Zhao Mengqi glanced at the gentry, smiled, turned around and walked towards Dacheng Hall without saying anything more.
This Confucian Temple was first built when Fan Zhongyan was the magistrate of the state. At the same time, he combined the government schools with the temple schools, creating a system of integrating temples and schools. Other places followed suit and have been in use for nearly a thousand years.
At this time, the Confucian Temple occupied an area of nearly 200 acres and had 213 rooms, making it the largest academic institution in Jiangnan. In later generations, only one-sixth of the area remained, and most of the buildings have been rebuilt many times.
Of course, the buildings built by Fan Zhongyan have also been destroyed by the Jin soldiers. The Dacheng Hall in front of Zhao Mengqi was rebuilt in Shaoxing in the eleventh year. After more than 110 years of ups and downs, it is still solemn and majestic.
Entering the hall, which was very spacious, Zhao Mengqi walked slowly to the portrait of Confucius and looked up.
The portrait is more than ten feet high. The Confucius in the painting is tall and majestic, modest and courteous, with piercing eyes, which has illuminated China for thousands of years.
If heaven does not give birth to Zhongni, eternity will be like a long night.
Above the portrait, hang these three gold-plated plaques. The one in the middle has the inscription "Teacher for Eternity", the right "Sven is Here", and the left "Holy Collection".
Zhao Mengqi was dressed in a military uniform, and his armor was fierce. If Confucius had a spirit, he would not know what to think when he saw this situation.
It is said that Confucius' father was a fierce general of the Lu State. He himself was over nine feet tall and had great strength. I guess he had no prejudice against warriors.
Zhao Mengqi thought to himself, and then bowed his hands and bowed three times. Regardless of the merits and demerits of the changes in Confucianism, Confucius himself is still worthy of respect.
After paying homage to Confucius, Zhao Mengqi slowly visited the entire hall.
Many stone carvings are displayed on the wall in the middle of the hall, including pictures of Confucius' disciples, pictures of Confucius's holy sites, pictures of Mencius' holy sites, as well as stone-carved scriptures, "The Analects of Confucius", "The Doctrine of the Mean", "The Great Learning" and "The Book of Songs", which most impressed Zhao Mengqi. The bright ones are the four stone tablets of "Heaven, Earth, Man, and City".
The sky is the "Astronomical Map", the oldest ancient engraved oriental horoscope map in the world. There are text under the map, which summarizes the Chinese people's understanding of astronomy at this time.
The land is the "Geographical Map", which should be one of the oldest stone-engraved national maps of China in the world, with a clear view of China's mountains and rivers.
The person is the "Emperor Shao Yun Tu", a historical chart centered on the emperor, from the legendary Yellow Emperor to the official Zhao Yun at this time, the rise and fall of Taoism and the rule of chaos.
The author of the three pictures is Huang Shang, not the one who wrote the "Nine Yin Manual", but the teacher of Song Ningzong when he was still the prince.
In order to teach Zhao Kuo, he spent more than a year making eight teaching patterns. These are three of them, which were obtained by Wang Zhiyuan.
Eight years ago, when Wang Zhiyuan was appointed as the Criminal Division of Western Zhejiang Province, he took out the monument and engraved it here, and also added the imperial picture to this day.
The city is "Pingjiang Map", which is the floor plan of Pingjiang City at this time. It has been passed down to later generations, so that the world can appreciate the historical features of Suzhou City from this map.
Zhao Mengqi was immersed in the pictures and texts, looking at them with great interest, and seemed to have completely forgotten the purpose of today.
Outside the main hall, Xie Tang and others gathered in a remote place to urgently discuss countermeasures. Wu Qian turned a blind eye, as if he had no interest in the content of their discussion, and only chatted with the professor about the school.
The gentry were all frightened by Zhao Mengqi. Their eyes drifted towards the Dacheng Hall from time to time, their expressions full of fear and worry.
"Cangshi, how should we respond? King Yan doesn't seem to want to compromise." Lu Wencai said uneasily.
Xie Tang glanced at him, "What are you afraid of? No one will touch your Lu family if King Yan touches it. Besides, do you think he really dares to mess around? I think he is just intimidating us. If he really wants to do this, , why bother to say it? With the way he is now, he obviously still wants to talk to us."
Xu Xueqian agreed with an old face, "Shi Cang is right. If he dares to commit robbery, the people of the world will not tolerate him, and we will definitely hold high the banner of righteousness and fight against him together!"
An old gentleman hesitated and said, "King Yan is the prince after all, and he is young and vigorous. In my opinion, we should not push too hard later. It is not a big deal to give in a little. Peace is the most precious thing in everything." "
After saying this, many gentry nodded in agreement and expressed that they could have a good talk with King Yan.
It is important to give up some benefits, so as not to really push King Yan into a hurry.
Amidst the divergent opinions, Xie Tang's expression changed, and in the end he could only sigh softly, "Okay, since this is what everyone means, let's do it this way..."
After continuing to discuss some details, Xie Tang led everyone into the Dacheng Hall.
Zhao Mengqi was studying the Pingjiang Map. He turned around when he heard footsteps and looked at Xie Tang and others, "Have you all thought about it?"
Xie Tang clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, there is no one idle here, so I will open the skylight and speak frankly."
Zhao Mengqi glanced at the portrait of Confucius and said meaningfully, "There is really no idle person. Tell me, what will it take for you to be willing to release food at a fair price?"
"I don't want much. I just ask Your Highness to stop crossing the border and maintain the status quo. To this end, I am willing to pay a fixed tax amount every year. For example, Pingjiang Prefecture will pay 2 million guan per year, and Jiaxing Prefecture will pay 1.6 million guan per year. This amount of tax has nothing to do with policy taxes, but is collected by the gentry of the two governments and paid uniformly."
This means that the court just wants money, so don’t worry about how much land we have. We just pay a tribute every year. As for how to allocate it, we coordinate it ourselves without having to worry about the court. Generally speaking, it’s a bit like Mongolia. tax farming system.
Zhao Mengqi was obedient and said calmly, "What else?"
"I will sell grain openly and ensure that the price of grain will never be higher than Sanguan."
In the eyes of Xie Tang and others, this is definitely a big concession. After all, they spent more than 50 million yuan to buy grain. They don't expect to make money now, but at least they can get even. The price of grain has only doubled than usual. It is considered normal during times of famine.
"Three Guan?" Zhao Mengqi raised his eyelids, seemingly dissatisfied.
Xie Tang thought for a moment and said, "If Your Highness needs food, I will sell it to Your Highness for two and a half ounces so that His Highness can fill the gap."
This is a hint to King Yan that he and others know where the grain he sells comes from, and now they are willing to sell it back to him at half price, which is to help him plug the leak. As for the difference in price earned by King Yan, just treat it as It's the filial piety of people like myself.
Zhao Mengqi smiled seriously, as if he was happy.
The gentry all secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting over this.
Although it hurts them to give up so many benefits, it is worth it to save the big one and gain peace.
But King Yan smiled, but his expression became strange. He slowly glanced at the gentry and said sarcastically, "A little sincere, but not much."
"Your Highness, what do you mean by this?" Xie Tang's heart sank, and his tone was a little stiff, "I am considerate of the difficulties faced by the court. I have already made a great sacrifice. Your Highness, please also be considerate of me."
Zhao Mengqi raised his eyebrows and straightened his back, "We are negotiating. After you have stated your demands, I will give you another chance to talk about my requirements."
Xie Tang said with a sullen face, "Then please tell me, Your Highness."
"There will never be any changes in the affairs of the world, and no bargaining is allowed! I suggest you that it is best to take the initiative and consciously report the hidden property, and I may be able to give you some corresponding compensation."
"As for food, I don't actually care whether you sell it or not. I don't need to buy food from you to fill any loopholes. However, starting from today, Pingjiang and Jiaxing will trial new tax laws. Regulations, to put it simply, if the selling price of rice does not exceed two guans and one stone, it will be tax-free. If it exceeds, then an ordinary tax will be levied. The higher the price, the higher the tax. If you sell two guans and one stone, then a 20% tax will be levied. Tax, if you sell three guans, a 30% tax will be levied. There is no upper limit. You are welcome to sell grain at high prices."
After hearing this, the gentry were all stunned.
Where does King Yan have the confidence to make such a request? ?
The tone of the matter about the world is the same as before, but there is an inexplicable corresponding compensation, which does not sound reliable.
What can be done? Could it be some worthless casual officials?
The so-called Changping tax is even more outrageous. I have never seen such a tax rate set since ancient times.
Then, I heard Zhao Mengqi say, "Of course, you make your own decisions about your food. If you think it's not cost-effective, you don't have to sell it and keep it for your own family.
The court has nothing to do with it, but don't think about using it for other purposes, such as making wine, feeding pigs, etc. All these must be converted into transaction amounts, and taxes will be paid if the amount exceeds two times! "
Damn it, I collect hundreds of thousands of dan of grain a year, how could I not sell it for money and eat it at home? Even if I eat it for tens of thousands of years, I won’t be able to finish it!
Generally speaking, compared with agricultural taxes, it is much easier to collect commercial taxes. After all, there is no need to go to the countryside to collect taxes. Shops are all in cities and towns, and transportation has to pass through checkpoints.
What's even more dangerous is that King Yan's move shows that he is likely to take action on commercial taxes, which will cause losses to the gentry that cannot be compared to the harvest in the fields.
"Your Highness Prince Yan, are you not going to give us a way to survive!?" Xie Tang gritted his teeth.
Zhao Mengqi looked surprised and said, "Where do you start talking about this? Why won't I give you a way to survive? I heard that you have fifteen million stones of food in your hands. Even if you eat thirty meals a day, it is enough for you." If you eat until you are old, what's the matter, can all of you live longer than a tortoise?"
Xie Tang tried his best to suppress his anger, "Your Highness, I negotiate with you sincerely, but you treat this as a child's play. Since you think it doesn't matter whether I sell food or not, then if I don't sell it, the big deal is that I will die. In the warehouse, dump it into the river. Anyway, I will not be short of food and clothing, but the people in these two provinces may not survive for two months. By then, they will be starving all over the country. I don’t know if your highness, King Yan, can bear it? Jiankang The government’s hundreds of thousands of troops are unable to feed themselves, and wars are raging. I wonder how you will solve it, Your Highness? Lin’an government is short of millions of grains, and there is a famine. Will the officials and the court spare you!?”
