On The Value; And All Merchandize Likewise
Pays Three And A Third Per Cent.
[But sea-borne goods from India and other
distant countries pay ten per cent.] The rice-wine also makes
A great
return, and coals, of which there is a great quantity; and so do the
twelve guilds of craftsmen that I told you of, with their 12,000 stations
apiece, for every article they make pays duty. And the silk which is
produced in such abundance makes an immense return. But why should I make
a long story of it? The silk, you must know, pays ten per cent., and many
other articles also pay ten per cent.
And you must know that Messer Marco Polo, who relates all this, was
several times sent by the Great Kaan to inspect the amount of his customs
and revenue from this ninth part of Manzi,[NOTE 1] and he found it to be,
exclusive of the salt revenue which we have mentioned already, 210
tomans of gold, equivalent to 14,700,000 saggi of gold; one
of the most enormous revenues that ever was heard of. And if the sovereign
has such a revenue from one-ninth part of the country, you may judge what
he must have from the whole of it! However, to speak the truth, this part
is the greatest and most productive; and because of the great revenue that
the Great Kaan derives from it, it is his favourite province, and he takes
all the more care to watch it well, and to keep the people contented.
[NOTE 2]
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