Smuggling Daming

In fact, Zhou Zhong had already discovered a problem when he first came to the Yamen of Shibo. In line with common sense, the only explanation is that the tax collection power that originally belonged to the Shibo Department was emptied, and Yang Tong's next answer also confirmed Zhou Zhong's guess.

Because the Ming Dynasty implemented a sea ban from the beginning of the founding of the country, the status of the Shibo Division was rather embarrassing. The time of tribute is different. For example, Japan pays tribute once every ten years, and the role of the Shibosi becomes insignificant. For example, in the case of Ningbo Shibosi, the previous promotions were all served by the inspector, and the officials in the department were also big cats. There are two or three kittens, no one wants to come at all.

However, as the saying goes, blockage is worse than sparseness. Although the sea ban is strict, it has actually existed in name only during the Xiaozong period, and smuggling in coastal areas is very rampant. It was the Shuangyu Port that brought Ningbo Port back to its former prosperity.

However, although the prosperity of Ningbo Port has been restored, the prosperity here is formed by docking and smuggling after all, so it is inherently shady. If the tax is collected by the Municipal Shipping Department, then this tax cannot be reported at all.So in the end, the governor of Zhejiang discussed with the procurator who was also appointed as the city ship secretary, and finally put the city ship secretary aside, and directly sent people from the governor's office to collect taxes. As for the name of tax collection, it was not city ship tax.Instead, it is used as an ordinary transit tax, so that it can be conveniently stored in the warehouse, and it is also convenient for the people above to tamper with these taxes.

When Zhou Zhong heard this, he finally understood the reason why the Shibo Department was in such a poor state. What happened for a long time was that the officials headed by the governor of Zhejiang regarded the tax revenue of Ningbo Port as their own small treasury, so naturally they would not let the Shibo Department intervene.Even Ningbo Port should have been owned by the Ningbo government, but now the tax revenue has been taken away by the governor, the procurator and other high-ranking officials. This is probably one of the reasons why the officials of the Ningbo government are dissatisfied with their superiors.

At this moment, Jin Yiwei, who was sent to sober up Tang Bohu, came to report.It was said that Tang Bohu had come to his senses and was now seeking an audience outside, which made Zhou Zhong very happy, and immediately let Tang Bohu come in, because he still had important things to announce.

After a while, Tang Bohu walked in with his face flushed.Although he still smelled of alcohol, he had already come to his senses. When he saw Zhou Zhong, he immediately bowed and saluted: "Your Majesty Tang Yin, I pay my respects to the Admiral!"

"Master Tang, you are welcome. I know that when you were transferred to the cold Yamen of Shibosi, you must have some complaints in your heart, thinking that this is a place where nothing can be done. However, the admiral of Japan came to Shibosi today to provide you with a A chance to flex your muscles!" Zhou Zhong said very politely to Tang Bohu.

Hearing Zhou Zhong's words, not only Tang Bohu raised his head in surprise, but Yang Tong next to him also trembled all over, although he had already guessed that Zhou Zhong would come to the Shibo Department to announce something important, and he might even reactivate the Shibo Department , but he still couldn't believe it.Until now, hearing Zhou Zhong say it with his own ears, he was still too excited to speak.

"Admiral, I don't know what you mean by 'show your strengths'. Is it possible that the imperial court is going to lift the sea ban?" Unexpectedly, it was the newly transferred vice-president Li Lian who spoke this time. , he now also has an excited expression on his face.

"Hey, everyone in the Shibo Department accepts the decree!" Zhou Zhong suddenly said, and then took out an imperial decree from his arms.Yang Tong and the others were taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized that they all knelt down to accept the order.

"By God, the emperor's decree said: From now on, the Shibo Department will be assigned to the Admiral's Office of the Four Seas, and the management of maritime affairs related to the Admiral's Office will be managed. Local officials must not obstruct it. I respect this!" Zhou Zhong read out the contents of the imperial edict loudly, Although the content of the imperial decree is not much, it stipulates two things. The first is that the Shibo Division will no longer be subject to local restraint when it becomes the subordinate yamen of the Admiral of the Four Seas in the future. Recovering, although there is no clear ban on opening the sea, it is actually stipulated that the Municipal Shipping Department can collect taxes on merchant ships at sea.

Yang Tong, Li Lian, and Qian Yuan were all veterans in the officialdom, so they naturally understood the importance of this imperial decree. Although Tang Bohu had just entered the officialdom, he was not stupid. After careful consideration, I also understand the meaning of this imperial decree. It can be said that with this imperial decree, they are equivalent to having a Shangfang sword. In the future, whoever wants to go beyond their municipal bureau to collect market tax, then he will have to weigh it Check out your portion size.

Thinking of this, the faces of Yang Tong and others became more excited, and Tang Bohu almost jumped up with joy. As a scholar, he naturally had the ideal of serving the country as an official since he was a child. Unfortunately, the scientific examination fraud case suddenly broke His dreams and fame were taken away, and his official career was hopeless all his life. It can be said that his life fell to the bottom.

However, as the saying goes, there is no unparalleled road. Wang Lun passed Suzhou half a year ago, and the Jin Yiwei accompanying him brought him to the capital. Tang Bohu's reputation was finally restored by the help of his good friend Wang Lun, and he was also sent as an official.Originally, Tang Bohu wanted to make good use of his talents in his tenure, but what he never expected was that the Ningbo Shipbuilding Department he worked for had been abandoned for many years, and his deputy promotion was also in name only, without any real power at all. This made Tang Bohu lose all hope, so he drank like mud every day, but he didn't expect Zhou Zhong to bring such great news today, which made Tang Bohu feel like he was falling into a dream for a while.

"The subordinates will see the admiral, but in the future, they will be driven by the admiral!" Yang Tong was the first to wake up from the excitement, and immediately saluted Zhong Zhong again. After all, they will be regarded as Zhou Zhong's direct subordinates in the future, so the courtesy this time is also special. Solemnly, Li Lian and Tang Bohu next to him also came to their senses. They also stepped forward to salute, and then said something to show their loyalty.

After this period of experience, Zhou Zhong has been able to deal with these official affairs calmly. I saw him comforting Yang Tong and others, and then said some words of encouragement, which probably means you people Following me, Zhou Zhong, must be popular and spicy, and everyone in the official circles in Zhejiang should respect them three points.

After finishing these clichés, Zhou Zhong's tone suddenly changed, and he said to Yang Tong solemnly: "Yang Tiju, now I will announce the first appointment of your Shibo Division, and you must do so in the shortest possible time Finish!"

"Please show me, my lord, I will do my best to fulfill your orders!" Yang Tong stepped forward and assured him that with Zhou Zhong as their backing and His Majesty's imperial decree, he now feels his His back straightened all of a sudden, and he spoke more confidently than ever.

"Very well, the admiral now orders you to take back the tax revenue of Ningbo Port from the governor's office within ten days, and it will not affect the normal tax revenue of Ningbo Port. Can you do this?" Zhou Zhong asked. Shi ambitiously opened his mouth and said that the taxation of Ningbo Port was only the first step for him to establish the Daming Customs. In the future, with the strength of the Daming Navy, the scope of the city ship tax will gradually expand until it expands to all coastal areas of Daming.

"This..." Hearing this order, Yang Tong, who had just patted his chest to reassure him, suddenly hesitated, with a look of embarrassment on his face.

"Why, is Yang Tiju afraid of offending the governor's office?" Zhou Zhong asked with a serious face at this time. The taxation of Ningbo Port involves a lot of interests in Ningbo's official circles. Zhou Zhong knew this a long time ago, and he also knew it. Doing this by himself will definitely offend many people, but these taxes will be used to raise soldiers in the future, so even if he offends people, he must do it. Moreover, with his current power, those who are offended will not dare to say anything at all.

Hearing a trace of displeasure in Zhou Zhong's words, Yang Tong immediately defended himself and said: "Your admiral misunderstood, the lower officials are not afraid of offending people, it's just that the Shibo Department has been neglected for a long time, although some time ago I sent some Officials come in, but there is still a shortage of manpower, especially the small staff who work at the bottom. Although they can be recruited from outside, it is not easy to find so many officials in a short period of time."

Hearing that Yang Tong was worried about this problem, Zhou Zhong immediately smiled and said: "You don't have to worry about this, I also understand the situation in the Shibo Department, since you are short of manpower, I will transfer from Jinyiwei by my side. Fifty people will be temporarily added to the Shibo Department, I believe it will be easier for you to do things with them, but these Jinyiwei cannot stay in the Shibo Department for a long time, so you must recruit a group of small officials as soon as possible!"

Hearing that Zhou Zhong transferred fifty Jinyiwei to himself, Yang Tong was overjoyed and said: "Thank you, Admiral, with the help of these fifty Jinyiwei, I will definitely take Ningbo Port back within ten days!"

As soon as Yang Tong's words fell, Li Lian and Qian Yuan behind him also stepped forward to express their opinions. It was nothing more than that they would try their best to assist Yang Tiju to complete this task. essential.Only Tang Bohu didn't understand these things. He came to his senses when he saw Li Lian and Li Lian going up and down.

Zhou Zhong's purpose of coming to the Shibo Department has been achieved, and now he asked Wu Shan to allocate fifty brocade guards to Yang Tong. As for how he used these people to recover the tax revenue of Ningbo Port, that was the matter of their Shibo Department.

However, when Zhou Zhong was about to leave, he suddenly saw Tang Bohu standing there, thought for a moment and smiled and said, "Master Tang, you are busy with business today, so I won't bother you. I don't know where you live now." , When will you be at home when you are free, and Zhou can come to visit?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)