Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The next day, early in the morning.

Fang Zheng Yi's gaze kept drifting towards Xu Wenshu in front of him.

Although yesterday he had used a combination of deception, persuasion, and coercion, to be honest, he wasn't confident.

Whether he could speak up for him depended on today.

The court session was halfway through when Xu Wenshu, who hadn't formally spoken, suddenly moved.

Fang Zheng Yi's heart leaped into his throat...

Xu Wenshu slowly took out a memorial from his sleeve, the cover of which was clearly the one Fang Zheng Yi had left!

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present."

"Speak."

"Your Majesty, this month I ordered a re-organization of the Ministry of Revenue's accounts. Although the national treasury's income has increased year by year in the past two years, some problems have been discovered."

"The previous situation of insufficient grain has been greatly alleviated due to the promotion of sweet potato and potato cultivation. Presumably, in a few years, the people of the world will have no worries about famine."

"Therefore, there has also been a considerable increase in commercial taxes, but the difficulty of material circulation has always existed. If this difficulty is not resolved, when grain production reaches its peak, tax revenue will likely be difficult to further improve."

"Policies need to change with the times, so I have written ten policies to ease commerce overnight. I believe this matter is of great importance, please review it, Your Majesty."

Xu Wenshu glanced back at Fang Zheng Yi, seeing him beaming with joy.

He couldn't help but take a deep breath, turning his head to suppress the disgust in his heart.

Ten policies to ease commerce...?

Emperor Jing was stunned for a moment, feeling like he had heard it somewhere before.

When the memorial was handed to him, Emperor Jing looked at Fang Zheng Yi with a strange expression.

Wasn't this thing written by Fang Zheng Yi not long ago? However, the wording has changed a lot.

Fang Zheng Yi also met Emperor Jing's gaze with a simple smile, his eyes clear and innocent.

Emperor Jing instantly understood, his expression returning to normal, and said: "Guo Banban, read it."

Guo Tianyang picked up the memorial and began to read it aloud.

Guo Tianyang's voice echoed in the hall, but Fang Zheng Yi's expression gradually became strange as he listened.

The content he wrote... had actually been changed by Xu Wenshu!

Compared to the version he wrote, the revised wording was much easier to accept.

But the key point was that his original suggestion was to open up a prefecture as a pilot, but it had been changed to a county under the jurisdiction of Hengjiang Prefecture.

But since things had come to this, Fang Zheng Yi could only listen patiently.

Since it was limited to one county, many people did not show strong opposition.

After all, it was just one county, what impact could it have even if things went awry?

After Guo Tianyang finished speaking, Emperor Jing swept his gaze across the officials and said: "Xu Qing, please speak about it first."

Xu Wenshu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the reason why I strongly advocate easing commerce is based on evidence."

"The circulation of goods in the market is nothing more than four steps: production, distribution, circulation, and sales. The first and last steps have no problems, but the distribution and circulation in the middle are very important."

"Grain has been harvested for many years. In the past, when there were no high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes and potatoes, the people could barely support their families with their labor, without any surplus. Now, they can not only support their families, but also have a lot of grain left over."

"And these grains need to be purchased by merchants and then sold on the market. The people sell the grain and have money, then go to buy new clothes and other household items, thus promoting production."

"As far as I know, there are no less than twenty handicraft workshops employing more than a hundred people being built in the capital this year. This is a sight that has never been seen before. It is enough to see the surge in demand for goods from the common people."

"In this case, easing commerce is imperative! Even if it's for nothing else, we must also consider those idlers who have emerged due to the high yield of grain. The people must not be lazy at home, doing nothing."

"However, easing commerce cannot be achieved overnight, and needs to be done gradually. Therefore, I have read all the accounts reported by the capital over the years and selected Pingwan County in Hengjiang Prefecture. This county is located in a key area of Hengjiang Prefecture, connecting all directions, and is a place where goods are frequently exchanged on weekdays. It is very suitable as a pilot for easing commerce. I hope Your Majesty will see clearly."

Emperor Jing nodded gently, tapping the imperial desk with one hand.

The officials were thoughtful. The content Xu Wenshu had just spoken had a familiar feeling.

Wasn't this the content continuously published in the Banshan Daily in the past few days? It was about production, distribution, sales, and the like.

Unexpectedly, Xu Wenshu had such a high opinion of the content in the Banshan Daily?

The hall was silent for a long time before Emperor Jing opened his mouth and said: "Do you ministers have anything else to say?"

There was a low discussion below, and Fang Zheng Yi's eyes kept scanning the crowd.

Today's matter seemed easy to handle, it was just a pity that the old thing Xu Wenshu had changed a prefecture into a county.

He also knew about Pingwan County. It was indeed a good place. If it was managed well, its influence might not be bad.

Now that he had already spoken, there was no possibility of changing it.

The key now was to see who opposed it, and then he would rush up to help.

Sure enough, in the end, someone still came out to oppose it.

Hanlin Academician Yang Yingcai stood up silently: "I have..."

"I object!" Before he could finish speaking, Fang Zheng Yi suddenly shouted.

Yang Yingcai's face slowly lengthened, and he reluctantly retreated.

Xu Wenshu's mind buzzed, completely confused...

Emperor Jing stared at Fang Zheng Yi, his expression constantly changing.

Which side are you on, kid? You're the one who wants to ease commerce, and now you're the one who wants to object?

Fang Zheng Yi turned his head and gave Yang Yingcai an extremely ugly smile, with a hint of mockery in his eyes.

Turning back, he said loudly: "I object to easing commerce! As the saying goes, if the virtuous have too much wealth, they will lose their ambition. If the foolish have too much wealth, they will increase their faults. Merchants pursuing profit will only encourage this trend. Furthermore, the rich are resented by the masses. The rise of merchants will arouse envy from other people, and I am afraid it will cause unrest. If people's hearts are impetuous, then the collapse of etiquette and music is not far away."

Xu Wenshu roared wildly in his heart, wasn't that what I said! What the hell are you trying to do?

"Indulging merchants has many hidden dangers, and merchants do not engage in production, they can only act as intermediaries, earning exorbitant profits between the people, which is tantamount to competing with the people for profit. This matter is absolutely impossible."

After Fang Zheng Yi finished speaking, he began to wink at Xu Wenshu.

"Master Xu, am I right?"

The corners of Xu Wenshu's eyes twitched a few times, he swallowed and said: "I cannot agree with this statement. If there were no intermediaries in the world, it would have been in chaos long ago. Merchants are like the gears in a waterwheel, connecting producers and buyers. Without them mediating resources, it would be extremely difficult for both buyers and sellers to establish a deal, and profit is just the reward they deserve."

"The more business merchants facilitate, the more wealth the world will increase. If merchants profit and harm the interests of others, how could our Da Jing get better year by year, and the national treasury's income get higher year by year....?"

Fang Zheng Yi praised in his heart, the old man Xu was not old and his reaction was quick, and his memory was good too.