The price of salt can be reduced several times for the common people. Of course, this kind of good thing must be done.
Another advantage of falling salt prices is that it saves tax costs and eliminates the need to go to great lengths to suppress private salt traders.
Why was it that in the past, when the Ming Dynasty was short of money, everyone only focused on taxing the fields and raising taxes on people, but turned a blind eye to industry, commerce, minerals, salt and tea?
It's not that they don't know that there is money to be collected here, but that all the benefits here are monopolized by them. They regard it as their own financial resources, so how can they hand it over?
When the emperor of the Ming Dynasty levied a mining tax, countless gentry would attack him. He even encouraged local mine owners, gentry, miners, etc. to beat the eunuchs who went to collect taxes to death, and even beat them to death.
They say they are brutal and harm the people.
Doesn't the emperor know the problem here? But in the face of the entire scholar-bureaucrat class, his own thug was beaten to death outside, so he can only swallow his anger.
Just like the Ming Dynasty's ban on sea trade, officials said it loudly, why can't the sea ban be opened? In fact, they secretly ran trade and made a lot of money. They just didn't want the government to open the sea, and then they could legitimately tax taxes.
.
Each one is worse than the last one, they are all just Sun Tzu's stuff.
"The Ningbo Tax Police Corps must strengthen training. Their mission is to protect tax collection. Anyone who dares to resist taxes must enforce the law quickly and without mercy."
When Ningbo's rich people Su Lelin supported Ge Dazhen and other heroes, they made great strides and were ahead of the entire Zhejiang province. Their results were not inferior to those of Zhu Yihai, Huang Zongxi, Fang Fengnian, Ruan Dacheng, Ma Shiying and others who personally captured Yanzhou.
The soldiers on the front line are marshalling their troops.
But money and food are still a big problem. Even the armor coverage rate of the imperial camp is still very low. Although we have reached an agreement with the foreigners in Macau to purchase muskets and artillery, those big noses insist on paying money first before delivery.
They will not start work until half of the deposit is paid, and the balance must be paid when receiving the goods.
Although Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian and other places are now supported, they are actually out of reach. Just like the Zheng family in Fujian, they already have some intention of seizing their own territory.
Zhu Yihai also knew full well that he could now support an entire army in one province, but without reform, Zhejiang would not be able to support even 20,000 people.
Fortunately, the base camp in eastern Zhejiang is now well organized.
On the same day, Zhu Yihai went to Dinghai again and climbed to Zhoushan.
Wang Chuangzi, the hero of Conglong, is now the commander-in-chief of the Zhejiang Admiral. He was conferred the title of Earl of Jingnan by Zhu Yihai and was given the seal of General Zhenhai. Originally, the commander-in-chief of Zhejiang was awarded the seal of General Zhenhai, but now that he is trading with the Japanese, it is difficult to use this seal again.
name..
"Long time no see, you seem to have gained a little weight?" Zhu Yihai looked at Wang Chuangzi who came to greet him and said with a smile.
The tall Wang Chuangzi faced the familiar person, knelt down and saluted, "I pay my respects to Your Highness."
"What are you doing out here like this?" Zhu Yihai stretched out his hand to help him up, holding his hand and walking together, "We were walking and chatting, how did you go about what I asked you to do?"
"After receiving His Highness's order, I immediately started to build the Ningbo Shipping Department, assisting the Ministry of Internal Affairs in selecting a site, recruiting officials, etc. Now the City Shipping Department has been completed, and has attracted many merchant ships, and has opened routes to Japan and North Korea.
In addition, we are also in contact with Macau, Taiwan, Luzon, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and other countries to attract them to trade."
"Are there any foreign merchant ships coming?"
"There are quite a few!" Wang Chuangzi reported on the establishment of the Ningbo Municipal Shipping Department, which was stationed in Dinghai. This was originally a special Japanese tribute port in the Ming Dynasty, but it had been abandoned for a long time. Now Zhu Yihai requested the establishment of a Municipal Shipping Department to be responsible for foreign import and export.
Trade, attract merchant ships to Ningbo, import and export commercial goods, and collect tariffs.
The Municipal Shipping Department is mainly responsible for import and export trade. The taxes collected are mainly goods tax and shipping tax. The value of goods is 50%.
Boat tax is levied based on the size of the boat.
"Currently, the Municipal Shipping Department collects 1,200 taels for large ships, 960 taels for medium-sized ships, and 450 taels for small ships. The same amount is also included in the official levy ceremony.
The regular goods tax is worth 5 cents per 100, and the other regulations are 5 cents per 100."
Zhu Yihai smiled, this was also full of Ming Dynasty style, there were rules and regulations everywhere.
"What is the name of this official ceremony, and where are the goods and taxes regulations used?"
"Back to Your Highness, this money was not taken by me, Wang Chuangzi. It was collected from the ship tax officer. Half of it was used for the salaries of the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Municipal Shipping Department, public expenses, and the other half was turned over to internal funds."
"Oh, it turns out that half of it went into Gu's pocket."
Half of the 5% stipulated in the excise tax regulations is used for arresting smuggling and combating piracy on land and sea in Zhoushan Imperial Camp, Dinghai Division, Zhejiang Town, Dinghai, Shipu and other towns, and the other half is also turned over to internal funds.
Give him Zhu Yihai.
"Is this Pang Tianshou's idea or your Wang Chuangzi's idea?"
"Eunuch Pang came here and left soon. This was his suggestion, but I also supported it very much. His Highness wants to support the imperial camp and reward the officials. How can he do it if he has no internal funds?"
Zhu Yihai looked at the sea, "But if you do this, the goods tax will become 1 in 10, and the ship tax will also increase a lot."
"Your Highness, I also asked someone to do calculations. Even if they levy these, it is still cost-effective for them. What's more, we don't charge this money for nothing. Entering our Ningbo Shipping Company is comparable to what they do in and out of Xiamen, Macau, Taiwan and other places.
The goods are much more cost-effective. Moreover, after customs clearance, we will give customs a security seal, and the navy will also protect the goods along the sea. It is very worthwhile."
Zhu Yihai nodded at this.
However, the Municipal Shipping Department is actually just a customs office. Goods entering the customs cannot be directly circulated in the mainland. There are also regular customs and even commercial agents.
"For a big ship to Japan, we can collect at least one thousand five hundred taels of silver." Wang Chuangzi said with some pride.
"We can collect a tax of one tael and eight taels of silver for a load of imported cotton, 24 taels of silver for a load of exported Hu silk, 2 taels and a half of silver for a load of cotton, 5 taels for a load of sugar, and 24 taels of silver for a load of East Zhejiang tea.
Tax twenty taels..."
After the Ningbo Shipping Department was established, although there were not many ships coming, the situation was still good because of the supervision of the country and efforts to attract merchants.
After all, this is an official trading port. Transactions here can not only reduce several middlemen, but also purchase high-quality Chinese goods and sell foreign goods at a good price.
Although the Shipping Department of Ningbo City had to levy a tax, and Lu Jianguo also sent eunuchs to establish a royal trading house in Dinghai, purchasing tea, Hu silk, and porcelain from the mainland, waiting for Ningbo, and then selling them to merchants who went to sea, and then purchased from foreign merchants coming to Hong Kong.
Their cotton, cotton cloth and other foreign goods are then resold to mainland businessmen. This way they can make a fortune.
A large ship can directly collect taxes of 1,500 taels, and the Imperial Trading Company in Dinghai can make a lot of money. If the trade volume here and outside can increase, it will not be a problem to make hundreds of thousands of taels a year.
"You're doing a good job here."
But Wang Chuangzi said with red eyes, "Your Highness, you'd better transfer me back to the imperial camp. I'm willing to be a forward in the battle against Hangzhou. There's no battle in Dinghai. I deal with a group of businessmen all day long. Those foreign businessmen all have disgusting faces."
, and the body odor all over my body is terrible, I feel uncomfortable staying here."
"Hahaha, I trust you, that's why I entrust you, the confidant Yuan Cong, with such a very important job as the Admiral of Zhejiang."
"Didn't it mean that after the capture of Hangzhou, the Zhejiang admiral was stationed in Hangzhou? Then I, the admiral, would have to go to conquer Hangzhou myself. If someone else captures Hangzhou for me, I would have no face if I went to station there."
