Chapter 273: Commercial Taxes

One day later.

The Cavalry from Feihu Pass arrived at the Yancheng Prince's Mansion.

After listening to the Cavalry's report, Zhao Xu said, "Go back and tell them not to concern themselves with the Xiliang soldiers; they must not act rashly and fall into the Xiliang people's trap. As for the commoners, have him dispatch a squad of Cavalry to guide the commoners toward Yancheng."

"Yes, Your Highness." Upon hearing this, the Cavalry bowed and departed.

Liu Fu was currently reporting on the government affairs of Yanzhou to Zhao Xu.

Hearing this, he said, "Your Highness, these two hundred thousand-plus commoners flooding into Yanzhou mean two hundred thousand-plus mouths to feed."

He paused and added, "This does not even include the commoners being sent from the Jin River. Our Yanzhou grain reserves are enough to provide relief to the commoners of Yanzhou, but with these additional people, we won't be able to last more than a few months."

Zhao Xu nodded; the problem Liu Fu raised was a very realistic one.

In ancient times, especially in the North Territory, famines occurred frequently.

The reason lay in the insufficient grain production of the North Territory.

If they encountered floods or droughts, a famine would basically break out.

Yanzhou was such a place.

When the weather was favorable, the grain grown by the commoners was barely enough for their own use.

Not to mention that Yanzhou was currently in a state of recovery, and its own grain production was in a complete mess.

Now, with several hundred thousand more people added, more importantly, these people were not intended for farming, but were prepared to be used as industrial labor.

Once they arrived in Yancheng, he would arrange for them to work in various Workshops.

This would promote the flourishing development of Yanzhou's handicraft industry.

Thus, these hundreds of thousands of mouths that did not produce grain were indeed a pressure on him.

After all, the total grain output of Yanzhou had not increased much, yet the population had grown.

"This Prince has already thought of what to do." Zhao Xu sighed leisurely to Liu Fu.

"Oh? Does Your Highness have a brilliant plan?" Liu Fu was just feeling troubled, but his eyes lit up at this.

"The grain of the world comes from the Xie Family. As long as we obtain the support of the Xie Family, Yanzhou's grain will be worry-free. However, in return, this Prince must send gifts to Empress Xie and the Deposed Crown Prince," Zhao Xu said.

"Your Highness has decided to support the Deposed Crown Prince in the struggle for the position of heir?" Liu Fu was greatly shocked.

Zhao Xu's gaze was distant. "Exactly. The Xie Family already has intentions to win this Prince over. By offering this favor now, this Prince and the Xie Family can support each other. Providing this Prince with some grain and fodder should not be a problem, right?"

After pondering for a while, he said, "According to this Prince's understanding, among the various Imperial Princes, the Emperor indeed favors the Deposed Crown Prince. Supporting the Crown Prince will also gain the Emperor's favor."

"That may be so, but does Your Highness not have..." Liu Fu furrowed his brows tightly, his words coming to an abrupt halt.

Zhao Xu looked at Liu Fu upon hearing this, and Liu Fu's head immediately lowered, as if he had done something shameful.

He understood what Liu Fu meant; it was nothing more than wanting him to join the struggle for the position of heir himself.

He said, "The tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind. This Prince is already standing at the forefront of the storm; if I do not know how to hide my light and bide my time, I fear a catastrophic disaster will follow."

He walked to the door of the study with his hands behind his back and added, "Furthermore, remember this: an emperor is not called an emperor simply by putting on a Dragon Robe. As long as one possesses absolute strength, one can naturally be a king without being a king. You and this Prince only need to manage Yanzhou well."

"'A king without being a king'?" Liu Fu pondered, then suddenly realized, "This subordinate understands."

Setting this matter aside.

Zhao Xu and Liu Fu returned to the issue of government affairs.

Winter was about to pass, and the accumulated snow was about to melt.

Spring, which would soon burst with vitality, was about to arrive.

In this season, all things recover, and Yanzhou naturally had to recover and enter a state of comprehensive development.

The construction planning issue that Liu Fu reported this time was what the two of them were discussing.

Of course, the term "construction planning" was something he had taught.

Liu Fu would come to the Government Academy whenever he had free time.

Sometimes he would even come at night to ask about problems he did not understand.

"Your Highness abolished the corvée labor, but Yanzhou's land needs to be reclaimed, river channels need to be dredged, and even in times of war, transporting grain requires laborers. This subordinate feels that this is truly inappropriate; the corvée labor should be reinstated," Liu Fu said.

"To change an imperial decree in the morning and evening, how can one gain the trust of the people? If the people do not trust, then the official's words are useless." Zhao Xu immediately rejected Liu Fu's advice.

Corvée labor was something that made the commoners complain bitterly.

Conscripting corvée labor meant making the commoners work for the Government Office for free without wages.

Moreover, sometimes to rush the progress, officials would even punish the commoners, forcing them to work day and night.

In every instance of corvée labor, commoners would die.

Even worse, corvée labor would also breed corruption.

Officials in charge of corvée labor would accept Silver to exempt some people from the labor, and then distribute the labor burden to those who did not need to serve.

Although the officialdom of Yanzhou was much cleaner and fairer than the atmosphere of the Great Song under his rectification.

But it was hard to guarantee that some local officials would not do this.

After all, these officials had very clever methods and had plenty of ways to hide their dirty deeds.

Therefore, corvée labor was something that absolutely could not be continued.

But building things like water conservancy required civilian labor, which was indeed a contradiction.

After thinking for a while, he said, "The Government Office can contract the items that need to be built to merchants and send officials to supervise. For example, to build a bridge, how much Silver is needed for this bridge? Let the merchants come and bid, and the one with the best quality and lowest price wins. In this way, there is no need to conscript corvée labor, and it can also promote the development of Yanzhou."

"However, in this way, the Government Office will have an additional expense," Liu Fu sighed.

Zhao Xu laughed upon hearing this, "You, you still need to continue your studies at the Government Academy; your vision is truly short-sighted."

Returning to the desk and sitting down, he said, "But this Silver flows to the commoners, and the commoners will become wealthy. Wealthy commoners can let the children in their families study, can afford to eat meat, and can afford to buy commercial goods. Doesn't this promote the development of Yanzhou's commerce?"

"But wouldn't the ones who become wealthy this way be the merchants? The commoners gain very little profit." The problem Liu Fu pointed out hit the nail on the head.

"Therefore, the Government Office must collect taxes on commerce, especially on merchants. The wealthier the merchant, the heavier the tax that must be collected. And this is exactly what your Government Office must do; you must not collude with merchants, collecting taxes only from the commoners while indulging merchants in tax evasion," Zhao Xu said sternly. "Once these taxes are collected, they can be invested back into the development of Yanzhou. Regarding this, the Government Office has a specialized agency responsible for commercial taxes."

Liu Fu fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

In the Great Song, the most important thing is naturally the agricultural tax; this point is beyond doubt.

But at this moment, the commercial tax proposed by Yan Wang also seems to be full of temptation for him.

He is not sure if Yan Wang's emphasis on commerce is right or wrong.

But now, he can only continue along the path designated by Yan Wang.

Perhaps he can witness a Yanzhou that is different from any other place in the Great Song.

"This subordinate understands; I will plan this matter upon returning," Liu Fu said.

Zhao Xu nodded, "There is also the matter of the commoners from Jinzhou. Prepare the porridge sheds and the like over these next few days, and at the same time, notify the Commandery Governors of each commandery; those left over after the Wangfu picks will be taken by them to be settled in their respective commanderies."

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu replied again.

Two days later.

A line of commoners that stretched as far as the eye could see arrived at Yancheng under the escort of the Wangfu Army.

Zhao Xu went out to welcome them.