Daqin Zhentiansi

Chapter 599 I Trust Marquis Qingyang
May of the twenty-third year of the Yuankang era.

The eastern border of the Great Qin Dynasty.

Donghan County.

The turbulent Donghan County.

In mid-April, Donghan County formed a business alliance.

Seventy-three prominent families, large and small, pooled together 1.3 billion taels of silver to form the Donghan Merchant Alliance, led by the Lu family of Donghan County.

The first leader of the merchant alliance was Xun Wannian, a great merchant from Donghan County.

If someone were to investigate further, they would naturally discover that Xun Wannian had a nephew named Xun Huo.

Xun Huo, the Marquis of Pingyun and Prefect of Jiujiang Commandery.

Just one day after its establishment, the Donghan Merchant Alliance signed a contract with the Jiuchuan Merchant Alliance from the Imperial City. For the next ten years, all business between Donghan County and the Imperial City would be handed over to the Donghan Merchant Alliance.

This deal has a guaranteed minimum amount of three million Immortal Jade.

Why use Jade Coins to calculate the amount?

Because the number was too large, they deliberately used immortal jade to avoid alarming the people.

If converted to silver, it would be a sum as vast as the stars.

Of course, in addition to this alliance, the Donghan Merchant Alliance also signed another contract to transfer and sell various products such as mines and spiritual fields in Donghan County.

Whether we sell or not, we have to sell.

In truth, everyone knows the answer.

The Zhou family, the last one to be raided, was still bleeding from the blood of the entire family.

With the signing of the business alliance agreement, various material transactions continued uninterrupted.

The first batch of supplies worth hundreds of billions of taels of silver was delivered to the capital and various prefectures, and the wealth of the Donghan Merchant Alliance increased more than a hundredfold overnight.

On the Jiuchuan River, there were so many boats that they could not be counted.

Alliance Leader Xun Wannian personally approached Cao Jiada, who was in charge of the river works and laborers, and asked Magistrate Cao to recruit a million laborers within a month to dredge the river and build wharves.

In the following stages, there were still various tasks to be done, such as building warehouses and transporting supplies.

Although Magistrate Cao agreed, he said he had difficulties.

Conscripting 100,000 laborers was already the limit; any more than that was beyond his control.

It is said that the matter was later brought to the attention of the Prefectural Governor, Marquis Qingyang.

Marquis Qingyang only said one sentence.

The eyes of the people are discerning.

The following day, the Jiuchuan Merchant Alliance issued a recruitment notice, stating that all river workers and laborers would be paid 120 coins per day.

This is already no less than the salary of public officials such as government clerks.

When Zhang Yuan was serving as a guard in the Northwest, he only earned five taels of silver a month.

The announcement caused an uproar in Donghan County. Countless people, along with their families, accepted the conscription to work as laborers on the river.

Even people from other counties such as Jiujiang and Linyang are coming to Donghan County.

It turns out that what Marquis Qingyang said was that the people's eyes are discerning. The word "discerning" refers to the brightness of snowflakes and silver.

The gathering of millions of laborers, like a vast sea, shook the various martial arts sects that had been somewhat hesitant.

Who wouldn't fear such power?
If we can gather a million laborers today, we can gather a million-strong army tomorrow!

In just three days, the Jiuchuan Martial Alliance, which had been stalled and difficult to establish, was successfully formed.

Chen Jiuyue of the Cold Crow Sword Sect is one of the seven vice leaders. The leader is Xiong Sihai, the sect leader of the Donghan County Martial Arts Grand Sect, the sect leader of the Luochen Martial Sect, and a master of the Xiaoyao Realm.

The Nine Rivers Martial Alliance also has three Supreme Elders, one of whom is Xiao Lingyun, a Grandmaster of Martial Arts who is stationed in Yuncang City and is the Supreme Elder of the Qingyun Sword Sect.

The first thing the Jiuchuan Martial Alliance did upon its formation was to issue three orders.

First, all sects and strongholds under the jurisdiction of Donghan County are prohibited from robbing caravans and goods of the Jiuchuan Merchant Alliance and the Donghan Merchant Alliance. Those who disobey this order will be hunted down by the martial arts world.

Secondly, sects under the jurisdiction of Donghan County that recruit commoners as disciples can receive rewards from the Martial Alliance. These rewards can be exchanged for the inheritance, wealth, weapons, and other items of the twelve leading sects of the Martial Alliance.

Third, the Jiuchuan Martial Alliance will recruit 30,000 martial artists to join the patrol team of the River Administration. The Jiuchuan Merchant Alliance and the Donghan Merchant Alliance will also need to recruit 50,000 martial artists, with priority given to recruiting from the sects of the martial alliances.

With a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver, plus other mission allowances and various rewards, even someone at the Innate Realm would be willing to take such an opportunity.

Moreover, the monthly stipend for a person at the Innate Realm is at least one hundred taels of silver. The Merchant Alliance, the Martial Alliance, and the conscription of laborers and river workers are all in full swing.

But what truly shook the entire Jiuchuan River region was the river management department.

On his first day in office, Li Cheng, the chief of the river management office, led 100,000 boatmen under his command through the nine rivers and eighteen locks, smashing fifteen of the locks, leaving only the estuary, the Yuncang River, and one of the nine river locks.

The river management office issued an order that all merchant ships traveling to the Jiuchuan River, Yuncang River, and the East China Sea would be exempt from taxes.

duty free!

In the past, there were eighteen sluice gates, so taxes were collected eighteen times.

Everything is now tax-free!

This news shocked not only Donghan County, but also the Eastern Territory and the entire Qin Dynasty.

It's important to understand that the taxes collected by the river management department have accounted for a significant portion of local tax revenue over the years.

Prefectures and counties with river trade routes under their jurisdiction lived quite comfortably, and were certainly much wealthier than those places where merchant ships could not travel.

But the Donghan County River Management Office cut off this tax revenue, so how will this deficit be made up?
Moreover, did Donghan County consult with other counties before doing this? Did they consult with the Ministry of Revenue?

Such an important matter should be discussed by the six ministries in the imperial court.

Rumor has it that the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Personnel have all submitted memorials demanding a thorough investigation into the matter concerning the Donghan County River Management Office.

The Ministry of Revenue's reasoning was that such tax matters should be the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue.

It was already against the rules for each prefecture to be in charge of collecting taxes along the trade routes; it would be better for the Ministry of Revenue to send people directly to various places to collect taxes.

The Ministry of Rites, however, argued that the laws of the ancestors should not be abandoned.

Taxing merchants has been a rule for tens of thousands of years; how can it be changed so easily?
As for the Ministry of Personnel, in short, Li Cheng, the chief clerk of the Donghan County River Management Office, has no official position and comes from a humble background, so he is not suitable for employment.

Amidst the commotion in the imperial court, Emperor Yuankang ultimately did not issue an edict to investigate the affairs of the Donghan County Water Conservancy Office.

The emperor only said one sentence.

"I trust Marquis Qingyang."

----------------

Donghan County.

County town.

In a teahouse facing the street, Yao Baiyue, the headmaster of Caiwei Academy, dressed in a scholar's robe, sat upright.

The middle-aged scholar opposite him had a solemn expression, his cup steaming in the air, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Teacher, is the Marquis of Qingyang truly enjoying such imperial favor that even the River Conservancy Bureau's actions go unpunished..."

The middle-aged scholar spoke softly, looking up at Yao Baiyue.

"Teacher, what exactly is Marquis Qingyang plotting?"

Upon hearing his words, Yao Baiyue smiled slightly.

"You also think that Marquis Qingyang is plotting something, but you don't think he's just a reckless fool as the rumors in the market say?"

Smiling, Yao Baiyue picked up her teacup and said, "In Eastern Wei, the common people call the Marquis of Qingyang a young man who holds a high position, but is incompetent and reckless..."

Across from him, the middle-aged scholar shook his head.

His expression was complex, and he gripped the cup tightly in his hand.

"How could he possibly be a brute?"

"Putting aside his martial arts skills and talent, his methods of doing things during his month or so in Donghan County are beyond what ordinary officials can do."

"With the appointment of Liu Peiyuan and Zhao Defang, everyone in the Donghan County government was in danger. The river management office was wiped out. All the resentment was borne by Liu Peiyuan and Zhao Defang, but everyone praised the Marquis of Qingyang for his fairness and selflessness in reforming the officialdom."

"I never expected that he would dare to employ even Liu Peiyuan and Zhao Defang. I really don't know whether to say that Marquis Qingyang is broad-minded or that he is immoral in employing people."

"The Nine Rivers Martial Alliance, the Nine Rivers Merchant Alliance, a million laborers—all pave the way with money, squandering it like water. Such actions—"

The middle-aged scholar gave a helpless laugh: "Outsiders see only wealth and arrogance, and their behavior is vulgar, but the people's eyes are discerning..."

The cups and saucers were placed on the table, and the middle-aged scholar's eyes revealed a solemn expression.

"As for the River Management Office—"

(End of this chapter)