Compared with the decline of the previous city, Nanjing City can be said to be extremely prosperous.
As one of the de jure imperial capitals, Nanjing City was the face of the Ming Dynasty. Although Japanese pirates attacked Nanjing City last year, there was still a lot of traffic outside Nanjing City.
Now is the time for new people to be admitted to prison, and there is a long queue outside Nanjing.
In a Gyeonggi area like Nanjing City, even the subordinate officials and soldiers who guard the gates have the arrogance of the policemen from the second capital. They carefully check the customs and defense of the masters who enter the city, and strictly inspect the accompanying goods.
Lin Deyang nervously hugged the gun wrapped around the cloth, but after Su Ze activated the skill and stuffed money into the guard's hands, the group entered the city smoothly.
Huang Maochong looked at the wide streets and couldn't help but admire: "It is indeed one of the two capitals, and it is much more prosperous than Fuzhou Prefecture."
Zhao Bingzhong and Fan Congming nodded repeatedly. They passed through many cities when they traveled north from Zhejiang, but none of them were as prosperous as Nanjing.
Li Zhi said nonchalantly: "Although Nanjing is good, it's not easy to live in. Fame and fortune confuse people's hearts. Nanjing is the most unsuitable place for studying!"
Li Zhi remembered that he still had the identity of a doctor of the Imperial College, and he said to everyone: "Let's go to the Imperial College and I will take you to the prison."
As he walked, Li Zhi introduced to everyone: "The Nanjing Imperial College was established earlier than the Imperial College in the capital. It was renovated once during the Zhengtong period. On the left is the Confucian Temple where saints are worshipped, and on the right is the place where the Imperial College studies."
"In the early days of the Republic of China, the Imperial College was the head of the academy. After passing the imperial examination, you had to enter the Imperial College before taking the imperial examination. Even if you are a Jinshi, you must pass the Imperial Examination before you can be awarded an official."
"But the current academic style of Nanjing Imperial College, hey."
Li Zhi sighed and said with a look of disdain: "The academic officials in the Imperial College now are just beetles that are about to rot."
Everyone looked at it and wanted to remind Li Zhi that he was also a doctor from the Imperial College. Li Zhi pointed at himself and said, "Look at me. I left the prison and went home without permission. The Imperial College didn't dismiss me from my post. How decadent is the academic style of the Imperial College? "
After walking together, everyone had adapted to Li Zhi's madman style. Su Ze asked: "Mr. Zhuo Wu, what happens after we finish the process of being imprisoned?"
Li Zhi said: "According to the regulations, the Imperial College has to call the hall and call the gate every day. The hall is called by us academic officers of the Imperial College, and the gate is called by the students. But now it is no longer called. After the admission is completed, only After taking care of your business, you don’t have to go to class."
Everyone had heard from their seniors before coming here that most of the candidates are now unwilling to study in prison, because the academic style of the Imperial College is so bad now, and the professors are all just messing around, and they all want to pass the qualifications and become officials as soon as possible. No one teaches well at all.
Li Zhi said: "There is also a good place in Nanjing Imperial College, and that is the library inside the prison. The library not only contains "Zizhi Tongjian", but also some copies of "Yongle Dadian"."
Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard the "Yongle Dadian". Su Ze asked: "Isn't the Yongle Dadian hidden in the Hanlin Academy of the Capital? There are also copies in the Nanjing Imperial College?"
Li Zhi nodded and said: "These manuscripts were actually copied by successive Nanjing officials. Many officials in the Six Ministries of Nanjing also came from the Hanlin Academy. After arriving in Nanjing, they donated the copies they copied to the Imperial College."
"However, these manuscripts are fragmented and have not been properly proofread. However, you have to be admitted to the Hanlin Academy to be eligible to read "Yongle Dadian". It would be good to have these to read."
Everyone nodded. For scholars, the library is a place full of temptation.
Especially after passing the imperial examination, the classics and meanings of the Four Books and Five Classics have been basically qualified, and the skills of the eight-legged essay have also become proficient.
At this time, if you want to surpass your peers across the country, you cannot improve by rote memorization.
You need to read a lot of books and expand your knowledge, and you also need to study the writing styles of the pre-Qin, Han, Tang and Song Dynasties and write your own characteristics.
The process of entering the prison is also very simple. You just need to report to the Imperial College, hand in your identity certificate and proof of your success in the examination, and everyone will get a wooden sign.
This wooden sign is the waist badge of the supervisor, and everyone has completed the admission procedures.
The Imperial College in Nanjing supposedly has dormitories, but since the beginning of the People's Republic of China, the number of candidates has increased dramatically, and the number of prisoners in the Imperial College has expanded rapidly. The Imperial College has long been unable to accommodate people in this place.
The Imperial College also has a canteen. Nowadays, only the students living in the Imperial College can go to the canteen to eat. Su Ze and others did not want to compete with those students from poor families for precious accommodation places, so they voluntarily gave up the dormitory.
However, after Li Zhi returned to the Imperial College, he was called away by the Imperial College to offer wine and reprimanded severely. Then he was detained in the Imperial College and he probably won't be able to get out for the time being.
When everyone came out of the Imperial Academy, Su Ze saw a familiar figure rushing towards them.
"Uncle!"
Fang Aizhu also followed Su Ze to Nanjing. After seeing this person, Fang Aizhu immediately reminded Su Ze:
"This is Manager Fang, a few of the people around the master."
The old man in Fang Aizhu's mouth was naturally Fang Wanghai. Only then did Su Ze remember that he had probably seen this old man at the back house of the government office. He was Fang Wanghai's personal butler.
Seeing the anxious look on the old man's face, Su Ze knew that he should have been sent by Fang Wanghai to block him at the entrance of the Imperial College.
Su Ze ordered Fang Aizhu to go up to greet Manager Fang, turned around and said to everyone around him:
"My dear friends, an elder in my family is an official in Suzhou and has summoned me. I will go to Suzhou first and return to Nanjing in a few days to find you."
The group was still discussing renting a house in Nanjing. When Su Ze said this, Zhao Bingzhong said:
"Brother Rulin isn't renting a house in Nanjing anymore?"
Su Ze smiled bitterly and said, "The elder has a call."
Huang Maochong was more familiar with Su Ze's situation. He knew that Su Ze had a future father-in-law who would be an official in Jiangnan. He said:
"Ru Lin should go to Suzhou first. When we settle down, we will go to Suzhou to find you."
Seeing everyone's reluctance to leave, Su Ze said with a smile:
"I'll go to Suzhou first. After everyone settles down, tell Mr. Zhuo Wu your address. We'll just keep exchanging letters."
The postal business in the Jiangnan area is developed. Not only the official express shops also secretly deliver private messages, but there are also messenger caravans that travel to various cities. There are also postmen in Nanjing who specialize in delivering letters.
After saying goodbye to the group, Su Ze pulled the old housekeeper to a tea stall, sent Dr. Tea away and asked:
"Manager Fang is specifically waiting for me at the gate of the Imperial College?"
Manager Fang hurriedly said: "The master said that by counting the days, my uncle should arrive in Nanjing during this time, so he sent me to wait in front of the Imperial College, and sure enough, he arrived."
Su Ze once again felt the underdevelopment of communication in ancient times. It was impossible to communicate without a fixed address, and he was basically disconnected when traveling.
For Fang Wanghai to send people to block him at the entrance of the Imperial College, Fang Wanghai must be in trouble.
Su Ze asked: "Is Mr. Fang okay?"
The old housekeeper said anxiously: "The master encountered a difficult situation, so he asked me to wait for my uncle. This is an urgent letter written by the master to my uncle. The master also ordered me to go to Suzhou as soon as possible if it is convenient for my uncle."
Su Ze opened the letter and saw that it was indeed Fang Wanghai's handwriting, and the content was not beyond Su Ze's expectation. It was Fang Wanghai who was implementing the banknote customs law in Jiangnan and encountered difficulties at the first stop in Suzhou.
In fact, Su Ze had already anticipated that he would encounter difficulties when he gave Fang Wanghai advice on how to pass money.
The design of the banknote customs method is naturally exquisite, but even in the exquisite design, there is a problem that modern society cannot solve - tax evasion.
The reason why Fang Wanghai set up the Customs Office in Xuguan, Suzhou is because Suzhou is the city with the most developed commodity trade in the Ming Dynasty today.
People at that time said that Su Song was the richest man in the world. This Su refers to Suzhou Prefecture, and Song refers to Songjiang Prefecture.
The taxes on farmland and grain in these two prefectures are high, but they are only as much as Zhejiang. What really makes up half the world is developed commerce.
Fang Wanghai set up Chaoguan in Suzhou, naturally he wanted to eat the fat of Suzhou first, so that the Chaoguan method could bear fruit first, and he could make a report to the emperor.
But it turned out that the fat meat in Suzhou was made of stone, and it almost knocked out Fang Wanghai's teeth.
Half of Fang Wanghai's letter complained about the low quality of Suzhou merchants, Suzhou officials protecting merchants, and the banknote customs law encountered resistance in Suzhou and was difficult to advance.
The remaining half of the content praises Suzhou as a good place with its flourishing literary style and pleasant scenery.
Su Ze was not surprised by his future father-in-law's ideological division, because these days Suzhou was indeed a first-class place in the Ming Dynasty.
Although Nanjing is the second capital of the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou is recognized as the first capital in Jiangnan.
Even after being poisoned by Japanese pirates, Suzhou Prefecture's commerce was still developed. Su Ze's advice to Fang Wanghai was correct. To implement the banknote customs law, it must start with Suzhou Prefecture.
But Su Ze said it all, but did not tell Fang Wanghai how difficult it was.
Suzhou Prefecture is not only economically developed, but also culturally advanced. There are many academies here. There are countless Jinshi who have gone out from Suzhou Prefecture, and many of them are already in the imperial court and are already high officials in the imperial court.
We must know that most of the "gentlemen" in later generations during the "people's dynasty" came from Jiangnan, which is the home base of the "Donglin Party".
Of course, today's scholars in Suzhou Prefecture do not have as much energy as in the late Ming Dynasty, but they are still not something that Fang Wanghai, a newly promoted prefect, can suppress.
Fang Wanghai said in the letter that after arriving in Suzhou, he immediately started to reorganize Huguan, but "no progress has been made" in the past few months. It was said that by increasing the commercial tax in Suzhou, he would be able to collect all the original ship tax. Not enough.
All of this was naturally part of Su Ze's plan. He had already hidden his selfish motives when he recommended Suzhou to Fang Wanghai.
Along the way, in addition to attending a cultural conference in Quzhou, Su Ze ran non-stop all the way. He did not even visit Hai Rui in Zhejiang. He even bypassed Hangzhou and did not visit Yu Dayou. He rushed all the way to Nanjing.
He originally planned to go to Suzhou as soon as he arrived in Nanjing, but he didn't expect that Fang Wanghai was the more anxious one and directly sent his housekeeper to wait for him at the gate of the Imperial College.
Su Ze smiled secretly in his heart, but pretended to be anxious and said to the housekeeper of the other party's house:
"Then please ask the person in charge to lead the way. We will set off to Suzhou Mansion now!"
Manager Fang was originally worried about Su Ze's delay, but he didn't expect that this uncle would be so sensible. He said with tears in his eyes:
"The master is eagerly looking forward to my uncle! I have prepared the carriage and horses at the gate of Suzhou Mansion. Please get in the car!"
After walking out of Nanjing, Su Ze discovered that Manager Fang had brought the car frame from Chaoguan Hall. It seemed that his future father-in-law was really in a hurry.
Nanjing is not far from Wuxian, the capital of Suzhou. The group set out at noon and arrived at Wuxian before midnight.
Chaoguan Hall is near Huguan and does not need to enter Wu County.
Xuguan was originally a flat land beside the Grand Canal. After the excavation of the Grand Canal was completed, it gradually became a trading dock.
With the economic development of Suzhou Prefecture, Xuguan became increasingly prosperous. In the fourth year of Xuande in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty set up a banknote checkpoint in Xuguan to collect banknote duties on passing ships.
Fang Wanghai was also resolute. Although the imperial court allocated funds for the new official office, in order to facilitate tax collection, Fang Wanghai did not build an official office in Wu County. Instead, he used the old official office in Huguan.
Xuguan Chaoguan Office is also a standard building of the Ming Dynasty official office. It is a building with three entrances from the front and back. The first two rows of houses are the official offices. The officials live on both sides. The rear is the residence of Fang Wanghai, the Chaoguan envoy.
Because his wife and children were still in Quanzhou, there was only Fang Wanghai in the official office, and together with the original servants of Fangfu, it was much deserted than the previous prefect's Yamen.
Manager Fang ignored the announcement and led Su Ze into the back office of the government office. After hearing the news, Fang Wanghai walked out of the bedroom in his pajamas.
"Rulin!"
We haven't seen each other for half a year, and Fang Wanghai has aged a lot. It seems that the post of Chaoguan envoy is really not easy to take.
"Meet Uncle Fang Shi!"
Su Ze and Fang Ruolan were not married yet, so naturally they couldn't call them father-in-law. Fang Wanghai didn't care what Su Ze was called. He left Manager Fang and Fang Aizhu to guard the door and pulled Su Ze into the study.
As soon as Su Ze sat down, Fang Wanghai complained: "This group of profiteers in Suzhou don't want to pay taxes for the country at this time of national crisis, and the Suzhou government actually protects these businessmen. These businessmen bypass Huguan and even collect the previous customs duties on banknotes." It’s not enough, what should I do if this continues!”
The Cash Pass Law was first advocated by Fang Wanghai's memorial. If the taxes could not be collected, given the emperor's character, I am afraid that Fang Wanghai would be lucky to be dismissed.
Su Ze had already expected all this.
Although my future father-in-law is a good official, after all, he still has the same old thinking cultivated in the Ming Dynasty imperial examination for decades.
When he was in Yanping Mansion, Fang Wanghai had the highest position, so he could naturally change the situation.
But in Suzhou Prefecture, not to mention how many children of these local wealthy families served as officials, even the Nanjing Six Ministries did not know how many had higher positions than Fang Wanghai. It was naturally difficult to get things done with the constraints of these people.
Su Ze came up with the answer he had prepared: "Uncle Shi, since ancient times, when it comes to collecting taxes, you can't just rely on your words. If you ask me, you have to train your troops!"
(End of chapter)
