Chapter 250： Canal conception and tithe problem

On the second day of spring, Marin couldn't sit still anymore and planned to take Schwartz and others to see some of the terrain and mineral deposits on the north bank of the Lipper River.

According to the memory of the last geography class, Marin remembered that the distribution of coal mines in the Ruhr area is very large. Although the main mining areas are concentrated in the southern half of the Ruhr area, that is, the area north of the Ruhr River that is now occupied by the Macbeth. However, there are many coal mines in other regions.

For example, there are a number of coal mines on the south side of the Ruhr River, probably south of the river section near Bochum. In addition, there are several coal mines in the west of the Rhine near the Ruhr River. In some areas north of the Liper River, there appear to be some coal mines.

Therefore, taking advantage of the large spring, Marin took a few confidants and a large group of guards, rode a horse, and ran to the north of the Lipper River to find a coal mine.

In addition, Marin also has a very grand idea that he wants to dig a canal between the Lipper River and the Ames River to facilitate the transportation of coal and other goods.

Now, after occupying the Bishop of Münster, the Ames River has basically become an inland river in the territory under Marin control. The Lipper River is the southern border of the Bishop of Munster.

If you can dig a canal from the Lipper River to the Ames River, then the coal in the Ruhr area can directly follow the canal, from the Lipper River to the Ames River, and then all the way to the Ames River. Haikou-Emden.

Ada's steam engine has been invented, and the future will definitely enter the era of the steam engine. Then, the transportation of coal will become the top priority.

If you take the Rhine route, go to sea first, and then transport it to the coast of East Friesland, the safety of transportation is not guaranteed. After all, transporting coal from the Ruhr area out of the Rhine River to the sea will pass through three or four princely states. Not only is it easy to be taxed by people, but it is also easily blocked by people. The transportation route is very dangerous.

If a canal is opened from the Lipper River to the Ames River, then the entire transportation is in its own country, so that coal transportation does not need to be taxed by others, and no one will intercept it.

Not only that, in addition to coal, the transportation of other goods will also be greatly facilitated. After all, this year, water transportation is much more convenient than land transportation, the cost is lower, and the cargo volume is also larger.

In later generations, Dortmund specially excavated a 266-kilometer Dortmund-Ames canal from Dortmund to Mepeng, a port in the middle and lower reaches of the Ems, for economic development.

However, in fact, the Dortmund-Ames Canal was a canal built at the end of the 19th century, with the goal of navigating large freighters of more than 1,000 tons. Therefore, it was natural to repair the canal all the way to Mei Peng.

In fact, if you consider from this era, if you only need to run an inland river vessel of one or two hundred tons, you don't need to repair the canal to Meppen, you can directly connect it to the Ames River near Münster. The navigable distance above the Ames River mouth is exactly 116 kilometers, not far from Münster.

Therefore, Marin ’s plan is to dig a canal from the Lipper River that passes through the city of Münster and connects the navigable part of the Ames River. The total length does not need to reach 266 kilometers like the Dortmund-Ames Canal, as long as more than 60 Km is almost the same.

Moreover, once the canal is opened, Münster City will immediately become an inland city and become a shipping facility that can be directly connected to the land and water transportation city of Emden, which is conducive to economic development.

At the same time, because the Ames and the Rhine were opened through this canal, the economy of the Bishop of Münster, along the canal and the lower reaches of the Ames, will be driven by the convenience of land and water transportation. .

Marin, Schwartz and others looked along the Lipper River. Instead of seeing the so-called coal mine, they saw the flat terrain, which looked very suitable for digging a canal. No wonder the Germans hereafter dig the canals such as the Dortmund-Ames Canal and the Sino-German Canal to facilitate domestic freight transportation.

However, Marin knew that with his current financial and technical level, he could only dig a weakened version of the Dortmund-Ames Canal. The navigable vessels were also rated by Marin at about 200 tons, rather than the 1,350 tons that the Dortmund-Ames Canal and the Sino-German Canal specified in later generations. After all, digging a canal now, without the help of machinery, can only rely on manual digging, digging a canal more than 60 kilometers, is already very difficult, let alone hundreds of kilometers long canal.

Although the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal built by Sui Yang Emperor was over 1,700 kilometers long, it was the Sui Yang Emperor who used the power of the whole country and used two or three million people to dig the world's longest canal. The total population of Marin is only a few hundred thousand, how can you dig a long canal? A canal of more than 60 kilometers has reached its limit.

Marin was not discouraged by the failure to find a coal mine in the north of Lipper. Because Marin remembered that the coal mine here was still being mined in the early 21st century. That proves that the coal mine on the north side of the Liper River is an underground mine, which is relatively difficult to find. Because if it is an open pit mine, it has already been mined. For example, there are more open-pit mines in the area near the Ruhr River, but mining is also the earliest. No matter how big the mine is, it has been mined for centuries, and with the advanced mining machinery in Europe, it is almost clean. Therefore, on a map of coal mines that Marin had seen in his previous life, those abandoned mines that were mainly distributed in the southern Ruhr area were the objects that Marin focused on mining. Because those mines are mined early, which proves that they are easy to find, the coal mines are shallow, and the mining difficulty is also low. The coal mines discovered in later generations are mostly buried deep and difficult to mine. Otherwise, it has long been discovered. Just like the lead-zinc mine in Tara, if it is not buried under a 50-meter thick soil layer, it will not be discovered until 1970.

Because no coal mines were found, Marin and Schwarz and others had no choice but to return. Along the way, the seedlings in the fields were unearthed, and from afar, they looked like a leek ...

"The land here is really fertile. In autumn, I don't know how much food to fight!" Marin said with emotion.

"Oh, it's a pity that these lands are owned by the Münster Church. The harvested food is mainly put into the church's granary, and some will be counted as tithes ..." Schwartz suddenly inserted.

"Tithing tax ..." Suddenly, Marin froze, and quickly stopped the horse to stop, causing the knights behind to almost hit. Fortunately, the guards of Marin riding skillfully, strangled their horses and avoided "crash".

"What's wrong, young master?" Schwartz asked strangely.

Malin thought about it and sighed:

"Schwartz, I think we are in trouble ..."

"Trouble? What trouble?" Schwartz puzzled.

"Tithing tax ..." Marin sighed, full of melancholy.

"What happened to the tithe?" Schwartz didn't respond.

"What's wrong? Münster's church is not the same as us. Wanting to conceal the tithe, it won't work in Münster!" Marin finally expressed his inner worry.

Schwartz thought about it, his face changed ...

why? Because Marin masters advanced agricultural technology, mainly fertilizer. Therefore, the food output of East Friesland is not comparable to other countries.

However, in order to prevent this secret from being revealed, Marin had long controlled the church in East Friesland. Even the newly conquered churches of the Old Kingdom of Oldenburg and the Principality of Schleswig were controlled by Marin.

In this way, the secrets of Marin ’s high yield of food were concealed. When the church levies the tithe, it still follows the previous levy, not the one-tenth of the high-yield situation after using fertilizer.

The churches in East Frisia Lambert, Oldenburg and the Principality of Schleswig are easier to control because they are all secular states and the church forces are suppressed. As long as Marin threatens to lure Had to cooperate with the princes.

But the Bishop of Münster is different. Although Marin has gained its secular rule, the church power in the Bishop of Münster is too strong. Coupled with religious rights, Marin is temporarily unable to interfere, and the current bishop Conrad also has hatred with Marin.

In this way, until the autumn harvest, the church will levy tithes and will certainly not help Marin hide the report. If Marin used new agricultural technology in Bishop Munster, it caused a sharp increase in food production. Marin is almost certain that the bishop of Conrad sent to Tiantou to wait for the tithe priest, and will definitely report this secret. And Conrad, the bishop destined to marry Marlin, will certainly spread the secret.

As a result, Marin kept agricultural secrets for several years and spread them. Moreover, the problem of concealing tithes from previous years will also surface.

Even if the pope is his father-in-law, such acts of tax evasion and tax evasion will cause public outrage.

For a moment, Marin almost gave birth to the urge to use "Cantrera" to poison Bishop Conrad. However, Marin endured. If Bishop Conrad died in "Cantrera". As long as the death of Alexander VI and the close relationship between Marin and the current Pope, others can easily think of the cause of Alexander VI's death. Therefore, Marin suppressed the tempting idea of ​​poisoning Bishop Conrad. Moreover, the right to appoint the bishops of the Bishop of Münster is still in the hands of the Archbishop of Cologne. They are not the bishops recommended by them.

Therefore, Marin began to wonder whether to use advanced agricultural technology in the Bishop of Münster ...

"It would be great if the tithe was fixed ..." At this time, Sauer on the side said suddenly.

"The tithe was fixed ..." After Marin frowned and thought for a while, he suddenly became brighter ...

"Yes, I can ask the Holy See to fix the amount of tithe in our country!" Marin snapped his head.

If someone else does not necessarily have this ability. But who is Marin? He is the son-in-law of the current pope. Just make a contribution to the Holy See and let his pope father-in-law find a way to set the tithe tax rate on East Frisian and other Marin territories. Is n’t that a simple matter?

At that time, the pope ’s father-in-law could fully set the tithe of East Friesland and the Bishop of Münster, especially the tithe of grain production, at 15 pounds per acre, or 90 pounds per acre.

Finding a tax rate and putting it in another country is definitely a high tax rate. Because, in other countries, many mu yields are less than 150 pounds. With a tithe of 15 pounds per acre, it is definitely more taxable.

However, the estate under Marin's name now averages more than 500 pounds per mu. Under such circumstances, the fixed rate of 15 pounds per acre is definitely Marlin's profit. Moreover, as long as Marin does not disclose his own output per mu, no one will envy this tax rate ...

Thinking about this, Marin decided to contact his pope father-in-law, sing a double reed, and then come to a fixed tax rate. In this way, even if the secret of high yield of grain is leaked in the future, no one else can do anything-the Holy See has given a fixed tax rate, we are not tax evasion ...

After thinking about going, Marin decided to send another 3,000 mercenaries to Rome, so that his army in Rome would reach 10,000. Moreover, the salary is borne by yourself.

Such a huge contribution, Julius II can be listed as a model, and then publicly commended. Finally, take this opportunity to set yourself a fixed tax rate. In this way, you will not have to pay tithes in accordance with the true one-tenth standard. Moreover, it is the purpose of tax evasion ...

As for where to find 3000 people to send to Rome, Marin suddenly remembered the 5,800 Münster mercenaries who had not yet been dismissed.

Originally, Marin planned to send them all to Ireland. But now it is the most important thing to fool Rome. As for Count Edward's side, it was enough to send him 2800 people.

In this way, Marin cut the 5,800 people who had originally planned to give to Earl Edward, cut down 3,000 people, and reduced the size to 2,800. Then, the 3,000 people who were cut off were planned by Marin to be sent to Rome ~ www.novelhall.com ~ to help guard cities such as Florence.

Although these German mercenaries, Marin looked down. However, their combat effectiveness is still much stronger than that of Italian mercenaries.

When the time comes, I will tell Stade to give them some special training, and their discipline will be better. In this way, it can also be used to fool. Anyway, the main force guarding Rome is to take 7,000 veterans himself. These 3,000 mercenaries are just capable of assisting.

Moreover, guarding Rome is absolutely glorious for most Christians of this era. After all, now is the period when the Holy See has supreme authority. Guarding the Rome where the Holy See is located is definitely a very humbling thing.

Like the well-known Vatican Pope Guards of later generations, those Swiss guys, the treatment is very low, but still some people are willing. Because, for those devout believers, guarding the Vatican and guarding the pope is an extremely sacred job ...

He sent three thousand soldiers to the Holy See himself, and he still didn't have to pay. In that way, Julius II can find a good excuse to give himself a benefit and fix the amount of tithe. Then, you can safely evade taxes without worrying about being exposed ...