"Waiting for the imperial court to add a commercial tax, for the merchants in the world, it is tantamount to drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle, directly breaking the rules of thousands of years of dynasties."

"The imperial court wants to take out a few more percent of the silver they have already put in their pockets for no reason, how can their mercenary businessmen be willing?

"When the time comes, they will definitely not sit still, it is not difficult to see the temper and temperament of those businessmen from the four major merchant gangs, and when the time comes, they will inevitably form gangs to fight against us, so as to avoid uniting to put pressure on the imperial court, saying that if they can't get it, there is still the possibility of gathering chaos in the end."

Bai Xiaosheng frowned and analyzed.

"What this official wants is for them to gather all sentient beings to make chaos!"

Luo Congee sneered.

"It just so happens that now that my Jinyi Guard has also expanded a few guards, it's time to see blood."

"When they gather to report to the group for warmth, this official will lead the troops to kill them!"

Luo Congee waved his sleeves and said resolutely.

"Forget it, don't wait for tomorrow, call Shen Congwen now, this official will take him into the palace for a trip, and while reporting today's situation, it will also let Your Majesty have a bottom in his heart."

Luo Congwen didn't hesitate, and after changing into a clean python robe, he sent someone to find Shen Congwen, and the two rode directly to the palace.

Intrauterine,

Imperial Study,

As usual, the lights are still bright, Zhu Ming is bowing his head to deal with the reports from all over the country, Zhu Ming, who has just finished drinking a large bowl of wild ginseng soup, has a ruddy complexion, is full of physical strength, and his mood is also excellent, and he is much brisker when he falls down with the Zhu pen.

Because along with the news of Shuo Wangfu, there are nearly seven million taels of real money and silver, counting the silver contributed by Xie Wenwen a few days ago, now the inner treasury is full, and he is also a person with a net worth of tens of millions of taels of silver.

"Your Majesty, Commander Luo is asking to see you outside the palace."

Cao Zhengchun whispered outside the door.

"Quick, pass him in."

Zhu Ming put down the pen when he heard the sound and looked up and said,

The corners of his mouth also unconsciously brought a little smile.

"Minister, I've seen Your Majesty!"

"Grass people, I've seen Your Majesty!"

Step inside,

The two saluted in turn.

"Luo Aiqing, you're here."

"How are the affairs of the remaining four merchant gangs handled?"

Zhu Ming folded his fold and got up to greet him personally, not paying attention to Shen Congwen who was wearing cloth clothes on the side, the latter, as a child of a businessman, had never been to such a place, so he had to lower his head and silently follow behind Luo Congling.

"Back to Your Majesty, all the grain and grass purchased by the four major merchant gangs at a high price have been recaptured, and there is definitely not a single bucket of grain missing."

Luo Congee looked at Zhu Ming, who came over, and still bowed, without the slightest point of overstepping because of the credit for what he had done before.

"Yes, yes!"

"Aiqing did this beautifully!"

"In this way,"

"The crisis of high food prices in Shangjing can be solved!"

Zhu Ming was even more overjoyed when he heard the good news coming back one after another, and dispelled the haze brought about by the failure of the Northern Expedition these days.

"Your Majesty, the minister entered the palace overnight,"

"There's one more thing to report."

"Aiqing, please speak!"

"Your Majesty, wait a while, the minister has two boxes of things, and your Majesty has to take a look at it for yourself."

Luo Congee clapped his hands after speaking, and after getting Zhu Ming's nod, the four eunuchs walked into the imperial study with two large boxes.

"What is this?"

Zhu Ming wondered.

"Please take a look at your majesty."

Luo Congee opened the wooden box and said.

"Hmm."

Zhu Ming was also curious when he heard this,

Picked up a ledger and flipped it over.

"Hoo ......"

As soon as he finished reading the first few pages, Zhu Ming's breathing became heavy, his brows that had been loosened were locked again, and all the joy in his heart was swept away.

"Bang ......"

After a cursory look at the account book in his hand, he fell heavily to the ground, and then opened the next one with anger, and his face had become iron blue at this time, and the hand holding the book was pinched together, so hard that his knuckles were a little white.

"Passing ......"

The wooden box was slammed shut,

Zhu Ming's eyes were already angry and he didn't want to look at it.

"How bold they are!"

Zhu Mingli shouted.

"Selling salt and iron privately, collaborating with the enemy and treason!"

"Human trafficking is a heinous crime!"

"If these piles are added together, it is not an exaggeration to put all of them to death!"

Zhu Ming squeezed out this sentence from between his teeth, never expected that the lowly businessman who he scoffed at and disdained on weekdays could give himself such a big "surprise".

Seeing this, Luo Congling's expression remained unchanged, knowing that most of the matter had become a part, and Shen Congwen behind him was not so calm, cold sweat continued to drip from his forehead, although he had broken away from them at the moment, but in the final analysis, he was also a businessman.

"The four major merchant gangs, those people are locked up everywhere now?"

Zhu Ming asked in a cold voice, originally he still wanted to only punish the evil, but now he has murderous intentions towards all of them.

"Back to Your Majesty, the ministers have all been killed."

"Hmm!"

Zhu Ming nodded when he heard this, not only did he not get angry, but he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Have you ever figured out what to do with the rest of the hands?"

Zhu Ming calmed down and asked again.

"Back to Your Majesty, this is the reason why the minister entered the palace, according to the minister's meaning......"

"Why don't you wipe out all the lawless businessmen in the world, and never suffer in the future......"

Luo Congee said coldly.

"Never again?"

Zhu Ming frowned and said,

"Yes!"

"Do you have a way?"

"I haven't noticed those merchants all these years, because they are low-key, and they have always been inconspicuous, how can they be easily caught in one go?"

Zhu Mingning said.

"Back to Your Majesty, what the minister means is to raise the business tax and force them!"

"Raise business taxes?"

Zhu Ming paced in the middle of the field while thinking about the feasibility, and soon showed hesitation, after all, this was a precedent that had not been set for thousands of years.

"The minister dared to ask His Majesty,"

"What is the tax revenue of the imperial court now?"

Luo porridge hits the railway while it's hot.

"That's about 18 million taels this year."

Zhu Ming said without hesitation, since the last time he raised money, he also personally went to the household department, and read the income and expenditure of the imperial court several times over the years, which can be regarded as a good familiarity.

"Dare to ask Your Majesty what is the agricultural tax?"

"What percentage?"

Luo Congee continued.

"More than 13 million taels."

"Seven or eight out of ten."

Zhu Ming said that by this point, he had faintly recalled.

"Your Majesty, that is to say, my annual business tax is about five million taels of silver."

"Your Majesty, do you want to know that the annual trade of the four major merchant gangs alone is more than ten million?"

Luo Congee patted the wooden box.

"What is the number of merchants in the world combined?"

"How can there be hundreds of millions of trade in the world?"

"Why is the court so much silver?"

Luo Congee asked.

"Commercial tax is too low......

Zhu Ming suddenly said brightly when he heard this,

It's just that the original thinking has reached an impasse.

"Now, according to the laws of the imperial court, there are only two major types of commercial taxes, one is the trade tax, which is thirty taxes and one, which means that behind the five million taels of silver, at least more than 150 million taels of silver are circulated and traded."

"The imperial court also exempted the sale of agricultural production tools, books, paper, pens, inkstones, and wedding and funeral items in the market, and exempted them from taxes, and if they were counted together, the trade volume alone would be no less than 200 million taels of silver."

"And that's not counting the part where the profiteers colluded with officials to evade taxes."

"The other is the customs tariff, that is, the tariff when the goods pass through the Guanjin ferry, which is generally drawn in kind in proportion, and when it is insufficient, it is made up with silver, and the proportion is extremely low......

Luo Congee is not in a hurry.

"This ......"

Zhu Ming also gasped when he heard this, you must know that taxation is different from copying a family, it is not a one-shot deal, but a long-term income of the imperial court.

"That's so much."

Zhu Ming sighed and said, he was also influenced by his long-term concepts before, and subconsciously ignored the business tax.

"Your Majesty has ever calculated an account, if the commercial tax is raised by 10%, how much more silver can I get every year?"

Luo porridge lures it to the way.

It has not been a short time since I came to this world, and I know very well in my heart that the industry and commerce of the Great Departure Dynasty are not decadent, on the contrary, they have been greatly improved compared with the previous dynasty.

It's just that those merchants and local officials colluded with each other to form a community of interests, and the merchants monopolized trade, and with the help of officials, they frantically evaded taxes and smuggled them.

In addition, the commercial tax was extremely low, so the treasury could not collect any commercial tax at all, and all the money went into the pockets of those merchants and officials.

"In the end,"

"The world is not barren."

"Poor only for me and the people......"

Zhu Ming smiled bitterly and said,

"In fact, after I made sense, I also knew very well in my heart that I didn't know how many people's interests would be affected by the increase in commercial taxes, which was not conducive to the stability of the country."

Zhu Ming pinched his eyebrows and said.

"Your Majesty, now those businessmen can do things to short the price of grain in Gyeonggi, and in private, they are collaborating with the enemy and treason, what else in this world they dare not do?"

"The officials and businessmen involved,"

"The minister is sure to get rid of it!"

"Excepted?"

"Behind these two words,"

"I'm afraid it will take countless blood to smear it."

Zhu Ming shook his head imperceptibly and said.

"Your Majesty, you don't know if you don't break it."

Luo Congee continued to persuade.

"Won't it be broken or won't it stand?"

Zhu Ming repeated secretly as he recalled Luo Congee's words.

"I just don't know how many people are going to die in the world......"

"Your Majesty,"

"The minister also knows very well in his heart that taxation is the top priority of a country, and the rash increase in commercial taxes will cause an unimaginable backlash, but in the long run, the benefits will definitely outweigh the disadvantages!"

Luo Congee looked up at Zhu Ming, who was still thinking, and continued.

In fact, in recent years, whether it is a field tax or a commercial tax, it has been full of loopholes under the research of countless people.

But for himself, who came through the time, whether it is commercial tax or dealing with field tax, according to the experience of historical books, standing on the shoulders of giants, he has many ways.

It's just that the field tax can't be moved for the time being, because there are more things involved, and the first of them are those family valves, after all, the idea that the field is better than everything in this world has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

If you only move the commercial tax, you can still resist it, the world will be chaotic, but it is still within the control, and the dynasty is not in danger of collapsing.

This kind of dangerous chaos is exactly the situation I want to see, and only in this way can I fish in troubled waters and continue to grow.

"I also know that the pros outweigh the disadvantages......"

Zhu Ming was still hesitating when he heard this.

"Your Majesty, when it is decided, it is decided,"

"Don't be indecisive."

"Aren't there enough examples from before?"

Luo Congee asked rhetorically.

"Your Majesty,"

"Whenever there is a change, how can there be a reason for immortality?"

"This is a crime in the present generation, and the merit is in the future!"

"I hope Your Majesty will make a decision immediately!"

"Bang ......"

Luo Congee said that his head touched the ground.

"Sin is in the present generation, and merit is in the future?"

"Why don't I want to?"

"Do something that will go down in history?"

Zhu Ming looked at the two boxes of ledgers and pondered for a long time.

"That's it, that's it."

"As you said, this matter will be played in person tomorrow morning, and I will let the Propaganda Department and the Tax Department take the lead, and the Household Department will cooperate......"

In the end, Zhu Ming was still ruthless.

"I will handle the tax policy!"

"You can do the murderous thing!"

After the thought is understood,

Zhu Ming looked at Luo Congee and said word by word: "Since you want to do it, then don't leave any trouble!" ”

"I will give you a holy decree, whether it is the officials involved or the businessmen and ordinary people, you can deal with it yourself!"

"Minister, I will live up to Your Majesty's trust!"

Luo Congee kowtowed again, and when he looked up, Zhu Ming's eyes were already full of determination.

"Come on, the will!"

Zhu Ming said it, and he didn't hesitate to call the eunuch directly.

"The ...... of the world's businessmen"

Zhu Ming read in a deep voice,

The eunuch next to him will take a note.

Luo Congee knelt on the ground and listened quietly, and when Luo Congee looked up halfway through the reading, Zhu Ming's face was calm, and his words were indeed full of murderous intentions, where was there still the fear of the past.

Unconsciously,

Is Your Majesty also growing?

Luo Congee secretly thought silently,

I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

"When the discussion is completed tomorrow, after the Zhongshu Province polishes and seals and the Menxia Province reviews and seals, I will personally send someone to your house to read it!"

"Don't let me down!"

After Zhu Ming finished reading, he looked at Luo Congee and said solemnly.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty!"

"The minister will definitely give His Majesty a satisfactory answer to this matter!"

Luo Congee said loudly.

"By the way, there is one more thing that Your Majesty needs to nod."

While talking,

Luo Congwen turned sideways and exposed Shen Congwen behind him.

"Who is this man?"

Zhu Ming squinted and asked.

It's not that this big man didn't see it, but his sense of presence in this imperial study was too low, and he didn't have any aura, no different from those eunuchs who often served around him.

"Back to Your Majesty, Shen Congwen, the grass people, is a tide ......"

Shen Congwen knelt down in the tunnel meticulously, his attitude was extremely humble, and he didn't even dare to look at Zhu Ming.

"What does Aiqing mean by looking for him?"

"The minister wants to use him as a link, give him an official identity, let him connect with the four major merchants on behalf of the imperial court, and then slowly manipulate it, and then use the four major merchants to take the lead, and completely end this matter......"

Luo Congee reported.

"Well, that's a small thing in comparison."

"I'll say hello to the officials and households."

Zhu Ming looked at Luo Congee and nodded,

Indeed, he never glanced at Shen Congwen.

"Go ahead and prepare your own business."

"Minister, retire!"

"Grass people, retire!"

The two saluted.

During the whole process, Shen Congwen never raised his head, just quietly listened to the two of them in a few hours, and in a few hours, they controlled the situation of the world's businessmen and even their survival, and in a few words, they decided on the high position of the court that he could not have dared to think of in the past.

"Congratulations, Shen Shilang."

On the long white marble steps,

Luo Congwen looked at Shen Congwen, who was still bowing his head, raised his hand and said jokingly.

"Lord Luo, you're laughing."

"The grass people are also through your light, Lord Luo."

Shen Congwen still bowed his head and saluted, but when he walked to the end of the steps, he looked back and took a deep look at the main hall of the upper court, and unconsciously the desire for power had penetrated deep into his bones.

Imperial Study,

"Someone is coming, the secretary of the household department and the secretary department have entered the palace, and the officials in charge of the Propaganda Department and the Tax Department have also been called."

After the two left,

Zhu Ming still didn't rest, but drank half a bowl of ginseng soup to forcibly lift his spirit, and sent someone to find officials related to business and tax matters to discuss, the candlelight in the imperial study was lit overnight, and when the officials arrived, the discussion did not stop.

Following

morning

Zhu Ming's face was slightly puffy when he went to court, and the black circles under his eyes were even more eye-catching, but fortunately, the joy between his eyebrows proved that he had made a general statute last night, and he only needed to make a decision in the court.

……

"Your Majesty, the medicine is fierce at the moment!"

"What the old minister means is that the trade tax should be increased to 1/10 first, and the customs duty should also be taken in a quantitative manner, abandoning the previous disadvantages of using goods to offset taxes......

"In addition, the old minister has been in the tax department for a long time, and he has found many shortcomings in commercial taxation, and he should make up for it in the future......

Under Zhu Ming's instructions, the officials of the Tax Department took the lead, and the matter of commercial taxation was officially proposed, but the tone was very high, after all, business was such a thing, it was a sky-high asking price, and the money was repaid on the spot, and there was no difference in court deliberations.

Just when many officials heard the voice and wanted to refute it.

"The minister has his own music!"

The officials of the Propaganda Department, who coordinated the taxation, took out the two large boxes of account books and blocked the mouths of those officials.

The officials who still did not give up had no choice but to rest in the face of Zhu Ming, who was determined to be hard-hearted, and the young man who was full of anger also had to rest, and it was just over a month old.

There were already too many people dead in the court, and no one wanted to be the next to be beheaded outside the noon gate.

After the proposal was passed, the officials of the various ministries above the court discussed endlessly, after all, this matter is related to all aspects, although the general trend cannot be stopped, but still want to protect more interests for the forces they represent as much as possible.

After seven days of discussion, the specific regulations were completely finalized, and after the Zhongshu Province polished it, the Menxia Province reviewed it, and the emperor made the decision, after collecting the three seals, it would be announced to the world, and it would be tried in Gyeonggi first.

During this period,

The merchants of the world also received the news, and even walked down the street with Luo Congee, and the owners of those shops cast a little resentment in their eyes.

Luofu, which is in the center of the whirlpool, has many tea stalls around it, and there are many more pawns of peddlers and peddlers, listening to the news.

On the eighth day,

On the date of the trial implementation of the new commercial tax,

A carriage stopped at Luo Mansion,

The eunuch with the bright yellow holy decree in his hand stepped into the house.

"Fengtian carries the emperor, the edict says;"

"And today illegal businessmen are rampant...... Chin this! ”

"Thanksgiving!"

Luo Congee knelt down and answered.

"It's also time for the newly recruited Jinyi guards from the state and county to enter Beijing, otherwise there are too many people, and we alone will not be able to kill ......."

Luo Congee stood in the attic of the mansion and looked at the crowds on the originally cold long street.

When the turmoil completely swept the world, I didn't know how many people would come out.

Ten thousand?

Twenty thousand?

Thirty thousand?

Or fifty thousand?

"I wonder if this knife will be curled?" Luo Congee retracted his gaze and looked at the embroidered spring knife on his waist, and whispered to himself.

(End of chapter)