South of Xiangyang City and east of the Han River, there is a town named Hanyin. This is a water and land terminal, extremely prosperous, and there used to be a post station. Since the Jin army captured Xiangyang last year, there have been very few merchants and it has become deserted for a while. However, the Jin army quickly retreated after conquering Xiangyang, and there was no military disaster here. As more people move from the north to the south, there are slowly signs of revival.
Hanyin Town is the hometown of Meng Haoran, a poet of the Tang Dynasty. There are many relics left and many literati and poets came to pay their respects. But now, most of the ruins have disappeared, and no trace of Meng Haoran remains.
Not far from the town, on the edge of the Han River, there is a large courtyard, which is the home of Du Chaoyuan, a wealthy local family.
Early that morning, several people came waddling along. Entering the courtyard, we saluted Du Chaoyuan together.
Du Chaoyuan said: "Today I killed a pig and two geese, prepared three jars of wine, just for you brothers. Come and sit inside, drink tea and talk some gossip. The meat will be cooked in a while, let's have fun together!"
Everyone thanked him and went to a nearby thatched pavilion together. There were already three people sitting inside, and they all bowed their hands.
As the sun rose high, two more people came and sat together in the thatched pavilion. Du Chaoyuan ordered the door to be closed and came to the Caoting. He bowed his hands to everyone and said in salute: "Today I have prepared some wine and meat for you brothers. Don't be disgusted by the simplicity. You must have a good time!"
Everyone said they didn't dare and asked Du Chaoyuan to sit down.
Du Chaoyuan sat down. He looked at the crowd and said, "I originally invited Wu Shun, Cao Ying, and Qiu Pengshu today, but they didn't come. I think they thought I was different from the past, so they felt a little disgusted."
A stout man wearing a lotus leaf scarf said loudly: "Those three people have no vision and are timid, don't care what they do!"
Du Chaoyuan said: "You can't say that. In Hanyin, we made a fortune together, and now it's not good for anyone without us. But it's okay if the three of them don't come. As long as we make a fortune, they just don't want to be greedy!"
Everyone cheered in agreement. Noisy and gossiping.
After a while, the meat was cooked and served. Du Chaoyuan opened the wine jar and filled everyone with wine.
Raising the wine bowl, Du Chaoyuan said: "We brothers are of the same mind, and there is no unreasonable truth in the world! Let's drink this bowl of wine and discuss things!"
Everyone cheered. Together they raised their wine bowls, raised their heads and drank.
Putting down their wine bowls, everyone ate their fill of meat. After drinking two more bowls, I felt a little drunker.
Du Chaoyuan then said: "Since last winter, when a good man named Yang Jin came to Ruzhou and the prefect abandoned the city, our lives have become worse day by day. The new king, Wang Kuan, is ignorant of the sufferings of the people. Not long after arriving in Xiangyang, So we abolished various miscellaneous taxes and only allowed the people who farmed the land to provide food. How can this be done? If the government cannot receive money, how can it pay the officers and soldiers? This is absolutely impossible!"
The sturdy man who spoke earlier said: "That's all, the people who own the land are quarreling with the government. What's even more terrible is that the current business tax collection method is different from the previous collection method, and we don't need to have teeth and heads. This Wouldn’t it cut off our livelihood?”
This man's name is Yu Jiang, he is a fisherman on the Han River, and he is in charge of the fish market in Hanyin Town. This place not only has the Han River, but also has many lakes around it, which produce a lot of fish and shrimp. As Yuyazi, Yu Jiang is in charge of the lives and fortunes of many surrounding fishermen. After Wang Xiaolie arrived, he transferred many people from Ruzhou and ordered the guild to be cancelled. Not only Yu Ya, but also all kinds of Ya people have basically lost their jobs.
Du Chaoyuan sighed: "It's not just you. Who here today has lost his job? This king observed that when he first arrived, he made such a fuss and completely ignored us people. How could he do it? If this continues, it's not just us, In the entire Xiangyang Prefecture, there are countless people who cannot support their families! Look, how can I support such a large family business?"
Everyone said yes.
Du Chaoyuan turned out to be the leader here and had great power. If there is any major event in the town, even the town supervisor would look at Du Chaoyuan's face. Hanyin is on the commercial road, and there are many merchants. I don’t know how much money they charge in a year.
The so-called leader is a familiar name for later generations, which is somewhat similar to the tax collector. For a wharf, a ferry, or a less important trade route, or even a grass market, the government sets a tax amount and the tax is collected by the head. If the amount collected is less than the tax amount, I will take the lead and pay it myself. If you charge too much, you will get the top income in addition to the tax amount.
Is it an ordinary person to be able to stop businessmen from evading taxes in a place? Just like Du Chaoyuan, his five sons, plus dozens of bankers, are a very powerful force in the local area. No matter who comes to Xiangyang to serve as an official, how dare you underestimate him?
But Wang Xiaolie was different. When he arrived in Xiangyang, the first people he dealt with were Du Chaoyuan and others. All special barriers and head-holding duties were abolished, and taxes were collected by new public officials. The types of taxes have been reduced to the extreme, and even for businessmen, there are only two or three types.
Du Chaoyuan no longer has the job of holding the head office, and also has no way to make money. How can he support such a large business? After holding it in for several months, I finally couldn't bear it anymore. If he didn't fight back, the family fortune he had worked hard to save all his life would be lost to Wang Xiaolie.
Pan Hong next to him is in his fifties, thin, and works as a salesperson at the local goose and duck market in Hanyin. After listening to Du Chaoyuan's words, he sighed: "I am not allowed to control the geese and ducks sold in the market now. In more than a month, the prices have increased a lot. If this continues, the people will not be able to afford it. I am not as big as Du Yuanwai We have a family fortune, but the people can’t afford geese and ducks, so how can we make it?”
Everyone nodded and told each other about their hard work.
Those who arrived today, Du Chaoyuan, Meng Cang, and Shen Junming are all in charge, but they are in charge of different places. Yu Jiang, Pan Hong, Chen Yizhong, Li Qian and Meng Panshi are experts in various industries. Normally, apart from Jian Zhen, these people are the leading figures in Hanyin Town. When Wang Xiaolie came, these people lost their previous jobs and no way to make money, and they all gritted their teeth with hatred.
After drinking a bowl of wine, Li Qian slammed the bowl on the table. Said: "We people, many of the ministries have been handed down from generation to generation. To put it bluntly, several people's families have been doing this ministry for a longer time than the Song Dynasty! This king observed that he took advantage of the soldiers in his hands to take away our food and clothing. How can we bear it! Brothers, if we have no way, we will definitely make Wang Kuan even more unscrupulous. We must find a way to let him know how powerful he is!"
Meng Cang sighed: "Two young people came to Ruzhou and are now in charge of the town. I don't know how arrogant they are! Now all affairs must be under their control. Whoever is allowed to do business will do business, and whoever is asked to pay more taxes will pay more. Tax, no previous prison town had such great power!"
Shen Junming said: "What can be done? They have a group of rogue people around them. Who dares not to listen to them? Those of us who are accustomed to doing things put it aside and don't ask a question."
Several people expressed their dissatisfaction with the new policy.
Du Chaoyuan just listened silently, drinking and thinking.
After about half an hour, most of the food and wine had gone away. Everyone was drunk and talked more and more unscrupulously.
After a bowl of wine, Yu Jiang said loudly: "In that case, we might as well go into the town and kill those two Ruzhou people! Let's see how many people Wang Kuan can send from Ruzhou to Xiangyang! He sent one, We will kill one! If you send a pair, we will kill both!"
Speaking of killing, the other people couldn't help but shut up and looked at Yu Jiang.
Yu Jiang said angrily: "What a thief, in the hands of people like us, don't we have too few lives and lawsuits? What's the difficulty in killing two people!"
Du Chaoyuan, who had been silent all this time, said slowly and calmly: "Killing is not a trivial matter, we have to consider it in the long term. In Hanyin Town, two people are nothing to us. However, if Wang Kuan takes this matter seriously, it will be difficult to handle. "
