There is a small prison next to the archway at the intersection of Zhongjie Street, and those who participate in small public security cases such as brawls on the street will be caught and beaten at the Jiekou Prison and imprisoned for a few days.

Zhang Wen's carriage passed the archway, entered the middle street, the street was densely populated with various departments and yamen, and there were many institutions in charge of various affairs in the province, such as the household department, the military department, the criminal department, and so on. Zhang Wen took the seal letter to the soap li at the street entrance, and the soap li went to the salt class to report it.

Zhang Wen took advantage of the time to change the official robe on the carriage, and the official robe from the fifth grade was still cyan, but the complement became a white pheasant. Zhang Ying, who was in the same car, said: "The Shen family has a few shops in Hangzhou, and there is an empty yard, so we won't live in the yamen, so I'll take my stepmother to clean up the yard, and after the minister finishes handling official business, I will call someone to the yamen to pick up the minister." ”

Zhang Wen asked Cao An and his relatives to help manage the housework. After a while, I saw several officials in green robes and green robes riding horses and carrying sedan chairs to greet them.

I only heard an ugly voice like a rooduck calling: "Xiaguan Zhejiang Salt Class Lifting Division is the same as lifting, Chen Anshang, welcome your lord." ”

Soap Li picked up the curtain for Zhang Wen, Zhang Wen asked those officials to bend over and wait, and slowly straightened the black gauze hat, and then walked down from the car, and Chen An and other officials were busy and worried. Zhang Wen changed his smile and replied: "There are colleagues to greet you." ”

I saw that Chen An, who had been promoted from the sixth grade, was thirty or forty years old, short and had dark skin. The heavenly court is not very full, according to the physiognomy, it should be poor in the early years, no wonder it looks like this. And the mouth is protruding, and the skin is thick, like a freshly shaved monkey.

Zhang Wen changed the official sedan chair, the chief was in the column, and several officials could not take the sedan chair, so they rode horses to accompany each other, and everyone embraced each other left and right. Of course, the pomp and circumstance are much more low-key than when they were in Shangyu County. Shangyu County is a small place, and Zhang Wen is the biggest official, so he can show off as much as he wants; But in this Hangzhou provincial capital, there are so many high-level yamen such as the political secretary and the judicial department that a salt class promotion is nothing.

The group arrived at the Yamen of the Salt Division, passed the wall, and after entering the gate, they saw the Yimen, and according to the rules, the small door next to it had been opened. Because Zhang Wen is now the one who lifts the yamen, and the gate of the Yimen is only opened to welcome other officials of the same level or higher level of the yamen.

Entering the Yimen, such as the Shangyu County Ya is generally the lobby courtyard, the Yamen at all levels are different except for some details, the general structure is such a closed courtyard, and the lobby public seat is just north of this courtyard.

When Zhang Wen walked to the lobby, he only heard four drums, and the soap li stretched out the tone and said: "At three o'clock, the chief takes office, thank the emperor......" Zhang Wen walked into the lobby in the shout, and the soap was arranged left and right. There is a screen in the warm pavilion on the north side, but other than that, the lobby is empty and there is nothing.

When Zhang Wen walked in, the scribe in the office signed the public seat, lifted the chair up to the warm pavilion in public, and put it in front of the screen. It was quite prudent to carry the public seat, which itself was a chair made of ordinary wood, but it symbolized rank and power.

Then the soap Li carried the public case to the warm pavilion, carefully straightened, and placed the mountain character pen holder, ink pen, red pen, inkstone, signature holder, royal order, and seal box. Zhang Wen then cautiously walked up to the warm pavilion and sat down, the officials came to pay their respects, Zhang Wen gathered the names of the divisions, and the entire inauguration ceremony was completed.

Zhang Wen retreated from the Qilin Gate into the signing room and began to deal with official business. Those warehouse accounts will not be looked at by Zhang Qin, and when the predecessor left office, he had already handed over to the superiors, and there would be no problems on his face, and if there were problems, it was impossible to see them just by looking at these things. Zhang Wen only looked at important official documents, especially those issued by the central government.

Like a "freshly shaved monkey", Chen Anshang walked into the signing room, made a gesture, took out a small fold from his sleeve pocket, presented it to Zhang Wen with both hands, and said: "The lower officials and others congratulate the adults on taking office, prepare a little courtesy, talk about their hearts, and please smile and accept it." ”

Zhang Wen took it in his hand with a smile, and didn't open it, guessing that it must be a gift list, and looked at Chen Anshang with a smile. Seeing this, Chen Anshang was inexplicably a little nervous, and hurriedly laughed stiffly, and his white teeth were exposed, forming a sharp contrast with the black and rough skin.

Zhang Wen's wife and sister climbed to the emperor's eldest grandson and were deeply favored, how could colleagues not know such news? Zhang Wenxin sighed in his heart, this time and in Shangyu, the experience is completely different. The reason is that last time it was in the capacity of offending the people above, it was delegated; And this time it's a promotion, and there's a backstage.

Who is this Chen Anshang? Zhang Wen didn't know for a while, or did he not be able to climb up to the Zhejiang Party or Donglin at all? For this answer, Zhang asked to find it from this gift list.

So Zhang Wen opened the gift list in front of Chen Anshang, and Chen Anshang's expression was suddenly happy. Seeing this, Zhang Wen immediately closed it again, and he already knew the answer.

Why did Chen Anshang urgently want to ask Zhang Wen to look through the gift list? Because the gifts on the gift list are more expensive. If Chen Anshang wants to give heavy gifts, he has already gone out of the scope of the "elements" who congratulate Shangguan on his appointment in the bad rules and regulations, and while currying favor with Shangguan, he wants to get up. So Zhang Wen got the answer, Chen An and others don't have a more reliable backstage.

Zhang Wen is more happy in his heart, so it is okay, so as not to do things in the future, the internal incoordination, and the energy only needs to be used in Shangfeng. Zhang Wen tried the gift slip in his hand, as if he was testing its weight, and then said: "There are a few catties and taels of this gift, and the official has already weighed it." ”

Chen An said in his heart that a little white face with hair that has not yet grown, deliberately pretending to be green onions? Just know without looking? When he was thinking about it in his heart, he smiled and flattered in a male duck voice: "Yes, yes, how can the adults not know the little thoughts of the lower officials?" ”

Zhang Wen put the gift list on the case, and said with a smile: "We are a yamen, and we are not outside, but the words are good." When this official first took office, you gave such a gift, isn't it too heavy? If someone else knows, won't they accuse me of taking bribes and greedy ink? ”

"This, this matter is only known to a few people such as Xia Guan, and no one else will pay attention to it." Chen An's eyebrows became figure-eight, and he looked pitiful, "Our little filial piety is just to want adults to take care of them, and we have no other intentions......"

Zhang Wen picked up the official document and said without looking back: "Okay, let's change it." As long as we get things done, we will naturally carry it out. ”

Chen An hurriedly took back the gift list, and gently wiped a handful of sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, he was a little confused by this, and he had no bottom in his heart. At this time, I heard Zhang ask again: "Have you read this official document from the subordinates?" ”

Chen Anshang got closer, glanced at the official document that Zhang Wen was reading, and said that he was assisting the Yamen to rectify the salt class, Chen Anshang said: "The salt class has been implemented for many years, and it seems to be a ......."

Chen An squinted his eyes upwards to make a reminiscence, and his voice was really ugly, like a duck calling, and like sawing wood.

Zhang Wen added to him: "It was the fourth year of Hongzhi, Ye Qi was the secretary of the household department, and Shangshu 'summoned merchants to accept the silver transportation division, and distributed them to all sides', and changed the national salt class to open the middle and fold the color." ”

"Yes, yes, my lord is well-read and strong, and the officials admire it. The method of opening the middle color has been used for more than 100 years and has always been effective. The household department suddenly asked Zhejiang to change back to 'open the middle nano', this method was used by Hong Wunian, and the lower officials really couldn't figure it out, just waiting for the adults to come and preside over the overall situation. ”

"Open the middle nano" and "open the middle to fold the silver" are all the forced labor laws used by the salt class. Because salt is a state monopoly material and is lucrative, it is controlled by the government, and without official authorization, any private merchant who buys and sells salt is a felony, called selling illicit salt.

The time from Hongwu to Hongzhi used the "open middle nano" system. Merchants sent grain and other military supplies to various parts of the nine borders to support national defense, and then went to the salt division to receive "salt introduction" according to the quantity, and then used the salt to buy salt in the salt field to sell, which is "opening the middle nano".

Through the way of transporting grain, rice, or receiving grain rice and other military materials to the salt field for salt distribution, the food, clothing, and use of the frontier garrison are solved, so as to consolidate the border defense. This law did work, and for a while the courtiers praised the party. Country: Dijing dew, full of horses, no worries, Hu Ma does not peep at the Great Wall, no ravage.

After singing the praises, there is no mention of the hardships of the merchants' long journeys. Because at that time the deconstruction of the bureaucracy was not the same as it is now, and it was not a person in a circle of interests. The officials who hold the power will be satisfied with the strength of the army and the strength of the country.

But any system has timeliness, not the same day, with the development of the commodity economy of the Ming Dynasty, the previous method did not work, there were several salt congestion in a row, and the Ming Dynasty broke out of the economic crisis. Merchants were reluctant to travel long distances to deliver grain, and salt could not be sold. In the early stage, the ministers of the DPRK and China took several measures to dredge up and alleviate the economic crisis.

But there is a crisis will call for reform, during the Hongzhi period, after Ye Qi became the head of the household department, he made drastic changes, reformed the whole country, and implemented "opening the middle and folding the color".

Folding the color in the middle is actually to take the silver to buy salt.

The reform was supported by officials throughout the country, and for a time it was a celebration of the party. Country: Be sympathetic to the people, and the government and the people will be happy. Because at this time, the composition of the officials who held power had changed, and there was an intersection of interests with the big businessmen and big landlords, so of course they had to sympathize with the pain of the merchants in transporting grain over long distances.

In fact, the two systems of opening the middle are just one sentence: opening the middle nano, sending food to the soldiers guarding the border passes, and exchanging salt for imports; Folded the color in the opening, sent silver to the imperial court, and exchanged for salt.

The two systems can be implemented before and after because of the support of the civil officials, otherwise there is no need to talk about it. Reform is not easy to say, most of the reform is to coax the people, mainly depending on the people with power in their hands, what interests stand on, the same in ancient and modern times.

Zhang Wen listened to Chen Anshang's complaints, and said with a smile: "If you want to change it, there is naturally a reason to change it." ”