Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four: Past Life Experience to Use Now
Yao Ruoyu was naturally embarrassed, but he was about to leave when the door suddenly opened. Before he could look happy, a yellow scroll was thrown out inside. At the same time, Xu Xuanrong said lightly in the house, "By the way, the imperial edict came a few days ago, I will give it to you."
"Oh?" Yao Ruoyu's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he quickly opened the imperial edict. A few paragraphs were written above, which roughly meant to appoint himself as King of Hezhou, govern Hezhou, Diaoyu City, and be a vassal of the Song Dynasty, and would need to pay tribute every year, etc.
After looking carefully, Yao Ruoyu touched his chin without realizing it. Unexpectedly, Chu Kuangge was so thorough in doing things. Not only did he agree that he occupied Hezhou and Diaoyu City, he also made him a prince.
Just when he was complacent, Xu Xuanrong in the house said angrily, "The Song Dynasty had many vassal states overseas, and each lord was named vassal king. What's so exciting about such a miscellaneous prince?"
Yao Ruoyu, who was splashed with cold water, was not depressed. Instead, he laughed and said, "After all, he is a prince, and he can be ashamed if he talks out!"
"The prince of the Third Realm has such a great face!" With a sneer, Xu Xuanrong closed the door.
Seeing Xu Xuanrong's cold attitude, Yao Ruoyu touched his nose awkwardly, then put away the imperial edict and turned around and left.
After leaving the Ministry of Personnel, Yao Ruoyu was about to return to the leader's mansion when he saw a group of people walking hurriedly from a distance. The leader was Bai Junru, the famous Confucian master of Hezhou City and the minister of the city-state's rituals.
When Yao Ruoyu was a child, she lived with her grandparents, so she had a certain natural affection for the elderly. When she saw Bai Junru coming, she quickly bowed and said with a smile, "Mr. Bai, where are you going?"
"The leader should call the old minister Minister Bai, and I really don't dare to take the name of the old gentleman!" Frowning white eyebrows, Bai Junru bowed deeply first, and then said earnestly, "The leader should not make any mistakes in his actions, but according to the etiquette, our ministers should come to the leader's house during the New Year. This is a ritual that the top and the other people should have."
Unexpectedly, Bai Junru came here to talk about this. Yao Ruoyu scratched his head helplessly. They were from modern times and did not really value the New Year. Besides, they had no relatives here, so the New Year had almost no meaning to them.
Thinking of this, Yao Ruoyu would not be stupid enough to refute, so he quickly put on a humble look and said, "Yao is not polite, I'm sorry Mr. Bai, I will pay attention in the future."
Seeing Yao Ruoyu's expression was humble, Bai Junru nodded slightly, and then bowed and said, "By the way, since the imperial edict arrived, Hezhou City has resumed trading with the Song Dynasty. Seven business groups have arrived and purchased some stores."
Yao Ruoyu was naturally not interested in this, waved his hand and said with a smile, "You and the Ministry of Revenue will be responsible for this matter. Then I can send a report to the Leader's Office."
But when it came to this, Yao Ruoyu suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, I happen to have some things about the business group store. Let's go to the Ministry of Revenue first and discuss with Qiuyu."
Bai Junru naturally obeyed the order, and then the two of them rushed to the Ministry of Revenue with officials from the Ministry of Rites.
At this time, Bai Qiuyu and several directors of the Ministry of Revenue were discussing the acceptance of nearby villagers after the New Year. When he learned that Yao Ruoyu and Bai Junru were coming together, he thought there was something big, so he quickly ran out to greet him.
Bai Junru frowned and said angrily, "After all, I'm the leader of a family, so I'm more stable."
Faced with my father's accusations, Bai Qiuyu naturally did not dare to refute it, and agreed with a few words with a smile.
Yao Ruoyu smiled and said, "We have nothing big to do. We mainly talk about some of the policies for merchants next. If you have any problems, go and work first. We will wait for you in the side hall."
Bai Qiuyu wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he nodded and agreed, turned around and continued to discuss matters. Yao Ruoyu, Bai Junru and others went to the side hall. After several servants got in the tea, they all retreated.
After about one stick of incense, Bai Qiuyu handled the matter and came to the side hall with a smile.
After a few people sat down, Yao Ruoyu said, "Hezhou City has two markets, this is an advantage, and it cannot be let go. It is best to find a way to open a business road with the Southern Barbarians to add advantages."
Bai Qiuyu pondered slightly and hesitated, "There are several Song cities between my city-state and the Southern Barbarians, I'm afraid that business is not easy."
Shaking his head, Yao Ruoyu said, "But across Tongliang and Yongchuan, Fu Zan and Ren Jiasheng are the disciples of Zhao Luyan, the lord of Tongliang Tielu Castle. I will ask them to write a letter. You send someone to bring some money to Tielu Castle, please ask Zhao Luyan to help."
"If the Tongliang is connected, the remaining Yongchuan is not worth worrying," Yao Ruoyu smiled and said, "Besides, Brother Bai, you are the Minister of Revenue, this is your job, don't be confused."
Bai Qiuyu smiled bitterly when she heard this, but she still stood up and bowed and agreed.
"This is just one thing. This time I come here mainly to talk about the next policy for merchants," Yao Ruoyu thought for a while and asked, "What is the situation of merchants in the two cities now?"
Bai Qiuyu thought a little and replied, "Most of the small shops have been rented out, basically the people in the city rented themselves, and for large shops, twelve of them have been rented out, all of which were rented out by various chambers of commerce in the Song Dynasty."
"Twelve places?" Yao Ruoyu raised his eyebrows slightly. He knew that there were fifty large shops in the two cities. In this way, the rental situation was still not ideal.
Seeing Yao Ruoyu's expression, Bai Qiuyu vaguely guessed his thoughts and explained, "Although there are two markets in Hezhou City, they have been greatly damaged after Yang Yiming's tossing. In addition, although we now have the will of the court and have taken over the city legitimately, the chambers of commerce are still worried about the future situation of Hezhou City. In addition, they do not understand our policy attitude towards merchants, so most of them are still waiting and watching."
"This is normal, okay, no hurry," nodded. Yao Ruoyu thought for a while and pondered, "In the next year, all taxes will be exempted from all shops, and only the fees for renting the store will be charged."
Bai Qiuyu and Bai Junru were both shocked when they heard this. Then Bai Qiuyu hurriedly stood up and said anxiously, "No! In this way, the income in the city will probably drop by 50%, which will not be able to support the normal operation of the city state in the future."
Bai Junru also frowned slightly and pondered, "Leader, is this move too extreme? Most merchants are profit-loving. Once they start to earn taxes a year later, they will definitely hesitate, but they are afraid that the chamber of commerce will withdraw their investment and leave."
Shaking his head, Yao Ruoyu raised his finger and replied, "The world is prosperous and prosperous. With the current situation of the city-state, if you want to develop quickly, you cannot escape the support of merchants. Therefore, you must attract enough chambers of commerce to set up shops in a short period of time."
Bai Qiuyu frowned and hesitated, "But a year later..."
"With so many merchants entering, the city-state will inevitably prosper in business," said Yao Ruoyu with a faint smile. "In addition, we do not prohibit the people around us from moving to the city. At that time, the city will definitely have a large population and such a large number of customers. How could those chambers of commerce leave?"
When Bai Qiuyu and Bai Junru heard this, they looked at each other without realizing it and began to ponder.
After a moment, Bai Qiuyu smiled bitterly and bowed, "Although the leader's words seem to be wild, there is still a possibility of success."
"Haha, since that's the case, then follow this policy," said Yao Ruoyu with a smile. "In addition, the city tax needs to be reduced. The biggest goal of our city-state now is to increase the population and attract the chamber of commerce. The city tax will be temporarily released."
"However, if you indulge merchants in this way, the city's income is probably far less than half of that of previous years, and it will not be able to support the normal operation of the city-state!" Bai Qiuyu said anxiously.
"What are the main aspects of the official expenses of the city-state at present?" Yao Ruoyu asked.
When Bai Qiuyu heard this, he quickly replied, "Mainly in the military, after several expansions and recruitment, the number of regular troops in the city is now 17,000, and the daily expenses are very huge. In addition, the salaries of officials are also a considerable expenditure."
Hearing this, Bai Junru couldn't help but wonder, "I see, outside the Second Ring Road of Diaoyu City, people are building houses every day. Could it be that these constructions do not consume much money?"
"This is all a loss to the chief clerk. Oh no, it all depends on Minister Xu's strategy," Bai Qiuyu smiled, "Those people who moved to Diaoyu City have been selected after being deleted. Most of them have wealthy wealth. The construction of residences in Diaoyu City is all paid out for their own pockets. A few who are not enough money can also borrow from the leader's house, not counting interest, so the people are extremely happy."
Bai Junru nodded gently and exclaimed, "Minister Xu is indeed a great talent."
Hearing them praise Xu Xuanrong, Yao Ruoyu felt inexplicably happy, pulled the collar of her clothes, and smiled and said, "Don't worry, I found a treasure house this time, which has countless gold, silver and treasures. We have moved some of them back first, and some will be picked up later."
Bai Junru and Bai Qiuyu both lit up when they heard this, and Bai Qiuyu said happily, "Treasure House?"
Nodded, Yao Ruoyu smiled and said, "Well, it can be called a sea of gold and silver. This money will belong to the treasury of the Leader's Mansion. The military losses and official salaries for the next year will be all paid by the Leader's Mansion. However, it is considered a loan. If you have to pay it back a year, you will have to pay it back 10% of the interest. How about?"
Bai Qiuyu smiled awkwardly and hesitated, "The reason why this... is not enough to make ends meet is because of your policies, so helping finances to solve the problem is what the leader should be responsible for!"
After rolling his eyes, Yao Ruoyu laughed and said, "Didn't I borrowed this money to rescue me? Besides, in terms of finance, Brother Qiuyu, what does it have to do with me?"
Unexpectedly, Yao Ruoyu was so naughty. Bai Qiuyu was immediately amazed and crying. However, after thinking about it carefully, he said in a deep voice, "It is OK to borrow, but the interest rate is at most half the city, and it will be paid in installments."
"No problem!" Nothing was wrong!" Yao Ruoyu nodded with a smile, rubbed his hands with some excitement, obviously he was already fantasizing about the matter that the Ministry of Revenue would pay him back a year later.
Seeing the city-state leader's appearance of wealth-loving, Bai Qiuyu and Bai Junru couldn't help but look at each other helplessly, and sighed secretly.
Chapter completed!