As the saying goes, people die for money and birds die for food.

Although the forces behind Wei Yingfang and others have asked the defendants to plead guilty and accept punishment, that is only a stopgap measure for them. They only want to stop the public trial in the imperial court to prevent things from reaching an irreversible point. Because if the commotion gets too big, even if the procuratorate wants to let them off, it may be powerless to do so.

But they still wanted to use this half day to try again to see if they could pay less fine. After all, this huge sum of money was really a loss to them. However, Erbi could no longer give them any support, because if they continued to appeal, the procuratorate would inevitably intervene, which was what they were most worried about.

So they can only find ways to find connections.

It makes no difference.

The tax commissioner was not familiar with anyone. The tax officer Chen Ming was a minor clerk from the inner treasury. No official in the court knew him. After working for a long time, they didn't know where to start. The tax commissioner's attitude was very firm. It was impossible. In the end, they could only give up.

They did not have the courage to resist taxes violently. After all, they were well aware of what the Commissioner of Taxation had done in the capital.

If you dare to resist violently, the tax commissioner will really dare to collect taxes violently. No matter whether you are a civil servant, a military general, or even a member of the royal family, no one wants to use his or her small farm to try out the siege vehicle.

Although some generals of the Yongxing Army are also implicated, the soldiers in the barracks are currently very supportive of the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, because they are the guarantee of military pay. In addition, last time a group of people wanted to go against the public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, they were directly laid off, so this time they don't even dare to show up.

As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood.

...

...

And then again, this is not about confiscating their homes, it's just about their income last year.

Of course, the bottom line is that the emperor is behind the tax commissioner. If you want to fight against the tax commissioner, you must occupy the moral high ground, or be right. But if you are in the wrong and still resist paying, then you will definitely end up dead.

They had never thought of doing this. Initially, they were just betting that the tax commissioner would not be able to check their accounts because these were very private matters. They never imagined that the tax commissioner would actually send people to steal their accounts and incite their accountants to rebel.

Of course, there are definitely more than 130 people who evade taxes. Some people are still hoping for the best and believe that the tax commissioner is making an example of them.

So the next day, before dawn, these people ran to the Taxation Bureau and squatted there.

But the result made them very disappointed.

The scene that happened a few days ago was repeated again. Once again, fully armed tax police escorted three large boxes towards the direction of the imperial court.

Oh my god!

It’s not over yet!

These big landlords who were waiting in ambush could no longer remain calm, and rushed forward directly. Although they were blocked outside by the tax police, they still begged for mercy from Chen Ming: "Tax Collector Chen, I know I was wrong. I have already found someone to calculate the taxes. I am willing to turn myself in. Please let us go."

"Tax Collector Chen, I will never evade taxes again. We will pay taxes, we will pay taxes immediately, we will never dare to do it again."

Dignity and face were all thrown out the window, and many people actually cried. The five-fold punishment was already unacceptable to them, and they might also face investigations by the Tax Commissioner.

You have to know that the group of people yesterday all had very strong connections. Those people were able to escape and only paid a fine, but it doesn’t mean that they can escape as well!

Chen Ming didn't want to pay attention to them at first, but then there were too many people crying. If this continued, it would probably take until the evening to reach the Taxation Department. Chen Ming could only say to them, "It will take some time for the Royal Court to review the evidence. If you pay the taxes and fines during this period, we can withdraw the lawsuit."

"Okay, okay, okay. Once the tax is calculated, we will pay the tax and fine right away. But...but can the fine be reduced?"

"If you surrender yourself, we can give you a lighter sentence."

"Thank you! Thank you!"

"Thank you, Tax Commissioner, for your mercy."

Just this "lenient treatment" made these old foxes so grateful that they almost knelt down to Chen Ming.

How shameless!

The only martial arts in the world that cannot be defeated is speed!

The tax commissioner did not give them any time to think of countermeasures and worked non-stop, which directly caused these big landowners to completely collapse. They dared not gamble again that their names were not in the box.

The key point is that Chen Ming has remained very calm so far. You can surrender yourself, but I still have to sue. This can only mean one thing, that is, they really have enough evidence in their hands.

If you don't surrender yourself, you will definitely not be able to escape.

As a result, all the major bookstores in front of the Imperial Court are packed today.

Although they had no shortage of people to settle accounts with, this involved legal issues, so they could only go to Erbi.

Li's Bookstore!

"No, no, no, last May, I secretly sold it. Don't worry about it. Anyway, the income is 500 strings of cash. And more!"

A wealthy man was standing there patting his head and muttering to himself, while an accountant next to him was busy recording things.

"Wait a minute!"

Li Min said embarrassedly: "Liu Yuanwai, why don't you just take out the account? No matter what is on it, we will keep it confidential for you. Otherwise, I won't be able to work in this industry. It's hard to remember and easy to make mistakes if you add this and that."

Mr. Liu was about to cry but had no tears: "I didn't keep accounts at that time in order to avoid taxes. Now, the tax commissioner has kept accounts for me. Ouch!"

Li Min almost laughed, "Then don't worry, Mr. Liu. Ask someone close to you to help you think about it. That way it will be easier to be sure."

Mr. Liu immediately tensed up and said, "Can we still trust those people? You were there during the trial yesterday. They are so ungrateful and heartless."

After what happened yesterday, these people no longer trust their servants and sleep with their eyes open.

Life is so hard these days.

Li Min said: "But you are turning yourself in now, and this is what the tax commissioner wants to see. Even if there are those treacherous villains around you, you don't have to worry too much."

"That's true."

Lu's Bookstore.

"Mr. Qin, if you calculate it, it's only about 1,000 guan, and the tax is only 150 guan. Why did you take the risk in the first place?"

Lu Bangxing said to Mr. Qin with a puzzled look on his face.

Mr. Qin was hesitant.

Lu Bangxing asked again: "Mr. Qin, do you want to gamble again?"

"How dare I do that!"

Mr. Qin said timidly, "Isn't there still one box left to fill in?"

Lu Bangxing looked down and saw that there was really only one box, which was "other income". He then looked at Mr. Qin.

Mr. Qin said, "Is there no need to specify where this comes from?"

Lu Bangxing nodded and said, "Yes."

Mr. Qin asked again: "Then will they ask?"

Lu Bangxing shook his head and said, "Probably not, because many people have filled in this column, but the tax commissioner never asked."

Qin Yuanwai said, "You can fill in 8,300 strings of cash here."

Lu Bangxing immediately took a breath of cold air.

Mr. Qin said, "You fill it out!"

"Ah? Oh, yes."

Lu Bangxing wiped his sweat and thought, it is rare that the illegal income is higher than the legal income! What kind of shameful business does he have?

Of course, he also thought about it in his mind, but he would not ask too much. After all, the tax commissioner deliberately created this column to cover it up.

At this time, Chen Ming had already thrown several boxes of evidence to the imperial court, a total of one hundred and four.

"I don't think these boxes of evidence need to be examined." Cai Jing suddenly asked.

Shangguan Jun asked curiously, "Why?"

Cai Jing said, "Go and see in front of the gate. The big landlords are lining up to find those who calculate taxes. Their goal is to surrender to the tax bureau before the court opens. Maybe we have just finished reviewing the evidence and these 140 people have surrendered."

Several people looked at Zhang Fei at the same time.

Zhang Fei said, "What are you looking at me for? What if these people don't turn themselves in? Should we all resign?"

".!"

Cai Bian hurriedly explained: "That is not what the student meant. I just regret that if the trial is not held, we will not be able to learn anything from the teacher."

Zhang Fei sighed: "That's true. Who would have thought that they were so weak and defenseless?"

Shangguan Jun said: "How can we resist this? The tax bureau has irrefutable evidence."

Zhang Fei said: "In fact, they can still resist, but they didn't think of letting Erbi plead innocent beforehand, which caught them off guard. If this continues, Ye Zuqia may not come back."

At this time, Li Si came to the door and whispered something in Zhang Fei's ear.

"I see!"

Zhang Fei said to Cai Bian and the others, "You guys check first. I need to take care of something."

"yes."

Wait until Zhang Fei leaves.

Cai Bian asked, "Should we investigate seriously?"

Cai Jing said: "Of course I will check. The teacher has already given the order."

Cai Bian looked at Cai Jing suspiciously, "Brother, when did you become so diligent?"

Before Cai Jing could speak, Shangguan Jun suddenly said with a smile: "Your brother wants to see who else is evading taxes."

Cai Jing's eyes flashed with embarrassment, but he said, "So what? Knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in every battle. Understanding these people will be of great benefit to the imperial court!"

Cai Bian nodded and said, "Brother, what you said does make sense. Let's check it out."

Shangguan Jun suddenly asked, "Should we call some students over?"

Cai Jing was startled and said hurriedly: "Well, let's wait for the teacher to make the decision."

In a room in the backyard.

"Mr. Yuan came earlier than I expected!" Zhang Fei said with a smile.

Yuan Jiang glared at him and said, "How dare you laugh, kid? You didn't mention the reform of the liquor monopoly system to me before."

Zhang Fei laughed and said, "We have cooperated so many times. This time we are just repeating the old tricks. There is no need to inform you in advance. Facts have also proved that we cooperate very well."

"Stop!"

Yuan Jiang raised his hand and said seriously, "You didn't tell me in advance and I know what to do. These are two different things. You must explain it clearly."

Zhang Fei said helplessly: "If this was something I had planned in advance, I would of course inform Master Yuan first, but this is really just an accident."

Yuan Jiang frowned and asked, "Really?"

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Although I know the situation of the Taxation Department, I don't know how they will deal with it. Moreover, there is another key link here, that is the Procuratorate. If the Procuratorate had not intervened strongly, this result would not have happened.

I had not discussed this with the procuratorate before. It was Fang Erbi who came to me first. During the discussion, they raised these questions, and then Chief Prosecutor Su and I thought of this.”

"I'll trust you for once." Yuan Jiang looked at Zhang Fei and saw that he didn't seem to be lying. He also knew Su Zhe's character, so he asked, "Do you have a solution?"

Zhang Fei asked in return: "What does Scholar Yuan think of this?"

Yuan Jiang stroked his beard and said, "To be honest, I discussed this matter with Prefect Cai all night last night. Since we have to cooperate with the Taxation Department to collect taxes, we can only open up further and allow more people to have the right to brew wine. Otherwise, it will be difficult to solve this problem."

Now the government mainly controls the brewing of most of the koji. Winemakers must purchase koji from the government to make wine. If they brew koji privately, it is considered bootleg liquor.

However, how could the villagers afford the government’s distiller’s yeast?

In order to deal with this, the government gave some big restaurants the power to brew koji through purchasing, using merchants' means to make up for this. However, there were only five restaurants in Hezhong Prefecture that had the power to brew koji, and they were all monopolized. Because if you want to buy the power to brew koji, it costs a lot of money, and usually several restaurants pool their money to buy it. The surrounding villagers can afford it, but for those who are a little further away, they have to pay for transportation, and the cost is too high, so they can't afford it either.

After all, this is not an era of urbanization, and the people are very scattered.

The government usually turns a blind eye to this, and only when it is really short of money will it arrest these people and extort them.

But it is different now. The public security, procuratorial and judicial organs have raised the banner of the rule of law. You cannot turn a blind eye to such illegal acts.

The only way to improve the system in this regard is to either allow big winemakers to sell wine koji in the countryside. However, if it is too far, the big winemakers will suffer losses and will not be willing to do so. The second way is to allow rural households to brew wine and then collect taxes from it, because the existence of the Tax Commissioner can make this possible.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Actually, I think so too."

Yuan Jiang was apprehensive again and said, "But liquor tax is an important source of fiscal revenue, and this cannot be done lightly. If it is relaxed, is the tax bureau sure it can collect the money?"

Wine drinking became a popular trend in the Northern Song Dynasty, and the government also had some credit for this. The more people drank, the higher the fiscal revenue. The liquor tax was a key source of fiscal revenue, and it could even be said that it was no less than the agricultural tax. Although the agricultural tax was high, the cost was also high.

In fact, it is not impossible to release it, but are you sure you can collect all the money?

No matter how you change it, at least you have to ensure that income from this aspect does not decrease.

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "I think it's okay. The reason is just as what Yuan Xueshi said, the wine tax is very important.

Yuan Jiang nodded and asked, "What do you think about this? How should we change it?"

Zhang Fei said: "I think we still have to make changes based on Mr. Wang's new policy."

"What do you mean?" Yuan Jiang asked hurriedly.

He had not thought about this, because Wang Anshi's reform did not involve this aspect for the time being.

Zhang Fei said: "Use the power of the Changping Division to directly engage in the winemaking business."

Yuan Jiang said: "Now the imperial court is also engaged in the wine making business."

"No!"

Zhang Fei shook his head and said, "What I mean is that based on the complete liberalization, the court has entered into the winemaking business."

Yuan Jiang frowned and said, "I don't quite understand this."

Zhang Fei said: "The court can choose to cooperate with the best brewers of koji on the market, and buy shares in their wineries through the Hezhong Prefecture Jieku Shop. Then, completely liberalize the brewing of koji and brewing of wine, and also liberalize the regional sale of wine, so that merchants can make money based on their strength.

However, in order to ensure government control, the government can set up a wine-making and selling qualification certificate. If you want to sell wine abroad, you must obtain this certificate. If you have this certificate, the government will guarantee it. Then the evaluation conditions are very simple. First, determine how many stoves there are. If there is only one stove, it is personal winemaking, not a commercial behavior. Then determine how many stoves are required for commercial winemaking. At the same time, the quality of the wine and the stability of the taste are also considered to control the wine market.

This also provides a legal basis for rural households to brew alcohol. Whether it is illegal alcohol sales can be assessed based on the stove. If he only has one stove, even if he sells alcohol, it is not illegal alcohol sales, and this amount of money will not have an impact on the finances. "

Yuan Jiang asked: "In this case, are you sure the court will gain more?"

"Sure."

Zhang Fei nodded and said, "First of all, if we do this, everyone will compete for the market based on their strength. Then the few wineries that cooperate with the court will definitely be able to take up most of the wine market, and the court will make a profit here.

At the same time, they have to pay taxes. Of course, the government also has to pay taxes, which makes another profit. Nowadays, due to the division of regions by the court to avoid competition, the wine market is relatively sluggish, but private liquor is more active. Once it is liberalized, it will definitely stimulate the wine market. According to the new tax law, the tax revenue generated will only be more. "

Yuan Jiang nodded slightly, "But can the tax department find out?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "As long as there is a bonus incentive, we will definitely be able to find evidence, and it will be easier to investigate."

Yuan Jiang asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Fei said: "The most powerful wineries cooperate with the government, so every account must be recorded, and the tax commissioner will naturally have a way to get the accounts.

At the same time, if other wineries want to compete with these companies, they must also cooperate with others. There are currently contract rules, which means that they must also standardize their accounts. Otherwise, if a dispute arises, they may be the ones who suffer.

This also provides sufficient evidence for the tax commissioner. As for those small wine dealers, the tax commissioner will also conduct random inspections on them. As long as a few are caught, they will not dare to evade taxes easily. "

Yuan Jiang nodded slightly.

Zhang Fei added: "However, I suggest that the government only invest and supervise the accounts, but not interfere with operations."

Yuan Jiang asked: "Why is this?"

Zhang Fei said: "Because according to the new policy, it is about making money through business, but if it is controlled by the government, there may be conflicts of interest, because there are national interests and personal interests of officials, and corruption often arises from this.

Businessmen are different. They are there to make money. If businessmen make more money, the government will naturally make more money. However, the government only needs to supervise the accounts, which can also prevent corruption. So I suggest that the government only needs to control 30% or 40%, and the government should not obtain the operating rights anyway. "

Yuan Jiang asked: "What about the coal mine?"

Zhang Fei said: "It's the same. It's also cooperation with merchants. The court can take out 60% of the share for buying. This can not only ensure that the government has direct income, but also guarantee tax revenue, and those big merchants can also get a share. If the government takes it all for itself, they will definitely be unwilling and try to sabotage it. Over time, it will return to the original state.

In fact, whether it is alcohol or coal, if the government does it on its own, corruption will definitely breed, and it will be difficult for the tax commissioner to do anything, because the government does not have to pay taxes on its own business, but if it cooperates with merchants in this way, it must pay taxes. "

"I know what to do now."

Yuan Jiang nodded thoughtfully, but thought to himself, if it's so simple, why can't I think of it? Could it be... Yes, everything he said was based on the public security, procuratorial and judicial authorities.

If there were no public security, procuratorial and judicial organs, and no principle of contract, the government would still be able to dominate even if it held 10% of the shares, and merchants would probably be reluctant to cooperate with the government. It is precisely because of the existence of public security, procuratorial and judicial organs that merchants do not need to fear the government. When merchants cooperate in doing business, if problems arise, they can simply sue the government in court. Haven't they sued the government enough in the past one or two years?

Yuan Jiang suddenly seemed to remember something, "Oh, right! I heard that the tax commissioner will take 70% of the fine?"

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "Master Yuan, don't be jealous of these things. Only when there is a big reward can there be a brave man. The tax commissioner was able to find so much evidence just by using money. There are no other tricks."

Yuan Jiang's face flushed, "I know that, but from what I've seen so far, it seems like there are quite a few!"

I did some calculations yesterday and found that the fines collected by the Tax Commissioner may be more than the taxes paid. This is a bit too exaggerated!

Zhang Fei smiled and said, "But this is what they deserve."

Yuan Jiang nodded.

He was just asking, he had no power to touch the money because the emperor was above the Commissioner of Taxation.

It's not just Yuan Jiang who is jealous, almost everyone is jealous.

Nowadays, the Commissioner of Taxation is making a fortune every day, even more than a fortune. In the past few days, he has seen groups of bodyguards with knives rushing to the Commissioner of Taxation carrying boxes of copper coins.

Because their masters are detained in the Taxation Department, they cannot release the people unless the money is in place.

This really has reached the point where it goes on day and night.

With the paid help of the Imperial Court, the Procuratorate, the Police Station, and major bookstores, the Commissioner of Taxation arranged fifteen tax collection points in the city. Each point had three groups of accountants who took turns to check the tax. Even late at night, the fifteen tax collection points were still brightly lit.

Second watch.

But I saw a group of old men standing in front of the imperial court, looking forward to it.

After a while, I heard a creaking sound and saw the door slowly open.

Those wealthy people who were usually arrogant and domineering, at this moment, walked out with their heads down, hunched backs, supporting each other, and taking staggering steps.

Those waiting outside stepped forward immediately.

"master!"

“Daddy!”

"grandfather!"

"Grandson, I. I'm still alive?"

"Grandpa, are you okay?"

"I'm so scared, so scared. Woo woo woo!"

When they saw their relatives, they could no longer hold back and burst into tears.

With their strength and background, it is really the case that either nothing happens, or if something happens, the whole family may be killed, so they are really living in fear all day long!

After all the 132 wealthy men were released, the next wave of surrender came.

For this wave, the tax commissioner will look at the amount of tax evasion, and generally impose a fine of one to three times the amount, because the truly super-rich are placed in the first batch, and these big fish cannot be missed.

This phenomenon lasted for a month and a half before it finally ended.

The main thing is to count money. The taxes they have to pay are too much and too difficult to count. The salt notes can't fill the hole at all, and most of them are copper coins.

My hands are shaking from counting the money.

Royal Court.

All the officials of Hezhong Prefecture gathered and looked at Chen Ming with envy and resentment!

Chen Ming said bluntly: "So far, our tax department has found about 530,000 guan of tax evasion, and a total of 1.2 million guan of fines have been imposed."

Everyone present gasped.

The fines are higher than the taxes.

Damn it!

This is even more cruel than their exorbitant taxes and levies!

key!

This is all our money!

Wei Yingfang suppressed his anger and said, "I wonder how the tax commissioner plans to deal with these fines?"

Chen Ming said: "We will pay 30% of it together with the tax according to the rules, and the rest will go to our tax department's finance department."

"Does that mean your tax commissioner wants to take away 800,000 strings of cash?"

"Yes."

Chen Mingdao.

“How can this be possible?”

Wei Yingfang was not convinced.

Chen Ming looked at him and asked, "Can Judge Wei make the decision on whether this is possible or not?"

"you?"

Wei Yingfang glared at him, then looked at Cai Yanqing and Yuan Jiang.

Cai Yanqing also felt that it was a bit too much and coughed lightly: "Isn't this a bit too much?"

Su Che also nodded slightly.

A government office took away 800,000 strings of cash. This is simply...!

It's outrageous!

At least this situation has never happened in the Song Dynasty.

Chen Ming said as a matter of course: "Not much at all, because if the tax department's finances are reduced, tax revenue may also decrease accordingly."

Cai Yanqing smiled awkwardly.

Wei Yingfang was dissatisfied and said, "Don't think that you are the only ones in the world who collect taxes."

Chen Ming said: "I also want to know why Hezhong Prefecture only collected such a small amount of tax in the past."

".!"

Direct critical hit!

This time, none of the wealthy and powerful people in Hezhong Prefecture escaped. They controlled nearly two-thirds of the wealth in Hezhong Prefecture, so the tax would of course be very terrifying.

The officials of Hezhong Prefecture remained silent, and they couldn't help but wonder in their hearts, what will the government think when the tax report is submitted? Will they think that we are incompetent?

After seeing this, Zhang Fei said, "Okay, since they have all surrendered themselves and paid the taxes, the Royal Court will also drop their lawsuit."

Su Che said: "Our procuratorate will still reserve the right to prosecute them until the government improves the relevant system."

Yuan Jiang nodded and said, "We will make adjustments as soon as possible."

After saying that, he glared at Wei Yingfang and others fiercely and said, This is all for you!

Wei Yingfang and his men not only lost their wife, but also their soldiers!

After the accounts were settled, Yuan Jiang and his men left. In fact, they were quite happy as they could earn an extra one million strings of cash in tax revenue just by doing nothing. With such achievements, who else can compare to them?

Chen Ming was not in a hurry to leave. He had to stay and talk to the royal court about withdrawing the lawsuit. In fact, these things were done by Qiu Zhengwen and Cai Jing, while he talked to Zhang Fei about how to divide the spoils.

Zhang Fei had already made arrangements for this matter.

"You can deposit all the tax bureau's finances into the Ma's Treasury Store. I have already set up a group of secret depositors there for you. You can just give them your savings books. They can go to the Ma's Treasury Store to collect the money themselves, including the tax police."

"Will this expose our people?"

"No."

Zhang Fei said: "I specially arranged people to account for those depositors, and they are all counted as flying money from the border states."

"I see."

(End of this chapter)