Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 281: Doing business requires rules!

The next day.

Still the familiar lobby.

It’s just that more people came than last time.

Li Benmo came, and Lin Shijia, the administrator of Zhejiang Provincial Government, also came.

In addition to these people, Hua Lun, Lian Zining and others also arrived. The whole lobby was a little more solemn than last time.

Seeing such a scene, even if Li Benmo and others didn't know what was going on, they roughly knew that Xia Zhibai probably wanted to settle some things this time, otherwise he would not have called Hua Lun and others as well.

Fang Rengang, Wang Chongde and several other businessmen fell silent when they saw the scene before them.

This was no longer the occasion for them to interrupt.

Not long after.

Xia Zhibai has arrived.

As soon as he entered the hall, Li Benmo stood up first and said in a friendly tone, "Imperial Envoy Xia."

Xia Zhibai nodded and said with a smile, "Master Li."

Then, he retracted his gaze, calmly scanned the entire room, and said calmly: "Two days have passed very quickly. I wonder what you think?"

Li Benmo glanced at the salt merchants below, all of whom lowered their heads. No one dared to raise their heads and speak. Li Benmo took the initiative to say, "Your Excellency, you take these merchants too seriously. What do their suggestions mean? In my Ming Dynasty, everything must be in accordance with the king's law and the national law."

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy has come south in compliance with His Majesty's order, which in itself represents the laws of the kingdom."

"How can we allow them to gossip here?"

Xia Zhibai glanced at Li Benmo, shook his head and said, "Lord Li, I am really embarrassed. I did go south under the order of the emperor, but how can a minister replace the laws of the Ming Dynasty? The Ming Dynasty has its own laws and regulations. Everything should be in accordance with the law."

"I dare not overstep my bounds."

"And everything can be discussed."

"As long as we can sit down, there is room for discussion."

"Isn't it a violation of the rules if one person has the final say?"

Li Benmo's eyelids twitched slightly, and a hint of contempt appeared in his eyes.

He really is both a responsible and a helpless person.

They are just businessmen, who really takes them seriously?
The so-called negotiation is nothing more than passing messages to the people behind these businessmen.

Li Benmo said, "It is great that the Imperial Commissioner has such a heart. However, the kitchen household issue has been a hassle for so long, and it is really a hassle. I think it should be resolved as soon as possible. The salt administration issue cannot be delayed any longer. How can it be delayed again and again?"

"Wouldn't it make people think that the court is doing a poor job?"

"As court officials, we should make our own decisions sometimes."

"Lord Li is absolutely right." Xia Zhibai nodded.

He turned his head and looked at the crowd below, saying, "I still hold the same view as before. The South can only implement the large-scale factory system, and it must be supervised by the court. This is the red line. The Ming Dynasty will not allow the salt industry to become rampant, and will never allow local chaos to occur again because of the salt industry."

Zhang Tong said: "This is natural."

“The big factory system has its advantages.”

“It is easy to manage, supervise and integrate resources.”

"The court will not take away your sales rights, but will be able to check the accounts at any time. Although many salt factories will have to move, it is better than being shut down by the court. In addition, the imperial envoy brought a lot of engineers with him this time. Don't think about making trouble, and don't think about taking a group of people to cause trouble."

"The court has been on guard against you for a long time."

Zhang Tong spoke to the salt merchant below in an arrogant manner.

Xia Zhibai frowned.

He took the initiative to say: "I did bring a lot of engineers this time, but not to occupy your machines. It is just to facilitate you to move them so that you can start working better and faster, and even fill the production of other closed salt factories. The main purpose is to improve your machines."

“This is also the benefit of moving the factory.”

It was quiet all around.

Xia Zhibai continued, "As for where you will move to and which factories you will merge with, that will be decided by the local governor."

Lin Shijia said: "As for the location of the salt factory after the merger, our Chief Secretary will give the greatest support and try to choose a place with convenient transportation to facilitate the transportation of salt, coal, etc., and also to reduce the distance in between."

Fang Rengang and the others looked at each other, their faces full of bitterness.

How could they have the right to speak?

Hasn’t everything been decided?
In fact, they had been informed long ago not to complain too much about the merger, because this was Xia Zhibai's political purpose in going south, and Xia Zhibai would not give up until he achieved his goal. In this case, they could only agree.

Fang Rengang hesitated for a moment and said, "As long as the government can fulfill its promise, the merger is not a big deal."

"But if the salt factory does this, there will be problems with the distribution of benefits."

Xia Zhibai said: "You decide for yourselves, whether to follow the current production or the subsequent production, or to set the production quota in advance. This is a decision for businessmen, and officials like us will not make our own decisions."

"also."

"All cooks must switch to a hiring system."

"It will no longer be allowed to reap the benefits of past policies."

"The imperial court promoted the salt factory to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, not to increase revenue and reduce expenditure for you."

"If you want to make profits from salt production, you must bear the corresponding responsibilities."

"This is one and the same." "The imperial court will not care too much about how you do business. As long as you do not disrupt the normal salt market and do not do anything that harms the world, the imperial court will not intervene too much. But if you evade taxes or resist taxes, don't blame the law for being ruthless."

"Now the advent of the steam engine has greatly changed the face of doing business."

“Business laws will also change in the future.”

"Not only will there be restrictions on tax rates, but there will also be restrictions on tax inspections and many other aspects, all in order to allow merchants to conduct business legally within the order."

Xia Zhibai said a lot in succession.

Just hearing this, Fang Rengang and the others had sweat on their foreheads.

How could this not be managed?
He's almost in charge of everything.

There are also changes to business taxes, penalties for tax evasion, and so on. To Fang Rengang, each of these is like a rope tied around their heads, which can be turned into ropes to hang them at any time.

Fang Rengang said, "Sir, is this a bit too much?"

"Why is this so?"

Xia Zhibai shook his head and said calmly, "We have to go. You have all seen the benefits of steam engines. Production efficiency has been greatly improved, and the number of workers required has been greatly reduced. If the court does not conduct strict inspections on the corresponding factories, I don't know how much less tax the court will collect each year."

“This is not allowed.”

“Taxes are the lifeblood of a country.”

“In the future, this will not only apply to salt, but also to other new industries.”

“Therefore, commercial reform is beyond doubt.”

"Besides."

"The craftsmen and engineers I brought with me this time are not only here to improve the machines for you, but also to spread the word to the public that the steam age is coming. Steam engines will be used in many areas in the future, not only in making salt, but also in making iron horses and iron ships. Transportation in the world will be greatly improved."

"In addition to these, there will be many changes in daily life."

"These will affect the people step by step."

"Although it is undeniable that this will have a certain degree of impact on local people, as long as it is used properly, more people will benefit from it, and this will be the inevitable path of the times."

"The Ming Dynasty will gradually move towards openness."

"As a channel for the Ming Dynasty to communicate with the outside world, merchants must naturally be gradually formalized."

"The imperial court will gradually strengthen its control over local governments and provide channels for local people, merchants, and craftsmen to communicate with the imperial court. The Salt Association I mentioned earlier is one of them."

Hear the words.

Fang Rengang and others' faces changed immediately.

All eyes turned to Lin Shijia and other officials.

Lin Shijia also had a very unhappy expression on his face.

He never thought that Xia Zhibai would be so straightforward and speak his mind directly in front of so many merchants. It was just that Xia Zhibai overestimated these merchants. How could they have so much backbone? They were just dogs in the open for some people to see.

It is not easy to get them to report to the court.

But what Xia Zhibai said also made them feel a little nervous, because this was not a good thing.

No matter which one is done, it will have a great impact on the local area.

The old local pattern will also be broken.

This is not what they want to see.

Li Benmo stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Xia Zhibai with puzzled eyes. He couldn't understand why Xia Zhibai said this? Was he really trying to convince these businessmen to agree? And to make them dispel their concerns and reveal the person in secret?
Or are you taking the opportunity to ridicule them?

In fact, he had misjudged their intentions a long time ago, but he was unwilling to expose them. However, he also advised them not to try to stop a chariot with a mantis arm?

Li Benmo frowned and thought for a while, but couldn't figure it out.

Li Benmo did not respond to this question, and said slowly: "Last time, my Salt Transport Bureau sent a list, but that list is not very accurate. It cannot be said to be inaccurate. To be precise, there are some omissions."

"In the past six months, many salt factories in the south have opened and closed down, including some large factories, such as Ningbo Salt Factory in Zhejiang, which closed down more than half a month ago due to poor management."

“It has now been dismantled and sold to other salt factories.”

"There are many salt factories in the south like Ningbo Salt Factory, which are too ambitious and greedy and want to monopolize most of Zhejiang Salt Market to make huge profits. However, these merchants are greedy and never consider the high transportation costs. In the end, they can't afford it and are dragged down by other small salt factories around them."

“What a pity.”

Li Benmo expressed regret with an expressionless face.

He seemed to really feel sorry for these "bankrupt" salt factories, but his eyes seemed extremely cold.

Xia Zhibai nodded calmly and said, "If Lord Li hadn't mentioned it, I was just about to talk about it."

"Since it has gone bankrupt, it should be liquidated as such."

"I will ask Ding Zhifang to go to the Salt Transport Department to sort out the relevant information later. Then I will ask the Provincial Government to send some people to investigate the whereabouts of these machines and try to find out the whereabouts of these machines as soon as possible."

Li Benmo nodded, his expression unremarkable, and said, "Okay."

Seeing Li Benmo nodded so easily was a little beyond Xia Zhibai's expectations.

He smiled and continued.

The meeting went smoothly.

(End of this chapter)