Chapter 46

"Master, how could you agree to such a bet?! Zhu and Yu are clearly trying to scheme against you. Earning 200,000 taels of silver within a month and by legitimate means! Where are we supposed to get that from?"

After Zhao Junchen recounted what had happened during the morning court session, Xu Qingyan was full of anxiety and couldn't help but exclaim.

Xu Qingyan had always been confident in Zhao Junchen's ability to make money, but he wasn't so confident in Zhao Junchen's ability to make money through "legitimate means."

"Don't worry," Zhao Junchen reassured him with a smile. "I once read an ancient book that recorded many ingenious items. The manufacturing techniques are not difficult, but each one can easily earn a large sum of silver. It's just 200,000 taels, nothing difficult. I'm actually a bit at a loss about which one to choose."

"Is there such an ancient book?"

Xu Qingyan, who disliked reading the most, naturally didn't believe it.

Of course, it was precisely because Xu Qingyan disliked reading that Zhao Junchen used this reason to fool him.

Seeing that Xu Qingyan didn't believe him, Zhao Junchen chuckled lightly. "In books, there are golden houses, beautiful women, and abundant wealth. Even Emperor Zhenzong of Song said so. Could it be false?"

Hearing Zhao Junchen say this, Xu Qingyan had no choice but to believe him, but he still had doubts and asked, "But even if these ingenious items can be made, how many would we need to sell to earn 200,000 taels? A month's time is far from enough. Moreover, Master, your bet is to increase the revenue of the Ministry of Revenue by 200,000 taels. Even if the ingenious items earn a lot, how can they increase the revenue of the Ministry of Revenue?"

After taking a sip of tea, Zhao Junchen slowly explained, "Even if we make those ingenious items, I won't sell them. Although they are good, it's impossible to earn 200,000 taels in such a short time. However, while we won't rush to sell the items, we can sell the supply of these items in advance."

Seeing Xu Qingyan's puzzled face, Zhao Junchen explained, "In the capital, whether it's the Shanxi merchants, Anhui merchants, or Zhejiang merchants, they all have agents stationed here. The ingenious items I mentioned, I don't plan to sell myself. Instead, I will have them made and then have the agents resell them. This will save time, costs, and effort. Within a month, as long as we can show them a sample, they will understand the business opportunity. However, in the near future, we won't be able to produce many of these items, so the supply will be limited. Civilian merchants who want more supplies will not only need to place orders and pay in advance but also bid to raise the price. In this way, 200,000 taels of silver will be easy to obtain."

Pausing for a moment, Zhao Junchen continued, "As for how to increase the revenue of the Ministry of Revenue, that's even easier. We just need to put this business under the name of the Ministry of Revenue or the Internal Affairs Department."

Hearing Zhao Junchen's last words, Xu Qingyan's face showed disbelief, and his voice was even louder than before, "Master, if those ingenious items are really that valuable, wouldn't this just cheaply benefit the Ministry of Revenue? We would be at a great loss."

Zhao Junchen sighed, "Qingyan, you need to look at the long term. Our family's wealth is already no less than three million taels. We have everything we need. More silver is just a number. Moreover, while those ingenious items can make us more money, if we don't have the corresponding power, having too much silver will only cause trouble. It will make people envious and cautious, even the current emperor might not be immune. The fate of Shen Wansan in the past doesn't need to be repeated. Since that's the case, why not hand this fat piece of meat to the Ministry of Revenue or the Internal Affairs Department? This way, we can win the bet and also gain the emperor's favor. What's the harm in that?"

At this point, Zhao Junchen's voice became more profound, "As long as we have power and status, and the emperor's favor doesn't wane, will we ever worry about money in the future? Moreover, in that ancient book, there are many ingenious items that can make money. We will have plenty of opportunities in the future, so why be so concerned about the gains and losses of the present?"

Zhao Junchen explained the logic clearly, but Xu Qingyan clearly misunderstood.

"Master is truly wise!" Xu Qingyan's face showed enlightenment. "As long as the Ministry of Revenue and the Internal Treasury are in Master's hands, it doesn't matter whether the money earned from the ingenious items is stored in our Zhao family or in the Ministry of Revenue and the Internal Treasury. Putting it in the Ministry of Revenue and the Internal Treasury has even more benefits. Master thinks far ahead."

Seeing Xu Qingyan's corrupt official mindset, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but smile bitterly and shake his head.

Although, the "logic" Xu Qingyan mentioned wasn't entirely wrong.

After being convinced by Zhao Junchen, Xu Qingyan finally became curious and asked, "Master, what are these ingenious items you mentioned?"

Zhao Junchen shook his head, "I haven't decided yet."

...

In fact, Zhao Junchen had many ways to increase the revenue of the Ministry of Revenue. The most effective one was undoubtedly tax system reform.

Later generations commented that one of the fundamental reasons for the fall of the Ming Dynasty was the rampant smuggling.

Smuggling not only created a group of merchants rich enough to rival the state but also left the Ming Dynasty's treasury in dire straits.

However, the root cause of the rampant smuggling in the Ming Dynasty was the chaotic tax system, especially the commercial tax system.

How chaotic was the commercial tax system in the Ming Dynasty?

To put it this way, in the current Ming Dynasty, there are tax stations at the county level, the prefecture level, the provincial level, and even the eunuchs in charge of the town have their own tax stations. Even the royal estates have privately set up tax stations.

In addition, there are countless temporary tax stations. Although they are called "temporary," the so-called "temporary" period often lasts for decades!

More importantly, the randomness of tax collection at these stations is also very high. What items need to be taxed and how to tax them are entirely at the discretion of the tax officials. If you encounter a lenient tax official, they will only tax the goods. If you encounter a greedy tax official, they will tax everything, including the food you bring, the carts you use to transport goods, and even the clothes on your body!

In this way, goods that cost only 100 taels of silver to sell can end up paying 300 to 500 taels of silver in taxes by the time they reach their destination. How can ordinary people and merchants bear this? What choice do they have but to smuggle? People have to survive.

In fact, due to the chaotic tax system and rampant smuggling, the total commercial tax collected by the Ming Dynasty each year is only about 350,000 taels of silver!

350,000 taels of silver may seem like a lot, but based on various data and estimates, in recent years, the value of smuggled cotton cloth on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal alone is no less than 700,000 taels of silver! If taxes were levied on these smuggled cotton cloths, just the goods tax, ship tax, inspection fee, and storage permit tax would amount to nearly 100,000 taels of silver!

And this is just the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal! This is just one type of goods!

In this era, how much commercial tax should there be? It's still a mystery to Zhao Junchen, but it can be certain that it would be an astronomical figure.

However, the idea of reforming the commercial tax system flashed through Zhao Junchen's mind and was quickly abandoned.

This kind of reform would take too long and wouldn't show results within a month. Moreover, it involves too many aspects—local officials of all sizes, smugglers across the country, and high-ranking officials in the central government who receive large sums of tribute silver every year. They are all beneficiaries of the current chaotic tax system, and Zhao Junchen isn't foolish enough to oppose the entire country.

Apart from commercial tax reform, the rectification of the Sichuan salt industry and the introduction of Shanxi merchants into Sichuan could also bring a large amount of silver to the Ministry of Revenue. With some creative naming, increasing the revenue of the Ministry of Revenue by 200,000 taels of silver within a month would not be difficult.

However, since Zhao Junchen had already made a bet with the Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, he could not mention the rectification of the Sichuan salt industry now.

If there were no bet, the rectification of the Sichuan salt industry, with the joint efforts of Zhao Junchen and the Shanxi merchant group, would have a high chance of success. However, now that the bet is established, if the salt industry rectification is proposed, not only will the Crown Prince's faction oppose it to win the bet, but the Chief Cabinet Minister Zhou Shangjing will also oppose it to hinder Emperor Deqing's southern tour. Even other senior officials, envious of the power of the Ministry of Revenue, will oppose it to suppress Zhao Junchen.

In this way, what was originally a sure thing would become full of uncertainties.

...

In fact, in this era, the methods and means of the Ministry of Revenue's financial turnover and tax collection are very primitive. As long as Zhao Junchen made some improvements, there were many ways to increase revenue and open up new sources of income.

However, like the commercial tax reform and the rectification of the Sichuan salt industry, either they involved too many aspects or would cause a backlash from the major forces in the court. Although the effects were significant and would benefit future generations, Zhao Junchen abandoned them.

Thus, after much thought, Zhao Junchen realized that the safest and most convenient method might be "invention and creation."

In fact, Zhao Junchen had a good understanding of the manufacturing methods of items like glass, perfume, soap, and the Spinning Jenny. In his previous life, Zhao Junchen, as a student, had learned some of these methods, and with the technological level of this era, they were not difficult to achieve and were all highly profitable.

However, what Zhao Junchen was now hesitating about was which one to choose.

In the end, after deep consideration, Zhao Junchen abandoned glass and the Spinning Jenny.

Not because Zhao Junchen was unwilling to give up the profits, but because he intended to use these two items in the future to establish some business ventures and invite some important officials to invest. By sharing the profits, he could achieve "non-partisan but partisan" status.

Compared to this, using these two items to win a bet with little benefit would be a waste of talent.

Thinking this way, Zhao Junchen finally made a decision and instructed Xu Qingyan, "Qingyan, within three days, by any means, whether by poaching or coercion, you must find all the famous cosmetic and soap makers in the capital. I need their help. Also, take over the best cosmetic and soap workshops in the capital."

Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Xu Qingyan knew that Zhao Junchen was going to manufacture "ingenious items." Although he was curious, he didn't dare to be negligent and immediately agreed and left.

Zhao Junchen decided to pursue both soap and perfume. According to his memory, as long as the craftsmen could produce one of these items within a month, Zhao Junchen would win the bet!

...

Note: Soap, a very primitive cleaning product, is actually not much different from the process of making perfumed soap, just with a few different ingredients.

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PS: There have been some issues at work these past two days, so updates have been fewer. Please bear with me. Normal updates will resume tomorrow!

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