Judge of the Song Dynasty Chapter 750: Speak with strength

Wet!

Not to mention being sweaty, even the crotch is soaked!

It has to be said that the civil servants of the Song Dynasty have not experienced the oppression from the imperial power for a long time.

Because Zhenzong, Renzong, and Yingzong were all very gentle emperors, they would occasionally get angry, but they never felt this way.

Wen Yanbo, Fu Bi, Sima Guang and others were all shocked even though they were still sitting there.

At first, when they saw the table full of delicacies, they guessed that this was either the Hongmen Banquet or a drama of bitter love.

I never thought that Zhao Xu would use Taizu's cup of wine to release his military power as a metaphor for this matter.

The implication is that if you don’t accept this softness today, your heads will have to be moved next year.

Releasing military power over a glass of wine is a metaphor for wearing a yellow robe.

This is about the emperor's life and death, which is much more terrifying than the Hongmen Banquet.

Can these ministers not be scared to death?

I have never experienced this before!

At this moment, Wang Anshi finally had a clear understanding of his status, and re-examined his student. He could only say that you acted really well before.

He always thought that he was Huo Guang, the protagonist of this era, but in fact he was at most Fang Xuanling, just an important assistant.

But that's all.

What’s even more heartbreaking is that they still have to finish the feast, so they can’t waste it!

For these ministers, it was really hard to sit on pins and needles. The hands holding the wine glasses were trembling. No matter how delicious the mutton was, it tasted like wax and was difficult to swallow. But even so, they were all devouring it and nothing else. The reason is, I just want to finish eating early and leave here.

Zhao Xu did not embarrass them. During the dinner, he just had a casual conversation with Fu Bi and Wang Anshi about the two bills to ease the awkward atmosphere.

After their empty-handed operation was completed, the banquet was over.

When the ministers and dignitaries left the Chui Gong Hall, their legs were weak and they were supporting each other to escape.

It can only be said that the ministers of the Song Dynasty still lacked experience. If they were replaced by the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, when they came out of this palace, they would be very powerful, walking with a jerk, and even did not take off their pants. Do you dare to believe it? It’s just a few words, it doesn’t hurt or itch. We come to this kind of banquet a hundred and eighty times a year, and I can’t miss it more than once. This is simply a pleasure!

"Junshi!"

Wang Anshi looked at the group of soft-footed shrimps and said with a smile: "Look, how scared are you?"

Sima Guang said regretfully: "It's a pity that you are thick-skinned and can't scare you."

Wang Anshi snorted: "This doesn't mean being thick-skinned. I, Wang Anshi, walk upright, sit upright, and am a gentleman, so why should I be afraid!"

Sima Guang smiled and said: "But your days of arrogance are numbered, and you will be afraid of others in the future."

Wang Anshi didn't know what he was talking about, and he knew very well that the emperor was the one who was really in power now. He said: "That's fine, fair competition, let's see who among us can have the last laugh."

"It must not be you."

After saying this, Sima Guang stepped down the steps.

Wang Anshi muttered, "It must not be you."

The two left for a moment before Wen Yanbo and Fu Bi walked out slowly.

Wen Yanbo couldn't help but ask: "Does Mr. Fu still think we did the right thing?"

Fu Bi smiled and said: "Does Kuanfu think that without the Legislative Council, without the Public Security Bureau, this would not have happened?"

Wen Yanbo sighed: "My life has been in vain these past few decades!"

They still prefer emperors like Renzong who are willing to delegate power to ministers. Therefore, during today's Hongmen Banquet, Wen Yanbo was actually a little uncomfortable. At the same time, he was also very worried. What was the purpose of releasing military power over a glass of wine? Isn't it just to transfer power to the emperor? Take it back?

Taizu took over the power of military generals, do you want to take over the power of civil servants?

In fact, it was not just Wen Yanbo. When the news of this banquet spread, almost everyone could not adapt to such a powerful monarch.

But regardless of whether he adapts to it or not, the emperor's words have reached this point. At least no one dares to gossip about these two bills anymore. Do they really think they don't live long enough?

However, these two bills are closely related to the disaster and must be implemented as soon as possible.

On behalf of the Procuratorate, Zhang Fei also submitted an exemption law to Fu Bi. This is a supplement to the warehouse tax. It is specifically exempted for some special institutions and special circumstances. To put it simply, it is about some details.

Fu Bi also invited Wang Anshi and Xue Xiang to join the discussion.

"Xiangguo Temple is expecting an exemption of 100,000 stones."

Fu Bi said to Zhang Fei.

Xiangguo Temple also got the news about the Hongmen Banquet immediately, and knew that there was no room for maneuver on the matter, so they immediately used their connections in the court to submit an exemption application of 100,000 dan.

Zhang Fei said: "Based on the 4,800 people in Xiangguo Temple, at the beginning of autumn, 50,000 shi of food can already help them survive for one and a half to two years. It cannot be said that there are people dying of hunger outside, but in the land of Buddhism, , but there is still smoke curling up from the kitchen, which is not in line with Buddhist thought.

Moreover, Xiangguo Temple also has many uses for money in other aspects. They can exchange grain for money. Without legal provisions, Buddhism cannot do business. ”

Fu Bi asked again: "What about the charity foundation?"

This is actually what Xiangguo Temple mentioned, because Xiangguo Temple estimates that Zhang Fei will give an exemption to the charity foundation, so our Xiangguo Temple also often does good deeds!

Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "No exemption. In this exemption law, I didn't even mention charitable foundations."

Wang Anshi on the side said in surprise: "Don't charity foundations be exempted?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "The charity foundation usually has twenty or thirty people working on it. Other tasks are entrusted to offices or other workshops. How much food can they eat? The food of the charity foundation is in At the end of the year, I will donate a sum and sell the rest directly to grain merchants to get money for business, so there is no problem of storing grain."

Fu Bi immediately had nothing to say.

It is actually reasonable for charitable foundations to be exempted, but I did not expect that Zhang Fei would not be exempted from even one stone of food.

Xue Xiang said again: "But is the exemption you granted to the grain merchants a little low? Grain merchants must control the price of grain between 350 and 400 cents per stone throughout the year. Only by selling food continuously can you obtain a five thousand stone food exemption.

There is nothing wrong with this provision, but five thousand dan is still a little short. I thought grain merchants must ensure sufficient inventory. ”

Zhang Fei said: "Actually, our procuratorate has also considered granting unlimited exemptions to grain merchants as long as grain prices remain within this range. However, the Third Secretary must not forget that if grain merchants have too much inventory, it will affect the supply of grain merchants after the autumn harvest. If grain prices fall, this will lead to low prices and hurt farmers."

Sima Guang on the side suddenly said: "If grain merchants keep enough grain, they can help citizens cope with emergencies, such as this disaster."

Zhang Fei explained: "We cannot expect grain merchants to provide disaster relief. Merchants are profit-seeking, and the court is still needed in this regard.

Now that the imperial court has established the WFP, the WFP can purchase the excess grain on the market every year. In other words, when the price of grain drops to 350 cents, the WFP should take action and purchase the excess grain on the market. Grain, then in response to emergencies, the grain can be sold to merchants to continue to maintain a stable grain price.

Frankly speaking, the warehouse tax still hopes to be controlled by the state and should not be controlled by merchants or landlords. However, grain merchants cannot be forced to sell grain to the WFP, so they must still comply with market transactions. ”

The implication is that the WFP can hoard enough food, but grain merchants do not need to hoard food and do not need too many exemptions to avoid affecting food prices.

Wang Anshi nodded and said: "That's good, it should be so."

It immediately aroused Sima Guang's contempt, so of course you said yes. Sima Guang asked again: "What if the food is all stored in the WFP and the WFP manipulates food prices?"

Wang Anshi said with a smile: "I knew you would say that. The WFP will issue regulations on food prices, charging them at what prices, and selling them at what prices. If this is illegal, your public prosecutors can arrest people directly."

Fu Bi asked again: "As for the import and export of grain between state capitals, you are giving immunity to local governments."

Zhang Fei nodded and said: "This is because the grain output in the state capital is different. Just like the capital, there is a serious shortage of grain. Therefore, merchants who purchase grain from outside should be given full exemptions. On the contrary, the grain in the capital must be exempted. Selling grain outside will also face warehouse taxes, but states and counties with abundant grain can not be exempted and maintain grain prices in their own states and counties."

Fu Bi nodded, "That's it."

Zhao Bian suddenly said: "Can the tax department really investigate such a complicated design?"

Zhang Fei said: "I have talked with the Department of Taxation, and they have increased the fines and criminal penalties for intentional tax evasion, with thirty thousand dan as the limit. Within 30,000 dan, you can use the ransom to avoid criminal punishment, but above 30,000 dan, you must accept criminal punishment. This is mainly to ensure the interests of the country and the monarch. It is difficult to gather a crowd to rebel within 30,000 dan, but it is possible with 30,000 dan."

Another rebellion.

If it weren’t for this rebellion, there would never have been that Hongmen Banquet.

Fu Bi was too lazy to say anything, although he didn't know how you calculated the difficulty of your 30,000 stone rebellion.

You are right!

You are right!

As for the tax currency bill, everything has been negotiated before, and the final amount was set at 5 million yuan.

If you just look at this number, Sima Guang and the others think it is too much and it is impossible to pass it.

But there are detailed regulations.

The most important thing is the daily minimum wage.

This is determined based on prices in different regions.

In Gyeonggi Province, the price is set at one hundred cents per day.

The price in Hebei is set at eighty cents per day.

In the Huainan area, the price is seventy cents per day.

And these five million strings are issued in two stages. In the first stage, only two million strings are issued. If the drought continues until early autumn, the remaining three million strings will be issued.

With such detailed regulations, the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate will be able to better supervise.

Sima Guang and the others had no reason to object. After all, the money was distributed to the people, rather than exploiting the people's labor force to build public facilities for the court due to the drought.

After finalizing all the details, the Legislative Council will officially announce the final bill.

Of course, it was also through the newspaper, which has now become an indispensable part of the court.

The people in the capital are rejoicing. The key is the minimum wage, which is far beyond their expectations. This is their usual wages. In times of disaster, you pay back so much.

There is nothing to say!

At the same time, the price of grain dropped accordingly the next day, to the previous price of 400 cents per stone, which was also the usual price.

When food prices fall, commodity prices also fall.

But before everyone could be happy for too long, suddenly, some grain shops inside and outside the capital began to close. Grain merchants said that the grain in the warehouses had been snapped up by the people, and they needed to purchase grain to continue operating.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of grain shops closed their doors and stopped operating.

This immediately caused greater panic.

Price is rising sharply again.

I can only say that the ups and downs of this life are really exciting.

Legislative Council.

"What's going on?"

Fu Bi asked in confusion: "Why are those grains not sold anymore after only selling them for a few days?"

Sima Guang and Wen Yanbo looked at each other with sad expressions on their faces.

Lü Gong wrote: "Those big landowners don't seem to want to surrender. It's still half a year before the beginning of autumn. They just bet that the court won't survive until the beginning of autumn. For this reason, they don't hesitate to pay the warehouse tax.

Previously lowering grain prices to sell grain was just to give myself a reason to close the business and avoid directly angering the officials. ”

We are obedient and we sell grain, but if the grain is sold out, there is nothing we can do.

Fu Bi said: "Don't they still know the official's attitude?"

Wen Yanbo said: "Of course they know it, but they have studied the bill carefully and it is legal for them to do so. The warehouse tax does not force them to sell grain. As long as they do not intentionally evade tax, they put the grain in the warehouse. Waiting for the tax department to impose the penalty."

Fu Bi frowned and said, "That's it."

Wen Yanbo said: "Now we have to see how Wang Jiefu and the others will respond."

They are not very supportive of the emperor's use of this method to achieve his goals, and they do not give him a way to survive at all. This also makes them unable to talk to the big landowners, so you can clean up this mess yourself.

The reason why Zhao Xu’s Hongmen Banquet was successful was that he was right. I just asked you to exchange grain for money. The imperial court no longer suppresses land annexation. If you have a lot of grain in your hands, I can sleep well. ?

No one dares to refute, but that doesn't mean they will surrender.

This is impossible.

This is related to the power game between the landlord class, the scholar-official class and the emperor.

When it comes to power, it is impossible to admit defeat.

You want to punish me, right? OK, I would rather let you punish me than sell food to others, let alone recognize any tax coins.

Anyway, there’s still half a year left, let’s see who can’t hold on first.

At the same time, the public security bureau and the law have to defend our legitimate rights and interests. I am not breaking the law by not selling food.

Immediately, Zhao Xu also gave a very violent reaction, suddenly announcing that he would take back all the privileges of brewing wine and selling salt in Gyeonggi Province, and then replace it with money and cloth subsidies.

Send money directly, no more privileges.

He wants to use this to tell those powerful people that I will never compromise.

Because those who can hold these privileges must be the powerful, and the food is also in the hands of these powerful people, this is definitely a precise strike.

This immediately led to the further intensification of the situation, and the prime ministers were deeply frightened and uneasy. The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty rarely went to this step.

If it were Renzong, he would definitely take a step back to avoid further intensification of the situation.

But Shenzong's words only intensified the situation. You want to fight, right? Well, let's fight to see who is stronger.

The good thing is that no matter how the two sides fight, it is still within the rules.

The landlord accepted the punishment, but did not sell the grain. Although Zhao Xu took back the privileges, he still gave Qianbu subsidies. He did not say that he had violated his original promise, but just changed it in a different way.

But obviously, this privilege is more satisfying than money. Having money does not necessarily mean you have power, but if you have power, you will definitely be able to make money.

This is step by step eroding the influence of the powerful and landlords.

The powerful people can only suffer this loss.

Even the queen mothers of the two palaces could only keep silent, and they did not even dare to persuade.

Of course, Zhao Xu was confident in doing this, because he had food in his hands and didn't panic.

Then again, thanks to Wang Anshi's New Deal, a lot of food has been saved for the court in recent years.

Three divisions.

"How are the arrangements going?"

Wang Anshi asked Xue Xiang.

Xue Xiang replied: "Everything has been arranged."

As he said that, he took out another tax coin and said, "This is the latest printed tax coin. The vermilion pigment used in it is a tribute that only the imperial palace has. It is difficult to forge, and it is printed with ' Anyone who dares to forge the word "imperial" will be punished with the death penalty."

Wang Anshi took the tax coin and looked at it carefully. It was very beautiful. There was a word "tax" printed in the middle and two small words "roy" above and below. This was to tell everyone that this tax coin was personally endorsed by the emperor. , the left side is the face value, the right side is the pattern of corn and wheat, surrounded by complex patterns and large and small characters.

In fact, regarding banknotes, the Song Dynasty had already formulated a very complete system. At present, the possibility of imitating it is very small.

It's just that this time they face different opponents, and the requirements are more stringent.

After looking at it carefully, Wang Anshi asked again: "What about food?"

Xue Xiangdao: "Everything has been deployed. I have ordered that half of the tax grains on Jingdong East Road be transported to Hebei and the other half to Huainan.

The grain stored in our capital warehouse alone is enough to cover the past six months, and according to our estimates, after half a year, the warehouse tax collected alone will be enough to make up for the warehouse expenses during this period.

Because many powerful families have stored grain for more than a year, or even three or four years, the current goal is to regulate wine taxes to prevent them from turning grain into wine.

It just so happens that this year’s koji has been sold by Quyuan. If they want to brew grain into wine during this half-year, it must be illegal. Therefore, we plan to charge a % for the additional brewed wine. Three hundred tax. ”

Wang Anshi exclaimed: "Then who knows how to make wine?"

"That is, they are not allowed to brew."

Xue Xiang nodded and said: "Not only that, currently all major restaurants use coal to make wine, so we also plan to levy a 50% overtax on imported coal, which will force those restaurants to reduce The amount of wine produced will be increased in order to have more grain in stock on the market."

Wang Anshi said: "But cooking also requires coal?"

Xue Xiangdao: "About these, all are the accounts provided by Prosecutor Zhang. They also thought that this would affect the restaurant's vegetable prices, but it would only affect the restaurant. However, with the reduction of wine making, the restaurant's business will inevitably also It will be affected, so it won’t affect it too much. People in the countryside still cook with wood. It’s not winter yet, so they don’t need coal for heating yet.”

Wang Anshi nodded and asked: "Are these accounts provided by Zhang Fei?"

Xue Xiang nodded.

Wang Anshi said: "Do you think the Third Division can't come out?"

Xue Xiang shook his head and said: "The statistics of the third division are far inferior to those of the accounting office of Bianjing Law Firm, and they don't know many algorithms, so they don't have the ability in this area yet."

Wang Anshi said: "You can't always rely on others for this kind of thing. After all, the Third Department is the financial center of the country and cannot be exposed to the eyes of outsiders."

Xue Xiang smiled and said: "It depends on how many talents the School of Mathematical Sciences can provide us."

Wang Anshi snorted: "The School of Arithmetic Science really needs to be reformed."

Outside the Chui Gong Hall.

Today it is the turn of the enemies Wang Anshi and Sima Guang to discuss matters with the emperor.

Sima Guang looked at Wang Anshi and saw a relaxed look on his face, "It seems that you have already thought of a countermeasure?"

Wang Anshi did not answer and asked: "Isn't the current situation what Junshi is most afraid of?"

The corner of Sima Guang's mouth twitched. This was indeed what he was most worried about. If he had been asked to preside over the reform, he would have weakened these powerful people, but his opposition was too strong. He should wait and said, "You Do you know what the consequences will be if you don’t handle it well?”

Wang Anshi said: "I only know how serious the consequences will be if we don't deal with these arrogant and domineering landlords. I will win this battle."

While they were chatting, the palace door opened and the two of them entered the palace.

Today, Wang Anshi wants to propose a countermeasure to the emperor.

But it does not mean that the government granaries will be opened directly. Instead, all the grain in the granaries will be loaned to the WFP at an interest rate of one cent, and the WFP will sell the grain to the outside world. This is of course also proposed by Zhang Fei, which is to avoid the government's Go directly to the market to do business.

But there is a requirement, that is, you must use tax coins to purchase food.

In addition, all the salaries of officials and soldiers were converted into tax coins, and they were allowed to use tax coins to buy food. However, this part of the tax currency is calculated in addition and is not included in the five million yuan, because it does not fall within the scope of disaster relief.

Also, it is required to use tax coins to buy salt. Regarding the salt merchants, it has been settled long ago, because the salt in the capital comes from Hezhong Prefecture, which is Zhang Fei’s base camp. Then the salt merchants in the capital can Exchange salt banknotes directly from Hezhongfu. The salt banknotes in Hezhongfu are currently very strong, so there is no need to worry about the salt banknotes depreciating.

The key point is that the salt merchants don’t dare to refuse. If you don’t agree, then you won’t be able to do this business.

Now all major salt shops are closed, and they are making internal adjustments to prepare for the arrival of tax coins.

Before Sima Guang could think clearly, Zhao Xu immediately played it accurately.

It seems that the two of them have agreed upon this, and today is just a matter of going through the process.

In fact, Sima Guang has no reason to object, and he will not object.

Whether the court should still open warehouses to store grain and allow tax currency purchases was what Sima Guang was most worried about. The court would set an example, which is of course good!

Bianjing Law Firm.

"I'll help you all in the future."

I saw a young man, very humbly offering his hand to more than 20 middle-aged people with big bellies.

"Don't dare! Don't dare! It's only because of Director Cai's care that we can take over this business, and we will definitely follow the WFP's arrangements in the future."

"That's not necessary, everyone is just trying to make a fortune."

"Yes yes yes!"

"Okay!"

After watching the show for a long time, Zhang Fei stood up and said, "Let's go to the bar."

The servant immediately brought the wine, and each of them took a glass. Fan Li also took a glass, but Zhang Fei did not take one.

One person asked: "Don't you want prosecutor Zhang to drink?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "You all call me Zhang Prosecutor, why am I still involved in this matter? Lao Fan can just drink for me. I'm just sitting here."

Fan Li raised his glass and said: "I wish you a happy cooperation."

"A pleasure to work with."

There are twenty or thirty people standing here today, all of them small and medium-sized grain merchants in Gyeonggi Province. Today, they have reached a cooperation with Cai Jing, who has just arrived in Beijing and is the first director of the WFP.

In the future, WFP will cooperate with them to sell or purchase food.

Because according to regulations, WFP cannot sell food directly. It must sell it through grain merchants. Generally speaking, it must follow market rules.

But there is no doubt that the WFP is the largest grain trader in the country. Because the WFP is responsible for the country's strategic tasks, anyone who cooperates with the WFP will definitely have a meteoric rise!

These small and medium-sized grain merchants decisively choose to side with the WFP because they want to surpass the big grain merchants through hard work. It is almost impossible because the land is in the hands of the powerful.

This step also directly disrupted the alliance between their grain merchants.

These small and medium-sized grain merchants are all first- and second-class households, and their families also have fields. Of course, most of the fields are still in the hands of a small number of large landowners.

But in this way, it is equivalent to isolating those big landowners.

After the grain merchants left, Cai Jing immediately bowed to Zhang Fei and said, "Thank you, my mentor, for your support."

The tone is very sincere.

How smart he is. When he heard this, he immediately ignored everything and went straight to the capital.

Although the director of the WFP seems inferior to the president of the court and the chief prosecutor, and is not even an official, the WFP is burdened with important strategies. If he can do this job well, the next step will be at least a household department. Shangshu.

This is like riding a rocket.

Cai Jing was traveling day and night, and was so excited that he couldn't sleep.

Moreover, he had just come back and the situation was not clear yet. Zhang Fei had already given him a big gift.

The entire plan has been arranged long ago and is just waiting for Cai Jing to operate it.

Zhang Fei smiled and said: "But I can also help you with this step. You have to walk the next road by yourself. I only ask you one thing, that is, don't break the rules. If you break the rules, I will definitely punish you. You can go to jail, but within the rules, you can use any method, and I will have infinite tolerance for you."

Cai Jing didn't think much and agreed directly: "Teacher, don't worry, the students will never put it wrong."

The teachers and students have done a lot of shameful things in Hezhong Mansion, so Cai Jing has a thorough understanding of Zhang Fei's character, and is also familiar with Zhang Fei's routines and how to operate within the rules. Even if Zhang Fei didn't say anything, he would never break the rules.

As I get older, I have to postpone updates even if I catch a cold. I used to be able to type thousands of words when I had a fever, ugh.