20demayo Chapter 413: Appease the merchants
Chapter 413: Appease the merchants
"Everyone, I just got up. I don't know what happened yet. You have to allow me to figure out the ins and outs of the matter. Only then can I give you an explanation, right?"
In an instant, the noisy crowd quieted down. Everyone looked at me and I looked at you. Finally, a director of the Chamber of Commerce stood up and said to Chu Mo:
"President Chu, the imperial court just posted a new imperial list today. It said that we merchants should make up for the business taxes we signed before within the specified time."
"What I didn't expect was that as soon as the imperial list was posted, the imperial guards came to collect taxes. If they didn't pay, or argued a few words, the shop would be smashed, and the clerk would be beaten. It would be a minor offense. The most serious thing is that , they also want to put people in jail, who can bear this?"
Hearing what the other party said, Chu Mo's eyes darkened: "Didn't I hear that His Majesty the Emperor went on an expedition in person today? Why does he still have the leisure to take care of businessmen's affairs?"
Seeing Chu Mo's question, the director hurriedly replied: "It is not good for His Majesty the Emperor to conduct the expedition himself, but he asked His Majesty the Crown Prince to supervise the country."
"And this imperial list is also the first order issued by His Highness the Crown Prince after he took charge of the country. Therefore, in order to cater to His Highness the Crown Prince, those officials mobilized the imperial guards to collect commercial taxes."
When he heard that it was Li Chengqian's fault, Chu Mo was speechless.
This damn kid, is he trying to dismantle his father?
Thinking of this, Chu Mo asked the waiter on the side: "Is Mr. Li Si here this morning?"
The clerk shook his head: "Master Li didn't come this morning. Master Ke is taking care of everything. Master Ke just had several stores closed down. Now he went over to check the situation."
Chu Mo's expression darkened when he heard that his own shop had also suffered a disaster.
After looking around, he deliberately raised his voice and said to the clerk: "Go tell Master Ke and ask him to close all our shops and stop all transactions related to Chang'an City."
After saying that, he looked at the directors on the side and said: "Please help me notify the members of the Chamber of Commerce and ask them to close all their stores and suspend all transactions. If you believe me, Chu Mo, then wait until I notify you."
When everyone saw that Chu Mo took the lead in closing the shop, they didn't say anything. They all followed suit and began to explain to the boys around them.
Seeing everyone getting busy, Chu Mo whispered to the waiter beside him:
"Why don't any of those people from the fifth and seventh surnames come today? Go and find out what's going on."
After receiving the order, the man immediately ran out.
At this time, Li Zhenying had just finished handling matters at home when she received a report from her subordinates.
So he immediately returned to Shiweitian.
As soon as he entered the door, he saw Chu Mo surrounded by people, so he pushed through the crowd and walked in.
"Chu Mo, I've heard everything. What are you going to do now?"
Everyone knew Li Zhenying, and when they heard the acting president's question, they all turned their attention to Chu Mo.
Chu Mo smiled slightly, waved his hands nonchalantly and said: "It's a child's play, no need to make a fuss. We just need to close the transaction so that Chang'an City cannot get supplies. I believe it won't be long before the order will be revoked."
Hearing Chu Mo speak with such contempt, those merchants felt a little upset in their hearts.
A businessman boldly asked: "President Chu, if your plan succeeds and the court takes back the order, can the taxes we have collected be refunded? Will the arrested guys be released?"
Chu Mo looked deeply at the person who asked the question and said: "If the imperial court takes back your life, it will naturally give you a tax refund, and those who were arrested will definitely be released."
"As for your other losses, you need to go to the Ministry of Revenue to claim them after you have finished counting them."
As soon as he finished speaking, the merchant shouted loudly:
"President Chu, you are the president of the Chamber of Commerce, but you have collected membership fees. If you don't help us seek justice, how can we alone defeat the officials in the transfer department? Then what's the point of joining this chamber of commerce?"
Although some merchants nodded in agreement with his words this time, there were also some shrewd merchants who seemed to have discovered something and hurriedly distanced themselves from each other.
Chu Mo glanced at Li Zhenying and asked, "Who is this person? Which store is he from? Are you sure he is from our Chamber of Commerce?"
Li Zhenying nodded with certainty and said: "He is the shopkeeper Jin of Yong'anfang Garment Store, and he later joined our chamber of commerce."
"Oh, since he joined later, he doesn't have the right to speak. Who asked him to do what he likes here?"
As he said that, Chu Mo glanced at the audience and said: "I said it on the day the Chamber of Commerce was established. Only merchants who joined on that day were entitled to the right to discuss matters. This person joined later and only enjoyed the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce, but not decision-making power of the Chamber of Commerce.”
After saying that, without waiting for the merchant to continue speaking, Chu Mo said to Li Zhenying: "This person is not welcome in our Chamber of Commerce. Since he feels that I collected the membership fees and did not do anything for him, then I will return the membership fees to him and let him withdraw from the Chamber of Commerce." Bar."
"In addition, if anyone else has the same idea as him, then you can just follow today's handling method. I don't welcome those blood-sucking insects that only attach themselves to merchants."
After saying that, Chu Mo turned to look at the crowd and said, "The Chamber of Commerce belongs to all of us, not just Chu Mo."
"If something happens to the Chamber of Commerce, I, as the president, will definitely stand up and settle things for everyone as soon as possible. But if you want to take me as a scapegoat, then you are wrong."
"I, Chu Mo, can live without the Chamber of Commerce and members like you, but does the Chamber of Commerce dare to say that it can live without me, Chu Mo?"
The merchants present looked at each other, and then someone started to compliment him.
"President Chu, the Tang Dynasty Chamber of Commerce was built by you, and we will definitely follow your lead."
"Yes, if it weren't for President Chu, we would have been charged business tax before."
. . . . . .
Listening to everyone's constant compliments, Chu Mo curled his lips, raised his hand, stopped everyone's voices and said:
"I know some of you may feel uncomfortable, but I just want to say that this time the business tax is just a small matter. What we are fighting for is the future business tax. If you don't understand, then go home. Go farm."
After calming down the merchants, Chu Mo took Li Zhenying up to the second floor.
"Brother Li, I feel that this matter is a bit complicated. Why did Li Chengqian start poaching as soon as Li left? If you say there is nothing fishy in it, I won't believe it even to death."
Taking advantage of her face, Li Zhenying was hesitating whether to tell the other party that the emperor wanted to summon her to the palace yesterday, when she heard Chu Mo continue:
"Now I have some suspicions that these things were done intentionally by that bastard Li Er. Otherwise, even if Li Chengqian was brave, he wouldn't dare to start digging up old scores in such a hurry."