There is a candlestick, several side dishes, and two wine bottles on the long table. Wang Zhong and Gu Er are sitting on both sides of the table. There are wine glasses in front of them. The candles on the candlestick are flickering, and lanterns and candles are hung around them.

There is a fire rack and the house is brightly lit.

"Tell me, what's going on in your outer room?" Wang Zhong said straight to the point.

Gu Er said: "Isn't it that year when I came back to Tokyo and met some dudes teasing Mannia, I drove those dudes away and beat the leader. Unexpectedly, I didn't want Mania to do anything.

My mother actually chased me all the way to Bailu Cave. Her brother fell ill and died. I saw that she was alone and had no one to rely on, so I took her in. Mannia also lived up to her expectations and gave birth to a pair of children for me within two years.

"

When he talked about Zhu Manniang's children, Gu Er's face subconsciously showed a smile.

Wang Zhong really didn't know what to say. Was it the restorative power of the plot? Or was there some other reason? After going round and round, Gu Er was still entangled by Zhu Manniang.

"A pair of children?" Wang Zhong asked.

Gu Er said with a smile: "The older one is called Sister Rong, and the younger one is called Brother Chang!"

The reason why I only mention their nicknames is naturally because Sister Rong and Brother Chang are both from outside the family and have not yet been recognized by Gu Er's father, Ningyuan Marquis Gu Yankai, let alone the Gu family, and have not yet entered the Gu family ancestral hall.

Since I couldn't enter the family tree, I naturally don't have a famous name.

Wang Zhong said with some emotion: "I don't want to be apart for only a few years, but Zhong Huai actually has two children, which is enviable!"

I just don’t know whether I feel sorry for Gu Er’s speed or Gu Er’s fate.

However, Wang Zhong has no intention of interfering. Although Gu Er is extremely talented and God will feed him, his temper is too dissolute, and talented people are bound to be arrogant. Gu Er is as good as the legitimate son of Ningyuan Houfu.

With a distinguished background, it is difficult to achieve great things without going through some hardships.

And if he continues like this, sooner or later, he will fall into the hands of his elder brother and stepmother, Xiao Qin.

Gu Er also sighed and said: "I didn't expect that things would develop like this!"

Originally, he wanted to study quietly and take scientific exams at Bailudong Academy in order to become an official and show off his ambitions, but unexpectedly, by some strange combination of circumstances, he took in a woman and gave birth to two children.

Gu Er knew very well in his heart that his father, Marquis Ningyuan, would never allow someone like Mannia to enter the Marquis Ningyuan Mansion. Therefore, Gu Ercai had to work harder to become an official as soon as possible, start a family, and marry a well-known lady as his eldest wife.

So that Zhu Maniang and her son can have a home.

Wang Zhongdao: "Everything in the world is unpredictable, no one knows what will happen tomorrow!"

Gu Er raised the wine pot, refilled the empty cups in front of them, and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore! You have been doing a prosperous business in Quanzhou in the past two years. Although I am in Bailu Cave, I often hear people mention you.

Deeds in Quanzhou!"

Wang Zhong said: "It's just a small fight!"

"If you are just making a small fuss, then don't all the officials in other places just sit there and eat nothing?" Gu Er said with a stern face, "As soon as Zihou's "Salting Method" comes out, from now on,

The price of salt will only become cheaper and cheaper, and every household in Guizhou Province will be able to eat refined salt. Zihou’s contribution will be felt forever."

Wang Zhong shook his head and said: "What's the use if every household can eat refined salt? If you encounter corrupt officials, wanton exploitation and oppression, treating the people like pigs and dogs, breaking up families and losing lives is nothing more than ordinary, then the price of salt will be high." It’s cheap, but if some big merchants hoard it, buy it at a low price, and then sell it at a high price, what will the people of Guizhou do?”

When Gu Er heard this, he couldn't help but show a solemn look on his face: "Although I have been studying hard in Bailudong in the past few years, I am not indifferent to what is going on outside the window. There are also many green forests around Jiangzhou, and some They are big thieves who kill people and steal goods, but some of them are ordinary people in Guizhou who have been forced to live by corrupt officials and wealthy families."

"Although today's officials are benevolent and have been in power for many years and are considerate of the people, they are all doing little corvee and low taxes. However, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. They all say that the magistrates with flowing water, the iron-clad tyrants, and the local tyrants collude with the people in the yamen and are colluding. , cleverly created a name to squeeze the common people in order to achieve the purpose of annexing the land! The common people have become tenant farmers, and the fields have been in the hands of the powerful..."

As he was talking, Wang Zhong suddenly paused, gave a helpless smile, waved his hands and said: "That's all, that's all, we finally got together, why are we talking about this!"

Gu Er, however, looked at Wang Zhong with a serious look on his face: "Zihou feels the same way. Could it be that he also encountered these things in Quanzhou?"

Wang Zhong drank a glass of wine, with a hint of reminiscence in his eyes as he recounted the past events he encountered in Quanzhou.

"When I first built the salt field in Quanzhou, I hired people as workers and paid ten copper coins a day and two meals a day. People signed up in large numbers. Before the construction started, I issued a strict order not to deduct wages or food rations from the people. Anyone who does this will be immediately beheaded without mercy.

But I don’t expect those subordinates to be respectful to me on the surface, but secretly they are doing it in secret and using clever pretexts to rob the people of their hard-earned money!"

"How did Zihou deal with those subordinate officials?" Gu Er asked curiously.

"The chief criminal was directly beheaded in public, and the remaining interfering personnel were imprisoned, their property confiscated, and used as laborers. They were assigned to work in salt fields and docks every day without wages, ranging from three to ten years."

"It's a pity that we can only treat the symptoms, not the root cause. If I leave, I'm afraid that in a few years, those subordinate officials will be reborn again!" Wang Zhong said helplessly.

"This..." Gu Er didn't know how to answer Wang Zhong. After reading books for so many years and seeing a lot of people in the market, Gu Er was no longer the person who had long talks with Chang Bai and Wang Zhong a few years ago. Young man.

"Zi Hou thinks, how can we put an end to these chaos?" After pondering for a moment, Gu Er suddenly asked.

Wang Zhong shook his head and said: "Since the end of the Qin Dynasty when Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up in Daze Township, this problem has always existed. During the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guang conquered Goguryeo three times, sending millions of troops and recruiting millions of civilians to build the Great Wall, open canals, and Guangdong. The Cultivation Palace made the people of the world miserable, and the people revolted one after another.

In the previous dynasty, Wei Zheng said that the king is the boat, the people are the water, and the country is the second best. The water can carry the boat or capsize it. Today, the officialdom has been in power for decades. To ensure the people's livelihood, not everyone can be dedicated to the public good. As long as they have selfish desires in their hearts, there will be no shortage of these moths that harm the country and consume the people!"

Gu Er's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said seriously: "What do you think of the reform?"

"Reform?" Wang Zhong pretended to ponder, and then nodded and said: "If it is a reform, it is possible to change the status quo. If the law is not changed, if things go on like this, sooner or later it will cause disaster!"

"If it's a reform, how do you think Zihou should implement it?" Gu Er asked.

Wang Zhongdao: "If the two tax laws can be changed, the land tax, corvee and other miscellaneous levies in various states and counties can be combined into one, and the money collected can be combined and paid per mu. This will greatly simplify the tax system, facilitate the collection of taxes, and at the same time make it easier to collect taxes."

It will be more difficult for local officials to cheat, reduce corruption, and further increase fiscal revenue."

Gu Er asked: "But if corvee work is combined with land taxes and miscellaneous levies, what should be done when states and counties build river embankments, official roads, irrigation canals, etc.?"

Wang Zhongdao: "With money in the treasury of various states and counties, they can do what I did in Quanzhou and hire people to work for wages. Whether the people accept the call or not depends entirely on their own free will!"

Gu Er pinched his chin, nodded slightly and said, "It sounds feasible."

What Wang Zhong is talking about is the "one whip" law established in the Jiajing Dynasty during the Ming Dynasty. This law is a link between the previous two tax laws that began in the Tang Dynasty, and the lower one in the Manchu and Yongzheng periods of the Qing Dynasty.

Return to the public, and the officials and gentry will receive food and supplies as one body.

Although the 'one whip' method has both advantages and disadvantages, compared with this period, it is a rare improvement.

The two of them just drank and discussed, but most of them were Gu Er asking and Wang Zhong explaining.

Time passed quietly and unconsciously.

The next day, Wang Zhong went to the Ministry of Personnel early in the morning. Not long after waiting, news came from the palace that Emperor Jiayou wanted to summon Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong followed the chamberlain to the imperial study room and saw Emperor Jiayou who was reviewing memorials. He was dressed in a brocade robe with a moon-white dragon pattern and his hair and beard were silver. It could be seen with the naked eye that Emperor Jiayou was much older than he had been a few years ago.

few.

After a routine visit, Emperor Jiayou said with a smile: "In recent years, Quanzhou's wealth has increased year by year, and Ai Qing has contributed a lot!"

Wang Zhong said neither humble nor arrogantly: "I just fulfilled my duty as a humble minister. Quanzhou is in its current situation because of your wise Majesty. Our government opened up sea trade and encouraged merchants to go overseas for trade. Furthermore, it is because of Quanzhou's

The geographical location itself is very advantageous, and there is a natural port like Quanzhou Bay, so passing merchants are naturally willing to stop and rest in Quanzhou Bay.”

Emperor Jiayou became more and more happy and said: "Aiqing is too modest. Before Aiqing went to Quanzhou, the magistrates of Quanzhou changed one after another, but no one could be like Aiqing. In just a few years, what happened to Quanzhou happened like this."

Big changes, wealth is getting better every year.

Although I have been in this deep palace for a long time, I have often heard people talk about the changes in Aiqing and Quanzhou in recent years. According to statistics from the Ministry of Husbandry and the Ministry of Personnel, in the past few years, the population of Nan'an and Nan'an counties has only

, adding more than 3,000 households and nearly 100,000 people?”

"Back to Your Majesty!" Wang Zhong cupped his hands and said: "There are 3,242 households with 106,484 people. Among them, there are mountain people attracted from the mountains, and some migrated from other counties in Quanzhou.

Among the people who came here were refugees who spontaneously moved from Zuojinzhou County, and some were merchants and craftsmen."

"Three thousand two hundred and forty-two households, one hundred six thousand four hundred and eighty-four people, Aiqing really gave me a surprise!" Emperor Jiayou said with emotion.

"It's all thanks to your majesty's sage, the concerted efforts of colleagues in the court and Quanzhou, and the support of the people that such a scene is possible!" Wang Zhong still looked neither humble nor arrogant.

Emperor Jiayou said: "I remember that the last memorial sent by Aiqing mentioned that he wanted the imperial court to set up a shipping department in Quanzhou?"

Wang Zhongdao: "Fujian Road has many mountains and few fields. There has always been a folk saying that there are eight mountains, one water and one field. Although terraces can be built, there are not many places suitable for reclamation. If we only develop mulberry farming, it will be difficult to make any achievements.

Only by finding another way and taking advantage of the convenience of sea trade can we achieve results."

Emperor Jiayou said: "But Quanzhou neither produces porcelain nor silk and satin, and land and water transportation is not very convenient. As for sea routes, there are Hangzhou and Mingzhou City Shipping Departments in the north, and Guangzhou Shipping Department in the south. They can be divided into

Regarding the trade between countries in the East China Sea and South China Sea, would it be superfluous to build a shipping department in Quanzhou?"

Wang Zhongdao: "Your Majesty, in fact, whether it is Hangzhou or Mingzhou, it is at least a thousand miles away from Guangzhou, and there are more than hundreds of prefectures and counties in between. Just along the way to Fujian, there are six prefectures, two armies, and forty-seven counties, let alone

If the prefectures and counties bordering Fujian can add a shipping department in Quanzhou to connect the sea and land, so that overseas goods can be further sold into the inland, as long as there is circulation of goods, there will be profits, and the court can collect taxes from it.

"

"Moreover, Fujian has many mountains and is rich in tea. Now there are seven salt drying fields that have been built and put into use. The average monthly output is hundreds of thousands of kilograms of refined salt. Just salt and tea can make Fujian a good place."

The imperial court brings huge taxes!"

"Ai Qing means to sell the sea salt produced in the Quanzhou salt field overseas?" Emperor Jiayou asked in surprise.

Wang Zhongdao: "Your Majesty is wise, this is exactly what I mean. Nowadays, the method of drying salt has gradually become popular in coastal areas. Salt farms have been set up in coastal states and counties. There are also well salt and lake salt. The production of salt has been greatly increased, and it will be more and more in the future."

The more there is, the lower the price of salt will be. However, the method of drying salt is new to our country and may not be available in other countries. If salt can be sold to countries in the East China Sea and even the South China Sea, it will definitely bring huge profits.

And now in Jiangnan and other places, spinning machines and looms have been spread all over the place, which has greatly reduced the cost of spinning and weaving and increased output. In addition, in recent years, more and more merchants have gone overseas to trade, not just in Quanzhou.

"Last year, more than a thousand merchants went to sea, and only three shipping companies in Hangzhou, Mingzhou, and Guangzhou were in short supply!"

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The most important thing is that neither Hangzhou nor Mingzhou nor Guangzhou is close to Fujian. Fujian has many mountains and little land, which is not suitable for farming. If you want to

It developed only through business and overseas trade.

Emperor Jiayou was already tempted by Wang Zhong's words, "The addition of a shipping department is not a trivial matter. I have to discuss it with you before making a decision."

"Your Majesty, Holy Ming!"
To be continued...