Optimus One Pillar of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 141 The Ministry of Household Affairs collects taxes twice
While Wang Daoqiu was busy, a huge fleet on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, loaded with silk, tea and other Jiangsu and Zhejiang specialties, was sailing towards the capital city of Beijing.

At the forefront of the fleet, on a luxuriously decorated passenger ship, Zhejiang's richest man Shen Yishi and Wang Daoqiu's father Wang Zhaowen were sitting on the bow, drinking tea and admiring the scenery on both sides of the canal.

Facing the green banks of the canal, Shen Yishi said with emotion: "Brother Wang, what a trick of fortune! You have been studying hard for more than 30 years, and what you have been thinking about is that you can come to the capital to pass the exam and be a civil servant in your lifetime. The Ministry Office is an official spy. Hahahaha, it’s fine now, Liangzhen is now the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and you, Brother Wang, can now enter the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty at will, hahahaha.”

Learn literary and martial arts, sell to the emperor's family!Being able to pass the Jinshi examination and go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs to obtain an official status can be said to be the dream of every scholar in the Ming Dynasty, and Wang Zhaowen was no exception.

But Wang Zhaowen started school at the age of six and gave up the imperial examination at the age of 42. He studied hard for 36 years, but only passed the college examination and became a scholar.Therefore, with his diploma, he is not qualified to join the Ming Dynasty's official department and cause trouble for others.

The irony is that Wang Zhaowen studied hard for 36 years, but he was not even qualified to work in the Ministry of Civil Affairs.But his son Wang Daoqiu is only this year, but he is already the first deputy minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty.Both father and son focus on their studies. The son’s grades are number one in the country, but his grades are just mediocre in the county. How do you think this hurts the father’s face?
So now Shen Yishi is teasing him about this matter, and Wang Zhaowen's old face is really a little worried at this time.So he frowned and said stubbornly: "This treacherous boy was quite well-behaved at home, but as soon as he got to the capital and became a high-ranking official, he learned bad things. Look at him, he has only been an official for more than three months. How many rumors have been caused? It’s too outrageous. When I see him this time, I will definitely let him have a taste of my Wang family’s family skills.”

"Hi, Brother Wang, officialdom has been fighting and smearing each other since ancient times. Liangzhen passed the sixth grade in the examination, and his popularity has overshadowed all the scholars in the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, within two months of his entry into the officialdom, he was promoted to the rank of second-rank servant. He concurrently serves as the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is the absolute fastest promotion record among ancient and modern imperial examinations. Brother Wang, Liangzhen is only eighteen years old. Not only is Liangzhen a close minister, but he also holds the power to select officials for the country in the Ministry of Civil Affairs. This is not surprising to others. It’s impossible to be jealous of that, so it’s normal for people to discredit him.”

After hearing that Wang Zhaowen accused Wang Daoqiu of the recent rumors and threatened to take action against Wang Daoqiu, Shen Yishi hurriedly offered words of comfort.

After Wang Zhaowen listened to Shen Yishi's words, he felt much better. Besides, as a father, he instinctively did not want to believe that his son would be the treacherous villain mentioned in the rumors.

No matter what he thinks in his heart, Wang Zhaowen still frowned and said: "It is not necessarily unfounded! Now people say that the boy is corrupt and treacherous and flatters the emperor. If that boy is not a bad example, why? Are there so many people talking about him behind his back? And since the imperial court started inspecting the capital, in the remote village where I live, the family members of the imperial officials who come to my house every day to give gifts are more than the number of strangers in our village in a year. .Brother Shen, you are in Hangzhou. Don’t you think that the family members of the imperial officials who come to your house every day to give gifts have almost leveled the threshold of your house? Brother Shen, if that kid is innocent, why is he so angry? Many people gave him gifts.”

"Hey! Brother Wang, what can I say to you? This time, the imperial court will eliminate [-] redundant personnel in the two capitals. So many officials in the two capitals will be laid off at once. In this way, those officials in the capital will Can they not be nervous about their own Wusha? And Liangzhen is now the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the third-highest official in charge of the Beijing inspection, and can determine a person's future with one word. So those people want to curry favor with him and send their family members It's normal to come and give him a gift. Besides, Brother Wang, if Liangzhen really accepts bribes, why don't those officials just send the money to Liangzhen directly? Where is my path?"

"This, this, hey, dear brother, please stop trying to excuse that kid. Anyway, that kid is suspected. After I ask him about it in the capital, if his explanation doesn't convince me, then I will let him taste me. The family law of the Wang family. And let him resign immediately and go home, and think about his mistakes at home for the rest of his life."

"Hi, Brother Wang, you..."

…………

In this way, the two good friends chatted all the way. After half a month of sailing, the ship finally arrived at the Tongzhou Pier in the capital.As soon as they arrived at Tongzhou Pier, Wang Zhaowen and Shen Yishi took their families, including the pregnant Shen Xiangning, off the boat.

As soon as they got off the boat, a government official led two servants and came over.As soon as the civil servant saw Shen Yishi and Wang Zhaowen, he asked arrogantly: "Which one of you is the proprietor of this fleet?"

"Well, back to the official, Shen Yishi is under the jurisdiction of a certain Hangzhou Weaving Bureau. He is the proprietor of this fleet. Please give me some advice."

As he spoke, Shen Yishi took out the silver from his sleeve and gave a large piece to the clerk and a small piece to each of the two guards.

After the clerk and the two servants received the money, their faces improved and they were no longer so coquettish.The clerk pointed to Tongzhou Trade City behind him and said calmly to Shen Yishi: "Executive member Shen, right? Now hurry up and rent a warehouse in this trade city. Then unload all the goods on your ship to this trade city." Go to the warehouse."

"Oh, sir, I can just pile these goods on my own ship. I don't need to trouble others' trade city anymore."

"What's troublesome or not? This is the rule of the court. It's the same for everyone. It's not a matter of whether you want it or not. Okay, that's all. I'm still busy, so go rent a warehouse! I remind you. One sentence: If the ship stops for a day and the goods on the ship have not been disembarked and put into the warehouse, once the tax soldiers catch it, the court will treat it as a crime of tax evasion." As he spoke, the scribe took the two servants and went The other ship was on official business over there.At this time, Shen Yishi saw the official and collected the money. After telling him to rent a warehouse, he left without staying to find reasons to ask for more money.With many years of experience in dealing with government officials, Shen Yishi knew that renting a warehouse was non-negotiable.

Since there is no need to discuss this matter, let’s rent a warehouse!So Shen Yishi sent a manager from his house to rent a warehouse in the Trade City while he waited here.

The steward of the Shen family followed the order and left. Not long after, the steward led a fat gilded guard in a flying fish suit towards Shen Yishi and the others.

Isn't it just renting a warehouse, why did you recruit Jin Yiwei?Seeing that his family's manager had recruited all the notorious Jin Yiwei, Shen Yishi couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and started to have all kinds of random thoughts in his heart.

After a while, the fat Jinyiwei followed the steward of the Shen residence and approached.As soon as the fat Jin Yiwei came over, he ignored Shen Yishi and walked quickly towards Wang Zhaowen. He clasped his fists as he walked and said with a smile: "Hey, Uncle Wang, Sister-in-law Wang, you are here! This time Liangzhen In Beijing, someone is in charge."

"Hey, aren't you that boy from Jiang Laocai's family?"

When Fat Jinyiwei approached, he called his husband and wife uncle and sister-in-law. Wang Zhaowen took a look, wasn't this fat Jinyiwei the stupid son of Jiang Laocai's family in his own village?So Wang Zhaowen was so excited that he shouted out the other party's identity excitedly.

Yes, this Fat Jin Yiwei is Wang Daoqiu's childhood friend, Fatty Jiang.When Fatty Jiang saw that Wang Zhaowen had recognized him, he smiled quickly and said, "I was just doing errands in the Trade City when the manager of the Shen Mansion reported the name of Mr. Shen, the richest man in Zhejiang. When I heard that it was not Liangzhen's, Old Taishan? I have to come out to see Liangzhen now? So I came out, and I didn’t want you and I to come over too. Why, uncle and sister-in-law, you two miss Liangzhen! Hahahaha!"

"You kid, look what you said, the little stone is the flesh that fell from your sister-in-law and me. How can I miss him?"

Seeing Fatty Jiang saying that he went to Beijing because he missed his son, Wang Zhaowen was a little embarrassed, blushed and said nothing.However, Wang Daoqiu's mother, Mrs. Xu, was not shy about thinking about her son.So she called Wang Daoqiu's nickname and openly admitted that she missed her son.

Seeing Mrs. Xu speak out, Fatty Jiang smiled like a chrysanthemum. He came over to flatter Wang Daoqiu and held the arm of Mrs. Xu, Wang Daoqiu's mother. He kept calling "Aunt" and "Aunt", coaxing Wang Daoqiu. Mother Xu was extremely happy.

With the help of Fatty Jiang, the master of Jinyiwei, Shen Yishi's warehouse was quickly rented.The manager of the Shen Mansion was left here to put the goods into the warehouse, and Wang and Shen's family took a carriage and went to Beijing.

On the carriage, Shen Yishi asked Fatty Jiang with some confusion: "My dear nephew, I come to Tongzhou Wharf several times a year. In the past, the government did not have to go ashore to warehouse this kind of goods! Why is it like this this year? Are the rules in place?"

"Hey, Uncle Shen, Tongzhou Trade City didn't have such rules at the beginning. Later, it was the people from the Ministry of Household Affairs who wanted to do this. Let me tell you this, Uncle Shen, in the beginning, Tongzhou Trade City did not force merchants to do this. If you move the goods to the warehouse in the Trade City and store them, you can leave them on their own ship. However, some merchants rent the ship to transport the goods, not their own, so they need to use the warehouse on the shore. There is also trade. The city's warehouses are built relatively solidly, with the foundations being raised more than three feet above the ground. Therefore, this warehouse is neither tide nor afraid of wind and rain. Therefore, compared with leaving the goods on a boat to bump around in the canal, Renting a warehouse in the trade city for storage makes people more worry-free and makes it convenient for buyers to see the goods.”

"It is precisely because there are so many benefits to renting a warehouse in the Trade City to store goods rather than leaving them on a ship. Therefore, most of the merchants will rent the goods in a warehouse in the Trade City instead of leaving them on the ship. Later, I did not know that it was the Ministry of Household Affairs. Someone was smart and saw the money in this. So the Ministry of Revenue moved the goods from the Tongzhou Wharf to the warehouse of the Trade City. They asked the merchants to move their goods to the warehouse of the Trade City for storage. And pay taxes there. And if merchants dare to leave the goods on the ship for more than one day, or if the goods do not go to the warehouse after disembarking, but are transported elsewhere, once they are caught by the tax soldiers, they will be severely punished as tax evasion."

"Those people from the Household Department are really shady! They only allow two doors for entry and exit in the warehouse area covering hundreds of acres, one for the entrance and one for the exit. And their Household Department has these two entrances and exits, All have set up tax inspections and tax collection. Let me tell you this, Uncle Shen, when your batch of goods enters the warehouse today, at the entrance, people from the household department will check the types of goods, point out the quantity, estimate the value of the goods, and then press I'll ask you for [-]% of the tax on the value of the goods. After your goods are sold, your customers will take the goods out of the exit, and the people in the household department will collect [-]% of the tax from them again."

You can collect taxes twice when you enter and exit. Shen Yishi now understood why the government sent all the goods to the warehouse of the Trade City for storage.

However, in terms of business, Shen Yishi also thinks that the Ministry of Revenue is very smart in doing this, and he would do the same thing in his place.Besides, the fifteen-yuan tax is what he should pay. As for the other fifteen-yuan tax, it is paid by the buyer. What does this have to do with him sinking one stone?So when Shen Yishi did this to Hu Bu, he only appreciated it and didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

(End of this chapter)