Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 1653

The sage hadn't run around in the past two years, and the officials were pleasantly surprised, but also felt a little uncomfortable.

There is no other reason. After the sage went to court, he often asked someone to ask questions.

Today is this group, tomorrow will be that group, after a long time, no one has not been scolded, and everyone is disheartened.

Sometimes, I even hope that the sage will go out of Beijing to make a tour, so that they can relax.

But Shao Shude let them down, his ass seemed to be welded to a dragon chair, he didn't leave, and he asked someone to come over every day to ask if he was right—today he was looking for someone from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The six-year-old Liao King Shao Xiushou also looked like a little adult, sitting next to Shao Shude with a serious face, looking at this person and that person with dark eyes, very curious.

"After Wang Heizi left with the mission, you can find two or three more people in Liaodong, and order them to restrain the sea merchants and fishermen, and stop harming Silla, Baekje, and Taepong." Shao Shude said, "As for who to harm? I don't care about it, and I don't want to know, the only thing is, don't cause trouble in the sea near Daxia, and don't disrupt the business. If such incidents occur, I will directly order the officials of Huaihai and Hebei to search their homes, and there will be no mercy."

Sea merchant/fisherman/pirate, trinity, difficult to distinguish.Shao Shude was very clear about this.

Does he want to hit these people?Absolutely not.

To put it bluntly, this force developed step by step under his connivance.The local government has a list of the key members who go to sea. If they really want to destroy them, they can just arrest their family members on the shore.

Of course, things have gradually changed since the settlements appeared on Sakhalin Island, but it is still only in the embryonic state, and the problem is not big enough to require special governance.

Nor does he want to rule over these people.

As the saying goes, if you catch them, you will die, and if you let them go, they will mess up. If you really control them, it may have the opposite effect. This is not an exaggeration.

Pirates, probably the group of people who like to pursue freedom most in this world, are very unconvinced.

Therefore, he now only adopts the method of indirect influence, secretly manipulating, and letting the people who go to sea manage themselves as much as possible, grow wildly, develop freely, and even provide some convenience to boost their power.

Mainland countries naturally don't like to go to sea. It is not easy to raise such a batch of seedlings, and they really need to be carefully cared for.

"The minister complies with the order." Zhongye, the supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, responded.

He is not very good at business, but he still has some experience in building relationships and exchanging benefits.At this moment, several names flashed through his mind, and he planned to go to the people of the Bohai Trading Company in two days and ask them to find a way to contact the "heroes of the sea" from all walks of life.

"Now let's talk about a few trading companies." When he said this, Shao Shude glanced at his grandson out of the corner of his eye, and saw that he was still sitting there, very satisfied, and continued: "The profit of Bohai Trading Company in the past two years has been more than 12 , Last year it reached more than 7500, which is very good.”

After saying this, he flipped through another account book and said, "The Annan Trading Company also started to make money last year, which is very good."

Because the prince's investment policy was too radical, Annan Trading Co., Ltd. appeared at a huge loss in its first year of operation (the first year of Tongguang).In the second year of Tongguang, the loss was greatly reduced, but it was still in a state of loss.

Until last year, I finally turned around. Although the profit was only [-] yuan, I finally digested the huge pits buried in the previous two years, and paid off the money owed to the account department one by one, and even paid interest, which is very good.

"When His Majesty came back, Annan Trading Co., Ltd. started to make a profit. It's all thanks to His Majesty." Chu Zhongye said with a smile.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is the joint shareholder and actual operator of Bohai Commercial Corporation, Annan Commercial Corporation, and Western Region Commercial Corporation. Chu Zhongye is very clear about these accounts, and at this time he hastily flattered.

Liao King Shao Xiushou's big eyes fell directly on him.

Chu Zhongye's heart skipped a beat, wouldn't it?Your Highness is only six years old, so you don't understand these things, do you?What does he see the old man doing?

"Don't talk about these useless things all day long." Shao Shude also gave him a disgusted look, and said: "I have read the details, and the prospect of Annan Trading Company is obviously better than that of Bohai Trading Company. Pepper alone is not meat, fish, Liaodong products such as medicinal materials and wild products are comparable. Maybe they can beat whales, sea animals, and furs by a head. Anyone who underestimates this trading company will be surprised in the future.”

"Ship, don't build a new one for the time being. The shipyard company has designed a new ship, which is currently undergoing sea trials. It may be finalized next year, so let's talk about it then."

"The business on Annan's side should be stable for a few years. Then, you can find ways to expand to other places, such as Chenla."

Shao Shude said several things in a row, and Chu Zhongye repeatedly said yes.

In fact, he also knew that the profit of pepper was underestimated by everyone.It can be seen from this that how much money the big cannibals made before—of course, they didn’t make a few years. After all, the amount of pepper used was not so large in the past. Now it can become a big business, and the three-crop rotation system is prevalent in the north. Gradually flowering and bearing fruit has a lot to do with it.

"Ah Li, sit down." Shao Shude turned his head and glanced at his grandson, and said, "After the world is in peace, the court's expenses will increase day by day. Some things that don't cost money in the past will cost money in the future. As a king, there is one thing Ability is very important, and Ah Weng calls it 'management management'. If you are not good at managing money, you will have to exploit the people, which will lead to people's resentment. If you are good at managing money, you can use money to drive people to work, fight wars, whatever. For most people As far as I am concerned, money can connect ghosts and gods, do you understand?"

"Understood." Shao Xiushou nodded obediently.

Shao Shude smiled, and touched his grandson's little head again, knowing that he still can't understand these words.But it doesn't matter, sow the seeds first, then educate him slowly, and he will always understand.

I don’t know how many countries in history eventually died of financial collapse. Not only China, but also a large number of foreign countries.

People die for money, birds die for food, who will do things for you if you don’t have money?

Daxia's current financial foundation is still farmers.The continuation of the two-tax law implemented in the mid-Tang Dynasty for 200 years, that is, property tax is mainly calculated and collected on a household basis.

This is a great way to collect taxes.For this reason, Tang Dezong suffered a great loss, his underpants were almost taken off, and he ran away in a hurry.

Yang Yan, the prime minister who presided over the reform, did not end well either. Two years after he proposed it, he was relegated and died on the way to Yazhou.

Every time there is a reform, there must be a "sacrifice".

Since Tang Dezong, Yang Yan and others have already paid the price, and this system has been upheld until now, Shao Shude certainly has no reason to abolish it.

Shouldn't the collection be based on property and continue to collect money on the basis of head?That is to rob the poor and give to the rich, and damage the foundation of the empire.

In addition to the normal household tax and land tax, the commercial tax, which has been rising steadily since the late Tang Dynasty, cannot be ignored.In fact, since Tang Yizong, if there were no commercial tax subsidies, Tang Ting would have finished the calf long ago, and it would be impossible to persist until the generation of Le'an County King.

As far as Daxia is concerned, Shao Shude doesn’t really value the profitability of several commercial companies. That’s really not the big one. He even asked the Ministry of Accounts to distribute the dividends he received to civil and military officers of the fifth rank or above as a benefit to boost morale .

The big money that the imperial court really bought was actually the taxes paid by these trading companies.

They are run by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and are theoretically "semi-state-owned enterprises". There is really no need to evade taxes.Even if Gein evaded taxes, he would not get into his own pocket, and it would affect his official career, so why bother?
Commercial taxation, since the Han Dynasty, has become more and more important.

In the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, perhaps because the warriors needed money, business suddenly experienced explosive growth. Compared with the Han Dynasty to the early Tang Dynasty, the growth rate was astonishingly high, and it reached a stage peak in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Shao Shude has no doubt that the proportion of business tax in the country's fiscal revenue will become higher and higher. It is an important part of finance and must not be ignored.

It is said that the feudal society suppressed business, but this is not absolute.

At least, in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, commerce was not suppressed, and businessmen could be officials.It seems that the Northern Song Dynasty did not suppress business, and the government even intervened deeply in business, so that it was a bit too much.

People are realistic. When faced with a crippling financial gap, will the prime ministers be willing to give up the big fat of business taxes?
Unless they degenerate collectively, they only have private plans and don't care about the court.Or the lack of professional talents in the early days of the dynasty could only copy the previous dynasty, and the system design was seriously flawed, so that the ruling class had enough reasons to paralyze themselves and give up business taxes.

Shao Shude has a very open-minded attitude towards business, and even actively promotes its development.

The concept of son and grandson was also cultivated by him from an early age, and he naturally attached great importance to business and taxation.

The early days of the dynasty started off well, but sometimes inertia formed.

"Finally, I still want to talk about the Western Regions Trading Company." After teaching his grandson, Shao Shude turned his attention to Chu Zhongye again, and said, "It's almost the same as the Annan Trading Company in the first two years, and it's still losing money."

"Your Majesty..." Chu Zhongye felt aggrieved: "The Western Regions Trading Company now only has commercial villages. It costs a lot to recruit manpower, purchase farm tools, livestock, seeds, level wasteland, and dig ditches. This is all to cooperate with Shule Yang Shuai and Bei Ting Fushuai, if it weren't for these two things, the business would not be so stumbling. There are some caravans outside, who go to the Western Regions in name, but actually go to plunder slaves, so they make a fortune. But the Western Regions Trading Company can't do this... ..."

"Okay, I didn't mean to blame you." Shao Shude said with a smile: "In Fu Cunshen's memorial, he greatly praised the Western Regions Trading Company. You have produced tens of thousands of grains in the commercial village at the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain, which has been a great help. .”

The extra food consumption in Beiting was mainly due to the resettlement of the army and their families in Shuanghe Town, the fifth town in Anxi.

In the first and second years of Tongguang, Beiting added [-] government soldiers and [-] Shuanghe town soldiers.

In the third year of Tongguang, because the commercial settlements were more effective, the households resettled in the early stage gradually produced output, and 4000 soldiers were added to Shuanghe Town. Donglin guards three places.

As a result, Shuanghe Town already has [-] soldiers.Among them, two thousand troops were stationed in Shuanghe (now Bole), and one thousand troops were stationed in each of the four cities of Heishui Shouzhuo, Xilin Shouzhuo, Yehe Shouzhuo, and Donglin Shouzhuo. Completed - the town soldiers are mainly from the four armies of Hengye, Pinglu, Luoyan, and Guangjie.

This year, we will continue to add town soldiers and relocate his family, and the expenses will still be supported by commercial villages.Therefore, the Western Region Trading Company really took the overall situation into consideration, and Shao Shude was well aware of their contributions, so he would not place too much emphasis on their early earnings.

State-owned enterprises, sometimes must bear policy losses.There is no other way for political interests to come before commercial interests.

Hearing Shao Shude's words, Chu Zhongye felt relieved, and immediately expressed his opinion: "Your Majesty, as long as the Ministry of Accounts pays the money in time this year, the Western Region Trading Company can turn losses into profits."

After hearing the words, Shao Shude was silent for a while, and said: "Okay. After three years, if you still don't make money, you may lose the credibility of the court. Don't blindly recruit people to expand farming this year, and make the accounts look better first."

After finishing speaking, he looked at his grandson again, and said, "Ari needs to know that although these trading companies are very handy tools, they can't be used to death. There are many things that need to be weighed. Be temperamental. Ah Weng has always believed that everyone who has money earns money, even if you are an emperor, you should not be too greedy or unscrupulous. Restraint, remember, restraint is a virtue."

"Understood, Weng." Shao Xiushou said softly.

Chu Zhongye listened with emotion.

When the sage said these words, he did not avoid him, which shows his trust.And the sage's philosophy also made him very impressed. He never eats alone, and he will share any benefits, which makes everyone very motivated.

The great power of an emperor lies in gathering crowds——Chu Zhongye remembered a sentence his daughter once said, which obviously came from the mouth of a sage.

To put it bluntly, it is people's hearts.

If the emperor's grandson can deeply understand this truth, Daxia's foundation will be very stable.Those of them who are courtiers must also live very comfortably.

Thinking of this, he quietly glanced at the emperor's grandson.Maybe it's a psychological effect, well, it really has the qualifications of a great emperor.

This is also normal.Can the eldest grandson of the Supreme Emperor, taught by precepts and deeds, be any worse?
"Basically, that's all." Shao Shude put down the account book, looked at the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and said, "Don't worry about the Bohai Trading Company. In the fifth or sixth year of Tongguang, try to find a way to start a Yunnan trading company. That's it, if nothing happens, Qing and others can retire."

"The minister obeys the order." Everyone responded one after another.

(End of this chapter)