Chapter 775 The influence of the canal on transportation
King Su Hu of Wei had just finished washing when he received news that Prime Minister Qu Xiaolong was waiting outside the palace.
He knew that Qu Xiaolong was so anxious because the sudden opening of the Benniu Road Canal to navigation must have had a huge impact.
King Su Hu of Wei did not expect that the empire would make such rapid progress in digging a canal.
Wei Guo dug the canal, and he estimated that the canal would take at least five to ten years.
The empire took action, but it was not used for two years.
He and the Prime Minister and others had previously guessed that it would take at least three years for the canal to be completed, and they were all stunned by the empire's speed.
The first batch of merchant ships arriving through the canal a few days ago let them know that the canal was officially open to navigation.
This directly caused the prices of most commodities in Wei to fluctuate violently.
The price of commodities is closely related to supply and demand and the amount of taxes.
As Wei's market digested the news of the opening of the canal, many commodities would naturally adjust to their proper prices.
However, in order to allow more merchants to come to Wei to sell goods, the Customs of Wei State had very low taxes on imported goods.
Su Hu also asked maritime merchants to provide tax-free treatment for goods that were in short supply in Wei.
With the opening of the canal, these tax-related policies must be adjusted in time.
Wei's tariffs must be equal to those of other countries.
If the tax exemption continues, Wei will be robbed of a large amount of silver coins by these merchants.
Prime Minister Qu Xiaolong has been busy with tariff-related issues during this period.
He had to sort out which commodities were most in short supply in Wei State in the shortest possible time. Even if the canal was opened to navigation and a large amount of goods poured into Wei State, taxes on these commodities could not be increased.
Which goods can be taxed to increase domestic tax revenue?
King Su Hu of Wei personally went out of the palace to greet Prime Minister Qu Xiaolong. He saw Qu Xiaolong who looked tired and had bloodshot eyes.
He stepped forward and held Qu Xiaolong's hand, and said with concern: "Qu Aiqing has worked hard these days. In fact, the matter is not that urgent. You can take it slow before doing it."
Qu Xiaolong shook his head and handed Wei Wang Su Hu a document.
"Your Majesty, I have made a list of all the goods in Wei that should be taxed.
After you have stamped it, you can send it to the customs so that they can implement the new tariff immediately.
Only eight days have passed, and the taxes exempted by these businessmen amount to 1,620,000 taels of silver coins.
This is more than 1.6 million taels of silver coins. Every time I think of this number, my heart aches.
Without losing this tax, we can build many primary schools and many factories.
The canal project progressed so fast that people didn’t even have a chance to react.”
When King Su Hu of Wei heard about this amount, he also gritted his teeth and wanted to make the new customs tariff bill retroactive to the original bill.
With this huge sum of silver coins, he could build two more firearms divisions, making Wei's army stronger.
Wei Wang Su Hu quickly put his idea behind him.
The bankruptcy of a country's credibility will scare all these businessmen away.
He briefly looked at the list of tax increases and found that none of the products he was concerned about had any tax increases.
King Su Hu of Wei immediately used his seal to send his decree to the customs.
Today the customs will immediately announce the details of the tariffs, which will be officially implemented tomorrow.
After Qu Xiaolong said this most important thing, he looked a little confused. He wanted to report something, but he didn't know whether he should say it or not.
Wei Wang Su Hu saw Qu Xiaolong's entanglement and asked directly: "Qu Aiqing, the relationship between our monarch and his ministers must be about talking about everything.
If you have anything to say, feel free to say it, even if it is to point out my problem.
As long as I make mistakes, I will humbly improve them."
Qu Xiaolong heard that Wei King Su Hu had said such words.
He could only report the phenomena he had seen in the past few days to King Su Hu of Wei.
"Your Majesty, with the completion of the canal, our country's external transportation has also been opened.
In the past, if our country wanted to go to other places, there were only two ways to go.
One road is a sea road, which goes around the entire South American continent. This road is extremely long.
Another way is to cross the American continent and head to the west coast of the Americas.
This road is also very difficult to walk. If you go west to Cao State, you need to go through the harsh tropical rainforest.
Even for indigenous people who are familiar with tropical rainforests, the casualty rate is very high when walking in tropical rainforests, let alone ordinary people.
Most will choose to leave by land and sea, passing through the narrow Central America.
However, there had been occasional wars in Central America before, and the rainforests above were dense, and the harsh environment was similar to the rainforests in the western part of the empire. This road was basically impassable.
People in China who miss their hometown immediately give up their longing when they see the distant road ahead.
Now that the canal is connected, transportation has become more developed.
Leaving through the canal, you will not be blocked by the tropical rainforest.
I saw many people packing their luggage, they all want to take a cargo ship and go to the empire to see their relatives."
King Su Hu of Wei heard that Qu Xiaolong said it tactfully, but he immediately analyzed the meaning of Qu Xiaolong's words.
What kind of person? He can leave at will.
The boat ticket from Wei to the Empire is not cheap at all and costs at least a hundred taels of silver coins.
People who can spend hundreds of taels of silver coins without feeling any distress at all are definitely not farmers who manage dozens of acres of farms and look forward to good weather every day.
Not to mention workers who work in a factory and expect to be paid more for overtime work.
People who have this idea are not only officials but also businessmen.
Wei Guo Su Hu felt that they were leaving in a hurry, and Qu Xiaolong was also cryptic in his words.
He immediately understood what Qu Xiaolong didn't say.
He suspected that there were bad people among these people, but he couldn't say it clearly because he had no evidence.
"These people are too impatient, and I feel something is wrong.
The king will have people screen them. We in Wei are not bandits, so those who have no problems can be released freely.
They are really in a hurry, or they miss their families, and the temptation is to return home in rich clothes. This is their freedom, and Wei has no reason to stop them.
But if there are some country bugs who are corrupt, accepting bribes or evading taxes, and they want to take this opportunity to escape from Wei, it is simply wishful thinking."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Qu Xiaolong cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty."
King Su Hu of Wei thought that someone missed his relatives, so he sighed and said: "As a younger brother, I also want to visit my elder brother.
Previously, it was extremely difficult to send a messenger to deliver a message because it was too far away from Zhao.
Today, the canal has been opened, and I should send someone to visit my brother again.
During this time, I communicated with my brother that there was a shortage of saltpeter in Zhao State, which affected the supply of gunpowder.
The State of Zhao had no choice but to collect human and animal excrement to accumulate fertilizer and scrape the nitrate.
The elder brother was very helpless. The saltpeter he collected in a year was all used up within a month or two.
The Wei State was not as good as the Qi State, but the production of saltpeter mines was not as embarrassing as the Zhao State.
I decided to send several boatloads of saltpeter to my brother to alleviate his urgent need."
By doing this, King Su Hu of Wei reached an agreement with his brother Su Xiong to help each other.
The two brothers worked together to achieve success when the canal was connected and traffic problems were no longer an obstacle.
As long as the two of them join forces, no force in the American continent can destroy them.
In the early days when things were most likely to go wrong, they stood by and helped each other. As their rule became truly stable, the two countries would take root in the Americas and no longer be afraid of challenges.
Qu Xiaolong immediately agreed and went to arrange the matters assigned by King Wei.
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In Daliang City, Wei State, Zhang Dahai was fiddling with the watch he was wearing.
This is a rare item worth more than fifty taels of silver coins.
In the past, only wealthy nobles could afford watches.
Now a small businessman like him can afford a watch.
He showed off his gold watch, hoping that everyone could see the gold watch in his hand.
When Zhang Dahai returned home, he saw that the area had been cordoned off by officials.
Officials stopped everyone and prevented the carriage from passing.
Zhang Dahai had no choice but to get out of the car. He was very confused when he saw this scene.
He glanced at an acquaintance in the corner with his peripheral vision, and immediately walked over and asked, "Mr. Huang, what's going on?"
The gray-haired Mr. Huang saw that it was Zhang Dahai who was asking him, and shook his head and said: "The court wants to strictly investigate those who are planning to leave in the near future.
Wang Er next door to you, his uncle is the steward of the dock, and I heard that he embezzled more than 30,000 taels of silver coins.
He was directly implicated, but he wanted to lead his group of incompetent men to resist, and was directly called for reinforcements, ready to kill them all."
When Zhang Dahai heard the news, his face immediately turned pale.
He did not expect that because he was negotiating an important business, he did not prepare to leave Wei State immediately, but instead escaped this disaster.
He can develop and grow rapidly, but he does not have a deep background. How can he make a fortune quickly without resorting to some tricks.
He is not investigated at all. Once he is investigated, what awaits him is bankruptcy.
Zhang Dahai saw that the officials had lifted the blockade, but they had no intention of going to his home.
He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and ran home quickly.
When he saw that his family had packed their luggage, he immediately said angrily: "Return to the original state quickly, we are not leaving."
"Master, why are you going back on your word?
This does not mean that we can quickly get rid of Wei by taking the Niudao Canal route.
We stay in the Wei Kingdom and are still worried every day. We have made so much money, why don't we return to the empire to enjoy the blessings."
Zhang Dahai said helplessly: "We can't leave.
If you continue to do business in Wei, the imperial court will turn a blind eye.
If you want to take money out of the country, you will have to face the court's thunderous methods."
When Zhang Dahai's family members heard this, they could only sigh helplessly.
In order to relieve the boredom in his heart, he came to the pier and looked at the sea.
He saw many richly dressed people boarding ships bound for the Empire.
These people all made a lot of money in the Wei State, but they had no foundation in the Wei State and could only bring their money back to the empire to enjoy their happiness.
If the court had reacted slower, their family would have been among the crowd.
Zhang Dahai only felt that this was fate.
The transportation changes brought about by the completion of the canal were a huge opportunity and shortened the distance between Wei and other countries.
He transformed Wei from a semi-open island to a newcomer that had just integrated into the American circle.
This change not only brought great challenges to Wei State, but also faced challenges from other countries.
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King Cao Li Dazhuang stood up from the dragon chair and asked in disbelief: "Liu Aiqing, your news is correct, the Benniu Road Canal is really open to navigation.
This speed is too fast, beyond my imagination."
Liu Yuanshan, Prime Minister of Cao State, affirmed: "Your Majesty, the news is accurate.
Jing'an Port was hit by a typhoon, and they heard the news about the opening of the canal. They were ready to report the matter quickly through the canal.
They had all crossed the canal and arrived at Jusen Port. Only then did we know that the canal had been connected. At the same time, we reported to you the news of the disaster at Jing'an Port.
Our merchants also discovered that due to Wei's tariff issues, a large number of merchants took advantage of this opportunity to do business in Wei.
There are also some businessmen in our country who are planning to take advantage of this opportunity to go to Wei to make a fortune."
When King Cao Li Dazhuang heard the news, he said: "These businessmen are really smart, they just want to kill King Su Hu of Wei.
Let the news out, and I will exempt them from taxes as much as the money they spend in Wei."
Cao State and Wei State are neighboring countries. There are no major conflicts on the whole, but some small conflicts often occur on the border.
Due to the interests of each country, the relationship between Cao King Li Dazhuang and Wei King Su Hu is not as good as before.
King Cao Li Dazhuang was really happy when he heard that King Su Hu of Wei had suffered a secret loss.
After he finished speaking, he sighed: "Our strength is still not comparable to that of the empire.
The steam machinery shipped by the empire will not be manufactured even if it is given to our country for another ten years.
It was precisely because of the assistance of these steam machines that the Empire was able to penetrate the canal so quickly.
The completion of this canal is a great good thing for our country, and it is worthy of me to celebrate with a drink."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! King Cao Li Dazhuang had an obvious smile on his face, which shows how happy he is now.
The only fly in the ointment is that the canal was not left in the hands of Cao Guo.
This means that you are inferior in skills, weak in strength and have no qualifications.
King Cao Li Dazhuang often used this incident to warn the crown prince and others.
Cao State should continue to implement the military merit title system so that Cao State's soldiers can fight and dare to fight.
They are still weak now and must do everything possible to strengthen themselves.
The completion of the Benniu Road Canal opened up a golden waterway for Cao State.
Due to geographical reasons, Cao State has huge mountains in the west. With Cao State's technology, Cao State was unable to build mountain roads and railways in the mountainous and hilly areas.
There is no road connecting the east and west of Cao State, so communication will be very difficult.
After the Benniu Road Canal was completed, Cao Guo could abandon the land road and take the sea route from east to west, which would take only a few days.
If a steam propeller ship is used, the speed will be increased several times.
The transportation of supplies from the east and west of Cao State through the canal was much faster than before.
He had no additional reaction at all when Jing'an Port was hit by a typhoon.
This is because Jing'an Port has a special location and is prone to disasters almost every year. King Cao and Li Dazhuang are already used to this.
King Cao Li Dazhuang ordered: "Jing'an Port has been hit by a typhoon and is in urgent need of rescue from the imperial court.
According to the previous plan, supplies were delivered to the local area and the victims have completed self-rescue.
Now that the canal is connected, it is equivalent to shortening the distance between us and Jing'an Port.
Now immediately dispatch a group of steam-powered cargo ships, even paddle steamers, to deliver supplies to the disaster-stricken areas."
Liu Yuanshan immediately made arrangements according to the instructions of King Cao Li Dazhuang.
The emergence of the canal changed Cao's transportation. Disaster relief materials could be quickly transported to Jing'an Port, which alleviated the local disaster situation.