Zeng Tianshun’s cattle raising project received support from Xujiazhuang.
After careful comparison, he felt that raising dairy cows was more troublesome. Not only did it require artificial insemination, it also required a lot of manual milking during the milk production period, which increased costs a lot and was not suitable for individual entrepreneurs.
He still chooses to raise Angus beef cattle, as long as they are large enough to be slaughtered, it saves worry and trouble.
Moreover, if the cattle encounter sales problems after they are released from the slaughter, Xujiazhuang can sign a purchase contract to raise as many cattle as Xujiazhuang wants, and buy them at a suitable price without causing him any loss.
This undoubtedly adds another layer of insurance.
Then, on October 15th, Xujiazhuang sent three tractors to Fengle Village, with plows behind them, to find a large piece of wasteland, and planned to plow it first, and then plow it again in the spring of next year.
Turn wasteland into arable land - there was still a lot of wasteland in the late Ming Dynasty. After all, there were 200 million people in the sky, and the population density was much lower than in modern society. In ancient China, there was actually never a lack of land, just a lack of confrontation.
It’s just the means of natural disasters and the exploitation of the government and landlords who cannot bear it.
However, as the tractor rumbled to reclaim the wasteland.
Zeng Tianshun suddenly realized that he had overlooked an issue and made a fatal mistake!
taxes.
As long as these lands are reclaimed, they must be registered with the government in exchange for land deeds, and then they must pay taxes every year.
Although the tax amount stipulated by the court is thirty tax per one, plus nine cents of Liao rate, it is only a 4.233% tax, plus a tax of one hundred copper coins for each strong man, the pressure does not seem to be great at all.
But in the late Ming Dynasty when the imperial power did not go to the countryside, these taxes were just the amount of taxes that local states and counties ensured must be paid to the court. As long as this task was completed, the rest could be collected as they wanted, as long as the people were not forced.
Escape, rebellion, and more or less extra troops are all normal.
The only difference is that those who take a little less are considered good officials in the eyes of the people, and those who take a lot are corrupt officials who deserve to be killed.
Xin Shiqi, the magistrate of Xinghua County, is obviously not a good official.
Even if the 15 acres of land that Zeng Tianshun cultivated were planted with grass, he still had to pay taxes. If he couldn't get the money or food, he would just take the cattle and use the Angus cattle he raised to offset the debt.
This is absolutely impossible!
Thinking of this, Zeng Tianshun's face changed drastically, and he immediately stopped the work of the tractor and asked them to stop for a while. Then he went to Xujiazhuang and asked to see the owner of Xuzhuang again. He knelt on the ground again, saying that he was in trouble again and begged.
The owner helps.
"What's the trouble?" Xu Yuan asked.
"The land has been reclaimed, but I can't afford the government taxes. I wonder if I can take shelter under Xujiazhuang's name to avoid government harassment. Otherwise, I won't be able to raise the cattle!" Zeng Tian responded.
"Xujiazhuang cannot control the land outside the collective estates, and there will be many conflicts with the government."
Xu Yuan shook his head and saw a look of despair on his face. He thought for a moment and said, "But I have a solution to this problem. In addition to planting fifteen acres of giant fungi, you can also plant another acre."
After the potatoes are harvested, you can sell them to Xujiazhuang. We will buy them at a higher price so that you can get enough money to pay taxes. If the officials are still greedy, Xujiazhuang will make the decision for you. What do you think?"
Xu Yuan came up with a solution, which was to grow a variety of high-yielding potatoes per acre, which would not only be enough to pay taxes, but the extra potatoes would also fill the stomach.
This model is actually the Irish agricultural model. You must know that the island of Ireland covers an area of 84,000 square kilometers, but the islanders relied on a simple working model of raising cattle and growing potatoes to make the island prosperous in the 18th century.
The population has increased to more than 5 million.
It was just because the food crops were too single that the potato plague broke out, resulting in large areas of harvest failure, and then an extremely serious famine. However, Dai Ying, who had never been a good person in this matter, not only did not help alleviate the famine, but instead increased taxes.
They blocked food imports and starved to death more than a million people. The most fundamental reason was that Dai Ying felt that the island had too many people.
That's too far.
Returning to the plan proposed by Xu Yuan to use multiple varieties of potatoes per acre to pay taxes, Zeng Tianshun thought about it and felt that it was just planting one acre of potatoes. The workload involved was not large and was completely within the tolerance range.
I kowtowed a few more times and gratefully accepted the plan.
…
Finished dealing with this little episode.
Xu Yuan called the housekeeper Zhao Jinde and others over and continued to plan an important event.
Zhuangzhuangtong Bank was established.
That's right.
In the cross-travel alliance exchange group, Xu Yuan believes that the suggestions put forward by the big guys are currently easier to implement and the most feasible is to establish a banking financial system and a strong credit currency system, so as to achieve this goal in this era.
Based on the system, huge benefits can be obtained.
After several days of discussions, Xu Yuan, housekeeper Zhao Jinde and others decided on a step-by-step development strategy:
"We can't take too big steps at the beginning. We don't have to be too ambitious. We can start from our eleven manors, build a head office in the main village of Xujiazhuang, and build a Zhuangzhuangtong branch in each of the ten branch manors to operate
After a period of time, after gaining the trust of the people in the village, people were willing to deposit money, and then attracted surrounding villagers and landlords and gentry to deposit money, expanding the bank's influence and scale."
"After the success of Zhuangzhuangtong Bank, you can go to the provincial capitals of various chief secretaries (provinces), and go to big cities such as Beijing, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. Our banking institutions are all there, thus achieving 'province-to-province connectivity'
, when the influence further expands, the number of customers increases, and the business demand increases, we can set up at least one branch in every state and county in Ming Dynasty, thereby achieving the ultimate 'Tianxiatong Bank' form."
"As for credit currency, we cannot issue banknotes from the beginning without gaining the trust of the people. This is completely unfeasible. We must first issue hard currency of sufficient quality, such as a standard silver dollar worth 1 tael of silver, worth 1/
The large copper dollar worth 100 taels of silver, the small copper dollar worth 1/500 taels of silver, and the smallest small aluminum dollar worth 1/1000 taels of silver. These five metal currencies can cover most trading scenarios because of their value and fineness.
If it is sufficient, the people will not feel any inconvenience."
"After the successful promotion of metal currency, we can start to issue large-denomination bills of exchange to facilitate merchants to deposit and withdraw in other places. Then we will launch a check business. As long as users with large deposits in our bank do not need to carry a large amount of gold and silver with them, they only need to carry a large amount of gold and silver with them in their pockets."
With a stack of paper checks and a signature pen, you can complete large purchases without losing your style. When checks become popular and accepted by the mainstream, banknotes with exquisite patterns and superb anti-counterfeiting technology can be officially launched and gradually replace them.
The bulky metal currency has completed the final step in the construction of the credit system."
"In short, we must build a high-rise building brick by brick, step by step, step by step. We must not build castles in the air and build it overnight. This is impossible. In this way, we will achieve 'Zhuangzhuangtong' in about one year; in about five years
, we strive to achieve 'province-to-province connectivity'; within ten years, we will achieve 'world-wide connectivity' and successfully launch banknotes so that everyone can accept banknotes."
besides.
Even the most junior Zhuangzhuangtong Bank, in order to establish a solid and stable credit.
Xu Yuan announced that he would take out 10 million silver dollars, 500 tons of refined copper materials, and 100,000 shi of polished rice and store them in a bank warehouse as a deposit for the currency value to underpin the face value of the upcoming metal currency!
"Manor, we only have 11 manors in total. Such a deposit is enough to win the trust of the people and make customers feel at ease." Butler Zhao Jinde said excitedly.
"Is this too much? Will withdrawing so much money and food affect the operation of the manor?"
"No, our Xujiazhuang earns millions of taels every month. This deposit is not much, not to mention that we have demonstrated such strong strength and it is easier to gain the trust of the people."
"That's right, these materials can be stored anywhere. Storing them in a bank warehouse is almost the same as storing them in an ordinary warehouse."
"Right!"
At the end of the meeting, Xu Yuan added: "In the bank's vaults, counters, accounting rooms and other areas, a surveillance camera system must be set up first, and people with integrity must be assigned to supervise it day and night. Our bank in Xujiazhuang is a bastion of wealth for everyone and will never be allowed to
Any giant rat shows up!"
Surveillance cameras?
This word made all the senior management, including the housekeeper Zhao Jinde, couldn't help but twitch the corners of their eyes, showing helpless expressions, and even vaguely dissatisfied, secretly complaining that the owner of the village was too distrustful of them.
The little thoughts that had just arisen in the hearts of very few people were immediately knocked out of existence.
That's right, Xujiazhuang has been established for almost three years. Every month, mountains of gold and silver are brought in, but there has never been a major corruption incident. There are only a few small flies who are greedy for petty gains and are ruthlessly driven out of Xujiazhuang.
There are no big tigers.
How could we all be so incorruptible, so incompatible with this dirty and corrupt world of the late Ming Dynasty?
On the one hand, the salary offered by Xu Yuan is very high, enough to live a prosperous and comfortable life.
The second is the role played by the surveillance cameras distributed in every corner of Xujiazhuang. There is a camera watching overhead every day. Anyone who steals some worthless things will be kicked out of the village. Who dares to do something as great as a rat?
?
This is how the most honest environment was formed. After all, Xu Yuan never believed in human nature, because human nature is inherently greedy, and there are only a handful of people who have no selfish motives. People can endure temptations ten thousand times, but they are completely defeated once they fall. Therefore, instead of relying on
Some people's noble moral sentiments are better than installing more surveillance cameras and implementing a zero-tolerance policy.
…
October 18th.
A snowy and windy day.
At this moment, on the road covered with frost and snow, a carriage coming from the west was slowly advancing on the official road.
Inside the carriage.
"Brother Mi, you are too impatient. The weather is very cold. Why not wait until spring starts before going to Xujiazhuang?"
"Brother-in-law, although the novelty of Xujiazhuang is fascinating, if we travel far in winter and encounter heavy snow and road closures, we may not be able to return home to celebrate the New Year."
The cold wind was blowing hard, and Fang Yizhi tightened his coat and said to them: "Brother Cheng, brother-in-law, I can't stay in Tongcheng for a moment longer. I just want to go to Xujiazhuang to find the answer to save the people. I
Once we have entered Xinghua County, Xujiazhuang will arrive soon, I guarantee that your trip will be worthwhile."