After Xue Lin analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the Luo army's march into the Han army and the Qi army, he did not stop there, but shifted to Jingzhou and Zhao State for trade. In Xue Lin's mouth, this trade matter has also become unfavorable.

"Great King, we opened trade with Zhao Jun, and it seems that we have gained a lot of benefits from it, and we can obtain a large amount of tax revenue just through commercial taxes. It can be said that we can now expand our strength to this point, and our trade with the north and south of Zhao has played a very important role. ”

"However, there are advantages, but there are also many disadvantages. It's just that the benefits are obvious, but the disadvantages are hidden in the shadows, so that we don't directly notice them. Moreover, the impact of these disadvantages is greater than the benefits we receive. Even if the benefits we get are not enough to eliminate these negative effects. ”

Situ Hao said suspiciously: "Disadvantage? Let's talk about it, this king also wants to know what harm we will do in the trade and trade, and we will get more benefits than we have now. ”

Xue Lin said: "King, at the beginning, Zhao opened the border with us and allowed merchants to come and go naturally, that is because the Zhao army is fighting in Yongzhou for various project construction, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources, and we can provide them with some materials here." We have benefited, isn't this Zhao State like this? Zhao Jun was able to complete the construction of Yongzhou and restore the prosperity of Yongzhou in the past, and we Jingzhou businessmen and people made great contributions. ”

Situ Hao said disapprerovingly: "These kings understand that since it is a commercial trade, it is inevitable that the two sides will benefit each other. If only we profit, and Zhao Guo does not have the slightest interest, they will start trade with us, and will they let us develop and grow? What is the tax in business, Zhao Guo knows better than us. Our development to this point has a great deal to do with the opening of normal commerce and trade between the two places. Therefore, we have gained advantages, so naturally we can't let the other party gain nothing. ”

Xue Lin shook his head and said: "Back to the king, what the minister said is not this, this is a normal business method, and the minister will naturally not understand." In addition to these normal trades, more and more of our merchants in Jingzhou began to enter the Zhao State, not only Yongzhou, but also other states in the Zhao State began to become the target of our Jingzhou merchants. ”

"Ladies and gentlemen, I think you all know these things. But why did the Zhao state allow these merchants to enter his territory in a steady stream? According to the minister's understanding, a large part of these merchants began to move the focus of their family business and began to settle down in the territory of Zhao. At the same time, these businessmen also continued to introduce some of the systems of the Zhao State, whether it was related to commerce or people's livelihood, to our Jingzhou land. ”

"Your Excellency should know that Zhao Jun has to recruit a lot of labor to repair the galloping road in Yongzhou. Zhao merchants set up shops, workshops, breeding farms in Yongzhou, etc., and they recruited a large number of manpower, and these manpower, except for a large part of the people of Yongzhou, the rest, accounted for the largest proportion of the people of Jingzhou. ”

"Great King, the Zhao army secretly transported the systems and policies of the Zhao State to our Jingzhou rule through commerce and trade, so that the people of Jingzhou could know the advantageous policies of the Zhao State, so as to attract these people's yearning for the Zhao State. This is also the reason why our Jingzhou has been very stable, but the people here are still moving north. In addition, many big businessmen began to migrate north, transferring their family business Wang Yongzhou. The king, with all due respect, some of the policies of our Luo army and other princes are indeed inferior to the Zhao army. This commercial tax system alone is not as good as Zhao Guo's. At the very least, in the territory under the jurisdiction of Zhao State, the defenders and officials of various cities would never dare to stretch out their hands to these merchants. ”

"It seems that this Zhao country trades with us, and the Zhao army has benefits for both of us. In fact, too, we both got what we needed. However, his potential impact is extremely detrimental to us. Zhao Guo is spreading some news that is unfavorable to us through the mouths of these merchants, so that the merchants and people of Jingzhou have begun to be interested in Zhao State, so that when they have some problems or difficulties, they can't help but regard Zhao State as their target and hiding place. ”

And those businessmen and Haoqiang who put interests first naturally wanted to obtain greater benefits, so they naturally began to move the family focus north to Zhao State. After all, not every Haoqiang owned a huge number of fields, and although Zhao had many restrictions on merchants, it also had many benefits for them. ”

Xue Lin's words made the faces of everyone in the hall different, and these ministers actually had some understanding of these situations. However, for them, if the Luo army wants to expand and stabilize the place, this cannot be exempted from normal trade with the Zhao State, but after entering Xue Lin, the situation has become very bad.

Situ Hao, the king of Luoyang, also had an ugly face, and the system under his own and other princes' rule was not as good as that of Zhao State, he knew it. These merchants and ordinary people had moved north to Zhao, and he also knew about it. It's just that Situ Hao didn't think so deeply, but now after Xue Lin said this, his heart was shocked and he began to be vigilant. What Xue Lin said is indeed very reasonable, and this is the situation in Jingzhou now.

Seeing that everyone began to face up to what they said, Xue Lin continued to say in a deep voice: "King, this Zhao army is in the north of us, although there is no army to the south, although it has not attacked us. However, with their strength, they affected the situation of our Luo Army and the entire Jingzhou. It can be said that our concession allows Zhao Jun to control Jingzhou without bloodshed, and let us become a sharp blade in the hands of his Zhao Jun and do what they want us to do for them. ”

"Think about it, if it weren't for the existence of Zhao Jun, we would have taken the entire Jingzhou now, and the king has become the lord of Jingzhou. So, we can't back down anymore, we can't back down anymore. Rather than being quietly controlled and used by Zhao Jun, it is better to fight. If the Zhao army no longer cares about the overall situation, then we will fight, and we can also pull the Qi army and the Shu army to fight the Zhao army head-on, in the past we could confront the Zhao army in Nanyang Mansion, and now we can. ”

Luo Jun's right side of the battle said in a deep voice: "Sima Xue, now is very different from before. In the past, we were able to confront the Zhao army in Nanyang Mansion, and that was because my Luo army, Han army, Qi army, and Shu army could work together. But what about now? The Han army had fallen to the Zhao army; Because after Hanzhong was taken by the Zhao army, the Shu army could not transfer too many people, and besides, the Shu army was still being restructured internally. As for the Qi army, they can first pacify the internal rebellion. Xue Sima thought that the current Shu army and the Qi army could be compared with the previous Qi army and Shu army? ”

"In the past, the Qi army and the Shu army could provide us with armor and equipment, food and grass materials, and the support of soldiers at any time, but now? If the Han army is not destroyed, the Shu army will not be able to wave its army north, and support will not be mentioned. As for the Qi army, they can support us, but if the chaotic army within the Qi army is not pacified, the Qi army will not be able to provide us with more help at all. Can we rely on these two unreliable allies to stop the Zhao army from moving south, as we did before? What if the Zhao army invaded through the Han army's territory? Even if we were to strike first against the Han army, the Zhao army would be able to enter our territory at any time through Hanzhong in the north and west. ”

"However, will the current Shu army immediately attack the Han army after forming an alliance? The Shu army wants to retaliate, to fight back, and to wait until after the next year. These few months are also enough for the Zhao army to enter the territory of our Luo army through the Han army. If this happens, what should we do? We know a lot about the territory of the Han army, but why shouldn't the Han army do the same to us? It is easy for us to attack the Han army, but with the participation of the Zhao army, is it also easy for the Han army and the Zhao army to attack us? ”

Fang Zhan's words suddenly made everyone stunned, yes, what they said before, it is easy to attack the Han army, but on the contrary, the Han army and the Zhao army join forces, and it is easy to attack their own side, in the past, the Han army and the Luo army were familiar with each other, and they knew each other's territory very well. The Luo army can attack the Han army with the help of the opponent's situation, and the other party can also attack the Luo army's territory with the help of the understanding of your Luo army.

Xue Lin said in a deep voice: "Having said that, we have to endure the Zhao army's mercy on Jingzhou until the Zhao army goes south and makes us surrender?" If this is the case, we might as well surrender to the Zhao army as soon as possible. Also, the Zhao army continued to infiltrate the system and policies of the Zhao State into our Luo army through businessmen, so that the people under our rule were full of yearning for the Zhao country, and after a long time, even if the Zhao army went south, I was afraid that the people of our Luo army had no intention of resisting. ”

Zuo Cheng Wang Dao hesitated for a while, and said in a deep voice to Situ Hao, the king of Luoyang: "My lord, the minister thinks that it is still very beneficial for us to trade with Zhao State. If we sever trade relations and suddenly reduce a large amount of commercial tax revenue, I am afraid that it will be a problem for us to support the current army of more than 100,000. Therefore, this trade must exist. At the very least, until we have enough income to supply the army, we can't directly cut off trade with Zhao. ”

Situ Hao nodded and said, "This king understands what you mean, and what you say, this king is also very clear." However, Xue Lin had already said before that this so-called trade was actually what Zhao Guo wanted to use to break the will of our Luo army to resist. You should know that under our rule, many powerful and big businessmen have begun to shift their family focus to the north. If we continue like this, you should know exactly what the consequences will be for us. ”

Wang Dao nodded and said, "The minister understands that Zhao Jun naturally has his interests in trading with us, otherwise, they will not trade with us." The minister had a suggestion to solve these problems, but it would require the king to make a decision. ”

"Tell me about it! This king also wants to know how to solve these problems without destroying our trade with Zhao. As you said, trading with Zhao is also of great benefit to us. Situ Hao suddenly became interested.

Wang Dao said in a deep voice: "Change! Great King, in our trade with Zhao State, the reason for those powerful and big merchants to move north is nothing more than our Luo military jurisdiction, commercial taxes are chaotic, and various prefectures and counties privately collect customs clearance fees from past merchants, and even directly detain merchants' goods. ”

"We can completely get rid of these bad situations, and let our rule be the same as Zhao State, keep the commercial tax, and strictly order the prefectures and counties to collect money and goods from the caravan in private. Completely solve the commercial tax problem of our Luo army's land, just like Zhao Guo. In this way, there is no need for the powerful clans and the big merchants in our territory to move north. After all, Jingzhou is their homeland, and if possible, how can they easily leave with their families? ”

"In addition, the merchants who traded with Zhao should be reminded of what to say and what not to say. Even, we can designate merchants to allow cross-border trade. In other words, all merchants who want to trade with the northern Zhao State must go through the permission of our Jieyi army, so that we don't need to worry about what these merchants will say and do what they shouldn't do. ”

Situ Hao said in a condensed voice: "Do you mean to say that we will restructure on top of finance and taxation, and in addition, set up a commercial yamen similar to Zhao Guo to supervise the merchants under the rule of my Luo Army?" ”

Wang Dao nodded and said, "The king is wise!" That's what the minister means, so that we can control the situation of all the merchants in our territory. If possible, we can also involve them in some operations related to the Zhao State or the Han army, so that they have to do what we ask. In addition, we must strengthen the supervision of the tax payment of all merchants, and this yamen should be in charge of the people who are close to the king, and all merchants, any powerful families, must pay the merchant tax. If this problem is solved, our tax revenue, not only will not decrease, but will increase. On the local level, many powerful and big businessmen, with their family's strength and influence in the local area, do not pay commercial taxes to the government at all, so that the source of our Luo Army's tax revenue is passed on to other businessmen who have no backstage power, which is also one of the reasons why these businessmen want to move north and enter the Zhao State. ”

"In addition, it will be of great benefit to us to establish a new yamen to manage these merchants, caravans, and merchants. This time, there was a logistical problem with the Zhao army in Hanzhong, so the Zhao army transported grain and grass materials for the Zhao army in Hanzhong through those merchants, and directly went south to detour through the Han army's jurisdiction into Hanzhong, and together with the Zhao army's baggage team from Yongzhou, supported the Zhao army in Hanzhong on two roads, and made great efforts to solve the logistics problem for the Zhao army in Hanzhong. Moreover, in doing so, it can also reduce the logistics of the army. ”

"If we do the same, then we can reduce part of the logistics team, so that these logistics people can go home to farm. In this way, not only will we be able to reduce the logistical pressure, but we will also be able to satisfy these people. After all, it is much more fortunate for ordinary people to do their own farming than to deliver logistical grain and grass to the army. ”

"Restructuring ......" Situ Hao couldn't help but start pondering. And the other ministers also had different faces, especially those important ministers of the family and their relatives who were officials, and they frowned secretly. If the Luo army is restructured on top of finance and taxation, many people will profit, but in the same way, many officials and generals will lose a considerable part of their interests. Of course, there are also some powerful clans who, by virtue of their status, can even skip paying taxes at all in the past checkpoints. If it is changed according to the royal road, then they will have to pay a lot of business taxes.

Regarding the reaction of these important ministers and colleagues, Wang Dao naturally understood. But Wang Dao didn't care, for him, the interests of the Luo army were the greatest. These important ministers, as well as officials and heroes who rely on illegal income, are actually parasitic worms lying on Luo Jun's body to suck blood.

Situ Hao pondered for a moment, glanced at everyone lightly, and said in a deep voice: "I didn't expect that under the rule of this king, the problem of commercial taxes would be so serious. According to Zuo Cheng, under the rule of this king, many merchants did not pay commercial taxes. It seems that this king still doesn't know enough about the following. Ladies and gentlemen, tell me, can this suggestion of Lord Zuo Cheng be implemented? ”

Everyone understood that their own king was already annoyed at the moment, and was secretly questioning them. As a king, how can you not know what the family behind these courtiers do? Isn't that Haoqiang, who didn't pay business taxes, referring to them?

No one spoke for a long time, and Xue Lin said loudly: "King, the matter of restructuring involves a lot, and it cannot be completed in a while. Moreover, once the restructuring begins, in the short term, we will have no time to take care of anything else, and in addition, it will also make people worry about whether we will carry out a comprehensive restructuring like Zhao Guo, which will make the following big clans strong and ......"

"According to what you said, is it reasonable for this king to watch those powerful people put the finances and taxes that originally belonged to our Luo army into their own pockets? Is this Luo army the king's Luo army or the Luo army of their big clan? What will the king's tax restructuring make them generate? Dissatisfied? It seems that what the king of Hanzhong did under his rule, this king here, also needs to be reversed in this way. Situ Hao's face was gloomy, and he said coldly to Xue Lin.

The king was furious, not only Xue Lin trembled, but the rest of the people also pleaded guilty.

Wang Dao said in a deep voice: "The king is angry! We certainly have no problem with the fiscal and taxation reform. Nowadays, the Shu army is restructuring above the army, and the king of Hanzhong is also changing the local people's livelihood in Wuling Mansion, and there is nothing surprising about us doing this. This can change our current situation, and the king should start implementing it immediately. ”