Feng Xing

With a gust of cold wind blowing and fine snowflakes floating in the sky, Feng Sheng realized that it was already winter.

The filigree enamel smoker exudes a burst of heat, warm and mellow. The coldness of Jiangnan is different from that of Beijing. With a damp moisture, it can penetrate into human bones.

The needle was audible in the room.

Feng Sheng gathered the cotton robe on his body and put down the teacup: "As you said, in fact, you have been making such a national fortune through sea business?"

This is a heavy statement.

Chen Hao bowed his head, a layer of sweat was on his forehead, but he didn't dare to wipe it.

He wore a turquoise silk cotton robe, a black silk ribbon around his waist, a sheep fat jade ring, and a dangled underneath.He has a dark complexion, a tall build, and a high eyebrow, so he can be considered handsome.

Just looking at his dress, no one will believe that a few years ago he was just a little shopkeeper in the shop under the Huang family.

In fact, at his age, without any background, just a farmer, it would be nice to be a shopkeeper.

Not only smart, but also bold, careful, and ambitious.

Feng Sheng didn't ignore the conversation between Chen Hao and Cai Hao, the ambition shimmered in the obscurity under his half-hanging eyes.

It must be ambitious, otherwise why would he dare to take the risk and go to sea to do business because of the Huang family's great mandarin duck?

Doing business at sea, without a background in the family, without relying on mountains, is also a life of death.

Feng Sheng appreciated him somewhat.

Contrary to her, Chen Hao felt very stressed.

He knew from the mouth of his mother-in-law and his wife that he knew that Princess Wei was not an ordinary person.Even though he didn't know much about the transformation of the Huang family at that time, he only knew from the words and words that the woman moved the princess crown prince by her own strength, turning her hands into clouds and rain, Disturbed the Huaihe River and the clouds.

But in fact, deep down in his heart, there seemed to be an insignificant contempt under his seemingly respectful face. He thought that the woman must have a good looks, so that she could drive the court officials to drive her. Even he suspected that the prince was abandoned. The shadow of King Wei.

But this thought disappeared in less than two quarters of a short conversation with her.

Although Princess Wei didn't understand the maritime affairs, she was very critical, even inadvertently he could lead him by the nose, so much that he confided many things that he had not planned to confess before.

It is not uncommon for him to say these things in Xiaoli while talking to Xiaoli, and to say that copying the genocide in Dali is a rare thing.Chen Hao even had the idea that he shouldn't come to see Fang Fengsheng. If he didn't, he would lose a lot of money at most, or find other ways, which might be solved.

But now he has turned into a piece of meat on the cutting board, letting anyone slaughter.

At the same time, something called ambition in Chen Hao's body was roaring.

He knew that he was born in the end, and it was a great luck to be able to come today, but it was also related to his keen eyesight.If this can happen, it will be a tremendous change for him.

The Huang family raised the power of the whole family and wanted to seek an official body, but it was always tickling through the boots, and he had no way to deal with it. If he became--

He remembered his wife, who was spoiled, but he was really kind to him.At that time he was just an unknown soldier, but she was willing to die for him.And the mother-in-law, who had always opposed them before, accepted him, but really intended for him, and even angered his father-in-law.

He Chen Hao is not an ungrateful person. He still remembers that when he had an affectionate relationship with his wife, he deliberately wanted to come to let her phoenix crown Xiahe, to die, so clearly knowing that crisis and opportunity are only separated by a line, he still gambled.

This is probably a common problem for maritime businessmen. It is important to know that in maritime trade, you either earn a lot of money, or you lose money. You don't dare to get involved in this business because you don't have that kind of gambling in your bones.But Chen Hao only took a few years from a layman to a small reputation.

All these thoughts were only for a moment, and Chen Hao also knew that at this time, concealment was to find death, and he smiled and replied: "The so-called business itself has a tendency to profit. The princess probably does not know that because the imperial officials of the imperial court are incompetent. From the beginning of the dynasty to the present, the maritime business has been divided among the rich and hao people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangzhou and other places. There are few things left that people like the big week, from silk porcelain tea to some hand-made fine objects. Once transported back to their country, they will be madly robbed.

"Many nobles in their country are even proud to be able to wear clothes made of our silk. Our businessmen ship a lot of goods from the country every year to trade, so they exchange a lot of silver and some rare imported goods. But in the end I The vast territory of the DPRK and its vast territory and rich natural resources are just tricks and tricks for us, and those who can afford them are just big players.

"But did Princess Wang think about how much farmland was converted into mulberry in Jiangsu and Zhejiang for a large amount of weaving silk and cloth, and how much farmland in Fujian was turned into a tea plantation? I was in the prosperous world of Taiping, except for the occasional war in Bianguan, which has been peaceful in recent years. The population is growing every year, but the farmland available to feed these people is declining. There are so many officials in the court. That member of the court is not a lot of land, but he does not have to pay a penny."

Chen Haoyue said more and more excited, could not help but stood up: "Take Suzhou as an example, one stone meter in Taiping is not more than one or two, the harvest is cheaper, and now it has risen to a dozen or two, it will be the price because of the officials It has been properly controlled, and it is estimated that it has risen to more than thirty or two in other places? That’s it. Once there is a disaster in a place, or there is a shortage of food, where does that food go?"

Where did the grain go?

Although Feng Sheng has been teaching her husband for the past few years, in the position of King Wei, they must settle down, but she still knows a few things about the court.

The court has an exemption for those who have merits and honors. From the beginning of the show, as long as you can pass the exams, you can avoid a certain amount of harsh taxes and hard work.

One person can be exempted from the taxation of 1,200 acres of land, more scholars, and there will be an increase in official ranks.

Can a person raise a field of 1,200 mu?

Of course not. Except for some people who were born in large households, parents nowadays say that the clan is under the county, and these places are not supervised by the court, so the court ruled the village with the clan.

In this kind of close union, it is the case that when there is one person in the middle, it is needless to say that there is a surname of the same surname, and there are people with surnames coming to donate.Some even rely on the dominance of the power in their homes, oppress ordinary people, and take advantage of other people's land.

It seems to be just one example, but how big is the big week, and how many talents are there in various prefectures and counties to raise people into the bureaucracy. These are all digging the corners of the court to fill their wallets.

Of course, there are also the reasons that Chen Hao said. This is something Feng Sheng once thought about but didn't care about.

But there is another point. Once she talked with Wei Wang, but it was too complicated and complicated. In addition, in order to protect himself, Wei Wang has always avoided suspicion. It is naturally nowhere to start.

That's how the imperial court levied taxes-color folding.

The so-called discount is to discount the true color.

In layman's terms, it means that the rice should be paid for rice grain, but converted into silver or other items.However, most of them are still converted into silver, and only local specialties, such as silk in a certain place, can only be changed to silk for taxation.

This situation seems to facilitate the payment of taxes and the cheaper transportation process, but it breeds disadvantages such as disappointment in fire consumption and tricks.

These conditions were not formed overnight, nor can changes be made in a short time, just like the fire energy in this discount, which is precisely the means used by many low-level officials to subsidize themselves.In order to promote their ranks, these low-level officials gave the silver to higher-level officials.

Also known as ice charity filial piety.

Even if it is King Wei, it is low-key enough, and there are not many people who will send ice charity to honor each summer and winter.

Of course, you don’t have to accept it, but it has become the custom of the DPRK and China. If you want to use people, do you need peace of mind?

As a result, the imperial courts were all deaf and dumb, and pretended to be ignorance, from the county magistrate to the magistrates in the six provinces of the three provinces.

Because moving this is to move their purses.

Therefore, it is not that no one mentioned this matter in the court, but it was like a mouse crossing the street.

It seems that these are just bad governance, but just as Chen Hao said before, Chaotang collected silver as a tax-rich treasury, but the corresponding amount of food received was less.

So where did these grains go again?

When Feng Sheng was young, he listened to his father's "speaking old", and he knew that when the greedy county magistrate levied severe taxes and miscellaneous taxes, they cooperated with the local squires and rich households to lower the food price, so that the farmers clearly paid the tax payment, but Because the food price is too low to sell the price, you can only make up for it with silver.

These grains were harvested at low prices and sold at high prices by the squires and rich households, and the codlings were fattened. Farmers became more and more poor in farming, so that many people abandoned their fields or offered them as slaves or found another way out.

A variety of reasons are mixed, so there is clearly a disaster in a few places, but there is a shortage of food everywhere.

The magnificent Great Zhou Dynasty, with such a vast territory, can be described as a vast territory, but it caused national turmoil because of the lack of food.The senior officials and relatives of the emperor's corpse meal are still ignoring the Jiangshan community because of their own self-interest.

Feng Sheng's thoughts changed at once, while Chen Hao was still talking.

"...So back to the previous sentence, the so-called quotient itself has a profit-seeking nature. These situations are not only perceived by Xiaomin alone..."

"So you guys come together to transport grain from small neighboring countries and ship it back by sea to sell?"

Chen Hao hesitated for a while and said a little embarrassedly: "It wasn't that they were united together, but they all found that they were profitable. Those barbarians exchanged a large amount of our materials with silver, why don't we stop selling these silver flowers to our own needs? The goods are shipped back to benefit the country and the people. And this business is not often done, but...

"It's just that when the price of grain and grains rises sharply, you take the opportunity to make a fortune from those big grain farmers?" Feng Sheng's cold voice interrupted Chen Hao's words.Her voice was very smooth, and she could hardly hear any emotion from inside.

This situation made Chen Hao a little puzzled.

He had seen Princess Wei listen to the gods before, thinking that he could get into the eyes of the other party and take the road of King Wei's palace.Before that, he did not hesitate to inquire about the DPRK-China affairs through his own channels with the Huang family. He also knew that if he could solve the Wei King's danger this time, he would be important in the future.

But now this situation...

Chen Hao couldn't help but look at Feng Sheng.

Today Feng Sheng saw him, still dressed as a man, but did not deliberately disguise, and still can see many traces of a woman.

He couldn't help thinking, in the end he was a womanish woman, maybe he didn't understand the interests at all, so he was indifferent to his words.But think again, she can pull countless officials out of her own way, how can she be shallow in knowledge?

One thousand and ten thousand is said, but the position is not equal, so that even if Chen Hao is self-proclaimed, he will inevitably feel uneasy even when he meets the high-ranking person with unpredictability.

"The princess said that the small people do not dispute, but the princess can know why the disaster is also the same. Last year, the disasters in various places were not less than this year. Why is this year's situation much more severe than last year?"

Feng Sheng looked over.

Obviously it was just a faint glance, but Chen Hao had an inexplicable pressure.

"This business was doing well last year, whether it was through smuggling or through the shipping department, as long as it costs some money to bring in food, it will not be a problem. But from this summer, the Governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, in the name of squatting and preparing for the knot, Jinghaihou cooperated with the health stations around the coast to patrol the offshore area." To the extent that many smugglers have been smuggled, the grain cannot be brought in at all.

"So you came and went to see me?"

At this point, Feng Sheng finally understood why Chen Hao didn't cut into the topic since he came, but turned around and said so to her.

But it is through the hands of King Wei, or by the power of King Wei's house, to achieve the purpose of joint cooperation.