As soon as the day dawned, the Dengzhou wharf was already full of people, and it was very lively.

The small merchants and vendors who sell food in the vicinity have long mastered the law of making money: merchants from all over the world who come from the sea are most greedy for green vegetables and melons and fruits.

Often, after the merchant ship docks and is checked by the city's berth division, whether it is the shipowner, sailors, or helmsmen, they will flock to the nearest melon and fruit stall to buy a lot of melons and fruits, and they are too lazy to wash them.

After the sailors have eaten the melons and fruits, they will ask the vendors to prepare several soup cakes or steamed cakes with green vegetables, and have a delicious meal with a bowl of tea for five cents.

Ship owners, helmsmen and captains, who have high incomes and are willing to spend money. After eating melons and fruits to quench their cravings, most of them will go to the exquisite restaurants in the dock area, order more than a dozen side dishes with wine, let Dr. Wine scald a few pots of Li Zhongyi's monopoly "Daughter Red", and then call two singers who sing small songs, which can be described as extremely happy and free.

At first, the small traders and vendors in the dock area did not understand the lavish spending of the wealthy merchants. Slowly, I got in touch with the sailors more, and everyone got to know the inside story.

Doing business by sea vessel is actually a very risky business. It is no exaggeration to say that if you tie your head to the waistband of your pants, even if you make a fortune, you will earn money from selling your life.

Whether it is the shipowner, the captain or the helmsman, no one dares to guarantee that after eating this full meal, there will be another good meal to eat?

Therefore, after arriving at the destination safely, the owner, captain and helmsman all seized the time to enjoy. Be as kind to yourself as possible, lest you make a lot of money and make a fortune, but you don't have a life to enjoy.

Since Lee Sang-gong opened Dengju as the only port for trade with Goryeo, the market in Dengju has become increasingly prosperous.

At first, it was just a few small traders and vendors who set up stalls in the food and beverage area on the pier, and they mostly sold dry goods such as cooking cakes and steamed cakes.

Slowly, as merchants from all over the Great Zhou Dynasty, as well as merchants from Wuyue and Tang Kingdom in the south, small merchants and hawkers who were engaged in trading swelled to more than 30 in the blink of an eye.

Merchants from the south to the north, the maritime trade is becoming more and more prosperous, and there is a momentum of making money every day. Followed by those who opened tea shops, restaurants, inns, sang tunes, told stories, and even opened chicken restaurants, all came to set up camp and try their best to get a piece of the pie from the pockets of merchants from all walks of life.

Li Zhongyi once incisively commented on this phenomenon, monopoly trade is the leader, which can drive the development of various consumption places, forming a complete industrial chain as long as you have money and are willing to spend it, and you don't have to worry about not having fun.

In the territory under the jurisdiction of Pinglu Jiedu, no matter which country or region of the merchants, no matter how many goods are transported, they only need to go to the checkpoints of the city and the city in each prefecture and county and the wharf, and the quantity of goods can be completely registered, and no tax is levied.

The special commercial tax is levied only at the time of the transaction of goods, according to the quantity sold, according to the ratio of ten taxes and two.

The shrewd merchants soon discovered the mystery and rushed to do so.

After the establishment of the Great Zhou Dynasty, starting from Taizu Guo Wei and ending with the accession of the little emperor, the commercial tax of 20 taxes and 1 was uniformly implemented, that is, the tax of 5% of the total value of goods.

However, the commercial tax of 20 taxes and one must be paid every time you pass through a state town or county, even if you don't sell a single item. Its comprehensive tax burden ratio is simply astonishingly high.

The tax rate of 10 and 2 in the territory of Pinglu Jiedu implemented by Li Zhongyi seemed to be frighteningly high, but the monopoly of trade to Goryeo alone was enough to attract merchants to come and make a fortune.

More importantly, the goods only need to be registered at any city or checkpoint, and they can travel anywhere within the jurisdiction of Pinglu, and no tax will be levied if the goods are not sold.

In addition, in the jurisdiction of Pinglu, the city gate tax of the prefecture and county has been exempted, including all kinds of exorbitant taxes based on the city gate, and there is no such thing.

Merchants are profit-seeking, and as long as they understand the pros and cons, they will definitely find ways to rush over to do business.

Li Zhongyi is a rule-oriented official and businessman, whether it is word of mouth or goodwill, he is impeccable.

It is no exaggeration to say that the ministers in the political hall of the entire Great Zhou Dynasty are the most friendly to the businessmen and the most disciplined, except for Li Daxianggong, who else?

Although the crackdown on tax evasion and tax evasion is extremely severe, as long as you are a serious businessman, the business environment in the territory under the jurisdiction of Pinglu Jiedu ranks first in the arrogant.

Cargo ships from the south to the north came one after another, and the business of the traders suddenly became booming. Some small bosses who taste good and are fair have been busy for more than an hour before they have the opportunity to sit down and take a breath and drink a bowl of tea, pinch their waists and pound their legs.

Don't look at them complaining, they are so busy that they don't even have time to eat breakfast, but when they secretly count the money, their smiles are bright from the heart.

Li Zhongyi's special emphasis on business is actually based on the basic law of economic development in the last few thousand years of world history, which can be condensed into one sentence: no agriculture, no stability, no business, no wealth, no work, no strength!

In the current era of low productivity conditions, large-scale industrial production is actually a pipe dream, and it is only in the most primitive stage of industrial germination.

Far from it, the technology of steelmaking alone is still far behind. Li Zhongyi secretly made cannons in Goryeo, and none of the steel smelted was qualified and could only be replaced by copper.

Most of the copper used by Li Zhongyi to make cannons was copied from the defeated families of the powerful people in the Goryeo Kingdom, and all the copper basins, copper mirrors, and copper furnaces were looted by the conquerors.

In addition, although Goryeo is not rich in copper, there are several small copper mines. It's just that the annual output is very low, and the total is only more than 20,000 catties.

If such a little copper is used to mint money, the cost will be surprisingly high, and there is no reference value at all.

Near noon, a large number of officers and soldiers suddenly appeared on the dock of Dengzhou, and they began to shout loudly to clear the field as before.

The small traders and peddlers who bought and sold on the wharf had adapted to the rule that the officers and soldiers would have to clear the market once in a while. Everyone started to move the small stalls that occupied the road to the back.

However, as usual, when the vendors moved to the last position on weekdays, the officers and soldiers continued to drive them further to the rear positions.

"Captain, what's wrong with this today?" There was a vendor who had seen some of the world, and he had the courage to ask a more familiar team.

The team was pursed and smiled, and said lightly: "Take care of your mouth, you can't ask about things that shouldn't be asked, understand?" Hurry up, hurry back, you can't afford to delay the business. ”

Just as the vendors were still retreating one after another, the thunderous sound of horses' hooves suddenly sounded over the wharf.

The grass people have always liked to watch the excitement, and the vendors and merchants involuntarily stretched their necks and stood on tiptoe to see.

After a short effort, I saw two fiery red triangular tooth flags, which came into everyone's eyes. One of the tooth flags has a few big characters written on it: the general manager of the march to the east, and the other tooth flag has only one big character inlaid with gold threads: Yang.