White-robed Minister

Chapter 177-0175 [Xu Lai is even wilder than Wang Shao]

Although it was upgraded to the Tongyuan Army, it was actually just a name.

The imperial court has not yet sent any officials, so Xu Lai needs to recruit the clerks himself. Even Tongyuan Army City needs to be built by Xu Lai himself, because there is only a dilapidated fortress at present.

The next day, they continued on their journey.

By this time, the system of archers being stationed in agricultural settlements had become widespread in the northwestern border regions. Archers were not only granted 100 mu of land, but those with horses received an additional 50 mu, and were exempt from land taxes!

What is the price?

Archers need to provide their own armor and weapons, and are ready to be called up for battle at any time. They do not receive military pay, but only rations when they are on a mission!

When commoners volunteered to be archers, they were automatically enlisted in the military and received a resettlement allowance, clothing, shoes, and other necessities. However, oxen and seeds were rented from the government.

In practice, if archers needed to train or fight but lacked the funds to purchase armor, the government would provide them as appropriate, only to take them back afterward.

This is a special policy implemented in response to war.

By the late Northern Song Dynasty, things had gradually deteriorated, especially during the reign of Emperor Huizong, who not only levied taxes on archers on the frontiers but also repeatedly increased tax rates. This led to a large number of archers fleeing, as a year's worth of farming was not enough to pay the taxes, and officials took the opportunity to exploit them.

The closer Xulai got to Guwei Village, the more serious the land abandonment became.

In an attempt to build a closer relationship with Wang Junwan, he deliberately avoided asking about Wang Shao and instead inquired of Wang Junwan, "Why are so many of the river valley terraces near the fortress abandoned?"

Wang Junwan said, "The surrounding area is full of Qiang people, and Han people are unwilling to come. The archers can't recruit tenants, so how can they cultivate the land themselves? Even if land is given to them, most of their land is often left uncultivated."

Xu Lai inquired about the goods in the border trade and then realized that Wang Shao seemed to have made a mistake.

As for salt, not only did Mu Zheng monopolize the salt wells, but Yu Longke, whom Wang Shao intended to persuade, also had salt wells. On the contrary, on the Song Dynasty side, the people of Qinzhou either relied on government-sold salt or smuggled bluish-white salt or well salt.

If there were a trade market, it would be Xu Lai who would need to buy salt, rather than controlling the Qiang tribes by selling salt.

Wang Shao seemed somewhat embarrassed, as he was traveling alone in the border regions, and it was normal for some intelligence to be incorrect.

As night fell, Xu Lai finally arrived at his post.

Guwei Village was built 2,000 years ago. It is situated by the mountain and the river, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The village wall is triangular, built of rammed earth, and even has a barbican outside the wall.

However, it has a very small area, with a perimeter of only 1800 meters.

The village has a very small population, with fewer than 10 shops in total. The garrison is said to number over 100, but in reality, there are only 20 or 30 soldiers; the rest are farmers outside the village.

The chieftain's name was Yu Ping, and he was an unknown figure. He was probably an unlucky fellow who was disliked, which is why he was sent here to be stationed.

During the meal, Xu came to inquire about the situation.

Yu Ping said, "Guwei Village originally had more than two hundred archers, but now only more than one hundred and sixty have fled. The government encourages the archers to bring their families, and will give them land as long as they come. But the effect is really limited, and most of the archers are still single."

If an archer brings his family to live with him and receives land from the government, the family's land is considered private land and is exempt from taxes for the first few years, after which they will have to pay taxes as usual.

This preferential policy is complete nonsense, because if the archers' families came, they would definitely help the archers cultivate the tax-free military farmland. They wouldn't even want civilian land!

Unlike the inland areas, this place is full of wasteland, but the population is scarce.

Many archers were old bachelors, and this was especially true the closer they got to the front lines.

The archers' dream was not to win battles and achieve merit, but to work hard in the fields to save money and then buy a Qiang wife. Or they could ask someone to act as a matchmaker and marry a Han woman from Qinzhou, Weizhou, or Longzhou who was willing to come to the border region.

Xu Laiti wrote down his plan to find wives for the archers in the future.

Having a wife brings stability; even when fleeing, one must think twice.

After settling down in Guwei Village, Xu Lai and Wang Shao split up and began to act separately.

Xu Lai, accompanied by more than ten riders, inspected the various villages and fortresses under his jurisdiction and visited the Qiang tribes that had already submitted to him. He presented each village chief and Qiang leader with a bolt of cloth as a gift.

The gift may be small, but it's a token of my appreciation.

The village chiefs and Qiang leaders all treated Xu Lai extremely well. They were already grateful that the civil officials didn't extort money from them; they'd never even seen anyone offer them gifts in return.

At each Qiang tribe he visited, Xu Lai inquired about their needs and what supplies they could provide, in preparation for the trade market the following year.

-

Wang Shao's mission was similar to Xu Lai's, but even more dangerous, as he was heading to the Qiang tribes who had not yet submitted to him.

For two consecutive months, the two of them did these things.

Xu Lai and Bu Chao's riding skills have improved a lot, and they ride around every day.

When Wang Shao returned, Xu Lai told him something.

Wang Shao was shocked upon hearing this: "You want to sell smuggled salt?"

"It's not about selling smuggled salt, but about collecting bribes. I will negotiate with Cai Xianggong," Xu said.

Xu Lai always followed the rules, but there were no rules to follow here.

Since ancient times, China has had a salt and iron monopoly, and the imperial court strictly regulated which areas could sell only salt from those areas.

But Qinzhou is a salt sales area, which is absolutely outrageous.

Salt produced in Shanxi was transported to Tianshui for sale. Given the transportation conditions in the Northern Song Dynasty, one can imagine how expensive it would be.

The reality is that smuggling is rampant everywhere.

Xu Lai is emulating Cai Ting by making the private salt trade public and extracting salt taxes from it. This would increase official revenue, win over the Qiang chieftains, and benefit the people of the Song Dynasty.

The cost was that official salt sellers suffered losses, and private salt sellers would have to pay taxes from now on.

Many of those salt smugglers were protected by the village chiefs. Local military commanders didn't directly participate in the salt trade, but they would secretly receive kickbacks.

This is the most dangerous part; if a military officer were to take a risk, he could potentially kill Xu Lai outright.

Therefore, Xu Lai agreed to share the profits with the military officers.

Do it this way—

Xu Lai established a trading post in Guwei Village, where Qiang tribes that produced well salt transported the salt to Guwei Village to sell to Han Chinese small merchants (smugglers). The Han Chinese small merchants then transported the salt to various villages and fortresses, where they sold it to archers and households.

Xu Lai first levied a tax, and then the military commander of the fortress levied another tax. These were all illegal taxes, so they were publicly called "ya qian" (a type of tax).

Military officers could profit from tax collection, though not as much as before, but they no longer needed to hide. Moreover, if the court blamed them, Xu Lai would help them take the fall.

Wang Shao looked at Xu Lai, utterly shocked.

He thought he was already very brave, but the top scholar in front of him was truly audacious.

Xu Lai said, "If this salt-producing method can be implemented, the local military commanders will all obey obediently. They will truly obey!"

Wang Shao thought to himself: Isn't that obvious? You're helping the military officers take the blame, letting them openly tax private salt. Won't those officers treat you like a god?

"Will the imperial court really not blame us?" Wang Shao asked.

Xu Lai laughed and said, "There will definitely be people impeaching us. But as long as we can expand our territory, we can withstand all impeachments."

I'll help the generals bear the burden, and the prime ministers will help me bear it, provided we expand the borders quickly! If we fail to expand the borders, you and I can expect to be dismissed from our posts.

Wang Shao said, "Once the border market opens, I can persuade the Yu Longke tribe to submit."

Xu Lai's way of playing is even wilder than Wang Shao's in history!

However, he was forced to do so because Wang Shao had the full support of Wang Anshi, while Xu Lai only had the support of the emperor.

Guwei Village was supposed to be upgraded to Tongyuan Army, but so far no officials have been seen. Even the Tongyuan Army City had to be built by Xu Lai himself.

Unlike when Wang Shao opened up the border, Wang Anshi directly mobilized a large number of people and resources to help build the city.

Before the snow fell, Xu returned to Qinzhou City to reunite with Pianpian, Yu'er, and Dou Niang.

At the same time, he took two lists of goods to Yang Shu, the magistrate of Chengji County: "This list contains the goods needed by the various Qiang tribes, and this list contains the goods produced by the various Qiang tribes."

Yang Shu glanced at it and immediately expressed his support: "I'll help you contact the merchants in Qinzhou. When will the border market open?"

'

"After the snow melts in spring," Xu said.

"Okay!" Yang Shu readily agreed.

Xu Lai then said, "Help me get some brokers and recruit a few clerks."

Yang Shu nodded: "Okay. I'll send it to you after the New Year."

In the first year of the border trade, Xu Lai did not plan to levy taxes other than on salt. However, he would collect brokerage fees.

In other words, trade between the Han and Qiang people was mediated by official brokers who charged a commission of 2% to 5% depending on the type of goods.

The intermediary fee.

After bidding farewell to Yang Shu, Xu Lai went to find Cai Kang.

Cai Kang, who was nearly dying from illness due to acclimatization issues a while ago, is now surprisingly in good spirits.

He greeted Xu Lai warmly and asked about the progress.

Xu Lai recounted the achievements of this period and truthfully explained the matter of smuggled salt.

Cai Kang was both amused and exasperated; this was exactly how his brother Cai Ting had operated in southern Jiangxi. Only Xu Lai's situation was more complicated, involving military commanders from various fortified villages.

Cai Kang warned, "You are not allowed to do this in the area east of Fuqiang City!"

"Okay," Xu Lai readily agreed.

As for those smugglers who secretly sell well salt, that's beyond Xu Lai's control.

Even without Xu Lai's shady dealings, Qinzhou was still rife with smuggled salt. The people of Tianshui, faced with cheap, readily available well salt, would be foolish enough to buy the expensive Shanxi pond salt, which was often adulterated with sand.

Xu Lai then said, "Please do me another favor, sir."

"What kind of illegal trading is it this time?" Cai Kang asked.

Xu Lai said, "Please, sir, join me in submitting a memorial to the imperial court, requesting permission for Sichuan tea merchants to sell tea in Qinzhou. Hmm—let's do it under the guise of the tea-horse trade!"

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, tea was subject to a monopoly, just like salt.

Eight years ago, the imperial court abolished the tea monopoly system, allowing merchants to freely buy and sell tea. However, this did not apply to the Sichuan and Shaanxi regions!

Moreover, there are no official channels for transporting Sichuan tea to Shaanxi.

On the one hand, there is an urgent shortage of tea in the Shaanxi border region; on the other hand, tea from Sichuan is not allowed to be sold here.

If Xu Lai were to set up a tea-selling station in Guwei Village, he would definitely be able to make a fortune every day.

Cai Kang was very interested in the proposal and discussed in detail with Xu Lai how to proceed. They planned to request the imperial court to establish a tea and horse bureau in Qin Prefecture, using Sichuan tea to exchange for warhorses.

In this way, the court's severe shortage of warhorses could be alleviated, Xu Lai could be provided with initial funds for border expansion, and Cai Kang and Xu Lai could also gain political achievements.

Having taken care of all that, Xu Lai returned home.

He squatted down in front of Pianpian, staring at her lower abdomen, and said, "Why hasn't your belly gotten bigger?"

Pianpian chuckled and said, "With such thick winter clothes, how can you tell?"

"Let's take off our clothes and watch it tonight," Xu said.

Pianpian said softly, "You haven't had any in a long time, and I'm not feeling well. Let Yu'er keep you company tonight."

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. I'm staying for a few days this time," Xu Lai said, pressing his ear close to listen to her voice. "I miss you. I want to hold you while I sleep tonight."

Hearing this, Pianpian felt a sweet warmth in her heart: "Then let Yu'er keep you company again tomorrow night."

The damselfly skipped in and, seeing Xu Lai with his ear pressed against Pianpian's belly, asked curiously, "Third Uncle, can we hear the baby's voice now?"

"Yes, come and listen to this," Xu Lai teased her.

The damselfly, unaware that she had been tricked, actually squatted down and, mimicking Xu Lai, put her ear close to the ground.

Pianpian chuckled and said, "Third Uncle is lying to you."

"I don't believe it. Uncle San would never lie to me," Dou Niang listened intently. After a long silence, she guessed, "The little baby is probably sleeping in my belly."

"Hahaha!"

Xu Lai burst into laughter.

Dou Niang turned to remind Xu Lai, "Third Uncle, don't laugh too loudly, or you'll disturb the little one's sleep."

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