Chapter 062 Where is my liquor tax?
At this time, Shi Xiang was chatting with a grain merchant from Jiangnan.
This man complained bitterly, grumbling that the court's prohibition on alcohol was a good thing, but it could not ban the Dali Kingdom's golden sand and jade liquid. Instead, it prevented them from selling old grain to Yibin, causing them to lose even more.
Shi Xiang had not expected that Zhao Yulin would make such a move, which directly shattered his dream of blocking the financial resources of the growing Shenwei Army, and he also sold the newly made crystal cups to Lin'an in a high-profile manner.
He was feeling depressed when the eunuch came in and said that the emperor had summoned him. Prime Minister Shi left the grain merchants and hurried to the palace.
When the emperor saw him coming, he asked for a crystal cup to drink the golden liquid together, and asked him how it tasted.
Shi Xiang said respectfully, "This wine is soft."
The emperor was so angry that he cursed her secretly.
Where is the Wu Gu Feng that I wanted to drink? You destroyed it.
Where is my liquor tax? It has all been paid to Dali.
What kind of thing is this?
It's obviously harmful to others and not beneficial to yourself.
The emperor asked him what to do about the liquor tax?
Shi Xiang said that there was a plan to deal with it a year ago, which was to print more notes.
The emperor now changed his mind. He said that if the notes were issued again, they would become waste paper, so he stopped printing them.
This is a mistake in the court's decision. The prefect of Jiazhou should tell him to quit. Let's all be frugal from top to bottom. The palace should reduce expenses by ten thousand, and your Excellency should also donate ten thousand. How about all officials following suit?
Shi Xiang was stunned for a moment, then agreed reluctantly.
The prohibition order had just been issued, how could it be abolished? The imperial court was not playing house. It was just a good opportunity for the Dali Kingdom to make a fortune.
Zhao Yulin returned to Yibin and handed in his assignment. Chen Yun began to marvel at the extraordinary combat power of the Shenwei Army. They really did things as soon as they said they would and got them done.
Three days later, Zhao Yulin convened a meeting and told everyone that the Shenwei Army would be stationed in Yujin, Jianwei. There was a large coal mine on the bank of the Minjiang River, 30 miles northwest of Yujin. He asked Yang Xingyun to protect the master chef of Guigu to find it and dig it up for use in the workshop.
Chen Zhongshun said that the winery dismantled the Tianguo on Cuiping Mountain and moved it to Xinshi Town to expand production. Now Dali sells grain to Xinshi, and instead buys fragrant rice from Thang Long and Bagan. Life is comfortable as there is sufficient raw material for making wine.
Zhao Yulin agreed, since it was not needed here anyway.
Chen Xiaomin reported to everyone that the Shenwei Army's finances were not tight, the construction of Yibin Port was basically completed, and after the construction of the new wharf in the new town was completed, the trade volume with Dali Kingdom skyrocketed. The horse caravans and boat caravans did business further south, and silver poured in like spring water.
When Zhao Yulin saw Chen Xiaomin's proud face, he could imagine that the finances would not be tight this year.
Now, he has two large trade transit bases, Cuiping Mountain and Xinshi Town, and directly controls the Jinsha River and Minjiang River waterways, and his business is growing bigger and bigger.
After arranging the affairs, Zhao Yulin went to the old military camp to discuss military affairs alone.
He said that the Shenwei Army would add the 10th Battalion and appoint Feng Guiqi, the Yuhou of the 2nd Battalion, as the captain. Feng Guiqi was born in Huazi, was brave and resourceful in battle, and was fair and upright in his work. All the brother battalions should support the 10th Battalion and each select 50 elite soldiers to serve as seeds and build the framework.
The brothers immediately applauded and supported his decision.
Zhao Yulin said that the various battalions were expanding rapidly, but they must pay attention to the quality of the troops, especially to prevent spies from coming in. The battalion should support the work of the Yuhou and do a good job in educating and identifying the soldiers.
Zhu Congwen then announced the rotation of each brigade, and the 9th Brigade was transferred to Xinshi Town.
Zhao Yulin looked at the Fire Phoenix and said, "Although there are only tribal soldiers in the south, there is a Dali Kingdom behind them. The Mahu River has now changed from a bend of clear water to a river flowing with silver. We must be highly vigilant. Not only should we take precautions at the land checkpoints, but we must also strengthen the control of the waterways."
The Shenwei Army established the Mahujiang Garrison and appointed Huo Fenghuang as the garrison commander, mobilizing all forces along the river to ensure safety.
Lei Man immediately said that the defense area on the Phoenix side was large, and after continuing to expand the army, the weapons and equipment used would be replaced with Zhuge crossbows to equip the new recruits, and it would be no problem to defeat the local soldiers or Dali soldiers.
Zhu Congwen reminded Fenghuang to go to the upper reaches of the Mahu River to select a location to add artillery batteries to ensure that the Mahu River waterway could be completely cut off if Dali invaded.
When Fire Phoenix heard everyone giving her advice, she stood up excitedly and promised to complete the task.
Zhao Yulin smiled and nodded, saying that the captains had a heavy responsibility to guard their territory and must pay attention to their own safety. The number of guards was increased to ten, forming a dedicated guard team.
Zhu Congwen said that in order to meet the needs of fighting in the north, he suggested adjusting the military system to have a squad of ten people, a squadron of one hundred people, and a battalion of one thousand people.
Lei Man thought it was a good idea, so he asked Zhao Yulin for his opinion.
Zhao Yulin nodded and said okay, so it was decided. In the future, the team will expand and the brigade will be promoted to a headquarters, and the burden on your shoulders will become heavier and heavier.
After the meeting, Zhu Congwen asked him why Fenghuang was transferred to Xinshi Town?
Zhao Yulin said that she used to deal with tribes, and sending her there would be more conducive to the stability of Mahujiang. However, it would be slightly insufficient to deal with the invasion of Dali. Brother Lei should visit there frequently.
Lei Man patted his chest and agreed.
Zhao Yulin knew that Huo Fenghuang had a knot in her heart, so he intended to move her farther away and give her more responsibilities, hoping that the knot would be resolved after some time.
Fan Zheng came to report: Someone has come from Jiangbei, and Chen Zhizhou asked him to cross the river to chat with the new prefect of Jiazhou.
Zhao Yulin was stunned and looked at Fan Zheng in confusion?
He said he was really just chatting with the new prefect.
What’s going on? It’s only been a short time and the prefect has been changed again ?
Zhao Yulin was hurrying on the road while muttering to himself that these court officials were replaced too frequently. Before he could even get comfortable in his chair, they were already gone.
When they arrived at the government office in Jiangbei, Chen Yun introduced him to the new prefect Zhen Da Ren from Lin'an. Prefect Zhen had already listened to Chen Yun's report and praised Zhao Yulin from head to toe.
He was most afraid of this kind of pretentious conversation. He didn't dare to take credit for himself and put all the credit on Chen Yun. He reported the idea of building a new large coal mine and various handicraft workshops in Yujin so that more working people could have food to eat.
The real prefect agreed and said that he would support anything that could make the people live a good life.
This was exactly what Zhao Yulin wanted to hear, so he raised his glass and toasted the prefect.
After the banquet, he asked Fan Zheng to bring Qingcheng tea to the real prefect.
The prefect bulged his eyes and opened his mouth in astonishment, refusing to accept it. He even said that such a huge crystal teapot was probably the only one in the world, and he was so unvirtuous and incompetent that how could he accept it?
Zhao Yulin smiled and said that this was a crystal glass teapot he made when he was free. Then Fan Zheng brought another one and Zhao Yulin handed it to Chen Yun.
The two of them were amazed at the glass teapot in their hands and couldn't let it go. The real prefect said that he had heard that the princes and nobles in Lin'an were fighting for this treasure at a huge price.
Damn, is it worth licking something made out of a few handfuls of sand?
Zhao Yulin smiled in confusion, saying that it was good that the adults liked it, and took Fan Zheng to say goodbye and leave. Not long after walking, he saw a large group of people gathered in front of him. Fan Zheng came to him and said that something happened at Chengyi Pawnshop.
Zhao Yulin immediately got off the ox cart and went over. A middle-aged man in his forties was arguing with his young mother. He held the jade bracelet in one hand and tried to pull his young mother with the other hand to demand compensation.
Zhao Yulin saw it clearly and became furious. He shouted "Stop!" and rushed forward to poke him in the soft spot with his right hand and fingers.
The man screamed in pain, leaving his little girl behind and staggered backwards.
Zhao Yulin protected his mother and asked what was going on?
Some said that the guy was a scumbag who was obsessed with the third young master's wife and bullied the orphan and the widow. Someone told him that the jade bracelet that the man had pawned was broken in the store and the two sides were arguing.
At this time, a constable came to report to him: "Sir, that guy insisted that his family's heirloom jade bracelet was broken in the store, and he wants compensation?"
His mother came to him crying and asked him to take charge. It was he who dropped it on the ground, but he insisted on framing her. Her shop had little capital and profit, so how could she afford the compensation?
Seeing beads of sweat on the man's forehead and a look of fear, Zhao Yulin said that everything should be handled impartially and that they should all go to the government office to appeal. He asked Fan Zheng to supervise and make sure that no good man was wrongly accused.
After everyone left, the shopkeeper came with two of his employees and kowtowed to him, saying that the master had kicked his mother and her son out of the house, and that they had to run this small shop to make a living, and the third young master must help them.
Zhao Yulin told them not to worry, saying that the government office was a place where reason prevailed and that there would be a result. Then he jumped on the horse led by the guard and left. When he was about to leave the city gate, he saw the leaves flying in front of Zhao's house, as if no one had cleaned it for several days. He wondered if his father was so unbearable.
He returned home in a depressed mood, and Chen Xiaomin asked him what was wrong?
Zhao Yulin said it was nothing and asked her if there was any news about the Zhao family recently.
How is their business going?
Chen Xiaomin said what else could he do, the Zhao family was now engaged in retail business, and their income was definitely not as good as before. In addition, his eldest brother learned from his father-in-law, and he only knew how to fool around and go to brothels and taverns, so how could he have enough money?
Ma Ling'er told him that she heard that they had split up again and his mother was driven out of the compound to run a pawnshop.
Zhao Yulin then realized that the Zhao family had gone through a change. It was probably because his father was laying off employees in order to cut costs. Hey, it is said that the emperor loves the eldest son and the people love the youngest son. Why did the old man send the young and beautiful mother and son away?
It was not until his mother came back from the river with her child in her arms and told him the story in tears that Zhao Yulin finally understood. His aunt saw that his mother was getting close to Jiangnan and slandered her in front of his father, who got carried away and pushed his mother out, doing something that hurt others and did not benefit himself.
He asked Chen Xiaomin to arrange accommodation for him and asked his wife to have a good rest, and he would take care of the rest of the matters.
Fan Zheng said that the brothers in the police station gave the guy a good beating, leaving him with a black eye and two broken ribs. He had already confessed to blackmailing the pawnshop in order to force his wife to remarry him.
Damn it, they are targeting his family.
Chen Xiaomin said that this small landlord ran a winery and was originally richer than her family in the city. It was said that he had competed with our father-in-law for the young lady, whom he never won, and now he is here again.
What interesting stories about Old Zhao's family were told. He buried his face under the table while listening.
Ma Linger glared at her and said that Brother Yulin had gone crazy, how could he know all these old stories?
