Chapter 431 Business Tax Investigation
Although these ministers in the palace stood on the dry shore with high-sounding names, not all of them were clean. The nobles of the marquisates and kingdoms might not look down on the melons and dates, but would acquiesce to let the people below take them.
It was impossible to ask these people to serve the people wholeheartedly in the era of absolute monarchy.
The main economic system of the Han court was determined when Luo Xin was in power. It was set up to quickly restore the economy. Therefore, the proportion of commercial taxes was very low and mainly symbolic. The purpose was to check the assets of merchants and the situation of commercial circulation in the world.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, the proportion of commercial taxes was raised a little, but because the treasury had sufficient funds, the court did not collect them forcefully. Many merchants secretly resisted and were unwilling to pay the high commercial taxes.
This is indeed the merchants seeking their own death. The transaction tax set by the court is not high, but they even want to evade it and are unwilling to pay taxes to the court. They are really blinded by greed.
This person forged a sharp knife, then pointed the knife at himself, and sent the handle to the court. I have never seen anyone who wants to die so much.
However, many of these merchants were protected by powerful people in Chang'an City or local areas. The powerful ones included princes, princesses, and top-level nobles, while the weaker ones included secondary nobles, officials of all ranks in the court and local areas.
After all, in the Han Dynasty, if a marquis or prince did not have a strong reputation or background, he would be eaten up if he went to a foreign land.
As a result, these fat sheep would never have imagined that they were directly given to Liu Dan by Sang Hongyang as a gift package for the new emperor.
The person who was in the most trouble in the palace was actually not the umbrella that protected these merchants, but the Grand Merchant.
Ever since Sang Hongyang made his suggestion, he had been feeling uneasy, as if there were needles under his butt. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he was sitting on pins and needles.
As one of the Nine Ministers, and the one in charge of the commerce of the Han Dynasty, he had no say in the salt and iron state-run businesses, and even the commerce directly under the department was overshadowed by Sang Hongyang and stepped on severely. This resulted in the inability to collect commercial taxes, which led to large-scale tax evasion and tax avoidance by merchants. This was obviously a serious dereliction of duty.
As expected, Liu Dan looked at him with some hostility, and Yin Yang asked, "Grand Minister of Commerce, did you hear what Grand Minister of Agriculture said just now?"
The Grand Minister of Commerce was startled and immediately stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, this is my fault. I will investigate immediately and will not tolerate it!"
After a moment of silence, Liu Dan's voice came vaguely.
"Grand Minister of Commerce, if you can't find anything that satisfies me, pack your bags and go to Lelang County in Liaodong Protectorate. I once fought against the barbarians there. The mountain scenery there is beautiful. It's a good place to retire. You will definitely like it there. Bring your wife and family with you. This is my love for you."
The Grand Minister of Commerce was startled when he heard this. They had talked about this in their spare time. Even if they went to Liaodong, they could not go beyond Jicheng. If they went further north, it was said that water would freeze into ice as soon as it fell, and that was not a place to survive.
"Your Majesty, I will definitely satisfy you!"
Thinking of this, Da Si Shang couldn't help but feel angry.
How could the emperor be satisfied?
Isn't it just to extract more commercial taxes to raise military funds for his war plan?
At this point, I don’t care whether I offend anyone or not, I just need to keep my position first.
However, the Grand Minister of Commerce glanced at Sang Hongyang silently, with a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He thought that Sang Hongyang was trying to trick him, and if there was a chance in the future, he would definitely let Sang Hongyang learn a lesson from his methods.
…
Luo Sheng slowly followed the crowd out of the hall.
Yes.
He was in the hall just now. He entered Chang'an City three days after Liu Jin's death. He originally came to support the emperor, but he didn't expect that the emperor was gone and the new emperor had even been chosen.
He seemed to have become a useless person in an instant, but since he was already here, he had to stay for a while to see how the situation of this big man developed and adjust the family's future strategy. With the death of Luo Jing, the blood connection between the Luo and Liu families was basically severed, and the relationship between the two sides suddenly became much colder.
After returning to the Luo family mansion in Chang'an City, Luo Sheng slowly spread out a piece of white paper and wrote a letter to his father, telling him about what he had seen and heard recently.
“Father, all is well.
The emperor overturned Emperor Ding's strategy of recuperation and instead continued to raise a large army to conquer the southwest. The strategic plan seemed very reasonable, and this battle should be victorious.
The rites, music, conquests and wars all originate from the emperor. It is natural for the emperor to conquer the four barbarians, and his son should not oppose him.
But his son was a little worried about his personality because he had to raise military funds for a conventional war.
The emperor likes military affairs and is good at them. Will the Han Dynasty embark on the path of militarism?
Where will the world go?
This is what my son is worried about.
After leaving Chang'an, I plan to go to the Western Regions to see my second brother. Don't worry, father."
Luo Sheng had just sealed the letter and put it into the bamboo tube when he heard the housekeeper knock on the door and say, "Sir, Anyang Marquis Han Lin wants to see you."
Han Lin walked into Luo's mansion. What happened in the palace made him feel happy. When he saw Luo Sheng, he smiled and asked, "Sir, the current emperor wants to conquer the Southwestern Yi. I wonder what Lord Zhao thinks?"
After Luo Sheng asked Han Lin to sit down, he said: “This is the Han Dynasty, not Bang Zhou, and Luo’s opinion is not important.
Since the emperor wants to fight, then let's fight.
My father disagreed with what you said before because it was indeed inappropriate, but now the situation has changed. Perhaps conquering the Southwestern Yi is a better solution.
Most things in this world can only be understood after you have done them.”
Han Lin's smile deepened when he heard what Luo Sheng said, and he asked, "Sir, His Majesty said in the court that he wants the Minister of Commerce to investigate the tax evasion, do you have any opinion?
This could cause a big stir.”
Hearing this, Luo Sheng looked at Han Lin in surprise and asked, "What opinion can I have?
The Kingdom of Zhao was an independent vassal state. All its transactions with the Han Dynasty were in compliance with the laws of the Han Dynasty and the agreements between the two parties. All taxes were paid on time and in accordance with regulations, and the Zhao Kingdom's caravans could not be traced back.
As for the merchants in the Han Dynasty, as far as I know, the business tax in the Han Dynasty is not high. The cost of guarding the borders in the Han Dynasty is very high. As a wealthy merchant, it is right to pay taxes for the border defense of the Han Dynasty. "
Han Lin's mouth twitched when he heard this, and he deeply felt the difference between the two sides. The Luo family's caravan had certain privileges in the Han Dynasty. The trade relationship between the Han court and Zhaogong Kingdom was one between countries, which was completely different from their vassal states.
"Sir, you don't have to play these tricks with me. Just tell me the truth about the relationship between our two families. Anyang Han has not evaded commercial taxes, so we are not afraid of the court's investigation. But this matter is really big, and I am a little worried."
(End of this chapter)
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