On the afternoon of August 5, the twelfth year of Tenmon (1543), a group of people originally planned to return to Sunfu directly via the official road, but found that a grain transport team going to Hedong had requisitioned the official road. Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was visiting privately incognito, did not intend to show off.
After giving way to the baggage train, he took a detour to the south and passed the Xingjin Port of the Xingjin family.
"Wow, there are so many ships." Ginkgo looked at the busy port, her eyes suddenly lit up, "I don't know how many of them are transporting Jinping Candy."
Following Ginkgo's gaze, Imagawa Yoshimoto could not help but be surprised by the prosperity of the port. When Imagawa Yoshimoto saw it for the first time 7 years ago, Xingjin Port was just a small, dilapidated military port - and was
Taiyuan Xuezhai was burned down as a cover-up. But now, it is already a huge port - certainly not comparable to the port in Sakai Town, but it is still half the size of Ishiyama Town Port.
More than a dozen docks stretch long piers into the deep blue waters of Suruga Bay. Merchant ships and cargo ships are parked beside the piers, and busy workers are racing against time to unload the goods from the ships and push them to the market on the shore.
The sea trade merchants who came and went rushed to the hotel in the port in droves. Looking further, the entire Xingjin Port was like a smoking pipe, constantly absorbing sea ships with full sails.
, and then spit them out one by one. On the sea outside Kojin Port, two routes can be clearly seen - one coming from west to east along the coast of Tokaido, and the other heading to Izu in the east.
.Looking further to the southwest, you can also see another prosperous port - Ejiri Port. It is adjacent to Xingjin Port and is similar in size. It is also a commercial port that has been developed in recent years.
The reason why Suruga has such a prosperous sea trade today is, on the one hand, because of the Shimizu Navy and a large number of merchant ships that Imagawa Yoshimoto blackmailed from the Hojo family, and on the other hand, because of the laws that encourage sea trade:
Article 24 of the "Kana Catalog": Shipping taxes at the ports of Suruga and Toe are abolished.
Article 26 of the "Kana Catalog": Ships in distress that have drifted to the shores of Suruga and Toga River must not be looted and must be returned to the ship's owner. If the owner of the ship is unknown, the wood on the ship should be donated as materials for destroying shrines, temples, and temples to build palaces.
Yes, this is the prosperity that a clever law can bring to the country and the people. The formulation and repair of the law must be paid attention to.
"Your Highness, why are you here?"
Just when Imagawa Yoshimoto was thinking seriously, he suddenly heard a call coming from his ears. He turned around and saw that it was the head of the Anhara family, Anhara Tadayin, and the head of the Otsujin family, Otsuzu Shohei.
Imagawa Yoshimoto naturally recognized the two of them. When the Hanacang Rebellion broke out, Imagawa Yoshimoto was desperate for a time. It was the two of them who accepted Taiyuan Xue Zhai's persuasion, burned down the city, and followed Imagawa Yoshimoto with their whole family.
He became the earliest supporter of Imagawa Yoshimoto. How could Imagawa Yoshimoto forget this kindness?
Taiyuan Xuezhai himself comes from the Anhara family. His father is Anhara Masamori, the old head of the Anhara family. The current head, Anhara Tadayin, is Taiyuan Xuezhai's nephew. Taiyuan Xuezhai's mother is the daughter of Xingjin Masanobu, the old head of the Xingjin family.
The current head of the Xingjin family, Xingjin Zhengping, is the cousin of Taiyuan Xuezhai.
However, even with this support, the status of the Anhara family and the Kotsu family in the Imagawa family has never been high. Imagawa Yoshimoto may not have understood it before, but after talking with Asahina Taino, he still understood——
This was Taiyuan Xuezhai's attempt to avoid suspicion. He knew that he held a high position in the Imagawa family and had all the power. He was afraid of incurring criticism from others, so he did not dare to show any favoritism to his relatives and did not leave any heirs.
He treated the Imagawa family's position as head of the family from the standpoint of "I will not take him with me until I die", thus dispelling the suspicion of other retainers.
As a result, the Anhara family and the Xingjin family have naturally become neglected. The number of territories has not increased yet, and there are few opportunities to recruit them when they have the opportunity to gain military exploits. However, Taiyuan Xuezhai still trusts these two families the most in his heart.
Therefore, the maritime trade, which is the lifeline of Suruga's economy, was handed over to the protection of the two families. The Kotsu family is responsible for Kotsu Port, while the Anhara family is responsible for the Ejiri Port in the southwest. Although the daily operation of Ejiri Port is carried out by Itami
The family is responsible, but security is in the hands of the Anhara family.
"Anfang Mamoru (Anhara Tadayin), and Shimozong Mamoru (Okitsu Shohei)." Imagawa Yoshimoto also greeted the two of them, "Are you here to inspect the port?"
"Reporting to Your Highness the Governor of the Household, that's exactly what happened. I just finished inspecting Ejiri Port in the morning, and I came to Kotsu Port to have a look in the afternoon." Anhara Tadayin cupped his hands to Imagawa Yoshimoto and replied, "Your Highness the Governor of the Household must also be inspecting the territory, right? It's too hard.
."
"You are the ones who have worked hard." Imagawa Yoshimoto naturally knew that this rare private visit of his for fun was incomparable to the two retainers who personally inspected the territory every day.
"It's not as hard as uncle...How is uncle lately?" Anhara Zhongyin was still thinking about Taiyuan Xuezhai, so he took the initiative to ask: "The last time I saw my uncle was when I went to Imagawa Hall to attend the evaluation meeting during the Chinese New Year, and
My uncle chatted for a while in the corridor. He used to send letters home from time to time, but since he became a butler, he has never sent a letter home, and he has never returned home once. I am afraid he is too busy.
Let’s make love…”
"An Fang, Master Xue Zhai has his own difficulties, don't ask any more questions." Xingjin Zhengping obviously understood Taiyuan Xue Zhai's intention to avoid suspicion, and changed the topic with a smile.
"It's very good. Don't worry. Teacher, he eats so much every day that his mouth is full of oil. From time to time, he also goes to visit the land of romance." Imagawa Yoshimoto felt a little sad, but he still squeezed out a smile, "He just
I'm just too lazy to write, so don't miss me."
On the way back to Imagawakan, Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly had another sudden thought:
"After the abolition of the shipping tax, the maritime trade between Suruga and Enji has been a hundred times more prosperous than before, and the income has been far higher than before. In this case, can I abolish the tariff between Suruga and Enji and allow merchants to travel freely and only need to pay business tax?
?”
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Abolish tariffs?" After hearing this suggestion, Sena Ujitoshi frowned slightly and spoke to advise: "Your Highness, abolish the policy of customs offices.
During the old master's time, it was enacted in Enjiang. At that time, it was because the war in Enjiang was finally settled for many years. In order to restore its vitality, merchants were allowed to pass freely, but it was stopped after the vitality of the castle town was restored. "
"Yes, land trade is not as good as sea trade. In sea trade, basically all transactions occur near the port, and it is easy to collect taxes and audits. If it were a merchant traveling by land, you would not know where he had done business.
It's so easy to falsify accounts, how do you pay taxes?" Yutaka Furuno also poured cold water on the matter.
"Hmm..." Imagawa Yoshimoto also backed down when the two people talked about it. He just roughly remembered that one of the policies left by Imagawa Yoshima was "abolition of customs", so he wanted to try it
Just give it a try. He nodded slightly and planned to give it up, but out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Hayasaka Nao seemed to want to say something. However, Hayasaka Nao knew that she had no culture or ability, and had only been working as a personal attendant and bodyguard for Imagawa Yoshimoto.
, so I didn’t dare to interrupt in front of Toshi Sena and Yutaka Furuno.
"Koichiro, do you have any suggestions?" Imagawa Yoshimoto then looked at Hayasaka Nao.
"Don't dare." Hayasaka Nao shook her head after hearing this, "Do you have any suggestions..."
"Listen and you will understand. No matter what it is, I want to hear it." Imagawa Yoshimoto continued to encourage him kindly.
"Well... then I'm brave." Hayasaka Nao hesitated for a moment, frowned, quickly glanced at Sena Jijun and Furuno Jiyong, and then said in a low voice: "Actually, not all businessmen are so prosperous.
, many small traders are hungry and hungry. Business is difficult to do in troubled times, and it is not easy to survive. They don’t have much money to begin with, but after paying customs duties and business taxes, there is nothing left..."
"What you mean is..." Imagawa Yoshimoto thought for a moment, and then he understood what Hayasaka Nao said - he was thinking of the days when he was a small vendor without enough to eat, "If taxes are reduced, you can
Many businessmen from the surrounding areas who are struggling to survive have gathered in the territory. Although the tax revenue is less, the population is more prosperous. When they get through the most difficult time and start to expand their business, we can not only rely on the prosperous business to absorb
With a larger population, can we still collect taxes logically?"
"It is equivalent to the Imagawa family using part of the customs tax money to provide relief to these down-and-out merchants. When they recover, they will naturally have no less tax revenue. Even if there are still tax evasion cases, as long as there are enough merchants in the territory and the business is prosperous enough
, depending on your size, you can earn more than those families that collect taxes like geese plucking their feathers." Sena Ujitoshi also understood the meaning of Hayasaka Nao and Imagawa Yoshimoto, "I think I might as well give it a try. Anyway, my family's current financial situation
It is very good and can withstand His Highness’s trial and error.”
"It doesn't matter to me. I used to do business by myself. Even if there are strict tariffs and business taxes, there are thousands of ways to evade taxes." Furunoji Yutaka shrugged aside, "Just don't think of businessmen.
Great, there is no business without evil. Maybe after they become bigger, they will think of more ways to avoid paying taxes."
"It's okay, let's give it a try." Imagawa Yoshimoto had quite a sense of "I don't feel bad if I sell my land." "Add a law to abolish the customs tolls in Suruga and Toe. Go back and show it to the teacher, no.