Cutting 1719

Chapter 299 The Land of Hope
Jiangning City is full of lanterns and colorful lights, and people coming and going are very lively. It is not that the Fuhan Army has any great event, but that four or five hundred merchants from various provinces in the south of the Yangtze River have gathered in Jiangning at the invitation of the Fuhan Army's commander-in-chief. The reason for the city is naturally the newly promulgated "Jiangnan Industrial and Commercial Management Regulations".

For this grand event, the Huguang Chamber of Commerce and the Jiangxi Chamber of Commerce also sent representatives here. The purpose is naturally to witness the "Jiangnan Industrial and Commercial Management Regulations" and to lay the foundation for their own future reforms. A major integration of the industrial and commercial industries under the Han army.

Regarding this matter, Ning Zhongyuan also planned to participate, but due to various considerations, he finally gave up such an idea. The main reason was that he was worried that the balance between the forces would not be well balanced, especially after Ning Zhongyuan personally participated. I am afraid that the taste of the whole meeting will change, which will lose Ning Yu's original intention.

Of course, before this meeting was convened, many Jiangnan merchants were still quite worried, especially Cheng, Wang, Xie, Zhang and other wealthy merchants in Jiangnan, who were still wary of the current Fuhan army. It doesn't mean that you believe in the Fuhan Army, everyone is watching.

However, the former Huguang Chamber of Commerce had also communicated and cooperated with the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, especially the Jiangnan Cheng family had some relationship with the Huguang Cheng family, so after a letter from Cheng Yuanzhi, the head of the Cheng family, the Cheng family decided to take the lead. Their participation also led to many other big merchants, so that most of the merchants participated. Except for a small number of merchants with ulterior motives, all the merchants in Jiangnan were present.

The Fu Han army temporarily built a colorful shed on an open space in Jiangning City. There are some simple tables, chairs and benches inside, plus some tea and snacks. Although it is very simple, it is better than the spacious place. , coupled with the openness and brightness, it also looks quite stylish.

Many merchants are sitting together at this moment, including the shopkeepers of large merchants and the proprietors of medium merchants, all communicating the latest news. After all, this conference is related to the future of everyone, so we have to be more cautious , even if there is any change at that time, we can deal with it together.

Among the crowd, Cheng Wandu, the Patriarch of the Cheng family in Jiangnan, is highly valued by everyone. He was also the first to respond to the call of the Fuhan Army in this meeting. Therefore, many people thought that he had some inside information, and they all surrounded Cheng Wandu at this time. around, want to know something.

"Master Cheng, is this so-called business management regulation a good thing or a bad thing for us?"

The Patriarch of the Xie Family, Xie Shu, had a nervous expression on his face. He knew very well that in doing business, he had to keep a distance from the government. It was swallowed in one gulp. The Fuhan Army's current path has not been figured out yet, so I feel a little nervous in my heart.

Cheng Wandu was in his early forties, when he was in the prime of life, after hearing Xie Shu's words, he felt a little disdainful in his heart, and he didn't answer the words, but turned his head and said: "Everyone, there is a big deal right now. Put it in front of you, but you turn a blind eye, it is really a bit blind."

"Oh? A huge deal?"

Upon hearing this, everyone was a little strange, everyone came out to do business, why did you see the business?
Cheng Wandu smiled, "We, merchants, have been listening to the deeds of the senior merchants since we were young. There are Fan Li and Lu Buwei in the distance, and the eight emperors of the Qing Dynasty in the near. These things are all messed up? Do you want me Said, you are just too small, if this matter is done, we will not be able to become the Lu family, but we can find a way to get the seats of the eight imperial merchants!"

As soon as they heard the Eight Great Imperial Merchants, everyone knew the score in their hearts.You know, in today's Qing Dynasty, Shanxi merchants can be said to be the only ones in the world, taking advantage of all the merchants in the world. Compared with Shanxi merchants in other places, the difference is not 01:30.The reasons for this are complicated, but a large part of it is due to the eight imperial merchants when the Qing Dynasty was founded.

"Eight merchants, all from Shanyou, came to Zhangjiakou for trade at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Koushi Yi, all of these eight masters. After the tripod is set, the people are called to the capital, and the banquet hall is given, and the superiors are given food."

To put it bluntly, these eight imperial merchants are actually eight big traitors. Through Zhangjiakou's trade activities, they secretly transported military supplies and intelligence to the Qing army, and even provided the Qing army with food, weapons, and artillery when it was most difficult.The materials needed by the Ming army would also be transported to the Qing Dynasty by colluding with officials. Later, even information such as the strength of the Ming army and deployment plans would be sold to the Qing court.

Therefore, these eight imperial merchants made great contributions to the Qing Dynasty, so after the Qing court took over the world, they did not forget them. In the early years of Shunzhi, Shunzhi sent Fan Yongdou, Wang Dengku, Jin Liangyu, Wang Dayu, Liang Jiabin, Tian Shenglan, Zhai Tang and Huang Yunfa, eight meritorious merchants in Shanxi, were summoned to the Palace of Giving Banquets in the capital, and they were also naturalized in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and named imperial merchants.

In the eyes of all the merchants, if they can serve the Fuhan Army and obtain the qualifications of an imperial merchant, that would be a great harvest. Many people began to plan at the moment, and they were also whispering to each other, making the whole venue become Somewhat chaotic.

However, at this moment, many soldiers of the Fuhan Army in red uniforms poured in outside the shed. They carried muskets on their backs, and walked in one by one with their heads held high. One person stood at each step, but it turned the whole inside and outside of the shed into a mess. It was as solid as gold soup, and then these soldiers stomped their feet neatly with a clatter, looking very imposing.

"The governor is here!"

Ning Yu was wearing a moon-white gown and walked in with a pair of blessing shoes on his feet. Behind him were Ning Zhongjing, Ning Zhongxin, Li Fu, Wu Jingzi and others. People's bookishness has decreased a lot, and they appear more gentle and jade-like.

Both Ning Zhongjing and Ning Zhongxin rushed over from Wuchang, in order to be able to pass this grand meeting to witness

Looking at Ning Yu's young face, not yet 20 years old, Cheng Wandu couldn't help feeling a little more emotional. Every word he said could change the fate of countless people, and even determine the life and death of many people, but he still So young.

"The Fu-Han army has now fully recovered Jiangnan. The governor is busy with military affairs all day long. I have never had the opportunity to talk to you about the future of Jiangnan. Please forgive me."

Ning Yu had a smile on his face, but his words elevated the status of the merchants here a lot. The words "the future of Jiangnan" immediately made everyone in the room feel a lot more excited, and they somewhat felt valued. Feel.

"Today, I mainly hope that Jiangnan in the future can become the real future hope of our Fuhan Army. Everyone in the world says that the foundation of our Fuhan Army lies in Huguang, but in my opinion, the future of the Fuhan Army lies in Jiangnan. .”

"The future of Jiangnan lies in the merchants. However, merchants have been despised and restricted everywhere since the past dynasties. It is really difficult to do business in a safe and stable manner. Apart from entrusting their own lifeblood to the hands, There is no other way."

"When the governor was in Huguang, people said that there are many talents in Chu, but the governor thought that Jiangnan's talents are not inferior to Huguang, and the business style is even more prosperous in Huguang! Therefore, this time, the business promotion regulations are placed in Jiangnan. When Jiangnan has made achievements, it will be extended to other provinces."

Everyone heard it enthusiastically, but they were afraid that the new law would be bad for them, so they asked nervously: "The governor values ​​Jiangnan, and Jiangnan will not lose to the governor, but what exactly is this new law?"

Ning Yu smiled slightly and clapped his hands. Li Fu then stood up and announced the "Jiangnan Business Administration Regulations" one by one. I care about this thing, but no one wants to become an inferior person for no reason, right?
Everyone is happy, but they also know in their hearts that there are gains and losses. The front is to protect the rights and interests of the merchants, and later it is the request of the merchants. Therefore, the joy has not been suppressed, but there is more in the heart. very nervous.

"There are many types of taxes in the Pseudo-Qing Dynasty, and there are many disadvantages. Just like the salt tax alone, it is divided into stove tax, introduction tax, miscellaneous tax, tax tax, and package tax. The court tax is heavy, and there are tea, mine, and wine taxes In addition, the provinces of the Qing government also set up local taxes, which were exploited layer by layer, so that ordinary people suffered greatly from it, and merchants could not benefit from it."

What he said touched the hearts of everyone, but they smiled wryly when they looked at each other. This is not just a problem of the Qing Dynasty, who is not in the past dynasties?Not to mention that it was solved, in the Qing Dynasty, it was added and added, so that merchants in this era had to curry favor with the powerful in order to avoid these demands.

Seeing that everyone was deep in thought, Ning Yu struck while the iron was hot, and said loudly: "From today onwards, merchants in Jiangnan will no longer have to endure these exorbitant taxes. Cancel all other local miscellaneous taxes and checkpoints, and from now on, businessmen in our Fuhan army will be unimpeded."

"If the words of the Great Governor can be realized, all the merchants in the south of the Yangtze River will regard the Great Governor as their reborn parents!"

With tears on his face, Cheng Wandu knelt on the ground together with other merchants, kowtowing.

Doing business has never been easier than other industries, especially in this era, it almost means that difficulties and obstacles are always accompanied.Leaving aside competitors, just the exploitation of checkpoints along the way, coupled with the messy business tax, is enough to make businesses go bankrupt easily.Therefore, the system in Ningyu today has almost created a business environment for them that they could never have dreamed of.

For this environment, they are willing to pay a huge amount of money and work hard, because as long as they have this environment, they can even earn more profits in the future!

Xie Shu thought for a while, but knelt down on the ground: "What the governor said, is it possible that we are going to become the imperial merchants of the Han army? If so, the servant is willing to donate his family property!"

Well, the good atmosphere was completely destroyed by this guy. When Ning Yu heard this, he was a little angry and snorted coldly: "I don't need imperial merchants, let alone slaves!"

At this moment, Xie Shu realized that the flattering had hit the horse's hoof, and he couldn't help but feel great regret, but he secretly blamed Cheng Wandu, what kind of nonsense idea is this!
"Damn Xiaomin! Damn Xiaomin!"

The merchants on the side also didn't quite understand. They thought that such treatment was only available to the imperial merchants, and there were not a few people who shared the same thoughts with Xie Shu at the moment. They just listened to Ning Yu's tone, but it was not the same thing, and they felt very sad. Some puzzled.

Li Fu hurriedly came out to smooth things over. He pointed at the crowd, and then sighed: "You are really confused. Now that our Han army has recovered Jiangnan, what we want to establish is our Han people's world. Where did the slaves come from? As for the imperial merchants , It’s not necessary, you want such a condition, it’s very simple, you just need to follow the terms of our Fuhan Army.”

Hearing this, Cheng Wandu understood, and he tentatively asked, "Could it be that there are some other things in the "Jiangnan Business Administration Regulations" that won't work?"

"Exactly." Li Fu took over the conversation, "I have canceled all the exorbitant and miscellaneous taxes in the Fuhan Army, so the normal industrial and commercial tax will naturally be adjusted. The original industrial and commercial regular tax ratio is too low, and now it is tentatively set to ten middle schools. Take one."

One-tenth of the tax seems to be much higher than the current industrial and commercial tax in the Qing Dynasty, but as long as those exorbitant taxes are added, the tax that merchants need to pay is actually much lower than that of the Qing Dynasty. As a human being, he naturally settled the account in his heart very quickly.

"But Commander-in-Chief, how long can we implement this regulation?" Someone asked in a low voice, causing everyone to agree.

After all, no matter how good the regulation is, it is not a whip in the hands of the government. It can be changed if it is said to be changed. If the government really changes it at that time, they will have no way to fight against it.

Ning Yu was slightly silent. Of course he understood the concerns of these people. In fact, one of the most important links was missing, which was the so-called fundamental law—the constitution.Without the restrictions of the constitution, it is normal to have doubts, but he can't give them yet.

Of course, the current problem is not impossible to solve, Ning Yu is naturally ready for the relevant, he nodded with a smile, but waved his hand, only to see a few soldiers lifted up a pillar made of fine iron , covered with a layer of muslin, looks a bit mysterious.

Everyone was a little surprised, and saw that Ning Yu reached out and tore off the muslin, and the real appearance of the pillar was quickly revealed to everyone—a lot of densely packed words were carved on it, neatly detailed with iron pen and silver hook. It is the text of "Jiangnan Business Administration Regulations".

"The worries in the hearts of the gentlemen are also the worries in the hearts of the governor. Therefore, today's specially cast regulations and legal pillars will be displayed in the lobby of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Everyone can see them. Everyone needs to follow the law. If there is violation Those who are not tolerated by heaven and earth!"

"The Governor announces that the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce and Industry is officially established today!"

(End of this chapter)