The first businessmen who came here did not feel this way. Whenever there is a lively place where people gather, there will always be friends from all walks of life who come to make a fortune. There are thieves who keep an eye on their wallets, kidnappers who deceive children, and gangsters who play tricks on porcelain.

There are also those who are thinking about setting up traps. Although Zhao Ziying has a reputation for being evil, there are still many who are short-sighted, or who come to try their luck.

So in the first few days after opening, it was really bloody. Many people were arrested in the street and their hands and feet were broken. Then at night, some people's homes were ransacked in Qingjiangpu, and their whole families disappeared without a trace. I heard that they went to the village in Pizhou to pay off their debts.

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The local and foreign businessmen were frightened to death, but then they knew that this cruelty was not directed at them. The local three religions and nine people were also frightened to death. They immediately knew that this Qingjiang city was an untouchable place. After killing chickens to scare monkeys, and even killing monkeys, this big city

It was safe immediately.

Among the people who were extremely shocked were Ru Hui and Zhou Xuezhi. They had never expected that Qingjiang City would be so prosperous. When building it, they still couldn't make ends meet, but they immediately made huge investments.

When local businessmen saw the benefits of Qingjiang City, many paid their rent for three years in advance, and a few boldly paid for five years. Moreover, the businessmen who paid their rent in advance not only started doing business there, but also paid rent in advance.

Including that the store warehouse is not complete and there is no one settled in it.

After everyone saw the prosperity of Qingjiang Market, they were afraid that their shop stalls would be transferred to others. They also knew that Zhao Ziying kept his word, so they gave the money in advance and prepared the paperwork. With the promise of these Xuzhou people,

If you do it, then you don’t have to worry about anything.

A large amount of rent came into the account, which suddenly turned the situation around. Within a few months, Xuzhou sent money to Qingjiangpu, and Qingjiangpu had already sent it back.

However, the act of sending money back to Xuzhou was quickly stopped by Zhao Jin. It was enough to return Xuzhou's support. Don't let the local people in Qingjiangpu think that Zhao Ziying did not want to stay too long.

Autumn is getting stronger, and the number of ships on the Qingjiangpu Canal has finally decreased. In less than a month, the canals in Beizhili and Shandong will be frozen one after another. By then, Qingjiangpu will be at leisure.

After returning from Clam Harbor, Zhao Jin did not stay in Qingjiangpu for too long. When September was about to end, Zhao Jin and his companions set out on their return journey. There was something big to do over there in Xuzhou. What was it specifically?

Zhao Jin’s daughter Zhao Feng is going to be over 100 years old.

This major event is not only for Zhao Jin himself, but also for his partners and Zhao Ziying related systems, and even all aspects of Qingjiangpu are paying attention.

If you want to build a good relationship, find out the birthdays and important dates of the other person's family, and send more greetings during New Years and other such times. This is the best way to close the relationship. Now everyone knows what status Zhao Jin has in Qingjiangpu.

There were many, but when I saw an opportunity to curry favor, I didn't jump in early.

Everyone in Qingjiangpu was also in a hurry. It was easy to prepare gifts, but it was more troublesome to follow the cavalry to Xuzhou and participate in the "100th birthday" banquet.

However, Zhao Jin was not unkind this time. Anyone who had this intention would be greeted with a smile by a dedicated person, who would point out the way and explain where to go and where to stay.

This shows that Mr. Zhao also has the idea of ​​getting close to everyone. If he doesn't get close to everyone at this time, he will have been doing business for so many years in vain. Qingjiangpu was in a commotion, those who could go were overjoyed, and those who couldn't went asked others to give gifts.

September actually has a bit of a New Year atmosphere.

During this bustling and festive time, news came to Qingjiangpu, which was about changes in the capital.

Yang Hao, the Liaodong manager, is still gathering troops. Since Qinghe Castle can no longer be rescued, he will have to fight a big battle with Jianzhou Jurchens to drive this group of desperate Tatars back to their hometown.

In order to establish his authority, Mr. Yang used Shang Fang's sword to kill two generals who had escaped from Qinghe Fort. Their heads were displayed in Shenyang City to intimidate the generals and encourage them for the upcoming war.

Zhang Wenda, the governor's minister of household affairs in the warehouse, reported that the warehouses were empty. The most important warehouse around the capital was not enough for two years, while the equally important Tongzhou warehouse was not enough for half a year. This situation in the capital was a big risk.

Hu Ke reported to the official Ying Zhen that Taicang's reserves were sufficient in the early years of the emperor's accession to the throne. He conquered Bozhou Yang Yinglong, conquered the East to fight against the Japanese, and conquered Ningxia Xiaobai, which cost more than 12 million yuan in silver.

In the past few years, due to the death of the Empress Dowager Li, King Fu went to the fiefdom, and the wedding of the three kings Rui, Hui and Gui cost a total of more than 700,000 taels of silver. Taicang's annual income was only 370 taels.

The remaining 10,000 taels were originally used to provide border wages. Now all the expenses in the world are spent here, including disaster relief and relief. The income is insufficient and the national treasury is extremely empty. But now we have to use a large army, but there is no money to support it. This is also a big problem.

Disaster.

To say that the grain warehouse was fine and that the Taicang treasury was fine is to point out that the Wanli Emperor was fine when Zhang Juzheng was in power, but the following years would be far worse. If it were between the tenth and twentieth years of Wanli, I would dare to say this.

He had already issued an edict and been beaten to death in prison, and his house and family were confiscated, all of which were considered frivolous. But now, Emperor Wanli doesn't pay any attention to such honest officials, so let him go as you please.

Now all the salaries and expenses of the Nine-Border Army have to be paid out of the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue screamed in embarrassment, and even came up with the idea of ​​borrowing money from the Ministry of Industry and Taipu Temple. Each of the two families borrowed 500,000 taels.

It’s really a ridiculous joke that the Ministry of Revenue actually had to borrow money from other places. What’s even more interesting is that the Ministry of Industry and the Taipu Temple wouldn’t lend it. Later, when Emperor Wanli came forward, these two families only provided 200,000 taels each, barely making an emergency response.

Officials at all levels of the Hubu and Huke departments came forward one after another, and they all said the same thing. There was no silver in the Hubu, but now the military affairs in Liaodong are very important. Without the money to spend, it is impossible for the army to set off, let alone contact the Jurchens.

War or mutiny on the spot are possible, and by then the situation will be even more uncontrollable.

In recent years, not only a large amount of money has been spent, but also money cannot be collected in various places, and famines occur frequently. Governors often delay and deduct money in the name of disaster relief, which is even worse for the empty household treasury.

Regarding this, the first idea proposed by the Ministry of Household Affairs was for Junxiu Supervisor to donate money to serve as an official, and the second idea was to abolish the unidentified police assistants in the yamen, and the remaining wages would also be halved. These two ideas said

It makes people laugh out loud, but it has been implemented during disaster relief and the conquest of Korea. It can be regarded as a routine to follow. After all, there is no other way. After it was proposed, Wanli directly implemented it.

Next, in order to relieve the emergency, the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing asked the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs to provide grain and cash. Nanjing also had large warehouses, which could make up for it to some extent. However, the Nanjing Ministry of Household Affairs directly gave it back. Even though the Nanjing Sixth Department was a cold yamen, the officials were not satisfied with the staff.

But in terms of grade, they were on the same level as the Capital Household Department. If they were forced to hold up the capital, the Household Department in the Capital City was helpless. In the end, Emperor Wanli came out to make peace. The Nanjing Household Department could only provide one year's money and food to support the border towns.

Some people also proposed to reopen the sea route, and the money and grain supplied to Liao Town would go out to sea from Dengzhou, from the northwest entrance of Wangtieshan Mountain in Dengzhou to Yangtou'ao, Lizhong Island, Changhang Island to Beixinkou, and then to Tu'er Island to Shenjing, to Gai Prefecture, it was transported one hundred and twenty miles to the empress palace, one hundred and eighty miles to Guangning, and one hundred and sixty miles to Liaoyang. The cost of each stone was only one tael of silver, and it was transported by land through Shanhaiguan and into Liao Town. If one stone costs more than five taels, it is equivalent to saving several times the cost.

The people in the household department and all the forces involved in transporting grain, including the generals in Liao Town, were unwilling to use this quick and economical method. The less they spent, the less benefits they could reap.

But in the current situation, the situation in Liaodong is unstable. From Shanhaiguan to Guangning, Guangning to Haizhou and then to Shenyang, Liaoyang is in trouble. Not only are there threats from Jianzhou Jurchens, but also harassment from Mongolian tribes, and even local soldiers and those who Guest armies are also a big problem, as food and grass may pass through the border or be directly stolen.

The benefits are few, but there are some, and they are better than chickens and eggs. After the suggestion of sea transportation was put forward, no one said anything about the risks of sea routes. Grain ships are easy to capsize. Everyone said it was convenient. Emperor Wanli also agreed. Shandong side Life is finally better than before. No matter what, there will always be some food and military supplies left after passing through the border.

However, even after doing so much, everyone from the emperor to the cabinet to the top and bottom of the Ministry of Household Affairs knew that these measures only addressed the symptoms but not the root cause. The national treasury has been short-changing a big hole in these years, and it cannot be filled by scraping together some money. At present, Liaodong is seeing a new big hole in spending money, and is looking for ways to make money.

If you don't have enough money, you can scrape it from people's homes. This method has been very effective since ancient times. During the Jiajing period, in order to quell the Japanese invasion, South Zhili, Zhejiang, and Fujian added additional "tibia" levies, totaling more than 400,000 taels. There is this The precedent is that after the Wanli Emperor discussed with the six ministries of the cabinet, they decided to increase the Liao salary. The first increase was more than one million taels, which was equivalent to a sudden increase of 40% in the burden of tax-paying farmers in the world, while those with meritorious status and tax exemption still did not have to pay. Pay.

As soon as the additional levy of Liao wages came out, everyone in the court breathed a sigh of relief. After three years of additional levy, any gaps can be easily filled. The local government and the people have to work harder, and it will pass after a few years of patience. Little Jurchen, can it be said that in three years? Can't they still be pacified? Some people are even more optimistic, thinking that it will be just around the corner when Supervisor Yang Hao comes out of seclusion and the Jurchens in Jianzhou can be pacified. When the time comes, everyone just needs to stop imposing additional Liao pay.

There was no response from everyone in Qingjiangpu to this additional levy. What was levied was land tax, which was a matter for those hard-working people who farmed the land, and He Yu who did business. In the Ming Dynasty, the merchants never paid much attention to this business tax. People who never pay taxes and have no financial background may be blackmailed by the government under clever pretexts, but when their business gets bigger and they don’t have a backer, they don’t care.

"At that time, Zhang Jiangling had a whipping method, which was to benefit both the country and the people. From the time when the grain taxes and corvees were converted into silver, they were paid in one piece. To this day, the grain taxes, corvees, and silver must not be less, and I am afraid that this will be the same with this additional tax."

The editor-in-chief of Hushuo came over and said earnestly: Lao Bai, updates are continuous. If you stop for a day, you will be lazy. You have to be diligent. This is really good.
Chapter completed!