Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

For several days, Ju Ming had no contact with the students. Just stay in the office, familiarize yourself with the school rules and regulations, and look through student test papers from previous years.

In a blink of an eye, the little vacation is coming.

June 6th, Tiankuang Festival, is a three-day holiday.

When we get up early in the morning, the temperature is quite high. Before the sun rose, Ju Ming rode out early.

All the way to Shuqiao, this is the most prosperous area in Tokyo.

Large ships from the south all stop here after entering the city. Because the Zhouqiao Bridge is too short to cross, they can only be transferred by small boats in the city.

As a result, there were many inns and restaurants on both sides of the Zhouqiao Bridge, specifically for merchants to stay and eat.

By the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Bianhe River on the east side of Zhouqiao was no longer allowed to dock large ships from other places due to long-term congestion. They could only sail to Xiangguosi Bridge at most.

The section of river between Zhouqiao and Xiangguosi Bridge has become a dock for loading and unloading goods, making it even more prosperous and lively.

Early in the morning, there were already vendors selling food along the street.

Many wealthy businessmen from other places came out of the "Zhang Family Hotel" on the south side of Zhouqiao and went to the "Li Si Tea Shop" across the street to drink tea and play chess. There is no fried tea here, and wealthy businessmen are not used to drinking loose tea, so they all use group tea to grind and brew.

Ju Ming got off his horse and went to the "Zhouqiao Tan Zhangjia" next door to the hotel.

This is a century-old store, the earliest private coal shop in the inner city of Tokyo. Across the street from it is the "Chejia Tan Store".

"Chejia Tan Store" opened near Zhouqiao, obviously trying to capitalize on the popularity of the "Zhouqiao Tan Zhangjia" brand.

Similar practices are common in Tokyo.

For example, inside Nanxunmen, there is the famous "Qingfenglou Hotel".

So next to Taiping Xingguo Temple, someone opened another "Qingfenglou Wubi Guesthouse", and the name of the store is full of the aura of the middle class.

Ju Ming was wearing green uniform, a futou on his head, and leather boots on his feet.

As soon as I walked to the door of the store, the waiter came up to me and said, "Tanhua Lang, please come in quickly!"

Ju Ming smiled and asked, "Do you recognize me?"

The waiter said: "On the day when Mr. Tanhua was called, he rode past here. I could see clearly from the roadside. Mr. Tanhua wants to buy coal? Just give him an order and I will have it delivered to your house."

"Tie the horse for me and call your shop owner." Ju Ming said.

The boy quickly took the reins and shouted inside: "Uncle, Tanhua Lang is here."

Boss Zhang from the charcoal shop walked out quickly. He was about forty or fifty years old. He bowed and said, "Tanhua Master, please come in quickly." He then shouted to another waiter, "Hurry up and serve tea!"

Ju Ming said, "There's no need for tea. I'll ask a few questions and then leave."

Boss Zhang asked Ju Ming to sit down and said, "If Tanhua Lang has anything you want to ask, just say it."

Ju Ming asked: "Why is the coal in Tokyo getting more and more expensive? The imperial court set the price at 4 cents per catty, so why is it sold at 10 cents per catty?"

Boss Zhang found this question very funny: "4 cents per kilogram of pebbles was the official price set by the court when my great-grandfather was still alive. It has been decades, how can there be no reason not to increase the price? It is still summer. , charcoal is not expensive. In winter, it can be sold for twenty or thirty cents per catty."

"How can the common people afford twenty or thirty cents per catty?" Zhu Ming asked doubtfully.

Boss Zhang said: "If you can't afford it, you will freeze. It will be fine until spring. If you freeze to death, you will have to consider yourself unlucky. The price of collecting charcoal is too high, and there is nothing I can do. I can't do business at a loss."

The days when coal was tax-free are long gone.

Four major charcoal tax stations were established inside and outside Tokyo to specifically tax coal arriving in the capital.

Ju Ming asked again: "No matter how high the carbon tax is, it won't be so expensive, right?"

Boss Zhang hesitated to speak. It seemed that there were some things he couldn't say.

Ju Ming whispered: "If someone levies taxes indiscriminately, I will report it to the Ming Dynasty. It affects hundreds of thousands of people in Tokyo. Even officials have to burn charcoal in their homes. The officials will definitely not sit idly by."

Boss Zhang belongs to small and medium-sized businessmen and is the main type of businessmen in Tokyo. This type of businessmen is the largest in number and has some official background, but they are completely unable to fight against the government. At most, they are supported by a few subordinates.

Probably because he had heard Ju Ming's story and knew that Tanhualang had offended Cai Jing, Boss Zhang whispered: "In the past ten years, there have been more than twenty government-run charcoal farms. Officials sent by the Carbon Coal Office Division intercepted charcoal at the tax charcoal farm. Ships, forcing merchants to sell coal to the officialdom. Only when the coal mines in the officialdom are full can they be sold to private companies. Many private coal mines have been forced into bankruptcy by the government-run coal mines. My coal shop often cannot buy coal. For goods, you can only go to the official store to get the goods at a high price.”

The imperial court's arrangement for the Tokyo coal market was to allow government and private companies to compete with each other.

Moreover, the tax charcoal yard also has to store goods. Once the private charcoal yard raises the price indiscriminately, the official can quickly adjust the goods to equalize the price.

The tax charcoal farms and government-run farms that were originally used to balance the market are now taking the lead in establishing semi-monopolies themselves.

This situation appeared in the Zhezong Dynasty and intensified in the Huizong Dynasty. In just ten years, the imperial court added more than 20 government-run coal mines, cut off supply channels, forced private companies into bankruptcy, and then manipulated coal retail prices.

Cai Jing cannot escape the blame!

If Ju Ming wants to make and sell briquettes, he can't keep collecting coal ash as raw materials. He will definitely have to buy coal in the future, but with the officials messing around like this, he can't even get the normal purchase.

After chatting for a few more words, Ju Ming stood up and left.

Boss Zhang sent him to the door of the store and said in a low voice: "If Tanhualang can find out about the officials and punish the officials of the Carboniferous Works, not only will I benefit, but hundreds of thousands of people in Tokyo will also be less likely to freeze to death." A few. It's just that my name cannot be written on the memorial. I am a small business owner and can't afford to offend an official."

"Don't worry, I won't mention you even a word." Zhu Ming comforted him.

After leaving the coal shop, Ju Ming continued to lead the horse south. After passing Zhangjia Hotel, there is the "Jade King Tower Cave Plum Blossom Buns" shop.

The name of the store is quite unique. Zhu Ming tied his horse under the eaves and planned to buy some steamed buns to eat.

"Than Hua Lang is here!"

As soon as I entered the store, the clerk shouted.

On the day of the roll call, Ju Ming happened to pass by this street and rode a tall horse to attract everyone's attention. The shop assistants on both sides of the street were deeply impressed by him.

There is also the story of the No. 2 pick and the No. 3 pick who rejected Cai Jing's recruitment of a son-in-law, which also spread quickly in Tokyo. People have a very good impression of Ju Ming.

Ju Ming was sitting in the shop eating steamed buns, and diners peeked in from time to time.

While waiting for the check, the waiter said: "Tanhua Lang, the guest at that table has already paid."

Ju Ming turned around and saw a man smiling at him.

"Thank you for the hospitality!" Zhu Ming returned the favor.

Immediately, he threw out more than ten copper coins and refused to accept the stranger's treat.

Such behavior makes people feel better.

When Ju Ming left the bun shop, the diners were talking a lot. They all said that Tanhua Lang was an honest man and even asked for a few buns for nothing. He would definitely be honest if he became a high official in the future.

Ju Ming rode out of the northwest water gate, where there is the largest charcoal tax yard in Tokyo.

The coal in Tokyo city originally came from Huaizhou (Qinyang, Jiaozuo), and now it has been distributed in all directions. For example, Yangdi (Yuxian) in the south and Xiangzhou (Hebi) in the north.

In particular, the Xiangzhou Coal Mine was discovered hundreds of years later.

The mine is 46 meters deep, has 10 mining working faces, and has complete tunnels and drainage systems underground. It is the earliest large-scale coal mine site in human history.

Ju Ming dismounted and stood outside the charcoal tax yard. He waited until mid-afternoon and waited for more than five hours before he finally discovered that a charcoal boat was passing through to pay taxes.

There are a total of twelve ships, and the tax amount is determined according to the size of the ship, and the tax is directly deducted in kind from the coal.

These in-kind taxes are used to stabilize coal prices at critical times.

But there was no unloading at all. The tax collectors boarded the coal ship and continued to sail to Tokyo.

Ju Ming followed on horseback along the river and stopped at the White Tiger Bridge because the bridge was too short for the boat to pass.

I saw many small boats in the city beginning to transfer the coal, and there were officials watching over the cargo, obviously wanting to transport it all to the official charcoal yard.

Not all of them, one was left.

After a while, the coal could not be transferred, so the businessman left the rest of the affairs to his assistant and went to the restaurant to eat with a frown on his face.

Ju Ming led his horse to follow and sat at the same table with the merchant.

The merchant saw that he was wearing a green uniform, and he was obviously an official. He quickly stood up and bowed: "A commoner has seen an official!"

"Please take a seat," Zhu Ming announced his whereabouts. "My surname is Zhu. I am the third person to be a Jinshi in the Jin Dynasty. I have offended Cai Jing and Wang Fu, but the officials valued me highly and allowed me to become the Imperial Academy Xuezheng."

When the merchant heard this, he was immediately stunned.

How can you introduce yourself like this?

Ju Ming added: "The price of coal in Tokyo has skyrocketed, and the government sent me to investigate secretly. Don't worry, I won't leak your information, and I won't even ask for your name. You just made a deal, why are you so frowning?"

The merchant looked at Ju Ming repeatedly. Since he could not use his name, he tried to complain: "I brought twelve ships of coal on this trip. Not to mention paying a lot of taxes, eleven of them must be sold to the government at a low price." It all depends on the remaining boat. If you sell it to the private charcoal farm at a high price, you can still make some profits. But the official charcoal market is getting more and more aggressive in lowering the price. If this continues, it will be difficult to maintain capital."

"Is this always the case?" Zhu Ming asked.

The merchant said: "It started in the Chongning period, and it has been twelve or thirteen years. It was good at the beginning, but now it has become more and more greedy. The profits of our charcoal transport business have dropped again and again. But if you don't follow the instructions, you won't be able to pass the tax." The market can only be left to the discretion of the officials."

Ju Ming asked again: "Who is in charge of the Carbon Coal Office?"

The merchant looked around and said in a low voice: "Mr. Cai's people. The reason why the exploitation is more severe this year is that Wang Xianggong became the Minister of Household Affairs and also sent people to the Carboniferous Department. We, a mere merchant, have to deal with two Xianggongs at the same time. , where can we withstand such means?"

Cai Jing and Wang Fu are really good at making money.

After chatting for a while, Ju Ming paid for the meal and left, and the merchant quickly disappeared without a trace.

Ju Ming planned to go home and write a memorial, not to impeach Cai Jing and Wang Fu directly, but to impeach the officials of the Carboniferous Office. If Song Huizong can't read it, then write another secret letter and ask Xue Daoguang to help deliver it.

If this is accomplished, it will not only lower coal prices, benefit the people of Tokyo, but also pave the way for your own business.

In fact, if Ju Ming doesn't take action, someone will take action next year - Wang Ge, the minister of Dali Temple, will be transferred to the governor of Kaifeng. The first thing he will do after taking office is to impeach the Carboniferous Division.

The impact of this incident was too bad. After all, hundreds of officials had to burn coal, and a large number of officials immediately followed in the impeachment process.

Song Huizong was also afraid of something happening in Tokyo, so he issued an edict to make corrections.

The rectification has had some effect, but it is nothing more than that. The price of coal has only dropped by one or two cents. Corrupt officials are still making money from the coal piles.

Return home and give the horse to Bai Sheng.

Bai Chongyan walked over with a smile: "There is good news. Wang Fu's father has died, and he has to keep his filial piety."

Ju Ming shook his head: "This is not good news. Without Wang Fu to check it, Cai Jing will be more powerful."

At this moment, Cai Jing and his son are already celebrating each other.

They planned to impeach Wang Fu after the frontline was defeated and take back the financial rights of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Unexpectedly, Wang Fu's biological father suddenly died.

Ju Ming could not get involved in this kind of high-level struggle, so he went to his study to write the impeachment memorial.

As long as the Carboniferous Division is successfully overthrown, Ju Ming will definitely become famous, because hundreds of thousands of people in Tokyo, including officials, will benefit.

Tomorrow, we will start developing briquettes.