Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 104: Changing the reign to Taichang, a sad new year

Every winter when the canal freezes over, the city of Linqing in Shandong remains bustling with activity.

It is more prosperous than the two capitals and richer than Qi County. This is not a false rumor.

It is a place where merchants come and go and where vehicles converge. There are thirty-two flower and willow lanes and seventy-two orchestra buildings.

"What a wonderful book! Who is this Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng? He can write such a wonderful book. He must have seen through all the secrets of the government and the people, and understood the gains and losses of the world!"

On an orchestra building in Linqing City, a scholar returned several books reluctantly.

"Then I don't know who it is. Nowadays, there are only some rare handwritten copies circulating." Another man hugged a young girl and asked with a wink, "Brother, in such a wonderful place, why do you only talk about the secrets of the government and the gains and losses of the world?"

So they both laughed out loud.

Because the canal was frozen and boats could not sail, many scholars who were taking the imperial examinations and merchants who wanted to pass through the canal to go north and south as soon as possible after the thaw stopped in Linqing.

There are still craftsmen who stay here.

In the third year of Jiajing, the Linqing Weihe Shipyard was abolished and the original 18 branches were merged into the Huai'an Qingjiang Shipyard.

This does not mean that the shipyard is still here, but is under the management of Qingjiang Shipyard. Rather, because there is no wood produced near Linqing, the wood for shipbuilding must be purchased from other places and then transported back here for construction.

Now all the timber for Ming Dynasty shipbuilding had been shipped from Huguang, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Guizhou. So it would naturally be cheaper to transport it via the Yangtze River to the Longjiang Shipyard in Nanjing and the Qingjiang Shipyard in Huai'an.

So many craftsmen went to Huai'an, but there were still a few thousand people left here.

Today, the Nanchang Street area, which is surrounded by water on three sides, has formed some special streets and alleys, such as Dashengkou Hutong, a street of rope-making workshops that provide elastic ropes, shed ropes, cables and tow ropes for the canal boats; Dingzi Street, a street of iron nail workshops that provide nails for the repair of the canal boats; Huichang Street, a street of workshops that provide putty and hemp ash for the canal boats; and Houpong Lane, a street of workshops that provide buckets and bridges for the canal boats.

These winter months are the best months for business for the craftsmen who stay in Linqing.

We can’t build ships, but we can repair them.

Since the traffic is blocked, this is the best time window to carry out maintenance on the ship.

"When will Dad come back?" A child from a family in Dashengkou Hutong was looking forward to his father's return home.

"It's almost there, it's almost there." The woman comforted him, but also waited by the door.

On New Year's Eve, the head of the household is still busy.

I should be able to get some wages today and go home for the New Year. I have been busy for so long.

At this time, near a bay where many merchant ships were anchored, many craftsmen were divided into several groups, surrounding several different people.

"Why is the agreed salary only 70%?"

"After the incident at Shanhaiguan, the imperial court has sent an order to Linqing. Starting next year, you will have to pay more silver to pass through the customs! If the tax is really increased in the future, our business will be difficult. It's not that we don't have enough money, we will spend the New Year first, and there will be work after the New Year, and we will make up for it after the New Year. Because of this incident, the owners are now managing things, and they are not well-off, and they can't transfer the silver for the time being!"

When policies are implemented from above, the pressure and burden are first directly transmitted to the people at the bottom of society.

They were all unwilling to receive 70% of the wages they had agreed to receive.

That night, the homes of officials from the Ministry of Revenue's Linqing Tax Office were crowded with guests, all coming to inquire about news and discuss countermeasures.

When the Linqing Bank was first established, it was managed by the censor or the assistant official of the Ministry of Revenue. After the Hongzhi period, the Ministry of Revenue sent a person to be in charge, who was replaced every year. During the Jiajing period, the Dongchang Prefecture was appointed to manage it, but it was soon returned to the Ministry of Revenue.

In the past few years, the Linqing Money Customs was managed by Ma Tang.

Now Ma Tang has been withdrawn and replaced by the Ministry of Revenue, and now Ma Tang’s predecessor Li Yangyu has been sent back again.

"Sir, we have finally waited for the imperial court to remove the tax collectors, but now they have issued a new policy. What should we do?"

"What new policies are there?" Li Yangyu frowned. "Is it an increase in taxes, or a new tax item?"

On New Year's Eve, he still had to meet this person. Naturally, he had his reasons, so he spoke frankly.

"...I have previously submitted a petition to donate a store and three thousand taels of silver, just to seek a crown and a formal position." The man complained, "If the court is short of silver, why don't you accept this offer?"

"Qin Yongtai!" Li Yangyu's tone was filled with dissatisfaction. "This policy of increasing revenue was discussed by the Cabinet, the six ministries, and the Censorate! The tax rate has not been increased, nor have new tax items been established. What do you want to do by criticizing the national policy?"

The man called Qin Yongtai was a native of Linqing. He looked at Li Yangyu and said with gritted teeth, "The old man, Duke Yansheng, has been granted the privilege of staying in the capital."

Li Yangyu's eyes suddenly became dangerous: "What do you want to say?"

"The tax silver collected by the Chaoguan has always been ten times that of Shandong Province. If the customs inspection and collection are strictly enforced next year, how much more tax silver do you want to increase by, Master Li? Will it be like this every year in the future? If so, what happened last year will definitely happen again!" It seemed that how much tax the Chaoguan could collect depended entirely on Li Yangyu's thoughts.

But when he mentioned the Linqing uprising last year, Li Yangyu's face changed, "That was Ma Tang setting up checkpoints and digging at all the water gates! Qin Yongtai, would you do the same if you were my official?"

Qin Yongtai did not avoid the question or answer it, but just kept looking at him.

Li Yangyu was very angry.

There were naturally many hands behind the Linqing uprising, including Qin Yongtai, Shandong big families, the Caojun, and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue and the clerks of the banknote customs who were driven out of the Linqing banknote customs.

But letters had already arrived from the capital, and Li Yangyu knew that it was impossible not to make some changes.

"Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and the court is in financial difficulty." Li Yangyu stared at him, "If you are still thinking about the crown and belt, then don't worry about it yet. What if the banknotes, customs duties and silver are doubled next year?"

Qin Yongtai gritted his teeth and said, "Double it every year?"

According to the past proportions, the official tax and silver payment is only about one-tenth, but with the handling fee, it is nearly half.

Now the tax and silver part will be doubled, and the necessary fees will not be less, so you have to pay 60% to 70%.

How much money can you make after so many years? If the profit decreases so much, it will become more and more difficult to do business.

Li Yangyu glanced at him calmly and started drinking tea: "I told you not to be anxious."

"Going north along the Grand Canal to Beijing, the seven checkpoints of Beixin, Hushu, Yangzhou, Huai'an, Linqing, Hexiwu, and Chongwenmen, all need to be doubled?"

"Qin Yongtai!"

Seeing that he couldn't send him away even after drinking tea, and was instead questioned by him, Li Yangyu smashed the teacup heavily, and the almost cold tea flowed all over the table.

"Although the Shanhaiguan uprising was a minor event, three major officials were dismissed, six families were executed, and many minor officials were punished! How dare you talk nonsense about last year? If the same thing happened again, do you want the Duke of Yansheng to step in, or do you want the ministers of the cabinet and the nine officials to step in together? Spending money to avoid disaster, do you need me to teach you this?!"

Is life more important or money more important?
Li Yangyu pointed out the problem again without any politeness, but Qin Yongtai gritted his teeth and seemed to still want to speak.

"If you continue to make trouble, I will write to Duke Yansheng to see if he has given you any instructions! If you have been given instructions but still insist on making trouble, you should not be involved in these matters in the future. Not to mention that you are only a relative of Qufu, even if you are a descendant of Duke Yansheng, you should know how to stay away from him for a while!"

Qin Yongtai finally said goodbye and left with an ugly look on his face. Li Yangyu was furious: "You don't know the importance of things!"

New Year’s Eve is not a happy one.

In order to avoid making things difficult for the capital next year and to avoid offending the emperor, we must spend more energy to suppress these merchants.

It would be useless even if he wrote to the people behind them. One thing is one thing, and the things at Chaoguan still need him, Li Yangyu, to balance them.

In the past, he ensured that "the market is convenient and goods flow smoothly", "merchants and people live in peace, tax collectors do not have to worry about taxation, and the national treasury does not have to worry about lack of funds". However, the truth behind these words of performance evaluation does not stand up to scrutiny.

The emperor is now worried about the lack of funds in the national treasury.

Just collect a little more to get the job done first, but there is no need to double it. We should always see what achievements the officials in the court will make next year.

In the capital, Tian Ergeng returned home after finishing his shift and brought a lunch box to his father.

"Your Majesty's gift..."

Tian Le nodded and put down his pen.

People like Ma Gui went from Datong to Liaodong, and Dayun, Chen Lin, Xiao Ruxun and others had to go to the capital to meet the emperor in person to express their gratitude and for other appointments. At the moment, it was unknown how many border defense arrangements needed to be changed.

Tianle is certainly busy.

The court has been peaceful for a month, and no one wants to have any more conflicts before the New Year. Tomorrow is the first year of Taichang, but things will definitely be very different.

The senior officials in Beijing may be waiting for some trouble to happen in the local area first.

The local gentry either began to try to see if there would be any changes through the officials' memorials, or were cautiously confirming the true direction of the court.

The strategy of increasing revenue has already been passed on to local areas. Merchants hoped to get rid of the tax inspectors, but they were met with strict orders that they must not conceal the purpose of tax evasion when passing through customs, entering the maritime market, or opening stores.

This New Year is not going to be easy.

(End of this chapter)