"Lord, since you can't let the people of Jizhou and Qingzhou pay taxes, why don't you add taxes in the land of Youzhou? Explain the reason, I think they should understand! After all, we're doing this for everyone's good! Compared with a thousand, the people of Youzhou and even the three eastern provinces now, I don't know how many times better! Seeing that Zhao Xun was still muttering about money, Wei Dong whispered.

"No way!" Zhao Xun shook his head and vetoed Wei Dong's suggestion, "The people of Youbei, who were bullied by the people of the Yan Dynasty a few years ago, have been spending the days in the war, and the lives of the common people are already hard enough, and now they finally have a bright day, how can they be exploited again?" ”

"According to me! In Jizhou and Qingzhou, which are newly included in the system, there are many wealthy families, these families are all worth a lot, and they are not very clean. Han Meng said in a muffled voice.

Wei Dong smiled: "Huh? I haven't seen you for a few days, Old Han, your brain has become smarter! That's a great idea! ”

Han Meng said in a deep voice: "These big families, each of them is a good thing, in the village and town where I used to be, many people were forced to die by these big families!" ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "This is not good, except for the extremely bad clan, you can't come nonsense." ”

"Why not?" Han Meng said: "Which of these families is not hugely rich, with thousands of acres of fertile land and thousands of family wealth. They all came to exploit the people, I don't know how many dirty things they have done, I don't know how many innocent people have been ruined by them, this kind of person should be killed! Besides, the evidence of their crimes is indeed there, and it is not that I have framed them, turned over the evidence of the crime, and taken them down, killing two birds with one stone, so that I can not only vent my anger for the people, but also obtain property. Didn't we do this when we were in the Northern Mansions in the past? Why not today? ”

Looking at Han Meng's angry appearance, Zhao Xun sighed and said: "Han Meng, this time is also that time, at that time, we were in Youbei, and our strength was weak, if we didn't take down these big families, we wouldn't be able to divide the land equally among the people, and we wouldn't be able to effectively control the land in Youbei." What's more, in the northern land, which is a place that has been attacked by the Tatar people, there are very few big families and wealthy gentry, so they have no scruples when they take action. ”

After a pause, Zhao Xun continued: "But now, it is different, we are now in the north, and our jurisdiction is very large. It's not that we are afraid of these wealthy gentry, but we have to admit that their survival is still conducive to the stability and development of the local area. Besides, they have submitted to our army, and are willing to give their land free of charge, and divide it equally among the people, and all but those who have committed the most heinous crimes are accepted by the people. ”

"Think about it, how many shops and businesses are owned by the common people in all these places? No, they are all from these big families and wealthy gentry. Once they are cleared, these places will fall apart, and the people may not even be able to buy the supplies they need for a while. Where does the current commercial department and tax department come from every day? Where do you get the gold and silver coins you earn every day? It's no one else, it's all them. Killing them can indeed raise a large sum of money in a short period of time, but what about later? Do you want them all to flee and flee with their possessions? Killing chickens and taking eggs is absolutely unacceptable. ”

"Besides, it's good that they can hand over the surplus land and divide the people evenly and turn to business, and they can cooperate with the implementation of a series of policies that we have. These wealthy families, especially the wealthy gentry of the Central Plains states, which one of them does not have an intertwined relationship in various places, and they are all involved. We are not afraid of them, but we do not want to lead all forces against us. In the past, as long as it wasn't for the great anger of the people, we could ignore some dark things. ”

"Of course, this is not to be ignored, if they dare to come nonsense in the future, they will be punished for several crimes. People don't kill the heavens and the earth for themselves, and these wealthy gentry will definitely judge the situation and not kill themselves when they do not encounter the disaster of destroying their families. If we have to exterminate them, the gentry of other prefectures and counties will strongly resist our rule in the future. ”

"What's more, not everyone is a saint if any of the wealthy are clean. When the water is clear, there are no fish, and when people are observed, there are no fugitives! Zhao Xun said slowly.

"Subordinates understood!" Han Meng said with some resentment, in his opinion, those wealthy gentry are no different from the bastards who killed the villagers in the past.

"My lord! Since our salt works can't raise the price of salt under the Xiaoguo army, why not go elsewhere? Although Yangzhou and other places, the control of salt is in the hands of the navy. However, in Xuzhou, Yanzhou and even other states, the price of salt is still high. If we join, we will still make a lot of money. ”

"We can't raise it too much, but as long as it's lower than the local salt price, we're still making a lot of money. Not to mention far away, it is Yanzhou, repeated wars, not to mention the people, that is, the Tang Army, the Xuzhou Army, and the Yanzhou Army are all short of salt, why don't we sell it? Wei Dong said suddenly.

"Yes! This would work, and later let the caravans go south to sell salt. As for the armies, let our men communicate with them. If they don't do anything else, just sell some salt, they will never have any objections. Zhao Xun said with a smile. If an agreement is reached with local governments and armies to purchase salt for military use, the Xiaoguo army will gain a lot. With the sale of their own low-priced salt, then this salt tax can occupy a large proportion of their own financial revenue. At present, except for a small number of areas in the south that are drying salt, other coastal areas are boiling salt with seawater. Because of cement, it is much easier to build a salt pond to dry salt.

Salt is a daily necessity for people, it is indispensable, except for some salt-producing areas, the price of salt in other places has to change with the times, and continue to rise or fall. Many places do not produce salt, and what they need, they have to buy through the guò merchants. The outbreak of war has cut off trade routes, and there is a shortage of salt in many places, which will immediately lead to the problem of rising salt prices. Now that the Xiaoguo Army is providing salt at a stable price for all localities, what more can they say? Even the Xiaoguo Army can exchange grain for salt to accumulate the grain and grass materials of the Xiaoguo Army.

"However, even this, it is not possible to get a lot of money in the short term. Wei Dong, you say, if a person is short of money, how can he get a lot of money? ”

Wei Dong smiled bitterly: "What else can I do, except to grab or borrow!" Other than that, I really can't think of a way. But now, we are robbing, and we are not robbed! As for borrowing, who is willing to borrow them all, and who can lend us a large amount of money? ”

"Borrow!" Zhao Xun frowned, robbed, he didn't want to, he could borrow money when the time came, but it was not a small amount, except for one side of the princes, no one could afford it, but who was willing to lend money to Zhao Xun and let Zhao Xun grow, but attack himself instead?

In the previous life, the country ran out of money, what should I do? Kindness? National debt! National debt...... Zhao Xun's eyes rolled, and he suddenly had an idea, "Wei Dong, immediately summon all the directors to come to the meeting!" ”

"Obey!" Seeing Zhao Xun smiling, Wei Dong didn't know why, thinking about it, it was also related to this money.

"Lord, do you have a way?" After Wei Dong left, Han Meng asked in surprise.

"Well, there is a way, if nothing else, the money for repairing and dredging the canal will be available!" Zhao Xun said excitedly, "Let's go, let's go to the hall and wait!" ”

Soon, the Military Affairs Department, the Government Affairs Department and other directors of other departments arrived together, but looking at everyone's faces, Zhao Xun knew that they were also thinking about this matter.

"I've got a way to get the money." After everyone sat down, Zhao Xun looked at everyone with a smile and said word by word.

The officials looked at each other, looking at Zhao Xun without saying a word, how much effort did it take, and the lord came up with a way? But can this white silver pop out of the crack in the stone?

"Director Xu He, you are the director of the Department of Taxation, you should know the rich families under the rule of Xiaoguo Army best, you said that in the land of Youzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou, how rich are the rich people?" Zhao Xun looked at Xu He and asked slowly.

"Many, especially in the south of Youzhou and Jizhou, there are also a lot of rich families in Qingzhou." Although he didn't understand what Zhao Xun meant, Xu He was still very honest.

"My Xiaoguo Army's policy is still good, for several years, it has been tax reductions and exemptions, you say, Youzhou, northern Hebei, will the people have money in their hands?" Zhao Xun asked again.

"Yes! But ......" Xu He's face turned to the side, looked at everyone, and said in a deep voice. He also thought that Zhao Xun wanted to beat the people's idea, for fear that his answer would bring bad consequences.

Lu Ziliang was taken aback and said: "Lord, you don't have the same meaning as Master Pei, you want to raise taxes, the rules set by my Xiaoguo Army, but they have never been broken, this matter is not allowed!" ”

When Pei Yi heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Lord, although it is inappropriate, it is understandable. After all, we did not swallow this money ourselves, but for the sake of the people, who should understand and support it. ”

"No...... This is absolutely not possible! Lu Ziliang insisted on his point of view and said in a loud voice.

"I'm not going to raise taxes!" Zhao Xun is categorical.

"Then lord, how are you going to get the money out?" Pei Yi and Lu Ziliang were a little confused, and the others were also very puzzled, even Situ Liang also listened attentively, wanting to see what Zhao Xun's idea was.

"We found the national debt, no, it's the bond!" Zhao Xun said in a deep voice.

"Bonds?" Everyone said in unison and asked in surprise, "My lord, what is this?" ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "It is to borrow money in the name of the government, to borrow money from the people and everyone, and we will pay interest, according to the specified date." For one-year bonds, after one year, we will return the principal with interest. ”

At this time, everyone was shocked. Even Pei Yi and Lu Ziliang didn't fight, and jumped up almost at the same time: "How can this work?" Lord, isn't this just a tax increase? It also collects taxes in other names, so it is better to raise taxes directly. lest you end up with a bad reputation. Besides, even if the common people and those rich families lend us money, how will we pay it back then? Besides, they don't necessarily lend us money. ”

Zhao Xun said with a smile: "Why don't you borrow, I guarantee in the name of Xiaoguojun, and use Xiaoguojun's finance as a guarantee to issue bonds, at two cents of interest, which is similar to a fixed amount of usury, is it possible that they can hide the silver at home and have a son, lend it to me, and you can have a son." What's more, my Xiaoguo army is getting stronger and stronger, with the rise of maritime trade, after all places return to normal, and taxes are also restored to normal, my Xiaoguo army will not be short of money, will it not be returned to them? What we are doing now is known to all, and I have no intention of greedy for the people's money. The credibility of my Xiaoguo Army is still guaranteed, and I am not afraid that we will not pay it back! Besides, what do we borrow money for? Isn't it for the convenience of the people? ”

Situ Liang said: "I think the lord's idea is feasible, you know, in various places, those wealthy gentry of the family are stacked with coins, gold and silver in their own underground cellars, not that they have no money, but they store it, and they are reluctant to take it out and use it." As a result, there is less and less money circulating in the world. If we do this, we will make a lot of money come to the market, and there will not be no money in the world, but the money will be piled up at home by those wealthy gentry. ”

What Situ Liang said is true, not only those wealthy gentry, but also ordinary people's homes, are also accustomed to placing money at home. Although there are Huitong banks in various places, many people put their money in the bank. However, most of these are merchants, who travel from north to south and are well-informed, and they are also convenient for this method of putting money in the bank. But those wealthy gentry and ordinary people are still accustomed to keeping their money in their own homes and hiding it privately.

In fact, in peacetime, Xiaoguo Jun has already used a small amount of money in the money village for his own use. But because most of this is businessmen's money, transactions and exchanges are frequent, Zhao Xun did not dare to use too much, so as not to cause a storm of redemption and collapse Huitong Bank.

Zhao Xun said to Pei Yi and Lu Ziliang again: "This matter still needs the cooperation of the Secretary for Administration." For businessmen, it should not be a big problem to have the assistance of the Department of Commerce and the Department of Taxation. The wealthy gentry of the family rely on you to mobilize the assistance of local governments, do not force them, explain our policy to them, and let them choose whether to do it or not. As for the people, you might as well go to the righteousness and tell them that every bond you buy from us is equivalent to giving the army an extra spear, and you should go down and think for yourself, in short, let the people use all the dead money that is hidden in their homes. ”

Pei Yi and Lu Ziliang still haven't understood the benefits of this bond, and Pei Yi said with a sad face: "Lord, it's easy to cheat money, but how can you repay the money after you arrive?" This is not one person or two, there are millions of people under the Xiaoguo army, oh my God, this is really going to be borrowed, what can I do when the time comes? Every year's taxes are useful, and this year's taxes are staked, but what about the expenses that would have been needed this year? Why can't you push it back every year? If you can't pay it back, my lord, you will lose your trust in the people! Even, the impact is even worse! ”

Zhao Xun naturally understood the problem of bonds, and he was confident that there was no problem, so he smiled indifferently and said, "My Lord Pei, why don't you understand?" With the passage of time, the southern part of Jizhou and Qingzhou will be properly settled, and the taxes of Youzhou and northern Hebei will also be paid normally, and they will no longer be the object of tax exemption and tax reduction. In this way, we need to spend less, and we will have more money to save. ”

"In addition, the fleet of maritime trade will also enter the normal trade range, with the first time, then the second time, the third place is not a problem, the future of the maritime trade fleet, will only increase, and the income will naturally increase. There is also the salt trade, which can increase our financial revenue, and we are not afraid that we will not be able to pay back. Besides, when the canal is opened, trade is more convenient, and trade is prosperous, will there be no income? ”

"In short, with the passage of time, will the finances of our Xiaoguo Army get better soon, after it gets better, we will have money to return to the people, and at the same time pay them interest, which also makes the people make money, the people have money in their pockets, and they naturally want to use it, where to use it, and it is not used in our local area, as long as they use it, we can collect more taxes, and so on, isn't the finance better every day? Hahaha, this is called stimulating consumption, who has money in their pockets, and doesn't take it out to buy a few pieces of jewelry for their wives and a few new clothes for their children? What's more, if it still doesn't work next year, we can still repay the old debt and borrow new debt! Therefore, we are not cheating money, but calling it a market economy! ”

Everyone was dumbfounded, Zhao Xun's set of theories was a little new, and they really didn't understand it. But I have to say that there is still a sense in it. For Pei Yi and Lu Ziliang, as long as they get money and don't raise taxes on the people, they have no opinion. Besides, they don't have a better way, who told them to encourage Zhao Xun to do some canal repair and dredging?

"Lord, are we pinching the handle of those wealthy gentry and asking them to borrow? If you really want to talk about it, they are the real rich people, and the people are far behind them! Yang Wangzhen said in a deep voice.

Zhao Xun shook his head and said: "No, as long as we convey our meaning, they don't give, borrow or not, it's their freedom." It's just that we have to write down those who have borrowed money, and when we choose officials and have benefits in the future, we will give priority to those who have received money and borrowed a lot. As for the means, you are up to you. Don't force it, no matter who the other person is, be willing. ”

Situ Liang smiled: "Don't worry, I think, as long as our policy goes out, no matter what the other party thinks, they will lend some more or less." How to say it, it should be regarded as exchanging money for peace. Now it is my Xiaoguo army that is in charge in the north, they can't do it cleanly, they know it themselves, and it is expected that they are also worried that our Xiaoguo army will attack them. But don't forget, what we did in the north was notorious. ”

Everyone laughed, and they naturally understood what Situ Liang meant. I think that at the beginning, when the Xiaoguo Army was in the Youbei Mansions, in order to implement the new policy, it leveled the homes of many big landlords. Turning out their case records is directly to raid their families and exterminate their families. Now the southern part of Jizhou and the young and strong gentry of the family are not clean themselves, how can they not be afraid of the Xiaoguo army attacking them. Otherwise, it would not have appeared, and the big families in various places have returned the encroached fields, and sent the excess fields to the government at a low price or even free of charge.

For this situation, Zhao Xun naturally won't let Xiao Guojun explain too much, and he won't really attack them. It's the start, and it's also those families whose reputation is extremely corrupt.