New Shun 1730

Although the Earl of Halifax tried his best to hope that the little king would understand the huge contrast between policy and implementation, ideal and reality.

But the little king still did not immediately understand the Earl of Halifax's jump. Why did the contradiction between the decree and reality have to solve the problem of whether the East-West trade center is in the Netherlands or in London.

This involves the contradiction between the central and local governments.

In fact, as the first huge country in old Europe with millions of square kilometers including North America after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Britain has not yet learned the essence of the game between the central and local governments.

Take the Sugar Tax Act of 1933 as an example. The Sugar Tax Act of 1933 did not cause a huge backlash in North America.

But George Grenville's Sugar Tax Act of 1963 or 1965 caused a huge backlash in North America.

In fact, the Sugar Tax Act of 1933 imposed a tax of 6 pence per gallon of French sugar, while the Sugar Tax Act of 1963 imposed a tax of 3 pence per gallon.

Why did the 6 pence tax not cause a huge backlash, but the 3 pence tax caused a huge backlash?

This involves the British jury system. As members of the jury, local gentry had a great say in the verdict, which was a means for feudal nobles and gentry to fight against the royal power in the feudal era.

George Grenville discovered this problem when he was working on the new sugar tax law.

So, smuggling cases were no longer tried by local judges and juries. Instead, the central government directly sent customs to inspect and supervise, and the central government directly tried the smuggling cases.

It was precisely because of this change in details that the smugglers and brewers in New England started the anti-British wave.

In fact, this kind of thing is the same all over the world.

Local underground money houses, local heavily polluting enterprises, local smuggling activities, local forged invoices, etc., let the local governments investigate by themselves. If they can find out, it will be a miracle.

Of course, it also includes local deficits in the feudal dynasty era, local disaster relief fraud, false reporting of disasters, etc.

If people are sent from above, either the people above die or the people below are investigated. The death of the imperial envoy is generally regarded as a landmark event that local forces believe that the central government is no longer strong enough to control the overall situation.

So, on the surface, it is hard to understand this change. Why did North America not react so strongly to the 6-pence tax, but when it was reduced to 3 pence, the reaction became greater?

Because, the essence is not that 6 pence becomes 3 pence.

The essence is that the central government directly dispatched customs inspectors to supervise the smuggling cases, rather than the local gentry jury.

And this involves the cost of taxation and whether it is capable of being done.

Without considering philosophy, law, morality and many other situations, only consider more realistic administrative issues.

Before, Walpole's "Consumption Tax" and the later "Cider Tax" in history, put aside those legal arguments and only talk about administrative issues. In fact, "I also know that taxes should be checked at the customs and sales end, but the fucking administrative capacity does not allow it, and it can't be done. I can only check at the production and storage end."

This is similar to the Dashun side where the imperial power does not go down to the county, the rural gentry are autonomous, and the gentry are responsible for taxation. Any idiot who becomes an emperor knows that it is good to go down to the county, but the ability does not allow it, and it cannot be done.

This kind of game between the local and central governments, as well as the limited inspection and management capabilities of administrative capacity, is why the Earl of Halifax thinks it is best to place the trade center in London.

In London, tariffs can be collected when bulk goods enter the customs.

If it is placed in the Netherlands and transported by merchants themselves, even if the UK sets tariff quotas, the various customs scattered in Ireland, Scotland, England, and North America can allow the British government to collect one-third of the tariffs.

Smuggling is cheap, who will pay the tariffs? And there are ports everywhere, and it is impossible to check it, especially in Scotland, Ireland, North America and other places, where smuggling is generally considered to be a victimless crime and supported by smuggling.

And now the Earl of Halifax, Lord Bute, and the little king are facing the problem not of the future tense of "British industry being destroyed by Eastern industry"; but the present tense of "may be beheaded if the national debt is not paid".

That is to say, even if the future of the destruction of industrial buds is not considered, the trade agreement of Dashun has been accepted by default.

Then, how to collect taxes, where to collect taxes, how to run customs, where to trade, etc., are also serious problems that require at least second-rate politicians to come up with a solution.

In other words, the focus of the discussion now is not whether to open up trade with the East. Because there is no need to discuss this. If you don't accept it, you will be beaten. If you fight for another year, everything will collapse.

Rather, under the condition of accepting this reality, how can we formulate a policy clause that is beneficial to the government and can collect money.

The Earl of Halifax hopes that the little king can understand that this is not something that can be solved by introducing a policy. The reality is thousands of times more complicated than what you imagine in your mind.

The reality is that the East India Company is finished and dead.

Before the death of the East India Company, quite a few people were dissatisfied with the East India Company. The East India Company itself was able to obtain an extended monopoly license this time because the government was short of money. In fact, it is the same as the Ming Dynasty's salt policy reform, which extended the salt monopoly time in exchange for money, but it has changed its appearance.

Now that the East India Company is definitely dead and there are many people who are dissatisfied with the East India Company, it is impossible for the British side to establish a special "one-stop trading monopoly".

That is to say, it is authorized to some special companies and special merchants, who specialize in Oriental trade goods. The difference with the East India Company is that before, the East India Company went to India and China to buy goods; with this new authorization method, they sit at the doorstep to receive the goods, but they are still specialized.

Obviously, if we do this at this time, Britain will explode, and everyone will definitely not be happy. The East India Company changed its name to the Home Door Company. What is the difference?

Instead of doing this, if Dashun is really determined to put the center of East-West trade in the Netherlands, what should Britain do?

Dashun will definitely break the British navigation regulations.

There is an article in the navigation regulations, which is actually one-stop trade. Many trade goods must be transported to London before they can be transshipped and exported. For example, tea, it is not that the East India Company can transport the tea back and sell it everywhere, but it must be sent to London through the Tea Exchange run by the London Port before it can be transported elsewhere.

This makes it easier to collect taxes. Administrative capabilities are here, and technology is here. The UK does not do this, and it can get a hammer on the tea tax.

So, assuming that Dashun places the trade center in the Netherlands and forces the UK to sign an open trade treaty, the import tax on Eastern trade goods is reduced to 10%, and sub-tariffs are no longer required. Each sub-customs will collect the 10% tariff on their own. …

How much money will the UK receive?

The reality is here. The 1933 Sugar Tax Law, the great development of the sugar industry in the French colonies and the great development of the rum industry in Massachusetts, have not seen any tariffs.

By then, the navigation regulations will be broken, tariffs will be imposed, and the industry will be hit by default. In the end, the tariffs will also be gone... The British government will be in tears.

We are still counting on tariffs to repay the national debt.

Who has the biggest responsibility here? Of course it's Britain itself.

From the very beginning, Liu Yu had been worried that Britain had strategists and that Britain would really implement Adam Smith's vision and let Britain monopolize the shipping industry in East-West trade. Therefore, I am particularly worried that after seeing Dashun's military reform, the British will immediately abandon India, forcing China and France to fight for India. Britain will use its navy and sea control to divide the East-West trade with Dashun, and act as a second-tier dealer in East-West trade.

In the end, it was discovered that it was really no hero who made Zhuzi famous. The British were really conservative beyond imagination. They continued Cromwell's established trade policy all the way without any modifications.

At this point, the Earl of Halifax finally woke up and contemplated replacing Amsterdam with London.

Since you can't resist, it's better to enjoy the benefits of East-West trade and let London replace Amsterdam as the center of finance and East-West trade.

However... it's too late.

He didn't consider one thing. If Dashun really wanted to do this, why didn't he extend an olive branch earlier?

Why did Dashun focus on the Netherlands instead of the UK from the very beginning?

Because Dashun understood that the Netherlands did not have the ability to enact navigation regulations, nor did it have the ability to "use force to defend its rights that it did not buy."

But the UK does.

Because Britain has a population of nearly 10 million in North America and the mainland, and a unique geographical environment that does not require huge army military expenditures, it is much more annoying than France.

Dashun was not worried about France's backlash in trade and navigation, because it gave France a hundred embarrassments, and he did not dare to abolish the army and abolish the standing army and invest all in the navy and colonies.

If that were to happen, Prussia, Austria and even Poland would be able to beat the crap out of France, which had abolished its army and deployed all its navy.

By then, Britain had calmed down, tore up the treaty casually, and moved the fleet to the Atlantic Ocean. Dashun had no place to cry when the time came.

The market itself also has bargaining power.

At that time, Dashun can only accept the British conditions and cooperate with the two sides, but the initiative is in the hands of the British - the technical content of wool rubbing, weaving, and even porcelain is not so high that it cannot be imitated for decades. .

What Liu Yu was worried about at the beginning was that the group of people in Dashun saw that Britain had good conditions and gave them some candy, but they could just sit back and collect money if they didn't want to invest heavily in building a navy.

But now, a new school of thought within Dashun has emerged, the power of commercial capital has developed rapidly in recent years, and the officer corps within the navy also has its own interests. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for Dashun to accept retreating and letting others take over. The conditions of the second-rate dealer.

Because the method given by Adam Smith is pure nonsense that goes against the spirit of free trade: China should give up shipping and commerce, invest capital in industry and agriculture, and let Britain take over China's shipping industry - shipping in these days If the industry can easily earn 50% of the profits, why not invest in the shipping industry? First, the high-profit industries occupy the accumulated capital, and then invest in industry and agriculture with the original accumulation of profits?

This contradiction lies here. If free trade can really be achieved, it actually doesn't matter whether it is in the Netherlands or London. The question is, does true free trade exist? How can Britain ensure that it will not subsidize the wool and cotton industries? How can the UK ensure that it will not use administrative measures to prevent the sale of Chinese goods?

Britain says it can guarantee it, but the question is whether Dashun believes it or not? Can you believe it?

Under such a contradiction, although the Earl of Halifax had some understanding of trade, he was actually half-assed in international politics and diplomacy.

His idea is purely wishful thinking.

The Sino-French alliance fought for a long time, and in the end, Dashun put the East-West trade center in London? Can the French accept it? After fighting for a long time, is this helping Britain build a financial center?

France can certainly accept it if it is placed in the Netherlands.

There is no sea between the Netherlands and France, and it is as easy for France to go to the Netherlands as to go to their own home.

As long as Dashun gives the conditions of "Belgium demilitarization and complete neutrality of the Netherlands", France is of course willing to accept the financial and trade center in the Netherlands.

And this condition is not difficult to achieve. As long as the Polish king dies, Dashun can completely use this kind of muddy way to put pressure on Austria, and join France and Russia to put pressure together, which is equivalent to exchanging part of Poland and Silesia for Belgium.

The Netherlands may not need all the tariffs and profits of the East-West trade. In fact, just the status of a logistics center and a financial center is enough to bring enough business prosperity and employment.

The Dutch coup instigated by Dashun before and the series of consequences brought about by the migration to Southeast Asia also interrupted the formation process of the Dutch nation. The last national forces of the Netherlands, namely guilds, small producers, and farmers, were no longer able to fight back after the coup. The only ones left were merchants, business oligarchs, financial capital who no longer needed their motherland, and a large influx of Iberian Jews and Gallic Huguenots.