Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

The people of Xinzhou Prefecture were shocked by the swift capture of the city by the Restoration Army!

The people in the city were not unfamiliar with other armies attacking Xinzhou Prefecture. Previously, when the rebel army entered Jiangxi, they also attacked Xinzhou Prefecture, and after three days of attack, they failed to capture it.

Zuo Liangyu's army also came. Although Zuo Liangyu was a warlord in reality, he was nominally still part of the Ming army. Perhaps knowing that ordinary people didn't have much to gain, he only robbed wealthy families after entering the city and did not make things difficult for ordinary people!

After Zuo Jun left, Zheng Jia's general Shi Fu took advantage of the situation and occupied the city.

After Shi Fu's army entered the city, their military discipline was relatively strict, but they began to impose heavy taxes on businesses within the city, causing prices to skyrocket and making life unbearable for the people.

At the same time, Shi Fu set up checkpoints on major transportation routes to collect high taxes, forcing countless caravans to take detours and causing prices to soar throughout Xinzhou Prefecture!

The Xingfu Army captured and controlled Xinzhou Prefecture in just half an hour, and many of the city's residents were still unaware that the city had changed hands.

It wasn't until the news spread that the people realized just how powerful this army was!

This army belonged to a peasant army, a Ming army, a Qing army, or some warlord.

Will this army plunder the people after entering the city, or will it still levy high taxes on them?

These are the two issues that the people in the city care about most.

The army that captured Xinzhou Prefecture declared itself the "Restoration Army," fighting to restore China and claiming to be an army fighting for the people.

Upon hearing this, the people in the city scoffed. "Soldiers and bandits are inseparable. What army in this world is not afraid of death and not greedy for money?"

They're making it sound nice now, but the worst-case scenario is that they'll directly plunder the people, and the best-case scenario will be like Shi Fu's army, where they'll impose a heavy tax on everything, which is essentially a form of robbery.

Seeing the orderly steps and strict discipline of the Restoration Army, the people wondered about the origins of this army.

This also rules out the possibility that the army would directly plunder the people, but it is also possible that they would like to collect heavy taxes, like Shi Fu.

The people of the city finally breathed a sigh of relief when the Restoration Army announced the abolition of unnecessary exorbitant taxes and levies, and that the remaining tax rates were reduced to less than half of their original levels.

As long as it's not worse than before, that's fine!

The impact of the Restoration Army's entry into the city did not gradually subside until three days later.

The first few days after entering the city were also the busiest time for the Restoration Army. The handling of prisoners, the pacification of the people, and the guarantee of logistics and people's livelihood were all major issues that could not be taken lightly.

Not to mention that Li Chengming intends to occupy Xinzhou City for a long time, so the strategy he has decided on in the past few days after entering the city may affect his long-term development, so he cannot help but be cautious!

......

"Qianbao Huiju Fang" is the largest general store in Xinzhou Prefecture. It is said to have a history of over a hundred years. At its peak, it was said to make a fortune every day. Unfortunately, in recent years, it has been plagued by bad luck, and its business has declined year by year. Moreover, in recent years, the store has been ransacked by various forces several times.

Whenever bandits attacked the city, if the city hadn't fallen, the important figures in the city would ask the shops to donate money to defend it. If the city fell, it would be even worse, as both money and goods would be stolen.

For "wealthy" people like shopkeeper Zhao, financial losses are inevitable whenever there is any turmoil. If it weren't for the need to protect this ancestral property, he would have sold the shop long ago and returned to his hometown in the countryside.

Shop owner Zhao was calculating, and the more he calculated, the more worried he became: he already had to borrow money to pay for the next batch of goods, and with the two loans he hadn't repaid yet, he was afraid he wouldn't even be able to pay the interest on another loan!

There have been very few customers these past few days. Everyone is tightening their belts and is also afraid that the Restoration Army might cause further unrest, so no one dares to spend money casually and has decided to wait and see for a while longer.

Manager Zhao looked up and saw a young man leading a lean young man into the room.

The young man was dressed in a long robe. He was tall, strong, and handsome, but his hair was rather short. It was not styled into a bun or tied up, but simply tied at the back of his head, which looked rather odd.

After the two walked around the shop, the young man walked towards Manager Zhao.

This young man was Li Chengming. He had heard that there was a shortage of daily necessities in the city, so he wanted to go out and take a look to find out what was going on.

"You must be Manager Zhao?" Li Chengming asked. "Your shop has a very complete selection of goods. How are the prices?"

Manager Zhao closed the account book, shook his head, and sighed, "Life is unkind; it's tough!"

Li Chengming smiled and said, "What's so difficult about it? Is it high price or low customer volume?"

Manager Zhao said, "Because of the war, the purchase price of goods is already high. When Shi Fu was in the city, there were layers of exploitation. So when the goods came to me, the price was naturally extremely high. It is becoming increasingly difficult for ordinary people to make money, and my business is becoming increasingly difficult as well."

Li Chengming nodded and asked, "What was your tax rate when your business was at its peak?"

Manager Zhao looked up and secretly sized up Li Chengming. He saw that Li Chengming had an extraordinary demeanor and guessed that this young man was probably not an ordinary person.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "During the Wanli era, the country was at peace and the people lived in prosperity. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that our shop made a fortune every day. At that time, all taxes combined amounted to only one-twentieth."

One-twentieth of the taxes, five percent, Li Chengming thought to himself: the various taxes Shi Fu had collected before totaled about thirty percent.

I now promise not to receive more than half of what I have received in charity, which is no more than 15%.

It was no longer possible to maintain the original five percent tax rate, because although the Ming Dynasty appeared to have low commercial taxes, if you didn't have powerful connections, all sorts of exorbitant taxes and levies would follow, and the absolute tax rate would certainly not be lower than fifteen percent.

The so-called inability to collect commercial taxes applies to the businesses of powerful families. For these families, only the nominal taxes can be collected, with a maximum of one-twentieth and a minimum of one-thirtieth.

But it's different for small businesses without powerful backers. In addition to the overt taxes, there are various complex taxes with a high degree of flexibility, ranging from 10% to 30%.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Li Chengming initially set the tax rate at 10 percent and then abolished all kinds of miscellaneous taxes!

Li Chengming said to Manager Zhao, "The Restoration Army claims to be collecting a 10% tax rate and will not collect any other miscellaneous taxes. What do you think, Manager Zhao?"

"What do you think?" Manager Zhao shook his head: "A 10% tax rate isn't high, but if I'm forced to donate money every time there's war, I have no choice but to!"

Li Chengming smiled and said, "The Restoration Army is well-disciplined and has a neat appearance. Maybe not. We should always look on the bright side, right?"

Manager Zhao was still not optimistic about the restoration army's promises, sighing, "I hope so!"

Li Chengming also knew that the actions of the Restoration Army should be judged by time, and could not be rushed.

So he temporarily changed the subject and lowered his voice to ask Manager Zhao, "Manager, what kind of goods do you get through your channels?"

Seeing Li Chengming's serious expression, Manager Zhao lowered his voice and asked warily, "What goods does our esteemed guest wish to purchase?"

Li Chengming said, "Copper, iron, saltpeter, sulfur, grains, salt, and medicinal herbs!"

Manager Zhao was shocked: These are all military supplies!