The rebellions in various parts of southern Yunnan were successively put down, and Xiao Ding, who was the Marquis of Dingxi, naturally focused his attention on Qianzhou. His idea was naturally known to his soldiers. For a time, the soldiers of various battalions in Kunzhou were ready to prepare for the pre-war preparations to move eastward to Qianzhou.

This made the soldiers in Dingxi Army even more excited. They just wanted to send troops as soon as possible to quell the Qianzhou Rebellion. Because they had had considerable friction with the local forces in Qianzhou over the years and had a long resentment. In the past, due to all aspects, for the sake of the overall situation, Xiao Ding had always suppressed the soldiers under his command and did not do anything randomly. But this time, he finally had a legitimate reason, and many soldiers were naturally ready to fight and wanted to avenge all the new and old hatreds.

But in this way, there were more preparations in all aspects. The mobilization of weapons and rations alone was a huge project, which made Sun Bi, who had been rescued for a few days, quickly devoted himself to related matters. Only Li Ling and a few who were not officials in the southwest, seemed not so busy.

But in fact, he was not idle either. Since Xiao Ding took the initiative to mention it, Li Ling was not polite anymore and found an opportunity to meet Bai Xianyang alone.

At this time, he was sitting in the living room of the Bai family's grand mansion in the south of Kunzhou City. Looking at the luxurious decoration in the hall, he felt like he was in a wealthy family in Luoyang. However, Bai Xianyang did not come to see him immediately. After waiting for more than half an hour, he drank two cups of tea before the southwest God of Wealth entered the door with a smile.

As soon as he saw Li Ling and Yang Chen who was walking with him, he first clasped his fists and saluted: "Because there are some things to be done, I have neglected Lord Li, and I hope Lord Li will not be accustomed to it."

"It's easy to say." Li Ling also smiled and stood up to give a gift, but he felt a little strange in his heart. Otherwise, he would feel like he was in the Central Plains and discussing business with people.

Five short figure, small nose and small eyes, dark skin, all the characteristics of the barbarian bloodline are revealed on Bai Xianyang, showing his purity of bloodline. However, his behavior, words and deeds can easily ignore his origin and have the style of a Confucian businessman.

After sitting down with Li Ling one after another, he waved his hand and asked someone to change tea, and then said with a smile: "To be honest, I should have come down to meet Master Li. After all, you have repeatedly made suggestions and tried a lot of effort to make peace in southern Yunnan. As a native of southern Yunnan, I should express my gratitude for both emotion and reason."

As he said that, he apologized again: "But the Marquis kept asking for errands, which really made me unable to do anything, so I could only ease the matter first."

"Haha, some things are not worth mentioning." Li Ling waved his hand with a smile. This businessman is worthy of being a big businessman. He has nothing to say about when dealing with people. Getting along with him makes people feel like spring breeze. Even if he really has a opinion, he will probably disappear long ago. "After all, nothing is important for official business."

"What Mr. Li said is that this is exactly what I value. Compared with major affairs of the government, it is not worth mentioning. I always tell people that money cannot be made, and only when the place is stable can we businessmen have a good life."

"Haha, Boss Bai really has a long-term vision. No wonder he can make a huge fortune. It's really admirable." Li Ling said this, and the topic changed slightly. "But in my opinion, it's still far from enough to make a good relationship with the government."

"Oh? Lord Li actually understands the way of shopping malls?" Bai Xianyang had already guessed that the other party's words must have a deep meaning, but he still asked in a very cooperative manner.

Li Ling looked at him with a smile: "I want to hide it from Boss Bai, I am actually half a businessman. Now, there is a bookstore industry in Luoyang City. Of course, in terms of the ability to make money, I am far from being comparable to Boss Bai, you, the Southwest God of Wealth."

"So that's it. No wonder I feel quite in love with Lord Li." Bai Xianyang said with a smile, "But you also praised it. What is the Southwest God of Wealth? It's just a joke among some friends in the business world. I, Bai Xianyang, have no virtue and ability, and I dare not accept this praise."

"Boss Bai is too humble. Even the Marquis agrees with your ability. For example, if you are going to send troops this time, the first thing that comes to mind is that you will provide relevant logistics. Isn't it just to recognize and value Boss Bai? So it's better to say that the Southwest businessman is headed by you, it's impossible to make a mistake."

He took out the Marquis of Dingxi to argue, so Bai Xianyang naturally couldn't deny it anymore, so he could only say hehe: "It's all the Marquis's wrong love, Bai is really ashamed."

"Boss Bai doesn't have to underestimate himself. Whether it is the size of the business or the reputation among businessmen, you are the best in the southwest provinces." After putting a high hat on the other party, Li Ling officially put forward the most important idea, "So I think that because of this, you should have greater responsibility."

"Greater responsibility?" Bai Xianyang suddenly smiled, "Does Lord Li refer to the commercial tax matter?"

Li Ling was not surprised, and looked at the other party at the same time: "Is it that the Marquis has spoken with Boss Bai?"

"He did mention it to me, and this is the reason why Lord Li worked hard to come to the southwest, right?"

"That's right, to be honest with Boss Bai, I am the head of the Southern Yunnan Ministry of Revenue, and I have a great responsibility for local taxes. However, the current situation in southern Yunnan is quite difficult. In fact, even if there is no such chaos, it is extremely difficult to make the local people pay hundreds of thousands of taels of silver. The Marquis would not allow such a thing to happen."

"So you put your ideas on us businessmen?" Bai Xianyang looked at Li Ling with a burning look, but the latter looked back at him and nodded seriously: "That's right, this is the best way to solve the current problem, and at the same time, it is also the best help for you businessmen."

"You asked us to pay more business taxes, but it was a help to us?" Bai Xianyang's smile became a little reluctant. As a businessman, he naturally attached great importance to money matters.

Without rushing to respond to his question, Li Ling just smiled and said, "Does Boss Bai know how big the difference between the commercial tax in the southwest and Central Plains?"

"I naturally know this. Yes, now the commercial tax in the southwest is not worth one hundred yuan, but the commercial tax in the Central Plains is twenty-one. The gap between the two is indeed huge. However, the southwest cannot compare with the Central Plains after all. The money we can earn when doing business is far inferior to those big merchants in the Central Plains. If the commercial tax is really increased suddenly, it will be a breaking our life."

Seeing that he was so clear about the commercial tax rates in the two places, Li Ling was also happy, at least saving himself a lot of verbal talk. But then, his face condensed again: "Boss Bai, you have always been praised for your long-term vision, but why did you seem a little short-sighted this time?"

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Taxers are not just collected by the government and used to support officials, but are just means taken from the people and used by the people. By the same token, some of this commercial tax will be used elsewhere by the court, but there are still many of them that will give back to merchants. You only see that the Central Plains business is developed, but you ignore that this is actually the result of the Central Plains commercial tax being far higher than before."

"How do you say this?" Bai Xianyang was stunned by these words, thinking about it, and subconsciously asked.

"What is the trade deal? It's just that there is a large and stable market and a smooth road. I think Boss Bai always agrees with this point, right?" Li Ling nodded when he saw the other party, and then said, "The stability of the Central Plains is naturally needless to say. This is what the people in the southwest have always yearned for. As for the smooth roads, southern Yunnan is good, but Qianzhou has many shortcomings due to various reasons.

"Of course, the Marquis is about to use troops in Qianzhou. Maybe the road problems that have troubled us for many years will be solved. But to really solve the road problems, it does not mean that no one can easily do it by interfering with others. It still requires investment from people and money. So where should this money come from? Should we ask the court for it, or increase local taxes and force it to exploit the people? I think neither of these two is a wise choice, right?"

Bai Xianyang followed his thoughts and nodded in agreement. Although the court had such a wish, all forces involved and really wanted to take out the money, they had to wait until the year of the Monkey and Horse Month. As for increasing the burden on the people, it would be even more impossible. Not to mention Dingxi Hou, even he would not agree, which would likely lead to greater chaos.

Immediately, Bai Xianyang understood: "So what you mentioned is used for commercial tax in this place?"

"That is, it is taken from business and used for business. Not only the opening of roads, but also the establishment of fortresses along the road can also be extracted from these commercial taxes, so as to ensure safety along the road. Especially when entering the mountainous area of ​​Qianzhou and the Central Plains, the government needs to send people to maintain peace, otherwise the wild beasts on the mountain will be enough to cause trouble to many people.

"And as long as these roads can be fully opened up, the southwest and the Central Plains are completely smooth, your business can also reach the Central Plains, and sell the specialties in the southwest to the Central Plains. I think the profit is much stronger than the small-scale fight here. Is it profitable or loss? With Boss Bai's shrewdness, can't you tell?"

Now, Bai Xianyang was really interested. In fact, after his business grew to a certain extent, he clearly felt that the southwest corner could no longer bear his ambitions, but he had to endure it due to the situation and geography. And now, the opportunity really came before him. If he could really spend some money first and open up the way for the future, it would be a good choice.

"You... are you really sure to let the court do this?"
Chapter completed!