Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Since he didn't know the attitude of the Zhu family and his son towards Gao Qiu, Li Bangyan could only mention it intentionally or unintentionally. Unexpectedly, Ju Ming actually ordered to summon him the next day.

In the evening of that day, Gao Qiu rushed to Li's house to express his gratitude.

Li Bangyan said boldly: "For your sake, I risked my words and finally persuaded the Marshal. When you see the Marshal, you must be careful in your response. Don't talk nonsense or make me suffer."

"You must be careful in your words and deeds," Gao Qiu said gratefully, "Thank you so much for your recommendation to Prime Minister Li. If you get rich and powerful in the future, I will never forget to repay Mr. Prime Minister Li for his kindness."

Li Bangyan said with emotion: "There are not many important officials left in the old Song Dynasty. We should support each other in the future."

Gao Qiu responded: "I will remember Xiang Li's teachings."

Li Bangyan added: "If you get an official position, you must work hard and never do what you did before."

Gao Qiu quickly said yes.

The two had a conversation and talked about many old things, and the relationship was sorted out.

Gao Qiu went home happily, bathed, changed clothes, and repaired his beard and hair. I also felt that my hair was getting gray and looking old, so I sent someone overnight to find a hair dyer, but the result was that the city was under curfew and I couldn't get in. And many hair dyers outside the city have closed down due to lack of customers.

After searching around the outside of the city, I finally called the hair dyer.

Hair dye is mainly made from lotus seed grass, with many medicinal materials such as pine leaves, qingtong white bark, jujube root white bark, saposhnikovia, angelica, magnolia seed, ligusticum and other medicinal materials. High-end products even need to add many spices. Not only are they all made of natural ingredients, they have a long-lasting fragrance and also have hair care and nourishing functions.

"The captain's hair is well maintained..." the hair dyer praised as soon as he got started.

Gao Qiu said quickly: "Don't call me Taiwei. That was an official position in the previous dynasty."

The hair dyer immediately changed his mind: "My husband's hair is very well maintained, but the hair dye in my hand has insulted my husband's hair. Nowadays, many medicinal materials are scarce, and spices are not easy to buy. It is okay to dye the hair of ordinary people. Noble people always find it difficult to dye their hair."

"Dye it black and add some fragrance." Gao Qiu could only make do with it.

The next day, Gao Qiu entered the palace in high spirits.

Her hair has been dyed black and fragrant, and she is wearing a red round-necked robe and an elytra hat on her head.

As a subordinate of Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty, Gao Qiu had entered the palace countless times. This time, his mentality was completely different. He was just as nervous as when he first entered the palace.

Qian Chen, the Minister of Household Affairs, was discussing matters with the father and son.

"The curfew should be cancelled. At least the hours should be relaxed and the city gates should be closed all night," Qian Chen said. "Otherwise, many shops and tiles will have no one to buy, and a large number of people will not be able to find a living."

Zhu Guoxiang nodded in agreement: "It's time to relax the curfew."

Zhu Ming asked: "Is there still no one to attack Fan Lou?"

Qian Chen replied: "Not only Fan Tower, but also any larger hotels and tiles, no merchants are willing to buy pou. Firstly, there is not enough food, and secondly, there are not enough customers. Anyone who dares to buy pou will definitely lose money."

The official full name of Fanlou is "Baifanlou Hotel".

It is not only a comprehensive entertainment venue, but also a brewing enterprise that contracts the liquor tax. There are 3,000 shops designated in Tokyo. If you want to sell alcohol, you must buy it from Fanlou. It is illegal to buy alcohol elsewhere for a long time.

Qian Chen suggested: "The purchase price of Fan Lou can be temporarily set lower. A certain amount in the first year, a certain amount in the second year, and then the merchants will make a move. At the previous price, the merchants were not even willing to pay the minimum price. "

The ownership of Kaifeng's top consumer venues was nationalized by the Northern Song Dynasty and contracted to merchants through bidding.

Nowadays, supplies are extremely scarce and consumption in Tokyo is sluggish, and merchants are not even interested in bidding.

Previously, Fan Lou was contracted by the Cao family, but now the Cao family has been forced to move, but they don't know who to blame.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The two businesses of Fanlou's hotel and brewery should be separated to attract investment, and they should not be combined together again in the future. The base price of the purchase can be lowered, and even the purchasers can be allowed to operate as joint stock. After the license is issued, At that time, write down the shares of each company to avoid lawsuits in the future."

Qian Chen has worked under his father and son for a long time and knows that "shares" are the "cost of work".

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "Those who buy Pu Pu must first establish a business name, and then buy Pu Pu as a trade name and operate it. From now on, no personal investment is allowed."

"This approach is indeed more standardized." Qian Chen praised.

Zhu Guoxiang added: "I have read the memorial you submitted. There are no errors in general, but some details have been changed. Restore the operation of the Ministry of Household Affairs as soon as possible, and allow you to recommend officials below the fifth rank in each department of the Ministry of Household Affairs. Ten people will fill the role.”

"Yes!" Qian Chen was overjoyed.

The tax system of the Song Dynasty was adjusted many times. Here we only talk about the situation after Yuanfeng’s restructuring——

Most financial rights belong to the Ministry of Household Affairs, and there are various departments and projects under the Ministry of Household Affairs.

First, the Department of Household Affairs is in charge of household registration, taxation and corvee (mainly agricultural tax).

Second, the branch office is responsible for financial auditing and formulating national financial plans.

Third, the Department of Finance is in charge of the treasury cashier, the transfer of gold, silver and copper coins, and the formulation of weights and measures standards. It also manages some taxes (mainly industrial and commercial taxes).

Fourth, the Cangbu Department is responsible for the storage and cashiering of national warehouses. For example, industrial, agricultural and commercial taxes shipped from local areas must be sent to the Cangbu Department for unified management.

Each division is subdivided into several cases.

For example, the tax case under the jurisdiction of the Household Division is responsible for summer and autumn taxes, real estate and real estate taxes, monk and Taoist exemption money, and various fixed taxes.

There used to be an extremely important Ministry of Salt and Iron. After Yuanfeng's restructuring, the powers were divided among the various departments of the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Tea and Horse Racing Department, etc.

These taxation agencies have been set up relatively reasonably and have become mature in long-term operation. Neither Zhu nor his son made any major changes.

The real big change is Taifu Temple!

This guy used to be called Da Si Nong, which had nothing to do with agriculture. Instead, he was the chief financial officer of the country.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, there were three divisions in the front and the Ministry of Household Affairs in the later, and all financial powers were under the unified control. However, Taifu Temple has not been abolished. Most of its functions and powers overlap with those of the Third Division and the Ministry of Household Affairs. It is a bit like a place where the emperor used it to compete with the Third Division and Sixth Division for financial rights.

What did Song Huizong do?

Taifu Temple originally had only two libraries, the north and the south. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty built two new libraries, the east and west, and then continued to launch a large number of libraries, courtyards and institutes.

I don’t know how much of the taxes collected by the Ministry of Revenue and the Tea Horse Division, as well as the tributes and flowers and stones donated by various places were accepted by Taifu Temple. Through Taifu Temple, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty monopolized countless goods from all over the country.

Let's say it is the emperor's inner treasury, but it does belong to a national institution. The Minister of Taifu Temple is still one of the Nine Ministers.

Call it a national institution, but it is independent of the financial system and becomes the emperor's personal tool to exploit the world. For example, the notorious Xicheng Institute is nominally affiliated with Taifu Temple.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The Taifu Temple should be dismissed and the authority should be transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs."

Qian Chen opened his mouth wide, as if in disbelief.

The Minister of Taifu Temple was one of the Nine Ministers, so the entire department was immediately abolished, and it also had to be integrated into the household department he was in charge of.

Zhu Guoxiang continued: "The inner treasury must also be clarified. From now on, it will be used as the inner treasury of the royal family and be completely separated from the imperial treasury."

The internal storage library was originally Zhao Kuangyin's small treasury, not for enjoyment, but because he could not trust the civil and military ministers and hoarded money for emergencies. At least when there are rebellions in various places, you can spend a sum of money to raise troops, and then take these troops to put down the rebellion.

Over the past hundred years, there has gradually been no distinction between public and private affairs.

When there is a financial surplus, money is put into the internal treasury, and when there is financial distress, the internal treasury is asked to provide money. Sometimes they are allocated to local emergencies, which seems selfless; however, they continue to extend their tentacles and even participate in collecting tolls and shop taxes.

As the chief minister of finance, in order to win the favor of the emperor, the third minister gradually became the treasurer of the Neizang Treasury and funneled taxes from all over the country to the Neizang Treasury.

What’s even more outrageous is that Naizangku is directly involved in business!

Regarding the commercial content of Wang Anshi's reform, the core organization in the capital was the Municipal Affairs Bureau.

At that time, merchants from other places were transporting goods to the capital, and merchants from the capital worked together to suppress the goods and prevent merchants from selling. The merchants were forced to sell at low prices, seriously disrupting Tokyo's business order.

Wang Anshi created market transactions to allow official capital to participate in market regulation, and the emperor's internal treasury used money to participate in shares as start-up capital. The market affairs were later messed up, almost equivalent to loan sharking and forced buying and selling, and the emperor actually became the leader of loan sharking.

The largest merchant in Kaifeng Prefecture is none other than the emperor!

Qian Chen asked: "How to define the financial resources of the inner treasure treasury?"

Ju Ming said: "After the taxes from all over the country arrive in the capital, they will be converted into gold and silver in proportion and sent directly to the internal storage for storage. As for what this ratio is, it has not been determined yet. It depends on the specific financial and tax situation in the future. "

"Yes!" Qian Chen accepted the order.

Qian Chen took the latest financial reform plan and left the palace with excitement.

The abolition of Taifu Temple and the cutting of the internal treasury gave the Ministry of Household Affairs greater power.

As the Minister of Hubu, he is not only one of the best, but at least one of the top three among the six.

The main reason is that there is no one to restrain him. Unlike in the old Song Dynasty, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance had a lot of grandfathers to support.

After Qian Chen left, Ju Ming asked: "Should we classify enterprises such as Fan Lou as private property of the royal family. But instead of being directly operated by the royal family, they should still be bought and sold to private businessmen?"

Zhu Guoxiang shook his head and said: "In the past few days, I have been looking at the financial files of the old Song Dynasty. I can only describe it as 'a mess without distinction between public and private'. As the emperor's small treasury, the Neizangtang can not only directly obtain national taxes, but also They also collect goods in kind for official sale. Every step can be taken advantage of for corruption, and the eunuchs and civil servants will make a lot of money. If Fan Tower is classified as an imperial property, I am afraid that this result will not be avoided. "

Ju Ming said: "If it is handed over to the government and run as a state-owned enterprise, it will be messy. In the end, it will definitely be contracted to relatives of the emperor, just like the Cao family contracted the Fan Building of Zhao and Song Dynasties for a long time."

Zhu Guoxiang sighed: "This kind of thing cannot be prevented at all times and in all countries. Power and money are always natural companions. No matter how good the system is, it can only maintain the basic framework temporarily. If one day, even the basic framework cannot be maintained, future generations will Just wish yourself good luck.”

Neither father nor son are worried about the lack of money in the royal family in the future. If you become an emperor and don't have the means to make money, you can only be said to be an incompetent person.

But a value orientation needs to be determined...

Ju Ming said: "The share of the royal family's wealth in the customs should be set higher to guide future emperors to pay attention to sea trade."

"This is a good idea." Zhu Guoxiang agreed.

The father and son talked for a while, and Gao Qiu was brought in.

This person didn't care whether it was in line with etiquette or not, he just knelt down on the ground and said, "Gao Qiu, the criminal minister of the old Song Dynasty, is going to bow to the minister of the law, and to bow to the marshal Langjun!"

(Thanks to the leader of Jiy69 for the reward, O(∩_∩)O~)