Yu Liang's passionate accusation, or complaint against the Shipping Company, with his loud voice, gesticulation and excited expression, immediately resonated with all the businessmen present.
For a moment, everyone was talking about it.
The wealthy businessmen present were all leaders in their industries and they quickly understood the problem.
It means that you have monopolized the buying, selling and bargaining links in your hands, and we businessmen are the meat on your chopping board. What’s the point of this?
Old ministers such as Han Qi, Fu Bi, and Wen Yanbo also nodded frequently.
The officials of the Northern Song Dynasty were also very clear about how business operated.
Wang Anshi just smiled coldly and said two words lightly, "You deserve it!"
Zhao Xu, who was sitting in the inner hall, saw everyone's strong reaction and couldn't help but say to Liu Zhao, "This only affects the merchants. It's better to let the imperial court make the money than to let the merchants make it. What's wrong with the Shipping Department?"
Liu Zhao was a little confused.
How can I answer you when you have spoken so rudely?
...
...
I just want to say that I don’t know either.
"Silence! Silence!"
Xu Zun, who was presiding over the meeting, knocked the gavel a few times.
Fortunately, the people outside were all wealthy businessmen from the capital, and they knew some etiquette, so they soon quieted down.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xu Zhiqian quietly handed over a copy from behind.
Zhang Fei took it and looked at it, then turned around and smiled, "I didn't expect that our tacit understanding as a couple is still so strong."
Xu Zhiqian smiled slightly smugly and said, "I didn't become stupid from having a child."
“Ahem!”
Xu Zun glared at the couple. Thousands of people are watching them. What are you doing here?
Zhang Fei immediately restrained his smile, carefully looked at the copy that Xu Zhiqian had just handed over, and said to Yu Liang: "Yu Liang, do you still remember how much money you made in the first year of Xining?"
Yu Liang thought for a moment, and suddenly his expression changed slightly, "I remember... I don't remember it very clearly."
Zhang Fei smiled and asked again: "Do you remember the price of silk back then?"
Yu Liang said awkwardly, "The price of silk is probably... about ninety coins."
Zhang Fei asked: "What was the price of silk in Yuhang in the past?"
"Forty cents."
“Why is the price so different in the first year of Xining?”
"Because... because the mulberry trees in Yuhang were infested with insects that year, the silk output was less, so the price went up."
"And according to the information we have learned, you obtained more than a thousand acres of mulberry forest that year. Is this true?"
"Yes...yes."
Yu Liang said this, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Zhang Fei continued to ask: "So what happened in the meantime?"
Yu Liang was silent for a while before he said, "Because... because the mulberry farmers in Yuhang had to supply the imperial court with high-quality silk every year, but in the first year of Xining, those mulberry farmers could not produce enough silk, so... so they could only buy silk from me, and some... some mulberry farmers used their mulberry forests to pay off their debts."
"I wonder what the difference is between what you did this time and what you just said?"
"Of course there is a difference."
Yu Liang said confidently, "It's not me who forced the mulberry farmers to exchange their mulberry forests for silk. It's the shipping company that forced them to do it. It's normal for the silk price to rise as the silk output is low. If the shipping company had charged less, this wouldn't have happened."
"good!"
"Well said!"
......
There were a few good-hearted businessmen cheering for Yu Liang.
But I admire his courage more. He is so brave to confront the imperial court directly.
Zhao Xu clenched his fist and pounded it on the coffee table in front of him, gritting his teeth and saying, "These merchants are really abominable! I thought it was really the Shipping Department that let them down, but it turns out that this is all your own fault."
It is obvious that you are greedy, yet you even blame the court. These businessmen deserve to be killed!
Conservative officials such as Sima Guang and Qian Yi blushed.
This generation of businessmen is really hard to lead!
Zhang Fei glanced at the merchants and asked Yu Liang, "You are right. This is indeed not good. The court needs to change. Later, the court will promulgate the equalization law, and when the mulberry farmers cannot pay the silk, they can use coins to compensate."
“......!”
Yu Liang suddenly fell silent.
All the reformist officials laughed out loud.
Wang Anshi laughed and said, "This businessman is so stupid that calling him a dishonest businessman might be an exaggeration!"
Facing the officials' sarcasm, Yu Liang also felt angry and said indignantly: "But the problem is that the court's change is also problematic. We merchants pay taxes every year, including transit tax and residence tax. But if the Shipping Bureau does this, the merchants will not come. Who will pay the business tax? The court will not make any money!"
After hearing these words, Zhao Xu couldn't help but frown. This was something he had never thought of before.
Sima Guang chuckled twice and said, "This is exactly the same as what Brother Su Zizhan said back then."
Lu Gong nodded and said, "Indeed, it is hard to say whether the court has benefited from this."
Fan Chunren and Su Shi were driven out of the capital because of this equalization system. Su Shi was a strong advocate of market freedom. He believed that the imperial court should only collect commercial taxes and people were not allowed to do business themselves.
.....
Wang Anshi asked Xue Xiang in a low voice: "Is what he said true?"
Xue Xiang said: "The commercial tax will definitely be reduced, but please rest assured, the court will definitely benefit from this."
Only then did Wang Anshi nod with relief.
But he soon realized that when he formulated the Equalization of Transport Law, his purpose was to plunder the profits of merchants. There was no point in arguing about this, and he admitted it, but he was only referring to the fact that the Equalization of Transport Law was aimed at those unscrupulous merchants. But regardless of whether they were unscrupulous merchants or not, it was impossible for the commercial taxes not to be reduced!
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Zhang Fei asked: "Do you have any evidence to prove this?"
Yu Liang said: "Although we don't have evidence, we can see from the situation of the silk industry that the commercial tax is definitely decreasing, and we have also heard many tax collectors talking about this. The commercial tax in Yuhang is getting worse year by year. Except for the Shipping Department, everyone else is having a hard time. I really don't understand why the court is doing this."
What this means is that the shipping company gets rich, but everyone else will suffer.
Zhang Fei nodded slightly. "I will ask about this matter later. Mr. Yu will go down and have a rest first. If necessary, I will ask Mr. Yu to come up and testify."
"yes."
Yu Liang left feeling somewhat depressed. It was obvious that he was not very satisfied with his performance just now.
But this is not surprising, after all, it is the first time to participate in such a hearing.
Xu Zhiqian quietly handed over another copy.
Zhang Fei took it and looked at it, then another merchant came up, a paper merchant named Xue Bocai from Jiangnan West Road.
Xue Bocai first introduced himself, and then, without waiting for Zhang Fei to speak, he took the initiative to say, "I think what the gentleman said just now is wrong."
Zhang Fei was stunned for a moment, then asked with a smile: "What's wrong?"
Xue Bocai said: "Yes, we merchants occasionally hoard goods and take advantage of opportunities to make money, but this is not our fault, but the problem lies in the court's system, which allows some merchants to take advantage of the opportunity."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "So the court also made some changes."
Xue Bocai said: "But the court puts all the blame on us merchants. However, most merchants do business honestly most of the time. Sometimes they sell at high prices, but sometimes they are unlucky and almost lose money. There are gains and losses in business. When we lose money, what can we say? No one will praise us as good people."
The businessmen nodded vigorously when they heard this.
There is something wrong with your system, which causes a surge in the price of a certain commodity at a certain moment. We just take advantage of the situation and make a fortune. But you call us profiteers and come up with a system of equalization to punish us businessmen. It is really unreasonable!
This guy's fighting ability is pretty good! Zhang Fei looked down at this guy's resume and suddenly realized that this guy used to be a tea man. He said: "According to the provisions of the equalization law, it is mainly to save money for the country, not targeting you merchants. The court has never said so."
Xue Bocai snorted, "This is not saving money for the court, it's clearly taking away the profits of us merchants. Our paper has always been sold to the capital, but since the court promulgated the equalization of transportation, the merchants have stopped coming. If we don't curry favor with the Shipping Department, we won't be able to sell our goods.
My paper is cheaper than my rival’s, but because I didn’t give gifts to the officials of the Shipping Department, the Shipping Department bought my rival’s paper. Now I have no choice but to sell my paper workshop to my rival, because no merchants are coming. If the Shipping Department doesn’t buy anymore, I won’t be able to sell my paper.”
Zhang Fei asked: "But the shipping company only buys a limited amount every year, and there is no change from before. Why do merchants stop going there when the shipping company leaves? They are still profitable."
Xue Bocai said, "Didn't Old Yu say just now that who dares to compete with the Shipping Company, and who dares not sell to the Shipping Company? As long as the Shipping Company specifies that they want the goods, we have to keep them first. So in the beginning, the Shipping Company always buys first, but after the Shipping Company buys them, the price of the goods will go up, and merchants can only buy at a high price. This is not a big deal, but the key is that no one knows where the Shipping Company will sell the goods. Merchants are also afraid that they will buy the goods but cannot sell them. That would be the end of them. Over time, merchants are not willing to spend money to buy goods."
Zhang Fei nodded and said, "Do you have any evidence?"
Xue Bocai said: "I have sold all my workshops, and you can ask the paper merchants in Beijing. We used to trade with them frequently. The paper we got was good and cheap, and the business was always good. But in just a few years, it's all gone. Isn't this the best evidence?"
As he spoke, his eyes became red and his voice gradually became choked.
As for the grain and salt merchants, there is still something to be said about them. As for the paper merchants, they really suffered an unprovoked disaster. They could not exploit the people, but there was no other way. The enthusiasm of all merchants was reduced and they dared not spend money. The Shipping Department became the largest buyer, but the Shipping Department mainly took into account the needs of the capital, and the quantity required was always limited. So whoever had a good relationship with the Shipping Department would be able to grow bigger.
He was so angry and unwilling to accept it. It was not that I could not beat my rival, but because that guy gave money to the shipping company, within three years, he forced me to sell even my workshop to my rival. Money is a small matter, face is a big matter.
He was not invited by Zhang Fei, but was the first one to go to the capital to file a complaint at his own expense.
Zhao Xu, who had just gnashed his teeth, gradually became confused and asked, "The court just wants to save money, why has it become so complicated?"
Liu Zhao said tactfully: "This may be because the people are afraid of the government, and the Shipping Department is responsible for supplying the capital. This matter is so serious that no one dares to disobey the Shipping Department. This is different from the business between merchants."
Zhao Xu nodded slightly.
While they were talking, another businessman came up.
"My surname is Chu and my given name is Huai. I am a grain merchant in Jinghu South Road."
After Chu Huai introduced himself, Zhang Fei looked down at the copy and asked, "Mr. Chu is suing the Shipping Department for collecting money from Jinghu South Road, causing the entire Jinghu South Road to fall into a money shortage, making the people miserable."
Chu Huai nodded and said, "Yes."
Zhang Fei asked: "Can you tell me what happened specifically?"
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Chu Huai said: "This matter started in the third year of Xining. In the third and fourth years of Xining, our grain harvest in Jinghu South Road was poor, so the Shipping Department asked the people to pay money instead of grain. Then they transported grain from other places to Jinghu South Road to sell in order to balance the local grain prices."
Zhang Fei said: "Isn't this a good thing?"
Sima Guang and the others were also very confused. This was really a good thing. Could it be that it delayed the opportunity for you, a big grain merchant, to plunder the people?
Chu Huai said, "It's not a good thing. I have settled accounts with the official. The court first collected taxes and took away a batch of coins, and then sold grain to Jinghu South Road, which took away another batch of coins.
But in the fifth and sixth years of Xining, we had a good harvest of grain in Jinghu South Road, but the Shipping Department did not buy grain from us. Instead, it took the grain from Jinghu South Road and sold it in Tanzhou and other places. They used the money they earned to buy grain in Huainan, because it was close to the capital, which saved a lot of transportation costs.
We are already short of money in the south. Over the past few years, the money in Jingchu, Fujian and Guang has been taken away by the court and used in the Jianghuai region."
Zhang Fei asked: "According to what you said, if the money is reduced and the goods are increased, then the goods will become very cheap!"
"Isn't it?"
Chu Huai said: "The grain in Jianghuai is sold for dozens of coins, but the grain price in our Jinghu South Road has fallen to ten coins. As long as Jianghuai has a good harvest, the shipping company will definitely not buy a large amount of grain from us because the freight is very expensive. Unless there is a shortage of grain in a nearby area, they will buy some at a low price and then sell it there at a high price. As a result, the shipping company takes more coins, and the coins in our Jinghu South Road are getting less and less."
Zhang Fei asked: "Won't such cheap goods attract merchants to sell them?"
Chu Huai snorted, "How dare merchants come? Didn't I tell you that the Shipping Company often collects grain from Jinghu South Road and then sells it to other nearby areas? This was originally the job of merchants. Now merchants have no idea where the Shipping Company will sell the grain. It's unprofitable and there's a high risk. They don't dare to spend money. Now many merchants have also gone to the northwest.
Some local landlords wanted to switch to planting mulberry and tea trees and sell them to merchants in the northwest region, but the government did not allow it. We grow so much grain, what's the point if we can't sell it?
This equal distribution method has a problem. If everyone has a good harvest, then whoever is closer to the capital will gain the advantage. "
Han Qi stroked his beard and said, "In fact, the problem is not that the Shipping Department buys grain nearby, but that the number of merchants is decreasing."
Fu Bi nodded, "But as long as the government does business, this problem will be difficult to solve."
Lu Gongzhu muttered to himself, "No wonder the tax revenue in the northwest region has increased exponentially. It turns out that the equalization of tax revenue is also fueling the trend."
The Northwest has foreign trade, salt banknotes, salt ponds, government policies, mature public security, procuratorial and judicial systems, and the powerful private financial institution Ma Jia Jie Ku Pu. It has the best of time, place and people. The six routes in the southeast were originally the most economically developed regions. Now that the imperial court has grown, not all merchants are running to the Northwest. Merchants just need to make money.
Zhang Fei asked as usual: "Do you have evidence to prove this?"
Chu Huai said: "We are short of money in Jinghu South Road. It is already very serious. If you just go to Jinghu South Road and ask anyone, you will know that the commercial tax is definitely decreasing."
Zhang Fei nodded and smiled: "I will ask someone to clarify it later."
Several businessmen came up next, and what they said were almost the same. To put it simply, the Shipping Company dominated the market, which led to a significant reduction in the enthusiasm of merchants in the six southeastern routes. The market was in chaos, and no one could sell the goods in their hands, or they had conflicts with the Shipping Company, and as a result, the goods could only be sold at a loss.
There are also some corruption issues, but these have only occurred in the past two years. The reason is that the number of merchants has decreased, which has led to the fact that merchants on the production side have to rely on the shipping company, which inevitably leads to corruption.
After these merchants testified one by one, Zhang Fei summoned the first official to testify, who was He Ning, the judge of the Salt and Iron Department.
Zhang Fei asked: "Judge He, as far as we know, you served as the transport judge in Liangzhe Road from the third year of Xining to the sixth year of Xining."
He Ning nodded and said, "That's right."
Zhang Fei said: "It just so happened that during that period, the equal distribution system was first implemented in Liangzhe Road."
"Yes."
"Then according to your observation, how is the equalization of transportation implemented in Liangzhe Road?"
"It was executed very well." He Ning nodded and said, "It should have saved the court a lot of money and indeed reduced the burden on many people, but I'm not sure about the details, so I'll have to ask the Shipping Department."
Zhang Fei asked again: "But the Transportation Department controls the tax accounts."
"Yes." He Ning nodded, and then said, "But the Shipping Department is directly under the court, not under the jurisdiction of the local transportation department. Most of the money is directly allocated to the Shipping Department by the national treasury. It's just that the court has issued orders several times during this period to let the Liangzhe Transportation Department allocate money to the Shipping Department as the purchase capital, but the amount is not large, so our Transportation Department is not very clear about the situation of their Shipping Department."
Zhang Fei said: "From the perspective of the tax revenue of Liangzhe, this equalization method can have a beneficial effect."
"Well...."
He Ning hesitated for a moment, "Actually, what Mr. Yu said just now is right. Local tax revenue is indeed decreasing year by year, mainly because the commercial tax has been reduced a lot."
Zhang Fei asked: "Why would the commercial tax be reduced?"
"It's because the number of merchants coming and going has decreased a lot."
He Ning said: "Especially silk merchants. Many merchants go to Yuhang to do business, mainly to buy local silk, but they often buy some additional goods to take back. Once the number of silk merchants decreases, not only silk, but also many other goods will be sold less than before, and the business tax will inevitably be reduced."
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Zhang Fei asked: "Do you have any evidence to prove all this?"
He Ning said: "All three departments have accounts."
Zhang Fei asked, "Can you report this to the court?"
"That's not the case." He Ning shook his head.
Zhang Fei said: "Why don't you report this?"
He Ning said: "First, because the equalization of transportation is to prevent those merchants from hoarding goods, this will inevitably lead to a decrease in merchants, and a reduction in commercial taxes is also inevitable. If the Shipping Department can save money, it will not be a loss. As far as I know, the court should not have lost money.
Secondly, the main reduction in commercial taxes is in transit taxes, and transit taxes are mainly counted in local finances and will not affect the tax revenue of our Transportation Bureau.
In the end, the equalization system did not affect the livelihoods of ordinary people too much, but mainly affected the merchants, so I did not say much. "
Although commerce was developed in the Northern Song Dynasty and commercial taxes even exceeded agricultural taxes, the basic foundation was still in agriculture because most of the population was in agriculture. In ancient times, the assessment of performance was often based on local stability, not how much income increased or how little it would cost to have a good result.
The equalization and transport system actually had a relatively small impact on farmers, as many farmers did not participate in business. It mainly affected merchants and citizens.
This is why when the Equalized Transport Law was introduced, there were relatively few people who opposed it, and the voices were relatively quiet. Su Shi was very happy, and Sima Guang didn't say anything. Unlike the Green Seedling Law, there was an overwhelming amount of criticism, because the Green Seedling Law went straight to agriculture, and if something went wrong it would be a big problem.
The equalization system of taxation only targets a small group of merchants and is unlikely to cause any trouble.
Zhang Fei asked: "So Judge He thinks that what the Shipping Department did is to crack down on those merchants who hoard goods, and it is beneficial to the people and the country, and there is nothing wrong with it."
He Ning thought for a while and said, "It's best...it's best to have the best of both worlds. After all, the main responsibility of the Shipping Department is to supply the needs of the capital, and it cannot replace merchants.
Moreover, it is not very stable. This year, the shipping company came to Yuhang to buy silk, but next year it may go to Yangzhou to buy it. If no merchants come to Yuhang, the silk in Yuhang may not be sold. This will not only affect the merchants, but also many ordinary people. After all, many mulberry farmers often bring silk to the market to exchange for food. If the rich merchants can't sell their silk, theirs will be even more difficult to sell. "
Zhang Fei asked again: "Why would the equal distribution system make merchants no longer come to Yuhang to do business?"
He Ning said: "There are three reasons. In fact, the merchants have already said it. First, no one dares to compete with the government. No matter how much goods the government wants, they must first satisfy the government. Merchants dare not act rashly.
Secondly, merchants mainly make money from the people and the government, but now the government trades directly with Baixin, so it is not profitable for merchants, so naturally they will not come.
Third, with fewer merchants, the goods remain unchanged, and they can only hope that the government will buy them. If the government does not buy, they may not make any money, and merchants will not dare to produce too many goods. Over time, this commercial activity becomes less and less. "
Zhang Fei asked: "Then according to Judge He, how should we weigh this?"
"I have no idea."
He Ning shook his head without even thinking about it. If I knew that, I would have gone to tell Wang Anshi about it a long time ago. This is already beyond his knowledge.
“I am very grateful to Judge He for being here to testify.”
“It should be.”
He Ning nodded, then ran away.
If there is no clear ideological conflict, sitting on it will be very painful, because no matter what you say, you will offend people.
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