Chapter 334: Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country
"Now we just need to find a way to solve the problem of money and food." Zhao Xing murmured.
It is almost time for autumn harvest, and heavy rains have caused disasters in Jiangzhou and other places. I am afraid that all the food is gone.
Disaster relief is only the immediate problem; the livelihood of most people in the next four weeks will be the biggest issue.
Even if the flood is over, these people will have no food to survive and will need relief from the court until the autumn harvest next year.
Originally, Zhao Xing planned to print more silver notes, but Han Zhang's donation just now gave him an idea.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xing called Sanshui and gave him some instructions.
…………
The news of floods in Jiangzhou and other surrounding areas soon spread throughout Bianliang.
However, this did not have much impact on the lives of the people in Bianliang.
In the east of the outer city is Sheng Wei’s home.
Sheng Changsong was waiting at the gate of the mansion. He saw a carriage approaching from afar and hurried forward.
After a while, the carriage stopped and a middle-aged man got off.
"Mr. Ma!"
"Shangda people."
Mr. Ma is in his thirties and is obese. His eyes are almost invisible when he laughs.
"I am honored that Lord Sheng came to greet me in person." Mr. Ma said with a smile.
"Mr. Ma, you are too polite. Please come in."
Sheng Changsong smiled slightly, welcomed Mr. Ma into the house, and said, "Mr. Ma, I still have to greet someone else. Let the servant take you in and sit for a while."
"It seems that Lord Sheng has invited quite a few people today. Could you tell me what it is about?" Mr. Ma said with a smile.
"Don't worry, Mr. Ma will know in a moment."
Sheng Changsong smiled and called a maid to lead the way for Mr. Ma.
Seeing this, Mr. Ma could only follow the maid with confusion.
In the next half hour, people arrived at the Sheng family in carriages one after another.
There were dozens of people sitting in the main hall of the Sheng family. All of them were businessmen who had business dealings with the Sheng family's company.
At this time, the main hall of the Sheng family was noisy. Among these businessmen, those who knew each other gathered together and talked in low voices about the purpose of Sheng Changsong calling them here.
Just then, Sheng Changsong and a sixty-year-old man walked in.
"Mr. Chen, please take a seat!"
After Sheng Changsong asked the old man to take a seat, he stood in front of the main seat, looked at everyone and said, "You may have doubts about why I invited you here. Now that everyone is here, I will not beat around the bush and speak directly."
After a pause, Sheng Changsong continued, "I'm sure you've all heard about the flood in Jiangzhou and several nearby states, right?"
"Master Sheng, the flood in Jiangzhou has nothing to do with us, right?"
"Yes, we all live in the Central Plains. The flood in the south of the Yangtze River has nothing to do with us."
"Could it be that Lord Sheng has some good way to make money and wants to help us?"
Everyone started talking about it.
These people are all wealthy businessmen in the Central Plains. Except for a few who have business dealings with Sheng Changsong, most of them know that Sheng Changsong works for the government, so they come here to give him face.
"Everyone!"
Sheng Changsong pressed his hand and said, "Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. Now there are floods in Jiangzhou and other places, and the court lacks money and food for disaster relief. Although we are all merchants, we cannot be worse than ordinary people. I invited everyone here today because I want everyone to contribute money and food to the court for disaster relief."
"Master Sheng, you are right. Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. But we have paid all the taxes we should pay for doing business, but Master Sheng is now asking us to donate money and grain. None of us got our money from the wind. But since Master Sheng has asked, we have to give him this little bit of face. I will give him one hundred taels of silver."
An old man in the crowd spoke.
"I'll donate fifty taels!"
"I'll donate one hundred taels!"
As the old man finished speaking, the rest of the people in the hall began to speak.
Merchants are profit-driven, and the rise and fall of the world is none of their business.
They are far away, otherwise a flood would be an opportunity to make money for many of them.
From the moment Sheng Changsong opened his mouth, many people knew something was wrong. This must have been the government's order for Sheng Changsong to do this.
Although the shadow of the government is present, they are not afraid.
Even if the government comes, it is impossible to ask them to donate money without any benefits.
Besides, it’s not like they didn’t donate.
As soon as the old man spoke, the others immediately echoed him, also worried that there were people arranged by Sheng Changsong in the crowd.
If the person arranged by Sheng Changsong were to ask for a donation of a few thousand taels or something, would they donate or not?
Which wealthy businessman in Bian Jing doesn’t have a background?
In other words, in the entire Song Dynasty, almost all those who could be called wealthy businessmen had some background.
Sheng Changsong and his men were not afraid at all, nor did they care. What they were a little wary of was Zhao Xing who was behind Sheng Changsong.
"Everyone, listen to me first!"
Sheng Changsong pressed his hands and smiled, "Thank you all for your support. I am very touched by your kindness. So here is a piece of news for you all as a reward!"
"I heard that the imperial court is planning to reorganize the northern and northwest trade because of the chaos. After the reorganization, you need to obtain qualifications from the imperial court before you can go to the trade. In addition, the imperial court also has similar plans for the Maritime Customs."
"what?"
"Is what Lord Sheng said true?"
"How can the court do this? There has never been such a rule before?"
"Master Sheng, I wonder what the requirements are for obtaining the qualifications?"
Everyone was shocked when they heard this and started asking questions one after another.
Those who can be called wealthy businessmen in Bianjing all have big businesses.
Mutual trade and maritime trade were the most profitable businesses. Most of these wealthy businessmen were involved in one of them, and some were involved in both.
But now Sheng Changsong told them that the court had to reorganize itself and that they could only participate in mutual trade and maritime trade if they obtained qualifications issued by the court. How could they not panic?
Although they can avoid formal channels and do not have to pay taxes if they smuggle, there are certain risks in doing so.
It’s not that these people have a high level of awareness, but the court’s commercial tax revenue is not very high, and after operating for so many years, they have also developed a set of means to evade taxes.
If you go through formal channels, you don't need to take any risks and the taxes you pay are not much, so why take risks?
"I don't know the specific situation, but I think that when the court is in trouble, we will donate generously to help the court. The court will definitely remember our contributions, and it will be easier to obtain qualifications." Sheng Changsong said with a smile.
Everyone present was a smart person. They just didn't react because the news was too shocking.
After hearing what Sheng Changsong said, how could he not understand?
The so-called court rectification and the issuance of qualifications are all bluffs.
The purpose is to force them to donate money.
No, it’s not necessarily a bluff. If they don’t donate, it might really come true.
By then, not only will they not be able to obtain the qualifications, they will probably be targeted and won’t even dare to smuggle.
Thinking of this, many people looked very unhappy.
"Master Sheng is right."
Mr. Chen, who arrived last, looked at Sheng Changsong with a smile and asked, "How much do you think is appropriate to donate, Mr. Sheng?"
"How much you donate depends entirely on everyone's wishes. In fact, I have only heard about this matter, and it may not be true." Sheng Changsong said with a smile.
When everyone heard this, they cursed inwardly, if it was all based on one's heart, didn't we just donate? Why are we still talking about this?
If they were not afraid before, they would have had backers behind them, and if Zhao Xing wanted to do this, their backers would have stopped him.
But Zhao Xing had killed several civil servants, some of whom were important officials in the court. The rank of their backers was higher than that of most of them, and their backers might not be able to stop him.
"How much is Lord Sheng going to donate?" asked Mr. Chen.
"Haha, I plan to donate five thousand taels. After all, my sister is the empress in the palace, so I should donate more. You don't have to compete with me, just do what you can." Sheng Changsong said with a smile.
Everyone cursed in their hearts, but they also understood that this number was the standard and it could only be more, not less.
Although it's a bit painful, it's still acceptable.
"Master Sheng is right. Every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country. I will also donate five thousand taels!"
"Me too!"
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(End of this chapter)