"Meng Yi has been by my side for many years, but he hasn't learned any majesty and bearing from me."

Chen Daomin is still very satisfied with Cao Youde, he understands it very well, and during this time, he has completed the task very well.

Comparing the two, Chen Daomin suddenly felt that Meng Yi was far behind.

Meng Yi heard a trace of displeasure from Chen Daomin's tone, and a layer of fine beads of sweat suddenly appeared on his forehead.

During this time, Cao Youde's performance in the county order was really excessive, which made him feel a crisis.

"Brother Chen, why are you here?" Brother Chen, why are you here? ”

"Say Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives!" Cao Youde shouted anxiously.

For more than a month, Cao Youde and Chen Daomin have been almost inseparable, inseparable, inseparable.

Chen Daomin's woman has not been brought here yet, so Cao Youde can come here without notice at all.

"Meng Yi, Senior Brother Cao has arrived, and he won't bring me a cup of tea."

Seeing Cao Youde, Chen Daomin hurriedly greeted him.

Meng Yi glared at Chen Daomin hatefully, then walked up to Cao Youde without saying a word and poured him a bowl of tea.

Cao Youde took a sip of tea, then wiped his lips with his sleeve.

"Brother Chen, there are not many gold coins left in our treasury, and next month, we will pay off all the funds for the reconstruction of the old city."

"Why? When I first came, didn't you say that you had more than two million taels of silver in your treasury? “

Chen Daomin was startled and hurriedly looked at Cao Youde.

When he had just taken over Lingnan Mansion, he had a cursory inspection and saw more than two million taels of silver in the treasury.

Chen Daomin had never heard of any place where Daqian could have such financial resources, and he was secretly glad that he felt that he had the financial resources of Lingnan and could give full play to his talents.

It's been less than a month and he's gone?

"Brother Chen, we do pay a lot of taxes in Lingnan Prefecture, but we also spend a lot of money.

This renovation project alone cost 30 million taels of silver, and there is still some balance unpaid.

This month, subsidies will be issued to some businesses that renovate old houses.

To compensate for the loss of the old city, the treasury was depleted of silver.

Coupled with the construction behind it, a lot of money is required.

Yesterday, Qi Yong came and asked me to give him two thousand personal guards.

All this silver was taken out for us by King An, who knew that he would come to us for money in this situation. ”

Cao Youde said 1510.

"If there is not enough silver in the treasury, why is there such a hurry to rebuild the ancient city? Why don't we wait until we have more money? ”

Chen Daomin heard the flaws in Cao Youde's words, his eyes widened, and he looked at Cao Youde, always feeling that there seemed to be some unknown secret hidden in it.

If Cao Youde can't say why, then he can fully believe that this is a trap set by Cao Youde and King An.

"Wow, Brother Chen, this is all because you have waived the cost of entering the city."

Cao Youde said with an aggrieved face.

"Waived the cost of entering the city?"

Chen Daomin was confused and looked inexplicable.

"When we were planning the old city, there was a lot of tax revenue to fund the government of Lingnan Province every day, so our government would not be in deficit because of the tax revenue.

It's just that I didn't expect that you abolished the taxes that went into the city, so that the treasury could not get enough taxes, and the treasury could not get enough taxes, and all kinds of expenses in the kingdom could not be satisfied, so naturally there was a shortage of money. ”

Cao Youde said tirelessly.

"Didn't I already ask the people of the county order to collect commercial taxes from door to door in accordance with the rules of the Great Qian Dynasty?"

Chen Daomin also thinks so.

"Sir, these taxes are only a small fraction.

The 10 taxes and 1 tax stipulated by the Anwang Palace are a big difference compared with the 20 taxes and 1 tax stipulated by our Daqian law. ”

"Even if the tax is halved, it won't be so stressful."

Chen Daomin was confused.

"Oh no, sir, that's not the case.

King An levied a tax of 10% on each piece of goods, and no matter when the goods were bought or when, once they entered the city, the tax would be collected.

According to the "Great Cadre Law", 20 taxes must be paid every month.

This merchant has to sell things, make money, and then pay taxes.

That is, if a store doesn't open this month, then he doesn't have to pay business tax.

The amount of tax can be described as one from heaven to one from the earth.

After a month, it was only 6,000 taels of silver, which was really a drop in the bucket. ”

Cao Youde said to Chen Daomin as he spoke.

Cao Youde told the ins and outs of the matter, and Chen Daomin stopped thinking about Cao Youde.

"What then?"

Chen Daomin walked around with an anxious face.

As soon as he entered this position, he was ordered by himself to dry up the treasury, and if this was known, it would not be enough to make a storm in the city.

This is not allowed.

"Do you want to re-leviate the taxes of the city, just like King An?"

Cao Youde gave his opinion.

"Say no more!"

Chen Daomin said angrily.

...

Chapter 57 The county order collects some taxes, isn't it a matter of course?

You must know that it has not been more than a month since he abolished Li Su, and now if he wants Li Su to collect commercial taxes, it will be a slap in the face.

This made Chen Daomin very unacceptable.

In that case, his prestige will plummet, and he will never have a chance to dominate the south again, so he might as well pack up his things and get out of Beijing quickly.

"So what now?"

Cao Youde pretended to be anxious and said.

"The minister heard that each county has its own taxes, and if other counties can give taxes, the ministers can also pay taxes."

Chen Daomin thought for a while, and had a plan in his heart.

"Lord, will you cause displeasure among other merchants by doing this?"

Cao Youde looked worried, as if he was thinking about Chen Daomin.

"Previously they only paid 10 percent of their taxes, so if we add some taxes and make them pay as much as they used to do each month, what can they complain about?"

Chen Daomin said with a gloomy face.

"Yes, my subordinates obey."

Cao Youde bowed respectfully.

"By the way, you have someone bring the accounts over there in the city, and I want to check if there is anything that can increase income and reduce expenses."

Chen Daomin said lightly.

These people invited by Cao Youde are still very efficient.

When Chen Daomin announced the new tax, he wrote it on paper in the handwriting of the county magistrate, and the officials began to collect taxes on the merchants.

"What is a toll?"

"Is it because of your shop that you have to move from here to there, and from there to that? Customers come on foot, don't they? This highway is for the convenience of your business, so you should pay the toll tax according to the prefectural ordinance. ”

"What is a tax?"

"You're doing business here, you're occupying a piece of land on the side of the road, and the county ordinance says, of course you have to pay taxes."

"So what are food stamps?"

"The sergeants and yamen in the city will escort you and prevent anyone who dares to disturb your business, the county order said, do you also have to pay taxes?"

"What does this tax mean?"

"Ah, the county order said, our service will also be handed over from you."

"Grass!" He couldn't help but burst into a foul mouth.

The same conversation was going on in the shops on both sides of the street, many of which were confused by the sudden increase in taxes.

Originally, the county decree abolished the tax on entering the city, and as long as you pay twenty taxes a month, you can live a normal tax, which is far less than the ten taxes stipulated by King An's palace.

But if all the taxes are used.

Quite a few businessmen are complaining.

Du Shen was a businessman in the west of the capital, he was the first to come to Lingnan to develop and grow, coupled with his reputation in Lingnan Mansion, he was soon elected by all the businessmen as his backer.

Many people came to Du Shen and asked Du Shen to negotiate with the authorities to confiscate the so-called "fakes".

But Du Shen went to the county order, but was told that the tax collected by the county order was exactly the same as the previous tax.

Du Shen and several people from the Chamber of Commerce came to King An's Mansion and said hello to Li Su.

But Li Su said that he was a prince and could not interfere in the affairs of Lingnan, although he was very sorry for this, but he was helpless, and suggested that they still go to invite Chen Daomin.

Du Shen listened to King An's words and understood that his decision was right.

Many businessmen had originally come for the commercial conditions of Lingnan, but now that they have been heavily punished, many businessmen have begun to hesitate to stay further.

Prefectural Mansion, Inner Courtyard.

"Meet Brother Chen." Ye Futian said with a smile.

Cao Youde respectfully saluted Chen Daomin.

"Hey, Brother Cao is so happy, I don't know if there is any good news to tell me?"

Chen Daomin stared at Cao Youde with burning eyes and said, "I don't know about this matter.

"Brother Chen, at the beginning, I collected taxes according to what you said, and now the result of tax collection is almost the same as before, Brother Chen is worthy of being a talent who governs the country."

Cao Youde complimented.

"It's just weighing the pros and cons and referring to the practices of other states."

Although Chen Daomin said it, there was a hint of a smile between his eyebrows.

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have come up with such an idea."

"That's what I thought too." Cao Youde complimented.

"You were just bewitched by King An."

Chen Daomin let out a loud shout and waved his arms.

"Ahh In this matter, although the burden on the treasury has been reduced a lot, it is still not enough, after all, this railway track is related to the imperial court, and the future investment is not ordinarily large. “

When Cao Youde said this, he sighed again.

"Brother, I've been looking for you, I've read all the account books you gave me these days, and there's one place in them that I'm very puzzled about."

As he spoke, Chen Daomin took out the account books on the table, opened one of them, and pointed to a road.

"Really? Is it Lingnan College? Do you have any questions? ”

Cao Youde asked inexplicably.

"Why do you have to pay so much money to Lingnan College every month? and a full ten thousand taels of silver.

What does a college need so much money for? Could it be that there are still people in this who are corrupt? ”

Chen Daomin asked again.

"Lingnan College was founded by His Majesty King An, so it takes a lot of experiments and costs a lot, which is also given by His Majesty King An."

Cao Youde said 1510.

"What a school can teach well will only increase our expenses, and we should not try to lend them the money in the future, and we must take out the money we have spent this month.

In addition, I will ask people to go to Lingnan University to investigate, so many funds, there must be a suspicion of corruption, and it is necessary to find the mastermind behind the scenes and recover all those funds. ”

Chen Daomin gave an order.

"I'll do it."

Cao Youde bowed respectfully.

Under the leadership of Chen Daomin, a group of people rushed to Lingnan College.

At the same time, Dean Jia Siyan of Lingnan University was also teaching his own courses, and the students in the audience were all attentive, lest they miss a word.

When Chu Li came to Lingnan, he realized that it was full of novelties, and the various policies issued by King An were really superb, and after careful consideration, they could be implemented in other places.

Moreover, the Lingnan government's scientific research funding for him is also endless, giving him the illusion that he is like a fish in water.

Therefore, he has been preparing for his research team for the past few days.

Chen Daomin first led his subordinates to kill directly to the accounting office of Lingnan University, trying to get the accounting office of Lingnan University as soon as possible.

Intended to find evidence of Lingnan University's corruption and bribery from the account books.

In his mind, even if it is an academy, the students have to squander a few copper plates every day, and the monthly expenses are only hundreds of thousands of taels.

This time, Cao Youde made an excuse, saying that he still had something to do, and he didn't follow.

Under the leadership of Chen Daomin, there is not a single student in the mighty team, and there is not a single student, who is timid, timid, timid, timid.

After asking, Chen Daomin sent the people from the yamen to the accounting office.

As a former Minister of the Treasury, Jiang Junchang has extremely high attainments in the economy.

Because Lingnan University's monthly expenses are too large, almost equivalent to the expenses of a city, Jiang Junchang took the initiative to ask for a routine inspection every month.

And today, it just so happens that he comes to check it up once a month.

King An had high hopes for him, handed over the accounts of the academy to him, and handed over the money to him to take care of, Jiang Junchang knew very well the truth that a scholar died for a confidant, and would not make any mistakes in the accounts, let alone waste a penny of money on what should not be spent.

Lingnan University's research institute specialises in physics, chemistry and mechanics.

He wasn't very familiar with it, but with his experience, he could see whether it was valuable or not.

"Bang!" There was a loud bang.

Jiang Junchang was concentrating on flipping through this month's account books, when suddenly, the door of the tent was slammed open.

"Hurry up, catch them."

Chen Daomin broke into the door and yelled at the officials.

"Don't mess around, don't mess around."

He scolded the three guys in the accounting room and Jiang Junchang.

"Who dares to break into the tent of our Lingnan University!"

Jiang Junchang was taken aback by the sudden intrusion of such a group of people.

When he saw that the leader was a four-grade county magistrate, he was puzzled.

"Chen Daomin, the guard of Xialingnan County, came to investigate the corruption of your Lingnan University, and asked for your cooperation, otherwise don't blame you for being polite!"

Chen Daomin has a righteous and awe-inspiring appearance, quite a bit of the style of a former university scholar.

"Lingnan County Order? Corrupt? ”

Jiang Junchang was confused.

During this time, he has been staying in Lingnan School, and at his age, he usually spends more time wandering around Lingnan School and tasting tea in his spare time, and he doesn't pay much attention to things outside.

Chen Daomin's name, even if he hears others talk about it, he won't pay too much attention to it, after all, he is the new county magistrate.

"Yes, when I checked the expenditure of the Lingnan Government Office before, I saw that Lingnan College had an income of more than 100,000 taels every month.

Where did such a large sum of money go, such a big school, there is no corruption, I don't believe it, I want to investigate it carefully!

The greedy rats hiding inside must be caught!

Otherwise, how to explain to the tens of millions of people who pay taxes in Lingnan Prefecture! ”

Chen Daomin said with a righteous face.

Jiang Junchang listened to Chen Daomin's words, and probably understood.

The new Lingnan County Magistrate scoffed at the monthly funding of Lingnan School, and even accused Lingnan School of corruption.

Every money of Lingnan University is kept by him, and the warehouse of the university is kept by him.

Isn't the "mouse" mentioned by the county order Jiang Junchang?

As soon as he thought of this, Jiang Junchang was angry, and some people actually said that he embezzled money from Lingnan University, which was simply nonsense.

After he came to Lingnan, he had already given up his ambitions and only wanted to make greater efforts for his career, but now, he was framed for corruption.

When he was the Minister of Criminal Affairs, even the emperor said that he was a good and loyal courtier.

But now, he was screamed by a county order of the fourth grade, one by one, a 'money-greedy rat', and he couldn't swallow this breath.

Jiang Junchang slapped the account book in his hand on the table, then pointed at Chen Daomin, and shouted:

"Brute! All the money of Lingnan College is from me, and everything I have from me is evidence, you mean, I embezzled the money of the college? ”

Jiang Junchang is a man in his seventies in the end, he is furious at the moment, his whole person is trembling, and the two accountants around him are stunned, and he quickly helps him up.

If he really gets angry, it's going to be a big deal.

"You are an old immortal, you dare to insult the emperor's relatives and relatives, come on, take him down.

If he says he got all the money, then I think he probably embezzled state funds. ”

Chen Daomin saw that Jiang Junchang actually said that he was a wild seed, and felt that his dignity as a prince of one party was challenged, so he immediately ordered.

"I am Jiang Junchang! How dare you arrest me for no apparent reason! ”

Jiang Junchang gasped, trembling his fingers, and roared at Chen Daomin.