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Text Chapter 44 Guangdong Trade Agreement (3)

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    Lingnan Sanzhong obviously stayed out of the matter and showed an attitude that everything was decided by himself, which made Zhao Youheng feel more relieved.  Zhao Youheng has been carefully scrutinizing the diplomatic documents left by San Yu for the past two days, hoping to truly and thoroughly understand all the obvious and potential intentions of the other party.

    Different from the business letters of Donglian Group, Huamei's diplomatic documents have straightforward and rigid wording, and the content is obscure and novel vocabulary frequently appears, making it very difficult to understand. Without this, Zhao Youheng could only contact business in Foshan.  Liu Yaoyu, his brother-in-law and brother-in-law, also came to help with the analysis.

    One day later, with the arrival of his brother-in-law Liu Yaoyu, two unexpected guests also arrived in Guangzhou. They were Wang Fuzhi and Gu Jikun, whom he was eager to recruit last year. Zhao Youheng, who was extremely anxious, seemed to see the dawn of more answers to his doubts.

    Zhao Youheng has long known that Gu Jikun and Wang Fuzhi defected to Zheng Chenggong. Now that these two people have come to contact him as Zheng Chenggong's personal representatives to fight against the Qing Dynasty, Zhao Youheng's favorable impression of Zheng Chenggong has increased a lot.  But the biggest benefit of Wang and Gu's arrival right now is the knowledge they gained from studying abroad in Huamei for three years.

    Zheng Chenggong was the promoter who actively sought aid from China and the United States back then. Strictly speaking, he and Zhao Youheng were on the same line as Zhao Youheng on the national salvation line.  Wang and Gu were both well-known talented young men in the south of the Yangtze River. After swearing to keep it secret, Zhao Youheng had no intention of hiding the matter from Wang and Gu.

    At night, the large study room of the Guangzhou Governor's Yamen was brightly lit with candlelight. Except for Zhao Youheng, an old man in his sixties, the others were all young and middle-aged people.

    "All the terms and details are clear, and the judicial references are within the limits of Chinese and American government laws. There is nothing illegal in overseas concessions, nor does it touch the laws and regulations of our Ming Dynasty. However, it involves many business matters, and I am afraid that it is not the case below.  Now that I¡¯m the director, Brother Nong still needs to think more about it.¡±

    After carefully reading the relevant contents of the diplomatic document, Gu Jikun, who is studying law in China and the United States, could not help but nodded slightly, as if he had mastered all the contents, but he still pushed the document in front of Wang Fuzhi.  Because the other party majored in financial management at Huamei and is more familiar with economics and business.

    Unlike Gu Jikun, Wang Fuzhi actually showed a smile after watching it several times.  It seems that I have seen some other ways.

    "My Lord Governor, if we sign this trade service agreement, it will relieve some of your worries about money and food, and it will also bring some benefits. However, all the long-term benefits will be taken away. Business people can only ask for it"

    As soon as he heard the first half of the sentence, Zhao Youheng was a little overjoyed, but Wang Fuzhi's twist made people feel a little panicked.

    He knows that Huamei people will never do any loss-making business. Even if they give you some sweetness, they will make more money from deeper places.  No wonder Liu Yaoyu, his brother-in-law, kept saying that there was no problem after reading the contents of the document. It seemed that this kind of trade agreement was entirely aimed at profiting businessmen.

    He turned his head and glanced at Liu Yaoyu's face, only to see that his face was slightly red.  It seems that Wang Euzhi was right.

    "I'm not busy. I'll re-translate it and write it down in detail so that adults can understand it better. The transaction contract discussed in the agreement is an 'order transaction' that is popular in Huamei. The quantity is purchased according to the demand and the delivery is scheduled"

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Took up a piece of paper and pen, and wrote the terms and content of the Chinese-American diplomatic documents into words that Zhao Youheng could understand.

    ¡­¡­

    Today, the relevant Huamei import and export commodity transactions in Hong Kong or Qiongzhou are the "hypermarket" model: no matter what kind of products, they will be transported to the destination warehouse first.  Then list the price to attract customers and deliver the goods on the spot.

    When the types and quantities of goods are small, this model is simple, but as the transaction scale expands.  Coupled with the large changes in commodity prices and quantities caused by the current situation, conflicts such as giving up the transaction or changing the willingness to trade will inevitably occur.

    One year, there was a bumper harvest of sugar cane in Qiongzhou. Nanhai Company brought 10,000 dans of jaggery. However, Huamei buyers thought the quality was not good enough or the price was too expensive. Some of the buyers even did not come to Hong Kong at all. As a result, Nanhai Company only sold 5,000 dans.  This jaggery business was very unhappy.

    In other words, the Eastern Union Group shipped 100 boxes of grape seed oil from North America in one go, which is in short supply in China and the United States. However, the people of Ming Dynasty have no awareness of healthy consumption at all, and cannot afford this expensive health edible oil. As a result,  Commodities transported tens of thousands of miles by sea are piled in warehouses to dry.

    Fearless wrangling and waste often occur in transactions, which is not a good thing for both Huamei merchants and Ming Dynasty merchants.  Therefore, in order to standardize bulk commodity transactions and provide a better trading service platform for buyers and sellers, with the suggestions and lobbying of Eastern Union Group, a local trade service agreement with official supervision was brewed and introduced.

    The Huamei Hong Kong Governor's Office and the Ming Guangdong Governor's Yamen jointly established a local trade cooperation and service mechanism.Encourage the southeastern provinces and even all Ming maritime merchants who are active in the East China Sea and Nanyang all year round to use Hong Kong or Guangzhou as a distribution center for import and export commodities, making the two places the largest trade centers in the Far East, from which the governments of both places can obtain considerable tax revenue.

    The concept of the "Hong Kong and Guangdong Trade Services Agreement" (hereinafter referred to as the Agreement) can be said to be Huamei's adjustment to further build an international business hub in the Far East. It also continues to deepen the cooperation between maritime merchants from the southeastern provinces of the Ming Dynasty and the emerging landlords and comprador groups in Guangdong.  Legal weapon.

    Any group or individual engaged in import and export trade in Guangdong or Hong Kong, regardless of nationality, can voluntarily apply for the services specified in the agreement.  Relevant transactions must be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the agreement, that is, the most common "order contract system" in Huamei is adopted.

    The contract template is provided and implemented by Huamei. Commodity transactions are all signed in the form of an order contract, agreeing on the type, quality, quantity, amount, and delivery time and location of the import and export commodities of both parties each year.  Contracts are on an annual basis, and orders for a commodity can be signed for up to five years.

    In this way, both buyers and sellers can estimate their needs in advance, set prices in advance, and protect their own transaction interests.

    The local government in Guangzhou or Hong Kong specializes in providing contract supervision services defined in the agreement.  The Guangzhou Panyu Shipping Department and the Hong Kong Customs are both legal supervision agencies stipulated in the agreement. The purchaser of the order contract has the first priority to specify which supervision agency to choose.

    Once you apply for supervision, both parties must pay a supervision fee equal to 3% of the contract amount and a 20% default deposit. The default deposit will be returned after the contract is performed.  The supervisory agency has the final right to determine liability for contract breach of contract, and transactions without a supervisory agency are not subject to official protection.

    ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

    Another advantage of having contract supervision services provided by the two places is that both parties to the contract are eligible to purchase contract default insurance at the Hong Kong office of the Far East Branch of Oriental Insurance Company of China and Eastern Union Group, and can insure up to 80% of the default insurance premium.  Receive insurance benefits based on the default certificate issued by the supervisory agency.

    In addition, when applying for supervision services, you can also apply for a low-interest commercial loan at the Hong Kong Branch of Oriental Bank of China Eastern Union Group with a contract order to facilitate capital turnover.  However, it is currently only open to Chinese and American businessmen unconditionally.  To obtain this kind of treatment, Daming Maritime Merchant needs to accumulate certain credit points.

    However, it is foreseeable that Nanhai Company and Guangfu Company will definitely be included in the commercial integrity system of Oriental Bank and can enjoy this commercial lending service in advance.

    Finally, as long as this kind of standardized transaction is carried out in Hong Kong.  You can also enjoy some tax reductions and exemptions according to the types of imported and exported goods.

    ¡­¡­

    When Zhao Youheng read the last line of words, he suddenly fell into deep thought.

    What Wang Euzhi said is true. If this agreement is signed, not only will the conflicts of interest that often occur between businessmen be reduced, but the legal transactions of businessmen will also be protected.

    ¡° Only by applying for a supervision agency can the official come forward to guarantee the performance of the contract, and the official will collect and pay liquidated damages, which will make many Daming maritime merchants feel confident.  What's more, there is also default insurance that can be purchased, which is simply a great weapon for businessmen to have no worries.

    Once you apply for contract supervision services, you are destined to be unable to evade taxes.  You need to know which Southeast maritime merchants who have been trading in the East China Sea and Nanyang all year round are almost synonymous with smugglers. The Ming Dynasty commercial tax is in name only.  The supervision fee of 3% of the contract amount paid by both parties to a transaction alone is nearly twice as high as the Ming Dynasty's traditional tax of 30%!

    In addition, if the supervision agency chooses Daming Guangzhou Panyu Shipping Division, it must pay normal taxes to obtain a tax payment certificate. This is another legal tax, and it is beneficial to Daming officials no matter how you look at it.

    No, no, if this Ming businessman applied for contract supervision services.  If you can¡¯t evade taxes, how can you still feel that it¡¯s good for you?  Seeing the secretly excited expression of his wife's brother Liu Yaoyu, Zhao Youheng was a little confused again.

    ?Looking at Wang Fuzhi and Gu Jikun again, they were both looking at the ground.  It seems that everyone is hiding something on this issue or is inconvenient to say it clearly.

    "Ninth brother, can you tell me what other benefits this trade agreement will bring to Nanhai Company?"

    Zhao Youheng deliberately picked up the tea cup and threw the question to the person closest to him.

    "Brother-in-law, with this agreement, our Nanhai Company will agree on sales with others in Hong Kong in the future. With contract supervision and insurance as a backing, we will have no worries and our taxes will be reduced"

    Liu Yaoyu thought for a moment and then hesitantly said half a sentence.

    "Why not choose Panyu Shipping Department? I heard that the tax in Hong Kong is determined by category. One out of ten is considered light, one out of five is common, and even more shocking, one out of three, businessThe taxation was far more severe than that of the Ming Dynasty.  Now that the supervision fee has been increased, even if the tax burden can be reduced and a small profit is made, what joy is there?  Zhao Youheng frowned and placed the teacup in his hand heavily on the table, "I, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, have decreed commercial taxes for the world. One in thirty will never be increased. Do you have to evade taxes in my Ming Dynasty? Why go there?"  So Hong Kong Island feels relieved after imposing heavy taxes?  How ridiculous!  "

    Seeing that his brother-in-law asked the question knowingly, Liu Yaoyu could only lower his head and answer: "If we really choose one out of thirty, do we still have to go to Hong Kong to do business? We need to pay for food and pay, set up checkpoints on the road, and donate miscellaneous lessons. It's not just twenty-three out of ten"  If this were not the case, why would merchants join the ranks of officials to seek tax exemption? If not, why would merchants seek the precarious private and illegal trade at sea"

    Liu Yaoyu actually said a lot of things like this in indirect ways. In order to win over various businesses in Qiongzhou over the years, Zhao Youheng presided over the New Deal and severely suppressed certain unhealthy tendencies. However, the actual situation is far from what Zhao Youheng said all day long.  The people sitting in the yamen can control everything.

    Not to mention other Ming maritime merchants, even the Nanhai Company, most of its business is tax evasion. They would rather give part of the tax revenue as red envelopes or shares to officials in various places than to openly pass customs and tax.

    What if a relative like Zhao Youheng is here?  This kind of thing is violated under the emperor's nose, let alone a governor of Guangzhou.  And if the water is clear, there will be no fish. Didn¡¯t Zhao Youheng also ¡°respect¡± this unspoken rule in his subordinates¡¯ management methods?

    Even if a contract is signed and there is an official supervision agency, it is estimated that most businessmen in Ming Dynasty would rather trust Hong Kong Customs than choose Guangzhou Panyu Shipping Department.  God knows which party colluded with the officials of the Shipping Department to determine that one party had breached the contract or defrauded the insurance money.

    Ding Chukui has done too many shameless things before.  Nanhai Company took advantage of its relationship with Zhao Youheng and often colluded with local officials to do some unreasonable competition.

    Does anyone have the guts to collude with Hong Kong Customs officials to commit fraud?  At least for now, Huamei's laws are ruthlessly rigid. Once the lawsuit is filed, it is basically impossible to hide it.

    After the signing of this trade service agreement, there may not be many Daming maritime merchants willing to choose to trade in Guangzhou Panyu Shipping Division.  The government of the Ming Dynasty was heavily governed by human beings, and the local government was hard to guard against. It was obvious that this place was unreliable.

    Hong Kong¡¯s taxes are heavy. Even as a free and low-tax port, excluding some products with obvious trade barriers, the tax rate on most goods is between 10% and 15%, which is much higher than the theoretical level of commercial tax in the Ming Dynasty.  But compared to Batavia under the control of the Dutch East India Company or Luzon Manila by the Spanish, it was a paradise.

    Everyone knows that doing business in the East China Sea and Southeast Asia is highly profitable. Back then, when the Chinese did business in Southeast Asia, every European colonial port in Southeast Asia did not pay taxes as high as 20% or more. Sometimes even miscellaneous items added up to 40%, but it was still profitable.  Groups of people ran overseas regardless of life or death.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????: The only two companies that can truly make business profits that are more guaranteed than before are the gorgeous Mingzhu Island Overseas Consulate and the Hong Kong Concession.

    If such a trade service agreement can be reached, it will definitely attract the vast number of Southeast Ming maritime merchants to start various businesses with Hong Kong as the center.  The maritime merchants of the Ming Dynasty were more determined to do business in Hong Kong, which was to vote for the Ming Dynasty government with their heels.

    "If Zhao Youheng's Guangzhou Governor's Yamen really wants to get the actual benefits from signing the agreement, it must really get rid of the old diseases and ills before it can be rewarded for its hard work.

    "Mr. Zhao, what Brother Liu said is heartbreaking, and his good words are bitter. Business is common in the world, and tax laws are related to prices, and prices are related to people's livelihood. Nowadays, prices are soaring and people have been suffering for a long time. However, business taxes are not obtained from official warehouses. It is strange and strange.  .¡±

    After a long time, Wang Fuzhicai sighed softly.

    "I already know With this agreement, the merchants of our Ming Dynasty are overjoyed. This is not because Huamei is coveting business tax profits from the East China Sea and Southeast Asia. In fact, our Ming Dynasty has unclear rules for governing people. It has pushed away the world's great profits, squeezed out and extorted, and even made officials and businessmen seem to be inseparable.  , when the country is in crisis, people's hearts are divided I have long heard that a Chinese and American warehouse merchant earned more than tens of millions of silver in the tax year, and now I see the real chapter."

    "Brother-in-law, if this agreement can be signed, no other company in Guangdong dares to say that, but our Nanhai Company will definitely be sure that at least half of the contracts every year will be settled in Panyu Shipping Department!"

    Seeing Zhao Youheng¡¯s sad face, Liu Yaoyu gritted his teeth and made a decision to support his family.

    "Mr. Zhao, the surname of the country is dedicated to saving the country. Although each one is responsible for his own affairs, the emperor and the Ming Dynasty are one. If the old disadvantages can be eradicated, in the future, the shops hired by the Fujian New Army to purchase commercial goods can also be located in Panyu City Shipping Department!"

    Wang Fuzhi also stood up, which could be regarded as an attitude to further the relationship between the two families.  As long as there is this kind of mutual assistance relationship, it will be much easier to obtain food, grass and military equipment from Guangdong in the future.

    "The depth of this agreement goes far beyond that!"

      Gu Jikun suddenly stood up, as if he had finally figured out some of the most critical points: "If everyone gets used to treating me, a Ming Dynasty merchant, so favorably in the future, I'm afraid there will never be any reason to return this Hong Kong concession, a country within a country!  "

    As soon as the words fell, everyone in the room stood dumbfounded.

    Suddenly, there was a spring thunder outside the window, followed by pouring rain.  (To be continued.)
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