Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 537 Medieval Ancient Methods to Attract Investment

After eating, everyone dispersed to do their work. Tuo Huan wants to meet everyone in the camp, give a speech to everyone, and appease people's hearts. Zhu Wenkui and others still have a lot of supplies to deal with. Guo Kang himself had nothing major to be busy for the time being, so he began to observe the camp, chat with various people, and learn about the situation here.

Joanna quickly came over and wanted to show him the way and lead him to visit various places. Guo Kang was a little surprised and declined: "I think everyone else is busy, don't you have a job? I actually don't have anything important here, I just want to take care of myself. I think it's better not to delay your business as much as possible." "

"I don't... oh no, I do." Joanna said, and seemed to feel that it was not good for her to be the only one not doing her job properly. She quickly changed her words: "However, I am just their partner, and those tasks are not urgent. There are many things that make Sister Huizhen can help me do it, that’s fine too.”

"She?" Guo Kang was even more surprised: "It's just the partners who are weird, right? She can still do business?"

"Yes, and to be honest, it's better than what I can do myself." Joanna admitted: "I went to negotiate with that group of merchants, and they took advantage of the current shortage of food to raise the price. Sister Huizhen went, and There are no more such problems. My intimidation is indeed not as good as hers. Even if I pretend to be fierce, I can’t pretend to be fierce. This kind of momentum cannot be imitated. "

"It's okay..." Guo Kang scratched his head: "I see that Tuohuan talks about these things every day, how to force these businessmen to pay more money."

"I told him that using violence to force businessmen to cough up money. Although the money came in very quickly, it still felt like it was breaking the rules and the business environment. Isn't it not good? But he never listened, and he also There’s a good reason for that.”

"What did he say?" Joanna asked curiously.

"He thinks this is a normal tax and a complement to the existing tax system." Guo Kang replied: "He told me that the operation of the country needs taxation to support it. Citizens pay taxes to the country, and the country pays them The corresponding rights include joining the military and holding public office. The two should be equal. The state has set tax rates, and citizens should hand over part of their property in accordance with this ratio."

"In comparison, the prince's method of getting rid of her husband is acceptable. If I were an ordinary businessman, I would definitely complain when I had the chance, but I wouldn't really stop doing it." Joanna thought for a while and said: "From a business perspective, this is just that the cost of doing business is higher, but risk is always a part of doing business."

"Isn't that great?" Joanna said doubtfully: "You are also taking action against those nobles yourself. What he did is not as violent as you in terms of violence. Why are you still talking about him?"

Guo Kang found that he seemed to have ignored this problem and was speechless for a moment.

"As long as there is an opportunity, any qualified businessman will not hesitate to use violence against his peers, directly eliminate this competitor and obtain all his property. Where will the government take its turn? Or do you think that the government's use of violence against businessmen is considered a crime? Violence; if a businessman uses violence against a businessman, does it not count as violence?”

"Uh... that's a bit too much." Guo Kang said helplessly: "I was surprised just now that you are also a businessman, why can't you support him."

"That means you may have stayed in the monastery for too long, and have come into contact with too few nobles and wealthy businessmen, and underestimated their weirdness." Joanna spread her hands: "Even in such a situation, many nobles and wealthy businessmen are still alive or dead. Don’t listen to advice. Even my elder brother, who likes to follow the old ways, complained to us that many colleagues in the parliament are unbearably short-sighted. They have knives on their necks and they will not take their eyes off the gold coins. For a second, it seemed that that was their heavenly father and belief. Few ascetics in history were so pious, and they didn’t know how charming this thing was to make people become so stubborn."

"But in reality, those who pay taxes and serve are the middle and lower classes of society. The richest people are the stingiest and don't like to pay taxes. Some people are rich, but the property they pay is not as good as that of ordinary residents. Moreover, it is useless to make rules. Because these people have enough energy and financial resources to find loopholes. When they are rich to a certain extent, they will even bribe officials and actively influence the government itself. Taxation rules are even more important to them. It’s a lie.”

"Maybe it's because the situation is getting more and more chaotic. Even some young people from traditional aristocratic families are beginning to be dissatisfied with the status quo. They feel that even if the power of the city-state is weak, something must be done to protect themselves at the minimum. At least, It’s better to be able to guard against those small groups of rebels and bandits. Otherwise, every time something happens, the city will suffer. Over time, it will even become a well-known fat sheep, so that all kinds of messy and unfashionable people will Small gangs dare to extort and even rob. How can we survive if this continues?"

"So, he thinks that these people should be charged extra. It's impossible to charge them in the normal way anyway, so let's do something special."

"That's true. My family runs a bank and has contacts with the upper echelons of many city-states." Joanna expressed support: "For these people, the tax system does not make much sense, because it It was originally a tool they used to make money.”

"My third brother used to hang out with some civilian politicians. One of their main demands is to let the city-state nobles spend money to maintain necessary public services, especially the military. It is best to learn from you and rebuild. A citizen army is coming.”

"I was targeting a small group of people, and they were people who had committed serious crimes." Guo Kang explained: "As long as you don't violate the rules, you don't have to worry about anything. Even as long as it's not serious, you won't encounter this kind of thing. Things. I myself had no choice but to do it in a hurry."

"Do you think that if he doesn't force businessmen, they won't encounter violence? No, the most frequent violence doesn't even come from the court, but from peers." She shook her head.

"So, I can also understand the idea of ​​​​dismissing the prince." She seemed to be very touched and said to Guo Kang: "Do you know what the prince did? I think as long as the method of asking for it is not too bizarre, it will not cause any harm. The fairness of this approach can be supported by most people. Of course, to be honest, it is even more outrageous than those wealthy businessmen, and it is indeed difficult..."

"Then you are overthinking." Joanna laughed: "It can be seen that you have never done a decent business."

"But he is targeting everyone. In this way, wouldn't everyone be unsafe?" Guo Kang said with some doubts: "I think you can't give up on yourself just because it's inconvenient to collect taxes. You have to abide by the rules." Find a way. Otherwise, if we continue to use violent means to force us, sooner or later the businessmen will be scared away. If the business environment is destroyed, how can we develop the economy here?"

"He mainly collects donations." Guo Kang said: "Even if they are people from the Zhuguo and Yuan families, he will do it. If he doesn't give, he will engage in moral kidnapping and publicize everywhere that this person does not love Heavenly Father and Rome. , even the face of the ancestors is lost. Decent people from various families can rarely withstand this kind of pressure. They are often afraid that their authority in the army will be damaged, so they usually give it to him reluctantly. Before every war , you have to do this again."

"We only need to calculate the risks of war and donations into the cost, estimate the impact on industry, and then make appropriate adjustments. Moreover, Constantinople is different from ordinary cities. Many of the goods are necessities and luxuries from other places. Even if the price increases, there is no need to worry about not being able to sell them. If the operation is good, you may not lose money - anyway, you can make back on those fools in Western Europe. "

"And to be honest, his method is still a kind of order. There are too many chaotic and tyrannical monarchs than him, and there are no businessmen who dare not do business. Some kings have gone bankrupt many times, and even some If we take the initiative to eliminate the creditor's record, won't everyone still follow suit? His risk may not be as big as a shipwreck in the Mediterranean."

"I have to talk about the business environment." She thought about it and said, "I think the most decisive environment is the geographical location, routes, wind direction, climate and other natural conditions. These places with superior environments, even if there is no business environment in the first place, Merchants will also work hard, build ports and business stores, clear local relations, and even send troops to occupy and create a suitable environment. Constantinople and Kaffa are all corresponding examples. But the reverse is true. Say, if there is nothing to make money, no matter what you do, people will not lose money." "So, even if we directly drive these businessmen away and annex their properties, people will have to beg to come back. Even if there is A devil stipulates that merchants can operate here for twenty years and will be killed after twenty years. There are also people who want to make a lot of money and enjoy their squandering, and they are willing to sign this contract. "

"Is it such an exaggeration?" Guo Kang didn't believe it: "This must be too greedy."

"Look, let me tell you, you haven't even had much contact with businessmen." Joanna smiled: "Even in relatively backward Western Europe, there is no shortage of people who can do business. If you don't come, others will. In the fierce competition Under the fierce competition, businessmen who are not proactive enough will be eliminated. The remaining ones will have no chance of not being greedy."

"Old businessmen often like to comment, saying that some people are suitable for business and some are not. Because the process of doing business is actually a process by which the God of Commerce selects businessmen. Therefore, if you find that successful businessmen have some Don’t be surprised if they have similar qualities.”

"Some people even say that the higher the risk, the higher the profit, so businessmen are willing to go there. Therefore, those powerful and cruel monarchs, as long as they have some intention of paying back the money, will easily attract businessmen to invest. It sounds like, right? Weird?"

"This is an excessive pursuit of profit margins, and it's like self-abuse." Guo Kang complained: "I even thought that it could still attract investment like this."

"There's no way, the interest rate is the life and soul of a businessman - well, don't learn from it." Joanna said quickly.

"I understand..." Guo Kang pondered for a moment and asked curiously: "What about you? Do they think you are good at business?"

"To be honest, I can't do it either." Joanna hesitated for a moment, but finally admitted directly: "It was my father who said that before. At that time, my brothers also advised him not to speak so bluntly and say that I Being interested in business is also a good thing. Family is the foundation of our business; the more capable family members are, of course, the better."

"The positions in the church and the city-state are not open to women, but the business aspect is much more relaxed. The business atmosphere here is very strong, and people from some families, regardless of gender, will do some business. As long as you have the ability No one would care so much about keeping wealth. They probably think that even if I can't take charge of it alone, it doesn't matter. If I learn more, I can at least help. When I get married in the future, it will also be convenient for me to manage my family's property. few."

"It's a pity that now I see that the elders were right. I am indeed not this material." She said helplessly: "I probably felt this way myself before, but I never wanted to admit it for the sake of face. But this time , after experiencing such a fierce incident, I have finally come to terms with it. It’s not okay if I don’t admit it.”

"I think you have a pretty good grasp? To be honest, I didn't expect that after the war, someone would take the initiative to help and do this kind of work-for-relief work. Even the current camp is probably due to you. This vision and execution ability , already considered excellent." Guo Kang said truthfully.

"This is not my idea. It was given to me by my friend Eudocia. It is not considered my own ability at all." Joanna looked a little tired: "Even my employees are very poor. The work here is... , in fact, most of it was done with the help of Miss Tang, Captain Jessica and even Sister Hui Zhen. My own men... I asked them to send Odosia away, but they were able to send her away, and they haven't found her yet. Yeah. Hey...if you have any news about her, please tell me."

"Oh, okay." The matter over there is not over yet. Guo Kang can't tell her directly, so he can only deal with it: "Is she so important to you?"

"Of course." Joanna nodded: "I have tried many times, but in all aspects, I can't do it very well. With her help, I finally have a plan that works. In this fiercely competitive city The city has a foothold."

"I have figured it out now. Since I can't do anything, I will let go more and stop insisting on such big ambitions."

"Didn't your parents assign specific tasks to you?" After hearing this, Guo Kang became curious: "There must be family arrangements for making arrangements in such an important place."

Joanna hesitated slightly for a moment.

"Yes, yes, but... I didn't originally plan to participate in so many." She finally admitted: "My father has always been conservative about the business here. He neither wants to spread the funds, nor does he want to do it. Offend the Venetians here. If it weren’t for my request, I probably wouldn’t invest here.”

"As for my mother, although she doesn't show much ambition outside. But it may be a matter of background and experience. In short, she is actually a very independent person with a far-sighted vision. She supports me coming here, even more than she cares about me. My brothers are still active - although I actually don’t know what she wants.”

"As long as she doesn't also want to rebel against the Republic of China, we won't care about her." Guo Kang said: "Most of the Mazar nobles don't seem to like her, otherwise she and her mother would not have been blatantly exposed back then. The ground attack. On the contrary, on our side, she is a sample of soliciting surrenders, and nothing will happen to her. If you have a vision, you should know better."

"My mother has never told me about this kind of thing. In this regard, she should have given up." Joanna thought for a while and replied: "Although she and her father are just an ordinary marriage, it may be because both parties They are both very sensible people and understand this very well, so the relationship between the two is quite okay."

"She has always said that my father's family has great potential. She wrote to me and asked me to learn more from them and not mix with other messy people. On weekdays, she often takes the initiative to expand the family's business. I think , a person's ambition may not disappear, it will only be transferred to another place. If she can't do something, she will be somewhat unwilling in her heart. "

"Perhaps because I have more contact with my mother, I have always felt that my father was too conservative and timid. I once thought that his experience of being hunted down and persecuted by political opponents when he was young made him scared and could never get out. That shadow. You obviously have enough connections and wealth, but you are reluctant to do more. In my opinion, it is a waste."

"But now that I think about it, I still lack self-awareness and think too much." Joanna seemed to have regained some energy and said frankly: "People still have to recognize the reality and not be too greedy or too arrogant. There is nothing wrong with being more conservative. All right."

"That's true." Guo Kang agreed with the same sentiment.

(End of this chapter)