The spring breeze brought warmth, the earth returned to spring, and the canal began to operate on a large scale.
Chaoguan is the most important type of Guaguan in the Ming Dynasty.
The preface to "Chaoguan Zhenglu" written by Gao Linghan of the Ming Dynasty begins with: "Why was Chaoguan established? To levy commercial taxes!"
Beixinguan is in Hangzhou. It is located at the intersection of Yuhangtang River, Xiaohe and the Grand Canal. It enjoys a favorable geographical location. As one of the seven major banknotes on the canal, it is also the first pass to the north. A large number of watercrafts gather here.
It was still dark, and as usual, the tankers gathered in front of the customs early to load a large amount of southern goods, such as silk, tea and other southern goods, and head north on a large scale.
However, although the canal is safe, it has nothing to do with convenience. From Beijing to Yangzhou, it takes at least more than a month to walk and no more than a hundred miles a day.
Historically, the Caobang was established during the Yongzheng period. This was because the water transport was transferred from the official operation to the democratic movement, which was like outsourcing. However, the main force of the water transport was gradually replaced by the democratic movement.
For convenience and speed, many tributes were outsourced to civilian ships by local officials in order to send them north as quickly as possible.
Among the seven passes of the canal, Beixinguan is the most different because it is a triple water gathering place with a large number of private roads.
According to the statistics recorded in Volume 3 of "Beixinguan Chronicle", "Prohibition", there are more than 30 private roads, which does not include the incalculable nameless forest trails and mountain roads.
The financial profits drive people crazy, and privately owned watercrafts have been looking for ways to steal through the checkpoints.
"Hey, Brother Nian, let's hurry up, haven't we arrived at Shitingzi entrance yet?"
A large number of smuggling boats, as if with a navigation system, smoothly passed through the banknotes and arrived at the familiar port.
Come in an orderly manner, greet each other, be polite and quiet.
Zhang Qianqian was rowing when he heard the shouts of his friends. He didn't take it seriously and said, "I'm very familiar with this road. Don't be in a hurry."
As a result, many boats passed by, which made my friend upset and angry.
"Don't be in a hurry, you have to be calm when doing business..."
He kept nagging all the way, but Zhang Qianqian's hand rowed faster, and soon he discovered something was wrong.
As time went by, he could not see any more boats. When he reached a boundary, he suddenly froze:
I saw that at the original gap, a small bridge appeared out of thin air, and several tax soldiers carrying swords were staring at the river with eager eyes.
In front of us, dozens of watercraft were intercepted.
"Why don't you let us pass?"
"There's no cash check here—"
For a time, many boatmen were filled with indignation, wearing single coats, waving straw hats, and shouted plausibly.
The tax soldiers watched indifferently, and waited until their voices calmed down before shouting: "Although this is not Beixinguan, it is still part of the canal. If you try to evade taxes, even if the King of Heaven comes, it will not work..."
"Why, why?"
"What I rely on is my waist knife. Anyone who dares to break through will be shot to death——"
Once someone becomes murderous, the boatmen will be speechless for a moment.
"This brother, my master is the one who is responsible for the promotion of people!"
"I am from the county magistrate's family..."
"Bah -" the tax soldier cursed: "Even if it belongs to the Prime Minister's family, it's useless."
As he spoke, he raised his head proudly, patted his chest and said, "I am a royal guard, who dares to be so presumptuous?"
As he said that, a Jin Yiwei waist badge was waved, making everyone surprised and confused.
"Jinyiwei came to Hangzhou to collect taxes?"
"Where is your Feiyu suit? How could it be Jin Yiwei..."
Many people don't believe it.
"The check is internal money. It's normal for us Jin Yiwei to come to the check -"
"Go back quickly, we can only cross through Beixinguan."
At this moment, everyone suddenly realized.
Jinyiwei is the emperor's lackey. It is normal for him to serve his master and to collect taxes.
Many people do not believe in evil, and there are many trails in Beixinguan. They tried them one by one, and no surprise, they were all full of tax soldiers.
Even in order to block the canal boats, many trails were cut off in the middle and blocked with wooden fences. Only small fish and shrimps could pass through, and it was impossible for boats to pass.
Zhang Qianqian had no choice but to come to Xinbeiguan with everyone. By this time, there was already a long queue here.
A large number of canals were moored, waiting for passage. The entire canal was blocked at this moment, stretching for more than ten miles, attracting attention.
Sun Changzhou watched all this from the pass and nodded with satisfaction: "You Jin Yiwei are better at it. Two or three people can control it. Not many dare to break in."
"Although many of the Jinyiwei have been eliminated, their reputation has not diminished. Although there are many trails, few dare to escape as long as they are willing to use force."
Wu Bangfu showed a smile, which was quite confident and a bit flattering.
Sun Changzhou, the governor of water transportation, was the commander of the Jinyi Guards before, but now he still treats him with respect.
Therefore, the emperor asked the Jin Yiwei to cooperate, and Wu Bangfu instantly transferred 300 people to Xinbeiguan for support. Although the number was small, he still controlled the situation with the Jin Yiwei's prestigious reputation.
"I will ask Your Majesty to take credit for you."
Sun Changzhou nodded: "Switch it on!"
Beixinguan collects taxes and releases customs twice a day, with the early closing at Si Ke and the late closing at Wei Ke.
Merchants traveling to and from Beixinguan and ships entering and exiting must submit customs declaration forms first.
The merchant's bill must clearly state his place of origin, name, the goods he is carrying, where he comes from, where he has passed through, and where he is going, etc.
After the tax is paid, the voucher issued by the customs office to the merchant is a stamp, while the voucher issued to the boat owner is a wooden chip, the size of which is equal to the head of the ship's beam.
Of course, in order to facilitate trade and facilitate villagers and hawkers, Beixinguan once had a "convenient small ticket": "Anyone who has less than two yuan of tax money is allowed to go to Dazha to cast a small ticket and pay it as soon as he pays."
There are also "Pig Sheep Single Book", "Convenient Silk Single Book", etc., which are similar to "Convenient Small Tickets".
As for the bulk of the fleet, it is naturally favored and used as the main force.
However, what is surprising is that this tax payment was actually widely publicized.
That is, singing tax.
For each ship, check according to the order, and then sing the tax loudly:
Five hundred materials for the boat, five silver yuan in silver, and one hundred pieces of Hangzhou silk, two millimeters of silver each, totaling twenty silver yuan...
Announced clearly, crisply and loudly, making people feel at ease.
Customs duties are generally divided into shipping tax and cargo tax. Shipping tax is charged according to the material, one silver dollar per hundred materials, while the cargo tax is one cent, two cents, one cent, or two cents.
One person sings taxes, one person inspects, and one person collects money, very fast.
After a while, I passed the pass.
This surprised many people. There was no delay, let alone solicitation of bribes or blackmail. Is this still a bank check?
Zhang Qianqian handed over the money, but was rejected.
In a daze, I finished paying the tax and was about to leave with the wooden chips in my hand when I saw the tax collector saying kindly:
"From today on, if you encounter bribery or blackmail, you can tell the Jin Yiwei that no one dares to embezzle the emperor's internal funds."