Hearing this, Kou Ji had mixed feelings in his heart.

If it weren't for Kou Ji knowing that Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Han Qi and others were all great talents, I am afraid that he would not hesitate to shout the word 'arrogance'.

After all, through Fan Zhongyan's narration, Kou Ji could clearly feel that Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Han Qi and others all felt that the high-ranking officials in the court were inferior to them.

The decisions made by a group of important ministers who are in charge of a superpower are judged by them as naïve, and it is not an exaggeration to say that they are arrogant.

However, Kou Ji knew that Fan Zhongyan and the others were telling the truth.

Because, times have changed.

Kou Zhun couldn't understand the current situation and the future trend of the Great Song Dynasty.

Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng, Chen Yaozuo, Li Zhaoliang, Wang Shu and others may not understand.

Most of them are only doing business based on their previous knowledge of the locality.

But the place now is very different from before.

The reform of the military system has strengthened the local military force.

Local officials can do a lot with their soldiers.

The road reform government system has merged many organs of the former government and the road, and many functions have undergone tremendous changes.

There has also been a change in what local officials are going to do.

The functions of local officials are more varied.

Many of the previous decrees have long been unsuitable.

In addition, the imperial court continued to move the people, which emptied the desperate people in the local area, and also evacuated the poor people in many places.

There is one less layer in the local food chain, and the maintenance of local stability and local production has also changed.

These big and small changes, when taken together, are a huge change.

This dramatic change is not yet obvious, and only the magistrates can clearly feel it.

Over time, the impact of change has grown.

At that time, the princes in the court could feel it.

The Great Song Dynasty's way of governing the world by guarding the ancestral system has long been inapplicable to the current Great Song Dynasty.

There are many people who may question how the changes that have taken place in the local area can not be noticed by the princes who hold great power in the court.

That's because the changes in the Great Song Dynasty were too fast, too rapid, and there was no time for the princes who held great power in the court to react.

What's more, these changes are subtle.

Before the change does not produce great harm, it will not attract the attention of the court and the public at all.

Even if they get the attention of one or two people, they will silently treat them as if they don't exist until they can't solve them.

For example, the original Ma Zheng of the Great Song Dynasty.

After it was made, there was erosion, and many people saw it, but no one supported it.

It has developed until it can no longer be hidden, and Xiang Minzhong played the imperial court, and asked the imperial court to sell a large part of the old horses and bad horses in captivity to the people.

It alleviated the erosion of Ma Zheng.

However, the problematic affairs of the Great Song Dynasty and Ma Zheng have not been cured.

It wasn't until Kou Ji opened up a huge horse farm in Hexi for the Great Song Dynasty that the Ma Zheng of the Great Song Dynasty was relieved to a certain extent.

Subsequently, the Great Song Dynasty conquered the countries, destroyed the countries, and obtained a lot of horse grazing land, and the defects in the Great Song Dynasty's horse politics were completely solved.

Kou Ji stared at Fan Zhongyan and said, "Since you know about the local problems, why don't you play it to the imperial court?" ”

Fan Zhongyan coughed dryly, and said loudly: "It's useful to play it?" They don't understand! ”

Kou Ji looked at Fan Zhongyan in amazement.

Fan Zhongyan hurriedly explained: "This is Su Xun's original words, and the student is just learning Su Xun's tone to speak. ”

Kou Ji glanced at Fan Zhongyan, and said with a smile: "It is indeed Su Xun's style......

After a pause, Kou Ji said again: "But even so, you should also play the imperial court." It is precisely because the princes in the court do not understand or understand that you should tell them about the changes in the place, so that they can clearly understand the place.

Only in this way will they be able to formulate a reasonable decree. ”

Hearing this, Fan Zhongyan's face darkened, and he sighed slightly: "The student is the first to play, and the approval he got is to find something to do."

Others have played it, but they didn't pay attention to it at all. ”

Kou Ji groaned and asked, "What about the others besides you?" ”

Fan Zhongyan sighed again and said, "In addition to the people who came out of your door, only those who came from the Wenchang Academy and the officials who have been to Hexi have played this matter.

Most of the remaining officials are pretending to be deaf and dumb.

And the problems that occur in our places are different.

After playing to the imperial court, almost all of them were beaten back.

Only then two or three were adopted.

But they are all things that are not painful, or have very intuitive political achievements. ”

Kou Ji didn't blindly believe Fan Zhongyan's words, but stared at Fan Zhongyan and asked, "What have you all played, tell me carefully." ”

Fan Zhongyan nodded and said, "Su Xun once asked the imperial court to set up a tax office on the coast of Bohai Mansion to collect taxes on passing ships.

The imperial court did not agree, but only asked Su Xun to sell the commercial tax rights of the passing merchant ships according to the usual practice. ”

Hearing this, Kou Ji narrowed his eyes slightly, and said, "Bohai Mansion has now been operated by Su Xun as a hub to all parts of Liaodi, and there are countless ships and merchants who go back and forth every day.

The amount of business tax that can be received every day is a huge amount. ”

Fan Zhongyan nodded heavily and said, "Su Xun said that when the autumn grain was in the warehouse, there were hundreds of large ships on the merchant ships that traveled to and from Bohai Mansion every day.

The commercial tax that can be collected is as high as tens of thousands.

If the imperial court had set up a tax office in the port of Bohai Province, it would have collected more than 3 million yuan in commercial taxes every year. ”

The people of Liao are now small landlords, and with the help of the people of Liao, they can cultivate a huge amount of land every year.

What they produce on their land, they don't use much at all.

Most of it was exchanged for money and things.

Therefore, whether it is the sale of grain or the purchase of goods, the quantity is huge.

The port of Bohai Province is the only place in Liaoning that can reduce taxes so far, and it is also the only port in Liaodi, which naturally attracts businessmen.

After all, the waterway is slow, but the cost is extremely low.

The same batch of food, if you go by land, requires a lot of mules and horses, wooden carts, manpower, and the cost of eating horses and chewing horses, and it also costs to pass the card along the way.

If you go by water, a boat, a group of rowers is enough, and all you need to spend is some food for people to eat, and nothing else.

You must know that when they are on the road, mules and horses eat more than people, and sometimes they eat more than people's gold.

When encountering difficult roads, it is easy to cause great damage.

There is also damage to the boat, but the chance is far less than the road.

Therefore, the port set up by Su Xun in Bohai Province is definitely the favorite place of businessmen and the place they are most willing to go.

A port hub involving the business of tens of millions of people, the commercial tax revenue of each year is naturally a huge number.

Su Xun estimated three million guan, all of which were conservative estimates.

After all, there are many coveted luxury goods in Liaodi, and luxury goods are often light in weight and large in value, and the taxes that can be received are naturally more.

For example, ginseng, Dongzhu, fur of exotic beasts, precious wood, and so on.

Some people may question that the only people in Liao who have property are the people of the Great Song Dynasty, and they have no property in their crimes, so they do not participate in the sale and cannot stimulate consumption.

That can only be said that you underestimate the importance of the people of the Great Song Dynasty to labor.

In the Great Song Dynasty, especially when the farming was busy, cows, horses, mules, etc., ate better than people.

If the main labor force in the family eats too much during the busy farming period, the others are likely to go hungry.

If the people of the Great Song Dynasty want to use those sins to cultivate, they will definitely let them be fed and clothed.

Some people may also give them the opportunity to have children and add to their families.

Even, the people with good hearts will regard those sins that contribute to their own family as their own people.

So there must be quite a few of them who will spend money to buy a lot of daily necessities for those sins.

Until they become landlords and wealthy, they will maintain a considerable amount of goodwill towards the first heroes under their hands.

Only after they have become landlords and enjoyed the benefits of exploitation will they enter the level of exploitation.

Therefore, Su Xun's estimated tax revenue of more than 3 million guan will only be more, not less.

Is it such a huge amount of wealth, the imperial court actually turned a blind eye?

Is it the court that has floated?

Or did the people of the household department float?

Kou Ji let out a long breath and said, "This matter is indeed the wrong ...... the imperial court."

Fan Zhongyan saw that Kou Ji recognized that the imperial court was wrong, so he continued: "In order to make the people of Shaanxi Mansion rich, the students set up many workshops in Shaanxi Mansion.

In order to prevent the wealthy families in Shaanxi Province from taking advantage of the commercial tax and taxation rights to suppress the workshops on which the people depended, the students asked the Shaanxi Mansion to set up a tax yamen to take back the commercial tax rights in the hands of the wealthy families.

But the imperial court actually rejected the student on the grounds that there was no such precedent.

even issued documents to the lower officials, asking the lower officials not to take the people to run cheap jobs, so that the people could go back to farming with peace of mind.

If they have land to cultivate, and they get everything from the field, and they can be fed and clothed with the grain produced in the field, why should the students bother to let them take care of their lowly work?

Don't students know that in my Song Dynasty, the business status is far lower than the agricultural status?

They can't get enough to eat, they want to occupy the mountains and become kings, and they want to gather people to rebel?

What else do you want to mention about business and agriculture, does it make sense?

Could it be that they have become bandits, and the court will realize that they have not enough to eat? ”

Kou Ji sighed and said faintly: "This matter is also wrong with the imperial court......

Fan Zhongyan said again: "Over there in the Gumeng Mansion, Zhang Fangping asked the imperial court to transfer a batch of tree species from Hexi Mansion, wanting to follow the example of Li Gong and lead the people of the Gumeng Mansion to plant trees and cultivate at the same time.

But the imperial court actually let Zhang Fangping negotiate with Li Gong himself.

Li Gong told Zhang Fangping that Hexi had experienced a major war before, and many trees were destroyed.

If Zhang Fangping is provided with tree seeds for free, the people may not be happy.

So let Zhang Fangping give him some things more or less, and he could give the people an explanation.

But Zhang Fangping's Gumeng Mansion is poor, and his background is not good, so he can't advance money by himself.

Zhang Fangping is doing things for the court, not for himself.

With such a small amount of money, the court was reluctant to give it out, so let Zhang Fangping figure it out by himself.

If Wen Yanbo hadn't come forward to lend Zhang Fangping some money, Zhang Fangping would probably have taken the people of Gumeng Mansion out to rob it.

If he really did this, the court would benefit, and the people of Gumeng Mansion would also benefit, but he himself would be beheaded for public display.

Because without the permission of the imperial court, he led the people out to become bandits, and he should be beheaded. ”

Kou Ji slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, opened his eyes again, and said: "The imperial court needs loyal ministers and good generals, and I also hope that all the loyal ministers and good generals under its rule will be pushed down, and the loyal ministers and good generals will probably be forced to become rebels."

This matter is the fault of the imperial court. ”

After Kou Ji said this, he looked at Fan Zhongyan and said, "Is there anything else you want to say?" ”

Fan Zhongyan sighed and said, "There are too many things to say, and there are countless examples that can be cited. I'm afraid the students won't be able to finish it in a day and a night.

The students and others are now waiting for you, sir, to raise your arms and shout, so that you can follow you and do a vigorous and great thing. ”

Kou Ji opened his mouth, and just as he was about to speak, he heard Fan Zhongyan say again: "If you don't raise your arms for a long time, then there will be several resignations among the students...... There are also people who will go on their own! ”

Kou Ji instantly swallowed the words that came to his mouth, then glared at Fan Zhongyan, and said angrily: "Your husband and I are only a year old, and there are still decades before entering the tomb."

I'm not dead yet, and you want to be a chess player instead of me, are you thinking too much? ”

Fan Zhongyan smiled in a low voice, "If Mr. doesn't come out, the students can only offend." When Mr. was teaching students and others in Hexi, he said it.

Sir, what you most pursue is the creed of the mediocre and the capable.

The students are not as good as the husband, but they are much better than the others. ”

Kou Ji raised his eyebrows and said, "So confident? ”

Fan Zhongyan slowly straightened his waist and said unceremoniously: "The students and others dare not say that they are more powerful than the Gonggong Zhugong in the court, but the students and others dare to assert that the students and others know the Great Song Dynasty better than the Gonggong Zhugong in the court now." ”

Kou Ji smiled and said, "Know better than me?" ”

Fan Zhongyan hesitated for a moment, and laughed in a low voice: "Students and others are better at governing places than Mr. ”

Kou Ji cried and laughed: "You guys, you just bullied me and didn't have the experience of being a foreign officer." But if you really want to govern the place, it's not necessarily who loses and who wins. ”

Fan Zhongyan smiled and didn't say anything.

Kou Ji sighed: "Although the princes in the court do not know the place as well as you, there are still advantages in the court.

When it comes to major events, the Guilds in the court are as stable as Mount Tai, but you may not.

It's like Su Xun, when I promoted him to the prefect of Bohai Prefecture, he didn't dare to ask for it.

In the end, he asked me for a Bao Zheng, and then reluctantly rushed to the post.

Wen Yanbo, Zhang Fangping, Han Qi and others are too shallow.

Even if he enters Bianjing City as an official now, it is difficult to suppress a group of sub-officials.

Of all of you, that is, you are qualified.

As an official in the court, you not only have to look at your ability, but also your qualifications and merits.

If you don't have an inch of merit and don't have much seniority, but you just rely on your ability to enter the court, the people above may not say anything.

But the people below are definitely not convinced.

You feel that your ability is not low, and the people below also feel that they are not low.

Does the court want to set up a ring for you when the people below disagree with you, and let you tear it apart? ”

When Fan Zhongyan heard this, he was speechless.

If it was before, he would have said without hesitation, 'why not', but now he wouldn't say that.

Because everything done in the court is related to the livelihood of thousands of Li people.

The imperial court set up a ring and let the two officials tear it apart, and one of them seemed to be able to select talents for the imperial court.

But what about the people below?

Are they child's play?

They are a life, not a chip at the table.

Nor is it something to be contested.

But those who can put the people on the gambling table have most of them without the people in their hearts.

Why should a man who has no people in his heart be the father and mother of the people?

Seeing that Fan Zhongyan was silent, Kou Ji knew that Fan Zhongyan had understood his words, and he sighed with emotion: "People must have awe in their hearts, and officials should have it in their hearts."

The awe in the hearts of the officials is not for the officials, but for the people.

So be confident, I appreciate it, but don't take people's lives as a child's play.

You can become an official in the court, but they still lack some.

You still have to go through it.

Like Su Xun, if you don't say anything, you have to serve me as the prefect for two terms. ”

Fan Zhongyan had already approved Kou Ji's words in his heart, but thinking of Su Xun's arrogant words when he wrote a letter to himself, he still couldn't help but say: "I'm afraid that Su Xun won't be happy......"

Kou Ji glanced at Fan Zhongyan and said nonchalantly, "What's he not happy about?" A prefect of Bohai Prefecture made him get carried away?

I'm helping him find a household book now, can he sit firmly? Can it be kept?

Tens of thousands of dollars flow through his eyes every day, can he spend every penny reasonably where it should be spent? ”

These words don't need to be answered by Su Xun, Fan Zhongyan can answer for him.

Fan Zhongyan shook his head with a wry smile and said, "I'm afraid he can't ......"

Not to mention Su Xun, even if he Fan Zhongyan, it is not easy to arrange tens of thousands of dollars reasonably.

Kou Ji snorted coldly and said, "Since you can't, just obediently precipitate on the place, don't be ambitious." You correspond to them often, and you tell them what I say.

If they can make the place under their rule surpass Jiangning Mansion.

What they want, I give.

If not, then give me a lie on my stomach.

When to use them, when they are qualified, I will naturally send them to Beijing. ”

"More than Jiangning Mansion? It's simply impossible! ”

Fan Zhongyan said with a look of astonishment.

Kou Ji glanced at Fan Zhongyan and said, "Gumeng Mansion and Langxie Mansion may not have a chance, but Bohai Mansion must have a chance." It depends on what Su Xun does. ”

A commercial hub that communicates thousands of miles of territory, and a commercial transfer station that communicates most of the Great Song Dynasty, the potential is endless.

Jiangning Mansion is certainly prosperous.

But Jiangning Mansion has developed to a bottleneck.

The development of Bohai Province has only just begun.

Fan Zhongyan didn't quite believe Kou Ji's words, shook his head and said, "Although there are many merchants in Bohai Mansion now, there are very few merchants who have moved to Bohai Mansion.

What Bohai Province can see is only floating wealth, not money that has taken root. ”

Kou Ji stared at Fan Zhongyan and said, "Then what if I allow Su Xun to open a tax office in Bohai Mansion, and by the way, let Yizizipu establish a branch shop in Bohai Mansion?" ”

Fan Zhongyan was stunned for a moment, silently pondered, and hurriedly said: "Then Bohai Mansion is expected to surpass Jiangning Mansion in terms of commercial taxes." But the foundation is still a little worse than Jiangning Mansion. ”

Kou Ji said indifferently: "What is missing is nothing more than education and heritage. The foundation can only be accumulated slowly, but I can help him in terms of education.

As long as the education and harvest go up, the accumulation of heritage will be fast. ”

Fan Zhongyan said in a deep voice: "Most of the people in Bohai Mansion are guilty of crimes, and it will take more than ten years to see the results of the great education. It is impossible to compare the accumulation of hundreds of years in Shangjiangning Mansion. ”

Kou Ji said with a smile: "It's man-made, it depends on what Su Xun does." ”

Fan Zhongyan looked at Kou Ji suspiciously.

Kou Ji smiled and said, "Many of the books you translated have not been published. If Su Xun wants, I can let them come out early. ”

Fan Zhongyan said in horror: "In those books, there are many things that contradict the words of the saint, if they are spread, it will be terrible."

Su Xun is afraid that he will become the target of public criticism at that time. ”

Kou Ji laughed and said, "Can a living person suffocate urine to death? Isn't it okay to find a way to link them with the words of the sages, and then find some great Confucian endorsements, and say that they are studied from the words of the sages, and spread in the name of the sages?

If it doesn't work, I'll say it's written by my little Kou Gong.

I'm also one of the few capable people in the Great Song Dynasty, and I write one or two more powerful books, but it's not too much, right? ”

The corners of Fan Zhongyan's mouth twitched: "Are those one or two?" ”

Kou Ji laughed and said, "You can divide those enlightenment books into my name." The rest of the things that have been derived can be attributed to you.

You're my students, and you've come up with something different from my book, aren't you? ”

Fan Zhongyan said with a face of shame: "But it is a book written by Western Confucians, if we impostor, will it be too ......?"

As a reader, I have serious resistance to plagiarizing the work of others.

Kou Ji smiled and said, "You're too worried. We also want to spread the knowledge better. We also let the people know how much knowledge there is in the world.

When future generations learn about this, they will only praise us for our good intentions.

As for outsiders accusing us of plagiarism, who cares?

Do you still want those outsiders to worship you as a saint? ”

Fan Zhongyan shook his head decisively.

Joke.

In Fan Zhongyan's eyes, those people were all barbarians.

Who wants to be a sage for the barbarians?

That had to be mixed up in the Great Song Dynasty to fail, and then he ran to the barbarian pile to claim the king.

"Isn't that the end of it?"

"It's hard for students to accept impersonation."

"Then if you don't admit it, you don't deny it, and it's over. I was really anxious, so I can say that I wrote it. ”

"Sir is really ......"

"Cheeky, right?"

Kou Ji asked with a smile.

Fan Zhongyan smiled dryly, "The student didn't say anything. ”

Kou Ji said disdainfully: "But that's what you think. ”