PFC Chapter 498 Corruption
Chapter 498 Corruption
Hearing this, Yu Cai took a breath of cold air.
Fifty thousand taels of silver a year was a huge sum of money to him. As one of the three most powerful families in Dashang, their family earned only six to seventy thousand taels of silver from all their properties in a year.
And now that there have been wars for years, the money earned is also decreasing year by year.
As long as he agrees to this cooperation, he will get 50,000 taels of silver every year from now on, and this money will still belong to him personally. Just thinking about it makes his heart beat faster.
With this money, he can purchase a lot of properties every year, and he will make more and more money in the future.
Thinking about it, greed arose in his heart.
But if he really did this and the Great Shang Emperor found out, it would be more than just peeling off his official skin.
If you don't do it well, you might lose your head.
Moreover, he was not confident in persuading the Great Shang Emperor to pay an annual payment of 300,000 taels of silver. If the Great Shang Emperor got angry and took away his official title, there would be no place to cry.
"Master Champion Hou, this is inappropriate."
Yu Cai was also a smart man. He calmed down after a while and shook his head slightly.
Seeing this, Lin Xiaofan was not angry, but felt more happy. He understood that there was something going on in this matter.
"Brother Yu Cai, for a country as big as the Shang Kingdom, can't you raise this little money? If the people pay a little more tax each year, wouldn't it be enough to get 300,000 taels of silver?"
"Dashang has a population of two to three million. On average, one person only pays an extra one hundred pence in taxes, which is nothing at all. In this way, we can keep Dashang's territory."
"The Great Shang Emperor is also a smart man. As long as you explain this truth to him, he will definitely agree."
"When Da Shang becomes a Pan vassal state of Da Qian, there will definitely be trade. At that time, you only need to send a caravan here, and I can give you the silver. Make it hidden so that no one can find it. "
Lin Xiaofan opened his mouth to persuade, and the doubts in Yu Cai's heart were gradually dispelled.
"Sir, don't be joking. If this matter is discovered, my fate will be tragic. Besides, who do you think I am? Although I am usually greedy and afraid of death, I will never do such a traitorous thing. thing."
Yu Cai is the way of righteous speech.
Lin Xiaofan sneered, stared at Yu Cai, and asked:
"Brother Yu Cai, aren't you afraid of losing your head?"
In an instant, Yu Cai felt a chill rising from his back. Looking at Lin Xiaofan's expression, it seemed that... he was not pretending.
Looking at Tian Meng on the side, he looked ready to take action at any time. Although Tian Meng is smaller in size, he has heard of his previous achievements.
If this little girl takes action, she will definitely not be able to survive three moves.
If Lin Xiaofan killed him here, he would have no place to cry.
He quickly said with a smile:
"Master Champion, you are joking. You are a gentleman, and you will not do such unscrupulous things. Let's discuss this matter later. How about this, I don't want the fifty thousand taels of silver, and at the same time, I will give Da Shang a year's work How about providing 200,000 taels of silver and 30,000 shi of food and grass?”
In panic, he accidentally revealed his bottom line.
"Haha, brother Yu Cai, you came to Daqian from Dashang, and you are a guest. Naturally, I will not kill the guest. However, the three hundred thousand taels of silver and the food of thirty thousand shi must not be less. Otherwise, Daqian will There’s no way Gan would agree to this.”
"You came here this time, presumably with a mission. If there is no peace, you should be punished after you go back, right? At that time, you can weigh it yourself whether you can save your head and your official position."
"Even if the Great Shang Emperor does not blame you, the two countries have not succeeded in peace talks, and war will resume sooner or later. Today's Great Shang still has to deal with the attack from the north, and to put it bluntly, the Great Shang Emperor has no ability. There are no good officials. In less than three years, there will be a huge gap between the strength of Dashang and Daqian."
"By then, Da Qian will definitely destroy the capital of Dashang. As a Taiwei of Dashang, do you think Emperor Da Qian will keep you?"
Every word Lin Xiaofan said directly struck Yu Cai's heart.
According to Lin Xiaofan, the risks are obviously lower and the returns are obviously higher.
"But Mr. Champion Hou, if I come as promised, how can I guarantee that you will give me the money as promised?"
Yucai spoke.
This kind of thing could only be done in private. If it were just a word from Lin Xiaofan or a piece of paper, he would definitely not be willing to believe in it.
Fifty thousand silver taels is not a small amount of money. Anyone can get it. How can Lin Xiaofan guarantee that he will not embezzle it secretly?
"I also have a caravan within Dashang, called the Tianchao Chamber of Commerce, which can earn at least one hundred thousand taels of silver every year. If I regret it, just find a way to detain my caravan. I also You wouldn’t even want a caravan for 50,000 taels of silver?”
Lin Xiaofan thought for a while and said.
The Tianchao Chamber of Commerce is engaged in high-profit transactions such as refined salt, and it can indeed earn one hundred thousand taels of silver a year.
Yu Cai frowned and thought.
China Chamber of Commerce?
There seems to be such a chamber of commerce in the big business country, and it makes a lot of money. There is no need for Lin Xiaofan to lie about this kind of thing.
"Okay, Mr. Champion Hou, I promise you. From now on, we will always cooperate. If there are any trends in Dagang, you can also tell the younger ones in advance, and I can help you come up with ideas then, right?" "
Yu Cai no longer had any worries and agreed directly.
"Okay! Brother Yu Cai is also a straightforward person. I will write a letter to Emperor Daqian tonight to tell him about this."
Lin Xiaofan stood up, shook hands with Yu Cai and said.
With 300,000 taels of silver, 30,000 shi of grain, 1,500 war horses, and one more Pan vassal state, Kang Hong and many ministers in the court should have no reason to refuse.
Moreover, the money and food needed by the big businessmen every year will definitely not be provided by the nobles, but will eventually fall on the heads of the common people. In other words, taxes will be further increased.
At that time, the people of the Great Shang Kingdom will have a hard time making a living, and the people of the Great Qian Kingdom will be better off. If they formulate some preferential treatment policies for settling down, countless people from the Great Shang Kingdom will surely come to work.
Without using a single soldier, it weakened the Great Shang and strengthened the combat power of the Great Qian. Why not? Maybe in the next three to five years, there will be no need to fight, and the great merchants themselves will be destroyed.
As for the merchant emperor's desire to lower taxes, it would be impossible unless the country was on the verge of subjugation. Because this matter violated the interests of too many nobles, all the ministers in the dynasty would not agree.
The two clinked a few more glasses, and then Yu Cai resigned on the grounds of necessity. Lin Xiaofan returned to his room, studied his pen and ink, and wrote a letter.