Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The Dragon Son was born, a cause for universal celebration.

Although not the eldest son of the first wife, Emperor Jing still specially organized a ceremony to honor the ancestors.

None of the officials and ministers expressed any dissenting opinions; everyone had been looking forward to this for many years.

After all, Li Yuanzhao was already over twenty years old, and only now had his first child... his fertility was truly a cause for concern.

Let's talk about the future later; at least there is hope now.

Fang Zheng Yi didn't care about these matters; it was enough that the child was born safely. Let others celebrate however they wanted.

He was too busy looking after his own son and writing memorials.

For several consecutive days, he meticulously prepared the "Ten Articles for Opening Commerce," complete with theory, logic, and examples!

If the imperial court couldn't relax its numerous restrictions on the people, then commerce would definitely be unable to develop rapidly, let alone the emergence of capital.

Although there was now an abundance of food, the development of the people's situation would slowly force the imperial court to make changes.

But since he had decided to do it, he certainly couldn't be content with waiting; he had to accelerate the process.

Otherwise, what kind of time-traveler would he be? He came out to stir things up, shouldn't he make a success of it?

Taking advantage of Emperor Jing's excellent mood, submitting it now might have a chance of being approved.

However, Fang Zheng Yi's hopes were quickly dashed.

This memorial, like a stone thrown into the sea, disappeared without a trace.

If there were no accidents, it would be shelved indefinitely.

At this moment, Fang Zheng Yi was in the Zhen撫司, busy revising the memorial, preparing to submit it again.

Qian Desheng was seated to the side, serving tea, and occasionally picking up the锦衣卫 official documents next to Fang Zheng Yi to examine them carefully.

Fang Zheng Yi threw most of the official documents to him to handle, too lazy to personally inquire.

After a long while, Fang Zheng Yi flicked the revised memorial and let out a long breath.

This revised version had significantly less substance and more emotion and flattery.

However, Fang Zheng Yi was very satisfied, feeling that his language skills had improved again.

After reviewing it again to ensure there were no errors, he accurately threw the memorial onto Qian Desheng's desk: "Old Qian, take a look at how I wrote it?"

Qian Desheng didn't dare to be negligent, putting down the official documents in his hand and picking up the memorial, carefully reading it once before saying: "Master, to be honest, it's not as good as the last one you wrote. It feels like a lot of water has been added."

"You don't understand, pure substance is not appealing; adding water makes it smooth and fluent. Besides, other people's memorials are thin, only mine from master is so thick, don't you think people would prefer to pick the thick one to read first?"

"Master is wise!" Qian Desheng praised: "More words mean more content! But... Master, the core things inside haven't changed. Choosing a prefecture as a commercial pilot is probably too radical. Since ancient times, valuing agriculture and despising commerce has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. In my experience, the higher-ups will definitely not agree."

"So... I think you should not submit it, lest you annoy His Majesty."

Fang Zheng Yi sighed with both hands, saying: "Who says otherwise? But if I don't submit it, no one will have this thought, even if they don't say it after seeing it?"

"But I didn't expect that after the memorial was submitted, it wasn't even taken out, even discussing it would have been good."

"Forget it, what you said makes sense. Give me the memorial, and help me prepare a backup gift; I'm going to the Ministry of Revenue."

Qian Desheng asked: "Master, what are you going to the Ministry of Revenue for?"

"To find someone to help me speak up, to find someone with weight."

"What gift should I prepare?"

"Just get some tea and snacks; no need to pick anything too expensive."

......

Ministry of Revenue.

Xu Wenshu was sitting upright in his office, sipping fragrant tea and reading leisure books.

Although the Ministry of Revenue was busy, there was also time to steal a moment of leisure; always facing those numbers, official documents inevitably caused headaches.

The book he found today was a bit interesting; it was brought from home, a book bought by his son.

A book of strange tales, rumored to have flowed out of Peach Blossom County.

However, the content read quite novel and interesting, just right for relaxation.

The book was not thick, and it was easy to read, Xu Wenshu quickly read to the end, when suddenly someone came to report: "Sir, the锦衣卫 Commander Fang is seeking an audience!"

锦衣卫? Fang Zheng Yi!

Xu Wenshu immediately perked up, casually putting the book aside, and loudly said: "Quickly, invite him in!"

Before long, Fang Zheng Yi walked into the office with a smile, carrying large and small packages.

Xu Wenshu was puzzled, rising to greet him with a smile: "A rare guest! A rare guest, what official business brings Commander Fang to the Ministry of Revenue today?"

"Official business? No! Nothing to do, I remembered the last time I ate with you, I said I'd send you some tea. I remembered, so I came, didn't I?"

Fang Zheng Yi said, lifting the objects in his hand.

Xu Wenshu blinked, carefully recalling in his mind.

The last time he ate with him was quite some time ago... Did he say he would send tea?

"Commander Fang, please sit. Someone, serve tea to Commander Fang."

Xu Wenshu said: "You are welcome to come, but forget about the gift; my family doesn't lack tea either. I appreciate the thought, but you should take the things back."

Fang Zheng Yi sat down and smiled: "There's nothing valuable, just popular foods from the people; you should take it, it's heavy enough for me to carry."

As he spoke, he opened a paper bag, revealing the tea and snacks inside.

Seeing that they were all ordinary things, Xu Wenshu breathed a sigh of relief: "Very well, it is inconvenient to hold, then I will not be polite."

After a simple greeting, seeing that Fang Zheng Yi had no intention of leaving.

Xu Wenshu tentatively asked: "Commander Fang, no one goes to the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. Since I took office, this is the first time you've come to the Ministry of Revenue, you might as well speak directly, there are no outsiders here."

Fang Zheng Yi touched the memorial in his hand, pondered for a moment, and decided not to take it out first.

So he smiled and said: "There's really nothing important, but there are indeed some problems... I want to consult about."

Xu Wenshu became vigilant: "Speak without restraint."

"Refreshing! Minister Xu should know that in the past, various petty officials or yamen in the capital had situations of exploiting merchants and the people. But since the establishment of the锦衣卫, the锦衣卫 has been committed to combating these illegal acts."

"So... I think the actions of the锦衣卫 for so long should also reflect value. If folk merchants can conduct business normally without interference, then the commercial tax collected by the imperial court in the capital should also be improved."

"I came to ask if the commercial tax collected by the imperial court from the capital this year has increased, and how much it has increased, so as to verify the work results of my锦衣卫. If there are omissions, I will urge the following to rectify."

So that's how it is.

Xu Wenshu breathed a sigh of relief in his heart: "Commander Fang, the work of the锦衣卫 has indeed been effective. However, this tax revenue is a secret of the Ministry of Revenue..."

Fang Zheng Yi stared at him with burning eyes, motionless.

Xu Wenshu smiled awkwardly: "If it is only limited to the capital, it doesn't hurt to say it. It has increased by 20% compared to last year. Because of the锦衣卫's relationship, the number of people who pay taxes and evade taxes is much less than in previous years... Of course, there are other factors that can increase so much."

Fang Zheng Yi sighed: "Good, I will be satisfied if I can help the imperial court."

Suddenly, he changed the subject and said: "But the commercial tax revenue can have such a huge increase, Minister Xu, do you think it is possible to replace agricultural tax in the future?"

"If we relax those restrictions on merchants and abolish tariffs in various places, will the income from commercial tax..."

Xu Wenshu raised his hand and frowned: "Absolutely impossible! If the wise have too much wealth, they will lose their ambition. If the foolish have too much wealth, they will increase their faults. Merchants pursue profit, which only exacerbates this trend. Moreover, wealth attracts public resentment. The rise of merchants will arouse envy among other people, which may cause unrest. If people's hearts are impetuous, then the collapse of ritual and music will not be far away."

"That makes sense, that makes sense." Fang Zheng Yi echoed in his mouth, but was extremely disdainful in his heart.

These people in the palace, without exception, are all big landlords in their hometowns, with servants like clouds in their homes and countless businesses.

They speak of integrity and frugality, but secretly play more than anyone else.

The錦衣卫 had already figured it out clearly, and now they are pretending to be righteous and dignified, which is really shameless.

.....