It took seven days to get from Taiyuan to Langmengsai.
Along the way, what he saw was a prosperous straight road full of traffic.
Countless heavy-duty horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts and even handcarts were walking along the straight road, pushing countless commodities of all kinds.
People are rushing to engage in trafficking.
Many people even simply carry them on their shoulders, carrying large and small commodities, and trek on the autumn road.
When you are hungry, you take dry food from your arms, heat it in a pot, and eat it with a vinegar cloth; when you are thirsty, you drink mountain spring or even river water.
As for the powerful businessmen, they directly used expensive heavy-duty carriages with fully armed guards to escort thousands of commodities.
Some teams stretched for two or three miles, with more than a thousand people!
Standing at the head of Langmeng Fortress, Zhidu looked at the gate of the city, where the carriages, oxcarts and people were lining up to leave the fortress, and he was speechless for a long time.
"Wang Xuan, how many people come out of Langmeng Fortress every day?" Zhidu turned to ask Wang Xuan, the wolfman next to him. Wang Xuan was Zhidu's old subordinate. Five years ago, Zhidu was the governor of Henan County.
, Wang Xuan is a handyman in the governor's office of Henan County. Because of his diligence and hard work, he was promoted by Zhidu. He went from Dou Shi to today's Wolf Meng Order, ranking as high as a thousand stones!
In front of his old superior and benefactor, Wang Xuan naturally did not dare to hide anything, and replied: "Reporting to your Majesty, since the fifth month of Xia, the number of departures from the Wolf Fortress every day can range from 3,000 to 2,000..."
He looked at the densely packed city gate, almost entirely occupied by crowds, and said with fear: "Most of them are civilians who trafficked supplies to Dragon City on their own..."
Ever since the Dragon City trade flourished, this terrible wave of trafficking has appeared in the Daibei area.
Moreover, because there are so many successful people, it becomes more and more intense.
At first, most of the participants were local tycoons or ranger leaders, but as the profits of the Dragon City trade became more and more exaggerated, the legend became more and more exaggerated.
People from the middle and lower classes also began to join in.
Many farmers even simply picked up their own grain and cloth and started to work as traders.
Some smart people even fired their own ceramic vessels or bronze vessels and sold them to Dragon City in the hope of becoming rich.
However, how can the road to wealth be so easy?
It's okay within the Great Wall. At most, these people just have a difficult journey and have to endure some hardships.
But after leaving the Great Wall and entering the wilderness, they could only hope for luck.
In the past few months, there has been an increase in bandits and caravans on the road from Chulangjian to Longcheng.
Almost every day, corpses of people killed by bandits and horse bandits can be found.
In order to maintain the safety of trade routes and improve political performance, the Juzhu Army and the Shangjun County Sheriff's Office organized a patrol force of more than 4,000 cavalry and began to conduct non-stop inspections of the grasslands. The County Sheriff's Office even directly authorized the army - which can
They acted on their own terms and killed everyone they thought might be horse bandits or thieves.
But it still had no deterrent effect.
Horse bandits and thieves are still rampant.
They also engaged in guerrilla warfare with the army. When the enemy advanced, we retreated, and when the enemy retreated, we advanced.
As for the common people, they all know that the road is bumpy and safety is questionable.
But the pursuit of wealth made them abandon all fear and fear, and resolutely embarked on this unknown road of unknown life and death.
"The people are not afraid of death, so how can they be afraid of death..." Looking at this situation, Zhidu could only sigh with emotion.
Along the way, he sent a large number of officials and staff to these people and business travelers to ask them the purpose of their trip, why they didn't live a peaceful life at home? and other questions.
The answer he got made Zhidu frightened and unable to control himself!
The answer given by almost the vast majority of people is - to get rich!
Some people just picked up some cloth and enamel at home and sold it to Longcheng and made a fortune simply because they heard about someone from a neighboring county.
He went home and built a new house, married Xijun, and bought hundreds of acres of land. He didn't even bother to inquire. He picked up the cloth and salt at home and embarked on this road full of dangers, thorns and unknowns.
journey.
Many people even need to spend three months and travel thousands of miles to transport their goods to Longcheng and sell them to those barbarians who need them.
Faced with such a situation, Zhidu, who was born in Legalism, felt a little confused in his three views and could hardly control his position.
Such a situation is naturally abnormal in traditional Legalist thinking and needs to be corrected.
But the problem is that the current world is an era of great ideological development following the Warring States Period.
In Zhidu's vision, there were not only the thoughts and discussions of Legalism, but also the theories and discussions of Huang-Lao School, Mohism, Za Jia and even Confucianism.
All kinds of ideas are fiercely competing with each other in society, among the people, and even in the political arena.
During the Warring States period, hundreds of schools of thought copied a lot of it.
It's pretty much the same now.
Confucianism will plagiarize and absorb some of the advanced ideas of Legalism and Huang Lao.
The Legalists will also not become blind and cannot see the things of the Mohists, Huang Lao and Zajia.
The fierce competition and fusion of ideas created a broad vision for the senior officials of the Han Dynasty.
Even Liu She, the Taoist candidate who was once considered a flatterer, has made outstanding political achievements in the position of Shaofu and is well-known throughout the world. Although he still cannot get rid of the label of a flatterer, at least no one dares to say that he is a lucky minister anymore. At most, he is cursed.
A few words of sycophancy at home.
There is a big difference between this sycophant and a happy minister!
Fortunately, the minister has no ability at all, and he just relies on flattery and flattery to gain his fortune.
During the reign of the late emperor, Zhou Ren, the doctor's order, and Deng Tong, the great eunuch during the reign of Emperor Taizong, were representatives of the fortunate ministers.
But the sycophant is capable, and he is a minister who can bring trouble to the world.
Even Liu She can grow up to be a fawning minister, and Zhidu, a goshawk, will naturally not be left behind.
Among the many popular thoughts and discussions in the world, there is a saying that has been turning over and over in Zhidu's mind for the past few months.
"The king of ten thousand chariots and the master of hundreds of households still suffers from poverty and low status, let alone the people who live in households."
"When the deep is deep, fish come out; when the mountains are deep, beasts come out; when people are rich, benevolence and righteousness are attached to them..."
This is a miscellaneous view, from "On the Wealth of the People".
Nowadays, almost every major Legalist master has a copy of this book.
Almost subconsciously, all the Legalist giants were extremely hostile and wary of this book and its contents.
This is not only because of the historical grievances between the Legalists and the Zajia, but also because some of the remarks in this book hit the weakness of Legalist thought.
"It seems that we, the Legalists, have to get a copy of "The Wealth of Nations" to fight back..." Zhi Du thought in his heart.
Under the banner of enriching the people, the Zajia swaggers through the market, and their ability to confuse and brainwash is particularly strong, especially for businessmen and poor families, and they are huge in wooing and tempting them.
To defeat this unhealthy trend, all Legalists can do is to confront it.
You talk about the wealth of the people? Then I will talk about the wealth of the country!
In order to attract and influence the ruler's judgment.
However, this matter cannot be done in an instant.
In particular, he is actually very poor in diction.
Among the nine ministers of the Han family, his diction and writing skills have always been at the bottom.
For this matter, we can only rely on the efforts of Chao Cuo, Zhao Yu, Zhang Tang and others.
However, standing at the head of Langmeng Fortress, Zhidu still discovered something unusual.
He turned to look at Wang Xuan and asked, "Who is the person who checks and distributes bamboo charms at the city gate?"
"Oh...these are the officials stationed at Langmeng Fortress by the Lord Commander..." Wang Xuan said with a smile: "All those who leave the fortress need to be issued with bamboo identification talismans and customs clearance deeds before they can leave the fortress. Otherwise,
, without the identity bamboo talisman and passing the customs contract, not only will no one dare to buy this person’s goods after going to Longcheng, even if they want to come back, they can’t!”
"Captain Lord?" Zhidu frowned slightly. Of course he knew about this new government office established by the emperor.
Since taking office today, he has established three completely new institutions.
The first is the currently flourishing Protectorate System.
The Governor of the Protectorate has a high and powerful position, and he is almost like a vassal king with a different surname.
Today's Governor of the Anbei Protectorate, Yizong, holds the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry and concurrently as Governor of the Anbei Protectorate.
But now, the Anbei Protectorate is still in the process of planning and preparation, so Yi Zong did not go to Taiyuan.
The second one is the embroidered clothes guard who made officials, officials, and nobles change their minds after hearing about it.
In the past few years, as the performance of the Xiu Yiwei has continued to increase, the bureaucrats, nobles and scholar-bureaucrats no longer dare to talk randomly in public, otherwise God knows if there are spies from the Xiu Yiwei listening in?
The third one is the seemingly inconspicuous Lord Duwei Yamen.
Since the establishment of Lord Commandery, although the scale has expanded more than ten times compared to the original, its status is still humble.
Zuo Duwei Gongsun Hong, who is in charge of the Duke Duwei, was promoted to Qianshi just two months ago.
Inside this yamen, most of them are businessmen's children, and it is regarded as a yamen that only deals with businessmen.
Since it is a government office that deals with businessmen, of course the gentry and officials will not pay too much attention to it.
Isn't it ungentlemanly to stare at a merchant's office every day?
As Jiu Qing, Zhidu certainly didn't have the time to pay attention to a mere thousand-stone yamen.
However, here, in this wolf fortress, there appeared the officials and staff of a small Lord Duwei Yamen who was not even noticeable in Chang'an.
And it seems that this person from the Lord Commander's Office seems to have control over the entry and exit of all business travelers entering and exiting the Great Wall?
This is no small matter!
Since ancient times, taxes are both financial power, and financial power is authority.
Why is Shaofu so awesome?
Because the young master is rich!
In the same way, the big farmers who control the land tax and part of the salt and iron revenue have been very bullish in recent years. They talk about Kunming Lake and praise Xie Xie, and they have the temperament of a big business owner.
Now, the Lord Commander controls the authority to enter and leave the Great Wall, as well as the authority to collect taxes.
Is it still not allowed to take off in the future?
Thinking like this, Zhidu began to be more vigilant.
He quickly asked: "The lord and captain, whose rank is not comparable to Qianshi, how can he get such power?"
"Report to your Majesty..." Wang Xuan gave an embarrassed bitter smile and said: "The tax school lieutenant stationed in Langmengsai by the Lord Commander is named Yang Ke. It is said that he is the proud disciple of the Lord Commander Gongsun Hong. He calls himself
The incarnation and shadow of Captain Gongsun... And Captain Gongsun is also the lucky minister of the emperor. The fake emperor's festival is used to collect taxes on merchants, cars, ships, and mining from all over the world. This captain Yang even holds the emperor's festival in hand, and also gets the Juzhu military peace.
The support of the acting king... is certainly entitled in this wolf fortress..."
"Besides, your Majesty does not know something. It is said that Lieutenant Yang has a group of tax collectors under his command. There are more than 800 people in total, fully armed. It is said that they are composed of Han people who returned from the Huns. They are extremely fierce.
brutal……"
Wang Xuan's words revealed countless information, which made Zhi Du look suddenly nervous.
Zhi never imagined that a small tax school lieutenant of the Lord Commander's Yamen, who was almost inconspicuous in Chang'an, might not be as high as 400 Shi.
But he controlled and mastered the authority to approve the entry and exit of the Great Wall, and even raised an army for tax collection!
Judging from the situation introduced by Wang Xuan, I am afraid that none of these tax collectors are good!
If you think about it, you can understand who were the people who were able to escape from the Han Dynasty and go to the Huns?
As Zhijinwu, Zhidu is very aware of the quality of these people!
In fact, in the past, those who would flee from the Han Dynasty to the Xiongnu were not only rebellious ministers and criminal ministers, but also those murderers, thieves and extremely vicious scum who were wanted by the government and had no way to escape.
"How does Yang collect taxes?" Zhidu asked hurriedly, he had already guessed something.
"Reporting to your Majesty, Lieutenant Yang is very law-abiding. The taxes he collects are all collected in accordance with the provisions of "Ping Lv"..." Wang Xuan introduced with a smile: "Of course, other than that
In addition, business travelers entering and exiting the Great Wall have to pay some miscellaneous fees such as road maintenance fees, military patrol fees, etc., but these taxes are not much, only about ten yuan for a car..."
When the tax collectors of the Lord Lieutenant first came to attack the enemy, Wang Xuan resisted.
I think they are here to grab power.
But now, Wang Xuan has become a group with these people.
The reason is very simple - after the Lord Commander collects the tax, he will leave 30% for him and the Juzhu Army, which will be divided among the Shangjun.
Although this money cannot go into his personal pocket, it can be used to improve political performance.
Today's prosperity of Langmengsai and the cleanliness of the city are inseparable from the taxes paid by the lord and captain.
You know, a few years ago, Langmengsai was famously miserable.
"I know..." After hearing Wang Xuan's answer, Zhidu couldn't tell what he was feeling.
Because he already knows that what he guessed is becoming a fact.
More than thirty years after they were deposed, "Jinbulu" and "Shanglu" are crawling back from hell to the world through the hands of Lord Duwei Yamen.
At that time, the concerns of the ministers at the court meeting about "Ping Lv" were becoming a reality.
And once these two laws finally come back to life, the whole world will be completely different.
Zhidu has almost no doubt that it is very likely that in the future, commercial tax will surpass land tax and become the country's third largest tax source after tax and salt and iron tax, or even directly become the country's largest tax source!
Financial power is power.
Money means power!
Once this happens, the merchant's social status is destined to soar!
After all, you can't simultaneously discriminate against and suppress businessmen and at the same time rule the world with their money.
This is unreasonable and will definitely cause problems.
What's even more troublesome is...
Once this happens, both the government and the public will experience a huge earthquake.
Does the emperor want to collect business taxes?
In the past, this may not have been a big problem. After all, the ministers and nobles were alienated from the merchants.
But things are different now.
Countless ministers all wear businessman's white gloves.
If the emperor's taxes were levied on them, they would probably not agree.
This means that the emperor's sword may be stained with blood again.
