Chapter 22                            Rumor

Lu Lin is still very executable.

Soon countless rumors spread in Suzhou, and for a while, the people in Suzhou were in panic.

Rumors were made that the court was going to impose heavy taxes in Suzhou, which also aroused the anger of the people of Suzhou.

The Suzhou government bears three million stones of grain tax, which is better than other local and provincial governments. In the eyes of many people, it is already very excessive, especially some official land, which is already heavy in collection.

This has caused complaints from the people of Suzhou.

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 grain, it is difficult for a family to survive after paying taxes. As long as they plant high-value-added crops, they can make the family feel relieved.

What are their choices?

It's cotton, mulberry and hemp.

Especially silk cocoons and silk are high-addition products. For the same acre of land, planting mulberry trees to raise silkworms, the profit of selling silkworm cocoons far exceeds the profit of grain.

As for the basis of the silkworm cocoon and doing some processing, the added value will be even higher.

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

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

This is why, in the case of Jiangsu Province, most places strongly support the one-whip method, because it 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. How can I pay the money directly to the government?

However, the people of Jiangnan can afford Jiangnan's heavy empowerment, which does not mean that they feel it is appropriate.

It was heavy enough before, but now I heard that taxes are required. Even the imperial court did not want to donate 3 million taels at all levels in Suzhou. In other words, the amount of taxes the imperial court would have to collect was definitely above 3 million taels.

How come this news doesn't make the people panic?

The rumors that Lu Lin asked someone to release were nothing but lies, but just omitted some details.

It's just that the effect is very good.

Of course, the customs of the people in Jiangnan are not Jiubian.

If it was the situation that happened on the Nine Territory, there might be a mutiny in the making. But the people of Jiangsu do not have such toughness.

However, they also have their own solutions.

That is, scholars come to the Jiangsu Governor's Office to ask for a meeting with Wang Shu.

From Jinshi to scholars, these scholars all came to persuade Wang Shu to take back the fate of the people with the intention of pleading for the people.

Wang Shu had to meet him.

After all, if Wang Shu didn't see any of them, he would be completely exiled to the scholars. However, every time he saw someone, he had to talk hard about the court's policies.

The consumption is not very good.

The so-called butt determines the head. For many gentry in Jiangnan, the disaster in the northwest is certainly worthy of sympathy, but if you want to make us pay in this name, this will never work.

Of course, if Wang Shu’s words are not effective at all, it may not be possible.

Although Suzhou has developed business and the strongest commercial atmosphere in the entire Ming Dynasty, it does not mean that the entire Suzhou Shilin circle agrees with the large-scale development of business.

Of course, there are many gentry who only ensure the idea of ​​farming and reading, enjoy the poor and motivate their children to study, and do not focus on business.

These are naturally unhappy for those who gain business benefits.

Of course, this discomfort can also be divided into two types.

The first is that people who adhere to the concept of Neo-Confucianism are dissatisfied with this new type of idea and are dissatisfied with the impact of business on traditional agricultural society. The second is red eye disease.

Not willing to miss this opportunity to explode.

No matter what their original intentions are.

These people have given Wang Shu a lot of help. In particular, Wang Shu has repeatedly emphasized that this tax increase has nothing to do with the land, and it is all commercial tax.

This also allows most of the people who are based on the land to feel at ease.

For tax increases, if you increase your own tax, it is certainly impossible, but if you add others to taxes, it may not be impossible.

However, Xu Chunshen made a tacit punch.

Xu Chunshen immediately lowered the prices of many raw materials, such as cotton, silk cocoons, etc.

Xu Chunshen was just the beginning. Soon many businessmen had chain reactions.

Many people actually don’t know that they are actually on an industrial chain. Big tycoons like Xu Chunshen jointly smashed the market, which completely disrupted the market order on the market.

And the one who cannot withstand the impact is the lowest level of the industrial chain.

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

For a time, Suzhou City, which has a population of millions, actually felt like it was swaying.

Xu Chunshen was immediately invited by Wang Shu.

Wang Shu was not polite to Xu Chunshen this time. He was above the main hall and condescendingly. Xu Chunshen scolded him, "Xu Chunshen, what else do you have to say now?"

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

I feel like I've done too much.

In fact, what Xu Chunshen did cannot cause a chain reaction in Suzhou. If this is in Songjiang, it is OK. Suzhou is not Xu Chunshen's basic foundation.

Moreover, smashing the large plate in Suzhou is not beneficial to Xu Chunshen.

He only had some tendencies, and it was Lu Lin who was secretly trading. Lu Lin fought one after another. But his size was too big.

Every move is noticed.

Xu Chunshen said: "Adults are clear about it, and the people are helpless. The cotton industry has little profits and earns money. The court is about to increase taxes, and the small ones can only survive."

Wang Shu's eyes shrank slightly and said sternly: "You are still stubborn at this point. The imperial edict is not something you can discuss. You can quickly restore the price to the original price, otherwise, I will want your head on your neck."

Wang Shu was a little confused at this moment.

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

The commercialization of various parts of the Ming Dynasty was definitely not as good as Suzhou, and some of the merchants' tricks could not shake the local situation.

Generally speaking, the court only needs to stabilize the price of grain and allow the people to have food to eat.

But Suzhou is different.

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

If they can’t make money, what’s the use of even if the food is stable?

I still can't afford it without money.

Wang Shu used his previous experience to deal with the current situation. As soon as he found out that the situation was wrong, he blocked the granaries in various places and was ready to calm the grain prices at any time.

But I never expected it.

The price of cotton, silk, and silk cotton cloth have such a big impression of this city.

Wang Shu faces new problems.

He caught him off guard. He didn't know how to deal with it for a while, but he instinctively felt that Xu Chunshen was making trouble in the middle, so he took Xu Chunshen first without saying a word.

As an imperial envoy, Wang Shu naturally had a flag of kings who took action first and then gave him a speech. Of course, this thing is often a decoration, but at critical moments, Wang Shu was able to take action.

Not to mention that Xu Chunshen’s family property is just a mere student in the name of the government, and even the officials can be killed by the Wang Mingqipao.

Wang Shu's vigorous murderous intent made Xu Chunshen feel cold and said, "Sir Rong Bing-------"

Xu Chunshen wanted to speak, but was interrupted by Wang Shu and said, "I will give you three days. After three days, if you don't mention your head, I will let you take your head."

After saying that, Wang Shuyi signaled that Xu Chunshen was thrown out by several guards.

Xu Chunshen fell heavily under the stone steps outside the governor's yamen. He was extremely embarrassed for a moment, and countless people looked away from afar, which made Xu Chunshen's face look extremely ugly.

He, Xu, is also a hero in business. Even among many senior officials, he is also a guest of honor.

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

He was anxious and angry for a moment, and immediately covered his face and left. However, he saw someone chasing him and stopped Xu Chunshen not far outside the yamen, saying, "Xu Sheng, our master is welcome."
Chapter completed!