Bai Ruyun was in the silk village not far away, and the guy quickly called him over.

"Your Majesty's visit to our store is not welcome." As soon as Bai Ruyun saw Gao Junshan, he knelt down and examined himself.

Gao Junshan waved his hand and said, "I came out of Weifu this time, don't be too public, don't tell your people, don't spread it." ”

"Yes! Please rest assured, Your Majesty, the grass people have already commanded. After Bai Ruyun finished speaking, he asked, "Your Majesty has something to find the grass people, and when you make the next imperial decree, the grass people will enter the palace to meet Your Majesty, why do you want to leave the palace in person?" ”

Gao Junshan said: "The air outside the imperial city is fresh, I came out to breathe, and by the way, I came to you to drink tea." ”

Bai Ruyun was flattered: "Welcome the emperor to come to tea often!" ”

Do you think the emperor is really so idle that he comes to you to drink tea when he has nothing to do? Gao Junshan came here this time, firstly, to see how Bai Ruyun's business was doing, and secondly, to learn about the taxation of merchants. Gao Junshan didn't come to drink tea by the way, he had already prepared, those outside who pretended to buy tea, but they were all people from the Gongwei Division, what kind of institution was the Gongwei Division? The East Factory of the Ming Dynasty was formerly known as the Gongwei Division, a secret agency.

It's not just the people who have the Gong Guards in Ruyun Tea House, but the whole street is full of Gong Guards.

Gao Junshan took a sip of the teacup and asked, "Is business good lately?" ”

"Thanks to Your Majesty, business has been doing very smoothly in the past two years." White as a cloud.

"Makes a lot of money, right?"

Bai Ruyun said again: "Back to Your Majesty, all you earn is a small amount of money, not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning." ”

Gao Junshan said: "I hope you make a lot of money, so you don't have to hide it in front of me, I wish you a prosperous business and a lot of money." ”

Bai Ruyun was overjoyed: "Your Majesty's imperial grace is vast, we will never let down Your Majesty's grace and make our business prosperous." ”

Gao Junshan said: "If you have money, I will have money." I strongly support you businessmen, create favorable conditions for you, and give you preferential treatment, and you should also share your worries and think more for me. ”

Bai Ruyun nodded and said, "It must be." ”

"What is the current tax rate?" Gao Junshan asked.

"Thirty taxes one."

Gao Junshan said: "I remember that this is still the tax rate of the previous dynasty!" ”

Bai Ruyun replied: "Yes, the tax rate has not changed. ”

"Now that you are rich, you have to think more about the country, and if you want to raise the commercial tax, how much can you adjust?"

Gao Junshan came to ask for advice, which was the main purpose of his visit.

Bai Ruyun hurriedly said: "The grass people don't dare to speak wildly. ”

Gao Junshan said: "You just say your opinion and give me a reference." ”

Bai Ruyun said: "Now that the business is getting bigger and bigger, it is necessary to increase the tax rate, and we businessmen are also willing to contribute more to the country, but it is best to increase the tax rate little by little, not to adjust it too much." ”

Gao Junshan said: "From the perspective of doing business, it seems difficult to accept raising too much at once, but have you thought about it?" The tax rate of the previous dynasty has not been adjusted for decades or even hundreds of years, and I will adjust the tax if I have nothing to do, who can stand this? ”

"Exactly, exactly."

"So, I have to adjust it all at once, so I don't have to keep adjusting it later. It's better to be scolded all the time than to be scolded once. ”

Bai Ruyun was in a very awkward position, and he slurred: "This, this ......"

"What's this? I ask you, what is the most reasonable way to increase the tax rate? ”

Bai Ruyun said: "Your Majesty, the people of the world have just been able to eat their stomachs, and I have to raise taxes on them, which is probably inappropriate." ”

Gao Junshan shook his head and said, "You are wrong. I am not raising taxes on the people of the world, I am only raising taxes on you merchants, and now that you have money, you should also contribute more to the country, this is what you just said. ”

Bai Ruyun seemed to understand, and said, "Oh, it's just an increase in business taxes." ”

"How much?"

Bai Ruyun thought for a moment and replied, "Twenty-five taxes and one." ”

Gao Junshan said: "This twenty-five tax should be acceptable to you, and I have to do further in-depth investigation, and finally the Ministry of Commerce will make a decision." I have another thing for you to do this time. ”

Bai Ruyun said: "If there is anything that needs to be grass-run, please ask Your Majesty to give instructions." ”

Gao Junshan said: "I want to give you a chance to get rich." You are now mainly engaged in domestic trade, and I want you to vigorously develop foreign trade. ”

"Foreign trade?"

Gao Junshan nodded and said, "Yes, foreign trade." It is to do business with foreigners, dump a large number of our products abroad, and make a lot of money from foreigners. ”

"Will this work?"

Gao Junshan said: "So you have to go out, go abroad to see, see how people do business, and the state will also guide businessmen in foreign trade." ”

"We haven't done business with foreigners."

Gao Junshan said: "It's okay, we will send someone to guide you." Now that the country has developed, you businessmen should also look farther, our trade should go to Europe, Africa, and even the Americas, don't wait for people to come to the door, wait for people to come to knock on our door, that can only be humiliated by others, they only bring me things that destroy our hearts. ”

Bai Ruyun asked puzzledly: "What destroyed our hearts?" ”

Gao Junshan certainly won't forget the Opium War.

The Opium War was a war of aggression against China jointly launched by Britain and France with the support of Russia and the United States. In order to further open up the Chinese market and expand their aggressive interests in China, Britain and France jointly attacked the Qing Dynasty government under the pretext of the Yarrow Incident and the Ma Shenfu Incident on the occasion of the Taiping Rebellion in China. The war began in 1860 when the Anglo-French army invaded Beijing, the Qing Emperor fled to Chengde, and the Anglo-French army broke into the Old Summer Palace and looted and burned the jewels. During the war, Tsarist Russia claimed to be "meritorious in mediation" and coerced the Qing government to cede more than 1.5 million square kilometers of territory, thus becoming the biggest winner.

The results of the Opium War were:

First, the Qing government was forced to sign peace treaties such as the Treaty of Tianjin, the Treaty of Beijing, and the Sino-Russian Treaty of Aihui, and the invasion of the foreign powers deepened. As a result, China has lost more than 1.5 million square kilometers of territory in the northeast and northwest.

Second, the Qing government was able to concentrate its efforts on suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and maintaining its rule;

Third, the expansion of foreign invading forces into China's coastal provinces and into the Chinese mainland facilitated the dumping of goods by foreign powers and plundering cheap raw materials and labor;

Fourth, the opium trade in China was also legalized, and foreigners were allowed to trade Chinese laborers abroad and foreigners were allowed to go to the interior to preach.

Fifth, foreign envoys stationed in Beijing strengthened their influence and control over the Qing government.

Now that the high mountains have been crossed, can history repeat itself? Never! This is an important reason why he wants to sweep the Rakshasa Kingdom.

Of course, Bai Ruyun didn't understand this, and it was in vain to explain to him, so Gao Junshan didn't answer him, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "In short, as long as we are strong, we will not be bullied by foreigners, and you may understand this in the future." ”

Gao Junshan thought to himself, in the future, you may never understand, because foreigners bullying Chinese will not happen again.

I don't know if Bai Ruyun understood or didn't understand, anyway, he nodded.

Bai Ruyun asked again: "Your Majesty wants to send someone to give us guidance, is it to install officials in our business?" The grass people have no other meaning, it's just the cost of these officials, and in business, the grass people have to think about this problem. ”

Gao Junshan said: "Your question is very good, I don't think that officials should be sent to you, such a thing will definitely affect your free trade, I think we should adopt such a cooperation method, you come to my Chongwen Academy to recruit employees, let them become your staff, help you engage in foreign trade activities, not under our control." ”

"That's very good." Of course, Bai Ruyun agreed, he was busy pouring tea for Gao Junshan, and beckoned, "Please taste tea for Your Majesty!" ”

Gao Junshan took a sip of tea, and then changed the topic to Bai Ruyun.