First Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 606 Three offices merge into one
...

Seeing the two of them responding, Gao Chong finally thought of business.

"Tell me briefly about the arrangements for tomorrow. I will meet with Yang Shilue in the morning, Feng You in the afternoon, and go to the Wang family in the evening. Remember to pass this on."

After hearing the words, the two of them bowed and agreed.

Early the next morning, before Gao Chong had finished washing, Xue Rengui came to inform: "Chief Yang Shilue is waiting in the front hall."

"You came quite early." Gao Chong laughed in surprise. If anyone said that Yang Shilue was dull in the future, Gao Chong would definitely sneer at him.

"Will master do morning exercises later?" Xue Rengui asked, scratching his head.

"Practice", Gao Chong said seriously: "If you don't practice for one day, all your previous efforts will be wasted, not to mention it's still early."

Xue Rengui hurriedly bowed to respond.

Nearly an hour had passed since the four masters and disciples of Gao Chong finished their morning exercises and finished their breakfast.

In the front hall, Yang Shilue also regretted it. He seemed to have gone too far and came so early on purpose to show respect. However, the envoy did not seem to like this. He had been waiting for an hour, and three pots of tea had been changed. Now my belly is full of tea.

While Yang Shilue was pacing in the pavilion, he heard the sound of footsteps, and Gao Chong came striding in with four teenagers.

"I didn't expect Brother Bofu to come so early." Gao Chong apologized, and then said with some embarrassment: "I have been busy with horses and carriages recently, sleeping soundly until dawn, but Brother Bofu has to wait here so easily, I really feel sorry for him." .

When Yang Shilue heard this, he smiled and said, "Jinglue made the words serious. Jinglue said that after a long journey, rationality is easy to rest. I was too excited and came too early."

Yesterday, Gao Chong only addressed him by his official title, but today he addressed him by his cousin's name. The distance and distance between them were completely different, which showed that Gao Chong was still quite friendly to him. Yang Shilue was in a good mood when he thought of this.

Gao Chong's eyes narrowed, and then he laughed loudly, "Come on, come on, sit down."

Yang Shilue is really not a simple man. He is worthy of being the Duke of Bofu who will be admired by later generations. After Yang Shilue's death, the local people were grateful for Yang Shilue's achievements in bringing peace to the country and the people. They raised funds to build a temple to commemorate him. It was called Boye Palace and gradually became a symbol of Fengshun area in Chaozhou. The local god is full of incense.

After everyone sat down, Yang Shilue took the initiative to ask: "I don't know what the orders are for me to come here."

Gao Chong waved his hand and smiled, "I can't talk about orders. I just arrived in Guangzhou for the first time and I need to ask Brother Bofu for some advice."

"I don't dare to take it seriously." Yang Shilue stood up in a hurry, his attitude was extremely respectful, "Even if the envoy asks, he will definitely know everything. Even if he doesn't know, I will send someone to ask immediately."

This attitude is really very cooperative, and Gao Chong is also very helpful. He nodded slightly and said with a smile: "I believe you also know, uncle. I was ordered to come to Guangzhou. In addition to the town of Lingnan, a more important task is to establish the Municipal Shipping Department. This You should know, right?"

"I've heard a little bit about it, but I don't know much about the Shipping Department. I just need to follow the instructions of the general manager," Yang Shilue said again.

Gao Chong nodded, "You are the Governor-General Shi, and you may not be able to become the Governor-General Shi in the future. Therefore, when I am in Guangzhou, I can only rely on the help of the uncle, and I hope I don't ask the uncle to be humble."

These words directly made Yang Shilue very excited. If the chief historian of the Jinglue Mansion was really established, then in Lingnan, he would really be inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people.

Although there is only Gao Chong in the Economic Strategy Mansion now, Gao Chong is well known in the court.

"The lower officials will do their best to help with the strategy," Yang Shilue said for the third time.

Then he asked: "I wonder where Jinglue plans to locate the Yamen of Shibosi? The official went to take care of it. He set up the Yamen first, and then let Jinglue drive him."

Gao Chong was very satisfied. Sure enough, since ancient times, making a big pie has been the best driving force. He just said that he didn't know much about Shibosi, but in the blink of an eye he offered to help open the Yamen.

"There is no need to open a separate government office," Gao Chong said directly: "Streamlining the organization and improving efficiency are the policies that the imperial court has always advocated. There are divisions in all prefectures and counties. From today on, Lingnan Economic and Lue Prefecture, Guangzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office, Guangzhou In the Governor's Office, the three yamen were integrated into one, and the Shipping Department was established in the Jinglue Office."

Yang Shilue was startled when he heard this, and asked hesitantly: "If the three yamen are merged into one, the palace will be very crowded and noisy, which will affect the ministers."

Gao Chong waved his hand and smiled, "I didn't come to Lingnan just for enjoyment. It is imperative to streamline the organization. I am not afraid to tell you bluntly that in the future, some officials will be eliminated to eliminate redundant officials. Of course, these cannot be done for the time being. I also have to see how those people perform in the future."

Yang Shilue was shocked when he heard this. He was busy responding and seemed a little heavy-minded.

Gao Chong saw this, and this was also one of his plans. He took the initiative to reveal the news. He believed that those officials who were lying on their backs would not dare to do anything in the next few days. If they wanted to continue to maintain their official status, they must do something some political achievements.

Especially in Lingnan, a special place where wealthy families live side by side, government positions are basically divided up, making it difficult for outsiders to get positions, and competition among the wealthy families is fierce.

Now that the news has been spread through Yang Shilue, the wealthy families must be nervous. If they do nothing, there is a chance that this seat will be taken by someone from another family next year.

Seeing that Yang Shilue was thoughtful, Gao Chong did not wait for him and asked directly: "The purpose of the Shipping Department is to promote maritime trade. Panyu has a natural harbor. Since the Han Dynasty, there has been frequent trade with the barbarians in the southwest.

Now I will give you a task. I will give you one month to gather all the large and small maritime merchants from the fourteen states under the jurisdiction of the Guangzhou Metropolitan Governor's Office. On the fifteenth day of next month, we will discuss the prosperity of maritime trade at the Maritime Department of Jinglue Prefecture. How about it?Could you possibly finish? "

After hearing this, Yang Shilue stood up without thinking, "It must be completed."

Gao Chong nodded and said with a smile: "Sit down and say, in addition, there is another important matter that needs you to preside over. This matter is your main job. You can give orders to scare the merchants and keep an eye on the process."

"Jing Lue, please give me your instructions." Yang Shilue's face straightened and he felt a little uneasy.

Seeing Yang Shilue's cautious look, Gao Chong waved his hand and smiled, "There is no need to be so cautious. It is not a matter of murder and arson. Tomorrow you will inspect Panyu Port with me, and then prepare to collect corvees, transform the port, and build a customs at the port."

"Customs?" Yang Shilue was a little confused, "A seaside pass?" Gao Chong suddenly laughed, "Customs is the agency that manages import and export. Those goods imported and exported by sea will be uniformly reviewed by the customs, and taxes and fees will be levied and crackdowns will be carried out. functions such as smuggling”.

Having said this, Gao Chong's face became serious and he said seriously: "I know these merchants are local snakes, but now that I, the dragon crossing the river, is here, they must obey. They used to smuggle illegal goods to the barbarians in the southwest." There will be no investigation into the goods. If one case is found in the future, one case will be severely punished. In addition, all goods must pay taxes. Those who dare to evade taxes will be severely punished."

When Yang Shilue heard this, he also showed embarrassment and said bluntly: "To be honest, after hearing that the imperial court planned to set up a shipping department, those maritime merchants were quite complaining, because in the past they did not have to pay taxes and could come and go freely, but now..." .

"It was before and it is now. I know this will definitely touch the interests of some people, but they must accept it unconditionally. The will of the court cannot be opposed. Of course, after standardization, they will also benefit more."Gao Chong's attitude is extremely determined.

Everything is difficult at the beginning. He knows that he will encounter great resistance and is even ready to deploy heavy troops to suppress the rebellion. However, the tax on sea trade must be collected.

"Benefit more?" Yang Shilue was a little confused, "Can Jinglue clear up the confusion?"

“The imperial court will comprehensively regulate maritime trade and provide maximum convenience to maritime merchants operating legally.

For example, setting up a naval escort and clearing out pirates; for example, issuing business contracts in a unified manner, and even allowing exclusive franchises, etc." Gao Chong also knew that the Shipping Department could not do without Yang Shilue's full support, because he knew that the Yang family in Chaozhou was one of the best in the sea. business.

"As far as I know, pirates in some places along the coast also collect certain tolls at fixed locations. Now we just ask them to hand over the tolls paid to the pirates to the court. How can they refuse? I only have one sentence here "The will of the imperial court cannot be violated, and anyone who dares to play tricks will be severely punished."

Yang Shilue looked solemn and nodded in agreement, "Tolls do exist." After saying this, he looked at Gao Chong cautiously and said, "To be honest, the Yang family also has sea ships and makes a lot of profits. Those pirates are entrenched on the coastal islands. "We set up cards to intercept merchant ships, and each family would be given three points. If they didn't obey, they would lose both their lives and money. Bandits have been suppressed before, but with little success."

"Remove three points?" Gao Chong raised his eyebrows, "It's quite cruel. If you let the wind go, the court will only extract one point."

If you extract three points, you have to pay 30.00% of the goods. The pirates are very ruthless.

Yang Shilue was overjoyed when he heard this. If only one point was saved, and the court also vigorously organized a navy to suppress the bandits, there would be great potential.

Seeing Yang Shilue's happy expression, Gao Chong raised the corner of his mouth and said with a smile: "Don't be too happy too early. Since the imperial court is so determined to regulate maritime trade, one cent of tax revenue will definitely not be enough to support expenditures, so there are other regulations that will wait until the customs is completed. It is promulgated by the Shibosi, and you only need to spread the word that as the official government office of the imperial court, the Shibosi must be more humane than the pirates, and there is no doubt about this."

Yang Shilue responded with a complicated mood, and was even more curious about those regulations, but since Gao Chong said that the customs would be promulgated after it was completed, he did not dare to ask more questions.

After Yang Shilue left, Gao Chong took out the pamphlet and continued to study it. The pamphlet contained some of Gao Chong's formulations of the customs system.

In addition to one point for price and tax, the others are mainly divided into three categories.

One is to introduce taxes.After regulating maritime trade, not everyone can engage in import and export trade. They need a professional qualification, which is called a business license in later generations. Now Gao Chong calls it a survey, which is a document that allows import and export. Only a survey issued by the Municipal Shipping Department can be obtained. Only those who are qualified to trade, the corresponding exploration and cooperation correspond to different business scales, and their prices are also divided into tiers.

Second, ship tax.The tax is levied according to the size of the ship. The larger the ship, the more tax will be levied. If it is a fleet heading to the Barrens, the tax can be reduced accordingly.

Third, additional taxes.It is also a tax on barren places. For example, maritime merchants transport porcelain, silk and other valuables to a barren place and sell out the goods. However, there are no goods worth transporting back to the Tang Dynasty in that barren place, so they have to pay for them. The ship returned, but in this case, the merchants were still willing to go to sea, which meant that the profit was huge, and the court could not collect any import tax on the empty ships, so it could impose additional taxes on the ships.

This kind of extra tax is actually a different kind of punishment. To put it simply, you can't go out to sea, use government resources, make a lot of money, and finally come back with an empty ship, so that the government can't collect a penny of import tax. You are the only one making money, and the government is busy working in vain, right?So you have to divide some of the money you earn.

Although this logic has some bandit theory, it must be implemented. Just one sentence, the will of the imperial court cannot be violated, who makes you a citizen of the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, while collecting the above four sea taxes, the court will also make certain contributions to provide maximum convenience to maritime merchants.

Gao Chong had already discussed with Li Shimin that the South China Sea Fleet would be established in Guangzhou.

The current Datang Dynasty has thousands of ships of various sizes in the Qilu, Jianghuai, and its naval power is not weak. Gao Chong also knows that in a few decades, the Datang Navy will show off its capabilities at the mouth of the Baijiang River. If you think that the current Datang Dynasty Without a navy, that would be a big mistake.

Of course, it is not called the navy now, but the navy, especially the Dengzhou Navy. The former Sui Dynasty General Hu'er trained the navy in Dengzhou and led the Eastern Conquest of Goguryeo, which has been passed down.

There are also many types of ships, including tower ships, stern ships, fighting ships, walking boats, yachts, sea falcons, etc. Among them, the tower ships are the core of the fleet and can accommodate 800 soldiers.

In addition, in addition to commonly used weapons such as knives and spears, there are also winch crossbows, shooting poles, artillery carts, etc., and the equipment is very sophisticated.

When it comes to specific operations, the roles of various ships are both different and coordinated and complementary.

According to the "Wu Bei Zhi": "In all water battles, the size of the ships is divided into equal parts... Golden drums and flags are used as the joints of advance and retreat. In battles, there are built ships, fighting ships, walking boats, and sea falcons, and in sneak attacks Then there are mengchong and yachts, and their weapons are shooting poles, which they use to hit the water with the current."

In addition to these, the Navy also has strict combat doctrine.

According to the "Tongdian" record: "For the ship battle, the order said: As soon as the drums are beaten, the officials and soldiers will be strict; when it is passed again, everyone will get on the boat, holding oars and oars, and the soldiers will get on the boat with weapons, each in his place, and flags. The flags and drums will follow the generals; the ships and drums they carry will sound three times, and the large and small warships will launch in sequence. The left cannot go to the right, the right cannot go to the left, and the front and rear cannot be changed. Anyone who disobeys the order will be killed."

In short, the current Datang Navy has many types of warships, each ship has coordinated actions, is well-trained, and has clear positions.

It is precisely because of his understanding of the navy's combat power that Gao Chong has the confidence to implement the Shibo Division.

As for the cost of building a fleet, it was even easier for Gao Chong. With a recruitment order, the Ning family took the initiative to donate twenty ships. The other clans saw this and were also interested. As early as when they were in Baizhou, Gao Chong After receiving letters from Chen and Feng, he volunteered to donate ships.

Now everything is ready, all we need is the east wind. After the inspection of the port tomorrow, the Municipal Shipping Department will also be officially listed.

Yang Shilue's execution ability was very strong. As soon as the announcement was issued, it took only half a day for craftsmen to change the plaque on the door of the Governor's Palace to Lingnan Economic Strategy Palace, and list it on one side: Guangzhou Governor's Palace, Guangzhou Governor's Palace, Guangzhou City Ship Division.

Seeing that Yang Shilue had only been in Jinglue Mansion for half a day, he seemed to be a different person. Feng You was also uneasy. However, his situation was special. He was the spokesperson of the Feng family in Guangzhou equivalent to Gaozhou, and he was protected by Feng Ang. , also received a letter from Feng An, and fully cooperated with the economic envoy.

(End of this chapter)