Chapter 932 Self-written scrolls have the courage to do things

  The summer tax, autumn grain and commercial tax quotas of the Great Zhou Dynasty basically followed the pre-Ming Dynasty. A rough amount was determined from the founding of the country, and then the rest was reserved for local use, somewhat similar to the pattern of excess retention after the guarantee.

  But in fact, for the north, it is difficult to complete in many places, so there are often some gaps in shipment and retention, and the ratio often becomes an important criterion for the assessment of officials from various places by the Ministry of Officials and the Metropolitan Procuratorate every year.

Also for the Jiangnan area, this kind of summer tax and autumn grain and commercial tax retained by shipments will basically be adjusted every few years. Of course, this can never be lowered, it can only be increased, so this is why Jiangnan The reason why the gentry were particularly dissatisfied with the imperial court.

  But for the imperial court, facing the increasingly difficult situation on the nine borders, food, salary and military resources are constantly increasing. If they don’t find a way in the south of the Yangtze River, can they still scrape a layer in the northern prefectures and counties, which themselves cannot complete the transportation task?

   This is also the most prominent focus of the differences between the North and the South.

But from the north, the entire nine frontiers are under the pressure of the northern provinces. From Liaodong to the north to Shanxi and Shaanxi, the supplements of the frontier troops are basically from the guards of the northern provinces, and most of the soldiers are from the northern provinces. In addition, once the Mongols break through the border wall, it will bring huge damage to Shaanxi, Shanxi, Beizhi and Liaodong. This kind of long-term war pressure has also made the northern land no matter whether it is agriculture, commerce or even urban construction. They cannot be compared with the south, and this is not counting the advantages of the south in terms of climate and transportation.

  It is obviously the military pressure that the entire Great Zhou needs to face. Why should the North shoulder it all? People from the North have taken on the pressure. Shouldn’t they be compensated in tax relief?

  This is probably the crux of the North-South dispute.

  In the past few years, Yongping Mansion did not perform well in the transportation of summer tax and autumn grain and the payment of commercial tax. Zheng Jizhi also wiped a lot of buttocks for Zhu Zhiren, a fellow villager. Now it has finally changed, and Zheng Jizhi also intentionally mentioned this.

Everyone understands that no matter how powerful Feng Ziying is, he is just an acquaintance. If Zhu Zhiren, the magistrate, hadn't supported him behind his back, he would never have been able to do it so easily in just three months. into so many things.

"Bo Xiaogong, the commercial taxation of Yongping Mansion will definitely be completed this year, and there will even be a relatively large increase. It is still early for Yuguan to open the port, but I believe there will be a big improvement next year. As for the summer tax and autumn grain, this is not me. You have to ask the magistrate or the general judge about the scope of the accomplice's duties before they can answer."

  Feng Ziying politely only talked about things within her scope of responsibility.

  This is a basic criterion for being an official, not to evaluate the performance of colleagues, that is the prefect's power.

Zheng Jizhi glanced at Feng Ziying, but he praised Feng Ziying in his heart. No wonder Zhu Zhiren also praised Feng Ziying in his letter. This is not only a matter of ability, but also his performance is enough to show that this person can not only do things, but also know how to behave. Will be an official.

"Ziying, I also heard that you opened mines in Lulong and Qian'an. It seems that the Ministry of Industry's Jieshen Treasury revenue will increase greatly this year, but the cabinet is more concerned about the smelting that you, the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce and Foshan Zhuangji The workshop, that is, the two iron factories, I heard that there will be some new crafts? Zhuangji is a big family registered in the Ministry of Industry, and also cooperates with the Ministry of War. How do you do this in Yongping Prefecture? considerate?"

  Li Sancai was much more honest than these people, asking for specific details directly.

   "Mr. Daofu, Ziying doesn't dare to hide anything in front of you. These two iron factories mainly focus on wrought iron and steel, and iron materials are secondary..."

  Feng Ziying's words are half true and half false.

  Iron and steel are two concepts. The price of steel is much higher than that of pig iron and wrought iron, and the new technology used this time is mainly for steelmaking, but he can't say enough.

   Too much improvement in quality and quantity will definitely arouse the curiosity and even suspicion of the court, so no matter from which angle, it must be kept in check.

"A preliminary estimate shows that the annual output of Lulong Iron Works is about 1.4 million catties, of which wrought iron and steel can reach about 800,000 catties, while the output of Qian'an Iron Works is higher, probably at About 1.8 million catties, the output of wrought iron and steel can reach about 1.2 million catties,..."

  Everyone here was shocked. The production of pig iron is nothing more than that. Such a large increase is horrifying. This is just Yongping Prefecture, but wrought iron and steel can also reach such a high level?

  Pig iron is the cheapest and easiest to produce. Wrought iron is more complicated, but steel is not easy to produce. Although everyone here is not clear about the specific production processes of pig iron, wrought iron, and steel, they still understand the high and low.

   "Ziying, can the output of wrought iron and steel reach such a high level?" Li Sancai was a little unconvinced. He was a minister of the Ministry of Industry and knew very well about the national steel output.

"The main reason is that some new smelting processes have been adopted, and the furnace temperature has been increased, so that the molten iron can be better mixed with other furnace materials..." Feng Ziying made up some words, "It's not a big problem, but it will take a year Under normal circumstances for half a year, it must not be possible now."

   "Even so, it is quite impressive. There is a shortage of steel in Dazhou. It would be great if the new technology can increase steel production, especially for the production of armor by the Bingzhan Bureau." Fang Congzhe nodded.

Every year, the Military Bureau alone produces all kinds of armor, protective equipment, and weapons. It consumes a lot of steel and wrought iron, and the cost is quite huge. If the cost of steel production has decreased, the output can still increase Of course, it is a great boon for Da Zhou.

"Ziying, I don't know if this iron-smelting and steelmaking process can be promoted nationwide? In this way, our steel materials in Dazhou will no longer be stretched." Li Sancai was a minister of the Ministry of Industry, and he knew the importance of steel in Dazhou. The importance of this kind of thing is needed in almost every field.

"Mr. Daofu, it depends on the Shanshan Chamber of Commerce and Foshan Zhuangji. I have provided some insights and ideas for this new craft, but it is their craftsmen who have refined it after exploration. In addition, it is said that it is not stable yet. There is a lot of room for improvement, but I think even if it is a commercial secret, it will probably spread slowly in three to five years. However, the Shanxi Chamber of Commerce and Zhuangji invested a lot in the early stage, and they have to get the cost back. , but it can allow them to further expand the scale, anyway, there are a lot of iron mines here in Yongping,..."

  Feng Ziying put the burden on the Shanshan Chamber of Commerce and Zhuang Ji. The Shanshan Chamber of Commerce will definitely not agree to it in the short term. How can they easily hand over such huge profits that are almost monopoly?

   Wishing I could hide it and eat a bowl full of fat, how could it be leaked to others?

   Isn't that to feel sorry for your own pocket?

  Li Sancai nodded in satisfaction. His ancestral home was in Shaanxi, and the Shanxi businessmen had always been one. It was not his wish to feel sorry for these Shanxi businessmen.

   "Ziying, you didn't go to Yongping Mansion for a long time this time, but your actions were big enough. What do you think about the opening of Yuguan?"

Both Fang Congzhe and Zheng Jizhi were very interested in the opening of Yuguan Port. From Fang Congzhe’s point of view, after the opening of the sea, there was a lot of noise in the north. It can also benefit from opening the sea, so it can be regarded as a counterattack to the northern scholars.

And Zheng Jizhi simply saw the huge benefits that may be brought by the establishment of a city shipping company after the opening of Ningbo, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Zhangzhou. If Yuguan can be like Ningbo and Quanzhou after the opening of the port, then that is also true. It's not without a small supplement.

"The opening of Yuguan Port is not only a tax revenue, but also a great benefit to the food and material security of Yongping, Liaoxi, and even the entire Liaodong border towns. For example, Guangning and Ningyuan no longer need to buy from the capital or Zhigu. When transported over there, there will be a transshipment in the middle, and the sea transport is faster than the canal. Here, you can directly disembark at Yuguan and pass through Shanhaiguan to get to the Liaoxi Corridor. The transportation consumption alone can save a lot. "

Feng Ziying patiently explained: "Yongping iron materials can also be exported to the south of the Yangtze River in large quantities and enter Huguang along the Yangtze River. It can be said that once Yuguan opens the port, the entire western Liaoning to Jingdong will be alive. The territory under control, North Korea and Japan outside, can also import and export materials through Yuguan, and this place will become a hub,..."

Feng Ziying smiled, "I'm the magistrate of Yongping Mansion, but once I went to the mansion, the business and tax affairs were handed over to me. Originally, because of the opening of the sea, I had more dealings with merchants from all over the world. The situation in the north and the south is also different. I generally understand that the merchants in the North are very jealous of Jiangnan's development in Kaihai and even the silk, tea, porcelain, cloth and other industries brought about by Kaihai. I can also understand this. How should the land make use of its strengths and avoid its weaknesses, because the Northland is inherently deficient in industries such as silk and tea, so where are the advantages of the Northland, that is, coal and iron smelting, etc...."

  Feng Ziying introduced her thoughts, and the elders nodded slightly.

This is the real thing to do. It stands to reason that this fellow prefect should not be in charge of these specific matters. The Qing army, coastal defense, and public security are the main responsibilities of the prefect. Knowing and knowing, the first thing in itself is to assist the magistrate in handling government affairs, so any matter that is not clearly assigned to the judge and the official can be assigned to the same know.

  Mediocre and lazy people can find excuses to shirk and procrastinate, but those who want to do things will seize such opportunities to prove themselves.

But Feng Ziying seized the opportunity, not only handled her own affairs in an orderly manner, but also helped the magistrate handle the most important tax affairs. It can be said that the courage to do things is often the most important point in the evaluation of the official department. This is the attitude question.

  (end of this chapter)