Chapter 628: I am in Cao Ying but my heart is in Han
The poem says: Viewed from the side, it looks like a ridge and a peak on the side, with different heights near and far.
Based on the different patterns and interests, everyone sees differently.
Whether it was the officials of the Hezhong Prefecture, the scholar-bureaucrats, or the big landowners, they all believed that the Tax Department was the murder weapon, because what the imperial court expected was to improve finances, and that was the only thing.
This understanding is of course very accurate.
But they ignored a crucial plan, which is the salt debt and salt banknotes they now hold.
Although the reform of the Taxation Department may increase tax revenue, in any case, it only maintains the basic fundamentals, because the country's basic finance is taxation, which should be collected in the first place, but the new tax law has become more balanced, and
Instead of exploiting the poor to death, we need to collect more from the rich and subsidize them.
What those big landowners saw was that their illegal behavior might be discovered, so they had to find ways to resist.
But they should have paid taxes according to law.
This is perfectly normal.
But Wang Anshi came here for open source and needed economic growth.
Salt debt and salt banknotes are catalysts for economic growth.
In addition, salt debts and salt banknotes can also make up for the shortcomings of limited development of the Public Security Bureau and the Procuratorate. Now the Public Security Bureau has struggled for a year in Hezhong Prefecture to slowly gain a foothold. It is impossible to expand to the entire Shaanxi Road at once. Other state capitals
It is impossible to increase tax revenue, and the fiscal contribution that one government can make is very limited.
But salt debts and salt banknotes cover the entire northwest region.
Because of the large amount of salt debts and salt banknotes, they were sent to the Bianjunzhou area, and then the merchants took the salt debts and salt banknotes to Hezhong Prefecture to exchange for salt.
This breaks through the limitations of the Public Security Bureau, which also controls Jiezhou, the core salt-producing area, and provides salt debt and salt banknote guarantees.
It's just that those big landowners only care about their own interests. He saw that it was the Department of Taxation, but he didn't notice at all. In fact, the government has recently increased its efforts to issue salt banknotes.
All salaries were changed to salt banknotes, and salt banknotes were also used for water conservancy and prison construction there.
And those salt merchants came to Hezhong Mansion with salt banknotes and found that they could buy anything with the salt banknotes in their hands, and they also used the salt banknotes.
A large amount of salt banknotes poured into the market, but at the same time, the tax department, public prosecutors and law over there endorsed the salt banknotes, and many people had already used the salt banknotes to pay the deed tax, so the credibility became very strong. Everyone took the salt banknotes without panic, anyway.
It's taxable.
However, the entire Shaanxi region lacks currency, which is also a reason for the sluggish local economy. Because bartering is always difficult, the monetization of salt banknotes is a great stimulus to economic development.
In addition to the craziness of business, crazy harvesting is also going on in the farmland, and women account for the majority because their husbands are working for the government to earn food rations during this period. Although it is very, very hard, they are full of energy.
Motivated, even if they are exhausted, because they believe that good times are ahead, as long as they get through this difficulty.
They are all already thinking about next year.
They won't need to pay too much tax next year. If they don't have any debts, they will have enough food to get through the lean period. They can also go to work in the city in their spare time, and their lives will get better and better.
In fact, for most people, they are not afraid of hardship or tiredness. It doesn't matter if it is 996 or 997. They are afraid of despair. Once they are given hope, they can endure it no matter how hard or tired they are.
During this period, the Taxation Department was also making arrangements for tax collection. All law school students were mobilized. At the same time, the Hezhong Law Firm and various bookstores sent many people to provide free assistance.
Those bookstores who send people to help are not doing good deeds, nor are they trying to curry favor with the tax department. They all know that the tax department cannot be currying favor with them. They do this purely for their own business, because they all know that there will definitely be something going on here.
When a dispute arises, they all want to get more detailed information as soon as possible.
Autumn has arrived, and many literati have also come to the suburbs in this crisp autumn atmosphere. However, this year they have no time to pay attention to the autumn scenery. Most of them focus on the tax collection points of the tax department.
Fan Zhen and Su Che also went to a tax collection point in the suburbs together.
"It's finally here!" Fan Zhen looked a little uneasy.
Su Che glanced at him and couldn't help but smile: "It seems that we, the public security organs, the procuratorate, and the law still have a long way to go!"
Fan Zhen looked at him doubtfully, "Why did Zi say this?"
Su Che smiled and said: "Now we are not robbing families or adding excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes. We are just collecting taxes in accordance with the law. But even so, it still makes Master Fan so uneasy. It shows that our public prosecutors and law still have many aspects to improve!"
If you are so uneasy about something legal, it must be a problem with law enforcement.
Fan Zhen stroked his beard and smiled, "The road is long and long. I will search up and down."
But after that, when Su Zhe didn't respond, he looked at him again and saw that he was looking into the distance. He couldn't help but follow his gaze and asked, "Huh? Why are there so many people over there?"
Su Zhe asked: "Could it be that you are paying taxes?"
Fan Zhen shook his head and said: "Impossible, this is specifically for ordinary self-cultivators, and a lot of grain has not been harvested yet. How can anyone come to pay taxes? The Taxation Department also stipulates that formal declarations will be made after half a month.
Tax.”
At this point, he frowned and said, "Is there something wrong?"
After all, many young students have been arranged to work here this time, but they have little experience.
So the two walked over quickly.
When I came to the door of the warehouse, I found barefoot farmers standing in the open space, tiptoeing, looking forward, seeming very anxious.
Su Zhe saw some of them holding salt banknotes in their hands and couldn't help but ask: "Uncle, are you paying taxes?"
"Um."
The uncle didn't even look at Su Zhe, his eyes were fixed on the front.
Su Che and Fan Zhen looked at each other, then went to the front of the team, only to see two young people sitting at a long table, with three or five Royal Police officers patrolling around to maintain law and order.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! These two young people Fan Zhen knew each other, they were law students Huang Zhibo and Wang Zongrui.
"Master Fan, Prosecutor General Su."
When they saw Fan Zhen and Su Che, they were about to stand up and salute.
Fan Zhen hurriedly pressed his hands to indicate that they did not need to salute, and then asked: "Isn't it still in the preparation stage? Why did you start collecting taxes?"
Wang Zongrui replied: "Originally we were preparing, but the villagers nearby always came to pay taxes. Later, the Taxation Department asked us to start collecting taxes."
Su Zhe looked at the farmers again and said, "We haven't even harvested the grain yet. Why are you so anxious to pay taxes?"
The farmer said hurriedly: "I have to pay it anyway, so why not pay it early? I will feel more at ease."
Fan Zhen asked curiously: "But the grain is still in the fields, where did you get the money?"
"This is what I earned from my recent work, and I didn't steal or rob it." The farmer said, protecting the salt banknotes in his hands with both hands.
Suddenly I heard comments coming from behind, "What's going on in front? Why aren't you moving?"
"What are you doing in front?"
"Hurry up then, I'm in a hurry to get back to work."
...
Fan Zhen saw that the people behind him were very anxious, so he said, "Sorry for bothering you."
After saying that, he and Su Zhe stepped aside.
The farmer hurried forward and handed over the land deed, household registration and a few salt banknotes.
Because they were illiterate, they probably did not hire Erbi, otherwise, they would not have needed to come in person.
Huang Zhibo looked at the land deed for a while and asked, "Is there any other income?"
The farmer said: "I recently helped the government build rivers and earned some money."
Huang Zhibo asked: "Besides, is there any other income?"
The farmer asked, "Does the chicken you raise at home count?"
"How many have you raised?"
"Five!"
"That doesn't count. Is there anything else?"
"My wife also makes some money by sewing and mending for others."
"any left?"
"Gone!"
While they were asking questions, Wang Zongrui was helping to fill out the form, and it was really hard all the way to the end.
"alright!"
Huang Zhibo accepted the two salt notes, added the remaining two between the land deed and the household registration, returned them both to the farmer, and shouted back: "Next one."
The farmer seemed relieved and secretly rejoiced.
Su Zhe nodded slightly, understanding why these farmers were anxious to pay taxes. They were still worried that the tax department would not recognize the salt banknotes.
Fan Zhen stepped forward, glanced at the form, and asked: "Doesn't the money earned from building the river channel need to be taxed?"
Su Che whispered: "Master Fan may not know that helping the government build rivers is government relief, so the tax department decided to exempt this part of the income from tax."
Fan Zhen nodded and said, "I see." Then he smiled at Su Che and said, "It seems that the tax department is not as unkind as the rumors say."
Su Che smiled and said, "Maybe that's not their intention."
Fan Zhen was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Another farmer came forward and said timidly: "I...I don't have household registration."
Huang Zhibo immediately said: "Go inside to apply for household registration first."
"yes."
In the blink of an eye, the team was reduced by more than half. Every farmer who had paid the tax was secretly happy with his household registration, and the tax department was full of praise for the salt banknotes.
This really made Fan Zhen and Su Che stunned. They had been officials for many years and had never seen such a generous farmer. In the past, when paying taxes, he did not cry to the sky and the earth, but how could he take such initiative.
...
In the western suburbs, a carriage was seen driving quickly on the road.
"Impossible! This is impossible!"
Liang Youyi waved his hands repeatedly and said: "Collecting taxes is not an easy task. Without the help of our squires, they have to prepare even longer. At least they have to inform every household. How can someone take the initiative to pay taxes now? How long have I lived?
In ten years, I have never seen such people."
Wei Yingfang said: "But some people saw with their own eyes that some tax collection points have started collecting taxes."
Liang Youyi asked: "Could it be that they deliberately hired someone to create an illusion?"
Cao Yidao: "This is possible, let's go and take a look first before talking about it."
After a while, the carriage slowly stopped, and the three people hurriedly got out of the carriage.
I looked up and saw that the warehouse door was empty.
Liang Youyi immediately said: "Look! I am right! There is no one at all."
Wei Yingfang asked: "Did they really see it wrong?"
The three of them walked over again and saw two students putting the thick stack of salt bills into the cash box.
Wei Yingfang immediately walked over and asked, "Where did you get this salt banknote?"
The two students recognized the three of them. They bowed first and then replied: "This is the tax paid by the farmers nearby."
Liang Youyi asked anxiously: "Has someone come to pay taxes?"
"The two villages near here have already paid their taxes. I am preparing to collect taxes elsewhere."
"....?"
Liang Youyi couldn't help but open his mouth.
squire?
By the time your squire comes to collect it, I'm afraid the day lilies will be cold.
Some time ago, people were desperately trying to get salt banknotes. They would rather go hungry than keep the salt banknotes to pay taxes. Although the Department of Taxation has stipulated the price comparison between salt banknotes and grain, is there still loss? Still have to
How tiring it would be to carry food on your back!
They either earn salt money from government projects, or they sell their chickens and vegetables in exchange for salt money to pay taxes.
Even third- and second-class households were eager to buy some surplus grain in exchange for salt notes.
This coincides with the consumption of government officials.
Only then did the previous market boom occur.
They got the salt banknotes, but they were worried that the government would regret it, so they came to pay taxes while the grain was still in the fields.
Salt banknotes are convenient and do not need to be weighed. The farmer's income is very single, so they did not ask too much and got it done quickly.
One village only lasts half a day.
It also saves trouble for the government. Originally, this was the busiest time for the government, but this year the government does not have to worry about anything, and there is no need to send people to transport food back and forth.
This even caused all the warehouse officials to feel very disappointed.
The power has fallen by the wayside!
But neither Yuan Jiang nor Cai Yanqing was idle. The emergence of salt banknotes also completely changed the government's financial operations. They had to redeploy their plans. For example, what to do with the collected salt banknotes?
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! They decided that the Transportation Department would take back part of it, and leave the other part to the government for local consumption expenditures.
Now that salt banknotes are so popular, officials have also fallen in love with salt banknotes. After all, you distribute grain and salt. This is also a restriction. It would be great to directly distribute money. I can buy what I need without having to exchange grains in the market.
The most leisurely thing at the moment was the imperial court. While Ye Zuqia also went to other places to enforce the law, Zhang Fei actually had time to sit under the big tree in front of the Big Dog Restaurant and drink tea.
Of course, he didn't come here to drink tea, but to listen to the report.
"According to the news from Jingdong East Road, the Green Crops Law is very successful in the local area. Only a few counties have not lent out all the Green Crops money, and the rest have been loaned out."
"Yeah?"
Zhang Fei asked: "Is it so smooth?"
Big Dog said: "But our people think there are also hidden dangers."
Zhang Fei frowned and asked, "What's the hidden danger?"
Dagou replied: "Many of the people are relatively blind. They see others borrowing money, so they also borrow it, thinking they are taking advantage. However, they forget that the local tax exemption will be increased this year. Most of these people have not yet paid it.
Those who paid the money also had part of the young crop money shared directly with the local large landowners.
The big landowners also observed that many people might not be able to pay back the money, so they planned to wait until the people could not pay back the money to the government, and then lend the money they received from the government to the people at a profit of more than two cents.
If things go on like this, sooner or later those homesteaders will become their tenant farmers."
Zhang Fei said thoughtfully: "But this can avoid direct conflicts between the government and the people."
Big Dog nodded, "Yes. And it's not just the third- and fourth-class households that are affected, but also the first-, second-, and fifth-class households."
Zhang Fei asked: "How do you say this?"
Big Dog said: "Because those big landowners took the initiative to help the government share the money, this also forced the first and second-class households to share some of the young crops' money, but they are not like those big landowners who can easily lend the money and be sure to recover it.
To repay the debt, they can only pay interest to the government.
Even some big landowners have targeted their first and second class households. They have fields in their hands. Once they can't repay the young crops or don't have enough coins in their hands, they must borrow money from them. As for the fifth class households, they have to borrow money from them.
Households, they can't borrow money for young crops at all, and they will still mortgage some of their land to the big landowners as before, and become their tenant farmers."
Zhang Fei said: "When the money they owe the landlords expires, the government will issue another round of money for young crops, which will be able to borrow new money to repay the old money."
The big dog nodded and said, "Yes."
"It seems they are more playful than I thought."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly.
But Zhang Fei was not surprised by this.
Historically, the reformists had a hostile relationship with local forces, so the new law caused big problems in the local area. But this time it was different. The relationship between the government and the landlords became very close, because they had a common enemy, that is, the public security law and taxation.
They will cover each other and become very cautious.
Zhang Fei said: "Then do they think these things can be hidden from the imperial court?"
Big Dog said: "This is impossible, because many local officials are not against Wang Xianggong, and someone will definitely file an impeachment report. But those farmers who can't afford it will definitely borrow money from the landlords to repay the court's debts.
And those landowners are also well prepared, so this hidden danger can be covered up for the time being and will not cause public resentment."
Zhang Fei asked: "Then when do you think public dissatisfaction will break out?"
The big dog immediately said: "I dare not say this. If there is a natural or man-made disaster, there will definitely be a large number of people who cannot pay. This will definitely not be covered up."
Yes! It is indeed very difficult to control this breaking point, unless I am the biggest creditor. Zhang Fei pondered for a while and suddenly asked: "Do the officials know about this?"
Big Dog hesitated for a moment, "If you send a message here from Jingdong East Road, you must pass through Bianliang. The officials should know that."
Zhang Fei nodded.
Big Dog said again: "Actually, compared to Jingdong East Road, Jingzhao Mansion is more likely to have problems?"
Zhang Fei was slightly startled, "How do you say that?"
The big dog said: "Now the people in Jingzhao Prefecture are already making trouble. They demand to pay the same taxes as the people in Hezhong Prefecture. However, the local landlords and gentry are strongly opposed. Unless the Public Security Bureau leaves Hezhong Prefecture now, otherwise,
Sooner or later something will go wrong."
Zhang Fei nodded and said: "Prefect Lu is really foresighted. It seems that we will have to go even if we don't go next year. You can ask the people over there to increase publicity and let them know how happy the people of Hezhong Prefecture are to pay taxes."
"yes."
"That's right! Now that it's a critical moment to collect taxes, isn't there any news for me? I at least need to know how many lawsuits I have to fight next year?"
"It's not clear yet because most landowners haven't started paying taxes yet."
“I really can’t bear to see the Yellow River!”
Zhang Fei shook his head and sighed, then stood up and said, "Go and make arrangements. I will send a secret letter to the officials in the next two days."
"yes."
...
That night, Zhang Fei sat alone in his study, with the records sent by Cai Bian, Shangguan Jun and others on the desk, but he seemed to have no intention of paying attention to them.
Suddenly feeling warm all over his body, he subconsciously raised his hand to cover the soft and boneless hand on his shoulder, "Thank you, madam."
But he heard a soft hum, looked back, and was startled, "Zhi Qian?"
Xu Zhiqian said sourly: "Only Sister Gao will give you clothes?"
Zhang Fei asked back: "Did you say that?"
Xu Zhiqian blinked awkwardly, and suddenly glanced at Zhang Fei's hand holding hers out of the corner of her eye, and said, "Can't you tell the difference between my hand and Sister Gao's?"
"Well......!"
Zhang Fei said: "Of course I can tell the difference. Her hands are softer and your hands are smoother. It's true that another letter came from Jingdong East Road today, which made me uneasy."
When Xu Zhiqian mentioned this matter, she immediately put other things behind her and asked, "What did the letter say?"
Zhang Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief and informed Xu Zhiqian of the situation on Jingdong East Road.
Xu Zhiqian was so angry that she stamped her feet, "They are simply working together in collusion, just like animals. This will not only harm the people, but also harm Bachelor Wang's new policy."
Having said this, she paused for a moment and looked at Zhang Fei suspiciously, "Is this what you expected?"
We talked about this issue last time, but Zhang Fei deliberately avoided it. Xu Zhiqian has always been very suspicious of it. Everyone knows that the two laws are competing, and Zhang Fei must be on the side of the public prosecutor.
"If it were just that simple, then I wouldn't have to bother."
Zhang Fei said: "This is adding fuel to the fire, don't make it too simple."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Then you want to help Bachelor Wang?"
Zhang Fei nodded.
Xu Zhiqian looked happy. She still loves the reformists, "Then have you thought of a way?"
Zhang Fei said: "There is only one way to save all this."
"any solution?"
"Find a way to spend money to buy out most of the debt contracts in the hands of those big landowners to stabilize the situation."
"ah?"
Xu Zhiqian was dumbfounded. It was the first time she heard such an operation, "Is this... can this be done?"
Zhang Fei said: "If the debt is transferred to us, it can be controlled by us."
Xu Zhiqian said: "But...but how can we have so much money to buy those debts?"
Zhang Fei said: "We need someone to help."
"who?"
"Official family."
"Official family?"
Xu Zhiqian was stunned for a moment and shook her head like a rattle, "No! No! The government adopted the new law in the hope of improving finances. If the government takes on the debt again, wouldn't it be in vain?
Maybe I’ll agree.”
Zhang Fei suddenly stood up.
"what?"
Xu Zhiqian said in astonishment.
Zhang Fei stood up, stretched out his hand to lead to the seat, and said with a smile: "So we have to write a letter to convince the officials."
...
The next morning, a fast horse came out of the imperial court and galloped eastward.
On the slope, Zhang Fei looked at the fast horse, scratched his head, and complained: "Eating from three families is really a technical job!"