After Ilia and Joseph returned, they immediately called the Jewish elders of Yenisesk for a meeting. In fact, they didn't need to call them together, and all the Jews were pricking their ears and waiting for news.

The meeting was held in a small Jewish tavern, and all the well-known figures in the local Jewish community came. Because the city is currently under military control, military police wearing red armbands can be seen everywhere on the streets. The residents of Yenisesk generally stay at home except for going out to buy daily necessities, so no one comes to drink these days.

Among the Jews attending the meeting, except for the owners of the tavern who were winemakers, most of the others were tinsmiths, watchmakers, glassmakers, cobblers, grain traders and wood traders. There were only two small landlords who made a living by farming.

Agricultural labor does not occupy an important position in the lives of Jews. Long-term residential life has led to the Jews' sense of alienation from the land to some extent, which is a common phenomenon in every residential country in Europe.

In general, the Tsarist Russian government banned Jews from engaging in agriculture, and several trivial agricultural immigration sites established were not so much to attract Jews to engage in agricultural labor, but to develop Siberia and resettle Jews who moved out of rural areas in Europe.

After listening to Elia and Joseph's remarks about the meeting with Zhao Xin, a brewing merchant suggested: "Okay, since the new Chinese people don't let us engage in usury business anymore, I think it's better to leave here."

"Leave? It's cold outside now. Where can we go? There are thousands of miles of Koliwanli here!"

"Wait a minute, Lieberman, the adult, also said that he allowed us to farm here, and each family could have a share of one hundred acres."

"Damn, I don't want to be a farmer!"

"Yes, they only give the right to use but not the property rights. If the Chinese are unhappy one day, what should we do if the land is taken away? Will the queen still take us in?"

"What's wrong with farmers? I think it's good to be a farmer. Without farmers farming, where does the food for brewing wine come from?"

"I said, you never thought that although the Chinese occupied this place, they were challenging the entire Tsarist Russian Empire. It is hard to say whether they can stand firm."

"I think the Chinese are pretty good. Although I don't know them at all, they did not confiscate my property and drove me out of the house. You know, in Lithuania, Russians did this a lot."

"Stop dreaming, how many days have Chinese talents been here? Do you know them? If you really want to attack us suddenly, it will be too late to cry!"

......

The crowd argued for a long time without any result. Most people led by Rabbi Ilya decided to wait and see. After all, the Chinese ruler was just talking about whether there would be new laws and regulations, and then the announcement would be made before making a decision.

In this year, most Jews had not yet developed the "Zionist movement". Many people would not think about returning to Palestine even if they were persecuted; only some of the "Hasid sects" and "Belucid sects" living in southern Russia are diehards.

The problem is that in another time and space, the Hasidic sects with long sideburns and black top hats were regarded as heresy by Orthodox Judaism in this era, and even expelled them from the church 18 years ago.

Interestingly, the Hasidic sect hoped to turn Palestine into the center of the Zion movement, while the Belushim sect wanted to establish an anti-Hasidic sect in Palestine.

After seeing off the attendees, the owner of the tavern immediately hung up the sign of the opening of the tavern. However, until dark, there was almost no sign of a local man on the muddy street except for the North Navy, who served as military police.

Martov, who was standing at the door opening, looked around for a long time, and finally sighed helplessly. He turned off the oil lamp in the tavern, then walked out of the door opening and prepared to lock the door and go home. At this moment, someone behind him said, "What wine do you have here?"

Martov turned around and took advantage of the light of the pine oil torch inserted on the wall next to him, and then he saw clearly that the tall man standing in front of him was a tall man who looked young because he had no beard. However, this man was wearing the same dark green uniform as other Northern Navy and a fur hat without a military badge. From this outfit, people who didn't know him had no idea whether he was a soldier or an officer.

"Chinese?" Martov was very surprised. He had never received any Chinese since the Northern Navy entered the city.

"The beer is gone, there is vodka, lord."

"I'm not the master," the man opposite laughed and said in a very fluent Russian language: "How to sell wine?"

"3 per barrel..." Martov hesitated for a moment and changed his words: "I have real good wine, 5.5 rubles per barrel."

"Then you need good wine. Just give me two glasses, I can't drink a barrel of wine." This year, there are about 12 liters of wine per barrel.

The man raised his foot and walked into the door. Martov hurriedly pushed open the closed door and asked him to wait. He went into the room and lighted a few oil lamps before he invited the other party in. Then he took a glass cup from behind the counter, opened another bottle of vodka still stained with barley skin, and placed it on the table together.

The man poured himself half a glass of wine, took a sip, then nodded without comment, then took out a North Sea silver coin from his pocket and placed it on the table. Martov curiously picked up the shiny silver coin, put it in front of the oil lamp and looked it carefully.

Unlike the silver rubles printed with the curly hair of the queen's shawl issued by the Tsarist Russian government, the image lines on the silver coins in Beihai Town are more concise and clear. The Xuanyuan Huangdi in Wuliang Temple looks chubby. Martov turned to the back and found that there were a circle of wheat ears, as well as an Arabic "1". He immediately understood that this should be the basic currency unit of the Chinese.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content below! Although the silver content of one dollar North Sea silver coins is 6.9 grams, 925 silver is used, and the silver content of one ruble is 7.38 grams, because the two are not much different in terms of portion size, and the brightness of the North Sea silver coins is higher than that of the ruble and has a beautiful appearance, Martov did not question its value.

The man picked up the volodka and was about to drink it, then put it down and asked, "What are some foods to eat?"

“There are sausages and pickles.”

"Okay, give me some of everything, not too much."

When the wine and food were served, Martov felt a little amused when he saw the other party drinking.

"It seems that this person rarely drinks." He thought to himself and bowed and said, "Master, this is the best vodka in the local area. How does it taste?"

"It's not bad." The man put down the cup and smiled, "How about we chatting? Or you can pour one too, so I'll treat you."

It was the first time that someone invited me to drink after so many years of opening a tavern. Although Martov was a little nervous, he was under the rule of the Chinese, so he had to take an empty cup from behind the counter, poured himself a full cup, and spread it all the way to the edge of the cup.

Martov raised his glass and said, "Do you want to say something?"

The young man thought for a while and said, "The wine in the morning is stone, the wine in the afternoon is red copper, the wine in the evening is silver, and the wine that you drink once every three days is gold. Then, cheer for the silver."

Martov was stunned when he heard this and blurted out: "Have you read "Talmud"?"

The young man clinked a glass with Martov, took a sip and explained: "Oh, I've heard someone say it before."

After a glass of vodka was taken off, Martov also started to speak more. He smiled and said, "How can you lose wine in Siberia? Young man, you speak Russian so well, where did you learn it?"

"Uh, Irkutsk."

"I know that place, I have a relative, in the first few years..."

As one cup after another of the top vodkas, Martov's chatter gradually opened. The two first talked about the tavern business, and unknowingly turned the topic to the tax-packing system.

Speaking of the tax-inclusive system, Europe in the 17th to 18th centuries, was a very common form of taxation, and French tax-insurance merchants in the 18th century can be said to be the most familiar group of merchants.

For the Tsarist Russian Empire, the origin of the tax system was closely related to the rule of the Mongols. The rise of the Moscow Principal in the 14th century was somewhat due to its role as the most effective tax-bearing provider for the Golden Horde. And when the Mongol rule was broken, this tradition of tax-bearing was followed.

There are many tax objects in the tax system, including tariffs, salt taxes, and wine taxes. In the era of Ekaterina, the wine tax was the largest part of the treasury income, exceeding 10 million rubles, accounting for one-third of the total income. The Russian government's tax law strictly stipulated the sales price of alcohol for tax providers, and its purpose was to reduce the profits of tax providers while increasing the government's income. But things went against expectations. Such regulations not only did not increase government revenue, but instead caused the government's alcohol tax revenue to decline year by year.

Martov, who had already drunk seven or eight cups of vodka, blushed and complained to the young people: "Those masters and officials don't know the total sales of vodka in this area... Only we ourselves know the best how much the young people sold."

The young man nodded and said, "In other words, the amount of alcohol tax revenue depends entirely on you tax makers."

"That's right! Have another drink!"

Since the mid-18th century, Yenisesk, like other Tsarist Russian regions, basically took on retail tax on alcohol. Bidding was held every four years. In addition to taxing, the winners also had the monopoly on retail sales of alcohol in a certain region.

The tax-inclusive model of alcohol retail has prompted tax-inclusive merchants to use any means to expand vodka sales in the one hand, and on the other hand, it has increased the price of vodka either openly or implicitly. For the government, this model has greatly reduced the administrative costs required for the collection of alcohol taxes, but with the increasing sales of vodka, the government has also lost control of the profits of alcohol sales and its social impact.

In other words, due to the shortage of money in the Tsarist Russian government, the development of the tax-inclusive system of alcohol was promoted; and the lack of control over the sales of alcohol, ordinary Russians gradually became greedy.

So then again, Russians are not born to like to drink vodka. It’s not that living in high-altitude areas, they must like wine, and getting enough food is the first priority. In an era when there was not enough food, wine brewed with grain could only be a luxury. Even when early Russians drank, they only drank beer and honey wine.

A big problem with the alcohol tax system is the serious corruption related to it. For example, the Russian government stipulates that tax entrusted merchants must sell vodka with a standard intensity of 40 degrees, and at the same time require that the price per barrel is three rubles. So do you understand why Russian people love to drink vodka?

In fact, it’s not that they like to drink, but that they don’t have a choice. Fools know that brandy with a soft taste is better, but they really can’t afford it.

Martov, a former tax keeper, told the young man that the cost price of a barrel of vodka should be at least 4.4 rubles. With his own operating costs, he will sell at least 5 to 6 rubles per barrel of vodka so that he will not lose money.

Under such circumstances, the tax-investors under Tsarist Russia either adulterated the wine and exchanged water, raised the selling price, or bribed government officials. Therefore, the tax-investor system of Tsarist Russia has become "institutional corruption". For tax-investors, the overall environment is like this, and no one will abide by the laws and regulations. Everyone is only thinking about one thing, how to exploit loopholes in the law to earn the greatest benefit.

This wine lasted almost an hour. Zhao Xin, who was disguised, also understood that the tax-free system must be abolished under the jurisdiction of Beihai Town, and at the same time, it must also control grain transactions and the production of winemaking workshops from the source.

At the same time, he also knew more clearly what it meant to the Tsarist Russian government to lose its tsatisfactory income!

Zhao Xin felt that it was almost the same, and was about to get up and leave, when someone in the doorway shouted loudly: "Do you have beer?"

Before he finished speaking, two local Cossacks walked in.

Martov was already drunk at this moment and stood up holding the table and said, "No beer."

"Don't worry, Jewish, let's give the money."

Martov had seen clearly that these two guests knew him, so he shouted: "God, can I still lie to you? Master Klyuchkov, please believe in the honest Jews, there is no beer!"

Another Cossack shouted, "Nonsense, you Jewish!"

"Really, Mr. Klyuchkov! I've already said it."

"You still..." The two Cossacks were furious and were about to rush over to grab each other's collar when they saw the Chinese looking at them expressionlessly. They endured it, then reached into their pockets and took out several copper coins.

"Give us wine!"

Martov pressed the copper coins on his hand with his little finger, put down his rolling eyelids, shaking to the back of the counter, muttering, "What awesome, it's just a defeated man from the Chinese."

When he came back from drinking, he found that the young Chinese had left.

Two days later, several notices signed by the North Navy Military Control Commission appeared in the notice boards in various parts of the city. The content on it surprised the Jewish brewers and tax-protected merchants in Yenisesk:

1. The tax-inclusive model for all monopoly goods during the Tsarist Russian rule was abolished. The tax arrears of tax-inclusive merchants were limited to paying within one month; 2. The annual grain used for winemaking should not exceed one-tenth of the local agricultural grain output; 3. It is strictly forbidden to smuggle grain for winemaking; 4. All taverns or hotels that provide alcohol must apply for a "liquor monopoly license" from the Military Control Commission, with a cost of one ruble per piece.

A group of tax dealers led by Martov were stunned when they saw the notice. They knew very well what the notice meant to them, and the basis for survival for centuries was deprived.

However, before they could wake up, only a day later, the second notice came out.

The content is that the Beihai Town Military Control Commission will provide state-owned land for Jews who are willing to leave farming, with each household of 100 municipal mu, which is about 6.11 Russian mu. However, the location is not local, but in the Xiawujinsk and Tulun areas hundreds of kilometers away. At the same time, the Military Control Commission will also provide loans for agricultural production, distributing seeds, farm tools and horses. In addition, Beihai Town will also open a Jewish school for Chinese teaching, and all children of appropriate age must enroll.

This policy of slapping a sweet date immediately caused controversy in the local Jewish community, which also divided the originally close Jewish community into a middle-class and a conservative community.

The introduction of the previous doctrine eventually led to the bankruptcy of brewers in Yenisesk and Krasnoyarsk, and the loan shark business they originally engaged in could no longer be maintained. Some of the bankrupt Jews left the rule of Beihai Town and returned to the territory of Tsarist Russia, continuing to engage in commercial activities or becoming handicraftsmen, intensifying local industry competition. The introduction of the latter doctrine made the poor Jews at the bottom very excited.

Starting from the spring of 1791, about a thousand families and more than 6,000 Jews left the town and took their families to the above two locations.

Compared with those settled Russian farmers who often hired Buryats or prisoners to help them farm, Jewish farmers rarely used wage labor. They all worked together and did it themselves. Although these people were not very good at farming, the town of Beihai still inspired their enthusiasm for the land because the tax exemption in the first five years was exempted from taxes.

At the Siberian Regional Agricultural Expo held by the Ministry of Civil Affairs in 1792, Jewish livestock breeding, forest cultivation, grains, tobacco, mulberry silkworms, etc. were highly praised.
Chapter completed!