In the study, Sun Hong was reporting official business to Zhang Yangquan.
After Fu Youde came in, Zhang Yangquan stretched out his hand to motion for him to sit down first and continue listening to Sun Hong's report.
Fu Youde sat upright and listened to Sun Hong for a while before realizing that he was reporting on taxes.
Recently, due to the continuous establishment of new institutions, the General Administration's expenses have increased, and it has reached a situation where it cannot make ends meet.
Guo Niansheng was very anxious and turned his attention to taxes.
At present, the General Administration only collects taxes but not taxes. Taxes are different from taxes. When it was first established, it was to support the army.
Zhenzhou and Tongzhou have been expanding their armies recently. Together with Jiangdu's troops, the number of troops has exceeded 80,000, and military pay alone accounts for half of the expenditure of the General Administration.
Guo Niansheng felt it was time to collect gifts, and after obtaining Zhang Yangquan's permission, he asked Sun Hong to take charge of the matter.
After careful calculation, Sun Hong and a group of officials in charge of taxation decided on the amount of tax, a total of six taels and three cents, and then reported to Zhang Yangquan.
Just listen to Sun Hongdao: "...Based on the harvest of the people this year, after excluding all expenses for the year, we can have a surplus of about twelve taels and sixty cents."
Zhang Yangquan said: "So you just want to collect half of the surplus?"
Sun Hongdao: "Yes, I believe they can accept this amount.
Then he added: "As long as the people are willing to work hard to open up wasteland, the annual surplus will never be more than twelve taels or six dollars!"
Zhang Yangquan tapped the table with his fingers and said in a deep voice: "Did you calculate this number while sitting in the general manager's office?"
Sun Hong was stunned and said: "Yes. We have considered everything, and there should be no mistakes!"
Zhang Yangquan patted the table gently.
"Starting from tomorrow, you take those tax officials to the countryside, and each of them will live in the village for at least ten days, and then you will count it again for me, is it still the same number?"
Sun Hong was secretly frightened and said quickly: "I accept the order." He glanced at Fu Youde and left in a hurry.
Zhang Yangquan then turned his attention to Fu Youde, who hurriedly stood up, knelt on one knee, and said: "I failed to complete the task, please be punished by the general manager!"
Zhang Yangquan raised his hand and said: "Get up first. What is the situation in the Xuzhou military camp? Have you found out?"
Fu Youde stood up and said: "It's clear! Jia Lu is not dead, and Tai Buhua suddenly rebelled, which led to Xuexue and Dong Tuanxiao's complete defeat!"
Zhang Yangquan thought to himself: "That's true." He then asked: "Did Dong Tuanxiao be executed?"
Fu Youde said: "No, he was just locked up in a prison car. He has a very high prestige in the Jiangnan Army, and Tuotuo should not dare to kill him easily!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded, pondered for a while, and said: "I understand, you have worked hard all the way, go down and rest."
Fu Youde placed the information pamphlet that Geng Si had found on the table and said, "Commander Geng asked his subordinates to pass this on to you." After saying that, he left the study.
Zhang Yangquan picked up the brochure, glanced at it briefly, put it back on the table, and ordered someone to call Wang Meng in.
What Wang Meng reported was about the Shipping Department.
"General manager, my subordinates have just sent people to the mountain commander to inquire. Most of the water thieves on the sea route from Tongzhou have been wiped out. Only a group of water thieves in Chongming Prefecture are left. They are defending according to danger and are not easy to eliminate."
Zhang Yangquan asked strangely: "The wild boar has already reported this to me, why did Wang Sicheng mention it again?"
Wang Meng said: "I think it is no longer necessary to exterminate this water thief."
"Why?"
Wang Mengdao: "My subordinates have sent people to Chongming Prefecture to investigate. Daruhuachi of Chongming Prefecture has been killed by the county magistrate. Those water thieves are actually soldiers from Chongming Prefecture disguised as soldiers!"
Zhang Yangquan asked in surprise: "Will the county magistrate of Chongming Prefecture also revolt?"
Wang Meng said hurriedly: "That's not the case. The main reason is that when Fang Guozhen withdrew his troops, he sent troops to plunder Chongming Prefecture, and the Yuan army did not care. Later, when Fang Guozhen retreated, he led a mutiny and killed Daru Huachi."<
/p>
Zhang Yangquan said: "The Yuan Dynasty didn't hear or ask?"
Wang Meng laughed and said: "Originally, the Changshu Navy was preparing for a crusade, but then Fang Guozhen's rebellion happened, so the matter was put aside, so the county magistrate has become the local emperor of Chongming Prefecture!"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while and said: "Do you think there is a chance to surrender this person?"
Wang Meng shook his head and said: "Commander Shan has already tried it, but unfortunately he rejected it."
Zhang Yangquan said: "In this case, what if he sends troops to rob merchant ships?"
Wang Meng took out a map from his sleeve and said: "Please see, Chongming Prefecture hangs alone on the river, and there is no good land to grow food, so they can only buy food from elsewhere. They disguised themselves as water thieves precisely because they were extremely hungry.
Reason!"
Zhang Yangquan nodded and said: "They killed Yuanting Daru Huachi, so naturally they can't go to the place where Yuanting is to buy food, they can only go to us!"
Wang Meng smiled and said: "That's it. Our army only needs to send one person to negotiate with him and promise to sell him grain so that he can no longer intrude on merchant ships. I believe he will not refuse!"
"Do they have the money to buy it?"
"No, but they have salt."
Zhang Yangquan said: "Okay, you can discuss this matter with Shanzhu, and sea trade should be launched as soon as possible, especially to encourage businessmen to buy more iron ore!"
Wang Meng promised and left with the map.
Zhang Yangquan ordered someone to call Luo Guanzhong in again. The latter raised his hands and said: "General manager, I have an important matter to report to you!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "Tell me."
Luo Guanzhong said: "Our Jiangdu has now become an important grain producing area, and the price of grain is much lower than that of other places. Take Zhenjiang, which is across the river from us, but the price of grain is twice that of ours."
Zhang Yangquan was very satisfied after hearing this and said with a smile: "Are food prices still falling?"
Luo Guanzhong said: "It used to be declining, but recently it suddenly started to rise!"
Zhang Yangquan was surprised and said: "Why?"
Luo Guanzhong said: "Because our grain prices are low, there are unscrupulous businessmen who collect large amounts of grain in Jiangdu and transport it to Zhenjiang to sell. They make money, and Zhenjiang gets grain, but our grain prices are raised!"
Zhang Yangquan was furious: "Didn't the General Manager's Office issue an order that grain transactions of more than 100 dan need to be reported to the Subdistrict Department? Why does this happen?"
Luo Guanzhong said hurriedly: "These businessmen are very cunning. They formed a small trading company. Each family only trades ninety-nine shi of grain, avoiding the street department, and then transports it to Zhenjiang together!"
Zhang Yangquan took a deep breath and said, "How long has this been going on?"
Luo Guanzhong said: "It's almost half a month."
Zhang Yangquan nodded and praised: "You discovered it very timely. What do you think of this matter? Is there any way to prevent it?"
Luo Guanzhong took out a small notebook from his sleeve.
"I think we can increase the tax on grain traders. If the tax is less than one stone, the original commercial tax will be applied. After it exceeds one stone, the commercial tax will be increased based on the number of transactions. In this way, the merchants will have no profit and can only give up."
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "Very good, I am responsible for this matter. We must keep an eye on the food and food prices, and we must not let our food flow out!"
Luo Guanzhong took the order.
Zhang Yangquan raised his head and glanced out the window, it was almost noon.
After asking the guards, only the Shen brothers and sisters and Zeng Sihai were waiting outside the door. They breathed a sigh of relief, pinched their necks, took a sip of tea, and then ordered the guards to invite the three people in.
Not long after, Shen Qianqian walked in with two strange men.
Zhang Yangquan had met Shen Lixiu, so he knew that Shen Wansan must be quite old, so he looked at the man in his fifties first and thought to himself: "Is he Shen Wansan? His forehead is really bright!" He looked at it carefully.
"Shen Wansan" who was stared at by him quickly raised his hands and said: "I have met Manager Zhang in Zeng Sihai!"
Zhang Yangquan was stunned for a moment, then turned his gaze to Shen Wansan and said, "Are you Shen Wansan?"
"I, Shen Fu, would like to pay my respects to Manager Zhang!" Shen Wansan smiled and handed over his hand.
Zhang Yangquan nodded, calmed down, and said to Zeng Sihai: "I heard that Zeng Yuanwai succeeded in the mission this time and brought back two cargoes of iron ore, which is very good! We will continue to work hard in the future!"
Zeng Sihai hurriedly said: "This is all thanks to the General Manager's office for eradicating pirates and protecting our merchant ships! I am willing to dedicate two shiploads of iron ore to the General Manager's office!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled slightly and said: "I've heard it all. In fact, you took the ship twice in total. One of them was robbed by Japanese pirates. It was not easy to transport it back. In this way, the General Manager's Office purchased the iron ore at the market price. Shi, what do you think?"
Zeng Sihai hurriedly said: "It all depends on the manager's orders."
Only then did Zhang Yangquan turn his attention to Shen Wansan.
"I have long heard from Miss Qianqian that Shen Yuanwai is the best at overseas trade and is proficient in many languages. In the future, the development of maritime trade in Jiangdu and Tongzhou will rely more on business talents like Shen Yuanwai!"
Shen Wansan smiled and said: "Thank you so much, manager. I have nothing to do with anything in my life but love Tongfan. As long as the manager can use me, Shen Fu will live up to his expectations!"
In fact, not long ago, he was busy transferring his industry to Jiangdu.
Later, when I received a letter from Shen Qianqian and learned that the general manager's office had opened a shipping department, I couldn't bear it anymore and asked other people in the family to take charge of the industry transfer, and came to Jiangdu alone.
Zhang Yangquan nodded and said: "I have no other requirements for you all. I only have one thing to remember. Try to use as many silks, ceramics, furniture and other handicrafts as possible in exchange for gold, silver, iron and other minerals from Japan. Do you understand?" /p>
The two said in unison: "I take my orders!"
Zhang Yangquan added: "When you are doing business outside, you should not fight over prices within your own den. It is best to form a chamber of commerce and coordinate with the Japanese and Koreans before trading."
Zeng Sihai said happily: "I didn't expect that the general manager is also proficient in business. In this way, we will definitely earn more."
Shen Qianqian suddenly said: "I am afraid that after the establishment of the Chamber of Commerce, there will be internal fights. I think that the general management office can send an official to the Chamber of Commerce to be responsible for coordinating the conflicts among various companies."
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "As long as you have no objections, the General Manager's Office can help you mediate."
Seeing that Zhang Yangquan was so easy to talk to, Zeng Sihai said: "Manager, there is actually a problem that needs to be solved urgently!"
Zhang Yangquan said: "But it doesn't matter!"
Zeng Sihai said: "You also know that one of my cargo ships was robbed by pirates from around Japan."
Zhang Yangquan nodded. Shanzhu reported this to him. Not only Zeng Sihai, but also many merchants were robbed by the pirates.
They adopted wolf pack tactics, first using a few small boats to entangle the Tongzhou navy warships, and then other ships robbed the merchant ships. Because the opponent was strong and close to the Japanese country, the mountain pigs had no way to do it for the time being.
Shen Wansan said: "I have dealt with that group of pirates before. They use Iqi Island as their base, and their leader is Cai Ye, a Han Chinese!"
Zhang Yangquan was surprised: "Since he is a Han, why did he go to Japan to become a pirate?"
Shen Wansan smiled and said: "The manager doesn't know that Cai Ye has a nickname, Cai Ba Tou, and he was originally a Taizhou pirate."
A sudden flash occurred in Zhang Yangquan's mind and he asked: "Could it be the Cai Batou who is related to Fang Guozhen?"
Shen Wansan said: "It is this person. He originally sent someone to recruit Fang Guozhen to join the gang, but Fang Guozhen refused. Later, one of Fang Guozhen's enemies learned about this and falsely accused Fang Guozhen of having contact with him. Only then did Fang Guozhen be wanted by the government and gathered a crowd to do it. Pirates! ”
Zhang Yangquan nodded.
Shen Wansan continued: "Fang Guozhen hated this man very much. After his power grew, he often clashed with him! Later, Cai Ye was defeated and fled to the Japanese country, where he also prospered!"
Zeng Sihai sighed: "I have also dealt with this person. He is famous for his evil intentions and ruthless hands. As long as the sailors in the sea trade see Cai Ziqi, they seem to see the official notice of the King of Hell!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said: "If you want me to destroy Cai Ye now, I'm afraid it will be difficult to do it."
Shen Wansan hurriedly said: "There is no need to exterminate, just the manager writes him a letter!"
Zhang Yangquan asked in confusion: "What letter?"
Shen Wansan said: "Ever since Cai Ye was driven out of Taizhou by Fang Guozhen, his only wish is to kill Fang Guozhen for revenge! Of course he can't do it on his own, and Manager Zhang just defeated Fang Guozhen!"
Zeng Sihai followed: "Then Cai Ye robbed other merchant ships and left no one alive. However, when he encountered the merchant ship protected by the Tongzhou navy, he only robbed things but did not kill anyone. This shows that he did not want to be an enemy of the general manager!"
Zhang Yangquan was silent.
Shen Wansan said: "As long as the manager agrees to let Cai Ye kill Fang Guozhen after he captures Fang Guozhen in the future, I believe Cai Ye will not rob our merchant ships again!"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a long time and said: "Okay, I can give him this promise!"
He immediately wrote a letter and asked his bodyguard to send it to Tongzhou, and then asked Shanzhu to send someone to Cai Ye.