Han Fei heard the emperor repeatedly say that the treasury was tight, and understood that it was indeed the truth, the last time a fire in the quartermaster treasury burned down the munitions armor worth millions of silver, in order to replenish this gap, even the longevity of the emperor was celebrated in a low-key manner.

It is said that Dahua has been peaceful for a long time, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and all industries are prosperous, and the treasury revenue should not be so embarrassed. Han Fei thought about it, the fundamental problem still lies in the imperial court system.

"Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that the situation that the imperial court tax revenue is not enough to make ends meet, there is still a way to solve it!"

"Oh?" The emperor's biggest headache now is that the money is not enough, and when he heard this, he hurriedly said: "Han Aiqing, what is your plan?" ”

"Your Majesty, my Dahua is now a peaceful and prosperous era, all industries are prosperous, the market is prosperous, and when the people are so rich, there is still an embarrassment of the imperial court's annual income, the main reason is that the imperial court tax system is biased. It is correct that Dahua regards agriculture as the foundation of the country, but there is a problem that taxes are also biased towards agriculture, and the output value of agriculture is not high, so how can it cope with the rising expenditures? ”

Han Fei paused for a moment, and then said, "Your Majesty, agriculture is the foundation, but to make the people rich, we must prosper commerce. The reason why Dahua is prosperous is completely driven by commerce, and now the wealthy families from all over the world, including the big families, are doing business, and Dahua's wealth is also concentrated in the hands of merchants. The only way for the imperial court to fundamentally solve the situation of insufficient annual revenue is to bias taxation towards commerce. ”

The emperor said slowly: "Aiqing's intention is to raise taxes on merchants? I'm afraid this move will attract criticism! ”

"Your Majesty, the commercial tax is too low today, and in the long run, the tax increase is an imperative measure, but it should not be rushed, and it is easy to increase it slowly. Almost every courtier's family was engaged in business, and it was inevitable that the increase would be too large to arouse opposition from the courtiers. In addition, tax hikes have been slow to take effect, and a different strategy is needed to achieve immediate results and increase revenues quickly. ”

"Han Aiqing, what kind of strategy can quickly increase the treasury revenue?"

"Your Majesty, the merchant family has accumulated a lot of wealth, and there are countless merchants who are as rich as the country, and although they are very rich, they do not have much sense of honor because of the moral standards that have been formed for a long time, and they are eager for honor. In view of this, Weichen suggested that the imperial court should inform the world and affirm the contribution of the merchants to Dahua, so that the merchants would inevitably support the imperial court. In addition......"

Han Fei hesitated for a moment and continued: "First, any child of a merchant who has passed the Xiucai examination can be allowed to enter the Guozijian to study by donating a certain amount of tax and silver to the imperial court, and directly participate in the examination; Second, after donating a certain amount of tax silver to the imperial court, merchants can obtain official titles of corresponding grades......"

"This is not the right law! The first can be considered, after all, the children of Shangjia have already passed the Xiucai examination, and after entering the Guozijian to study, they need to pass the examination to obtain the qualification for the examination, and the second article is absolutely not, how sacred is the official title of the imperial court, how can it be bought and sold through money? ”

"Your Majesty, Wechen's words have not been finished yet, the official title that Wechen proposed to reward Shang Jia is just a fictitious title, not included in the establishment of court officials, and there is no Yulu and cannot be alternated for the official, that is to say, it is just an honorary title. Weichen makes an inappropriate example, just like a wine tasting and embroidery on the market, but those are self-appointed by merchants, and the titles of merchants are rewarded by the imperial court. ”

"Han Aiqing, since it is such a fictitious title, it can be said to be useless, so why should Shang Jia donate money to ask for a reward?"

"Your Majesty, this is really useless to the imperial court, but it is a supreme glory for the common people, after all, it is officially rewarded by the imperial court, and it can be written into the family tree and glorify the lintel!"

When the emperor heard this, his heart moved, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was inappropriate, and said in a deep voice: "Han Aiqing's strategy is indeed meritorious, but this example cannot be opened lightly, otherwise there will be endless troubles!" ”

"The Emperor Shengming!"

Han Fei understood that this move was indeed very risky, and if it was not handled well, it would be easy to corrupt the discipline of the imperial court. He pondered for a while, and then said, "Your Majesty, the only way to increase your income is through commercial means!" ”

"Business pathways? By the way, Han Aiqing is a world-famous business wizard, how about I hand over the imperial store to you? ”

The interests involved in the royal store are too complicated, how could Han Fei take over this hot potato, and said busily: "Your Majesty, as far as Wei Chen knows, the imperial store is currently running well, and Wei Chen will not increase much income if he takes over, and the royal store is scattered all over the place, and Wei Chen does not have so much time to inspect and manage." The business that Weichen wants to talk about is quick and profitable, and it is very suitable for being supervised by the imperial court. ”

"Oh? What is the business that Han Aiqing is talking about? ”

"Your Majesty, Wechen is talking about the securities business, such as the issuance of lottery tickets, stock trading, commodity futures trading, and so on!"

The emperor had never heard of such a new term, looked at Han Fei with a look of astonishment, and said after a while: "Han Aiqing, what are these lottery tickets and stocks?" ”

"Lottery tickets and stocks can be said to be a piece of paper ......"

Han Fei explained the principle of lottery tickets and stocks, how to buy and sell, etc., in detail, and the emperor's eyes became brighter and brighter.

"Han Aiqing, are these lottery tickets and stocks really that profitable?"

"Your Majesty, this business can make a lot of money, the stock matter can only do some preparatory work for the time being, and then gradually carry out after the year, the lottery can just take advantage of the New Year's celebration, the face value of a lottery ticket is two pennies, almost everyone can afford it, the highest prize can win a hundred taels of silver, the lottery on the spot, will inevitably cause the people to buy frantically. After the lottery was promoted from the capital to the whole country, the income was huge, of which forty percent was handed over to the imperial court, and sixty percent was used as lottery bonuses and sales staff wages. ”

"This lottery can be piloted, Han Aiqing, this matter is handled by you with full authority, first in the capital and the surrounding trial, once feasible and then gradually promoted to all parts of the country!"

"Wechen obeys! Please also give your Majesty a name for the lottery! ”

"The name of this lottery ...... What advice does Han Aiqing have? ”

"Your Majesty, the people buy every lottery ticket represents a heart to serve the country, and Weichen suggests naming it 'Serving the Country Lottery'!"

"Serve the country lottery, okay, I'm ready! What else does Han Aiqing want? ”

"Your Majesty, the national lottery is still in the implementation stage, it is inconvenient to set up a formal management body, but it is not possible to do it without a name, Weichen suggests that it be issued in the name of the inner court for the time being, and ask Your Majesty to send officials to cooperate with the errand!"

"Accurate!"

The emperor thought of the possible benefits of the lottery, and looked very happy, and couldn't help asking: "Han Aiqing, how are the stocks bought and sold?" ”

"Your Majesty, stocks are different from lottery tickets, the imperial court set up an exchange, assuming that the valuation of a store is divided into a thousand shares, and take it to the exchange to trade, if someone is optimistic about this store, you can buy the shares of this store, and the exchange charges a certain percentage of commissions. However, stock trading is not yet mature, and Wechen estimates that it can be piloted next year! ”

"Okay, Han Aiqing will try to serve the country lottery first, and then choose the opportunity to launch stocks!"

(End of chapter)