Fenghou

"It's okay! You don't need this kind of extravagant reputation."

"Your Highness, there is one more thing." The shopkeeper hesitated.

"what's up?"

The shopkeeper said after a long while: "Because Fengcha is no longer made, all accounts must be settled. Your Highness has signed a total of twelve orders for Fengcha. The princess said that His Highness can't waive the order. It's a thousand guan. Please pay the debt. It's all paid."

The first thousand and 140 chapters and five persuasion

Zhou Kuan clapped his palms and laughed, his laughter was full of complacency, as if to say, I never thought you would have today.

Chen Qing smiled wryly, of course he knew that this was his wife taking this opportunity to warn him that limiting extravagance not only requires others, but also requires self-discipline.

Chen Qing had no choice but to take out a small cloth bag from his bosom, took out half a copper coin from it, handed it to the soldiers and said: "Go to Baoji Cabinet Workshop to get 200 taels of silver, and the secret is four five!"

"Follow the order!"

The soldiers took the copper coins and left. At this time, the food was brought up first, and the shopkeeper also brought a small pot of wine. Cha Ji filled the wine glasses for them, and the two began to eat.

After lunch, the staff took away the tableware. Tea Ji brought them tea. Today is to order tea. To order tea is to grind the tea cake into powder, and then brew it with boiling water. When pouring water, keep stirring to let it Foam, the richer the foam, the better, the best if the foam exceeds the cup but does not overflow.

People in the Song Dynasty fight tea mainly to compare the patterns formed by the bubbles. Top masters can make the bubbles form patterns of flowers, birds, landscapes, etc.

The real ordering of tea begins with baking and grinding, and after multiple grindings, the tea powder is as fine as dust before brewing. The water and temperature are also very particular, so that a good tea with a strong fragrance can be ordered.

Cha Ji skipped the grinding step, and started directly from brewing. Although she couldn't make flowers, she was skilled in the technique. She ordered two cups of good tea that were full but not overflowing, and then she got up and left.

When the tea foam subsided, Zhou Kuan took a sip of the teacup and said with a slight smile: "Although Jingting is already very good, its ripeness and fragrance are still much inferior to Fengcha. If you are used to Fengcha, you can barely drink it." Accept Jing Ting."

Chen Qing said lightly: "This is how easy it is to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Why leave a gap in the extravagance restriction order, which is only implemented in public and does not involve the government. I can't eat the deer tongue."

Zhou Kuan's heart trembled, and he explained with a smile: "Your Highness, humble positions no longer eat deer's tongue."

Chen Qing was surprised: "When did you stop eating?"

"It started when I saw the princess asking His Highness to pay for the tea."

Chen Qing laughed out loud, Zhou Kuan was so seasoned, he actually saw the good intentions of the princess, and he obeyed others first.

The two of them took a sip of hot tea, and Zhou Kuan said again: "There is a saying among the officials of Jingzhao that His Highness is at ease now, has His Highness heard about it?"

Chen Qing was stunned, "I've never heard of it, but where do we start with the current situation of ease?"

"Perhaps everyone thinks that His Highness should cross the Yellow River."

Chen Qing shook his head, "If I cross the Yellow River, I will definitely win? What if I fail miserably and return home?"

"Your Highness, do you think you will lose?"

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "There were not many golden soldiers in Hebei last year. The reason why I didn't fight for a long time was not that I couldn't take it down, but because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to hold it. The golden soldiers attacked from north to south. We are very passive. The reason why we were able to seize the Central Plains was largely due to the use of the contradiction between Wanyan Chang and Wanyan Wushu. In fact, we basically gnawed all the bones that are easy to gnaw, and the further we go, the harder it is to gnaw. The more cautious you are, the more prepared you are.”

"I heard from Zhao Kai that His Highness wants to recruit 8 soldiers?"

Chen Qing nodded, "Actually, it is 10 people. Xiangyang got [-] troops. Zheng Ping trained [-] militiamen in Chengdu. I feel good and can be converted into a regular army, so I have to recruit another [-] troops. I usually feel We have a lot of troops, but once we fight, we feel stretched and insufficient, especially when fighting in the Central Plains, otherwise I would not have sent [-] militia groups to Guanzhong.”

"A 50-strong army, the annual military pay and supplies have increased by [-] guan! We have just balanced our income and expenditure, and we are about to be short-lived again." Zhou Kuan sighed.

"It doesn't matter. The materials we transport from Fujian Road and other places are worth hundreds of thousands of guan every year. We can increase the supply of copper coins or silver to make up for the shortfall."

Speaking of this, Chen Qing smiled again and said: "I used to be able to withstand several million punctures, but now I can't bear hundreds of thousands of punctures?"

Zhou Kuan chuckled, changed the subject and asked, "It's almost November now, what plans does Your Highness have for next year?"

Chen Qing thought for a while and said, "Before the spring of next year, we plan to go to Datong Mansion to inspect the defenses there. Next year there will be a fierce battle to win Haizhou, so that we will have our first seaport and capture Shandong Road. However, Wanyan Wushu also realized this, so he invested heavily in Haizhou for defense. The key is that the imperial court deployed another [-] troops on the Huaihe River, led by Liu Qi and Wang Jian, both of whom are famous generals. , is difficult to deal with, and the situation of seizing Haizhou will be very complicated."

Zhou Kuan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, I have two suggestions for you."

"Please say!"

Zhou Kuan's expression became serious, and he said slowly: "The first is internal affairs. When the water is clear, there will be no fish. Your Highness's extravagance limit order can be implemented, but it should not be long-term. Although the extravagance limit order has taken into account the feelings of the army, the rich People's money can't be spent, the income of restaurants has decreased, and the income of teahouses has decreased. Just like what the manager said just now, it is clearly the best teahouse in Jingzhao, but it has suddenly dropped to the middle level. Obviously, Fengcha can be exchanged for it. The wealth of the rich, why not do it? Luxury restrictions will indeed reduce the income of the common people. I think His Highness is better to neglect it than to block it. Heavily taxed luxury goods and then legalized them.

If you want to wear Shu brocade, you can buy it at fifty guan, [-] of which are taxes, the more you wear, the more the government collects taxes. If you want to drink Fengcha, you can go to the official tea shop to buy it. Among them, four hundred guan is tax. If you want to live in a five-acre house, the price per mu is [-] guan. , Blocking is worse than sparse! "

Chen Qing nodded, "Counselor Zhou can write a proposal, discuss it with the Internal Affairs Hall, and then come up with a complete plan for me. If it is feasible, I can put down my face and change blocking to dredging."

"Okay! Let me talk about the second suggestion next!"

……

When Chen Qing returned to the official room, he was still thinking about Zhou Kuan's two suggestions. In fact, Zhou Kuan's second suggestion had already been arranged, which was to prevent the Jurchen army's winter offensive. The Jurchens are very good at crossing glaciers with iron horses. Ice killed the Yellow River, plundered food, property and population, on the one hand increased its own supplies, on the other hand destroyed the social economy of the Central Plains, created refugees, and brought a heavy burden to the Western Army.

Chen Qing also thought of this point. His countermeasure is to reduce the population of the flooded area, and then the villagers will enter the city to strengthen the defense of the city. The second is to fortify the walls and clear the fields, so that the golden soldiers have nothing to grab and kill, and then concentrate their forces to eliminate the scattered ones. The enemy army does not need special instructions, I believe Zhang Xiao and Yang Zaixing will do well.

The key is Zhou Kuan's first suggestion, which shocked Chen Qing a lot. Instead of suppressing luxury goods, it is better to impose heavy taxes on them and take money out of the hands of the rich. On the one hand, it also allows the people to increase their income and expand employment. This is like sitting on a sedan chair. If businessmen are prohibited from sitting on a sedan chair, the bearers will lose their income, and the shops that make sedan chairs will lose their business.

The key here is control. Luxury goods should be controlled in the hands of the government and taxes should be collected from the source.

The extravagant consumption in the Song Dynasty was relatively simple, nothing more than basic necessities, such as Shu brocade, Suzhou embroidery, and lake silk, which were the luxury of clothing.

Then there is food, such as Fengcha, Kuquan mutton, all kinds of delicacies from mountains and seas, precious medicinal materials and so on.

After thinking about it for a long time, Chen Qing called Wei Ji and told him: "You find ten people who are responsible and divide them into five groups. You spend three days going to various places to understand public opinion. The views on the extravagance restriction are mainly the people at the bottom. Come back." Report to me later."

"Humble job understands!"

Chen Qing called Chao Qing again, and said to him: "You go to Zhang Canjun, and tell him that the warning and punishment for violating the extravagance restriction order will be suspended, and when it will start to be enforced, wait for my notice."

……

Beida Wazi is crowded with people, and the business is extremely hot. The middle-class families and lower-level families in Jingzhao City like to visit Wazi, and Chen Qing also likes it. It is very down-to-earth, and the things here are cheap, rich, and close to life.

But he has not had the opportunity to come and go for several months. The key is the security issue. Many times he cannot help himself, and the soldiers have the power to restrict his freedom. This is a special power bestowed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Princess.

But sometimes, the guards will allow him to come out for a walk. The premise is to change his face. The inner guard has a very skilled female face changer. She can make special human skin masks. Of course, it is not made of human skin. The face is completely changed, and then the shoulders are padded, the figure is changed, and a whistle is held in the mouth, the tone of the speech will become low, breathy, and the voice will also change.

Of course, his disguise cannot be hidden from his wife Lu Xiu.After all, they are too familiar, and they can be recognized by Lu Xiu right away with a special feeling. Apart from Lu Xiu, there is also her daughter Chen Binger who can't hide it. No one else can recognize her, including Zhao Qiaoyun and Yu Ying. They will only feel familiar , but not sure yet.

It was easy, a few personal soldiers followed him from a distance, and with the control of dozens of inner guards, Chen Qing was able to come out and walk.

After getting off the carriage, Chen Qing walked into Beiwazi alone. He wanted to personally experience the impact of the extravagance restriction on the people at the bottom.

The first thousand and 140 chapters and six cloth shops

Walking into Wazi, a noisy and lively atmosphere rushed over.

There are people coming and going in Wazi, shouting and hawking one after another, many of them are traveling with the whole family, spending tens of pennies to find a small restaurant to have a good meal.

The average salary of Jingzhaocheng is around [-] Wen per day, which is the salary for the more capable guys in the restaurant and the smart maids from wealthy families.

A family of three buys vegetables and cooks at home, and it costs about twenty or thirty yuan. Going out to eat, even a cheap restaurant costs fifty or sixty yuan, but it doesn’t matter if you come to have a meal by chance. happy.

Of course Chen Qing likes this kind of bustling and prosperous market, where the people live and work in peace and contentment. Any ruler likes it. No ruler is willing to see the people under his rule living in poverty and selling their sons and daughters.

There are two basic ways to understand people’s livelihood, one is to observe, and the other is to talk. The shop will not do business at a loss, but only earn more and less. The business of the lowest and cheapest small shops is not good, which means that the problem is more serious, and the people have no money in their hands.

The current situation seems to be going well, the crowds are surging, and the business of almost every store is very good.

"Guest officer, come and have a bowl of soup cakes!"

When Chen Qing turned his head, he realized that it was a mobile vendor. This was a vendor without a small shop, and he could be regarded as the lowest-level shop owner.

Seeing that there was no one at the stall, Chen Qing sat down with a smile, "What soup cakes do you have?"

"There are minced meat whistles, sauced mutton, large pieces of meat, and dried vegetable cakes. The shop is best at the minced meat whistle soup cakes. I guarantee that you will want to eat them after eating."

Also a small shop!Chen Qing said with a smile: "Then have a bowl of meat whistle soup cake!"

Soup cakes are noodle slices, sliced ​​noodles, and the hawker hurriedly cooked the noodles. Chen Qingxiao asked, "There are still so many people in Wazi. I thought there would be no one in Wazi after the extravagance restriction was introduced."

"The guest officer was joking, what does tile have to do with luxury?"

"It really doesn't matter?"

The peddler thought for a while and said, "You have no influence! In fact, it really has influence."

"How do you say that?"

"One of my old customers is my neighbor. He is a guy from Chengbei Restaurant. He comes to me every day to eat a bowl of soup cakes, which is considered to take care of my business. But he hasn't come for several days. I met him this morning. He just found out that he was fired from the restaurant, and now he is looking for work everywhere."

"Why were you fired?" Chen Qingxiao asked.

"Isn't that what you said about the extravagance order! There were thirteen waiters and cooks in the restaurant in the north of the city. When the restriction order came, the proprietor said they couldn't make any money, so only seven of them were left, and the other six made their own living. My neighbor was fired, and my shop lost a customer, hey! The rich spend less money, but we ordinary people are unlucky!"

Another vendor next to him also sighed: "You said that we don't have any special skills. We are all shopkeepers, errand runners, and waiters. Don't we just rely on the rich to leak two dollars, and then you earn my money and I earn yours?" If the rich don’t spend money anymore, where does our money come from?”

At this time, Chen Qing saw that the bowls of the stall were still stained with unwashed vegetable leaves, which should have been left by the previous customer. He couldn't help feeling sick, grabbed a handful of money and threw it on the table, "Shopkeeper, I have something to do." , eat again another day!"

"Ouch! How embarrassing, then half the price!"

"no need!"

Chen Qing walked away, took a few steps and looked back, only to see that the peddler invited the family of three to sit down and eat soup cakes, and gave the soup cakes he made to the host, who ate the noodles without paying attention to them vegetable leaves.

Chen Qing shook his head. Although dirty dishes are also a way to be grounded, it is a pity that he is not used to it.

"Selling cloth! The cotton cloth that just arrived, and the cotton tires for winter clothes!"

Chen Qing's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly looked along the shout. There was a shop diagonally opposite, with a big signboard hanging on it. There was a big word 'cloth' on the signboard.

Of course, there are small shops selling necessities of life in Wazili, which are of low grade and cheap, but the cloth shop in Wazili has also started selling cotton cloth, which really surprised Chen Qing.

Chen Qing walked over quickly, and the clerk who was shouting hurriedly came up with a smile, "Winter is coming, guest officer, let's buy some cloth for the family to make winter clothes!"

"How much is a piece of cotton cloth?" Chen Qing asked.

"Three strings of money for one horse!"

This price is not cheap!Chen Qing asked again: "Where is the fine linen?"

"Fine linen costs four hundred cash, and special fine linen costs six hundred cash."

Extra fine linen was actually five times worse than cotton cloth. Chen Qing walked into the shop, and there were three or four customers inside, who should be residents nearby, choosing fabrics.

There are many kinds of fabrics in rolls on the counter, but there are only three categories, fine linen, extra fine linen and wood cotton cloth. The specific varieties are only different in color.

Several guests were holding fine linen cloth, it is estimated that it is a problem of consumption ability and consumption habits, and everyone is not used to using cotton cloth.

After several customers had paid and left, only Chen Qing was left in the store. Seeing that Chen Qing was looking at the cotton cloth, the shopkeeper stepped forward and introduced: "This is the first time the shop sells cotton cloth, and now the price is cheap." Yes, last year it cost ten guan for a piece, but this year it has dropped to three guan. In the past, only the rich could wear it, but now ordinary people can also buy a piece of cloth to make clothes.”

Of course, Chen Qing knows why the price has plummeted this year. The key is that Lingzhou and Hexi produce a large amount of cotton, which can be blended with wood cotton. Filling materials, starting from this year, several major textile workshops in Xianyang County began to weave a large amount of cloth, and the price dropped accordingly.

Moreover, the price of cotton cloth will decrease in the future. The main reason is that linen cloth is hand-woven by households, while cotton cloth is woven by large factories, and the cost difference is huge.

However, the quality of the cotton cloth is average. Chen Qing touched the cloth and found that it was relatively loose. It was completely different from the cotton cloth his wife bought last year.

"Does anyone buy cotton cloth?" Chen Qing asked.

"There are, but very few, mainly because I'm not used to it, and the price is a bit expensive, and the small shop doesn't buy much, only [-] horses in total, and they don't buy them when they are sold out, but winter clothes and cotton tires are selling well. "

The shopkeeper took out a cotton wool winter coat, and Chen Qing couldn't help laughing, isn't it just a cotton jacket?White fine linen is used as the base material, and kapok is sewn inside with dense needles and threads. There are robes and shorts. Depending on your needs, you can directly wear inner cotton at home, but it is estimated that ordinary people will not wear them directly. , because it is not easy to remove and wash if it is dirty, you must wear a piece of clothing outside.

"How much is this cotton tire?"

"The short one is two punctures, the long one is four punctures!"

Chen Qing was taken aback, "So expensive?"

"Expensive? It's still very cheap. A short cotton tire costs at least two catties of wood cotton, and a catty of wood cotton only costs a tael. In the past, wood cotton was sold by tael. I sold it in Xuanhe years, and it cost a tael. The money is [-] times cheaper, and wearing a cotton carcass will keep you warm all winter."

"How much did you pay for the purchase?" Chen Qing asked.

The shopkeeper looked at Chen Qing strangely. This is a secret of the store, how could it be leaked casually, he shook his head, "I'm sorry, this is a secret of the store, and we will not announce it!"

Chen Qing actually knew the cost. They bought it in Quanzhou at fifty Wen a catty, and then removed the seeds to get the cotton, and then transported it to Jingzhao. Jin, ten times the huge profit, of course, you have to use linen as the base material, you have to sew it, and there is still the profit of the merchant, but it is not enough for the cost of a hundred cash, so let's sell it for the same money in the end!

Now Chen Qing really wants to know, how much is the official wholesale price per catty?

Chapter 140 Seventh Amendment

When Chen Qing returned to the government office, it was already dusk, and the officials all went home, so Chen Qing had no choice but to go home directly, and we will talk about it tomorrow.

Chen Qing went straight into the gate of the mansion, and Steward Tian chased him up from behind, "Stop! Who are you, you dare to break into Prince Yong's mansion."

"Steward Tian, ​​it's me!" Chen Qing remembered that he was still wearing a mask, and hurriedly uttered the whistle, and his voice returned to normal.

"The prince is wearing a mask?" Tian Butler also heard the voice.

"Of course!"

Steward Tian still couldn't believe it, and said with a smile: "My lord, let's wash it off first! It will scare the ladies."

"Steward Tian, ​​let me come!"