State Bridge.

"So you are all liars. How come this Imperial Street has become a vegetable market......!"

"You have to compensate us for the shed."

"What kind of patrolmen are they? They are clearly a bunch of liars."

......

When the citizens heard that Imperial Street was going to be replaced by a vegetable market, they were immediately furious. This was simply like exchanging a Ferghana horse for a donkey. Such a reduction in configuration could only be described as inhumane.

pit!

This is truly a sinkhole!

Coupled with the rumors outside, the residents of Zhouqiao suddenly felt that they had been deceived.

"Everyone, be quiet! Be quiet!"

...

...

Zhang Fei raised his hands and shouted, "Everyone, please listen to me. I never said that you can't do business in the Imperial Street. I just want to check what you sell. Take the steamed cakes for example. If your craftsmanship is very good and the steamed cakes are very delicious, I will definitely let you do business in the Imperial Street.

But if it doesn’t have any special features and isn’t very tasty, you won’t be able to make a sale even if you go to the Imperial Street.”

"We don't care. You promised us the Imperial Street, so you have to give us the Imperial Street."

"That's right! You said that the government loved us, so they opened the Imperial Street to us to do business. How come it has been changed to a vegetable market now?"

......

No matter how Zhang Fei explained, the residents were still dissatisfied. They were very angry and kept pressing Zhang Fei.

Not far away stood a few people, they were Gu Ji, Shen Huaixiao, Cao Han and others.

This time they rushed to the scene and were not caught off guard by Zhang Fei again.

The reason is that this time Zhang Fei did not secretly mobilize the Divine Guards. There were many of their people in the police station, and they got the news quickly.

The scene before them was just as they had expected. This replacement was simply impossible. They never expected that Zhang Fei would actually set up a vegetable market. He was simply playing with people for fools.

It is easy to destroy anything but difficult to build it.

Everyone can demolish shanties and everyone can collect taxes, but the real challenge is how to resettle these people and how to make sure they have enough money to pay taxes.

This is the most difficult part of the mission.

"Just say that guy is a liar. The Imperial Street is so small that it would not be enough even if we occupied all of it."

"I want to see how that kid ends this time."

"Let's get some more people to join the trouble. It would be best if we beat up that brat. I'm willing to pay any amount of money. If the trouble gets bigger, I'll make sure that brat dies a horrible death this time."

Gu Ji said this while gritting his teeth.

Just as they were gloating, they suddenly saw a crowd rushing towards Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei exclaimed again, "Hey, you! What are you doing? Stop pushing!"

"The fighting...started." Li Zhan said excitedly.

Gu Ji waved his fists excitedly, "Beat... beat him hard, beat that brat to death."

However, the crowd that rushed forward did not raise their fists, but instead raised their right hands, "Let me do it! Let me do it! I'm more diligent."

"I was here first, recruit me! Recruit me!"

"My wife is good at cooking!"

......

What's going on?

You...you guys hit him! Hit him!

What are you yelling about?

Gu Ji and the others were all confused. What on earth were they doing?

The next scene made them even more dumbfounded.

The people who were angry just now suddenly lined up in a long queue in front of the long table next to them.

Zhang Fei sat aside and drank tea to moisten his throat.

this....

......

The same scene also happened in the residential area east of the Guanyin Temple.

"Is it true? I can get two kan of money every month?"

A middle-aged man asked excitedly.

The patrolman in charge of registration said, "You will have to sign a contract when the time comes. I can't cheat you. It's 24 strings of cash per year, six days of work and one day of rest. And you can also sell the feces you get. We calculated that if we work hard, we can get at least 26 or 27 strings of cash per year."

As he spoke, he clapped his hands to the side and said, "Look, this is the sample contract."

The middle-aged man looked aside and said, "I can't read."

Suddenly, I saw an old man beside me also looking at the model, so I couldn't help asking, "Old man, do you know it?"

The old man smiled and nodded: "It is written just as he just said."

The patrolman was so busy that he didn't care about it. He shouted to the team, "I'm responsible for cleaning the streets. Those who want to make police uniforms should take their own clothes to the next door. The pay here is not high and it's quite tiring. If you have work to do, don't come and join us. Leave it to the people who have no livelihood for the time being."

The old man asked the patrolman again: "Although the money is not much, it will cost a lot to recruit so many people!"

The patrolman replied perfunctorily: "We are only responsible for executing orders. We are not responsible for other things. Line up! Don't squeeze. This job is not based on first come first served. We will make a decision based on your situation."

After seeing this, the old gentleman did not bother him any more. He put his hands behind his back and walked slowly towards a big willow tree on the street, muttering to himself as if he was calculating something.

There was an old man standing under the willow tree, it was Lu Gongzhe, and this old gentleman was naturally Sima Guang.

Seeing Sima Guang coming, Lu Gong asked, "How is it?"

Sima Guang waved his hand and said, "It's hard to calculate right now, but they have to build so many vegetable markets, and make new uniforms for the police. In addition, the cleaning work has to be done by hired people. Add all these together, I'm afraid it will be completely spent, with nothing left."

Lu Gong smiled and said, "Before, we thought Zhang San had some tricks to appease these people, but in the end, it's all about money!"

Sima Guang smiled and sighed: "The world is bustling with people because of profit. The people are not stupid. If they don't show real money, who will believe them?"

Of course they were aware of the replacement problem, and were curious about what clever solution Zhang Fei would come up with to solve this difficult problem. Unexpectedly, they ended up using money to appease him.

Lu Gongzhe suddenly frowned and said, "In fact, what Zhang San did is very similar to Wang Jiefu's idea of ​​​​Yaqianyi. They both intend to collect taxes from the rich and then hire the poor to work. Now that Zhang San can achieve such success, maybe Wang Jiefu can also succeed."

Now he still stands in the middle, because Sima Junshi and Wang Jiefu are both his good friends, and he still hopes that the two will not be so confrontational.

"no the same!"

Sima Guang waved his hands and said, "The two are completely different. If Wang Jiefu could be the same as Zhang San, then I would not oppose him."

Lu Gong then asked, "What do you mean?"

Sima Guang said: "Zhang San's goal is to clarify the law, while Wang Jiefu's ultimate goal is to make money. The two cannot be confused."

Lu Gong said awkwardly: "If Wang Jiefu wanted to make money, he would not be willing to spend money to hire servants in front of the yamen."

Sima Guang said: "Although Wang Jiefu's new law has not yet been promulgated, I also know something about it. He will pay to hire people, but he does not only take money from the rich to hire the poor. Ordinary people also have to pay to be exempted from service.

As the Prime Minister, you should be able to calculate this account better than me. Zhang Fei's street encroachment tax is calculated according to the size of the land. The land occupied by a powerful person can be equivalent to that of hundreds of ordinary people. He can receive more money from the powerful people. However, Wang Jiefu's exemption tax is calculated based on the number of households. But how much can all the rich people in the world pay together?

The money will ultimately come from the people. If the patrolmen have to pay the tax, then they are the ones who really pay for it. They have some extra money at home, but that’s all.”

Lu Gong shook his head and said, "You are not fair to Wang Jiefu. Wang Jiefu is trying to improve the finances, and Zhang San has no such responsibility."

Sima Guang immediately said, "How is it unfair? Didn't Zhang San's reform improve the finances? Each of these expenditures was spent on the right things, and the money was originally to be paid by the court."

Lu Gongzhu said: "But the financial expenditure on the General Police Department has not been reduced."

Sima Guang said: "But the efficiency of the General Police Office is far better than that of the Inspection Office. Without increasing financial expenditure, this matter is done better, which can be regarded as improving finances!"

Lu Gong laughed and said, "It seems that Junshi is very satisfied with this rectification."

Sima Guang nodded and smiled, "I am indeed very satisfied. This is much better than I imagined. If the government uses Zhang San to reform, I will definitely support it. It is much better than Wang Jiefu."

This is totally ridiculous and too insulting to Wang Jiefu.

Lu Gong shook his head and said, "Don't say that for now. Don't be embarrassed if Wang Jiefu does something bad to you later."

Sima Guang sneered, "Of course he would blush, but not because of shame, but because he was arguing with him. I'll leave it at that today. His idea of ​​not raising taxes on the people and making the country rich is simply nonsense and a fraud. He is just like Sang Hongyang. The court is taking on too much and relying on its authority to make money. Who can make more money than the court? Isn't this just competing with the people for profit?"

It is the same as taking money from the rich and powerful, but Zhang San relied on the law and took every penny legally. He did not say that the General Police Station went to the Imperial Street to set up a stall and earned all the money for himself. "

Lu Gong laughed and said, "You are blushing now."

Sima Guang said, "That was also your fault. Why did you mention Wang Jiefu when everything was fine?"

He was in a good mood today and got a great bargain for free.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Lu Gong knew that Sima Guang was also very stubborn. Once he made up his mind, it was difficult for him to change. He was actually the same as Wang Anshi. He said, "Just consider it my fault. I'll treat you at noon today. Let's find a tavern to rest for a while."

Sima Guang said: "Let's go look somewhere else."

But the situation is basically the same everywhere, with noise first and then active participation.

Although the change of Yujie to a vegetable market is indeed a bit excessive.

But then the General Police Department offered so many livelihood measures to appease these people. After all, the shacks that were demolished only accounted for a small part of the residential area.

It doesn't mean that every household has built a shack on the street.

Nowadays, these livelihoods can allow more people to participate. For example, the materials for police uniforms are all provided by the General Police Station, and people only need to pay the labor cost.

The labor fee for one set is one guanqian, provided that your needlework is good enough.

The key point is that all the supporting facilities of the vegetable market are under the responsibility of the General Police Station. The stone benches and stone tables will be built, and they only need to do business.

When the powerful officials in the court saw this situation, they were completely convinced and quickly asked their servants to pay the taxes.

Judging from the attitude of the General Police Station, if it is not paid, they will really come to demolish it.

If it is demolished, they will suffer a huge loss.

Because the housing prices are high!

Just like Chunfeng Shili, the current regulations require that half of it be demolished. If calculated based on the market price, at least 1,500 strings of cash would have to be demolished and taken away.

But if you don't demolish it and pay taxes instead, it will be more than 30 strings of cash per year, which can be paid for many years.

Who can guarantee that the law will be enforced in this way every year?

But then again, many powerful people have to pay hundreds of strings of coins, and they have to pay it every year. Although they are very rich, they have always made money and never lost money, so they still feel unhappy.

The court asked me for money.

How can that be?

That's too much.

"Superintendent Cao."

"Marshal Ma, Imperial Censor Li."

Cao Ping looked back and saw Wang Chao and Li Zhan approaching, and he saluted slightly.

Li Zhan said bluntly: "Superintendent Cao, what you are doing is not in accordance with the rules. You are using our money to achieve your own political achievements. If all of us censors do the same, I think you will not have an easy time either."

The implication is that everyone has a dirty trick, and if you break the window paper, both sides will suffer.

Wang Chao also said: "I don't understand why you do this. Your family has to pay money, and everyone eats from the same pot. If you smash the pot and sell the iron, who will be willing to associate with your Cao family in the future?"

Cao Ping snorted, "You can't blame me for this. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves. You brought this upon yourselves."

Li Zhan wondered, "Why blame us?"

Cao commented: "If you hadn't sent Zhang San to serve in the military patrol station, would so many things have happened?"

Wang Chao argued: "He is just a government official. If you hadn't supported him from behind, would he have caused so much trouble?"

"I support him?"

Cao Ping laughed, "It's because of him that I became the chief superintendent. The people who really supported him were Wang Jiefu and Sima Junshi, and even the government supported him. Can't you see that? What else can I do? Now I have so much resentment that I have nowhere to vent it, and you still blame me. It's really unreasonable."

Wang Chao and Li Zhan looked at each other.

The two had nothing to say.

......

Kaifeng Prefecture.

"Li Tongpan, please don't tease me. I calculated that I have to serve until at least the twelfth lunar month, and autumn hasn't even passed yet. How can I go home? I don't believe that if I leave, I might be considered a shirker."

Zhang Fei shook his head depressedly.

Who is kidding who? Li Kai said hurriedly: "What you have done in the past two months is equivalent to what others have done in twenty years."

Zhang Fei chuckled and said, "I'm working hard."

“Try hard! Try hard!”

Li Kai nodded repeatedly: "I have never seen a yamen servant as hard-working as you in my life. What are you trying to achieve?"

Zhang Fei said: "I don't have any intentions, I... I just don't want to disappoint you all. At the beginning, I wanted to hire someone to serve in my place, but you wouldn't let me, saying that the court needed my special talents. So I will do my best, isn't this what you expect?"

Li Kai suddenly felt like he had no desire to live.

Let me tell you, who made you take it seriously?

Zhang Fei's eyes turned, "President Li, you see, we work so hard, when we finish our service, can Kaifeng Prefecture quickly prepare a plaque for us, saying that we are the most hardworking government officials, so that we can set an example for future generations."

Li Kaixin thought, if all the yamen servants acted like you, I wouldn't be able to do this job! He hurriedly said, "Don't wait, today is the day."

As he spoke, he handed him an official document and said, "This is an official document from Kaifeng Prefecture. As an ear writer, you should be able to understand it. From today on, you are no longer a yamen servant."

Zhang Fei didn't answer, "No! I...I haven't even put on my new police uniform yet."

"What are you wearing? Go back to your office." Li Kai threw the document to him directly.

The longer you stay, the more sleep we will suffer.

God knows what tricks you have up your sleeve.

Zhang Fei picked up the document and said, "President Li, you are not fair. I didn't want to come at first, but you forced me to come. I just started and was enjoying it, but you asked me to go home. You are really bullying me."

"roll!"