It didn't take long for Gao Mingheng to come to Li Yan. He was also reminded by Sun Chuanting that Kaifeng was indeed a little dangerous.

After the two of them greeted each other, Gao Mingheng said bluntly: "General Li, this year's grain harvest is good, but the grain depots in the yamen at all levels are still empty, isn't this appropriate?" ”

Li Yan said unhurriedly: "Don't worry about Gao Futai, it's the same in my library." If there is a famine, I will naturally open a warehouse for relief, and I will definitely not let the people say that you are not. ”

"It can't be that there is no food in the official warehouse. In some time, they will also distribute rice to the kings. Gao Mingheng continued to work hard.

Li Yan approached Gao Mingheng and said in a low voice: "Gao Futai, although the grain is a bumper harvest, but in the end, there are only these counties in Guide Mansion and Kaifeng, where can the Lu rice of the clan?" Moreover, they are about to go south to suppress the thieves, and the army's rations must be prepared to stop first. The Lumi of the palace, Futai should not know, and the provincial palace came to Futai for trouble. You have to give the people a way to live, right? ”

Gao Mingheng was very surprised, Li Yan, the guest of honor of the palace, didn't want to give rice to the palaces. But he thinks what Li Yan said makes sense, how did the thieves come here? Didn't you starve to death before you took the risk? Now that it's finally settled, we can't let the people mess up anymore. And now that Li Yan manages the tax revenue of grain, even if the clan makes trouble, it is also an internal matter of their clan, and it has nothing to do with these officials, but it is clean.

So Gao Mingheng nodded and said, "General Li has the heart of a benevolent person, which is really rare." Then the matter will be left to General Lee. However, General Li also had to think of a good strategy and not hurt the harmony. ”

"Thank you Gao Futai for reminding me, Li will pay attention." Li Yan thanked him politely.

In the afternoon, Li Yan met with a merchant from Shanxi, who was trafficking horses for him, and by the way, he was trafficking in some illicit salt, grain, and silk. The price of the horse was fifty-five taels, so he bet the price of Zuo Xun and the others down.

"Which one are you from Shanxi? Rich enough. Li Yan asked the shopkeeper Wang. This caravan brought not only more than 500 horses, more than 500 stone grain, two carts of silk, but also 50,000 taels of silver. Of course, everything except horses is taxed.

The shopkeeper didn't expect that the soldiers in Kaifeng would check so carefully, and there were errand soldiers next to him, and different tax rates were levied according to different items. It is all collected in kind, and it is over by directly deducting the corresponding items. And it is collected very carefully, not too much, no less, no one will accept the money.

Shopkeeper Wang bowed down and said, "Back to General Li, we are from Qi County and the Qu family." ”

"Why are you still selling illicit salt?" Li Yan asked lightly.

The king's shopkeeper arched his hand and said, "General, this horse was also privately traded. Passing by the salt pond, I brought some by the way, anyway, I want to come here, these horses are empty, it's a pity. ”

When Li Yan heard this, he smiled. said: "What you said left me speechless. ”

"The general forgives the sin, the villain is reckless." The king's shopkeeper hastened to make amends.

Li Yan waved his hand and said, "It's okay, it's the truth, there's nothing to blame." What did you bring the money for? Is it for me? ”

Shopkeeper Wang was stunned, Li Yan asked this, and it was not right for him to answer. They knew that Kaifeng was now Li Yan's final say, but they had already collected taxes once, and it would be too unauthentic to deduct their silver again. So he didn't say anything, and planned to tell the owner about this trip to Kaifeng, and the road in Henan was broken.

"Don't be nervous, I'm not asking for a bribe from you. Now that the tax has been collected, there will be no more of your goods. I'm just curious, so you don't have to answer. Li Yan saw the concerns of the shopkeeper Wang and added.

With Li Yan's words, whether it is true or not, Shopkeeper Wang is light-hearted. He replied: "Our family is mainly engaged in the tea, grain and oil business, but Hankou is occupied by thieves, and the trade route is blocked. I heard that there are no more thieves in Henan, so our owner will see if we can order some tea items from Kaifeng, maintain the business first, and wait for the situation to stabilize. ”

Li Yan asked, "How are you talking to Li Zicheng?" ”

The shopkeeper said helplessly: "Generalissimo Li has nothing there, but Wuchang Mansion is occupied by the eight kings, and there are Ping thief generals in Jiujiang and Chizhou, and it is not smooth along the way, so I don't know which one will rob it." Talking about the past one by one, then this business can't be done, so I want to go this way in Henan. ”

Li Yan nodded and said with a smile: "You are right, Zhu Xianzhen has just started again." Although there are not as many merchants as in the past, common things can also be bought. ”

"But the general's tax is too heavy." The shopkeeper Wang took the opportunity to say.

Li Yan said with a smile: "It's just a tax of five cents to one percent, and you do border trade, how can the profit be two or three times?" Is this a big tax? ”

Shopkeeper Wang replied: "I used to almost never accept it, but it was only a few dozen or a few hundred texts. This commercial tax is to compete with the people for profit, and it is despised by all officials. The general is peculiar here, he does not collect money, but directly uses the goods to offset it. ”

"I can't help it." Li Yan said helplessly: "Zhongzhou is broken and there is a lack of items. If you collect money, you will lose money. After that, he suddenly asked, "Does the Qing Kingdom collect your taxes?" ”

Shopkeeper Wang glanced at Li Yan and pondered for a while. He felt that although Li Yan was a guest of honor in the palace, what he did was no different from rebellion. So he spoke: "Naturally, the Qing Kingdom also collects taxes, but it is very small, and it is worth one out of a hundred." Just send one or two good things to the flag owner. However, most of our proprietors still trade with the Mongols, and Liaodong is only a small part there. ”

"You are really, you have sold your owner cleanly, and you are not afraid that I will correct you?" Li Yan said casually.

The shopkeeper Wang arched his hand and said, "Before coming, we have already found out. Although the general married the lord of the palace, he was not of the same mind as the official family. Seeing that Li Chuang is in Huguang Tuntian Anmin, he is about to gain a foothold, and the Yangtze River channel does not know how long it will be broken, so our owner wants to take the road of Henan for a long time. ”

Li Yan nodded and said, "When you leave in a while, someone will give you a copy of the relevant tariff." In the border of Henan, it is only collected once, and as long as you hold the tax bill, you can be unimpeded. But don't think about bribes, otherwise you won't be able to pass and you will be whipped. This is your first time here, so you will be exempted, and if you commit it again in the future, you will have to follow the rules. ”

The shopkeeper Wang arched his hand and said: "The villain thanked the general for his extrajudicial kindness." The villain took his leave. ”

After the shopkeeper left the king, Li Yan instructed: "Inform all localities that there are businessmen who are investigating the military situation, detain them first, and interrogate them strictly!" ”

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