At this time, the Ottoman Empire, like most other places in the world, levied taxes that included physical taxes, especially in terms of agricultural taxes, which were almost all levied on grain.
This is the same as the Ming Empire. The agricultural tax of the Ming Empire also levied grain, while commercial taxes, customs duties, etc. levied silver. Overall, the Ming Empire had actually developed a currency system based on the silver standard.
The proportion of food taxes in the Ming Empire's tax revenue can be said to be very small, because the Ming Empire has been significantly reducing food taxes for 20 or 30 years.
The current food tax rate is only about one-tenth, which can be said to be very low.
In addition, the price of grain is very cheap, and when converted into silver, the overall proportion is very low. The main sources of taxation in the Ming Dynasty are commercial taxes and customs duties, which are the most important taxes in the Ming Dynasty.
Naturally, the Ottoman Empire could not be compared with the Ming Empire. The main taxes of the Ottoman Empire were also divided into three parts, agricultural tax, head tax and commercial tax.
Among them, agricultural tax has always been the most important tax revenue of the Ottoman Empire, and it is similar to the Ming Empire. The grain, cloth, cattle, sheep, horses, etc. collected by the Ottoman Empire can also be used to pay the salaries of officials. Officials are not all
Those who all receive silver, some receive silver, and some receive in kind.
Therefore, how much grain can be collected is crucial to the rule of the Ottoman Empire. If there is a problem with this large granary in the Danube River Basin, it will be a huge problem for the Ottoman Empire.
Of course, it was not just here in the Danube River Basin. There were problems with grain collection throughout the Ottoman Empire. The grain collected was greatly reduced.
Just because, although the grain has decreased, the tax revenue on silver has increased significantly. The income brought by wool is very good, and the tax revenue on this part has increased very obviously.
Officials in some places even saw business opportunities and sold wool to the Ming Dynasty for money, and then purchased grain from the Ming Dynasty people to hand over to the Ottoman Empire treasury.
This way you can also earn a good profit from it.
"Sir, because growing food is not cost-effective at all, it is far less cost-effective than raising sheep, so gradually everyone no longer grows food."
Governor Constant also responded quickly and respectfully.
“Isn’t it cost-effective to grow food?”
When Ibrahim heard this, he said again: "Tell me in detail."
"yes!"
"Sir, considering the land in front of us, if we grow food, we may need thousands or even tens of thousands of farmers. After working hard to grow food for a year, the food produced in the end may not even cost 1,000 yuan.
You can’t even sell it for silver dollars.”
"But if it is used for wool, it may only take less than 100 farmers to manage these sheep flocks well. The price of wool that is reduced regularly can be quite good, and the income can exceed 1,500 taels of silver."
"Whoever it was, they would choose not to grow food but to raise sheep."
Governor Constant pointed to the fertile land in front of him and explained the reason to Ibrahim.
"But if everyone raises sheep, what will we eat?"
Ibrahim nodded slightly, thought for a moment and then said.
"Eat food, the food of the people of Ming Dynasty!"
"The Ming Dynasty people are the best at growing food. They use a lot of machines to cultivate food. In Crimea, in the north of us, the Ming Dynasty people have countless fertile fields."
"In the Ming Dynasty, a farmer can cultivate thousands of acres or tens of thousands of acres of land. The yield of grain is very large, the quality is good, and the price is very cheap."
"We exchanged wool for their grain, and there was still a lot of silver left."
Governor Constant smiled and replied.
After hearing this, Ibrahim also felt that it made sense and nodded, but he always felt that something was wrong. There was always a problem in one link.
But for a while, I couldn't figure out which link had the problem.
"Sir, actually there are very few people growing food here now, very few."
"Because the food of the Ming people is very cheap and of good quality, even if it is shipped to us, the price is much cheaper than the food we grow."
"So no one wants to grow food, especially the nobles and lords here. They are unwilling to grow food. The food they grow cannot be sold, and the price is very cheap, so the income is very small."
"Everyone has chosen to raise sheep, cattle and horses, etc. These are highly profitable and do not require a lot of manpower."
"In addition, the land here is vast and sparsely populated, so it is actually very suitable for grazing. The Tatars often invaded here in the past and wanted to turn it into their pasture."
Governor Constant said with a smile.
"But if the people of Ming Dynasty don't sell food to us one day, what will we eat?"
At this time, Ibrahim finally remembered the most critical issue.
That is, if you have been relying on the food of the Ming people, if the people of the Ming Dynasty do not sell food to you one day, what will you eat?
"No~"
"Sir, you must have been to the Ming Dynasty, and I believe you have also seen the mechanical agriculture of the Ming Empire. Their agriculture is extremely developed, and their food output is so huge that you can't eat it all yourself, and they need to export a lot."
"Why are they selling it to us at such a low price?"
"It's not just to sell our own grain so that it doesn't rot in the warehouse."
"Actually, it's not that we have to eat their food, but that the Ming people cannot do without our Ottoman market. If we don't eat the Ming people's food, then many farmers in the Black Earth Province of the Ming Empire will become poor and have no income.
.”
"This is what the people of Ming Dynasty said themselves. They said that their farmers are very concerned about the export of grain. Even if it is a cheap price, they are willing to sell it. If they sell it, they will at least make a good income. If they cannot sell it, they will make a good income.
It can only rot."
Governor Constant shook his head very confidently and said.
"I see."
Ibrahim nodded slightly.
"Sir, the people of Ming Dynasty have actually conducted specialized research here."
"The industry and agriculture of the Ming Dynasty are extremely developed, the output is very large, the demand for the market is very large, and a large amount of exports are needed."
"Not only our Ottoman Empire, but also Persia, the Middle East and Europe, the Ming people are selling grain on a large scale at extremely low prices."
"They used this to sell the grain from the farmers of the Ming Dynasty so that the farmers of the Ming Empire would not have no income."
"At the same time, the industry in the Ming Empire was developed and the demand for raw materials was very strong, especially the textile industry's demand for cotton and wool."
"Here in Europe, we mainly sell wool. Shearing wool is sold to people in the Ming Dynasty. The price of wool is very stable and the income is quite good."
"In Asia Minor, Persia, and Egypt, we mainly grow cotton. The price of cotton is higher than that of wool, and the returns are better."
"Especially in Egypt and Persia, the cotton planting industry has formed a large scale. The output is very large and the quality is high. It is better than the cotton produced by the Ming people themselves, and it is very popular."
"The nobles and lords in these places also make a lot of money from this."
"In the words of Ming people themselves, this is called economic globalization and integration."
"We depend on each other and gain from each other, which is good for everyone."
Governor Constant continued to explain.
"In terms of growing food, farmers in the Ming Dynasty are good at growing food. They have vast and fertile land and developed mechanical agriculture, so growing food is the most suitable. A farmer can cultivate a large number of fields, so they are more suitable for growing food.
.”
"Here in Europe, grazing is allowed. The cattle and sheep grazing are fat and strong, and the wool they produce is of good quality. It is most suitable for grazing."
"In areas such as Persia, the Middle East, and Egypt, the climate is very suitable for cotton cultivation, so a large amount of cotton can be grown. The quality of the cotton produced is good, so it is naturally more cost-effective to use a variety of cotton."
"In this way, optimal allocation can be carried out, and everyone can create more value and wealth."
"If, on the other hand, the people of Ming Dynasty grow cotton here in Black Earth Province, it will obviously not work. The climate there is not suitable for the growth and cultivation of cotton."
"It is not suitable for Egyptians to raise sheep, because raising sheep requires a large amount of grassland and a certain cold climate, so that more wool can be grown."
"The people of Ming Dynasty have studied this point repeatedly."
"The Ming Empire had many colonies and vassal states, and these colonies and vassal states were similar to ours. Often a huge colony or vassal state would simply grow a few crops."
"For example, the people of the Ming Dynasty in Nanyang mainly planted sugar cane to make cane sugar. The Chu State of the Ming Dynasty mainly developed animal husbandry. Relying on the climate of the East African Plateau, the animal husbandry industry developed very well."
"There is also Ningguo in the Ming Dynasty. The climate is very good, and there are many plantings of sugar cane, grain, cotton, and spices."
"The South African colonies of the Ming Dynasty were industrially developed, and they mainly developed industry and manufacturing. The same was true for some colonies and vassal states in the African region of the Ming Dynasty. They relied on local natural conditions and climate and simply planted a few of one or two species.
crops to develop the economy.”
"This is called adapting to local conditions!"
Governor Constant was actually one of the few Ottomans who had an extremely in-depth study of the Ming Empire, which made Ibrahim on the side couldn't help but look at him with admiration.
This is a talented person. He actually knows so many things. He knows many aspects of the Ming Empire and can sum up a lot of things from it.
"What you said still makes sense, but I always feel like there's something wrong somewhere."
Ibrahim thought about it and nodded, but he always felt that there seemed to be something unclear here.
