Ma Zhou personally poured tea for Li Yifu and said with a sigh on his face.
"You are now a minister, and I still have accomplished nothing. I am really ashamed." Li Yifu said with a hint of shame.
Looking at Ma Zhou, who was wearing a purple official uniform, Li Yifu was filled with jealousy.
Both of them were from poor families and met while studying in Chang'an.
Although Li Yifu had known Ma Zhou before, he had always looked down on Ma Zhou.
Not only did Ma Zhou like to drink, he would often get drunk and look slovenly.
Who would have thought that Ma Zhou would be lucky enough to become a disciple of Chang He, and be recommended by Chang He to join the court as an official. In just a few years, he would become a minister, and he would be able to achieve great success.
Although the Ministry of Commerce was newly established, it had no real power other than collecting commercial taxes, and its actual status among the seven ministries was only slightly higher than that of the Ministry of Industry.
But no matter what, it is still a ministerial book, and the level is there.
Li Yifu didn't think that Ma Zhou could surpass him. Ma Zhou was where he was today simply because he was recommended by Chang He.
Many people may not have heard of Chang He's name.
Chang He was born in Wagang, and was awarded the title of Lei Zegong of Shangzhu Kingdom by Li Mi. Later he persuaded Li Mi to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, and was awarded the title of Hussar General of Qingyi Prefecture by Li Yuan, and was named Lei Zegong of Shangzhu Kingdom.
After Li Mi had the intention to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, he tried to persuade Li Mi to no avail. He was later captured by Wang Shichong and looked for an opportunity to instigate rebellion against Wang Shichong. After being discovered by Wang Shichong, he led Wang Shichong's inner camp to escape back to the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan said: "Praise him for his adaptability and praise him for his flexibility."
Heroes, Linxuan introduces them, applies for special awards, and awards them to generals on horseback and cavalry."
In addition, Chang He is also Li Shimin's confidant.
Before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin placed Chang He at Xuanwu Gate as its guard.
In addition, a large amount of money was spent on Chang He to bribe the imperial army.
Chang He played an important role in the Xuanwumen change as an internal response.
If Chang He betrays, Li Shimin will most likely die.
That Li Shimin could hand over such an important matter to Chang He shows his trust in Chang He.
Li Yifu felt that with his talents, if he could get such a recommendation from Chang He, he would be able to rise to prominence.
This is also the reason why he knew Ma Zhou but never asked him for help.
First, he looked down on Ma Zhou and was unwilling to seek help from someone he looked down upon.
Another reason is because Ma Zhou is not a noble person.
When being granted the title of Marquis and worshiping the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister was still ranked after the Marquis, which shows that the ancients valued the title.
The Tang Dynasty is like a company group in later generations. Both officials and ordinary people worked part-time.
Having a title is equivalent to having shares in the company.
Although he only has the right to dividends and no management rights, compared to those who work part-time, the Lord is naturally more trusted by the emperor.
But he couldn't get in touch with those princes and nobles, and Lin Xuan, whom he valued most, didn't want to take him in for some reason. Now he had no choice but to come to Ma Zhou.
Ma Zhou smiled and said: "I'm just lucky. I know your talent in Yifu. I believe that if you become an official, you will do better than me."
"Prince Bin is joking." Although Li Yifu felt very pleased, he had a look of praise on his face.
"I wonder why Yifu is here this time?"
After chatting for a while, Ma Zhou asked about Li Yifu's purpose.
"I have been free recently and have thought carefully about commercial taxation. I found that commercial taxation is good, but there are many shortcomings." Li Yifu said.
"Oh? I'd like to hear the details!"
Ma Zhou was the Minister of the Ministry of Commerce. It took him a lot of energy to create the Ministry of Commerce from scratch. He also felt that there were many shortcomings in collecting business taxes like this, but he had no time to think about it.
"In the past, the country only collected customs tax, but it was only a drop in the bucket for merchants. Now, although the tax is collected based on the quantity sold, it is too difficult to count the actual quantity sold," Li Yifu said.
Commercial tax was not proposed by Lin Xuan, but it existed before.
Before the Tang Dynasty, commercial taxes were not valued and only foreign business taxes (that is, import taxes) and market entry taxes were set.
When foreign merchants shipped goods to Datang, they had to pay some taxes when passing through the customs.
During the Tang Dynasty, the court stipulated that all commerce and trade must be conducted in prescribed places, called markets, such as the East Market and West Market in Chang'an. Merchants had to pay a fee to enter the market, and private transactions were not allowed in places other than the market.
, this is the so-called entry tax.
Apart from this, merchants have no other taxes.
After Lin Xuan's suggestion, Datang's commercial tax collection was changed to be based on the sales volume.
But there is too much room for maneuver and it is easy to evade taxes.
"Does Yifu have any good ideas?" Ma Zhou asked.
"I think checkpoints should be set up at regular intervals along the important traffic arteries of land and waterways in the Tang Dynasty. Pedestrians and food will not be collected. All other goods will be taxed at a certain proportion based on the actual price. People's livelihood products can be taxed less, and non-civilian goods can be taxed a little less.
You can charge a little more for items. If you charge a hundred cents for a hundred miles of goods, a businessman who transports a hundred cents of goods and travels thousands of miles will only get a pound of money. This is just my superficial opinion, and the details need to be discussed carefully."
Li Yifu said.
Ma Zhou's eyes lit up. With this kind of commercial tax collection, there was no need to worry about merchants evading tax.
Stop them directly on the main traffic road and charge them based on the price of the goods. Unless you can fly, you can't escape at all.
Of course, checkpoints can only be set up on traffic arteries. It would be too expensive to set up checkpoints on all roads in Datang.
However, merchants transport a lot of goods each time. Taking the main road is not only safer but also faster. If you take the small road because of this tax, it is not cost-effective.
"Master Yifu, I only had vague thoughts about this matter before, but now after listening to Yifu's words, it's as if the clouds are clearing and the sun is shining brightly." Ma Zhou said excitedly.
A trace of imperceptible disdain flashed in Li Yifu's eyes.
If he wanted Ma Zhou to recommend him, he would naturally have to show his ability.
He had thought about these for a long time. Ma Zhou had vague ideas before he said anything now. From Li Yifu's point of view, he just didn't want to cover up his incompetence.
"I wonder if Yi Fu is willing to come to the Ministry of Commerce as an official. If you are willing, I would like to recommend it to Your Majesty." Ma Zhou said.
"Learn literary and martial arts and sell it to the emperor's family. If King Bin is willing to recommend it, it would be great." Li Yifu said with a smile.
Although he was not willing to be an official under Ma Zhou, he was even more unwilling to go to the local government. This was the reason why he was unwilling to take the imperial examination even though he had the ability to pass it.
If you pass the imperial examination, you will be able to serve as a county magistrate.
He has no backer, and good places will never be his turn. The three-year evaluation period for local officials is up, and it is impossible to get promoted if he fails to achieve political achievements.
Staying in Chang'an is different, there are many opportunities.
Take Ma Zhou as an example. Originally, Li Shimin only asked him to be responsible for collecting business taxes. Later, when the Ministry of Commerce was established, he naturally became a minister. If he had been promoted normally, no matter how talented Ma Zhou was, he would not have been able to do it for ten or eight years.
I can't be a minister.
"Since the Yifu is willing, I will take you to see His Majesty." Ma Zhou said.
Anyone else might have thought about taking the credit of Li Yifu, but Ma Zhou would not.
He not only wanted to introduce Li Yifu to Li Shimin, but also took Li Yifu to meet Li Shimin.
"Thank you so much, Prince Bin." Li Yifu said excitedly.
He originally thought that Ma Zhou would only recommend him to Li Shimin.
Unexpectedly, Ma Zhou would take him to see Li Shimin.
When Li Shimin sees him, he will definitely test him. Once he gets Li Shimin's approval, Li Shimin will be deeply impressed by him. Are you afraid that Li Shimin won't entrust him with important tasks?