The first assistant of the poor family

Chapter 443 Huating Gentleman's Business Experience
Wang Shouren's aura is still very strong.With just one look, all the gentry present looked at each other in blank dismay.

Some discerning people have already seen that Wang Xianzun's banquet was not for nothing, and secretly regretted it.But there are still some people who have illusions, thinking that the new Huating magistrate is no different from the previous one.

All the mysteries were solved as the banquet progressed. When Wang Shouren announced that he would fight for land in the whole county, those who still had illusions about Wang Shouren suddenly realized that the banquet held by the county lord was a grand feast.

Unfortunately, it is too late to understand now.

Now that he has entered the county government, it is impossible to escape immediately after eating half of the banquet.

If this is the case, they don't need to make trouble for Qingzhang's land. I'm afraid that just contempt for the government is enough to eat a pot.

Wang Shouren saw that everyone was looking bitter, and he just thought it was funny.

Which of these gentry did not come from the local prominent families, but belonged to those who wanted money, money, and land.It's disgusting to tell them to spit out some bones and pretend to be pitiful.

At this moment, everyone pinned their hopes on the Xu family and the Wu family.

These two families are one of the most prominent families in Huating County, Songjiang Prefecture. With them standing here, there is no need to worry about their success for the time being.

Finally, Xu Tan couldn't help but take the lead and said: "Master Xian, I'm afraid there is something wrong with this move."

Xu Tan's voice was expected by Wang Shouren, and he said calmly: "Why did Xu Yuanwai say that? This county's decision follows the national policy, and this new policy is advocated by His Majesty. Does Xu Yuanwai think there is something wrong?"

Everyone present broke into a cold sweat for Xu Tan.It has to be said that Wang Shouren's means are really high, and he moved out of the national policy as the banner of Wang Ming, no matter what Xu Tan said, it doesn't make sense, and he may even get himself involved.

Xu Tan was also taken aback for a moment.

Why does it always involve national policy? This magistrate Wang really uses chicken feathers as arrows.

"The county lord doesn't know something. The situation in this county is very special. Even if you want to clear the land, you can't clear anything."

Xu Tan was naturally unwilling to be surrounded by Wang Shouren, and said angrily.

"Then Xu Yuanwai is talking about it, how is the situation in this county a special law?"

Xu Tan's heart sank as Wang Shouren looked confident.

Could this magistrate Wang have set up a trick and waited for him to jump in?
But now that the arrow is on the string, it has to be launched.

If Xu Tan chooses to back down at this time, not only will he lose face in front of the local gentry, but he will also gain Wang Shouren's aura for no reason, and it is inevitable to cut his flesh to the county magistrate.

No one would dislike rich land and wealth, and Xu Tan was no exception.He even thought that one day he would trample the Wu family under his feet, take over all the property of the Wu family, and make the Xu family a unique wealthy family in Huating County.

But right now, he's clearly in crisis.If this crisis is not resolved well, it will be difficult to maintain the status quo, let alone dominate Huating County.

This situation is very bad.
Xu Tan swallowed a mouthful of spittle, and said calmly: "The county lord doesn't know, the county pays the heaviest commercial tax in Songjiang Prefecture, even if it ranks in the entire Nanzhili, it is only second to Wujiang County in Suzhou Prefecture."

In the Ming Dynasty, the handicraft industry in the south of the Yangtze River was prosperous, and it has always been known as Suzhou silk and Songjiang cloth.

These two things are world-renowned treasures, and the price is naturally high.

The massive export of Suzhou silk and Songjiang cotton brought huge commercial taxes to the local government, and gradually became the financial and tax reliance of the local government.

"so what?"

Wang Shouren said calmly.

Xu Tan gritted his teeth and said, "In this case, the land should be exempt from taxation. Otherwise, without the local farmers growing cotton, who will weave cloth? Without this Songjiang cloth, the county officials don't believe it, and nine out of ten of the commercial tax collected by the county will be lost !"

Wang Shouren shouted violently: "Presumptuous! Is that how you talk to this county?"

Wang Shouren, who had always been gentle and refined, suddenly became furious, which made Xu Tan shudder.

At this moment, he didn't know whether he should answer the call, so he just stood there in a daze.

"You said just now that the county relies on the silk cloth woven by farmers, which is true. But this is clearly two different things from growing cotton. Regardless of whether the imperial court taxed these lands, the benefits did not fall on the farmers. Taxes collected by the imperial court, Farmers have to pay silk, hemp, and cotton cloth. The imperial court does not raise taxes, so it is natural for you landlords to collect taxes. The only difference lies in who collects taxes. As for commercial taxes, although Huating County collects taxes in the whole prefecture and even in Nanzhili It’s higher, but it’s not enough. The county is going to change the commercial tax this time, and there will be no mercy if it’s changed to the end!”

These words were naturally addressed to the gentry present.

These people are both landlords and wealthy businessmen, and their multiple identities determine their positions.

The gentry took advantage of the land tax exemption policy to give interest differentials, collected rents from farmers who contributed, and lowered prices to buy cotton from tenant farmers.

After purchasing a large amount of cotton, they opened handicraft workshops, hired a large number of weavers to weave cloth, and sold a large amount of woven cotton to other provinces, thereby earning huge profits.

At first glance, they do not appear to be making much profit renting land to sharecroppers.But it was really to pave the way for weaving cotton.

Only by letting the tenant farmers survive and willingly produce cotton, the raw material for weaving, for the gentry, can they obtain huge profits from the final sale of Songjiang cloth.

It's a pity that ordinary tenant farmers can't see through the thoughts of the gentry, and it's really embarrassing to be sold by the gentry without knowing it.

Having been punctured by Wang Shouren, Xu Tan's cheeks flushed red.

"Of course, if you take the initiative to hand over the occupied land and cooperate with the government to clear up the land, then the county can promise that it will listen to your opinions on the reformulation of commercial taxes."

Wang Shouren changed the subject abruptly, and his tone softened vaguely.

The gentry who were present were already in despair, but now hope was rekindled.

For them, although the land is important, the money earned by selling cotton cloth is equally important.

If they could choose one of the two, they would choose the latter.

The reason is very simple, although there are many farmers who volunteer their land in their names.But in fact, most of the grain, cotton and linen obtained from farming still fell on the original owners of the land.Of course, the gentry would also collect rent, but the rent was very low, far lower than the imperial tax, otherwise these peasant households would not have given up their land in the name of the gentry in order to avoid court taxes.

For the gentry, [-]% more is not much profit, and [-]% less is not much profit.It is impossible for them to really embezzle these donated land, because this is the support of the township system, and once the entire county and township governance model is destroyed, it will also collapse.

For them, what they can really manipulate is the profit of cotton cloth.

Taking advantage of low prices to collect cotton and opening textile workshops to earn huge profit margins is the way for these centuries-old families to make money.

(End of this chapter)