Awkward!
This is really embarrassing.
The intervention of the procuratorate at the time made these officials extremely angry. They felt that their dignity was insulted and their power was suppressed.
However, it brought them wealth.
Let the unsaleable salt debt start to move.
How ironic!
Having said that, the country actually makes money through two means: power and integrity.
Of course, power is always the foundation, and any means by which a country makes money is based on power, but integrity will be the indicator of how long this regime can last.
The more credible a regime is, the longer it can last.
A regime without integrity is actually not much different from bandits.
Because when you lose your integrity, you can only use knives and guns to make money and cannot rely on other means.
This is Zhang Fei's economic theory of public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and it is also an important reason for him to persuade Zhao Xu to promote public security, procuratorial and judicial systems. In fact, Zhao Xu also wants finance, so in order to impress him, he must start with the economy.
Although the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems do not involve finance, they can bring credibility to the country, and credibility can be converted into more benefits.
This scene is happening in Hezhong Prefecture at this moment.
However, Wei Yingfang and his men still did not quite believe it, nor were they willing to believe it, so they all took horse-drawn carriages to the Ministry of Revenue.
This Tizhu Changpingsi, abbreviated as Cangsi, was actually an upgrade of the previous Changping Warehouse into a super financial agency, and its purpose was to serve the new policy.
The main content of this new policy was actually to intervene in private transactions, strengthen the state-owned economy, and use financial management techniques to accumulate more wealth for the court.
Therefore, Yuan Jiang had previously renovated this office, making it more like a shop rather than a government office.
At this moment, this transformation finally came in handy. At least it can handle multiple customers at the same time, and its efficiency is greatly improved.
When Wei Yingfang and his men arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, they saw quite a few people sitting inside. They were all famous wealthy businessmen in Hezhong Prefecture, mostly salt merchants and banknote merchants. There were also a large number of clerks coming in and out.
These officials could swear to heaven that they had never seen such hardworking officials.
Is it because the government decided to give them salaries
It shouldn't be like this!
The price of paying salaries is to reduce their extra income and even reduce their powers. Many officials are dissatisfied with this, and they should not work harder for this.
Zhuo Qun's words made them suddenly realize.
They will receive a commission of 0.5%.
In other words, out of the one million strings of cash in salt debt, five thousand strings belonged to them.
The key is that there are not many people competing with them, so they can only keep on competing with each other.
Can they not work hard
How can I not be diligent
Even the businessmen felt an unprecedented sense of respect, and as they talked, they no longer felt like they were in an official office, but more like they were in a shop.
"Is... is this a contract?"
A fat middle-aged man weighed the thick contract and said in disbelief.
A clerk nearby said, "This is a contract that our Scholar Yuan brought from the capital. I heard that the capital has already adopted this type of contract, and the purpose is also to cater to the public security, procuratorate and courts."
"Public security, procuratorate, and court?"
The middle-aged man's eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked with great interest: "Where did you get this from? What does this contract have to do with the public security, procuratorate and courts?"
The clerk knew very well that these people did not trust the government, but trusted the public security, procuratorate and courts more, so he explained very patiently: "In the past, these disputes were resolved privately, but since the public security, procuratorate and courts appeared, everyone is more willing to go to the imperial court to sue. Your Excellency should have also been to the imperial court to see it?"
The middle-aged man nodded repeatedly.
All the wealthy businessmen in Hezhong Prefecture have been there, and almost all the common people have been there as well. The number of people there is increasing because, in the beginning, many common people were afraid of government offices and did not want to get involved with them. But now, the imperial court's trial is an entertainment project and they go and watch it when they have time.
The clerk continued, "Because the imperial court only recognizes black and white words, many issues must be written very clearly. If there is a dispute, when we go to court, everyone will have a law to follow.
You see, the contract also states the inheritance method. If the person who bought the salt debt encounters an accident, to whom will it be passed on? If there is no designated heir, then it will be calculated according to the inheritance law. If there is a designated heir, then it will be calculated according to the designated heir. You can even write multiple heirs. When the first one cannot inherit, we will count the second one.
Also, if the salt pond encounters a natural disaster, the government can waive interest and postpone repayment. These are all written very clearly. If there is a dispute, it is also clear how to deal with it when going to court. "
"I see."
The middle-aged man nodded and said, "In that case, I must read every word carefully."
"That's inevitable."
"But what if they can't read?"
"We can find someone to help. Look over there, someone has hired an ear pen to help review it."
"Shouldn't we ask a dentist for this?"
"I'm not sure about that. Maybe it's because brokers only deal with business matters. But this involves the law. Many people would rather find an informant to ask for more details, so that they know which regulations are beneficial to themselves and which are beneficial to the government."
"Yeah... That's right, then I'll have to hire an ear pen to help me analyze it. This is no small business!"
"sure."
... ...
At the door, a clerk bowed to the father and son and said, "Congratulations to Mr. Xu for purchasing our company's salt debt."
"Congratulations! Congratulations!"
"Mr. Xu, remember this. If the salt debt contract is lost, you can immediately bring your household registration to our company to handle the formalities to avoid unnecessary losses."
"Yes, yes, I'll remember that. If there's nothing else, we'll take our leave first."
"Slow down."
... ...
When the son left the house, he asked his father, "Dad, are we buying the salt too hastily? The salt debt will be due in three years. Who knows what will happen during these three years? What if the government refuses to honor the debt?"
The father laughed and said, "If the government doesn't recognize the debt, there will be no difference between this year and three years, because the salt is in the hands of the government. No matter what, you have to buy salt notes from the government."
The son said, "But if it's salt notes, you can exchange them at any time, so the risk is relatively small."
"The risk is smaller, but it has little to do with the age limit."
My father waved his hand. "It's because of the existence of the public security, procuratorate and courts. Look at those people with connections before. They were all punished by the public security, procuratorate and courts. Didn't those officials also accept the punishment honestly? That's why so many people come to buy the salt debt. But if we buy three years of debt, the profit will be much higher."
"It's the same price, how can the profit be much higher? Could it be that Dad is referring to the interest?"
"You haven't made any progress in these years! Think about it, the output of salt is fixed, and it only produces so much every year. Now these one million strings of salt are all due in three years, and the people who buy salt bonds are not necessarily salt merchants. By then, the one million strings of salt will be locked in the salt bonds. The price of salt will inevitably rise, and the salt bonds will naturally rise as well. Then we can make a profit by directly selling the salt bonds. Besides, there will be interest during this period, so the profit will be much higher!"
"I see. No wonder those people just now all asked to pay back in salt when the time comes. No one asked to pay back in coins."
"You've just figured it out now!"
... ...
Merchants who dare to come to Hezhong Prefecture to do business all have a certain adventurous spirit. The difficulties they face here are far more than those in the capital, and they are also full of speculation.
Not long after the government issued salt notes, people started to make money by selling them.
These banknote merchants and salt merchants have long been eyeing the salt debt. They all believe that buying salt three years from now will be more profitable than buying salt now.
The reason is very simple. When you buy salt now, you don’t know how much salt the court has and how much has been sold. But three years later, you can clearly know that one million strings of salt have been sold, and the salt output remains unchanged.
The price of salt will inevitably increase in three years, and there will be more room for maneuver.
Because they have three years to operate the salt three years later and drive up the price, plus there is interest every year. As long as the government does not default on its debt, the profit from this deal will be even greater.
They hadn't come to buy before because they were calculating the risks involved.
However, with the intervention of the procuratorate, the risk is greatly reduced because businessmen trust the public security, procuratorate and courts more.
Of course, the most crucial point is that because the government monopolizes salt, merchants can only buy it from the government. Unless you do this business, you have to bear the risk.
... ..
However, the sale of salt bonds also boosted another industry, namely the bookshop in front of the imperial court.
Due to the emergence of the new contract and the huge amount involved in the salt debt, it is crucial that they now have to rely on the law to protect their rights. The merchants all take the initiative to find spies to help them analyze the salt debt contract. Now, all the bookstores in front of the imperial court are opened by spies from the capital. They are already familiar with this kind of contract transaction and have great eloquence. Therefore, the merchants also handed over other transaction contracts to the bookstores to draft.
This is a wonderful start for the new bookstore.
There are gains and losses in this, and this has also dealt a serious blow to the dental industry.
Originally, all of these were jobs done by dental clinics.
Obviously, today's pawnbrokers have failed to keep up with the changes of the times, and their familiarity with the law is far less than that of ear pens and tea eaters.
In fact, in many previous cases, many pawnshops were involved, and they cheated the people and engaged in fraud. However, Zhang Fei never settled accounts with them. His purpose was to use the bookstores to slowly replace the pawnshops' business.
The officials saw all of this and knew very well what was going on, but they would not reveal the real reasons. That would prove that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs were in favor of their governance.
They began to praise Yuan Jiang.
Because on the surface, the salt debt was something Yuan Jiang came up with to deal with the lawsuit over salt banknotes.
Wow... The salt debt trick is really clever. Collecting more money is welcome, and it can also solve the government's urgent needs.
Anyway, there is no mention of the public security, procuratorate and courts.
At this moment, the imperial court really had no time to care about these things, and had no mood to compete with them for credit. It turned out that the last time they eradicated evil, it was like opening a Pandora's box, causing many people who had been wronged to come and complain.
Especially those people who are exploited by the government.
Zhang Fei was also busy meeting with the Four Little Kings every day, but Zhang Fei still insisted on one principle, that is, except for homicide cases, they only accepted disputes that had occurred recently, and would not accept any disputes that occurred before the police, procuratorate or courts came.
In addition, Zhang Fei gradually reduced the number of times he went to court. For general lawsuits, he would first hold a meeting with the Four Little Kings. Each case would be studied, and Zhang Fei would set the relevant punishment. Then they would go to court to try the case, giving them an opportunity to gain experience.
"Huh?"
Zhang Fei suddenly put down the complaint in his hand, and found several more from the side for comparison, "Why are so many people suing this tax collector?"
Cai Jing immediately explained, "I was planning to tell you about this. The contract for the purchase tax was signed between the farmers and the government last year, but the dispute occurred in early autumn this year. We don't know whether the imperial court will accept their lawsuit."
"We'll talk about this later."
Zhang Fei waved his hand and asked again: "What exactly does this purchase tax mean? Can anyone explain it to me in detail?"
The four little golden boys looked at each other, as if asking each other, doesn't the teacher even know this
Xu Zhiqian explained: "To put it simply, this is a tax-farming system, which is mainly aimed at taxation in some remote areas, and is mainly based on commercial taxes in the market. In some places, the government even sells the two taxes to merchants.
The government would set up special markets and contract all the taxes of these markets to merchants. Merchants would pay a sum of money to the government on the spot to obtain the right to collect taxes, and then send people to collect taxes locally to make a profit. For the government, it not only reduced the cost of tax collection, but also obtained sufficient tax revenue. "
Ye Zuqia further added: "The villages in those remote areas are very scattered. If the government sends people to collect taxes, the taxes collected may not be enough to cover the manpower costs. Moreover, because those places are too remote, the government's control over the local areas is insufficient. Even if people are sent, it is difficult to collect taxes. Selling the taxes to people with means to collect them can indeed reduce a lot of burdens on the government."
Zhang Fei nodded slightly and said, "This is a good way."
Shangguan Jun immediately said, "But this is only good for the government, not so good for the people. As Dunli said just now, the taxes in those places are difficult to bear, so those who buy these taxes are almost all wealthy people. They will hire some rogues to collect taxes in the local area. The more they collect, the more they earn. As long as no one dies, the government will hardly care. It is inevitable that there will be some extortion."
Cai Bian added: "The court adopts a system of buying and selling, where the highest bidder wins. The higher the price offered by the wealthy, the more ruthless means they will use to collect the money from the people. And because those places are too remote, even if something happens there, the government may not know about it."
Cai Jing added: "Even if they knew, it would not affect the government's governance. Therefore, in the past, the people could only fight back with their own means, but they were still unable to resist the harassment of those rogues, and many people suffered greatly. But now that they know that the public security, procuratorate and courts will defend the interests of every citizen and make decisions for the people, they come to complain one after another."
Do you think the Song Dynasty would be able to have fun? Everything could be traded, and even taxes could be contracted to merchants.
This really saves money and trouble.
But the people suffered and were subjected to greater oppression and exploitation.
Zhang Fei listened to their introduction of the purchase tax while thinking about something. After they finished speaking, he asked, "So do you think this is reasonable?"
Shangguan Jun immediately said, "I think this is of course unreasonable. The government should at least abide by the law, but those wealthy people are only interested in profit and are no different from robbers."
Cai Bian said: "But unless the court exempts those places from taxes, there seems to be no other way. We can only think of ways to restrain those wealthy people, but if so, those wealthy people will not be willing to participate in the buying spree."
"Really?" Zhang Fei muttered, and suddenly asked, "How many places in Hezhong Prefecture have taxes that are contracted out to those merchants to collect?"
"There are fifty-two places in the entire Hezhong Prefecture." Cai Jing replied.
Zhang Fei was surprised: "So many?"
Cai Jing replied: "Because Hezhong Prefecture is more mountainous, many villages are almost isolated from the outside world."
"How much did it sell for?" Zhang Fei asked again.
Cai Jing replied: "More than 20,000 strings of cash."
"That's a lot!"
Zhang Fei nodded, thought for a while, and suddenly said to Cai Jing: "Cai Jing, go to the Transportation Department and ask Yuan Xueshi to come to our house."
Cai Jing nodded and said, "Yes."
Shangguan Jun hurriedly asked, "Teacher, how do you plan to deal with these lawsuits?"
Zhang Fei said, "I plan to try this case myself, but you have to tell the Legal Aid Department that we will only consider disputes that occurred this fall. We will not accept any other cases."
... ... .
On the other side, Yuan Jiang learned that Zhang Fei had an appointment, and came over happily.
In a small house on the back mountain, an old man and a young boy were sitting at a table with a small hot pot in the middle, which was emitting steam and a fragrant aroma.
With the sale of the salt debt, the government's urgent needs were finally solved. If there was an extra income of one million strings of cash, the previous compensation and salaries paid to officials would no longer be a big deal.
Yuan Jiang's heart was temporarily relieved, so even if Zhang Fei didn't invite him, he had to find Zhang Fei for a drink.
"Haha... Judge Zhang is indeed very good at predicting things. Many large landowners used grain to buy salt debts, and almost all of them demanded that the salt be repaid when it was due."
“It’s not hard to guess.”
Zhang Fei smiled and said: "First of all, this year is a bumper year, and we haven't encountered any natural disasters. The food supply is relatively sufficient, and there is no condition for food prices to rise.
Secondly, the emergence of the Green Seed Law has further depressed interest rates. It will be difficult to make huge profits through usury, at least next year. Although the interest rate of 1.5% is still higher than the interest rate of salt debts, it is not possible to borrow too much. Instead of leaving the grain in the warehouse to mold, it is better to use it to buy salt debts. Not only can you earn interest, but you can also manipulate the price of salt, and you are expected to make a fortune in three years."
"That's what happened."
Yuan Jiang nodded, and then said worriedly: "But if they really raise the price of salt in three years, it will cause public resentment."
The annual output of the salt lake is three to four million strings of cash, which is equivalent to selling one-third of the salt in advance. These salt merchants and banknote merchants are able to manipulate the price of salt.
The current price of salt is not cheap to begin with. If it goes up further, the people will not be able to afford it.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "In the contract, the court only promised to repay the interest every year, but there is no guarantee. The price of salt will be very high at that time. At the same time, the Ministry of Revenue has the power to stabilize prices. The court can stabilize the price of salt by releasing more salt."
Yuan Jiang asked doubtfully, "That also requires enough salt."
Zhang Fei only said: "The court will send someone to solve this matter. Scholar Yuan does not need to worry at all."
Yuan Jiang couldn't help but look at Zhang Fei.
It is definitely not possible to increase salt production by dissolving salt. If salt needs to be mobilized from other places to stabilize the situation, then the transportation cost will also raise the price of salt, which is meaningless.
There is only one place where salt can be used for this purpose, and that is Xixia salt.
However, after Zhao Xu ascended the throne, he immediately issued a death order prohibiting the import of Western Xia salt, intending to hit the economy of Western Xia.
Seeing that Zhang Fei was unwilling to say more, Yuan Jiang did not ask any more questions and said, "But issuing salt bonds is like eating up the food of the next year in the current year. Disarmament can indeed save a lot of money, but that can only offset the current financial deficit. Three years later, the financial resources of Hezhong Prefecture will be one million strings of cash less. This is also a very dangerous thing. Can tax revenue alone increase so much in three years?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "The current tax revenue scale of Hezhong Prefecture is definitely not enough to make up for it, but as the ancients said, you reap what you sow, and you can also get taxes if you sow taxes!"
“How much tax do you get for planting?”
Yuan Jiang was stunned. "How do we tax this?"
Zhang Fei said: "This one million strings of cash is enough to pay the salaries of officials and the compensation of soldiers, and there will be a lot of money left. This money can be used to build water conservancy projects and roads. Building water conservancy projects can increase per mu yields, and building roads can facilitate business travel. In this way, more tax revenue can be generated. This is called "taxes are earned by planting taxes." At the same time, the Director of the Changping Division can also do business, trade goods, and borrow money."
Yuan Jiang said: "In fact, the Qingmiao Law also has provisions regarding the construction of water conservancy projects and roads, but can this raise a million in taxes?"
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Yes."
Yuan Jiang was surprised and asked, "Why are you so sure?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "On a wide and flat road, you can drive very fast even if you close your eyes, but on a narrow and rugged mountain road, no matter how skilled you are, there is a risk of falling off a cliff.
The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have expanded and paved the way. Any policy of the government has achieved ten times or even a hundred times the effect of the previous one. With the arrival of the tax commissioner, it is absolutely possible to collect one million strings of cash in taxes in three years. Even if it is less, it can be compensated by reissuing salt notes and salt bonds. "
Yuan Jiang stroked his beard and thought for a while, then suddenly raised his glass and said, "Then I will wait and see."
If it was before, he might have been a little bit unconvinced, but now, he just felt very much looking forward to it.
After talking about this, Yuan Jiang asked again: "By the way, why did you ask me to come here today?"
Zhang Fei said: "Buy tax."
Yuan Jiang was slightly stunned, and immediately asked: "Did any citizen come to file a complaint?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "It seems that Master Yuan also knows about this situation."
Yuan Jiang sighed, "How could I not know? But there is nothing I can do. If the court sends people to collect taxes every year, the tax revenue may not be enough to offset the cost, and it will cause a lot of trouble. It is a thankless task!"
Zhang Fei said: "But if this continues, it will affect our public security, procuratorate and courts. A group of rogues are collecting taxes. You can imagine what will happen in the process. If our public security, procuratorate and courts cannot make decisions for the people, the authority of the public security, procuratorate and courts will be greatly reduced. Therefore, I have decided to open a court to try this case."
Yuan Jiang said: "But this lawsuit may undermine the prestige of the government. The previous ban lawsuit has already caused dissatisfaction among officials. You are doing it again right now, which is like adding fuel to the fire. It will be difficult for me to appease them then."
Don't be fooled by his tough words, he always obeys the imperial court's decision. The officials are already very angry, and if this frequency is too fast, he will also be in trouble!
If he tried to back down again, maybe they would notice.
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Master Yuan, there is no need to appease them. Just let them be. We always cooperate with each other, but it is not the same to coax them. Justice is very serious and everyone should abide by it. Therefore, it is time to let those officials know that if they lose this case, they must be held responsible for it."
Yuan Jiang was startled and asked, "Are you sure?"
Zhang Fei nodded confidently.
Yuan Jiang asked again: "Will that have an impact on the finances? The purchase system can alleviate considerable financial pressure."
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master Yuan, that won't happen, because the Taxation Commissioner will solve these problems. Besides, I also plan to use this lawsuit to welcome the arrival of the Taxation Commissioner."
Yuan Jiang asked, "Won't the tax commissioner arrive next year?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "I have asked them to try to arrive by the end of this year."