The Song court levied a very low tax on merchants who carried their burdens through the streets, but as long as they were merchants, most of them were required to be registered. There is no handling fee for registration, but it will be included in the business register in the future, of course, this is the Song Dynasty, if you don't register, there will be no "people's city management" jumping out and beating you.

However, there is a loophole in the imperial court's policy on stalls along the streets, which stems from the good welfare of the Song Dynasty and the excessive vacation of officials, which caused some people to take advantage of the loopholes of officials' vacations and set up stalls on holidays, resulting in no need to even be a merchant and do not have to pay taxes. For example, this group of slippery Jews who drilled into the cracks at the sight, they obviously found this loophole and immediately took advantage of it.

After only a few steps, Zhao Xing appeared more and more familiar faces in the team. The Jews obviously do not have the "decent" consciousness of the Chinese, and even the four Jewish elders such as Yu Yu have come out, and this family property earns tens of thousands of yuan every year, and actually stands in the queue to sell hats.

Zhao Xing's horsewhip raised and pointed at me, and was about to make fun of a few words, when he saw Zhao Xing, he didn't mean to dodge at all, but showed off the hat in Zhao Xing's hand, and shouted: "Da Lang, the flower hat that my lady only made, you see, there is a big pearl inlaid on the top, and it is sold for five times." Only Da Lang here wears such a hat, you can't buy it

"Ha......" Zhao Xing laughed dryly, at this moment, Su Shi was calling him, giving Zhao Xing a reason not to stop, he made an angry look, made a grimace at Yu Yu, and urged the horse to run towards Su Shi.

Outside the castle, there are shouts everywhere, which are also mixed with the unique "singing and shouting" of the Song Dynasty. Su Dongpo had to say to Zhao Xing in a loud voice: "Liren, how did your neighborhood quickly become Hedu Grass City, I think, is it time to set up a tax customs." ”

There is a wharf next to Zhao Xing's castle, and in recent years, as the equipment in the wharf area has become more and more perfect, there are many acquaintances who have borrowed Zhao Xing's wharf to load and unload goods, and of course, they also pay a little rent to Zhao Xing. There were many merchants coming and going, and although Zhao Xing was forbidden to set up stalls nearby, he couldn't manage the place a little farther away from the castle. At present, some small traders and vendors have set up their own stalls not far from the ferry, and the people in the castle often sell their own goods there.

This self-natured market. In the Song Dynasty, it was called "grass market" and "river crossing". Probably because the "grass market" is mostly located near the river crossing, so it has the latter name.

"I just wanted to ask, how much was the transaction tax in Hangzhou last year?" Zhao Xing rushed to Su Shi's side and asked.

Gao Yu was responsible for the city's easy tax, and he replied without blinking: "Hangzhou has a total of 1,238 Caoshi river crossings, and last year a total of 82,173 transaction taxes were collected and 228 wen. It is the first state in the state and belongs to the first state. ”

"1238, so many. Only 80,000 were collected. Or is it the first in the states? No way? "Zhao Xing couldn't believe it, more than 1,000 people also crossed the grass market river, collected 80,000 yuan, and each market had a tax of dozens of guan per year, which was pitiful.

"There are not many river crossings in Hangzhou Dicao City, not as many as in Mizhou, where there are 1,834. 80,000 yuan is a lot of taxes. Yanshan County guards a large salt farm. There are only 37,438 and 426 texts per year. The city with the least tax in Zhuzhou is Lucheng, with only 50 yuan a year.

Isn't it said that the Song Dynasty had heavy taxes? How come there is a county with an annual tax revenue of several hundred Wen?

Zhao Xing looked at Gao Yu in disbelief: "Then." Is Hangzhou the state with the fewest grass cities? ”

"It's not a few, there are 3 Jiufang grass markets on Fujian Road, 3 river crossings on Guangnan East Road, and 285 river crossings on Guangnan West Road, which are not as good as Hangzhou."

"Don't be funny, you must be joking, including Guangzhou City, the grass market adds up to 288? There are only three places on the whole road in Fujian, you must be joking with me. ”

Su Dongpo had already lowered his face: "Leaving people, things in other states, Hugh has to talk about it." ”

Zhao Xing understood that those places were remote, and the magistrate must have hidden a lot from the imperial court - however, this was also the answer that Zhao Xing wanted to tell Su Shi.

Other states and counties are hiding their own grass cities, or they don't want to spend so much energy to manage the grass city river crossing with an annual income of only a few dozen times; Or that they have the intention to put the people in a relaxed environment - then, why should the Hangzhou government make the people so uncomfortable?

Su Shi just said that he wanted to establish a tax customs here in Zhao Xing, and Zhao Xing's rhetorical question was actually a vague hint, implying that Su Dongpo should not put so much thought into it. A grass market collects dozens of taxes every year, and it also has to send officials to maintain order and keep patrolling, and if it is not good, the establishment of tax customs is just a cheap government, so that the officials can be powerful and oppress small businesses, and by the way, the reputation of the government will be ruined...... If you have that energy, you might as well listen to more songs and write poems!

Su Shi thought about it, and this is also the reason, so let's listen to the play. He shook his head, ignored the grass market, led the officials into Zhao Xing's castle, and then directly led the officials to the Jasmine Pavilion halfway up the hill. Well, every time he walked to the Jasmine Pavilion, Su Dongpo had to frown, he was not convinced that Cai Jing wrote these two words, but he was not convinced that Cai Jing was a person, but he was not convinced that Zhao Xingdi was a person, so every time he saw the word Jasmine, he only frowned and did not speak.

Today's banquet, the officials and their families came earlier than the officials, they have sat there shaking their heads, talking to each other, as they walked, the incense clothes out of the strong fragrance, mixed with the mountain jasmine fragrance, as if the garden has become a kind of incense Buddha.

When Su Shi and the others sat around the stone pavilion, a young and handsome young man walked up to the stone pavilion and began to recite the opening words: "It is said that the national thief is a traitor, and he sends a fool to be angry;

said that the loyal ministers were wronged, and the iron heart must also cry.

Talking about ghosts and monsters makes Yushi shiver;

On the resentment, send the beautiful woman to be green and sad.

said that the head was strong, which made Yushi happy;

The words are two circles to make the husband ambitious.

Talking about Lu Xiangqingyun's way, sending talented people to focus on the group of books;

Acting in the frost forest, the sun rises to the sky. Teach the hermit as if he were a beginner.

Fairy tales make the poor angry;

Speak from the bottom of your heart, and make the traitor ashamed. ”

After singing this passage, he sang a fat song and continued: "Ladies and gentlemen, today we are performing for you "Jade Guanyin", please listen to me slowly......"

At this time, Chen Yiyi led Liao Xiaoxiao to sit down beside Zhao Xing, and Cheng Azhu was still in confinement. didn't appear, so Yiyi sat next to Zhao Xing, and Liao Xiaoxiao sat behind Zhao Xing, but she put her head on Zhao Xing's shoulder. The body was attached to Zhao Xingdi's back, as if it was hanging on Zhao Xing's body.

This troupe is the credit of Liao Xiaoxiao, she went to the capital to show off to her sisters; When he came back, he brought this troupe and showed it off to the officials in Hangzhou.

The person on the field was singing lines, and Liao Xiaoxiao leaned into Zhao Xing's ear and introduced in a loud voice: "This little man's name is Kong Sanchuan." Today's performance of "Jade Guanyin" is not his best job, his best is "The Legend of the West Chamber", an official. Do you want him to continue to play "The Legend of the West Chamber"? ”

Zhao Xing didn't have time to answer. Because he saw that Cheng Shuang was anxiously glaring at him, he got up and paced to Cheng Shuang's side without attracting attention, and asked without looking back: "What's the matter, Cheng Shuang replied in a low voice: "There is a person in the capital, saying that it is the palace that has given some rewards, and it is ...... for the master and the teacher."

At this moment, the play in the stone pavilion has started, while everyone's attention is on the stage. Zhao Xing quietly stopped Su Shi. Greet the people sent from the capital with him.

Empress Dowager Gao, or the people in the palace, gave a very strange reward this time. First of all, the person who came was not a eunuch, but a son who was not famous in the clan, he saw Zhao Xing and Su Shi, he didn't say anything, and directly stuffed a bunch of things to the two, and without waiting for the two to thank him, he directly gave his hand and left.

The reward given to Su Shi is the four treasures of the study, although Su Shi is out of the palace, he can still get the reward of Tianning Festival, which makes him a little surprised, but it is not surprising, because on the day of Tianning Festival, all officials in Beijing will get a reward.

The gift to Zhao Xing was a bit strange, Su Shi pointed to one of the gifts, with a wide mouth, a long neck, and a long belly, with an open bottle cap at the mouth of the bottle, and a glass handle on the side of the bottle and said: "Warm water kettle, this is the princess given to the princess in the palace to marry, how can I give you these things." ”

Zhao Xing nodded: "This is not for me, this is for Princess Lezhi, she married in Vietnam, and the place where she married is Li Yuan, the king of the Vietnamese county you have seen." ”

Saying this, Su Shi fully understood. The palace is trying to downplay the existence of Princess Lezhi, of course, he refuses to make it clear. But why didn't you send these things to Zhao Qin'er before she got married?

"Teacher, I gave a gift to the palace in your name before the holiday, and some of them were given by Zhao Qin'er to my younger brother - Jinshang's playthings, which were probably given by Jinshang", Zhao Xing then explained.

Su Shi hurriedly stopped: "Don't say it, let's stop talking about this topic, let's go, go back to watch the show." ”

Zhao Xingyi raised his hand and said, "Teacher first, please." ”

Su Shi was stunned for a moment, but immediately understood, and he walked out of the living room.

The son of the Zhao clan had arrived on Zhao Xing's loach boat, and he had come with him a shipment of waterproof kraft paper—a paper made of wooden paddles treated with sulfuric acid.

The kraft paper on the cargo box is a feature of the loach ship, on the one hand, for anti-counterfeiting, on the other hand, there are some other reasons......

A black cat was drawn in the upper right corner of the kraft paper pasted on one of the boxes, and Zhao Xing slowly walked to the box and gently removed the kraft paper.

The kraft paper is double-glued together, which can contain some letters from the shipper of the goods, and some marks are drawn on the corners of the kraft paper, such as this letter with the shape of a black cat, which is a secret letter.

Zhao Xing tore open the envelope, and there was a palm-sized piece of paper inside, with only two words written on the front, which was a personal name: Jia Yi.

Zhao Xing nodded lightly, turned over the piece of paper and looked at it, and wrote a few words in small letters on the back.

The official who said that Hangzhou people like to eat Dongpo meat and hate Su Shi through the method of elision is Jia Yi. Yang Zuren told Zhao Xing about the situation, and Zhao Xing immediately asked Ma Mengde to investigate in the capital, and now the results of the investigation are here.

Jia Yi was a disciple of Cheng Yi, after Cheng Yi was driven out of the capital. He became the leader of the Luo party, and since then he has spared no effort to find every opportunity to fight Su Shi. At first, he said that the good man Wen Yanbo was the general backstage of Su Shi, saying that Su Shi and Wen Yanbo formed a party and chanted poetry, and the angry Wen Yanbo asked for Zhishi, and Su Shi except for the capital to avoid Jia Yi. But Jia Yi still refused to give up, he had to bring this person who had insulted the teacher to justice, and he would not hesitate to destroy the entire country for this.

On the back of the letter is Jia Yi's recent developments.

After Jia Yi's method of reversing black and white was discovered by the emperor, the little emperor originally planned to deal with it, but the good old man Lu Gongshu thought it was not appropriate to deal with it. He said: Jia Yi is still an upright person, but the slander of the minister is too intense, this is the essential work of the counselor, and the Son of Heaven should not be too nitpicky.

This passage is translated into modern languages. It means to say: "Jia Yi reversed black and white, and he is still a gentleman, because he did not fabricate it out of thin air, but only made a conscious excerpt of the facts, so he must protect it." ”

Lu Gong wrote this mixture, and Jia Yi was not belittled. But Jia Yi then decided to repay Lu Gongshu: he said that Lu Gongshu was the general backstage of Su Shi's evil deeds. Moreover, this man is old and deaf, and the court should depose or degrade him. to punish Lu Gongshu's crimes...... Right now. The court is making a fuss about this matter.

Zhao Xing finished reading the few sentences of the brief report, and tore the note into pieces casually, and with a wave of his hand, the shredded paper fell like a broken flower.

In fact, this secret letter doesn't need to be delivered so sneakily at all, because it is full of public content. But Zhao Xing asked Ma Mengde to do this, which was to cultivate the other party's intelligence awareness. Maybe someday. When he really used to deliver the secret message, the loach stacks along the way would not make a fuss.

Now. There was a faint sound of singing in the wind in the distance, as well as the sound of gongs and drums in the drama, Zhao Xing slowly walked out of the house, with his hands behind his back, thinking as he walked.

After walking a few steps, he bumped head-on into Jin Fuji guarding the side of the road, this boxer was already old and no longer followed Zhao Xing to break through, he retreated and served as the head of the inner courtyard, while the Xiao brothers were responsible for the security of the outer courtyard.

"What's the matter?" Zhao Xing asked.

Jin Fuji made a gesture and replied, "Da Lang, it seems that another thief has come in." Not long ago, a member of the Cheng family went to play in the west of the fort, and when he heard someone knocking on the cellar door from the inside, he roared, and the sound inside immediately stopped. ”

Zhao Xing thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of goods is stored in Xibao, and when will it be put into storage?" ”

Jin Buji obviously knew Zhao Xing's temper, and had done a full investigation in advance, he arched his hand and introduced in detail: "The goods in Xitoudi are ivory, and they were sent to Baoxi two days ago, and the goods there are not for sale, so the cellar door has not been opened since it was put into storage." Yesterday the patrol passed by there, and I asked, and he said there was no abnormality.

Dalang, because the things stored in the west of the fort are all important things, and no one is usually allowed to go there, so it is not abnormal until now. I also asked about the Cheng surname, he came from Jiangxia, he was an in-law of the Cheng clan in Jiangxia, his surname was Huang Mingxing, and he was following the construction of the iron furnace fort on the mountain behind the supervision of Young Master Wang, he took a fancy to a local woman, and today he wanted to take advantage of everyone's dedication to watching the song, and asked the woman to go to the west of the fort for a tryst, and heard the sound of smashing the door in the cellar door halfway, so he urgently reported it......"

On the west side of the castle is Zhao Xing's key defense area, where there are no people, and the front of the fort wall is arranged into an unobstructed flat land, so that if someone walks around that area, they can be seen from a distance. This area is dedicated to storing some non-perishable goods that need to be preserved for a long time, such as African ivory, Burmese gemstones, gold and silver, etc. In normal times, people are forbidden to move, and the surveillance stands on the four-storey castle wall platform, and if an existing person approaches, a warning is issued, and if the warning is not heard, trespassing, and the person is allowed to be killed on the spot.

That Huang Xing is obviously a nerd, he doesn't even know where to date, he chooses such an unsheltered flat place for a date, and the most he can do in this place is to hold hands and what else can he do.

Zhao Xing's gossip interest was aroused by Jin Buji's topic, and he didn't ask the thief who had been locked up in the cellar for two days, but asked with great interest: "That guy...... Today is the day of singing and dancing on the Tianning Festival, and the people in the fort have gone to watch the singing and dancing, how can he lead people to drill into a place where there are few people.

There are too many places with fewer people in the fort, among the flowers, in the woods, where you can't date, what are you doing in the west of the fort...... By the way, who is the woman he is dating, is she good-looking? ”

Jin Buer's face was embarrassed, and he arched his hand and replied: "Da Lang went to see it and knew that Huang Xing and the woman were there." ”

Huang Xing is a sixteen or seventeen-year-old doll, very strong, and obviously taller than his peers - it seems that Zhao Xing's students have been infected with tall people, they have studied with Zhao Xing for a few years, and they are immediately taller than their peers. Seeing Zhao Xing coming, Huang Xing bowed his hand and said, "My nephew has greeted my uncle." ”

Zhao Xing nodded, his eyes looked at the girl beside him, and as soon as he saw the other party's dress, Zhao Xing understood, this girl was not from the castle, it was estimated that she was a peasant girl near Hangzhou, she was dressed in plain white, her head was tied in a few buns with ribbons, she wore a pair of new-style high heels under her feet, and she wore a bright ruby ring on her hand.

The women in Zhao Xing's mansion are infected by a little modern aesthetics, of course, maybe they are afraid of trouble, all the women in the fort, except for Liao Xiaoxiao, are also interested in following the type of the Song Dynasty, and the head is coiled into various patterns, and most of the rest of the women are learning the leisure of women in the Tang Dynasty - a shawl, without any ornaments on the head, but the clamp rope on the head is extremely gorgeous.

The woman is still wearing a bun, and the small ornaments on her body show traces of the popular fashion inside the castle everywhere, which shows that Huang Xing usually gives gifts to each other. It is possible that even the silk on the other party was given by Huang Xing - this is also a common problem of men in the castle, because Zhao Xing operates maritime trade, the men in the castle often take a tailwind boat to bring some private work, and Zhao Xing likes to reward his family with those goods that are not in good condition, as a result, the men in the castle have developed the habit of pleasing women with overseas small things.

This woman is from outside, and although outsiders are not prohibited from entering the castle, it should at least be approved by Zhao Xing. Huang Xing brought the woman into the castle without permission, no wonder he had to go to a place with few people.

However, this woman is not stage frightened at all, she is standing behind Huang Xing, although Huang Xing tried her best to cover up, she looked at Zhao Xing calmly, and when Zhao Xing looked at her, she also looked at Zhao Xing with good eyes.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Zhao Xing asked.

Huang Xing arched his hand and replied: "Uncle, I took Sanniang here to play, I heard a knock on the door inside, I roared, the sound stopped immediately, I told the guards on the city wall, they brought a dog, the dog barked straight into the house, which means that there are indeed people in the house." ”

When the matter came, Huang Xing was not flustered, he replied calmly, hoping that Zhao Xing could see the credit of his current villain and forgive him for bringing people into the castle without permission.

Huang Xing's mother is from the Jiangxia Cheng clan, as an in-law, he came to Zhao Xing, hoping to learn some knowledge from Zhao Xing and mix up his background in the future. Because he is from the Cheng clan, and most of the young people have the same hobbies, the companion guarding the gate acquiesced to him taking people into the castle, so that he passed through the layers of levels without danger.

Zhao Xing's explanation to him seemed very calm, he nodded lightly, and replied, "Very good!" If it is abnormal, report it immediately, which reflects the consciousness of your own family - you go to the housekeeper to receive a five-time reward. ”

Huang Xing was overjoyed, and Zhao Xing continued: "Meritorious service will be rewarded, and mistakes will be punished: bring outsiders to the castle without permission, and expel them from the castle according to the law." All those who are on duty today will also be expelled according to this regulation, and not one will be left behind. ”

Huang Xing's face was gloomy, and he still wanted to defend himself, but Jin Buji waved his hand, and several people had already set him up and left the scene. The girl also followed in a panic, and kept asking Huang Xing's family for help on the way.

Zhao Xing looked at their distant backs, and whispered to Jin Buji: "The rules can't be broken, but there is love outside the law, you tell Chen Zhipo, let her propose to the female family on behalf of Huang Xing's parents, and I will give the dowry, and when she marries into the castle, I will immediately send these two back to Jiangxia." In addition, the person on duty today allowed him to bring outsiders into the fort, no matter what the reason, no matter how many people there were, all of them were sent back and let the Jiangxia Cheng clan take good care of them. ”

Jin Fuji agreed, then pointed to the door of the cellar and said, "Da Lang, this situation is not right. ”