Chapter 677 674 [The Case of Losing the Head]
After the banking system was streamlined and reorganized, there was one deposit and withdrawal outlet in the city and two in the countryside throughout Shaanzhou County. These three offices can only deposit and withdraw money, but cannot exchange money or food.
As for the money and grain exchange points, there are two market towns on the east and west sides of the county.
When people pay public grain, they can convert it into money or pay it directly. The north has not yet been reformed, and some provinces in the south can only pay in silver, and the people have to exchange it first.
This kind of reform seems to be taking off the pants and farting, and leaving a loophole for the grassroots to exploit the people.
But it is necessary because the administrative costs are too high. The tax system and the banking system are two separate yamen. If grain is used to pay agricultural taxes, the tax department has to send people to the bank's money and grain exchange points to stay there. Although the two systems can cooperate and seem very simple, in fact they often cause various conflicts and disputes.
Besides, at the two money and grain exchange points in Shaanzhou, a fixed amount of grain received each year will be deposited into specific granaries. This granary is Changpingcang.
The grain in Changpingcang theoretically belongs to the county-level government, but it is simply stored by Datong Bank. The loss and consumption of warehousing is directly deducted when depositing, which is equivalent to the storage fee paid by the government to the bank. Next, whether the food is eaten by insects or burned by fire, the government will not suffer losses, and all losses will have to be covered by the banks.
"The grain collectors in this bank are getting worse and worse!"
A farmer complained to Liu Chuanzong: "In previous years, when we paid grain, we always went to the exchange point in Chenjiazhuang. After picking up the wheat, the bank clerk came over, put his hand in and stirred it up, and insisted that your wheat was not dried. Pick it back and dry it in the sun before coming back. Sometimes they say that the wheat bran inside has not been winnowed out, and it has to be winnowed before the grain can be paid. What's the point of that? Isn't it just to deduct the heat consumption? It's better to say it's close, so I picked it back and got it. Come again. Farmers who are far away have to go back and forth several times, which is time-consuming and laborious, so they might as well accept and deduct one or two kilograms of grain."
This phenomenon occurs all over the country, but it is really difficult to manage.
If the court strictly controls the officials who collect grain, grassroots work will be impossible to do. Because there are indeed some farmers who are greedy for petty advantages. When delivering grain to the government, they deliberately do not dry out the moisture, or deliberately mix broken wheat or even wheat bran. Broken wheat and wheat bran are okay, but if there is undried wheat and it accidentally gets into the granary, it can cause mold and damage the entire warehouse.
Liu Chuanzong said: "Didn't the imperial court decree that when farmers pay grain, the bank's grain exchange point must open the drying field to the farmers? The undried grain must be dried in the nearby drying field, and the wheat bran will also be dried in the drying field. .”
The old farmer said in surprise: "Is there such a thing? We don't let farmers enter the official drying field here."
Wei Qian, who was squatting next to him, calmly picked up a pen and wrote down this matter in a small notebook.
Liu Chuanzong asked again: "Are there any rumors about Changpingcang in the county?"
The old farmer said mysteriously: "In the money and grain station, I heard that there are grain rats, and they steal grain from the house every now and then."
Liu Chuanzong was a little disappointed that he didn't ask for the information he wanted.
It is normal for grain rats to commit petty theft, and it is impossible to empty the Changping warehouse, which scares grain merchants into buying grain at high prices to fill the hole in disaster years.
At night.
Luo Fang, who had gone to the grain station to squat secretly, came back and whispered: "There must be something wrong with Changping warehouse. Within one day, three large trucks of grain were transported in. It was private grain merchants who transported the grain inside. There must be a hole in Changping warehouse." It’s very big, and grain merchants have been busy buying grain at high prices.”
Wei Gan said with a smile: "They are also unlucky. Shaanxi is close to Shanxi. This year, Shaanxi and Henan are experiencing drought. Although the drought in Shanxi is not serious, it costs a lot of money to transport it from the high mountains. If these grain merchants want to buy from other places, To fill the holes, I have to go to Hubei to buy grain recently. How can I get there in time due to the high mountains and long distances? Even if I can get it in time, it will be snapped up by the states and counties further south in Henan, and it is not the turn of the businessmen in Shaanzhou. They are already urgently seeking medical treatment. You can only buy it from local farmers.”
Liu Chuanzong analyzed: "This case is obviously not about official corruption and shortfall, but more like collusion between officials and businessmen to misappropriate grain from Changpingcang. Under normal circumstances, they would slowly make up for it bit by bit in the next few years. As luck would have it, we encountered a drought this year, so we had to quickly fill the hole."
Luo Fang said: "The purpose of misappropriating the grain in Changpingcang is nothing more than to use it to do business. Moreover, it must be somewhere where not only the price of grain is extremely high, but the demand is also huge. The grain they normally collect cannot satisfy the buyers." appetite."
Wei Gan said: "It is definitely not sold to the south. The price of food in the south will not be too high, so there is no need for them to take risks. Among the northern provinces, Henan and Shandong were the earliest to recover, and people's livelihood was also the earliest to recover. These two provinces have a lot of official grain. They are all transported to the north to make military rations for the Datong Army stationed in the north. Therefore, merchants in Henan and Shandong can only purchase limited amounts of grain from the private sector, and the government will not sell a grain of grain to them."
Liu Chuanzong continued: "Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hebei, and Beiping Prefecture, these four places have not suffered many disasters in recent years, and their populations are relatively small. They can be self-sufficient and will not buy a large amount of high-priced grain." As he said, he took A map was produced, "Although Shaanzhou is close to Shanxi, it is more convenient to travel to Shaanxi, and it is the only place to pass from Guanzhong to Henan."
Wei Gan nodded and said: "Shaanzhou grain merchants must transport grain to Shaanxi. Shaanxi does not lack so much grain, and will continue to traffic it. There are only three destinations. First, go all the way west and transport it to outside Jiayuguan; second, , transported to the West China Sea (Qinghai) grassland; third, transported north to the Mongolian grassland."
Luo Fang said excitedly: "No matter which of these three directions, they are violating the imperial ban and secretly selling grain abroad. Moreover, they not only purchase private grain for export, but also dare to misappropriate grain from Changpingcang! Datong Bank in Shaanzhou has It is certain that corrupt officials colluded with grain merchants inside and outside. As for the Shaanzhou county government, I know how many officials below the county level are complicit. This needs to be investigated slowly. If the Changping warehouse was misappropriated for a short period of time, the government does not know It is possible. If Changpingcang is misappropriated for several consecutive years, even if the county magistrate does not know it, it is a serious dereliction of duty. He has the responsibility to regularly inspect Changpingcang!"
Wei Gan said: "Shaanzhou grain merchants most likely will not transport grain directly outside the country. Instead, they will transport it to Shaanxi first, and then merchants in Shaanxi will buy it and then transport it out. It is also possible to smuggle bulk goods across the border. For keeping the information hidden, the inspection department at the Shaanxi border is probably full of shit!"
Well, it involves not only Shaanxi businessmen, but also Shaanxi’s border armed police.
Liu Chuanzong said: "Shaanzhou County is so rampant. What will happen to Lingbao County and Nexiang County, which are closer to Shaanxi? It is a shorter distance to transport grain from Lingbao and Nexiang to Shaanxi."
Luo Fang said: "There are three counties, one person is responsible for each. We alone will definitely not be able to find out clearly. After collecting the basic information, we will go to Kaifeng to request more manpower."
Liu Chuanzong said: "Well, Lao Luo will stay in Shaanzhou, Lao Wei, you go to Lingbao, and I will go to the farthest village, Laxiang. Again, don't be reckless when encountering trouble, and run away immediately if there is danger!"
The three of them completed their division of labor and started work the next day.
Liu Chuanzong, who was a small patrolman at the time, finally regained the feeling of being on the battlefield after being specially recruited into the Metropolitan Procuratorate. At his busiest time, he spent ten months of the year patrolling areas and could not even take care of his wife and children at home. However, he felt that life was exciting and fulfilling.
Due to repeated corruption cases, Liu Chuanzong is now in the seventh rank.
As soon as he entered the border of Nexiang, Liu Chuanzong knew that he had come to the right place. There were also people here collecting grain from the countryside at high prices. He spent half a month exploring the countryside, then left Tongguan in the west and crossed the border into Shaanxi. He found that there were merchants from Henan who also crossed the border to Shaanxi to collect grain.
Shaanxi has been plagued by rogue bandits for more than ten years, and has been accompanied by severe drought for more than ten years. Not only is the population sparse, but a large amount of land has also been abandoned.
Only a few years after the imperial court regained this place, people's livelihood and economy were recovering. However, the court directly halved the land tax for the entire province of Shaanxi, and even exempted it from the land tax in some prefectures and counties. Therefore, as long as farmers here are willing to work hard to cultivate the land, they can actually sell more grain because they hand over less public grain to the government - especially in the rich Guanzhong area.
"Fellow, have there been many businessmen going to the countryside to collect grain in the past two years?" Liu Chuanzong asked after looking for an honest farmer.
The farmer saw through him at a glance and grinned: "Are you from the south to collect grain? You can't harvest it. There is a drought this year, and few companies are willing to sell grain."
Liu Chuanzong asked again: "What about last year? Did you sell the grain to the grain station of Datong Bank, or to local businessmen?"
The farmer said: "They must be sold to businessmen. Those who do business charge higher prices when harvesting grain."
Good guy, Shaanxi grain merchants are so powerful. They rely on price tricks to steal business from Datong Bank. The official grain prices are neither high nor low. They have always been at a moderate level. Merchants collecting grains at high prices must be in order to obtain greater profits.
Liu Chuanzong asked again: "Where does this Shaanxi businessman transport so much grain to sell?"
The farmer said: "I heard it was shipped to Shanxi."
Liu Chuanzong said with a smile: "Fellow man, don't try to coax me. Where is the food shortage in Shanxi?" As he said that, he stuffed a few copper coins into the hands of the farmers, "Tell me, I was sent by my employer to explore the way. I want to give you a way to make money." It’s better to go back and receive the reward.”
The farmer whispered: "There are ways to make money to the north (Mongolia) and west (Qinghai). I have also heard from people that snowstorms in the grasslands in recent years have frozen many livestock to death. They are short of food." Last year, a car overturned and all the wheat was spilled. I heard that it was transported to the West Sea. There are often merchants who bought cattle, sheep, mules and horses from the West Sea. Everyone said that they were all exchanged for grain. There is also a very large type of cattle. , The hair is very long and strong, and I don’t know if it is good at farming.”
The smile on Liu Chuanzong's face disappeared, thinking that the inspection department in Shaanxi was rotten. At least the armed police on the border must be turning a blind eye and reaping the benefits.
Whether it is the Qinghai grassland or the Mongolian grassland, the government allows the export of horses, tea, and salt.
However, with restrictions on the export of ironware, only daily necessities such as iron pots can be sold. Anyone caught smuggling swords and armor will be beheaded. In addition, the export of food is also prohibited. Even if food is exported, the court will use the food to control a certain tribe.
In these two provinces, Henan and Shaanxi, a large amount of grain was smuggled out of the country, and no one knows how many people lost their heads because of this.