Zhao Gang and others were very happy to see Fang Zian. They entered the courtyard and made a lot of noise, making the quiet Yamen courtyard noisy. The officials and clerks who were working all frowned and poked their heads into the courtyard.

Look, I thought to myself: How come this new Mr. Fang has brought so many vulgar people here? From now on, I will have no peace every day.

There is a courtyard on the west side of the Yamen, which is where the warehouse and the other party's sundries are located. It is just the place where the inspection team is stationed. It only needs to be cleaned up. At that time, Fang Zian and Zhao Gang took people to clean up the courtyard and arrange for the inspection team. Jiang

Zheng and others stayed with him for a while, and Fang Zian dismissed them by telling them to go and get busy and would invite them if they had anything to do.

"Sir, why do you think you're doing this? Even if you don't become a high-ranking official, how comfortable would our fire army yamen be? Why come to this small yamen to suffer? What future does such a small yamen have? I really don't understand what you think, sir." Zhao Gang

I was so busy that I was sweating and couldn't help but complain.

Fang Zian said: "You had to follow me. You could have been at ease in the Fire Army Yamen. You still have time to regret it now. It's okay to go back to the Fire Army Yamen. You don't have to suffer the consequences."

Zhao Gang said hurriedly: "That's not what I meant. What I mean is that it is really puzzling that someone like you, who has made great achievements, comes to spend time in a place like this."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "Do you think this is a small yamen? The Shibosi yamen may seem small, but there is something inside, do you know? Our fire army yamen only has more than a thousand people, and it looks like it is spread all over the capital. People seem to be like

Quite a few. However, apart from doing odd jobs and fighting fires and disaster relief, we don't have much potential. You are just nostalgic for the happy time when the brothers were together. But this city's shipping department is different. It's in charge.

Overseas trade and major shipping companies throughout the Song Dynasty. There are dozens of shipping companies in the three municipal shipping offices of Lin'an, Quanzhou and Guangzhou, with nearly a thousand ships under their jurisdiction for overseas trade. The total price of goods traded from overseas every year

It is huge and supports hundreds of thousands of relevant employees. In addition, it is also in charge of matters related to merchants from foreign countries coming to trade. Such a big yamen has turned into a small yamen with no future in your mouth? "

Zhao Gang said in shock: "Ah? So powerful?"

Fang Zian laughed and said: "You are stupid. We exported ceramics, tea, lacquerware, silk, cloth and other items from the Song Dynasty to other countries, as well as ivory, spices, horses, etc., and imported and exported hundreds of goods. The total trade value of goods every year is five

A huge amount of 60 million taels, generating profits of tens of millions of taels of silver. This has driven the trade of people in various industries such as shops, docks, shipbuilding, logging, craftsmen, clothing, jewelry, etc., and has spawned a huge trade and manufacturing chain. It is no exaggeration to say that Shibo

The industries related to this yamen affected millions of people in the Song Dynasty and supported hundreds of thousands of people, which is my conservative estimate."

Zhao Gang scratched his head and smacked his lips and said: "Oh, if you say that, I am really ignorant. It turns out that this is such a huge yamen. No wonder you are coming. It turns out that your lord has already seen through that this yamen is so huge and it is also a fat mess."

What an oily yamen."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "It's good to be fat and oily, but I don't come here to see the benefits. I, Song Guang, shout slogans such as ZTE, Northern Expedition, and Recovering Rivers and Mountains. But these all require real money.

I came to support it. I came here to do some practical things. Think about it, with such a huge yamen and related benefits, the imperial court only received 700,000 taels of tax revenue from it last year. Is this normal?"

Zhao Gang was surprised and said: "With a total trade volume of 50 to 60 million taels, the imperial court only received 700,000 taels in taxes? This is too little."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "According to the ratio of one out of ten, it would be at least five to six million taels."

Even if the tax on silver is more relaxed, one in twenty would still have to have two to three million taels of silver in the account. Some of the money here has gone missing, and the amount is quite large. In the Yamen of the Shipping Department, among the shipping merchants, there must be

There is a secret chain of interests. He stole the tax money that should have been paid to the national treasury and put it into his own pocket. I am sure that there are a lot of big rats here."

Zhao Gang suddenly said: "It turns out...it turns out that you are here to rectify this yamen. Then I, the captain of the audit team..."

"You will have a lot to do. I specifically requested the establishment of an audit brigade for this purpose. Although the audit brigade is only an internal law enforcement force under the Municipal Shipping Department, you have great power. And if necessary, the scale can be expanded at any time.

This is the real power, instead of rescuing disasters or putting out fires. You can't participate in anything at ordinary times. Zhao Gang, if you want to do something with me, congratulations, you made the right choice. The days to come will be great.

It's fulfilling and exciting. Do you understand?" Fang Zian chuckled.

Zhao Gang smacked his lips and nodded: "I'll just tell you. How could a person like you surrender to such a place? But it turns out that there is a universe inside, and there are so many inside stories. Could it be that the imperial court specially negotiated with you, and asked you to sort this out?

yamen?"

Fang Zian shook his head and said: "That's not the case. On the one hand, doing specific things to increase the tax revenue of the Song Dynasty is the right way to realize the resurgence of the Song Dynasty, rather than shouting slogans. On the other hand, my manufacturing bureau is engaged in

I also want to develop and expand things related to shipping and maritime trade."

Zhao Gang chuckled and said, "It turns out that you have selfish motives too."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "I call it a balance between public and private. The manufacturing bureau is not just for making money. The purpose of making money is not just for enjoyment, but the research and development of the manufacturing bureau requires a lot of funds to promote. There are many things that I have ideas for now.

The blueprints are available, but a large amount of money is needed to manufacture, polish and experiment repeatedly. In the future, these things will make the Song Dynasty stand above the world, things that are related to the survival of the Song Dynasty, and things that are related to the progress and development of mankind.

That must be done as soon as possible.”

Zhao Gang said blankly: "I don't quite understand what the adults are talking about."

Fang Zian smiled and said: "It's okay if you don't understand. Just remember that my goal is the stars and the sea, not the mediocre situation in front of me."

Zhao Gang scratched his head, even more confused.

…

For several days in a row, Fang Zian was buried in a sea of ​​files. The Lin'an Shipping Department was the chief government office and had all the data and trade status files of all shipping companies in the Song Dynasty. When the Song Dynasty moved south, the Shipping Department was restructured and relocated.

, but even so, there are still decades of data available for review. Although it may not be comprehensive, it can basically give a glimpse of the development of maritime trade after the Song Dynasty's southern crossing.

In fact, the maritime trade of the Song Dynasty has never been interrupted. The north was raging with war and the Song Dynasty was in turmoil. The shipping companies in the south still went to sea to trade with foreign countries. At the beginning of the southern crossing, the tax revenue of the shipping company became very stable.

Sources of fiscal and taxation. In the early years of Shaoxing, the Song Dynasty’s money and tax revenue was only 10 million taels, but the Shishi Ship Division contributed 500,000 taels. One industry can contribute one-twentieth of the entire court’s tax revenue, which is already

It’s a huge number. This does not include the taxes derived from the shipbuilding industry, trade, etc. For example, when a sea-going ship goes to sea for trade, the Shipping Department only collects a commission from the total price of the goods traded. But this

The manufacturing and repair of a large ship, the boatmen on the ship, the workers on the dock, and the profits from the distribution of the goods after they arrive at the port are all derived benefits. The court can also receive money and taxes from these links. It is just not included in the market.

It’s just part of the shipping company’s money and tax revenue. But for big companies

The overall tax contribution of the Song Dynasty is obviously more than the figures on the surface.

However, decades have passed, and the Song Dynasty's fiscal revenue has increased from 10 million to 50 to 60 million taels per year. The Shipping Department has also grown a lot in the past few decades. But what Fang Zian saw was that the city

The contribution of the shipping department to the finance has not increased much. For an industry whose scale has increased several times and the total import and export of goods has increased more than ten times, this is obviously abnormal. Last year, 700,000 taels were collected. What should I do?

What a joke? The total trade volume is 60 to 70 million taels. Where did the money go? Moreover, for such a large trade of goods, foreign goods are not widely available in the market, and the prices are still ridiculously high. Why is this?

However, Fang Zian encountered a small embarrassment. His own manufacturing bureau was also engaged in the business of smuggling overseas goods, and the profits were extremely huge. I am afraid that he also had a share of this missing tax. But how much can his two ships have?

Cargo? And those big shipping lines that go out to sea with dozens of fleets have openly and formally obtained the qualifications for sea trading licensed by the Municipal Shipping Department. Excluding the smuggling part, they still don’t match the number. The trick here

It's very obvious.

The more he checked, the more Fang Zian became certain that huge profits had been embezzled here. The amount was definitely larger than imagined.

During the days when Fang Zian was reviewing the files, Jiang Zheng and others cooperated very actively. They were busy and attentive. However, there was always something flashing in each other's eyes in private. There seemed to be always something in the words of the questions.

He was testing something. Fang Zian was very friendly with them. He came and went on time every day and didn't say much. But the more this happened, the more obvious the panic of Jiang Zheng and others became.

As evening approached on that day, Fang Zian called Jiang Zheng to the public room.

"Mr. Jiang, starting from tomorrow, there is no need to send files. These days, my head has been dizzy. This is much more tiring than reading those vast poems and books when I was studying. I thought this was a leisurely yamen, but I didn't expect it.

But it's so tiring." Fang Zian smiled.

Jiang Zhengdao: "Your Majesty, I have already said that you don't have to do this. The people below will do the work. You only need to drink tea and enjoy the cool air in your leisure time. Why do you have to do these trivial things yourself?"

"

Fang Zian smiled and said: "I want to do this too, but since I receive a salary from the imperial court, I can't sit down and do nothing. It won't sound good if it gets spread. Besides, I also discovered some problems."

Jiang Zheng was startled and said hurriedly: "What problem did your Excellency find? Can you inform Beizhi. If there is anything inappropriate, Beizhi can instruct me to make rectifications and correct the mistakes."

Fang Zian nodded and said, "Then I'll make it clear. The numbers don't add up at all. The trade volume is so huge, our taxes should be doubled proportionally. Mr. Jiang, please explain this to me."

Jiang Zheng said hurriedly: "It turns out that this is the matter. I have long wanted to explain it to you, but I was afraid of disturbing your thoughts. Since you have brought it up, I naturally have to explain it to you. But when we talk about this matter

It's a long story, and I'm afraid it will take up time. Let's do it this way. Your Excellency has been coming to the Yamen for so many days, and Beizhi and several other adults want to give you a break. Why don't you show your respect tonight, and let's go to Fenghe Building to get together.

, on the one hand, I welcome you to perform your duties as a merchant, and on the other hand, I can talk to you about the situation here at the wine table."

Fang Zian laughed and said, "Why are you so polite? Why are you so embarrassed?"

Jiang Zheng smiled and said: "Yes, we should help you, otherwise others will say we are ignorant. Would you like to give me a favor?"
Chapter completed!