At this time, hundreds of tea merchants did not dare to speak. It was obvious that the prince meant what he said and had great dissatisfaction and resistance against these tea merchants. Could it be that someone reported them and that led to what happened today?
Prince Shicai was quite curious about tea drinking, and he was also very interested when listening to the relevant content of the tea ceremony. But in the blink of an eye, he mentioned tea merchants. What was the purpose of this? Could it be that this is a stupid idea?
At this time, Fang Zhenghua presented an account with both hands, and Yao Ji started to read through it. However, the traditional Chinese characters were too tiring, so he simply asked Yang Jinchao to read it. The important thing is to grasp the key parts and read them out, so that he can save time and effort. eyes.
Yang Jinchao took the account book and hurriedly flipped through it. When he found the part requested by the prince, he whispered and reported carefully in his master's ear. Yaoji didn't show any expression after hearing this, but just chirped to show that he already knew.
"Who is Zhang Yonggui?"
"...Your Highness, Cao Min is Zhang Yonggui!"
A slightly stout middle-aged guy wearing a royal blue satin robe did not dare to stand up rashly when his name was called. Instead, he raised his arms above his head and kowtowed to the prince.
"Last year, your family sold fifty-eight kilograms of tea for a total of forty-two taels and eight thousand silver, and the taxes and fees totaled one, two, four, and three cents, right?"
"What His Highness said is absolutely true, Cao Min dare not lie!"
"In addition to selling tea, does your family have other jobs?"
"Your Highness, Cao Min's family only makes a living by selling tea!"
"Well, that's good. I wonder how many people are in your family?"
"...Your Highness, there are fifteen people in Cao Min's family!"
"How many maids, clerks, accountants, and coachmen are there?"
"...About eight!"
"How much is the monthly salary?"
"..."
Zhang Yonggui suddenly stopped talking and did not dare to answer. He thought that the prince was still young and as long as the eunuchs around him would not remind him, he would be easily deceived. But in the end, even Zhang Yonggui himself realized that the situation was not good. If he continued to speak, Then it would be completely unaccountable.
"How about I speak for you? Eight servants, even if they have food and lodging, each of them needs half a tael of silver per month, right? That's six taels a year, and the total for eight people is forty-eight taels. Last year, your family paid for Tax, the income is only forty taels of silver, and there is also the cost of purchasing tea. Not counting the cost, you have to pay eight taels to the servants. With such a large amount of money, it seems that you are really a good person! If you do this every year, Don't you have to pay everything? Are your whole family living on drinking the northwest wind? Do you think you can lie down and tell lies when you kneel in front of me? You must also know what it is to deceive the emperor, right? "
The ministers of a certain prince have done this kind of thing several times. In order to pretend to be poor, they refused to donate money and even talked about eating soybeans. Such lies of merchants could not be put on the table. Just asking a few questions would reveal the truth. Until the end of his reply, he was unable to justify himself.
"Cao Min is ignorant, Cao Min is pedantic, Cao Min deserves to die! Cao Min deserves to die~!"
The fat man was also smart. Knowing that his lies were directly exposed by the clever little prince, he immediately kowtowed and begged for mercy, shouting and begging for forgiveness.
"So, each of your families has two accounts. One is an open account, which is used to fool the government and evade taxes. One is a secret account, which is the real income. You earn much more than the farmers. But the taxes paid are much less than those of farmers. A man is not rich without windfall, and a horse is not fat without night grass! The court has taxed you thirty-one, and now that the country is facing a national crisis, you still dare to evade taxes! Who dares to stand up and pat his chest to protect his family? If he has not escaped a single tael of tax, as long as the verification is completed, I will let him go immediately. Otherwise, none of you, one by one, will have any chance of getting out of the prison in Dongchang alive!"
If you don't take care of this group of borers, they won't even want to spit out a big one.
Courier brother Li can squeeze ten million taels of silver from merchants, so why can't he himself.
Speaking of which, I would also like to thank the Beijing camp for launching a rebellion and giving a certain prince a sufficient reason to close the city gate.
Before the predetermined amount is squeezed out, the city gate cannot be opened normally, and the ground must be dug three feet to find the silver!
"Your Highness, please have mercy..."
"Cao Min was wronged..."
Hearing the harsh words from the little prince, who wanted everyone to be imprisoned in Dongchang, the tea merchants were all frightened. Is Dongchang a place where businessmen like them dare to have fun? Once caught, it is almost impossible to come out alive.
"Those who make noise without authorization will be served with palms and mouths!"
Seeing a group of tea merchants in the East Palace courtyard in a state of embarrassment, Yang Jinchao immediately shouted angrily. These guys were so presumptuous. They didn't even look at where this place was. How could they be tolerated?
Although the sharp voice was harsh, it was extremely intimidating. The tea merchants immediately silenced their voices, but all of them still looked sad and unwilling. Paying taxes would cost their lives.
Yaoji said to the group of moths with an expressionless face: "Counting from the Wanli Dynasty, erase the fraction, let's count it as fifty years. If you evade one tael of tax, you will be punished by one tael. If you include the number of years, you will steal one tael, and you will have to pay one tael." Pay fifty taels of back taxes! If you steal one thousand taels, you must pay fifty thousand taels of tax! If you pay less than one tael, you will be beheaded, if you pay less than 100 taels, your family will be confiscated and your family will be exterminated!"
This is already very interesting. I didn’t let you steal one or two and be punished with ten taels. If you think about it, you will be compensated 500 for one, which will probably make you vomit blood on the spot!
Don't think that after you bully my grandpa, grandpa, uncle, and scapegoat, you can bully me as a matter of course. That's just a daydream!
Although it is not a change of dynasty, this palace oversees the country is different from the previous dynasty. If businessmen cannot pay taxes according to the amount, then you will have no existence value!
The Great Rebellion Dynasty was unable to collect massive commercial taxes, which led to financial constraints, and was ultimately destroyed at the hands of businessmen. Of course, I will not let this tragedy happen again!
So before I am killed by pigtails or bandits, I will kill you all. Even if you die, you will have to bring along a group of backers to be considered worthy!
"...Your Highness, please have mercy!"
"How can this still make..."
"Cao Min's family is poor and it's really hard to raise money..."
"Cao Min can't make up for such a huge sum of money!"
"Fifty years!"
"How can Cao Min afford such a huge sum of money?"
The prince opened his mouth to ask everyone to pay back the taxes and fees owed for fifty years. This is really an unheard-of strange thing. If it is true, many tea merchants will be bankrupt.
Saying one thousand, saying ten thousand, these tea merchants just don't want to pay taxes. Even if the prince has made it clear, they still have a lucky mentality and hope that the law will not punish everyone and they can escape.
"Come here! Palm!"
Seeing that this group of reckless businessmen were still going their own way and did not take the prince seriously at all, Yang Jinchao angrily scolded him and waved his hand. Seven or eight guards walked over and grabbed the collar of the tea merchant who was the first to beg for mercy at the front of the queue. Start slapping your mouth.
Yaoji didn't say anything to stop him. Instead, he thought that these daring profiteers should be taught a lesson, so he sat quietly on a small chair and watched each of the tea merchants being slapped into pig heads. Some had mouths full of blood, and even their teeth were cut. Fan it off.
When silence returned to the courtyard, a certain prince spoke slowly: "Since Chongning in the Song Dynasty, the annual income of the tea class has increased by two million yuan, and it has reached four million yuan in the first year of Zhenghe. The total amount of the tea class in this dynasty is less than One thousand taels of silver is a far cry from the weak Song Dynasty, which is ridiculous. From this month to the end of the year, the annual income of tea classes nationwide shall not be less than 1.5 million taels of silver, and from now on it shall not be less than two million taels of silver each year. , and it can only increase, not decrease! Anyone who evades taxes will have his or her family confiscated and exterminated! You have been shameless for fifty years, so naturally you can afford to pay the tea tax for fifty years!"
It is said that Cai Jing was a treacherous minister, but in fact he was also a capable minister. He was very good at calligraphy and was very good at collecting taxes.
The tea tax rectification led by Cai Jing allowed the government to monopolize tea revenue and established the norms for tea in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Li Gang commented on this strategy: Since the Chongguan era, the benefits of tea and salt have been in the court, and the court will be rich!
Without Qiecha and other fiscal revenue-increasing plans, it would be impossible for the Southern Song Dynasty to hold on to half of the country, because there would be no money to pay the troops!
In comparison, the imperial court during the Chongzhen period was almost begging for food on their knees, and even after begging for more than ten years, they did not get much money!
The "Great Sending to the Dynasty" was the peak period for the imperial court to amass money, especially the "Southern Sending", which implemented the mercantilist measures very thoroughly, which is worthy of learning and reference from the impoverished Great Sending Dynasty.
"Do you know about the "Tea Horse Law" promulgated by my great-grandfather, Emperor Taizu? Anyone whose accounts are not consistent will have their tea leaves taken away, as if they were in the East, and they will be punished for deliberately supporting the enemy!"
From the early Ming Dynasty, tea was not only a drink, but also a strategic material related to national security. Since horses were cheap and tea was expensive at that time, the Great Dynasty could exchange the abundant local tea for a large number of war horses.
In order to ensure the strategic interests of the empire, Zhu Laoliu specially promulgated the "Tea Horse Law". No one was allowed to participate in the tea trade with other places, and violators were severely punished.
It's just that the temptation of huge profits always has the advantage of swaying the stupid. For example, the emperor had a charming consort Ouyang Lun who was born as a Jinshi. He could not live a good life, but he had to commit suicide and openly sold tea leaves. As a result, he was killed by his father-in-law... …
The IQ of this group of tea merchants is not much better than that of Ouyang Lun. If they don't check, they will all be exposed. They pretend to be five or six people, but they are actually a group of sanctimonious stupid pigs.
The taxes and fees you pay, added up over fifty years, may be less than the paper money that others send to their biological father's grave, right?
Just come here to fool me? I’m so tired of living!
In this case, I will give you a free lesson. The lessons are very expensive!
"Zhenghua, before dark, the houses of these profiteers will be ransacked. If there is resistance, they will be punished on the spot. Even if there are escapees, as long as the city gate is closed, they will not be able to escape! Get up early tomorrow and start to hunt down the whole city. Tea merchant family! I have nothing to do with you today, you can retire and rest!"
"I obey the decree!"
I don’t believe that in this huge capital, there are so many tea merchants, but one million taels of silver cannot be found.
"Your Highness, please have mercy..."
"Your Highness, please spare your life..."
When they heard that they would be imprisoned in Dongchang, and that their families would not be spared, the tea merchants collapsed instantly, and kowtowing was like pounding garlic.
"If you do business in accordance with the law, the capital city will be your market, and you can earn as much money as you want. If you violate the law, the capital city will be your hell, and your heads will be fried!"
Yaoji didn't know how much money the businessmen from all walks of life in the capital had amassed, but he should be able to find out in a short time.
Ten million taels is the guaranteed amount. If it is lower than this amount, either the hiding place has not been found, or someone on errands is lining their own pockets.
"Your Highness, please forgive me..."
"Your Highness is so kind..."
"Your Highness..."
Yaoji has always believed that admitting a mistake shouldn't just be done with words, but needs to come up with actual things. Otherwise, what's the difference between admitting a mistake and apologizing and farting? It’s just a noise!
Li Shiwen rarely disdained such simple and crude methods, but these tea merchants deliberately evaded taxes and blatantly deceived the emperor. Although they did not verify the sale of tea to Donglu, there should be more or less. Taken together, they committed a capital crime. , deserve to be killed!
The prince also wants to levy a tea tax of more than two million taels every year. If this method is used, it can meet the temporary needs, but it is not a long-term solution, especially since tea is abundant in various places in the south of the Yangtze River, so they must be stationed in Dongchang. Jinyiwei?
As the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, Li Shiwen couldn't interrupt. Now the money needed for the first year of building the new city should be collected. The tea merchants can be said to have "worked a lot and made great achievements." The prince was happy and invited them all to Dongchang. Went to be a guest...
"I am too lazy to listen to his defense, so he took them all to Dongchang!"
Seeing you yelling and screaming, my eyes are filled with tears and my ears are buzzing. Disobedient porcupines are meant for slaughter. This is an eternal truth.
"After the tea merchants came the salt merchants, then the grain merchants, and so on. The money for building the new city should be enough! Li Aiqing, I don't want to ask more about the Ministry of Household affairs. I have also raised the salaries of the officials. , if there is another case of corruption in the future, more than ten liang, no matter who it is, there is still a mother, wife and children at home, they will be severely punished! In the future, anyone who reports and is verified will receive 10% of the reported family property as a reward! "
You guys put the money that I worked so hard for so easily into your pockets, and you take it back to eat and drink, go shopping and play with beautiful women, and you don't deal with me severely. Do you think I can have a balanced psychology?
But there is no need to do it yourself. Those guys who are envious and jealous due to the uneven distribution of the spoils will act as informants for my errands. Maybe even the evidence has been prepared, and the worms are just waiting to be "snapped" by the executioner.
"...Your Highness is wise!"
Li Shiwen did not dare to say anything more. The prince personally raised the money and had all the most difficult matters handled by the Ministry of Revenue. If he added extraneous details and talked nonsense, he would really annoy the prince.
"Don't think that I have wronged them. Some of them really sold tens of thousands of kilograms of tea to the Donglu. Otherwise, they would only eat meat and not drink tea. There would be no need for the army to attack Liaodong. Hundreds of thousands of Donglu would have been there long ago. Eat meat and die!”
This kind of thing was commonplace in the late Ming Dynasty. Merchants and frontier troops were the main participants, and the Shanxi merchants who sold grain to the Donglu were just the tip of the iceberg.
Tracing back to their roots, where did their food come from? You can think with your heels that these two important strategic materials, grain and tea, come from Jiangnan!
Without the food shipped from the south of the Yangtze River, and Shanqian's local area suffering from disasters year after year, the Shanxi merchants are so stupid, just wait for Huang Taiji to come and raise an army to punish them!
"Those who betray the interests of the imperial court will not have a good end! Those who dare to openly deceive me will not only have a bad end for themselves, but their family members will also not have a good end!"
I heard that the wives and daughters of merchants are well maintained and should be able to meet the standards for military rewards.
It seems it's time to refresh the loyalty of each unit again...
