Dengzhou.
I saw a young man with his hands on his chest, walking happily and briskly along the river path towards the small village in the south.
"Brother Niu! Brother Niu!"
I saw a young man chasing after me.
"Xiao Shui! Are you...are you here to borrow money too?"
"Yes! I borrowed three strings of money. How about you?"
"I borrowed five strings of cash."
"What are you going to do with the money?"
"I want to buy some meat first and make a bowl of meat soup for my child when I get home."
"That's what I thought. Let's go together."
Suddenly, someone next to me said, "Young men, please stay."
The two looked back and saw a scholar with extraordinary bearing and a handsome-looking servant boy.
"Are you calling us, sir?"
"Yes."
The scholar stepped forward and asked, "From what you two said just now, it seems that you want to use the money to buy meat?"
"Um."
"Where did you get this money from?"
"Why? We didn't steal or rob. This is all the money we borrowed from the Changping Warehouse."
"Do you know what this seedling money is used for?"
"The court lent it to us at a low interest rate in order to take care of us, the people."
"The purpose of the Qingmiao money is to take care of the people who can't get enough food during the lean period."
"Yes! That's what I mean."
"But if you borrow money, you need to pay it back. This two percent interest is not small, and the term is short. I advise you not to rush to use the money to sell meat. Instead, you should look for what you need for farming, such as farm tools and better seedlings. Try to use this money to get more income, so that you can pay it back when the time comes."
"Oh, thank you very much for your guidance, sir."
"If you have no other advice, then... we will go back first."
The scribe looked at the two of them worriedly and nodded slightly.
After the two of them left, the scholar couldn't help but sigh, "Those people are too eager for quick success and instant benefits, and they don't consider the people."
This scholar was none other than Fan Chunren, and the servant beside him was naturally Fang Yun.
Fang Yun asked curiously, "They lend money to the people, and the interest rate of 2% is much lower than those loan sharks in the village. Why did the teacher say that they didn't consider the people?"
Fan Chunren glanced at her and said, "The government nowadays is more like a moneylender. They only want to lend money without considering whether the people need it or not, nor do they inform the people of the interests involved. They just blindly promote the Qingmiao Law as a way to save the people and encourage the people to borrow money, but they don't urge the people to use the money as much as possible for farming so that they can pay it back in the future.
Nowadays, many ignorant people just heard the news and borrowed money without any urgent need. They did not consider the consequences and did not think clearly about where to use the money. When the government came to collect the debt, they would definitely regret it. "
Fang Yun frowned and asked, "What should I do then?"
Fan Chunren shook his head and sighed, "Honestly speaking, there is nothing I can do now. With the current development, Jingdong East Road's finances will definitely increase this year. By then, the government will be blinded by this falsehood. Even if... even if they can see it clearly, I'm afraid they will pretend not to know. Now we can only hope that Hezhong Prefecture can do better and the government can choose the best one."
... ... .
The current situation in Hezhong Prefecture is very clear. Everyone knows that the government is placing all its hopes on the Commissioner of Taxation.
Because whether it was the Qingmiao Law or the Exemption from Labor Law, the income was very little, totally not enough, and could not even pay the interest on the salt debt.
But the government is still increasing its spending. It has just spent a sum of money to build prisons for the police station, and in terms of water conservancy, it has built canals for the people. But this part of the money is entirely dependent on salt banknotes to survive.
As time passed and autumn approached, the government finances were already stretched to the limit.
So there is no need to think about it, the only way out for the government is taxation.
Those who oppose the tax commissioner and the public security, procuratorate and courts are beginning to stir again. As long as you can't collect the money, it's over.
They are also racking their brains and trying every possible way to evade the investigation of the Tax Commissioner. This year is crucial for them because first-time offenders will not be punished, only fined, and they have one chance.
They were both nervous and excited about this.
If successful, it will be a permanent solution. No matter how powerful your public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are, or how popular they are, once there is a financial problem, all the responsibility will be yours.
If we fail, the future will be full of uncertainty and the entire official landscape will change.
It is approaching autumn, the most important season of the year, and the Taxation Bureau and the Transportation Bureau are beginning to take frequent actions.
The Taxation Bureau first announced this year's tax collection dates, which are set from September 1 to December 15. Failure to do so will be considered tax evasion. At the same time, it once again reminded everyone that the deed tax will be due on October 13. On that day, the white deed will be considered illegal ownership. Although the white deed still has legal effect, it will face high penalties.
In addition, under the order of the Director of Grain and Oil, the Taxation Commissioner promulgated a very important regulation, which stipulated that when collecting taxes, fifty wen was equal to one dou of rice. According to this regulation, there was no question of conversion.
When the people heard the news, they cried for joy, which shows how much they hated the conversion.
At the same time, under the order of the Transportation Bureau, the government office stipulated that the officials of Hezhong Prefecture should go to Majia Jieku Pu to collect their salaries every month.
The royal police followed the imperial guards to the Ministry of Revenue to receive their salaries.
After this series of combined punches, the originally clear situation suddenly became shrouded in fog.
Liang Youyi rushed to Wei's house on the same day. This old man was originally quite famous and had been idle at home, enjoying his retirement. But he was too narrow-minded. In the past year, he had actively participated in any action that could strike a blow to the public security, procuratorate, courts and tax commissioner, and also contacted the government on behalf of the opposition. He did not care about this little benefit. He just wanted to kill Zhang Fei and avenge his previous humiliation.
However, he is enjoying it now. Many opposition parties follow his lead because he can have a say in the government, and his desire for power is beginning to grow.
"What exactly is going on?"
Liang Youyi asked Wei Yingfang with an uneasy look on his face.
Now is also a critical moment for them. They have found a way to deal with the Commissioner of Taxation, but the government suddenly cooperates with the Commissioner of Taxation. This is really terrible.
Those orders were issued by the government and the Transportation Bureau, and the Taxation Bureau was just an executive agency.
Wei Yingfang knew what he was worried about, so he said, "Don't get me wrong, we are not cooperating with the tax commissioner, we are giving them orders."
Liang Youyi asked: "In other words, this is all decided by the government."
Wei Yingfang nodded.
Liang Youyi asked: "Why?"
Wei Yingfang said: "According to what Yuan Xueshi said, this is done to balance grain prices by using taxation. When there is more grain, people will pay taxes with grain, and when there is less grain, they can pay taxes with money. This is also a way to balance grain prices."
Liang Youyi didn't quite believe it. At this critical moment, you had the time to do this. "Is that all?"
Wei Yingfang said: "Of course not, the main purpose is to prevent the tax commissioner from exploiting the people by using the conversion."
Liang Youyi's eyes lit up, "That's a good idea."
The officials are still united around Yuan Jiang, which shows that they have great trust in Yuan Jiang's methods. Everyone agrees with this policy because they hated it more than anyone else when the tax was being commuted. Now that someone has changed, the commutation cannot be done, and you, the tax commissioner, will not make a penny.
This is actually the idea that Han Jiang brought to them. The government still has the greatest power. It just depends on whether you know how to use it.
Wei Yingfang added: "Also, according to Han Sishi's opinion, we can use reasonable policies to expand the power of our government, take the initiative to order the public security, procuratorate, courts and taxation department, instead of blindly opposing them, and at the same time win the hearts of the people."
Liang Youyi nodded and asked, "Besides that, what is the reason for letting the Royal Police raise the salary of the Commander of the Changping Command and letting the clerks go to the Majia Jieku Shop to collect their salaries?"
Wei Yingfang said, "Letting the Royal Police to raise salaries at the Changping Division is to control the finances of the police station. As for letting the clerks to receive salaries at the Majia Jiekupu, it is because the money invested by the government in the Majia Jiekupu will take a long time to be recovered with interest. Therefore, Yuan Xueshi plans to use some of the interest from the Majia to subsidize this expenditure every month, and then transfer the salary that should have been allocated to the clerks to the finances of the Transportation Division."
Liang Youyi wondered, "How much money did your government invest in the Ma family's warehouse?"
"Fifty thousand strings of cash."
Wei Yingfang said: "It is said that it is not enough at present, so the Transportation Department will also invest 20,000 strings of salt notes in the Ma family to pay the salaries of the officials."
Just at this moment, Cao Yi suddenly arrived.
"The tax bill is out! This is the tax bill I just got from the Taxation Commissioner." Cao Yi quickly stepped into the hall.
Wei Yingfang was slightly startled, and immediately said, "Show it to me."
Cao Yi handed over the tax bill.
When Liang Youyi heard about the tax bill, he didn't care about anything else. He just stood up and walked over. He took a look at the densely packed grid and said, "This tax bill is really detailed."
Wei Yingfang said: "It really says tax-free amount on it."
This made him feel a little relieved.
In fact, this is also the reason why they lack the confidence to oppose the Tax Commissioner. Just like in Beijing, because the Tax Commissioner fully recognizes their tax-free privileges, this leads to a large number of people not arguing with the Tax Commissioner. Tax evasion is illegal, and it is a consensus. You have no reason to oppose it, but you have to try to abolish this privilege.
Liang Youyi suddenly frowned, "Is there another income here? What does it include?"
"This is the famous illegal tax revenue of the Taxation Bureau." Cao Yi said.
“Illegal tax revenue?”
"I just asked carefully. This is to make it easier for robbers and bandits to pay taxes. They can't write the proceeds of robbery on it."
"... ... ?"
Liang Youyi and Wei Yingfang raised their heads and looked at Cao Yi.
Wei Yingfang suddenly asked, "Did the tax commissioner really say that?"
Cao Yi nodded.
Wei Yingfang said: "Do you think there is nothing wrong with saying this? Isn't this just shielding those who do evil?"
Cao Yi said: "Of course I didn't ask, but the tax department said they only look at income to collect taxes, and this illegal matter is not their responsibility, unless they don't pay taxes."
Liang Youyi was panicked when he heard this. "Is this tax commissioner really so powerful that he can even find illegal income?"
Cao Yi and Wei Yingfang looked at each other and shook their heads.
Who knows
... ...
Government office!
I saw two middle-aged men in grey gowns hurriedly coming out of the government office gate.
"Where are you two in such a hurry to go?"
The yamen runner in front of the door asked casually.
One of the bailiffs said, "Let's go out and do something."
The yamen runner chuckled and said, "He must be going to the Ma family to collect his salary from the warehouse manager."
"You know more!"
The bailiff Yang glared at him in pretended anger, then went down the stairs with his friend and walked towards the direction of the Ma family's store, sighing as he walked.
"Alas... We used to distribute food and money to others, but now it is others' turn to distribute food and money to us. This is really a case of things changing rapidly."
"This salary is much higher than last year. As long as we can pay the full amount, we won't lose anything. But the yamen runners may not be so easy to use in the future. After all, they don't ask us for money anymore."
"It is said that all the money issued is salt notes. I am always worried. We know very well what salt notes are. It won't be long before they are cheaper than paper."
"That's right. After we get the salt notes, we'll go buy some things."
"Um."
... ...
When they arrived at Ma's Jieku Shop, they saw quite a few people standing inside. They were all old acquaintances, and they all greeted them.
What’s interesting is that the clerks who were related to finance were unhappy, while the clerks who were not related to finance were very happy.
Because this way of paying wages undoubtedly deprived some people of their power, but the clerks who were exploited by this power were naturally very happy. In the past, when they went to collect their wages, not only would they be deprived of a layer of their wages, but they would also have to receive a debt of favor in return.
A small notebook, a stamp, and then a dozen salt bills were handed out together.
It was done almost in the blink of an eye.
It's so fast that it's astonishing.
This kind of efficiency is something the government has never imagined.
... ...
Royal Court!
Bang bang bang!
The gongs and drums sounded for the end of get out of class, but this time Zhang Fei did not rush to shout "get out of class dismissed". Instead, he said to the students: "Let me tell you first, you may become very busy this fall."
A student immediately asked, "Teacher, are you asking us to go to the trial?"
"Don't you usually look in the mirror?"
"Well... !"
The student's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment.
The rest of the students just buried their heads and laughed secretly.
Zhang Fei added: "You must all go to the Legal Aid Department to study in the second half of the year, and the Legal Aid Department will then arrange for you to assist the Taxation Commissioner to go to various villages and help the people register for taxes."
"ah?"
"Teacher, we are here to learn the law."
"Then do you know how many lawsuits there are every year because of taxes?"
The students fell silent immediately.
Zhang Fei added: "Now that all declarations have been made on their own, if you know nothing about this, how will you handle such cases in the future? This is a rare opportunity for you, because in this process, you will fully understand the root causes of many disputes. This is a very valuable experience. You must cheer up and cherish this opportunity.
This is also the final exam of the year. You must write an article about self-declaration from a legal perspective. Those with excellent scores can work in various royal courts. Those with average scores will have to train at the Legal Aid Department and continue to study. Those who fail will have to think carefully about whether they are suitable for this industry. Do you understand?"
"clear."
The students were sweating profusely, Alexander.
"get out of class dismissed!"
Zhang Fei packed up the documents and went out.
After leaving the law school, Zhang Fei lamented, "I am becoming more and more professional as a teacher. Damn, am I here to be a judge or a teacher?"
Of course, even though he complained, he also understood that there was nothing he could do about it, because he was the only one who could teach these classes, unless he just wanted the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs to stay in a corner.
Suddenly, a familiar figure passed by.
"day shift!"
Zhang Fei shouted immediately.
"Hey, young! It's San... No, the Grand Judge."
The white shift looked back, then immediately came over and bowed respectfully.
Zhang Fei said: "Lao Bai, why didn't you tell me you were coming here?"
Baiban sighed bitterly, "Hey, young man! Judge, you don't know how busy we are these days. We have to print thousands of contracts every day. The essay collection team keeps urging us to come back every day. We are simply too busy to handle it. I was just planning to talk to him about it."
"Is that so?" Zhang Fei said, "I'll tell you a way to avoid being so tired."
Baiban asked hurriedly: "What's the solution?"
Zhang Fei said: "If you are too tired, take out the money you earned and look at it, you will feel better."
Baiban blinked and said, "It seems that we really can't make any money recently."
Now he and Hong Zhong are no longer just employees. They both have shares in the printing workshop in Hezhong Prefecture and receive commissions.
Zhang Fei asked with a smile: "Are you feeling a little better?"
"It's really better." The day shift was also happy.
"That's good."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "After talking to Zheng Wen, ask him to treat you to a nice meal at a restaurant and tell him that this is what I said."
"Why!"
Baiban nodded repeatedly, "I've got it in mind. I'll go tell him later that the guy doesn't even treat us as human beings."
"Haha... Go ahead."
"Hey! I'll go then."
"Um."
After the white shift left, Zhang Fei sighed again, "I almost forgot that I'm still a rich man. Yes, I am a rich man!"
Suddenly, he remembered something and hurried to catch up with Baiban, "Old Bai, wait a minute."
"Mr. Judge, what else can I do for you?"
“You have to remember to pay your taxes.”
"Don't worry, Grand Judge. I have already asked Zhengwen to help us with this."
"Strict! Very good. Go! Go!"
After the day shift left, Zhang Fei returned to the imperial court.
"Huh? Zhiqian!"
Suddenly he saw Xu Zhiqian standing under the eaves, looking towards the door. He quietly came behind Xu Zhiqian and followed her gaze for a moment, "What are you doing?"
"ah?"
Xu Zhiqian screamed in fear, turned around, and said angrily: "How come you walk without making any sound?"
Zhang Fei said calmly, "I called you several times."
“Is… is it?”
"Why would I lie to you?"
Zhang Fei wondered again: "What are you looking at so intently?"
Xu Zhiqian seemed to suddenly remember something and said hurriedly, "Zhang San, I found a problem."
Zhang Fei asked curiously: "What's the problem?"
Xu Zhiqian said: "You know, for five consecutive days, no one came to the imperial court to file a lawsuit."
Zhang Fei asked: "What's the problem?"
Xu Zhiqian said, "In the past, except for the cold winter months, people came here almost every day to file lawsuits or make unreasonable troubles. At most, there was a one-day interval, but during this period, there was no one."
At this point, she analyzed in a serious tone, "Although public security has indeed improved, most of the people who came to sue in the past were civil disputes, but recently there has been no one. Isn't that strange?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment, "What day is it today?"
"It's already the fifteenth day, and it's still the first day of the lunar month." Xu Zhiqian said.
Zhang Fei asked again: "When does the government usually pay salaries?"
"The seventh day!"
"The seventh day?"
Zhang Fei hesitated for a moment and said with a smile: "Come on! I'll take you to find the answer."
Xu Zhiqian asked: "Do you know the answer?"
Zhang Fei ignored him, turned around and walked out the door.
"Wait for me!"
Xu Zhiqian followed Zhang Fei to the market outside the imperial court.
"Why did you bring me to the market?"
“The answer is here.”
Zhang Fei pointed to the market at the bottom of the hill.
"The answer is in the market?"
Xu Zhiqian stared at them and suddenly said, "It seems that there are a lot more vendors today than before. I'm afraid there are more than double the number."
Suddenly, I heard singing coming from the bottom of the hill. I looked for the sound and saw a few uncles carrying loads and humming songs as they left the market. "It's still early, why are they going back?"
Then he saw the load swinging back and forth, "Could it be that they have sold all their goods?"
Zhang Fei smiled and said, "You have good observation skills."
Xu Zhiqian tilted her head again, staring at him in confusion, and suddenly remembered the question Zhang Fei had asked just now, and her mind suddenly brightened, "I understand. This month is the first time that the government has used the Ma family's storehouse to pay salaries to clerks, and they are paying in salt notes. Naturally, these officials don't believe in salt notes, so they will exchange the salt notes for grain, salt, tea and other goods."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "That's right, but at the same time, the tax bureau has clearly stated that salt notes can be used to pay taxes, so merchants and civilians also need these salt notes to pay taxes, because using salt notes to pay taxes can avoid losses and is more convenient.
As a result, officials and the royal police were busy using salt notes to buy goods, and merchants were also busy exchanging goods for salt notes. Anyway, they were either in a hurry to spend money or to make money, so they had no time to come here to sue. Even if there was a dispute, they would settle it privately. Every minute counts! "
"I see." Xu Zhiqian nodded.
Zhang Fei said: "So I plan to let Ye Zuqia go out to try cases. Anyway, those students have to go to the Taxation Department to help, so I can stay in the Imperial Court to try cases."
At this point, he frowned slightly: "But next year we will be very busy."
Xu Zhiqian said: "Tax evasion lawsuit."
Zhang Fei smiled and nodded, "So let's cherish the time we have now and communicate more in the evening."
... ...
He had planned all this long ago. He only had free time this year, so he put all his energy into cultivating talents. It would not be possible for him to have it so easy next year.
... ...
The Taxation Department, which had been silent for half a year, has recently become bustling again, with long queues always lining up at the door.
The number of tax collection counters also increased from one to fifteen.
The accountant behind counter No. 3, who was not sure if he was a relative of Chen Ming, also had a blank expression on his face. After carefully examining the title deed and household registration, he said, "Twenty strings of cash."
"yes."
The man took out two ten-string salt notes and handed them over.
He took the salt bill, looked at it carefully, put it into the cash box beside him, stamped it with the official seal, and handed the land deed and household registration back to the man, "Next."
"Is that all?"
"Um."
The accountant said impatiently, "Next."
"I give you money, but you're not happy about it." the man muttered.
The accountant glared at him, "Then you don't have to come to deliver it! You are evading taxes and you are right."
The man immediately became depressed and walked out.
After going out of the gate, he quickly got on a carriage on the side of the road, and saw two officials in silk robes sitting inside.
They were the big banknote dealers in Hezhong Prefecture, Duan Chaobei and Webb.
"How is it?" Duan Chaobei asked.
"handed in!"
The man handed the land deed and household registration to Duan Chaobei.
Duan Chaobei said: "Didn't the tax commissioner ask if there were other lands under this household registration?"
The man said, "Not only did he not ask, he became very impatient when I asked one more question. The tax commissioner mainly looked at the land deed. If there was no problem, he asked us to pay the money and stamp it."
"I see."
After the man got off the carriage, Webb suddenly said, "This tax commissioner is even more arrogant than the government."
Duan Chaobei said: "It doesn't matter whether it's outrageous or not. It's better to be safe than sorry! We'll pay the tax secretly and see what happens next year. If the tax department can't find out, then we won't pay it."
Webb said, "Maybe everyone will think like us and pay the tax then."
Duan Chaobei frowned and said, "I think everyone will still pay the deed tax. After all, the land and houses cannot be hidden. If the tax bureau really investigates, it will definitely be found. But many people will definitely not pay the full amount of the total tax. Many wealthy people value money like their lives. A 15% tax means they will have to pay at least hundreds of strings of cash. Isn't this asking for their lives?"
Not far from them, there was a carriage parked with two people sitting in it, Cai Yanqing and Yuan Jiang.
"It seems that what Chen Ming said is absolutely correct!"
Cai Yanqing couldn't help but laugh as he looked at the line that stretched out the door.
Yuan Jiang said: "The house and land are so conspicuous, how can they hide? However, after paying the deed tax on the white deed, it will be much easier to declare the tax on their own."
Many hidden fields can no longer be hidden.
Cai Yanqing turned around and said with a smile, "Hasn't the tax revenue already been collected for the most part? The Transportation Bureau has directly transferred the original salary money to the Transportation Bureau's fiscal revenue this year, and distributed the salt notes as salaries to officials and the royal police. They use the salt notes to buy goods from the people, and the people use the salt notes to pay taxes. At the same time, everyone is used to using salt notes, so they should keep some in their hands. Even if they keep one-third and don't exchange them for salt, the government will make a considerable profit. This is a really smart move!"
Yuan Jiang nodded and said, "I have to admit that this was all Zhang San's idea. We have already made more than a million guan in profit from salt debts and salt notes alone. This can make up for the financial shortfall to a large extent. However, it will take three years to make up for it. If more people use salt notes, we may not even need to make up for it."
Cai Yanqing suddenly asked: "Whose political achievement is this?"
Yuan Jiang hesitated for a moment, knowing that he could no longer hide it, and said awkwardly: "Of course it is counted as the achievements of the Transportation Bureau and the government. On the surface, it is still the policy we promulgated."
When I said this, I felt quite lacking in confidence.
Cai Yanqing said: "But we all know that without the supervision of the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, the salt debt and salt notes will not work."
Yuan Jiang said: "But without our cooperation, they would not have achieved such great success. They have won a lot, but the final result must be that the new policy wins."
Cai Yanqing nodded slightly, and understood why Yuan Jiang was willing to endure so much grievance in the first place, because he was the one who would reap the fruits in the end, so of course he could endure it. "Outsiders think that this year's finances in Hezhong Prefecture and Jingdong East Road are a decisive battle between judicial reform and the new policy. But in fact, it is the political achievements of the two places, and the new policy will take all of them."
Yuan Jiang said with a little embarrassment: "If you think so, it's not wrong."
Wang Jiefu was not a good man. The so-called "win-win" meant that he wanted to beat Sima Guang twice. However, he could not give all the achievements of Hezhong Prefecture to the public security, procuratorate and courts. In his opinion, Zhang Fei was his man, and the promotion of Zhang Fei to the super financial institution, the Ministry of Revenue, came from the new policy, not the public security, procuratorate and courts.
Cai Yanqing said: "But whether this will affect judicial reform or not, you and I both know that the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs are the key."
Yuan Jiang said: "No one can deny the role played by the public security, including Wang Jiefu, but the public security, the procuratorate and the courts have little to do with fiscal growth, because the current fiscal growth mainly relies on salt debts and salt notes, which are all the achievements of the Ministry of Grain and Oil, but this is Zhang San's idea. As for tax revenue, it is still unknown, but even if there is a good growth, it is everyone's common achievement."
Cai Yanqing smiled and asked, "Does your plan have any clues?"
Yuan Jiang took a deep breath, thought for a while, and said, "Maybe there is! But I don't know. Maybe only Wang Jiefu and Sima Junshi know it. No, maybe Zhang San is one of them."
Cai Yanqing suddenly frowned, "Yes! Which side is he on?"
Yuan Jiang shook his head in confusion.