Chapter 97 Tariffs!

"Grandpa, and elders, there is actually one more thing."

Beside Ye Lao, Wang Chong did not sit down immediately.

"Oh?"

The elders looked on in surprise.

"Master Chong, just say what you want to say."

"Hu Gong" on the side said that he now has a good impression of Jiu Gong, the youngest grandson.

"Regarding the matter of salt and iron, although the imperial court did not set up a project, all the papers were kept in the middle. But if you want to deal with the Eastern and Western Turkic Khanates and reduce their acquisition of iron, there are other ways, and this method, the imperial court It will definitely pass quickly.”

Wang Chong calmed down and said.

Wang Chong's cousin, Wang Li, had an ugly face at first, and Wang Chong stole all the limelight. Now hearing him mention the ironware he just talked about, his face was so dark that it was about to drip.

Doesn't this make him look bad in person?

"Master Chong, what method are you talking about?"

A group of people suddenly asked curiously. The meaning of the Holy Emperor has been very clear, things like trade are absolutely impossible to prohibit. It is absolutely impossible to block the trade relationship between Datang and Wan Guo in order to ban ironware.

This is the reason why all the papers are not published.

Wang Chong actually said that he had a way for the court to pass his resolution, so it was impossible for the old people to be curious.

"Chong'er, don't talk nonsense! Those present are all elders, you don't understand the things in the court, so don't talk nonsense!"

Wang Chong's uncle reminded him with a straight face at the side.

Regarding Wang Chong, Wang Gen was very complicated. On the one hand, the better Wang Chong performed, the less hope Li'er would have of becoming the heir of the family to inherit his father's status and influence.

But on the other hand, with so many old subordinates of his father, Wang Chong represented not only himself, but the entire Wang clan. Wang Li is hopeless, Wang Fu is not good enough, Wang Bo is ruined, if even Wang Chong fails, it will make father's old subordinates and disciples despise the entire Wang family.

It is said that "tiger father and dog son", that is what it means.

Beasts will submit to tigers, but they will never submit to dogs!

Wang Chong's previous performance was already good, even for his uncle, he couldn't say that. Wang Gen is now afraid that if he speaks too much, he will fail. He doesn't understand the affairs of the court, but he expresses his "high opinion" here. At that time, all previous efforts will be wasted, and the previous efforts will be in vain.

"Eldest son, it's a good thing to have ideas for the young master. Let him speak!"

"Old Ma" on the side also spoke.

The people present were all human beings, so Wang Gen's thoughts could not be hidden from them. Wang Chong was only fifteen years old, and he was still out of touch with court affairs. And Wang Yan is a side general, it is even more impossible to teach him.

Because of this, all the elders want to know how much this fifteen-year-old child weighs.

"Chong'er, it's okay. Tell me, if you make a mistake, no one will blame you!"

In the lobby, the old man also raised his hands.

He treats all his children and grandchildren equally. No matter how capable you are, you can sit in whatever position you want. It was rare to see a group of old subordinates and old brothers here today. Now that Wang Chong had made the first move, he couldn't let him do the rest.

This test will be related to his future achievements and how much help he can get from his old subordinates.

And how powerful Wang Chong is will be the key!

"Yes! Grandpa!"

Wang Chong bowed and saluted, then continued:

"Actually, it's very simple to curb the output of ironware. Just increase the price of ironware."

"It's useless. Ironware involves all aspects of production and life, such as small pots, shovels, and hoes, and large ones, many weapons, armor, weapons... Raising the price of ironware will increase the burden of life for the people, and it will also increase the price of ironware. Increase the financial expenditure of the imperial court on the military. Moreover, those aristocratic families who produce ironware, local wealthy families, small workshops, mines, generals, etc., etc., will cause great repercussions and arouse great opposition. "

"This kind of thing is absolutely impossible!"

At the end of the hall, a thin, short, white-haired old man said. Wang Chong recognized that this was "Old Zhao". Among Grandpa's old subordinates, he is considered to be the worst in martial arts.

The reason is simple, he is a food officer.

When my grandfather went to war beyond the Great Wall when he was young, he must be a military ration officer, responsible for logistics, arrangements for all aspects, and dealing with the court and localities.

Everyone knows that logistics officers have the most and most complicated tasks. But as long as there is "Old Zhao", all trivial matters, bits and pieces, miscellaneous, and miscellaneous, can be handled in an orderly manner by Mr. Zhao.

As soon as he heard the method Wang Chong said, he immediately knew that it was basically unfeasible. In order to contain the Eastern and Western Turks, it is absolutely unacceptable to lose the big because of small losses, and throw everything at the bottom, causing chaos in our own positions.

In the meeting hall, everyone originally thought that Wang Chong would have some insight. Hearing this, everyone was disappointed. After all, he is still young, only fifteen years old, how can he know much about the affairs of the court?

If raising the price can suppress the output of ironware, if the matter were really that simple, they would have solved it long ago, so there is no need to discuss it here.

"Hehe, of course it won't work if you simply raise the price..."

Wang Chong smiled confidently, his eyes swept across the audience, and he didn't mean to be discouraged at all:

"But what about tariffs?"

"tariff?"

Surprised, Mr. Zhao frowned for the first time. And the other elders also looked at each other with novelty, and they also looked at Wang Chong with great interest.

They have never heard of this thing.

"May I ask Master Chong, what is a tariff? I have been in touch with finance, taxation, and logistics for half my life... I am familiar with the taxes of the Tang Dynasty, but I am sorry for my stupidity, what is this tariff?"

Zhao Lao said solemnly, assuming the posture of humbly asking for advice. This is also one of his strengths. When encountering something he doesn't understand, he will definitely ask questions, even when he is old.

This is also the reason why the old man trusted and appreciated him for half his life!

Seeing all the elders looking at him one after another, Wang Chong couldn't help laughing. He had thought about the matter of the Eastern and Western Turkic Khanates for a long time in his previous life, but he could solve it with a tariff!

Although in another place, tariffs have long been known to everyone. But in this world, everyone still doesn't know what a tariff is!

The Tang Empire has household tax, household tax, head tax, market entry tax, commercial tax..., but there is no "tariff".

A large number of cannibals, Tiaozhi people, Turkic people, and Goguryeo people came to the inland to buy things, and they actually enjoyed the same prices as the Chinese people.

Therefore, even if the imperial court cut off trade with the Eastern and Western Turkic Khanates, these nomadic Khanates could still obtain continuous iron imports from the Tang Empire through Dashi and Tiaozhi people.

For a big country that does business with all nations, this is actually very abnormal. Datang has been doing business internally for a long time, and many people have not realized that there is such a thing as "tariff".

Since he didn't realize it, then Wang Chong felt that it was necessary for him to remind them and make them aware of the existence of this kind of thing!

"Grandpa, and seniors. Salt and iron are special industries, especially ironware. According to my grandson, there is no need to pay taxes when buying and selling inland. In this way, everyone can enjoy preferential prices, and there will be no cause confusion."

"But if someone wants to take these irons and leave Datang, leave Shenzhou, and enter Tiaozhi, Dashi, or the Eastern and Western Turkic Khanates in the north, then they can set up checkpoints at the border to collect taxes. This is It's called tariffs!"

"Because these iron wares are no longer in circulation within Datang, the price of course cannot be the same as inside. In terms of tax rate, it can be doubled, even doubled, tripled... to five times the price!"

"In this way, on the one hand, it will not affect the internal price of salt and iron. On the other hand, it can also bring Datang an extra, huge fiscal revenue."

"Because the iron belt is in a very large country and political factors are involved, the batches are often large. Therefore, if we levy iron tariffs, there will only be two situations. The first is that the Eastern and Western Turkic Khanates are based on the overall strength of the country. Regardless of the price, they are still purchased in large quantities. Although we cannot stop them, at least we can get a lot of money from it to subsidize the empire."

"Second, the price is too high. The East and West Turkic Khanates gave up buying. That would be even better! In this way, although we lost a lot of money, we completely suppressed the purchase of ironware from the East and West Turkic Khanates. The input has virtually suppressed their combat effectiveness. ——Isn’t this our purpose?”

"Moreover, the tariffs are limited to the salt and iron industry, and other industries will not be affected. So the Holy Emperor does not have to worry about hindering the trade between the East and the West."

"Of course, tariffs are not limited to salt and iron. Other things can be taxed. As long as the tax rate is appropriate, it is also feasible. Of course, these are all things that need to be discussed by the court. It is not that the grandson can just talk about it here. fixed."

At the end, Wang Chong glanced at his uncle.

In the meeting hall, everyone has been listening carefully. At the very beginning, everyone didn't take what Wang Chong said seriously, but the more they heard the back, the brighter their eyes became. In the end, "Old Zhao", who had originally rejected Wang Chong, looked at Wang Chong with surprise in his eyes. .

If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he couldn't believe it was actually spit out from the mouth of a fifteen-year-old child.

Tariffs, tariffs..., a group of old guys only think about the Turkic Khanate in the north, the threat is getting bigger and bigger, there are more and more iron tools, and the national power is getting stronger and stronger, so the most direct way is to think about banning iron tools, Closed trade with East and West Turks.

Or just like Jiu Gong's eldest grandson "Young Master Li", he fought a battle with the Eastern and Western Turks and frightened them severely. But no one has ever thought that such a thing as "tariff" could be used to eunuch the Eastern and Western Turkic Khanates without bloodshed and ban their iron imports.

Moreover, as an elder in politics and logistics of the Tang Empire, he is almost certain that His Majesty will definitely agree.

Even without much consideration, the people in the court will quickly pass this resolution. Especially those chancellors of the exchequer will definitely push this matter with all their strength.

"Hahaha, the finance ministers like Xue Zique can find a few ropes and commit suicide in shame. In vain they think about all kinds of names every day, how to collect taxes from the people, and suck blood and sweat money. But tariffs are such a good thing, they Didn’t think of it! Didn’t the merchants of Tiaozhi and Dashi always say that they are rich? So many taxpayers, so many years, they didn’t think of it!”

Mr. Zhao patted his thigh and laughed loudly.

[The third chapter is at half past nine. 】

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