The storm at the end of September of the fourth year of Kaiping began to brew with the murder case in Ping'an Fang, Nancheng, and then continued to grow, reaching its first climax on September 27 when some charcoal burners surrounded the branch of Xiangyun Trading Company.

For a time, Xiangyun Company, which had already established a firm foothold in Kyoto and even ranked among the forefront, became the target of public criticism.

This is a carnival of low-level officials and supervisory censors.

Every day, dozens of bullets were sent to the imperial court through the General Affairs Department. The content written in them was very similar, including the impeachment of Xiangyun Company for being rich and unkind and striving for the interests of the people, and the impeachment of Pei Yue for being arrogant and domineering and oppressing good people. Although most of these low-level officials did not go there in person.

Shouyangshan and the merchants had read it, and just listening to the news coming from the market was enough for them to write impassioned and beautiful articles.

None of the important ministers in the court spoke up. Even Luo Ting, who defended Pei Yue in front of the imperial court last year, just watched quietly. It seemed calm, but in fact there was an undercurrent. These big shots were waiting for an opportunity and would not easily appear.

Get involved before the facts are known.

On September 27, some stores of Xiangyun Store were closed.

…

Hubu lobby.

Shangshu Sun Dacheng was flipping through the tax payment records of Xiangyun Company, and the more he read, the more frightened he became.

The taxation system of Daliang inherited the old system of the former Wei Dynasty. The field tax was 30%, that is, one-thirtieth of the field output needed to be paid to the court. The business tax was more complicated and generally divided into two categories. The tax paid by merchants was called

City tax, the tax paid by merchants is called customs duty. The tax rates vary. For merchants, the tax is 15%, that is, one-fifteenth of the total sales income must be paid to the court. For merchants, the tax is 20%, which is based on the sales tax.

The total value of the goods is calculated and one-twentieth is collected as tax.

Compared with Western Wu and Southern Zhou Dynasty, the land tax in Daliang was very low, and the commercial tax was much higher. This was also an important reason for the growing national power of Daliang.

From a geographical analysis, Daliang occupies the hub position of this vast continent, and its trade routes are extremely developed, so it has the confidence to impose heavy taxes on merchants. Even so, it is still a fantasy to collect all the commercial taxes in accordance with regulations, and merchants always

There are various ways to evade tax laws. Sun Dacheng knows these things well, so he does not believe that Xiangyun Company does not pay taxes.

After a long while, Sun Dacheng closed the account book and looked a little ugly.

As the Minister of Household Affairs for many years, he can conclude that Xiangyun Company is very honest and has not cheated on tax payment.

Zheng Zhirong, the head of the warehouse, who was standing aside and waiting, stepped forward and said: "Sir, their situation is now extremely critical. I feel that we should continue to investigate."

Sun Dacheng looked at him sideways, but in his mind he remembered what the housekeeper Sun Liang said this morning: "Master, they only want the prescription in Pei Yue's hand, not to kill everyone, and the Marquis of Guangping has an emperor.

I can't return to Beijing because of my life, and this matter will naturally fade away in a few years. The old slave feels that there must be a back-up plan over there, and it will definitely make Pei Yue breathless. The master might as well take this opportunity to use some means.

The pros outweigh the cons.”

After pondering for a moment, Sun Dacheng asked calmly: "The account books of Xiangyun Company are so clean, how can I check them?"

Zheng Zhirong smiled slyly and said: "Sir, it's because this account is so clean that we have to investigate deeper. There have been no cats that haven't stolen fish for so many years. Which merchant dares to say that it doesn't have any problems? Xiangyun Company must have it in its heart.

Damn it, you made the accounts so beautiful. If you continue to check, you might be able to find some clues."

Sun Dacheng said calmly: "Then how to check?"

Zheng Zhirong said with some excitement: "Let's start by checking the account books of his branches. During the verification period, these branches must be closed. At the same time, we can also go to Shouyang Mountain to check their account books, at least to find out the briquettes.

Is the output consistent with the facts?”

Sun Dacheng said: "Although Pei Yue is young, he has a deep mind. I'm afraid he won't leave any loopholes for you."

Zheng Zhirong smiled and said: "Sir, our household affairs department has its own regulations. It is not up to you to decide how long you want to check? It is already the end of September, and winter is coming soon. Briquettes cannot be made, and shops must close their doors.

, Pei Yue has created such a big plate this year, how can he sustain it? Soon, he will have to kneel in front of you and beg for mercy."

Sun Dacheng suddenly understood why the master behind Qibao Pavilion had to wait for a year before taking action.

After the initial plan failed, this person was not in a hurry to continue to press, but allowed the Xiangyun Company to expand at a terrifying speed. Now the company has branches all over Kyoto and outside, and the daily expenses are very high. If it is really forced to stop, this

For Pei Yue, it was an extremely unbearable loss.

"Taking the fire under the cauldron." Sun Dacheng muttered to himself.

"Sir?" Zheng Zhirong asked doubtfully.

Sun Dacheng calmed down, waved his hand and said: "Please come over, the two ministers. I have something to say to them."

"yes!"

…

Qingshui Street, Xiangyun Store Head Office.

There are many strange faces appearing near the main store these days. These people don't seem to care about their purpose being seen through, and they are watching unscrupulously. Their main target is naturally focused on Pei Yue, followed by the shopkeepers of Xiangyun Store.

.

Starting from September 28th, the Ministry of Household Affairs sent officials to inspect the account books of Xiangyun Company and Shouyang Mountain. This terror machine that had been developing rapidly for nearly a year suddenly came to a standstill. Combined with the chaos of the previous few days, it seemed that the briquettes had been declared

The business is about to change hands, and more and more greedy eyes are beginning to gather under the water.

As the boss of Xiangyun Company and the first young talent in Daliang to be awarded a Viscount for his military merits at the age of fourteen, Pei Yue seemed to have no good solution to this internal and external dilemma, and was trapped in the head office for several days in a row.

After those who were responsible for tracking sent the news back, they specifically described Pei Yue's distressed appearance, and many people laughed at him.

On the afternoon of the 29th, Sun Qi, Lu Cheng and others came to the main store, with a slightly anxious look on their faces.

To their surprise, Pei Yue was not here. It was the head shopkeeper of the main store who entertained them.

"Where is Pei Yue?" Lu Cheng, who was more impatient, asked.

The big shopkeeper said with a sad face: "My boss has gone to the Guangping Marquis Mansion."

Everyone looked at each other in shock.

If Gu Liang was in Beijing, they would certainly understand this move, because Gu Liang could speak in front of the emperor. As soon as his majesty opened his mouth, the Ministry of Finance would naturally not dare to continue to strangle the company's neck. They were able to calm down before, because

Because no matter the case in Ping'an Fang, the miners' accident in Shouyang Mountain or the riots caused by the charcoal burners in Kyoto, they will not shake the foundation of Xiangyun Company. When Pei Yue discussed with them before, he had already thought of all kinds of possible troubles.

But when the Ministry of Finance took action, the nature of the whole matter changed.

They are all people who have managed industries in Fuzhong, and they know very well that with the current scale of Xiangyun Store, if it is investigated by the Ministry of Household Affairs for two or three months, it will inevitably collapse.

"What time is this? What was he doing at the Guangping Marquis Mansion?" Lu Cheng frowned.

Now that even Gu Fan is not in the capital, these people have no idea why Pei Yue went to Guangping Marquis Mansion.

A cold voice came from behind the door: "Today is the birthday of the eldest lady of the Gu family. Pei Yue went to celebrate her birthday."

Ye Qi walked into the main hall expressionlessly, with a hint of jealousy in his eyes.
Chapter completed!