() In the first month of the seventh year of Qingli in the Song Dynasty, Su Jin was officially transferred back to the capital from the northwest, and was awarded the title of Deputy Privy Envoy to participate in political affairs. He also served as Deputy Envoy of the Third Department, with the title of Bachelor of Longtuge University, and the position of Economic and Comfort Envoy of the Northwest Fourth Road.
It was also officially revoked. The former Jingyuan Road Metropolitan Commander was promoted to Jingyuan Road Commander, the former Qinfeng Road Commander Jingtai was promoted to the Qinfeng Road Commander, and the former Weizhou General Magistrate Wei Songhe was promoted to Weizhou Magistrate.
Li Chong, the director of Lucang Division, was transferred back to Beijing with Su Jin and was given the post of Minister of Household Affairs.
In February, the imperial court established a new department, the Development and Reform Department, which was subordinate to the Third Department. Su Jin was appointed as the Development and Reform Department Envoy, and Li Chong was the deputy envoy.
The establishment of the Development and Reform Department has become a big news. People have been discussing what kind of yamen the Development and Reform Department is. Su Jin actually takes up the post of Development and Reform Department Envoy, which shows that this new yamen has its own uniqueness.
The final answer to the mystery was revealed on the front page by the chief reporter of the Beijing branch of "Pearl News". Only then did everyone know that the Development and Reform Department is a department in charge of development and reform affairs. This can't help but make the public opinion even more uproar. How did Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi and others back then
He was very popular, but was eventually demoted from Beijing due to the New Deal reforms. He also involved some clique matters and was sentenced by the emperor to never be allowed to enter Beijing as an official. Will the Development and Reform Department established at this time also follow in the footsteps of Han Fan and others?
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The people were talking, and the officials' nerves were tense, like hedgehogs being attacked, with the burrs all over their bodies exploding. They were just waiting for the Development and Reform Department to do something that would harm their own interests.
Counterattack immediately.
But after being lively for a while, no one noticed any movement. Su Jin and Li Zhong were eating and drinking. They didn't see them issuing any terms and conditions. Instead, they were seen at many literati gatherings and banquets. Mr. Su seemed to
He lived a leisurely life, and besides traveling around the mountains and rivers, he wrote a few good words and poems, but it was impossible to tell that he had done anything. At the end, the Development and Reform Department finally made the first move, but this move was shocking.
It is ironic to laugh or cry, but they actually opened branches of the Mingzhu newspaper all over the states of the Song Dynasty. The Mingzhu newspaper was originally Su Jin's private industry. He expanded his private industry in the name of the imperial court, and he did it blatantly. This Mr. Su is afraid
The position is unsteady.
The officials were always waiting for the senior ministers of the DPRK to report the matter in the palace, but the chief officials of the two governments and the three departments seemed to have reached a tacit understanding and did not mention the matter at all. This made some people who were unwilling to be lonely and try to impeach officials to gain power.
Unable to sit still, someone raised the matter righteously. The representative figure was Zhang Yaozuo, a doctor in the Ministry of War and the powerful magistrate of Kaifeng Prefecture. The other one was an old acquaintance of Su Jin, Han Jiang, who was suppressed by him in the imperial examination. After several years, this gentleman
He was a tired official, and Zu Yin, who came from a family of officials. After serving as a state official for a period of time, he was already a minister of the Ministry of Punishment.
Su Jin didn't know Zhang Yaozuo, but he was no ordinary person. Zhang Yaozuo's niece was the current emperor's favorite concubine Zhang Guifei. It only took a few years for Zhang Guifei to jump from a talented person to a noble concubine.
The position is only one step away from the queen. If Su Jin's rise from commoner to prime minister in just six years is a miracle, Zhang Guifei's promotion is the inner palace version of Su Jin.
With the help of Concubine Zhang, Zhang Yaozuo was able to serve as an auxiliary official in various counties and states for more than ten years, and finally he was able to enter the capital as an official. He started from a very high level and became a doctor in the Ministry of War and replaced Wen Yanbo as the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture.
Reaching the sky in one step; with the help of someone in the palace, Zhang Yaozuo became more and more active in the court. After several attempts to enter the center were refuted, he seemed extremely indignant at Su Jin's direct entry into the center; this coincided with Han Jiang, and the two
People took this opportunity to impeach Su Jin for using the public to benefit private interests.
The battle lasted only one second. Before Zhao Zhen could say anything, Yan Shu killed the two men with one sentence. Yan Shu said: "The imperial court has known about this for a long time, and the emperor personally promised Mr. Su to do this."
Zhang Yaozuo and Han Jiang suddenly deflated like deflated rubber balls.
The expansion of the Pearl Newspaper was indeed promised by Zhao Zhen. Although Zhao Zhen did not understand why Su Jin did this, considering Su Jin's promise to pay for it himself, Zhao Zhen would never do anything even if it was meaningless.
Pointing fingers at these little things.
But for Su Jin, such a thing couldn't be bigger. The influence of Pearl Newspaper is gradually increasing. With the experience of later generations as a reference, Su Jin certainly understands the power of public opinion. As a mouthpiece, Pearl Newspaper can convey it accurately and quickly.
His own intentions can sway public opinion on a large scale, and he can even accuse a deer of being a horse by calling him red or black. Of course, Su Jin is not going to do that. His intention is to have every measure of the Development and Reform Department be announced through the Pearl Newspaper without going through the government.
Many things in the yamen's transmission would be out of shape after passing through those links, and he did not have the energy to verify them one by one.
At the end of April, the notice of the Department of Development and Reform was simultaneously published on the front pages of the Pearl Newspapers in each state. The main clauses of the notice were very simple, with only four clauses. However, these simple four clauses immediately poured a ladle of oil on a fire, instantly igniting public opinion throughout the Song Dynasty.
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Article 1: Reclamation of land for self-reservation. When the common people of the Song Dynasty open unowned wasteland as fields, one acre of every ten acres can be left as private property. The newly cultivated fields are exempt from taxes for one year. The land left is self-reservation land.
The household department of the third company shall issue an official document to prove it and keep it.
Article 2: Encourage business. All people in the Song Dynasty who intend to engage in business can receive interest-free loans from Huitong Bank for a period of one year and will be returned upon maturity; business people need to describe in detail their industry and business strategies.
Those who make false claims to defraud money, or fail to pay back the money within the due date without justifiable reasons, will be punished by law.
Article 3: To establish three thousand cities, the Development and Reform Department will select thoroughfares throughout the Song Dynasty and build three thousand street market entrances. New and old merchants with an annual payment volume of more than one hundred thousand guan can settle in. Newly opened
Rent at the city entrance is free for one year, with half the rent for the following year, and free public services are provided.
Article 4: To build roads and canals, the Department of Development and Reform raised tens of millions of dollars to build four national highways from south to north, two vertical and two horizontal from east to west; in the dry areas of the north, hundreds of ditches were dug and hundreds of reservoirs were built to store water.
Irrigation is used to facilitate farming. No labor is required for this item, only labor is recruited, and wages are calculated on a daily basis. People displaced by famine and poor people have priority in taking it.
Below the main clause are densely packed details, including how to reward and punish, how to calculate remuneration, how to settle in, etc. These four clauses are like dropping atomic bombs all over the Song Dynasty. No one expected that the Development and Reform Department would just go silent and become a blockbuster.
Heaven and Earth are grand and magnificent; the clever thing is that these four principles do not harm any vested interests and do almost no damage to the officials' traditional family. On the contrary, they can still participate in it and gain benefits.
A thoughtful person made a rough calculation and found that, in addition to the first article, the Development and Reform Department does not need to spend money, if the other three articles are implemented, the cost will be as high as 70 to 80 million. Anyone familiar with the situation knows that given the strength of the imperial court, it is simply unable to afford it.
, where such a large amount of money came from has become a topic that everyone is eager to ask.
Regarding this matter, everyone in the Su family also had questions. Yan Biyun was a businessman, and she could not find any opportunity to recover the funds quickly. With the strength of the Su family, it was impossible to complete such a large investment. The most the court could give was a fraction.
Su Jin immediately gave her some guidance. Su Jin had already thought of a way to raise money. From February to April, Su Jin interviewed hundreds of large merchants from all over the Song Dynasty to issue national bonds.
Usury absorbed the spare money in the hands of these people, and 40 million guan of three-year and five-year treasury bonds were issued. Su Ji raised 20 million guan by himself, and the other part needed to be allocated by the court, and the difference was not much different.
As for the issue of withdrawing these funds, it is not a problem for Su Jin. The tax at the city entrance is an item. The built roads will naturally charge customs clearance fees stipulated by the court. The cultivated farmland and the increased grain production in the ditches will increase the revenue of the treasury.
These are all return channels.
Moreover, Su Jin has obtained Zhao Zhen's approval. In order to support more and more infrastructure construction, Zhao Zhen agreed to allow Su Jin to prospect for minerals and mine in the name of the imperial court. At the same time, he agreed to let Su Jin negotiate with the Xia Kingdom about opening up trade.
, grain, tea, etc. can be dumped to Xia State. With the support of many profit points, Su Jin has no worries about the withdrawal of funds.
After Su Jin's explanation, Yan Biyun had to admire Su Jin's courage. She had never thought of such things as issuing national bonds in her life. Some things seemed extremely difficult, but as long as her mind turned around a little, she could solve it.
Immediately everything became clear.
Inspired by Su Jin, Yan Biyun also saw the huge interests of Su Ji. First of all, taking this opportunity to open the Mingzhu newspaper throughout the Song Dynasty was a growth point of interest. Although each copy of ten articles was not many, the circulation was close to
One million, although every ten days, plus the profit from advertising, a net profit of 30,000 will be recorded every month. In addition, the banking business will also be booming because of this. All the money needs to be exchanged by the bank, and the profits will be huge. However, there is an urgent need to expand the bank.
Semicolon.
The greater benefit lies in the prospecting and mining rights obtained by Su Jin. Yan Biyun is the head of Su Ji's business. She naturally understands that the income from the two mines is already Su Ji's biggest piece of cake. If there are more mines, Su Ji will
He was going to be extremely rich. Although the court wanted to pay Su Ji 50-50, but even so, it was still an astronomical figure. The only question was whether Su Jin, who was full of confidence, could find these treasures buried in the ground. But from now on
In Su Jin's mysterious smile, Yan Biyun felt that there was no need to worry about this issue.
Starting from the four development and reform decrees announced at the end of April, within a few months, the entire Song Dynasty was like a pot of boiling water, steaming with white steam. Large-scale construction and reclamation were carried out everywhere throughout the country.