The sun never sets in America

Chapter 343 Philippines: Taxation and Differentiation

Guagua! !

Guagua...

In the sugar cane field, the earthworkers who were harvesting sugar cane had a "sad" expression on their faces after hearing the "natural sounds" of frog calls, and then bent down to harvest the sugar cane.

On a high bamboo platform in the distance, Li Sansheng was inspecting his plantation.

As a native Chinese in the Philippines, after the Han Dynasty annexed the Philippines, a somewhat famous "Chinese businessman" like him reached the pinnacle of his life.

Except for the recently increased "sugar tax", Li Sansheng didn't take anything into consideration.

Looking down from above, there was a smile on Li Sansheng's lips. However, he didn't smile for long before he heard "Commissioner Wu is here" from behind, making him unable to smile anymore.

"Commissioner Wu, I'm really sorry that you have to come in person for such a small matter..."

After seeing Commissioner Wu with a Chinese-character face, Li Sansheng immediately showed a "friendly" smile, and even knelt down reflexively.

Commissioner Wu, who was in charge of tax collection, looked at the old "fox" in front of him and cursed "treacherous" in his heart, but said on his face:

"Boss Li, a noble man, often forgets things. His family is big and his business is huge, so this small amount of money is naturally indispensable."

"Commissioner Wu is joking. Compared with the yamen, my little family fortune is just a hair on the body of a cow. It would be embarrassing if I took it out!!"

After saying this, Commissioner Wu said nothing more, but drank the tea that had just been served. The tea tasted good, and I guess it was a good tea from China.

Li Sansheng forced a smile on the opposite side, but it quickly disappeared, just to show off to Commissioner Wu.

"Commissioner Wu was joking. This year's sugar tax has already been paid. It was paid at the beginning of the year. Logically speaking, it won't be until March next year."

Li Sansheng talked about the tax matter in a leisurely manner. He looked very calm, but in fact he was already scolding him to the extreme.

"I admire you, I admire you..."

"By the way, here's the money for tea. I just drank a cup of tea and two snacks. I know that tea. It's good tea from Lingnan. The snacks are also good. It's not much money. Please bear with me, Boss Li."

"After all, we are all serving the country!!"

"Commissioner Wu, have you eaten? If not, I have two Eastern Star Spots that just arrived. I happen to have a chef at home who can cook Cantonese cuisine. When the time comes, I will prepare a table and let me, a commoner, honor our parents!!"

"It's not just me, it's the same everywhere..."

After saying that, Commissioner Wu took out a five-yuan note with Liu Peng's image on it from his pocket and handed it to Butler Wang who was "confused".

"master……"

Commissioner Wu had already reached the door, but suddenly turned around, startling Li Sansheng who was about to curse, and his expression changed again and again.

"In other words, it's a new tax."

Commissioner Wu once again stopped the butler who was always planning to leave. He suspected that the actions just now were all colluded.

Looking at the "sighing" Boss Li in front of him and the so-called flood, Commissioner Wu actually knew very well that he just didn't want to pay.

"Commissioner Wu, it's not that I don't want to give it, it's just that I really have no way to give it!!"

When Commissioner Wu saw this, he immediately stopped him and said to Li Sansheng with a smile:

"Boss Li, you're welcome. I'm here to collect the sugar tax this time. I'd like to ask Boss Li for my convenience."

Butler Wang came to the yard with a thick brown paper bag and set his sights on Li Sansheng who was "fooling the ghost".

Li Sansheng finally figured out how to speak human words when seeing people, and tell ghosts when seeing ghosts, so he asked the housekeeper to "prepare".

"Watch what I do, give it to Commissioner Wu, remember, this is the court's money, we are only keeping it temporarily!!"

Li Sansheng took "efficiency" seriously.

“Boss Li, do you see??”

"Commissioner Wu..."

So it’s a straightforward statement:

"Oh, Commissioner Wu doesn't know something. We've had floods recently and flooded a lot of sugar cane fields. It's going to be difficult to pay taxes now."

"No, no, no, Boss Li, you misunderstood. I'm not here to donate money, I'm here to collect taxes."

But Commissioner Wu clapped his hands overjoyed, and then said with a smile:

"What, not enough??"

“I’ve only heard that things are new and old.”

Seeing Commissioner Wu in front of him who was talking about "money", Li Sansheng scolded him like a dog in his heart, but he said:

"But if the court has any difficulties, let's talk about them. We are not the kind of unpatriotic people. So, I will take the lead in donating one thousand to show my patriotism..."

Commissioner Wu took the paper bag, weighed it, and stuffed it directly into the black leather briefcase he carried without even looking at it.

With that said, he was ready to ask the butler to pay the money in the account.

Looking at Commissioner Wu who was "pursuing him to the death", Li Sansheng's expression tightened, and then he laughed and said, "Really? That's because I remembered it wrong. Lao Wang, go to the bank and take out 8,000 yuan to give to Commissioner Wu."

"Boss Li, there are floods, but they are not as exaggerated as you said. If I remember correctly, the floods at the beginning of this year were not large in scale. At most one-fifth of your Li family's sugarcane fields were flooded. Afterwards, the tax The bureau has also refunded part of the tax to you as compensation.”

"Boss Li, according to the latest requirements of the Philippine Governor's Office, starting from yesterday, each hectare of sugar cane land will be paid two more Chinese dollars. If it is not enough, it will be paid, and if it is more, it will be refunded. According to the number of sugar cane fields of your Li family, you will have to pay eight yuan in total. Thousands of dollars."

"Commissioner Wu, walk slowly, walk slowly..."

"New tax, is this tax still old or new??"

Commissioner Wu showed what he thought was the kindest expression to Boss Li.

"Boss Li is joking, everyone is doing it for the country and His Majesty!!"

"Boss Li understands justice and understands the general system. He is really a model of Han businessmen in the Philippines!!"

With that said, Commissioner Wu will continue to take money.

“No, that’s enough, that’s enough!!”

After Boss Li finished speaking, he took the banknotes and held them in his hands with great care.

"Boss Li, see you later..."

"Commissioner Wu, come back, walk slowly..."

Li Sansheng waited until Commissioner Wu had gone away, then looked at the creased banknotes in his hand, tore them up without thinking, and cursed:

"Fuck you, am I short of five yuan? I am short of your money!!"

"What the hell, you really treat yourself like a master and a good person. You are a good person. Don't ask for money, you idiot!!"

Butler Wang looked at Li Sansheng who was cursing non-stop and had no way to interrupt.

"Fuck uncle..."

Li Sansheng cursed and ended with "Uncle".

When leaving, he added:

"Burn the money and spread the ashes!!"

The housekeeper picked up the banknotes on the ground and put them away with some distress, wondering if he could put them together. After all, these things can be exchanged for new ones at the bank.

.........

"Hello, Boss Zhou, new taxes are out..."

"What the new tax is, I don't know."

"Boss Zhou, according to the latest law promulgated by the Governor, those who are late in paying taxes will be fined one to three times the amount, do you think?"

"Wait, I'm going to get the money!!"

Commissioner Wu spent more than a week in this kind of "debt collection", and even earned himself the nickname "Wu Copycat".

At the same time, people's complaints against the Philippine Governor's Palace are getting bigger and bigger. After all, these bastards raise taxes as much as the Spaniards. What's even more disgusting is that there is no benefit at all, if it weren't for the suppression of the garrison. , some ambitious people are going to "challenge thieves".

However, under the suppression of the local garrison, these ideas eventually became illusions.

Even the "laughing stock".

"I asked, isn't this tax a bit excessive? Don't take out the eggs and the chickens will die by then."

"There are a lot of people out there scolding us now!!"

In the Taxation Department, Lin Chao, who is also a collection official, does not quite agree with the current tax model.

Although the Philippines is a place where good and bad people are mixed, and tax changes are often made, it is a last resort, but if he really does this, Lin Chao feels that it is not appropriate.

"Why are you so anxious? We're not really killing the goose that lays the goose to lay eggs. You don't know how rich those guys are. They annexed a lot of native plantations some time ago and are now counting the money. We won't raise taxes at this time. , it will be difficult when it stabilizes in the future.”

Deputy Director Mu, who was drinking tea, had his own understanding of tax collection, which was basically "quick, accurate and ruthless".

Not only must it be fast, but it must be just right, and it must even be "stable."

"I mean, if we do this, whoever can do it is too much. Even if the Philippines is a colony, we can't go through this, right??"

"If the trouble gets bigger and spreads back to the mainland, we people will not get anything good to eat!!" Lin Chao is still more worried about the attitude of the local area. After all, a temporary tax increase is actually a big mistake in the local area. No. Less than "dictatorship".

"What are you afraid of? Do you know what a colony is? Those adults above only look at the benefits, not the process. As long as the Philippines does not rebel, we will have no problem."

Deputy Director Mu obviously knows a lot about the so-called "colonies". After all, before coming to the Philippines, he learned a lot about British colonial strategies, the most important of which was easing.

The looseness here refers to rights.

In the Governor's Palace, Lu Ting, as the Governor of the Philippines, is anxious about the so-called "regularization."

For a long time, Lu Ting has been "satisfied" with the current situation in the Philippines, or from his perspective, very satisfied.

After all, how many areas can pay 20 million in taxes to the imperial court? Because of this, he was often praised by Hu Junding for this matter, saying that he was the "Philippine Dinghai Shenzhen" and "the official minister of the country".

At that time, he himself was also complacent. After all, the Philippines can survive to this day, and Lu Ting can definitely say that he has a "clear conscience."

However, the recent tax turmoil made Lu Ting understand that "if the name is not justified, the words will not go well" and "if the Tao goes wrong, the things will not happen."

Although what was gained was merit, what was dealt a blow was "prestige."

Lu Ting knew this very well, but he had to accept it because the local area was also short of money recently. As a person determined to join the cabinet and become the second Hu Xiang, Lu Ting was by no means the kind of person who would "cheat and cheat". A "flattery" person.

But he had to pay, because Lanfang next door had already paid tens of millions in advance. As a colonial Philippines, no matter how bad it was, it had to pay some to reflect its own value.

But if it is handed over, it will also expose the current problems in the Philippines.

The Han Dynasty was a mixed place and the economy was severely distributed.

This alone made Lu Ting very troubled.

"That's it, just be a villain again!!"

Lu Ting saw that the blank space in his hand was a memorial, and he immediately wrote quickly.

Soon, a rigorous memorial of a thousand words was written. When the governor sealed it, Lu Ting could even feel how "rapid" his own heartbeat was.

.............................................

"Your Majesty, this is an urgent report from the Philippines."

Reaching out to take the telegram, Liu Peng frowned more and more as he read the words on it:

"This Lu Ting is so bold, he actually wants to divide the Philippines."

"He dares to do such a thing as breaking the ground!!"

There was no "angry" in Liu Peng's tone, but instead a hint of relief.

"Your Majesty, what happened to Governor Lu?"

“Did something happen in the Philippines??”

"Or are those natives rebelling??"

Wen Ting was very curious about the message in Liu Peng's hand. After all, she had not seen Liu Peng evaluate someone with this attitude for a long time.

He was still aware of Emperor Longwu's attitude. If he was really angry, he would not say anything. He would only wait until he got the handle and then directly send him to prison.

On the contrary, if you just curse a few words and don't curse harshly, that's a good thing.

Zhu Dao, who was still in Liangzhou, was often scolded by Liu Peng, but he was promoted every time.

"Humph, he's just a daring guy, he has nothing to say."

Liu Peng dismissed the topic with disdain.

Wen Ting was also very sensible and did not continue to ask.

After Wen Ting left, Liu Peng reached out and picked up the telegram that he had thrown aside. He looked at the text "Convert colonies into prefectures and counties, and remove natives to outer islands." A smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and finally he gave instructions on it:

"It is not appropriate for the prefecture and county to do this now. We can follow the example of Lan Fang. As for the indigenous affairs, we should follow your plan."

Soon, this telegram was sent to the Philippines thousands of miles away.

Since the advent of radio, communications within the Han Kingdom have become faster and faster.

Of course, this refers to official communications. As for civilians, it is estimated that it will take a long time. After all, wireless telegraphy is still a military secret.

.........

Looking at the telegram in his hand, although Lu Ting was disappointed because the prefectures and counties were not divided, he immediately became "energetic" after seeing the last promise.

Immediately ordered the secretary to hold a meeting.

At the meeting, Lu Ting announced the "Order of the Separation of Han Tu" with high spirits.

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, especially Commander Zhang, the Philippine garrison commander in charge of public security, who immediately stood up:

"Your Majesty the Governor, although it is a good thing that the Han people are separated, the pressure on our army is too great."

"Do you know how many indigenous people there are in the entire Luzon Island? There are millions of them. Now if they dare to go to Mindanao, there will definitely be trouble. If they can't be suppressed, a fight will start, which is not a good thing. .”

"I suggest you take it slow and don't be too hasty. Otherwise, if you get too hasty, we won't be able to suppress it."

Of course Lu Ting understood this truth, so he answered directly:

"The natives, the barbarians, have courage but no brains."

"To deal with them, just divide them."

Lu Ting's face showed a "sarcastic" look, and then continued:

"The differentiation I am talking about does not mean killing a whole boatload of people with one stroke. All friendly indigenous tribes can stay and become Chinese!!"

Boom! !

As soon as these words came out, everyone was confused. Some people were even thinking whether Governor Lu was crazy.

You know, this is not a simple division, it is also dividing the local Chinese people.

And if the natives are added to the ranks of the Chinese in such a grand manner, the natives will know about it and will not explode. When the time comes...

Some people no longer dare to think about it anymore. This matter is really too big for the Philippines to bear.

"My Lord Governor, may I ask, is what you just said a local order?"

An official named Lei stood up and questioned Lu Ting. Although the others did not say anything, they all looked at Lu Ting with the same look.

"no!!"

Boom! ! !

The reaction this time was even greater than before. Many people present looked at Lu Ting with fright instead of respect.

After all, "playing" with power like this and "having no laws", is he still the cautious Governor Lu? ?

"Governor Lu, since it is not a local order, we don't have to carry it out."

Officials named Lei took the lead in rejecting Lu Ting's order.

The others also said nothing, but their attitudes were similar.

In a word, without local orders, who would be willing to continue playing like this with you, Lu Ting.

Lu Ting did not have any "fluctuation" about such a reaction. He had even expected it, and then continued to speak:

"In addition to showing the benevolence of our Han Empire, the most important thing is to divide some of the indigenous people into the Chinese people."

"Although there are many natives, their hearts are not united, and if they are not united, we will control them!!"

"If we want to complete our plan to divide the Han people, we won't cause trouble."

"The best way is to recruit a group of people and fight a group of people. You should know this truth."

The people around him only calmed down at this time. They had just heard that the natives were to be accepted as Chinese, and they were about to curse. After all, if they actually did this, they would be considered "national traitors" and "traitors" if the news came back to the mainland.

But now that there are reasons for differentiation, things are different. The same thing, if explained for another reason, will have different effects.

"Commander Zhang, when the time comes, all you have to do is hold the line and drive the natives into Mindanao. Someone will do it yourself."

Lu Ting then turned his head and looked at the man who was second most powerful to him. The local special agent was Commander Zhang, General Zhang, and made the request in a consultative tone.

"Don't worry, Lord Governor, if something happens, we, the garrison, will be duty-bound to do so."

“But I want to ask, who will solve it??”

Commander Zhang looked at Governor Lu who really seemed to have "two brushes" and wanted to know who the helper he was talking about was.

Lu Ting picked up the porcelain cup on the table, took a few sips, and then slowly spoke:

"Dividing the Philippines is a national policy and cannot be changed. Going to Mindanao for the natives is also a national policy and cannot be changed. If we attack rashly, we may cause chaos on the entire island. In my opinion, the right way is to use soil to control soil."

After finishing speaking, he smiled and said to Commander Zhang:

"Commander Zhang, wait and see the good show!!"

Commander Zhang looked at Lu Ting in a "treacherous" way.

Let the natives who defected to the Han State kill the abandoned natives. Governor Lu must be able to remember his origins, and his abacus is so good.

(End of this chapter)