The merchants really did not want to take out this sum of money. Although Governor Fang said that he would not take it, if they really took it out and gave it to him, who could guarantee that he would not take it? If he really wanted money from them, giving him 100 strings of coins per person was not a big deal. At the very least, they would get a good deal.
Even if they gave him the money now, he wouldn't be the one taking it. Naturally, he wouldn't help them in the future. When the time came, if they really wanted to mention this matter, the lord would definitely say that their money had been given to the commoners and had nothing to do with this official. It was really depressing to not get any benefits after giving the money.
The merchants looked at each other. They drank the wine first and then did not say anything. No one was willing to speak at this time. They all thought the same thing.
Seeing that they did not speak, Governor Fang had a way. He ate two mouthfuls of food and said: "Are you all thinking of taking out the money? Don't worry, you don't have to take out too much. It just has to be comparable to the food on this table. Look at the shark fin and then look at the full rain.
The food on this table was actually not paid for by this official. How could this official have so much money to eat this table of food? I heard from the owner of the restaurant that if this table of food and wine were to be sold outside, it would cost at least five hundred strings of coins to eat. However, I didn't spend a single copper coin on this table of food.
Do you know why? Isn't it because the common people risked their lives to fish up these things from the sea? They are repaying you. Don't worry, I will remember what you have done in my heart. The common people will also remember it in their hearts. You say, such kind-hearted common people, the things they fished out could have been sold for some money. However, in order to entertain us, they did not ask for a single copper coin.
If the common people can do this, how can we not be compared to the common people? They don't wear as good as us, and they don't eat as good as us. The more this official thinks about it, the more upset I feel. This time, no matter what, we must let the common people have a good year.
This official also wants to take out 500 strings of coins, but unfortunately, I don't have that much money. You all should not be lacking, right? With 112 people and 500 strings of coins per person, that would be 56,000 strings of coins. With this money, there was no need to worry about the commoners suffering. There were more than 30,000 commoners in the state, and each of them could receive nearly two strings of coins.
Make some new clothes, buy some rice and flour, buy some oil, and get some wine to drink. It's New Year, and it's not easy to work hard for a year. Let the people be happy for once. Whoever comes first, those with money can take more. As long as it reaches the amount of 56,000 strings of coins, it's fine. Those without money can take less. Those who take first, tell me how much you can take out. If it's not enough, those who have money later will take out more. "
Governor Fang's face would sometimes have an expression of sadness for the common people, and sometimes it would turn into a smile of praise for the merchants. Every time it changed, the hearts of the merchants would tremble.
Five hundred strings of string of coins. It wasn't the hundred strings of coins that they had originally thought of. This competition required them to fork out a lot of money. Some merchants might not even have five hundred strings of coins in their entire family fortune. Naturally, they would be the ones who took less. Many people would not be able to earn five hundred strings of coins in their entire lives.
The merchants were filled with resentment. 'Who doesn't want money? 56,000 strings of coins for free?' There were more than 30,000 people. If the money was divided among them, it was almost equivalent to half a year's income for some families. Who would take half a year's income to celebrate the New Year? When the time came, they would be able to send 300 to 400 copper coins to the common people.
With this amount of money, the family would be able to live very well. If they wanted to eat meat, they would be able to eat meat. If they wanted to eat fish, they would not be lacking. If there were many people in the family, such as six people or eight people, each person would have two hundred copper coins. That would be two hundred copper coins and six hundred copper coins. It would be more than enough to spend the New Year.
In that case, would Governor Fang really give all the money to the common people? Stop dreaming. She must have kept a lot of money and took out the change. It was impossible for them to check the accounts. Who knew how much was left? It was such a large sum of money, and Governor Fang didn't even need to appreciate it.
What a good plan! He did not expect to be able to find such an excuse. Was the Chamber of Commerce in Lu Zhou's territory the same as here? There were many common people working for the Chamber of Commerce in Lu Zhou's territory. That was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that the Chamber of Commerce in Lu Zhou's territory had begun to rely on the common people to make a lot of money.
When the common people had their own things, they could not buy them at all. It was useless even if the price was higher than the Chamber of Commerce. The common people in Lu Zhou's territory would rather sell their goods to the Chamber of Commerce at a low price than to sell to them at a high price. This was the difference. Could the common people do this?
The merchants remained silent. They were afraid of Governor Fang, but they were not idiots who would take out so much money. In any case, there were so many people. If they did not say anything and did not agree, what could Governor Fang do?
Indeed, Governor Fang had this idea. He wanted the merchants to pay. When the time came, he would only take out a small part of the money to give to the common people. The common people would still be able to have a good New Year. As for the rest of the money, he would, of course, keep it for himself. This was a good deal. He could earn tens of thousands of strings of coins in one go. Why didn't he think of this before? It was all thanks to Zhang Zhong.
Governor Fang was very happy when he thought about it. He had gotten the money, and he did not have to make any promises to the merchants. This was a good deal. He should do more of this in the future. It would be best if there was another flood or strong wind.
At this moment, when he saw the merchants were silent, he looked at Zhang Dongjia and said with a smile, "Zhang Dongjia, I see that all of you are silent. Do you want more money? There's no need for that. 500 strings of coins is enough. I'll start with you. "
Zhang Dongjia was stunned when he heard this. He smiled wryly and looked at the people around him. He had no choice but to nod and say, "My lord, can those who don't have money take less? If the money taken first is not enough, then let those who take later take more? Then I'll say it. My family really can't take out that much money. However, I have rice at home. I will take out the market price of 300 strings of coins. Does my lord think it is okay? "
These words were said skillfully. The market price of 300 strings of coins was actually less than 200 strings of coins. After all, he had bought the rice and kept it. At that time, the price of rice was not expensive. This way, he would lose less. He would just treat it as selling the rice.
Governor Fang originally wanted him to take out 500 strings of coins. Now, he saw that he only took out 300 strings of rice, and it was the market price. When the time came, there might be sand in the rice. This was a problem.
Governor Fang did not say anything. Zhang Dongjia was worried and could only say, "My lord, you can add another 100 strings of coins to the market price. This is all I can do. Otherwise, my family will not need to live anymore."
"Alright, then 300 strings of rice and 100 strings of coins. Not bad, this is not a small amount. When it is not enough, find some wealthy families to make up for the 100 strings of coins."
Governor Fang originally wanted to ask for more. But after all, it was just a small sum. It was fine as long as she had a good start. After she agreed, she looked at the others. Everyone shivered and didn't want to take the money. But when they saw the people from the yamen and Governor Fang's words, it seemed that those who took the money first could find an excuse to take less. The later they took the money, the harder it would be for them.
"My lord, my family sells cloth. In fact, there is not much cloth left in my family. However, I am still willing to take out 300 strings of coins." Some people were afraid that they would have to take more later and finally could not help but speak.
With this, the alliance of the other merchants was broken. Even if they could not take it, they could not. Each of them hated Governor Fang in their hearts. At the same time, they also hated those who could not hold back.
"My lord, my family is willing to take out 200 strings of meat and 100 strings of suet to let the common people have a good New Year. This is all." Another person began to report his things. Those who were willing to take things had thought it through. They would take things and not money. Look at this meat, how could you, Governor Fang, be greedy?
Unless you sold it when the time came, you would not be able to keep it. You can be greedy. When the time comes and you want to sell it, let's see where you can sell it. Especially that meat, it will spoil in a few days. It would be better to sell it back to your shop. When the time comes, you can lower the price.
With someone taking the lead, the others also began to talk about the money they wanted. As they spoke, their hearts were bleeding. The people at the side were in charge of taking notes. When the person finished speaking, they had more or less memorized. They came over and stamped their fingerprints. Then, it was settled. When the time came, they would not take out the money and directly use this receipt to find the seller.
When other merchants came in, they would not think of giving them money since they were offering goods. In the end, it was an antique seller who casually took out an item worth 700 strings of coins. The price would be different. If he said it was 700 strings of coins, someone would have to buy it. If no one bought it, it would not be worth it. It was not something necessary to use in life.
As for the pawnshop, they had also taken out some useless items. This time, the value of the items was even higher. He had already thought about it. When he went back, he would issue a voucher. When the time came, he would arrange for someone to pawn a worthless item. He would be able to get as much money as he wanted. Naturally, that item would be worth that amount of money.
The merchants seemed to have reached a consensus. No matter how much they gave, they were all goods. Especially a person who sold carpets. He opened his mouth and said, "My lord, I am willing to take out a precious carpet. It is estimated to be worth 3,000 strings of coins. In the past, someone offered me 2,800 strings of coins, but I did not sell it."
There were a few people like this. They immediately made up for the money owed by others. Even if they did not really give good things, they still deliberately gave a high price. In any case, there were many things that could not be directly estimated. Since that was the case, why not give a high price? It would be more comfortable to listen to. Although those things were worthless, it would not be of much use even if they took it.
In the beginning, Provincial Governor Fang was quite happy when she heard this. However, as she listened, she felt that something was wrong. They were all goods. None of them said that they would give money directly. Moreover, the value of many of these goods was not so easy to estimate. They would give as much as they wanted. This was not good. There were even people who said that they would give meat. Could it be that they would keep the meat to eat?
If this continued, these merchants seemed to be prepared to take out goods. But what was the use of so many goods? They were easy to spoil. This was not good. She had to change.
Thinking of this, Provincial Governor Fang interrupted the merchants who said that they wanted to take something and said, "Good, good. You are all good and righteous people. This year, the people will have an easy New Year. It seems that there is no shortage of things now. Why don't you help the people with some living expenses? In other words, you don't need to take anything. These things are enough."
After saying this, Provincial Governor Fang began to wait for the merchants below to take out money. The merchants who had not said anything were dumbfounded. They could see that the things that the people in front of them said were not worth the money at all. Fortunately, those people still helped others. For example, a person who was willing to take out medicine said that he wanted to take out some good ginseng. In the end, he said that he wanted to take out 3,000 strings of cash.
In this way, according to an average of five hundred strings of coins, he would be helping the other five people pay. Of course, even if he paid, the merchants couldn't not pay anything. They just had to pay less. In this way, his three thousand strings of coins could help a few people.
When the merchants behind thanked him, it also made the merchants who said how much money they wanted to take out regret. Especially the one who had the antiques. How much would it be if he said 10,000 strings of cash? Now, everyone had to face Provincial Governor Fang together. Therefore, the merchants huddled together. They did not want Provincial Governor Fang to take advantage of them too much.
They did not expect Provincial Governor Fang to find such a reason and directly ask for money. This made the merchants behind him confused. What should they do? Should they give or not?
Provincial Governor Fang looked at the remaining merchants with an expression that said, "I am not in a hurry." His purpose had been achieved. Even if the merchants behind him tried to find excuses to give less, or used some method to take the goods as a substitute, he did not care. Now, these things were enough for the people to have a good New Year. He was prepared to save some things for his family to use slowly. He would give the things that could not be saved to the people.
When the time came, the people would only remember his good deeds. Who would care about the merchants? As long as he used some tricks when writing the notice, even if the names of these merchants were added, the people would think that these merchants were just there to join in the fun.
The remaining merchants' money was earned directly. There were a total of 40 merchants who did not say anything. The money they lacked was 16,000 strings of cash. In other words, the people in front helped the 40 people behind get an extra 4,000 strings of cash.
The 40 merchants fell silent again. If the 4,000 strings of cash were to be divided evenly, each of them would have to take out 400 strings of cash. However, which of the people in front could take out that much money? Although the price was high, they knew in their hearts that no one could take out 400 strings of cash.
"If you have money, you can take more. Although it says how much you have to take at least, it does not say that you can't take more. Just like the people in front, they took more. Alright, let's start talking one by one. Start with me."
Provincial Governor Fang saw that the rest of the people did not speak, so he began to urge them. The people who were pointed at saw that they could not avoid it, so they gritted their teeth and said, "I will take out 400 strings of cash. Sir, my business is to transport things for others. This place has suffered a disaster, so where can I transport things? If I take out this money, my family really has no money."
"Then you can take out 300 strings of cash. The rest of the money can be taken by the rich people. As long as you have the heart, then it is fine. Yes, you can take out a little less." Provincial Governor Fang deliberately said this.
He had just calculated that there were exactly forty people, and each person was worth four hundred strings of coins. If this person took less, the others would have to bear the burden. As long as he did so, they would not continue to gang up against him. Yes, that was what he had to do. He had to sow discord between them.
When this person heard Provincial Governor Fang's words, he wanted to agree, but he suddenly reacted. He shook his head and said, "Sir, this is not possible. No matter what, I have to do my part for the people. 400 strings of cash, not a single coin less. It is fine if the family suffers a little."
Provincial Governor Fang saw that this person did not fall for it, so he began to speak to the second person who had not yet spoken, "Landlord, I heard that your business is not doing well either. Why don't you hand over 200 strings of cash? I cherish the people, but I cannot let you go bankrupt for the people."
The landlord also shook his head and said, "Thank you for your understanding, sir. Do not worry, I can still take out this bit of money. 400 strings of cash is not a problem."
The merchants hated Provincial Governor Fang even more. How could they not see Provincial Governor Fang's plan? However, at this time, if anyone dared to take less money and let others pay for it, then they would not be able to do business in Lianzhou in the future. Everyone would ostracize them.
The others seemed to have reached an agreement. Each person said that they would take 400 strings of cash, no more, no less. When the last person finished, all the money was enough.
Provincial Governor Fang saw that he could not sow discord, so he could only accept this matter. He took a lot less than he had originally planned. Although the overall amount was enough, he was not a fool. Of course, he knew that many things did not have that value. However, he could not say anything now. He had not gotten the item yet. He would think of something when he got it.
After a bit of calculation, Provincial Governor Fang found that the things he truly got were not worth 56,000 strings of cash. It was already not bad to have 26,000 strings of cash. This also included the real 16,000 strings of cash at the end. That was fine. He would keep the 16,000 strings of cash. Either he would take out 1,000 strings of cash and give it to a few commoners that he liked, or he would give each commoner a bit less. There were more than 300 commoners, so giving each of them 30 strings of cash was not a small amount.
Yes, he would do that. As for the rest of the things, he would pick the good ones and give the bad ones to the commoners. This was truly gaining both fame and fortune.
Thinking of this, Provincial Governor Fang finally could not help but laugh out loud. After laughing, he looked at the expressions of the merchants and said, "I am happy, truly happy. I did not expect that the commoners' New Year's matter would be resolved so quickly. If you have any problems in the future, come find me. If I can help, I will help. Of course, don't count on me bending the law. I am not that kind of official.
Come, let's drink. The commoners will remember you, and I will not forget you. You don't have to pay taxes this year, and you don't have to pay taxes in the first half of next year as well. When you pay taxes in the second half of next year, I have decided to reduce the tax by 5%. What do you think? "
As Provincial Governor Fang spoke, he asked someone to pour more wine. He appeared to be very happy. He even picked up some food for the merchants beside him. He seemed to be in a good mood.
The hearts of the merchants were bleeding, but no one dared to say anything. They could only look at Provincial Governor Fang who was happy alone. After hearing Provincial Governor Fang's words, some of the merchants immediately expressed their gratitude. However, they did not think so in their hearts. What was the use of paying 5% less tax?
If they could earn 400 strings of cash with 5% of the tax, wouldn't they be able to earn 8,000 strings of cash? Who would be able to earn so much money? If possible, they would rather pay double the tax than take out 400 strings of cash.
Provincial Governor Fang also understood this matter. He could see that the merchants could not earn so much money. He was too happy today. After thinking for a moment, he said, "In that case, 5% of the tax is too little. I'll give you another benefit. Do you see Lu Zhou? The road at his place is well built, and the seawall is very good as well.
I plan to ask the local commoners to repair the road and seawall when spring comes next year. We can't fall behind, right? In that case, the government will fork out a portion of the money, and the rest will be paid by those small merchants who were not invited today. The commoners will contribute. Originally, each of you would have to take out at least 200 strings of cash.
But for the sake of your actions today, you can take less. Take 20 strings of cash? If it's too little, then take 50 strings of cash. In other words, when you wait for the road to be repaired, you don't have to take out 200 strings of cash. Also, I'll allow you to replace it with goods. However, the goods can't be antiques.
One is grain, one is vegetables, and the other is oil, salt, meat, and the tools used by the commoners. Just take these. Take 150 strings of cash. What do you think? I've taken care of you, haven't I? "
Provincial Governor Fang threw out another thing. The merchants were all stunned. They did not expect Provincial Governor Fang to be so shameless. What did he mean by 'help'? He actually wanted them to pay for it. Why?
Was it considered taking care of them if they took out 150 strings of cash? Even if those things were falsely reported, it would cost 100 strings of cash. How much money could they earn in a month? This was something that Provincial Governor Fang could think of. If they compared it to Lu Zhou's place, would they have to build houses for the commoners? Would they have to build a pier here?
The money paid by Lu Zhou was all from the Zhang family, and the money paid here was from them. How could it be the same? Since the Zhang family could pay, they could naturally earn it back. How could they earn it? Their lives would still be the same as before. Who could understand them?
With that thought in mind, the merchants' faces turned unsightly. If it were not for the guards staring at them from the side, they really wanted to rush over and beat Provincial Governor Fang up. This was too much of a bully. No one would do this.
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