Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 390 New Overseas System (Part 2)
Relatively speaking, because the overall transportation in Ming Dynasty at that time was not very convenient, the domestic economic circle had not been completely integrated. Therefore, when Zhu Youdong fought back against Siam this time, the people who invested the most in the war fund were the merchants in the southeast and southwest of Ming Dynasty and the dignitaries behind them.
After winning the war against Siam, wealthy merchants in the southwest, led by the King of Shu, raised 3 million silver dollars on their own to build a highway from Chengdu to Kunming, and then from Kunming to Yangon. This amount of money was not enough to cement the entire route, so they could only compact the dirt road, widen the roadbed, build a bridge over the river on the road, cut down the cliffs on the roadside where necessary, and reinforce them where necessary, and that was all.
Naturally, the main focus and funds of the southwestern merchants were invested in the construction of Yangon Port. They were not very interested in Singapore and the like.
The merchants in North China and Northeast China were eagerly waiting for the imperial army to send troops to the east. As for the merchants in the northwest, they were still eagerly hoping that the emperor would defeat the Japanese pirates and clean up the grasslands and the passage to the Western Regions again.
The merchants from the southeastern provinces of Ming Dynasty were the ones who were really interested in Singapore, as well as Saigon, Phnom Penh and Bangkok along the way.
In short, since the economy of the Ming Dynasty was not truly a national chess game at that time, merchants in various regions still considered their own nearby businesses first. Of course, this situation was not absolute, and many merchants from other places followed merchants from southeastern provinces to Southeast Asia to seek new sources of income. However, at least in Saigon or Singapore, the big merchants who really kept their word were definitely from the southeast.
There are about 70 or 80 wealthy merchants who came to Singapore on behalf of the Ming War Foundation. The two leaders are Xu Yuanzuo from Songjiang Huating and Huang Jizong from Jinjiang, Fujian. Needless to say, the former is a second-generation official who does business. He has strong capital and good vision. He joined Zhu Youdong more than ten years ago. In recent years, Zhu Youdong said east, and the Xu family never went west. With such accumulation, naturally, the pot is full of money.
The latter was originally a Confucian scholar from Fujian, and studied for the imperial examination. Unfortunately, Fujian is a place with many mountains and few fields, and the imperial examination is very strong. In particular, his father almost exhausted his small family property for medical treatment before his death. So Huang Jizong was forced to go into business due to poverty. But as the saying goes, the best students at the alumni reunion in later generations are often not the top students of the year. This Huang Jizong is also the same: he can no longer make a name for himself when he reaches the level of scholar in the imperial examination, but once he starts a business, he is simply successful. Now, he has become the main representative of the War Foundation in the southeast.
Seeing the governor of this state leading the five big bosses to attend the meeting, many businessmen headed by Xu Yuanzuo and Huang Jizong were naturally not arrogant, and they all bowed and saluted.
After various greetings, both parties sat down. Li Jia cleared his throat and said, "Dear loyal and patriotic people, welcome to the overseas state of Singapore. This place is round... with a pleasant climate and abundant products. As for us here today, perhaps you think that the names of the officials have changed, but the so-called prefects, court presidents, garrison commanders, ICAC chiefs, and education commissioners are not the provincial governors, provincial inspectors, military commanders, inspectors, and education censors in the mainland? Haha, I have to tell you first, it is really not."
He stood up and said, "According to the Emperor's order, I, as the prefect, am in charge of the civil affairs of the state. However, there are only a few thousand ordinary people in this place, and there are many chiefs among the indigenous people. I can't manage much of the civil affairs. So the Emperor said that my job is to attract investment and provide various services for all the righteous people who come to Singapore to invest. Therefore, under me, there is also a director of the Public Security Bureau, who is specifically responsible for arresting bandits and severely punishing all kinds of lawless people to facilitate your work here and ensure the safety of you and your friends. So in this way, I actually also performed some of the work of the inland inspector.
As for President Peng Xiaodong, the main job of this court is to judge. That is, all kinds of civil disputes and criminal cases are heard and judged by President Peng according to the new laws of our Great Ming Overseas Province. Therefore, I hope that everyone will be free of trouble in Singapore in the future. But if there are any disputes, you can't run to my office to make trouble like in the mainland. That is President Peng's job.
As for this Chief Qu here, his job is not as simple as a patrol. According to the emperor's will, the income of this state is divided into national taxes and local taxes. This national tax is naturally to be paid to the court, while the local tax is used for the salaries of officials in this state, the construction of various public works, and the fixed allocation of 5% of the annual local tax to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. Therefore, this Chief Qu will have a lot of office expenses in the future! The head of the ICAC has not only the power of supervision, but also the power of execution. If he thinks that this official is suspected of corruption and bribery, he can directly ask this official to question him. If you think you are suspected of bribery, you can arrest you directly. So, it is best for everyone to do things here in the future. Don't bribe this official. Although my family doesn't have much money, my own salary and the special subsidy for serving in overseas states have an income of nearly 150 yuan per month. This money is enough for the expenses of my family. So, don't harm this official, let alone yourself. "
"I dare not. It is said that the Ming family is the emperor's favorite student, and we are also his lackeys. How could we do such a thing?"
"Hahaha, that's better."
After briefly introducing the functions and responsible officials of the various functional bureaus under his prefecture, such as the Public Security Bureau, Local Taxation Bureau, National Taxation Bureau, Finance Bureau, Health Bureau, Construction Planning Bureau, and Investment Promotion Bureau, Li Jia had someone bring in a three-dimensional map of Singapore.
"Everyone, according to the Emperor's order, the land in the Five States can only be contracted to the shareholders of the War Foundation. After discussing with my colleagues, I have taken out the existing Singapore Port and its surrounding 50 square kilometers of land in advance. According to the Planning Bureau's opinion, this area is divided into major areas such as berthing, unloading, storage, and delivery. In addition, there is also a part designated as a residential area... All of the above things can be contracted and constructed by the War Foundation."
"May I ask, sir, how much is this land?"
"According to the emperor's prior arrangement and Governor Xiong's order, the land in Wuzhou cannot be sold, but can only be leased. However, considering the long-term interests of all the bosses, the lease period of this land will be very long. Starting from 20 years, the upper limit can be signed to 50 years. After the bosses lease this land, the construction on the land must be carried out in accordance with the rules of the Planning Bureau. In other words, if you rent the port area, you can only build various facilities and equipment of the port. If you rent the residential area, you can only build residential buildings. Of course, the price will definitely . The price of the port area is five yuan per mu per year. The price of the residential area is two yuan per mu per year."
After Li Jia said this, many businessmen led by Xu Yuanzuo and Huang Jizon quickly started to make plans.
As long as the port area is taken, all ships that dock at Singapore Port in the future must pay berthing tax to the contractor. To unload the goods, aren't the dock workers and others family members? If other goods are to be stored here, they still have to pay warehouse rental fees. Even if it is a residential area, at least half of it will be built for the garrison and their families to live here for free. But it can be imagined that there will be a lot of seamen and personnel from all parties who will rest and adjust here in the future. At that time, various hotels, shops, Qinlou and Chuguan, and various gambling theaters can be built in the residential area. Oh! Just thinking about it, I feel like I'm going to make a fortune!
"My dear bosses, you paid a huge price in the war between the Emperor and Siam. So this land is contracted to you, and the price is so cheap that it's almost free. But the Emperor said that the business rules in these places are different from those in China."
Seeing Li Jia's playful expression, the wealthy merchants were shocked: "I hope the governor will make it clear."
"Hahaha, that's easy. First of all, this construction must follow certain rules. In addition to the fact that the buildings must conform to the functions of the area where they are located, the supporting facilities must also be built. For example, the first thing to do in each area is to dig sewer pipes. Now that the steam engine is already available, the domestic Fangshan Materials Laboratory has also come up with a stainless steel formula. Therefore, future houses must have running water. In addition, the emperor also said that wire pipes must be reserved. Uh, what is this wire, I don't know. But when the time comes, a professor from Fangshan will come to provide on-site guidance... The above are the requirements for construction. In short, it is not okay to build randomly like Yuegang.
Next, I will talk about the taxation issue. From now on, all kinds of businesses in the new five states will be taxed. Aren't there thousands of square kilometers of land on the peninsula north of Singapore Island? It can become a plantation for you bosses in the future. So agricultural tax will be collected. If you run various shops in residential areas, you will have to collect commercial tax. However, for various goods exchanges within the new five states, you only need to pay commercial tax once. "
Merchants in the Ming Dynasty had not paid much commercial tax for many years. But this does not mean that their goods had no other expenses in China except for costs and logistics. Because there was no commercial tax, the checkpoints of various government offices repeatedly charged fees. However, this money was not reflected in the government's fiscal revenue, but instead became the private interests of the powerful and a weapon to corrupt the Ming Dynasty officialdom.
What Zhu Youdong meant now was: clearly collect commercial taxes, and pay them once within a certain range. After paying, within this range, you will not have to suffer any more embarrassment at other checkpoints.
Of course, there was still a lot of resistance to suddenly collecting business taxes in the country. So Zhu Youdong asked Li Jia and others to start collecting business taxes in the new five states first. This forced domestic reforms - businessmen are not stupid. They resisted business taxes, in addition to the support of the powerful behind them. There is also a very important point: the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is too messed up. Even if you pay business taxes, you will still be exploited. In this case, why should I pay business taxes?
And if the officials in the new five states can really do this, you only need to pay taxes once, and you will not be exploited in the five states or even in Southeast Asia. Who would not want to pay taxes openly?
"May I ask the prefect, what is the tax rate?"
"For the first five years, the tax rate for ordinary goods and shops is 5%. For gambling houses and brothels, it is 20%. The transportation of rice to the mainland of Ming Dynasty is tax-free. As for after five years, you can go and negotiate with President Cao to re-determine the tax rate."
