Chapter 108: Tax Collection

After the salutes, firecrackers were set off, which lasted for a stick of incense. It can be seen how much importance the Ministry of Rites attached to this ceremony.

Then came the hanging ceremony, when a plaque three feet long and ten feet wide was carried out by sixteen guards. The plaque was carved from a whole piece of nanmu wood, and on it was inscribed by Song Yuzhu himself: Shangjing Station, three large characters.

The guards hung the plaque on the rivets prepared in advance, and the ceremony was completed.

The station gate opened and civil and military officials walked in in amazement. What came into view was a spacious and bright hall.

This hall is probably even more spacious than the Zhongzheng Hall where courts are held. On the snow-white walls hang several huge landscape paintings. The pictures are bright and lively, making people feel as if they are actually there.

Next to the painting was an inscription reading "A Thousand Mountains and Rivers". Qin Fengtu recognised at a glance that it was the handwriting of his good friend Zhang Wei. He had never expected that with his arrogant and conceited personality, he could actually paint such a picture for the emperor.

The waiting hall can accommodate thousands of people at the same time, and there are many long wooden chairs in the center for people waiting for the train to rest.

The floor of the hall is paved with cement, and the doors and windows around it are made of huge specially fired glazed tiles. When sunlight shines in from outside, you can see the mountains and grasslands in the distance.

Zhang Qikai whispered, "I heard that this station was designed by our Emperor himself?"

Xu Bing said proudly: "Your Majesty always has many novel ideas, it's not surprising."

Zhang Qikai sighed in his heart, otherwise he could become the emperor. When the new emperor ascended the throne, they, the old ministers of the previous dynasty, thought that this makeshift team might be disbanded at any time.

Who could have imagined that an emperor in his prime and a general in his twenties could actually bring the country back to life.

After passing through the hall, the back is where the train runs, this place is called the platform.

It was also the first time that Song Yuzhu saw a finished train. He had to say that the wisdom of the ancients was beyond his imagination. This train was almost the same as the steam locomotives of later generations, and was even more exquisite and beautiful than those made abroad.

The train is 10 feet high and 80 feet long, and the entire body is made of fine iron. On the black body, the words "Daqi Train" are painted in white paint, and a Qilin auspicious beast is welded on the locomotive, which means to ward off evil and danger.

The whole train looked so majestic and grand that it was beyond his imagination.

The train was equipped with glazed windows so that the driver could see clearly if there were any obstacles on the road ahead. The passenger carriages at the back were all equipped with tables and chairs made of fine rosewood for people to sit on.

The first trial run was driven by Shen Lun's apprentice Jiang Yida.

There were more than a dozen people from the scientific research department on the train, and many brave military officers also boarded the train to go for a stroll.

Originally, Song Yuzhu also wanted to give it a try, but was persuaded by Xu Bing and others.

It was the first time the train was running, and he didn’t know whether it was safe. He must not joke with his life. It would not be too late to take it again when he had the chance. So Song Yuzhu had to give up.

Following the Imperial Astronomical Observatory's call, "The auspicious time has arrived!"

Jiang Yida lit the boiler, white steam spewed out from the chimney above, a shrill whistle was heard, and the train slowly moved on the track, dragging its heavy wheels.

"It's moving, it's moving!" the ministers exclaimed, pointing at the train.

The train speed gradually increased, and the people on the train leaned out to wave goodbye to the people on the platform. When the train drove out of the platform, the people gathered outside saw this big guy for the first time.

Everyone exclaimed in amazement without exception: "Oh my God, what is this?"

“Without cows or horses, it just started running by itself!”

“Is this also the Emperor’s magical power?”

Some even ran after the train, creating a bustling crowd and a lively atmosphere.

The Bingmasi was afraid of causing trouble, so they quickly sent people to stop the people, and they finally managed to stop them.

Even until the train had gone far away, people were still standing there, unwilling to leave.

After the trial run, Song Yuzhu took the ministers back to the palace. If nothing unexpected happened, the people in the car would return at 3 p.m.

*

While everyone else on the train was cheering, Zheng Daan sat upright in his chair. His face no longer had the initial excitement and looked a little ugly.

As the train speeded up, Zheng Daan's face turned red. He grabbed the young man beside him and said, "Yang Ping, hurry up and find me a bucket!"

"Bucket?" Where is the bucket on the car? Yang Ping hurriedly ran to ask the officials of the Research Department where to find a wooden barrel that could hold things.

After searching for a long time, they finally brought over the iron bucket carrying coal. Zheng Da'an finally couldn't control himself anymore and vomited out all the steamed buns he had eaten in the morning. He didn't expect that he would get trainsick.

"General, are you okay?"

"No, wow...it's okay, wow..." It was a very difficult journey for him. He vomited for half an hour and almost vomited out his gallbladder.

He finally made it to the first stop, Gu'an County. The train stopped temporarily and two soldiers quickly helped him get off the train. Zheng Da'an covered his mouth and kept twisting his body. He would never ride on this iron train again in his life.

Compared to him, others didn't react that much. They sat on the train, chatting and enjoying the scenery along the way. They were so comfortable and happy.

Three hours later, the train arrived safely at Jizhou Station. On the platform, the Jizhou prefect and his subordinates had been waiting for a long time.

When the rumbling train pulled into the platform and finally stopped, everyone couldn't help crying with joy.

The trial run of Daqi’s first train was a perfect success!

*

On the second day, all the reports from the imperial court in Beijing were about trains.

Some merchants smelled the smell of profit. Usually, they used horse-drawn carriages to transport goods. 100 dan of goods required seven or eight horse-drawn carriages to transport. Not only was the speed slow, but people and horses also needed to eat, drink, defecate and urinate, and it also cost a lot of extra money. If they could use this train to transport goods, it would greatly save a lot of time and money.

But nowadays, trains can only be used by government officials, and there are no civilian trains. Merchants have no connections, so even if they want to send money, they have nowhere to send it.

Unexpectedly, the court suddenly introduced a new policy at this time - railway bidding.

The general content of the bidding was that the court selected qualified merchants to jointly build railways.

After the railway is built, they will be given dry shares of the railway. In other words, the businessmen paid money to build the railway, and after it is built, they not only have the right to use it, but also can get profits from it.

The reason why Song Yuzhu issued this order was that if the court alone were to build the railway, it would take an eternity, which would not only be a waste of time but also extremely expensive, and not all the money in the national treasury could be spent on this.

Secondly, the main purpose of building railways is to facilitate transportation for the people and merchants, so they might as well just put it into operation and complete the construction as soon as possible.

Once this bidding was launched, it attracted the attention of many big merchants from all over the country, mainly from Shanxi and Anhui.

Shanxi merchants have been very famous since ancient times. "Jinlu" says: The wealthy merchants in Pingyang, Ze and Lu are the best in the world, and one is not considered rich unless he has hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Due to the special geographical location of southern Shanxi, going out to do business has become a means of livelihood for local people. Merchants from Jinzhong are spread all over the country, and there was a popular saying in Shangjing: "Most of the big merchants in the capital are from Jinzhong."

In recent years, Daqi's commercial development has gradually matured and commercial competition has become increasingly fierce. In order to strengthen their own strength and safeguard their own interests, business organizations of Shanxi merchants began to emerge.

The president of the Shanxi Merchants Association was named Qiao Yaoguang. He was the first to make the decision to invest in railway construction.

After the train was opened, he took it once thanks to his relationship with the prefect of Jizhou.

This experience had a profound impact on him. When merchants transport goods, the only two things they care about are safety and speed, and trains happen to have both of these.

He has foreseen that in the future, when the whole country is connected by trains, the amount of goods transported every day will be immeasurable. If they don't seize the opportunity now, it will be too late for them to get a piece of the pie when others use the trains!

He quickly called together all the members of the Chamber of Commerce, and after discussing overnight, they decided to jointly invest 8 million taels of silver to participate in the bid for this construction!

Another acquaintance who shared the same idea as Qiao Yaoguang was Mr. Sun, the head of the Baoding SF Express Escort Agency.

Back then, his daughter was captured by Yang Yuanqing's men and taken to a military brothel camp, where she was subjected to inhuman persecution. If it weren't for Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao's help, she would have probably died in there.

After being rescued, Miss Sun did not remarry, nor did she give up on herself. After she recovered, she took off her red dress, changed into the clothes of the escort agency and followed her father on escort missions all over the country. Now, she is about to take over from Chief Escort Sun and become the new escort leader.

Both father and daughter were grateful for Song Yuzhu's kindness. When they heard that the imperial court wanted merchants to help build a railway, they directly took out three million taels of silver to help.

However, in this railway bidding, Jiangnan merchants did not make any comments. Since the fall of the Lin family, Jiangnan merchants have gone from being dominated by one family to being dominated by many.

These merchants were not united, and many of them were still resentful of the court for the Lin family's affairs. In addition, the southern part of China mainly relied on water transportation and did not value land transportation. Therefore, they were all waiting and watching this bidding. Even if someone wanted to participate, one person would not be able to do so.

They did not expect that it was precisely because of this abandonment that they missed the opportunity, resulting in the Jiangnan merchants being in a slump for more than three hundred years.

But that is a story for later. After five rounds of public selection, five businessmen finally got the qualification to build the railway. They jointly invested 25 million taels of silver to build a railway that runs through the north and south.

Daqi began a new round of large-scale steel-making era, and steel mills sprang up everywhere.

Song Yuzhu selected several places with rich iron ore reserves on the map and built seven or eight new steel mills, which increased employment for nearby residents and accelerated the construction of railways.

It is expected that within ten years, a railway connecting the east, south, west and north will be fully completed.

*

It is October again, and the whole country has begun to collect taxes. This is the first time that taxes have been collected after the tax law reform.

Song Yuzhu attached great importance to this. In order to prevent collusion between officials and businessmen in some areas, he made a special law that any official found to be mistaking farmers for businessmen would be dismissed, exiled and never employed again, and the superior official would be demoted by one level.

The morning court has been emphasizing this issue these days, and the new tax law must be fully implemented.

The officials of the imperial court were warned not to joke about their future and throw away their official hats for a few small things. At the same time, they were also asked to restrain their relatives and friends to avoid being implicated.

However, no matter how strict the imperial laws are, there are always people who cling to luck.

Changji County is a small county located in the northeast of Zhengzhou. The land here is fertile and the water and grass are abundant. Most of the local people make a living by farming.

Early this morning, a lot of people suddenly gathered at the entrance of the county government office, clamoring to see the county magistrate.

"Didn't they say that the Ding tax would be abolished this year? Why did they still collect Ding tax from us?"

"My father has been dead for two years, and I still have to pay money. It's said to be the first year's tax payment? What kind of world is this!"

Everyone gathered together, became angrier and angrier, and shouted for justice.

Soon, several people came out of the county government office, and the leader was the Changji County Magistrate Fu Bin. This man had a wretched appearance, a goatee, and a few lumps on his back. He twisted his beard and said, "What are you arguing about?"

The people did not dare to speak, only a man in a Confucian robe spoke up and said, "The court has exempted the people from the poll tax, why do you still want to collect it?"

Fu Bin asked, "Who are you? Why don't you kneel down when you see me?"

The master beside him whispered, "His name is Liu Changzhou, and he is a scholar."

Fu Bin sneered: "A mere scholar actually ran to the county government office to act wildly, arrest him!"

(End of this chapter)