Northern Dynasties

Chapter 329

After the Cangcao scribes carefully searched and rummaged, the archives of old affairs since the ninth year of Datong were sorted out one after another.

However, as Huangfu Mu said, most of these volumes were severely damaged due to poor storage, damp, or insects.Even if there are some that are still in good condition, the paper has become brittle and lacks toughness, and it is no longer resistant to frequent handling and repeated reading.

After Li Tai saw this, he simply stopped ordering him to return to the straight hall, and went to work directly on the spot. He found a quiet room in the scripture writing room, and left a few small officials in charge to help answer questions, and then began to read carefully. Pick up these papers.

Huangfu Mu watched from the sidelines for a while, and saw Li Tai's focused appearance with his head buried in the file and no other distractions. Although he didn't know what his specific intentions were, he finally felt a little more balanced in his heart, so he didn't want to bother him anymore, and returned to the straight hall to continue. Things that haven't been done yet.

When people are focused on doing things, time flies by.When Huangfu Mu in the straight hall looked up again, the afterglow of the setting sun was shining into the hall from the western edge of the sky. Some of the colleagues in the straight hall had finished their desk work, and some were planning to light up the night battle.

Seeing that Huangfu Mu had stopped the work at hand, the officials waiting at the side rushed forward and presented a summary of today's affairs on the case.

Huangfu Mu went over these things and found nothing wrong, so he subconsciously touched his waist and prepared to use the seal. When he touched the space with his hand, he suddenly remembered that he was no longer Chang Shi, and felt a little sad in his heart. , and then remembered Li Tai who had stayed in the scripture writing room before.

"Perhaps already left..."

After walking out of the straight hall, Huangfu Mu, who had been busy with the case for a long time, felt hungry, so he guessed that Li Tai might not have the patience to stay there, and planned to have dinner first before asking questions, but after thinking about it Or lift your legs and walk in the direction of the scripture writing field.

When Huangfu Mu came to the scripture writing room, the sky had already completely darkened, and some scripture writing rooms had already been lit.The room where Li Tai stayed before was even more brightly lit.

Huangfu Mu stepped into the room, and he saw dozens of people sitting or standing in the room, full of hurried officials, all of them were concentrating on their breaths, and even when they sensed Huangfu Mu's arrival, they just nodded their heads and did not Say hello.

When Huangfu Mu saw this scene, he was suspicious, turned his head and looked into the room, the first thing he saw was the pile of documents on the desk that was as tall as half a person, after passing through the pile of documents, he saw Li Tai sitting behind the case.

"Have all these files been reviewed?"

Looking at the pile of papers as high as his chest, Huangfu Mu asked in disbelief.

With his opening, the silent atmosphere in the room was suddenly broken. Li Tai stopped flipping through the transcriptions, and Cao Canjun, who had been laying paper and ink beside him and observing and studying, suddenly raised his head and reprimanded with displeasure. Said: "Who is harassing... Huangfu Changshi, joining the army..."

Huangfu Mu ignored the cang Cao Canjun, pushed away the people beside the case and walked to Li Tai's side, and pointed to the pile of scrolls and said to Li Tai: "Li Changshi has approved these scrolls?"

As soon as Li Tai stopped, his shoulders and limbs felt a little sore and stiff, so he stood up from the table to move around a little, and nodded to Huangfu Mu: "I just read it roughly."

As soon as he said this, Cao Canjun, who was next to him, shook his head again and again and said: "The long history recorded everything in detail and with great precision. Such skillful handling of affairs has never been seen in a lowly position!"

While talking, the soldier joined the army and found out Li Tai's previously dried ink notes, and while showing it to Huangfu Mu, he explained the convenience of this way of recording things.

In fact, Li Tai did not use any complicated techniques. It was nothing more than some basic statistical applications. After reviewing the dynamics of material revenue and expenditure for a period of time, we can naturally get an overview of the changes in financial revenue and expenditure during this period.

There is not much difference in intelligence between the ancients and the later generations, but the information received and processed by the later generations is beyond the reach of the ancients.Even a dead house in later generations can see and think better than a county magistrate in ancient times.

So when it comes to extracting key points and sorting out complicated information, because of the difference in living environment, future generations will far exceed the predecessors. Of course, it is necessary to exclude some people who give up self-thinking and indulge in official accounts to seek novelty and popularization.

Li Tai's former subordinates were no strangers to his near-innate ability, but they did not expect to be amazed after coming to Longyou.It can be seen that when a person lacks a sense of accomplishment in life, it may not be possible to regain it only by improving oneself, and changing the map is also fine.

When Huangfu Mu saw the financial revenue and expenditure of Qinzhou in recent years sorted out by Li Tai, he couldn't help staring in amazement for a moment.

He has been here for a long time, and he knows many situations by heart, but his memory will also become blurred with the change of time and energy. The detailed numbers recorded on this paper make the memory in his mind vivid again Get up, and the difference between each other is very small.

If we only talk about the understanding of state finance, Li Tai's hard work this afternoon is already comparable to his years of hard work!Of course, this is not the only thing he has done in the past few years, but Li Tai's efficient grasp of state affairs undoubtedly proves that he has very outstanding talents.

"It's no wonder that the lord praised Li Changshi many times before, but I was narrow-minded, and I only praised Li Changshi too much because of my partiality. Today, I see the merits of Changshi's complicated and simple history, so I realize that I am short-sighted, I don't know great talents, and I am still a good person. I hope Changshi can tolerate the previous cold-faced offense!"

Huangfu Mu carefully put the notes made by Li Tai back on the case, and then apologized to Li Taichang in a low voice.

Li Tai's heart is naturally not broad-minded, and he was quite upset because of Huangfu Mu's attitude towards him before, but he also knew in his heart that it was because there was such a person in the state capital who could concentrate on his work that his father-in-law could safely arrange for him to stay and stay. Take care of things.

So when Huangfu Mu bowed his head and apologized to himself with shame on his face, he didn't laugh at the other party's blindness and ignorance. People talk about friendship. When Huangfu joined the army, you are open-minded and sincere. It is human nature to have doubts because you didn’t know it before, and you don’t need to worry about it. I still have many doubts about state affairs. I hope Huangfu joins the army. .”

"Please don't worry, Li Changshi, but if you ask me, I will know everything!"

After Huangfu Mu heard the words, he quickly said that he was not good at interpersonal communication, and he already recognized Li Tai in his heart, so he wanted to show more in the matter.Just after saying this, his stomach growled uncontrollably.

The sound seemed to be a signal, and several people in the room started to growl.Although Li Tai ate a lot of breakfast, after hearing this news, he also felt very hungry. Seeing that it was getting late, he said with a smile: "Because of my order today, the people in the warehouse are very tired, and they may not be hot when they go home. eat, and stay in the public kitchen for meals.”

When everyone heard this, they all burst into laughter.Although there is a public kitchen in the state capital, only the bureaucrats who enter the class can enjoy the benefits of two meals in the morning and evening, and ordinary officials have to pay for food at their own expense.

Most of the powerful children from better families would not commit themselves to serve as subordinates who would be beaten, scolded and punished at every turn, so a meal was very pleasing to them.

When Li Tai was flipping through the papers, he noticed that the state government kitchens had a lot of material expenses every year, and the most was the 11th year of the Datong just past. The various ingredients and materials consumed in the whole year reached ten Tens of thousands of horses are huge.

So taking advantage of dinner, Li Tai personally came to the public kitchen located on the side of the state capital to see how good the food standard of Qinzhou's working meals is, and he actually eats more than a dozen Gao Aocao every year!
The scale of this public kitchen is not small, with two rows of large halls and a stable for raising cattle, sheep and other meat animals.When Chang Shi learned that he had taken office, all the chefs and cooks in the public kitchen lined up to welcome him. There were more than a hundred male and female servants, but there was no fat-bodied body in sight.

Being a cook in this day and age is not a lucrative job. If you really meet a boss like Wang Wei who has to weigh the wine and meat for dinner, you will be courting death if you dare to do any small tricks.

Although Duguxin is not so trivial and harsh, his family generals are not kind-hearted and kind-hearted, so there are not many big rats who are filling their own pockets in the canteen of the state capital.

While ordering food for dinner, Li Tai observed and inquired about the daily food level of the state capital.It is necessary to provide meals for more than a hundred people in the two prefectures every day, and each of them provides different grades of food due to their rank. The daily food consumption is about [-] bolts of silk.

This kind of food standard is already very generous, even in Longyou where the price standard is higher than that in Guanzhong, it is enough to provide a sumptuous meal.Even if the banquet is held every day, according to normal standards, the annual consumption of the state capital is only two Gao Aocao.

While waiting for the public chef to prepare the meals, Li Tai asked Huangfu Mu his own question, why the expenditure of the public chef in the state capital last year was so large, many times higher than the normal level!
When Huangfu Mu heard Li Tai raise this question, he sorted out his thoughts and said: "Last year, Tuyuhun formed a thieves from the east, which made the situation in Longbian and Hexi tense. Unpredictable.

The lord is afraid that disasters will not happen outside but will be born inside, so he has been trying his best to appease the nobles in the territory and the commander of Di Qiang Qu. He has a banquet in the mansion, works twice in three days, Xuanwei bestows coins, and is diligent in contact.The former Shen Hui envoy was in Hexi, so he was able to capture Deng Yan smoothly, and he made a great contribution to winning over the powerful people from the state. "

Li Tai finally understood when he heard this. Qinzhou has been eating and drinking with public funds for the past year, which has ensured the stability of the territory, and even Guazhou has been given back.

This part of the matter will not be recorded in Cangcao's income and expenditure accounting book, Li Tai pondered for a while and then asked: "Then last year, do the state government keep the names of the wealthy families and marshals who attended the government banquet?"

After Huangfu Mu heard the words, he nodded and said: "Yes, after each banquet, the lord will order someone to record the attendance and rewards of the crowd, as evidence for the subsequent use of skills in governing people."

Li Tai was amused again when he heard this, it seems that this old man is not just blindly showing off, he wrote down what he ate and what he took in his little book.

Anyone who can attend the government banquet is naturally not a simple person. A list formed in this way is equivalent to recording the rural conditions and forces of the Longyou states, and it has great application value.

The food and drinks prepared by the public kitchen were brought up one after another, so this question was stopped for the time being. While eating, Li Tai sorted out in his mind the financial situation of Qinzhou that he had sorted out today.

Generally speaking, the largest and most stable income of a state's finances must be the rent adjustment paid by the per capita households of residents. Other incomes have their own fluctuations and contingencies, and it is difficult to use them as a constant increment. Plan your expenses in advance.

But Qinzhou is not the case. Although there are more than [-] civilian households under the administration and a large-scale military industry, the income from this part does not even reach one-third of Qinzhou's overall fiscal revenue.In other words, more than half of Qinzhou's fiscal revenue is unpredictable, and it may be more or less.

However, Qinzhou's financial situation has not increased the risk and worsened because of this. On the contrary, it is very healthy. Not only can it meet the huge military support and administrative expenses, but it even has a large amount of surplus every year. Compared with the green light in the eyes, it is simply not too moisturizing!

This is because Qinzhou has a large-scale official manufacturing workshop, which is involved in everything from people's livelihood to military manufacturing.Even at the beginning of the ninth year of Datong, a batch of bows and arrows produced by Qinzhou Guanzao Workshop were handed over to the Bafu as a substitute for renting and used to arm the six armies, but they were all thrown in Mangshan.

The handicraft industry in Qinzhou or Longyou is more prosperous than that in Guanzhong. Li Tai couldn't believe it if it wasn't for the conclusion he drew from a bunch of materials.

In his impression, the Han Dynasty in Longyou was chaotic and chaotic, and there was no way to guarantee agricultural production, let alone handicrafts with higher environmental requirements.

But the fact is that not only is the general handicraft industry developed on a large scale in Longyou, but even some high-end gold and silverware, including the secret coffins used in the funerals of princes and ministers in Chang'an City, are all made by craftsmen from Wudu Palace in Qinzhou.

Li Tai's understanding of this phenomenon is that the arable land in Longyou itself is very narrow, and has been mostly occupied by powerful local households, and the perennial disputes cannot provide the common people with a long-term and stable environment for reclamation and production. If you can't get stable output on the land, you can only find another way.

The life and production methods of the numerous Di and Qiang tribes in Longyou cannot be self-sufficient, and they have to trade with foreign countries to obtain production and living materials. In addition, Longyou is an important commercial route in the Hexi Corridor, so the handicraft industry has developed rapidly.People do not have to be tied to the land, but the living space can be expanded.

As for the creation of high-end luxury goods, one is the gold and silver materials brought in continuously by the Western Regions trade routes, and the other is that Longyou was still under the jurisdiction of the Yuan and Wei courts at the beginning of the Western Wei Dynasty, so a considerable number of Fengyu craftsmen came from Luoyang. He was placed in Longyou.

Coupled with the handicraft industries developed in Longyou based on religious needs, such as pottery, sculpture, painting, and scripture writing, etc., the development of handicrafts in Longyou is far more active than that in Guanzhong, and they are not profitable. shallow.

For example, the scripture writing site that Li Tai originally wanted to cut down was second only to the Dunhuang scripture writing site in Guazhou, and the second largest in Longyou and Hexi.

Although translating and copying scriptures is an extremely religious act, it is also accompanied by huge benefits, not only monetary benefits, but also huge local prestige and political resources.

Li Tai naturally knew how to use religion to make money, so he built the Shifo Temple in northern Shaanxi, and attracted a large number of Jihu people to rely on investment.

This kind of atmosphere is stronger in Longyou Hexi, and the market operation is more mature. After all, Buddhism here is more prosperous. Even if many monks in the country can't go to Tianzhu to learn Buddhist scriptures, at least they have to walk around Longyou Hexi to be gilded. Otherwise, they are not worthy of being called eminent monks.

The scripture writing field in Qinzhou has existed for many years, and it has already been operating proficiently. It can bring tens of thousands of silk benefits and tens of thousands of man-times of labor to the state capital every year.Every year, the governor of the state government gathers people here to give lectures and spread the law, which is of great significance to the governance of Qinzhou, and it is definitely not something that Li Tai can close with a single thought.

In addition, Qinzhou also has official animal husbandry industry, salt and iron income, and considerable commercial taxation. Li Tai is jealous when he sees it. The Liang regimes, including their Longxi Li family, had a pretty good life.

With such an asset in hand, even if he operates with his eyes closed, even if he can't stand up to Guan Zhong, Li Tai feels that it is impossible for him to get mixed up and be forced to commit suicide at home by Yu Wenhu.

Just looking at Qinzhou's fiscal revenue structure, Li Tai can see a relatively fatal flaw in Duguxin, that is, the lack of influence sinking, and almost no right to allocate and dispose of core resources.

To be honest, it was a bit of a waste of this historical opportunity. Apart from the fact that Duguxin himself did not have the confidence to fight against Yu Wentai or even replace him, it was probably because he had been displaced for most of his life. Develop your own influence and slip out of inertia.

Now the political lives of Li Tai and Dugu Xin are also closely related, and they are both prosperous. Although the time is already quite reluctant, I still want to work hard to manage things that Dugu Xin has not been involved in before and has not done enough. Looking forward to more rewards in the future.

(End of this chapter)