Everyone in the world thought that the Song Dynasty was prosperous in terms of business and trade, but there must be countless hidden filth in the collusion between officials and businessmen.
But in fact, this phenomenon is very rare, and there are not many historical records.
Because in the Song Dynasty, not only merchants did business, but officials also did business. Officials were originally merchants, so how could ordinary merchants compete with them?
In addition, there is another reason, that is, officials in the Song Dynasty were too mobile and their shelf life was very short.
For example, the Renzong Dynasty had twenty-three prime ministers, and more than 100 deputy prime ministers, ministers, and ministers such as the three ministers and privy envoys, and the average time in office was basically no more than two years.
For example, Wang Sui only took office as prime minister last year. In less than a year this year, he was already attacked by admonishers led by Han Qi and continuously impeached.
If it weren't for his good luck, Zhao Jun fell from the sky and saved his life. He would have been defeated now. He had only been in office for eight months. It can be said that his buttocks were cold before he was even hot.
Under such circumstances, even if businessmen want to bribe officials and build relationships with them, the officials are often transferred before the relationship is settled, leaving them with no time to join in the trouble.
So it's not actually that businessmen don't want to collude with court officials, but that they can't maintain long-term relationships.
On the contrary, the officials of various yamen have become the targets of businessmen. The main income of the officials also comes from gifts from businessmen.
For example, the people tea merchants win over the most are the Taifu Temple officials who are responsible for the release of tea, as well as the border pacification envoys, transshipment envoys, production envoys, and the tea and salt department who are responsible for collecting grain, counting goods, and delivering tea. Subordinate officials.
When tea merchants quoted falsely estimated values, these officials helped them overestimate them, raise prices, and help them draw blood from the treasury. The two sides are divided into 30/70, forming such an alliance of interests so that each can get what they need.
Therefore, under such circumstances, Wang Yong and Tian Chang, who were newly transferred from Taifu Temple this year to judge Taifu Temple affairs, have not even met him, so naturally they are not qualified to have anything to do with them.
However, Tian Chang was an old man after all, and he soon found out that Privy Councilor Li Shen, together with Wang Yong, the minister of Taifu Temple, had summoned tea merchants from all over the country.
Tian Chang did not go directly to the door, but first went to the familiar officials of Taifu Temple, offered a sum of gold and silver, and asked them to recommend him on his behalf. When the officials got the money, they were very happy. They ate and drank with Tian Chang first and learned a lot about it.
"Old Tian, you are also lucky. Now Mr. Li and Judge Wang have stopped seeing guests. It was only through my help that they agreed to see you with a few nice words. You must be careful with your words and don't let the truth slip. "
The next morning, a drunken old official from Taifu Temple led Tian Chang into the government office through the back door. They passed through various government offices from the side courtyard to the main hall, giving Tian Chang instructions as they walked.
Tian Chang agreed on the surface, but felt quite disgusted in his heart.
He knew that Li Shen had convened tea merchants from all walks of life to hold a meeting in Taifu Temple. There was no need for introduction at all, and it was definitely not the credit of these officials. They were less qualified to speak in front of Li Xianggong than he was.
As a result, the officials said that it was all their fault that they were able to see Li Xianggong, which was really disgusting. If it weren't for the fact that the King of Hell was easier to deal with than the imp, Tian Chang wouldn't have spent this unjust money.
Soon, Tian Chang entered the main hall under the guidance of the officials. Li Zhen was not in good health, his face was slightly pale, and he was drinking tea to moisten his throat.
There was an official in his forties sitting next to him.
"Xiangong Li and Judge Wang, this is Tian Chang, the owner of the largest tea merchant in Bianliang."
After the officials came in, they bowed their hands and saluted, and then introduced Tian Chang.
Tian Chang hurriedly saluted and said, "Tian Chang has seen Li Xianggong and Wang Jujian."
"Are you the owner of Tianjia Tea Shop?"
Li Zhen put down his tea cup and asked.
Tian Chang responded respectfully: "Yes."
"The imperial court plans to re-implement the money-seeking law, what do you think?"
Li Zhen asked.
Tian Chang said: "This is a good thing that benefits the country, and the people are very supportive."
"But I heard that several big tea merchants in Bianliang came to you yesterday and wanted to unite with you to jointly oppose the New Deal?"
Li Zhen said calmly.
Tian Chang was shocked and quickly said: "They did find Xiaomin, but Xiaomin was not willing to join them in opposing the New Deal."
"oh?"
Li Zhen asked: "Why?"
Tian Chang said: "Because the common people know that the New Deal is to eliminate border corruption and make false claims to benefit the country. The common people do not want to harm the interests of the country for their own benefit."
"Um."
Li Zhen nodded with satisfaction, turned to look at Wang Yong and said, "This Tian Dong family is very righteous, and they are exactly the talents the court needs."
Wang Yong smiled and said: "What my husband said is that the other tea merchants at the border often bribe officials to earn high amounts of false estimates. Only Tian Chang not only transports the most grain, but also seldom falsely estimates prices. Even though If you take more, you will be charged less when you return to Beijing to withdraw money."
"You are very good."
Li Zhen turned back to look at Tian Chang and said, "If the Song Dynasty could have a few more merchants like you, we wouldn't have to worry about the lack of food at the border."
"Yes, yes, my husband is very complimentary."
Tian Chang responded with a smile. In fact, it was not that he didn't want to take the money, but because he had traveled a lot, witnessed too many officials taking advantage of others, and knew the dangers of the court, so he decided to keep a rule for himself.
That means you must not take anything you shouldn’t take.
It was this rule that saved Tian Chang's life, because Zhao Zhen had already learned from Zhao Jun how to deal with the tea merchants, which was to fight against each other, kill those who were disobedient, and support those who were obedient. Now it is Li When looking for an agent.
Seeing that Tian Chang was well-behaved and sensible, he said: "To tell you the truth, the imperial court really needs to eliminate the cancer of false tea prices at the border and save redundant expenses for the imperial court. But the border cannot be short of food. What do you think we should do?"
Tian Chang said without hesitation: "The people will continue to vigorously purchase grain and rice from Jianghuai this year and send it to Qingzhou and Hejian. The amount will be double that of last year. We will never overestimate the grain and grass."
"very good."
Seeing that Tian Chang was very knowledgeable, Li Zhen smiled and said, "Your tea business is very good. You have contributed a lot to maintaining the stability of tea prices in Bianliang."
"Thank you for your compliment, Mr. Xian."
Tian Chang responded.
"You guys, please step back first."
Li Shen suddenly asked the surrounding officials and government officials to go away.
Everyone then exited the hall, leaving only Li Shen, Wang Yong and Tian Chang.
Then Li Shen asked Tian Chang to sit down again. Tian Chang sat on the chair next to him with some anxiety. He seemed to have seen his nervousness. Li Shen smiled and said, "Don't be afraid. I have something I want to discuss with you."
"Please make it clear, sir."
Tian Chang said cautiously.
Li Zhen said: "You should know better than us about the chaos at the border. We want to hear your opinion, but it doesn't matter."
Tian Chang knew that there were things that should be said and things that should not be said, so he said: "There is indeed some chaos at the border, and the court should rectify it. The common people don't know much about these things."
"Um?"
Li Shen frowned and said, "Do you really not understand? Do you know the consequences of deceiving me?"
Tian Chang thought of the tragic situation of the wealthy businessman Zhang Jia in Bozhou and Xu Ming, a wealthy businessman in Hangzhou. He stood up from his chair in fear and knelt down and said: "Whatever my husband wants to ask, I will know it and tell you everything."
This is the wisdom of a businessman. Give Li Shen the right to ask questions. If Li Shen knows something, it cannot be considered a leak if he answers it. After all, Li Shen already knows it. Naturally, Li Zhen would not ask about things he didn't know, and it would be impossible for him to leak the secrets.
However, this cleverness did not go unnoticed by Li Shen, who said: "Let's talk about the issue of border officials first. What impact do you think it will have on the border officials if the money-seeking law is directly opened? I want to hear your opinion. Opinion."
Tian Chang said helplessly: "The impact is naturally huge. Many officials on the border rely on these to make money. After seeing that the money law was opened, they did not make false estimates and settled the money on the spot. They lost a lot of sources of income. Therefore, my husband was When it comes to making money, they are the ones who make the biggest fuss."
In essence, the money-seeking method was to take back the money that had been embezzled from the court through collusion between businessmen and officials. The merchants have a great business, but at most they will only strain their muscles and bones, but will not go bankrupt. But this is the extra income that border officials make the most money from. If this income is cut off, they will only receive basic salary, so they will naturally not work.
Li Zhen nodded: "Is there any way to stabilize them?"
Tian Chang shook his head and said: "What can be done? Unless the court can send them more money, I'm afraid no one will agree. If the officials at the border get into trouble and the military rations are not delivered in time, the consequences will be dire. That’s big.”
"snort!"
On the side, Wang Yong slapped the case angrily and said: "These corrupt officials, taking their salaries and corrupting the court's money, should be killed. How dare they have the nerve to make trouble? Mr. Li, he should report to the court and start killing!"
Tian Chang couldn't help but shrink his neck after hearing this.
In fact, the Song Dynasty did not stop killing scholar-bureaucrats at the beginning. The Taizu and Taizong dynasties killed many. It was not until the Zhenzong and Renzong dynasties that the tradition of not killing scholar-officials gradually came into being.
For example, Guo Chengyou and Sun Miao deserved to be killed for their crimes, but historically they were demoted.
However, the Song Dynasty only did not kill the scholar-bureaucrats. The lower class people, businessmen, landlords, and officials were killed when they should be killed, and the methods were quite cruel. It was the scholar-bureaucrats who were killed. Relying on their status as officials, they could be said to cover the sky with one hand. .
In the eyes of Shengdou Xiaomin, Tian Chang was already a big shot, but in the eyes of Li Shen and Wang Yong, he was nothing. It was just a matter of one sentence to confiscate the family and exterminate the clan.
So Tian Chang was frightened when he heard this.
It would be really terrifying if the imperial court went on a killing spree against officials at the border, and I'm afraid the entire tea industry would be affected.
Fortunately, Li Zhen was not that murderous, and he was a humble man. He also lowered his dignity to reason with the tea merchants, which is enough to show that he was a gentlemanly senior official. He shook his head and said: "This matter is very involved and is not advisable. Mr. Tian, I have something else to tell you."
"Ms. sir, please tell me."
Tian Chang said hurriedly.
Li Shen said: "Your tea business is very good. The court needs to stabilize prices. It was originally a state-owned tea business, but now it wants to do stock trading with private tea merchants like you. How much tea can be consumed depends entirely on your ability. You see how?"
After Tian Chang heard this, his breathing suddenly became rapid.
Tea in the Song Dynasty was actually a monopoly system. There were state-owned enterprises selling wine, rice, salt, tea and other daily necessities. If merchants wanted to join the business, they had to buy tea and salt. This was the so-called forbidden monopoly.
However, both the state-owned salt industry and the tea industry are already extremely corrupt, and officials are corrupt, making the people more willing to buy private salt and tea.
By the late Renzong Dynasty, Guanyan and Guancha were unable to make ends meet and were close to bankruptcy.
Later, Ouyang Xiu analyzed the situation and believed that the situation of government sales was extremely bad. Officials embezzled state-owned assets one after another, secretly replacing official salt and official tea with sand and inferior tea, and the common people also used inferior salt and inferior tea. They assigned tasks and turned to selling good salt and good tea to private traders, resulting in the rampant use of private salt and tea.
Moreover, apart from being corrupt, officials are also careless in sales. After all, they eat from the government and do not need to receive less salary because of sales tasks. Selling a few hundred guan today and a few dozen guan tomorrow will not affect their monthly salary, resulting in very low enthusiasm for selling.
Therefore, it is better to stop the exclusive system and operate jointly with merchants, so that circulation will not be blocked. The deeper the plan is to deprive merchants of their interests, the greater the damage to national interests. If you want to attribute all ten profits to the public, you will lose more, and you will not get three out of ten. It is better to make profits together with merchants, and get five out of ten. Therefore, a good manager of a big country should "attract big businessmen at all costs."
But that was all later. At least now, tea, rice, salt and wine are still exclusive, and it is not easy for tea merchants to get tea. According to Li Shen's suggestion, he planned to reform the government-run tea business and jointly participate in the business with private tea companies. They would only hold shares and not participate in the operation, but their share of tea leaves would be unlimited and they could collect according to their ability.
This means that after the ban on tea specialized by state-owned enterprises in the Song Dynasty is lifted, their share of tea will be greatly increased. And when the state-owned enterprises withdraw from the market, the market share they can obtain will also increase. This is a great temptation for private tea business owners who are restricted by tea.
