Although Chongzhen's face on the dragon throne was calm, he was even more shocked inside.
Xi Duanfan's logic is infinitely close to the commercial society of later generations.
He originally thought that if Xi Duanfan couldn't handle it, he would go out and argue with everyone in person, but he didn't expect that Xi Duanfan would give him such a big surprise.
He directly told the facts, calculated the data, and presented the evidence, and he fought with the ministers and defeated them. From the beginning, he was very arrogant and directly defeated them.
No wonder Li Ruolian said a few days ago that if Xi Duanfan is willing to become an official in the court, his ability will definitely be as good as that of the five cabinet members.
But judging from what has been shown so far, his thinking and logic are very clear, but I don’t know how his actual execution ability and handling of things are, but I have to say that he is definitely a talent.
There were Yang Qingyun and Sun Chunyang before, and now Xi Duanfan is here. There are really many talents in the business field of Ming Dynasty.
"Pah, pah..."
Chongzhen clapped his hands gently and said with a smile: "What a wonderful speech. I wonder if you agree with what Xi Duanfan said about benefiting the country and the people, enriching the country and the people, and strengthening the country and the people?"
"Agree!"
"I and others have benefited a lot!"
“Benefited a lot!”
"Sudden realization!"
…
"Do you have any different opinions on the imperial court's efforts to promote the development of commerce?"
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
The ministers all responded in unison, their eyes full of fire.
Xi Duanfan has already explained the meaning of business so thoroughly that it has risen to the level of family and country.
If they still object at this time, when the news about today's court incident spreads, their ancestral graves will be demolished by the common people.
"My dear friends, I have no objections, but I do have some objections!"
Chongzhen stood up and walked slowly to the edge of the platform, holding on to the railing: "First, you seem to be happy too early about the taxation matter that Consultant Xi mentioned.
In theory, it can reach 200 million taels, but in fact it is impossible.
You should pay attention to the logic of Consultant Xi’s estimation. There are many items that the imperial court specializes in, such as salt, tea, wine, iron, etc.
In my imagination, these imperial courts cannot specialize in business, but are run and sold by merchants! "
"Your Majesty, the salt and iron franchise..."
"Listen to me!"
Seeing that some people had different opinions, Chongzhen waved his hand: "The monopoly on salt, tea, and iron is nothing more than the saying, 'It is a great cause of the country, so it is the basis for controlling the barbarians and settling the borders, and it cannot be abolished.' But after a few years, , and are there Siyi?
The imperial court has restricted it, so they have no way to obtain it?
Why did the imperial court have mutual markets? Isn't it just for comfort?
The war of the future must be a war of firearms. As long as firearms are controlled, all monsters and monsters can only hide in the shadows.
Secondly, the imperial court specializes in these things, which will consume a lot of energy. In the end, it will be thankless and the people will suffer.
I said that the imperial court cannot be exclusive, but I do not mean that the imperial court has completely let go and will not restrict it.
On the contrary, the court only needs to control the source and front end.
What is the source? Naturally, each salt field is contracted out to hold an investment conference similar to yesterday. The court selects honest businessmen and regularly sends people to inspect the salt field to check whether it meets the court's standards.
What is the front end, that is, each store strictly reviews the store calendar and guides the appropriate price.
The middle part is what businessmen should worry about.
Since it is a commodity, it should return to the market itself and let the market regulate it. Only competition will eliminate inferior goods and benefit the people.
Of course, these all need to be re-planned. I can't just say this and it can be completed. This is the case for most other specialized goods.
I say this, can you understand? "
The ministers are not very knowledgeable about business matters and are still worried.
But Xi Duanfan had been doing business for fifty or sixty years, and he understood the emperor's intention in just an instant.
The imperial court's exclusive operation is naturally beneficial, but it cannot guarantee quality, even with the supervision of yamen such as salt and iron transfer envoys.
But it's different after it's handed over to merchants. If you don't do well, the court will replace people directly, or even without the court, and the people won't buy it. If they can't sell it, they won't be able to continue doing it.
Moreover, the imperial court does not do all the business by itself, but still hires businessmen, who will be transferred out many times in the process.
The price will rise a little every time, and the price paid by the people will naturally be higher. This problem can be alleviated by handing it all to the merchants.
As a result, the imperial court will lose a lot of income, and it is estimated that the estimate I just made will be reduced in half.
It can only be said that the emperor's pattern is too big and his thinking is too advanced.
"The imperial court can participate in some goods, but it does not have to be exclusive to all. What the imperial court has to do is to set standards, regulate and supervise, and collect commercial taxes.
From this point on, I estimate that a business tax of 80 million to 100 million taels a year is already very good. "
Listening to the emperor's estimate, the ministers were half-hearted, with expressions of regret on their faces, like a group of misers.
They also don't think about it. If they don't promote commerce, they will still only have a few million to tens of millions of taels in commercial taxes. This is an extra seven to eight million taels and they are still not satisfied.
It goes without saying that it is easy to eat but difficult to spit it out.
Chongzhen was very amused by this scene, so he continued: "Actually, the treasury can still do more business every year. It may be difficult to reach 200 million, but it should be possible to add another 30 to 40 million taels."
The ministers with expressions of regret on their faces suddenly raised their heads and looked at the emperor in surprise, with expressions of urgency on their faces.
Without waiting for them to ask, Chongzhen changed the topic and looked at Yuan Keli: "Yuan Aiqing, please tell me the ins and outs of Gewuyuan!"
"I obey the decree!"
Yuan Keli left work and turned to look at the confused people: "You should have heard of Matteo Ricci, the missionary who introduced Western learning to the Ming Dynasty.
Last year, Director Xu Guangqi of the Firearms Research Institute talked to us and said that he learned from Matteo Ricci that overseas countries are embarking on large voyages to find new lands, which is a risky behavior.
But the essence is to suppress them through force, and then madly plunder the resources of the New World, such as gold and silver, various valuable local products, and population.
Moreover, the methods are extremely cruel, including massacre, slavery, deprivation, and human trafficking. From loading to disembarkation, the survival rate is less than 30%. The sick ones are directly thrown into the sea as livestock.
Overseas countries are studying astronomy, mathematics, geometry, physics, machinery... The red cannon is one of the products, so we established the Gewuyuan. "
The ministers were stunned by what Yuan Keli said.
They never knew that overseas countries could be so 'wonderful' and their methods could be so cruel.
I never thought that the establishment of Gewuyuan would have such a story.
After the shock, a minister asked in confusion: "Mr. Yuan Ge, does what you said have anything to do with the taxes your Majesty mentioned?"
