A few days after the wedding, Fang Zian took off his leave and went to the Yamen to report. The newly appointed official position was the Minister of Household Affairs, in charge of the shipping trade. It seemed like a sinecure, but everyone actually knew that it was very profitable and fat. Now this In the eyes of some people, Fang Zian chose to take charge of the shipping trade of the Shipping Department because he wanted to make a fortune.

Fang Zian actually would rather they think this way. As long as they think this way, they will be safe. Perhaps for Zhao Gou and Zhao Shen, father and son, going to the Shipping Department away from the core power circle can really reassure them. They will think that their The purpose is to make money and make them feel that they have no ambition. This is also a way to protect themselves. Throughout the ages, many smart ministers have deliberately acted greedy and lustful in order to protect themselves. In fact, it is also a method. Those in power are most afraid of They are the kind of people who are not greedy for money but also lustful, because in their view, all people want is power, money and sex. If they are not greedy for money and sex, they must have great ambitions, which is terrible.

Tang Si Tui specially said a few words to Fang Zian in the public room of the Political Affairs Hall, expressing his regret that Fang Zian wanted to take charge of the Shipping Department. Fang Zian knew that he was just showing off, but he was actually the happiest in his heart. Tang Si Tui said this It can be said that the prime minister was picked. Even if he had the slightest intention to become the prime minister, he would not be able to get his turn. So on the surface he expressed regret, but in his heart he must have wished he could do some idle work.

"Master Fang wants to do some idle work to make it easier, and I can understand it. The Shipping Department is actually an important government office of the imperial court. A large part of the annual tax revenue of the imperial court comes from the tax collected by the Shipping Department. Master Fang manages this place. This will definitely make the shipping business smoother and bring a lot of revenue to the court. Mr. Fang, I will leave this matter to you, and I will not be concerned about it from now on. If there is any If you need my help, feel free to ask. But I think there is nothing you can do for me." Before leaving, Tang Situi said with a smile.

Fang Zian smiled and nodded his thanks. He knew what Tang Si wanted to do. Naturally, he had no need to interfere with this kind of idle job. The Shipping Company has been operating for so many years and already has its own set of procedures. Whether it's in charge or not, it's still the same. In recent years, the imperial court's annual income has been nearly 40 million yuan, and the income of the Shipping Department has only been more than 700,000 yuan, which is a pitiful small proportion. In fact, it is just the meat of mosquito legs, which is as useless to the imperial court. These are all polite words said by Tang Situi. Bar.

After Tang Situi left, Fang Zian called his subordinates to accompany him to the Shibosi Yamen. The Lin'an City Bosi General Yamen is located to the west of Yuema Bridge on Zhonghe Street in Yujie, across Zhonghe and Yujie from Qin Hui's original Prime Minister's Mansion. .When Fang Zian arrived here riding that fancy red horse, accompanied by several petty officials, seven or eight subordinate officials from the yamen were already here to greet him.

Fang Zian got off his horse, and a thin official in the lead hurriedly led all the officials to salute Fang Zian.

"The humble rank is presented to Lord Fang. The humble rank of Jiang Zheng is the promotion officer of this yamen. These are all subordinate officials of this yamen. This one is Ma Quan'an, this one is Sun Zhidao, the deputy promotion officer, and the others They are all officials below."

Fang Zian nodded and said with a smile: "It turns out to be Mr. Jiang, Mr. Ma, and Mr. Sun. You are polite. I have been assigned to be in charge of the shipping and trade affairs of the Municipal Shipping Department. From now on, we will have to deal with each other. Please take care of me in the future."

"How dare you? I have long admired Mr. Fang's name. After learning that Mr. Fang is our immediate superior, we were very excited. From now on, we will do our best to assist you in your work. We will obey your orders in everything." Jiang Zheng and others said hurriedly. .

Fang Zian laughed, and Jiang Zheng and others said a few more polite words, and led Fang Zian to the Yamen. The Shifusi Yamen was quite impressive. The Yamen seemed to be an old house with quite a few years of history, and there were trees in the yard. It was lush, shaded by trees, and very cool. Before entering the front hall, Fang Zian saw a picture of a bird swimming among the waves on the left wall.

The surging dragon looked very majestic with its teeth and claws. Fang Zian couldn't help but stop and take a few more glances. He found that there were incense burners, candles and other items in front of the screen wall, as well as several plates of offerings. He couldn't help but feel a little strange.

"What is this for? What is the meaning of placing offerings and incense candles in front of the wall?" Fang Zian asked.

"Haha, you don't know something. This is the rule of our Shipping Department. In response to the request of the shipping companies, we asked people to draw this dragon king on the wall. Our Shipping Department is an yamen related to overseas trade, so naturally we hope to go to sea. The ships sailed safely without any glitches. The sea is the territory of the Dragon King, and offering sacrifices means seeking peace." Jiang Zheng explained at the side.

Fang Zian laughed loudly after hearing this, and nodded: "It's quite interesting. All trades worship the ancestor, and our shipping company should indeed worship the Sea Dragon King. After all, if you make a living from other people's territory, you have to pay a lot of tribute."

Jiang Zheng smiled and said: "It was the shopkeepers of the ship shops who insisted on doing this. They said that our yamen is the yamen in charge of their ship shop business, so it should be like this. I thought it was harmless, so I agreed to them. If you feel bad, sir , then just withdraw.”

Fang Zian waved his hand and said: "No need. I don't have any ideas, you can just carry on as usual."

Jiang Zheng and others nodded in agreement and accompanied Fang Zian through the front hall and into the second public room. To the east was Fang Zian's public room, which was neat and tidy. There were huge flower trees around and there was a pomegranate tree outside the window. It is blooming brightly, and the branches are covered with red pomegranate flowers.

"Your Excellency's public house is here. The lower officials are in the public house at the west end, and other officials and junior staff are working in the public rooms in the two rows on the side. We are a small yamen, and there are not many people. The officials and servants of Lin'an General Office are only three There are more than ten people. Sir, do you think we should call them all for a meeting?" Jiang Zhengdao.

Fang Zian waved his hand: "No need, sooner or later we have to get to know each other. Sit down, I am a layman on the affairs of the Shipping Department, and I don't know many things. Master Jiang, tell me first, tell me about our Shipping Department responsibilities and how to do things on a daily basis.”

Jiang Zhengdao: "Okay, I will report my humble position to you. Sir, please sit down and have some tea first."

Fang Zian nodded and took a seat. Jiang Zheng ordered someone to make tea and then began to introduce Fang Zian to the Shipping Department of the Song Dynasty.

"We have three yamen in the Song Dynasty Shipping Department. Ours is the general government office in Beijing, and the other two offices are Quanzhou City Shipping Department and Guangzhou City Shipping Department. The other two city shipping departments are under the jurisdiction of our general government office. Quanzhou and Guangzhou are both places where big ports are located, so the Municipal Shipping Department was set up in those two places to facilitate management nearby."

"Well, that is to say, our general office is in charge of the Quanzhou and Guangzhou Shipping Departments. Needless to say, Lin'an affairs must be managed by us, so there is no need to set up another one."

"What your Excellency said is absolutely true. The local government office in Lin'an is our main government office, and there is no separate establishment. Local branch offices are established because both Quanzhou and Guangzhou are close to the sea and have large docks. They must set up branch offices nearby for management. Your Excellency,

If you want to know the situation of the local branch offices, call the elevating officials from the other two places to inquire."

Fang Zian nodded and said, "How much tax does our yamen pay to the court every year?"

"Report to your lord, more than 700,000 taels of silver."

"Is it just this little? The imperial court's annual tax revenue is nearly 50 million, so this little money is too little." Fang Zian frowned.

"It's quite a lot, more than 700,000 taels. We are just a small government office."

Fang Zian nodded and said, "What are the main items for which we collect taxes and fees?"

"Sir, the bulk of it is the return of ships from the trade, and we take a cut from it. Our draw standard is 10% of the price of the ship's goods. Each ship of goods must pay a 10% tax as a sea trade tax. In addition, the ship tax is levied

tax, general

It's 1 out of 30. That's it. In addition to collecting the money, we are also responsible for inspecting the goods. We have the right to terminate the qualification of any ship to go to sea. We can also audit smuggling ships and clear them. In addition, we are responsible for contacting the navy for escort.

, and to protect ourselves from water bandits. These are our general powers and content of our work.”

Fang Zian chuckled and said: "It sounds like there are a lot of things going on. Aren't we a Qingxian Yamen? It seems that I was deceived. They said that I came to Qingxian Yamen."

Jiang Zheng laughed and said: "Your Excellency, you can enjoy your leisure time. We can just do these things. Adults can just drink tea and wander around every day. These things are not too much to say, but they are not enough to say too little."

.Over the years, the yamen has its own set of operating procedures, so it doesn’t take much effort.”

Fang Zian nodded and said: "That's true. But this time I brought some people. I heard that our yamen has relatively few manpower. When inspecting smuggling ships and goods, and arresting private personnel, it is often because there is no manpower available.

Therefore, I came to take office and specially brought some people here. It should be here by now, why haven’t they come yet?"

Jiang Zheng and others looked at each other in surprise. Mr. Fang actually brought some people with him. He thought he came alone, but he didn't know who he brought with him.

There were clatter of footsteps outside the conversation room, and someone rushed into the public room to report: "My lords, there are many soldiers and horses coming outside, and they have to come in. They say they are looking for the new Lord Fang. Go and have a look.

Bar."

Jiang Zheng and others were quite surprised when they heard this, and wondered in their hearts whether Lord Fang had committed something. As soon as they arrived, the imperial court sent troops to capture him?

Fang Zian patted the table and said with a smile: "My people must have arrived. Let's go and have a look."

The uneasy Jiang Zheng and others followed Fang Zian out of the yamen gate. When they arrived at the gate, Jiang Zheng and others were startled. The crowd at the gate were all cavalry, as many as one or two hundred people. The leader was a burly man.

, seeing Fang Zian, he quickly dismounted and saluted.

"My lord, please forgive me, I was late. I just went to the fire army warehouse to get equipment and supplies, which delayed me for a while," said the burly man.

Fang Zian smiled and said: "It's good that you're here. Everyone, let me introduce you. This is General Zhao, the captain of the inspection team of our city's shipping department. He was my deputy when he was in the fire army. This time my officer

When I came here to take up my new post, he had to come with me. So I applied to the imperial court to add a formal audit team. I selected 130 brothers from the fire army to join our yamen. From then on, there will be 130 brothers in our yamen.

It’s lively.”

Jiang Zheng and others were shocked when they heard this. Mr. Fang also said that he did not want to change the current situation of the Yamen, but as soon as he came to the Yamen, there was an additional audit team, and they were all his people. This must be the first time for the new official to take office.

Set the fire.

That burly man was none other than Zhao Gang. Zhao Gang, Lei Hu and others did not understand Fang Zian's decision to leave the Fire Army Yamen and come to the Shibosi Yamen. Everyone in the Fire Army was also in a bad mood. Zhao Gang was originally going to be promoted, but Fang

Zian wanted to let Zhao Gang take over the fire department, but Zhao Gang insisted on following Fang Zian, and pestered Fang Zian and asked Fang Zian to take him to the Municipal Shipping Department. Fang Zian had no choice but to tell Tang Situi to increase the number of audit teams.

He brought Zhao Gang to the Municipal Shipping Department. Lei Hu wanted to come after learning about this, but was persuaded by Fang Zian. The fire corps must be controlled by his own people. After Zhao Gang left, Lei Hu was appointed as the commander of the fire corps. In this way, the entire

The Fire Army Yamen was actually still under Fang Zian's control. Zhao Gang got his wish and followed Fang Zian to become the captain of the audit team in the new city.

Jiang Zheng and others murmured in their hearts that the audit was symbolic in nature. It was also a way to make money. Could it be that the new Mr. Fang, who had brought so many people, was serious about it? Is that true?
Chapter completed!