After three years of enfeoffment, the waste prince shocked the court boss

When it was his turn, just as he was about to take out the copper coin to pay the city fee, he was rejected by the soldiers guarding the city gate.

Tolls are charged for entering and leaving the cities of Dagan. This is one of the main sources of income for each city. Fortunately, there are not many, usually only two copper coins.

"Could it be that he wants to ask for benefits from me? It seems that King An's governance of Lingnan Mansion is nothing more than that. The world is as black as crows."

Du Chen sighed in his heart.

Just when he was about to take out some more money from his pocket to quietly give to the soldier guarding the city, he heard the young soldier say to him:

"Isn't it your first time to come to my Lingnan Mansion? My Lingnan Mansion only charges tolls for goods, not people."

"Only charge tolls for goods? Strange! Then there are still businessmen who are willing to come to Lingnan Prefecture to do business?

Before the business is completed, it is equivalent to being charged a tax first. Which businessman would be willing? " Du Chen was puzzled and asked.

"Heh, can't you see the caravan queuing up to enter the city?

Our Lingnan Prefecture will charge one-tenth of the value of goods entering the city in silver.

But as long as they enter the city, there will be no more taxes and fees, and they will not be harassed by the government.

Moreover, the merchant has paid the entry fee for the goods, and his legal transactions in the city will be protected by the government throughout the process.

Our Lingnan Mansion will guarantee the transaction between the two parties. If one party breaches the contract or cheats during the transaction, our Lingnan Mansion will fully bear the losses. "The little soldier explained.

"So that's how it is!" Du Chen suddenly realized when he heard Xiao Bing's words.

The business tax in Dagan is one in twenty, which is not a high ratio.

But you must know that this is only an official business tax, and each place has its own "rules".

The words "exorbitant taxes and miscellaneous taxes" are not enough for twenty taxes.

In some places, the messy taxes add up to four out of ten taxes, and five out of ten taxes.

Compared with other places, if Xiaobing's words are true, the "city entry fee" of ten taxes and one is definitely very low.

What's more, there is a guarantee from the government during the transaction process. As long as you trade legally, the government will cover your losses.

No wonder there are so many merchants lining up to enter the city.

As soon as I entered the city gate, I heard an endless stream of cries.

On both sides of the road are shops and stalls next to each other.

Judging from the things they sell, it is obvious that their main sales targets are merchants entering and leaving the city gate.

From Du Chen's point of view, only when a fixed pattern has been formed will there be such commercial gathering activities.

This shows that the current scene in Lingnan Prefecture has lasted for a long time.

"Qiao's textile workshop is recruiting workers, and they will get two taels of silver every month, including food and lodging!"

"The Port Royal Porcelain Shop needs a strong labor force of [-] people to carry the porcelain, three taels of silver every month, food and lodging included, and two days off per month!"

Du Chen was shocked again when he heard the shouts of recruiting workers on the side of the road.

"The wages in Lingnan Mansion are already so high?

The salary of the capital is only one tael of silver a month, and it is only ten taels of silver to buy a maid. "

Hearing such a high price from the recruiter, Du Chen clicked his tongue.

"Shouldn't we all have to fight for such a high wage!" Du Chen thought.

However, the picture he imagined of a group of people swarming up and surrounding the recruiters did not appear.

Just a few sporadic people came forward to ask about the situation, and it was obvious that a few people didn't agree with each other.

Then, after repeated pulls from the recruiter to stay, he waved his hands and turned around to leave.

"This!"

Du Chen felt that his three views were about to be shattered.

Since when is it so hard to hire a job?

If this is in the capital, even if the price is half, it will definitely be robbed by the common people.

"This only shows one problem. The industry and commerce in Lingnan Prefecture has formed a large scale, resulting in a labor shortage!"

When thinking of this moment, Du Chen couldn't help becoming excited.

He came all the way to Lingnan Prefecture this time to investigate the consumer market in Lingnan Prefecture.

The main reason is to see if the people here have the ability to consume the goods transported from the outside world.

But what he saw led him to another, more heartening conclusion.

That is, Lingnan Prefecture is not only a huge consumer market, but more importantly, it is a large-scale industrial and commercial city.

He has only seen similar cities with developed industry and commerce in those cities on the southeast coast of Dagan.

As an experienced businessman with rich experience, he knows that the potential of Lingnan Mansion is definitely more than that.

This is simply a businessman's paradise.

Ten taxes and one business tax, and government-guaranteed transactions, can allow businessmen to trade and operate here without any worries.

The support of high wages and the constant flow of merchants constitute a market with huge consumption power.

A large-scale industrial and commercial system can continuously produce high-quality and low-cost commodities.

And these are mutual influences, a virtuous circle, and promote each other in a subtle way.

At this moment, Du Chen wished he could return to the capital immediately to prepare his assets and invest them in Lingnan Mansion.

He knew that he was definitely not the only visionary, and there must be many people like him in Lingnan Mansion at this time.

Once the news is sent back to the capital, relying on one's own assets may not be able to get the biggest benefit.

"Right now, it's time to rent a piece of land as soon as possible, otherwise once those people from the capital come over, it will be difficult to occupy a good position."

Du Chen thought for a moment, and decided to act first no matter what.

He had already inquired, and all the shops in Lingnan Mansion were under the name of the government, and they were only rented and not sold.

The rent varies according to the quality of the lot and the size of the area, and the rent will rise by a certain percentage every year.

This method can maximize the interests of the government, and there will be no future rise in land prices due to economic prosperity that has nothing to do with the government.

The annual rent of shops in poor locations is only one hundred taels, while those in good locations even reach ten thousand taels of silver per year.

With Du Chen's current financial resources, he almost emptied all the money he carried.

I only kept a part of the money to go back, and after paying the deposit, I found a shop with a good location.

After finishing this matter, he rushed to the capital without stopping, trying to gather funds and manpower before returning to Lingnan.

Chapter 21 News from Lingnan

Dagan, Imperial Palace, Yanhe Hall.

A middle-aged man in a black robe was standing bowed in the hall, waiting for Emperor Qian to digest the news from his mouth.

This person was Zong Qing, the leader of the secret guards sent by Emperor Qian to Lingnan Mansion to inquire about the news after the Tatars withdrew.

The secret guard is only responsible to Emperor Qian. It is an institution trained by the emperors of all dynasties to supervise officials and conduct secret affairs.

The identities of the people inside are mixed, they can be street vendors in daily life, or they can be the housekeepers of a certain court minister.

The scene of Li Su leading An Wangwei to defeat the Tatars was too shocking. In order to find out what happened in Lingnan, Emperor Qian did not hesitate to send the leader of the secret guard to investigate in person.

Zong Qing has always been meticulous in his work and did not dare to delay on the way. After arriving at Lingnan Mansion as soon as possible, he secretly investigated the situation in Lingnan Mansion.

It doesn't matter if this inquiry is made, the result makes him feel extremely unreal.

In order to ensure that the news was correct, it took more than a month to go back and forth plus the time on the road.

"You mean that the population of the prefectural city of Lingnan Prefecture has tripled compared to three years ago, with a full 10,000+ people?"

Emperor Qian asked in disbelief.

"Yes, three years ago when His Highness Wang An first arrived in Lingnan Mansion, there were only 5 people in the city.

Then His Royal Highness An Wang absorbed a group of mountain people into the city through recruitment, land reclamation, and tax cuts.

"After the commercial prosperity of Fucheng, merchants from all over the world will enter the city.

There are many ways to make money, attracting more mountain people to Fucheng. "

Zong Qing explained that he learned all this from the only member of the hidden guard in the local area.

Originally, this secret guard had nothing to do in Lingnan Mansion, and he had lost contact with the capital for three years. He thought he had been forgotten by Shangfeng long ago.

Unexpectedly, his boss's boss's boss came to Lingnan Mansion to find him in person.

"So Lingnan Mansion can already be regarded as a medium mansion?" Emperor Qian asked.

Dagan divided the prefectures into three levels: low-ranking, middle-ranking and high-ranking.

A prefecture with a population of less than 10 is a low-grade prefecture, a prefecture with a population of more than 10 and less than 20 is a mid-tier prefecture, and a prefecture with a population of more than 20 is an upper-class prefecture.

There are a total of 38 prefectures in Dagan, of which there are no more than three upper-class prefectures, and this is counted in the capital, and there are only seven middle-class prefectures before.

"Your Majesty, if it is divided according to the population, Lingnan Mansion can indeed be called a medium mansion, but..."

Zong Qing hesitated.

"But what? Just say what you have to say."

Emperor Qian waved his hand.

"However, Lingnan Prefecture seems to be a bit special, as many of its population are businessmen from foreign countries.

Moreover, the flow of people in our country in Fucheng is also very large, and the actual population that has settled in Fucheng stably may be less than [-]. "

"Oh? You mean that there are tens of thousands of merchants in Lingnan Prefecture?" Emperor Qian was surprised.

"It's not just business, many of them are migrant workers." Zong Qing said.

"Migrant workers? What does this mean?"

Emperor Qian was very unfamiliar with this new word that appeared.

"That is, many nearby villagers and mountain people will be recruited by workshops, shops or caravans to work for them.

They usually go to the city during the day and return to their homes outside the city at night.

Large workshops also provide housing for workers to live in groups, but also give them a few days off each month for them to go home.

So although they live in the city, they are not part of the permanent population of Fucheng.

If this is the standard, Lingnan Mansion is not considered a middle-level mansion. "

Zong Qing explained.

"Then you have found out the production of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. Is there any exaggeration in what Wang An said?"

When Emperor Qian sent Zong Qing to Lingnan, Li Su had not offered these three seeds, so Emperor Qian did not know whether Zong Qing had noticed this.

"Your Majesty, I am about to report this matter to you."

When this matter was mentioned, Zong Qing immediately became serious.

"I once went to an old farmer's family, and the old farmer's family of five cultivated ten acres of land.

"According to the rice and wheat production I have done so much, ten mu of land is barely enough to eat, and it is impossible to have surplus food.

But the granary in their house is full, and it is estimated that there are at least [-] catties of grain in storage! "Zong Qing recalled.

"Twenty thousand catties? Are you sure that you are not going to the landlord's house, but just an ordinary farmer?" Emperor Qian asked uncertainly.

"I'm sure, it's a very ordinary farmer near Fucheng.

In order to prevent accidents, Chen also went to other nearby farmers to check, basically every family was like this. "

"Also, every household in their family has livestock, some even have cattle.

And the grain in those granaries, such as corn and sweet potatoes, they mainly used to feed the livestock, and they themselves ate white flour! "

Zong Qing continued.

"When I went to the farmer's house, they happened to be having lunch, and I saw meat on their table."

"It turns out that ordinary farmers can eat meat, and this Lingnan has developed so well. How did Li Su manage it?" Emperor Qian was surprised in his heart.