People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 251 Li Bai and Su Shi must have political achievements even when they come.

After Zhao Jun returned to the post house, he sent someone to Liangzhe Road to transfer Liu Yong's information to the Yamen.

He actually knew many famous poets of his generation, such as Su Shi, Liu Yong, etc.

But he never actively sought out these people.

First of all, he himself was too busy in the early days and had no time to look around.

Secondly, if you have no relatives or friends and you take the initiative to find someone, they will probably wonder what you want to do.

The third is also the most important point.

found it.

and then?

This group of people became great because of Song Ci and left a bright mark in Chinese civilization.

But that's it.

If you like Tang poetry and happen to travel back in time to the Tang Dynasty, there is nothing wrong with going to see Li Bai.

I like Song poetry, and since I live in the Song Dynasty, it would be great to have the opportunity to meet Su Shi.

The problem is that when the two parties meet, that is, the admirer and the idol, they can't always be by each other's side.

Everyone has their own life trajectory, and Zhao Jun has more important things to do, so if he has the chance to meet, he will meet him, and if there is no chance, he will not force it.

There is no chance to meet Liu Yong.

The last time Zhao Jun came to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Liu Yong was working as a regiment training officer in Muzhou, and he was still at the end of his three-year term. He went north to return to Bianliang to study in Liuneiquan, and missed Zhao Jun perfectly.

So it is true that I did not see it when I patrolled the world.

But this time Liu Yong took the initiative to come to the door, which Zhao Jun didn't expect.

In the evening, in the lobby of the post house, Zhao Jun was reading some official documents sent to him by the Imperial City Si Yamen on Liangzhe Road.

At this moment, Jiang Dalang came in and said excitedly: "Zhiyuan, Liu Sanbian is here."

Even Jiang Dalang knows Liu Yong's reputation.

"Let him in."

Zhao Jun ordered.

"Yes."

Jiang Dalang went out to greet him.

Liu Yong came in after a while and bowed to Zhao Jun awkwardly: "I have seen the magistrate before."

Zhao Jun did not look pleasant, but said: "Liu Sanbian's name is very familiar to me, and I finally saw it today."

Liu Yong felt ashamed and said: "I am a low-ranking official with a low reputation, but I don't know much about the courtyard."

"Ha ha."

Zhao Jun smiled and said: "You are still very famous, and I often read your poems, but I have a question to ask you."

Liu Yong said hurriedly: "The lower officials must know everything and say everything."

"Now is the period of the New Deal. Officials from all places should perform their duties. Since you are the Dinghai Salt Supervisor, why are you here in Hangzhou?"

Zhao Jun asked with a frown.

This involves a matter of principle for officials, and we still need to ask.

If he encounters an official who fails to perform his duties, even if the other party is the famous Liu Yong, he cannot protect him.

Liu Yong hurriedly replied: "The magistrate doesn't know something. Although our salt farm is smaller than a county, it is not under the jurisdiction of the local state government, but is managed by the shipping envoy's yamen."

"Oh."

Zhao Jun suddenly realized and thought about it.

Indeed it is.

For example, Yang Gao's previous duties were to set up the tea, salt and alum tax in Jinghu, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in Huainan, to be the shipping envoy, and to make money.

This tea, salt, and vitriol are specialties, so they are handled by specialized yamen.

Liu Yong said with a smile: "After all, this salt is a major plan for the country, so I have to come to Hangzhou once every month to report on official business. Today I happened to be reporting at the shipping envoy's Yamen. I heard that the magistrate was coming, so I came boldly to present my poems." .”

"So that's it."

Zhao Jun showed a smile and said: "This rule did exist in the past, but considering the long distance, shipping agencies in various places reported every month. Unexpectedly, after the New Deal came down, it became stricter. Just sit down."

"Xie Zhiyuan, this collection of poems?"

"Bring it to me and see."

"Yes."

Liu Yong respectfully handed over the poetry collection in his hand.

Zhao Jun motioned for him to sit down, then took it and flipped through a few pages.

I cursed in my heart that I had to memorize Liu Yong's poems when I went to school, and now I have to read them again, which is very uncomfortable.

But the mood is different.

In the past, I was forced to recite, but now I just appreciate it. I just take a look and see Liu Yong's level. There is no need to recite it.

"Yes, it's well written. The writing is brilliant and comes off the page."

Zhao Jun read a few poems, and the first poem on the first page was actually a eulogy, written specifically for him.

The content of the poem is to praise that under his hard work, the country is singing and dancing, and the country is peaceful and peaceful, which makes Zhao Jun happy.

He smiled and said: "You, please stop being so fancy. Even if you want to play with the world, you still can't get it right."

Liu Yong was puzzled for a moment and asked: "This official is stupid, please ask the Supreme Court to give me some advice."

"It's nothing, I just want to tell you that it's okay to flatter me, but remember to bring the officials with you next time. Governing the world is not only my credit, but also the credit of the saints and emperors."

Zhao Jun bowed his hands to the north, and then said: "When writing lyrics, write more about the emperor's wisdom, so that you can get along well in the officialdom."

"Forehead"

Liu Yong smiled awkwardly.

In fact, in his early years, he was also a person who relied on his talent and arrogance. For the song "Crane Soaring to the Sky·On the Golden List", Zhao Zhen directly asked him to write the lyrics according to the order.

Later, when he passed the imperial examination in his later years, he finally understood the importance of flattery, so he passed the imperial examination in the first year of Jingyou and went to Muzhou to take office. When passing by Suzhou, he wrote a poem dedicated to Fan Zhongyan, who was the governor of Suzhou at that time.

But it's a pity that Lao Fan didn't like it.

After that, he served as the magistrate of Yuhang County for three years. Logically speaking, he had outstanding political achievements, treated the people cleanly, and was deeply loved by the people. He should be promoted and promoted.

What makes Liu Yong uncomfortable is that he is still serving as Dinghai Salt Supervisor on a regular basis.

The salt supervisor was actually the county magistrate. In the Song Dynasty, the supervisor was also an administrative district, at the same level as the county. However, this county mainly produced salt, so the chief official was not called the county magistrate, but the salt supervisor. Seeing that he was over fifty years old and had been working at the county magistrate level for seven or eight years, Liu Yong became anxious, so he composed another song "Drunken Penglai·Jianting Gao Yexia" and dedicated it to Zhao Zhen.

As a result, the flattery was slapped on the horse's leg. Zhao Zhen became even more unhappy when he read one of the sentences "Taiye is rippled". Anyway, there will be no chance of promotion in this life.

I originally thought there was no hope in this life, but I heard that Zhao Zhiyuan of the Constitutional Yuan has always liked talents. For example, Chen Xiliang, the former magistrate of Changsha County, was retaliated for attacking the powerful and was not promoted for six years. After getting to know the Zhiyuan, he was promoted to the Yushitai. went.

Liu Yong burst into tears when he thought that despite his outstanding political achievements, he had not been promoted in seven years. It happened that he came to report on official duties this time, and he did not expect that Zhao Jun was also here. Naturally, he was overjoyed and seized the opportunity to deliver a speech.

Anyway, he gave a speech to Fan Zhongyan, but Fan Zhongyan ignored him. The emperor was even more unhappy when he gave a speech to the emperor. Things are already extremely bad, why not ask Chiyuan to try again, just in case it turns out to be a good one?

"Literary talent is indeed good, but it is not enough to govern a country only by literary talent. When you are an official, you still have to make decisions for the people and perform beautiful political achievements. Only then can you win the favor of the world."

Zhao Jun commented and then said: "Of course, the officialdom was really dark in the past. Even if you have literary talent and political achievements, you may not be promoted. You still need someone above you. If you offend the emperor, who will dare to use you. "

Liu Yong became even more embarrassed and said, "It was all because Xiaguan was confused when he was young. Later, Xiaguan also regretted it very much."

"Don't regret it. It's his fault that the official is petty, so don't take it too seriously."

Zhao Jun said with a smile: "I saw your political achievements before you came, and they are indeed quite outstanding. It happens that the state-owned salt farm has been restructured for several years. I want to hear your opinion."

This is obviously a test of ability.

A literati who is good at poetry does not necessarily have strong political ability.

Li Shen still had the nerve to write "Compassion for the Farmers". The calligraphy and poetry of Cai Jing and Qin Hui are both outstanding.

Therefore, literary talent is certainly important, but ability is even more important. Otherwise, he will be nothing more than a royal literati.

After hearing Zhao Jun's words, Liu Yong immediately said: "The restructuring of the state-owned salt field is really a good way to save the world. After several years of restructuring, there has been no death in the Dinghai Salt Field for two years."

"Just no more deaths?"

Zhao Jun was stunned.

"This is already excellent."

Liu Yong sighed: "Official rents and private debts. In the past, the salt people had not paid all the taxes, and the private debts kept pressing. Many people were sallow and thin, and they were just humanoid. While working in the salt field, they might fall to the ground and be unable to get up. Come. After finally boiling the salt and selling it to the government at a low price, the money you get must first repay the debt. If you borrow one min, you often have to pay back ten min. Repeatedly, the more you borrow, the more debt you make, and countless families are ruined and people die."

"Things are tough."

Zhao Jun sighed. When he toured the world, he did not visit the salt fields because they were all on the seaside and not connected to the canal. They were far away. This was an oversight on his part.

"It's getting better now. After the state-owned salt farm was restructured, all operations were handed over to private traders. The price of salt collected by private traders was much higher than that of official salt before. This allowed salt residents to have money to pay off their debts, from gathering salt brine to boiling salt. During this period, when there is no salt to sell, we can still have some money to live on.”

Liu Yong said: "Although it is still difficult, there is hope for life after all."

"Just what?"

"Just starting this year, I heard that the price of salt collected in the Cixi Minghe Salt Farm next door has been much lower. Many salt farmers there secretly come to our Dinghai to sell salt, and some subordinate officials and salt merchants have hinted to me that I keep the price of salt down.”

Liu Yong was still hesitant to say it, after all, it would offend people.

However, thinking about the rumors that the Imperial Academy has always been an upright person who likes to expose the darkness of officialdom, he boldly spoke out in the hope of getting Zhao Jun's appreciation.

These words made Zhao Jun suddenly turn pale.

Although he did not visit the seaside salt fields, he visited the tea mountains outside Hangzhou.

In the Song Dynasty, tea and salt farms were subject to negotiation. The output of tea farmers and salt farmers had to be sold to the government at a low price, and high taxes had to be paid.

This is an extremely heavy burden for tea farmers and salt farmers, and life is overwhelming. When there is no harvest of tea and salt, just like farmers who grow grain, they can only go to wealthy people who specialize in lending money.

Moreover, it is a loan shark. Often, the annual interest rate is not more than 36%, but more than 300%, and even exaggerated, it can reach 1000%. If you borrow consistently, you will pay back ten loans in a year.

For example, in the loan documents unearthed in the Tang Dynasty, it is a relatively common content: "Withdraw twenty coins of silver, and earn two coins of interest every month." In the words of later generations, it means borrowing twenty coins, and the interest per month is two coins. The monthly interest rate is 10%, and the annual interest rate is as high as 120%!

120% is considered a normal interest rate for ordinary loans. During Wang Anshi's Reform, the government's interest rate for private loans was 40%, which was an ultra-low interest rate. This shows how terrifying the interest rates for private loans were during the Tang and Song Dynasties.

No wonder many farmers went bankrupt in the Song Dynasty, and a large number of farmers were forced to become tenants without dignity. This was really due to the excessive taxes imposed by the government, coupled with the constant pressure from landlords and lenders to lend high amounts.

Therefore, to a large extent, Wang Anshi's reform was actually to protect the people at the bottom.

But it is a pity that the officialdom was not done well.

The current situation is that under Zhao Jun's promotion, Li Zhen presided over the state-owned restructuring and privatized many tea mountains and salt farms. The state-owned enterprises only held shares and did not participate in the operation, and the private parties handled the operations.

Fortunately at first, private traders were relatively restrained and collected salt at a higher price than during the government-run period, which brought a lot of benefits to salt residents.

For example, in the past, when the government collected sea salt, it would be purchased at a cabbage price of two or three cents, and then sold for twenty or thirty cents. When it was expensive, it would even be sold for 50-70 cents. Snowflake white salt with better quality was equivalent to a luxury product in salt, and the government sales could reach 100-300 yuan per pound.

This intermediate change of hands is a profit of dozens or hundreds of times.

Now that private parties are involved in the business, the purchase price is much higher than before. Salt sold for 20 or 30 cents by private traders can be purchased for 70 or 8 cents, and good salt can be sold for 30 or 40 cents per catty.

Even though it only increased by a few cents, salt has always won by quantity. "Song Hui Yao" records that the Shuangsui Salt Farm in Ruian, Wenzhou produces more than 3 million jins of salt a year. An increase of a few cents will mean an increase in the total amount. several times.

In addition, private traders also have a lot of costs for transshipment, sales, and taxes. Maybe the purchase price of a ship of salt is 30,000 guan. By the time it is transported to Bianliang, the total cost has reached 60,000 to 70,000 guan, and you can only make a profit from selling it. One to twenty thousand strings.

If you are unlucky and encounter bad weather, or if the price of salt plummets due to other factors, it would be a good thing if you don't pay any compensation.

So to a certain extent, it is more reasonable to sell salt for twenty or thirty cents per catty in the market and seven or eight cents when it comes out of the salt field. At least it is much better than the price of two or three cents per pound in the previous government, or even sometimes one cent per pound.

However, capital is certainly not satisfied with this.

Since huge profits cannot be made on the sales side, let’s start from the cost perspective.

If the government could lower the price of salt just like the government did in the past, and private traders could also lower the price of salt, wouldn't it be a huge profit?

So obviously someone has started to use their brains.

"Well, I know about that."

Zhao Jun nodded, looked at Liu Yong and said, "You should pay more attention to this matter, record who is doing what, and report it to the shipping envoy's office."

"Yes."

"It coincides with the New Deal, and we should do our duty every month. The court will reward meritorious deeds and punish mistakes. It will never wrongly accuse a good person, nor let a bad person go."

"Xiaoguan naturally believes that the court will make its own decision."

"Well, you just need to stabilize the people's livelihood in the country, visit the county more often, and understand the people's sentiments. When you encounter problems, you must handle them properly, and when you encounter unreasonable things, you must speak up. Don't be afraid, even if it is your boss. Don't let those Corrupt officials, corrupt officials, profiteers, and evil gentry destroyed the foundation of the Song Dynasty."

"Yes."

Liu Yong nodded repeatedly to express his understanding.

Then Zhao Jun tried to persuade him a few words, saying that although he did not promise to give him a promotion, as long as he did things well, he would not have to worry about promotion.

After all, being an official is not like writing poems. If you write good poems, you will be praised. If you do not do well as an official, the lives of tens of thousands of people in the county will be at stake. So let alone Liu Yong, even if Li Bai and Su Shi come, they will have to You can only get promoted if you achieve good results.

After sending Liu Yong away, Zhao Jun sat in the hall and looked sternly at the door.

There is still less room.

In just a few years, the state-owned restructuring has changed.

It seems that combating corruption should be done on a regular basis, every year, and we should not be lax.

(End of this chapter)