It was not until the evening of that day, when the sun was setting in the west, that this grand auction came to an end without any satisfaction. Thirty-six pieces of top-grade Jun porcelain were all sold at auction, and all of them fetched high prices of more than a thousand taels of silver.
Five days later, a businessman from Bianjing returned to Bianjing with the rare treasure "Youtan Sail Shadow" that he bought for 1,500 taels of silver. He sold it for 3,000 taels of silver and turned it over.
times.
The news spread, causing a sensation throughout Bianjing. Within a month, Junci's name as the "King of Porcelain" resounded throughout the Zhou Dynasty.
This time, merchants from Bianjing, Yangzhou, Jiangning, Lin'an, Yizhou, Quanzhou...all got wind of the news and rushed to Yuzhou from all over with heavy sums of money, eagerly looking forward to the next auction held by Juntai Porcelain House.<
/p>
Many merchants stayed in Yuzhou for two or three months in order to get ahead. These wealthy merchants from all over the country showed the people of Yuzhou what it means to spend money like water and spend lavishly, and they made great contributions to the economic development of Yuzhou.<
/p>
It can be explained visually with a set of data.
Before Wei Chen arrived in Yuzhou, that is, in May, the restaurants, inns, teahouses and other service industries in Yuzhou paid a total of about 900 taels of silver in taxes.
Of course, special service industries such as gambling brothels have a stronger ability to attract money and pay more taxes, totaling about 1,800 taels of silver.
The total of the two is less than three thousand taels.
However, after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Chen Siniang became an instant hit in Bianjing, "Ode to Jun Porcelain" gradually became popular, and merchants from all over the world began to pour into Yuzhou City, so these two figures skyrocketed.
In September, the total tax paid by the service industry was 5,000 taels, in October, 8,000 taels, and in November, 14,000 taels, which was nearly five times that of half a year ago.
And in December, stimulated by a new round of auctions of top-notch Jun porcelain, the number of merchants gathered in Yuzhou City reached a peak, and their spending power was unprecedentedly high.
Wei Chen's staff Fang Yuan estimated based on the data collected that in December, the service industry in Yuzhou alone could pay nearly 20,000 taels in taxes, and it should be stable at 15,000 taels per month in the future.
About two.
Such dazzling figures highlight the rapid development of Yuzhou's service industry and are a true reflection of Yuzhou's current prosperity.
The source of all this comes from the Jun porcelain trade that is in full swing.
The middle of December every year is the deadline for collecting autumn taxes stipulated by the imperial court. This is the busiest and most difficult time for government offices in various places in the Zhou Dynasty.
But in December this year, the Yuzhou Prefectural Government has swept away the gloom of previous years. From the governor Weichen to the ordinary scribes, their faces are full of excitement and joy.
The reason is simple.
You have money in your pocket, so don’t panic!
This year, the Junci Guild has contributed more than half of Yuzhou’s taxes alone. With such a large taxpayer here, why should we worry about autumn taxes?
Moreover, Jun porcelain trade has also driven the development of various industries in Yuzhou, such as the service industry mentioned earlier.
In addition, Yuzhou's medicinal materials industry has also received a lot of Junci's glory.
Yuzhou was originally a famous "medicine capital" in the Zhou Dynasty, with rich medicinal material resources and long-standing medicinal material processing technology.
It is said that famous doctors such as Bian Que, Hua Tuo, and Zhang Zhongjing all practiced medicine in Yuzhou. Sun Simiao, in particular, lived in Yuzhou for a long time and became known as the "King of Medicine" here.
Yuzhou's medicinal materials have always enjoyed a high reputation. Many merchants who originally came to Yuzhou for Junci will purchase some precious medicinal materials based on the principle of maximizing profits during their stay in Yuzhou.
This has resulted in Yuzhou’s medicinal material trading market becoming more prosperous than before, becoming the second important source of taxation in Yuzhou.
The porcelain industry takes the lead, followed by the medicinal materials industry and the service industry. This is the troika of Yuzhou's tax sources.
The proportion of traditional land tax in Yuzhou's tax structure has been reduced to the limit, less than 20%.
However, Wei Chen never ignored agriculture because of its small tax contribution.
In Wei Chen's mind, agriculture has always been a top priority.
Wei Chen knew very well that no matter how well Yuzhou's industry and commerce developed, the labor force it could absorb was still very limited, and most people in Yuzhou still had to rely on the harvest from the fields.
As the saying goes, five years of hard work will lead to one year of bad luck.
Farming is a business where you only have to look at God's face to eat. In a good year, you have to be fed and clothed, let alone a bad year. Even if you are hungry or cold, you are lucky.
Therefore, seeing that there was so much money in the official treasury that it was almost impossible to put it down, the first thing Wei Chen did was to reduce the land tax of 30% of the people in Yuzhou, and sent people to buy grain from Huguang and other places to make up the difference, so that the people could rest and recuperate. In addition, Wei Chen also issued a decree, requiring the government to purchase farm tools, livestock, seeds, etc., and lend them to farmers for free. He also raised young men and built water conservancy projects to prepare for next year's spring plowing.
Each item after item is a moral policy that is extremely affordable, which naturally makes the people of Yuzhou jump for joy and chant "Blue Sky".
In the winter of the sixth year of God's blessing, the people of Yuzhou rarely had a good year, but Wei Chen was worried that he had not done enough.
……
This day, early in the morning.
Outside the south gate of Yuzhou City, there is already a sea of people.
In the center of the crowd, Wei Chen and a group of officials and subordinates from Yuzhou City stood solemnly.
Each person holds a colorful staff made of five-color silk in his hand, and surrounds a native cow clad in red and colorful.
This native cow is made of clay, and is bent down to pull a plow. Even the bulging muscles on the shoulder blades are carved out. It is very delicately carved and looks almost the same as a real cow.
It is today’s protagonist.
Under the rule of the Great Zhou Dynasty, thousands of prefectures, counties, and even the imperial palace were governed. On the first day of spring, both officials and the emperor would come out and whip the local cow three times on the buttocks.
The emperor also performed the ritual of plowing the fields, personally going to the fields and pushing the plow nine times to show his righteousness to encourage farmers.
This set of rituals is called Spring Whip.
Wei Chen, as the official and pastor of Yuzhou, naturally had to participate in the annual spring whipping ceremony to pray for a good harvest for the people under his rule.
Amid the sound of drum music, Wei Chen took the lead and circled around the spring ox, and whipped it three times. Then Huang Shouzheng, Chen Jun and other officials came forward one after another, doing the same thing as Wei Chen, turning around and whipping it three times.
There were two clerks nearby singing songs to encourage farmers in the purest local dialect.
When the last official whipped his whip and turned around, the sound of gongs and drums started loudly, and Wei Chen led the officials back nearly a hundred steps.
As soon as they retreated, the atmosphere in the venue suddenly became tense, and thousands of people were ready to go.
In the center of the crowd, a hydrangea with red silk rose up, like a fuse lighting a firework. The whole place suddenly became agitated, and the crowd rushed up like a dam bursting.
Countless hands carried handfuls of soil from the broken spring ox, and some people even fought to snatch a piece of soil.
In just the blink of an eye, the spring cattle, which were as big as real cattle, were snatched away and no trace was seen again.
Wei Chen was secretly frightened. If he hadn't retreated in time, he might have been pushed down and trampled to death by the crazy crowd.
At the same time, I couldn't help feeling that a piece of soil carries the people's desire for a good harvest. No wonder they are so crazy.
After all the spring cattle have been snatched, the Spring Whipping Ceremony has also come to an end. The gongs and drums have stopped, and the crowds have dispersed, leaving only a mess.
Looking at the people who came to kowtow to him to thank him after grabbing the clods of soil, Wei Chen couldn't help but sigh secretly.
This group of common people are really the easiest group of people in the world to be satisfied with. Since I am sitting in the position of my parents, what reason do I have for not doing my best for them?