Chapter 1 North of Yicheng

North of Yicheng, on the northern bank of the Luo River, lay Yibei Port, the largest naval port of the Dongping Kingdom. From Wangjiang Tower, one could vaguely make out the forest of masts in Yibei Port, various naval vessels entering and leaving, and the naval drills.

But even more alluring was the sight of the various civilian boats and people along the riverbank of Yicheng. The port where Wangjiang Tower was located was no longer one where just any boat could dock. This section of the port was paved with bluestone, densely packed with large ships over 10 zhang in length. Judging from the ship types and the carvings on the sterns, they likely belonged to several major merchant families. Even the loading and unloading of goods was different here. From Wangjiang Tower, one could still see ports where smaller boats were concentrated, with barefoot porters laboriously carrying hemp-rope-bound packages on their backs, walking on planks. In this section of the port, sturdy men with bare torsos were pulling thick hemp ropes, using simple derricks to transfer large batches of goods, one bucket at a time, onto the port. Each time a load of goods landed, several porters would immediately remove the goods from the hemp-woven nets, neatly stacking them to the side, while port officials would promptly step forward to count the goods and register them.

To encourage trade, the Dongping Kingdom did not impose a landing tax, but the control of goods entering and leaving was quite strict. In particular, the "Maritime Trade Flow Law," implemented four years ago, combined the original seven taxes—landing tax, ship tax, sea wife head tax, pirate suppression donation, port construction donation, river dredging donation, and river sacrifice donation—into a single maritime regular tax, which accounted for 10% of the sales price of the goods, a reduction from the original taxes that often accounted for two-tenths or more of the goods' price. Then, an additional tax was added, of varying amounts, to specific kinds of goods.

The merging of seven taxes into a single maritime regular tax seemed to lower the tax rate, but after a year of implementation, all four ports in the Dongping Kingdom, north and south, reported a significant increase in tax revenue compared to the past. Many maritime merchants who previously engaged in smuggling actively paid taxes to obtain the protection of the Dongping navy. Some pirates, who previously targeted smuggling merchants knowing they wouldn't dare report to the authorities, felt that there was profit to be made in legitimate trade, and many simply surrendered and started doing legitimate maritime business.

The additional tax on specific kinds of goods was different, and with it, the Dongping Kingdom gained its first tool that could be described as macroeconomic control. The Dongping Kingdom did not produce abundant grain, but importing grain from the Chunnan Kingdom was previously unprofitable for maritime merchants due to high tax rates. Now, the additional tax on grain was only 2 li, and many powerful maritime merchants immediately saw huge profits in it. Over the years, they not only transported large quantities of grain, keeping grain prices in the Dongping Kingdom at a low level, but also enabled the Dongping court to purchase large grain reserves for disaster preparedness. Compared to grain, the Dongping Kingdom, lacking pastures, lacked horses, especially warhorses suitable for cavalry from the Northern Liao Kingdom and even further north. Therefore, the additional tax on horses was even more peculiar, not only not taxing them, but even providing a subsidy of 6 li. However, importing horses from the north only required a tax of 4 li. This lucrative business attracted many maritime merchants who were well-connected in the north. Some colluded with local officials, while others simply smuggled. In recent years, they imported no less than 40,000 high-quality horses of various kinds from the north, reducing the price of horses in the Dongping Kingdom by more than half.

Although the tax rate was low, the number of merchants paying taxes increased, but the officials of the four ports in the Dongping Kingdom were extremely busy. Although the chief officials of each port often turned a blind eye to small amounts of red envelopes and petty silver, making the position of port official a highly coveted one, the discovery of a single instance of collusion in smuggling resulted in 30 military strokes and a year of detention, which kept the port officials walking on eggshells, never daring to engage in corruption.

A larger crane stood in the distance. Unlike the simple manual cranes nearby, that large crane was connected to a well-shaped winch pulled by four horses and was actually powered by animal power. The young lady found it interesting and was about to ask the waiter to call the manager to inquire about it when suddenly there was a commotion on the second floor of Wangjiang Tower.

As soon as a young man in a blue gown stepped onto the second floor, he recited in an extremely ingratiating voice, "I have just learned that a graceful beauty has arrived in Yicheng, with a demeanor that is captivating and enchanting. May I have the honor of meeting her? I would be willing to be a guide and share the local customs with the young lady."

The young lady frowned. She had encountered no shortage of such people on this journey. The Dongping Kingdom had a free atmosphere, and many wealthy young men thought they were charming and elegant, and in every place they went, there would always be one or two who didn't know better and wanted to come forward and get acquainted. But like this fellow, so frivolous—no, not just frivolous, his voice and tone were simply lewd and cheap. The young lady couldn't help but reveal a look of disgust.

Although the two guards sitting on the side could not see their young lady's expression through the screen, they knew that such people were definitely not welcome. The two guards stood up together and blocked the young man's path. The young man didn't understand the situation at all and actually shouted there, "I admire your young lady, that's why I came here. You two servants are so rude." He actually yelled at the top of his lungs, "The young lady's arrival in Yicheng has already spread throughout the northern city in less than two hours. Please give me a chance." His behavior caused the other guests in the restaurant to glare at him with anger. The waiter, on the other hand, was cowering on the side, looking disgusted but helpless. Clearly, this young man had caused trouble here more than once or twice and they were used to it.

"Uncle Liu, don't hit the boat," the young lady instructed in an extremely gentle tone. Manager Liu, sitting on the side, was stunned, then placed the newly poured cup of tea in front of the young lady and respectfully replied, "Yes."

Manager Liu stepped out from behind the screen, ignored the young man's remarks, grabbed the young man's collar, and flung him outwards. Then, he turned around and walked back behind the screen, not even glancing at him. The young man screamed, tearing his throat, as he was thrown out of the building, flying more than ten zhang and landing in the water of the port, between two large ships. This move that Manager Liu suddenly revealed was simply shocking. Although the guests in Linjiang Tower were dazzled, they were extremely horrified. Was this Manager Liu still human? There were many martial arts figures coming and going in Linjiang Tower. Some people got drunk and inevitably had fights, and frequent guests had long regarded watching people compete as a kind of entertainment. But those martial artists who seemed to have some reputation were simply worthless compared to this Manager Liu. Throwing a living person nearly 20 zhang and landing them steadily in the water, without hitting the boat and without seeming to injure the person, it was as if he had simply placed the person in the water. This was not just a matter of strength.