GBP Chapter 405 My brother-in-law shouldn't have the surname Yang, he should have the surname Jia!
Chapter 405 My brother-in-law shouldn't have the surname Yang, he should have the surname Jia!
Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "The first thing is that merchants from all countries must conduct their business honestly."
"I have already explained the rules regarding commercial taxes, invoices, and the exchange of paper money for gold and silver to you all, and they are all written in the 'Guidelines for the Border Markets'."
"Therefore, you should get invoices when required and pay commercial taxes when required. Never think about evading taxes."
"Once tax evasion is discovered, the consequences range from permanent expulsion from the border market to..."
Yang Shaofeng took a sip of tea and said with a forced smile, "In severe cases, the border office will report him to the Dali Temple, and the Dali Temple will issue an arrest warrant. At that point, things will be difficult to handle."
As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, the monkey envoys, including Du Shunqin, felt deeply humiliated.
In front of the envoys of various vassal states, it is a bit too much to say that the Dali Temple issued an arrest warrant.
Or to put it another way: if those merchants evade taxes and successfully return to their respective countries, how should the arrest warrant issued by the Dali Temple be treated?
Are you asking your vassal states to help you arrest people?
If we help you arrest your own merchants, don't the various vassal states have any shame?
If we ignore this, is your Ming Dynasty prepared to send troops or to cut off tribute?
Would your Great Ming really go to such lengths for a mere amount of tax?
However, just as Du Shunqin and the others were pondering this, the Korean envoy Park Sung-sung directly bowed and said, "What the Prince Consort says is true. If any Korean merchants dare to evade taxes, I will be the first to not let them off the hook!"
Du Shunqin and his men were immediately enraged.
There are spineless cowards among the envoys!
Damn it, no one can kneel down faster than you Koreans!
Yang Shaofeng smiled and continued, "The second thing is some things that have already been written in the 'Border Market Handbook'."
"For example, the rent for shops, the rent for warehouses, sanitation fees, management fees, workers' wages and working hours standards, etc."
"These prices are set according to the current wages of our Great Ming Dynasty, and merchants from other countries are not allowed to arbitrarily lower prices."
Even Park Sung-sung, who had just been the first to slide on his knees, hesitated.
The rent and those other random fees are manageable.
But what about the wages in the Ming Dynasty?
The daily wage is sixty coins, and there are two sets of work clothes for spring and autumn. A meal is also provided at noon, which must include vegetables, meat and soup. The workday consists of four and a half shifts, with half an hour specifically for rest.
Have labor costs in the Ming Dynasty become this high?
Are you sure it's not you, Yang Dianfeng, trying to take advantage of the situation by planting your relatives here to gain benefits?
If we really treat them to this standard, are we hiring laborers or ancestors?
After glancing at the envoys with their varied expressions, Yang Shaofeng picked up his teacup again and took a sip.
"You may wish to take a closer look at the 'Guidelines for the Border Market'."
"It is clearly stated above that merchants from various countries are not required to hire people from the Ming Dynasty to work for them; they may also hire people from their own country or other vassal states as laborers."
"However, the standards for working hours and wages must be in accordance with the rules of the Ming Dynasty."
The various envoys hurriedly began to read through the "Guidelines for the Border Markets".
After reading it, the various envoys still felt uneasy.
According to the working hours and wages of your Great Ming Dynasty, each merchant would have to pay an extra two taels of silver per month for labor costs.
If you also include the work clothes that must be custom-made at a designated clothing store and the lunches that must be purchased at a designated canteen, then the monthly expenses are more than just two taels of silver.
Moreover, your hiring standards are far too high.
They can speak the official language of the Ming Dynasty.
I can write two thousand commonly used Chinese characters.
Is this something an ordinary person can do?
However, to the surprise of the other envoys, the Goryeo envoy once again instantly knelt down!
With a beaming smile, Park Sung-sung cupped his hands in a salute to Yang Shaofeng and said, "Your Highness, please don't be offended. I just didn't read the terms carefully."
After he finished speaking, Park Sung-sung kept winking at Du Shunqin and the others, signaling them to agree as well.
Du Shunqin and the others were a little confused for a moment, but considering that they were all envoys from foreign vassal states, they finally gritted their teeth and agreed.
Du Shunqin had already decided that if Park Sung-sung couldn't give an explanation, he would secretly send someone to break Park Sung-sung's third leg so that he could never be Park again!
Seeing that the envoys from various vassal states had all agreed, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "The third matter is that the border markets are newly established. Are there many shortcomings?"
"If merchants from any country find any problems or suffer any injustices in the market, they must report to the market administration official in a timely manner. If the market administration official refuses to accept the case, they can come to this official's place to beat the drum and appeal for justice."
"However, merchants from different countries are prohibited from privately arranging fights, and are even more forbidden from disrupting the order of the border markets."
"In addition, other rules such as not spitting or littering are also written in the 'Guidelines for the Markets'."
Yang Shaofeng picked up the small dragon ball and said with a smile, "After you go back, you may wish to take a good look at it. If you have any questions, feel free to come and find me. If it is indeed that the 'Guidelines for the Market' is inadequate, I will be able to make timely corrections."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Park Sung-sung bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will study it carefully when I get back."
After the other envoys also expressed their opinions and took their leave, Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask, "Brother-in-law, what's the deal with the working hours and wages in the Ming Dynasty?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and took a sip of tea, saying, "Didn't His Majesty set out the rules?"
“In wealthy families, those who employ tenants to carry sedan chairs are punished with sixty strokes of the cane, and each is paid sixty coins in back wages for one day of service.”
"Besides, don't the people of Dengzhou Prefecture also get sixty coins a day for working on road construction sites?"
"Therefore, the wage in our Great Ming Dynasty is sixty copper coins per day."
"As for whether those barbarians will lose money by paying such high wages, Your Highness can rest assured that they certainly won't lose money."
"Moreover, I am certain that they will hire people from the Ming Dynasty to work first, and then they will definitely hire people from their own countries to work later."
"And that is precisely why I set this price."
"People who can speak the official language of the Ming Dynasty and write two thousand Chinese characters are rare in any vassal state."
"When these people witness the wages and wealth of my Great Ming Dynasty, how will they be able to adapt to life in their own countries after they return home?"
"Therefore, these people are very likely to genuinely identify with and yearn for the Ming Dynasty, while seeing their own country as bad in every way."
"If one day, the Ming Dynasty cuts off its tribute..."
Zhu Biao was completely dumbfounded.
No wonder, no wonder Wang Qiong once muttered that her brother-in-law shouldn't have the surname Yang, but should have the surname Jia.
Now it seems that it was absolutely true!
That's so insidious and vicious!