New Shun 1730

Money is an extremely sensitive topic for the court.

It costs money to fight wars, it costs money to provide disaster relief, it costs money to reward, and it still costs money to run schools.

This question from Zuo Pingzhangshi was too sensitive, and it immediately made everyone fall into deep thought.

With an annual income of 30 million, the deposits in the world must be at least 30 times more.

If half of this silver is imported from outside, it would be 400 million taels. From the opening of the Longqing Gate to the Jiashen Year, in 80 years, the average annual income was 5 million taels.

However, the tax was never seen.

This is a simple math problem, and everyone present can calculate it.

Whether it is 2 out of 10 or 1 out of 10, it doesn't make sense.

Obviously, this is a place where money can be squeezed out. Even if 500,000 taels of tax can be squeezed out every year, it can relieve a lot of financial pressure.

Almost in an instant, some of the words Liu Yu said before instantly resounded in Li Gan's mind.

On weekdays, he would not care, but when this topic was brought up, it was extremely clear.

Duke Qi, in his memorial, recounted the tariff issue Liu Yu had mentioned during the negotiation with Luocha.

Raw silk, porcelain, and tea are all things that Westerners need but cannot produce themselves, so they can be taxed. Even if a tax of 30% is imposed, Westerners will still come to buy them. Compared with the profit from shipping them back, 30% of the trade cost is not a problem at all.

When taxing foreign goods, we must consider whether it will have an impact on the craftsmen of this dynasty.

Thinking of what Liu Yu had said before about the royal family's participation in the trade with Mongolia and Luocha, Li Gan, who was crazy about money, had already turned his mind several times.

The royal family monopolized trade, which was competing with the people for profit, but Westerners imported so much silver every year. If they could control it, wouldn't it increase the treasury by millions every year?

This temptation was too great.

However, as soon as this thought came to mind, Li Gan also knew the problem here.

It's easy to think, but it will definitely be completely distorted in implementation.

And what if tariffs are collected?

The annual customs tariffs are not much at all.

But Westerners do trade frequently and have money, so doesn't that mean that tax evasion and smuggling are serious?

Originally, it was a policy paper about the Western Regions. Liu Yu just wanted to use it to exert a little influence on the "world view", but he never thought that these short three hundred words would make Li Gan and others think of money.

This question was too sensitive, and Li Gan thought it would be better not to mention it at this time, so he said: "This policy paper asks about the Western Regions, so don't consider it for now. Let's continue reading. This is just an introduction. Whether it is true or false, we will discuss it in front of the palace after evaluating the pros and cons."

Avoiding the topic, the others also obeyed and continued to read.

As Li Gan said, these three hundred words were just an introduction. After these three hundred words, it led to the next question.

Times have changed. Changes in trade routes, the abandonment of the Western Regions, the development of Western silver mines, and the advancement of sea-going ship navigation technology have all turned the profitable Western Regions during the Han and Tang dynasties into a complete money-loser today.

The Western Regions of the past are no longer the Western Regions of today. If Dashun compares itself to the Han and Tang dynasties, then Dashun's Western Regions should be in Southeast Asia.

The geographical Western Regions, because of the Junggar, Rakshasa, Britain and France, and other factors, are more like Liaodong in the previous dynasty.

The Western Regions of the Han and Tang dynasties were profitable. So they had to be managed, and they were happy to manage them.

Liaodong in the previous dynasty had negative returns, but if it was not managed, the previous dynasty would have suffered a great disaster. This experience must be learned.

Therefore, the geographical Western Regions must be managed, and they must be managed at a loss.

Where does the money come from?

Can we do what Wang Anshi said, without increasing taxes and having enough national funds?

This leads to the first question.

If the dynasty pacifies the Junggar, the snow mountain is no longer the Tubo of the past. Liaodong is basically full of Han people. The southwest is just a land reform. Khalkha Mongolia is completely finished. Luosha Kingdom cannot mobilize too many troops in the northeast. Then where is the threat of the dynasty?

Only the east is left. Although the lessons of the past dynasties are that the northern border and the western troubles are the threats, the times have changed. Thinking so is like looking for a sword on a boat.

The only possible threat to the dynasty is the east.

Either Japan.

Or the Western countries.

If you want to eliminate the threat of the dynasty, you need a navy.

If you have a navy, but don’t manage Nanyang, isn’t it the same as having fertile soil, agricultural tools and good seeds but not planting?

This leads to the second question, there is a threat in the east.

After the two questions are raised, the question is first circled back to money.

If Guangdong is the Chang'an of the Han and Tang Dynasties, with goods exchanged, Hu people living together, and trade flourishing, then Nanyang should be the Anxi Protectorate.

It is good to collect money sitting at home.

But Liu Yu attached a chart below, using various prices collected from missionaries to tell everyone that if you collect money sitting at home, the money will be taken away by middlemen. Only when there are no middlemen to make a difference can you make a lot of money.

As the "Biography of Merchants" said: No one sells firewood within a hundred miles, and no one sells grain within a thousand miles.

The Rakshasa people traveled thousands of miles to sell tea and rhubarb here on land roads, which shows how much profit there is.

During the Han and Tang Dynasties, countries such as Daqin and Daxia were extremely rich, while Westerners were still barbaric and had no money, so trade in the Western Regions during the Han and Tang Dynasties could make money and was profitable.

But now countries such as Daqin are very poor, and Western European countries are now full of gold and silver, so as an analogy, Nanyang, which trades directly with Westerners, is the economic status of the Western Regions in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

At the same time, Annan and other places have been separated and united with the imperial court since the time of Zhao Tuo. The previous dynasty fought once, but soon gave up. The rainforest was everywhere, making it difficult to march.

Annan is long and narrow. If there is a navy, it can transport troops or land along the coast, and provide mobile water transport support. If the imperial court is prosperous in the future and Annan changes, Annan can be completely recovered.

Annan, Siam and other places are all rice-producing areas. If there is a navy, rice can be transported at any time, there will be no famine along the coast, and the increasing rice prices in Jiangnan can be alleviated.

The navy and the operation of Nanyang as the Western Region are two sides of the same coin.

If the navigation is strong, silk, porcelain, etc. can be directly transported to Western countries without the middlemen, and higher profits can be obtained, which is enough to pay for the cost of opening up the frontier.

If the navy is strong, no matter whether Japan or Western countries want to threaten the east, it will not work.

No matter how ambitious Japan is, if the navy fails, there will be no Wanli aid to Korea.

Even if the Westerners have ambitions, their countries are 40,000 miles away. The navy of the dynasty does not need to compete with the Western countries to dominate. It only needs to be able to defeat the Western countries in Southeast Asia to control them.

It seems that the Westerners have great power in Southeast Asia. For example, Luzon, Batavia, Malacca and other former vassal states have been controlled by Westerners.

However, there are conflicts between Westerners, and these conflicts can be used.

Moreover, there are many Han immigrants in Luzon and Batavia, and they are controlled by Westerners, instigating conflicts with local people.

These immigrants have been repeatedly oppressed. Once the navy of the dynasty is strong, they will immediately become a "returning army".

The experience of Westerners can be borrowed. Building cities and ruling. Since the Westerners are thousands of miles away, they can control Luzon and other places with only three to five thousand soldiers. There are many immigrants in Luzon, 200,000 to 300,000, and Batavia 150,000 to 160,000. Why can't they control the local areas?

Helan controls spices and makes a profit of one million per year. If the country can control spices in Nanyang, it can make a profit of one million.

If it can go to Europe, raw silk, tea, porcelain, etc. can also make a profit of four or five million.

Merchants in this dynasty sit and collect money, so they have no intention and ability to go to Europe. If they can transport them to Europe for sale, it is not competing with the people for profit.

It seems that the navy loses money, but in fact, once Nanyang is controlled, it will be like the Han and Tang dynasties controlling the Western Regions, with increased wealth, annual taxes of one million, and trade of tens of millions.

Moreover, if there is a strong navy, then going to Nanyang for survival is not something that the country needs to worry about.

As long as the navy is strong, those people cannot learn from Zhao Tuo, because their strength does not allow it, and they need to be rich and powerful to rebel.

Those who go to Nanyang for survival and have money must be closely related to the trade of silk, tea, etc., and they will definitely not use rebellion to cut off their own financial path.

If the immigrants in Nanyang do not have the support of the imperial court, they will be easily slaughtered by the local natives, so the immigrants there must be loyal to the imperial court.

With the support of the people, and the threat of the navy, even if there are ambitious people who want to imitate Zhao Tuo, it will only add to the laughter.

After discussing from the three perspectives of money, trade, and external threats, the subsequent content is a bigger outrage.

From ancient times, the rise and fall of dynasties are all two or three hundred years.

Why is this so? It is because the population grows, but the land does not increase, and there are serious annexations at the end of the dynasty.

To solve this problem, there are those who treat the symptoms and those who treat the root cause.

Those who treat the symptoms suppress annexation, but this is just the difference between dying early and dying late.

Those who treat the root cause develop practical learning, increase production, and at the same time widely immigrate, follow the wisdom of Zhou feudalism, immigrate to Nanyang and Nurgan, and reduce the contradiction between people and land.

By controlling Nanyang and increasing the treasury income, the court can support a strong army.

Even if there is a civil uprising, it can be suppressed.

After controlling Nanyang, Nurgan and other places, we can also imitate the system of the Song Dynasty.

Once there is a disaster, we must provide relief, and we should recruit the young and strong among the victims into the Xiang army and send them to Nurgan, Nanyang and other places.

We can open up Nanyang and Nurgan.

On the other hand, if all the young and strong are recruited, even if someone takes the lead in an uprising, only the old and weak will be left, and nothing can be accomplished.

Initially, young and strong immigrants are the main ones. The old and weak... if they have money, they will be given relief, and if they don't have money... this is just a bloody and cruel fact.

As more and more immigrants come, the cost of immigration will gradually decrease. Initially, it may be necessary to recruit official immigrants into the Xiang army.

After gradually opening up, there will be more and more spontaneous immigrants who can't make a living, and they can live for a few more years.

Nanyang has three crops a year, so it is basically unlikely to starve to death.

It produces a lot of rice. Controlling Nanyang is equivalent to controlling food. The navy can also transport food along the sea route, and can gradually eliminate the canal, saving a huge amount of expenses, and at the same time reducing the burden on the people in Jianghuai.

Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places were cultivated in Mongolia; Hebei and Shandong went to Liaodong; Henan and Shandong went to Nurgan; Jiangnan went to Nanyang.

At the same time, Westerners have always heard that there is a fertile land south of Nanyang. According to geographical calculations, there are four distinct seasons there, but winter and summer are opposite to the country, and it is vast for no less than ten thousand miles. If Nanyang can be controlled, it can also settle millions of people in the future; but if Nanyang cannot be controlled, it will definitely belong to Westerners in the future.

For all the above reasons, Nanyang is the Western Region of the country, which can benefit from the wealth of the Western Region of the Han and Tang Dynasties; it can obtain the momentum of Zhou's enfeoffment and expansion of territory; it can alleviate the worry of the rising price of grain in Jiangnan; it can solve the danger of annexation and rebellion of refugees; it can prevent the danger of enemy attacks on the thousands of miles of sea borders...