PS: Ask for a monthly pass

"But there are only so many people who can get fame, most of them can't get fame, some people can't even get a show of talent in their lives, and many people read books as nerds, and they don't know anything except the Four Books and the Five Classics.

I hope that my husband can teach and educate people, so that more people can master practical learning, so that even if they can't get famous, they can still do other things. Yang He said busily.

"You think well, but others don't think you do." Xu Guangqi said.

"This is the reason why the student invited Mr. to Funing County, Mr. must know that many people can't afford to read, but in Funing County, students can run several schools, and all the needs of the school are borne by the students, and those who don't need to study spend a penny, I think, there must be many people who are willing to send their children to the school to learn something." Yang He said.

As he spoke, Yang He turned his head to look at the room, and then said: "Mr. has been honest all his life, and he must have no savings, and it costs money to write books and periodicals, and this money is also paid by students, including Mr.'s family, and all of them are borne by students." ”

"I heard that you have recruited nearly 5,000 recruits now, raised so many soldiers, and have to build an arsenal workshop, and now you want to build a school, and you want to help print books for the division, and I am afraid that you will not last long with the little money you get." Xu Guangqi said.

Yang He said with a smile: "Mr. don't worry about the matter of money, the student has his own way to solve it." ”

Xu Guangqi said with a straight face: "When the time comes, you won't let the gentry of Funing County pay the money and grain, right?" Your foundation is not stable now, and doing such a thing will do you more harm than good. ”

"Hehe, the students don't force them to pay money and food now. However, these gentry paid on their own initiative. Yang He smiled.

"Oh? Why is that? Xu Guangqi wondered.

Yang He smiled: "Because I have soldiers in my hands." These people will never dare to offend me. Although there are no bandits in Funing County now, who knows when they will appear again? When something happens, they're bound to come to me again. Now these people know that I am a person, and I am not a good talker. ”

"Hehe, I also admire your methods as a teacher." Xu Guangqi said with a smile.

Yang He shook his head and smiled: "Speaking of which, it's just raising bandits' self-respect, what kind of means can it be?" It is also useful to deal with those gentry and wealthy businessmen. ”

"You are honest in front of your teacher." Xu Guangqi said with a smile.

"The students are not honest. Can I hide it from you? Didn't you and Master Liqing guess it at the beginning? It's just that the students didn't admit it at the time. Yang He smiled.

Xu Guangqi smiled and said: "Even if those gentry and wealthy businessmen pay taxes on grain, I'm afraid they won't be able to afford your expenses, but you don't seem to take those expenses seriously at all. ”

"Sir, if you always promise to go to Funing County with the student, the student will tell you." Yang He said with a smile.

"Hahaha, you kid is still going to be a teacher!" Xu Guangqi said with a smile.

After taking a sip of tea, Xu Guangqi shook his head and smiled, "Okay." In order to know how you got the money, the teacher promised you to go to Funing County. ”

Yang He smiled and said, "Then the student will tell Mr." The students opened a salt factory, and after all the expenses, they could have at least 30,000 taels of silver left every month. ”

"Privately opened a salt farm?" Xu Guangqi was shocked, glared at Yang He and said, "When the time comes, do you know how big a crime this is?" ”

Yang He smiled: "The students know, but so what? ”

Sighing, Yang He stood up and said, "Sir, you may see that the students have always had no good impression of the Donglin Party, including Sun Chengzong, the Liaodong Economic Strategy, and the students are not optimistic about him. ”

"Why aren't you optimistic about Sun Zhisheng?" Xu Guangqi said.

"Liaodong Jingluo is not only in charge of military affairs, but also government affairs, but I don't see Sun Jingluo have any effective strategies in government affairs, he only knows how to blindly ask the court for money, but you don't know what the court is like now? The treasury has long been empty, and every time he opens his mouth, he adds a burden to the common people. Yang He said.

Xu Guangqi was silent for a while when he heard this, and said: "Now the situation in Liaodong, I'm afraid no one can reduce the burden on the imperial court. ”

Yang He sneered: "Sir, this is the reason why students don't have a good impression of the Donglin Party. You must know that it is the Donglin Party that is now in charge of the government, and since they are in power, it should be their responsibility to solve the maladministration of the imperial court and solve the difficulties of the national treasury.

But since the Donglin Party took power in the imperial court, the Ming Dynasty has been getting worse and worse, such a group of people are just corpses and vegetarian meals, but one by one they are high-sounding, and they are all talking about the sky, but in fact, they have no bullshit ability. ”

After a pause, Yang He continued: "Sir, when the student first came to Tongzhou to look for you, he went around Tongzhou, where it can be said that there are many merchants and shops, but how much business tax does the imperial court collect in Tongzhou in a year?" ”

Xu Guangqi shook his head: "It's only a few hundred taels of silver a year." ”

Yang He sneered: "A few hundred taels of silver, those officials of the Taxation Department and the Municipal Department of Taxation are all eating dry rice?" I don't need to look at the accounts of those merchants, just look at the number of goods they transfer, and I know that Tongzhou should collect at least 10,000 taels of tax and silver a year. ”

Sighing softly, Yang He continued: "I came to Beijing twice, although I didn't take a closer look in the capital, but the prosperity of the capital is beyond doubt, I don't know how many taxes those merchants in the capital have paid for the imperial court in a year?" ”

"There are very few, because those who can open shops and do business in the capital have a way, and as far as the teacher knows, many shops are the property of those princes and nobles, and these people do not have to pay taxes." Xu Guangqi said.

Yang He smiled and raised his eyes to look at the sky outside: "Sir, seeing that it is noon, the students invite you to the restaurant for dinner." ”

"Let's eat at home, what are you doing outside?" Xu Guangqi frowned.

Yang He said with a smile: "Students want to see the prosperity of the capital. ”

Xu Guangqi looked at Yang He, saw that the smile on Yang He's face was a little playful, thought about it, and nodded immediately.

……

In the Ming Dynasty, the city of Beijing was divided into four parts, the core part was the palace city, that is, the Forbidden City, which was the residence of the emperor and his family.

The outer perimeter of the palace is the imperial city, which is a special city that guards the imperial palace and provides various services and living guarantees for the imperial palace, including the royal gardens.

The periphery of the imperial city is the inner city, and the official offices of the various ministries are in the inner city, and the specific location is outside the city gate in the south of the imperial city.

The south of the inner city is the outer city, which was built in the 32nd year of Jiajing.

The people and officials of the city, as well as their families, lived in the inner and outer cities.

Xu Guangqi's house is also in the inner city, located in the southeast corner of the inner city.

Coming out of Xu's Mansion, Xu Guangqi and Yang He walked slowly north, crossed two streets, and came to a Heji Restaurant.

After looking at the door for a while, Yang Heju stepped into the restaurant.

It was dinner time, and several tables on the first floor were already full of guests.

Seeing Yang He and Xu Guangqi walking into the restaurant, a runner walked over quickly: "Guest officer, where is the meal?" Now only the upstairs private room has a seat. ”

Yang He smiled and nodded, and Xiao Er hurriedly led the way and led Yang He and Xu Guangqi to the second floor.

Bringing the two of them to the private room, Xiao Er smiled and said, "Guest officer, please take a seat, I don't know what you two want to eat?" ”

Yang He said with a smile: "Arrange four dishes that you are good at, and then serve a jar of good wine." ”

"Okay, guest wait." Xiao Er said busily.

Yang He waved his hand, and the little two walked out of the private room quickly.

Waving his hand to invite Xu Guangqi to take a seat, Yang He casually pushed open the window and looked out for a while, Yang He sighed: "Sir, look, how prosperous this capital is, seeing such a capital, who would have thought that the treasury of the Ming Dynasty would be unable to make ends meet?" ”

Shaking his head, Yang He closed the window, looked at Xu Guangqi and said: "Mr. Shicai said that many shops and merchants are the property of those princes and nobles, but in fact, most of the proprietors behind the shops are merchants, and those princes and nobles are just in name, so the taxes that should have been paid have fallen into the pockets of those princes and nobles." ”

"You mean contribution?" Xu Guangqi said.

Yang He nodded lightly: "For example, this restaurant is dedicated to a gentry family, and if you pay dozens of taels of silver to that family every year, you don't have to pay taxes." ”

"How do you know that this restaurant is dedicated to the gentry's house?" Xu Guangqi said.

Yang He said with a smile: "Because this restaurant is a student." ”

"What?" Xu Guangqi couldn't help but be shocked when he heard this.

After a while, Xu Guangqi said: "Since it is the restaurant you opened, what are you doing with other people?" ”

Yang He smiled: "Because students don't want others to know that I opened a restaurant in the capital. ”

As he spoke, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, and Yang He hurriedly stopped talking.

Immediately, Xiao Er walked in with a teapot, poured a cup of tea for Yang He and Xu Guangqi, and then put the teapot down.

After Xiao Er stepped back, Yang He picked up the teacup and said with a smile: "Sir, please drink tea." ”

Xu Guangqi picked up the teacup with a smile, took a sip slowly, and then his eyes lit up: "Good tea." ”

Yang He smiled lightly: "Sir, I won't hide it from you, the shopkeeper who runs this restaurant doesn't know the relationship between you and me, so he didn't dare to come to see him, but just sent a pot of good tea, which means to tell me that he knows that I am coming." ”

Xu Guangqi nodded slightly.

Yang He took a sip of tea and said: "Sir, before, you and Master Liqing told the students many times that they must be cautious about letting the gentry pay for food, and after the students went back, they also seriously considered it.

Indeed, as the two gentlemen said, if the resistance to forcibly implement the gentry to pay grain is too great at this time, once the opposition of all the scholars, literati and even officials is aroused, the Ming Dynasty will be in danger.

However, the gentry could not pay grain for the time being, but the commercial tax had to be levied immediately, otherwise in a few years, the people would be overwhelmed, and if there was another natural disaster, the people's livelihood would be unsustainable, and it would be a great chaos. ”

Xu Guangqi said: "You have already said this before. ”

Yang He sighed softly: "It's a pity that even if I say more, what's the use?" It was the Donglin Party that was in power, and they would never carry out such a decree. In fact, even if Qi Chuzhe and other parties are in charge, I am afraid that they will not seriously collect commercial taxes, or in other words, they will not be able to do this now. ”

Xu Guangqi nodded silently when he heard this. (To be continued.) )