Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 424 Commercial Taxes Must Be Collected
Seeing that the merchants below still had unhappy expressions, Cao Sanxi sighed in his heart: Pursuing maximum profits is the nature of businessmen. Your Majesty, you are now proposing such a "labor law", which really poses a problem for me.
But in Zhu Youdong's view, this is a duty that a time traveler must fulfill: Because I know that with the current situation where officials across the country only have 17 days off, it is impossible to have a Friday work system, and an eight-hour work system is also impossible. So I have fully understood the characteristics of this era and made a great compromise, okay? However, although most people in this era work hard all year round without rest, as long as I am formulating policies in this regard, I must leave room for the grassroots people and workers.
In fact, when he put forward this idea at the State Council meeting, he was first met with strong opposition from Cao Sanxi: Lao Cao himself was a businessman, and he knew very well how much businessmen disliked such things.
Not only Cao opposed it, but also Xu Guangqi of Fangshan School opposed it: In Xu's opinion, it is acceptable for underage children to have one day off every seven days while they are in school. But why do adults who have jobs need to take so many days off?
However, even though even his own confidants opposed it and thought it could not be implemented, Zhu Youdong still ordered the Ministry of Justice to immediately draft relevant bills and asked Cao Sanxi to brief the shareholders at the War Foundation. Because he firmly believed that the Chinese people generally follow the laws of nature and like to leave some room for everything. They are not the kind of Westerners who cut leeks to the extreme and leave no room for survival.
In the 21st century, the Americans have been so harsh in cutting Latin American leeks economically that countries like Mexico and Honduras have seen all industries wither. Ordinary local people have no way to rise except by engaging in drug trafficking. As a result, not only is the entire country controlled by gangs, but the Americans who cut the leeks have also become a country flooded with drugs. Moreover, since new leeks cannot grow, there is nothing to cut. The losses caused to the country and society by drugs every year are ultimately not worth the loss.
We should love our own people, leave room for craftsmen and not over-exploit them, and we should not over-exploit those vassal states under our control in the future. This is the principle that Zhu Youdong deeply adheres to! Putting aside the high-sounding things like humanitarianism, let's talk about the most realistic thing: if all the money is collected in the hands of big businessmen, how can consumption be stimulated? How to stimulate sustainable economic development?
Therefore, establishing the Labor Law is just the beginning, and there are still many things that need to be regulated one by one in the future.
Although Zhu Youdong's will was firm, Cao Sanxi, who was carrying out his will, found it difficult: the big businessmen of the Ming Dynasty were generally not the kind of devils who were heartless and liked to suck the marrow out of people. But this was the 17th century, and they could not accept the maximum working hours and minimum wage standards!
Looking at the many businessmen below who were silent but clearly disapproving, Cao Sanxi shook his head helplessly.
"Ahem, everyone, I have something to share with you. This matter has not been officially implemented yet, so what I say next will not be acknowledged once you leave this room."
As soon as Lao Cao said this, the expressions of the wealthy merchants all changed and their attention was immediately focused.
"Well, at the State Council meeting the day before yesterday, the Emperor and the Grand Marshal have agreed that after the beginning of next spring, the court will send a large army to attack Mongolia in the north and the Western Regions in the northwest. The Grand Marshal means that the nine important border towns will mobilize all their troops, and a portion of the court's new army will also participate. Theoretically, the troops participating in this northern and western expedition will not be less than 400,000."
“Oh~!”
The wealthy merchants present were all shrewd men. Upon hearing such news, they exclaimed quickly and in unison.
"Haha." Cao Sanxi stroked his beard gently, and then continued aloud: "There are a large number of cattle and sheep on the grasslands due north of the Great Wall of Daming. Cattle can be introduced to the Central Plains to be beef cattle, dairy cows, and oxen. In addition to being a source of meat, sheep's wool can be used as a raw material for textiles. Fangshan Laboratory has made technical preparations for wool degreasing, dyeing, drawing, shaping and other treatments. Once there is a large supply of wool, we will develop new types of fabrics such as cashmere sweaters, wool sweaters, and woolen clothes. In the Western Regions, the local area produces the best cotton in the world. If we can get a steady and stable supply of cotton from the local area, hahaha, I don't need to be verbose for the rest of the time, right?"
"Your Majesty is wise!"
"The Ming Dynasty is mighty!"
"Our royal army has won every battle. The few Mongolian Tartars will be powerless in the face of our royal army!"
"President Cao, I wonder if our war fund will be affected this time?"
"Hahaha~" Seeing the atmosphere in the venue lively again, Cao Sanxi's brows, which were slightly frowned at the beginning, also relaxed a little: "Everyone, I have presumptuously speculated on the emperor's intentions. From now on, if there is no invasion by foreign enemies, the court will never fight a war like the one in Imjin, where there was only input but no output. From now on, the court will open up raw materials and sales markets for you, and you will work hard for the court and provide funds for the army. This is a win-win situation!"
"Yes, yes, President Cao is absolutely right."
"Well, the emperor is very clear-headed. Although I don't quite understand the Labor Law for the time being, since this is the emperor's intention, we must follow the emperor's wishes when we go down!"
"That's right, the emperor cares about the people, so we should also be considerate of the employees, hahahaha."
"Hey, bosses, when you guys in the north get the supply, you should let us in the south have a share. Of course, we can also provide you with some of the silkworm cocoons and other things we have."
"Okay, okay, let's talk about this slowly when we get downstairs."
Looking at the merchants below whose faces changed quickly, Cao Sanxi sneered in his heart: No wonder the literati look down on us merchants. Seeing their faces, I feel sick even now when I sit up there.
"Dong Dong Dong!" The gavel was struck again, and the venue quickly fell silent. But at this moment, everyone's eyes revealed a burst of passion.
"Ahem, this is the Labor Law issue, so that's it. If anyone breaks it in the future, I won't be able to protect you. When the time comes, the authorities will come to settle with you. Next, I have another important matter to reveal to you all."
"President Cao, please give us your instructions."
"The Emperor has reached an agreement with the court officials at the State Council meeting to abolish donations and collect business taxes starting from the second year of the Tianqi reign!"
"ah?!"
"Bang, bang, bang! Silence!" The gavel struck again, but this time the effect was extremely poor. The merchants no longer had the grateful look they had shown to the emperor just now, and they all prepared to transform into bloodthirsty beasts.
"guard!"
Cao Sanxi had anticipated that the merchants were about to revolt, and he simply let the guards outside in.
As a hundred guards entered the venue with guns and bayonets, the merchants who were about to transform finally stopped their "evolution". Although their bodies sat down, their words were unforgiving.
"Oh, these are the swordsmen ambushing under the tent, right?"
"Yes, I didn't expect that we would enjoy such treatment."
"Humph, it's not impossible to collect business taxes, but you have to be able to collect them."
Seeing the various dissatisfactions of the businessmen below, Cao Sanxi was of course mentally prepared. So after the venue was slightly quiet, he continued to speak on his own.
"Everyone, the court will establish the Commercial Law and the Civil Law. These two laws will make advance provisions for various situations that may occur in your business process as much as possible. I have already read the drafts of these two laws. I can say that based on my unsuccessful business experience, with these two laws, you will have laws to follow when you do things in the future, and you will not be easily oppressed or even framed by corrupt officials.
"Everyone, the emperor said that although we merchants have various problems, we are generally the most rule-abiding class. Whether the rules are good or bad, as long as there are rules, it is always good. What do you think, yes or no?"
Cao Sanxi did not talk about how to collect taxes first, but talked about the two laws. The anger of many merchants was truly controlled: merchants value exchange, and in order to achieve exchange, there must first be a rule - exchange without any rules is robbery!
Therefore, businessmen actually welcome the existence of specialized commercial and civil laws.
After seeing that the emotions below were under control again, Cao Sanxi spoke again.
