Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 177 Confluence
The emergence of cement greatly enhanced the strength of the Song Dynasty.

Of course, the strength of this kind of indigenous mixed cement is definitely not as good as modern cement, but it was still an undoubted artifact in the Song Dynasty.

With the steel-making industry of the Song Dynasty, although it was not impossible to make steel bars, the cost was still too high, and there was no need to use tough bamboo instead.

Except for the vortex hydraulic facility, which is the front-end technology of the hydropower station and is listed by Zhao Guangmei as the most important strategic goal of the commercial bank and the Song Dynasty in the next five years, the remaining two major projects were also formulated because of the availability of cement. And out.

First, the Kaifeng Prefecture New City Construction Plan.

That is to say, a new city will be built outside the development zone in Kaifeng. At the same time, the court will be responsible for building a number of low-rent affordable housing in this brand-new urban area, which is also a slum area.

However, this new city is not mainly to serve the slums, but to build a super huge storage area, which will store a huge amount of food, clothing, gold and silver, money, weapons, copper and iron, etc.

It was also the "Da Chang Ping Cang" plan in the New Deal. The imperial court would purchase large quantities of grain and various bulk materials for unified storage. Zhao Guangmei deliberately separated this business from the commercial bank and completely merged it into the Third Division.

The scale of this Changping warehouse will far exceed that of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Zhao Guangmei's request is that the commercial bank will organize a non-governmental alliance to carry out large-scale planting and unified purchase and sales of grain. And whether it is unified purchase and sales, this granary will be responsible for large-scale transfer.

At least ensure that all the grain in the area around the capital passes through here, and then is sold by the court to merchants, that is, the big grain merchants, at a higher price. These big grain merchants then sell to small grain merchants, and finally sell it back to the merchants. Ordinary consumers.

The imperial court, through one in and one out, monopolizes grain to obtain high profits. Ordinary grain merchants will not be able to purchase grain directly from farmers. Privately harvesting grain sellers is the same crime as illicit salt. Moreover, the court does not care about the grain buying and selling in the village. I don’t have the ability to take care of it, but to sell food in the city, you must have a food certificate or even food stamps.

From beginning to end, Zhao Guangmei never thought about making money from the villagers. Productivity and administrative costs determined that it was indeed difficult for ancient dynasties like them to directly and effectively manage the countryside.

Of course, in exchange, the imperial court will try to completely cancel agricultural taxes, or township taxes, the most important component of the Song Dynasty's two tax laws, in such pilot areas.

The country gave up taxation and instead obtained profits through the purchase and sale of grain. This was learned from modern Japan. In this way, the scissor gap between industry and agriculture was completely in the hands of the court. When we want to feed back, agriculture must feed back, and when we want industry to feed back, we must feed back, so as not to lose sight of what we say when industry develops.

Anyway, judging from Zhao Guangmei's shallow life experience, there is a high probability that the group of people who developed first through exploitation will be able to keep their word and will definitely attribute their success to their own efforts or even their talent.

This can at least ensure that the farmers can leave enough food for themselves. Even if the transaction is a monopoly, it is impossible to buy and sell by force. At least the people who grow the food will not starve to death.

On the contrary, the big landowners, especially the big tycoons who were able to unite to control food prices in the surrounding areas, felt very uncomfortable.

But this time, no matter how uncomfortable it was, these people had no objection at all, and the civil servants were collectively silent.

King Qin is really crazy!
You dare to oppose him, he really dares to incite the people to rebel and rob the watchtowers!He really dares to use swords and guns to those poor people in the capital of Guizhou, and the county magistrates are against it. Now he almost doesn’t even want the administrative unit of the county government. Since ancient times, everyone has never heard of such a thing before. He is crazy and special. Such a smart and powerful ruler.

Bear with me for now.

Besides, this time at least the wealthy people who were still alive around Kaifeng had made peace with the rebels from all over the country, sold their property and went to Kaifeng to work on projects.

The other wealthy people in the world, who are well-informed and know about these things, are naturally waiting and watching to see if and how much money these first batch of people doing engineering can make.

Now the imperial court is very concerned about the life and development of these powerful people. Zhao Guangmei even personally helps, teaching them step by step how to transition from big landowners to big capitalists.

At the same time, Xue Juzheng was transferred back and resumed his duties as the Third Secretary and the Secretary of the Household Department. At the same time, he also began to formally serve as the general manager of the commercial bank. Among the officials of the Household Department, there were junior subordinates and some grassroots officials in charge of Liangjing Road. , while retaining their official positions in the Ministry of Household Affairs, they sent all the dispatches to the trading houses.

Matters related to agriculture were still the specialty of the officials of the Ministry of Revenue. Moreover, this was originally a matter of the Ministry of Revenue. Later, with a wave of his hand, Zhao Kuangyin simply transferred the branch office to the commercial bank.

After the commercial bank annexed the Household Department and Duzhi Department, the Salt and Iron Department... the Salt and Iron Department was directly dissolved.

Is this still Te Niang's company?On the contrary, it is like an independent bureaucracy that is separated from the Chancellery. It is probably inappropriate to say that it is a state-owned enterprise. If we really have to make an analogy, his trading company is more and more like Li Jiapo's Temasek.

There must be many people who oppose it, but there are even more people who support it, because the official department has also been greatly expanded, plus the Yushitai, Dongchang, and even Honglu Temple have also been expanded, and the imperial examination will naturally follow. Expanded.

The imperial court is now spending a lot of money on raising officials, and Kaifeng's bureaucracy will expand at least twice in the next three years!
So much so that when it comes to the New Deal now... everyone's thoughts are very complicated.

As for another major project, it is the Forbidden Army's barracks renovation plan, which is purely for money.

That is to say, bamboo-reinforced concrete, masonry, and cement are used to build some tube buildings with at most six floors. The kind that has no water supply and cannot be used for cooking are used to replace existing military camps. Soldiers can choose to replace them or not. If you want to replace it, you need to pay for it yourself and buy it at a discount. If you don't have the money, you can get a loan with an annual interest rate of 5%.

Needless to say, the huge profits of real estate combined with loans are huge. When migrant workers who were still able to freely switch back and forth between rural and urban areas were burdened with heavy loans for their children, an invisible shackles firmly tied them to the land. On the chariot that the Song Dynasty once again became great, I couldn’t get off even if I wanted to.

Then things like Qian Bank came out naturally. Shen Yilun personally served as the president and used a large number of officials from Duzhi Division as dispatchers.

Because the commercial bank is very large and has a large transaction volume, especially when it is inconvenient to settle with cash when out of town, everyone deposits the money in the bank and then just fly the ticket for convenience.

So far, at least commercial transactions in Kaifeng City have begun to use flying tickets in large quantities, especially in restaurants, dance pavilions and other places with fireworks. These things are indeed equivalent to banknotes to a certain extent.

But outside of Kaifeng, powerful merchants in other areas still want to turn flight tickets into cash. Even most people in Kaifeng will not exchange copper coins for paper tickets. Even now, business banks will try their best to pay wages. When issuing flight tickets, most of the workers will still go to great lengths to exchange them for copper coins or silver after receiving the tickets.

Of course, Zhao Guangmei doesn't force it. At most, there is a small handling fee when converting large-value air tickets into copper coins. The usual fee is five or six cents. After all, the Song Dynasty is far from being able to say that it has emerged. After the shadow of the Five Generations, it is normal for ordinary people to have an instinctive distrust and insecurity towards the imperial court.

He can't say whether the common people are living happier lives. Happiness itself is a very subjective matter. The large number of migrant workers in Kaifeng are living a hard life, but the country must have become stronger.

Even when Zhao Guangmei mentioned that he wanted to personally serve as the prefect of Kaifeng, he was still rejected by Zhao Kuangyin, and he had to help Zhao Guangyi get money.

Then, Zhao Guangmei found a man named Skyscraper and asked him to come to Fanlou to meet her.

This person really has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, a pair of eyes as big as mung beans, and a tuft of beard growing under his chin. He really looks like a mouse, which is quite in contrast to his profession. When he met Zhao Guangmei, he revealed a With an extremely vulgar smile, Zhao Guangmei asked him:
"Are you the legendary Sky Rat, Lord Rat?"

Upon hearing this, the Flying Sky Rat was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Don't you dare, you villain... how can villains like snakes, insects, rats, and ants come into your eyes? You, the villain, are like stinking dog shit." The rotten thing has stained your eyes, Your Highness, and you really deserve to be beaten, you deserve to be beaten."

As he said this, he actually raised his hand and slapped himself in the mouth. His nose was full of tears, and he even peed his pants.

Zhao Guangmei obviously didn't do anything, but he seemed to be scared to death.

Zhao Guangmei frowned and said: "The master of the Yizi Sect, the money grabber of Kaifeng Mansion, and the most powerful gangster in Kaifeng, who are you showing such a disgusting look to? Do you think I will believe it?" You came here to talk to you, and I think highly of you because I talk to you. If you really want me to treat you like shit, then there is no need to talk. "Ah, this... is. "

After that, the man bowed to him, got up calmly, and went to change his pants.

This Skyscraper was the money catcher of Kaifeng Mansion in the past, that is, he helped Kaifeng Mansion release government money and loan sharks at usury. His income from loan sharking could even support the entire subordinate staff of Kaifeng Mansion, offsetting the administrative burden of Kaifeng Mansion. cost.

Of course, it is self-evident that this person can do this job, and his specific identity is self-evident.This is actually another major feature of the Song Dynasty besides not suppressing land annexation. The Song Dynasty should be the dynasty with the most developed black industry among all the previous dynasties. They really had industry and rarely fought. They played better than those who came later. The Qinggang and his ilk are much more advanced.

Zhao Guangmei has never looked down on such people. You must know that the reason Wu Zetian was able to usurp the Tang Dynasty and proclaim himself emperor in history was all due to talents like them. Their influence on the world and politics far exceeds the imagination of ordinary modern people. , let’s just say that this Sky Rat was raised by everyone in Kaifeng Mansion. How can we say that he is not a person?

Soon, the Sky Rat changed into a pair of trousers and came forward to kowtow again. This time, Zhao Guangmei could clearly feel that the strong and lewd temperament of the person in front of her had disappeared. She couldn't help but sigh, this person's temperament has changed. His ability is truly remarkable.

But he joked: "You deliberately grew your beard so obscenely to confuse the government officials?"

The Flying Sky Rat sighed when he heard this, and still said in a low profile: "It can't be said that he is confused. To the government, people like me are like a chamber pot. In front of ordinary people, I may really be a figure, but in the eyes of the government, I am not. Smelly shit? In your eyes, His Highness, it is nothing."

Zhao Guangmei smiled and did not answer his question, but instead said: "I checked your information specially and heard that you were a soldier and killed the Khitan. Even my eldest brother even called you brother when he was young and wandering around the world. , I’ve had drinks several times, you can be considered one of my eldest brother’s brothers.”

This time, the Flying Sky Rat hurriedly shook his head and said: "Don't dare, the common people never dare to be complacent about this. The Flying Sky Rat can be a friend of Mr. Zhao who once roamed the world, but he can never be a friend of the official family of the Song Dynasty. My friend, I dare to guarantee it with my life. I have never mentioned this matter to anyone in recent years. Even if someone mentions it, I will shut them up immediately. There are definitely not many people in Kaifeng City who know about this matter."

Zhao Guangmei nodded: "You are sensible."

"If His Highness wants to kill the common people, there is no need to call the common people here. If His Highness wants to beat the common people, he will definitely not let the common people change their pants. But I don't know, Your Highness, what do you want the common people to do?"

"Very smart, sit down."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

After thinking for a while, Zhao Guangmei asked: "Have you ever done anything like robbing or selling people?"

The Flying Sky Rat immediately replied: "I don't dare. Common people have never done anything truly illegal. They release money from public servants, force people to death, and even sell their sons and daughters. It is true that there are some, but they are all sold." After joining the official education, and the money earned from the public servants' money, the ordinary people did not put a penny in their own pockets, they all used it to pay for the government offices."

Zhao Guangmei raised her eyebrows: "So, you are releasing the money from the public servants entirely out of kindness. Are you sharing the country's worries, or even doing charity?"

"Don't dare. Although the common people did not make profits from the public money, all the officials in the Kaifeng government office are indeed familiar with villains. Therefore, the common people have bullied the city of Kaifeng for many years and bought countless properties, cars, Among the five elements of boats, shops, feet, and teeth, the villain is the biggest among the merchants in Kaifeng. His Highness's merchants cannot compare with the villain. But except for His Highness, only in terms of his identity as a merchant, the villain is the real one in Kaifeng. The richest merchant."

Zhao Guangmei smiled: "Do you think you are a businessman? I have heard a saying in Jianghu, which is "car and boat shop, feet and teeth, if innocent, you should be killed." You have all these lines."

Unexpectedly, this guy who was so submissive just now actually dared to come back and said: "First of all, I don't dare to open a gambling shop, and secondly, I don't dare to open a brothel. All the businesses I do are in compliance with the laws of the Song Dynasty. How can I not be considered a merchant?" What? As for the so-called theory that innocent people deserve to be killed, it is really ridiculous. Your Highness, you are an extraordinary person, far from being comparable to those rotten scholars in the court. I dare to ask all the dynasties, which city wants to develop without drivers, boatmen, waiters, etc. Where are the porters and dentists?"

"As for the coachmen who rob customers in the wilderness, the boatmen who go to the middle of the lake to ask for prices, the porters who take the opportunity to steal customers' things, the waiters who sell customers' information, and the dental shops who sell people. There are indeed some people who force good girls into prostitution, but just because there are these scum, you can’t say that those who do these things are bad people, right? If it’s not to support the family, who among the good men would be willing to do this? "

Zhao Guangmei looked at him seriously: "Are you really not running a casino or a brothel?"

"The villain dares to swear by the tablets of his ancestors. Absolutely not. The villain's righteousness gate is worshiped by Master Fu Jiu and Master Guan. Apart from releasing money from the father-in-law, he will never do anything that is against morality or morality. A chivalrous thing to do.”

Zhao Guangmei's mouth twitched when she heard this, a little bit off guard.

"Sit down and talk. I really have something to do with you and want the firm to cooperate with you."

"Thank you Your Highness"

Zhao Guangmei really didn't look down on him, she even poured him a cup of tea with her own hands and said: "In recent months, the security in Kaifeng has obviously deteriorated a lot. There are more fights, more knife attacks, and I heard there are still people dying." You have met a lot of people, and your Yizimen seems to be expanding very quickly."

The Flying Sky Rat smiled bitterly when he heard this, and said: "The villain must strictly discipline his subordinates after he returns. This... there are more people working outside, and it is inevitable that there will be some conflicts. The villain's righteousness gate has been as restrained as possible. However, under the mud and sand, there are fish and dragons mixed together, and the villain...the villain is guilty."

Zhao Guangmei waved her hand: "Okay, I know I can't blame you. There are more foreigners, and the car and boat shop is a bonus period for development. If you don't do it, someone else will do it. I don't want to blame you." I mean, a city that develops so fast must be full of mud and sand. As long as you have a sense of proportion, can know the advance and retreat, and understand the gains and losses, I will tolerate you, Sky Rat, are you a person who can know the advance and retreat?"

"I would like to be a hawk and a dog in the hands of His Highness forever."

"Okay, okay, I've already said, don't make such a gesture, and I won't flatter you. You used to give public money to the Kaifeng government office to support the subordinate officials in the Kaifeng government. Now, the subordinate officials in the Kaifeng government They are all on the list of the Ministry of Personnel, but the grandeur of Kaifeng Mansion itself will eventually require administrative costs, but you probably can’t put down that public money, right?"

"Your Highness, you are joking. The loan business provided by the commercial bank can be released with an annual interest of eight cents. But the villain's public money has to be paid with a full interest of eight cents. Who else can I lend it to?"

"Yes, but you no longer have the identity of a money catcher as a talisman. Although the friendship in the past is still there, you naturally have your connections, but under the emperor's feet, there are too many people who are better than you, and you can't make friends with them all. Come here, the business you are doing, although it is true that car and boat shops are not illegal and are even necessary in a city, it is indeed easy to cause trouble. Without the identity of a money catcher, you may not know what day. My little brother has caused you big trouble, or a powerful dragon has taken a liking to your business, how will you respond when the time comes?"

The Flying Sky Rat is indeed a smart man. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately knelt down and said, "Please, Your Highness, point out a clear path for the villain. The villain's life in the future will be driven by Your Highness, with swords and fire."

Zhao Guangmei quickly interrupted: "Stop, don't say nice things. I don't believe it even if you say it. I said it, I'm here to cooperate with you. At present, all the ports along the river in Kaifeng, especially warehouses and land that can be built on warehouses. It belongs to a commercial bank and is basically a monopoly by me. I plan to increase the warehousing fees, and at the same time strictly investigate and strictly open the closure of other warehouses in the city. As compensation, I will cancel the transaction tax on goods, the management of this warehouse, and Kaifeng. I want to take care of all the porter business in the city for you."

"All, all for me?"

"Yes, your porter is directly connected to my warehouse. In addition, there are parking fees, etc., all of which are outsourced to you. You can even collect the sanitation fees from the merchants in the city and cover the city's sanitation to you, but Storage fees, parking fees, and health fees cannot be put into your own pocket. These money are all the money of the governor of Kaifeng and the money of the former public house. As compensation, from now on, the government will no longer pay money to the people of the city. Collect property taxes, transaction taxes, you understand?”

After hearing this, the Flying Sky Rat thought about it for a long time, but finally he suddenly realized: "I understand, the villain can make this money, and even the reason why the Yizi Sect can still gain a foothold in Kaifeng, it all depends on the care of His Highness and the trading company. , and the bonuses of future subordinates and administrative expenses of the Kaifeng Prefecture will all depend on the villain, and the villain, no matter who the Kaifeng Prefecture Yin is now or in the future, will always be the most loyal eagle dog of His Highness and the trading company. The warehouses and ports of trading houses, villains are nothing.”

After saying that, he kowtowed heavily to the ground.

I thought to myself, before I was asked to work for nothing to support Kaifeng Mansion, but now I am still asked to work for nothing to support Kaifeng Mansion.

Of course, Kaifeng Mansion is not necessarily the Kaifeng Mansion of Kaifeng Mansion Yin.

(End of this chapter)