Chapter 1,069 Negotiating with the Queen Mother

Although Zhao Xu does not know the specific operation, as the largest shareholder of Sitong Company and Huangsong Bank, he is not a complete layman now. In addition, Su You is so cautious and only conducts pilot projects in one line and one industry first.

He felt that this step was feasible, at least it was much safer than Wang Xianggong forcing it all at once.

In addition, the corruption in water transportation and warehousing has reached an intolerable level for him, and the plan to conquer Xixia has been put on the agenda. Such a "national grain reserve system adjustment and circulation system reform" is indeed imperative.

In view of the fact that Su You also included a suggestion of "increasing the commercial tax rate, simplifying the commercial tax collection model, and adjusting the distribution ratio between the central and local governments", Zhao Xu felt a bit of a headache: "Go and discuss this with the Queen Mother yourself, you can make it right."

She agreed, so naturally I have no objection."

Gao Taotao now manages various royal industries, and the adjustment of tax rates is directly related to the business performance of Chairman Taishang. Zhao Xu would not dare to chat with his mother-in-law about this.

His reasons are very good. I am the emperor, not an economic expert, let alone a business manager.

All I care about is hiring and dispatching people appropriately, and your business managers and officials conduct frank and honest consultations and redistribute interests. All I care about is the results.

Mingrun, I think you are very suitable for this assignment.

He was speechless, so Su You had no choice but to hold two pots of cymbidium and Shi Wei, and go to the palace to ask for an audience in the name of giving the Queen Mother a physical examination.

In the Song Dynasty, female doctors were a hundred times more precious than talented officials like Su You.

Although the Song Dynasty is still relatively open now, it still belongs to the feudal era after all.

Sima Guang once objected to hiring a painter who was not a family member to paint portraits of his female ancestors.

Traditional Chinese medicine pays attention to observation, hearing, inquiry and diagnosis. Let’s not talk about whether it is reliable or not. The first two things alone are not something that ordinary old doctors can do to the women of wealthy families.

There is also an identity issue. Although the imperial palace has a medical bureau, to be honest, the level of the people inside is not as good as that of ordinary people.

However, there are rules for doing things in the palace. Shi Wei is a royal lady, and Gao Taotao cannot treat her like an ordinary imperial medical officer.

Being able to ask Shi Wei to take her pulse, check her body, and adjust her diet is already the limit.

Su You came to the audience as Shi Wei's husband-in-law, which was the benefit brought by the halo of honorary relatives.

The two pots of Cymbidium each have five flower stalks, with many flowers and a quiet fragrance, which is a rare thing in a city like Bianjing.

Smelling the fragrance that filled the hall, Gao Taotao smiled and said, "Mingrun is very thoughtful. I like these two pots of flowers very much."

Su You smiled and said: "Last year Zhang Dunli gave me names for all the orchids. This one has delicate and slender leaves, a strong flower stem, and the wings of the flower are as flat as a fut's head. The consort called it 'Da Yipin'."

Gao Taotao nodded: "This year, Mingrun was promoted to an official position, but he accepted this name. With this allusion, I think this flower is very expensive in Beijing, right?"

Su You said: "It's all far-fetched. Zhang's consort divided two seedlings. Cao's consort offered one thousand guan and failed to win. The consort only gave the consort a picture of orchids and bamboos as an apology, but they haven't bloomed yet.

"

"Actually, this thing was worthless when it was in the valley. The reason why it is worth so much today is not all because of the attention of the nobles."

What he said was interesting, and Gao Taotao's smile became even more obvious: "Slippery, you're just trying to be courteous for nothing, don't ask for anything, right?"

I'm afraid that you, the old man, will take matters into your own hands. Su You smiled and said: "On this matter, I can only ask the Queen Mother to make the decision. The business tax in the Song Dynasty is too low. Although the scholars, farmers, industry and commerce are ranked behind, I think more

It’s about taking care of rhythm.”

Gao Taotao laughed and cursed: "Meishan monkey, do you want to open your eyes to the merchants?"

"Absolutely not!" Su You said with a smile: "If we want to open their eyes to them, then there will be no tax increase."

"After the last proposal to increase taxes was rejected by the Queen Mother, we went back and thought about it, and felt that the Queen Mother had a commanding view and saw the essence of the matter at a glance."

"Did the Song Dynasty have less business tax revenue? No, it was deducted along the way, and most of it did not fall into the hands of the state."

"If it were changed to only collect traveling and sitting taxes, simplifying procedures and opening up trade routes, it would undoubtedly be a great encouragement to merchants."

"Your Majesty, don't just look at the fact that most of the royal industry is factories. Increased taxes will indeed increase the factory's production costs, but you also need to see that the royal family is also the largest shareholder of Sitong, and they have to pay for transportation every year.

Huge profits."

Gao Taotao didn't buy this account: "Royal property still needs to be taxed? How dare the officials along the way be so bold?"

Su You cupped his hands and said, "My dear, you have to be reasonable. There are many inner shops in Beijing and Zhengzhou, which are royal properties. But the external trade and sea trade are completed through the holding of four links."

"Sitong has always operated in compliance with the law, and contributed a lot of taxes to the court. The royal family's shareholding ratio in Sitong has always been a secret to the outside world."

"Therefore, the various industries in the four directions have never acted in the name of the royal family, so naturally, a lot of money has been deducted along the way."

"Nowadays, Nanhai and various goods and services are important profit growth points for Sitong, and the taxes withheld along the way also eat up the bulk of Sitong's profits."

"The failure of business travel will lead to the decline of various industries. For example, the current contrast between Hebei, Hedong and Shaanxi is sharp."

"Several places were the same more than ten years ago, but looking at them now, the situation is completely different."

Gao Taotao took a deep breath: "Then the royal property in Beijing will continue to be tax-free, and the rest will all be subject to you, okay?"

Su You smiled bitterly and said: "The Queen Mother, they are all workshops and production. The royal family does not pay taxes on the products produced, and the other workshops have doubled out of thin air. This is really unreasonable."

"All the people in the world are the children of the Queen Mother. If you favor the clan, you can't show it in this way. This would show injustice to the world."

Gao Taotao was angry: "The Tian family doesn't have any privileges anymore?!"

"Yes!" Su You said with a playful smile: "How could it not be possible? Aren't the talents from the Royal Institute of Technology always selected first and sent to the royal industry? Aren't the projects developed by the Institute of Technology also first developed?

Will the royal estate be first-in-first-out?”

"What the royal family grasps is the foundation and the opportunity. It also plays the role of guiding the four people and setting an example for the world. It gets both benefits and fame. This is the real privilege."

Gao Taotao smiled and said: "You monkey... The Su family is the most talkative in the world, no one can compete with you."

Su You said in awe: "Your Majesty is right in what you said. My Majesty also watched Su You grow up. If you say anything wrong, just point it out. I am thick-skinned and I am not afraid to admit my mistakes or correct them."

Gao Taotao really laughed out loud, and then his face became cold: "Come on! With Su Shaobao's ability, how can he make fun of the Ai family? I just ask you, the purpose of this policy is to boost industry and commerce, right?

?”

Su You cupped his hands and said: "Promoting industry and commerce is of course one of the purposes, but there are many other purposes."

"Returning commercial taxes to the imperial court to the greatest extent and preventing them from being wasted by local corruption is the second one."

"The imperial court can strengthen its control over local areas. This is the third step."

"If both sides are added and subtracted, the royal family's income will not decrease, but will increase. The Queen Mother will treat the clan and all people equally, and she will be praised by the people of the world. This is the fundamental purpose of the minister..."

"Smooth talk!" Although Gao Taotao felt extremely comfortable in his heart, he didn't say anything pretentious on the surface: "In short, boosting industry and commerce is also the purpose, right?"

"Yes." Su You admitted honestly.

"In this case, let me ask you, who is the fundamental between doing business and doing business?"

"This... is naturally a business. Business is a producer, and producers are the foundation."

"So you've been fighting with me for a long time, haha. Do you mean you want to gain more income for the court and have my royal ideas?"

"The Queen Mother's words are serious, how can I do such a thing?"

"Huh huh huh... Then let me ask you, why do the tax rates for business and business increase at the same time? Why can't we encourage production and keep the tax rate for business unchanged, and just increase the tax for business?"

Finally thought of this!
Chapter completed!