As Jiedu judge Huang Xian ordered the clerks to carry a large box into the Chinese army barracks, Jia Heng began to look through the military roster and check the number of generals and soldiers.
The roster records the name, residence, age, height, and even the obvious characteristics of appearance. Generally speaking, nothing will be found on the roster because it can be falsified.
Jia Heng checked the military roster with an expressionless face, but it made the subordinate general feel uneasy, wondering what the young nobleman was thinking.
At this moment, with the sound of salutes of soldiers and the noisy footsteps coming from outside, Shui Yu entered the Chinese army barracks surrounded by several generals, followed by generals one after another, most of whom had surprised and suspicious eyes.
He looked uncertainly at the young man sitting behind the handsome desk, looking through the books with his head lowered, not daring to say anything.
Along the way, I had gained the confidence of Commander-in-Chief, and the Jiangbei camp was appointed by the man in front of me, Uncle Yongning.
Jia Heng put down the book in his hand, raised his eyes to look at Shui Yu, and asked in a deep voice: "Commander Shui Jie, are all the soldiers listed in the sergeant list in the army?"
Upon hearing this, Shui Yu's face changed slightly, he calmed down and explained: "Uncle Yong Ning, this matter is quite complicated. The military registration register has not been re-registered for several years, so it may be different from the actual military quota.
"
Jia Heng said: "Then I will ask someone to do an inventory later to see how many soldiers are missing, and then I can ask Jinling for actual pay."
When Shui Yu heard this, his head felt heavy for a moment.
Jia Heng didn't say much. He closed the book and looked at the generals below. He said: "Commander Shui Jie, it's my turn to introduce some of my colleagues. I have been promoted to the Jiangbei camp by the emperor's order. How can I not fail to recognize all the generals?"
?”
When Shui Yu heard this, he secretly complained in his heart, so he could only bite the bullet and introduce Jia Heng to a general from Jiangbei Camp.
Jia Heng met with several generals. Because of his outstanding memory, he could match the names of people with their faces, and said: "I won't talk about other nonsense. The actual salary of the soldiers in each camp should be reported truthfully, so let me
If you find out, it won’t look good.”
When everyone heard this, they looked at each other with awe in their hearts.
Jia Heng said: "The army is stationed in a prosperous place like Yangzhou. I can sympathize with your difficulties, but it is not a reason to slack off in the military. Your Majesty has been reorganizing the army and has the ambition to rejuvenate. The actual number of soldiers in the Jiangbei camp today is
No matter how much is reported, we can no longer deceive the superiors and deceive the subordinates, and deduct the soldiers' pay."
As soon as these words came out, it was as if a layer of window paper had been broken, and there was silence in the barracks, everyone was thinking about the pros and cons.
Shui Yu was the first to speak and asked: "Uncle Yong Ning came from Beijing. Perhaps he didn't know the situation in the Jiangbei camp. Many sergeants got married in Yangzhou. They had families and families, and they all depended on receiving a grain of rice."
Spend the day."
Jia Heng asked: "Including these people, are there ten thousand actual soldiers who can respond to orders?"
Shui Yu hesitated for a moment and said: "We still have this. We sent a lot of troops to Yangzhou before, but now our sergeants have been in arrears with their food and wages for a long time."
Jia Heng said in a deep voice: "As for food and salary, after the troops are counted, I will ask for it from the Jinling Household Department."
After that, Jia Heng settled in the Jiangbei camp and began to check the number of soldiers and horses in each camp with people from the Jinyi Mansion Experience Department.
In the land of Yangzhou, many forces are complicated. Unlike Datong, where all the generals have worked hard for generations. Jiangbei Camp could not use the deceptive method of painting the barren hills green. Finally, with Shui Yu's confession, a big difference was finally determined.
There are probably more than 10,000 people in Jiangbei Camp.
At the same time, Jia Heng's movements were also gathered by various detectives to the salt merchant.
Slender West Lake, Wangzhai
In the waterside pavilion in the backyard, there were crowds of people, and the eight major salt merchants in Yangzhou were all packed.
Wang Shouqi put down the tea cup in his hand, his old eyes flashing with brilliance, and asked: "What do you think?"
Cheng Peili frowned and whispered: "Is this Uncle Yongning really here to organize the army?"
"Old sir, will you build the plank road openly and use the warehouse secretly?" Huang Rishan pondered for a moment and asked.
Wang Shouqi held up his gray beard under his chin and said: "It's not impossible. We still have to try it out. In a few days, Huanhua Tower will choose a new oiran to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Oiran Competition. He doesn't want to experience Yangzhou.
Is it prosperous? Pick a good Yangzhou thin horse and send it to him."
There are hundreds of brothels in Yangzhou, and this kind of oiran competition is held every year, which is regarded as an entertainment activity for Yangzhou salt merchants.
It is worth mentioning that at this time, there were basically no changes in the characters of the former Song Dynasty. Su Shi had already existed, and there was no need to copy the water tune singer.
At this time, Ma Xianjun said coldly: "Mr. Wang, I am afraid that others will organize the army first. After sharpening the sword, we will have no chance to stand up."
Jiang Tong frowned and said: "Brother Ma, this is a bit unsettling. This is not a battlefield. He is fighting and killing, and the scholars in Jiangnan are in an uproar. He can't bear to walk around! Besides, Qi Ge will be here tomorrow.
Just go to Yangzhou, they will fight on their own first, and in the end we will make some concessions and get through this difficulty first."
Not all of the eight major salt merchants were of the same mind, or rather their inherent weakness and compromise prevailed.
Thoughts appeared on Wang Shouqi's old face, he looked at Jiang Tong and said: "Brother Jiang said that we should not mess up our position. Before the sky fell, Mr. Liu said that we should wait for Mr. Qi Ge to return to Jinling, and we must summon him.
Let’s discuss it and see what Uncle Yong Ning does.”
Because of Wang Shouqi's status in the world, everyone could only look at the trend with different thoughts.
The night was falling, and the drizzle had dispersed a lot. In the inn, a lamp was like a bean, and the lights were dim and yellow. Duduo looked at a map spread out on the table. The layout of the streets and alleys in Yangzhou City was like this.
The criss-crossing chessboard is all on it.
Duduo frowned deeply, his eyes stayed at the Yanyuan Yamen, thinking about the arrangement, and the sound of heavy footsteps came from far to near from outside.
"Tushan." Duduo called.
"Master, this guy left Yangzhou Salt Court today to meet with Shui Yu, the envoy of Jiangbei Jiedu, and then went to Jiangbei Camp. People from Jinyi Mansion drove away two groups of informants. It's hard for our people to keep an eye on them, but they can find out.
The number of retinues that come and go with him is about a hundred horses." The big man who looked like an iron tower said without talking nonsense.
Jia Heng's trip to Jiangbei Camp was all public information, but it still allowed Jinyi Mansion to drive away some of the more obvious spy agents.
Duduo said: "A hundred cavalry are not many, but this is not a battlefield, so we have fewer people."
Jia Heng went south with nearly a thousand followers, and many Jinyi Palace guards were on guard around the Yanyuan Yamen. They often led hundreds of cavalry when they came in and out. This number could not be said to be too many, but it was not a lot.
"Master, he is going to the camp with more troops and horses. He always travels in casual clothes. There are many brothels and boats in Yangzhou, so he can always find opportunities." Tushan said in a low voice.
Duduo's face was as gloomy as iron. He glared at Tushan and said: "You are not allowed to wander around the brothels recently. If you are discovered, be careful with your head!"
Tu Shan had a look on his face, bowed his head and said yes.
Duduo said: "Let people keep an eye on that person and see what he is doing."
This kind of assassination is difficult to prepare for and requires patience.
In fact, this is also the case. Otherwise, if the assassination is easy to succeed, then just go to Shenjing to assassinate the emperor, once and for all.
In the evening, Jia Heng came out of Jiangbei Camp and just returned to Yanyuan Yamen. He looked at the invitation card and frowned.
This Zhen Qing, are you thinking about sending him an invitation now? This kind of wife is really addicted, but he doesn't want to go. Now his every move is being watched. It's not wise to go around at this time.
Lift.
After thinking about this, I said a few words to the female officer.
Then he returned to the study room. Lin Ruhai had been waiting for a while, and Daiyu in a green skirt was sitting beside him talking.
"Uncle," Jia Heng called, sat down, took the tea cup from Yuanyang's hand, and thanked him.
Lin Ruhai asked: "Ziyu went to Jiangbei Camp?"
Jia Heng nodded and said, "I went to take a look. As expected, the number of soldiers is about 30%."
This is not a rare thing. For hundreds of years since the founding of the country, the military system has been corrupted. Even the capital camp has suffered, and local areas are not immune.
Lin Ruhai asked: "Ziyu plans to organize the army first?"
"To Yangzhou, I am a guest. Every move I make in Yangzhou will attract their attention. It might not be a bad idea to reorganize the army first. After a little reorganization, it is not too late to hide." Jia Heng said softly.
He has no doubt about this. Yangzhou salt merchants are the richest in the world. As long as they are willing to spend money to get information, many Yangzhou locals can become their informants.
Lin Ruhai said: "That's fine. There are many shortcomings in the salt affairs, so I don't want to rush into it. Tomorrow Qi Ge will come to the salt court to discuss matters. What does Ziyu have to say?"
"I won't participate publicly, but Qi Kun still needs to meet in private. Mr. Qi Ge should also want to meet me." Jia Heng took a sip of tea and said softly.
Lin Ruhai asked: "Mr. Qi Ge hopes to revive the Zhong method. The so-called salt method of the pre-Ming Dynasty is particularly good at opening the Zhong method without faults, but the Kai Zhong method may not be suitable now. I wonder if Ziyu has any good ideas?"
The Kaizhong Law integrated the two major strategies of salt affairs and the country's border affairs. It was indeed a good law, but the phenomenon of nobles occupying their homes was rampant.
Jia Heng said: "The law is not absolutely good or bad, it has to be adapted to the circumstances."
"Oh?" Lin Ruhai's eyes moved slightly and he said in surprise.
Jia Heng said: "Nowadays, the system of monopoly merchants diverting shores has serious drawbacks. It does not benefit the country at the top and does not benefit the people at the bottom. Most of the salt profits go into the hands of corrupt salt merchants. The government has no choice but to manage and collect taxes. When encountering some unscrupulous merchants,
They sell official salt with one hand and private salt with the other, evading taxes and losing money to the public. They join forces with the officials in the salt transportation department, and often default on payments, borrow tax money, and eat very little grain, causing the transportation treasury to be overflowing.
Annual deficit."
This is the disadvantage of the monopoly system of diverting salt to the shore. The fake salt merchants sell it, while the government only manages and collects taxes. To a certain extent, it does guarantee a certain amount of fiscal revenue. But as Lin Zexu’s teacher in the Qing Dynasty, Tao Shu, the governor of Liangjiang, said,
The left hand fell to the right hand, and the deficit was huge. However, he tried to change the salt from Gang salt to ticket salt, and let the monopoly of salt go. Yangzhou salt merchants gradually declined.
In the end, due to the problem of tax sources, the salt industry was also state-owned, and all salt was collected to benefit the country.
He has always advocated the state-owned salt industry and the establishment of salt industry companies from the central to local governments. However, this method also has some drawbacks and requires the construction of supporting systems, and it should not be done too hastily.
Lin Ruhai pondered for a moment and said: "The system of exclusive trade to lead the shore has been established as a law since the founding of the dynasty. It has been nearly a hundred years now. How does Ziyu plan to redefine the longitude and latitude?"
To address the shortcomings of the salt reform method, it is natural to propose solutions.
Jia Heng said: "My initial idea is that the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Household Affairs will prepare a salt company, and then private capital will subscribe for a small amount of equity with gold and silver, and participate in the franchise distribution of salt areas of major banks. The government will uniformly guide the pricing.
Distribution is carried out in the place of sales. A small part of the official bank's balance over the years is withdrawn in proportion to the share capital, and profit dividends are given to marketing merchants. All profits are paid to the Ministry of Accounts and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Although the merchants receive salt profits, they do not
Return to before."
In fact, if the bureaucracy completely runs the enterprise and operates it in the yamen style, it will also lead to corruption and waste, rigid mechanisms, and intertwined interest groups. Therefore, the modern salt industry system has been maintained for decades, and many attempts to reform the salt industry have ended in miscarriage.
.
Of course, none of the above is important. The key is that he wants to take a piece of the pie away from this reform process, and it goes without saying that the Ministry of Internal Affairs has a hand in it.
Lin Ruhai thought about it, moved his eyes slightly, and asked: "What is the responsibility of the salt inspector, the salt court?"
"The Salt Censor Patrol is exactly what I told my uncle before: arresting smugglers, detecting fraud, conducting quarterly audits, correcting and impeaching the Censor, and urging the Censor to pay taxes... This is what is being done now, but the power of supervision is expanded.
"Jia Heng said loudly.
Lin Ruhai heard the words, thought for a moment, and whispered: "This is a change of the ancestral system. If the Salt Patrol Censor and the Salt Transportation Department later become treacherous and collude, it is inevitable that corruption will continue to happen."
Jia Heng said: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs and relevant officials from the Kuaiji Department are stationed there, and various profit-making entities can bribe, which is often difficult. Besides, there is no perfect method in the world, and people's hearts are fickle. The salt inspector is elected every five years."
, appointing salt transport envoys with a five-year term can curb fraud, and eliminating them at the end of three years, and redefining the advantages and disadvantages of the areas where merchants sell salt, can achieve the effect of running water without corruption. "
A system is always a system, and you cannot be superstitious about the system, because after all, it is people who implement the system, and good laws will be abolished if they are not followed.
And he just wants the Ministry of Internal Affairs to intervene in the Salt Transportation Department, so... he has some selfish motives. If he masters the salt of Lianghuai, he will have a money bag in the future!
Lin Ruhai thought about the pros and cons of Jia Heng's words, pondered for a moment, and said: "This method seems to have benefits, but it involves the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It requires the leadership of many parties, and it has gone through many twists and turns... Now Qi Ge always wants to revive the method of opening the middle.
In order to respond to the country's border affairs, Wuxing needs to be discussed with him alone to distinguish the pros and cons. Qi Kun is different from Yang Guochang. Although he is a party member, he also has ideas for the country. Now he is innovating the salt law and coordinating the response.
We should work together as one to deal with side issues."
In other words, this in itself is another adjustment to the national policy of Chen and Han. Once Liaodong is lost, the pressure on Chen and Han's border defense will be too heavy at this moment, so Qi Kun will start from now on.
Jia Heng nodded and said: "Although the method of opening up the middle is good, it is different now. Let alone occupying nests, let's just say that Shanxi merchants are now smuggling rampantly into the grasslands. The country's affairs are very difficult, and there is no way to hoard land.
The conditions are met.”
When the Kaizhong Law was implemented, Lao Zhu had just founded the country and was very powerful. Whoever should collude with the residual Yuan forces would be stripped of their skin. But now Shanxi merchants are doing a lot of smuggling business.
Moreover, the opening of the Central Law will be unanimously opposed by the Yangzhou salt merchants with vested interests. No one wants to go to the frontier to help farm the fields. Moreover, the climate in the north is severe and the output is very little. How to farm the fields? In the end, the food is from the south to the north.
Otherwise, the transportation costs will be borne by merchants, which is a drop in the bucket.
Lin Ruhai nodded and said, "Yes, this moment, that moment."
Jia Heng said: "We will try it out in Huaiyan first and then implement it step by step to prevent the salt workers from losing their jobs and causing unrest. Please keep it secret for the time being."
This is to ruin the salt merchant's business and clean the house first before treating guests.
His method is currently to get rid of the nasty middlemen, but in the future, it may also push the gourd and raise the gourd again.
But since it was effective for decades in later generations, until other tax sources eventually expanded, the salt tax seemed insignificant, and the abandonment of the salt monopoly showed that it was still somewhat advanced.
Lin Ruhai's expression paused, and she praised with her eyes: "It is forbidden to say anything, but Ziyu has a chest, he is truly a national scholar."
He had to admire the young man in front of him. He was really only a teenager. He would believe even his peers with such knowledge.
Seeing the two people cherishing each other, Daiyu's starry eyes twinkled under her smoky eyebrows, and she sighed softly in her heart, obviously already... numb.
It's like this every time, she looks like a dispensable person.
"The most urgent task is to recover the deficit from the Transportation Bureau first. This money is urgently needed by the court. As for the reform of the salt law, we will do it slowly." Jia Heng looked deeply and said in a low voice.
With the successful reorganization of the Beijing camp and the suppression of the rebellion in the Central Plains, the Jurchens will definitely receive the news. The captive chiefs will definitely not give the Central Plains dynasty time to recover. They will definitely work hard to invade the pass from the south.
According to the secret report sent, there are indeed signs of this in the Jurchen territory.