Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 56
After a while, the temporarily formed troupe finally withdrew and was replaced by an old man who began to talk about storytelling. This chaotic and failed farce came to an end.

The art form of storytelling is relatively mature. Some people have been talking about it since the early Song Dynasty. The most popular ones on the market are Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms, Commentary on the History of the Five Dynasties, and Journey to the West of Tripitaka of the Tang Dynasty, which are later known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The End of the Tang Dynasty. The Romance of the Five Dynasties and Journey to the West finally have nothing to worry about.

It's just that this thing is relatively not that new. It's more or less inappropriate to put something like this in a small theater on such a big stage, so that even Empress Dowager Du couldn't help but shook her head and said : "It's not as interesting as the opera singing just now."

Zhao Guangmei smiled bitterly: "What kind of drama was that just now? It was just a group fight."

Zhao Kuangyin was finally able to chat with Zhao Guangmei for a while. He frowned and asked, "Is this the pergola you made? You are really good at it."

Zhao Guangmei said: "The pergola here is specially used for watching plays and programs. It mainly serves young and old men. Although it has some educational significance, it is mainly for relieving boredom. The other pergola is specially used to entertain children and their mothers. , mainly for learning.”

Zhao Kuangyin listened for a while, then nodded and said: "Although it relieves boredom, it also coincides with the principle of loyalty. When the soldiers are free, come and take a look and listen. Cuju is always more meaningful than playing for money, but this Did you spend a lot of money on things? I know that you have recruited a lot of merchants in your house, but with their financial resources, how many such arbors can be built? How long can they last? It cannot be just the crane-controlling army. There aren’t any other armies, right?”

Zhao Guangmei smiled and waved in the distance, and after a while, Sun Liancheng ran over with his body hunched over at a trot, and knelt down to Zhao Kuangyin in a low voice.

"Brother, this is my secretary in charge, Sun Liancheng. Old Sun, brother is afraid that we will lose money. Please give me a report."

"Yes, the two pavilions of the official family and the crane control army cost nothing except silk. They were built voluntarily by the families of the soldiers. The cost of these silks was [-] guan."

"Thirty thousand guan is not a small amount of money. Moreover, these silks may not be able to survive the weather and the sun. If they change to new silk next year, wouldn't it cost another 50 guan? A crane control army spends [-] guan every year. Wan Guan, the entire imperial army of the two divisions is afraid that even [-] guan per year will not be able to stop it. Do you keep paying for such a large amount of money? The Privy Council... I am afraid that it cannot come up with this military expenditure."

"For the record, this theater... is profitable. Yesterday and today alone, it has already made more than 200 yuan."

"Making money? So much? Where did you earn it?"

"In between performances, we sell mung bean water, tea, plum water, and even honey water, as well as some sunflower seeds and other snacks. The profit is quite considerable, and there is also some reward money. There is a [-]-[-] ratio between His Highness and the actors. The soldiers were happy to see the division of accounts. They could buy flowers for the actors, or throw the money directly on the stage. In addition... Actually, the official position, where you are sitting now, the first three rows, is chargeable. It will be more spacious and comfortable, and there will be a small table for tea bowls and snack trays.”

Zhao Kuangyin suddenly realized: "So that's it, can you still make money? I made more than 1000 guan in two days. That's [-] guan in one day, [-] guan in one month, and that's..."

Zhao Guangmei glanced at him: "Brother, that's not how the accounts are calculated. Now that we have just started doing this, everyone sees it freshly, so we make more money. Besides, most of the reward money... is actually from my mother, so, you If you think too much, it would be nice to be able to protect your capital.”

"Oh~ I can only protect my capital."

Sun Liancheng said: "Your Highness is being modest. I think you can still make a lot of money. In addition, if you can protect your capital with tea, tickets, and rewards, you can actually make a lot of money. Officials, look at that. There is a banner saying, 'This program is sponsored by Li's Noodle House on Mafang Street.' Just this one sign, just for the Crane Control Army, will charge him [-] yuan every month."

This sponsorship business is more profitable than he imagined. Two hundred dollars a month is really not much advertising value. In fact, it is quite similar to protection fees. The taxes in the early Song Dynasty are basically a continuation of the two tax laws in the late Tang Dynasty, far less Later, the Northern Song Dynasty was perfected. To put it bluntly, it was random collection. If you don't have any background behind doing business these days, you will be bullied to death. Not to mention that the forbidden army has almost no military discipline and is like a living bandit. Open the door. When doing business, it is normal for soldiers to break open fires from time to time.

But donating sponsorship is different. Not only does it have an advertising effect, but the boss can also pat his chest and tell outsiders that I am the person who controls the crane army. For this reason, two thousand guan a month is really not much.

As he was talking vigorously, he saw Zhao Guangmei coughing repeatedly, and then glared at Sun Liancheng fiercely.Damn, don’t you think you’re not paying taxes on the money you make?How can you ever charge a higher price when reimbursing your account?
Besides, Big Brother is picking on so many people. He wants to cut taxes and expand the military at the same time. He is almost going crazy because of poverty. Why do you mention this to him?
Zhao Kuangyin seemed to know what he was thinking, and said with a smile: "Why are you coughing?"

"Brother, it's mine, this is my money, I earned it with so much hard work."

"What's yours and mine? Aren't we all one family?"

Zhao Guangmei couldn't help but change her face, shook her head quickly and said: "No, no, no, you are you and I am me. I am already married. Who is still in your family? These are my money. I still need this money." "

Zhao Kuangyin smiled when he heard this and said, "How did I hear that Zhao Pu gave you four thousand gu in military expenses?"

"........."

"Also, have you paid taxes? According to the two-tax law, you..."

"Brother, we are all a family. What are we talking about about taxes? I am here to benefit the soldiers. If I don't make money, I really don't make any money. It's just a small profit, just a little profit."

"Look at your potential, how can I, your eldest brother, still steal your money? You can make money and this thing can continue to be run. I am not even happy about it. Do I care about your money?"

Zhao Guangmei was slightly relieved after hearing this, and then heard Sun Liancheng continue:

"Guan family, this is the theater, and the school shed next door is the real money maker. There is at least five or six thousand guan in profit every month. His Highness has great ambitions and intends to open this theater and school shed throughout the entire capital. Forbidden troops, shoot him at least twenty more!"

Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but change his face when he heard this, and he calculated the calculation: "One pergola can earn 16 guan per month, one army with two arbors is 200 guan, and the Forbidden Army in Beijing has a total of [-] armies, which is [-] guan. One year Even if it’s nearly [-] million yuan, even my palace can’t spend so much money in a year. I also plan to expand the army in the next two years..."

Zhao Guangmei hurriedly said: "Brother, that's not the way to calculate it. This thing is to make money now, and it is really impossible to make money like this in the future. Besides, I still have costs. In addition to this pergola, there are many, many costs, such as... I also have to spend money to train actors, and I have to share the accounts with the actors."

"Well... I'm your brother, and I definitely can't rob you of your money. But Zhao Pu got you [-] guan, and your cost is [-]. Why should you give [-]% to the Privy Council? The Privy Council is poor. "

"Brother, my cost...isn't the cost [-]? And this is just the Crane Controlling Army. Brother Pu asked me to build three armies: Controlling Crane, Gongsheng, and Pengri."

"Your cost is eight thousand?"

"Split it, split it, split it. But brother, we have to agree that I won't pay taxes. There is no reason to pay taxes on the Privy Council's transactions."

(End of this chapter)