Crimson Dawn

In the small living room next to the back garden of the Henan Dudu Mansion in Kaifeng, Zhang Zhenfang and Zhou Zhentao sat opposite each other.Perhaps because of the strict family education since childhood, Zhang Zhenfang actually doesn't like luxury goods very much.Zhang Zhenfang's father has always taught Zhang Zhenfang not to "play with things and lose one's ambition", so the teacups in front of them are made of tea produced in large quantities in the base area.The tea brewed from this kind of tea leaves has a strong taste and is not too steep.Not enough aroma, more than bitterness, very refreshing.Manual workers can afford it and like it very much.

"Mr. Zhou is so talented, why don't you stay with me?" Zhang Zhenfang persuaded.

Zhou Zhentao was unmoved at all, "Dudu Zhang, I received a letter from my family a few days ago that the reward you gave has been delivered to my home. My parents are very grateful. It's just that my parents urged me to go home quickly. I am also in a hurry to see my parents , I will bid farewell today."

Zhang Zhenfang knew that Zhou Zhentao couldn't be kept, but couldn't help but continued to persuade: "Mr. Zhou, this taxation matter is very urgent, why don't you stay for a few more days?"

Zhou Zhentao naturally understood Zhang Zhenfang's mentality, and he said solemnly: "Mr. It depends on how much the government can receive. If the Dudu Mansion wants to transfer taxes to the Dudu Mansion, it can only rely on the Dudu Mansion to handle the taxes in person. It is absolutely impossible to count on those tax collectors. Exactly the same. Why does the People’s Party always receive taxes? Because when the [-]% tax is set, the People’s Party can really collect [-]% of the tax into the People’s Party’s treasury.”

Zhang Zhenfang is very unaccustomed to Zhou Zhentao's "straightforwardness". If others dared to say that in the past, Zhang Zhenfang would reprimand him as a "cruel official" if he was serious, or face him coldly.Facing Zhou Zhentao in front of him, Zhang Zhenfang didn't show any dissatisfaction on his face.Even if he read sage books since childhood, he has been in the officialdom for so long.Zhang Zhenfang knew that he was able to sit in the position of governor of Henan Province now because he had Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Zhongyang as his backer, and the People's Party was now focusing on internal struggles and had no time for others for the time being.If taxes cannot be collected and the army cannot be supported, Zhang Zhenfang will either be dismissed or easily killed by the People's Party.

This is the end of the story, Zhou Zhentao stood up, "Zhang Dudu, I have not been filial to my parents for nine years, but I have made my parents worry about me. I still need the 5000 taels of silver rewarded by Zhang Dudu to give my parents a little explanation. I am here Thanks again."

Zhang Zhenfang knew that Zhou Zhentao was formally saying goodbye. Xu Guan and Xu Shang had tried many times, but Zhou Zhentao was still unmoved.Knowing that Zhou Zhentao couldn't be kept, Zhang Zhenfang also got up and replied: "Mr. Zhou's suggestions have benefited me a lot. Since Mr. Zhou must leave, I will not keep him. I wish Mr. Zhou a smooth journey. Come and send Mr. Zhou to the train station .”

After ordering Zhou Zhentao to be sent away, Zhang Zhenfang originally wanted to study the whole set of plans again, and put together a thick volume of the set of plans after spending a lot of time, but he couldn't bear to read it no matter what.This is a very rare thing for Zhang Zhenfang. When he was a child, he trained very well. When reciting poems, he was never allowed to light a lamp, but only two incense sticks.This is to let him gather his thoughts and calm down, and gradually develop the habit of studying hard and memorizing.It is extremely rare for Zhang Zhenfang not to read books.

With such a state of mind right now, Zhang Zhenfang knew that she couldn't read the book no matter what.He simply got up and asked him to prepare a car to go to Kaifeng tax police school for inspection.

The tax police school is said to be a police school, but it is actually a paramilitary academy.Zhang Zhenfang herself loves running schools. As soon as Zhou Zhentao proposed to set up a tax police school, the purpose was to train qualified tax police backbones. Zhang Zhenfang expressed his support at that time.There is a mixed bag of people from all over the country, and only trusted core personnel can make achievements in matters such as taxation.

The tax police school is divided into elementary, middle, high, and three levels of tax police classes.There are 24 classes in the elementary class, and each class just recruits a platoon of 50 people.There are four sessions a year, each for three months.According to the plan, all tax police troops of more than [-] people will go to tax police schools for training within two years.All tax jing who fail to pass the training will have their tax jing qualifications cancelled.

As soon as you enter the school gate, you can immediately feel a sense of austerity.Running Cao, queuing up for training, and training and chanting slogans made the vast field very lively.

"Against indiscriminate taxation!"

"National taxation is the foundation of the country!"

"No blackmail!"

"Scientific Taxation!"

These slogans can be seen everywhere on the walls of the teaching building of the tax police school, on the walls of the school, and on the screen walls of the lecture tables.Not only are there slogans everywhere, but the trainees also have to specially train to shout these slogans.

When Zhang Zhenfang and his party passed by the tax police phalanx who were shouting slogans, when they heard the tax police chanting these slogans, their expressions were serious, and no frivolity was allowed.Those students who feel embarrassed to shout so loudly, or think the content of the slogan is "ridiculous", and show the slightest resistance on their faces, will be picked up by the instructor immediately, and they will be ordered to shout the slogan in a serious manner, and then they will be punished to stand and run Circle, or do push-ups.When Zhou Zhentao formulated the tax police school system, he insisted on one point, absolutely not beating students, and absolutely not allowing personal insults.Zhang Zhenfang also felt that he could accept it, and now seeing that these systems are really effective, even if they are punished, even if they are yelled at by the instructor blushing and thick-necked, the students are more ashamed and wronged than angry.

But Zhang Zhenfang didn't really believe that these students could understand.The culture class at the Tax Jing School runs parallel to the military training, so he went to the classroom to listen to the culture class.

The teacher said in a high voice, "We are tax collectors, responsible for major tax affairs of the country. The students have all encountered tax collection at home, and know that tax collectors go to the countryside like wolves and tigers. In the previous lessons, we have all learned about taxation in the past Quota. Everyone now finally knows how much tax the court and the province have actually set, but how much has changed after so much tax. We have calculated it, and the students know what kind of tricks the tax collectors are playing inside?"

关闭

The trainees are all children from good families from all over the country. Originally, they could only be exploited by tax collectors in various places. After studying a lot of documents in class, they realized that their families were being abused miserably.When the instructor said this, the students were naturally excited. "I know!" "When we collect taxes, we will never collect them indiscriminately!" "It's no wonder that the Qing Dynasty is empty! This is to entrap the people!"

After all, Zhang Zhenfang was also an official of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Hearing the disrespectful speeches of the tax police trainees towards the Manchu Qing, he felt uneasy.In fact, in terms of taxation alone, Zhang Zhenfang's current tax rate is not low at all.The Qing Dynasty had a slogan of "never increasing taxes", but land taxes were not added in name, and various exorbitant taxes were never a lot.When the lijin system came into being, this slogan died out completely.

When the slogan "never add tax" was chanted, the [-]% tax was set.Now the new tax system has been calculated by the leadership of Zhou Zhentao, and the tax is set at [-]%.When Zhang Zhenfang questioned whether the tax was too heavy, Zhou Zhentao said with a smile: "We calculated it together last time. According to the tax amount set by Dudu Zhang, it is only [-]% of the tax. It is not heavy at all. Dudu Zhang originally set The tax amount paid is only [-]% after conversion, and [-]% can be collected when the tax collector is responsible for collecting the tax. The main point is that the People's Party has completely eliminated the exploitation of the middle. No matter how it is divided after collection, the People's Party is unanimous when collecting. Before Most of the tax revenue is fattening the local tax collectors. As long as the common people can turn [-]% to [-]% of the tax, it is too late for the common people to praise Zhang Dudu in the first few years, so how can they feel too heavy?"

That is, after this conversation, Zhang Zhenfang believed that Zhou Zhentao was a "cruel official" by nature, who valued means, practice, and ethics, and never mentioned the words of saints.Even after leaving the People's Party, Zhou Zhentao still mentioned Chen Ke from time to time in his consideration of government affairs.This surprised Zhang Zhenfang.It seems that in Zhou Zhentao's heart, Chen Ke is still his mentor.

The enthusiasm of the students is not bad at all. Although they are doing the work of small officials, their enthusiasm is far from that of small officials.After auditing the class, Zhang Zhenfang felt relieved a lot.

He went to the principal's office to discuss the matter with Zhu Danbi, the principal of Tax Jing School.As soon as he entered the principal's office, he saw Zhu Danbi yelling at the dean. Even when he saw Zhang Zhenfang coming in, he was only a little startled.Zhang Zhenfang said quickly: "I'll wait in the back room first, and you can continue to work on your work."

The room is not soundproof, and Zhu Danbi's angry voice came in through the door, "For the sake of fair taxation, the original rules do not allow people to enter the tax police force. Now not only are people asking people to come in, but I also feel As a young master himself, he dared to contradict the teacher. He is too courageous! What are you afraid of? You are the dean, and you always count what you say in this school. If you dare not, you should go with him! "

Zhu Danbi is a fellow of Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhenfang, and also a native of Xiangcheng.Eager to learn since childhood, he is recognized by Xiangcheng as a promising talent in the future.Yuan Shikai established the Beiyang Military Academy in Tianjin, and Zhang Zhenfang sent all the students from the districts and counties under the jurisdiction of Chenzhou (Huaiyang) (Huaiyang, Xihua, Xiangcheng, Shenqiu, Taikang, Fugou, Shangshui) to go to school as security guards. All accommodation and study expenses will be borne by Zhang Zhenfang.There are 10 students in each phase of Xiangcheng County. After graduation, some of them joined the army, some went into politics, and most of them went into teaching. They made contributions to the revolutionary construction of Minzhu Republic.Zhu Danbi is one of them. ,

After the founding of the Republic of China, Zhu Danbi was elected by the people of Xiangcheng as a member of the Provisional Senate of Henan Province. In 1912 (the second year of the Republic), Zhu Danbi published many articles criticizing the current malpractices.When Zhang Zhenfang served as the governor of Henan, Zhu Danbi mobilized the masses to post slogans and demonstrate against Zhang Zhenfang's supervision of Henan.For this reason, Zhang Zhenfang hated Zhu Danbi very much.At a meeting of senators, Zhang Zhenfang publicly stated that Zhu Danbi was just a scholar with a low reputation and was not qualified to be a senator.Zhu Danbi said that my senator was elected by the people of Xiangcheng in accordance with the law. You have not made any contribution to the Republic of China. What qualifications do you have to supervise Henan?This angered Zhang Zhenfang even more, and he threatened to remove Zhu Danbi's senator. Zhu Danbi did not show any weakness, and said that Zhang Zhenfang had no right to remove him.

In fact, Zhang Zhenfang didn't really hate Zhu Danbi, but felt that Zhu Danbi really "forgot his roots". According to the traditional rules, Zhang Zhenfang, as Zhu Danbi's teacher and academic sponsor, Zhu Danbi had to vote under Zhang Zhenfang's family anyway, how could he be Why did he openly confront Zhang Zhenfang after becoming a member?

However, Zhou Zhentao admired Zhu Danbi greatly. He habitually quoted Chen Ke's words, "Chairman Chen said that even a poisonous snake can guard treasures. Since Zhu Danbi is young and vigorous, he feels that he hates evil like revenge. Then you might as well let him take care of the tax affairs. It is impossible to do the tax without offending others, and someone has to stand up at this time!"

With a kind of malicious pleasure, Zhou Zhentao appointed Zhu Danbi as the principal of the tax police school.But the actual work proved that Zhang Zhenfang failed to see through Zhu Danbi, and Zhou Zhentao undoubtedly did, and put Zhu Danbi in a suitable position.Since taking office, Zhu Danbi has worked hard and conscientiously.In actual work, since he has done the work of things and experienced the hard work of doing things, he has never raised this criticism of Zhang Zhenfang in public again.

Zhou Zhentao commented on this: "Although the People's Party is a revolutionary party, what the party talks about is entirely about interests. Chairman Chen Ke once said that the bureaucratic system is only loyal to those who give them power. The current taxes are of course Part of the tax police force is going to be distributed, but the money that the tax police gets is given by Zhang Dudu. Grasp this point, Zhang Dudu will be able to manage a good Henan."

After hearing this at the time, Zhang Zhenfang couldn't help but smile wryly. As the mighty governor of Henan in the Beiyang government, he has to borrow the methods of the People's Party to govern Henan. This is really inexplicably funny.In order to get rid of this pressure, Zhang Zhenfang tried inwardly to link the People's Party's practice with that of Beiyang Yuan Shikai.

The key to Yuan Shikai's military training is "one gun, one hand money".On the day of payment, when every soldier received his salary, the officer who paid the salary shouted, "Everyone eats Yuan Gongbao's food and gets Yuan Gongbao's money." If the regulations are exceeded, the military law will be followed immediately.According to Zhou Zhentao's introduction, the People's Party is more ruthless than Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army.In the Revolutionary Army of Workers and Peasants, political commissars were specially set up to engage in ideological work, and meetings were held to discuss with soldiers on any matter, big or small.We must get the approval of the soldiers and convince them to understand these things.

In Zhang Zhenfang's view, Zhu Danbi's approach undoubtedly conforms to the models of the two strongest military organizations in China at the moment. Whether it is the Beiyang Army or the People's Party, the approaches seem to be different, but in fact the internal methods are the same.It's all about discipline.In terms of the internal discipline of the tax police school, the tax police is an armed force directly under the Henan governor, and naturally only obeys the Henan governor.Big families from all over the country are trying their best to send their children to the tax police force. What they want is to get inside information first. Zhu Danbi is merciless against such people. Zhang Zhenfang's.Even Zhu Danbi may not think so in his heart, but in fact he is all about maximizing Zhang Zhenfang's own interests.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhenfang felt a little lost.When getting along with Zhou Zhentao, an old rebel from the People's Party, he was actually careful.When Zhou Zhentao really left, he felt empty again.This kind of contradictory mentality is rare for Zhang Zhenfang.In his life, apart from such heroes as Yuan Shikai, he has never been with someone like Zhou Zhentao who has the ability to solve problems in the century.This kind of cognition established in working together for several months unexpectedly turned into some kind of trust.

With a long sigh, Zhang Zhenfang felt uneasy again.People like Zhou Zhentao can be said to be outstanding go-getters in Manqing and Beiyang.But according to what Zhou Zhentao said, in the People's Party, there are at least four to five hundred people like Zhou Zhentao.There must be more than a hundred people whose level of ability is higher than that of Zhou Zhentao.These extremely rare talents are now gathered under the people's party chairman Chen Ke, who even Yuan Shikai has to bow down to. Zhou Zhentao cannot but feel strongly uneasy.

While thinking about it, when the door opened, Zhu Danbi pushed the door in and said, "Dudu Zhang, I just neglected you."

Hearing these polite words, Zhang Zhenfang got up and replied with a smile: "Principal Zhu is busy with official duties, so I'm just interrupting my sudden visit."

The two were a little more polite, and Zhu Danbi asked: "The summer harvest is coming to an end soon, and it's time for the tax police to officially start collecting taxes."