Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1191 Epilogue : This guy is so cool pretending

Xie Yiqun has also learned to smoke recently, and he smokes alone in his study.

The couple has been in a cold war these days.

It all started when an old friend of mine came by Huangzhou Prefecture to chat with Xie Yiqun.

When the two were traveling in Huangzhou, a friend teased Xie Yiqin that he was still afraid of his wife. Xie Yiqin got excited and invited his friends to sing KTV in a karaoke bar, and stayed there all night.

After his friend left Huangzhou, Xie Yiqin could not help but go there twice. He did not stay overnight and went home on time.

How could Wang Yitong not know?

She didn't pursue the matter the first time, after all, her husband was just hanging out with old friends.

She endured it the second time.

The third time, it finally broke out, with a big fight and then a cold war.

Xie Yiqin felt guilty and wronged, thinking that he was a prefectural judge who had not even taken a concubine for so many years, so what was wrong with going to a singing house? He simply felt that he could relax there, which was different from the government office and home.

A singing house is not completely the same as a brothel. Its main business is singing, dancing and drinking.

Especially when a group of friends get drunk, they beat the empty wine jars to accompany the music and sing various poems and songs casually. As the saying goes, beating the jars and singing, they are free and happy.

Of course, there must be singing girls accompanying her.

It was another morning, and the couple sat opposite each other for dinner.

Wang Yitong said nothing.

It was Xie Yiqin who took the initiative to speak: "I received a telegram yesterday. It was not an official document, but an advance disclosure of the news. I will be busy again for the next period of time."

Wang Yitong didn't want to continue the cold war, so she pretended nothing happened and asked, "What are you busy with?"

Xie Yiqin said: "By replacing local officials, prohibiting the use of child labor, restoring immigration practices, and temporarily changing the civil service system, the court has strengthened its control over the localities and is finally taking action against industry and commerce. The first step is to levy chimney taxes and land taxes on factories and mines."

"Chimney tax?" Wang Yitong found it very strange.

Xie Yiqin explained: "The reason for the tax is that the chimneys of factories and mines disturb the residents. In the future, the chimneys must be built to a certain height according to their grade, and taxes will be levied based on the height, size, and number of chimneys. The land tax is levied based on the area of ​​the factory and mining areas. There are also some details, such as the farther away from the town, the lower the land tax."

Wang Yitong couldn't help but tease: "The ministers in the cabinet and the court are quite good at collecting taxes."

Xie Yiqin said: "These two taxes are just testing the waters. Local officials can use the chimney tax and land tax to thoroughly understand the true situation of those factories and mines. Once the foundation of factories and mines across the country is understood, it is estimated that subsequent actions will also be taken."

Wang Yitong nodded and praised: "It's a step-by-step process, quite methodical."

Xie Yiqin sighed, "How could there be no rules? All the ministers in the court started from prefectures and counties. They were all capable officials in their past. They knew what the local situation was like. After Your Majesty ascended the throne, they endured for three years, while collecting military power and compiling new textbooks. When the time was right, they suddenly mobilized public opinion. Moreover, they did not immediately carry out a comprehensive reform, but first controlled the local areas, slightly rectified the administration, and then proceeded step by step."

It has to be said that no matter how selfish the ministers in the cabinet and the ministries are, their ability to govern cannot be denied.

This is definitely the most capable and courageous leadership team in recent decades!
Although the propaganda for reform and the replacement of local officials were very fierce, the actual administration was orderly. Various laws and decrees were linked together and laid out step by step.

Chimney taxes and factory land taxes are actually not particularly high compared to factory profits.

Moreover, most of these two taxes were returned to local finances, and the central government only collected a small proportion. Its real purpose was to survey factories and mines across the country and strengthen the court's control over factories and mines.

In order to generate revenue for their own petty treasury, local officials naturally became willing to serve as the central government's vanguards and find out the specific conditions of factories and mines across the country.

Without a clear understanding, it will be difficult to advance the subsequent industrial and commercial reforms.

It is equivalent to a "land inventory" operation targeting factories and mines!
"Husband, madam, today's newspaper is here." A maid came in.

There were several newspapers, all subscribed by the couple.

After breakfast, Xie Yiqin did not go to work immediately, but opened the newspaper to read.

Sure enough, the front-page headlines were about chimney taxes and factory taxes.

The article also specifically points out that this tax will not be levied on ordinary people or shops or workshops in the neighborhood, so that people will not believe the rumors and cause panic.

In addition, the imperial court's classification of chimneys and factory sites is also introduced in detail.

The cement factory that Xie Yan is about to open is one of the objects that will be subject to heavy taxes!

Wang Yitong first looked at the other pages of the Daming Weekly. She suddenly exclaimed, "Liu Lang has become a Furong scholar!"

"What?" Xie Yiqin thought he had heard wrongly.

Wang Yitong briefly summarized the article: "Seventeen-year-old scholar Xie Yan, with his creative invention of the agate short-arm damping balance, made it possible to conduct many experiments that had troubled the academic community for decades. He was specially awarded the title of Furong Scholar and was allowed to study at Luoyang Imperial College. Scholar Xie Yan was selfless and donated the balance to the Ministry of Industry without applying for a patent. The Ministry of Industry specially awarded him a bonus of 1,000 guan and a subsequent reward of the precision balance."

Xie Yiqin was stunned for two or three seconds, then slapped his thigh and said, "You are worthy of being my son!"

This was a review article, mainly talking about the significance of precision balances and the basic dynamics of the academic community. Wang Yitong turned the newspaper over and found an article specifically reporting on Xie Yan.

This article details Xie Yan's name, age, hometown and other information. It is estimated that the article also interviewed Xie Yan's pen pals and included the short stories Xie Yan wrote in his letters.

It also talks about how Xie Yan was invited to Luoyang and made a splash at an academic conference.

The article also writes in great detail about the term "hao" for black hair.

The reporter was afraid that the princess would be unhappy, so he planned to use the Spring and Autumn style of writing. But when the news that the princess invited Xie Yan to participate in the polo match came out, and someone saw Xie Yan entering and leaving the princess's house, the reporter became bolder.

He actually quoted the content of the interview that day and chose the most romantic statement!
"Liu Lang wants... wants to marry the princess?" Wang Yitong was stunned.

Xie Yiqin snatched the newspaper and read it carefully, feeling surprised and delighted at the same time.

There were many unspoken rules in the Ming Dynasty officialdom.

For example, there was no clear regulation on whether a son-in-law could be an official, or what the highest position he could be promoted to. But everyone knew that unless the emperor gave the order, a son-in-law could not even be a county magistrate.

There are many similar unspoken rules, such as father and son, brothers cannot serve in the same department. For example, when appointing local officials, one must not only avoid the native place of one's own hometown, but also the native place of one's wife's family, etc.

There are also some unspoken rules for the prince consort's close relatives.

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Although they can continue to serve as officials, there is an invisible ceiling. This is especially true for the father of the prince consort, who basically cannot be promoted to the position of chief official of the local three departments. The prince consort's brothers are more relaxed, but they can only reach the highest level of vice minister.

In other words, if Xie Yan became a royal consort, his father would have been at most a third-rank official, and his brothers would have been at most a third-rank official.

Xie Yiqin was shocked at first and thought that his career would be suppressed, but after thinking about it carefully, he felt that his worries were unnecessary.

You know your own business.

Even if Xie Yiqin made contributions in the reform, it would be good enough for him to be a third-rank official with real power in this life.

Under normal circumstances, he would stay at the fifth rank for many years, and then stay at the fourth rank for many years. Then he would retire! At most, he would be a third rank official with little real power before retiring.

The third rank was originally his ceiling!

No longer worried about his own career, Xie Yiqin felt sorry for his son: "Liu Lang has achieved such academic success at such a young age. He can definitely seek to be a Jinshi in the Imperial College and become an official!"

Wang Yitong said, "It's good this way. His personality is not suitable for being an official. After he becomes a royal consort, it will be helpful for your career as well as Dalang and Erlang's career. Maybe for the sake of the royal family, you, Dalang and Erlang can all become third-rank officials."

Xie Yiqin shook his head: "It is true that the father and brother of the Prince Consort can reach the third rank at most. But when it comes to actual promotion, they will be deliberately suppressed because of this status, and the promotion speed will be much slower than normal."

Wang Yitong said: "This eldest princess has a title. She is the second princess with a title in the hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty."

"That's right." Xie Yiqin agreed.

Wang Yitong picked up the article again and became happier the more she read it. "My son is truly a famous and elegant man. He is as elegant as the princess in the past, just like the strong man taking off his boots and the imperial concubine holding the inkstone!"

The couple completely forgot about the cold war and sat there reading the newspaper and joking.

Estimating the time, Xie Yiqin strolled to work.

As soon as he crossed the backyard and arrived at the second hall of the government office, he saw a group of officials standing there, bowing in unison and saying, "Congratulations on the great judgment!"

Although Xie Yiqin was very happy, his face remained calm: "It's so early in the morning, what's there to be happy about?"

An official stepped forward and said, "Young Master is extremely knowledgeable. He became a Furong scholar at the age of seventeen. This is the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't this the incarnation of Wenquxing?"

Another official said, "The newspaper also said that even the old president of the Royal Society bowed to your son in public. There were also many Emerald Bachelors, Rose Bachelors, and Hibiscus Bachelors who bowed to him collectively. I wish I could see this grand scene with my own eyes."

Another official said, "If those two bastards in my family were even half as good as you, I would wake up laughing in my dreams at night."

Everyone was talking at once, flattering Xie Yiqin like a flood, making him feel flattered.

Of course, they didn't dare to talk about the princess in the yamen - these guys wanted to kneel down and lick Xie Yiqun at this moment, mainly because they thought Xie Yan was going to be a prince consort.

For some people, being a royal consort is a nightmare.

But for most of the officials and clerks in the Tongpan Hall, the prince consort was someone they had to look up to.

"Hey, brother Xie, your son Liu Lang has achieved such great success, why did you keep it secret without saying anything?"

A loud voice came from outside. It was the prefect who came to congratulate him. He also felt that Xie Yan had hooked up with the Grand Princess.

Xie Yiqin acted calm and composed, standing with his hands behind his back, full of prestige: "I usually don't interfere with the affairs of children."

The officials and clerks once again flattered Xie Yiqin and praised his energy-cultivating skills.

Xie Yiqin was already so happy that his heart was blossoming.

This guy is so cool pretending!
(End of this chapter)