In late spring in March, it is sunny after the rain. The countryside is probably still filled with the fragrance of earth. The mountains and forests are probably swaying with the remaining red and green green. Even in the cities, there is also some smoke and rain that has washed away the mist.
The state of dust.
But a city is a city after all, not to mention that although Tokyo has never returned to its peak state, it may still be the largest city in the world today.
Therefore, after the rain, Tokyo city quickly resumed its noise and restlessness.
And this kind of noise and restlessness became more obvious with the arrival of April - when the people in the city were discussing the news of military expansion, Zhao Guan's family once again received two bad news, one bright and one dark:
The bright one is actually something that has been anticipated, so it is not worth feeling sad about. The dark one is a bit unexpected, but because it is dark, it is difficult to talk about it.
Let's be more specific. The so-called bad news of the Ming Dynasty is that Lin Jingmo, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, finally submitted a rough financial statement to Zhao Guan's family. The Ministry of Revenue compared the population and various tax data of the Shenzong Dynasty as a reference.
The current data is the theoretical upper limit. Based on the speed of central fiscal recovery in the past few years, we can roughly give a conclusion that is extremely complicated to describe in detail, but also extremely simple to sum up - assuming a three-year period, that is
Counting the Northern Expedition in the tenth year of Jianyan, the imperial court would have a shortage of at least 30 million military supplies and millions of grain and grass.
And if it is five years, then theoretically it may be possible to complete sufficient preparations for the Northern Expedition.
This article has hundreds of thousands of words and uses many tables that have only become popular in recent years. It is almost like a book. The instructions are very persuasive, but also cruel.
Because here, everything that can be calculated is really included.
For example, Qianzhou on Jiangnan West Road has mines and porcelain, as well as many Miao villages as potential consumers, so it has always been recognized as a major commercial and tax state. From the Shenzong Dynasty to Jingkang, it has been able to provide stable supplies to the court.
The business tax amounted to nearly 50,000 guan every year. However, after the Jingkang Rebellion and the rise of religious thieves, the direct income of 50,000 guan was of course lost.
After Yue Fei pacified Qianzhou, Qianzhou's commercial tax revenue quickly recovered to more than 20,000 yuan in the previous year.
In this regard, the Ministry of Household Affairs believes that Qianzhou commercial tax is likely to return to the level of more than 30,000 guan next year, and will reach 40,000 guan the year after that.
But that's all.
In a short period of time, Qianzhou's commercial tax will be stuck at the level of 40,000 guan and will not increase. It will never be able to provide a stable level of 50,000 guan like it was in previous decades.
The reason is very simple. Based on the corresponding land tax, the Ministry of Household Affairs inferred that Qianzhou has lost a part of its consumer population. Not only that, there is Qili Town in the east of Qianzhou City. There is a porcelain kiln in the town, which is a top-notch famous town.
Kiln... This Qili Town could directly pay thousands of dollars in taxes every year at that time, so much so that the imperial court set up an organization similar to a tax office here!
And now, after many years of trouble caused by pious thieves, Qili Town still exists, but the porcelain kiln has been discontinued for several years. Even though it has begun to re-fire, it has not been restored due to the collapse of trade routes, the shrinkage of the luxury goods market, etc.
The speed is extremely slow... In the next few years, this Qili Town may only be able to provide a few hundred dollars of income.
Therefore, the final conclusion given by the Ministry of Revenue is that the total business tax in Qianzhou in the next three years will be between 110,000 and 120,000 yuan.
In fact, from the small business tax in Qianzhou, we can understand the current financial problems of the Song Dynasty - the foundation is still there, but the upper limit has been greatly reduced due to the decrease in population and the encroachment of the two rivers. At the same time,
, the war has caused serious damage to the economic system, and it will take time to restore it to the theoretical upper limit.
There are many similar details in this household regulations.
For example, the silver mine in Shaowujun, Fujian Road is gradually drying up. From now on, it will be calculated as a reduction of 300 guan each year;
And a certain trading town outside Hangzhou completely disappeared during the previous military turmoil, and there is currently no sign of reconstruction... Various records are various, which is an eye-opener for the Zhao Guan family.
Even Zhao Jiu actually learned some other strange knowledge from this article - for example, Suzhou's tax revenue is far lower than that of Hangzhou these days. The reason is that there are many swamps outside Suzhou, which restricts urban development. For decades, tax revenue
There has not been much growth, but the population and number of markets in Hangzhou are constantly rising.
In short, this statement was so detailed and so convincing that everyone understood that Lin Jingmo was definitely prepared. The advice on building wealth most likely came from him, and he was probably from last winter.
As soon as I came back, I started preparing for this big project.
Zhao Guan's family also had to accept this. But having to accept it also meant that Zhao Jiu had to face the big hole worth at least 30 million yuan.
Yes, of course it is the minimum, because the Ministry of Household Regulations is an idealized model after all. It is all calculated based on theoretical sustainable recovery. It does not take into account the additional expenditures caused by any disasters, nor does it take into account the mid-term recovery.
The consumption of small-scale fighting breaks out.
Therefore, assuming that Zhao Guan's family wants to launch the Northern Expedition in three years, he must obtain an additional 30 million yuan in addition to the normal national finance within three years!
Just a lot more.
Speaking of this, I have to mention another piece of bad news. Zhang Jun sent a secret message to Zhao Guan's family - his fleet went to Japan first, and then to Korea. After a long time, it finally returned to Dengzhou, but only came out.
Got a quarter of the goods.
The reason is very simple. The fleet is too large, plus there is an obviously armed ship, so it is self-defeating and makes the Japanese feel like a formidable enemy... Especially after the fleet sold two cargoes at Hakata Port in Kyushu, it tried to turn around.
When they reached further east, the Japanese were obviously stimulated and actually sent a large number of inland sea ships to follow and monitor. The ports at various ports stopped trading with the fleet at all, and only cautiously provided normal supplies on the Zhao Song Royal Flag.
As for forced buying and selling?
Don't be kidding. Although the fleet is huge and has an armed ship, it can't handle the fact that there are two maritime merchants from Jingdong and Huainan, as well as the capital of Zhang Jun and Zhang Dutong, and even the capitalless Zhao Guan family.
Capital... Who is crazy? You dare to go to war with so many silk porcelain?!
Finally, in Bingo on the Seto Inland Sea, a bold Japanese official finally boarded the ship to negotiate with the Japanese imperial court's decree. In other words, seeing the official document that Zhao Guan's family had given in Noboriju, the flag's face relaxed a little.
After being convinced, he asked local Japanese Western merchants to board the ship and buy two more cargoes. After a little negotiation, he asked the Japanese court to come forward and buy almost all the copper coins used to cover the position with silver and gold...
The Japanese do like the copper coins of the Song Dynasty. From this perspective, it may be feasible to conduct a certain amount of precious metal trade.
After all, although the Song Dynasty was also short of copper, it was even more short of silver and gold... During the Jingkang period, the Jin people plundered a huge amount of gold and silver, but they did not plunder copper coins. This made this transaction extremely difficult for both parties.
Profitable.
But that's all.
Next, the Japanese refused to allow ships to continue to the heart of Japan, life and death, and refused to buy more goods than normal demand.
During the entire trip to Japan, I can only say that what Zhang Jun and Lieutenant Zhang said about the Japanese imperial court's pills are pure nonsense! The Japanese imperial court obviously still has enough prestige and action capabilities, otherwise how could the ports along the way act in unison?
And the Zhao Guan family’s statement about someone burning down the port without buying it is nonsense! Thousands of miles away, across the sea, if someone sets a fire and sets their own silk on fire, who will be responsible?
Even the Japanese ports and the entire country are not as valuable as the silk in the bellies of these ships!
Finally, the fleet carried the Japanese envoy who came to inquire about the whole matter, that is, Bingo Mamoru, who had been promoted to the rank of Central Affairs Assistant because of the proper handling of the matter, and was ready to come back directly. But the leader Zhang Jun's family was really
I felt that after thirty ships had passed, only four ships' goods were sold, which was too meager... So I simply persuaded others to take the north route, starting from Hakata Port, and then went to Goryeo, and finally arrived at the famous Kaijing.
Yeseong Port (Incheon Port).
As a result, the Korean people reacted more violently and felt more like they were facing a formidable enemy.
However, this does not mean that the Korean people are afraid of these dozens of sea ships. Unlike Japan, which has been relatively closed, conservative and sensitive since it stopped sending envoys to the Tang Dynasty, the Korean Peninsula has been in close communication with the Central Plains dynasty for hundreds of years, and it is
There has always been a tradition of maritime trade. For example, during the Silla period at the end of the Tang Dynasty, it was Zhang Baogao, a Silla man who had served in the army in the Huaidong area and received a green card, who actually contracted the East Asian maritime trade after the Tang Dynasty fell into civil strife.
In its heyday, the number of ships that Zhang Baogao's fleet sank on the reef in front of Mingzhou (today's Ningbo) port alone must have been more than a dozen or dozens of ships every year... Of course, the number of ships traveling along the shallow sea was
The sea ship is definitely not as big as Captain Zhang's ship now.
In other words, the Koreans have considerable short- and medium-range combat capabilities in offshore waters.
The truth of the matter is actually very simple - in the final analysis, Goryeo is different from Japan. As neighboring countries of the Jurchens and vassals of the Song and Liao Dynasties, they were deeply involved in the long-running Liao-Jin-Song-Jin war from the beginning.
In twenty years of war, there is just no end. So for the Koreans, if one thing is not handled well, it may mean that the country will directly enter a state of all-out war.
After Zheng Zhichang brought back the news of the Jinhebo Alliance and the Zhao Guan family's destruction of Xixia, fierce debates arose among the Korean people, and they became more sensitive and cautious in diplomacy.
And don’t forget that at this time, the envoys sent by Zhao Guan’s family to promote the ‘alliance’ coincided with the meeting and had just arrived in the capital of Goryeo.
Therefore, when they saw these thirty large ships approaching at this time, Goryeo felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy. They thought that this fleet, like the envoys from Honglu Temple, represented some kind of Zhao Guan family that had been rumored to be miraculous in Goryeo.
What about attitude.
However, fortunately, there is an international friend Zheng Zhichang, who has the greatest reputation. After he personally boarded the ship to inquire, made clarifications, and solved the misunderstanding, the Koreans were dubious and chose the same cautious attitude as Japan - they followed
A slightly larger share than normal trade requirements purchased three ship's worth of cargo.
Moreover, this transaction is concentrated and delayed.
It was an official transaction that took place when the fleet was surrounded by numerous offshore ships, including fire ships. It was an official transaction that was conducted after a careful and fierce political struggle within the Goryeo court to determine the time and place to go to Zhao Guan's family.
***.
After the transaction, the fleet was clearly informed that they would not receive the fleet at any port other than Licheng Port, and it was recommended that the fleet turn back quickly.
With no choice, the fleet could only carry officials from Honglu Temple to Goryeo, as well as the Goryeo Prime Minister, Zheng Zhichang's political opponent, and the envoy returning to the Song Dynasty, Jin Fushi, who was also half an old friend of the people of the Song Dynasty.
Return to Dengzhou.
The old man is already in his 60s this year, and he still has to travel around every day for state affairs, which is quite hard.
No matter what happened, only seven or eight of the thirty ships were sold. Although there was a surplus, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars were made back, from the perspective of the Zhao Guan family, it was undoubtedly a failure - because Japan
The cautious attitude with Goryeo was there. If you wanted to carry out trade beyond the normal trade needs, you might really need weapons. But at this time, the Song Dynasty was unable to conduct ocean warfare as the Zhao Guan family had imagined before.
It’s not that it’s impossible, it’s that it’s not worth it.
Not to mention anything else, there are still 30 million holes ahead. How much does it cost to conduct an ocean raid?
Even if you succeed by chance, how much more can you earn in three to five years when the market is saturated? Can you get it back? Not to mention the possibility of defeat and many factors other than human resources.
You must know that military expenditures come from the people! They are paid for by the blood and sweat of Qianzhou kiln workers and Shaowujun miners! Zhao Jiu would only choose to use force against Japan and Korea at this time unless his brain was crazy.
It is not impossible to open sea routes, dump goods, and engage in economic colonization, but we must pay attention to methods and time.
However, just talking about the Northern Expedition, if the sea cannot be used as a plug-in for the time being, how can we make money?
About ten days later, the time came to mid-April. Under the escort of the imperial army, the Korean envoy Jin Fushi, the Japanese envoy Ping Zhongsheng, and the Honglu Temple official Xu Jing who returned from an envoy to Goryeo, plus Zhang Jun specially sent
The team that delivered the "Hai Mao Gang" to Zhao Guan's family arrived in Tokyo together.
Immediately, something went wrong. First, a group of people from the east were asked to go to the Nanxun Gate in the south. At first, the Korean and Japanese missions thought it was serious, because the Nanxun Gate was facing the Imperial Palace.
Street. However, when they arrived at Nanxun Gate, as expected, Yang Yizhong, one of the close confidants of Zhao Guan's family, led hundreds of imperial guards to come to greet him, but they only came to greet the "Hai Mao Gang".
Regardless of whether they were Koreans or Japanese, including Xu Jing, the official of Honglu Temple, they could only look at the Japanese. They walked all the way to the Imperial Street with Korean specialties and hundreds of thousands of silver coins, and were escorted directly to Xuande Tower by the Imperial Banzhi.
However, people like myself were kicked out to the Concierge House under Honglu Temple on the way, and no one paid attention to them at all.
At this time, the Koreans and Japanese finally realized that they were the only ones who deserved it.
"Leichuan Gong (Kim Fushi)."
We arrived at the Concierge House at noon, but within an hour, in the afternoon, the chief secretary of Honglu Temple and the envoy to Goryeo, Xu Jing, left and returned. It is estimated that he hurriedly went to Honglu Temple to make a handover and then came back. After returning,
, the chief registrar of Honglu Temple came directly to the place where Jin Fushi was staying. After wiping his sweat, he couldn't help but look ashamed. "I have neglected Mr. Lei Chuan today. Unexpectedly, the imperial court only valued the private purse of officials and did not value diplomatic relations."
!”
Jin Fushi, who was reading the newspaper in the courtyard, slowly raised his head. The Goryeo prime minister, who was nearly sixty years old, carefully looked at Xu Jing, who was twenty-six years younger than himself, and then sighed: "Uncle Ming (Xu Jing)"
兢), how many years have we known each other?”
Xu Jing, who had just turned 30 years old, was slightly startled, but still blurted out: "More than ten years."
"That's right." Jin Fushi pressed the residence newspaper on his knees and responded with emotion. "When Emperor Taishang Daojun was in power, most of the people in Korea were old men, but the Song Dynasty only made Korea once, exactly ten years ago.
Before, it was you who took the responsibility. At that time, you first learned Korean writing with me in Tokyo, then went to Beijing together, and then returned together. We ate and lived together for two or three years, and we became close friends from different countries... Later, when the Jingkang chaos broke out, I only
I thought that you and I would never see each other again in this life, but unexpectedly we were able to travel on the same ship again...Uncle Ming, I cherish the friendship between you and me very much, and I can see that you have always been sincere to me."
Xu Jing was slightly startled when he heard this, almost losing his composure.
In other words, Xu Jing, as the official envoy of the Song Dynasty to Goryeo ten years ago, sat back and watched Wang Lun, a maritime merchant at that time, become one of the Nine Qings through his relatives, and he was not recognized until this time when the court needed diplomatic professionals.
There is a reason why he was temporarily promoted to serve as an envoy - Xu Jing himself was a wealthy young man who was good at calligraphy, painting and poetry. His biggest achievement before was being sent to Goryeo as an envoy, but his father Xu Hongzhong was a high-ranking official who served as the transfer envoy between the Huaihe River and the Huaihe River during the Xuanhe period!
And the person who could sit in this position during the Xuanhe period would most likely be a member of the Yuda Party.
In fact, this is exactly what happened. Xu Jing's father, Xu Hongzhong, was not only attached to Cai Jing, but also to Zheng Juzhong. So from the beginning of Jingkang, he was implicated by his father and went to Chizhou to be the person in charge of a certain tax supervisor. He has been working there ever since.
He stayed there for four or five years, then his biological father died, he finished observing his filial piety, and then he was idle for almost a year before he was drafted.
In other words, this Ambassador Xu and Chief Secretary Xu are basically a mixture of the Lu Benzhong brothers, the Zheng Yinian brothers, and the Gao Yanei brothers. In terms of bad luck and ancestral bad deeds, they are certainly not as good as the Gao brothers and the Zheng brothers, let alone the Gao brothers.
The whole family escaped the Jingkang Revolution; in terms of luck, they are certainly not as good as the Lu Benzhong brothers. The legendary experience of Lu Gongxian after Jingkang is probably the only one in the Song Dynasty... Of course, the poetry is not as good, but it is said that the painting level is very good.
high.
But these don't matter. The key point is that in order to flatter the Emperor Taishang Daojun, this person accidentally acquired a foreign language expertise... It can be seen that knowing a foreign language is still relatively important.
"Uncle Ming."
Seeing this, Jin Fushi became even more emotional. "Although we are close friends, I am almost thirty years older than you. If you don't hold back, I will say something to you today that is not something a gentleman should say."
Xu Jing had always admired Jin Fushi. When he heard this, he naturally suppressed all his emotions and came forward to the courtyard to sit across from him under the shade of a tree.
"Uncle Ming." Jin Fushi pressed the newspaper in his hand and spoke seriously. "First of all, tell me the truth. Do you have any resentment towards your current official, Zhao Guan, because of the ups and downs in your career?"
"How could it be?" Xu Jing smiled awkwardly and turned around to answer. "The decline of my family happened during the Jingkang period. Even if I blame him, I can only blame Emperor Yuansheng. At most, it involves the retired Xianggong Lu, Xianggong Xu, and even the retired Xianggong.
For people like Li Guang and Li Zhongcheng, the official family has only the kindness to revive me."
Jin Fushi didn't say a word, just stared at the other party.
Xu Jing was silent for a moment, looked around, and then said in a low voice: "Actually, I am still a little dissatisfied with Wang Lun, a lucky person. A maritime businessman became a businessman just because he followed the path of his relatives.
Jiuqing, ranked in the Secret Pavilion..."
"Is it just Wang Lun?" Jin Fushi finally spoke, but he still stared at the other person.
"Of course it's not just Wang Lun." Xu Jing hesitated for a moment, and finally sighed in a low voice. "When I returned to the capital, even though I became a seventh-rank imperial official again, all my old acquaintances were gone, and I still felt a little separated.
My heart... Besides, the nobles in the dynasty are all minor officials and low-ranking officials in the past. Although I know that the world is in chaos and the situation is relieved, I still feel a little hard to let go... I always think about going one step further."
At the end of the speech, Xu Jing turned red and lowered his head.
"I understand." Jin Fushi nodded slightly and continued speaking. "Then he started to have a vague sense of resistance to the entire imperial court and your official family... This is actually human nature. I am here.
Goryeo, because it led the two squads in Seoul (Seoul), is not on the same level as the two squads in Xijing (Pyongyang)? But Uncle Ming, the Song Dynasty and Goryeo are not the same..."
"Yes." Xu Jing tried his best to raise his head, but his face still looked a little embarrassed.
"In Goryeo, I'm always 30% sure of getting rid of those people." Jin Fushi saw the other party's uneasy expression, so he slowed down and smiled slightly. "But here in Song Dynasty, it is the hall of Zhao Guan's family.
! But there is nothing that can be done about it. Your Zhao Guan family rises up in times of great chaos, calms down people's hearts, and builds imperial camps. If the country has reached this situation for seven or eight years, there will be one or two dissatisfied people. So what? Who can really
Oppose him? People like Li Gang and Li Boji have given such fierce memorials, but have they ever wavered in the slightest? And you, a mere seventh-grade imperial official, if you really harbor resentment, what else can you find?"
Xu Jing sat opposite Jin Fushi, holding his knees with both hands, and couldn't help but let out a long breath, as if he had let go of a burden: "Who says it's not the case?"
"And what you said before is actually reasonable." Jin Fushi continued to be tempting. "You are the so-called Cai Jingyu party. You are currently hostile to the Jiangnan slow-in faction and the old officials of Yuansheng who have been dismissed by the official family. If it weren't for
This Prime Minister who comes from an official family and a lowly official is in power. Where do you get the opportunity to return to the official career? How do you and I get the opportunity to rip out our hearts here? We should cherish the present moment."
Xu Jing sighed, finally stood up and bowed his head: "Mr. Lei Chuan is right, I was wrong."
"It's good that Uncle Ming knows this truth." Jin Fushi felt relieved when he saw the other party admitting his mistake, and immediately nodded. "Nowadays, the politics of the Song Dynasty are clear, and the officials are enterprising. You are so young, as long as you maintain the right attitude and do things seriously
"In the future, you may not be able to outdo your predecessors and surpass your ancestors... just sit back."
Xu Jing sat back and nodded, feeling more and more relieved.
However, Jin Fushi leaned over and spoke sincerely: "Now let's look back at your words. Even if there is no resentment, your words are wrong! I think of your official family, there are only two concubines in the harem, and the chamberlain.
Only a few hundred, and most of them were old people from Jingkang. Those who built fish ponds in the palace garden made fish ponds, and those who converted them into Cuju courts were converted into Cuju courts... As soon as I saw him in the palace three or four years ago, I knew what the emperor had in mind.
The ambition is to humiliate Jingkang... This kind of emperor has not cared about his private bag for seven or eight years, how could he care about his private bag today? According to my opinion, the so-called private bag is probably also a public bag, and it was sent by Zhang Jun
The maritime trade program will most likely still be saved for national use."
Xu Jing was silent for a moment, but still raised his eyebrows slightly and shook his head: "That's the case, paying attention to dead things and ignoring diplomatic relations is also a small gain..."
"That's not necessarily the case." Jin Fushi suddenly smiled bitterly. "I think your officials are reminding me and the Japanese people next door...Uncle Ming, haven't you read the latest issue of the Di Di newspaper?
"
Xu Jing was slightly startled: "What does Mr. Lei Chuan mean? What's in the newspaper?"
"Uncle Ming, please have some snacks!" Jin Fushi smiled more and more bitterly, but he folded the newspaper on his lap and gave it to the other person. "Take it, I just bought it for someone, and I just read the headlines on the front page, so you also
Let’s talk after reading this front page headline!”
After saying that, Jin Fushi stood up with his hands behind his hands, shaking his head and walking around in the courtyard where he was staying.
Xu Jing opened the newspaper in his arms, and after just one glance, he stood up in shock, and then turned to look at Jin Fushi: "The imperial court came up with such a ridiculous strategy? How unworthy is it?!"
"The Jingkang Incident is called unseemly!" Jin Fushi didn't even look back. He just walked with his hands behind his hands while sighing. "The country is short of 30 million guan for the Northern Expedition. How can it be regarded as openly asking the world for a plan to amass wealth?"
Isn't it inappropriate? Besides, isn't this move based on your family's strategy of building wealth, Zhang Shuxiang? It can also be regarded as a sign of sincerity to the people."
"Can……"
Xu Jing hesitated, obviously thinking of something. "This move is somewhat like the Xining Reform. King Wang Shu wanted a new law, and everyone saw it... It's just that there was no such powerful Di Bao at that time...
And our official family really respects King Wang Shu."
"That's right." Jin Fushi continued to pace in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. "The current situation is indeed like Xining's reform. And I have always admired Wang Shu's knowledge, but I don't think Xining's reform is worth it.
...Because everyone knows that the reform failed in the end and Xixia was not defeated, but instead the people were filled with resentment."
"Then..." Xu Jing instinctively said.
"I know what you want to ask or what you want to say, but today, the official behavior of the Song Dynasty makes me dare not say anything easily." Jin Fushi continued to pace with his hands behind his hands. "Because I really don't know his future.
Can it be done... Ten years ago, who knew that the Jurchens could lead to the Jingkang Revolution? Seven years ago, who knew that your official family could take back the old capital, sweep the northwest, and even concubine Khitan and Mongolia? "
"But..." Xu Jing looked at the other party's back, sweating on his forehead, and even swallowed a mouthful of saliva before he asked nervously. "But I still want to ask Mr. Lei Chuan... whether this matter can be done?"
"Uncle Ming, if you ask me today whether this matter is appropriate, it is equivalent to asking whether the Northern Expedition can be accomplished. But how dare I know about this matter?" Jin Fushi turned his back to Xu Jing and sighed quietly. "You must know this matter.
Whether it can succeed or not is not only related to your Song Dynasty and your official family, but also to the life and death of us Korean people! I came here this time just to ask for a 'dare not know' as much as possible."
Xu Jing hesitated for a moment, then held the newspaper in hand and asked: "Mr. Lei Chuan, I'm just asking you as a personal friend, do you think it can be done?"
Jin Fushi finally stopped, then turned around, his eyebrows furrowed tightly, his eyes staring at his old friend from a foreign country like lightning.
Xu Jing was frightened for a moment and didn't know how to respond.
After looking at the other person for a moment, Jin Fushi finally closed his eyes and sighed: "Uncle Ming... I think it can be done, but I still dare not say it, I can't say it!"
Xu Jing was panicked for a moment, nodded hurriedly, and then ran away with the newspaper in his arms, while Jin Fushi looked at the back of his young old friend, just standing solemnly in the courtyard of red flowers and green willows.
Let’s not mention Jin Fushi’s emotion. On the other hand, Xu Jing escaped from the heavily guarded courtyard of the Koryo mission, but did not go far. Instead, he crossed the courtyard of the Japanese mission, which was also heavily guarded, and entered another heavily guarded compound.
Guarded hotel courtyard.
After entering this courtyard, Xu Jing followed the imperial guards in the courtyard and walked into a small courtyard. Then he bowed his head directly without raising his head, and then without raising his head, he said nothing about the previous conversation.
Keep it and give it out together.
————
"That's what he said?" Zhao Jiu, who was sitting in the courtyard basking in the sun, was thoughtful.
"Yes." Xu Jing held the newspaper in her hand, not daring to raise her head.
"You have been seen through by him." After thinking about it, Zhao Jiu suddenly laughed in the audience. "This old man is much better than Zheng Zhichang. He is not on the same level at all. He came here this time just to show his kindness and hold back his position.
He didn't express his position to prevent Goryeo from facing the Jurchens alone... On the one hand, he believed that I could succeed in the Northern Expedition, but on the other hand, he didn't dare to say it, he couldn't say it... This was exactly what he wanted to say to me and the Song Dynasty court. He was so frank and open-minded, which seemed to us
To deal with it in a deceitful way would be a bit stingy."
Xu Jing raised his head, sweating profusely and feeling frightened for a moment.
Wang Lun, the minister of Honglu Temple who was standing next to him, quickly raised his hand and said: "In the official family, Master Xu has made great achievements. Not to mention this matter, it is the envoy to Korea this time. In accordance with the decree, Jin Fushi, who can really do things and can do things, will be sent to Korea."
If the person in charge brought it instead of Zheng Zhichang, it would be considered as fulfilling the mission."
Zhao Jiu continued to laugh: "I didn't say that he had, and even this trip is not considered a failure... I just figured out that although Jin Fushi was somewhat capable, he was constrained by a small country and the Goryeo party struggle after all...
Those words he originally planned to say to me were actually what he was forced to say."
Wang Lun and Xu Jing breathed a sigh of relief together, and the latter grabbed the newspaper in his hand and raised his head slightly.
The next moment, Zhao Guanjia suddenly stood up, and the soldiers around him also started to follow him under the leadership of Yang Yizhong. However, he couldn't walk three or four steps, but the official turned around again: "Master Xu seems to have something to say?"
"It's... Your Majesty, an official!" Xu Jing, who had just turned around, hurriedly opened the newspaper in his hand and hurriedly found the front page headline.
Zhao Jiu turned his head completely, and his smile became brighter: "Do you have a good way to make money for the country?"
"I have a plan." Xu Jing swallowed and answered with all his strength. "The officials can increase taxes! Increase business taxes!"
As soon as these words came out, Wang Lun immediately shook his head, and even Yang Yizhong rarely raised his eyebrows slightly.
As for Zhao Jiu, he actually had no hope from the beginning... Ever since he was forced by reality to ask for help publicly, he and the provincial government have received all kinds of memorials and suggestions these days, but most of them are not beyond the expectations of professional bureaucrats.
Book a plan.
For example, increasing business taxes is of course also under consideration... It is not impossible to fish from the lake when necessary, but that is only when necessary, and it will only be done until the country really has no other option.
Therefore, the Zhao Guan family directly labeled this person as a second-generation ancestor who was eager for quick success and could only be used in Korean affairs. At the same time, he was laughing at Yan Yan, preparing to say something perfunctory, and then hurriedly went back to update the "Water Margin" that had become Zhou Geng.
pass".
However, this second-generation ancestor who specializes in foreign languages seemed to have seen what Zhao Guanjia was thinking. He may have finally sorted out his language, but he quickly explained: "Guanjia, the business tax I am talking about is not the old tax, but a kind of tax."
I learned about the new tax from the experience of Captain Zhang's fleet in Japan... I just saw the Di newspaper and I had an idea."
Zhao Jiu finally calmed down and asked seriously: "How to say it specifically?"
"The officials... so that the officials know." Xu Jing knew the key point and knew that the opportunity was rare, so he hurriedly said. "This fleet is going to Japan and Korea. The officials gave the flag and documents in Dengzhou.
It was of great use... So on the way back, the old merchant on the ship said that he was willing to buy an official flag for ten thousand guan a year!"
As soon as these words came out, Wang Lun, the minister of Honglu Temple who was a maritime merchant next to him, couldn't help but let out a "tsk", as if he had realized something... This was basically selling out his "official shop" qualifications to the maritime merchants.
Where did the name of the main store come from? Isn't it because it has the official self-brewing qualification? Then you have to pay money to the court.
In other words, Xu Jing's suggestion is really a good way to develop financial resources.
But at the same time, Zhao Jiu, who had been smiling just now, had something stirred in his mind, but he was stunned on the spot... because he was not only stunned by the other party's idea of selling flags, but also stimulated by the other party's idea, and then thought about it
In later generations, there seems to be a similar way to make money. It seems to be a tax, and it also has the idea of selling out the credibility of the country and the royal family. Therefore, instead of accumulating public resentment, it will be called a good tax.
I just can't remember the specific content at the moment.
"Then what?" Zhao Guanjia came back to his senses. While thinking hard, he frowned and asked. "Is it just selling flags to maritime merchants?"
"Of course it's not just about selling flags..." Xu Jing hurriedly said. "Officials can also produce similar things for various businesses... It may not be just flags, but more often, it is a document with the official seal...
…”
"Stamp duty!" Zhao Jiu bypassed Xu Jing and sat back on the chair under the tree in the courtyard, then raised his head and sighed. "There is also the Northern Expedition Fund Lottery, plus the sea flag... I have only been an official for a few years.
I really forgot everything! Xu Qing, I have always been trustworthy, and your suggestion today is worth a young minister from Honglu Temple!"
Xu Jing was confused at first, and then overjoyed.
PS: Thank you to the new leader Mortal, you are so annoying!