Chapter 0887 The weight of the four characters of Shi, Nong, Industry and Commerce
After listening to Chen Lin's story, Kou Ji fell into deep thought.
It was expected that Su Xun could open up the situation so quickly because of his advice.
Wen Yanbo was able to use his family connections to get grain on credit from those greedy grain merchants, which shows that the Wen family has a lot of say among grain merchants in Hedong and other places.
It is very likely that the Wen family was the largest grain merchant in Hedong and other places.
Being able to easily raise food for hundreds of thousands of people for the winter shows that the wealth and wealth of a wealthy family is truly extraordinary.
But no matter what, Su Xun and Wen Yanbo were able to quickly open up the situation and properly place the captives under each autonomous region, which proved that the prefect he chose was the right one.
As for Zhang Fangping, it remains to be seen.
The Gumeng Mansion that Zhang Fangping arrived at was the last one among the three to be recovered.
It is also the farthest among the three prefectures.
Zhang Fangping does not have the same geographical advantage as Su Xun, nor does he have Wen Yanbo's family background. It is reasonable for him to be slower in settling the prisoners in Gumeng Mansion.
But if he later fails to allow the prisoners of Gumeng Mansion to be self-reliant, then it will be difficult for him to continue to sit down as the governor of Gumeng Mansion.
Later, many places in the Liao region were incorporated into the Song Dynasty, and there were many difficult bones to crack.
Kou Ji didn't have time to train the prefect.
He could only use the simplest method of "promoting the capable and rejecting the mediocre" to select magistrates for Liao.
After Kou Ji pondered for a while, he said to Chen Lin: "Since you can know the news about them so quickly, it means that there are people from you around them. Then you will pay close attention to their movements.
If there is anything wrong, you can report it to me at any time.
Shangjing Road will soon belong to the Song Dynasty. I will write to the officials later and ask them to send a group of officials to Shangjing Road as soon as possible.
You also give a secret message to the officials and tell them the specific situation of the road to Beijing."
Chen Lin nodded and accepted the matter.
Kou Ji waved his hand and said: "Okay, it's time to disperse. Although the war has stopped, we still have a lot of things to do. Just go and do whatever you need to do."
"I haven't finished eating the mutton yet..."
"You don't have a tent of your own?!"
"..."
Kou Ji shouted.
Zhong Shiheng and Chen Lin looked at each other and laughed.
The two of them ate mutton in Kou Ji's tent just to be greedy and angry with Kou Ji.
Now that Kou Ji is angry, their goal has been achieved.
It's not that Kou Ji can't grab mutton with them.
But Kou Ji is now infected with the cold and cannot open his collar to show off his body fat like them.
Zhong Shiheng and Chen Lin left Kou Ji's tent with smiles and satisfaction.
After they left, Di Qing also left the tent to do some work.
A few days later.
Except for the Jiaozhi soldiers who followed the soldiers and horses delivering the baggage and left here, only the soldiers who sent the message kept running back and forth outside the ravine, while almost everyone else stayed in the tent, motionless as Mao Dong.
Kou Ji's sneezing lasted for several days, but it didn't get better.
Kou Ji's personal officers and personal followers discussed it, and a few of them called some soldiers, braved the snow, and dug a cave dwelling for Kou Ji on the side of the mountain top.
Although the frozen soil is difficult to move, it cannot withstand the soldiers' numbers and strength.
Not only did they build a cave dwelling for Kou Ji, they also opened a small courtyard in front of the cave dwelling.
The craftsmen in the army even made doors and windows for Kou Ji's cave dwelling.
After the cave dwelling was completed, the soldiers baked it over charcoal fire for two days to dissipate the moisture in the cave dwelling.
It's strange to say.
When living in a tent, the wind and cold in Kouji had never been good. After living in a cave dwelling, he got better immediately.
After Kou Ji recovered from the cold, he stood on the hillside in front of the cave, wrapped in fur, looking at the silver-covered earth, feeling filled with emotion.
He felt that if he was given an octagonal hat, a light blue coat and a military uniform, and a cigarette, he could stand here, point out the country, and inspire writing.
"Brother, someone from Bohai Mansion is here."
When Kou Ji was looking at the earth in the distance, Di Qing quietly appeared beside him.
"Bohai Mansion?!"
Kou Ji was stunned and asked: "What are the people from Bohai Mansion doing here?"
Di Qing shook his head and said, "I asked, but they didn't tell me."
Kou Ji was happy when he heard this, "Is there anyone in Bohai House who dares not to give face to you, the general?"
Di Qing now holds the position of general, ranking third.
Su Xun, the prefect of Bohai Prefecture, had to call himself a lower official in front of him.
According to the official configuration of Bohai Mansion, it seems that there is no greater official than Su Xun.
Di Qing laughed and said nothing.
Although the current imperial court's emphasis on civility and restraint on military affairs has improved.
But the arrogance cultivated by the literati for decades will not dissipate for a while.
Therefore, there were often civil servants with lower official positions than Di Qing who acted as the boss in front of Di Qing.
Di Qing didn't bother to argue with them.
If you really care about them, the grass on their graves would be three feet high.
Di Qing spent most of his time marching and fighting.
Therefore, if civil servants wanted to see him, they could only do so in the army.
Among the civil servants, except Sanzai and Liubu Shangshu, others came to show off their power in his army. If he really didn't like them, they would be in vain if they beheaded them.
After the reform of the military system in the Song Dynasty, military officials had absolute sovereignty in the military.
During the march and war, they had absolute power of life and death.
When Zhu Neng was fighting in Dali before, he beheaded a civil servant who raised his nose and raised his eyes in front of him.
The matter was finally brought to the imperial court.
Zhao Zhen only said one sentence.
"Do you want to overstep your authority? Or do you think that I am not qualified to control half of the Imperial Army and should be left in charge of you?"
As soon as these words came out.
No one would dare to bring similar matters to the imperial court again.
None of the civil servants came to show off their power in front of the imperial guards, and raised eyebrows and raised eyebrows.
Seeing that Di Qing was silent, Kou Ji frowned slightly and said, "You are now considered an important official in the imperial court, so you should have some temper. When facing civil servants, you should be more fierce.
Otherwise, who will take you seriously?
Based on your qualifications and age, the position of Privy Councilor will fall into your hands sooner or later.
If you have this temper, how can you set an example for military officials and lead them?"
When Di Qing heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said with an embarrassed look: "I don't want to compete with my brother for the position of Privy Councilor."
Kou Ji glared at Di Qing fiercely, "Am I so worthless that I will stay in the position of Privy Councilor for the rest of my life?!"
Di Qing quickly waved his hand and said, "That's not what I meant."
Kou Ji snorted and said, "I know you don't mean that. But I must remind you that I won't be able to sit in the position of Privy Councilor for long.
If I leave the Privy Council, Zhong Shiheng will most likely take my place and become the Privy Councilor.
But Zhong Shiheng could not stay in the position of Privy Councilor for long.
It is very likely that you will succeed Zhong Shiheng and serve as our Privy Envoy of the Song Dynasty.
You are most likely also the Privy Councilor who has served the longest in the Song Dynasty."
Di Qing was stunned when he heard Kou Ji's words.
Kou Ji ignored Di Qing and walked out of the small courtyard in front of the cave dwelling.
He felt that Di Qing needed to think carefully now.
Di Qing also felt that he needed to think carefully now.
Before Kou Ji said this, Di Qing had never thought about being the Privy Councilor of the Song Dynasty in the future.
It's not that Di Qing doesn't have the ambition to climb higher.
But he knew in his heart that as long as Kou Ji still sat in the position of Privy Envoy of the Song Dynasty, no one could shake Kou Ji's position.
He also never thought about competing with Kou Ji for the position of Privy Councilor.
He knows himself very well.
He may be better than Kou Ji in fighting.
But he is really not good at playing games with courtiers.
Once you become the privy envoy of the Song Dynasty, the most important thing you have to deal with is games with the courtiers.
Therefore, Kou Ji is more suitable to be the privy envoy of the Song Dynasty than him.
Kou Ji has just entered middle age and will live for a long time in the future.
Di Qing felt that Kou Ji could sit in the position of Privy Councilor for a long time.
It is precisely because of this that Di Qing has never considered becoming the Privy Councilor.
But now Kou Ji told him that he might not be able to sit in the position of Privy Councilor for long. Zhong Shiheng might succeed Kou Ji, but he would not be able to sit in the position of Privy Councilor for long, and he would probably take up the post in the near future.
Privy Envoy.
Naturally he was confused, so naturally he had to think more.
Di Qing stood in the small courtyard in front of the cave dwelling, meditating alone.
Kou Ji has already stepped up the mountain.
Just stood on the top of the mountain.
The official then appeared in front of him with someone.
After Kou Ji saw that person, he was a little dazed.
"Bao Zheng?!"
Kou Ji shouted in surprise.
After not seeing each other for several years, Bao Zheng has matured a lot and looks calmer than before. He also has two short, light beards on his mouth.
Bao Zheng walked up to Kou Ji and saluted solemnly, "Student Bao Zheng, I have met Mr.
Kou Ji smiled and nodded, "How have these years been?"
Bao Zheng straightened up and replied with a smile: "Thanks to Mr. Hongfu, everything is fine."
Kou Ji said with a smile: "If you don't become an official, then you will be appointed as the inspector of the first government of the fifth rank. You can be said to be promoted quickly.
Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, the total number of Jinshi that we have won is 99% inferior to yours."
When Bao Zheng heard this, a wry smile appeared on his face, "Thank you for your love and entrustment of this important task. The students are also frightened.
After the student became a Jinshi, he never became an official and continued to fulfill his filial piety in the countryside.
Students are not like Su Xun and others, who have experienced in various counties and states, and are very unfamiliar with some public affairs.
Now that I'm in office, I'm so worried that I can't sleep at night.
I'm afraid that if I don't do it well, I'll lose the lives of the people."
Bao Zheng didn't just do everything in front of Kou Ji because he was talented and learned. He felt that since he had just become an official and Kou Ji could entrust him with important tasks, he felt that he could do everything well.
On the contrary, he behaved very humbly.
He even told Kou Ji truthfully about his uneasiness.
Kou Ji heard Bao Zheng's words and said with a smile: "When you first became an official, you became a supervisor of a government and were in charge of the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people. It is reasonable to be frightened.
But you don't need to be too frightened.
As a parent and official, it is a good thing to act cautiously and keep the people in mind.
But being too frightened and too restrained will be detrimental to the people.
Youdao means serving as an official for one term and bringing benefit to one party.
When it's time to do something, you should let go and do it boldly.
It's just one house, I believe you, Bao Zheng, can take care of it."
When Bao Zheng heard this, he smiled bitterly.
Kou Ji seemed to be full of confidence in him, but he was really unsure.
He is considered a person who values the lives of the people very seriously.
Therefore, when administering government, we must consider the people.
Unlike those people who are of high birth and take charge of great power as soon as they enter the officialdom, they all just want to make political achievements and have little idea about the life and death of the people, nor do they care about the people.
So he is very aware of the burden on his shoulders.
So he felt unsure.
He didn't know why Kou Ji was so confident in him.
Frankly speaking, if Kou Jisai had not given him the position of Supervisor of the Bohai Prefecture, he would have resigned decisively the moment he got the appointment.
He can reluctantly give up his official career, but he will never take office with pretentiousness and harm the people.
Seeing Bao Zheng's wry smile, Kou Ji knew that Bao Zheng was worried. He pondered for a moment and said with a smile: "You don't need to put too much pressure on yourself.
It is true that Bohai Mansion is a place of one government, but the people under its rule do not have one.
At best, they are just ordinary people from Shangzhou in the Song Dynasty.
So you can treat Bohai Mansion as if it were a Shangzhou in the Song Dynasty.
Although you don't have much experience in the official career, as the adjutant of the first government, you do lack something.
But it’s always possible to serve as the adjutant of a state, right?”
Bao Zheng said frankly: "If it were just an ordinary state, students would naturally be confident that they could manage it. But Bohai Prefecture is a prefecture, not a state.
Since students want to participate in the governance of Bohai Mansion, they should have a good understanding of Bohai Mansion.
But if students want to have a deeper understanding of Bohai Mansion, they must visit all the places in Bohai Mansion.
It may take a year for students to travel through the entire Bohai Prefecture.
A term is three years.
The students may only have two years to do things for the people of Bohai Prefecture.
In two years, you can’t do much.”
When Kou Ji heard what Bao Zheng said, he was slightly stunned. After thinking about it carefully, he stared at Bao Zheng and said, "Do you want to stay in Bohai Mansion for one more term?"
Bao Zheng said seriously: "Since students are officials in Bohai Prefecture, they have to do things for the people of Bohai Prefecture."
Kou Ji muttered: "Since you have this intention, then I will satisfy you. Just stay in Bohai Mansion for two terms."
Bao Zheng bowed respectfully to Kou Ji, "Thank you, sir."
Kou Ji curled his lips and said, "If Su Xun, the prefect of Bohai Prefecture, hadn't been sent there personally by me, I would have thought you were the prefect of Bohai Prefecture."
Bao Zheng was stunned when he heard this and laughed out loud.
Kou Ji was teasing him.
He is not the kind of person who is serious about words, nor is he in a position to be serious about words, so his true temperament is revealed easily.
Kou Ji stared at Bao Zheng and smiled and said, "Tell me, why did you come here to see me in the snow despite your busy schedule?"
Bao Zheng hurriedly said: "Compared to you, the small work that students do is nothing."
Kou Ji glanced at Bao Zheng and said, "Okay, stop flattering me. Your temperament is not suitable for flattery."
Bao Zheng smiled dryly and said: "Su Xun said, if I flatter you more, it will be easier for you to do things."
Kou Ji rolled his eyes, "Am I the kind of person who likes to listen to flattery? Su Xun is also itchy, and he dares to instigate others to speculate on me."
Bao Zheng explained: "Prefect Su did not speculate on your intentions. This time the students came to see you and they really have something to ask for."
Kou Jidao: "Just tell me directly."
Bao Zheng nodded, "Bohai Mansion is now full of waste and needs to be revitalized. Although we can rely on some fishing accounts, it will still be difficult to be self-sufficient after next spring.
Liao people are not good at fishing, let alone farming.
It's okay to let them herd horses and sheep, but let them fish and farm, and at most they can only make ends meet.
It will probably take a long time to teach the Liao people to fish and farm.
Su Xun had the same idea as the students, they both wanted to make Bohai Mansion rich during their term of office, so that the captives of Bohai Mansion could earn some tax revenue for the court in addition to making ends meet.
So Su Xun wants to pass tax laws to attract some businessmen."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and said: "Su Xun wants to use businessmen to promote the prosperity of Bohai Palace. This is a good idea. Bohai Palace is close to the sea and is much closer to Korea than Dengzhou.
It is indeed possible to develop maritime trade.
The furs, medicinal materials and other items produced in the Liao region could also be transported to other places in the Song Dynasty via sea ships, or sold to Goryeo and other places.
If done properly, Bohai Mansion may become the most prosperous place in this place."
Speaking of this, Kou Ji asked: "Does Su Xun want to attract those businessmen through tax exemption?"
Bao Zheng shook his head slowly.
Kou Ji said with some surprise: "Su Xun doesn't plan to be tax-free?"
Bao Zheng nodded and said: "The student talked carefully with Su Xun and found that there are deficiencies in the commercial tax laws of the Song Dynasty. If it is tax-free, it will definitely attract many businessmen.
It's just that the tax exemption allows those businessmen to take advantage of the loopholes.
Although it can bring some income to Bohai government.
But those businessmen would only regard Bohai Mansion as a post station and leave as soon as they come.
At most, it will only make one or two states in Bohai Prefecture prosperous for a short time, but it will not make other places prosperous.
Therefore, tax exemption will not bring much benefit to the development of Bohai Prefecture."
When Kou Ji heard this, he nodded thoughtfully.
The commercial tax laws of the Song Dynasty were flawed, and Kou Ji knew about them a long time ago.
He was not surprised that Su Xun and Bao Zheng found out about this.
Because in the Song Dynasty, anyone who paid attention to business taxes and merchants knew this.
But no one worked on this matter, and no one petitioned the court to re-enact commercial tax laws.
Because the imperial court can obtain a sum of income every year by selling off tax collection rights.
Although it is not much, it is better than stability.
More importantly, the interests involved behind the commercial tax law are very huge.
One hair move affects the whole body.
As long as they were officials of the Song Dynasty, almost all their families were doing business and had certain commercial properties.
Take Bao Zheng as an example, his family is not as poor as many interpretation books say.
Bao Zheng's family is also considered a small landowner.
In addition to the vast farmland, the home also has some shops.
Those shops are all doing business.
Naturally, there is no need to say more about other officials.
There are more or less shops in every home, doing various businesses.
Therefore, if the imperial court wants to enact the commercial tax law, it will be tantamount to touching the interests of the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty, as well as all the wealthy families.
The difficulty can be imagined.
Kou Ji was very pleased when Su Xun and Bao Zhengneng discovered the flaws in the commercial tax law and informed him of this person who had the ability to influence the commercial tax law.
Although they did not reveal the matter directly.
But they informed themselves of this matter, which shows that the two of them have opinions on commercial tax laws.
Later, when the cultural system was reformed, if the commercial tax laws were introduced, then the two of them would be the ones who could be used.
"Since you don't plan to be tax-free, how do you plan to attract businessmen?"
Kou Ji asked.
Bao Zheng said bluntly: "Reduce taxes and provide them with a place to do business."
"Tax cuts?"
Kou Ji thought about it and said: "The imperial court's current commercial tax is 1 in 20. How far are you going to reduce it?"
"One out of thirty!"
"Not too low, not too high."
Kou Ji nodded.
Immediately, Kou Ji continued to ask: "Then how do you plan to provide them with a place to do business?"
Bao Zheng said in a deep voice: "Give it to them for free."
Kou Ji remained silent and did not speak.
Bao Zheng said hurriedly: "Now that Bohai Mansion is vast and sparsely populated, the captives can't do business now, so most of the cities in Bohai Mansion are empty.
Those houses and shops are almost useless.
The captives will have to open up wasteland and fish for a long time to come.
So they won't be able to use it for a long time.
Rather than seeing those houses and shops abandoned, it is better to give them to businessmen and attract them to come over."
Kou Ji smiled and said, "You don't have to rush to explain. I didn't say I wouldn't agree."
If the matter of giving houses and shops to merchants for free was reported to the Political Hall, the Political Hall would definitely not agree.
The social status of businessmen is low, and there is a widespread saying that "no businessman is a traitor".
Therefore, other people in the Song Dynasty were not very friendly to merchants.
When the imperial court dealt with merchants, it followed very different rules.
That is, I would rather not get any benefits than let businessmen take advantage.
Even some pedantic officials are unwilling to talk about things related to businessmen. Once they talk about businessmen, they will criticize them.
Bao Zheng was afraid that Kou Ji had the same idea as others, so he was eager to explain.
Strange to say, almost all officials in the Song Dynasty had business at home, but they always looked down on businessmen.
No one in the Song Dynasty thought there was a problem with this situation.
On the contrary, everyone thinks this is a matter of course.
After Kou Ji comforted Bao Zheng with a smile, he said, "You came all the way to see me, right? It's mainly about the house deed and land deed, right?"
Bao Zheng nodded almost without hesitation.
Although Bohai Mansion is now under the control of Su Xun and Bao Zheng, they can decide almost 99% of the affairs in Bohai Mansion, but there are some matters that they cannot decide.
This includes issues such as house deeds and land deeds.
The ancients had perfect laws regarding the protection of private property. Private property was often linked to human life, and supervision in this area was also very strict throughout the dynasties.
The trial of land and property lawsuits in the yamen is sometimes more stringent than that of homicide cases.
It is precisely because of this that the supervision of house deeds and land deeds is also very strong.
If Su Xun and Bao Zheng want to give real estate and land to merchants for free, they will inevitably issue house deeds and land deeds to the merchants.
This matter will inevitably be reported to the court.
There was also a lot of heated discussion and backlash behind it.
If no one supports you, something will definitely happen.
Therefore, Su Xun and Bao Zheng need Kou Ji to admit this matter.
Kou Ji is now in charge of all military and political power in the sixteen states of Yanyun and Liao.
Even if the civil and military officials in the court had objections to the decision he made, they could only discuss it.
If you want to change the situation between positive and negative, you must first deprive Kou Ji of the military and political power.
So Kou Ji admitted the matter and nothing happened.
If Su Xun and Bao Zheng admit this, they will definitely be dismissed from office.
Kou Ji knew the meaning, so after Bao Zheng nodded, he smiled and said: "Let's go and do it. The only thing that needs to be noted is that the shops and houses in the city can be given to merchants for free, but places outside the city absolutely cannot
Free to businessmen.
If merchants want to use it, they can only rent it."
When Bao Zheng saw that Kou Ji had agreed, a bright smile appeared on his face.
If Kou Ji admits this, he and Su Xun can safely and boldly attract businessmen to Bohai Mansion.
Seeing Bao Zheng's bright smile, Kou Ji sighed with emotion: "Businessmen are really not welcome in the Song Dynasty. If those houses and shops were allocated to the common people, there wouldn't be so many things."
Bao Zheng nodded heavily.
Scholars, farmers, industry and commerce, businessmen were at the lowest level.