Chapter 53: The Great Plan for Getting Rich

  It's a critical moment, with external pressures and internal unrest. Even if the imperial court wants to block the news, it's impossible. After all, you can't wrap up fire in paper. In many places, behind the calm surface, there is an undercurrent of unease. Some people with ulterior motives have restless hearts, and those in power are always on edge, afraid that the common people will rise up like Wang Er from Baoji, Shaanxi, bursting into the county government office with a loud shout. Especially when forced taxation is imminent, what's most feared is the occurrence of sudden events like murder and arson.

  In the evening, he also instructed Liu Jinzhu to pay attention to the talents of those refugees, and in fact, there was also a surveillance intention. He didn't expect something to happen so soon. How could Lu Haoshan not be worried? Now, every little wind blows and grass moves, making him nervous and frightened.

  Adult

  "Sir, are you okay?"

  Just as Lu Haoshan was thinking, Zhang Yunhui, the chief clerk, and Zhou Dayuan, the officer of the household department, came towards him with guards and servants, asking anxiously along the way.

  Lu Hao smiled and shook his head, saying: "I'm fine, what's wrong, you're all startled?"

  Zhou Dayuan hastily said: "With such a big commotion, it's hard not to be alarmed. These refugees are really hateful. Our Jiangyou has had no murder cases for over a year and even received praise from the prefect last year. I didn't expect that this record would be broken at the beginning of the year."

  "It's a good thing they haven't levied taxes yet." Zhang Yunhui said with some trepidation, "If they had, and forcibly taken the money from the people's hands, who knows, it might have stirred them up over something small, and we would have ended up dead without even a place to be buried."

  Lu Haoshan said with a cold face: "Not only that, but tonight's incident must be thoroughly investigated and an explanation given to the people of Jiangyou as soon as possible, so as not to let rumors spread all over the sky and shake the hearts of the people."

  In a chaotic world, being an official is like this, fearing becoming the superior's scapegoat, and fearing the people under their rule will rebel. If it were in a prosperous era, if there were cases of murder, many officials would be spiritually invigorated, using their hearts to solve the case, accumulating popularity and experience for themselves, making it a prerequisite for promotion. But now, as soon as something happens, they have to be on tenterhooks, fearing that "a spark can start a prairie fire".

  When the county magistrate said this, everyone nodded in unison. All present were officials who understood that they had to be both soft and hard on the common people. The other day, it was stipulated that they could no longer exploit the common people, prohibiting all gray income, which was a comfort to the common people. Now that there is a murder case, they have to use thunderous means to deter them, making the common people understand that if they don't follow the rules, they will lose their heads.

  The officials who could come had arrived, and it was early spring, so it was still cool in the evenings. Lu Haoshan suggested that everyone move to a side room to sit for a while, where they could drink some hot tea while waiting for Cao Hu's news about the suspect. This was a very good suggestion, and everyone agreed.

  There are many rules in the officialdom, after a round of courtesy and discussion, everyone sat down according to their status, and there were servants serving hot tea and refreshments. Everyone gathered together, chatting while waiting for Cao Hu's news. As they talked, the focus of the conversation shifted from this murder case to this taxation, once it was mentioned that taxation, everyone had some doubts, after all, this is a matter of competing with the people for profit, if the common people can afford it, then it can barely be passed, but in these two years, the harvest has not been good, and just after the New Year's festival, summer grain has not yet been planted, suddenly demanding full-year taxes, including Liaoyang tax, this is pushing the people to a dead end.

  The finances of the Ming Dynasty were rarely healthy, especially in the mid-to-late period. Except for the years when Zhang Juzheng was in power and there was some surplus in the national treasury, most of the time it was a case of "ten pots and seven lids", with one lid covering this pot and another one exposed. Especially during the Chongzhen era, it can be described as being critically ill and powerless to turn things around. Now, in order to suppress the rebellion, it can be said that they are disregarding the people's livelihood.

  A group of officials complained and pleaded for the people, hinting that Lu Haoshan should try to negotiate with his superiors to see if some could be exempted. Lu Haoshan smiled slightly and gave Zhou Dayuan a look, and Zhou Dayuan immediately understood and hurriedly said: "Everyone, quiet down, quiet down, Zhou has something to announce."

  After the crowd calmed down, Zhou Dàyuan said: "The imperial decree will not change from morning to evening, and County Magistrate has no way out. As the saying goes, 'eat the king's salary and bear the king's worries'. The Emperor has issued an edict, and we naturally have to execute it. The situation in Jiangyou is that even if Zhou doesn't say it, you all know that the common people really can't afford it. If we forcibly collect taxes, countless families will be broken and people will die. County Magistrate sympathizes with the common people and also fears that the local gentry will take advantage of the situation to occupy the people's land. Not only will the common people become homeless, but it will also be more difficult to collect taxes in the future. After careful consideration, County Magistrate finally came up with a plan."

  "That is to use the official fields as collateral, borrow some money and grain from the wealthy landlords in the county, and first pay for the people of Jiangyou. After the summer harvest, repay the loan and redeem the official fields."

  Lu Haoshan's use of official land as collateral was only discussed with Zhang Yunhui and Zhou Dayuan, and no one else knew about it. When the officials heard about it, they were shocked. Su Fang from the ceremonial hall said uncomfortably: "Your Excellency is kind-hearted and cares for the people, I admire that, but where does the county government have any official land left? Wasn't it all... disposed of early on?"

  "There is also another point, which is the charitable fields under the name of the four major benevolent institutions." Zhou Dayuan explained.

  "Sir, you can't move it! If the good field is gone, the four major institutions will not be able to operate. Isn't this killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

  "It's not that pessimistic" said Zhang Yunhui, the deputy chief clerk, sitting in the second seat: "This is a mortgage, not a sale, it can still be redeemed. The government is intervening, at least the interest rate won't be that high. Even if it can't be redeemed for the time being, isn't there still the county government and the benevolent Mr. Chang? Sir's move is completely for the benefit of the Jiangyou people, do you have a better solution?"

  Zhou Dayuan said with a serious face: "It's not that Zhou is heartless, but to say something realistic, now the common people are almost unable to manage, and these old, weak, sick and disabled will have to be put aside for the time being."

  Everyone listened, and indeed it was also this reason. From then on, no one spoke again. Lu Haoshan saw that the timing had arrived and opened his mouth to say: "Looking at the Tang and Song dynasties, I have concluded a principle: without farming there is no stability, without commerce there is no wealth. Our county government has taken over more than ten shops, and their profits are clear for all to see. It can be said without exaggeration that if you gentlemen do not take those corrupt gains, the amount of money you bring back home each month will not decrease. I think, shouldn't we find some more ways to make a fortune, earn some money, benefit the people of Jiangyou, and also help supplement your family expenses?"

  Lu Haoshan decided to bring all these people onto his own big ship. Just those dozen or so shops were not enough; if he wanted to make them into a solid iron plate, he would need even deeper cooperation. Anyway, doing big things also required money and silver, and those tens of thousands of taels seemed like a lot, but once an army was raised, it was estimated that they wouldn't last long without being used up. Money and grain were both very important, and with more people, the power would be greater too.

  "Great, adults are truly talented. What a wonderful phrase: 'No agriculture, no stability; no industry, no prosperity.'" Zhang Yunhui couldn't help but loudly applaud and say.

  "I dare not, it's just an unintentional remark." Lu Haoshan said humbly.

  Zhou Dàyuan furrowed his brow, thought for a moment, then opened his mouth and said: "There are many ways to make money, such as salt, horses, silk, grains, these are all very profitable businesses. Especially salt, the wealthy merchants of Yangzhou, they transport salt by large ships and gold by small boats, their wealth is beyond measure, their luxury is unspeakable. They live in famous gardens, raise fine horses, spend money like dirt, I heard some wealthy merchants, one meal can cost over a hundred taels."

  "Hu Ren followed up by saying: 'Many industries require imperial approval, without which it's impossible to get started. Not to mention the numerous checkpoints that can drain your capital, if you're not careful. In my opinion, given Jiangyou's location, industries like salt and silk are not suitable, only horse breeding and grain production seem relatively reliable.'"

  Zhao Gao was a low-ranking official, often in contact with many people and having broad knowledge. However, his position was too low, so most of the time he just listened without speaking. But upon hearing this, he couldn't help but say: "Sir, Jiangyou is close to the Tartars and the Tufan, if one has enough guts, they can obtain a permit and make huge profits from tea-horse trade. The imperial court has been at war for years, especially in Liaodong, where the demand for horses is extremely high. If we could get our hands on some good horses, the profit would be staggering."

  When it comes to the tea-horse trade, everyone's eyes light up. This is a lucrative business that uses tea leaves to exchange war horses, which is a profitable deal. The tea-horse trade originated in the Tang and Song dynasties and flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In fact, many border areas were triggered by the tea-horse trade. Those nomadic nationalities mainly eat meat every day and need to use tea to eliminate greasiness. If they don't eat, they will lose their spirit and get sick easily. It can be said that they are addicted to tea like their lives depend on it. The Ming dynasty even set up a Tea Tax Office to prohibit private tea from leaving the border. Zhu Chongba, the older brother, was very charming. In the early Ming dynasty, one horse could exchange about 1,800 kilograms of tea leaves. However, Zhu Chongba was not happy and felt it was not worth it. He forcibly lowered the price. By the later period, a good horse could only exchange for 80 kilograms of tea leaves, a medium horse for 60 kilograms, and a poor horse? You can have 40 kilograms if you're in a good mood. Can these nomadic nationalities not harbor resentment?

  All this is history, but Zhao Gao's words suddenly awakened the dreamer, and Lu Haoshan's eyes lit up: The location of Jiangyou County is just within the range of the Tea-Horse Ancient Road. As for the approval document, hehe, with skills, what "approval document" can't be easily obtained? Having wealth but not spending it is a miserable defeat, worrying about silver every day, this is like holding a golden bowl to beg. If you participate in the tea-horse trade, wouldn't you have money and horses at your disposal?

  Now it's really tailored for oneself, this way of making money is simply made-to-measure.

  "Cough, cough" Lu Haoshan cleared his throat twice and picked up that fake tiger skin again: "That document, this official can ask Master to think of a way, but as for the matter of the door, it's missing an introducer."

  "Sir, if you need someone to guide the way, there are actually people in this county who are familiar with the roads. It's just that I don't know if they would be willing to help." Zhao Gao suddenly said something astonishing.

  Lu Haoshan was taken aback and said: "Oh, who?"

  "The Zhao family, many people say they got rich from smuggling salt, some say they were high officials afterwards, but all these are just guesses, others don't know clearly. But I have a distant relative who works as a steward in the Zhao household, so he knows a bit more, and heard that they used to do tea-horse trade, and did it quite big, of course, mostly secretly smuggling."

  The Zhao family? Made a fortune from tea and horses? Hidden quite deeply, Lu Haoshan thought: It seems that I really need to pay a visit.

  Just as Lu Haoshan was about to say something, someone outside the door suddenly shouted loudly: "Sir, Captain Cao has brought a group of prisoners back to the yamen on their way, please instruct."

  Thanks to MITO big brother, Jin Mu Can Chen, Kan Bu Chuan ..., Cha Ge for the reward, thank you!