In the small living room next to the back garden of the Henan Governor's Mansion in Kaifeng, Zhang Zhenfang and Zhou Zhentao sat opposite each other. Perhaps because of his strict family education since childhood, Zhang Zhenfang himself actually doesn't like luxury goods. Zhang Zhenfang's father has always taught Zhang Zhenfang not to "lose his mind by playthings", so the teacup in front of the two uses tea leaves produced in large quantities from the base. The tea brewed from this tea has a strong taste and is not too steeped. The aroma is insufficient, bitter and astringent, which can be very refreshing. Manual laborers can afford to buy it and like it too.

"Master Zhou is such a talent, why don't you stay with me?" Zhang Zhenfang persuaded.

Zhou Zhentao was unmoved, "Zhang Dudu, I received a letter from home a few days ago, and the reward you gave has been delivered to the family, and the parents who are here are very grateful." It's just that my parents urged me to go home quickly. I'm also anxious to see my parents, so I'm going to leave today. ”

Zhang Zhenfang knew that he couldn't keep Zhou Zhentao, but he still couldn't help but continue to persuade: "Master Zhou, this tax matter is very urgent, why not stay for a few more days?" ”

Zhou Zhentao naturally understood Zhang Zhenfang's mentality, and he said with a straight face: "Zhang Dudu, I have already said what I should have said. I'll talk a few more nonsense words at parting. Taxes are not collected by the people, but by how much the government can receive. If the Governor's Mansion wants to put the tax revenue into the hands of the Governor's Office, it can only rely on the Governor's Mansion to handle the taxes himself, and it is absolutely impossible to count on those tax collectors. The tax system that Zhang Dudu has built is completely consistent with the tax system of the People's Party. Why does the BJP always receive taxes? Because the 30 percent tax was set, the People's Party could really collect all the 30 percent tax into the treasury of the People's Party. ”

Zhang Zhenfang is very unaccustomed to Zhou Zhentao's "straightforwardness", if others dared to say this before, Zhang Zhenfang would reprimand him as a "cool official", and he would be cold-faced. Facing Zhou Zhentao in front of him, Zhang Zhenfang did not bring out any dissatisfied look on his face. Even if he has read sages since he was a child, he has been mixed in officialdom for so long. Zhang Zhenfang knew that he could now sit in the position of governor of Henan because he had Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Central Committee as a backer, and the People's Party was now focused on internal strife and had no time to take care of it for the time being. If he can't collect taxes and can't support the army, Zhang Zhenfang will either be removed from his post or easily killed by the People's Party.

After saying that, this is the end, Zhou Zhentao stood up, "Zhang Dudu, he has never been filial to his parents in the nine years he has been in the future, but he has made his parents worry about him. I still rely on the five thousand taels of silver that Zhang Du rewarded to give my parents a little explanation, and I thank you again here. ”

Zhang Zhenfang knew that Zhou Zhentao was officially resigning, Xu Guan, Xu Reward, he had tried many times, but Zhou Zhentao was always unmoved. Knowing that he couldn't keep Zhou Zhentao, Zhang Zhenfang also got up and replied: "Master Zhou gave advice, but he benefited a lot. Since Master Zhou must go, he will not stay in the next place. I wish Master Zhou a smooth journey. Come and send Master Zhou to the train station. ”

After ordering someone to send Zhou Zhentao away, Zhang Zhenfang wanted to study the whole set of plans again, and spent a lot of effort to sort out a thick set of plans, but he couldn't read it in his hand anyway. This is a very rare thing for Zhang Zhenfang, who has been trained unconventionally since he was a child, and when reciting poems, he has never been allowed to light lamps, only two incense sticks. This is to allow him to meditate and slowly develop the habit of diligent study and strong memorization. Not being able to read a book is an extremely rare thing for Zhang Zhenfang.

In such a state of mind at the moment, Zhang Zhenfang knew that he would not be able to read the book no matter what. He simply got up and asked his car to go to the Kaifeng Tax Police School to inspect.

The tax police academy is said to be a police academy, but it is actually a paramilitary academy. Zhang Zhenfang himself loves to run a school, and Zhou Zhentao proposed to set up a tax police school, the purpose of which is to train qualified tax police backbones, and Zhang Zhenfang expressed his support at that time. Personnel from all over the world are mixed, and only by relying on trustworthy core personnel can they make achievements in matters such as taxation.

The tax police school is divided into elementary, middle, high and three levels of tax police study classes. There are 24 classes in the junior class, and each class enrolls exactly one platoon of 50 people. It is held four times a year, each of which is three months. According to the plan, all of the more than 30,000-strong tax police force will be trained at the tax police academy within two years. All tax police officers who fail to pass the training must have their tax police qualifications revoked.

As soon as you enter the school gate, you can immediately feel a sense of solemnity. Running drills, queue training, and training shouting slogans make a large field lively.

"No to indiscriminate taxation!"

"National taxation is the foundation of the country!"

"No blackmail!"

"Scientific taxation!"

These slogans can be seen everywhere on the walls of the teaching building of the tax police school, the wall of the school, and the shadow wall of the lecture platform. Not only are there slogans everywhere, but the trainees are also specially trained to shout these slogans.

When Zhang Zhenfang and his entourage passed in front of the tax police who were shouting slogans, they all looked serious when they heard the tax policemen chanting these slogans, and they were not allowed to be the slightest frivolous. Those students who feel embarrassed to shout so much, or who think that the content of the slogan is "ridiculous" and show the slightest resistance on their faces, will be immediately brought out by the instructor and ordered to shout the slogan in the right color first, and then punish them for standing, running laps, or doing push-ups. When Zhou Zhentao formulated the system of the tax police academy, he resolutely demanded that it was absolutely forbidden to beat the trainees and never insult their personalities. Zhang Zhenfang also felt that it was acceptable, and now that these systems have really worked, even if they are punished, even if they are yelled at by the instructor with a red face and a thick neck, the students are more ashamed and wronged, but not angry.

But people's hearts are separated from their stomachs, and Zhang Zhenfang doesn't really believe that these students can understand. The cultural classes at the tax police academy were parallel to the military training, and he went to the classroom to listen to the cultural education.

The teacher's voice was high-pitched, "We are tax police, and we are responsible for the major affairs of the country's taxation. The students have all encountered tax collection in their families, and they know that the tax collectors go to the countryside like wolves. In the previous lessons, we all learned about the historical tax quotas. Everyone now finally knows how many taxes have actually been set in the imperial court and the province, but how much has changed when so many taxes have arrived. We've all calculated, do you know what the tax collectors are up to? ”

The students are all children of good families in various places, and they can only be exploited by tax collectors in various places, but after learning a lot of literature in the classroom, they know that their families are being cheated very badly. When the instructor said this, the students were naturally excited. "I got it!" "When we collect taxes, we will never collect them indiscriminately!" "No wonder the Manchu Qing has fallen! This is the harm to the people! ”

Zhang Zhenfang was also an official of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and listening to the speeches of the tax police cadets against the Manchu Qing Dynasty, he felt uneasy in his heart. In fact, in terms of taxation alone, the tax rate set by Zhang Zhenfang is not low at all. The Manchu Qing Dynasty had a slogan of "never increase the endowment", but the field endowment was nominally not increased, and all kinds of harsh taxes and miscellaneous taxes were never few. When the centigold system arose, this slogan died out completely.

When the slogan of "never add to the endowment" was shouted, the Ichinarita tax was set. Now, after some calculations led by Zhou Zhentao, the new tax system has set a 50% tax. When Zhang Zhenfang questioned whether this tax was too heavy, Zhou Zhentao said with a smile: "Last time, we calculated together, according to the tax amount set by Zhang Dudu now, it is only fifty percent of the tax, and it is not heavy." The amount of tax originally set by Zhang Dudu was only 30% after conversion, and when the tax collector was responsible for collecting the tax, he could receive 80%. The main point is that the People's Party has completely eliminated the exploitation of the middle, and no matter how it is divided after the expropriation, the People's Party will be consistent when it can be expropriated. In the past, most of the taxes were fattened by the local tax collectors. As long as the people can make the tax from eight to fifty percent, it is too late for the people to praise Zhang Dudu in the first few years, how can they feel too heavy? ”

It was after this conversation that Zhang Zhenfang believed that Zhou Zhentao's nature was a "cool official", emphasizing means, practice, and ethics, and never mentioning the words of a sage. Even after leaving the People's Party, Zhou Zhentao still mentions Chen Ke from time to time in his consideration of government affairs. This surprised Zhang Zhenfang. It seems that in Zhou Zhentao's heart, Chen Ke is still his mentor.

The enthusiasm of the students is good, although they are doing the work of a small official, but this enthusiasm is far from being comparable to that of a small official. After auditing the course, Zhang Zhenfang felt a lot more relieved.

He went to the principal's office and prepared to talk to Zhu Danma, the principal of the tax police school, about the matter. As soon as I entered the principal's office, I saw that Zhu Dan was scolding the provost, and even when he saw Zhang Zhenfang coming in, he was only slightly stunned. Zhang Zhenfang hurriedly said: "I'll go to the back room and wait first, and you continue to be busy with yours." ”

The room was not very soundproof, and Zhu Danma's angry voice came through the door, "In order to collect taxes fairly, the rules originally formulated did not allow people to enter the tax police force, but now not only do people ask people to come in, but they also think that they are a young master, so they dare to contradict the instructor." He's too bold! What are you afraid of, you are the provost, and you always have to count when you talk in this school. If you don't dare, you can go with him! ”

Zhu Dan is a fellow villager of Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhenfang, and he is also a native of Xiangcheng. He has been studious since he was a child, and he is recognized as a promising talent in the future in Xiangcheng. Yuan Shikai established the Beiyang Military Academy in Tianjin, and Zhang Zhenfang sent all the students from the counties under the jurisdiction of Chenzhou (Huaiyang) (Huaiyang, Xihua, Xiangcheng, Shenqiu, Taikang, Fugou, and Shangshui) to go to school, and Zhang Zhenfang paid for all the food, lodging, and study expenses. There are 10 students in each phase of Xiangcheng County, and after graduation, some of them joined the army, some entered politics, and most of them joined teaching, making contributions to the revolutionary construction of the democratic republic. His Majesty Zhu Dan is one of them. ，

After the founding of the Republic of China, His Majesty Zhu Dan was elected by the people of Xiangcheng as a member of the Provisional Senate of Henan Province. In 1912 (the second year of the Republic), Zhu Dan published many articles criticizing the evils of the times. When Zhang Zhenfang was the overseer of Henan, His Majesty Zhu Dan mobilized the masses to post slogans and demonstrate against Zhang Zhenfang's superintendent. For this reason, Zhang Zhenfang was very angry with Zhu Danma. At a senatorial meeting, Zhang Zhenfang publicly proposed that Zhu Danma was just a showman, with low merit and low reputation, and was not qualified to be a senator. His Majesty Zhu Dan said that my senator was elected by the people of Xiangcheng in accordance with the law, and you have not made an inch of contribution to the Republic of China, so what qualifications do you have to supervise Yu? This angered Zhang Zhenfang even more, and threatened to remove His Majesty Zhu Dan's senator, but His Majesty Zhu Dan did not show weakness and said that Zhang Zhenfang had no right to remove him, and the two sides had reached the point of-for-tat tension.

In fact, Zhang Zhenfang doesn't really hate Zhu Danfang, but he just thinks that Zhu Dan is really "forgetting his roots", according to traditional rules, Zhang Zhenfang, as Zhu Dan's teacher and sponsor, Zhu Danfang has to vote for Zhang Zhenfang's door, how can he openly work against Zhang Zhenfang after becoming a councilor?

But Zhou Zhentao praised Zhu Dan very much, and he habitually quoted Chen Ke's words, "Chairman Chen said that even a poisonous snake can come to guard treasures." Since His Majesty Zhu Dan is young and vigorous, and he feels jealous and hateful, he might as well let him take care of this tax police matter. It is impossible to do taxes without offending people, and at this time someone has to stand up! ”

With a malicious pleasure, Zhou Zhentao made Zhu Dan the principal of the Tax Police School. But the actual work proved that Zhang Zhenfang failed to see through His Majesty Zhu Dan, while Zhou Zhentao undoubtedly saw through it, and put His Majesty Zhu Dan in a suitable position. Since taking office, His Majesty Zhu Dan has done his best and worked diligently. In actual work, since he has done the work of things and experienced the hard work of doing things, this criticism of Zhang Zhenfang has never been publicly put forward again.

Zhou Zhentao's evaluation of this is: "Although the People's Party is a revolutionary party, the party is completely focused on interests. Chairman Chen Ke once said that the bureaucracy is loyal only to those who give them power. Of course, the current tax is divided into a part by the tax police force, but the money obtained by the tax police is given by Zhang Dudu. Grasp this point, Zhang Dudu should be a good Henan that can be governed. ”

After hearing this at that time, Zhang Zhenfang couldn't help but smile bitterly, he was the dignified governor of Henan of the Beiyang government, but he had to borrow the methods of the People's Party to govern Henan, which was really inexplicably funny. In order to get rid of this pressure, Zhang Zhenfang tried to link the People's Party's approach with that of Yuan Shikai in Beiyang.

The key to Yuan Shikai's military training is "one hand of guns, one hand of money". On the day of the salary, when every soldier received his salary, the officer who paid the salary shouted, "Everyone eats Yuan Gongbao's food and takes Yuan Gongbao's money." "On weekdays, military discipline is repeatedly emphasized, and if officers and soldiers exceed the rules at all, they will immediately be dealt with by military law. According to Zhou Zhentao's introduction, the People's Party was more ruthless than Yuan Shikai's Beiyang Army. In the Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, political commissars were specially appointed to engage in ideological work, and meetings were held to discuss with the soldiers on every matter, big or small. It is important to get the approval of the soldiers and convince them to understand these things.

In Zhang Zhenfang's view, Zhu Danma's approach is undoubtedly in line with the model of the two strongest military organizations in China at present, whether it is the Beiyang Army or the People's Party, the approach seems to be different, but in fact, the internal methods are in the same vein. It's all about discipline. In terms of internal discipline of the tax police school, the tax police are the armed forces directly under the governor of Henan, and naturally only obey the governor of Henan. The big families in all parts of the country are trying to send their children to the tax police force, what they want is to get the inside information first, and Zhu Dan is merciless to this kind of person, although it is a great offense to the local Haoqiang, but this is completely loyal to Zhang Zhenfang. Even if Zhu Dan may not think so in his heart, in fact, it is completely about maximizing Zhang Zhenfang's own interests.

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhenfang felt a little lost. When getting along with Zhou Zhentao, an old rebel of the People's Party, he was actually careful. When Zhou Zhentao really left, he felt empty in his heart again. This ambivalence is rare for Ms. Zhang. In his life, except for Yuan Shikai and other heroes, he has never gotten along with a person like Zhou Zhentao who has the ability to solve problems in the century. This perception, which had been cultivated over the course of months of working together, had unwittingly turned into a kind of trust.

With a long sigh, Zhang Zhenfang felt uneasy again. Figures like Zhou Zhentao, put in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and put in Beiyang, can be said to be outstanding cadres. But according to what Zhou Zhentao said, in the People's Party, there must be four or five hundred figures like Zhou Zhentao. There must be more than 100 people whose level ability is above Zhou Zhentao. These extremely rare talents are now gathered under the hands of Chen Ke, the chairman of the People's Party, who Yuan Shikai has to bow down, which cannot but make Zhou Zhentao feel strongly uneasy.

Just thinking about it, as soon as the door opened, His Majesty Zhu Dan pushed the door in, "Zhang Dudu, I just slackened." ”

Listening to these polite words, Zhang Zhenfang got up and replied with a smile: "President Zhu is busy with official business, and my sudden visit is the only thing that disturbs me." ”

The two were a little polite, and His Majesty Zhu Dan asked: "This summer harvest is about to end, and I think the tax police force should officially start collecting taxes." ”