prosperous age

Chapter 1047 Chapter 1138 Go and Return

How to reduce the pressure on the Maritime Customs to conduct trade has become a major issue that Wei Guangde has to consider.

According to the results of the investigation conducted by Wei Guangde, although the trade volume of Yuegang was as high as 5 million taels of silver, the goods exported from the three major customs offices were worth more than 1 million taels each year.

Because most merchants could not obtain the official permit, they naturally could not pretend to be tribute envoys and go to the Maritime Customs to conduct transactions.

But even so, if taxes were levied on the goods worth more than one million taels of silver, at least nearly 400,000 taels of tax would be lost.

Wei Guangde proposed to restrict the maritime trade. Zhang Juzheng and Lu Diaoyang both understood it and wanted to understand the benefits involved.

They did not have an obvious inclination because they themselves were not involved in business, but they could still understand the meaning of Wei Guangde's words and increase the court's financial revenue.

Even though they knew it, they could not agree with it.

Lu Diaoyang said, "Lord Wei, I'm afraid we need to discuss this carefully at this time.

The Maritime Customs received envoys sent by neighboring vassal states to pay tribute. They came from thousands of miles away and always had to earn some travel expenses.

I think you can understand the situation of the surrounding vassal states. They are all poor and weak countries. If the court still imposes high taxes on them, this...”

Lu Diaoyang couldn't tell the court to collect taxes from them, for fear that the surrounding vassal states would stop paying tribute to the emperor.

After all, the two Empress Dowagers and the little emperor were sitting in the palace, so it was a bit difficult to say.

"Mr. Lu is overthinking."

Wei Guangde chuckled and replied: "From the fact that the King of Sulu took the initiative to request an audience, hasn't Lord Lu realized the essence of the vassal state's tribute?

In fact, the maritime trade conducted after the tribute was not needed by these vassal states at all. These interests were only valued by some powerful people in the vassal states.

For the princes of various countries, a strong Ming Dynasty that can guarantee their safety is what they need most.

The Sulu Kingdom offered tribute not because of the small amount of goods imported and exported through tribute trade, but because they wanted to rely on the Ming Dynasty to resist the neighbors around them who had ill intentions towards them. "

Wei Guangde said this, looking at Zhang Juzheng and Tan Lun, who both nodded slightly, and then continued: "My Great Ming Navy has not been to Southeast Asia for more than a hundred years. In addition, the previous mishandling by Yunnan officials has led to the weakening of the influence of my Great Ming suzerain state in the Southeast Asian vassal states.

Siam was attacked by Myanmar several times and even lost its country, but it never asked the Ming Dynasty for help. In fact, it was all due to the decline of the influence of the Ming Dynasty.

This time the South China Sea navy moves southward, it is bound to have a significant impact on the countries in Southeast Asia.

Now that the navy has occupied Luzon, the next step is to recapture the Old Port Xuanwei Office. By then, the navy's southward march will become a routine, and the Ming Dynasty's influence on Southeast Asia and even Western countries will inevitably rise.

Even if they were forbidden to trade with the Ming Dynasty, they would still rush to pay tribute in order to rely on the Ming Dynasty and obtain its protection.

If you think about the times when all nations came to pay tribute, I'm afraid that only the Yongle Dynasty was like this."

Wei Guangde deliberately sighed, the purpose of which was naturally to remind everyone in the hall that the Ming Dynasty had not seen the grand occasion of all nations coming to pay tribute for more than a hundred years.

In recent years, the only vassal state that still maintained annual tribute was Korea.

Although Ryukyu was considered a center for the Ming Dynasty, due to inconvenient transportation, the Ming Dynasty could only visit the Ryukyu Islands once every few years.

Then the so-called tribute from all nations were actually just a group of merchants in the name of envoys. No one knew how they obtained the permits in their hands.

“Restoring the old port is something that has already been decided by the cabinet.

In this case, when the matter in the southwest is settled, let Yu Dayou lead the South China Sea Navy to visit the surrounding vassal states. If there are kings of vassal states who are willing to come to our Ming Dynasty, we might as well bring them back together. "

In fact, Zhang Juzheng also yearned for the prosperous Yongle era. According to historical records, at the peak of its reign, there were nearly a hundred princes from various countries. What a glorious period of history that was.

What made this happen was the fleet of the eunuch Zheng He.

Although shipbuilding requires a large investment of silver, it does not seem to be a bad thing if this silver can be earned back through collecting taxes in Yuegang.

At least the court did not suffer any major losses between the ingress and egress.

During the reign of Emperor Yingzong, both the government and the public opposed the voyage to the West because they believed it was too costly.

In fact, when Emperor Yingzong planned to travel to the West again, he might have noticed that the Ming Dynasty's external influence had weakened.

After he ascended the throne, the number of envoys from vassal states coming to the Ming Dynasty to pay tribute had decreased significantly.

However, for the sake of the court's reputation, the historians did not write these into the classics.

"A suzerain state should at least behave like a suzerain state, and there is nothing wrong with providing convenience for vassal states.

Just like this time, when Luzon was suppressing the Japanese, the King of Sulu immediately mobilized troops to assist the Ming Dynasty in the battle. "

Wei Guangde reminded again.

This point was actually overlooked by several people in the hall before.

Why did they send troops to help fight the war? It was because they hoped that the Ming Dynasty could provide them with protection.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty did not ask for any benefits from them, but as long as they asked, they would not refuse.

"From now on, the Maritime Customs will only receive envoys who come to pay tribute, and will no longer conduct Maritime Customs trading."

Zhang Juzheng figured it out. As long as the Ming warships remained active in Southeast Asia and even the West, the vassal states would take the initiative to come to the Ming to pay tribute, whether for their own safety or for some other reason.

In this case, there is no need to discuss whether the maritime trade should continue.

“Goods other than tribute, with a value not exceeding fifty thousand taels of silver, can be sold tax-free at the Huitong Hall.

However, if you want to purchase Ming goods and leave, you must go through Yuegang."

Zhang Juzheng said.

Of course, no taxes can be levied on things that are tributed to the emperor.

As for other incidental items, Zhang Juzheng thought that 50,000 taels was a more appropriate limit. The amount exceeding that would be taxed according to Yuegang rules and collected by the Maritime Customs.

“In fact, there is no need to distinguish. Tribute is tax-free, but all other goods are taxed.

And the goods they take away, except those given by Your Majesty, will also be taxed in full.”

Wei Guangde did not think there was any need for any tax-free quota and expressed his opinion immediately.

Are you kidding? His fleet is still shipping goods overseas. If there are any duty-free items shipped out, wouldn’t that be competing with his caravan?

How do those who pay taxes compete with those who are tax-free?

According to the 50,000 taels limit given by Zhang Juzheng, if there were ten vassal states, there would be 500,000 taels of duty-free goods.

Another key point is that the farther the goods are sold, the higher the profit.

In the future, as the South China Sea Navy becomes more active in Southeast Asia and the West, more envoys from Western countries will inevitably arrive.

These people are big money sponsors and very wealthy.

In fact, the Western countries that Wei Guangde had in mind were not Europeans, but Middle Eastern people.

In the early years, merchants from Middle Eastern countries made huge profits by monopolizing the East-West trade, and their countries also benefited from it.

Wei Guangde's caravan has tried to enter the West Ocean, seeking higher profits.

The trade with Japan is now facing a strong competitor.

They were not from the Ming Dynasty. At this time, some Ming Dynasty merchants had smuggled my goods, but in small quantities.

Instead, the barbarians purchased large quantities of silk and cotton cloth from the Ming Dynasty and sold them to Japan, and also purchased Japanese specialties and resold them to the Ming Dynasty, becoming the biggest competitor of Wei Guangde's shareholding in the Chamber of Commerce.

Allowing the South China Sea Navy to enter the Indian Ocean is of vital importance to Ming merchant ships.

The activities of businessmen are actually often linked to the influence of a country.

The greater the influence, the wider the radiation area, and the larger the area where merchants are active.

Wei Guangde wanted to sell the goods directly to the Middle East, so he naturally needed the navy to escort them.

Otherwise, once the ship reaches the Indian Ocean, we won’t know who robbed it.

There is no order on the sea, only the size of the force.

Wei Guangde had a lot of contact with sea merchants, so he was naturally very clear about the ins and outs of this. Those sea merchants who were relatively well-behaved in front of Wei Guangde probably robbed ships and looted goods after going out to sea.

"Wouldn't that be too petty?"

Lu Diaoyang said with a frown.

Tan Lun, who was standing aside, saw that the three elders were not discussing whether they could do it, but were discussing how to do it. He could not help but smile awkwardly and took a few steps back.

In fact, these six ministries and nine officials have been in contact with each other privately, and they know more or less about the situation in the Ministry of Revenue.

Especially the Ministry of War, which had little income, and the bulk of the money had to be allocated by the Ministry of Revenue.

Of course the Ministry of War also had income, which was from the Imperial Household Department. However, the ancestral system had many restrictions on the use of silver in the Changying Treasury, so the Ministry of War just pretended that this government office did not exist.

This time, Tan Lun was thinking about whether he should mention it and say that the silver in Changying Treasury seemed to be available for use.

After all, it is used for the expenses of the Ministry of War and foreign wars, so it seems reasonable to use the money of the Imperial Household Department.

But unexpectedly, Wei Guangde's proposal to increase taxes was approved by Zhang Juzheng and Lu Diaoyang.

The cabinet has approved it, and I think the three above will not object.

The one who benefited the most from the tax increase was not the Ministry of Revenue but the Imperial Court.

Didn’t you see Feng Bao standing on the side, his face was almost broken from laughing?

Although the Maritime Customs also had income from the inner court, the silver there was definitely not as much as the tax increase at Yuegang.

After the three members of the cabinet discussed for a long time without any clear conclusion, Empress Dowager Li looked at Empress Dowager Chen and saw that she looked tired. She said, "This matter concerns the dignity of the court. The cabinet should organize a meeting and call the nine ministers to discuss it. Finally, we should come up with a set of rules."

After Empress Dowager Li spoke, the three cabinet members had planned to finalize the matter today, which would have allowed them to avoid other disturbances in the court.

However, there is still some disagreement on some details.

Now hearing that Empress Dowager Li had issued an order to expel the guests, the three of them, together with Tan Lun, bowed and left Ciqing Palace.

After returning to the cabinet, Tan Lun said goodbye and left. Their Ministry of War was mainly responsible for rewarding the meritorious soldiers, and the tax increase had little to do with him.

He would not have much say in the cabinet meetings, as the main issue was the Minister of Revenue's affairs.

So he said goodbye and left early.

After Wei Guangde entered the cabinet, he was called by Zhang Juzheng to his duty room.

"Shandai, do you have any other intentions when you proposed that Yuegang officials collect taxes?"

Arriving here, after sending his attendants away, Zhang Juzheng asked directly.

"Nothing can be hidden from the Prime Minister."

Wei Guangde responded with a smile.

His plan might be able to deceive Lu Diaoyang, but it would be very difficult to fool the extremely sensitive Zhang Juzheng.

"When you brought up the idea of ​​collecting taxes from government officials, I thought of it."

Zhang Juzheng said.

The pawnshops paid about 200,000 to 300,000 taels of silver in taxes to the Ministry of Revenue every year, all in cash, and were an important source of income for the Ministry of Revenue. Zhang Juzheng was naturally aware of this.

Therefore, Wei Guangde proposed that the Yahang should impose taxes on trade goods. Since it was allowed in Yuegang, it could naturally be allowed in other places as well.

However, in Ciqing Palace, Zhang Juzheng did not say it out loud, but discussed the details with Wei Guangde and Lu Diaoyang, which might have been his intention to help cover it up.

  "Taizu set the commercial tax. You also know that in recent years, besides the profits from salt, tea and iron, what else has the court got?

The bulk of the court's tax revenue came from farmers, but they were not the wealthy people of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why the imperial court is now short of money is essentially because it only collects taxes from the poor and ignores the rich.

At the beginning of the country, due to years of war, there were few wealthy families, and the tax system established by Taizu was still feasible.

But after a century of peace, it is still like this, which is obviously extremely inappropriate."

Wei Guangde said, "I think the ultimate goal of the reform proposed by Uncle Brother is to enrich the national treasury without increasing taxes.

Only when the treasury has money can the imperial court deal with disasters and emergencies from all sides with ease.

On this point, Shandai agrees with you. "

"Ah."

Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly after hearing this, and then asked, "When does Shandai plan to propose the collection of tooth tax in Ming Dynasty?"

Wei Guangde shook his head upon hearing this, and said with a wry smile: "To be honest, my uncle, this tax can only be levied when the national finances can no longer sustain it."

“Is Shandai worrying too much?”

Zhang Juzheng instantly understood Wei Guangde's concerns and the reason why he said this, but he still spoke.

"Among all the civil and military officials in the court, there are only a few who don't run a business."

Wei Guangde replied calmly, "If this strategy is not necessary, I'm afraid it will incur public anger."

"I don't like this about you. You're always hesitant."

Zhang Juzheng knew that Wei Guangde had made up his mind and would not bring it up on his own initiative, so he had to speak up.

Although the idea was proposed by Wei Guangde, he also said that goods were only allowed to enter and leave Yuegang.

Expanding the scope from a small moon port to the entire Ming Dynasty is another matter.

"The court actually still has money, but there are many restrictions on its use, and all officials are aware of this."

Wei Guangde had no choice but to say.

During the reign of Emperor Jiajing, the imperial court was short of money many times, and in the end it had to borrow money from the Changying Treasury to make ends meet.

Officials may not have known about these things before, but the Jiajing period had only been over for a short time, so many people knew about it.

The imperial court should not even think of collecting taxes from them unless they are driven to the point of penury.

When they had almost finished talking, Wei Guangde bowed and was about to take his leave, he heard the voice of a clerk talking outside the door.

"Minister Tan, the two ministers are discussing matters inside."

"I knew they were together, so I rushed over here."

Then, the voice of Tan Lun was heard.

Tan Lun had just said goodbye and left the cabinet, so why did he suddenly come back? From the sound of his voice, it seemed that he had something to do and was in a hurry to see them.

"Please invite Zili in."

Zhang Juzheng hurriedly shouted to the outside.

As he finished speaking, Tan Lun appeared at the door.

"Zili."

"Brother Zili, why did you go and come back?"

When Tan Lun came in, Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde both bowed to him, but Tan Lun didn't care about that. He hurriedly took out a memorial and handed it to Zhang Juzheng, saying, "Something happened in the southwest. I'm afraid we have to fight this war."

"what happened?"

Zhang Juzheng took the memorial, but still asked.

"Myanmar King Mang Yinglong was so bold as to launch a surprise attack on Mubang. He is now gathering troops to besiege Mengyang and has also sent a large army to block traffic at the border of our Ming Dynasty."

Tan Lun introduced, "This is an urgent report from Yunnan. Wang Ning also sent the news to Li Chengliang. I think the army should have entered Yunnan."

(End of this chapter)