Han Du shook his head and said, "You really don't need to thank Uncle Ben."
Seeing that Fu Yong wanted to say something more, Han Du waved his hand to stop him and said: "You are willing to give 10%, do you want to continue this business in the future?"
Fu Yongqing laughed a few times, that was what they had in mind. Han Du now commands the most elite navy of the Ming Dynasty, capable of traveling far across the ocean. If they want to continue this business, Han Du's care is indispensable.
"Uncle Mingjian, a business like this will be better than the one I did for ten years when I was young. Who doesn't want to continue doing it?"
Han Du smiled and nodded, leaned back, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "If you want to continue this business, then Uncle Ben has an idea."
"Uncle please make it clear." Fu Yong lowered his body and listened attentively.
Han Du thought for a moment and then said with a smile: "It's not easy for you to do business. In order to do business smoothly, you are always used to bribed all kinds of people. But have you ever thought about it, if you buy once, there will be a second time. , there are even a lot of people who end up losing their homes after buying it, right?"
"Yes, yes, uncle is right. Doing business seems to be very profitable, but once you encounter someone who is not kind, even your family will be ruined." Fu Yong's tone was full of helplessness and sighs.
Seeing Fu Yongting come forward, Han Du continued: "In this case, instead of buying off this uncle, why not turn these over to the emperor as taxes? I can only protect you for a while, but the emperor can protect you for the rest of your life. "
"Pay taxes?" Fu Yong looked at Han Du hesitantly, feeling very reluctant.
It is now a common imagination that businessmen would rather spend large sums of money to bribe various officials than use the money to pay taxes.
"Uncle, I won't hide anything from you. Uncle, do you know why businessmen are unwilling to pay taxes?" Fu Yong pondered for a while and decided to explain it to Han Du.
"Why?" Han Du asked calmly.
"Even if we pay taxes to the court, the court will not care about us. We still have to spend not a penny less to buy it off. Uncle, let me ask you, given the situation here, who is still willing to pay taxes?" Fu Yong said .
Han Du pondered for a moment after hearing this. This was actually a matter of court management. The management of the Ming Dynasty was too extensive, and many powers were delegated to prefectures and counties, resulting in prefectures and counties having too much power. As far as the commercial tax is concerned, even if people like Fu Yong are taxed, the court is only responsible for collecting the money and not for subsequent services. In this way, naturally no one will pay taxes, because even if they do, it will be of little use.
Han Du paused and said, "But paying taxes is beneficial to you."
"I would like to hear from you uncle." Fu Yong could only listen to what Han Du said. If it were someone else, Fu Yong would have been impatient.
"Do you know why among the four farmers, farmers are obviously not as rich and smart as businessmen, but their status is higher than businessmen?" Han Du asked in return.
Fu Yong thought for a while and said: "The emperor pities farmers and thinks that farmers are the most miserable, so he ranks farmers before businessmen and workers."
"Farmers are suffering. This is just one reason." Han Du sighed and continued: "The more important reason is that farmers provide sufficient taxes for the Ming Dynasty. More than 90% of the Ming Dynasty's annual taxes are based on Farmers pay it to their land."
"In this case, do you think the court will not pay attention to farmers? If it does not pay attention to farmers, it is cutting off taxes, which is a way to die. No matter how stupid a person is, he will not do it. Therefore, even farmers People simply can’t afford silk clothes, but the imperial court still gave farmers the right to wear silk. But you businessmen are obviously rich and can afford it, but you are prohibited from wearing silk. "
Wearing silk is the saddest thing for Ming merchants. No matter how rich you are, you can only be inferior to others, and no one can be willing to do so. But in the Hongwu Year, no businessman dared to defy this ban. Even at home, they did not dare to wear silk and satin. Only in Jiaofangsi can they freely enjoy the feeling of wearing silk and satin.
This is also a major source of income for Jiaofangsi. The purchase of clothes alone accounts for almost a quarter of Jiaofangsi's income, almost as much as the leather and meat business. This shows how strong businessmen's desire to be equal to others is.
Fu Yong also understood it and asked tentatively: "Uncle, do you mean that if we pay taxes for the imperial court, the imperial court will relax its restrictions on us? But in the past, we also paid taxes to the imperial court, and there was no such thing. Let’s see what kind of preferential treatment the imperial court has for us.”
Han Du stretched out a finger, waved it, and said: "It's not the court, but the emperor. Instead of thinking about bribing an official, it's better to think about bribing the emperor. Civil servants habitually look down on businessmen, even if they are bribes. Even if I take your money, I won't necessarily speak for you, and I will even get more and more demanding from you."
Fu Yong nodded frequently when he heard this. When he met greedy officials, some businessmen had their families destroyed and their lives destroyed.
"But if you can let the emperor see your value and provide taxes for the Ming Dynasty, then you can truly change the phenomenon of not being taken seriously. If one day, the business tax you provide can exceed the agricultural tax, you will still worry that the court will not Do you value you?" Han Du said to Fu Yong in a thoughtful tone.
In Han Du's view, Lao Zhu still had the same habit as when he first started the army, that is, staying in a bandit atmosphere. In Lao Zhu's mind, the farmers paid him taxes, so he naturally had to treat the farmers well. The businessman didn't pay him protection money, so why should he protect the businessman?
Fu Yong pondered without saying anything. The habit he had formed over the years was not something Han Du could completely convince him with just a few words.
Seeing that Fu Yong still had hesitation on his face, Han Du continued: "At least, I can guarantee that your maritime trade will be like this."
With Han Du's guarantee, Fu Yong immediately beamed and said, "With these words from my uncle, I feel relieved. Please tell me what to do specifically."
Han Du nodded and said: "The goods you brought out from Daming this time are exempted for you because they were not prepared in advance. But the goods returned now must be taxed. The specific amount will be paid later. After informing the Emperor, the Emperor will decide."
"Okay, little one, listen to your uncle." Fu Yong smiled and nodded.
"This matter has only advantages and no disadvantages for you. You have to explain it to others." Han Du ordered.
Fu Yong nodded and agreed.
