On March 29, 1682, moderate rain.

The carriage sent by the Taxation Department was lightly parked at the entrance of the Oriental Hotel. A policeman from the Ministry of Internal Affairs politely asked North Korea's eastward to join the carriage, and each of them sent a set of rubber rain boots.

The construction of the Ministry of Finance was not done well during construction, and the site was severely water-stacked, so people always needed to wear rain boots on rainy days. Fortunately, the East Coast now has two major rubber sources, namely the rubber plantation output of New Huaxia Island and the vulcanized rubber technology imported from Portuguese Brazil is becoming increasingly mature. Therefore, rubber products such as raincoats, rain boots, solid tires, pillows and various containers are produced in large quantities. It has become an industry that cannot be ignored, highlighting its huge economic significance. It can also be seen that rubber is indeed a very excellent material.

Zhao Chuyan and others looked at the valuable rubber rain boots in their hands and felt a little moved. In the Kingdom of Korea, when it rained and muddy, there were only two nobles who could walk in densely sewn leather boots. They looked like Chinese or civilians, but they could only wear straw sandals. Even if they had leather shoes, they were reluctant to wear them because the price was not cheap.

But in this Eastern country, rubber, the material he heard of for the first time, has brought great convenience to people's lives. Although its price is still slightly high, it has still become very marketable for folk straw raincoats, oilcloth raincoats, etc., but it has been widely used. At least the army and tolerances have been applied on a large scale. I heard that they are still expanding the area of ​​rubber plantations, which will be promoted on a larger scale in the future and should not be able to escape.

The Ministry of Finance building arrived soon. After checking the documents at the door guards, the carriage continued to move forward and parked in a spacious square. Then the group got off the car and walked to the location of the Taxation Bureau. Zhao Chuyan observed while walking. The so-called Ministry of Finance should be the Ministry of Revenue. Only those who exercised the collection and subsidies respectively were available in the Kingdom of Korea, which was not uncommon. However, their building looked more grand, and the one in Hanyang City was much worse than that in the real difference between the national strength of the two countries. Thinking of this, Zhao Chuyan sighed a little. But then he suddenly shuddered. Zeng Zi said that only by looking at himself three times can he be alert to his mind and not be deceived by external objects. He has been beaten to the territory of the people of the East. Has he sighed a little more?

Zhao Chuyan was a little confused and a little frightened about his current situation. He was even more worried about the increasing number of words of the Eastern People in his daily language. Has he deviated from the great way and began to think more and more according to the thinking mode of the Eastern People, and he was also thinking more and more according to the thinking mode of the Eastern People. In time, will he slowly transform into a barbarian who is full of utilitarianism and competes for profit all day long? It should be noted that the word "ritual" runs through the entire Chinese society. The Eastern People do not follow the famous teachings and do not understand etiquette (this does not refer to superficial things like politeness, but things such as the Three Bonds and Five Constant Countries that are related to social order, personal dependence, and code of conduct). If he is slowly assimilated into a shameless person who does not understand human ethics and does not follow the Three Bonds and Five Constant Countries, then just wipe his neck.

Huang Hanhua personally greeted Zhao Chuyan and his group at the door of the conference room, and then led everyone to the conference room to officially start the talks. Both sides were talking in general at the beginning, mainly Huang Hanhua was talking, Zhao Chuyan was listening, and whether he spoke or not. Huang Hanhua started with a new round of tax reforms that are being vigorously carried out on the east bank, and talked about the significance of taxes, classification of taxes, the principles of tax rate setting, tax collection status, public reaction, etc., and I don’t know if the North Koreans really understood it.

Then, he talked about the tax system of overseas colonies, such as the tax system of the Far East Sanfan, which is very familiar to the people, and talked about the development of the economy of each colony and the ability of the people to bear taxes. At this time, Zhao Chuyan, who had been listening most of the time before, suddenly spoke, and heard him ask: "Is the tax on the East Dynasties heavy?"

"Not heavy!" After pondering for a while, Huang Hanhua answered truthfully: "It can even be said to be a bit light, because our government's income sources are diverse and do not point to the things in the fields. Of course, agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry are the foundation, and food is the main point of people. Only when these foods are greatly enriched can we develop commerce more safely. The agricultural production efficiency of our East Coast Republic is not low, offshore fishery resources are rich, seafood catches are large, and La Plata's huge amount of bison resources, so our country's food supply is very rich. With more surplus of grain, industry, commerce, and waiters can develop, and the government's tax revenue will naturally be more. The fundamental point here is to improve the level of productivity."

Zhao Chuyan silently chewed Huang Hanhua's meaning in and out of words, and found that the more he chewed, the more he tasted it. According to their words, North Korea's agricultural productivity level is now low? Thinking of this, why did he sigh again and said with a wry smile: "Compared with the previous country, the taxation of our country is heavy, and the scholars and people suffer from this. I have a clan who cultivates a hundred acres of land, and the most abundant year in the year, he will receive 78 taels of silver, grain, and cloth. (North Korea has had a huge inflow of silver and copper coins in recent decades, and has gradually begun to reform the original method of collecting physical taxes.

, adopt a monetary system of silver, money and silk, so Zhao Chuyan talks about the people who plow the fields and use silver to calculate taxes), and if they are not able to get a lot of money, they will be 200 huh in a large amount of land, and then they will be more than 100 huh in a year, and even only 600 huh in a hungry year. Only a family of ten people can be self-sufficient. In addition, there are also chores, such as cattle, donkeys, livestock, building cities, roads, logging wood, raising gardens, horses, tributes, etc., with many colors. The poor can still support them in a good year. If there is a natural disaster, they can only sell their children to compensate them. Therefore, the people are complaining about it."

To be honest, Huang Hanhua's previous words shocked Zhao Chuyan. Because in his opinion, the tax burden of the people on the east coast is too light, incredibly light. They have good brick houses, large livestock, and even go to make wine (the ban on alcohol was issued every time when the harvest was bad in North Korea), and there were a lot of fish and meat, and their living standards were even comparable to those of the middle-aged people in North Korea. You should know that the Chinese people have a good status in North Korea. They are generally professions such as doctors, constables, and musicians. Their income levels are in the middle and upper level. As a result, they are so different from ordinary people on the east coast at least the people near the capital. What kind of factors are playing a role?

Yes, Director Huang also said that there are many fish and shrimps near the sea, and there are many ownerless cattle on the wasteland in the south, so the people live a prosperous life. But is there no other reason? Zhao Chuyan wants to say no, but his experience over the past few days tells him that no, there are other factors! For example, the seeds of the people of the East are good, the wheat grows full, and the yield is large. In addition, they have many livestock and many useful machinery, so a person can cultivate as much as 30 acres of land, which ensures sufficient grain surplus. On this point, even if the people of North Korea are hardworking, they are far from comparable, not to mention that the tax burden levels of the two countries are very different, which destined to have a difference in the living standards of the people of the two countries.

"I have been worried that our country's tribute is heavy and that the people are unable to bear their lives. When I was young, I went to Yanjing to see the current situation of the Qing Dynasty and found that it was the same. Since then, it is said that all countries are the same." Zhao Chuyan picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and said with a wry smile: "Until today, I realized that heavy taxes are not the same as the people in the world, but the superior country has practiced the saint's love for the people."

In fact, Zhao Chuyan even found that the people of the East seemed to have done better in the article "the people are the most important, the country is the second, and the king is the least", but he never dared to talk about this in public. To this day, Zhao Chuyan has also gained a certain understanding of the political system of the East, knowing that there is no so-called emperor in this country. The head of state said that the "Chairman of the Executive Committee" seemed to be elected through the gentry meeting, and everyone at all levels could also be held. Unlike North Korea, which were stipulated by two squads and which middle-aged people.

At this point, isn’t the saying in Mencius better practiced by the Eastern people? Although the Koreans recited it every day, they actually did not take the concept of the saint seriously? No wonder a scholar from the East Coast once wrote an article pointing out that Confucian scholars from China, North Korea, Vietnam and other countries were poisoned by Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. They only learned a superficial learning of the saints. On the contrary, the East Coast people valued the promises and treated the people well, the people lived and worked in peace, and the people did not suffer from the turbulent times. If

This is not a paradise of kingly ways, so what else is qualified to be called a paradise of kingly ways? Although this is suspected of gigging and bragging on one's face, and it is difficult to say whether this country can be consistent without a king or father, but for now, it seems that it is not bad, at least better than the Kingdom of Korea. On this point, even if Zhao Chuyan is thick-skinned, he is embarrassed to say that North Korea or China is practicing Mencius's "kingdom" idea and building a kingly society is better than the people of the Eastern countries.

Moreover, the East Coast government also allows the people to criticize themselves (not to mention whether it is useful or not). There are also small-scale gentry meetings at the local county and township levels, and they hold meetings every year to discuss national economy and people's livelihood. Some of these suggestions or criticisms from the grassroots of society will be accepted by the government. This makes Zhao Chuyan deeply moved: "The people who always regard the common people as a person, and are extravagant and do nothing on them. They do not know that although the people are stupid and divine, their right and wrong are out of public aspirations, and there are those who cannot be powerful and tempted by the sharp words."

Of course, the "people" here in Zhao Chuyan may not refer to ordinary people, but to local students and gentry. They believe that they have clear love and hate, and speak more out of public opinion, which is more direct than the "meat eaters" in the court. Therefore, after realizing the existence and role of the local political consultation meeting of the East Coast people, he was very moved and believed that this has ancient heritage. Although the proportion of ordinary farmers, craftsmen, merchants and martial artists was forced to be stipulated in the conference representatives that made him feel a little dissatisfied.

However, this understanding can only make Zhao Chuyan's thoughts even more chaotic. The East Coast is now extremely complicated in Zhao Chuyan's impression. First, their courses are crazy, do not respect famous teachings, do not learn classics, do not talk about great etiquette, and the people pursue fame and fortune. The whole country is full of fishy and impetuous; second, they are good to officials and the people (even even disabled people have certain benefits, although they are pitiful), the country is prosperous and everyone lives and works in peace, which fully reflects Mencius's idea of ​​benevolent government and loving the people, and at the same time there is a bit of shadow of the "Datong Society" mentioned by the saints. They do not learn Confucian classics.

, but what he did was not inherited, but his actions were in line with the classic ideas of ancient benevolent people. The goal of construction was also toward the Datong society of Confucius and Saint Confucius. Isn’t this better than those who recite the teachings of Confucius and Mencius every day, but actually practice the cannibal etiquette and do poor things? As the East Coast people said when criticizing Cheng and Zhu Neo-Confucianism, "ritual" is not wrong, including communication etiquette, social order, philosophy of affairs, etc., but if this point is too emphasized and it is raised to the level of religion, it will inevitably become rigid and go wrong, and eventually bring serious negative effects.

At this time, Zhao Chuyan's forehead was already sweating slightly, and he didn't dare to continue thinking. Because if he continued to think about it, the question was about to come, that is, who really inherited the concepts of the ancient benevolent people and inherited the traditions of the Chinese tradition? This question is difficult to answer. If Zhao Chuyan could choose, he thought that it could be combined into one, combining the strengths of the East Coast and China, of course, it was mainly Confucianism and the East Coast as the supplement. In fact, even Zhao Chuyan did not realize that under the subtle influence of the East Coast, his thoughts had unknowingly shifted greatly. You must know that at first he was very repulsive of everything on the East Coast. Even a few days ago, he was furious at the criticism of the East Coast people's Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, which was extremely popular in North Korea and Ming Dynasty. But now he has experienced such a change, and his thoughts have completely fallen into chaos, which makes people feel quite pitiful to this middle-aged man who has been repeatedly reshaped.

Zhao Chuyan ended up leaving the Taxation Bureau and returning to the hotel with great worries. He didn't even participate in the next three days of courses, but asked the people to study. He hid in the room to clarify his thoughts and write articles. He recorded every detail of the trip to the East Coast in a collection of essays called "East Travel Lu" diary, and took them out from time to time to read them and think carefully. He didn't know what impact this book "East Travel Lu" would have if it was printed and published after returning to North Korea. He only knew what kind of thoughts he had when he came to the East Coast.

The soul was greatly impacted. Although he did not fully recognize the things of the Eastern people and hated some, this did not conceal many good aspects of others. He only hoped that after returning to North Korea, more people could participate in debate and thinking. This might be of great benefit to North Korea's future. Of course, he is not the kind of saint who can sacrifice himself for the sake of the world. Some content that may cause great criticism and is unfavorable to him also needs to be added, deleted and modified to avoid undesirable disasters. This is Zhao Chuyan's idea.
Chapter completed!