Wang Zhaomin talked about the problems since the launch of the Liaoning salary levy. [Full text reading] In his opinion. The imperial court's collection of silver is simply harmful to a small and remote county like Lingao. On the contrary, every time it was time to collect money, there would be great commotion and great disturbance to the people.
"Lingao is not as good as Nanzhili, even Henan and Hebei! Where can the people in places like this get money to pay? They just sell grain and cloth at low prices and enrich the merchants in vain." Wang Zhaomin sighed.
Wu De listened and knew that this was another headache for the county. Lingao and Xuwen and Haikang across the strait were at two extremes. On the one hand, due to the production of sugar from sugar cane, the commodity economy was advanced, and grain was expensive and silver was cheap; On the other side, it is almost completely a natural economy, and there is no money in the market.
"I heard that Xuwen across the strait is rich in cane sugar and rice is expensive and silver is cheap. Why not traffic the grain to Xuwen and sell it in exchange for silver?"
"How can it be so easy!" These words aroused Wang Zhaomin's complaints again.
Wu Mingjin had this idea when he first took office, and even sent his family to Xuwen to inquire about the market. But to traffic grain, you must have a batch of grain on hand for turnover. This batch of grain has no place to come from - Lingao barely completes the annual grain tax, and there is no extra grain in Changpingcang to transfer. Furthermore, transporting grain across the sea involves trafficking costs in case the ship capsizes. No one can afford to compensate for this loss. After the freshness of the new magistrate Wu's appointment wore off, he finally abandoned this idea with the thought that doing less would be better than doing more.
It is also much easier to pay taxes in Haikang and Xuwen than in Lingao. The local county government has gained a lot of income from the sugar trade. If you have money, you will not have to worry about not being able to buy food, but if you have food, you may not be able to exchange for it. silver. The worst thing is that the agricultural level of Lingao is not as good as that of Xuwen and Haikang, and it is simply unable to export grain on a large scale in exchange for the needed silver.
The government has no choice but to force the villagers to sell their products at low prices. Although the monetary collection of taxes has an important role in dismantling the natural economy and establishing a commodity economy, it is very destructive for places like Lingao with frequent natural disasters and low productivity levels.
Unexpectedly, separated only by the narrow Qiongzhou Strait, there are two completely different worlds. Wu De lamented the size of China and the complexity of its national conditions. For the first time, he felt a little afraid of being given the title of "civil affairs".
However, when it came to this point, Wu De felt that it was almost done. He accepted the full power of the executive committee and could show off his cards to Wang Zhaomin.
He said: "Master Wang, actually, you don't have to worry about food and taxes-"
"Thank you very much!" Wang Zhaomin quickly thanked him.
"Slow down!" Wu De said slowly, "As for the start of classes in Australia, I can accept it. Five hundred acres of paddy fields, a lot of grains. Not only that, this year's autumn Fu in Lingao County, whether it is field Fu No matter whether you are a land servant or a low-income person, we will take care of it all."
"What?!" Wang Zhaomin was stunned and didn't know how to react. "The county's grain tax"! , this was too unexpected for Wang Zhaomin - someone actually offered to pay the county's autumn tax on his behalf!
"The county's grain tax?" Wang Zhaomin asked in disbelief.
"Exactly." Wu De nodded.
Wang Zhaomin thought that these Australians were too bold! The county's grain tax alone is nearly 8,000 shi in terms of grain, and there are also various expenses involved in grain collection and shipment. Even if all the people in charge of the county are as clear as water and as clear as a mirror, they still need 10,000 shi of brown rice. Not to mention the salary of more than 8,000 taels of silver.
Australians are still levying "reasonable burdens" across the county after the Spring Festival this year. How come they have become so generous in the blink of an eye?
"This year we will be the general contractor of the county." Wu De said clearly, his tone unquestionable.
Wang Zhaomin was speechless for a moment. This was an ending he never expected. He thought that the Australians would refuse the request and not pay a cent of rice. He also thought that the price might be exorbitant. He also thought that the county government might be asked to collect a "reasonable burden" on their behalf. But the request to take over the county's taxes was too unexpected. Even when the Gou brothers were at their most powerful, they never had such an idea.
"Do you really want to take over the entire county's tax revenue?" Wang Zhaomin couldn't help but ask again.
"Of course it is true." Wu De nodded and said calmly, "We always keep our word. When did we break our promises?"
Wang Zhaomin's mind was racing rapidly. Is this good or bad for him and Wu Mingjin? For a moment, he couldn't make a judgment.
but. He instinctively felt that there was evil intention behind this request.
"The grain tax of this dynasty is inexhaustible, and there are many tricks in it. Moreover, Chen Minggang is an extremely evil person..." Wang Zhaomin began to use the method of "posing difficult problems".
"We know this," Wu De did not intend to discuss specific details with him, but simply stated his own conditions:
"I think Master Wang knows exactly how much tax we should pay, and he won't bully me and other foreigners who are ignorant." Wu De stared at Wang Zhaomin closely, "How much is the tax amount, how much rice is consumed, and among them, there should be a yamen No matter how many benefits there are, you can come with me, no need to be polite."
"This, no need, no need..." Wang Zhaomin was already panicking, "This matter must be discussed with the proprietor before we can decide."
"Deliberation is natural. However," Wu Deyi said with a threatening look, "Autumn grain is a major event in the county government. I don't think Master Wu will fail to understand this truth."
This is an unmistakable direct threat: if they are not given all the autumn gifts, there will be no need to think about Lingao's food requisition.
"Yes, yes, of course I understand this." Wang Zhaomin was sweating profusely.
"So, the thief is determined to take over the entire county's tax revenue?" Wu Mingjin asked with a sad face.
"Exactly! Dong Weng. This bandit named Wu made rude remarks, and the implication is that if we don't give them all, the county's autumn grain harvest will not be collected!"
"Old Master, what are you going to do?"
"Probably I want to take advantage of the opportunity to make money." Wang Zhaomin thought about it. This is the only possibility, "It just doesn't seem like it, it's very suspicious."
"Exactly," Wu Mingjin nodded, "What they want to gather is soft goods. What's the use of all this food? Besides, it's very easy for them to get food and money - if they ask the local rich people to give it, who dares not to hand it over? Why bother? Fei Zhouzhang, let’s do a tax-collection trick first.”
It is not an easy task to collect taxes. It is not only time-consuming but also complicated. It would be unreasonable to say that the Cross Travel Group wants this wealth.
The two of them thought about it over and over, but couldn't figure out what their motives were. Of course, they all agree that Australians have "bad intentions".
Whether he has a good heart or not, Wu Mingjin doesn't have many choices. Either he agrees to the Australians to take care of everything; or he doesn't agree and waits for the Australians to make trouble. It must be one of the two.
The result of the choice was obvious, and Wu Mingjin had no choice but to agree. Judging from the daily behavior of Australians, they have always kept their promises. When it comes to collecting taxes, we will never engage in the trick of collecting grain without paying taxes. It would be a good thing for Wu Mingjin to collect all the taxes in time. At most, the Australians would raise the rice consumption tax in order to collect a few more kilo of grain - but this is also a matter for the common people. It has nothing to do with him.
"I'm afraid the potential this year will be much less." Wang Zhaomin reminded his boss.
"This is also a helpless thing." Wu Mingjin sighed, but he intuitively thought that it would probably be no less, but he still had to put on a helpless look, "It is better to have one less thing than one more thing. I just want peace. After serving as county magistrate, I will immediately return to my hometown after retiring..."
Wang Zhaomin was speechless and had to say goodbye and go out. He secretly changed his mind and Dong Weng said that it was "helpless". He still had to find ways to get enough benefits from this year's autumn grain - after all, it was directly related to his income. He asked his concubine to make a pot of tea, and thought about the cause and effect in detail: Australians are responsible for taxation, no matter what evil intentions they have. For now, there is no harm to Wu Mingjin or to himself.
The grain and tax can be paid in full in time, and I don't have to deal with the various subordinates in the house every day. As for the "unruly people" in the county, of course there are Australians who are quick to grab bayonets to deal with them. Wang Zhaomin suddenly hoped that Chuanzhong would deal with these guys who had always despised his authority in the past.
The next day, he met with Wu De again, and the two sides reached an agreement on this issue.
The Australians took over the entire county's taxes, including grain taxes, land taxes, miscellaneous taxes and Liao rates. All payments must be made in full and delivered to the county government on time.
"The deadline for autumn grain is at the end of November." Wang Zhaomin reminded, "However, it's important to hurry up early rather than late. After collecting all the grain, the county has to hand it over to complete the class. The transportation of large quantities of money and grain is difficult, and the journey here in Lingao is difficult. It takes a lot of time to cross the sea and waves, so it is best to pay in full by the end of October, so that you can be more relaxed."
The money and grain were shipped to Beijing, and the Cao Army was in charge of it in southern Zhili. There were many tricks involved, and Wang Zhaomin had seen it before. There is no water transportation task in Qiongzhou Prefecture. The county is responsible for the transportation itself, and it is inevitable to deal with the transporters.
The earlier the money and grain shipment happens, the cheaper the freight will be. When the deadline is approaching, the shippers know that the government cannot delay the deadline, so they will deliberately delay it to extort the freight.
"... At this time, if there is not enough 'rice consumption', the people will have to be drafted to serve and transport food. This is a huge drawback to the people and money. Please be careful!"
"Will the county's money and food be handed over to Qiongzhou Prefecture?"
"It's complicated to say." Wang Zhaomin said, "The autumn poems in this county have gone to several places."
Among the autumn grains totaling 7,686 shi, 7 liters and 9 hens, there are 6,489 shi of official rice from the capital treasury. This is the part of autumn grain that needs to be started. ! ~!
