A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 156 Please Come to the Table for Meal (Update )
"Cough cough cough."

Yan Shu choked on his own saliva.

He just said this because he was worried that the profits from Song Xuan's shop would be taken away by others.

In fact, I am also worried about the interests of the college.

The main reason is that the money allocated by the court can solve urgent problems, but it is not a long-term solution.

If you want to develop education, you cannot do it without money.

Song Xuan's bookstore can provide a steady source of funds for the academy.

That could definitely become an industry to support Yingtian Academy. As the person who facilitated the expansion of Yingtian Academy, Yan Shu naturally wanted to protect it.

Ever since Song Xuan said that people have to walk on two legs, Yan Shu also went to find other local businessmen.

But Yingtian Academy, this gold-consuming den, has dragged down both the local Zhao and Cao families. Who would be willing to take over?
Yan Shu was even more indignant that the local big businessmen were too impolite and even disrespectful.

In fact, the imperial power of the Song Dynasty was not strict, and the ruling style was mostly tolerant.

As a result, the officials of the Song Dynasty who represented imperial power did not have that much dignity.

The number of people suing officials increased sharply in the Song Dynasty.

In addition, many poor scholars would accept financial support from fellow villagers or borrow money to make a living.

As a result, some powerful businessmen do not take corrupt officials seriously.

You don't know anything about me.

I don’t know which official I have helped?

Especially Yan Shu was a gentleman.

There is absolutely no problem in deceiving them with tricks.

But what Song Xuan had just said still made Yan Shu stand up subconsciously.

Why is this kid talking so arrogantly?

"What about collusion between officials and businessmen? Stop talking nonsense!"

Yan Shu was not a radical person to begin with.

He naturally couldn't stand Song Xuan's nonsense.

Fan Zhongyan couldn't help laughing out loud.

Anyway, this collusion between officials and businessmen has nothing to do with me at the moment.

"Hahaha."

"Twelfth brother, he was just joking."

Fan Zhongyan naturally pulled the excited Yan Shu to sit down:

"There's no need for Prefect Yan to be so excited."

Song Xuan poured Yan Shu a cup of cold tea:
"Mr. Yan, there's really no need to get excited. Let me put it another way. This is called a joint effort between government and business to crack down on pirated lottery tickets."

"What do you mean?"

Yan Shu did not take the cup of cold tea, but looked at Song Xuan.

I hope he can give a suitable reason for himself.

"I think Mr. Yan has reported the matter of the Twelve Bookstores to the court, right?"

"Ah."

Yan Shu knew that Song Xuan was a smart man.

Especially those who walked outside the laws of the Song Dynasty. In addition, although Song Twelve did not enter the court, he had already made enemies in the court.

Dou Chougui was the leader of the Hanlin academicians, so naturally there were quite a few officials who became his students.

As Gu Zimo was right in front of him, Yan Shu thought he could still keep an eye on him to prevent him from doing anything behind his back.

As for those disciples of Dou Chou who are serving as officials far away, they might try to stir up trouble in the court because of Gu Zimo's letter.

Yan Shu's advance reporting, coupled with the academy's righteousness, made the court aware of some of the difficulties and allocated some money to help solve the problems.

Song Xuan got the answer from Yan Shu. It turned out that someone had reported the situation.

Otherwise, why would the people from the Imperial City Bureau condescend to come to Song City and monitor the shop of an ordinary student?
The officials of the Song Dynasty court are too idle!
Especially now that the Imperial City Bureau is a secret service department whose main job is to gather information from other countries, it does not care about the behavior of its own people at all.

Song Xuan solved the doubts in his mind from Yan Shu.

He understood Yan Shu's character and knew he would never do anything risky.

"Now that we have Minister Yan's petition and the court has not rejected it, it seems that those who are still waiting and watching will soon follow suit."

Song Xuan gave Yan Shu a way out, and he also understood that there was no need for him to inform him of everything.

What's more, reporting it to the court is good for oneself, which is better than letting Dou Chou's forces report it.

Although the news from the Song Dynasty government would not leak out like a sieve, only matters related to the emperor would be kept confidential.

At the beginning, Emperor Taizu of Song was obsessed with beauty and often came to court late, which was talked about by his ministers. Then Zhao Kuangyin suddenly came to his senses and killed her while she was sleeping.

This incident was recorded.

Later, when Shi Jie compiled the "Records of the Three Dynasties' Sacred Politics" and consulted Han Qi, he deleted the record of this incident.

Then this incident was recorded in Han Qi's biography.

There is also the famous incident of Emperor Taizong's donkey cart drifting, which is not recorded in the history of the Song Dynasty.

To this day, many people in the Song Dynasty do not know that Emperor Taizong, who was lame, drove a lame donkey to race.

However, this incident was recorded in the history books of the Liao Dynasty.

Especially in the records of the wars between the Song and Liao dynasties, it is almost always the case that one side won and the other side lost.

It’s just divided into small wins, big wins and inexplicable wins with qualifiers!

Especially the Liao Dynasty, the records of its battles against the Song Dynasty are almost all wins, wins, wins.

The Liao Dynasty is invincible!

Chunqiu's writing style is very skillful.

An unknown person like Song Xuan could be mentioned by the Empress Dowager, the Emperor and the Prime Ministers.

Maybe I can even get my name in the history books.

Who would keep his news secret?

Then things like lottery will definitely spread.

Now, those envious people in Songcheng are probably heading to Tokyo to find out the news.

If they were sure that there would be no laws governing them, they would certainly follow suit.

Who would be willing to give up such a piece of fat meat that is delivered to your doorstep?
A "buying game" that is open and does not violate the laws of the Song Dynasty.

They no longer need to rely on illegal gambling houses to make illegal money, nor do they need to rely on the emperor's mercy. They can make money by having fun during those few days of holidays.

In addition, the people of the Song Dynasty were very enthusiastic about buying games.

Then all the money he makes every day will flow into his arms?
After hearing what Song Xuan said, Yan Shu showed a hint of worry in his eyes.

It was Fan Zhongyan who took the initiative to ask:
"Twelfth Brother, can you please tell me how we can work together with government and business to ensure that the Samsung Lottery issue is completely under your control?"

"That's impossible." Song Xuan shook his head and refused:
"Whether it's me or Mr. Yan, we can only radiate to the seven counties of Yingtian Prefecture at most. The rest of the people will go to other places to carry out the work, and you will have no control over them at all."

Yan Shu nodded, that's right.

"So what I just said about collusion between officials and businessmen is that I colluded with the imperial court to bring this business under the court's control."

"After we fight for a while in Songcheng with other people who want to engage in this business, and this business flourishes everywhere, the court can naturally issue an order to impose heavy taxes on this industry."

"This will increase the cost for others to imitate it, and also help the court collect more taxes."

"If the court has money, it can also alleviate the redundant troops, redundant expenses, redundant officials, and the miserable lives of the people."

"This is what I call collusion between officials and businessmen."

"hiss."

Now it was Yan Shu and Fan Zhongyan's turn to look at Song Xuan in amazement.

They knew that Song Xuan had an excellent business acumen.

I thought I could come up with some strategy that would make them look at me with higher regard.

But no one expected that the solution he proposed at this time was not about how to attack the opponent and protect his huge profits.

But Song Twelve set his sights on the entire territory of the Song Dynasty. As long as anyone engaged in this business, the court would collect heavy taxes! This is not killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of your own.

He wanted to put everyone who wanted to sit at the table, treat them like a dish, and share it among them.

Everyone has to pay the price for his greed!

The market that I, Song Shier, have developed is not something that anyone can interfere with.

"Cough cough cough."

Yan Shu coughed a few times and asked tentatively:

"Twelfth brother, that's not what I meant just now."

"Think about it carefully. After all, it was you who came up with this money-making business. There's no need to be so radical."

Song Xuan knew that Yan Shu was unreliable in this matter, so he glanced at Fan Zhongyan beside him.

Fan Zhongyan was the only perfect man in the Song Dynasty who took the world as his responsibility.

After hearing what Song Xuan said just now, his scalp was tingling.

What kind of realm is this kind of person in?

Such a lucrative business, such a big plan.

It was for the Song Dynasty court.

It is also for the people of the world!

From a political perspective, Fan Zhongyan discovered over the years that Song Xuan was the first person who shared the same ideals with him.

As the saying goes, money is easy to get, but a true friend is hard to find.

"Twelfth brother has a big plan."

Fan Zhongyan first affirmed it, then stood up and walked around with some excitement.

"This matter has given me some time to think. Previously, I only thought of relying on the profits from Twelve Lang's shop to improve the academy's current predicament."

"But Shi Er Lang's plan makes me look narrow-minded."

"This move will be more profitable than raiding the gambling houses that are constantly banned. If they are all over the Song Dynasty,

"It will definitely increase the tax revenue for the imperial court, and it will also allow the common people to earn money to support their families by doing this job."

Fan Zhongyan naturally saw from Song Xuan the changes in the lives of the people he employed.

Even if the others are not as kind-hearted as Song Xuan, they can still solve the survival problems of some people.

This is equivalent to increasing the number of people doing work in disguise.

Yan Shu stared at the two men in amazement, discussing such a big thing.

The key point is that neither of these two people is currently an official of the Song Dynasty.

They are all potential officials.

"Don't be so whimsical, both of you."

Yan Shu sighed, "The plan is great, but when it comes to implementing it, I wonder how many complications will arise."

"It's good to make trouble!"

Song Xuan laughed:
"Actually, I think the best way for the court to deal with this is to create some unexpected problems. Otherwise, they would have no legitimate reason to do so and would just serve as a warning to others."

"Businesses that abide by the rules will naturally be fine and can earn some profit, but if someone breaks the law, there's even more reason to make them pay back all their money."

"That's a good idea. How can such a lucrative industry be taken over by others without the court taking a penny?"

Fan Zhongyan strongly agreed with Song Xuan's words.

"There's no rush to plan this matter. I'll report it to the court and await your notification."

"it is good."

Song Xuan and Fan Zhongyan both looked at Yan Shu.

Yan Shu responded silently and said nothing more.

Everyone has their own strengths.

Yan Shu was once very good at guessing the emperor's thoughts, helping him make appropriate decisions and keeping them secret.

But now Empress Dowager Liu does not need anyone else to help her make decisions, and the emperor’s words do not count.

Yan Shu's ability was of no use.

He is not very clear about business matters.

I thought it would be a win-win situation for everyone, but whether it was the wealthy businessmen he came into contact with or Song Xuan here.

They all have hidden daggers behind their smiles, and every dagger they take is bloody.

How can there be such a thing as a peaceful and harmonious life and a win-win situation?
Everyone wanted to eat the biggest and fattest piece of meat, and tried their best to push everyone else away from the table.

They can only become food on the table and don't even have the chance to sit at the table.

Yan Shu suddenly lost interest in talking, so he stood up and said goodbye.

Song Xuan sent them both downstairs.

Yan Shu saw his own shadow when he was young.

However, the years of living in the Tokyo party struggles and the contest between the emperor and the empress had long erased many of his thoughts.

It was not until he left Song Xuan's house that Yan Shu suddenly understood the words he had said when he and Song Xuan came to Songcheng together:
"I wanted to buy sweet-scented osmanthus and drink it with me, but it turned out to be different. I was a young man traveling."

Time has shaped him into this state, and Yan Shu has long been accustomed to this state.

He glanced back at Song Twelve's shop and finally disappeared into the crowd.

Fan Zhongyan's path was different from Yan Shu's, and he also watched Yan Shu go away.

"Mr. Yan still pursues the doctrine of the mean."

"pretty good."

Song Xuan stood on the steps:
“Everyone has their own comfort zone, and it’s hard to get out of it.”

Fan Zhongyan thought about Song Xuan's words for a while before nodding in agreement.

"Forget it. Just keep it for the academy first. I'll come back to you when I've spent all the money I have."

Song Xuan thought for a moment:
"Actually, Dean, I have another suggestion. Instead of leaving this money in your hands, why not put it in the Endless Treasure of Lingtai Temple and earn some interest?"

"Ok?"

Fan Zhongyan really knew that Song Xuan took people to Lingtai Temple for night study, but he was also a little confused about his purpose in making this suggestion.

After all, it is not to raise funds for the temple. Lingtai Temple has a lot of worshippers and does not need it.

Daxiangguo Temple in Tokyo City has long had this profit model.

It's usury.

He knows it.

"Is it because you all go there to study at night?"

"Yes."

Song Xuan still had a smile on his face:

"This way, Lingtai Temple will know that it's not that the academy is short of money, but that students are willing to study in its quiet place."

"You want to get money from Lingtai Temple?"

Fan Zhongyan didn't think that Song Xuan would give money to the Wujingzang of Lingtai Temple for no reason.

He still understood the principle that if you want to take it, you must first give it.

"In the future, if we want to compete with others in business, we will need financial support."

Song Xuan looked at Fan Zhongyan:
"It would be too ostentatious for me to take out the money myself, but I'll talk to the welcoming monk and establish some connections. Perhaps it will be useful in the future."

Fan Zhongyan tried to find out the reason behind Song Xuan's actions.

He knew that Song Xuan didn't want to say it too clearly, but he was still eyeing the endless treasures of Lingtai Temple.

"I'll think about this matter. You can go ahead and talk to me."

After Fan Zhongyan finished speaking, he didn't wait for Song Xuan to say goodbye, and he joined the crowd and ran towards the academy.

Song Xuan threw away his folding fan and glanced at the supervisor of the Imperial City Division that Gang Leader Cao had pointed out to him.

(End of this chapter)