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So, in front of Mark and the Hanseatic merchants, the chengguan swaggered down the wall, ignoring the purple faces of the Hanseatic merchants.

In the morning, the entire fence of the London Iron Yard was completely demolished, revealing the various buildings inside

Build.

"By the way, after we leave, the people from the City of London Treasury will come to collect taxes, you have to prepare the money!"

"Hahaha! Brothers, let's go! The Earl of Southampton didn't care about the faces of Mark and his party, mounted his horse, laughed and left.

"Alas! What should come is still coming! Mark sighed to the group of Hanseatic merchants beside him, and turned back.

"Let's go! Let's go back and prepare the money, those vampires don't feed, we don't want to do business! ”

One of them, an old man who looked respectful, waved his hand at the merchants and turned back.

So, dozens of businessmen who came out could only walk back in a sparse manner, sighing one by one.

After all, they are used to preferential treatment or tax exemption, and now if they have to pay taxes, it is no less than cutting meat!

At this time, in the port of London, a boatload of merchant ships from all over the world began to enter the port, including wine from France, timber from northern Europe, olive oil from southern Europe, herring from the Hanseatic League, and furs from Russia.

There are also products such as bacon, grain, wine, furs, livestock, plant ash, whale oil, hemp, resin, beeswax, stabers, iron, copper, tin, and metal products.

These are basically commodities that the English are keen on.

As a merchant in Lübeck, the center of the Hanseatic League, Simon has been traveling between Northern Europe and England, because he bravely picked up a harpoon and stabbed two pirates to death during a pirate attack.

So, the people of good deeds gave him the nickname, Simon the Brave, and he was happy to accept it, which was equivalent to his honor, and he always had to brag about it when he met a strange shipowner.

As soon as he sailed into the port of London, he met an acquaintance, a Hanseatic merchant who had come to London like him, except that Simon was selling herring and he was selling grain.

"Hey, Simon, you've got a good harvest!"

The two stood on the boat and greeted each other.

"Why! You don't know that the Dutch merchants shamelessly hired pirates to attack us, and now we can't buy many herrings, and I'm worried that they will rob my ship! ”

"It's good this time, I didn't meet the demons who believe in Satan, God forbid!"

As he spoke, Simon turned to the sky and began to pray.

In Flanders, the mighty Duchy of Burgundy in the 15th century and the United Provincial Republic, the forerunner of the Netherlands, in the 16th century, competed commercially with the Hanseatic League by building the port of Antwerp and encouraging pirate raids.

In 1451, they forced the Hanseatic merchants to abandon the port of Bruges and move to the port of Antwerp.

Since then, the Netherlands, with its superior geographical location and many ports and rivers, has replaced the position of "sea coachman" of the Hanseatic merchant fleet and monopolized the commercial shipping of Western Europe

"What about you? Nice, my dear friend, how are you doing? ”

While lamenting his business, Simon couldn't help but ask his friend who sells grain.

"I'm glad I didn't meet those pirates, and London and England are now more and more hungry for food!"

"Otherwise, you can come with me to sell food! It's a good business! ”

Ness grinned, bared his black and yellow teeth, and said to Simon.

There is a reason why Nice said this, the population of England has begun to grow explosively, and there is a great demand for food.

But apparently he can't fill the need alone, so he wants to pull Simon, the brave captain.

One was because Simon's ship was smaller than him and could not pose a threat to him, and the other was because he had good relations with the lords of the manors throughout Germany, but Simon's connections were not there.

In this way, Simon can only take grain from him, and he can earn another hand.

If Simon were to be united, his trading position with the English grain merchants would be much higher, and the price of grain would also be higher.

"No, my friend, I'll sell my herring! I'm not familiar with food! ”

After thinking about it for a moment, Simon decisively rejected Nice's offer.

Simon, who often travels to London, certainly knows how much food is in demand in England and knows that profits are high.

However, the habits he has developed at sea make it easy for him to come into contact with unfamiliar places, it is better to be cautious, and he is not an adventurer, after all, his family still depends on him for support!

"Let's go back together in three days! Nice! Directing the sailors on the ship to pack the sails, Simon said to Nice, who was on the adjacent ship.

"Good! We'll see you in three days! Nice, however, had already packed up the ship to greet the arriving port collector and exchanged with him.

"Your Excellency, this is all the items we have shipped this time!"

Ness bent down slightly, and said respectfully to the tax collector who kept holding the parchment.

"We have 100,000 pounds (about forty-nine tons) of grain on board, half of which is rye and half wheat!"

"Then, originally you had to pay five percent of the tariff, but His Majesty the King has a preferential tariff on grain, and now you only need to pay three percent of the tariff!"

"So, you have to pay three thousand pounds of grain, or fifteen pounds, seven shillings, and twelve pence!"

The tax collector was pot-bellied, with a big belly, wearing red and white clothes, and sent several of his men behind him into the cabin to inspect it, and after confirming that it was correct, he calculated it one by one.

Truth be told, in the whole of England, they are the best in mathematics!

But such talents are basically from Oxford University, and they are still very rare, and there are less than ten in the entire port of London.

"Of course, of course, that's what I need to pay!"

A sudden surprise befell Nice's head, and he felt himself float a little.

Immediately, he reacted, took a pocket from his trousers, counted out fifteen pounds seven shillings and twelve pence, and put them in the bag in the tax collector's hand, and suddenly there was a clattering sound.

Then he took out another pound and quietly put it into the tax collector's hand, and the tax collector quickly reacted, put it in the pocket of his coat, and walked off the boat with a pleasant smile.

After that, the tax collector got on Simon's ship and began collecting taxes!

"My lord, we have a total of 30,000 pounds of herring on this boat, which has just been caught from the sea!"

"Oh, my Lord Captain! Don't worry, we're just collecting taxes routinely! ”

As he spoke, the tax collector began to enter the cabin, and with a glance of his gaze, he had a rough idea of the ship's cargo!

He has been collecting taxes in the Port of London for more than ten years, and he already knows these things at a glance.

"Well, you need to pay eight percent of the tariff!"

"Since it's fish, you can only pay with gold and silver!"

"Well, my lord, wasn't it all five percent? Why has it risen so much now? ”

As soon as he heard the tax officer's words, Simon felt that something was wrong, it was not quite the same as the customs duties he usually paid.

With a question, Simon looked at the tax collector on the side.

"I'm afraid you don't know that His Majesty the King has issued a royal decree, and when Hanseatic merchants come to England, they will no longer enjoy preferential tariffs!"

"Moreover, the customs duties of the Hanseatic merchants are five tiers higher than those of the English merchants, well, you understand now!"

The tax officer's mouth was talking, but his brain kept spinning, and all of a sudden, he calculated the duty that Simon was about to pay.

"Well, Your Excellency, you need to pay twenty-five pounds and six shillings!"

The tax collector put away his smile and said to Simon with a cold face.

"Okay, I'll prepare it for you now, please wait a minute!"

Simon said respectfully to the tax collector, and casually threw a shilling into his pocket, and in an instant, the tax collector calmed down.

"Then hurry up, I'll check the next ship first!" With that, the tax collector disembarked and walked to the next one.

After appeasing the tax officer, Simon hurried to the ship of Nice, looked at the busy Nice, hesitated for a moment, and said softly:

"Nice, do you have eight pounds!"

"Oh, Simon! I have, do you need it! The busy Ness looked at Simon, who looked shy, and then said.

"Yes, my friend, for some reason, the tariff has grown a lot, and I don't have enough money!"

Simon said with a depressed face, his tone very hurt.

"Okay, I'll give it to you, my friend, it seems that you should sell grain with me!"

"The tariff on grain has been reduced a lot!"

Ness chattered as he took eight pounds out of his pocket.

"Alright, my buddy, I'll think about it this time!"

Holding the eight pounds in his hand, before leaving, Simon tilted his head and said seriously.

And at this time, at Whitehall House, our King was receiving a prisoner.

"Your Majesty, don't you know what I can do?"

Adler, who was disheveled, bowed to Edward and said, looking at Edward with a fiery expression.

At this time, Adler, a banker from the Netherlands, was complicated, and among the dozen or so wealthy businessmen who were arrested, only he and his family were left behind, although his family property had been confiscated by the man in front of him.

So, for the sake of his family, for his own sake, he had to curry favor with the young king in front of him.

"My sir, although your life is temporarily left, whether you can save it depends on your performance!"

Edward said noncommittally, the expression on his face was very indifferent. [.]