"A villain greets the envoy." Aike, Yu Xia, Fan Jian and the other two stood up with their butts in front of He Bai. Now He Bai is the governor of Qingzhou, and is more authoritative and proud than Beihai Prime Minister. The title has also been changed from the previous Duijun to the envoy. Zhang Zhao and other subordinates have also been changed from the previous Duijun to the lord.

"Get up, I was just about to order someone to call you, but I didn't expect you to come." He Bai smiled. These three were the first giants in Beihai who defected to cooperate. At this time, they should give them great benefits so that the world can see that following you will be of great benefit.

Aike smiled and said, "The little people came to report to the envoy the salt profit situation in the last quarter of this year."

"Oh, from the salt tax last year, it reached 70 million yuan, which is six or seven times more than in previous years. I think you made a lot of money last year." He Bai looked at the three salt merchants who had been fattening twice and couldn't help but tease him: "You talk about the salt incident last year. If there is too much, I'm just trying to increase the salt tax."

"Ah..." Yu Xia, Fan Jian couldn't help but be stunned.

Aike was stunned and immediately smiled and said, "I want to seize the world now, money and food must be lost. But if you need it, our three families will definitely help you."

Yu Xia, Fan Jian then realized and quickly patted his chest and said, "Yes, the intention of the head of the Ai family is also the intention of our two families. How much money should you be short of? We are willing to invest billions of dollars to help."

He Bai waved his hand and said, "Let's talk about the salt first."

"Yes," Aike said, "Last year, according to the method taught by the envoy, a little salt was dried, and the amount was ten times more than 2 million stones in previous years. With so much salt as the base, my three families suddenly became strong and fought desperately with the Liu family in Le'an. In the end, my three families received a large amount of support from small merchants in Qingzhou, Yanzhou and Jizhou, with the price of salt of 600 coins per stone, and finally sold more than 1.2 million stones of salt."

"Because it is salt drying, the profit of salt is more than boiling sea salt, which can reach 60% of the net profit, so that the king can make a profit of 175 million yuan. This year, the Liu family in Le'an was unfortunately destroyed by the Pojun thief, which is a great blessing for us. There is no need to give the profit to others again, and they are sold directly at a price of 800 coins per stone. It is estimated that 1.6 million stone of salt can be sold this year."

"Because the envoy has now become the lord of Qingzhou, the expenses can be reduced a lot during the trafficking process. If it is too much, it can reduce the net profit by about 20%, almost 80% of the time. Therefore, the envoy can make a profit of 400 million yuan this year."

Eighty percent of the net profit, 400 million yuan? It is almost the same as the annual tax revenue of Beihai, He Bai couldn't help but gasp. Salt is not so necessary compared to food, but it cannot be lacking. Therefore, in all dynasties, controlling salt is a major event for the courts. Sometimes it can even control most of a country's economic tax revenue.

A person's annual salt amount ranges from four to five kilograms, and at most ten kilograms. According to the country's population of 56 million, the annual salt tax was as high as 800 million. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the annual tax was at least 80 billion, of which the salt tax accounted for one tenth. The highest was 23 billion, and the salt tax could also account for one thirty. This shows its importance.

Now Qingzhou has a method to dry salt. If the price impacts the sea salt, well salt and lake salt in other states, it will occupy 90% of the country. Based on 70% of the net profit, one of you alone will have an annual income of 2 billion yuan.

The Ai, Yu and Fan families will have a total annual income of 3 billion yuan, which is almost as rich as the country. No, it is too profitable, so they will be limited to Qingzhou. Based on the 1.6 million stone of salt, the Ai, Yu and Fan families also have a revenue of nearly 200 million yuan in the past ten times, and they have a revenue of nearly 200 million yuan. If not, they will be subject to heavy taxes.

He Bai thought about it and said, "The troubled times are coming, and there are many places that cost money. I may need to make some adjustments to the salt tax. I hope you understand."

The three of them said, "For the sake of your great cause, we will do our best. Besides, the method of drying salt is easy. Even if we are subject to heavy taxes, we will make a profit."

He Bai nodded and said, "Just understand. In the future, the salt tax will be levied at a tax rate of four taxes and one to ensure that you have 50% of your net profit. How about it?"

"But based on the intention of the envoy, if the envoy has any demands in terms of money, we will try our best to satisfy it." The three of them said sincerely. There were Lu Buwei in the pre-Qin period and Sang Hongyang in the previous han Dynasty, so the three of them were also ambitious to be role models for the later han merchants.

He Bai knew the thoughts of these three people. Especially Aike, who is bold, meticulous, visionary, and courageous, is a talent and can be of great use. He Bai then asked: "Your annual income now has reached billions of dollars, almost no less than ten thousand households. Do you have the intention to go into politics?"

The three of them asked in surprise: "Can...is it OK?"

It should be noted that merchants in the Eastern Han Dynasty were not as good as before. They not only could not enter politics, but also could not ride in expensive carriages and wear gorgeous clothes. This situation did not change until He Bai came. Now He Bai is going to promote three people to officials. How could this treatment not make the three people frightened, for fear that it was a joke to coax people.

He Bai smiled and said, "Of course it's true. Recently, I want to open a new bank, but I lack a president and two vice presidents. The annual salary is set to be 1,000 shi and 800 shi. I wonder if you three are willing to respond?"

"I am willing, I am willing, of course I am willing. I will pay my respects to the lord." The three of them responded in unison, and were paying a solemn tribute to He Bai.

Aike asked again: "Lord, I wonder what the head of this Qianzhang is?"

He Bai pondered for a moment. Although he did not understand the detailed responsibilities of the bank in later generations, his main things were still clear. So he said: "I will invest 1 billion yuan to open this money bank. Its main business is to absorb scattered money, borrow money, deposit and withdrawal of merchants from other places, exchange of gold and silver and money, and minting of new money. Tax payment and transfer at the three levels of prefectures and counties, money expenses between the government, and salary payments from officials to employees."

"It has a lot of business and great power. It overlaps with the powers of officials such as Shaofu, Jin Cao, and is also an important pillar of our Qingzhou wealth. Although it is a new position, its importance is no less than that of a different state. Each county can open a branch. This requires a large number of officials who are good at math, and you can call them by yourself. Try to choose from the children of merchants."

Aike and the other two were very happy. This was a good way for merchants to enter politics. Moreover, business was more beneficial to merchants, and they would definitely win the support and joy of Qingzhou merchants. Their power was even more important, almost the entire Qingzhou money treasury. In the future, under He Bai's command, he would definitely be very popular. So he asked: "Lord, I understand this money deal very much, and I don't know how to formulate the detailed responsibilities?"

He Bai said: "Money is a new thing, mainly for the convenience of the world. If you absorb scattered money and save money, you can pay 10% of the profit every year. Because the interest rate of merchants and wealthy families borrow money from people is too high, it often causes people to die. Therefore, the interest rate of money loans should not be too high, and it is 30% per year. However, there must be material pressure, such as land, real estate, etc. A certain handling fee can be charged for deposits and withdrawals in other places, and the amount is determined by you."

"If the merchant's huge amount of money is not portable, he can also issue paper notes and coordinate between branches and branches. The main thing is to mint new coins. No one is allowed to mint coins privately without my order. This is an iron rule and no one can violate it. As for tax payment and withdrawal, etc., it is a normal business and only a certain handling fee is required. As for other detailed management responsibilities, you will discuss it yourself."

Aike and the other two prayed again: "I'm willing to ask the lord to give him a name."

After thinking about it, He Bai said, "It's called 'Huaxia Qingzhou Xingguo Money Store'."

Aike and the other two retreated, and He Bai found Wang Dang and Hong Kuang to visit their craftsmen's workshop together. He Bai didn't know much about the knowledge of ships. However, Western ships were not easy to overturn and could withstand greater storms. There were many maritime affairs in the future and long-distance sailing was also possible. He Bai had to think about the ships.

He Bai still knew a little about the manufacturing processes of Western shipbuilding such as keels, water compartments, soft sails, etc. So he told Hong Kuang this method and asked him to study it himself.

As for Wang Dang's craftsman camp, besides the weapon workshop, the most popular craftsmen are the most popular. People who study in Beihai are more and more eager for books. Cai Yong, Zheng Xuan and others who have extensive collections of books have produced their own books, and the government has artificial papers, and largely carved them into woodblocks and printed books, and opened libraries. In order to monopolize knowledge, the library is only opened in Beihai, with one in each county. This has led to a large number of scholars coming here, and many people are called to be officials.

He Bai remembered that porcelain was invented decades later in Jingdezhen, so he summoned potters to teach the methods of making porcelain; mud bricksmen to teach the way to build kilns and burn bricks in later generations; he also summoned blacksmen to teach the methods of small coal iron making, and the use of hydraulic power and wind power to make hundreds of exercises, thousands of steel, and plate armor.

The ring-headed knife was specially improved, and Tang Heikang, scimitar, armor-breaking rifle, and riding rifle were made, and Tang Mo knife was tested. All three thousand rhubarbs were reorganized to custom-equipped pulleys to reduce tension but not reduce power. Because the manufacturing process of rhubarbs was too difficult and cost too much. Once damaged, it could not be repaired and was not suitable for making in the late Han Dynasty. Therefore, the single hard longbow commonly used by ordinary soldiers was improved again to make a single recurve bow, and the English single longbow was trial-made.

As for the composite recurve bow, it should be forgotten in a humid place in Qingzhou. Not only does it take a long time to manufacture and troublesome process, it can also be well preserved only in cold places in the north. In Qingzhou, it will break in a few months, and it is better to have a single hard bow.

He Bai also guided the old farmers recruited by Tiancao, how to use the different harvest times between crops to effectively cultivate; the transformation between crops returning to fertilizers and crops snatching fertilizers; the efficiency of application of farm fertilizers; hybridization improvement of different varieties of crops, grafting and cultivation, etc. Fortunately, he grew up in the countryside since childhood and knew a lot about agriculture.

A month passed quickly, and He Bai was busy and fulfilling. Seeing that Beihai was moving towards rapid development in troubled times under his own governance, he couldn't stop being excited. If he lacked ability and wisdom, he should work with his strength. If he did not have enough reputation and family background, he should be influenced by his benevolence and tolerance. Although he was domineering, he should be effective quickly, and he was not as worried as the king's way.

Many people in the world like dominance, but I only like the kingly way.
Chapter completed!