As Liu Bei's generals went to their respective defense areas one by one, a large number of generals and soldiers originally stationed in Yecheng also left one after another.
In the end, even the civil servants gradually began to leave with the army. Yecheng, which was originally surrounded by the army, became much deserted, but the city became more prosperous.
The withdrawal of a large number of military camps and the departure of a large number of soldiers ended the military control of Yecheng. Yecheng, which had been desolate due to the war, once again regained its original popularity.
After all, it is one of the most prosperous cities in the north. After ensuring food and grass and injecting more suitable trade policies, the prosperity of business has driven the prosperity of the entire city.
But generally speaking, Yecheng cannot reach the level of commercial prosperity that has suppressed agriculture like Fenggao. The positioning of the two sides has been different from the beginning. Fenggao's positioning is the center of world commerce, while Yecheng's positioning It is an important military strategic town in the north.
In the feudal era, when manpower could not be completely separated from the land, it was impossible for many commercial centers like Fenggao to emerge in the world. In this era, the country's emphasis on agriculture and suppressing commerce also made sense.
If food and clothing cannot be solved, commercial flow and even basic supplies will become a problem. Therefore, Chen Xi will not expect to build a second world commercial center now. Even if someone keeps making noises, Chen Xi will not agree.
"Who proposed the change of Yecheng's commercial tax this time?" Chen Xi squinted at Jia Xu. He didn't ask him to give an explanation last time, so he should give one this time.
"This is the demand of Yecheng merchants, and we have now hired many scholars from Jizhou, who are also working hard in this area. After all, the changes in Taishan County have indeed greatly increased our tax revenue." Jia Xu said I didn't dare to stop Chen Xi again.
"Oh, to put it bluntly, it's the demands of Xuzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, and Jizhou?" Chen Xi raised an eyebrow, the demands of Jizhou merchants? What a joke, believe it or not, Chen Xi appealed through Jizhou people. Other states will also jump out and say that they also have this need.
"Indeed." Jia Xu nodded silently.
This is indeed a common demand of all states under the rule. Although the transaction tax has obvious benefits for small businessmen, it has many benefits for large businessmen with the support of banks!
But there is a big problem here. The freight needs to be transported thousands of miles to Fenggao, and it would be better if it could be nearby. The problem is that only Fenggao was like this under Liu Bei's rule, and other states and counties did not fully implement Fenggao's commercial tax.
In fact, this is a problem between the local economy and the central economy. Chen Xi naturally develops and strengthens local strength on the premise of consolidating the central government. And try their best to control local governance by political and economic means.
He does not hope at all that one day the local government will be unable to lose its power and become like the governor Zhou Mu in the late Han Dynasty. The ruling power must be in the hands of the central government. Only in this way can we have a unified country!
If each region had independent military and political forces, even if they were united under the leadership of the central government, would it still be called a complete empire? The federation and the empire are completely different. To be called a unified empire, at least the central government must have the power to overwhelm all local alliances.
"Since you know everything, why did these things reach me?" Chen Xi looked at Jia Xu dissatisfied. Jia Xu, who had always been worry-free, actually sometimes caused trouble.
"Because I think what they said makes sense." Jia Xu said, staring directly at Chen Xi. "The tax revenue of Taishan County is basically comparable to the tax revenue of Jizhou, the leader of nine states. Money is very important to us."
"Based on the current situation, less than 10% of the people under the rule have been completely liberated from the land." Chen Xi was helpless. Even a wise man like Jia Xu could not escape the shackles of history. There was really no way .
"It's true. About one-tenth of the people under our rule are not engaged in production." Jia Xu nodded and said. They have also calculated this data. The other 90% are basically farming.
"Among these people, excluding the businessmen from the family and the businessmen serving the family, there are about 70%." Chen Xi felt that it was necessary to make the matter clear to Jia Xu. Nothing can be achieved in one step. If the global transaction tax could really solve the problem, Chen Xi would have changed the commercial tax for the entire map.
Jia Xu briefly calculated the number of people and nodded to indicate that it was indeed the case.
"There are still 50% of people who are out of work, whether they are front-line veterans, low-level officials, or soldiers in the field, they should all be counted among them." Chen Xi said with a sigh.
"Most of the last 20% are craftsmen with some skills who can support themselves. This is why I don't recruit troops, and it is also the reason why I don't engage in promotional transaction taxes." Chen Xi shrugged and said. Ninety percent of the people are still fighting for land, and business has reached its limit.
"In other words, now that we want to increase taxes to the maximum extent, the most important thing we should do is to reduce the number of nine people who can support one person to eight, which is even less." Jia Xu frowned and said, it was also a shame for him. I can understand what Chen Xi said.
"In the past, it took about fifteen or six people to support a unemployed person, so I have always said that Han Mou is very important." Chen Xi sighed and said, this era is so deceptive, what can you do.
The result of forcibly increasing the number of unemployed people is that the people will not be able to make a living. If there are not enough adult laborers, it will be a very big problem. This era is a sinkhole. There is not even enough to eat. If you want to develop business and raise taxes, first ensure that the people have enough food. Say it again!
"So according to my estimation, even if we promote the new farming method to the whole country and continue to increase the number of unemployed people, we can only build two more trading offices in the world." Chen Xi has seriously considered this aspect.
There is no other way. Instead of having too many merchants and running out of supplies, it is better to set restrictions early so that while there is a surplus of supplies, the number of merchants involved in bulk trade is stabilized at a reasonable number. Although this is not conducive to commercial circulation, it is much easier to manage.
By the way, even in later generations, certain trades will not be carried out by individuals. As for the number of merchants currently engaged in large-scale trade, the maximum number of merchants has not yet been reached.
"Is that so?" Jia Xu could barely understand Chen Xi's thoughts, "I didn't think well, but I dare to ask where are the other two trading points you chose?"
"One is in Luoyang, and whether the other is in Jiangling, Xiangyang or Wancheng, I haven't decided yet." Chen Xi also hesitated, "Actually, if we can reach the Central Plains, I would like to establish a trading office here. "
Jia Xu silently memorized these places, especially the overseas ones. When he turned around, he would prepare to enclosure the land. This was the chicken that truly laid the golden eggs. (To be continued.)