As a time traveler, Sun Tu came to this prestigious capital of the Song Dynasty a thousand years ago, and he also brought Ya'er with him. Naturally, he wanted to take a stroll and appreciate the various beauties and characteristics of Bianliang City in Tokyo. But before that, he felt that he should get down to business first, so that he could completely relax his mind.
So on the second day after arriving in Bianjing, he entrusted Ya'er to the store clerk to take care of him. After asking about the route, he walked towards the inner city at a leisurely pace, carrying a large bag on his back. Inside the package was the one hundred and thirty-four taels of tax money that should be turned over to the Ministry of Household Affairs.
The tax money that Yuncheng County has to pay to the court every year is naturally far more than this amount. In fact, logically speaking, the tax money is not sent directly to Bianjing by the county government, but can be handed over to the transshipment envoy's office in Shandong. However, there are exceptions to everything. Due to various reasons, states and counties all over the world will always default on a lot of money and taxes, and this delay will last for several years. It will not be until the Ministry of Household Affairs of the imperial court issues a demand for payment, and the local government will turn it over. . But at this time, the taxes can no longer be sent to the forwarding department, but they have to send people to transport them themselves.
The more than one hundred taels of tax silver that Sun Tu carries with him today is what Yuncheng County has accumulated over the past three years. If it cannot be handed over in time, the Zhengtang County Magistrate's assessment at that time - now called Mokan - will be required. Something went wrong, and Sun Tu, who messed up the matter, would definitely suffer. So he didn't dare to slack off today and rushed there early in the morning.
The weather is quite pleasant in the early morning of June. There is no direct sunlight and there is a gentle breeze, which makes pedestrians on the street feel more comfortable. There is almost no interruption in the flow of people.
Not long after, he turned into the two-hundred-step-wide Yudaotian Street that led directly to the inner city, which was more than twice as wide as the official road outside the city. However, the entire Imperial Street is not suitable for pedestrians and horses to walk on. There is a passage of nearly fifty steps in the middle that is separated by two canals. In addition, there is a passage blocked by the canals. The black wooden fence divided it into three columns, and pedestrians could only walk on the streets on both sides, because the passage inside was the royal road that could only be used by the emperor to travel.
While browsing the surrounding environment, Sun Tu moved forward, his pace not slow. An hour later, he finally came to a towering city gate with carved railings and painted buildings, which was the Suzaku Gate, the north gate of the inner city. Although this city gate is much lower than the outer city gate, it still looks tall and straight, making people dare not look down upon it.
Thinking of the majestic outer city wall he saw yesterday, Sun Tu couldn't help but wonder how this capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, was easily captured by the Jin people. The Jurchen clan may be extremely sharp in field combat, but attacking cities is probably not their specialty. The Song army has always been known for its defense, so how could they be allowed to break into this fortified city and lead to the destruction of the country
He didn't know much about this period of history, but he didn't know that the fall of Tokyo City was caused by a series of wrong decisions made by the entire Northern Song Dynasty court. It can even be said that the Jin army did not even bother to attack the city. The Song people themselves gave up the capital and opened the door to the thieves in a standard manner.
When he came to the city gate, Sun Tu found out a little strangely that the name of the city gate written in seal script was not the three characters "Suzaku Gate" as everyone said, but an extra zigzag, pronounced "Suzaku Gate". "This kind of call seems a bit weird.
In fact, the special name of the Zhuque Gate in Bianjing City existed long before the founding of the Northern Song Dynasty. After the dynasty changed, it came into the hands of Taizu Zhao Kuangyin, and the name on the city gate was still written as Zhuque Gate. Zhao Kuangyin was also very puzzled by this, and even asked his prime minister Zhao Pu what was the reason for this.
Zhao Pu's answer is very simple: "Nothing else, words help you." That is, this is a simple modal particle.
When Zhao Kuangyin heard this, he curled his lips in disdain and sneered: "You know what, you can help me a lot!"
Later generations thought that this was actually Taizu's disdain for scholars. In fact, in his hands, the power of the civil servants of the Song Dynasty was indeed far less than that of later generations. At best, they could only compete with the military generals. However, with the succession of Taizong Zhao Guangyi and the descendants of the Zhao family, the civil servants completely turned over and completely suppressed the military attachés. It was difficult to get ahead anymore, and the combat effectiveness of the Song Dynasty army also plummeted, and they could only defend themselves. No more pioneering spirit.
Sun Tu had no idea about these historical anecdotes and origins at this time. He was just looking for the Hubu Yamen he wanted to go to. After entering the inner city, the number of shops was reduced a lot. When approaching the imperial city, we saw government offices standing beside the road one after another, including six of them.
The so-called six departments of the imperial court naturally refer to rituals, household officials, soldiers, punishments, and work, which were passed down from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. After the founding of the Song Dynasty, many policies still followed the system of the Tang Dynasty. For example, the center of the court, now called Zhengshitang, was actually under Zhongshu's sect. Another example is the six government agencies, which still manage their own affairs.
As an important government office in charge of the country's finances, the Ministry of Revenue is located not far from the imperial city, just to the side of Xuande Gate, the south gate of the imperial city. Although it was still early at this time, there were already many people waiting at the yamen gate.
When Sun Tu saw this, he hurried forward and saluted a small official who was guarding there: "This official is here to invite me. I came from Yuncheng County, Shandong Province to pay taxes. I wonder if you can let me know?" I don’t know which room I should go to to pay the money?”
The junior official just raised his head, looked at Sun Tu with his nostrils and said angrily: "All the officials in this department are busy with important court matters. How can I have time to care about such trivial matters as yours? Just wait outside."
Seeing his attitude, Sun Tu couldn't help but feel a little unhappy, but this was his territory, so of course he couldn't get angry, so he could only stand there angrily. At this time, a man nearby who was also dressed as a commoner came over and whispered: "Young Master is here to do business too?" Seeing Sun Tu's acquiescence, he smiled bitterly and said: "You don't know where this is coming from?" What are the rules? If you want them to show you in, just talking is useless, you have to show some respect."
"Is there such a thing?" Sun Tumeng frowned. He really had no experience or preparation in this area. Even though he knew that everyone in the officialdom was corrupt nowadays, he never imagined that someone would dare to ask for bribes so unscrupulously in front of such an important government office.
"Is this your first time here, young man? This is a matter of course. These officials hardly receive any salary when working here. Naturally, they need to make up for it with us." This man is also a talkative person. , and he was so courageous that he actually dared to reveal some shameful deeds in front of the Hubu Yamen.
Just as he was speaking, several more people who wanted to enter were stopped. Then a man who knew the rules secretly gave the official some money, and he was allowed to enter.
Seeing this scene, Sun Tu frowned even more tightly. Obviously the other party's appetite is quite big, and he can't get in without one or two taels of silver. And this money is enough for me to stay in Bianjing for two or three days.
The Song Dynasty has been passed down to this day, and it has long been rotten from the roots. Not only are the officials in various prefectures and counties rampant in corruption, but even the central government offices under the imperial city are full of people who are in charge of them. As long as ordinary people have contact with the government, these greedy people will take benefits from it, otherwise you can't think of anything. It's done.
It is said that a few years ago, a government official came to the Ministry of Household Affairs to pay taxes, but he failed to complete the errand in a year. Because all he had to hand over was one tael of silver, and just the bribe to get in would cost two taels.
Although Sun Tu was extremely dissatisfied with such a trend, he could only bow his head under the low wall. After hesitating for a moment, he could only step forward again, and at the same time put a small piece of silver that he had taken out earlier into the official's hand: "I hope the officials can be accommodating, there can be no delay in such matters. "
The man skillfully weighed the silver, and then his expression softened and he said with a smile: "Since it's important, you can go in. The second signing room on the left side of the courtyard when you first enter is the duty room outside Zuo Cao and Chen. , just look for him."
"Thanks for the advice." The two taels of silver still had some effect. Sun Tu finally found the way, quickly thanked him, and walked to the Hubu Yamen.
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On Monday, I hope you will be lucky if you vote. . . . .