Chapter 1020: Shao Xun reports and manages the tax bank
"It's a pity that the treasury is empty now. Otherwise, it would be nothing if Shen Tang commanded his troops and marched with just one Dali!"
Zhao Shen sighed and said!
"Zhang Aiqing, you..."
"His Majesty!"
At this moment, Wang Quan suddenly entered the hall. Without waiting for Zhao Shen to ask questions, Wang Quan said happily, "The magistrate of Lianli City in the North has brought several months of commercial tax, and it is now being inspected by the Ministry of Household Affairs!"
"This is the memorial submitted by Shao Zhi County of Lianli City!"
"Why does Lianli City collect tax money at this time?"
Zhao Shen asked in surprise.
There were many types of taxes in the Song Dynasty, but they were mainly land tax, head tax, and commercial tax! Moreover, they were generally collected in summer and autumn, mostly after the harvest!
There are also many ways to collect taxes. In addition to the most common copper coins, cloth, grain, rice, etc. can be used as tax money.
However, just like the tax money Shen Tang encountered in Shenjia Village, if he used other things to top it up, the loss would be enough to make people feel painful.
Now that the New Year has just passed, it is a time of drought, which is why the Song Dynasty's treasury is so empty.
As he spoke, Zhao Shen opened the memorial directly. After a while, Zhao Shen handed the memorial to Zhang Jun aside, "If I remember correctly, the magistrate of Lianli City is Shao Xun, the head of the Shao family, Shen Tang. Father-in-law?"
"Shao Xun is really thoughtful. He reported that he knew that the treasury was empty, so he sent the commercial taxes for the past few months to meet the urgent need!"
"Huh?"
Speaking of this, Zhao Shen suddenly paused, "This Shao Xun took office in October last year, right?"
Wang Quan nodded, "Exactly, after Mr. Shen's wedding last year, Shao Xun took office as the magistrate of Lianli City!"
"After all, it only took about three months, but the business tax he delivered was two million! Why so much?
He won't use his business skills to take advantage of other businessmen, right?"
Zhao Shen frowned and said.
"Your Majesty, there are detailed account books sent with me, and they are in the hands of the Ministry of Accounts now."
"Go and get it immediately! In addition, Xuan Ma Shao comes to see you immediately!"
Zhao Shen said immediately.
The reason why Zhao Shen reacted this way was not that the tax paid was too little. On the contrary, it was a bit too much! Nowadays, the annual tax in the Song Dynasty is only more than 50 million, with an average of more than ten yuan. If so, the annual tax for each road would only be over 3 million! If averaged to each state capital, the annual tax would be only around 300,000, and that would be a whole year's tax.
However, Lianli City is now just one county. This is simply a terrifying number!
Not long after, Ma Shao and Wang Quan came to the main hall carrying a thick stack of account books.
"Ma Shao, have you read Lianli City's tax account books?"
Zhao Shen asked with a frown.
Ma Shao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I have checked everything and there are no omissions or mistakes?"
"What?
Then why is it that in just one county, there are two million tax dollars in these few months?"
Zhao Shen asked in surprise.
Ma Shao shook his head, "Your Majesty has misunderstood. This is not the tax money collected by Shao Zhixian for three months after he took office. Part of it is left over from before! According to your Majesty's order, the money originally allocated to build the city of Lianli City was not enough. , offset by commercial tax.
Therefore, before Shao Zhixian took office, there was a lot of tax money left over, but it was not liquidated specifically!"
"After Shao Zhixian took office, he first liquidated the previous commercial taxes. Since the mutual trading of Liancheng and Liancheng, there was a total of 1.5 million left over! Moreover, after Shao Zhixian took office, he encouraged merchants and the entire county government would report any merchants' requests. Always try our best to help.
Therefore, this county has become a gathering place for merchants from the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty. It is said that there are even merchant ships from overseas traveling thousands of miles to trade in Lianli City."
"I checked the transaction account books of the past few months. Shao Zhixian's records are extremely detailed. From purchases of thousands of silver to transactions of tens or millions of taels, everything is detailed and everything is clear! It is precisely because Shao Zhixian has a strict attitude towards merchants. He is not only serious but also fair, which makes Lianli City's transaction volume grow more and more. In the three months since he took office, the minimum one month was more than one million taels, and the maximum one month even reached four million taels! "
"So, in just three months, the business tax amounted to 500,000 taels!"
When Zhao Shen heard this, his face was full of surprise, "Isn't this Shao Xun a merchant's home before?"
Ma Shao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, it is precisely because of this that he knows what other merchants want, and precisely because of this, he is able to build this Lianli City into a holy place in the hearts of all merchants! Now, this small Lianli City , has become the cornucopia of our Song Dynasty!"
"Okay! Okay!"
Zhao Shen clapped his hands and praised, "My dear, when you recommended Ma Shao, I still had doubts. Now it seems that the magistrate we have chosen is really good! With the land of this county, it can be compared with ordinary people." The state government’s tax revenue is even more, and Shao Xun deserves to be called the God of Wealth!"
Knowing the reason, Zhao Shen was not only relieved, but also extremely satisfied! In this way, such a place can pay millions of tax dollars every year. What is this cornucopia?
"Speaking of which, Shen Tang, the father-in-law and son-in-law, can be said to be great ministers! Shen Tang sits in charge of Chengdu Mansion Road for me, and his father-in-law is also such a talented person!"
"It is precisely because His Majesty is wise and eclectic that such talented people are at Your Majesty's disposal!"
Zhang Jun said in response.
Zhao Shen nodded happily, "Royal Quan, pass the order to Shi Hao and Ye Yong, and ask them to discuss the reward for Shao Xun as soon as possible. He serves me, and I naturally have clear rewards and punishments. I can't let my heroes feel cold!"
"Ma Shao, please take care of this money for me. Although it is not much, it can meet our urgent needs! In addition, the salt that Shaosheng's two caravans need to exchange for transporting grain and rice for the Northwest Fifth Road should be processed as soon as possible. Yes! You can calculate the exact amount and report it to me.
However, they have contributed to the imperial court, and the imperial court cannot let them suffer!"
"Zhang Aiqing, please send an order to the Song Dynasty soldiers and horses around southern Xinjiang. If Shen Tang needs them, he can dispatch them first and then report to the court! Shen Tang does not have many available soldiers and horses, and the war is changing rapidly. If we wait, If you follow the imperial court's orders, it will be detrimental to Shen Tang's campaign! Please consider this matter yourself, tell Shen Tang and let him do it. Since I leave the matter to him, I can trust him and there is no need to have any doubts!"
Zhang Jun's previous words and Shao Xun's performance made Zhao Shen's trust in Shen Tang suddenly increase! Therefore, he no longer had any worries. Although some things could not be made explicit, at least he You can have the right to support and trust Shen Tang.