Much like Ma Yue's prediction, the four leaders of Haifan City ultimately couldn't come to a conclusion. Taxation was a complex issue, one even the primitive people of the Hai Tribe had little experience with, having only received land rent.
The commodities involved in trade were much more complex. Would the tax rates be the same? What percentage would be appropriate? How many troops would be needed to maintain vigilance? They had no experience with the currency issues Ma Yue mentioned, and they had no idea what they were talking about.
"You should try this out first with the Qingfeng Tribe. Once other tribes find the Qingfeng Tribe model profitable, they'll continue to come to you. You'll figure out the appropriate tax ratio through continuous practice..."
"Of course, if that happens, we'll have to pay a premium for the security personnel. However, at the beginning, there won't be many trade caravans passing through Haifan City, so we don't need to arrange special security arrangements. Don't we have the necessary military training for squadrons or even battalions every day?"
Oh, the three priests, Shang Yin, Shuichong, and Luo Bai looked at each other. It really was that simple. In disguise, there was no security fee. Of course, the time for such a crossing would have to be determined by Haifan City itself. When my troops are deployed, your caravan can pass through at that time.
The first important part of military training is formation training, which includes formation running and formation marching. Keeping the formation in order is very important. So, such formation training with the trade team is not a waste of time, as it kills two birds with one stone.
The military organization of the Hai tribe is fixed at 500 men per battalion; the organization of the squadron is not fixed, some squadrons have 50 men, some have 100 men, and the organization is different because the needs are different.
In this case, any tax revenue without any cost is profit.
It's a bit shameful that such a simple question still requires a charlatan's guidance.
Ma Yue roughly decided that mid-grade spirit stones could be used as taxes, but other low-grade spirit stones could not. As for using food or other goods as taxes, he would not collect too much at the beginning. Once everyone felt that the profits from the East-West trade were huge, more and more trade teams would be attracted.
Gradually increasing commercial taxes will only be accepted as long as people still see profit. If I can make a profit from the price difference of ten potatoes and pay you the tax of one potato, that's fine. But if I only make a profit from the price difference of two potatoes and Haifan City pays the tax of one potato, of course that won't be acceptable.
What tax ratio is appropriate requires the Ministry of Commerce, which is mainly responsible for business, to continuously explore in practice.
Once the general direction is determined, the rest will be easy.
This is a primitive world, and the trading ratios for many commodities are still being explored, not just for potatoes and fish. As we've said, even the most common rope you can weave can be traded. As long as it's a useful commodity, it has value.
The Haifan City, which is full of people, is of course the largest consumer group. Of course, Haifan City also has the largest surplus of goods, mainly pottery and sheepskin. As long as the price is right, they can all be traded.
Can't a clay pot from Haifan City be exchanged for a bundle of ropes from you? Can't a sheepskin from me be exchanged for a pound of dried salted fish from you?
This is also why so many tribes, big and small, are willing to "live" in the labor and trade areas of Haifan City. There are many factors that determine a city's desire to become a commercial center.
With a population of 20,000, Haifan City is a huge production and consumption center.
Once the barriers to trade with the East and West in Haifan City were broken, even Ma Yue hadn't anticipated the increasing number of caravans, both large and small, that would travel through Haifan City to participate in trade. For example, the Moon Tribe in the west built a simple log cabin and trade shop in the city's eastern trading district. The Qinghai Tribe, originating from the sea east of the city, also established a trade point in the city's western trading district.
This model has been recognized by many tribes. The trading store will first negotiate the items to be traded, and then once Haifan City opens, they can contact their own tribe to transport goods for trading.
The emergence of taxes actually led to the emergence of mid-grade water spirit stones, which greatly surprised Ma Yue. The preciousness of mid-grade spirit stones was understood by all immortal cultivators.
"So many mid-grade spirit stones?" Ma Yue inspected the tax office. About 30% of the taxes were mid-grade spirit stones. Fortunately, most of them were fire and water-type, useful to all the cultivators in Haifan City.
"Yeah, you charlatan, we don't know where they got it from." Shang Yin said, "You charlatan, will this thing become useless if there are too many of them?" This is what Shang Yin was worried about. After all, there are not many cultivators in Haifan City.
"Yes, charlatan, I saw the Qingfeng tribe selling their fire-type medium-grade spirit stones in the trade zone. I guess people from other tribes think it's cost-effective to pay taxes with medium-grade spirit stones." The third priest also had this worry. If the cultivators in Haifan City couldn't use up all the spirit stones, and the remaining ones were left over, it would be a real waste since these spirit stones couldn't be eaten or drunk.
"We absolutely cannot waste it. I don't know how much of this stuff we have left, but the quantity is limited after all. I wish they all paid their taxes with mid-grade spirit stones. You don't understand the significance of mid-grade spirit stones to cultivators. If you don't believe me, if you can get a mid-grade wind spirit stone, the high priest of the Qingfeng tribe will be willing to give it to you in exchange for any number of large livestock."
What Ma Yue said was not an exaggeration at all. The most painful thing is that you want something but can't buy it. For example, if the high priest of the Qingfeng tribe had the wind spirit stone, he would have advanced to the level of a martial artist long ago.
Ma Yue was not sure how many spiritual cultivators there were in this world. Once the number of spiritual cultivators reached a certain scale, spirit stones would definitely be their most basic currency.
"Just take it, this little bit isn't enough for me alone."
Ma Yue said this, Shang Yin and the three priests no longer worried. As long as the magic stick is useful, then it is valuable. As for whether the medium-grade spirit stone can be exchanged for large livestock, we will talk about it later.
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