I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 558 Siming County

Siming County.

This is a newly established county. It has been seven or eight years since the county was established in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, it was the original three capitals of Jin and Xiamen. Because of the opening up of the sea in the new dynasty, Xiamen Port relied on its unique seaport advantages to develop and prosper rapidly in just one or two years.

At that time, Zhu Yijiong and the cabinet agreed that Xiamen could not be directly subordinate to either Tongan or Haicheng County because it involved the important coastal defense towns of Taiwan and Xiamen.

As a result, after collaborative deliberations between the Cabinet and the Privy Council, and in accordance with the Taiwan-Xiamen strategic plan, Xiamen, Kinmen and nearby islands (excluding Gulangyu Island) were finally separated from Tongan and Haicheng counties, and merged into Siming County, the former Xiamen City It was promoted to the seat of Siming County and was directly under the jurisdiction of the Fujian Chief Envoy Division.

Yuxuan Pavilion.

This is the best and most expensive high-end brothel in Siming County.

Although most of the brothels in Nanjing closed down and were exiled, the remaining ones who survived have all switched to the hook-and-mortar and tile-shelter business. However, coastal cities, especially open ports such as Xiamen and Ningbo, still have no shortage of brothels and taverns.

Not only is there no shortage of them, but all of them are high-end consumption places, and the prices are even more expensive than the original brothels.

This is not because the economy determines the market, but also because the sky is high and the emperor is far away, so the inspections are not as strict as in Nanjing.

Moreover, the high-end brothels in these coastal ports also took advantage of the new dynasty's decree to open the sea and the imperial court's ban on brothels and Chu Guan, and took the opportunity to quickly merge with their peers.

In just a few years, several monopolistic erotic establishments were built along the coast, and even the overseas "Hu girls" in Nanjing's Goulan tiles learned from them.

On the second floor of Yuxuan Pavilion, there is a private private room.

Lu Chongning had a beautiful female actress (not a prostitute) in his arms and was drinking and listening to music.

It was really just drinking and listening to music. Although she kept making small movements with her hands, the female actress didn't feel disgusted at all. Instead, he just wanted to flatter him. Seeing that both parties were blushing, they decided to take a step further.

"boom!"

Suddenly, the door was knocked open, and a middle-aged man hurried in: "Master, it's bad, something big is going to happen."

Lu Chongning originally wanted to scold him, but when he saw the person coming, he held back his anger and said, "Uncle Zhong, why are you so impatient? Didn't I tell you that you don't have to listen to your wife? I won't go home tonight?"

"No... not madam, it's... the imperial court... the imperial court..." Uncle Zhong wanted to speak, but he hesitated when he saw the female performer in Lu Chongning's arms.

Lu Chongning was not an idiot. As soon as he heard the word "court", his mind suddenly cleared up, and he did not make any retarded remarks like "just say what you have to say".

"Huh, I knew it was that bitch again. I'll settle the score with her when I get back." Lu Chongning pretended to be angry, but he was indeed a little angry, and he got up and left first.

Seeing this, Uncle Zhong breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left this high-end brothel together.

It didn't take long for the two of them to return to Lu Mansion.

Lu Chongning drank the hangover tea and then asked: "Uncle Zhong, what happened? In such a hurry."

Uncle Zhong said: "Master, something big has happened. News came from above that the imperial court is going to thoroughly investigate the customs duties along the coast. The imperial envoy responsible for the investigation is estimated to be on the way now and will reach the boundary of Tong'an County the day after tomorrow at the latest. Moreover, this time there will be a thorough investigation, not only in Xiamen, but also in Ningbo, Guangzhou, and Macau."

"What!" Lu Chongning's expression changed drastically.

Lu Chongning is Lu Youlong's son. He was just a concubine, and now he has been promoted to his wife. Because the original wife, wife and children were all executed by the Manchu Qing court for the crime of losing the city and territory and surrendering to the Ming Dynasty.

This guy is now Lu Youlong's eldest son and his only son. Therefore, Lu Youlong also attached great importance to his son. He originally planned to wait for another year or two before asking the emperor for an official position for his son, but he also resigned and retired. The emperor generally would not refuse this kind of political exchange. After all, it was just a favor. Even if you don't consider the political bargaining chip of a cabinet minister resigning and retiring, just following the dragon's merits is enough to grant Lu Chongning an official title.

After all, the Lu family has been (forced) to rebel against you, and all the relatives of the nine clans have lost their joy. At the worst, it is not impossible to support him with a casual title.

Moreover, regardless of Lu Youlong's current cabinet, he has almost no sense of presence. Even the voting system of the cabinet, which is said to be six-person voting, is actually not much different from five-person voting.

Mr. Lu Ge basically voted with the crowd throughout the whole process. Whichever side had three votes, he would vote for that side.

But it doesn't mean that he really has no right to speak. After all, he is also the first batch of cabinet ministers in the new cabinet, and his qualifications are there. Moreover, there is also a layer of Conglong meritorious officials, plus the cover of being demoted by the Qing court. These can be regarded as political bargaining chips.

Even for the sake of political stability, the emperor had to find a rich man to help him retire smoothly. As long as his ability was not too bad, he did not need to really participate in decision-making in the cabinet anyway.

Lu Chongning forced himself to calm down and asked: "The imperial court has sent an imperial envoy, what about the Xiamen Shipping Department? Also, our accounts have been prepared, can they be correct?"

As the son of the cabinet minister, Lu Chongning began to get involved in maritime trade in recent years under the instigation and inducement of the Xiamen Shipping Department because he was idle and bored.

Uncle Zhong said: "Don't worry, young master, there must be nothing wrong with our accounts. They are true. The official accounts of the Shipping Department are also checked every year, and there should be no major flaws. However, the accounts along the coast are easy to say. , this mainland..."

This is said euphemistically enough. Simply put, it is the routine of the third phase of the Golden Tax in later generations.

After checking the invoice, check the inventory, and after checking the inventory, check the amount and flow.

There will always be a flaw in one link or even multiple links, and then the accounts will not match up.

Because tax evasion in the mainland is not as simple as smuggling along the coast. On the coast you only need to deal with customs, but in the mainland you not only have to deal with bureaucratic taxation, but also the firms that cooperate with you, and even the firms that cooperate with you. May become a vulnerability.

If you can really do it all...then even if you are great, you will have too much money and nowhere to spend it.

Lu Chongning was not an idiot. He instantly realized the seriousness of the problem: "What's the use of having no problems with the coastal official accounts? If the inland accounts don't match up, something will happen. Does the Xiamen Shipping Department have any countermeasures? What are their plans? How to do it?"

Uncle Zhong shook his head: "They said you don't have to worry, young master. Everything has been arranged over there. They also said that in today's world, there is no maritime merchant who does not evade taxes, and there is no maritime merchant who does not bribe officials. Even so. Before the Tatar court, and in the pre-Ming Dynasty, maritime smuggling and tax evasion were even more serious than they are now. It is impossible for the court to really catch them all. Otherwise, there would be no need to open the sea in the future. Without the benefits of sea trade , not only slaps His Majesty in the face, but also causes the court to lose tens of millions of taels of customs money every year. The Shipping Department said that even if His Majesty really wants to conduct a thorough investigation this time, it may only be a big thunder and a small rain, and at most arrests will be made. A few typical examples are just a shock to the public. The rest of the maritime businessmen can only make up for the evaded taxes."

Not only did Lu Chongning not feel at ease, but he was even more frightened. He always felt that it was not that simple.

It is true that the problem of coastal smuggling and tax evasion has become a common practice as early as the Ming Dynasty, but common practice does not mean that there is no problem!

Doesn't your Majesty forcefully change the customary rule that gentry does not have to pay taxes? Moreover, all the literati who opposed the gentry's payment of taxes were exiled to the bitter cold land of Liaodong.

Even if we don’t mention these, the several times His Majesty has carried out corruption crackdowns and “literary prisons” across the country, every time he has not killed hundreds of people, almost all the criminals who have been exiled are in the unit of tens of thousands.

Are we really going to treat the issue of coastal smuggling this time lightly just because of so-called "custom"?

The more Lu Chongning thought about it, the more frightened he became: "Since the taxes have to be paid in the end anyway, why can't we just take the initiative to surrender, so that we can get a lighter sentence?"

Uncle Zhong was just a servant of the Lu family, and he couldn't really give any advice. He just couldn't help but said: "Why should the young master be so worried? After all, the master is in the cabinet, and he can even speak to His Majesty. Even if If something really happens, the Shipping Department will be responsible for it, and the imperial envoy should not embarrass the young master too much."

Lu Chongning shook his head and said nothing, not to mention that his father was just the most insignificant person in the cabinet. The emperor only kept him in the cabinet for political balance.

Moreover, in the Jiangxi case a few years ago, one of the emperor's protégés and the emperor's sworn brother was rewarded with poisonous wine, and the other had his title reduced to reflect on his past mistakes. Only now has he returned to the rank of a marquis, and has gradually disappeared from the capital.

He is such an insignificant only son in the cabinet, but he is nothing to the emperor!

(End of this chapter)