Feng Zhidai, who was observing the foyer of the yamen office and sitting there drinking tea before seeing him, finally waited for the results and quickly got up and went over carrying the gifts.
Wu Huaiyu met with Governor Feng in the courtyard. He had deliberately left him to dry out for the past few days. The heat was almost done. If he left it out for a while, it would really make people's hearts cold. He would need his cooperation next.
Wu Huaiyu noticed Feng's performance these days. He was a man who was very clear and aware of current affairs. It could also be said that he was careful about his duties and did not have too many ambitions.
"After being in Beijing for a few months, the ambassador's office had a large backlog of affairs. As soon as he came back, he was busy and kept Governor Feng waiting for a long time."
"It's okay," Feng Zhidai said, and then gestured to bring some small gifts. "I read a new poem by the governor a few days ago.
Sophora bud cakes in a bowl with green floating eggs, catfish on an ice plate with red dots, drunk and full, high sleep, true career, the taste of this life lies in Sanyu.
It was so well written that I couldn’t help but miss the sophora leaf cold pottery I often ate in Chang’an. The one I particularly remembered most was the time I ate it at the Prime Minister Wu’s residence.”
"I specially asked Zhuo Jing to make some locust leaf cold pottery when I came here today. The craftsmanship is not as rough as that of Wu Xiangfu's, but I also brought some specialties from our Gaofu today."
The specialties he mentioned include fish balls, mackerel balls, eel balls, snake mullet balls, as well as blue crabs, oysters, and conches from Bohe Port, which are fresh and plump.
There are also fresh sea fish such as croaker, hairtail, cuttlefish, squid, mackerel, and perch.
I specially asked someone to go back to Bohe Port in Gaozhou to pick it up.
He even specially brought clover leaves,
"Fresh fish is delicious when steamed. Adding some clover leaves can play a good role in removing the fishy smell."
Huaiyu looked at the fresh gifts and said with a smile, "It happens to be getting late. It's already noon. How about we light up the stove in the courtyard and cook some seafood?"
"Okay, let's cook the fish balls, steam the sea bass, steam a basket of blue crabs, fry an eel, then charcoal grill the oysters and snails..." Feng Zhidai is quite experienced when it comes to eating seafood.
So Huaiyu was not polite and asked someone to bring the stove, and the two of them started cooking seafood by themselves.
The seafood is very fresh, so it is delicious steamed, boiled or fried.
Feng Zhidai also brought a jar of Sangluo wine,
This wine is a famous wine in the Northern Wei Dynasty. It is made from sorghum, peas, mung beans, etc. It needs to be stored for more than a year after brewing. The taste brewed with the spring water of Sangluo Spring is the most unique.
The Sangluo wine from Puzhou in Hedong Province has been bought by people who have traveled thousands of miles to buy it, and it is hard to find a jar.
Next, serve a bowl of fish ball thick noodles, no, it’s fish ball and locust leaf cold pottery,
Open the mud seal of aged sangluo wine,
"Come on, drink and win!"
Clink glasses together,
Drink it all in one gulp.
At first, Feng Zhidai was still a little restrained. Wu Huaiyu hadn't seen each other since he came back from Beijing this time, which made the relationship between the two people unavoidable. Feng Zhidai even couldn't help but think about it.
After drinking this glass of wine, the atmosphere gradually improved.
As long as seafood is fresh, it can be equally delicious with simple cooking methods. Whether it is steamed or boiled, you can taste its original sweetness and deliciousness.
The fish balls brought by Feng Zhidai are also very chewy and chewy, they are all made from real ingredients.
Paired with Sanluo wine, it is indeed a very enjoyable meal.
Chatting while eating,
Wu Huaiyu controlled the rhythm very well, and Feng Zhidai was almost led along, but the more he ate, the happier he became. He raised his glass frequently and soon became half drunk.
"Shuai Lian, I have already sent greetings to all the eight states of Gaofu, asking all states and counties to speed up the preparation of tax bills. As soon as November arrives, they will go to the countryside to collect taxes and ensure that the autumn taxes will be collected in November."
As he spoke, he patted his chest and said, "No matter how much tax I collect, I will pay one-third to the envoy and another third to the national treasury. I will do what I say."
After saying a few words, he poured himself another glass and drank it all in one go.
Soon his face was flushed, and he even stuttered when he spoke, "I have met Duan Sima and Gao Jun in the past few days, and I have also talked with them.
I fully support Duan Sima's appointment as deputy defense envoy of Gaozhou, support him in training and commanding the 3,000 new soldiers of the Gaozhou Guard Camp, and also support Gao Junshi in taking over the Yongning Army. I fully support them. The cost of the new army of Gaozhou Guard Camp, I
I also promise here that there is no need for the imperial government to allocate money, the eight states of Gaofu will handle it themselves, and I will pay for it."
······
Feng Zhidai seemed to be excavating his heart and lungs, and seemed to be completely drunk.
Wu Huaiyu always smiled,
He knew that Feng Zhidai drank a lot, but he was definitely not completely drunk, at most half drunk. This guy was acting, relying on some alcohol to act.
The acting was pretty good,
This statement is what he needs,
Feng Zhidai supported the implementation of the two-tax law, he supported the three-cent tax, he supported the construction of the garrison camp, he supported Duan Shen's return to command the garrison camp, and he also supported Gao Rong's promotion to Yongning Army garrison.
Anyway, his current profile is extremely low, and he supports all the arrangements made by the court.
He also gave unconditional support to Wu Huaiyu,
It's just unbelievable,
But Wu Huaiyu really believed that he was not lying. He might be acting, but he was not deceiving. His choice at the moment was actually the most current choice and the most correct choice.
Feng Ang, who was accompanying him at Jiucheng Palace, clearly stated in his letter to his son that he must obey the court's policies because Lao Feng was very knowledgeable.
Speaking of excitement,
Feng Zhidai no longer drank, but helped Wu Huaiyu roast and pry oysters, "Lian Shuai, eat more oysters. Men take a lot of tonic. The oysters in this season are very fat."
People who didn't know better thought that Feng Zhidai was a local official, but they never imagined that he was the governor of the high government and the current head of the Lingnan Feng family.
Life is hard, eat oysters.
To live a better life, you should eat oysters. Raw oysters can not only be directly grilled over charcoal, but also steamed. You can also cut out the oyster meat, stir it with wine, and put it into water to cook and eat.
The best oysters in Guangdong are Zhanjiang Guandu oysters. The oysters here grow at the junction of salt and fresh water. The water quality is excellent and the salt and fresh water are balanced, making the oysters here particularly plump and delicious.
A party cannot be held without poetry and wine, and a feast must include fat oysters.
Feng Zhidai is an expert at prying out oyster shells and carving out oyster meat. He is very skilled at it. He can do it several times, but Wu Huaiyu is not polite to him.
If Feng cuts one out, he will eat one.
Eat in big chunks, extremely delicious.
"Seize the time to check and sort out the household registration records and land account books again,"
"If there is anyone who resists the obstruction, if you are unable to handle it, or if it is inconvenient, you can report it directly to me, or you can directly speak to Gao Rong, the military envoy of Yongning, or Duan Shen, the deputy defense envoy of Gaozhou,"
Huaiyu finished eating the oysters and then started eating blue crabs. As usual, the experienced Feng Zhidai was helping him get the meat and paste. Feng Zhidai listened to his plain words, but knew the murderous intention in them.
Of course, this murderous intention was not directed at him, he had already expressed enough sincerity,
That murderous intention was directed at the powerful chiefs and shoguns from the eight states of Gaofu.
The powerful people will be the hardest hit by the two-tax law. They occupy a large number of fields and operate mines and workshops.
Taxation is based on acres, and even the money for labor must be paid in lieu of labor, and the labor money is spread among the acres. For those powerful landowners, the tax is a huge sum. It could be said that there was almost no tax in the past, but now it is a hundred times higher.
Increased a thousand times,
Are you using a knife to cut out the meat?
Even if these two taxes are levied on a per-mu basis, the actual spread does not account for much of the output per mu, but who is willing to pay outside?
There will definitely be a lot of opposition,
Even the Feng family should have taken the lead in opposing it.
But Feng An said he would obey, and he didn't dare to object, so he just ignored it.
"Especially the field inventory must be accurate and timely. It cannot be delayed for too long. It must be completed and registered before November. The ambassador's office will also send people down to verify it."
"In terms of items, we must first sort out the household registration and land acres. When collecting taxes, we must first collect household taxes and local taxes. As for other industrial and commercial miscellaneous taxes, monopoly taxes, mining taxes, etc., I can relax some restrictions. This year, as long as it is in
Just collect it before the end of the year,”
Wu Huaiyu said while eating,
Feng Zhidai listened carefully while cutting the crab legs to get the meat.
"One more thing, the Municipal Shipping Department mentioned to me that there are many people illegally smuggling along the coast of Gaofu. This matter needs to be investigated."
Wu Huaiyu only said to check it out, but actually he left room for Feng Zhidai.
Because the smuggling along the Gaofu coast is actually mainly done by the Feng family and the Xian family.
The imperial court now has many ports along the coast, but they are also divided into domestic trade and foreign trade.
For example, Yangzhou and Hangzhou are domestic trade ports.
Guangzhou and Jiaozhou are foreign trade ports.
In recent years, the imperial court has listed Quanzhou and Dengzhou as foreign trade ports, while Qinzhou in Lingnan, Fuzhou and Mingzhou in Jiangdong have also been added as domestic trade ports.
Foreign trade ports have municipal shipping departments, and domestic trade ports also have specialized management agencies.
For example, in Lingnan, the designated foreign trade ports are Guangzhou and Jiaozhou, which means that only these two ports are qualified for foreign trade, and Hu merchant ships can only trade in and out of these two ports.
Except for this, they are not allowed to anchor or trade in other places in Lingnan.
Doing this for the court is also conducive to management and the development of the trade economy. Of course, it is also convenient for tax collection, and this tax is actually not low.
The Municipal Shipping Department will draw an explanation, that is, whether the customs tax levied is two cents, a 20% tax, or it will be levied directly on the physical goods.
Under such a heavy tax, of course there are many maritime merchants who are willing to smuggle goods. They do not dock in the two ports of Guangzhou and Jiaotong, do not register or pay taxes, and directly land and trade secretly in other places.
The Feng family's Gaozhou Dudufu is located on the coast. There are several coastal states in the eight states of Gaofu. Beijin Bay, Bohe Port, Zhanjiang Port, etc. are all big ports.
They have also been doing maritime trade with the Hu people and making a lot of money.
But now Wu Huaiyu said that they were smuggling, but he did not directly name the Feng family.
"In the future, if the Gaofu government wants to do maritime trade, they will come to Guangzhou Port. If they smuggle directly with the foreigners again and are discovered by the Guangzhou Shipping Department or the patrol navy, the consequences will be very serious, ranging from the confiscation of the ship and cargo.
, the penalty is a fine, and in severe cases, the person may be imprisoned, beheaded, or have his or her house confiscated and beheaded.”
Feng Zhidai was stunned,
He did not expect that Wu Huaiyu wanted so much, not only levying two taxes, but also taking away two-thirds of the taxes. Now they were not even allowed to trade with Hu merchants.
If you go to Guangzhou, you will have to pay 20% of the price, and if there are good things, the merchants will give priority to buying them. The difference between the outside and the outside here is huge.
It's hard to agree to this.
"Please tell the merchants over there in Gaofu, don't say you didn't predict what you said!" Wu Huaiyu smiled and peeled off a blue crab shell, which was filled with yellow fat.
