choke element

"Listening is always necessary."

Zhang Liangpeng thought for a while, and said again: "Such a big thing happened, and it really needs to be investigated."

Zhou Keshan nodded, and stretched out his hand as a gesture of invitation.

"But don't be in a hurry." Zhang Liangpeng sat still: "Before we get down to business, brother, please listen to me for a few words."

"please say."

"After the Song Dynasty went south, the total trade volume with the countries in the South China Sea fluctuated around 800 to 300 million guan every year. The total trade volume with the northern regions, despite many obstacles, was no less than 500 million guan. In recent years, because of your country To encourage trade, our side has also relaxed many prohibitive policies accordingly, and the trade volume in both the north and south directions has continued to increase, and it is expected to reach about [-] million guan this year."

"That's right. With the restoration of order in the Central Plains and Hebei, this number will reach 3000 million next year, and will continue to increase in the following year. Such cross-border and sea-crossing goods, such as spices from the South China Sea and horses from the North, will be transported to the Song Dynasty. In the future, at least there will be multiple benefits. And [-]% of the newly added figures will be shared by the Shanghai Bank, that is to say, your two families join hands."

"Rough calculation, by the end of the year our profit will be 300 million guan; next year it will be 600 million guan."

Zhang Liangpeng's tone was calm, Zhou Keshan nodded slightly.

The huge profit of 300 million guan this year and 600 million guan next year is the reason why the Shanghai Bank had to set up a major stronghold in the Southern Song Dynasty on offshore islands, and it had to be on guard day and night with tight barriers.

At that time, the Kingdom of Jin used salt profit as the foundation of the court's finances, and the figure maintained for a long time since the founding of the country was only 620 million.Since the fourth year of Cheng'an, the imperial court raised the price of salt, and the salt profit reached 17 million guan.This number has been maintained for two years, and then public dissatisfaction and wars broke out.

It's only been a year since Da Zhou practiced, and money is used everywhere, and finances are very tight.However, it will take some time to sort out the salt policy. I heard that the salt revenue last year was less than 300 million guan.

So Zhou Keshan said that the emperor of the Great Zhou was keeping a close eye on this income, which is absolutely not false.

From Song Guo's point of view, this profit is also astronomical.

Between the Song Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, there is no conclusion yet on whether the Sui coins should be retained, and if so, how to pay for them.The main reason is that most of the court council opposed this, and Shi Xiang felt that it might as well be used as a means of maintaining diplomatic relations between the North and the South. With the old coins, there is always some official affection.

If we look at the annual coins paid by the Song Dynasty to the Jin Dynasty, how many people with lofty ideals would shed blood and righteous indignation?How many people gnashed their teeth and cursed?That's only 30 taels of silver and 30 pieces of silk per year, which is only 150 million taels of copper coins!
That is to say, if the two families add five cents to the income of this year's Shanghai trip, Shi Xiang will kick the old coins that have troubled the Song Dynasty for decades into the pockets of himself and his party members. The officialdom of the Southern Dynasties can be almost everywhere.

"The problem is...the money goes directly into our pockets, which is not in line with the old rules."

"What rules, let's talk about it."

"For one thing, most of the officials of the Song Dynasty used their relatives to go boating into the sea for the benefit of merchants. Our trip to Shanghai did not take them with us. The crimes of levying, forced buying, or Luo Zhi were not punished; in Qingyuan Mansion, the shipbuilding department took [-]% of the goods at a low price and bought them, and directly took [-]/[-] of the profits. Our Shanghai trip is under the banner of history. , but never give people the opportunity to forcefully buy.”

"Ahem, you are in charge of the Bureau of Shipping in Qingyuan Mansion. You are in charge of your role, but you have never missed it."

Zhang Liangpeng shouted: "That's another thing! There are many people down there who were originally related, but now they can't eat!"

You dog officer!In your statute, you already included the rations of many subordinate officials, otherwise there would be so many!They can't eat because you are too full!
Zhou Keshan cursed in his heart, and asked in a deep voice, "Is there any more?"

"Have!"

Zhang Liangpeng said frankly: "Article 41, most of the private ports on the border of the Song Dynasty are engaged in smuggling. I remember that there are as many as [-] private ports in Chuzhou alone, and they have the support of powerful officials behind them. But With the direct cooperation between our North and South, many smugglers have turned to us and abandoned their old backers."

"Is there a fourth item?"

"Lending interest for overseas trade is also an important source of income for officials in coastal areas. There are also a large number of military officers who take the imperial court's loose clothes, food, and materials to sell military debts privately. But our business is owned by the emperor of the Northern Dynasty. There is no need to borrow money for the joint venture with Zaizhi of the Southern Dynasty, and many officials don't even think about the huge benefits."

Zhou Keshan sneered repeatedly: "According to what you said, our trip to Shanghai cut off the fortunes of countless civil and military officials in the Song Dynasty, so we were criticized by thousands of people?"

"It can't be said to be broken. The old sources of wealth will not be affected. It's just that the newly added piece of money is rarely shared by outsiders. But since ancient times, people's hearts have been lacking, and they have to look forward to Shu. In the past few years, no one knows Shanghai. Doing tens of millions of business, earning gold and silver seas? Just drooling watching it, but not eating it, is enough to make people dizzy."

"How dare you continue to cause shipwrecks and kill people and rob money again and again because you are so ignorant? Do you look down on the military might of Zhou Dynasty, or do you look down on the official authority of your Prime Minister? Or do you simply don't know how to live or die?"

"The background of the trip to Shanghai, after all, is not suitable for publicity, and it is impossible for everyone to know. Moreover, it is not uncommon for people from all over the coast to have their own influence, and feel that the mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Which is bigger between Han and me. This kind of people Once the profit makes the mind faint, there is no scruple in acting."

"what do you mean……"

"We can trace the culprit of this series of shipwrecks, and we must trace them as soon as possible. But once the tracing begins, it will definitely disturb the ports from Guangnan to eastern Zhejiang, and involve local shipping, Changping transshipment, naval forces, and local governments. The powerful clan and many other aspects may cause fluctuations in interests beyond the control of Shanghai Bank and cause political turmoil."

Zhang Liangpeng asked in a deep voice: "You and I are heart-to-heart, there is no need to lie. This is indeed a big trouble. You must be mentally prepared for this. We need to peel off the cocoons and slowly..."

"It's better to cut the mess with a sharp knife!"

"what?"

"On the way back, our ship that was attacked this time has already interrogated the thieves who participated in the robbery. These thieves had a gang leader named Wang Ziqing as an internal agent, and they were able to figure out the route of our ship. As for the people who did it, there were people from Fujian There are great pirates like Zhao Xique, Luo Dongtian, Thursday and Saturday, etc., as well as giant bandits from Guangnan who have been nicknamed Hailong and Gunhaijiao."

Zhang Liangpeng immediately asked back: "Do you know that there are too many connections behind these people? I'll tell you right now, behind these people, there must be many officials at the military prefecture level and even Lu level in the Song Dynasty!"

"Isn't it right to be involved?"

"how to say?"

"We immediately formed a capable fleet and headed south, killing all the private ports and small villages on the sea along the Liangzhe Road. When we caught a leader, we inquired about his background; when we found out the background, we sent people ashore to attack him. Kill. Make up a name to fool the enemy, and kill the enemy in Guangnan in one breath. All suspicious people, and all those involved in pirates will be cleared away. The sea will naturally be peaceful, and those who dare to covet our trip to Shanghai will also be wiped out. .”

Zhang Liangpeng stared at Zhou Keshan for a long time and sighed heavily.

"Brother Xian, you must be a scholar. How come you have followed the Beiren for a long time and learned the methods of a tyrannical bandit?"

"This is the means of the rise of the Northern Great Zhou. Whoever dares to provoke them will be punished! This is the best way to deal with pirates! Otherwise, what else?"

Zhou Keshan sneered: "Are we practicing teaching for three years, practicing Qi Wu, and waiting for the Miao people to serve? This year's income of 300 million guan has been reduced by 100 million guan! Next year's income of 600 million guan, how many things will go wrong? You My boss cannot see the money, which is a big trouble! What’s more, if a group of these people are killed, wouldn’t Prime Minister Shi just place his own people in his place? If you explain this truth to Prime Minister Shi, Prime Minister Shi may not be happy!"

Zhang Liangpeng rolled his eyes wildly and remained silent for a moment.

After a long time, he thought to himself, all of these northerners act like young men, who do things without considering the consequences.But this kind of style makes it difficult for Da Song, who seeks to be stable in everything, to deal with it.

Or, simply push the boat along and let them top the tank?