Come on, Your Highness

Five days passed in a blink of an eye.

Same hour, same place, same group of people.

Only this time, everyone became more cautious, with a trace of solemnity on their faces.

[-]% of the tariff can be paid, but the other [-]% is absolutely unacceptable.

Only some people were calm as usual, and walked inside with each other's greetings——salt merchants.

Two days ago, the salt merchants visited He Xichao together, and they stayed in He's residence for a long time before they came out with a smile on their face, which shows that the fatal Yinwo has already been settled.

"Master Sun." Grandpa Sun and the head of the Ping family walked in together, and suddenly heard someone calling him from behind.

"There is nothing you can do if you are forced to do nothing. In fact, wait a little longer, it will not be too late after today!" Zhehang Min's family had a smile on their faces, but they couldn't see it, with a trace of sarcasm, "Why bother rushing to join in?" Go up, fall down?"

The people next to me also had the same attitude, and said with a cold snort: "We merchants are already in a disadvantaged position. If we don't unite as one, when various heavy taxes fall on our heads in the future, we can't blame others."

Master Cheng Da also sighed: "Actually, among the salt merchants, you are the richest. Even if His Royal Highness is stuck in a nest, can you really give it to others? In my opinion, it's just to scare everyone." He said and looked at Grandpa of the Sun family, "The younger generation thought that the old man was someone who was used to wind and rain, and he would be calm and calm, but it was a bit surprising that he was led by the nose by a young boy."

Although everyone had expected it, but now the merchant family, facing the power of the court, should have united as one, but suddenly someone voted for it. Even if they were forced to helpless, they still felt a sense of betrayal.

The Patriarch of the Deng Family immediately lost his face when he heard the sarcasm: "If the matter does not fall to your head, it is natural to make sarcastic remarks casually. If you want to be united, you can find a way to get us out of the nest. If you don't have the ability, close it." Mouth. Damn, there are almost no people who eat, and you still care about that little tax, it's ridiculous!"

"It's all in the business field, so don't be a layman. I don't know if His Royal Highness is scaring us, but I know that if there is a chance to snatch the nest from the big salt merchant, even if I have to go bankrupt, I don't know." We have to seize this opportunity, tax or not, let’s talk about it after we make money.” The Patriarch of the Ping family also had a cold expression on his face.

This remark resonated with other salt merchants. How did they start their businesses? Didn’t they rely on the lead nest?Once it is gone, what does the tariff have to do with them, then there is really no way out.

Grandpa Sun waved his hand, and said gently: "Although we are all businessmen, each family has its own affairs. We can't control you, and neither do you. The two to four percent tax is really nothing to us salt merchants." , we can accept it and are willing to go with the court, this is our business. But if you are not willing, then you can fight with Mr. He at today's meeting, and there is no need to waste words with us, please."

"That's right, if you are capable of arguing with Mr. He, it's your skill if you can talk about it." The Patriarch of the Deng family flicked his sleeves and sarcastically returned.

Seeing that the quarrel was about to start, the head of the Qiao family immediately persuaded: "Don't be upset. We are all friends. In fact, there is no need to be targeted like this. It's just that we want to talk again, so we are in a hurry. After all, fighting against the court, We are guilty, everyone can see Mr. He's abilities. Although he is young, his methods are brilliant. How can we talk? I visited Mr. He, I don’t know if he has any intentions to reveal it, and I would like to ask the old man to give some pointers, Qiao will be very grateful."

"Tsk, so that's the case. To put it bluntly, what are you doing so weirdly!" The Patriarch of the Deng family sneered.

As soon as these words came out, everyone's faces turned red and then white, which was a little exciting.

However, Mrs. Sun shook his head at him and said: "Everyone, I can't talk about giving advice, but Mr. He asked us how much money we would pay to the imperial court based on the tax of [-]% a year."

"How did the old man answer?"

Old Mrs. Sun said: "Master He knows how much salt we can sell a year and how much profit we can make. Now that we have accepted the tariff, I will tell the truth. But Master He has mentioned that if the amount is too much , Exceeding the expectations of the imperial court, they will give us some discounts in the first two years, I don’t know what kind of regulations it is.”

"Discount?" Everyone was surprised when they heard this.

"Exactly." Patriarch of the Ping family said, "Your Excellency also mentioned it casually. After all, we are the first batch to accept tariffs and border trade, which are always different." The salt merchants walked into the venue first.

Having said that, it is actually very clear.

Everyone also found out the news they wanted, but after hearing it, people's hearts sank again.

In the business world, you come and I take a step back, and finally reach a mutually satisfactory result.

If He Xichao had been insisting on a firm attitude and insisted on making people accept the [-]% tariff, it would always give people a sense of arrogance and unreasonableness, which would arouse the rebellious psychology of merchants, and they would resist passively.

However, as soon as the news of the discount came out, although they didn't know what the discount would be like, after all, it said that the imperial court also planned to give in and give some benefits to the merchants, which made everyone's psychology suddenly subtle.

Because it sounds like this discount is not available to everyone, and whoever surrenders first may get more benefits.

Not everyone cares about how the business tax will change in the future, and the master behind it is not stupid enough to fight against His Highness the Crown Prince to the end.

At this point, the merchants who were finally united changed their minds.

He Xichao still walked in with the same group of people, his steady steps were brisk, and his pleasing face was full of joy.

As he walked, he raised his hand and returned salute to the merchants who saluted him neatly, until he got to the front and sat down, he said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for five days. I miss you so much. I think I can see you again." Ladies and gentlemen, I used a little too much for breakfast, I wonder if you are doing the same thing?"

The witty jokes showed that He Xichao was in a good mood, and he couldn't see any other emotions at all from his face.

Everyone settled down, and they exchanged greetings with him.

After all, a merchant is an outstanding representative of talking to people and talking nonsense, no matter what is in his heart, his face is full of smiles, and he praises He Xichao from the beginning to the end, from appearance to Pan An, to talent than a saint , every word comes from the heart, sincere and not deceitful.

Only the Honglu Temple officials next to He Xichao were expressionless, twitching the corners of their mouths, at odds with the warm atmosphere in the venue.

They still have something to learn about this skill.

Looking at the twelve scholars on the other side, they actually nodded in agreement. In their minds, their husband naturally possesses talents and abilities that have never been seen before or since, not to mention his appearance. It's not too much to boast that Mr. Jia can match his bearing and demeanor.

It's just that the literary talents of this group of businessmen are a bit lacking. If they are allowed to come, they must...

"Ahem, everyone, stop for a moment, and if you continue to praise, I will be embarrassed to refute your face." He Xichao smiled and picked up the tea, and asked, "By the way, I have studied the details, right? How about it, is there any good suggestion that the court should adopt?"

The Patriarch of the Deng Family took the lead and said: "Master He, how could we miss such a good opportunity, but our strength alone is limited, so we salt merchants sat down to discuss together, and recorded it in this booklet, please read it."

Then Mrs. Sun said: "Please don't blame me, my lord. We are all rough people. From our own perspective, some suggestions are unrealistic. If there is something inappropriate, please forgive me."

A small official next to him took the booklet and sent it to He Xichao.

He Xichao nodded: "Everyone, it's okay to mention it. Is it okay for the court to make its own decision? If one of the ten suggestions is adopted, it will be a good thing for you, so you can say whatever comes to your mind, as long as it is convenient for everyone It is feasible if it does not violate the laws of the country.”

This booklet is a bit thick. He Xichao opened it, glanced at a few pages, then nodded and closed it again. He looked at the other merchants and asked, "Apart from the salt merchants, do the others have any suggestions? Just hand them in if you have any. If I miss this opportunity, I won’t accept it.”

As he said this, the other merchants couldn't help but glanced at each other, and finally they all took out.

In He Xichao's detailed rules, there is a blank file called "Other Complaints and Suggestions", which is for them to make suggestions.

However, the space is limited, so I can't write a few articles.

He looked over, almost everyone found another booklet and recorded them carefully.

Looking at the thickness, some even surpassed an ordinary book, it can be seen that they are all extremely thoughtful.

Border trade, everyone wants to leave.

He Xichao smiled from the bottom of his heart, and ordered people to send all the collected booklets to the hands of the twelve scholars: "You all sort it out, and copy the honors one by one by category. After the meeting, I can discuss it with all the adults."

"Yes, my lord."

He Xichao then turned his eyes away, looked at these merchants sitting upright, and smiled: "Okay, let's discuss tariffs next, [-]% to [-]%. I don't know what you think?"

As soon as this remark came out, there was silence.

Although I have already made up my mind, it is not so easy to say "no" on the spot.

Finally, the Patriarch of the Cheng family stood up and said: "Please forgive me, Mr. He. We have no objection to [-]%, but it is too much to do. Even if it is not much, it has exceeded our expectations. I am afraid that we will not be able to give it for a while. reply."

At the beginning of this one, the head of the Min family also said: "Master He, my opinion is the same as that of Master Cheng. Although it makes money, the tax is really difficult to decide for a while, please forgive me."

"Mr. He, the [-]% tax is unprecedented, but what your lord said is clear and reasonable, and we accept it with a step back. It's just the other four, please don't make things difficult for us."

……

Except for the salt merchants, they all nodded: "We are also like this, please forgive me, Mr. He."

He Xichao was not surprised by these answers.

He raised his hand, pressed it down, and said: "You have your difficulties, but the imperial court also has the imperial court's difficulties. Since the payment of [-]% is reasonable for the imperial court, it has passed. It is clear that it cannot be lowered any further.”

"Master He, there are always you coming and going in the business field, and we are already willing to accept [-]% of it. Doesn't your lord not even take a step back?"

"My lord said he was thinking of us, but he didn't have any room for negotiation. Isn't this a bit tyrannical?"

"If that's the case, why hold this meeting and say it so nicely? Just give an order."

"It's not..."

This is what you said and what I said, one by one became excited, and there were many accusations in the words.

The officials of Honglu Temple couldn't help but looked at them Shangfeng, and the twelve scholars also showed anger, if it wasn't for the fact that there was no room for them to intervene, they would stand up and argue.

Probably the only one who was calm was Xie San. Hearing the whispers beside him, he couldn't help reminding: "Calm down, this kind of situation is nothing to us adults, just sit and watch."

Finally He Xichao raised his hand, stood up from his seat, and said, "Don't get excited, haven't I finished talking?"

As he said this, the place suddenly fell silent.

He Xichao turned around, took the teacup from his table, and held it in his hands: "Border trade is a good thing. Judging from the suggestions you put forward, each booklet is extraordinarily thick, so it can be seen that I am looking forward to it. But after all, it is The first case, a pioneering feat, even if it is enabled, there are many obstacles and loopholes at first, so even if everyone accepts the [-]% tariff, not everyone can participate."

What does it mean?

When He Xichao came out like this suddenly, everyone was stunned.

Even the salt merchant who stayed out of the matter couldn't help being puzzled. Old Mrs. Sun thought for a while and asked, "What do you mean by asking Mr. He?"

He Xichao opened the lid of the cup, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then raised his head, seeing that everyone was looking at him, he couldn't help asking: "Is it difficult to understand?"

"My lord, please tell me."

"Okay, then let me make it clear." He Xichao put the teacup back on the table, leaned back slightly on the table, and said like gossip, "Let's put it this way, every government order of the imperial court is implemented or not. There may be some mistakes, and the border trade is the same. No matter how perfect the system is, there will always be discrepancies in practice. If you open all the directories rashly and let all the caravans enter and exit, it will be too much, and it is easy to make mistakes in the middle of a busy schedule. Great disaster. After all, it is a border and national border, which is related to national security and has a lot to do with it. If something goes wrong, it would be a big deal. You should be able to understand it? So in the first two years, only five lists were opened, tea, salt , cloth and satin, porcelain and others, which include any industry confirmed by the imperial court that can be traded. Each list has three quotas, a total of fifteen, and it will stop when it is full. That is to say, only fifteen companies can go in the trial operation stage. Border trade, if you don’t catch it, you can only wait for it to fully unfold.”

After He Xichao finished speaking, he asked again: "Do you understand?"

He looked calm, but everyone including Honglu Temple was stunned!

No matter how calm Xie San was, he was dumbfounded. How could he still play like this without knowing it in advance?But why?

He couldn't help looking at the twelve scholars opposite, with blank expressions on their faces.

"Master He, there are more than three salt merchants waiting for me, what should I do?" The Patriarch of the Deng family asked suddenly, bringing everyone back to their senses.

He Xichao said calmly, "Isn't there three other places? You have a total of five, which is enough."

"But how to confirm this quota?" the Patriarch of the Hei family asked.

"Oh, it's even easier." The corners of He Xichao's mouth curled up slightly, "I still remember the last meeting, you all said that if the court is short of money, just ask, and you are willing to donate. I don't think there is any need to donate, just Think of it as a market access fee, and buy out the tariff, it can also be regarded as a discount for everyone.”

Market Access Fees...

What kind of strange noun is this?

And if you buy out the tariff, can you still play like this?

Besides, how much does it cost?

Everyone just felt that in front of He Xichao, the names of these big merchants suddenly didn't deserve their names.

"Dare to ask..."

Before He Xichao could ask any questions, he explained: "50 taels of silver are handed over to the imperial court every year, a total of 100 taels. In the first year, all the goods in this directory, no matter how much, are tax-free in and out. In the second year, only Pay half of the [-]% tariff, and [-]% of the tariff, and you need to pay the full amount in the third year."

The smile on his face became even stronger after he finished speaking: "Based on two years, the 100 million taels of tax money is really nothing to you, so the number of places is limited, first come, first served, everyone, hurry up."