The waiter heard Yan Jizu's question, and smiled and said, "This guest official, this is what you outsiders have never understood. Our Chifeng Guard seems to have a heavier commercial tax, but in fact, for merchants, compared with other places, it is much lighter and easier."

"Oh, please tell me in detail, brother." Yan Jizu became interested.

Seeing that he was interested, the waiter opened up and whispered, "Customer, in theory, my ancestors of the Ming Dynasty, and the merchants should be very light and save money. But for a small reason, this law is almost a piece of waste paper today. In this Ming Dynasty, where does the official and clerks do not exploit and exploit merchants of all sizes? It is a pity that the money obtained by the merchants' hard work was taken away by them. The country did not get any benefits for the money they had, but they just fattened up such corrupt officials. What's more, if the merchants are forced to be confiscated as government officials, they must escape from their families or destroy all their wealth, so that they can avoid disaster."

After hearing what the waiter said, Yan Jizu and Fang Wenhe nodded repeatedly.

Yan Jizu even looked surprised. He never thought that a waiter in a small shop could speak so well, which made him look at him with admiration.

The waiter seemed to see his thoughts, and he smiled awkwardly: "Celebrity, most of the words of the young man were from the merchants issued by Lord Li of Chifengwei. He knew that all the merchants of Chifengwei all understood this clearly. Otherwise, if a villain opened his eyes and blinded him, how could he have such an insight?"

When Yan Jizu heard this, he subconsciously looked at Fang Wenhe with complicated eyes.

He sighed in his heart that Li Xiao had such a clear understanding of the drawbacks of the government. Although this person was from a military general, even he, the governor, was afraid that even he, the governor, would not be the same as the governor.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the waiter sighed and said, "Mr. Li, the Chifengwei has been managed in an orderly manner and the market is safe. We only need to pay one-eighth of the sales tax every month, and we don't have to worry about the rest of the matter. There are no government officials exploiting them, nor are there any green gangsters extortions, so the merchants just need to operate with confidence. Therefore, there are many merchants in Chifengwei and their business is prosperous, and this is all the achievements of Mr. Li's governance."

After hearing the waiter's words, Yan Jizu stroked his beard and nodded.

He thought for a while and said as if he was talking to himself: "It seems that Lord Li has managed the Chifeng Guard well. I have to watch it when I go to Chifeng City later."

The waiter blinked and asked anxiously: "You foreign guests, are you here for the first time to come to our Chifeng Guard?"

Yan Jizu was stunned: "That's right."

The waiter hurriedly said, "If you don't have the pass sign issued by Chifengwei, you cannot enter the city directly. You need to check your identity at the Civil Affairs Department's office outside the city gate, get a pass certificate before you can enter the city and stay in the city. This pass certificate must be changed every three days for verification, but you need to remember it."

Fang Wenhe, who was standing beside him, interrupted, "I didn't expect that your Chifeng City, such a prosperous place, would be quite tightly investigated."

The waiter smiled and said, "This is a measure that Lord Li of Chifengwei had to take to strictly prevent the Tartars and bandits from doing things in detail. If they operate here for a long time and perform well, they can receive the pass-through waist card from the Civil Affairs Department. As long as they wear this waist card in the future, they will no longer need to issue a pass-through certificate."

After hearing the waiter's words, Yan Jizu said oh, and looked at Li Xiao a little more than he could feel.

Now, the military preparations in various parts of the Ming Dynasty are loose. Even in important border towns, the investigation work in many places is basically in a loose state of turning a blind eye. The original loss of Zhucheng in Liaodong was closely related to the relaxation and dispersion of the official army's city defense. Li Xiao is in a mainland town, but he is able to be more vigilant. This person should not be underestimated.

Yan Jizu was still thinking, but the waiter couldn't stop talking. He smiled and said to everyone: "Dear guests, you are waiting for the first time. If you have time, why not enter the city first? But from this west to Longkou Port in the north, see the grand occasion of the Chifengwei Sea Trade, and then enter the city from the north gate. This way, it can save a check."

Yan Jizu's eyes lit up: "Brother, this method is very good, so let's go to Longkou Port first."

Soon, everyone was full of wine and food, so they got up and left. In addition to paying 2 taels and 5 cents of wine, Fang Wenhe gave the waiter another tip of 5 cents of silver. The waiter smiled so hard that he didn't even mention thanking him.

After leaving the hotel, everyone followed the waiter's advice just now and walked around the west side of Chifeng City and headed straight to Longkou Port.

When walking around the west side of Chifeng City, Yan Jizu noticed that through the wide and deep moat, you can see that the west wall, corner tower, fort tower, female wall, and perforation were all equipped with defense measures. There were sentries standing quietly and patrol patrols on it, and there were very strict defenses.

Yan Jizu felt full of emotion in his heart.

After walking five or six miles, Yan Jizu and others could see from a distance that it was like a huge open dragon mouth.

If you walk closer, you can see that at this huge port, the blue waves are rippling, the sea and the sky are the same. There are only a few hundred ships of all sizes. At first glance, there are also many ants and transporters who are like ants, transporting goods back and forth on the ships and docks, busy.

A wide and flat official road stretches far away, connecting the port and Chifeng City. On this official road, four-wheeled carriages, two-wheeled vehicles, unicycles, human-powered sedans, and pedestrians carrying goods are crowded together and flowing endlessly.

On both sides of the official road, there are all kinds of shops, shops, restaurants and teahouses, with shouts one after another.

Yan Jizu saw that batches of grain, tea, porcelain, cloth, wine, wooden utensils, traditional Chinese medicine, rouge and powder were continuously unloaded from the ship and transported into Chifeng City through the official road. Boxes of iron, swords, raw silk, woolen velvet, and sea salt were continuously transported from Chifeng City, passed through the port, and transported onto various merchant ships.

Such a busy scene gave Yan Jizu an illusion, as if he was not in the Chifengwei, Shandong, but rather he had returned to Quanzhou Port, the largest overseas trade port in the Ming Dynasty, not far from his hometown.

Everyone looked at it for a while and was amazed.

Then, he followed the official road and returned to Chifeng City, preparing to enter Chifeng City from the north gate.

Sure enough, outside the north gate, there were two rows of soldiers wearing distinctive armor and serious expressions, who strictly investigated the people coming and going. On the north gate, there was the office of the Chifengwei Civil Affairs Department, and there were special officials to check the identities of the people entering the city and issued a pass certificate.

Fortunately, Yan Jizu was prepared for everyone and brought the travel route issued by Jinan Prefecture. After the official checked it correctly, he issued a pass certificate to let everyone enter the city.

When they entered the city, everyone was more shocked when they saw the prosperous scene in the city.

They saw many large wholesale markets on both sides of the wide bluestone central street, as well as large buildings such as carriages and warehouses, as well as neatly planned civilian areas and wealthy areas. Although the entire Chifeng City is prosperous and lively, it is orderly.

Walking further forward, you will reach the real downtown area of ​​Chifeng City, where pedestrians are shoulder to shoulder, bustling with traffic, and loud people, making a bustling scene.

On the Qingshi Street, there are teams of security teams wearing leather armor patrolling back and forth to maintain street order. Yan Jizu noticed that many of these patrol teams were slightly disabled, some were few fingers, and some were slightly lame. It was probably the injured soldiers on the battlefield who left the army and turned to public security personnel.

At this time, the shops on both sides of the official road were shouting and shouting, and a louder sound came.

"The best Songjiang Mansion fine cotton cloth, the fabric is dense and thick, warm and comfortable, and the price is affordable. Each piece is only 2 taels of silver..."

"Dear guests, come here. Our store has the latest entry in Fujian Tieguanyin. Take a sip to quench your thirst, drink two sips to nourish your stomach, and drink a pot to make you feel refreshed and worry-free. Come and try it for free..."

"The best Suzhou jasmine rouge, fine powder, a box of only one or two or five cents of silver! Alas, if you apply it, you will be as beautiful as a fairy. Your husband will definitely not go to Qinglou again if you are with you, a beauty..."

"Really, Shanxi old vinegar is sour and strong, with a slow taste, first-class quality, fair and affordable price. Dear guests, come and buy it quickly!"

"Sauce cakes, hot fish and meat cakes, delicious, affordable and sufficient, only half a dollar for ten yuan..."

The group looked over and saw a wide bluestone road, with all kinds of shops, including cloth shops, rice shops, oil shops, vinegar shops, restaurants, tea shops, rouge and dough shops, medical shops, knife shops, utensils, porcelain shops, etc., and even storytelling shops, fortune telling stalls, and romantic shops. Yan Jizu and others couldn't think of any different shops that could be opened in as they could.

"Dongweng, the student now knows why Li Xiao can only charge such a little grain tax." Looking at the prosperous scene in front of him, Fang Wenhe looked touched.

"Oh, but why?"

"Sir, Li Xiao's Chifengwei has so many merchants, so prosperous trade and so densely populated. The monthly commercial tax collected is probably an astonishing amount. In comparison, that little grain tax is probably not even seen by Li Xiao."

Yan Jizu nodded and said, "Catching business and promoting farming was originally a strategy for the establishment of a country in the Southern Song Dynasty, but unexpectedly, Li Xiao actually carried forward this strategy in Chifeng Guard."

"Sir, where will I go next?" Fang Wenhe asked.

"Now that Chi Fengwei has basically finished watching, go straight to the inner city. It's time for me to go and see what this master Li Xiao looks like." Yan Jizu showed a happy smile on his face.

The group immediately led the horse to the entrance of the inner city.

The defense at the entrance of the inner city is even tighter, with two rows of ceremonial soldiers wearing dazzling steel armor guarding the entrance with a serious expression. Ordinary pedestrian caravans all circle from both sides from afar.

When Yan Jizu and his party approached the entrance of the inner city, a clearly-armored army blocked everyone's way.

"The inner city is a key place for the government and the idle people should not enter, and retreat quickly!" the soldiers shouted loudly to the crowd.

Yan Jizu nodded to Fang Wenhe and showed off.

Fang Wenhe understood, smiled and whispered to the military queen: "Go and report to your city lord Li Xiao, tell him that the Shandong Governor Yan, led the crowd to visit here in a private manner, and ask him to come out to greet him."

The army was shocked. He looked up and down with a suspicious look, and then quickly entered the house to report.

Soon, an emergency footsteps came from the entrance.

Yan Jizu saw a young official with a strong figure, handsome face, wearing a third-rank military officer uniform and a veil hat, leading a group of officials to emerge from the inner city.

The young official stood a few steps away from Li Yan Jizu and others. When he saw Yan Jizu and his group wearing regular clothes, like ordinary businessmen, he showed a puzzled expression on his face.

Yan Jizu thought to himself that this person was undoubtedly Li Xiao.

So he immediately took off his official seal and handed it to Fang Wenhe, asking Fang Wenhe to hand it to the young official opposite him for inspection.

After checking the official seal, the young official couldn't help but change his face. He hurriedly handed the official seal to Fang Wenhe, and then knelt down and bowed.

"General Chifeng Li Xiao, pay homage to the governor!"

Yan Jizu smiled and helped Li Xiao, and Li Xiao took advantage of the situation to stand up.

"It's better to see it at first sight than to hear it. General Li is really a good person." Yan Jizu exclaimed from the bottom of his heart when he saw Li Xiao so handsome.

Li Xiao bowed and smiled and said, "The Governor has praised him, and he is very worried about his humble position. I don't know that the Governor has arrived, and he has misfortune. I hope he will forgive me for his crimes."

Yan Jizu waved his hand and smiled, "General Li, Benxian is really going to visit Chifengwei this time to investigate the truth. How can he tell you in advance?"

After Yan Jizu said this, everyone laughed.

Li Xiao quickly made a welcome gesture and said aloud: "It's windy outside. Thank you for your hard work. Please follow the last official to enter the city to rest."

While taking Yan Jizu, Fang Wen and the other two into the living room for a while, Li Xiao ordered a feast to entertain Yan Jizu and his group.

In the living room, Yan Jizu looked deep and sighed: "Li Xiao, do you know that in the future, many people reported to Benxian, saying that you, Li Xiao, are incompetent in governance, and the people are so resentful."

Li Xiao felt nervous and then smiled and said, "So, the lord planned to visit Chifengwei on site to see if the truth was there?"

Yan Jizu smiled and said, "That's true. Benxian came to Chifengwei from Jinan, and everything he saw along the way was depressed. Only when he reached the territory of Chifengwei could he see the prosperity and prosperity. It was actually General Li's good achievements in governing the country."

Li Xiao smiled and said, "How can you bear the praise of the humble and crude government laws? Governor, don't be punished."

Yan Jizu waved his hand: "I am not a person who is easy to praise others. Li Xiao can build such a prosperous Red Phoenix Guard with your own strength. It is really a matter of right and wrong. Don't talk about Shandong, even if it is within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that there will be officials who can have such outstanding governance achievements as General Li. Therefore, it can be seen that those who complain about the complaints are mostly to destroy slanderous words."

Li Xiao expressed gratitude: "The governor has realized his hard work in the low-level position and has not heard the villain's slander. He came to visit remote places in person. Li Xiao is really grateful."

Yan Jizu smiled and said, "Li Xiao, Benxian is thinking that you have managed this Chifengwei, but you cannot be self-admired. If you can teach Benxian the method of managing the Chifengwei to Benxian, then Benxian can promote the Chifengwei model throughout Shandong in the future so that all people in Shandong can enjoy the welfare. Isn't that a great thing?"

After hearing Governor Yan's optimistic and expectant statement, Li Xiao smiled on his face, but sighed in his heart.

In this small Chifeng Guard, I have been promoting my own policies for two years, and it is still so difficult, and it has been mostly resisted by landlords and gentry. When you, Yan Jizu, first arrived, you, wanted to be so eager to achieve success and promote it throughout Shandong. It is not easy!

However, he pondered for a moment, suppressed his true thoughts, and said to Yan Jizu with a smile: "If the master thinks that the law of remote places is acceptable, the last official should tell the master the entire method of the Red Feng Guard to help him implement the method of the Red Feng Guard in various parts of Shandong."

Yan Jizu was overjoyed and said, "General Li is in the overall situation and has no selfishness. Very good! Very good! That constitution will thank General Li for the people of Shandong first."
Chapter completed!