Chapter 22: Rumors

Lu Lin is still very executable.

Soon, countless rumors circulated in Suzhou, and the people of Suzhou were panicked for a while.

It was rumored that the imperial court was going to collect heavy taxes in Suzhou, which also aroused the anger of the people of Suzhou.

Suzhou Prefecture bears a grain tax of 3 million stones, which is better than other places and a province, and in the eyes of many people, it is already very excessive, especially in some official fields, and the collection is already heavy.

This has made the people of Suzhou complain.

It can even be said that this heavy tax is also one of the reasons why Suzhou is so developed.

Because the people of Suzhou have found that if they only grow food, after paying taxes, it is difficult for the family to survive, as long as they grow high value-added crops, this can make the family live a sigh of relief.

What are their options?

It's cotton, it's mulberry hemp.

In particular, silkworm cocoons and silk are high add-on products. For the same acre of land, mulberry trees are planted to raise silkworms, and the income from selling silkworm cocoons far exceeds the income from grain.

As for if you do some processing on the basis of silkworm cocoons, the added value will be higher.

This is also one of the reasons why the people of Suzhou can bear the burden.

As for the grain tax in Jiangnan, as early as when Zhou Chen was the governor of Jiangnan, he made an attempt, that is, to purchase rice from Huguang to pay the imperial court's taxes.

This is also why, as far as Jiangsu province is concerned, most places strongly support a whip law. Because this saves the people of Suzhou from trouble.

Pay the money and then go to Huguang to buy grain and hand it over to the government, why not pay the money directly to the government.

However, the fact that the people of Jiangnan have taken on the responsibility of Jiangnan does not mean that they feel appropriate.

It was heavy enough before, but now I heard that there will be a tax increase, and even the imperial court at all levels in Suzhou will not donate three million taels, that is to say, the amount of taxes to be levied by the imperial court must be above three million taels.

This news, how not to make the people panic.

The rumors that Lu Lin let people release were not said a single lie, but some details were omitted.

It just works very well.

Of course, Jiangnan folk customs are not nine-sided.

If it had been the case on the Nine Sides, there might have been a mutiny brewing. But the people of Jiangsu do not have such a hard spirit.

However, they also have their own methods.

That is, one by one scholars came to the yamen of the governor of Jiangsu to ask for Wang Shu.

These scholars, from Jinshi to Xiucai, all had the heart of asking for the people's life to persuade Wang Shu and make Wang Shu take back his life.

Wang Shu had to meet with him.

After all, if Wang Shu didn't see any of them, he would simply be isolated from Shilin. It's just that every time he sees a person, he has to talk bitterly and explain the policies of the imperial court.

The consumption is not too good.

The so-called ass determines the head.

For many Jiangnan gentry, the disaster in the northwest is certainly worthy of sympathy, but if you want us to pay money in this name, it will never work.

Of course, if Wang Shu's tongue has no effect at all, it may not be.

Although Suzhou's business is developed, and the business atmosphere here in the whole Ming Dynasty is also the strongest, it does not mean that the entire Suzhou Shilin circle is in favor of large-scale commercial development.

Naturally, there were many gentry who ensured the idea of farming and reading, comforted the poor, and encouraged their children to study, and did not focus on business.

These people who have gained business benefits are naturally unhappy.

Of course, this kind of unhappiness can also be divided into two kinds.

The first is that people who uphold the concept of science are dissatisfied with this new type of thinking, and are dissatisfied with the impact of commerce on traditional agricultural society. The second is pink eye.

For missing the opportunity of this outbreak, not reconciled.

It doesn't matter what their intentions are.

These people have helped Wang Shu a lot. In particular, Wang Shu emphasized many times that this tax increase has nothing to do with land, and it is all commercial tax.

In this way, most of the people who are rooted in the land can rest assured.

For the matter of raising taxes, if it is to increase one's own taxes, it is naturally absolutely impossible, but if it is said that adding taxes to others is not necessarily impossible.

It's just that Xu Chunshen tacitly played a matching punch.

Xu Chunshen immediately lowered the price of many raw materials, such as cotton, silk cocoons and so on.

Xu Chunshen is just the beginning. Soon many businessmen had a chain reaction.

Many people don't know that they are actually on top of an industrial chain, and predators like Xu Chunshen jointly smashed the market, which completely disrupted the market order on the market.

And the most unbearable are the people at the lowest level in the industrial chain.

Because the livelihood of the people is just an ant in this industrial chain.

For a time, Suzhou City, with a population of one million, actually had a feeling of storm.

Xu Chunshen was immediately invited by Wang Shu.

Wang Shu was not polite to Xu Chunshen at all this time, above the main hall, condescending, and Xu Chunshen scolded: "Xu Chunshen, what else do you have to say now?" ”

Xu Chunshen immediately knelt on the ground, feeling a little regretful in his heart.

I feel like I've gone too far.

In fact, what Xu Chunshen did by himself could not cause Suzhou's chain reaction, if this was in Songjiang, it was okay, Suzhou was not Xu Chunshen's basic plate.

And smashing the big plate in Suzhou is not good for Xu Chunshen.

He just has a tendency to show it, but it is Lu Lin who is secretly manipulating. Lu Lin hit one ring after another. It's just that he's too big.

Every move is watched.

Xu Chunshen

said: "My lord is clear, the grass people are also helpless, the cotton industry is thin, and the money earned is just hard money." The imperial court is about to raise taxes, and the small ones can only survive. ”

Wang Shu's eyes shrank slightly, and he said sharply: "Until now, you are still hard-mouthed. The imperial edict, how can you discuss, you quickly restore the price to the original price, otherwise, the official wants your head. ”

At this moment, Wang Shu was a little at a loss.

It's not that Wang Shu is incompetent, but that he has never experienced this situation.

Before the commercialization of Daming in various places, it definitely did not reach the point of Suzhou, and some small tricks of businessmen could not shake the local situation.

Generally speaking, it is enough for the imperial court to stabilize the price of grain and let the common people have something to eat.

But Suzhou is different.

No matter how stable the price of grain is in Suzhou, it is useless, because hundreds of the people of Suzhou are citizens and never care about agriculture, they buy grain to eat after making money.

If they can't make money, even if the food is stable, what use can they have?

No money or can't afford it.

Wang Shu used his previous experience to deal with the current situation. As soon as he realized that the situation was wrong, he sealed off the granaries in various places, ready to calm the price of grain at any time.

I just never thought of it.

The price of cotton, the price of silk, the price of silk cotton, has such a significant impression on the city.

Wang Shu is facing a new problem.

Caught him off guard. He didn't know how to deal with it for a while, but he instinctively felt that Xu Chunshen was playing tricks in the middle, so he didn't say a word and took Xu Chunshen first.

Wang Shu, as a messenger, naturally has a royal flag of first cutting and then playing. Of course, this thing is often an ornament, but at a critical time, Wang Shu can do it.

Don't say that no matter how much Xu Chunshen's family property is, in the name of the government, he is only a mere prisoner, and the royal banner is even an official, don't say that he is just a prisoner.

Wang Shu's vigorous killing intent made Xu Chunshen's heart chill, and said: "Your Excellency Rong Bing-------"

Xu Chunshen still wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Wang Shu and said, "I'll give you three days." After three days, if you don't bring your head to see you, I'll just have your head taken. ”

After finishing speaking, Wang Shuyi signaled, and Xu Chunshen was thrown out by several guards.

Xu Chunshen fell heavily under the stone steps outside the governor's yamen, and was extremely embarrassed for a while, and I don't know how many people looked at it from afar, which made Xu Chunshen's face extremely ugly.

He Xu is also a generation of heroes in business. Even in many high-ranking officials, they are also guests.

At this moment, he was so insulted by Wang Shu.

For a while, he was anxious and angry, and immediately hid his face and left. But he saw someone chasing after him, and not far from outside the yamen, he stopped Xu Chunshen and said, "Xu Sheng, our master is invited." ”

Xu Chunshen looked at it, but it was a servant of the Lu family. He thought for a moment and said, "Let's go." ”