Future library

Cheng Jinzhou could ignore the officials of the Zhengshitang and the high-ranking officials and nobles of the Zongfu Office, but among everyone in the court, there was one person he did not dare to offend easily - Hexi Transport Envoy Liu Bin, his future father-in-law.

To see the future of a court official, you only need to look at the frequency of conversations among ladies. In the past year, the name "Liu Bin" has appeared more and more in lunches and tea parties. At the beginning, the noble ladies privately discussed him as a conservative old-school figure, and even ridiculed him for marrying his daughter to Cheng Jinzhou out of some ridiculous misplaced marriage idea. Some even thought that he was preparing a retreat. ——In fact, it is a more reliable guess. But as Cheng Jinzhou became a one-star warlock, a two-star warlock, and a three-star warlock, the trend of chatting among the ladies changed instantly.

In fact, noble ladies are the most sensitive political group in the entire Great Xia. Especially in the capital, the more invitations a certain minister's wife receives, the greater the chance that her husband will be promoted. To a certain extent, the shadow cabinet composed of noble ladies also has a real impact. It is not an exaggeration to call the two sides complementary to each other in the Sunshine Cabinet.

Now, the number of noble ladies coming to Shaonan and Nanling has increased significantly. Many important families in the capital have sent their female relatives to Shaonan and Nanling to visit relatives. The Great Xia has lasted for thousands of years, and the relationship between high-ranking nobles is complicated. There are more than a dozen descendants and wives, and you can always find a few who are related by blood.

At this time, the Cheng family's aristocratic status also comes into play. For example, the old lady of the Cheng family served the queen in the palace and received the title of marquise. With such experience in the capital, the Cheng family is more likely to be recognized by the aristocratic group. If this were not the case, it would be difficult for a family considered to be a nouveau riche to make a living in the aristocratic circle. Even for those noble families that have nobles but have not become aristocratic families, it is very difficult to rise at once.

The entire society is like a cocoon. Many people have the ability to break this cocoon into pieces, but there are too few people who can pull it into a thread for their own use.

There have been many high-level star warlocks in history. Many families, including the current warlock Jiang Huangxing, warlock Liu Kuangxing and warlock An Fengxing, have not been able to rise because of this. On the one hand, the star warlocks are unwilling to spend their energy on the development of the family, and on the other hand, there is also the arrogance of the nobles - this arrogance, in many cases, is truly transcendent of life, death and interests.

Think of those nobles who did not hesitate to charge on the battlefield, risking fatal arrows; think of those nobles who did not hesitate in court and wrote letters despite the threat of death; think of those nobles who did not hesitate to charge in the expedition. The nobles who hesitated and struggled forward on the mud of death - in the feudal dynasty, the nobles were the main educated group, the natural citizens of the kingdom, and the backbone and spirit of the country.

When the nobles talk about population mobility, it actually shows that many civilians do not have a strong sense of the country. Not counting the barren Northern Han Dynasty and the war-torn Liang Dynasty, a large number of Daxia residents moved to Jingnan. To a certain extent, the price of the patriotic sentiments of civilians in the feudal era was relatively low - although All patriotism may come at a price.

Nobles bear more responsibilities and have perfect rights. Even Cheng Jinzhou is used to this division of the world.

When the nobles say "no" to those who are dissident, the Star Warlock has the ability to destroy them physically, but cannot replace them spiritually.

Zhao Ling believes that in the world of aristocrats, any problem can be solved.

Gao Tanglong did not persuade Cheng Jinzhou, but his appearance gave the court an opportunity to return to the negotiating table. Zhao Ling even attracted Liu Bin and prepared to give him the title of transport envoy from the four provinces.

The smartest thing about Zhao Ling is that he did not appear at Shaonan and De'an at all, but constantly persuaded and directed others to influence the development of the situation.

Since Liu Bin was the only one who showed up, Cheng Jinzhou could only go to greet him in a polite manner, and even prepared a good room for him to rest. All the nobles in Daxia are staring at him. The amount of money at the port is a public matter, and the way you treat others is a matter of personal quality.

Liu Bin naturally knew what Cheng Jinzhou was thinking, and still held his hand in an elderlike manner and said with a smile, "Don't you want me to be the transport envoy to the four provinces?"

"I am also happy that you have been promoted."

The transportation envoys of the four provinces are designed to be one level lower than the governor. They have the same status as the governor, and their authority is slightly lower than half a level. They are the third-grade or second-grade titles. Liu Bin was promoted to three levels in a row.

However, the transfer envoy was not happy because of Cheng Jinzhou's unintentional words. On the contrary, he said rather unhappily: "We don't need to say such words between husband and son-in-law. When Zhao Ling came to see me, I also thought about it a lot, but in the end I feel that it is good for everyone if I serve as the transport envoy to the four provinces."

Liu Bin's Chinese character face is very convincing, and his generous lips give people a sense of trust.

After his father went to Nanling to take up a post, Cheng Jinzhou had not been taught a lesson for some days. But what his father-in-law said was very meaningful, and he couldn't help but ask: "Why is it the best?"

"That's the right way to ask. When you are in your position today, you should explain everything clearly." Liu Bin said with great language skills: "It's true that your port in De'an is getting bigger and bigger, but the port in Beijing, Huangjin Port, the outer peninsula and other places are receiving less and less taxes. On the other hand, the price of grain in Daxia is falling every month. The low price of grain hurts farmers. If the court wants to govern, it also wants you. Just cooperate here."

Without waiting for Cheng Jinzhou to speak, Liu Bin continued: "No matter how powerful you are now, there will always be times when you take a nap. In Daxia's territory, unless you are ready to rebel and become the emperor yourself, you will always have to interact with the imperial court. If taxes are collected, then these goods will not be taxed when they leave the four provinces? The imperial tax is decreasing day by day, and the price of grain is falling day by day. Some ministers want to restrict the entry of grain, but they also die because of the existence of De'an. In the end, the court You can’t help it.”

Speaking of which, Xiao Cheng really didn't think that far ahead. For him, with the current development speed, it will be different every year, and the so-called future profits will be higher, which is completely meaningless.

Seeing that his father-in-law was about to draw a conclusion on his behalf, Cheng Jinzhou quickly stopped him and said, "I need money most now. Who knows what will happen next year? If taxes are increased, De'an Port will be abolished." Most of it..."

"It's when you need money, so why don't you impose taxes?" Liu Bin asked back.

Cheng Jinzhou was stunned. He actively develops outward trade. In fact, it is largely outward trade to the Star Alliance. Through De'an's entry and exit, he can also easily import and export materials to the Star Alliance. However, in terms of profits, today's huge trade flow of De'an , the money he earned seems to be no less than what he earned independently in the Star Alliance.

Liu Bin saw that Cheng Jinzhou had listened, and then he smiled and said: "I am a transshipment envoy to the four provinces. You can decide the future tax rates and so on. What materials are taxed, what materials are not taxed, or you can charge less and more. , I will also discuss it with you. However, I want to re-measure the land in the four provinces, and you have to help me."

It sounded fine at first, but measuring the land at the back made Cheng Jinzhou's head as big as a bucket. Only now did he realize that his father-in-law was a difficult master to take care of.

He couldn't help but waved his hands and said: "It's a good thing that you want to reform, but everyone knows that after measuring the land, the nobles will be deprived of their property. That is the foundation of Daxia. All the nobles will point their spines and curse."

At least Cheng Jinzhou didn't say "I am more hated than me". After all, he makes money, others are just jealous, but Liu Bin wants to take other people's money away from his hands.

"The imperial court takes 30% of the taxes from the four provinces, and leaves the rest to you." Liu Bin clapped his hands and said, "We will bear the infamy, and you can only take the benefits. As for measuring the land, can you provide me with some star warlocks?" Apprenticeship is enough.”

"If I provide you with the star warlock apprenticeship, others will think that I am also involved. As for the tax, if the tax is too high, the number of ships coming from De'an will probably decrease sharply." Cheng Jinzhou was a little exhausted, and for some reason, Liu Bin handed over a The matter was broken down into two things, and from ordinary thinking, it seemed that he would agree to at least one of them.

In the face of dreams, Liu Bin is a very principled person. But in the process of realizing his dream, Liu Bin was a man who was good at adapting. He clapped his hands gently and said: "The process of reform is the process of redistribution. Those aristocratic families often occupy land in several states, and they conceal it and do not report it. Hidden profit tax. If the court’s tax increases, your port’s income will be preserved.”

His logic is strange and direct. But Cheng Jinzhou understood it all at once.

A long time ago, the court was planning reforms because of tax issues, and the nobles hoped that the reforms would be successful without touching their own interests. Liu Bin went in the opposite direction and wanted to reform the interests of the nobles. However, since Daxia had money, the emerging nobles would benefit from the redistribution of interests.

Cheng Jinzhou quite agreed with his father-in-law's reform methods. After all, from the perspective of the entire world, Daxia was his base camp. Being able to find ways to run the base camp well is the greatest support for yourself.

But it was impossible for him to follow Liu Bin's path as a reformer, lest he make the same mistakes as the reformers. So he just asked: "I have promised the merchants before that I will return their taxes in full. How can I go back on my promise?"

"I want each province to pay back 50% of the taxes, and the rest will be paid with the taxes collected in the future." Liu Bin thought for a moment and then said: "As a port, it is right not to collect tariffs, but as a country, Tariffs are indispensable. For example, grain must be heavily taxed to reduce imports, while cloth and the like must not be taxed to increase imports.”

How did he know that these supplies were all caused by Cheng Jinzhou's uncontrolled selling.

In terms of the liquidity of a feudal country, if Cheng Jinzhou sells 1% of the stock in the market, 100% of it can be moved. A society that has not received financial baptism will never know the power of concentrated banknotes.

However, Dr. Cheng Da does appreciate the "blacklist" and "whitelist" approaches. From a national perspective, his ideas back then were indeed a bit petty. He immediately put forward his request: "In this case, from now on, I will set the tariffs for all terminals across the country, including the Beijing terminal."

This time, it was Liu Bin's turn to be stunned.

…