On the tenth day of October, the day of rest, also known as the ten-day holiday, was on all the government offices in Beijing. ︽ Before the late Zhenzong period, the ten-day holiday was only a matter of duty, that is, the court offices were on holidays, and the court did not have a holiday, and the emperor still sat in the back hall to discuss state affairs with the prime minister. In the late Zhenzong period, the court office was not healthy, and the court office was also on holidays like the outside government offices, and it became a habit to be together.

Xu Ping did not take a leave of absence. He was in charge of the commercial tax case. Today is the day that he would be in the 1st estimation.

If Xunjue had only let the public officials under the tax case work, Xu Ping himself would have had a normal vacation, and he would not have been so diligent in official business. However, now he has received a price errand from the emperor before and after the prison ceremony, and was humiliated by Wang Sui after submitting the memorial. Xu Ping was also suffocated. The more he did this, the more he wanted to do the job well. Then, depending on the price fluctuations, the people who laughed at him now still have the face.

Xunjue has already happened, and the system was established during the Tianxi period of Emperor Zhenzong.

Every ten days, the three departments and Kaifeng Prefecture gather together to gather the goods and merchants of each company, and divide them into three levels according to the goods, and set prices separately. This price is the guide price of goods in Beijing in the last ten days.

After the price is set, it shall be filed with the Sansi and Kaifeng Prefecture. This is also one of the purposes of the establishment of the Song Dynasty. In this way, it shall grasp the fluctuations of the private price and take timely measures. In actual transactions, there may be slight fluctuations based on the guiding price according to the situation. As long as both parties recognize the establishment of the coupon, the government will recognize that the transaction is legal.

At critical moments, the government can use the ten-month estimation to force the price, and on the basis of ensuring the cost of the merchant, it can forcefully stipulate a profit recognized by the government and use administrative means to calm price fluctuations. Sometimes this regulation is extremely strict, and violators can be sentenced to death. This is another role of the guild, acting as a tool for the government to interfere in the market.

Officials who participate in the valuation can use their pricing power to collude with merchants for profit, and if there is any illegal law, they will be punished severely and severely. If the valuation is inappropriate, they will be considered as stolen, and if they accept bribes, they will be considered as stolen, or they will be deposed, and the sentence will be heavier than ordinary crimes.

Usually, these are all things done by subordinate public officials, and there are only a few officials in the government, and it is difficult to personally inquire about these daily affairs. However, in this extraordinary period, Xu Ping not only participated in it personally, but also asked Kaifeng Prefecture to send people.

The person who came was Wang Ke, a small official in Kaifeng Prefecture. His father was Wang Yong, his grandfather was Wang Dan, and his uncle was Wang Su.

The Wang family in Sanhuai Hall has planted Sanhuai Hall since Wang Hu planted Sanhuai in the hall, and developed it in the second generation of Wang Dan. By the time Wang Su's generation, it has become deep-rooted and lush leaves, and by the time Wang Ke's generation, it has begun to differentiate.

What is deep roots and leaves? Even Xu Ping has reached a certain level and has known many people. He is still a friend of the current mainstay of the Wang family. It is hard to tell how many ministers the Wang family married to the court. On the surface, there are the Han Yi family who has worked with Xu Ping for several years, and Wang Dan's younger brother Wang Xu's father-in-law Wang Duan's father-in-law is the current Prime Minister Li Di, Wang Dan's elder brother Wang Yi's eldest son Wang Yi's eldest son Wang Mu and Li Di are also in-laws, Wang Dan's eldest son, Wang Ke's father Wang Yong, and his father-in-law are Lu Yijian. Even Shi Yannian, the official with the best relationship with Xu Ping, is also Wang Xu's son-in-law. This complicated network of relationships is amazing. Apart from the Wang family's own people, no one outsider can clearly know where this network extends.

The differentiation began from Wang Dan's death. When Wang Dan was alive, the three brothers did not separate their families, and Wang Dan himself advocated frugality. The Wang family was not a very conspicuous big family at that time. When Wang Dan passed away, the three branches separated, and each person had different relationships, either poverty or wealth. When Wang Dan passed away, Wang Su was still young, and when he grew up, he was different from Wang Dan, and his life was pompous and advocating extravagance. However, Wang Xuyizhi's life was not easy. His eldest son Wang Zhi was an official outside and could not eat meat for several years.

After seeing the Wang family in Sanhuaitang, Xu Ping knew what aristocratic family was. It was not just about having fields or houses, but about using marriage to extend the tentacles of the family to every corner of the empire. The desolate branches of this family, such as Wang Xu and son-in-law Shi Yannian, were displaced, were not really attracted by any highlights. The branches of the glorious, such as Wang Su, the emperor should also look up to them.

Wang Ke's father Wang Yong was Wang Su's eldest brother, but he was a concubine and had a taciturn character. When he was young, his father was prime minister. Although he had favored his official position, he never went out to serve as an official. Like his uncle Wang Xu, because of Wang Dan's relationship, the so-called "not wanting to compete for the career of poor families" was conventional. When Wang Dan was alive, he did not participate in the imperial examinations or become an official. It was not until Wang Dan passed away that he was an official outside and his career was not smooth.

This is true for his father, and Wang Ke’s official career will not be very outstanding. He relies on his kindness to serve in Kaifeng Prefecture.

Speaking of which, his grandfather was Lu Yijian, the second prime minister today, but his father Wang Yong was so dull and didn't walk much, and he didn't have any chance to make a fortune. As for the relatives of Prime Minister Li Di, it was even further away.

When they came out early in the morning, Xu Ping and Wang Ke first went to the Bian River to convene the various guilds and agreed on the price of the capital for the next ten days. They were busy until the afternoon before they had time to transfer to the North City.

The lively place in Bianliang City is called Nanhebei City.

The Nanhe River naturally refers to the Bianhe River. It is located on the Cao Road, and there are many guilds. All guilds related to people's livelihood, such as Zixing, Paper Store, Vegetable Store, Rice and flour Store, etc., are there. I remember that when Li Yonghe was in the paper shop there, he worked in the paper shop there, and was driven out and was rescued by Xu Zheng, who was selling wine in that area.

Beishi refers to the lively place outside the Donghua Gate of the Imperial City, which is close to the palace. The purchase in the palace alone is enough to support many merchants. This time and buying are not like the "Palace Market" in the Tang Dynasty. Shops have profits and gather more and more. In addition, the ministers went to court to enter the Donghua Gate, and the servants who rested here are also a considerable source of tourists every day. Maxing Street, especially the first section of Panlou Street, was the most prosperous place in the world at this time, and there was no place to compare with.

In addition to these restaurants and shops, there are also cattle and horse shops in the capital nearby, which is also the destination of Wang Ke of Xuping.

Most of the cattle and horses come from the north gate and enter from the north city gate, so the city is here.

The days of winter suddenly became shorter. When it came to the cattle and horse market, the sun was already west. The cattle and horse market and the main merchants had already been waiting here. Seeing Xu Ping and Wang Ke bringing officials, they hurriedly got up to salute and greet.

Seeing that it was getting late and Xu Ping did not have much time to make everyone agree on the price for ten days. Seeing that it was almost the same as what they had previously reported, I discussed it with Wang Ke and then settled it down. After writing a letter, the outfit and the households of each business were used to plagiarize it. Xu Ping and Wang Ke also plagiarized it. The two of them put it away and took it back to the yamen to file. Today's errand was completed.

Li Tian, ​​who was on duty at the pre-market, was relieved and said to Xu Ping and Wang Ke: "The sky is getting late, and today I have free time, so I might as well go out and have a drink."

Xu Ping was about to refuse, but saw that the officials who had been busy for a day were all moved. Even Wang Ke had the intention of being yes, so he nodded and said, "Okay, the officials and officials are all tired. Just have a good meal, don't go to the big restaurant."

Li Tian nodded repeatedly: "I understand, I understand." He looked like everyone understood.

It was too annoying to take so many subordinates to the restaurant outside Donghua Gate. There was another place where officials and scholars gathered, so someone might be seen by them and left a handle.

(The marriage situation of Wang Dan's descendants was extremely complicated, and the listings in the book were just the tip of the iceberg. However, the avoidance system was strict at that time, and officials did not publicize their relatives, and they would cover it up if they could be covered up. For example, the friendship between Wen Yanbo and Bao Zheng was relied on the unearthed epitaph for a long time to know that the two families were in a marriage, so Wen Yanbo recommended Bao Zheng to violate the avoidance system. Another kind of marriage was mostly planned for future generations, and there were not many political marriages. On the one hand, the marriage between the descendants of the court officials did not prevent them from fighting to the death in the court, such as Li Di and Lu Yijian. Therefore, the relative relationship between these officials was not specifically revealed in the book, because it had little to do with political stance, which was only conducive to the mutual support of their descendants.)
Chapter completed!