"Two million taels for ten years, five hundred thousand taels will be paid in advance within three months from the date of the imperial court's decree, and another five hundred thousand taels will be paid before the end of this year, and another two hundred thousand taels will be paid before the end of the eighth year of Yonglong.
The 800,000 taels will be paid off gradually in the next few years according to the annual amount of 100,000 taels..."
Even when Feng Ziying stated the agreement again, everyone present was still excited.
One million taels will be received this year, which is a timely help. In addition to the royalties, which are agreed to be paid off within three months by the court, this is a net income of 1.8 million taels, and the Ministry of Accounts can make it happen.
The bag is much looser.
This is simply much more comfortable than sending out tax inspectors and mine inspectors to collect hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. Moreover, there will not be any advice from the censor or criticism from the people, and it can even get unanimous support from the gentry.
"..., but these people must also have demands..." Feng Ziying also put forward the conditions unceremoniously, "First, the local government must cooperate with the relocation. It will not just be the development of the salt field that requires relocation, but also the construction of wharves and roads.
Basic facilities such as warehouses and even small ship repair shops need to be relocated. In addition, they also hope that the expansion of Longyou merchants and Anfu merchants can coordinate with them, so that in the future, the local salt business in Dongpan will be better than nothing..."
Ye Xianggao stroked his beard and nodded. This is what he meant. Businessmen have to make these calculations clearly. Even if they can make an extra penny, it will be a good deal.
"...Secondly, they hope that the Fujian Navy can be reorganized to achieve the purpose of maintaining the security of Dongfang, and are even willing to spend an extra 100,000 taels of silver to support the construction of the Fujian Navy..."
"Only in the navy, not on land?" Qi Yongtai couldn't help but ask.
"On land, of course they also hoped that the imperial court could send troops to station in Dongfan, but the students refused because in the face of the harassment by the mountain people and the threat of disease and miasma, the imperial court might have to pay too much, and in the short term the gains of the army stationed in Dongfan would outweigh the losses, so
They just want the sea route to and from Dongfan to be safe and secure. For matters on land, they hire private escort agencies and fight against them to solve the problems."
This fact made everyone here breathe a sigh of relief. If they wanted to send a large army to Dongfan, they would have to think carefully.
Even if tens of thousands of troops are mobilized, it is not a small amount. Moreover, due to the humidity and heat in Eastern China, it is a plague for the troops to be stationed and adapt. Death due to illness is also the biggest problem of attrition of the army.
"..., the third is the government. Even if they don't mention this, the students will insist that if it is not appropriate to set up prefectures and counties now, then the inspection department can be established first, but this rule must be established first to establish the government
The governance status of the country cannot be complete without rules. You must understand that this is the land of the Great Zhou Dynasty. If the power is not enough, you can ask the escorts and gangsters hired by these salt merchants to assist, but the government must take the lead.
…”
From the perspective of the people in the court, these are just trivial details. After the money problem has been solved, there is no need to bring the other matters to the court for discussion. That is the responsibility of the Zhongshu Keke.
After discussing the Dongfan salt affairs and reclamation matters, everyone was a little tired, but for the sake of money, they refused to rest and continued to discuss.
"Although the Kaihai bond issue has been affected by these salt merchants, there have been some twists and turns, but in Weichen's estimation, the impact will not be significant, especially since Dongfan Salt has attracted two salt merchants with good performance to join, which has given these
The salt merchants are very encouraged, so Weichen estimates that it will not be a problem to sell 3 million taels of Kaihai bonds this year..."
This sentence made the whole court gasp again. Even though many of them were mentally prepared, it was only between one and two million taels. But Feng Ziying didn't expect that Feng Ziying opened his mouth and said three million taels. Even if this
I'm sure the next sentence will be followed by a "but" or "but", but after all, it is three million taels.
What does three million taels mean?
The current annual land tax, salt tax and business tax in Da Zhou add up to less than 22 million taels. In the 30th year of Yuanxi, it was 18 million taels, and then gradually dropped to the 41st year of Yuanxi.
Fifteen million taels the year before Emperor Yonglong ascended the throne.
But the military expenditure alone requires more than 9 million taels, and the official salaries require more than 4 million taels. However, because the founding of the Zhou Dynasty was still short, the number of clans was small, less than 600, and the expenses were far less than those in Feng Ziying's previous life.
The Ming Dynasty in China still needs about 4 million taels, while relief, river engineering materials, etc. only cost 3 to 50 million taels per year, and sometimes only 1 to 200,000 taels.
After Emperor Yonglong ascended the throne, he implemented strict frugality, increased revenue and reduced expenditure, and strengthened official governance to a certain extent. All land taxes, salt taxes, commercial taxes, and mining taxes combined exceeded 20 million taels. In the sixth year of Yonglong, the total fiscal revenue last year
It exceeded 21 million taels, of course this includes the converted grain.
It's just that a rising tide lifts all boats. Military expenditures alone have soared from 9 million taels in the 30th year of Yuanxi to 12 million taels. Last year, due to Ningxia's counterinsurgency and pacification of Ningxia and Gansu towns, military expenditures are expected to exceed 1,000 taels.
Six million taels, which became an unbearable burden for the court.
If we can't find a suitable way to open up the source, the imperial court will really collapse.
This is why officials from Emperor Yonglong down to the six ministries were so enthusiastic about the strategy of opening up the sea, and even suppressed many opposing voices.
"..., but there is a problem involved here. This is a bond, not a charter. It requires both interest calculation and principal repayment. It involves the issuance period and the mortgage capacity of sea tax. For example, three million is ten years.
Before, then ten years from now, the one-time payment of three million principal plus interest, including principal and interest, may be as high as seven or eight million taels. Can the court afford so much money to repay it at one time?"
This issue is indeed a difficult problem, but the cabinet has discussed it before. Faced with the current difficult situation of the court, the bond proceeds must be obtained no matter what.
But now they want to hear some of Feng Ziying's suggestions and opinions on how to operate it. These things have never been encountered before.
It is not that the court has never used short-term temporary loans, such as three to five million taels, three to five months, without interest, but these are all businessmen who are forced to borrow money for some unavoidable reasons, such as borrowing for three to five years or even ten years.
There has never been a long-term loan for more than 10 years.
To put it bluntly, it was all something that Feng Ziying came up with in his head. No one had ever seen it before. Even Zheng Jizhi, an old household minister, had no idea how to operate it.
"So Ziying, what do you mean?" Fang Congzhe also asked a rare question.
"It depends on the current situation of the court. If all the bonds are sold with a ten-year term, the interest rate may be higher. Secondly, it will make businessmen have some doubts and worry that the court will not be able to repay. I personally suggest that a combination of
For example, the three-year Kaihai bond can be sold for one million, the Kaihai bond five years ago can be sold for one million, and the Kaihai bond can be sold for one million ten years ago. This will not only eliminate the inner worries of these businessmen, but also reduce unnecessary interest calculations.
, and if the sea tax revenue is considerable next year, we can also consider continuing to sell Kaihai bonds. By then, businessmen will see the considerable sea tax revenue and their confidence will be greatly increased, and these will not be a problem."
The first half of the advice given by Feng Ziying was nothing. Even Ye Xianggao and the others could think of it, but the second half made everyone's hearts light up. This means that this method of operation seems to be continued next year?
From the changes in the eyes, expressions and expressions of this group of people, Feng Ziying could figure out the thoughts of these people. Including Qi Yongtai, all of them had a more fiery look in their eyes.
Ye Xianggao coughed lightly and glanced at Qi Yongtai. Emperor Yonglong also leaned back slightly and his eyes also fell on Qi Yongtai. The others smiled but said nothing.
Qi Yongtai sighed in his heart, a group of senior ministers and the emperor all had their eyes fixed on money, but he himself was also unavoidable, forced by the plight of reality.
"Ziying, according to your statement, these bonds can be sold every year without having to wait until the repayment is completed by the court in ten years?"
Qi Yongtai's words spoke to everyone's thoughts. Although they haven't fully understood the secret yet, Feng Ziying's ability to say this means that there is definitely a secret behind it.
"Your Majesty, my lords, in fact, this issue is not complicated. Of course, it does not have to be paid back before you can continue to sell it. Even selling it twice a year is not a problem. These are not critical. The key is whether you can let others buy it." Feng Ziying
I know that I need to instill in them some awareness of the country's credibility (the credibility of the court).
"Your average sea tax in the next ten years will only be two to three hundred thousand taels a year. You have to sell three million bonds all at once, so how will you repay it then? Unless the court raises funds from other places to repay, the sea tax can be used as collateral. This
It is clearly stated, so it is difficult for businessmen to believe that if you sell it this year and sell it again next year, no one will buy it, and it may even cause people to distrust the first batch of sea-opening bonds..."
"If the sea tax in the first year is only 200,000 taels, but in the second year due to the growth of foreign trade, the sea tax increases to 300,000 taels, and in the third year it increases to 500,000 taels, then out of optimistic expectations for this situation
, maybe businessmen will be willing to buy the second and third batch of Kaihai bonds..."
Feng Ziying talked eloquently. "..., this is just one aspect. Let me give you another example. For example, the imperial navy occupied Ezo Island and discovered that Ezo Island is rich in furs and has developed fisheries. At that moment, the furs and fisheries of Ezo Island were
The income was used as collateral to sell Ezo bonds and occupy the Spice Islands in Nanyang, which are rich in spices. The annual revenue from the sale of spices may reach one million taels, so the imperial court can also sell Spice Islands bonds..."
"The reason is not about when to sell bonds, how many times a year, how much to sell each time, these are not important..., the key is whether the businessmen can and are willing to trust the court, whether they believe that the court can meet the deadline
Payment and exchange, this is a credibility issue..."
This chapter has been completed!