Even Fu Bi and the others did not expect that someone was planning this behind the scenes. They also knew a little about the situation at the border. The ban on Xixia salt all year round caused the Xixia dignitaries, who had a large amount of salt, to worry about having no place to sell it. Suddenly, the south The emergence of such a big gap will definitely attract many people to smuggle.
This is very normal, and of course it is no wonder that Wang Shao was there. In that kind of environment, who would think of guarding against illegal activities, so no one was surprised by Zhao Xu's attitude.
Compared with the vast territory of Kaibian, the mere private salt is really not worth mentioning.
However, the situation after the entry of illegal salt and the situation in the northwest region aroused their interest.
Political Hall.
"Fan Jingren thought of citing this precedent, which is really eye-catching!"
Wen Yanbo stroked his beard and smiled.
Sima Guang asked: "Where did Mr. Wen start from saying this?"
Wen Yanbo said: "Just now in the palace, Wang Jiefu said something very right. This salt panic was all caused by the greed of salt merchants, and they have to bear the consequences.
And all of this is because of this legal precedent. Without this legal precedent, even if Xihe was open to restrictions, state governments would still be able to ban it. "
In his opinion, this is a very classic case. The government has used legal precedents to crack down on hoarding. This has never happened before. In the past, administrative measures were used.
Lu Gong wrote: "What does Duke Wen mean, that the government will use this precedent to crack down on those merchants who hoard?"
Wen Yanbo said: "At least I think this is much better than the municipal change law currently being prepared by the Ordinance Department of the Second Government."
Sima Guang said: "I don't agree with the market exchange law either, but this case can only be applied to some special goods, which must be inseparable from people and cannot be replaced. Wheat alone may not be used or eaten. You can eat wheat and rice, but this precedent should be used with caution.”
Mr. Lu nodded and said: "Jun Shi is right. In fact, in the eyes of many people at the time, the lawsuit was just Zhang San's clever argument and was unconvincing. This time, Mr. Jing Ren might just be looking for an excuse. I don’t really agree with this jurisprudence.”
Wen Yanbo said: "I'm just saying that using laws to control prices is better than market changes. We can follow this case and draft new laws."
Fu Bi shook his head and said: "If it can be restricted by law, there will be no Changpingcang method, and it may not be more effective than the market exchange method.
If the restricted price is too low, the merchants can not sell it, and it will not break the law if they do not sell it. If this batch of illegal salt does not emerge, those salt merchants will win. "
Lu Gongzhu nodded and said: "The rich man is right, and some of the concepts of Wang Jiefu's market transaction law are also derived from the Changping warehouse method. The government directly participates in the transaction and purchases some unsalable goods. When the price of the goods passes, When it is high, release it again.
But the disadvantages are also very obvious, that is, if the government is directly involved, it is impossible to make a loss-making transaction. In this transaction, there must be a relationship between strong and weak, and injustice will definitely occur. "
Fu Bi said: "Speaking of this strong-weak relationship, the Legislative Council has previously promulgated the principle of contract, which may give certain restrictions to the market transaction law."
Wen Yanbo shook his head and said: "It depends on people, and the law may not be able to control it. I still think that the Ordinance Department of the Second Government should be prevented from promulgating the market change law."
Sima Guang nodded and said, "I agree."
Fu Bi smiled and said: "That can be stopped!"
While they were discussing prices, the biggest winners of the whole incident, the two masterminds behind the scenes, Zhao Xu and Zhang Fei, were holding a celebration banquet in the palace.
This was a plan they had laid out for several years. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to come up with so much private money in such a short period of time. Now it finally worked and made a lot of money.
Must have a few drinks to celebrate.
"This level has passed."
After a glass of wine, Zhao Xu was excited but also worried: "In the past two years, whenever I think about this matter, I will inevitably feel a little worried."
It would be really embarrassing if others knew about this. Will the emperor's ban be respected in the future? There is a huge political cost to pay, and he has also invested a lot of money. Can he be honest about this?
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "Your Majesty, there are definitely risks in this kind of thing, but the truth is that wealth can be found in danger. After this transaction, not to mention the price difference of salt, the transportation loss alone has saved nearly three million yuan." One hundred thousand strings."
Precisely because the cost is high enough, the gains are not small.
"Are there so many?"
Zhao Xu said in surprise.
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Before, Hezhong Prefecture secretly transported the solution salt to the prefectures and counties near Xihe River to replace the grain, and then transported the grain directly to the Xihe area. This reduced a lot of losses. After all, the grain transporters The loss is much greater than that of transporting salt.
And now this salt profit is directly deposited into Xihe Jiekupu, about 2.8 million guan, which is enough to support the consumption of the Xihe area for more than a year. Without this money, the court will then Food and grass had to be mobilized from various places and transported there, which was another huge loss! "
Zhao Xu nodded: "That's it."
In ancient times, due to the inconvenience of transportation, this loss actually accounted for the majority. If the loss can be saved, most of the expenses can be reduced.
Zhang Fei added: "Oh, I'm already thinking of a way to slowly return the money to His Majesty's treasury."
"Really?"
Zhao Xu was a little embarrassed.
It was said to be a celebration, but in fact it was also a settlement of accounts. The cost of smuggling was all paid out of the emperor's own pocket, and the money still had to be recovered!
Zhang Fei nodded and said with a serious expression: "First of all, it is the capital invested by Your Majesty. We have secretly transported the highest quality green salt to the capital, Daming Mansion and other places. When the green salt is sold to those dignitaries, the profits will be It will be deposited into Majiajiekupu and then transferred to His Majesty's treasury.
The reason for doing this is to save transportation costs, so that part of the benefits can be given directly to the traffickers as their hard work fees. If they just transport the money, they will have to pay a lot of escort fees. "
Zhao Xu just nodded slightly, as if expecting something.
You can’t just get back your capital when doing business!
What kind of deal is that?
There has to be a profit!
Zhang Fei added: "And of the 2.8 million guan of net profit, 1.6 million guan has been counted as Xihe's military expenses from the second half of this year to the first half of next year.
However, this money should have been dispatched by the imperial court from various places. Then the money dispatched by the imperial court from various places will also be deposited in Majia Jiekupu, and this money and grain will not be transported to the Xihe area. It will be returned to the capital, and it can be paid directly at Xihe Jiekupu. The transportation costs and losses saved by this are about one hundred thousand guan, and this money will also be counted as His Majesty's. "
Zhao Xu couldn't help but feel full of joy, but said: "This is all used to expand the territory. There is no need to calculate it so clearly. Just get the capital back."
"That's not possible. Your Majesty has to take the money if you don't want it." Zhang Fei shook his head decisively.
So domineering? I like it! Zhao Xu asked: "Why?"
Zhang Fei said: "Jiekupu is not doing charity. If the court did not allocate money, Jiekupu would give so much money to the Xihe area. The ministers would definitely ask where the money came from, and they would be exposed. The account would still be scored." It’s clear!”
"Okay then!"
Zhao Xu reluctantly accepted it and said, "Don't transport this money back to the capital for the time being. Keep it there for emergencies. The real war with Xixia has not yet begun."
When the time comes, if you transfer again, you can earn tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of freight, which is really not too exciting.
From Zhang Fei's point of view, he is willing to help Zhao Xu make more money, because he can't touch the treasury's money with Sima Guang and his group of ministers watching. If Zhao Xu has more money in his hands, he will be able to promote the public prosecutor's law. , is also of great help.
The key point is that Zhao Xu was also very thrifty. The reason why he was stingy and loved money was because he hoped to save more money for war and use it for his political ambitions, rather than for enjoyment.
Of course, his life is still much better than that of Sima Guang and Wang Anshi. Those two people really live a saint-level life. They are simple and shameless, but they are incomparable to Han Qi and the others.
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "At that time, I will instruct Jiekupu to convert this money into copper coins and grain. If there is no need, it will be used for lending and doing business. Use money to make money. When needed, Then send him to Bianzhou."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "Can you tell us whether we can continue to rely on this smuggling salt business to finance the opening of the Xihe River?"
This tasted so sweet that he didn't want to let it go.
Zhang Fei thought for a while and said: "I'm afraid this will be difficult, because according to the original plan, we can only earn one million yuan at most. In fact, those salt merchants have been a big help. They created a salt panic, causing our salt production to fall again." It’s fast and the price is not cheap.”
Zhao Xu said curiously: "Since we have so much private salt, even if the shipment is slower, we can still make a lot of money, and the difference will not be so big."
"Your Majesty has not considered the financial revenue from the salt industry."
Zhang Fei explained: “If there is no salt panic and a large amount of private salt emerges, it will destroy the credibility of Jieyan. In other words, no salt merchants dare to buy Jieyan in large quantities. It will lose money, and Jieyan will still be the financial foundation of the northwest region."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly, "That's true."
The impact of private salt is actually on the own business. The reason why this wave is successful is that Hezhong Prefecture first sells all the salt in its hands, and then sells the private salt. The risk is borne by the salt merchants, but on the surface, they make it themselves. Yes, if they don't hoard, the government will have to defend their interests.
They spend such a high price to buy salt solution just to be legal.
If the government does not crack down on private salt, who will buy the official salt?
Zhang Fei added: "But it is still possible as a subsidy. We can smuggle some high-quality green salt and sell it to dignitaries from various places to earn high profits without bringing too many financial benefits to Xixia. At the same time, it can also divide them internally.”
Zhao Xu nodded and said: "But it may take some years for Xihe to be completely settled. The military expenditure is indispensable."
Having said this, he added: "The Public Security Bureau has brought so much wealth to Hezhong Mansion, can it achieve the same success in Xihe?"
Zhang Fei said: "I have a general understanding of the finances of Hezhong Prefecture. It is mainly due to the decrease in expenditure and the increase in tax revenue. The main credit for the increase in tax revenue is the Taxation Department. The wealth of the people has increased by less than 30%, but I estimate that it will continue to grow in the future. , and the driving force for growth comes from the growth of people's wealth.
However, the Xihe area does not yet have the basis for collecting taxes. We can only maintain Xizhou, an important trading town, and use our dynasty's tea and silk to exchange interests there, and then purchase food locally to promote local agricultural reclamation. At the same time, Minimize transportation losses of food and other materials as much as possible. "
Zhao Xu frowned.
Zhang Fei knew that he couldn't wait any longer. If Xihe succeeded in opening a side, he would be in a position to double-team Xixia. He had saved some money in the past few years, so he said again: "Your Majesty, you are still very young now. The time and place are right." Everyone and everyone are on your Majesty's side. We just need to wait patiently. The so-called accumulation is hard. It took Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to destroy Tuyuhun and the Eastern Turks. It only took a year or two. The time is on our side."
Youth is an unparalleled advantage.
Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Can we compete with Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty?"
Zhang Fei said: "If Your Majesty does not want to compete with Tang Taizong, then...then there is no need to attack, just defend."
Zhao Xu chuckled and said, "I can't compare to your Erbi."
Zhang Fei added: "Your Majesty, we still need to wait patiently. The matters on Jingdong East Road and Hebei have not been resolved yet. As the saying goes, you must first settle the internal affairs in order to deal with foreign affairs."
Zhao Xu nodded and said, "By the way, how is the situation on Jingdong East Road?"
Zhang Fei said: "As far as I know, the debt problem has almost been solved."
Qingzhou.
As autumn approaches, Qian Yi and Fan Chunren, who have been here for more than a year, are leisurely walking along the river with willows for the first time.
At this time, the two of them only have one feeling, that is, they are debt-free and light-hearted!
The debt claims that lasted for half a year were finally sorted out and all compensation was paid.
“It was said before that the Public Security Bureau was lacking, but now it seems that the Taxation Department is lacking!”
Qian Yi couldn't help stroking his beard and sighed: "If there was no tax department, this matter would probably have to be busy until next year."
Fan Chunren smiled and said: "Brother Qian, there is no need to belittle yourself. If it were not for our public prosecutors and law enforcement agencies, the tax department would be the number one robber in the world and could subvert the entire country. Do you believe it?"
Qian Yi smiled and nodded, "Now the government is debt-free, and the annual salary expenditure has been reduced by 70%. This is even when our expenditures on public security, procuratorate, and law are included, but the tax revenue has more than doubled. These days are It’s so good!”
The expenditure was cut by more than half, but the tax revenue was more than doubled. No government in any state had ever fought such a wealthy war, and the entire government felt extremely relaxed.
You must know that a year ago, the government was directly facing bankruptcy.
What a blessing in disguise.
Fan Chunren said: "It's too early to say this now. The key depends on whether the business method can be successful."
Qian Yi suddenly looked around and looked at a large house on the other side of the river, "Isn't that the School of Law?"
Fan Chunren turned his head and said, "It seems so."
Qian Yi suddenly thought of something, "Did Shen Tianjian ever ask you to teach at the School of Legal Studies?"
Fan Chunren nodded and said, "I should be looking for you too."
Qian Yi nodded and added: "It is said that more students signed up for the School of Law and School of Arithmetic, followed by the School of Medicine, and the least for Agriculture."
Fan Chunren said: "Everything in the world is prosperous. Nowadays, the public security organs and the law are highly respected. Officials who are familiar with the law have been promoted to a certain extent. Naturally, more people study the law. The same is true for the arithmetic school."
Qian Yi said: "I just don't know if the tuition money can supplement the teacher's salary."
Fan Chunren said: "I know that the business of the hospital and Di Newspaper Institute seems to be pretty good, especially Di Newspaper Institute, which is making a lot of money every day."
Qian Yi said: "That's because they can get first-hand news from the capital. It happens that there are a lot of things going on in the capital recently, including hearings and the Imperial City Department. Let's wait and see again later. .”
Business Administration.
"Shen Tianjian, take a look at this textbook that was just printed."
Yan Jidao handed a book to Shen Kuo.
Shen Kuo took it, but was not in a hurry to read it. Instead, he asked: "Dean Yan, who makes more money, printing books or printing newspapers?"
Yan Jidao was stunned and said truthfully: "Of course I make money by printing newspapers."
Shen Kuo said: "Then you have to focus on printing newspapers and periodicals. Now among the public institutions, the most profitable one is your Di Newspaper Institute, but Di Newspaper Institute cannot accommodate too many officials. The business of the hospital is within expectations. , and the business of the college that can best place those officials is far less than that of the Di News Academy, and it may still need the support of the Di News Academy."
Yan Jidao said: "Shen Tianjian, the academy is used to teach and educate people, how can you talk about profit?"
"You can't say that."
Shen Kuo said: "The key to the career method is to make everyone self-reliant. If the college does not get too much benefit, the teachers will inevitably slack off, and teaching and educating people will be out of the question. Those officials did not volunteer to be teachers, but There’s nothing you can do if you’re forced.”
"That's true." Yan Jidao nodded, feeling a little worried. If he became a teacher for money, would he mislead his disciples? "Actually, there are many students in the college and law school. I heard that there are more than two hundred people." .”
Shen Kuo said: "But the stamina is weak. Most of the people who sign up to study are the children of businessmen, such as the children of the gentry. There are still relatively few people here. Their families have pretty good tutors.
We also have to find ways to get more people to study so that the college can make more money. "
Yan Jidao said: "If Shen Tianjian manages the college based on money, I'm afraid it will be difficult for the college to succeed."
"I am in charge of business law. What I seek is money. Only in this way can I reduce the financial burden. As for the management of the college, I have to have someone to manage it."
Speaking of this money, Shen Kuo suddenly had an idea and asked: "Dean Yan, what do you think these businessmen want by sending their children and grandchildren to study here?"
Yan Jidao said sarcastically: "It's nothing more than fame and fortune."
He was also thinking in his mind that those who study do it for fame and fortune, and those who teach do it for fame and fortune. There seems to be nothing wrong with that.
Shen Kuo said: "In other words, letting them come to study is also to make money in the future."
Yan Jidao nodded.
Shen Kuo said: "If they can make money in the future, why not lend them money to study?"
Yan Jidao shook his head and said, "I don't know what Dean Shen means by this?"
Shen Kuo said: "It's very simple. Let people lend money to more people to study. After they finish their studies, they will be able to make money to pay off their debts, plus some interest. Wouldn't it be wonderful?"
Yan Jidao was stunned by this idea, "If we do this, we must first ensure that they can make money and study for several years. With this money, it is better to lend it to farmers and businessmen. It is guaranteed and the interest will be repaid." Gao, no one would lend this kind of money.”
"That's true."
Shen Kuo nodded and said to Yan Jida: "Now I have to work hard for you, Dean Yan, to earn more money from Di Bao Academy."
Yan Jidao thought for a while and said, "Then we have to discuss it with the imperial court and prohibit merchants from printing newspapers. In this case, we can make more money."
Shen Kuo nodded.
Qizhou.
Thanks to the heavy attacks of the Taxation Department and the Police Department, many well-known thieves were attacked one after another, and many wealthy gentry were also captured, so Qizhou is now calm.
Nowadays, when you go to the suburbs, you can see groups of Royal Police galloping on the road at any time.
Because under the reforms of Song Shooyue, the commander of the front department, the imperial army was gradually integrated into the police station, Qizhou instantly became the state capital with the most police officers.
The police station also has the greatest power here. From patrolling to catching thieves, the police station handles everything single-handedly.
But Qizhou is not only a problem of bandits, but also a problem of debt. However, contrary to Qingzhou, in Qingzhou, officials make compensation to the government, while in Qizhou, the government makes compensation to the people.
This is all caused by the Qingmiao method.
Majiajiekupu.
"Brother Hong, thank you so much for your generous help."
But I saw a gentle middle-aged man offering his hand to a young man.
This young man is Hong Qi.
Hong Qi hurriedly held up his hands and said, "There is no need to thank Mr. Huang. We will also charge interest when we open the store."
A middle-aged man with a big belly on the opposite side said: "Yes! This Jiekupu is not a charity. If you don't pay by then, you will have to give away the land. What's the difference between me and me?"
"snort!"
Officer Huang waved his sleeves and said, "Even if I give away the land for free, I won't let an old fox like you succeed."
The middle-aged man glanced at Hong Qi and said, "So you just put yourself into the hunter's mouth."
"My debts with you have been cleared, and we have nothing to do with you anymore."
"Just wait until you regret it."
The middle-aged man smiled coldly, took the servant, took the money and left.
Although Majia Jiekupu purchased the debts from the emperor with a large amount of money, it also expanded very rapidly throughout Jingdong East Road.
Because Majia Jiekupu introduced a three-year debt contract, which is similar to a mortgage, the first-class and second-class households that were forced to borrow money from big landowners due to the Green Crop Law the previous year all mortgaged their land to Majia Jieku. Shop, loan money out, and repay old debts.
This made Majia Jiekupu famous in one battle and made the people accustomed to dealing with them.
Just after seeing the two off, and about to turn around and go back to the store, he suddenly heard a shout, turned his head and saw a man in short brown clothes running over.
Hong Qi cupped his hands and said, "It turns out to be Brother Zheng."
He was born in the market, and although he is now one of the largest businessmen in Qizhou, he remains very humble towards everyone and can chat with anyone for most of the day.
"Brother Hong, there are two dollars in total here. As you said, as long as you pay it off before the middle of this month, this month's interest will not be included."
"Yes."
Hong Qi smiled and nodded, "But Brother Zheng, where do you make so much money?"
The man surnamed Zheng said: "There are plenty of things to do outside now. As long as we work hard, it's not hard to make money. We really don't want to owe anyone else money right now."
Hong Qi smiled and nodded, and immediately called for someone to come and handle the debt procedures for him.
Ma Jia Jie Ku Pu is willing to accept the bad debts from the emperor's hands. The main reason is that Zhang Fei promised them that when the Changping Division is promoted, young crops and large-scale projects will be used to help people restore their livelihoods and they will be able to repay.
Wang Anshi didn't lie to anyone. He spent a lot of money and invested it in farmland water conservancy.
Northern suburbs.
I saw numerous people standing by the fields, all looking eagerly at a ditch in the distance.
Suddenly I heard someone shouting: "It's coming! It's coming!"
The people immediately stood on tiptoe.
I heard a crash in the distance.
But a clear torrent instantly penetrated the entire ditch, and the entire field was about to be irrigated.
The people beside the fields cheered immediately.
There were two young men in their thirties sitting under the tea shed not far away. These two people were Su Shi and Zhang Dun.
Su Shi sighed when he saw the rejoicing people.
Zhang Dun asked, "Why did Zizhan sigh?"
Su Shi said: "I lament their ignorance. They have been teased so hard, but they are still moved."
Zhang Dun didn't understand why and said, "Who is teasing them?"
Su Shi asked: "Brother Zhang, doesn't he know where the money to build the ditch comes from?"
I would like to ask more about this sentence. The corner of Zhang Dun's mouth twitched and he abruptly changed the subject, "Zizhan, your method of water control, in my opinion, is better than most water conservancy officials. Now Hebei is recruiting talents for water control. Does Zizhan have any ideas?"
Gold really shines wherever it is. Farmland water conservancy does not require money, it requires skills, and Zhang Dun is not very good at this. Fortunately, Su Shi is there. With his action, Qizhou's rivers are managed in an orderly manner. , which really made Zhang Dun admire him.
It happened that Daming Mansion needed such talents, and Zhang Dun wanted to recommend Su Shi to Daming Mansion, that is, to get Wang Anshi to come over.
"Not going."
Su Shi's tone was very firm.
Zhang Dun asked curiously: "Why?"
Su Shi said: "Do you think this ditch would have been completed without the public security organs?"
When Zhang Dun heard that he had a gun and a stick in his mouth, he was filled with strange anger. He immediately became unhappy and said, "No wonder Zizhan, you are so talented, but you have been idle in Jiangnan for several years. Now I know The reason."
Su Shi's eyebrows twitched. This was the pain of his life. He stood up and said, "The Procuratorate still has a lot of matters waiting for me to deal with. I'll take my leave."
The implication is that that was before, but now I am very busy. I have two or three lawsuits a day, and I still have to find time to help you treat the water.
He walked out of the tea tent with his head raised, but suddenly turned around and said, "Just consider this tea money as my reward."
Zhang Dun was stunned for a long time, then smiled and shook his head, "Such a talent, but he has such a big mouth, no one is perfect!"
But he never thought that if Su Shi didn't agree with the farmland water conservancy law, how could he help him? It's just that Su Shi's mouth was indeed a bit unreasonable.
In his opinion, it's really ironic that you, the young man, stole all the people's money, and now you appear as a good person.
But then again, it’s better than nothing.
