The banquet hall, which was originally disturbed, became silent since the emperor came in. Even if Chongzhen asked them to continue the previous discussion with a gentle tone, no one continued to complain now.

Most of the merchant representatives representing the merchants of Beizhili came from the Four Seas Firm. For these merchants, no matter how the tax rate is adjusted, the Four Seas Commercial Bank is always the emperor's property, and will they still pay the same taxes as others?

The merchant representatives representing the Huaiyang salt merchants, although they resisted the increase in the tax rate, were more afraid of losing their status as salt merchants. The increase in the tax rate only increased the cost of bribery, and if the emperor was angered and took away his status as a salt merchant, it would be ruined.

Zhang Jinquan and others are obviously not interested in using their net worth to test the emperor's bottom line, so as to fight for the interests of the Huaiyang salt merchants. They are not civil officials, and after they have not angered the emperor, they still have the opportunity to be rescued by their colleagues.

The emperor will be criticized by public opinion for severely punishing civil officials for his speech, but when the emperor punishes a businessman who is not guilty, public opinion will only turn a blind eye. This is why businessmen who have made a fortune always like to train their people to read books to speak for themselves.

Representatives of merchants who run pawn shops in Shanxi and Huizhou do not feel much about the change in tax rates. They are in a money business and pay a fixed shop tax, so the tax rate adjustment will hardly affect them.

The most affected are bamboo and wood merchants and grain merchants. However, these two types of merchants operate on a large scale, and they are all related to the royal palaces, magnates, and gentry in various places, and there are almost no of them who are willing to pay taxes honestly, so there are only a few people who serve as representatives of merchants.

These people are here to listen to the content of the merchants' congress, and they don't really want to discuss the issue of tax rates. They don't know anything about the suffering of the low-level vendors, and they have no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

Zhu Youzhen was quite unhappy about the behavior of these merchant representatives sitting with their heads bowed and not saying a word, and after waiting for a long time, he said impatiently: "When I stood outside the door just now, I heard everyone express their opinions, and the hall was very lively.

How is it that as soon as I come in, you will all become gourds with sawed mouths? Do you have an opinion about me or do you have an opinion about Zheng Lang? Or are you very satisfied with the tax rate set by Zheng Langzhong and are willing to accept it unconditionally?

I will speak up first, and if there is any disagreement, I will say it at the meeting, and it doesn't matter what I say. But I won't let him go if he doesn't say it at the meeting, but he talks nonsense in private after the meeting is over. ”

Xu Zhaoming, who was sitting in the last row of the crowd on the west side, finally trembled and said, "Xiaomin Xu Zhaoming, I beg to speak to Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Youzhen turned his head to look at the place where the voice came out, and he couldn't see who was talking in the crowd. He then said, "Yes, come forward and speak." ”

Xu Zhaoming stood up with bated breath, then bent down and walked out of the crowd, kneeling down in the middle of the aisle to Chongzhen at the top.

Zhu Youzhen waved his hand and said, "Don't be polite, just say what you want to say." ”

After Xu Zhaoming kowtowed, Fang knelt down and sat up with his head bowed and said, "Xiaomin wants to present his favor to His Majesty on behalf of merchants from all over the world, and ask His Majesty to reduce the customs of various places and keep the old taxes unchanged. ”

"Bold, the imperial court held a meeting of merchant representatives, and what was to be discussed was the matter of increasing taxes, what should you be guilty of despising the imperial court so much?" Zheng Tingji was immediately enraged by the businessman's words.

Xu Zhaoming was so frightened that he immediately put his head on the floor, he was just a small cloth merchant in Jiangxi. Because of poor management, I have a lot of debts.

When he was desperate, several big businessmen in Chu asked him to act as a representative to go to Beijing, and he had to oppose the plan to raise taxes at the meeting, so that the debts he owed could be deferred.

In order to keep his family from falling into the streets, he had to stand up and risk his life.

Zheng Tingji's reprimand for Xu Zhaoming certainly made the businessmen present chill, but more people sympathized with Xu Zhaoming.

Zhu Youzhen stopped Zheng Tingji from continuing to scold, and he said to this Hubu Langzhong: "It doesn't have to be like this, it's not a fault to express your opinions at the meeting, and you don't have to be so angry." ”

"But Your Majesty..."When Zheng Tingji tried to persuade the emperor, Zhu Youzhen waved his hand and signaled that he didn't need to say anything more.

Looking at Xu Zhaoming, who was throwing himself to the ground below, Zhu Youzhen said casually: "You don't have to be like this, get up and speak, you continue to say, why do you want to abolish the tax customs and keep the old tax unchanged, there is always a reason for this, right?" ”

was not immediately pulled out to ask for the guilt, which made Xu Zhaoming feel as if he still had a way to live. When the emperor asked, he simply relented and told all the problems he encountered in business.

“… It is easy for everyone in the world to make money, but they don't know that the most difficult thing in the world is to do. That is, a layman. There are three people who are feared by outsiders: one is bandits; Second, it is called an official; Third, the local heroes are strong..."

When Xu Zhaoming first began to speak, he was still distracted and observed the emperor's face. But when it comes to the back, he began to pity himself and completely devoted himself to the difficulty of going out to do business abroad.

The representatives of the merchants present, except for the salt merchants and pawn merchants, all resonated with Xu Zhaoming's statement and nodded their heads one after another.

Zheng Tingji was not moved, but he observed the expressions of the merchant representatives in the hall, and suddenly had a premonition that it seemed that the purpose of this merchant congress to increase taxes might be difficult to achieve.

Zhu Youzhen listened to Xu Zhaoming's account of the suffering of the merchant without saying a word, and after he was silent for a while, he said: "The ancients, it is better to read ten thousand books than to travel ten thousand miles. Sure enough, if there is no investigation, there is no right to speak.

This is the first time I have heard of the difficulties of these businessmen you mentioned, and I think this is a dereliction of duty on the part of the imperial court. ”

The emperor's words made the merchants stunned for a moment, and even Zheng Tingji, who was in the middle of the household, felt a little at a loss, he didn't understand, this was just the sin of a handful of corrupt officials and local tyrants, how could it become a dereliction of duty for the imperial court.

Zhu Youzhen paused and said: "The power and obligation are equal, since the merchants have paid taxes, then correspondingly, the imperial court must provide an environment suitable for merchants to do business."

What was the purpose of the imperial court's collection of taxes? I think there are two things, one is to make up for the deficiency. The taxes of the rich lands in the southeast will be used to subsidize the backward areas in the frontier, so that the citizens of the whole country can share the benefits of the country's economic development.

Otherwise, there will be a civil uprising in the local area, and the first thing to be cut off is the trade route, and I have never heard of any commercial activities in a dynasty with frequent wars.

The second is to take it from the people and use it for the people. The taxes collected from you will be used to eradicate local banditry, repair roads connecting the world, and combat criminal activities against merchants.

Without perfect road facilities and convenient modes of transportation, will it be convenient for you to do business? Maybe among all of you here, some people have built roads and bridges in their hometowns, but for the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty, it is just a drop in the bucket after all.

The maintenance of post stations, official roads, Grand Canals and waterways in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, which one can be completed by an individual? Only by gathering the strength of the whole country can we open up the trade routes of the north, south and east of the Ming Dynasty, and only under the auspices of the imperial court can you obtain a stable business environment. ”

The businessmen, who were originally sad in their hearts, were suddenly attracted by Chongzhen's words. What the emperor said was very good and very exciting, but what the emperor said, can he really do it? Could it be that this is to deceive them with words in order to loot wealth from them?

Most of the representatives of the businessmen couldn't help but think of this idea in their hearts. For them, if the government can be relied on, it is really a sow going up the tree.

Zhu Youzhen said a lot in one breath, but he did not see the cheering expressions of the deputies, but instead looked suspicious about what he said. This made him depressed for a moment, and he thought for a while, and finally continued with a smile.

"Anyway, this merchant's congress is not just going to open on this day, and I am not in a hurry to decide on a tax rate today.

It's better to be like this, all of you are here on behalf of businessmen from all over the world, and you must be like this Xu Zhaoming, you have a lot of pain in your heart that you want to tell me.

Let's not discuss the matter of increasing commercial taxes for now, but talk about what difficulties you have encountered as a merchant in the Ming Dynasty, and what you hope the court will do for you.

As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the father of the merchants of the Ming Dynasty, I always have to listen to the troubles of the people under my rule, so that I will not deviate from reality when formulating national policies.

But I only have one pair of ears, and if you rush up, I can't hear what you're saying, and I can't remember what you're saying.

I suggested that each province be used as a discussion group, Wang Chengen, you should find some scribes, and each group should arrange for one person to record the questions they raised, so that I can watch them. What do you think? ”

Naturally, the merchant representatives in the hall would not object to Chongzhen's suggestion, in fact, complaining to the scribe made them feel more relaxed than complaining to the emperor, after all, it was a big sin to say the wrong thing in front of the emperor.

Zhu Youzhen whispered a few words to Zheng Tingji, and then got up and left. The emperor came suddenly, and he left quickly. It was strange that the merchant representatives in the hall who had been left behind felt as if they had participated in an absurd banquet.

However, with the coming and going of the emperor, the psychology of these merchant representatives has been very different. Originally, they were full of resistance and resistance to this merchant congress, and they wanted to end it as soon as possible so that they could suffer less losses.

Now, most of the businessmen are trying to tell the story of their difficulties and the mistakes they think the court should correct.

Maybe the emperor may not help them solve their difficulties, but they feel that they can let the emperor know the difficulties of the merchants, at least in the future, they will not try to increase the taxes of the merchants.