Partial head pass, the east bank of the Yellow River to prevent the Tatars from going south to the Great Wall fortress, I have been paying tribute for decades without war, almost faded out of people's field of vision, with the rise of Fengzhou, this remote pass because of convenient waterway transportation, has become an important channel to connect Shanxi and Fengzhou trade, so Wang Guoliang, Sun Xianzu and a group of Shanxi military merchants came, relying on Fengzhou to support lawlessness, the Ming law and the government trampled under the feet to engage in free trade, here quickly prospered, the street can be seen everywhere Shanxi people, Fengzhou people open shops, There are caravans from the south to the north, the officers and soldiers guarding the customs are not doing their jobs, they follow the traders to run errands to make money, the people who guard the pass are the Shanxi people's army, and the tax collectors are also the tax collectors of the Fengzhou Guan, and now the partial head pass is not so much a border fort as a big bazaar.

In the Nanguan City Tower, Li Yu looked into the distance in silence, he took the Flying Tiger Battalion to Yulin from Guyuan, the villagers saw their children go home very enthusiastically, Uncle Ma and Uncle Qin must stay with him for a few more days, and the heads of several major generals in Yulin also asked him to discuss major matters - the Yulin people of Fengzhou grabbed a handful, and they held the military and political power, and they were connected by blood, Fengzhou's business in the northwest and Sichuan had a share of Yulin people, and Yulin people would not hesitate to help each other with blood, Li Yu was gradually recognized as the next generation of Yulin leaders, the two sides closed the door is a family, Yulin's major events are actually Fengzhou's major events, You Shiwei, You Shilu, Hou Shilu and Wang Shiqin and other former old military leaders pulled Li Yu to talk for three or four days, until the news came that Zhang Daojun, the supervisor of the Shanxi Crackdown on Thieves Joint Defense Bureau, asked for an interview, Li Yu got out and rushed to the side pass, and waited for a long time Zhang Daojun and Shanxi military and business leader Wang Guoliang to meet, but they talked almost the same as Yulin Jiangmen - Yulin, The local forces in Shanxi demanded that they join hands with Fengzhou for autonomy and implement "one emperor and two imperial courts".

"Han Min, we don't want to come to this point, but since the first year of Chongzhen, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued, Shanxi has been depressed, the people are not living, and the population has lost more than one million, but the imperial court has turned a blind eye to it and has taken advantage of it, watching the tragedy in the world happen, what is the use of such a court? Shanxi can't sustain itself, and if it is not destroyed by thieves, it will also be destroyed by natural disasters, and it must find its own way out. Honoring the emperor and setting up another court is by no means a betrayal of the Ming Dynasty, but to help the Ming Dynasty get out of the predicament, and then promote the reform of the imperial court, which may also bring a glimmer of life to the Ming Dynasty," Zhang Daojun's tone was very excited, seeing that Li Yu was still silent, he pointed to the caravan at the entrance and exit and said, "Look at it, there was an endless stream of caravans out of the customs before, and there were very few caravans entering the customs, but now the caravans entering the customs account for most of them, and the caravans entering the customs are becoming fewer and fewer. What are you waiting for? ”

Zhang Daojun has not been easy these years, and his hair has turned a lot gray - Shanxi has repeatedly suffered from natural and man-made disasters, and the imperial court has suppressed local forces from time to time, he has worked hard to support the banner of the Shanxi Thief Joint Defense Bureau, and only then has he put a plate of scattered gentry into a group of sand and struggled to survive, Chongzhen has been in Xiangyang for six years, and his sister Zhang Fengyi has been killed in an ambush in Xiangyang, unfortunately he was ambushed and died, and the relationship between Shi Yanma and him was estranged, which gave him another blow, and the relationship with Fengzhou was correspondingly closer, and the letters often revealed the resentment of the imperial court - Li Yu was also sad for the loss of Zhang Fengyi's eldest sister, and also held a public sacrifice for her, but she was somewhat relieved, the marriage between the Li family and the Ma family was blown up, otherwise the court would definitely intervene.

Li Yu is still silent, God can testify, he just wants to do business and make money, and he has no heart to be the king and hegemon, who would have thought that if he was not careful, he would become a force and cause trouble for himself.

"Hermes-Epitek, we are tied together, in the future, whether the Ming Dynasty Zhongxing or the world is returned to others, they will attack us, you also have to think about us, let's do it, the old brother will wave his hand, tens of thousands of Shanxi Town officers and soldiers will follow you, the stronger the stronger the safer in the troubled times." Wang Guoliang also said eagerly that his family property has now increased more than tenfold, and the richer he is, the more worried he is about the future.

"The Fengzhou army and Huayi are mixed, what will the people of the Central Plains think if Hu rides into the Guanyuan? If anyone shouts 'expel the Tartars' again, there will be rivers of blood, and I'm afraid!" Besides, I can't afford to carry the burden of Shanxi. Li Yu muttered.

"You are just a good person, who cares about the blood flowing like a river since ancient times, isn't this what the old Zhu family did, what is it that Hu Qi enters the customs, give them money to send them away after doing things, we put the emperor on the table, and we can still change the dynasty, who dares to say that it is not justified?" Wang Guoliang didn't care.

Zhang Daojun stood up and said solemnly: "The Han people don't have to worry, the integration of Fengzhou and Shanxi can only be a great increase in strength, and it is by no means a burden - the north of the Yellow River is different from the south, the land is barren and the yield per mu is not more than stone, the gentry are not keen on annexation, but like to do business, the land rent is too high because of the excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, drive out the power of the imperial court, and develop industry and commerce lightly, the financial use will increase, the burden of the people will be reduced, and it will be easier to survive in the year of the catastrophe, so I will definitely support you." We will first take Shanxi and watch the changes, as long as the imperial court moves first, we will drive it to Nanjing, with our strength plus Khalkha, Oirat allies are enough to achieve this, at that time we respect the emperor of one country and two dynasties, implement a new policy in the north, and protect the people and China, who cares that we use Yibing and horsemen! ”

Zhang Daojun gushed endlessly, he was also forced to be anxious - when Wu Xian was in charge of Shanxi, he suppressed the power of the imperial court and relied on local forces, and the two governors of Xuanda, Yang Sichang and Liang Tingdong, turned a blind eye to this, and the power of the gentry and the government in Shanxi was relatively balanced, and the two sides could live in peace and quiet. The new governor Song Xian is a good old man who has no opinions, and Lu Xiangsheng, the governor of Xuanda, took the opportunity to meddle in Shanxi, this person was loyal to the imperial court and had a keen eye, and realized that the development of these local snakes would become a big trouble sooner or later, and he continued to suppress local forces, and the land of the gentry was forcibly occupied to resettle the displaced people, and the arrears of taxes over the years were required to be paid, and even the Shanxi People's Army had to be divided into pieces and hide so as not to be incorporated into the official army. The gentry were frightened and felt that there was only a way out by driving the court away, and they remembered the backers outside the Guan, and specially entrusted Zhang Daojun to lobby Li Yu.

Li Yu shook his head secretly when he heard this, this venerable brother is a scholar in the end, far less far-sighted than Du Wenhuan, this strategy does not take into account the reaction of the thieves inside the customs and the Qing country outside the customs at all, the imperial court is forced to make peace with the Qing country, and then go all out to attack Fengzhou, at that time, the thieves and the Qing country will take advantage of the fire to rob, won't this world be chaotic and chaotic, if the situation changes, can these gentry be reliable? They are mothers if they have milk, who dares to guarantee that they will not fight back.

"The entry of the Fengzhou army into the customs is a matter of great importance, and it must be discussed by the council, and I have no right to let the children of Fengzhou bleed," Li Yu stood up, looked at Zhang Daojun and Wang Guoliang and said solemnly, "However, I can guarantee that whoever has shared weal and woe with Fengzhou, Fengzhou will definitely protect him, and whoever dares to touch you will move Fengzhou." ”

Zhang Daojun was a little angry, and replied with a sneer: "I don't ask you to express your position now, but I'm sure that God will definitely force you to enter the customs, and you will come to us when the time comes." ”

"Brother Zixuan, Brother Wang, there are some things to be made clear, with the current strength of Fengzhou, there is no problem to fight to the Yangtze River, but it is easy to win the battle and it is difficult to stand on its feet, I can't trap Fengzhou in the quagmire, it is better to do this, I support you to set up the Shanxi Council, take over the local power, and next spring in the spring of next year, the leaders of the Khalkha and Oirat and the great lamas in Tibet will come to naturalize the Huimeng, you also come, we will discuss the future affairs together." Li Yu said sincerely.

Zhang Daojun laughed: "There is no need to set up the Shanxi Council, in fact, your Fengzhou Council is the Shanxi Council, you know how many Shanxi people there are in the Fengzhou Council, okay, give you a face, I will go to naturalize in the spring next year." ”

At dusk, Sun Xianzu, the second master of Shanxi military businessmen, set up a banquet in the General's Mansion, but everyone thought about their own thoughts, and they were very unhappy to eat, so they just chatted casually about family life, and Li Yu left the next day.

Bao Ketu, Li Yu returned to the camp of the Great Commander's Mansion, Batu, Li Fugui, and Chang Shu immediately came to see him, and the process of the westward advance was already known, Li Yu talked in detail about the talks between Guyuan, Yulin, and Bitouguan, and everyone was dumbfounded, Fengzhou himself was still anxious, and the people in the Guanguan actually wanted to come and incite rebellion.

Li Fugui looked at Li Yu for a while, shook his head and sighed: "I really feel that I am old, our Hanmin is becoming more and more mature, you are doing the right thing, the customs is a big quagmire, and it is unfathomable, Fengzhou must have two prerequisites for entering the customs, the first is to achieve the unity of Huayi like the founding of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the second is to have the favor of God and the support of the people, otherwise no matter how high the price is, you can't fall into it." ”

"The Han people's livelihood is simple and can withstand the temptation, if it is replaced by Huang Taiji, I am afraid that I will enter the customs even by jumping." Chang Shu said on the side.

"How can I be so smart, it was Lord Hong Chengchou's words that reminded me." Li Yu said embarrassedly and spread out Hong Chengchou's banner.

Li Fugui praised: "Hong Chengchou is not a loss of talent, this 'Shuntian should respond to the people' tells us what to do in the future, and 'advancing with the times' teaches us what we should do now, the current situation is pressing, and it is time for Fengzhou to restructure." ”

"Isn't my second brother in Bauktu, why haven't you seen him?" Li Yu suddenly remembered Li Huai, who resigned as prime minister.

"He accompanied Liu Zhilun and Liu Zongzhou to inspect the surroundings, and he should be able to come back soon, Mr. Qishan heard that you were going to come back, so he waited here in advance, this time you can't hide," Chang Shu saw Li Yu's frightened appearance, and said deliberately with a smile, "This Mr. Qishan is really powerful, he called the naturalized officials to teach at the end of three days, and if he didn't go, he came to the door to teach, Zhou was stunned and scolded the most, but he didn't dare to fight back, everyone was afraid when they saw him, Brother Nianfeng heard that he came to Baoketu and went out to hide for a few days, Hermes-Epitek, you have to be careful!" ”

Li Fugui said with a wry smile: "This person is knowledgeable, full of economy, and is famous for his 'cautious independence', and is known as today's giant Confucianism with Huang Daozhou. He never accumulates personal wealth, and the person he brought home after several resignations is only a load of books, which is his belongings as an official for many years; He is frugal and does not take advantage of the public family, other officials walk in a sedan chair, he rides a thin donkey on business, other officials eat and drink all day long, he eats green vegetables and tofu all the year round, and even refuses to enjoy the food provided by the public when he is promoted to the church, and fills his hunger with the cakes hidden in his sleeves; He once returned to his hometown to set up a witness society, convened comrades to give lectures every month, and reviewed and reflected on his selfish thoughts in public. He is also loyal and upright, when Wei Zhongxian and the Hakka family were favored, he wrote a letter to impeach the traitorous party for disorderly government, and when the Donglin Party gained power, he openly said, 'The crime of the Yunwu Party is above the Song people, and it is not a hypocrisy', and the emperor must not be able to stand him today, so he sent him to teach us a lesson. ”

"He is a perfect man in heaven and earth, and everyone thinks that he is a villain in front of him, and he can't be provoked!" After Li Fugui finally finished speaking, Li Yu broke out in a cold sweat, Liu Wanren is more terrible than Liu Shengren, and he has done too many outrageous things, I am afraid that he is not as good as a villain.

Batu laughed a few times and handed a stack of official documents to Li Yu: "You are a northern captive, it doesn't matter if you are a villain, let's do the right thing, the "Restructuring Charter" sent by Zhou Yi, Fengzhou has long hidden wealth from the people, and the people still have surplus grain in their hands, there will be nothing to do this year, but it will be difficult to say next year, and there are more and more displaced people pouring into Fengzhou, and it may exceed 150,000 people after the autumn, how to solve their livelihoods?" These are the biggest headaches. ”

Zhou Yi's "Restructuring Regulations" put forward a novel proposition -- to change the parallel development of agriculture, animal husbandry and industry to industry and commerce, agriculture and animal husbandry-oriented, from the people to the rich and the country rich, from the people to the strong and the country strong, and to elaborate on the reasons and implementation strategies.

First of all, the local financial power and the power of affairs are not reasonable, the local government handles a large number of specific affairs, but the income is only the land endowment, forced by the financial pressure, the local government also plays tricks, on the one hand, it reaches out to the prime minister's office to ask for subsidies, does not give money, does not do things, on the other hand, conceals the population to retain labor, does not receive Kanhe private workshops, and the result is that the government affairs are chaotic. Rather than this, it is better to decentralize the municipal tax and encourage the local government to open markets to promote commerce and trade, and the fact that Fengzhou does not levy taxes on labor services such as construction and transportation is a major loophole, and it should also be levied by the local government. In this way, the tax collection department does not have to worry about the complicated collection of municipal taxes and labor taxes, and the government is familiar with the local conditions, and the collection of taxes will be twice the result with half the effort, and the financial use will inevitably increase.

Second, with regard to the reform of the tax system, at present, the commercial tax in Fengzhou is too heavy, and in addition to the exemption of grain and cloth, the customs tax of 10 percent is implemented for the entry of goods, and the domestic factories, mines, and workshops are also 10 percent of the "tithe", and the customs tax on goods leaving the country is ridiculously high, and the value of grain and cloth is even twice the value of the goods, which is extremely unfavorable to the development of industry and commerce in the long run, so the tax rate must be reset, and the tax rate on imported goods should be reduced by half except for luxury goods such as silk and shochu, and the customs tax on outbound goods should not exceed 50 percent. Zhou Yi also proposed that the tax collection department and the customs banknote issued red tickets, domestic factories and mines, workshops, and commercial inns can apply for them, and the red tickets must be filled in according to the truth for future shipments, and the red tickets will be asked to deduct the price of the goods for purchases, and only pay "tithes" on the value-added amount. In this way, in order to deduct taxes, merchants will inevitably apply for red tickets, and the tax collection department can collect taxes by inspecting the red receipts, and merchants can also prevent tax leakage by asking for red tickets from each other, then the tax source will be expanded, the cost of taxation will be greatly reduced, and the commercial tax will increase significantly.

Thirdly, with regard to the introduction of immigrants, Fengzhou believes that "those who have constant production have perseverance", and grant 30 to 50 acres of land per ding, but do not take into account the specific situation of each household, and there is a shortage of labor in each prefecture, especially in factories and mines, workshops and commercial inns, and often close down when the farm is busy, and at the same time, the reclamation of large areas of land also occupies water sources and pastures, affecting the interests of herdsmen, so since it is impossible to stop the displaced people, it is better to simply allow them to enter and exit freely to seek their own business, unless they voluntarily defend the border and no longer grant land, and those who want to become naturalized citizens must have military merits or pay taxes for three years. However, the citizens of Fengzhou were treated favorably, allowing them to dispose of land freely, and those who wanted to conquer the border not only granted another border land, but also did not take back the original land, but could rent it to the displaced people for farming, so as to reduce the population pressure of Fengzhou.

Third, the 1.5 million silver banknotes already issued in Fengzhou can hardly meet the needs, and an additional 1.5 million yuan should be issued, and in the future, it will continue to be issued every year to support the industrial and commercial development of Fengzhou, and in order to ensure the credit of the silver banknotes, the silver banknote bureau must raise silver from the private sector, and the share capital should be increased to at least 2 million taels, and at the same time, the previous method of trading grain, cloth, salt, and iron tools must be traded in silver banknotes. Zhou was stunned to stress that maintaining a strong army is the best guarantee for the credit of the banknotes, and that the Fengzhou Army should continue to expand its armaments and improve its equipment, not only outside the Guan, but also try to enter the Guanguan to fight, and continue to win battles in order to make money.

In the end, Zhou Yi suggested setting up a Terracotta Department in the Prime Minister's Office to supervise military rations, a Foreign Affairs Department to deal with allies and foreign affairs, merging the Commercial and Market Department into the Taxation Department, abolishing the Western Xingtai in the local area, establishing the Baoketu Mansion, and merging Xuandewei with Dongsheng Zuowei.

Li Yu looked at it and fell into deep thought, Batu said with a smile: "This charter is obviously the opinion of the Chamber of Commerce, and there is no letter to express the situation, which shows that there is still a dispute within the Council, Wang Fang must be singing the opposite, these guys are doing their own thing, where can they leave me with the removal of the Western Trip?" Hermes-Epitek, let me say first, I can't come to the prefect of Baoketu. ”

"Since ancient times, it has been said that a rich country and a strong army have been said, how can there be a truth that the people are rich and the country is rich, and the people are strong and the country is strong? But he did the opposite, and could not listen to him! Chang Shu shook his head and said.

Li Yu glanced at the silent Li Fugui, patted the table lightly and said: "I called you all to Baoketu, just to let the people of Fengzhou learn to decide their own fate without the Great Commander's Mansion, I respect their choice, and never interfere in things that I don't understand, as long as Zhou Yi can convince the Council, I can let him take over the prime minister's affairs." ”

"Zhou Yi is a villain, I can't believe him." There was a shout outside the door, Li Huai and Liu Zhilun accompanied a fair-faced old man in, Li Yao and Zhang Zhiyao also followed behind them, Li Yu knew that the person he was afraid of was coming when he heard the official words with a southern accent.