Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 339: Planning to suppress the north and south

Early in the morning, Xiande Gate, western city of Shenjing.

Jia Cong and Ai Li rode horses and followed the two carriages.

In the carriage in front sat two girls who were learning bird training techniques from Ellie.

After Ellie's careful teaching, the two girls have acquired the ability to tame birds on their own.

On the second carriage, there were many bird cages, containing more than ten trained homing pigeons and a Saker Falcon that Ellie brought back from Liaodong.

This time Jia Cong wanted to send them to Jinling. Qu Hongxiu had received his letter in advance and had made arrangements in Jinling and other places.

Once Ellie's two apprentices arrive in Jinling with these trained birds, they will be able to quickly establish a communication station.

With the rapid development and expansion of Xinchunhao in Jiangnan.

Through Qu Hongxiu and Qin Keqing, Jia Cong continued to instill later-generation business concepts such as joint management, mutual exchange of resources, increase and decrease in line with market conditions, and integrated linkage into his branches in various places.

He also personally formulated business regulations and sent them to branches in various locations as operating procedures, so that they could practice and implement them in their daily business operations.

The most important basic condition for the realization of these traveling merchant concepts in later generations is the rapid and smooth flow of information, which is why Jia Cong was eager to establish bird information stations in various places.

After all, in this era, this is the only way to deliver messages faster than a galloping horse.

As Xinchunhao continued to open branches throughout Jiangnan and trade routes continued to expand, related letter stations would also be set up accordingly.

In the near future, wherever the Xinchun trade route reaches, a huge information network with interconnected links and rapid transmission will be formed.

In addition to transmitting regular business information, information related to national economy and people's livelihood can also be quickly transmitted and circulated...

……

In faraway Liaodong, Zhou Guangcheng, with his recruited personnel, has gradually established Xinchunhao branches and workshops in various places.

The five strategies for pacifying Liaodong proposed by Jia Cong were recognized by Emperor Jiazhao and he issued an edict, and they were fully promoted in the areas outside the Great Wall.

In this environment, the Liaodong branch recruited a large number of Han people and Jurchen women and children who were struggling to make a living as workers, and utilized Liaodong's local resources to process and build supplies.

Specialties such as furs, medicinal herbs, and wild delicacies from outside the Liaodong Pass were continuously transported to all parts of the country for sale.

Rice, silk, porcelain and other products from the south of the Yangtze River were transported back to Liaodong for sale.

These exquisite products from the south of the Yangtze River were loved by merchants from various foreign countries, and were exported to Goryeo, Oros, and faraway northwestern Europe through the window outside the Great Wall.

According to Zhou Guangcheng's letter, the trade routes in Liaodong and outside the Great Wall are open, unlike the fierce competition among merchants in Jiangnan.

In time, the scale and profits of Xinchunhao in Liaodong and outside the Great Wall may be second only to the six prefectures and one city in Jiangnan.

Before leaving Liaodong, Jia Cong had the foresight to ask Ai Li to help Zhou Guangcheng set up a bird signal station in advance so that Jia Cong could receive information from Liaodong Xinchun regularly.

According to the news from Liaodong Xinchun.

Outside the Liaodong Pass, after the battle to annihilate the Jurchens, the major threat was eliminated, and tens of thousands of elite soldiers of the Great Zhou Dynasty completed the construction of camps in various places and guarded the various passes.

Thousands of officials were sent to gradually stabilize local government offices and civil affairs, and the three thousand miles of land outside the Great Wall would surely become the permanent territory of the Great Zhou!

……

Jia Cong attached great importance to the establishment of communication stations in Jinling and other places, in order to meet the information support needs of Xinchunhao's development in Jiangnan.

There is another important reason.

Since May, Emperor Jiazhao has issued a series of new policies, which caused uproar both inside and outside the court.

In fact, since the fifth year of Jiazhao, Emperor Jiazhao wiped out rebellions and dissidents, eliminated the malpractices of the old policies, and consolidated his throne as solid as a rock.

He began to implement a series of new policies, such as setting up Maritime Customs in the three places, opening up maritime trade in various states in the East China Sea, and prospering the people in the south of the Yangtze River.

In the process of implementing maritime administration, there was also opposition from old officials and parties who upheld the ancestral system.

However, it is real and visible that the Maritime Administration has brought huge wealth and benefits to several coastal states.

Food is the most important thing for people. The implementation of maritime administration in the six states and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River has also brought great benefits to local officials and people.

Therefore, the implementation of the naval policy was supported by officials and people in Jiangnan, and the increasing fullness of the national treasury also silenced the old party that opposed it.

But in the past three years, with the outbreak of wars in Liaodong and Tubo, the national treasury has been depleted of huge amounts of military spending.

In recent years, the climate of the Great Zhou has been abnormal, with spring floods, summer droughts, and severe winter cold, and the situation is not optimistic every year. This has caused the crops in the two rivers to fail, and countless people have fled from famine. Otherwise, Jia Cong would not have been able to collect so many orphans so easily outside the city of Shenjing.

Although there were supplements from the Jiangnan Maritime Tax and the Lianghuai Salt Tax, the national treasury was often short of money and grain for disaster relief in various places.

If disaster relief is not provided in a timely manner, it can easily lead to civil unrest, and even incite treason and rebellion, creating a danger of shaking the country.

As the ruler of a country, Emperor Jiazhao witnessed much greater national crises and endured much greater pressure on the country than ordinary subjects.

Working diligently all year round, reviewing memorials all night long, and turning your hair white, will not solve the fundamental problem.

The only way is to speed up the implementation of the new policy.

Therefore, Emperor Jiazhao planned for several years, allowing the new and old parties in the court to argue for a long time over several new policies, and encountered many conflicts and obstacles. In May, he promulgated the Great Zhou to implement them in several states on a trial basis.

One was to reduce the tax-free land of officials and gentry to 30% of the original amount. The second was to change the poll tax to a tax based on the amount of land.

Once these two new policies were introduced, they immediately caused an uproar, with widespread opposition both inside and outside the government, and the trend seemed difficult to contain.

Zhou Junxing's Court of Inquiries, under the instruction of Emperor Jiazhao, also began to operate at high capacity.

Within just a few days, five high-ranking officials of the fourth rank and above in the court were found to have committed corruption and abuse of power.

Overnight, after investigation and evidence collection by the Magistrate's Court, the Royal Guards searched his house and put him in jail, causing a sensation throughout the capital.

These five officials have one thing in common: it is not that they all have stains in their official careers, but that they are all pioneers in opposing the implementation of the new policy.

When it comes to implementing the new policy, Emperor Jiazhao once again revealed his cold and ruthless side.

When dealing with the stubborn old party that opposes the new policy, before kicking them out of the court, we must first use the Court of Magistrates to bring them to ruin and make them infamous forever!

They will never be able to make a comeback in their official careers, and this will serve as a striking example to the corrupt people who oppose the implementation of the new policy.

Civil officials are much more pretentious than military generals. They are a very contradictory group. Each of them values ​​reputation more than life, but almost all of them have dirty tricks.

Of course, there were truly honest officials in the court, but they were just ordinary people after all.

Emperor Jiazhao's tactic of hitting the weak spot was very effective on the civil servants. Even the most eloquent and self-righteous core members of the old party shut their mouths.

When the minions of the Magistrates' Court became increasingly active in the capital city of Shenjing, the New Party celebrated with great joy, while the Old Party fell silent collectively.

During the daily court meetings, a strange unanimous voice began to appear throughout the court.

However, there are many who truly support the new policy, but there are probably even more who pretend not to support it.

The six states and one prefecture in the south of the Yangtze River were the richest places in the country, where culture and education flourished, and the number of students who became successful officials was extremely large.

Whether it was reducing the tax-free land area of ​​officials and gentry or allocating taxes based on land, it would have a huge impact on the officials and gentry group in Jiangnan and would also be a severe test for the political situation in Jiangnan.

However, according to the views of Jia Cong's descendants, once the two new policies were successfully implemented, they would cause losses to the interests of the officials and gentry in Jiangnan.

However, it will greatly reduce the tax burden of the common people, and the people's lives will be much better than before, which will lead to the prosperity of the silver flow among the people.

If the people have more extra money, it will naturally be of great benefit to their business.

It is very likely that in the next few years, Xinchun will face a once-in-a-century development opportunity.

But before that, there will inevitably be a bloody storm.

This is also another important reason why Jia Cong was eager to quickly establish post stations in Jinling and other places in the south of the Yangtze River.

Whether it is for the development of Xinchunhao or for the security of his own career and wealth.

It is crucial to learn about the implementation of the new policy in Jiangnan as soon as possible.

……

Outside Xiande Gate, Ai Li gave detailed instructions to the two female disciples, and then they watched the carriage go away.

When Jia Cong and Ai Li returned to the city, they saw a tightly covered prison van, covered in dust, slowly driving into Xiande Gate under the escort of more than a dozen Jinyiwei.

But the direction of the prison van was not towards the Jinyiwei Command Headquarters, but the Dali Temple.

This prison car attracted Jia Cong's attention to some extent, but he just looked at it for a few times and then paid no more attention to it.

(End of this chapter)