Chapter 0041 Starting a Family
There's something wrong with the atmosphere.
Xiao Rong's face turned red, and he didn't know whether he was angry or embarrassed. He walked quickly to his seat and sat down without saying a word.
Fortunately, there was Gao Xunzhi, a social expert. He smiled and asked everyone to sit down. While ordering the guards to serve tea, he naturally asked all irrelevant people to leave, including the women who didn't even dare to raise their heads.
Xiao Rong stared at them with indifference. This group of wealthy families were really considerate. Each family sent two or three women, one of whom must be a young one and an older one. The youngest one could be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and the older one could not be more than twenty years old.
The younger one will probably be given to Xiao Rong, and the older one will be given to Gao Xunzhi.
Gao Xunzhi exchanged pleasantries with these people, during which he glanced at Xiao Rong inconspicuously. He was shocked before because there were rumors that Xiao Rong was fond of women, but not because these wealthy families offered their women. After all, with their high status, such things could happen every day.
No matter what time it is, marriage is the fastest way to improve the relationship between two people. However... the girl offered is from the clan, not from the family. This cannot be considered a marriage, it is just a flattery.
These powerful family heads probably knew that they had made a wrong decision. They cursed the former Chenliu governor in their hearts first, and then continued to smile politely at Gao Xunzhi.
At first, they just talked about some daily things, asking if the journey was smooth and how the harvest was at home. Gradually, they talked about the main point. Gao Xunzhi said that the King of Zhenbei wanted to build a long street on the bank of Qushui River for convenient living, temporarily named Baibao Street, which means that as long as you come to this street, you will definitely find the treasures in the world.
As for why it was not named Tianbao... the word "Tian" cannot be used casually. Even if it is used at this time, it may be changed by those sensitive people in the future. It is better to use a word that will not offend the imperial power from the beginning.
At this time, there was almost nothing on both sides of the Qushui River except for docks and villages. Although the Qushui River was also in the city, the most lively places in the main city were not next to the main river, but next to the small river, because it was convenient to build bridges, and if someone fell in, they could quickly climb out. People needed water sources, they needed to use water sources to get water or wash clothes, as for sailing and more places for communication, that was not within the consideration of the people.
These clan leaders thought of what a desolate land the other side of Qushui was, and they couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.
When Gao Xunzhi saw that they didn't ask any questions, he knew that they were not very interested in this plan, so he quickly continued to introduce it.
In fact, these should have been said by Xiao Rong, but Xiao Rong was frightened by those unmarried women and could only sit here with a stern face. Before coming in, he and Gao Xunzhi had agreed that one of them would play the good cop and the other the bad cop, but now the situation was reversed, with Gao Xunzhi, who was obviously more prestigious, playing the good cop, while Xiao Rong, who was young and not yet convinced by the crowd, played the good cop.
While listening to Gao Xunzhi's words, Xiao Rong observed the reactions of these people.
The first step in urban planning is not to live wherever you want, but to establish zoning to concentrate similar functions and reduce transportation costs. The first commercial and residential zoning system was the Fangshi system, but Xiao Rong did not want to create a Fangshi system. After all, the Fangshi system was too strict and actually suppressed the development of commerce. Xiao Rong wanted to establish a special commercial street and then encourage or order most businesses to move there. If they did not move, Xiao Rong would not do anything.
When the commercial street is really built, people will naturally flock there, and those businesses that do not want to move will make new decisions. Some people will always move away, and some will always stay. One or two nail households will not have much impact.
The key is that this commercial street must be built.
First, merchants relocate, then customers are attracted, then docks are built, then fleets and caravans are established, and finally a commercial district is formed, and the radiation range expands rapidly.
The place called Qushui sounds a little unfamiliar. It has another name called Langtangqu. This place is connected to the Yellow River in the east, Huoshui in the west, Juye Lake in the south, and Ru and Ying Rivers in the north, and these two rivers are connected to the Huai River.
If Chenliu is an important transportation hub in the Central Plains, then Qushui is the center of this interconnected water system. If this place is not used to develop commerce, Xiao Rong would probably not be able to sleep well.
Gao Xunzhi worked hard to introduce the future Baibao Street to these people. The houses would be built by the Zhenbei Army, and there would be special personnel patrolling the street in the future to protect the interests of merchants and citizens. As the first commercial street in Chenliu, Baibao Street would be exempt from the curfew, and business could be done on this street in the middle of the night.
Gao Xunzhi also mentioned the anthology, which will be held on Baibao Street. For this purpose, they will build a huge square. Even after the anthology is over, there will be singing and dancing, raffles, competitions and other activities from time to time. Some are free to watch, while others are paid to watch. But no matter which one it is, it means that many people will come to this street to consume, and every merchant can benefit from it.
Needless to say, after hearing this, these wealthy families were really tempted. They were all families with money but no power, and could not compare to the aristocratic families. After all, all the children of the aristocratic families served as officials in the court. Since the day the wealthy families were born, the emperor had been suppressing them. First, he prohibited them from marrying with the aristocratic families, and later prohibited their children from entering the court. This led to them having no sense of security, and they always wanted to bribe the new superiors in an attempt to get their protection.
It would certainly be a good thing if the Zhenbei Army was willing to protect their industry.
Moreover, this Prime Minister Gao looks quite honest, but he has so many tricks up his sleeve. They have never heard of raffles and competitions. It seems that this Prime Minister Gao is very good at business. Maybe he can really run this Treasure Street.
The wealthy families were all very arrogant. It was just opening two stores, no problem. As soon as they agreed, Gao Xunzhi told them with a smile that the Zhenbei Army would collect rent.
Moreover, the rent is not a fixed amount, but is calculated according to their income. For every income, the Zhenbei Army will collect one tenth.
The heads of the wealthy families: “…………”
Don't think we won't understand you if you change your name.
Isn't this a business tax!!!
The few people who were quite lively just now suddenly stopped talking.
This is normal. Everyone smiles when they are asked to give him money, but they become cold and stern when they ask him for money. Moreover, this is a very special era. The business tax has been abolished for nearly 30 years.
When the Yong Dynasty was first established, the founding emperor He Kui collected commercial taxes, and they were heavy taxes, directly collecting one-third of the tax. The merchants had no way to make a living, so they had to go home and farm. This unexpectedly made the He family's wallets bulge for a while. Relying on the heavy commercial taxes and the grain handed over by the farmers, He Kui became extremely rich.
After He Kui died, his descendants still felt that it was not enough and continued to increase taxes. All kinds of exorbitant taxes emerged one after another. Originally there was no way to make a living, but now there was no way to die, because the court still had to collect taxes even after the death of the person. Who could bear this situation? Soon, the world became chaotic.
Seeing that this was not working, the court quickly cancelled those miscellaneous tax items, and commercial taxes were also reduced a lot, directly to one twentieth.
Business prospered again, but the imperial court did not recover. The emperor was replaced every few years. During the reign of Emperor Taining, a group of princes even rebelled. At that time, each city tried to protect itself, and the imperial court was almost non-existent. So a new thing appeared, called tariffs.
Tariffs mean that when you carry goods through a city, you have to pay a tax. If the distance is long, all the goods may have been taxed before you even reach the destination. …
This was very unfriendly to the caravans, but very good for the local merchants, because they did not go out and did not have to pay taxes at all. Gradually, tariffs replaced commercial taxes, and commercial taxes no longer existed.
Ten years ago, the Yong Dynasty moved south, and not only did the commercial tax disappear, but even the customs duties disappeared for a while. These local nobles originally operated the Chenliu area, and the only money they had to pay was the protection fee to their superiors. There was no fixed amount for the protection fee, and the amount depended on the type of person the superior was. They felt at ease paying this kind of money, but once it was replaced by taxes, they were very resistant.
They also thought that if they refused, they could force the Zhenbei Army to withdraw this idea. That was impossible. Commercial taxes must be collected, and not just in Baibao Street. In the future, all merchants in the Central Plains will have to pay taxes.
But Xiao Rong couldn't just announce that he was going to collect taxes. If he was too tough, something bad would happen in the city, so he planned to boil the frogs in warm water, let them taste the sweetness first, and then let them set an example and take the lead in paying taxes.
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