The Rich and the Idlers of the Red Chamber

Jia Amnesty didn't know that he was just planning to leave a way out for the Jia family, but when he came to the sage, he made the sage suspicious of some officials.

The Department of Shipbuilding has had this department since the Song Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, maritime trade was extremely prosperous, and there were tens of thousands of private merchant ships. Of course, ordinary merchant ships did not really go to sea. After all, because of some policies of the imperial court and some biased issues of officials, the imperial court still insists on water transport instead of sea transport. Therefore, there are still canals running through the north and south in the Yangtze River Basin. From the beginning to the end of the year, there have never been fewer large and small merchant ships, all of which have to pay taxes to the Municipal Shipping Department.

According to Dai Quan, even if sea-going ships have one-tenth of these merchant ships, they go back and forth to the sea every year, adding up, there should be tens of millions of taels of silver transactions a year, and the Department of Shipbuilding is very concerned about the sea-going ships. The tax rate is generally around ten to three. What's more, those merchant ships that go back and forth in the canal and the Yangtze River Basin several times a year also have to pay taxes. Two, even if a sage is a fool, he knows something is wrong.

After Dai Quan brought over the tax revenue data from the founding of the country to the present, the sage was very happy. At the time of the founding of the country, there was no way. If you want money, you will not do such a risky business under such circumstances. Maybe the ship didn't have an accident in the storm, and when it arrived at the port, it would be robbed by those rioters instead.What's more, in troubled times, sea piracy was more rampant. Therefore, at that time, the Shibo Department was first established, and the tax money was just a pitiful point.

In the ten years since the initial establishment of the world, there have been more and more talents who already have a way to go to sea. Therefore, the tax revenue is almost 10 taels. The problem is that it has been nearly a hundred years since the founding of the country, and the person in charge of the Shibo Department has changed. One crop after another, the tax revenue has not changed much over the years, isn't this a joke!

The sage looked at the note Dai Quan handed over, and sneered: "This is all taking me for a fool, it's really good!"

Dai Quan lowered his head and remained silent on the side. He also knew a little about the tricks in it. The powerful maritime merchants and those backed by powerful people colluded with the Shipping Department, saying that they had paid taxes. In fact, A shipment of special products such as spices, gemstones and corals is directly registered as ore for pressing the ship at the Shibo Department. The unified government will write to you tattered clothes, rags and rotten iron, worth hundreds of thousands of goods, if those clerks fiddle with the words, they will immediately shrink to tens of thousands of taels.

The more arrogant ones don’t follow the path of the Maritime Shipping Department at all. Some maritime merchants who are both black and white occupy some scattered islands outside. Sea ships often stop at the edge of the islands and do not travel far. Sometimes you can play a cameo role as a pirate, pay taxes or something, it has nothing to do with them at all.

Jia Amnesty belongs to the shrewd kind. In addition to buying specialties from various places, he also sells gold and silver, relying on the difference in exchange rates to make money. Therefore, although he pays taxes as usual, because of the difference in tax rates, it is said that the tax is three times out of ten. But in fact, for Jia She, the payment is not so much.Especially later, he bought a large amount of grain from Nanyang to return to the ballast. After the grain was shipped back, the price was very limited, and the tax was even less. It can be said that Jia Amnesty was actually playing around the corner. Tax evasion, he is considered a reasonable tax avoidance, which is within the scope of national law.

In a rage, the sage prepared to order imperial envoys to go south to strictly investigate the Shibo Department. The problem is that there are too many people involved. Many officials from the south in the DPRK, which one has not got involved in maritime trade? , Even in the court, those more far-sighted princes and nobles also have some shares in maritime trade. Now the saint wants to investigate this. These people's buttocks are not clean. Everyone knows this well. Dare to touch this hornet's nest, so when the saint raised it in court, almost no one dared to respond.

When the sage saw it, his heart was full of anger, but he was very deep in the city, so he quickly calmed down his mood, and then directly appointed a censor who came from a poor family, appointed him as an imperial envoy, and bestowed Shang Fang with a sword. He went south to track down the matter of Shibosi.

That censor was not a fool, but, the sage had said it all, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and pick up this hot potato, but he was secretly complaining.

Naturally, the saint would not pin all his hopes on a censor who had not been an official for a few years, so he naturally had a backup.

In the court hall, Lin Ruhai, who had stayed in the Imperial Academy for several years and also entered Yushitai, was also shocked. When Lin Ruhai's father was alive, he also cooperated with a maritime merchant. They borrowed the name of the Lin family to give the Lin family a certain However, Lin's father passed away early, and Lin Ruhai was young at that time, so this way was cut off, but he couldn't guarantee whether this matter would come out, which made Lin Ruhai feel a little worried.

Jia Amnesty also got the news from Jia Jing that day, and he couldn't help being a little dumbfounded at this matter. He really didn't know how the saint would think of this, but he didn't expect it. It is generally accepted that Jia Amnesty is a well-earned man who makes money. It can be seen how profitable the sea trade is. In the end, he thought of the ever-immortal city ship tax revenue. Lost tens of millions of taels of income, how can I bear it, suddenly I have the intention of attacking.

Jia Jing asked nervously: "You also have a caravan at sea, you didn't get involved with those people, did you?"

Jia She said helplessly: "How could I do this kind of thing? When I first started asking people to buy seagoing ships and go to sea, I had just separated from my family at that time, and I was still a white man. Well, I didn't use the Rongguo Mansion brand." , who will buy my face, of course I still have to pay. This sea trade is already very profitable, and I am not an insatiable person, so although I have used some means, I have to pay what should be paid. Yes! My caravan is a big taxpayer, and after a year, the tax money must be paid at least 10,000+ taels!"

Jia Jing's eyeballs almost protruded: "Is this really so profitable?"

Jia Amnesty nodded: "That's not it, the nobles in the Central Plains are willing to spend half of their net worth in exchange for the cheap things in the Central Plains. There are not many of them, which ones are not worth a thousand gold, in fact, overseas, these are not precious things!"

Jia Jing couldn't help but be moved. These days, few people really regard money as dung, and when it comes to money, they feel a smell of copper. If you want to live well enough, you don't need anything else, but money is indispensable.

"The sage is furious this time. It seems that this matter is going to be investigated to the bottom. I'm afraid that some maritime merchants will be unlucky at that time. In the future, we brothers will also buy a few more seagoing ships!" Jia Jing suddenly Enthusiastically imagined.

Jia Amnesty nodded and said, "Well, we can recruit more sailors who are experienced in sailing and are familiar with the route later on, and that will be complete!"

Jia Amnesty and Jia Jing have already waited for the time to pick up the bargain. Over there, the unlucky imperial envoy just arrived in Jiangnan, and there was an official banquet from the same year. The imperial envoy didn't know if he was drunk or what happened. He stumbled and fell into the water, and when he was caught by the accompanying followers, he had died.

After the sage heard the news, his face seemed to remain the same, and his heart was already filled with anger. He had already prepared for it. The censor's trip this time may be more or less ominous, but the sage did not expect that those people It was so rampant, and before the censor reached the ground, he directly ruined his life.

The saint sneered in his heart, and asked directly in the court: "An imperial envoy, who died of drunkenness and drowning, is treated the same as the poet fairy back then. Unfortunately, I don't believe it! Is there anyone else who is responsible for the matter of Shibosi?" Are you willing to share my worries for me?"

An imperial envoy has already died, so it can be seen that the water here is very muddy. Whether it is related to this matter or not, everyone in the court has sympathy, and no one wants to get involved. Therefore, keep up Compared with the last time, each of them was like a quail, with their heads shrunk, wishing there was a hole in the ground that they could drill into without being noticed by the saint.

The sage was sitting on the dragon chair, with a sneer on the corner of his mouth, and was thinking of ordering a heavier one as a shield, but Tu Mingyi stood up and said, "Father, my son is willing to share the father's worries! "

The sage was taken aback for a moment. To be honest, he really didn't expect his son to appear.Tu Mingyi is now the oldest prince. Although he has been crowned king in the past few years, he has always been honest and responsible. He has almost no sense of presence among the saints. When he came out, some doubts arose in the saint's heart.

However, Tu Mingyi was also helpless. He was almost scared by the saint before. From the prince to the other brothers, they were all dragged down, and each of them ended up miserable. Even though Tu Mingyi didn't have much thought at first At most, he just wanted to be a prince with some real power in the future, but the reality directly woke him up. He was still his own father, and his life was not so easy. If he changed his brother, he would be The emperor, few of them are really open-minded, and he is the oldest prince who is still alive. Whoever comes to power is a thorn in the eyes of others. Do I want to be like the children after the abolition of the prince? It sounds like a good title, but you can only stay in the palace for the rest of your life and wait to die? How is that different from a pig!

Of course, Tu Mingyi was not reconciled to this, but he couldn't be like those young princes who acted like a baby with his father, and his mother's family didn't show up. Those people in the village have also been hit. Although he is walking in Liubu, he has been constrained. Unlike Tu Mingyun, who has made some achievements and won the favor of the saint, he does not want to be aggrieved day by day. , what can be done is only what others are unwilling to do, but he doesn't believe it, those people dare to kill an ordinary imperial envoy, do they dare to kill a prince?

The sage looked deeply at Tu Mingyi, and then said: "The fourth brother has a heart. Since the fourth brother has volunteered, then I will leave this matter to you and retreat!"