Future library

Standing in front of the 16-year-old Cheng Jinzhou, the 40-year-old Liu Bin is already a bad old man. Not to mention, standing next to the bright-eyed Liu Qingshuang, his competitiveness can be said to be infinitely close to zero.

Therefore, Xiao Cheng took Liu Qingshuang's hand without hesitation and invited her to ride in a carriage instead of talking about the future of mankind and reform with his father-in-law.

Liu Bin followed up with a livid face. Father-in-laws among nobles are generally happy. They can command their half-son to do the work of the two sons. They can also see their daughter at any time and enjoy the happiness of having one more family... But By marrying their daughter to a star warlock, noble father-in-laws suddenly have more troubles. Because the time period of the Star Warlock is too long and the wandering range is too far, it takes a long time to appear. On the other hand, their wages are high and their work is very busy. They rarely work for their father-in-law for free. The daughter of a noble marrying the son-in-law of a star warlock is like a forest wolf marrying an eagle. From the north to the east, the control is greatly weakened.

If it were any other young noble, Liu Bin would definitely pull him off his horse, then finish what he wanted to say and get on his horse.

But now, he had to climb into the carriage first.

It's not that he is really timid, but when the agreement in hand needs to be signed by Cheng Jinzhou, it is necessary for him to soften his attitude accordingly.

The airship was flying above the clouds, and the oxygen was thin. Cheng's mother was so sleepy that she fell asleep in another car.

After getting in the car, Liu Qingshuang smiled brightly, leaving enough room in the carriage, gently pushed Cheng Jinzhou with her bare hands and said: "You guys talk first, I have nothing to do."

"How are you staying in Hexi?" Cheng Jinzhou still asked.

"Everyone is very friendly. Sister-in-law Ningyun even made dumplings for me." Liu Qingshuang covered her mouth and smiled: "She can make dumplings for several people with just a little girl's help."

Cheng Jinzhou himself had never been to Hexi, so he didn't know who Liu Qingshuang was talking about, but he still smiled in agreement.

After talking like this for two minutes and asking all the questions that should be asked after parting, Cheng Jinzhou turned to Liu Bin and smiled: "Father-in-law, what do you want me to see?"

"Final agreement." Liu Bin's black face was limited, and he deliberately threw the copy in his hand in the carriage angrily.

Everyone was sitting cross-legged in the carriage, and Cheng Jinzhou picked it up and read it as if nothing had happened. This kind of agreement is a true gentleman's agreement. To say that it has little binding force, it is nothing more than solving the immediate matter.

From a modern perspective, the agreement is not very standardized. It can only be said to clarify the content, and it basically meets Cheng Jinzhou's requirements, especially that 60% of the commercial tax rate in the four provinces is handled by De'an County Government. Very subtle.

From this point of view, in two or three years, the court did not get any benefits, only some superficial glory.

Considering his own development in two or three years, Cheng Jinzhou smiled slightly, closed the document and said, "Mr. Liu, the future matters have been made clear, but in the past three months, how will the final calculation of the cents collected by the four provinces be calculated? Didn’t write it.”

"You have six and I have four, and they will be shipped to you the next day."

"That won't work. The four provinces did not get my consent before. They collected cents of gold, not commercial taxes, so they have to be refunded to the merchants." Cheng Jinzhou said with certainty and said: "I won't tell you this. If If any province does not return the gold to me the next day, I will personally go to the local governor to trouble him."

Liu Bin smiled bitterly and said: "Jinzhou, that's a matter of tens of thousands of taels of silver..."

He really has the right to despise tens of thousands taels of silver. As a big noble, the Liu family has more than tens of thousands taels of property in any province. The Xiding Villa given to Cheng Jinzhou that day is proof of this.

However, Cheng Jinzhou also had his own position. He could not let the four provincial governments take the money and then return it to the businessmen out of his own pocket, let alone go back on his word. So he shook his head firmly and said: "If the four provinces don't pay back the money, this will be a personal grudge. If I don't cause trouble with the court, I will cause trouble with the governor..."

"If you say that, who dares not to return it?" Liu Bin sighed, put the document on the small table in front of him, and said: "Let's stop the official affairs here. Let's talk about private matters. Starting next month, we will When tariffs are introduced, my idea is to start collecting them from grain. Although cloth and silk are increasing, we must also consider them."

"You call tariffs a private matter?" Cheng Jinzhou had never experienced real Daxia officialdom. Matters between nobles are discussed and discussed in the nobles' territory, and many things have indeed changed from public affairs to private matters. This is also the disadvantage of civilian officials. If you squeeze in as hard as you can, you will not be able to go where the nobles can go.

Liu Bin wrinkled his nose and said, "I want to charge a 30% tax on grain. Let's see who dares to bring grain in. If this continues, farmers will not grow grain next year."

"I think it's because the nobles stopped making money." Cheng Jinzhou shook his head and laughed. The noble manor in each county occupies the best land and produces the most grain. These are grains used for commodity transactions, while the grain produced by ordinary farmers every year is actually mainly used for their own consumption. If it is a good year, except for some problems in repaying debts, the impact will be far less than that of the nobles.

Liu Bin smiled and said nothing. It was true that his reforms were aimed at the aristocracy, but it was not necessarily true that everyone was opposed to the aristocratic system. Just like those reformers in history, their reasons for demanding reforms are ever-changing, and the camps they are in are also ever-changing.

"I have no objection to the tax on grain, but tax on linen cannot be imposed." Cheng Jinzhou told the latter without any concealment: "I want to use linen."

Liu Bin nodded as expected, and added: "Then there are copper and silver. My opinion is that these two are not taxed."

"Unless tax collection is determined, no tax will be collected." Cheng Jinzhou established the basic principle in one sentence, and added: "You may be able to study export tax rebates and the like to encourage exports."

"Export? What's the benefit of sending people's wealth outside the territory?"

"Come back in exchange for what we need." Cheng Jinzhou really convinced his father-in-law. He and Cheng Yun'an were actually the same type of people. They always cared about their own class and cared very little about other people. Master Yun'an is probably concerned about ordinary people and literati. Liu Bin may be concerned about the entire Daxia people, but the meaning is the same.

The two of them talked slowly and got out of the car. Cheng Zhai naturally had corresponding etiquette. After all, Liu Qingshuang was a bride who had not yet married, so there could not be any excessive ceremony. Everyone passed through the gate quickly and smoothly.

"Let's get some food first, and after mother wakes up, we can all have dinner together." Cheng Jinzhou explained, and then invited: "Father-in-law, please come too."

As he was speaking, a burst of air-piercing sound unique to Star Warlocks came.

Duan Rui flew straight down and said before he could land, "The star warlock is back again."

"who?"

"Take away the Zhao boy." Duan Rui gasped, his expression slightly nervous.

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