When night fell, Yao Chong and the other officials escorted the criminals back. They were now criminals, not suspects.
The people who were in charge of checking the treasury and accounts stayed behind to continue working overtime.
When they passed by the Li Family Zhuangzi, they met Li Chengqi, who was riding a horse.
Li Chengqi urged his horse forward, "You've caught all of them? How dare you spread rumors? Hang them. "
The people who were caught didn't say a word as they were gagged.
"King Song, I have a request." Yao Chong poked his head out of the carriage.
"What do you want from Li Yi?" Li Chengqi asked straightforwardly.
"Lantian County is in deficit. Is there a way to make up for it without using the Ministry of Revenue?" Yao Chong pretended that he didn't hear the sarcasm in Li Chengqi's words.
Li Chengqi looked at Yao Chong carefully and nodded, "Old Yao, I realize that the questions you ask Li Yi are getting more and more sophisticated.
The county is in deficit, and the Ministry of Revenue isn't going to make up for it. It's a good question.
Alright, I'll ask for you. Under normal circumstances, I've never dreamed of solving such a problem. "
After he finished speaking, he turned his horse around and led the group to Baqiao.
When they arrived at Zhuangzi, dinner time had ended. Li Yi and the others only started eating.
"It's better when I came." Li Chengqi said as he went to wash his hands.
He also filled a bowl of fish ball soup and a plate of small steamed buns.
"How are the three things that big brother asked me to make?" Li Yi asked after Li Chengqi drank a mouthful of soup.
"Hurry up and make them. Send someone to deliver them to various places in the capital. As for the other places where there are wells, bring them over." Li Chengqi picked up a meatball.
After chewing, he pondered for a moment, "It's made from fish. It's delicious."
After eating two meatballs and a small steamed bun, Li Chengqi got down to business, "When I was rushing over, I met a group of people who came back from Lantian County."
"Big brother, have you seen it from a close distance?" Li Longji asked casually.
"Yes, they deserve it. I heard that the county is in a huge deficit, and the Ministry of Revenue isn't willing to fork out the money. Brother Yi, do you think it's possible? "
Li Chengqi asked the question he wanted to ask.
After asking, he did not think that the omnipotent Brother Yi would be able to come up with a good solution.
"It's possible." Li Yi's two simple words shocked Li Chengqi.
"How?" Li Chengqi asked expectantly.
"I've already told Third Brother that after a few days, not only will the deficit be made up, there will also be a surplus. The officials in the county can use the money to repair the bridges and roads, and they can embezzle a little more."
Li Yi said as he looked at Li Longji.
Li Longji said, "That's right, with money, the commoners will also have money. Brother Yi wants to find businessmen to develop the mineral resources of Lantian County."
"Where did the money come from?"
"Collect taxes, business taxes. Some will enter Zuo Zang, while the rest will remain in the county. "
"Pushing for business tax collection like this? Alright, I don't think anyone will object. Whoever disagrees will have to make up for their losses. "Li Chengqi understood.
Instead, he said, "How much money should be given. Officials cannot be greedy."
"They don't appear to be greedy, but secretly get money." Li Yi swallowed a mouthful of small steamed buns and said.
"Uncle, tell me more." Empress Wang liked to listen to the corrupt methods of officials.
"Sister-in-law, this has always been the case. Now that the Tang dynasty is building roads and bridges, there are specialized people who calculate the money. They are professionals and the calculation is more or less the same.
When the local government organizes the construction, they can only make a fuss about the quality of the materials and the food provided to the laborers.
The materials are shoddy, and so is the food. The material suppliers will give them money, and the deduction of the food is basically taken by the low-ranking officials. "
Li Yi talked about the embezzlement part of the construction organized by the government.
The person in charge of the calculation was very good. He said roughly how much money, what materials to use, how many people to organize, and in the end, it was more or less the same.
The Tang dynasty was not without capable people, including the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Works. As long as they worked seriously, the data would not be inaccurate.
The officials could not be greedy in the pricing, so they had to contact the suppliers.
"Uncle, under the circumstances of not using shoddy materials, can you be greedy?" Empress Wang was now used to asking questions that she thought were impossible.
"Yes!" Li Yi's answer was still so simple.
He continued, "But I use technology to make money. I will improve the engineering technology. It will be profitable from the start, and the quality will be even better."
"Oh …" Empress Wang thought there was some magical way to be greedy, but it turned out to be technology. Then there was nothing to say.
"I heard from Brother Yi that the government's infrastructure project in Lantian County should be changed?" Li Longji was very good at talking about new terms now.
"The bidding, for example, Big Brother drilling for the Ministry of Works. The people in the yamen are responsible for supervising the work, and the people who win the bid are responsible for organizing the work.
They need to recruit people to work, so they cancel the transfer of the common people. The common people can get extra money to work.
Another advantage is that the same price can not be lowered in quality. In order to save money, they will come up with new technology.
The disadvantage is that the officials in the yamen can leak the bid, and also the data of the other bidders in the first round.
This includes tailor-made bidding rules for a construction team. "
"I know this. My three craftsmen's alliances asked for a deposit. When the others heard the amount, they could only sigh."
When Li Yi said this, Li Chengqi understood how to tailor the rules.
Li Longji listened to the advantages and disadvantages, and thought about the construction methods used now, and felt that it was better to bid.
The bidding did not require the common people to take out their time to work for free. The construction technology of the Tang dynasty would gradually improve.
The disadvantage was that the officials would make money from it, or the supervisors would turn a blind eye.
"Can the problem of the officials be solved?" Li Longji asked again.
Li Yi hesitated again and again, and then said, "I personally think that during the critical period of allowing the merchants to pay taxes and the common people to be exempted from transfer, the officials can take benefits under the premise that the quality of the project is guaranteed."
The other three people did not say anything, and they ate while thinking.
When Li Longji sat on the throne, he thought about many things.
He understood the meaning of Li Yi's words.
Let the officials be greedy. Only by being greedy could they support the merchants to pay taxes and be exempted from transfer.
When the two goals were finally achieved, they would deal with the officials.
In the process of the game, they would compromise first. After completing one step, they would move on to another.
When the officials were greedy and someone reported them with evidence, they would be punished. If they were unlucky, they could not blame others.
If another official was replaced, he would be allowed to secretly take benefits.
When they were almost done eating, Li Chengqi explained the purpose of his visit.
"Brother Yi, the three craftsmen's alliances gave you a design fee of 50 taels for each of the three things. If there are new things in the future, we will buy them again.
Others can copy them, but we can organize the first batch to make a profit. "
Without the protection of patents, Li Chengqi chose to produce first.
He continued, "I said the same thing with the craftsmen of the alliance and the craftsmen outside. With new technology, we will buy in advance."
"Big brother, you are thoughtful. This can encourage the craftsmen to research new things."
Li Yi smiled. Even without him, his big brother could arrange it well.
Li Chengqi sighed, "It's a pity that they won't give out some confidential technology. Then, when something happens, the people will be gone, and the technology will be gone."
Li Yi sighed. He also did not have a good solution.
There was no patent department in the Tang dynasty. Even if there was, others would not abide by it.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
