The vendor begged with some fear and uneasiness, and then looked at Liu Hong who was standing aside. Liu Hong frowned and asked, "What's going on?" Only then did the four or five watchmen notice Liu Hong standing aside.
, looked at the attendants around him, cupped his hands, and said: "Mr. Sir, please don't misunderstand. There is a small market in Luoyang that allows traders to settle in, but other areas are not allowed."
"These traders are unwilling to pay commercial taxes, so they sell here, which is against Han law, so that's why."
The merchant was already a little discouraged, looked helpless, and began to pack up his goods. Liu Hong frowned and asked again: "How to calculate this tax?" Geng replied: "Calculate the price of the goods, and draw one out of ten.
"
"What?" Liu Hong was startled and asked: "How many did you say? One draw out of ten?"
"He has to pay ten yuan for this cart of goods that is less than a hundred yuan??"
Geng Zu was stunned for a moment and then nodded. The other vendors were also caught by Geng Zu and began to pack their things. Liu Hong asked angrily: "I am a big man and my agricultural tax is only one fifty cents. This
Why are business taxes so heavy?" Gengzu was a little embarrassed and said: "You are a scholar, and we, the Han Dynasty, value agriculture. The heavy taxes on merchants have been there since the founding of the country..."
Liu Hong was silent for a moment, looked at the panic of the vendors around him, shook his head helplessly, and said: "They are all farmers, they just sell small things, merchants..." He looked at the people in front of him.
The middle-aged man took off a jade pendant from his waist, handed it to him, and said: "I know the emperor, and I will tell the emperor these things. You can take this thing, and give it to Zhou when you get to the county government.
Go and see, he won't make it difficult for you."
The man was a little frightened and did not dare to take it. Liu Hong put it directly in his hand and said with a smile: "In the future, if your youngest son enters the Imperial College, ask him to take the jade pendant to the Imperial College to offer wine.
When the time comes, I...I will take care of him myself!"
After saying that, Liu Hong turned around and left. Zhang He and other embroidered messengers followed him away. The merchant looked blankly at the jade pendant in his hand, looked at the watchman beside him, and asked: "Who is Zhou Yi this time?"
?" Gengzu's face also looked a little frightened. He thought about it and said, "It's the Luoyang order."
When the merchant heard this, he was stunned for a moment, came to his senses, and then bowed in the direction where Liu Hong left.
When the watchman returned to the county government, he naturally reported the matter to the county magistrate Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi picked up the jade pendant. The merchant was frightened and looked at it for a few times. His face suddenly changed and he held the jade pendant in both hands.
, handed it into the hands of this person, and then said gently: "This thing is actually a gift from a noble man, so you should take good care of it."
The merchants nodded, and Zhou Yi ordered the soldiers to release the merchants, but he felt deeply that it was difficult to be an official in the capital.
Liu Hong returned to Luoyang and hurriedly found Wen Renxi and He Xiu. He did not hold a separate court meeting, but ordered the two people to go directly to the palace to talk to him.
When they arrived at the palace, Liu Hong was looking through business and tax records and reports from various places. When they arrived, they saw that the emperor was carefully observing the memorial, so they did not say anything and waited quietly.
After a while, Liu Hong suddenly said: "Master He, I have something to ask, and I hope Master He can help me clarify my doubts!" He Xiu nodded and said, "Your Majesty, it doesn't matter if you say so."
"Big Han, why do you want to emphasize agriculture and suppress business?"
He Xiu looked at Liu Hong with some confusion. This was a very simple truth. He didn't believe that the emperor didn't know it. But since the emperor asked, he could only answer. He said: "Farming and mulberry are the foundation of the country, and the people If you engage in trade, you will damage the country's foundation and lose people in the farming and mulberry fields. Moreover, merchants are pursuing profits and are most cunning and unfavorable to the country. If they do not engage in farming and mulberry planting, they will only be opportunistic, so they focus on agriculture and suppress business."
"Then, Master He, are those vendors who come out to sell small items also considered merchants?"
"This... naturally counts."
This time, He Xiu hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he nodded. Liu Hong was a little puzzled and said: "But it's not that they don't engage in production, farming mulberry, weaving clothes, and making shoes. Could it be that they don't count?" Mulberry?" He Xiu frowned and said: "Making it yourself and using it yourself is naturally considered a farmer's mulberry business, but if you sell it, it is considered a merchant's behavior."
Liu Hong told what happened to him today. After he finished speaking, he asked again: "That person just wants to earn some money in exchange for pen and ink so that his children can go to school. But business tax is like this How serious! I believe that if people have money, their lives will be rich. This is not a bad thing and the court should not stop it!"
Wen Renxi nodded and said: "It is true. When the people are rich, the country will be rich and the taxes will be higher."
He Xiu argued: "The people are rich because their families have food, not because they have private property. If the people have money, who would be willing to work hard? The country will be destroyed!" Liu Hong frowned. , said: "Mr. Wen Ren, think of a way!" Wen Renxi raised his hands and said: "There is a precedent for this matter. Your Majesty can separate merchants from handicrafts. The taxes of big merchants will remain unchanged. As for the small traders mentioned by Your Majesty, , which can reduce taxes.”
"Reduce the commercial tax to 10% off forty."
"But, if this is the case, I'm afraid that many people in the world will follow suit... There are not many farmers." He Xiu said from the side. Liu Hong narrowed his eyes and said with some emotion: "The grain in the national treasury is piled up, but the people are buying it." If you can't afford pen and ink, how can you call it a prosperous age?"
"The Han Dynasty has a population of 70 million. Is it possible that if some people do textiles and handicrafts, it will affect the grain production of the Han Dynasty? I don't believe it. In the future, the number of people will only increase, and the cultivated land is limited. Why? Sir, you said that I can only be considered a wise king when I am respected and loved by the people of the world, just like the people of Hejian Kingdom. If I don't consider the people, how can I be respected and loved by them?"
He Xiu just didn't speak after hearing Liu Hong's question.
Wen Renxi has many shortcomings, but he also has many advantages. For example, he acts extremely quickly, which even Wang Fu cannot match. Especially when it comes to money issues, he is always extremely quick. At the end of the year, he implemented new regulations. Without even consulting the ministers, he removed the ban on business in a small area and allowed vendors to sell.
It has to be said that this regulation made the officials of the Han Dynasty immediately criticize him. The reason was the same. You violated the ancestral system of the Han Dynasty and the national policy of the Han Dynasty. The national policy of the Han Dynasty was to emphasize agriculture. Suppressing business, do you still want to encourage business now? Wen Renxi did not impose a comprehensive ban on business, and his new policy only targeted small handicraftsmen.
These small handicraftsmen are essentially farmers, because they make textile clothes and raise silkworms themselves. These basic handicrafts have not completely left the roots of agriculture, but the merchants of the Han Dynasty are not stupid either.
Taking advantage of this policy gap, raw materials such as silk were purchased from the people at high prices, processed and sold.
And when they use slaves, domestic slaves, etc. for processing, they can make huge profits without investing too much.