I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 98: Recruiting guests to Qizhou, not taking the usual path

Three days later.

In the southwest of Qizhou, beside the official road at the junction of Gunzhou and Yunzhou, a simple thatched shed was built.

In the shed, Wang Anshi was sitting in official uniform, with several officers standing beside him.

And in front of the hayloft.

In addition to the eye-catching word Qizhou, some specialties of Qizhou are also displayed.

Such as Qi Mian, Qi Juan, Liu Jia Kung Fu Acupuncture Shop's needles, Chinese medicinal materials such as Fangfeng, Actinolite, Baiyanshi, Pinellia ternata, etc.

Among them, Qizhou's cotton, silk, actinolite, and white stone are all tributes to the imperial court, and they are all of high quality.

Of course, Wang Anshi is not here to sell goods.

He just wanted to introduce foreign merchants to Qizhou through these best-selling products.

Let more people know that there is no more chaos in Qizhou.

Although Wang Anshi is a bit sloppy in personal hygiene, he is meticulous and strives for excellence in his work.

Before coming, he had put up notices.

If another person is found cutting the path in Qizhou, he will be punished with eighty sticks.

A staff of eighty is enough to beat an adult half to death, and a weak person may even be killed directly.

Also.

All inns, wine shops, restaurants, and goulan in Qizhou will be shut down for rectification at the least, or imprisoned at the most serious case if there is an incident of robbing customers.

Afterwards, he also summoned some merchants in Qizhou and held an internal meeting on how to receive foreign merchants.

Everything is ready.

……

at this time.

A motorcade came over.

Wang Anshi couldn't help but be overjoyed, and immediately strode to the official road.

The convoy consisted of three horse-drawn carriages and five ox-carts, with strips of sacks stacked on them.

Judging from the walking speed, the cargo on the car is obviously not light.

The person sitting in the lead car was an old man with gray hair.

He saw a young official with slightly dark skin wearing official uniform standing in front, he quickly pulled the reins and stopped.

Then, the old man took out two pennies from the bag and walked over quickly.

"Sir, we are doing a small business, and the car is full of walnuts and dates. It is a small profit, but please accept your kindness!" The old man handed the money to Wang Anshi.

When a businessman meets an official, the first thing he thinks of is to pay money to ensure his safety.

Wang Anshi smiled helplessly and waved his hand to refuse.

"Old man, you misunderstood! I am Wang Anshi, the magistrate of Qizhou. I set up a tent here just to attract businessmen from other places to do business in Qizhou."

"I assure you as the reputation of the magistrate of Qizhou that there are no rogues in Qizhou. You can come to Qizhou to sell or purchase goods. You will be safe. We have many specialties in Qizhou, all of which are of high quality. But for……"

After Wang Anshi's introduction, the old man looked at the government officials around him and asked cautiously: "Do...do I have to go?"

Wang Anshi smiled and said, "It's up to you, I won't force you."

"Then...then I...I'll go next time...next time!"

The old man was obviously panicked.

Wang Anshi stopped blocking him and immediately made a gesture of invitation.

Immediately, the old man quickly got on the carriage and ran towards Yunzhou ahead.

The convoy is very fast.

At least three times the speed before stopping just now.

After a while, there was no one left.

Wang Anshi said helplessly: "Is Qizhou's reputation so bad?"

At this time, a young officer on the side said: "Official, if...if I saw this scene, I might run away too!"

"Why?"

"A dignified state magistrate stood on the official road to solicit businessmen under the scorching sun and was so polite. This... If I hadn't seen this with my own eyes or if others told me, I wouldn't believe it. He might think we are liars!"

"After all, a few days ago, a group of trail cutters appeared in Qingzhou. They were soldiers during the day and thieves at night. The businessmen were afraid and didn't trust the officials at all!"

Wang Anshi couldn't help but frown.

When he was in Yinxian, he mostly thought about farming.

But after arriving in Qizhou, I found that all kinds of weird things happened one after another.

In the eyes of the people, officials and bandits, one robs openly and the other robs covertly.

Essentially there is no difference.

He couldn't help but think of the words that those officials who looked forward to becoming Beijing officials every day often said.

"If you are not in Bianjing, you will never know how prosperous Bianjing is; if you are not in other state capitals, you will never know how bad it is!"

When you are in Bianjing, you will feel that the Song Dynasty is comparable to the powerful Tang Dynasty.

When you are in some remote places, you will feel that people like Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, and Huang Chao are everywhere around you.

Wang Anshi wiped the sweat from his forehead and murmured: "I still don't believe in this evil!"

Under the guidance of Su Liang.

Wang Anshi knew very well that the key to suppressing land annexation was not to let the rich's land flow into the hands of the poor, but to make the rich find something more profitable than their land.

The so-called buying and selling means one buying and one selling.

Businessmen made money, farmers made money, and government agencies also made money by relying on commercial taxes.

If Qizhou can completely open the commercial market, many of the troubles caused by land annexation will be easily solved.

After half an hour.

Another caravan came over.

Immediately, Wang Anshi rubbed his chin, showed a smile, and strode forward to greet him again.The manager of this caravan was a scholar. Seeing that Wang Anshi had an extraordinary conversational style, he started chatting deeply with him.

The two were talking and laughing, and had a great time chatting with each other.

Not long after, the shopkeeper took the caravan and transferred to Qizhou.

Suddenly, Wang Anshi's confidence increased greatly.

As long as Qizhou builds up its reputation and has a good reputation, it can virtually solve a lot of troubles.

……

And this moment.

In front of a post station in the northern border of Qizhou, Sima Guang looked into the distance with anxiety.

This is the only official road leading from Bianjing to Qingzhou.

There are especially many caravans, and most of them are merchants traveling long distances.

Su Liang also stood aside.

He knew that Sima Guang was not as shameless as Wang Anshi, so he chose to accompany Sima Guang.

From morning to now, more than twenty caravans have passed.

Sima Guang talked with more than ten families, but still no one diverted to Qizhou.

Several businessmen were frightened.

They feel that the officials who treat them so well must have some agenda.

Although he was repeatedly suspected, Sima Guang would patiently recommend Qizhou to businessmen and explain Qizhou's various specialties and Qizhou's preferential policies for businessmen.

Sima Guang's biggest advantage is his emotional stability.

Moreover, he believed that promoting Qizhou was more important than attracting tourists. As long as a good reputation was established, merchants would naturally flock to Qizhou.

Because the two of them still have official business to do.

Wang Anshi went to Guandao to attract guests every three days, and each time lasted about half a day.

Sima Guang chose to do it every two days.

However, he will stay in the inn, and there are many merchants who stop to rest near the inn at night.

Under the bonfire, it is a good time to preach about Qizhou.

Of course, these actions by the two will not be the norm this year.

Once foreign merchants' impression of Qizhou changes, the two will lengthen the time gap again, and they will no longer even need to recruit merchants, but the subsequent services will definitely be more refined.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang were transforming Qizhou in a way that had never been seen before in the Song Dynasty.

Use the words of an old farmer to describe the two of them.

"These two officials have their heads lowered and their waists bent, and they even smile at us!"

……

Merchants have always been the best medium to convey information, not to mention Qizhou, the first choice place for the Song Dynasty's reforms.

soon.

These ten words, "The governor of the state sits in the official position, and the general magistrate guards the post house" spread to all directions outside Qizhou through the mouths of the merchants.

"That day I was walking on the official road with my caravan. Wang Anshi, the magistrate of Qizhou, still prepared tea for us after knowing that I would not pass by Qizhou. Out of respect for our merchants, I also wanted to go to Qizhou. Substandard goods!"

"Is there a trail cutter in Qizhou? I have gone back and forth to Qizhou twice, and I have not encountered a single thief. Moreover, the Sima Tongjian assured me with a pat on his chest that if the goods are lost in Qizhou, he will help them find them. , if I can’t find it, the government will compensate me for all my losses! Which official in other state governments can do this?”

"Qizhou's Mianbo is the best in Jingdong. In the past, Qizhou merchants transported it. Now we save a lot of transportation costs, which is enough to build a few new houses by the end of the year."

"The folk customs of Qizhou are fierce? Are there many people who cut the path? That's nonsense. I think Qizhou is much better than Qingzhou. Such magistrates and magistrates are really hard to find even with a lantern!"

……

Although the status of merchants in the Song Dynasty has improved compared with that of the Han and Tang Dynasties, scholar-officials have always been aloof. Now that Wang Anshi and Sima Guang have behaved so down-to-earth, they have naturally aroused heated discussions among the people.

June [-]th.

Su Liang came to No. 20 in Qizhou for eight days.

On this day, the effect of "the governor of the state sits on the official road, and the general magistrate guards the post house" suddenly burst out.

More than 30 caravans came to Qizhou City.

The leader among them was the old man selling dates and walnuts who rejected Wang Anshi.

This old man brought several caravans selling medicinal materials to Qizhou.

Wang Anshi and Sima Guang relied on their personal charm to introduce these people into Qizhou City. Whether they could keep these people depends on the quality and price of Qizhou's products.

this day.

The main street of Qizhou City was very noisy.

There are cars and horses on both sides of the street, just like this during the Chinese New Year.

In some places, open-air grass markets have even automatically formed.

All government officials were dispatched, with only one mission: to solve all the problems of the people on the street.

Because of the performance appraisal method of more reward for more work, the officers were very excited and busy.

At this time, Wang Anshi and Sima Guang truly realized the benefits of Qizhou's autonomy.

The two also gradually understood what the real reform was.

Reform must not take the usual path.

If the two of them hadn't put down their dignity, I'm afraid it would have taken at least two to three hundred days and nights to lead to the current situation.

Su Liang and Zhang Mao walked slowly on the street, observing the constant flow of cars and horses around them.

Zhang Mao then said: "It is a precedent for our court to sit in the official position of the governor and guard the post house. It is indeed a good way to attract businessmen. However, the group of princes in the court will probably not like it."

"Su Yushi, you'd better write a memorial tonight to explain to the officials. Otherwise, it would be a pity for the officials to ruin this good situation by listening to those people's reasons!"

Su Liang nodded in approval.

Scholar-bureaucrats in the Song Dynasty always paid attention to elegance and restraint.

But now, the magistrates and magistrates of a state do not hesitate to lower their dignity in order to attract merchants. In the eyes of those old diehards, this is a violation of etiquette and an insult to the status of scholar-bureaucrats.

(End of this chapter)