The sky in the morning was still gloomy, with a hint of haze and heavy depression.
But after the sun jumped out of the sea, the red sunlight passed through the layers of clouds, rendering the clouds red and blending with each other. You can still clearly see the red light hanging straight down from the gaps in the clouds.
On the ground, there were like crimson swords.
Horumus, who had been sleeping silently, was awakened by stimulation, as if there was a silent roar that echoed here.
The earth is shrouded in mist, and there is a bustling city that wakes up in the bright red morning light and changes its appearance.
The buildings in the city are disorganized and do not have the square and neat appearance of the capital. Houses of different styles can be seen everywhere, as well as signboards with completely different characters.
This is a city without walls. Except for the city lord's castle, which is surrounded by a high wall, there is no fortification in other places. All the houses are built based on the terrain, just like the architect randomly placed them on the ground.
Just graffiti.
The desolate streets at night began to become bustling after the sunlight dried the thin moisture on the stones.
There are not many ships in the harbor in the distance, and they are sparsely floating on the sea. Although Horumus is a sea city with developed trade, it is still morning after all, and those who have been wandering on the sea for several months have not seen a woman.
The sailor is probably still in the belly of some wandering warbler and hasn't gotten up yet.
Facing the rising sun, a huge fleet gradually emerged from under the sea level. Because the fleet had its back to the sun, no one in Horumus noticed the arrival of the fleet at first. After someone finally discovered it, the fleet was completely gone.
Appearing on the sea, it becomes a dark shadow that blocks the sun.
Seeing so many ships approaching, the people of Horumus did not appear too surprised. Although each of these ships was larger than what they had seen before, and although the number of these ships was a little more, in the past
There are dozens of ships coming to Horumus every day, and sometimes there are even more than a hundred ships. People here have long been accustomed to such a sight.
When the navy docked, Han Du and Tang Ding accompanied Zhu Biao and walked out of the cabin, followed by the pro-army, Fu Yong, Hade and others.
Zhu Biao stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the city bathed in the morning light, and sighed: "It is indeed a giant Western city. Looking at the size of the port, it is not far behind the capital city."
Han Du took a look and felt quite emotional. He turned around and said to Bai Yunhu: "Where is Hader? Find him for me."
Soon, Hade was carried by Baiyunhu and trotted to the place.
Han Du came closer.
"What are your orders, Lord Marquis?" Hader bowed slightly to Han Du and asked after bowing one by one.
Han Du raised his hand and pointed towards the city in the distance, "Is this Horumus?"
Hard's face was full of joy, and he looked forward with the desire of a wanderer to return home. He nodded to Handu and replied: "This is Horumus, and Hard will never forget it in his life."
Han Du nodded after listening. Now that we have arrived, we need to make preparations.
When the fleet docks, there are no plank roads like the Capital Port or the Old Port, and there are no gantry cranes to assist in loading and unloading. Everything can only be done by yourself, and you have enough food and clothing.
The warship lowered its sails and slowly slid towards the beach until it docked on the beach.
Han Du said seriously: "Okay, Your Highness, we can go down."
"Yeah." Zhu Biao looked at Horumus and nodded subconsciously.
Zhu Biao, Han Du and others were still wearing regular clothes. Just looking at their current attire, they were much worse than those of Fu Yong and other maritime merchants.
Han Du turned back to Hard and warned: "Remember, this time you are going to the Ming Dynasty to trade, and we are all merchants you brought from the Ming Dynasty."
"Don't worry, Lord Marquis, Hade will remember it." Hade nodded again and assured Handu.
Among Han Du's group, although there are people like Zhu Biao and Tang Ding in disguise, there are also real maritime merchants like Fu Yong. At first glance, it is still difficult to tell that Han Du and others are not businessmen.
of.
Moreover, in order to ensure Zhu Biao's safety, Han Du replaced all the men who were supposed to follow him with Zhu Biao's personal troops. With Fu Yong and others covering up, Han Du felt that this was basically foolproof.
Han Du stepped on the beach and his body couldn't help shaking a few times. After stopping for a moment, he slowly recovered.
Looking at the desolate surroundings without even a single person, he asked Hader in confusion: "What? Doesn't Horumus collect taxes from the ships coming in?"
Hader quickly bowed and said, "Back to the Marquis, the rules of Horumus' tax collection are that the tax collected by the king is mainly collected from the farmers in the territory. Otherwise, it is the assistance money collected by the king from other city lords."
"Oh? So, Horumus will not tax you merchants?" Han Du was a little curious.
"Yes." Hard nodded immediately, and then sighed: "Before Hard went to the Old Port, he had no idea that goods also needed to pay taxes. The Old Port was the first place that Hard saw that levied taxes on merchants.
.”
Harder sounded a little dissatisfied. After all, he had part of his wealth taken away by Old Port in the name of paying taxes. Of course he would be unhappy.
Zhu Biao next to him was shocked when he heard that Horumus did not tax merchants. You must know that the maritime trade tax collected by the Shipping Department now exceeds 10 million guan every year.
If the scale is tax collection, there will be at least several million pounds of income every year. So much wealth is lost in vain. Zhu Biao doesn't know whether the king of Horumus is stupid?
Han Du glanced at him and asked knowingly: "Then tell me, in your opinion, is it better to tax merchants? Or not to tax merchants?"
Zhu Biao originally thought that this was a very simple issue. Businessmen are all driven by profit. Paying taxes is equivalent to robbing money from businessmen. I am afraid that no businessman is willing to do so.
However, Hade lowered his head and pondered for a long time without answering. Finally, Hade looked up at Handu's eyes and said, "How should I put it? Although Horumus does not collect goods tax, it will not protect us businessmen.
goods. Although this is known as a land of freedom and trade, it is not a peaceful city. There are thieves, thieves, thugs and liars in this city, and their eyes are staring at our goods all the time.
Therefore, in order to protect the goods, we usually hire some mercenaries. To be honest, the money spent on hiring these mercenaries is probably not less than the tax paid, or even more."
"So, compared to renting a warehouse to store the goods directly after they arrive in Old Port, there is no need to worry about the goods being lost or stolen. Compared to spending a lot of money to hire mercenaries, I am still more willing to pay taxes.
."
Zhu Biao suddenly realized that if the businessmen were allowed to take the money, of course they would be willing to do so. But if these businessmen did not pay taxes and would spend more money, then they would be willing to pay taxes.
In fact, it is said over and over again that money is a good thing, and no one is willing to give it to others in vain. But in comparison, it is the lesser of two powers that harm each other. Since money must be paid, naturally it is better to give it to others.
Spend your money on what is most beneficial to you.
"So that's it." Zhu Biao straightened up, stood on tiptoe and looked at Horumus in front of him, and asked puzzledly: "It looks quite prosperous here, but what do you mean, is it very messy inside?"
ha
De lowered his head after hearing the words, and after a moment of silence, he explained awkwardly: "How should I put it? Your Highness should go and see it in person. You will know after seeing it once."
Zhu Biao was not annoyed after hearing Harder's explanation. Instead, he laughed and said, "Okay, then I'll go and see it for myself."
Han Du glanced at Hard and reminded dissatisfiedly: "Look up, what are you doing so timidly? You must know that you are the leader here now, and we are all friends you brought from the Eastern Ming Dynasty.
I came here to do business in Horumus."
"Yes, yes, Harder understands." He said he understood, but Harder still couldn't stand up in front of Zhu Biao and others.
There is no way, this is not because Harder is timid. At this time, no matter it is the Ming Dynasty or the West, no one who dares to go overseas to do business is timid.
It was Hader's fear from the bottom of his heart. He had witnessed the offensive of the Ming Empire's invincible fleet, and he had no choice but to be afraid. He didn't know how many years the Sea of Pirates had existed. Anyway, when he was not born, these pirates
It's already there. Over the years, there are no kingdoms that have hated these pirates. They even organized several sieges on the Sea of Pirates, but in the end they were unable to do anything against the pirates.
But in front of the Ming fleet, the sea of pirates was like withered dust, disappearing with a gentle blow. Harder would not be naive enough to think that those pirates were really weak enough to be slaughtered at will.
, this can only show that the Ming fleet is much stronger than the pirates.
Zhu Biao is the future emperor of the Ming Empire. The stronger the Ming Dynasty, the more important he will be in Hader's heart.
Seeing that Harder still looked submissive and cautious, Han Du frowned and felt dissatisfied. He patted his bent back and shouted angrily: "Stand up."
Harder straightened his back suddenly after being slapped by Han Du. He looked at Han Du in fear and quickly lowered his head without daring to speak.
Han Du gestured towards Harder, "You, go ahead."
Hader quickly raised his head and pointed at his nose in disbelief, "Me? Go ahead?"
Han Du frowned, "Only you are familiar with this Horumos. We don't even know where to go. If you don't go in front, who will go in front?"
"Okay, okay, I'll go in front." Hader took two steps obediently. Perhaps because he couldn't see Zhu Biao and Han Du anymore, he suddenly felt that the pressure in his heart was relieved. He took a long breath and looked up.
He walked towards the city with his chest held high.