.

Now it's his father who is having a headache, and it will be him in the future. Now it's just a rainy day.

In Yu Wang's words, he actually revealed his attitude. He agreed to open a port to maritime merchants, and the location has a general direction.

Wherever there are many pirates, they will go to open ports. The purpose is naturally to let these people stop being pirates, and they can honestly do maritime trade business.

However, he seemed to feel that what he said was too simple and general, and Yu Wang continued to say: "The matter of choosing a place, you can't rush it, you have to take your time and look for it carefully.

Moreover, regarding the matter of banning the sea, it is necessary to make a decision before making a move, and there must be no chance for people to join forces to oppose it, otherwise all previous efforts will be wasted and follow in the footsteps of the people of the past. "

King Yu's mind was a little confused at the moment, for some reason, he was only looking for Wei Guangde to find a way to strengthen the army, but he didn't expect to say that the money came up.

Although, it seems that solving the silver shortage problem can improve the Ming army's combat power, but what Wei Guangde wants, whether it is to collect customs duties or to rectify the dental industry, he feels that it is very troublesome.

As for the teeth line, Wei Guangde said it himself, the water is very deep, and there may be a lot of resistance if it is pushed forward.

As for the opening of a port for trade, thinking of this, King Yu thought of the Japanese pirates issue that Wei Guangde had mentioned before. Many coastal people took risks and joined pirates in order to survive. The essence was just to sell Daming products to make money.

It is not only Wei Guangde who said that maritime merchants turned into Japanese pirates. Gao Gong and Yin Shizhen also mentioned it, but the countermeasure is to suppress and kill them all. Wei Guangde proposed to allow them to go to sea to do business and give them a way to survive. Taxation can also relieve the Japanese plague, and the corresponding increase in the south can also be stopped, and the military salary expenditure can be reduced.

Correspondingly, Yu Wang is now more inclined to Wei Guangde's proposal, let them go out to sell Ming products to make a living, and can help the court earn money, solve the Japanese problem, and reduce military expenditures. This has too many benefits.

But the difficulty is not much less than the previous one, after all, it is indeed a bit against the ancestral system.

Opening the sea, Yu Wang also knew that this matter was not initiated by Wei Guangde at the moment, many people had mentioned it before, and all of them were rejected without exception.

Although the resistance is large, it will not exceed the rectification of teeth, right?

After all, according to Wei Guangde, it was actually the family of officials along the coast who opposed the opening of the sea. As for the evidence, Wei Guangde directly brought out the case of the Japanese invaders. All of them were wiped out.

The Xie family in Yuyao, the family of cabinet scholars in the Hongzhi Dynasty.

With Wei Guangde's reminder, King Yu finally understood why those officials who proposed to open the sea ended up so miserable in the end.

And to rectify the dental practice is to make enemies of the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom, especially the middle and lower classes. It is also a problem not to take it back from the hands of the vassal.

In short, in King Yu's view, rectifying the dental practice seems to be able to completely solve the problem of Daming's financial difficulties, but there are too many troubles.

It seems that it is really not easy to reproduce the annual income of the Song Dynasty.

"There is no rush for today's discussion, we still have time, but we have to inquire clearly about what needs to be inquired."

King Yu said to Wei Guangde at this time.

"Yes."

Wei Guangde stood up and said respectfully.

This can be regarded as a secret order from King Yu to inquire about the news and prepare for the opening of the sea after King Yu came to power.

"When the time comes, write down the information you have inquired, and plan how to do it, and leave it to me alone."

King Yu also seemed very cautious at this time, after all, it was about Kaihai.

"I still don't quite understand it now. Since Taizu ordered 'the boards are not allowed to go into the sea', how could Chengzu do it?"

King Yu said again at this time.

"Your Highness, the rule established by the Taizu is not to prohibit maritime trade, but to encircle and suppress the remnants of Zhang Shicheng and others, so at that time the Ming people were prohibited from going to sea privately to prevent them from contacting the rebels.

In addition, when I was established in the early Ming Dynasty, the surrounding vassal states did not know about it. When Japanese pirates came to Ming Dynasty to harass me, I thought it was still the Mongolian Yuan. Where there is trouble, you need to contact Japanese pirates"

At the beginning, King Yu nodded frequently, approving Wei Guangde's words, but when Wei Guangde talked about the Hu Weiyong case set by Taizu, his color changed slightly, and he shook his head immediately.

Wei Guangde knew that he had made a slip of the tongue when he saw it, so he shut up hastily.

"In this way, the ban on the sea was indeed misunderstood by me and others, and only Chengzu understood Taizu's intentions, so he sent people to go south to the west."

King Yu said at this time.

"exactly."

Wei Guangde hastily nodded in agreement.

It was agreed here that King Yu called Li Fang back and asked about Zhang Juzheng.

"Your Highness, Mr. Zhang hasn't come back yet, so it looks like his trip was for nothing."

Li Fang replied on the side.

As an old man who has always stayed by Yu Wang's side, today Yu Wang talked with Wei Guangde and called him outside to see the door. Li Fang was really curious about what they talked about.

However, the people in the palace still know what is good or bad.

King Yu asked him to go out, naturally he didn't want him to know too much, so although he was curious, he didn't want to inquire.

"Forget it, if Mr. Zhang returns empty-handed, don't say anything. If you want to come to the yamen, it's the same. You have to understand the difficulties of the household department."

King Yu said, thinking about the expenses of the palace again, although it was a bit painful, he still said: "As for the expenses, if the Ministry of Accounts really can't get the money for a while, it will be used from the internal treasury first, and wait for the households to pay for it." All the money will be replenished when it arrives."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Li Fang replied.

After sitting for a while, King Yu got up and went back to the inner courtyard, Wei Guangde continued to read, and another hour passed before Zhang Juzheng returned from the household department.

Just as Yu Wang guessed, Zhang Juzheng really returned empty-handed.

"Your Highness said, everyone must understand the Ministry of Finance."

After listening to Zhang Juzheng's narration, Wei Guangde said with a smile.

"The Ministry of Household Affairs actually has money, but it has uses, and they are unwilling to change it. In fact, the official salary in Beijing would have been paid out soon. We just waited for the copper material from Yunnan to arrive, but it was a pity that His Majesty cut it off again."

Zhang Juzheng sighed.

"what happened?"

Wei Guangde asked curiously.

"The previous deposit of the Ministry of Finance was paid to King Jing for the feudal ceremony. It was originally planned that Yunnan copper materials would be rich when they entered Beijing, but there was a delay in the transportation, which led to the fact that the salary was not paid for this month.

Seeing that the copper material is about to enter the capital, His Majesty said that the inner court has no money, so he wants to take it away, and the military salary of the border town dare not move, so it can only press down on our salary. "

Zhang Juzheng said: "As soon as I went today, Gao Shangshu was notified to go to Xiyuan. It was only at this time that I found out about it. Yesterday, His Majesty sent a note to the Ministry of Households to ask for money, but Gao Shangshu stopped him. Today, I was called to Xiyuan See you in Yuan."

"Have you heard back?"

Wei Guangde nodded, the imperial court had no money, and the inner court also had no money, it was difficult for Gao Yao to be a minister.

"Your Majesty has demanded money, which is our salary, ha ha."

Zhang Juzheng smiled wryly as he spoke.

"By the way, the new Minister of Rites, Yuan Wei and Master Yuan, who had an affair with Gao Shangshu today, heard that it was Mr. Yan Ge who persuaded and planned such things in the past. Your Majesty's eyes are shining like a torch!"

Zhang Juzheng felt happy when he heard Gao Yao swearing in the valet room, now he said it to let Wei Guangde know, and added an exclamation.

"You really have a bright eye. If Mr. Gao is appointed as Minister of the Ministry of Rites, I'm afraid he will stand up and support Gao Shangshu at this time."

Wei Guangde found it interesting and smiled.

"It should be like this. No wonder Lord Yuan will be appointed to the position. His Majesty is still looking far ahead."

Although Gao Gong is tactful, that is the attitude of being a human being, and he is very principled in dealing with things, and he will never blindly agree to flattery just because the emperor is promoted.

"Gao Shangshu is not a fuel-efficient lamp. When he scolds, the officials in the capital will target Yuan Shangshu instead of him."

Wei Guangde suddenly felt that Gao Yao was not really angry when he scolded people in the value room. He must know that many people outside went to the household department to ask for money.

on purpose.

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng was startled, then nodded as if he had realized something, and said: "It should be so."

"By the way, do you have an appointment tonight, Uncle? A businessman from my hometown came to the capital, and he brought a lot of hometown specialties to seal the wine. Why don't you come to my house tonight and taste it."

Wei Guangde smiled again, the things were indeed delivered two days ago, Wei Guangde invited some friends tonight, saw Zhang Juzheng, and thought of the teacher behind him.

If Lao Kan and the others are to be promoted step by step in the capital, it may take a long time, but if they walk around the place, the speed of promotion can be accelerated.

Let them gain Zhang Juzheng's favor, and if they have a good official position in the local area in the future, they can also help to say a few words to the second assistant Xu Jie, then it will get twice the result with half the effort.

"Oh, there is good wine, the relationship is good, let's go together later."

Zhang Juzheng immediately agreed to Xiali, and made an appointment to go to Wei Guangde's house for a drink together.

At this moment, a servant suddenly ran in at the gate of the courtyard, and rushed straight to the room where they were in a panic.

"Mr. Zhang, Mr. Wei, the news just came that Zhou Yan, the left capital censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, died."

The servant stood at the door and whispered into the room.

"What? You came in and said, when did it happen?"

Zhang Juzheng got up suddenly when he heard the words, and said to the servant outside the door.

"Yes."

The servant agreed, then entered the room to salute Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng and said: "Only half an hour ago, the Zhou Mansion sent people to the palace and the Metropolitan Procuratorate."

"I have to go and tell King Yu that tonight's banquet can only be postponed."

Wei Guangde woke up from the shock at this moment, got up and said to Zhang Juzheng: "Master Zhou is from my hometown in Jiangxi, so I have to go there."

Zhou Yan can also be regarded as Wei Guangde's boss, after all, he is from the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and perhaps because of his fellow villagers, Wei Guangde has done well in the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

You know, unless it is released to the outside world, there are really not many officials in Beijing who hold part-time positions in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. Zhou Yan can definitely accept Wei Guangde's official position as the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

When Wei Guangde was added the title of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, it was Emperor Jiajing who asked him to check things. He added it for convenience, and maybe the emperor also forgot about it later.

Zhou Yan was not in good health, of course Wei Guangde knew about it, and personally sent a 300-year-old ginseng there.

"Let's go and see King Yu."

Zhang Juzheng nodded, since Zuodu Censor died, Prince Yu's Mansion also had to express it, first inform King Yu.

(End of this chapter)