Chapter 51 Customs System

  The high wages (one hundred coins per day) offered by Wan Jian's map finally began to take effect, and the affluent idle labor force from surrounding counties in Shanghai flocked to Shanghai. Faced with the influx of people from all over the world, not only were Yin Zhen and Hai Feng busy, but also Xu Shizhen, the county magistrate of Shanghai, and Zhu Yanqi, the prefect of Songjiang, were equally busy.

  Zhu Yan Zhi was given the title of Deputy Director of Jianghai Customs by Yun Zhen years ago. He took the opportunity to visit Nanjing, calling on the Governor-General of Liangjiang and the Governor of Suzhou, requesting that his office be moved to Shanghai. These two high-ranking officials were not willing to offend Yun Zhen over such a small matter, so they naturally agreed. Thus, Zhu Yan Zhi was able to move the government office of Songjiang Prefecture to Shanghai without any issues.

  To prevent the sudden influx of people from causing price increases in Shanghai, Zhu Yanqi and Xu Shizhen had to mobilize daily necessities, grain and building materials from nearby prefectures and counties. The latter was recruiting laborers on a large scale in county towns or their outskirts to build civilian houses.

  Because of Yongzheng's habit, Zhu Yanqi, Xu Shizheng, Hai Feng, Wan Jiantu and others had formed a routine of rushing to Liuchun Garden at 4 o'clock every day to report. On the morning of January 18th, after everyone finished their usual reports, Yongzheng said: "The next two days will be the 'opening seal' day for Jianghai Customs and County Government, Prefectural Government. Although it is a holiday for 'sealing', all of you are still busy, your hard work, Yongzheng will remember in his heart."

  After exchanging pleasantries, Yin Zhen turned to Zhu Yan-zhi, "Lord Zhu, have you taken a look at the newly established customs regulations? Do you have any objections or suggestions for additions?"

  "I am ashamed, sir." Zhu Yan Zhi stood up straight and bowed deeply, "I represent all the merchants in the world to thank the 14th Master for his kindness." After standing up, he said with deep emotion: "The maritime customs system established by the 14th Master has made detailed regulations on various aspects such as declaration, inspection, taxation, auditing, tax collection and verification of import and export goods. It is no longer possible to cleverly create loopholes and exploit them like before. Moreover, the establishment of financial, statistical, auditing, anti-smuggling, supervision and personnel management systems not only makes management more standardized and clear but also provides opportunities for advancement for all officials and employees. With high salaries and open reporting, I dare guarantee that most officials and employees will no longer have the heart to be corrupt. This maritime customs system, once made public, will definitely shock the world and the imperial court will certainly promote it nationwide."

  "This is absolutely true," said Yizhen, with a stern face. "No matter how good the system is, it must be implemented by people, otherwise it's just empty talk. Your responsibility, Director Zhu, is to thoroughly implement these systems, to be iron-faced and impartial. If someone dares to violate the rules, they must be resolutely expelled, without any leniency. Tomorrow is the day of the 'opening of the seal' at the customs office, you must post the new customs regulations in the county seat, ports, and all checkpoints, organize all customs officials to study them, and require everyone to memorize them. In addition, the adjustment of import and export tax rates should also be posted."

  After sending Zhu Yan away, Yin Zhen looked at Xu Shi and said, "Xu, in the next few months, Shanghai will be flooded with more people, and the pressure on food, clothing, shelter, public security, environmental sanitation and other aspects will be great. You must observe and pay attention to these things, and report to me in time if you are unsure about anything. I'll be behind you to support you."

  Xu Shi-zheng bowed his hands and said, "Your subordinate thanks the fourteenth master for his care and protection. I will definitely exhaust my thoughts to ensure the stability of Shanghai, so that the fourteenth master will not have any worries."

  Next is the Wan Jian Tu, said with some satisfaction; "I went to see the progress of the workshop yesterday, it's not bad, but this labor cost should be considered to be lowered, otherwise the migrant workers who come later will all be at this standard, I can't afford it. Let's lower it to a level that is 10% higher than the normal labor cost. The labor cost can be settled every seven days, and it must be guaranteed that they can get the labor cost on time, in full and on schedule. Also, has the planning design drawing of the shipyard been completed?

  Wan Jian Tu calmly replied, "Reporting to the master, judging from the current progress of the workshop, half a month later, we can start gradually lowering the labor standards. The payment of wages is handled by a dedicated person, and the master has set up a whistleblower box on the construction site, so no one dares to sabotage the master's affairs. The design drawings for the shipyard will be completed in three days, but because I was not at ease with several places, this humble servant went to Jiangning again after the New Year, which delayed things somewhat."

  Rong Zhen nodded in approval and said warmly, "Being meticulous is necessary. If there's a slight mistake in the design, it will lead to big troubles later on. Well, I'll reward you with twenty taels of silver to encourage you, do your job well."

  "Thanks for the reward." Wan Jian originally had some worries about being scolded, but unexpectedly received a reward. He couldn't help but secretly admire his master's foresight and hastily bowed to thank him.

  He then ordered, "Go and bring Wu Tianming and Hu Chengkun here."

  Finally, Yongzhen looked at Haifeng, "The Shanghai stall is about to be fully laid out, I can't stay in Shanghai all the time, everything from now on will have to be handled by you, you need to have this mental preparation, start learning to control the overall situation from now on."

  "My lord." Hai Feng said with some embarrassment, "This matter is a bit too big, I don't have this kind of experience, afraid of messing up my lord's errand."

  "Experience is accumulated slowly, I'm not in Shanghai recently, learn more and ask more, you need to learn how to grasp the big picture and let go of the small things, learn how to use people, if you use them correctly, it will be much easier. With a change in tone, he said in a deep voice, "I'm not in Shanghai, this matter, if you don't take care of it, who will? I really can't trust others with it."

  Jian Yin spoke to this extent, Hai Feng didn't dare to decline again. He immediately knelt down and said in a serious tone, "I will definitely do my best to help Master share his worries."

  "Get up, just stay still and I'll pay respects." Yinzhen said with a smile.

  In no time, Wu Tianming and Hu Chengkun arrived. After exchanging greetings, Yongzheng said calmly: "Wu Tianming, you used to be the manager of Ninth Brother's store. Now go back to your old trade and take charge of purchasing cotton cloth for me. From now on, 'Huanqiu Yanghang' will be managed by you. Collection points, warehouses, and depots must be set up in each prefecture, county, and town. The price of cloth cannot be lowered, nor can the interests of weavers be harmed. This is fundamental. If this rule is violated, beware of losing your rice bowl. Furthermore, with so many outlets distributed, you can use your brains to sell or collect other things. Firstly, it will help maintain the expenses of 'Huanqiu Yanghang', and secondly, it will also avoid causing high cloth prices. If there are any surpluses, they can be used to give some benefits to the partners in each branch."

  Wu Tianming was thrilled and his face turned red, "Thank you, Master, for your kindness. I will not betray the trust you have placed in me."

  "Alright, follow me and you won't have to worry about having no future or background, nor will you have to worry about having no money. But if anyone dares to be disobedient, I don't mind killing a few to establish my authority." Although Yin Zhen's tone was calm, the few people in the room felt a chill run down their backs.

  "The slaves dare not." Even Haifeng was scared and knelt down.

  Yin Zhen nodded in satisfaction, scanning the crowd before saying, "Alright, everyone can get up now." He then turned to Hu Chengkun and said, "You're from a background of managing finances, so first assist Hai Feng in getting a handle on the income and expenses, personnel arrangements, and material flow for each factory." As he spoke, he pulled out a small notebook and handed it to Hai Feng. "This is a book I wrote outlining some systems for each factory, including detailed regulations for finance, statistics, auditing, and personnel rewards and promotions. You two should study it first, then organize the people below you to learn from it. For those who came with me from the capital, as well as the young masters from noble families who have recently begun to flock to us, we must be bold in promoting them, but also carefully discerning their character. If they're talented, use them boldly; if their moral character is poor, get rid of them no matter who they are."

  On the nineteenth day of the first month, the Jianghai Customs 'opened its seal', and the new regulations of the Jianghai Customs were posted all over the Shanghai County city and port early in the morning. Zhu Yanqi not only posted the announcement but also sent people to explain each regulation one by one. The news spread immediately, and within an hour, it had spread throughout the entire Shanghai County city.

  As the date of departure was approaching, many sailors and ship owners, as well as merchants, gathered in Shanghai. The new system at Jianghai Customs was closely related to them, so who wouldn't be concerned? As soon as the news spread, each announcement point was immediately surrounded by crowds, with cheers and applause erupting continuously as the interpreters explained the details one by one. The ship owners and merchants, who had long suffered from layer upon layer of exploitation, were overjoyed when they heard that Yin Zeng, the supervisor of Jianghai Customs, had set up a special reporting point in Liuchun Garden and promised to respond to reporters within five days.

  The reputation of Prince Fourteen Beile Yin Zhen being clean and loving the people immediately spread from Shanghai.