The literary giants of the late Ming Dynasty began by copying books

Chapter 139 Less Taxes

Wang Wenlong complained about his tragic experiences as a child, his acting skills were sensational, and his eyes filled with tears and indignation.

Everyone present was also infected by Wang Wenlong, and many people gritted their teeth.

When these Changzhou merchants heard about the experiences of Western merchants, they couldn't help but think of all the mistreatment and even plunder the Ming Dynasty gave them.

This sentiment is so contagious that even the harsh listening of Donglin Party members cannot stop it.

Because this need to protect the interests of officials and businessmen is the main reason why the Changzhou gentry can unite, and it is also the foundation of the Donglin Party.

Everyone was aroused by Wang Wenlong's narrative.

At this time Wang Wenlong continued: "I grew up in this kind of environment when I was a child. Many people think that I must have grown up in a home where I was studying. In fact, this was not the case. Before I was ten years old, my family still had enough money, and my father also invited me to come. Scholars in the Ming Dynasty enlightened me, but a massacre occurred when I was ten years old, and my whole family was almost lost at the hands of Europeans. Although I survived by chance, I had no choice but to continue to seek a way to survive under the Spanish colonists."

Listening to Wang Wenlong's narration, Huang Zunsu couldn't help but think: No wonder Mr. Jianyang wrote the history of Portugal so clearly and knew the anecdotes of Europeans clearly. It turns out that he had such an experience.

"Chinese children are smart and smart, and are more popular with Europeans than local natives. They think it is more efficient to train Chinese to make them dogs. So when I was a child, I still had a way to survive. I first sailed with European captains, and later He worked as a servant under Western missionaries, and also worked as a craftsman on European artificial lands."

"Although these methods allowed me to survive, life was really hard to call easy. Europeans treated Ming merchants like cattle and horses. I don't know how many whips I received since I was a child."

"At that time, I only had one idea. I always thought of my uncle's head lying on the ground. I wanted to prevent merchants from the Ming Dynasty from being treated like this. I wanted to find out why Europeans could be friendly to merchants, but I, the Ming Dynasty, were not. Treat vendors like this?"

"So I endured the humiliation and shouldered the burden. I would do the humblest job, and endure the dirty environment. I just wanted to learn more about the principles of the world and solve my doubts."

"I traveled to India, Burma, Siam and other places. I also went to Africa with a fleet, and even went to Portugal and Spain with missionaries."

"Those Western missionaries talk about Europe as a paradise on earth, but only through actual experience will you know that Europe's products are far less rich than our Ming Dynasty, and the people of the country are not much richer than our Ming Dynasty, but why are people prospering, and the people of our Ming Dynasty have indeed lived Such pain?"

All the business people in the audience listened with rapt attention. Wang Wenlong had successfully changed the topic of tax resistance to a more profound topic of how to promote economic development, and everyone was still interested in it.

"I have personally walked through European lands, and I know very well that that place was a hellish scene more than a hundred years ago."

"Perhaps you don't know that until my reign in Jingtai, Europeans were still living in ignorance. During that period, I translated it as the Dark Ages."

"At that time, there was no strong political power in the whole of Europe. Countries were divided by countless lords. They built castles and settled peasants in them. Even many of these lords were illiterate. The Catholic Church established a kingdom of God on earth. The royal families of various countries are controlled by them. These priests imprison people's thoughts and make people not treat themselves when they are sick, but just drink holy water and worship."

"At that time, there were many civil strife and uprisings in Europe, and the people were so ignorant that a great plague more than 200 years ago killed one-third of Europeans." Everyone was dumbfounded. Changzhou is a prosperous area in the south of the Yangtze River. It is very close to Nanjing, and there are a large number of Catholic missionary activities in Nanjing. Some people present have interacted with Catholic priests, and they have a good impression of these Catholics. They never imagined that the heavenly Europe on earth they talk about is actually It was such a scene, and what they called the Holy Religion actually brought endless disasters to Europe.

And more people couldn't help but frown, confused and curious.

The period between Jingtai and Jingtai was only over 100 years ago. How did Europe develop from the ignorant situation described by Wang Wenlong to being able to trade across oceans and even reach the Ming Dynasty with ships and control the Western islands?

Wang Wenlong said: "It was the Great Navigation that saved Europe. When the Europeans discovered the American continent, the territory expanded many times. The countless gold and silver snatched from the Americas quickly made Europe rich, and then the Europeans began their mighty expansion." The ocean journey.”

"I have carefully studied their history in Europe, and part of it has been integrated into my "History of Portugal". However, this is only a historical description of the rise of Europeans, but it does not touch too much on the nature of their trade."

Wang Wenlong went round and round and finally got to the point of his drama: "I know that today's businessmen think that the court tax is too heavy. Many people even read my "History of Portugal" and thought that Europeans did not collect business taxes and treated businessmen Extremely preferential treatment.”

Wang Wenlong smiled and shook his head: "I don't know that this is completely wrong!"

"Europeans' commercial taxes are more precise and more onerous than those of the Ming Dynasty. For example, on maritime trade, the taxes paid by the merchants of the Ming Dynasty are only ship fees and port entry fees when entering and leaving the moon port. This is really difficult for Europeans. It’s too simple.”

"The tax burden of European navigation countries is far from comparable to that of our Ming Dynasty. When buying goods from different countries, you have to pay a tax of [-]%. If you are an allied country, it is at least [-]%. When you sell goods, the tax starts at [-]%. .”

"European aristocrats and even kings have never had any concept of world or kingship. They often monopolize shipping routes, and even monopolize the right to operate a certain kind of goods in a certain colony. In detail, a certain percentage of the profits of each route must be handed over to the royal family. Goa's Which family controls the wool, and who can mine the gems in Africa? Even in the newly emerging United Kingdom, in order to ensure the supply of swan meat, the royal family claimed that all swans living on the open waters of Britain belonged to them hundreds of years ago. , if someone secretly hunts and kills a swan, he will be arrested and punished!"

Everyone was stunned. Many businessmen had read "History of Portugal" and thought that European monarchs treated businessmen quite favorably. However, they did not expect that the tax supervision system of the Ming Dynasty could not be compared with the exploitation of other European monarchs.

Many people even feel disillusioned.

Wang Wenlong continued: "However, despite such cruel exploitation, European businessmen are still getting richer and richer, and European countries are becoming more and more powerful. Why?"

"Because the Spaniards discovered large silver mines in America and instantly earned back ten times the gold and silver reserves of the country at that time! Even if a king wastes money, how much of the national treasury can he spend by himself?"

"European monarchs used this money to arm their own merchant ships, equip their own armies, and expand overseas. Whether it was colonization or invasion, the profits they earned were far greater than the commercial tax revenue."

"Looking at various countries, I discovered a truth. The tax problem in the Ming Dynasty is not overcharging, but arbitrary taxation!"

He loudly said: "It was collected somehow and wasted somehow. If taxes were collected properly, there would be no such turbulent public opinion in the world!"

(End of this chapter)